The Reefer Madness Dogs are back!

Posted on November 17, 2005 by Pete Guither

In the early history of marijuana prohibition, there were plenty of bizarre stories. There was government expert Dr. James Munch who testified in court, under oath, that marijuana had turned him into a bat (until even Anslinger was embarrassed by his testimony).
Then there was the evidence presented to Congress about the dangers of marijuana:

There were two pieces of medical evidence introduced with regard to the marijuana prohibition. The first came from a pharmacologist at Temple University who claimed that he had injected the active ingredient in marihuana into the brains of 300 dogs, and two of those dogs had died. When asked by the Congressmen, and I quote, “Doctor, did you choose dogs for the similarity of their reactions to that of humans?” The answer of the pharmacologist was, “I wouldn’t know, I am not a dog psychologist.” Well, the active ingredient in marijuana was first synthesized in a laboratory in Holland after World War II. So what it was this pharmacologist injected into these dogs we will never know, but it almost certainly was not the active ingredient in marijuana. [Whitebread]

Surely, you say, that was in the dark ages. We don’t think that way any more.
Jump forward to yesterday: Pit Bulls to be Tested for Marijuana

Toxicology tests are being done on the bodies of three pit bulls shot after they mauled two children and four adults to determine if the dogs ingested marijuana found inside their owner’s home, authorities said Tuesday. […]

The dogs, which were killed by police, were sent to a veterinary laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they are being tested for drugs, specifically marijuana, said Edin Mehanovic, the county’s animal control administrator.

If the dogs ate marijuana, police want to know if it may have contributed to their vicious behavior.

Ah, yes, marijuana was found in the home. Nothing else could explain why pit bulls would attack people, so it must have been the marijuana. Marijuana eaten by the dogs causing violence. Right. (If anything, it would make them docile and sleepy.)
I’m sure there were other things in that home as well. Bread, flowers, drain cleaner — why not test to see if any of those caused the dogs to become violent?
The level of ignorance involved here is astonishing.

[Thanks to Tom]
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