Lonely pot smokers of the world, unite!
Uhhh, don’t. Because the numbers are staggering, and the last thing the world needs is a bunch of glassy-eyed cheeto-eating armies sitting aimlessly and fouling the air with their breath.
And you thought I was talking about the Occupy Movement.
Nope. I’m talking about the reputed 119 to 224 million people around the world who smoke marijuana, according to a new United Nations report. (I know, I know, there’s a small difference between 119 and 224 million, but this is the United Nations estimating things.)
One of the factors indicating the rise in marijuana use, according to the U.N., is that more and more people are growing their own, and it’s more potent, which leads to a desire for more:
“[T]he rise in indoor cultivation of cannabis is often related to an increase in cannabis potency, which is reflected in the data only to a limited extent. Such increases in potency may explain, in part at least, the increase in treatment demand among cannabis users, though this may also be related to the cumulative effects of prolonged use of cannabis.”
But the U.N. isn’t so concerned about the 56 million people who use cocaine and heroin:
“The prominence of heroin and cocaine in illicit drug markets may decline over the next few decades. In contrast, there are currently no signs that the popularity of cannabis is going to fall, overall, and it is most likely going to remain the most widely used illegal substance.”
With 119 to 224 million soldiers in their army, don’t expect the War on Drugs to be over any time soon. And considering the U.N.’s love of Third World countries, many of whom make money of off drugs, don’t expect the U.N. to do anything about it, either.