You Fry And Melt, I Love The Scene?

Loving the music while hating the drugs is one of the great paradoxes of some of our lives. I am mourning Mani, whose membership both of the Stone Roses and of Primal Scream makes him incomparable. At the same time, though, Jasneet Gill writes:

The cultural normalization of high-potency cannabis, particularly in states like Washington, is masking a public health crisis characterized by addiction, psychiatric risk, and unforeseen dangers. That’s the warning issued by longtime New York Times reporter and best-selling author Alex Berenson, who wrote the book, “Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence.”

While many view widespread cannabis use as a common and harmless cultural occurrence, Berenson stresses that the true picture is far more concerning, especially given the dramatically increased potency and availability of modern THC products.

The reality of high-frequency use

Berenson provided a 30,000-foot view of the current landscape, noting that the perceived ubiquitous use is inaccurate.

“So, I mean, it’s very interesting, because there is a perception that everybody’s using cannabis or, you know, or THC and THC vapes, that’s not actually really true. It’s roughly about 15% of the population… But even so, it’s not a majority of the population,” Berenson told The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 am.

The extreme use is driven by affordability and convenience, leading to a population Berenson describes as essentially living in a constant haze.

“You wind up essentially in a in a haze all the time, and a significant number of those people progress to addiction,” Berenson said.

Berenson also drew a stark parallel to alcohol abuse.

“If those people were out, were drinking alcohol that way, we have a word for people who drink like that. We call them alcoholics,” Berenson said.

Refuting the myth of non-addiction 

The cannabis community has long fostered the perception that the drug is non-addictive, a claim Berenson refutes based on the reality of withdrawal.

“There’s a perception that the cannabis community has fostered that this is not an addictive drug. But that is not true,” Berenson claimed. He explains that while the physical withdrawal may not be as severe as alcohol, people who try to quit using daily face major challenges.

Beyond the struggle for sobriety, Berenson warns that the growing potency of THC has amplified the drug’s dangers, particularly the risks associated with mental illness and physical safety.

While Berenson’s book initially focused on the link between cannabis, mental illness, and violence, he notes that since its 2019 publication the science has only confirmed greater risks.

“The science on the psychiatric effects of cannabis was unfortunately strong, and unfortunately, it has only gotten stronger,” Berenson said.

Safety warnings 

Berenson also pointed to a disturbing safety risk, specifically mentioning pediatric warnings in Oregon.

“Pediatricians in Oregon were telling, you know, parents of young kids not to use because you can go to sleep so heavily with the high THC stuff, that if your child is in bed with you, they may wind up… actually, you know, killing your child in your sleep and not knowing because you don’t wake up because you’re so out cold.”

Berenson concluded by stressing that the combination of accessibility, low price, and extreme potency is driving these dangerous trends.

“The fact that the, you know, again, this, the new stuff is so cheap and so potent, has only made it worse,” Berenson said.

There cannot be a “free” market in general, but not in drugs, or prostitution, or pornography, or unrestricted alcohol, or unrestricted gambling. That is an important part of why there must not be a “free” market in general, which is a political choice, not a law of nature.

Enacting and enforcing laws against drugs, prostitution and pornography, and regulating alcohol, tobacco and gambling, are clear examples of State intervention in, and regulation of, the economy. Radical change would be impossible if the workers, the youth and the poor were in a state of stupefaction, and that baleful situation, which has been contrived in the past, is being contrived again today.

Unlike the Conservative Party, which merely thinks that it is and acts as if it were, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are constitutionally committed to the “free” market. Richard Tice wants to legalise cannabis, Nigel Farage concurs with the Green Party in wanting to legalise drugs across the board, and Lee Anderson signed a select committee report in that direction in 2023. Are those now the views of Ann Widdecombe and Danny Kruger?

Instead, we need a single category of illegal drug, including cannabis, with a crackdown on possession, including a mandatory sentence of two years for a first offence, three years for a second offence, four years for a third offence, and so on. I no longer believe in prison sentences that include the possibility of release in less than 12 months; in that case, then your crime was not bad enough to warrant imprisonment, which the possession of drugs is. We need to restore the specific criminal offence of allowing one’s premises to be used for illegal drug purposes. And Peter Hitchens’s The War We Never Fought should be taught in schools, as pro-drugs propaganda is routinely.