Tainting science with politics
This article shows the dangers of what happens when an inherently political institution is put in charge of policy for a scientific endeavor. The inevitable: politics and dogma trumps science and evidence.
The article in question is about yet another display of corrupt incompetence and power-mongering by the FDA, this time in regards to medical marijuana (MMJ). Using old data--because old data is all there is, since the gov't has quashed any new research from being done--they have declared that MMJ has no medicinal value. Funny thing is, from what data there is, that scientists disagree with them. But saying that MMJ is a beneficial drug might lead to calls to have it downgraded from its current status as being slightly less harmful than drinking a barrel of cyanide. And that, in turn would send a "mixed message" to the American public, who are all too stupid to know what a bad, evil, lethal thing MJ is.
Now I should offer the standard disclaimer that I've never done MJ, medicinally or otherwise, so I don't have any first-hand experiences with either its benefits or hazards. The legal status of MJ is still of interest to me, though, for the same reason you don't need to be black to be concerned about civil rights or female to be concerned about womens' suffrage. It's a freedom thing--freedom isn't one of those things you can pick-and-choose who you're going to offer it to. All of us should have the freedom to live our lives as we please, constrained only so far as is necessary such that we take responsibility for our actions, and do no harm to the health, property, or freedoms of others.
And if ever there was a prime example of how drug prohibition has harmed society far more than the drugs themselves, MJ is it. Corruption of law enforcement, ruination of countless lives, a gov't that engages in blatant and untruthful propaganda, erosions of fundamental liberties, and untold billions of dollars pissed away are all part of the legacy of drug prohibition. And to the MMJ controversy one can also add denial of the will of the people, as the federal gov't continues to resist and deny referendum after referendum where clear majorities of the people say they want MMJ legal.
Addendum: on a separate issue, climate change, here is another example of a politician trying to sway, punish, or chill scientific research he disagrees with. While I myself may have some reservations about the methodologies and/or conclusions drawn from climate research, nevertheless it is critical that the research itself be conducted free from political influences or persuasion.
The article in question is about yet another display of corrupt incompetence and power-mongering by the FDA, this time in regards to medical marijuana (MMJ). Using old data--because old data is all there is, since the gov't has quashed any new research from being done--they have declared that MMJ has no medicinal value. Funny thing is, from what data there is, that scientists disagree with them. But saying that MMJ is a beneficial drug might lead to calls to have it downgraded from its current status as being slightly less harmful than drinking a barrel of cyanide. And that, in turn would send a "mixed message" to the American public, who are all too stupid to know what a bad, evil, lethal thing MJ is.
Now I should offer the standard disclaimer that I've never done MJ, medicinally or otherwise, so I don't have any first-hand experiences with either its benefits or hazards. The legal status of MJ is still of interest to me, though, for the same reason you don't need to be black to be concerned about civil rights or female to be concerned about womens' suffrage. It's a freedom thing--freedom isn't one of those things you can pick-and-choose who you're going to offer it to. All of us should have the freedom to live our lives as we please, constrained only so far as is necessary such that we take responsibility for our actions, and do no harm to the health, property, or freedoms of others.
And if ever there was a prime example of how drug prohibition has harmed society far more than the drugs themselves, MJ is it. Corruption of law enforcement, ruination of countless lives, a gov't that engages in blatant and untruthful propaganda, erosions of fundamental liberties, and untold billions of dollars pissed away are all part of the legacy of drug prohibition. And to the MMJ controversy one can also add denial of the will of the people, as the federal gov't continues to resist and deny referendum after referendum where clear majorities of the people say they want MMJ legal.
Addendum: on a separate issue, climate change, here is another example of a politician trying to sway, punish, or chill scientific research he disagrees with. While I myself may have some reservations about the methodologies and/or conclusions drawn from climate research, nevertheless it is critical that the research itself be conducted free from political influences or persuasion.
posted by Unknown at
4/25/2006 02:30:00 PM
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