Show Me the Facts

So let me be the first to say that this all has been much more confusing than I would have ever expected.

To rehash for everyone, the other day I was contacted by a fellow marijuana supporter telling me to call 973-409-3274 to “help legalize marijuana”. I called the number, but something didn’t seem right to me since there was no identification whatsoever for who was conducting this poll. I chose not to vote and, instead, started googling to hopefully figure out who was behind this number.

The first bit of information I found claimed that the number was related/endorsed by Change.org, however, I could not find any information which would support this claim on Change.org’s website. I sent an e-mail off and got a reply from Ben Rattray (founder and CEO of Change.org) who dismissed the claim and denied any endorsement for the number. Update: Change.org has posted its own reply to this confusion.

Some claims made regarding the number said it was a “national census” being conducted, others claimed it was directly related to specific pro-marijuana bills which needed support.

It appeared that there was much mystery/controversy surrounding this combination of digits which made it appear very shady.

Thankfully, though, we have reached the end of this adventure and have finally figured out what exactly this number is, what is is not, and, most importantly, who owns it.

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A minor update to the article posted here: http://www.showmethefacts.org/2009/03/22/chronic-cannabis-use-linked-to-vomiting-not-likely/

Thanks to Digg.com user fandyllic, apparently it is worth noting and considering the Creighton University’s reputation before allowing their research to weigh heavily on your opinions:

“The environment is really conservative, and for someone with more liberal views, it can be really difficult here.”

“Omaha is a city in the literal sense; however, there aren’t really very many interesting things to do.”

“There are a lot of people here who don’t really care about their academics. They’re just here to party and skate on through.”

So not only was the study itself highly suspect, the school which released it is apparently far from a prominent science/medical institution.

Seeing as this university is a highly conservative catholic one, I now understand why the abstract was so blatantly biased in opposition of marijuana.

As I pointed out in the About page, the goal of this site is not to force anything down the reader’s throat… only to offer information to them if they are interested.

While I make sure to do my best (usually spending an hour minimum per topic) to check sources and verify the integrity of information posted to this website, there is always a chance that I can make a mistake. If you catch one, by all means, feel free to correct me.

Furthermore, if you just disagree with this site as a whole (or even just a part of it), I encourage you to tell me why. I will be more than happy to debate any relevant topic with my readers in hopes of finding a solution.

The only thing I ask for you to do prior to contacting me to argue is perform the following exercise:

In your mind, imagine a world where marijuana is legalized. Now, use your argument to persuade the world to make marijuana illegal.

If your argument is not dynamic enough to cause marijuana to be made illegal in a world where it is legal, then logically it should not be enough–in most cases–to justify keeping marijuana illegal.

If your argument passes that requirement, then feel free to send me an e-mail and show me the facts at eric [at] showmethefacts.org.

I can’t promise I’ll be able to get to your arguments immediately, as I am currently devoting a majority of my free time exclusively to updating the medical marijuana poriton of the website.

Due to the amount of updating that has been going on, I’ve gotten some requests from visitors to hook into Twitter.

Sounded like a good idea, so I did.

Twitter is giving me some hassle (not letting me upload an avatar at the moment), but I think it will be useful if you want to know when new facts have been posted, arguments, etc.

So feel free to follow Show Me the Facts @ http://www.twitter.com/smtf

I appreciate the feedback and suggestions.

It took me a few days of work, but I finally finished with the A’s in the Medical Marijuana section. I really appreciate everyone’s patience as it takes close to 45 minutes per topic to get it all pretty (depending on size and how many sources/references).