Marijuana Arbitrarily Blamed for Young Man’s Ruination

This story of cannabis woe out of West Chester, PA caught my eye. The claim is that James Kiesling, a once smart and promising young man with a penchant for hockey, had his life utterly decimated by marijuana. We all know we’re in for quite a treat when the article starts with “James Alexander Kiesling seemingly had it all.”

Buckle up, from the article:

“So what is Kiesling, 21, doing today sitting in a jail cell at Chester County Prison, a convicted felon who narrowly escaped being sent to a state prison for more than a year? In the examination of his life since age 16 provided recently in court, it comes down to one word: marijuana. ”

According to Kiesling’s attorney, Mr. Ramsay, “It really became his overriding goal and desire to smoke marijuana…it led to his downfall.” Ramsay said in an interview that Kiesling’s case is a cautionary tale in the debate over legalization of marijuana.

Kiesling was sentenced to 23 months in prison for felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and twice getting charged with driving under the influence. Intent to deliver? That’s a new one to me. If I was bringing a cannabis brownie to a friend’s house could I also be charged with such a thing? Do pizza boys have to worry about their intentions? “I swear officer, all these pizzas are for ME!”

Further scrutiny in this case reveals that what actually got this kid busted was trying to sell fake LSD to a police informant in a Burger King parking lot. Not to mention the DUI’s he was charged with were alcohol related (one occurring just a day after his 21st birthday). These two offenses violated his parole for prior drug convictions from 2011. When police came to collect Kiesling, he actually fled from them.

The source article cites a local psychologist as their “expert” on cannabis use. This “expert’ went so far as to claim that he had not seen any direct correlation with marijuana use and criminal behavior, but that was about the last reasonable thing that left his mouth. He goes on to say that “habitual marijuana users exhibit certain common characteristics. They have decreased concentration, they have decreased short-term memory, and they show a decrease in motivation for life’s efforts–except, perhaps, in finding ways to smoke more marijuana. Those three things are invaluable assets to all those things that we dedicate ourselves to,— work, school, building a home life. If you use it every day at steady levels you will not function well over time.”

Can I get a head count of any pot smokers reading this who think this is true? Some people make shitty choices and generally just can’t stop fucking up whatever they touch. Cannabis happened to be a part of Kiesling’s life, but I’d wager some big money that if you went back in time and stopped him from smoking it, he would still be in a similar situation except he would likely be a drunk. But that’s ok, right legal system? If this dumbass had been a drunk who tried to sell fake LSD to an informant, this story would likely not even make the news. But it has that bogeyman buzzword “marijuana” in the mix. Give me a break.

The prosecuting DA in the case claims that Kiesling admitted that the reason for selling the fake LSD was to “feed his marjuana habit.” (I’m trying not to laugh as I type this. “Feed the habit?” Pot is hardly meth or crack.) He further went on to say, “When you look back on his past life, Mr. Kiesling had the world at his fingertips. Hockey star, bright, and came from a loving family. Sadly, the riptide of addiction wiped all of the hopes and dreams he once had out to sea…Marijuana brought him into this mess, but it is up to him, and only him to pull himself out of it.”

There is so much BS and misinformation being spread about as fact that it is hard for me not to scream. One might argue (I would) that had the laws properly reflected the dangers and effects of real cannabis use, Kiesling wouldn’t be in this predicament, either. If it was legalized as it should be, Kiesling wouldn’t have had to resort to further criminal acts. Marijuana didn’t bring him to this, a slurry of really bad ideas and choices brought him to this. I know lots of people who smoke weed everyday. They also have jobs, families, careers, successful lifestyles. You know, all the stuff the “expert” shrink above tells you is virtually impossible to have if you like weed.

Clearly, marijuana ruined his life too.

Let me be clear. I am, in no way, defending Kiesling. He made some just plain idiotic decisions and, it seems to me, is using pot as a scape goat so he doesn’t have to simply admit that he’s a fuck up. With a lawyer, a DA, and a psychologist waiting in the wings to strip all personal responsibility from Kiesling and lay it on pot, who could blame him?

Cautionary tale, indeed. Stay the hell out of West Chester.