Back in my BBS days …

Back in my BBS days (“Bulletin Board Systems”, for the uninitiated, where you’d dial in to another computer and have discussion groups and could download files) I’d had discussions with folks about marijuana legalization, and why I thought that it was simply the first step to legalizing stronger drugs. Those who were for legalization always insisted that it would all stop with marijuana and go no further (to heroin, crack, etc.), ignoring centuries of human behavior that showed that when one barrier was removed, it never stopped there.

One of their reasons for placing marijuana in a separate class of drugs was that it wasn’t nearly as bad for you as the harder drugs. “There has never been a case of a marijuana-induced crime spree” was how one fellow put it. Perhaps not, but how about inducing schizophrenia?

Speaking at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ annual conference in Edinburgh, [Professor Robin Murray of the Institute of Psychiatry in London] said: “In the last 18 months a number of studies have confirmed that cannabis consumption acts to increase later risk of schizophrenia. This research must not be ignored.”

Cannabis users were found to be 6 to 7 times more likely to develop psychotic symptoms or schizophrenia within 3-15 years following heavy use.

Professor Murray said these findings had been largely ignored.

Well of course. That would simply delay legalization.

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