The most significant differences between those who smoked marijuana and those who never or no longer did was that current smokers’ insulin levels were reduced by 16 percent and their insulin resistance (a condition in which the body has trouble absorbing glucose from the bloodstream) was reduced by 17 percent.The Atlantic’s Lindsay Abrams, reporting on the results of a recent study on the health effects of marijuana. In addition, regular pot smokers were skinnier than those who abstained, “even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, tobacco and alcohol use, and physical activity levels,” and had higher levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”). source
52% support marijuana legalization in a new Pew poll, compared with 45% who don’t. It’s the first national poll ever to show majority support for legalization.
Obama: Pot users should not be ‘top priority’ of federal law enforcement
President Barack Obama says recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a “top priority” of federal law enforcement officials prosecuting the war on drugs.
“We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Obama said of pot users in Colorado and Washington during an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters.
“It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it’s legal,” he said, invoking the same approach taken toward users of medicinal marijuana in 18 states where it’s legal.
The problem with this quote: Not that he said it, but that the last time he made a similar claim, it wasn’t followed by the federal agencies that actually enact the policy — something which led Dilbert creator Scott Adams to claim he wouldn’t vote for the president. Check back in two years to see how he’s doing on this issue.
This is just scratching the surface for bad 2012s.
Shockingly, people may have had a worse year than Romney tattoo guy.
The economic arguments in favor of legalizing pot are no hallucination. Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight reports that Washington state could pull down nearly $2 billion in additional revenue over five years, through fees on licenses granted to pot providers. Colorado, which would manage pot sales differently, could earn about $342 million from excise taxes over five years. In a tough economy, with voters staunchly opposed to most new taxes, that’s a meaningful amount of revenue.Will Pot Be the Next Obama Stimulus Plan? (via usnews)
Ninety percent of the people out here will try to flash their medical marijuana cards. Snoop flashed his real quick. But those don’t matter to us. We’re Texans. This isn’t California!Rusty Fleming, public information officer for the Hudspeth County, Tx. Sheriff’s Office • Discussing the repeated marijuana-related arrests of celebrities (most recently Fiona Apple) in the town of Sierra Blanca. The town is 20 miles away from the U.S. border, so drug-trafficking is common there — but so are movie stars (brought through there because it’s a common route for film shoots) and rock stars (who find themselves there because it’s on I-10, a common touring route). Apple faces felony charges because she possessed hashish, which is illegal in any quantity in Texas.
Young pot users risk lower IQ, study says: ”Persistent cannabis use over 20 years was associated with neuropsychological decline, and greater decline was evident for more persistent users,” according to a group of New Zealand researchers, writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The group studied a group of over 1,000 individuals for over 20 years when creating their findings, and says that heavy users — those who smoked four times or more each week — risked a drop in intelligence. Buy it? (photo by ukhomeoffice)
Thoughtful Rant of the Day: The great libertarian Penn Jillette derides President Obama’s medical marijuana policies, his appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and his drug use — all without taking a breath.
(Not Safe For Work — explicit raving.)
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For those of you who like well-spoken rants.
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Prince George’s police think the victim of a home invasion Monday in Adelphi might have slipped up when he called 911.
“They stole my weed,” the man reported.
Oh really?
Really.
“We don’t usually get those kind of reports,” said police spokeswoman Sgt. Sonya Rorls.
PleaseReleaseThe911TapePleaseReleaseThe911TapePleaseReleaseThe911TapePleaseReleaseThe911Tape
» Who would have guessed that getting high reduces stress? While the study stopped short of conclusively saying that medical marijuana was the direct cause of the lower rates, the authors did note that, when used in moderation, cannabis acts as an anti-depressant. The authors also found that states with medical marijuana programs saw a reduction in alcohol consumption by young men, and note that alcohol is a known depressant. Read the full results of the study here.
Simply put, [marijuana] is not a benign drug.Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy • In the official White House response to a number of petitions calling for weed legalization. This is part of the Obama administration’s “We The People” program: Anybody can submit a petition on a topic of their choosing, and if it gathers enough signatures, the White House will issue an official response. It’s cool that they’re actually following up on the promise to address the petitions, though we imagine proponents of medical marijuana won’t be pleased at the response. source (via • follow)
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