Heritage Foundation Busts Marijuana Myths

Marijuana

Last week the Heritage Foundation released a concise summary of seven common myths about marijuana and why each one is incorrect.

The myths Heritage Foundation addresses are:

  • Myth #1: Marijuana is harmless and non-addictive.
  • Myth #2: Smoked or eaten marijuana is medicine.
  • Myth #3: Countless people are behind bars simply for smoking marijuana.
  • Myth #4: The legality of alcohol and tobacco strengthen the case for legal marijuana.
  • Myth #5: Legal marijuana will solve the government’s budgetary problems.
  • Myth #6: Portugal and Holland provide successful models of legalization.
  • Myth #7: Prevention, intervention, and treatment are doomed to fail—So why try?

These are common myths–many of which we have discussed on our blog in the past. One of our most popular blog posts of all time tackles questions concerning the number of people who have died from marijuana, and we recently wrote about a study released a few weeks ago demonstrating that even casual marijuana-use can cause brain damage.

Heritage Foundation writes:

“[M]arijuana is not as dangerous as cocaine or heroin, but calling it harmless or non-addictive denies very clear science embraced by every major medical association that has studied the issue. . . .

“Mental health researchers are also noting the significant marijuana connection with schizophrenia, and educators are seeing how persistent marijuana use can blunt academic motivation and significantly reduce IQ by up to eight points, according to a very large recent study in New Zealand.”

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Marijuana may be a lot of things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Click here to read Heritage Foundation’s full list of marijuana myths.

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U.S. Senator Introduces Bill to Spy Out “Hate Speech”

Current Events,

The American Family Association has issued a statement about a piece of legislation rolled out last month by Democratic Senator Edward Markey.

From AFA:

May 1, 2014

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation for the federal government to monitor and analyze speech on the Internet, television, and radio looking for anything it considers “hate speech.”

The Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014 (S.2219) would capture Internet and other telecommunications that the government interprets as encouraging hate crimes based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

This is a bad bill, even to the liberal Boston Herald editorial staff. It mandates that the government monitor and analyze speech and press statements that are protected by the First Amendment. The wording is deliberately fuzzy, so that although it sounds like it only addresses constitutionally unprotected speech, it reaches much further.

(more…)

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“Irreplaceable” Family Coming to Theaters May 6

Family,

Focus on the Family has produced a feature-length documentary called “Irreplaceable.”

The film highlights the importance of the traditional family–a mom and dad committed to one another and their children for a lifetime–and opens in 700 theaters nationwide on May 6.

Backlash against the film ahead of its release has been surprisingly sharp. Opponents are denouncing the documentary as “hateful,” and many are pressuring theaters not to show the film.

Eric Metaxas, one of the speakers featured in “Irreplaceable,” has recorded a few comments about the controversy in his Breakpoint segment at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Listen below.

[audio:http://bit.ly/Se4wvF|titles=”Irreplaceable” Coming to Theaters May 6]

We have also included the trailer for the movie below. Watch it for yourself, and let us know what you think.

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