This Case of 'Marijuana Poisoning' is More Deadlier High Above Seattle Seattle recreational marijuana source

We thought the whole ‘reefer madness‘ thing would fly out the window, never to be seen again, once we became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana and national perception began to change. But no. ‘Reefer Madness’ still lingers its’ rotting soulless propaganda self, often showing up in different forms such as the headlines to scare the crap out of you so you will click on an article, or at least scare the click out of you.

Just last week we found an article posted on the Reuters website, written by Victoria Cavaliere, titled “Marijuana poisoning incidents spike in Washington state.” You got to be kidding. Really Victoria? Really Reuters? Marijuana ‘poisoning?’

First of all, we whole heartedly encourage everyone to be smart about marijuana consumption because it is possible to overdose on marijuana and have unpleasant symptoms, but to use the word ‘poison’ is over the top. A little Reefer Madness-ish, if you will.

For example, let’s just say there was an increase in the amount of candy parents began to feed their kids which led to an increase in the number of kids racing to the bathroom ill and tossing their heads into the toilet. Are you going to see headlines that read ‘Sugar poisoning incidents spike in Washington State?’ Probably not. Because sugar isn’t harmful, right? (of course we’re being a little sarcastic) The funny thing is, which isn’t really funny, but sugar has led to many health problems and illnesses. On the other hand, marijuana has been beneficial as a medicine. You don’t see a ‘medical sugar’ industry, do you?

Let’s take a look at a definition of ‘poison:’ a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health (by the way, there are many definitions of poison from many different dictionaries, but for arguments sake, we will take this one). Alcohol poisoning. This is a phrase that is used freely, and actually makes sense according to the dictionary definition we provided. People can get sick from consuming too much alcohol, inherit health problems and illnesses, and even die. According to the above definition, looks like we can also start using ‘sugar poisoning.’ How about ‘fat Poisoning’ or french fry poisoning? Whether it is alcohol, sugar, or fatty foods, they all seem to do way more harm that marijuana, but ‘alcohol poisoning’ is really the only phrase which is used commonly, or at all.

Another recent example is from the Halloween season. The police department out of Colorado issued a video making parents aware and showing them how to spot marijuana edibles in their kids candies. This was laughable and we wrote about it here. But it wasn’t just the police department, but marijuana affiliated media outlets – of all outlets (yes, you know who you are) – that jumped on the bandwagon and joined in on the reefer madness sponsored hysteria.

Again, and with more energy: you got to be kidding! Why didn’t you also include rat poison and razor blades warnings in that video and subsequent articles to follow? Why didn’t you throw the possibility of turpentine being used as a cooking ingredient in homemade cookie treats as well? Maybe even warn parents about those candies that have liquor in them? Oh, and what about the overconsumption of sugar?

Here’s the problem. When you start loosely using terms like ‘marijuana poisoning,’ especially when the general public is realizing that they have been duped all these years, and just beginning to learn that marijuana can be really beneficial, then you are spreading fear and misinformation. This is bad because it becomes a smoke screen for the things in our society that are actually harmful and are being ignored. That is why this type of ‘marijuana poisoning,’ in the form of fear and misinformation, is more deadlier.

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