Legalize It. Save LIVES

What are you highly unlikely to do because of your ganja use?

You are unlikely to: wreck your car, kill someone else with your car, get into an argument and shoot someone, wind up with lung cancer, destroy your brain cells, wind up with a shot liver, beat your spouse, beat your kids, beat your parents, make the kids go without so you can afford your next pack or bottle…. you get what I’m saying.

And now, we know of something else you’re less likely to do, if you happen to be using ganja therapeutically.

You aren’t as likely to kill yourself.

Isn’t time we repeal the insane and costly marijuana laws once and for all?

 The enactment of statewide laws allowing for the limited use of cannabis therapeutically is associated with reduced instances of suicide, according to a discussion paper published in January by the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany.

Researchers at Montana State University, the University of Colorado, and San Diego State University assessed rates of suicide in the years before and after the passage of statewide medical marijuana laws.

Authors found, “The total suicide rate falls smoothly during the pre-legalization period in both MML (medical marijuana law) and non-MML states. However, beginning in year zero, the trends diverge: the suicide rate in MML states continues to fall, while the suicide rate in states that never legalized medical marijuana begins to climb gradually.”

They reported that this downward trend in suicides in states post-legalization was especially pronounced in males. “Our results suggest that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males,” they determined.

Authors theorized that the limited legalization of cannabis may “lead to an improvement in the psychological well-being of young adult males, an improvement that is reflected in fewer suicides.” They further speculated, “The strong association between alcohol consumption and suicide-related outcomes found by previous researchers raises the possibility that medical marijuana laws reduce the risk of suicide by decreasing alcohol consumption.”

Legalizing marijuana for at least therapeutic purposes has clearly become a no-brainer. But the no-brainers of the right wing (aided and abetted by a lot of foolish people who call themselves Democrats) are still deaf and (especially) dumb when it comes to discussing the pros vs. the cons.

When will the day arrive, when we can have an honest discussion of this issue?

Plutocrap