The “Vote No on 64” crowd, or so-called “Smart Colorado“, has released what they call a “fact sheet” claiming to bust the “myths” behind marijuana, in an attempt to convince the people of Colorado to reject Amendment 64. Well, we Weedists, needless to say, do not agree. So as a public service, we’re going to demolish their arguments sentence by sentence, so you can see exactly how propaganda is constructed.

We will be quoting all their material word for word, directly from their “fact sheet”, which you can find here in PDF format. Please notice that at no time does Smart Colorado provide sources for any of the material in their “fact sheet”, so voters have no way to check what they’re saying. But we “lazy, stupid stoners” will. So don’t be fooled; follow this series, vote Yes on Amendment 64, and help save lives, jobs, and money while making Colorado a better place!

MYTH: Marijuana is safer than alcohol and tobacco.
FACT: First, it’s hard to argue that one substance that wrecks and ruins millions of lives is “safer” than another substance that wrecks and ruins millions of lives. Alcohol and marijuana are not the same. They are consumed and metabolized differently by the body. Most people who use alcohol do so responsibly and without becoming intoxicated, or “drunk,” to the point of mental and physical impairment. However, the primary motivation for people who smoke marijuana recreationally is to “get high” or “stoned.”

REAL FACTS:

1. “First, it’s hard to argue that one substance that wrecks and ruins millions of lives is “safer” than another substance that wrecks and ruins millions of lives.” That’s true, as far as it goes, except by the very sentence construction, they’re attempting to set up in your mind the idea that marijuana “wrecks and ruins millions of lives”, and that it is therefore comparable to alcohol in this regard. I say “alcohol” because — did you notice? — they actually do not mention tobacco at all anywhere in this entire paragraph, probably because there’s plenty of evidence that marijuana is far safer than tobacco. The truth is that it’s not marijuana that “wrecks and ruins” people’s lives, but the laws against it, and how they are enforced, which is called Prohibition. Marijuana, as most people know by now, is actually used medically to help people with dozens of serious medical conditions… That’s why medical marijuana is legal in 1/3 of the United States already. That’s not wreck and ruin…that’s saving lives.
2. “Alcohol and marijuana are not the same. They are consumed and metabolized differently by the body.” Well, of course they’re not the same. Alcohol, also known as ethanol, is effectively a toxin which can kill at only 10 times the amount needed to get you high (not even drunk). Marijuana, on the other hand, has a lethal ratio of about 1:40000, which means you would theoretically have to smoke some 1,500 pounds of marijuana in 15 minutes for it to kill you. This is why nobody has ever died from the “toxic effects of marijuana” in recorded history… It’s just not toxic.
3. “Most people who use alcohol do so responsibly and without becoming intoxicated, or “drunk,” to the point of mental and physical impairment.” True, most people do use alcohol responsibly. But there are so many people who don’t do that, we have a public health problem due to alcohol abuse, causing not only a great number of long-term health effects, but also millions of crimes every year.
4. “However, the primary motivation for people who smoke marijuana recreationally is to ‘get high’ or ‘stoned.'” High, yes; stoned, no. Most people enjoy being high — it’s equivalent to being “buzzed” on alcohol — but fewer deliberately try to get stoned (equivalent to drunk). Notice that the propaganda sentence equates high and stoned as if they were equivalent. Even if you’ve never touched the stuff in your life, common sense will tell you that there must be a range of effects for marijuana, just as there is for alcohol. Nobody limits themselves to either “one drink” or “ten at once” with alcohol, and it’s the same for marijuana. But the marijuana user, no matter how much he or she smokes, is guaranteed to wake up the next morning — without a hangover, either — because of marijuana’s lack of toxic effects. And if the primary motivation of alcohol drinkers is not to get high at all, why is it that the sales of non-alcoholic beer is a “whopping” 0.4% of the market?

For more arguments on marijuana vs. alcohol, see the Yes On 64 website.

Read more about the fact that marijuana is safe here on Weedist:

• Marijuana, Safer Than Peanuts – by Lakota
• Round 1: Marijuana Safer Than Peanuts, Round 2: Caffeine – by Moirai
• Marijuana is Safer than Soda – Share this Information – by DGB
• Infographic: Another Reminder That Marijuana is Safe – by DGB

More of Colorado Amendment 64: Know the Lies

• Colorado Amendment 64: Know the Lies
• Colorado Amendment 64: Know the Lies, Part 2
• Colorado Amendment 64: Know the Lies, Part 3 – War On Drugs
• Colorado Amendment 64: Know the Lies, Part 4