Marijuana consumption by pregnant women may reduce infant mortality rate

Have you guys read about this??

The breakdown:

A total of 2,964 babies were drug-tested at birth to see if they were positive for drugs – cocaine, opioids or cannabis were studied. 44% of the infants tested positive for all varieties of drugs, including the 3 being studied. During the first two years of their lives, 44 babies from the original group died. Since statistics are a drag to slog through, I’ll cut right to the chase – the deaths per thousand live births – the numbers tell the story.

“No drugs at birth” deaths……. 15.7 deaths per 1000 live births

“Cocaine positive” deaths…….17.7 deaths per 1000 live births

“Opiate positive” deaths…….18.4 deaths per 1000 live births

“Cannabis positive” deaths…. 8.9 deaths per 1000 live births [5]

The cocaine and opiate babies have a higher death rate than the “No drugs” babies – that was to be expected. But look at the “cannabis” babies! Having extra cannabinoids in their bodies at birth (and likely later, from 2nd-hand exposure, or breast milk) seems to have some sort of a protective effect. The “cannabis” infants have a mortality rate almost half of what the “No drugs” infants have!

READ MORE HERE - http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june272010/marijuana-infants-sc.php

and HERE - http://stash.norml.org/marijuana-consumption-by-pregnant-women-may-reduce-infant-mortality-more-study-needed

haha...I couldn't resist. 

This is another study performed in Jamaica with equally startling results. This one is done specifically with women who used different amount of marijuana and follows the children through the years to see how it effected them. 

Now, I have posted this on a couple of forums on Cafe Mom because I do believe that the information is intriguing and valuable. As many of you may already know I am all for marijuana rights. I do believe that you can not legislate nature - and marijuana is a weed. Try making weeds "illegal" in your garden and let me know how that works out for you.

Now, of coarse something like this ended up turning into a debate. I saw that coming. What kills me though is how people are so well trained to simply shut off any ability to receive and process information about something they disagree with. I find that I have to overcome this sometimes myself, but I try very hard to. I can't consider myself knowledgeable about anything unless I am open to learning all of the information. 

This studies results are uncommon - there are many similar studies and stories of how marijuana HELPS....not hurts. Likewise, there are very little stories or studies that prove anything negative about marijuana use. So, why do we still believe that marijuana is a "bad drug"? If it is only "because it is illegal"? And, if this is the case, should the law not be changed to match up with common knowledge and scientific fact? 

Consider this. Coffee was on the same chopping block as marijuana. These two things are actually pretty similar. Both give the user a "buzz", both are plants, both can be consumed by eating or drinking it, etc. So, ask yourself, if coffee was made illegal tomorrow would you find a way to get it? Would you be a "coffee head"? (um...YES)  Would there be coffee dealers? YES....there absolutely would be. Making coffee illegal would create an underground coffee market.

Now, let's talk alcohol. The prohibition of alcohol created a black market for it. Making it illegal it created jobs for organized crime. When it was made legal the market crashed. There aren't any brewing dealers on a street corner selling beers or liquor. It would be the same with marijuana. Legalization would stop the drug dealer in their tracks. If there is not a market for it the market crashes. Then what happens? Well, government regulates and taxes it (like alcohol).  $5,763,336.00 was the 2008 tax revenue from alcohol sales....and it goes up at least $100,000 a year. Marijuana would easily bring in more - and that's not including the positive effect hemp could have on our economy AND environment. 

So, why marijuana? What is SO taboo about LEGALIZING it - or at the very least - decriminalizing it and letting adults make their own decisions about what THEY believe is the safest and best recreational drug to use? If there is actually no legitimate reason for marijuana to be illegal than we have to ask ourselves.... who gains the most by keeping it illegal? In every great crime there is a motive...and turning well to do citizens into criminals IS criminal.

Let's examine the evidence. It creates jobs and funding like it's nobodies business, not to mention the pharmaceutical companies would be on their knees. They wouldn't "go away" but they would certainly have a harder time being the pushers of pain and psych meds they are now. If you think for a moment that a lot of doctors are not just cunning modern day drug dealers, you are wrong. Did you know it is not LEGAL for a doctor to treat you nutritionally? Even though what we eat can and will contribute to whether you develop or heal from a disease they are prohibited from treating you through nutrition. All the money we pour into curing cancer ends up being a joke because there are millions of people out there who could change their diets and live. It's simple and basic...kind of like marijuana. You are what you eat. So, WHY wouldn't they incorporate that into treatment for patients? Why do they only recommend medical procedure or medication? The doctors are controlled by the pharmaceutical companies and by legislation (the two biggest forces against the legalization of marijuana) and none of them are interested in curing you. It's much better for them if you stay sick and they can treat your symptoms with something. It becomes a never ending cycle of pills you "need". 

Don't even get me started on the government's motives for keeping it illegal or the TOTAL SHAM for which it was made illegal in the first place. You can find out more about that by watching this -

 

Ask anyone who has ever REALLY used marijuana and they will probably tell you that it is much better than alcohol or most recreation drugs (including Rx). Marijuana is like the ginger beer of drugs. It just makes you giggle and feel a little hungry.

I find it really interesting that the only real reasons they give us to "not smoke pot" is behavioral. "It'll make you murderously insane" ok, that's not true "It'll make you do harder drugs" ok, THATS NOT TRUE. "It will make you lazy" Not true either...etc. It's obvious that they are grasping straws because if they had scientific reasons for us not to use it, don't you think that they would shout it from the rooftops? The bottom line is, the people who do fucked up things or act a certain way on marijuana would probably be that way anyways. 

So - if we are so worried about how people are behaving WHY WOULDN'T WE MAKE ALCOHOL ILLEGAL??? People do worse things on alcohol than anything else in this country. Families are destroyed every day, whether it be their own or the family that they hit head on when they were driving drunk. Alcohol kills people every day directly and indirectly. Yet, it's perfectly legal to drink it in any amount that you so desire. Hell, you're free to drink enough to kill you. Know how much marijuana it would take to kill you?? You couldn't smoke that much if you tried. Trust me.

So, I guess I just don't understand how this issue is difficult for people to get and see right through. It's not about whether you want to do it or not - it's about right and wrong and people's RIGHT to choose for themselves. I am an adult and I expect to be treated like one. If I want to use a substance that has very little (to none if you don't smoke it) health risk and at the same time helps me balance out my bi-polar disorder and deal with my arthritis and endometriosis, then who are YOU or ANYONE else to say I can't or shouldn't? Especially knowing that even asprin kills people every year....and that's nothing compared to most prescription or even over the counter medications.  Marijuana doesn't kill. It helps. That IS the bottom line whether you like it or not. 

Since the biggest risk to using marijuana IS the law itself, why aren't we demanding change? Why instead is it acceptable to turn people who choose to use marijuana into criminals? I think that THAT is the greater crime here. The people's lives who are effected by the judgement they receive through our "justice" system deserved better. Around 89% of all people arrested for cannabis are arrested for possession alone. Not because they were beating their wives, not because they were stealing money to get more drugs, not because they were driving under the influence, not because they were hurting ANYONE. Just because they had it.


Can you really say that this is "right"?