The anti-marijuana group AALM is calling for the release of the blood toxicity reports of the killers in several recent mass shootings.
In the wake of a series of deadly mass shootings in the United States, a prominent anti-marijuana group is demanding that the judiciary release the blood toxicity reports of the killers in both cases because they have extensive research proving that marijuana can “increase the risk of mental illness by 40 percent” and that many of the killers in the mass killings of the past few years Many of the mass killings in the past few years were committed after consuming marijuana.
In a statement received by the newspaper, Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana (AALM) said, “As the potency of marijuana increases and its use intensifies, senseless violence will become more common. As marijuana becomes more potent and its use increases, meaningless violence will become more common. Toxicological reports of recent mass murderers must be made available to the public.”
In response to the massage parlor shooting in Atlanta, there is now a wave of opposition to “Asian hate” crimes across the United States. In response, Scott Chipman, vice president of the organization, told the newspaper, “It is often impossible to determine whether random acts of violence against an ethnic group are motivated by bias or some underlying cause, but what is clear is that we are ignoring the role of marijuana in incidents that endanger public health and safety. “
The organization said that back in 2007, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet withdrew its previously benign view of marijuana, citing research data that said marijuana could “increase a person’s risk of mental illness by 40 percent.
In addition, a survey of 50,465 Swedish army conscripts showed that those who had tasted marijuana before the age of 18 had a 2.4 times greater risk of schizophrenia over the next 15 years than those who had never smoked marijuana; heavy smokers were 6.7 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than the general population.
In a study of 1,037 people in New Zealand, those who smoked marijuana between the ages of 15 and 18 had a higher risk of developing psychotic symptoms at age 26 than those who did not use marijuana.
There was also a study done by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a British medical journal, which showed that among 2,000 adolescents, twice as many marijuana smokers developed psychosis as non-smokers; another BMJ study estimated that “if people were prevented from smoking marijuana, it would prevent 13 percent of cases of schizophrenia.”
In 2014, the number of Americans who smoked marijuana was 1.5 percent of the population, but they accounted for 11 percent of the schizophrenia cases that showed up in emergency rooms; or 250 cases of people who smoked marijuana and developed psychosis every day, a number that was three times higher than in 2006.
The National Institute of Medicine found in 2017 that “marijuana users may be at increased risk for schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders; the higher the rate of use, the greater the risk.” And regular marijuana use can also increase the risk of social anxiety disorder.
This study shows that marijuana can lead to unnecessary violence or health risks, as well as both in many settings. About half of the killers had a history of illegal drug use or substance abuse, including alcohol and marijuana use, as evidenced by the individuals’ treatment histories, or records of being legally processed.
The AALM cites more than a dozen examples of mass murderers in which marijuana components were found when blood toxicity tests were done on many of the mass killings. For example, Ian David Long, the killer of 13 people in a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, on Nov. 7, 2018, was found to have marijuana in his system when drug tests were done.
Another example is Devin Patrick Kelley, who killed 26 people in a Texas church on Nov. 5, 2017, who was also tested for marijuana in his body.
There are many more killers whose blood tox screen reports have not been released to the public, although law enforcement officials have found in their investigations that they all have a history of marijuana use.
That’s why the AALM group is calling for the release of blood test reports for killers in several recent mass killings and calling on lawmakers to mandate that “marijuana smokers cannot buy guns or be issued gun permits.”
AALM Vice President Chipman said the link between marijuana and psychosis, depression and schizophrenia has been published for decades, “but the public doesn’t know about it.”
“Senseless violence and mass murder are back in the news media and in the brains of Americans.” AALM President Carla Lowe said, “Mental illness is considered an underlying factor (in these cases). As the purity of marijuana increases and its use intensifies, this type of violence will become more common.”
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