Saying that cannabis is a ‘dangerous drug’, a man claiming to be a doctor says marijuana is the leading factor behind crime in The Bahamas.
Clearly showing that he should be removed from his job at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, Kirk Christie, who claims to be a psychiatrist, says cannabis is “fueling deviant behaviour”.
Numerous studies around the world have proven that not to be the case, but Mr Christie thinks otherwise.
Harkening back to the scare tactics of the 1930’s, Christie sounds like an actor in the movie ‘Reefer Madness’, a ridiculous American exploitation film revolving around the melodramatic events that occur when high school students try “marihuana”. The film portrays marijuana user in a false light, blaiming the medicinal and recreational drug as the cause behind such crimes as a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape and finally, the descent into madness.
The Tribune reports that Mr Christie said marijuana use can lead to, “hypertension (high blood pressure), shortness of breath, decreased co-ordination and reaction times, ataxia, impaired memory and perception, sensory distortion such as hallucinations, paranoid disorders, mood alteration, and depersonalisation.
“In men, it can also cause a decrease in libido (sex drive), lower testosterone and sperm counts, and shrinking of the scrotum,” tha paper reports Christie as saying.
All of which has been proven to be false.
Christie is apparently using outdated information to make wild assumptions.
Many areas of the United States and other countries have now realized the medicinal effects of marijuana with some going so far as to legalize or decriminalise the drug. In fact, the only real danger to society is the foolish and expensive “war on drugs”, which has made many corrupt politicians and police officers very rich, while making millions of good kids “criminals.”
A closer examination of the Tribune article appears to show that Mr Christie is actually trying to drum up business for his drug treatment center, perhaps hoping that disseminating false informaton and scaring people will help sell his treatment programme, which lasts two years and allegedly includes detoxification, rehabilitation, relapse prevention and maintenance.
This was the same tactic used by the U.S. government in the 1930;s when marijuana was first made illegal, allegedly by corrupt politicians and police officers who wanted to replace the fabulous income they had made during liquor’s prohibition period. Protecting drug distributors and receiving bribes from drug kingpins has been a tremendous source of income for many politicians and police officers, just as protecting liquor distributors and receiving bribes from the likes of Al Capone and the mafia fueled the income of police and politicians during prohibition.
The ‘war on drugs’ is especially damaging to young blacks as this report by the Cato Institute (PDF) shows.
