How Many People Fatally Overdosed On Marijuana Last Y

[Sir X]

Here's How Many People Fatally Overdosed On Marijuana Last Year

With marijuana now legal in some form throughout 23 states, the number of Americans who fatally overdosed on the drug last year was significant:

The rate of absolutely zero deaths from a marijuana overdose remained steady from last year, according to figures released this month by the Centers for Disease Control. But while Americans aren't dying as a result of marijuana overdoses, the same can't be said for a range of other substances, both legal and illicit.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b06fa68880a217

[Sir X]

As has often been argued, the sorts of negative behaviors most commonly associated with public intoxication are cultural as much or more than they are the result of any single substance. The sorts of depraved binge consumption we assume leads to criminal behavior is far more common among the wealthy than the criminalized poor. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study on binge drinking in America found that the practice was most common in households with incomes greater than $75,000. Another study from the University of Illinois found that 81 percent of people making $75,000 a year or more drank, compared with only 46 percent of those earning $20,000 or less. In a story on the effects of alcohol across cultures, Malcolm Gladwell forwards the myopia theory of drunkenness, which has shown highs are significantly influenced by environment.

Attributing criminal behavior to intoxication is another way of punishing individuals for the dysfunctions of their environments.

“In other words, the frat boys drinking in a bar on a Friday night don’t have to be loud and rowdy,” Gladwell writes, citing research from psychologist Tara MacDonald. “They are responding to the signals sent by


http://www.slate.com/articles/busine..._spaces.2.html