What is a bigger threat to our country?

[Horse with no Name]

The epidemic of people addicted to prescription pain medicine (Vicodin, oxycontin, etc) or the person who occasionally smokes a joint?
Next question.
How many people were detoxed last year for marijuana addiction as opposed to those were detoxed for prescription pain meds?

>>>>snip
Treatment admissions for abuse of opioid analgesics more than doubled in the decade from 1992 to 2002, according to newly published data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Data published in the report, "Treatment Admissions Involving Narcotic Painkillers, 2002 Update," show that analgesic-related admissions increased for all age groups, but especially among persons age 20 to 30.
>>>>snip
In 2002, there were about 84,000 admissions to treatment in which the primary, secondary or tertiary substance of abuse was an opioid analgesic. Such medications were cited as the primary substance of abuse in about half of these admissions. In the other half, abuse of pain medications was secondary to abuse of another substance—usually alcohol or heroin.

http://www.asam.org/news/DECADE%20LONG%20RISE%202004.htm

If you have 84,000 admissions for treatment...the actual numbers have to be astronomical.
I am so tired of these hypocrites.
Why not just legalize pot, tax it, and regulate it for minors like smoking cigarettes and alcohol.
Because too many people can grow their own and if you are going to be addicted to something, they have friends who can make money off of your addiction. THAT is why pot is hated--not because they care about your health--because they don't. They just don't have any way to assure themselves of getting every cent of profit from its usage.

[BillZBubb]

1. The Pharma companies can't cash in on Marijuana...

so it's the biggest problem. Next question.

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Hey, they just need to get in touch with Monsanto --

a little genetic fixing, and introduce a crop killing fungus to wipe out everything but their crop, and there ya go. When the out of work tobacco farmers start producing government approved Monsanto strains, smuggling shit in from Colombia and Thailand just won't be profitable. Once they lock up the market, it will be just one more drug for them to deal, I mean, market.

[BillZBubb]

5. Shhh, don't give them any ideas!

[OrlandoGator]

3. I thought Howard Dean was the biggest threat to our country.

After all, he's so INSANE!

[FloridaPat]

4. I really wonder about pot. Back in the 1700's it was used for everything.

Clothing, rope, fabric. Seems it also has enough oil in it to actually replace all drilled oil. Can be used to feed cows and comes in a variety that doesn't make one high. So it would seem lots of corporations don't want it on the market. Just think of the oil industry. What would happen if we could actually grow our oil rather than invade defensless countries for it.