"Marijuana, Driving, and Accident Safety" Gieringer, Dale, Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs Vol. 20(1) Jan-Mar 1988, p. 93-101. Eliminating
marijuana is unlikely to have an appreciable impact on public safety
inasmuch as users are likely to continue using other drugs, notably
alcohol.

"Comparison of the Effects of Marijuana and Alcohol on Simulated Driving
Performance" Crancer, A., Dille,J.M., Delay, J., et al, Science, Vol.
164, May 16, 1969, pp. 851-854. Marijuana Smokers when high performed as
well on a driving simulator test as they did when straight.

"Marijuana and Actual Driving Performance" Robbe, H., O'Hanlon, J.,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nov. 1993. No clear
relationship has ever been demonstrated between marijuana smoking and
either seriously impaired driving performance or the risk of accident
involvement...Yet there is little if any evidence to indicate that drivers
who have used marijuana alone are any more likely to cause serious
accidents than drug free drivers. Reveals that actual impairment cannot be
determined by urine or blood testing.

"Marijuana Metabolism in the Context of Urine Testing for Cannabinoid
Metabolite" Morgan, John P., Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol. 20(1),
Jan-Mar 1988, pp. 107-115. This costly and not entirely foolproof testing
succeeds only to identify an individual who has probably consumed an
illegal drug within the past two weeks. Urine testing is still a search
for deviance, not dysfunction: a method for surveillance, not a tool for
safety.

"Mandatory Unindicated Urine Drug Screening: Still Chemical McCarthyism"
Lundberg, George D., Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol.
256, No. 21, Dec. 5, 1986. If our society feels that the problems of drug
use are so great as to justify the loss of individual freedoms, mandatory
random drug screening would probably necessitate an amendment to the US
Constitution.

"Relation of the Pre-employment Drug Testing Result to Employment Status:
A One-year Follow-up" Parish, David C., Journal of General Internal
Medicine, Vol. 4 (Jan/Feb), 1989. pp. 44-47. Of 180 hospital employees,
22 tested positive for drugs after being hired. There was no difference
between drug-positive and drug-negative employees with respect to
supervisor evaluations or performance. Eleven of the negatives had been
fired during their first year on the job, but none of the positives.

"The 'Scientific' Justification for Urine Drug Testing," John Morgan,
Kansas Law Review, Vol. 36, 1988, pp. 683-697. Disputes the reasons given
to justify invasive urine testing procedures: productivity losses caused
by drug use were based on estimates drawn out of 'thin air,' current drug
use is declining, especially in the workplace, concentration of THC remains
in urine over long periods but does not imply impairment. Drug testing is
not a search for illness but a search for deviance conducted in an
un-American manner. Urine testing is simply drug abuse abuse

"Drug Enforcement Policy as a Factor in Trends of Trafficking and Use of
Different Substances" Arnao, Giancarlo, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs,
Vol. 20(4), Oct-Dec 1988. pp. 463-465. Prohibitionist Drug Policy leads
to the use of more refined
drugs. This has occurred in Pakistan where heroin addiction was unknown
until 1979, when opium was banned by the government.

"Marijuana and the Law in California: A Historical and Political Overview.
Brownell, Gordon S., Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol. 20(1), Jan-Mar
1988. pp.71-74.

"Savings in California Marijuana Law Enforcement Costs Attributable to the
Moscone Act of 1976--A Summary" Aldrich, Michael R., & Mikuriya, Tod.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol. 20(1), Jan-Mar 1988. pp.75-81. The
Decriminalization of Marijuana in California saved the state about One
Billion Dollars.

"Is Marijuana Law Enforcement Racist?" Mandel, Jerry. Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs, Vol. 20(1), Jan-Mar 1988. pp.83-91. A highly
disproportionate number of blacks and latinos wind up in jail from
Marijuana enforcement laws.

"Living with Prohibition: Regular Cannabis Users, Legal Sanctions, and
Informal Controls" Erickson, Patricia G., International Journal of the
Addictions, 24(3) 1989. pp. 175-183. 78% of marijuana users in the
Canadian study felt there should be no penalty for possession. Ironically
only 44% of the users felt cannabis should be legally sold. It's O.K. to
possess marijuana but not O.K. to sell it!!! The encouragement of
'responsible' use for adults might help to establish clear norms of
informal control for young people. Such approaches are not compatible with
a prohibitionist policy.

"Social and Cultural Aspects of Cannabis Use in Costa Rica" William E.
Carter and Paul L. Doughty, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,
Vol. 262, 1976, pp. 2-16. In areas of personal and social life, marijuana
usage was not shown to result in behavior that impaired the individual's
ability to function as a regular member of his society.

"Cannabis and Work in Jamaica: A Refutation of the Amotivational Syndrome"
Lambros Comitas, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 262,
1976, pp.24-32. It is clear that there are no signs of apathy,
ineffectiveness, nonproductiveness, or deficits in general motivation among
Jamaican laborers that use ganja.

"Clinical and Psychological Effects of Marihuana in Man" Weil, Andrew T.,
Zinberg, Norman E., & Nelson, Judith M., Science Vol. 162, Dec. 13, 1968.
pp. 1234-1241. Marijuana smokers when high appear to do as well on
selected tests as when straight.

"Marijuana and Immunity" Hollister, Leo E., Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
Vol. 20(1), Jan-Mar 1988. pp.3-8. The effect of cannabinoids on the
immune system is still unsettled. The evidence has been contradictory.
Only in vitro studies support to some degree cannabinoids as
immunosuppresive agents. These studies have been seriously flawed by the
very high concentrations of drug used and by the lack of comparisons with
other membrane active drugs.


"The constitution is a radical document....it's the job of government to
rein in people's rights."
William Jefferson Clinton---MTV--1992

P.S. Some of these studies are old....but so is the Constitution!!! I
find some of the older research to not be as tainted with political
correctness. Many researchers realize their future funding may depend on
how they phrase their questions, and even the outcome of their studies!!!

A study from the 1970's is frequently very different in outlook from one of
the late 1980's or 1990's. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's dated.


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