De-Filtering: Jeffrey Miron vs. John Walters on CNN
The goal of this website is to create a useful tool that can be applied to relevant, current events. All information is great information, but applicable information is powerful information. In this case, a reader, @MaryJCannabian, found the transcription to the video for me so I could show her the facts. Well, @MaryJCannabian, I would love nothing more than to de-filter this segment for you and my other readers.
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On May 6th, 2009, Anderson Cooper did a segment regarding marijuana legalization on his show, AC 360. In the segment, he did a short “debate” between Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard economist, and John Walters, former Drug Czar for President George W. Bush.
As you will see in the video clip (which I hope stays up), the information war starts before the debate even begins with a curious statement made by John Coleman, director of the pro-prohibition group Drug Watch International. In response to the question of whether or not marijuana has gotten stronger in comparison to decades ago, Coleman claims:
No question about it. I mean, it’s the difference between having maybe a 4 ounce glass of beer versus an 8 ounce glass of Jack Daniels.
He completed his sentence with a bit of a chuckle, but to be honest, the only thing I find funny is the idea that he somehow became the director of an international non-profit organization while lacking the ability to do simple conversions in math.
The purpose of his claim is to illustrate just how much more potent “today’s marijuana” is when compared to marijuana from, say, the 1960’s. To do so, he needed to use something that is more tangible to viewers (such as comparing it to one of America’s most popular drugs, alcohol). The problem is, however, that the comparison is completely misleading when you look at the numbers.
