Political Surprise o' the Week


Portland Congressman Earl Blumenauer says he has never smoked weed.

Do you have any concerns about seeing the number of people using cannabis rise?

I've never used it myself. I don't want to undercut my credibility.

I am deeply concerned about people who don't understand the impact of cannabis and alcohol. Cannabis per se doesn't make people aggressive. It's not something that leads to dangerous driving. People just kind of pull over to a 7-Eleven and get a bag of Doritos. But when it's used with alcohol, it really can, can be seriously dangerous. [New York Times columnist] Maureen Dowd washed down a bag of chewables with a box full of chablis and had a bad trip.

So there, my representative is not baked. Who knew?

Comments

  1. Pot should be legal, but let’s not pretend it’s safe, or that there aren’t big money interest hiding things just like they’ve done with tobacco and chemicals . Let's go into this with open eyes. We aren’t legalizing pot because it’s safe, we’re legalizing it because it’s profitable, taxable, and criminalizing it has failed. This isn't the pot we grew up with though. It's far, far more potent these days. For a Congressman to say it doesn't lead to dangerous driving is just stupid and irresponsible.

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    1. I recently purchased some edibles that will wipe you out, even just one, definitely not good for driving.

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    2. Totally, it's a completely different and much more intense high.

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  2. I had to quit smoking in about 1989 as the stuff was getting too strong and I was experiencing panic attacks. Well, I didn’t know they were panic attacks but eventually I put two and two together. I was so scared of dying from one that one night I even slept in the bowels of OHSU so in case I needed to be admitted I was already there.

    It was no fun anymore and the few times I have tried since it is the same. No thank you. It might not be as dangerous as alcohol but it is not without risks and frankly who wants to feel stupid? This is not the same stuff that used to cost $10 for a full sandwich bag and if it was I might be inclined to try it again.

    But of course Earl is an expert in something that he has never tried before. Sounds about right.

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  3. Well, at least the government has stopped spraying paraquat on it. Remember paraquat?

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  4. I was part of the movement to legalize pot in Washington and Oregon. My band played the main stage at the Seattle Hempfest for several years and at Portland's first Hempfest. We also did benefits in Redmond, Salem and the clubhouse downtown by Burnside. It was a tremendous populist victory especially in the context of the opioid epidemic, and the way pot laws were used and are still used some places to keep people down.

    A glance at the figures show something like 65,000 deaths in 2018 from illicit and prescription pain killers. Meanwhile there are websites that insist that stand alone marijuana overdoses can lead to fatalities as well. This one site goes out of its way to make this point and then shows a graph of the numbers. Do you know how many people they claim died from just pot in 2014 for instance? 18. Forgive me but there are probably more than 18 stoned people right now on the block I live on. It's a minuscule number and I don't believe it.

    Meanwhile opioid overdoses are down something like 25% in states that have legalized medical marijuana. It is good medicine. If you have cancer and are too nauseous to eat, it can literally save your life. The list of ways it helps just keeps growing and if you can't smoke it, use tincture or edibles. Avoid the pens.

    Ironically, for reasons I won't get into, I have been 100% sober throughout this wretched year. No weed and I just hit 36 years on the wagon from alcohol. I'm somewhat of a crusader against booze. You don't have to look too far to find someone who's damaged his brain by years of drinking. But I am a big proponent of marijuana. Obviously, you shouldn't drive stoned, but when used correctly it can relieve a lot of suffering and make a 20 minute guitar solo sound relevant.

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    1. Pot is for losers, no way around it. And believe me I speak from experience. I was practically weaned on the stuff back in the 70’s and was a daily user for close to 15 years. And when I say daily I mean ALL day long. I tried it all, the best and the worst. I practically lived on Thai sticks for a few years there. Some good times were had but at what expense? My life was practically put on hold until I kicked it and I never looked back. Good riddance to that garbage.

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  5. Murky writing alert: When I say, "It's a minuscule number and I don't believe it" I mean I don't believe there were that many.

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