CAN MARIJUANA FUEL JIHAD?
By Cliff
Kincaid
October 25, 2014
NewsWithViews.com
Potheads defend their addiction by insisting that marijuana can make people lazy, dumb or hungry, but not violent. However, the case of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the Canadian Islamic terrorist killer, proves otherwise.
Zehaf-Bibeauwas an Islamist, as well as a pothead. In another notorious case of jihad, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was not only a dope smoker but a dealer.
It appears that Dzhokhar’s brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev was implicated in a Jewish triple murder case in which thousands of dollars’ worth of marijuana and money were left covering the bodies. All three victims’ throats were slashed.
It may be too early to draw a direct connection between jihad, marijuana, and mass murder, but it is worth considering whether consumption of the drug can alter the mind to such an extent that jihad becomes appealing to some mentally unstable individuals.
Clearly, a number of factors were at work in the case of the Tsarnaev brothers, who were born in the former Soviet Union and attended a mosque in the Boston area. The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was fascinated by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a Russian forgery about a Jewish plot to take over the world, and he “took an interest” in the Alex Jones website Infowars, which carries Russian disinformation. But their involvement in the marijuana business appears to have been very deep.
We also have the case of Michael Brown, the black thug who was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri. An autopsy and toxicology report finds that he had marijuana in his system and had been a user for some time.
There is no hint of jihad here, only anti-police violence. But the role of marijuana in this violent confrontation deserves extensive coverage, not just a footnote. Trayvon Martin, the black juvenile delinquent shot and killed after he assaulted anti-crime activist George Zimmerman, also smoked marijuana regularly.
The latest White House fence-jumper, Dominic Adesanya, had a “substance abuse” problem as well. A clearly deranged individual, he told officials he smoked marijuana “sometimes, but not everyday.”
Do we see a pattern here?
Other such cases involving marijuana and violence include Jerad and Amanda Miller, who killed two cops; Maryland mall shooter Darion Aguilar; would-be Obama assassin Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez; Pentagon shooter John Patrick Bedell; killer student Jeff Weise; child killer Joseph Smith; and Vladimir Baptiste, a psychotic pot user who drove his truck through the headquarters of WMAR-TV in Towson, Maryland.
Yet, our media keep insisting that marijuana is a harmless drug with beneficial medical properties, and that dopers aren’t aggressive people.
The Canadian case should be a wake-up call.
A recent convert to Islam once known as Michael Joseph Hall, Canadian Islamic terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeauwas charged with marijuana possession on at least two occasions. He was also charged at one time with possession of PCP, with side effects including hallucinations and delirium.
Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper quotes a friend by the name of Dave Bathurst as saying Zehaf-Bibeau frequently talked about Shaytan in the world—“an Arabic term for devils and demons.”
Bathurst said he thought Zehaf-Bibveau was mentally ill, a distinct possibility because of his marijuana use. But the shooting rampage could have been a direct result of his interpretation of the Koran, the Muslim Holy book. Or perhaps it was a combination of both factors.
Yet, the CBC reports that his neighbors said “they remember Zehaf-Bibeau as a sweet boy, and are in shock at the news.”
The transformation of a “sweet boy” into a maniac, psychotic, or jihadist killer can happen under the influence of a mind-altering substance like marijuana.
In the Michael Brown case, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has run a story saying his toxicology report found a level of THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, at 12 nanograms per milliliter of blood. “Levels of inactive ingredients of the drug were also detected in Brown’s blood and urine,” the paper said.
In other words, Brown was a marijuana abuser, quite possibly an addict.
The paper confirmed this, saying, “Pathologists who read the toxicology report said Brown probably had used marijuana within a few hours of his death. There were also indications that Brown was a habitual user. An undisclosed amount of the drug was recovered from his body. A surveillance video taken the same day appears to show Brown stealing cigarillos from a convenience store. The tobacco in the flavored small cigars is known to be easily replaced with marijuana leaves, as shown in YouTube videos and in cannabis literature.”
Brown had stolen a box of Swisher Sweet cigars.
A Swisher Sweet cigar—also known as a cigarillo—that has been re-rolled with marijuana is called a blunt. High Times magazine has highlighted the seven best cigars or cigarillos to use, making it easier for thugs to know what brand to steal.
The paper noted that Brown’s active level of THC was more than twice what authorities in Colorado have set as the legal limit on marijuana in a driver’s bloodstream. Colorado sets that level at 5 nanograms per milliliter.
However, the paper went on to say that “While alcohol has a direct influence on violent behavior, marijuana does not increase the odds of any type of aggression, according to a study published this year in the journal Addictive Behaviors.”
This claim in the newspaper account is in dispute. The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington says the evidence indicates that while marijuana usually has a sedating effect on most users, “sometimes when marijuana is used it can cause fear, anxiety, panic or paranoia, which can result in an aggressive outburst.”
The UPI wire service reports that a Dutch study on the effects of marijuana use on teenagers found “the higher the frequency and amount of marijuana use, the more aggressive behavior the teenager showed.”
However, the pro-marijuana movement is hoping that the public doesn’t draw a connection between marijuana and violence, and is counting on more legislative victories.
Amy Ronshausen, Interim Deputy Director of Save Our Society From Drugs, reports that “As Election Day approaches, several states are facing ballot initiatives to either legalize marijuana as so-called medicine or for recreational purposes.” These include:
•
Amendment 2 in Florida (www.DontLetFLGoToPot.com
and www.Voteno2.org
• Ballot measure 2 in Alaska (https://www.facebook.com/votenoon2alaska)
• Measure 91 in Oregon (Vote
No on Oregon Measure 91)
• Initiative 71 in Washington, D. C. (Two
is Enough D.C.)
But the potheads are well-funded. “Our movement to end prohibition is gaining momentum,” says the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform. “Colorado and Washington have succeeded in passing measures that legalize cannabis.”
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The group’s spokesperson is Dale Sky Jones, identified as “Executive Chancellor of Oaksterdam University.”
Oaksterdam University, which calls itself “America’s first cannabis college,” teaches “students” how to grow dope. One of the instructors is known as “Miss Bliss,” and specializes in creating marijuana “edibles.”
In Colorado, where dope has been legalized, such edibles have resulted in a murder and a student jumping to his death.
Oaksterdam “college” even offers advice on rolling blunts using Michael Brown’s favorite Swisher Sweet cigars.
© 2014 Cliff Kincaid - All Rights Reserved
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Cliff Kincaid, a veteran journalist and media critic, Cliff concentrated in journalism and communications at the University of Toledo, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Cliff has written or co-authored nine books on media and cultural affairs and foreign policy issues. One of Cliff's books, "Global Bondage: The UN Plan to Rule the World" is still awailable.
Cliff has appeared on Hannity & Colmes, The O’Reilly Factor, Crossfire and has been published in the Washington Post, Washington Times, Chronicles, Human Events and Insight.
Cliff Kincaid is president of America’s
Survival, Inc.
E-Mail: cliff.kincaid@aim.org
