Show Me the Facts

I’m pretty proud about how my parody video came out. Check it out! http://bit.ly/1nKdF4 #marijuana #cannabis #mmot

Study rebuffs mental illness link with #cannabis – Schizophrenia link to cannabis denied http://bit.ly/mHKBw #marijuana #mmot

California #Marijuana Supporters, tell the gov you want legal #cannabis! http://bit.ly/vrpEd Vote up @lostangel’s idea

Carbon Negative #Hemp Walls are 7x Stronger than Concrete http://bit.ly/1SkPTT #marijuana #mmot

If you care about children, give them safe #marijuana instead of dangerous stimulants for ADHD. – http://bit.ly/3wf6p #mmot

In case you missed it: My Trip to Los Angeles’ THC Expo 2009 – Part 1 http://bit.ly/Ccpoa #mmot #marijuana #cannabis #420

Why People Use Cannabis http://bit.ly/hFPJ8 #marijuana #cannabis #mmot

Per usual, I had my Twitterfall page open and scrolling as I worked. This time, however, I came across a twitter post that lead me to a debate with Jim Alger (@JimAlger) and a few guest-host voices that I could not readily identify (other than knowing one was named “Mike”).

It was hard to engage fully in the debate due to the quality of the audio (often fading in and out) and the unwillingness of participants to let each other talk (I often found myself having to talk over others, which I do not enjoy).

In the end, before I could refute the various fallacies perpetuated by “Mike” (including the scientifically debunked myth that marijuana causes lung cancer), I was hung up on. I figured I had just been disconnected, so I called back and was informed by the screener that it was intentional due to the “segment being over”. It is a shame that they didn’t feel it prudent to allow me to have any sort of “last comment”, but I suppose this only reflects the casual nature of the show.

Below is my open letter to Mr. Alger:

Mr. Alger,

I enjoyed briefly being able to speak on your show, however, I feel that I, as well as your audience, were not given the respect that this topic deserves. I’m not sure who “Mike” was, as I missed the introductions to your show, however, he is pretty much the epitome of what is wrong with the United States’ policies regarding marijuana.

Studies–released by groups far more versed in this subject than Mike–have concluded that the various fear-mongering myths about marijuana (be it cancer, brain damage, etc.) have shown no correlation, yet alone causation, with marijuana use whatsoever. So to have him sit there and deny their legitimacy while offering nothing more than his personal beliefs regarding the subject is childish at best and malicious at worst.

Are there potential horrible side effects to marijuana? Of course, there is always potential for everything. That fact is, though, that no legitimate study has ever shown the existence of such risks. Of the ones that find something, it is usually a weak correlation that has much to do with the method of the test, rather than the subjects of the test.

If there is science to back up Mike’s claims, I ask him to show it to me. What other substance can you think about that is so hard to find a definitive study to back up a claim of harm? Even water has been proven to be deadly if it lacks sufficient amounts of electrolytes and consumed in large amounts.

We should stop penalizing marijuana based purely on the speculative, irrational fears of people like Mike who are so obsessed with finding fault with things that when they don’t, they latch on to whatever myth promotes their “gut feeling” regardless of its merit.

Marijuana is a safe substance. If you do not agree with this, show me your facts. Otherwise, please stop helping to perpetuate the current demonization of a plant that can literally improve every facet of our lives (be it through clean energy, medicine, or safe recreation) if only it was given the chance.

Sincerely,
Eric
ShowMetheFacts.org

What is #MariMonday?

#MariMonday is a concept created by Tom (@tom_disabledvet) and myself (@SMtF) to help share marijuana appreciation and spread marijuana awareness on the Twitter network via the use of a hashtag every Monday! While marijuana is a topic of constant popularity on Twitter, we feel it would be beneficial, as well as entertaining, to create a once-a-week celebration of all things marijuana.

Just make sure to add “#MariMonday” to your twitter post every Monday you want to share something with your fellow marijuana-supporting tweeps! Even Jack Herer is doing it!

What kinds of things should I share on #MariMonday?

Several ideas that would make great #MariMonday contributions:

1. Wish all of your followers a #MariMonday!
   After a nice weekend of relaxing, it is all too common for someone to come down with a case of the Mondays. So why not do your part to cheer them up by wishing them a #MariMonday?
2. Share a personal marijuana story.
   Remember that time you and your friends definitively proved that Jif® brand peanut butter was better than Skippy®? How about the time when you and your buddies found that perfect hiding spot to get away from the world and unwind? Share them!
   *For those of you thinking, “No good story is less than 140 characters!” My first suggestion is to learn haiku. My second, probably more realistic suggestion is to use a service like TinyPaste.com to write your story easily and anonymously for sharing on #MariMonday! Just type your text, click “submit”, and you will get a shortened URL to whatever you typed.
3. Share your personal or most favorite marijuana-inspired art/artist.
   Marijuana has touched numerous artists throughout history. Why not share your favorite(s) with your followers?
   *While there are many image hosts, I suggest imgur.com for its simplicity and reliability.
4. Share marijuana facts & resource links.
   Why not spend your #MariMonday informing others about various marijuana facts. There are thousands of marijuana facts to choose from (ranging from various trivia-based marijuana facts, to interesting knowledge about what products can be made from marijuana and hemp).
5. Share marijuana quotes.
   Have a favorite quote regarding marijuana? There are thousands to choose from!
6. Share your favorite music.
   Have that one “special song” that really speaks to you? Share it on #MariMonday!
7. Re-share things people share!
   See something on #MariMonday you like? Don’t forget to re-tweet it for all of your followers!
8. You tell me!
   Have an idea? Tweet @SMtF

Simply put: if it has to do with the positive celebration of marijuana, share it with us all!

I know I am going to have a #MariMonday, how about you?

(Update): I’ve had some feedback regarding how I format my updates. Usually I place them on top of the article, but I can see how this would be confusing. For now on I will post updates at the end of an article with a short notice at the top to let you know they are there, like so:

Updates as of 4/28/09 added to bottom of article.

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As many of you know, I love keeping a TwitterFall window open to keep track of hashtags that interest me. Usually this helps me find new friends or efficiently retweet information to my followers, etc.

Sometimes, like tonight, however, I see a post/link that leads me to write an article. Here is that post:

Twitter message from @ParentingWithD

The formatting made it a bit difficult to understand what exactly I was about to click, but I decided to go for it and followed through to the article, How does marijuana use affect physical health? (article has been removed)

I wish I could say this was an appreciative post thanking both Denise Witmer and About.com for a wonderful exhibition of journalistic integrity, research, and factual information. Instead, the article is not only highly questionable, it made it pretty hard to find where she got her information since no sources were posted (other than a tip of the hat to the NIDA at the end). It honestly appears as if the author re-packaged NIDA-talking-points in the form of an article.

I will be responding to her article on a point-for-point basis. Ms. Witmer, I invite you to e-mail me with your responses, as I–and my readers–would love to hear them.

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