Paul Armentano is the Senior Policy Analyst for NORML and the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. He may be contacted via e-mail at:
For more information about NORML and the NORML Foundation, visit: http://www.norml.org.
Armed with sound-bites reminiscent of the 1936 propaganda film "Reefer Madness", the US government recently kicked off yet another smear campaign on the supposed dangers of marijuana. The Feds' latest charge: Pot causes mental illness.
"A growing body of evidence now demonstrates that smoking marijuana can increase the risk of serious mental health problems," US Drug Czar John Walters announced at a Capitol Hill press conference hyping the White House’s new anti-pot campaign. "New research being conducted here and abroad illustrates that marijuana use, particularly during teen years, can lead to depression, thoughts of suicide, and schizophrenia." The Feds have since taken Walters' sound-bytes "on the road" with a summer-long series of hyperbolic advertisements featured in prominent publications such as Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Nation.
