• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

REEFER MAD, BRO? PURITANICAL PROHIBITIONIST PINHEADS STILL PUT MASS PATIENTS IN PERIL

Written by KENDER BAST Posted September 15, 2015 Filed Under: Blunt Truth, COLUMNS

Copy of NEW WEB HEAD TEMPLATE (1)

BY KENDER BAST

 

Soaring demand at the first medical cannabis dispensary to open in Massachusetts, Alternative Therapies Group in Salem, comes as no surprise to anyone who has been paying close attention to the expansion of marijuana in America. Medicinal pot and concentrates can safely help with numerous ailments ranging from epilepsy, MS and traumatic brain injury to nausea, asthma, and severe pain. It is even showing promise fighting cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, all of which are vitally important functions for the massive Baby Boomer population.  

 

It is, however, truly ironic that Salem is the place where this is happening, and that irony may tell us something about some of the behavior that persists in these parts. Back in the 1600s, so-called witches were tortured and burned at the stake because of the hysteria spurred by Puritan demagogues. Ignorance ruled the day, and the general public was at many points misled.  

 

Fast-forward to now. We still have hysterical puritanical leaders railing against another imagined evil. In this case, they seem to believe that they know what is best for everyone else, and continue pushing close-minded morals on an easily cowed public. Take, for example, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, whose repeated claim that marijuana is a gateway drug has been extensively discredited. Boston’s own “flat-earther” won’t acknowledge research showing how cannabis is actually an exit route away from harmful substances like opioids, tobacco, and alcohol. In states with effective medical marijuana programs, there’s been a marked decrease in opioid overdose deaths, a decrease in the suicide rates of young men, and a decrease in the number of drunk driving fatalities. These are all good things, and pols ignore them at our peril.

 

And let’s get this straight, we’re not talking about plutonium. As the Drug Enforcement Agency’s own chief administrative law judge once famously noted, cannabis is “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.” Of course, the DEA ignored this strong assessment, and in turn ramped up an oppressive war on (some) drugs that’s resulted in millions of people being arrested, thousands of innocents murdered, and immeasurable suffering by countless patients.  

 

Meanwhile, the allegedly “liberal” Boston Globe steadfastly neglects to recognize the blatant hypocrisy of marijuana prohibition, while a months-long series on the opioid crisis by our ABC affiliate has failed to mention that cannabis can smooth the road to recovery. It’s unclear what it will take for the media to objectively report on this issue, but until journalists check their own prejudices, and purge all of the puritanism around here, guys like Walsh will keep on passing off their baseless observations as facts, and missing opportunities to help patients and addicts alike.

Author profile
KENDER BAST

Filed Under: Blunt Truth, COLUMNS Tagged With: Beacon Hill, cannabis, dispensary, DPH, Marijuana, Marty Walsh, pot, prohibitionist, Salem

WHAT’S NEW

Trump-Loving Mass Republican Party Freaks Out Over Mar-a-Lago Raid

Trump-Loving Mass Republican Party Freaks Out Over Mar-a-Lago Raid

Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination

Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination

Bay State Gas Providers Pay Up

Bay State Gas Providers Pay Up

State Wire: Mass Needs to Reform Youth Restitution Policies

State Wire: Mass Needs to Reform Youth Restitution Policies

“Pie” by Eric Ferdinand is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Share and Share Alike: Major Funders Need to Give Equally to All Nonprofit News Outlets

The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 

The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

FEATURED EVENT

Advertisement

Most Popular

  • The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 
  • Inside the Bay State’s Legendary (and Only) One-Man Brewery
  • Meet the Phantom Behind Greater Boston’s Awesome Food Feed Everybody Gotta Eat
  • Worcester’s Wasteful, Never-Ending War on Police Transparency
  • The “Biggest Masshole In Massachusetts” Is Running For Secretary Of State

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): [email protected]