Texas Gov. Rick Perry links marijuana to murder

[RainDog]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/not-joining-the-pot-parade-texas-gov-rick-perry-links-marijuana-legalization-to-murder/

Perry insisted he didn’t want to join the marijuana “parade.”

“I think the fact is it is very important for science to keep playing a most important role in this before we jump to some conclusion, before we run out and get in the front of a parade that is going somewhere because we think it is where the public opinion is,” he said.

“And I want to share just one thing — or make a response to [United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan] about Portugal and the legalization of drugs there. In the five years since that has occurred there, 40 percent increase in the murder rate in that country. Anecdotal, I totally understand that, but the fact is we need to look at all of the data, the science.”

“The question for me is if the economics of this is what really drives this, and we as a society and government say it is OK for you to smoke marijuana — we have decriminalized it — basically say that it is OK for you to use, be thoughtful about it, here are the bad things that come from it, what is that going to cost society? I mean, what is the medical cost to this world when we send that message, when influential men and women stand up in front of these young influenceable young people and say it is OK.”

First - a TEXAS REPUBLICAN saying science plays the most important role... LOL... this is the same Republican Party in that state that wanted support for creationism in its party platform.

The Portugal remark is reefer madness.

And, funniest of all - since when did Americans look to the government and think they really care about the person who is most likely to be negatively influenced by marijuana's illegal status? (That person most likely to be negatively impacted, btw, is a young African American male.)

[walkingman]

1. First of all - He is an Aggie

and he is not the longest serving governor for no reason.

As a Texan I am not only embarrassed by Rick Perry but I apologize to the rest of the nation for his actions. It's one thing to screw up a single state but for some reason he feels obligated to spread his particular brand of ignorance around the country.

Thank Goodness he is leaving soon but in all likelihood with be replaced by someone very similar.

As Rick would say, "Pray for us!"

Peace

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Uh, let me see. They both begin with M?

Which leads me to "Dial M for Murder"
Which leads me to Murder.

Perry Logic 101

[gollygee]

3. Hmm

Is he also going to look at the relationship between guns and murder?

[jsr]

5. M follows G

That's a big hint for him right there.

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. We Teasippers in Austin had a joke about Aggies:

We should deport them all to Oklahoma, thus raising the average IQ of both states.

[City Lights]

6. He should put down the crack pipe.

[Rex]

7. Sadly Governor Perfect Hair can never find the link between murder and guns.

Governor Hoop and Holler at work shooting a gun in the air.

"It a flower! We gotta stomp it to shit! Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

[Gothmog]

8. Goodhair is an idiot

I really do not care about any of Goodhair's opinions.

[ohheckyeah]

9. ....

"I mean, what is the medical cost to this world when we send that message, when influential men and women stand up in front of these young influenceable young people and say it is OK.”

The same thing it says when you say drinking alcohol is okay?

[gopiscrap]

10. Rick Perry is such a fucking idiot

he can't even remember his own points in a conversation! Fuck him!!!!

[Doc Holliday]

11. Ol' Goodhair needs

to go out back of the Capitol building and play a nice game of "hide and go fuck yourself."

Sorry, America....we're working on this, and hope to have it fixed in a few months or so.

[Holly_Hobby]

12. They're getting desperate now n/t

[bemildred]

13. Well, I must say this sudden support for scientific inquiry is heartening. nt

[RainDog]

14. Amazing, isn't it?

Too bad it doesn't apply to global climate change, tho.

[arely staircase]

15. oops nt

[angstlessk]

16. The REAL reason for crime increases...AUSTERITY!!!!!!!!!

Portugal continues to see a gradual rise in a majority of its crime categories, including violent offenses. Anecdotally, increased unemployment along with decreased social benefits as a result of the government’s response to an ongoing economic crisis, etc. are viewed as contributing factors related to the rise. Attributable in part to population density, Lisbon, Porto (including Braga and Aveiro), Setúbal, and Faro have higher reported incidences of crime.

[RainDog]

17. I would assume the financial crisis had something to do with it

but I haven't seen anything. The Drug Treatment Programs had to take budget cuts, but prior to that:

Five years later, the number of deaths from street drug overdoses dropped from around 400 to 290 annually, and the number of new HIV cases caused by using dirty needles to inject heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances plummeted from nearly 1,400 in 2000 to about 400 in 2006, according to a report released recently by the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C, libertarian think tank.

Peter Reuter, a criminologist at the University of Maryland, College Park said, "Drug decriminalization did reach its primary goal in Portugal," of reducing the health consequences of drug use, he says, "and did not lead to Lisbon becoming a drug tourist destination."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/portugal-drug-decriminalization/

And fewer teens are trying drugs. Strangely, no one in an official capacity at U.S. Drug Agencies wanted to comment on the Portugal report... "because it makes people think legalization is okay." <--- This is the sort of paternalistic bullshit these agencies have adopted in order to keep their jobs, which exist to oppose any policy changes to drug laws. Why do we need a bureaucracy like that? If other options show they produce good outcomes, why must these be denied?

Here's a report on Portugal: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/evaluating-drug-decriminalization-in-portugal-12-years-later-a-891060.html

Anyway, is this some of the science Perry wants to look at, I wonder?

[RainDog]

18. Portugal Ten Years After Decriminalization: Drug Use Down By Half

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9C6x99EnFVdFuXw_B8pvDRzLqcA?docId=CNG.e740b6d0077ba8c28f6d1dd931c6f679.5e1

Health experts in Portugal said Friday that Portugal's decision 10 years ago to decriminalise drug use and treat addicts rather than punishing them is an experiment that has worked.

"There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal," said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.

The number of addicts considered "problematic" -- those who repeatedly use "hard" drugs and intravenous users -- had fallen by half since the early 1990s, when the figure was estimated at around 100,000 people, Goulao said.

"This development can not only be attributed to decriminalisation but to a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies.

An OASC Crime Report from 2013 indicates Portugal is not considered a dangerous, crime-ridden nation. So, where did Perry pull his data from? An ass on a camel on Noah's Ark?

Portugal continues to see a gradual rise in a majority of its crime categories, including violent offenses. Anecdotally, increased unemployment along with decreased social benefits as a result of the government’s response to an ongoing economic crisis, etc. are viewed as contributing factors related to the rise. Attributable in part to population density, Lisbon, Porto (including Braga and Aveiro), Setúbal, and Faro have higher reported incidences of crime.

Pick pocketing is very common, particularly in tourist areas, and along trains and buses, the best defense is to limit exposure to wallets, purses, backpacks etc., and above all avoid unnecessary distractions.

Small groups of adolescents occasionally (as a group) commit petty thefts and vehicle burglaries around common tourist spots (beaches, cafes, etc).

Vice activities (e.g. gambling, prostitution, and narcotics) exist, but for those who take basic security precautions, Portugal is a moderate threat country. Petty thefts such as pickpockets, smash and grab, residential and business burglaries, and drug offenses are more prevalent in the larger urban areas.

https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=13669

[vanbean]

19. I know a lot of people who have gotten all hopped up on pot, and went out and killed

a bunch of munchies.