As usual, Pete Guither at DrugWarrant digs up the facts about marijuana and its comparative lack of dangers to other substances, both legal and controlled.
Noting that the Drug Czar’s blog trumpets the need to redouble its efforts (and no doubt its funding) to go after “the non medical use of prescription drugs”, Pete decided to find the actual numbers behind the recent Florida Autopsy report that the Drug Czar was reporting on. Reproducing his table in part:
|
Drug Tracked |
Cause of Death |
|
Cocaine |
348 |
|
Methadone |
312 |
|
Alprazolam |
194 |
|
Oxycodone |
185 |
|
Ethyl Alcohol |
160 |
|
Morphine |
106 |
|
Hydrocodone |
106 |
|
Other Benzodiazepine |
62 |
|
Diazepam |
59 |
|
Fentanyl |
51 |
|
Propoxyphene |
38 |
|
Carisoprodol/Meprobamate |
36 |
|
Heroin |
29 |
|
Methamphetamine |
9 |
|
Amphetamine |
3 |
|
MDMA |
2 |
|
CANNABINOIDS |
0 |
The highlights? Cocaine, 349 deaths; Alcohol, 160 deaths, Heroin, 29 deaths…
Marijuana (cannibinoids): Zero Deaths Caused.
With Xanax (Alprazolam) coming in at number three, shouldn’t we start considering prison for folks with panic attacks and anxiety disorders? And look at Soma (Carisoprodol/Meprobamate) coming in ahead of Heroin and Ecstasy combined. Sounds to me like the Drug Czar may advise us soon to start saving up tax dollars to build more prisons.