Marijuana: Criminalizing the Least Dangerous Substance

William Moyers and “Straight Pot Talk”... Where has he been? (Answer: Under a rock)

William Moyers. Photo by PBS

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - I constantly browse through any kind of reading material to search for articles referring to marijuana. I found a real corker in the Portland Tribune June 24, 2014 titled Talk Straight to Your Kids About Pot. I was astonished to see that it was written by William Moyers. I am well acquainted with Bill Moyers and wondered if this was the same guy. It turns out, he is the eldest son of “the” Bill Moyers.

The stories by and about both William Junior and Bill Senior are extremely interesting. I did not know that Bill is an ordained minister, and that both his grandfathers were deacons in the Baptist Church.

Drug addiction, per se, may not have been a problem in their family history, but Bill Moyers’ grandfather and favorite uncle were both alcoholics.

The article took me aback. Bill’s son’s lack of insight where young people are concerned is appalling. And people are listening. Why, you ask?

It's all in who you know. Or, who your parents are, in his case.

William Cope Moyers, son of two renowned big-time journalists, was a privileged kid given every advantage in life, and he became a crack cocaine addict. His life full of entitlements was hard on his self-esteem, trying to live up to his parents’ successes, so he did drugs to make it easier to put up with. “Who” his parents were meant nothing to the drug addict as his life spiraled away into nothingness until he was in his thirties.

With lots of support and unconditional love from his family, he beat the drugs again and again. And then they beat him, again and again. He had multiple relapses and near fatal experiences--- and none of them were the fault of Cannabis/Marijuana. Today, William is a recovering crack cocaine and alcohol addict.

Now that he has transformed his life, he’s got a job where he can dedicate himself to “changing America’s politics of addiction”.

These points by him came from a survey his company conducted. I will kick in the bullets and comment.

1. Moyers: Half of teens said it would make them less likely to use drugs if their parents told them about their own drug use when they were younger.

   Leveque: The government has totally poisoned the concept of marijuana through NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) so that most parents will not admit to marijuana use or any other drug. If they do, not only do they put themselves at risk with the law (and society), but they are also hypocrites in the eyes of their children. This dynamic is not new.

2. Moyers: Two-thirds of teens said their parents had already told them about their experiences with alcohol and other drugs when they were young, and these teens almost unanimously said such honesty about drug use is a good thing.

   Leveque: See number 1.

3. Moyers: About 75 percent of teens said they’d turn to their parents as their No. 1 source of advice about the use of alcohol or other drugs, even though 26 percent had seen their parents drunk or high.

   Leveque: See number 1.

4. Moyers: Parents who had not yet told their teenage children about their own use of alcohol or other drugs most commonly said the reason was they’d rather have their children do as they say and not as they did when they were their children’s age.

   Leveque: See number 1.

Notice above that they haven’t mentioned marijuana.

William Moyers has been very vocal about not legalizing marijuana. That’s a position that must serve him well, politically.

It turns out that William Moyers, the younger, started drinking and smoking pot when he was a teenager, and gradually escalated, as he says, “to every kind of drug.”

He seemed to enjoy crack cocaine the most, and when he finally hit bottom, he ran through about 6 drug rehab programs unsuccessfully, until he finally ended up in the Hazelden rehab center in Minneapolis.

After he kicked his habits (and stayed clean), the celebrity addict was hired for the position of VP of Public Affairs and Community Relations for the Hazelden Betty Ford foundation, a drug treatment and rehabilitation center. He also wrote a book called “Broken” about his 20+ years as a drug addict.

Jane Nakken, the executive vice president of external relations at Hazelden said, "He's just a delight to work with. He is totally passionate about putting a face on recovery."

He is lobbying for legislation requiring that insurance companies classify addiction as a disease, so they will pay for the same kind of treatment they allow for other illnesses. But what’s that got to do with marijuana?

With a name like William Moyers, he gets invited all over the place with his arguments against legalization of marijuana. He has appeared on Larry King Live, the Oprah Winfrey Show, the Today Show and more. How can he do that when Hazelden makes millions of dollars from real (or even fake) addicts? If marijuana is actually a health risk, isn’t he biting the hand that feeds him?

So far, the only solid reason he sites for being against ending marijuana prohibition is that people will make money from legalization. Everybody wants a piece of the Cannabis-business pie. Still, that's not convincing. So, why hate marijuana with such gusto?

Here's why. In reality, it does all come down to money. As usual.

If he (and others) succeeds in convincing Legislators that the non-existent marijuana addiction should be included in the list of “addiction diseases”, and insurance companies start paying those bills, it will be very good for the rehab industry.

Son William is making a whole lot of money by being a former ‘celebrity drug addict’. Money. Money. Money. Apparently, it makes some people stop thinking for themselves.

It seems unlikely that William has never heard about the medicinal uses of marijuana; that it is one of the best and safest medicines ever discovered. His apparent ignorance about the history and many uses of Cannabis/Marijuana must be by choice, because Bill’s son is no dummy.

By the way, medical marijuana users are not addicts and there are more than 2 million legal card holders in some 22 states. These patients are being greatly relieved of their medical problems, with no debilitating side effects. That is the definition of success.

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Delia July 3, 2014 11:29 am (Pacific time)

Tylenol kills an average of 179 people every year. So dangerous ratings with Marijuana as more dangerous are lies. Marijuana has been shown to halt the progression of MS. In double blind studies against expensive pharmaceuticals a cheap weed was better and halted the progression! I don't think the drug companies like that.

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