After the shooting deaths of 10 people in Boulder yesterday and 8 people in Atlanta last week, we beg to know what drugs may have been used by the shooters.
The Boulder shooter’s brother described him as anti-social and paranoid, traits that often….but not necessarily… come with heavy pot use.
What’s in that Colorado Rocky Mountain high? As the New York Times reports, From Columbine to Boulder, Colorado has a long history of mass shootings.
Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana, one of Poppot’s allies, is calling for a national law requiring that toxicology reports be made public. In a statement today, AALM said:
“With the dramatic increase in the potency and use of marijuana, senseless violent acts are and will become more common. Toxicology reports of recent mass murderers must be released to the public.”
In December, the Ventura County District Attorney released a report on the Thousand Oaks, CA, shooting and killing of 12 people. “Toxicological testing on Ian David Long detected marijuana, caffeine, and tobacco, but no other drugs, medications or psychoactive substances.” It’s yet another incident showing the relationship between cannabis and mass violence, a factor rarely discussed by the press. The incident occurred in November 2019, and the full report took two years to be made public.
The press isn’t doing a good job of asking the right questions after a shooting. Two years is too long a wait to get the news of the toxicology reports.
The list of killers gets longer
The press also isn’t doing its job with regards to asking the right questions when discussing the legalization of marijuana. Here’s a running list of killers for whom marijuana played an important role in their lives:
Ian David Long, who killed 12 at the Borderline Bar & Grill, 2018
Connor Betts, Dayton, Ohio shooter, killed 9, injured 17, 2019
Nikolas Cruz, Parkland HS shooter, killed 17, injured 17, 2018
Devin Patrick Kelley, Texas church shooter, killed 26, November, 2017
Gary Martin, Aurora, IL shooter, killed 5, 2019
DuWayne Craddock, Virginia Beach shooter, killed 13, 2019
Dylann Roof, Charleston church shooter, killed 9, 2015, also used other drugs
James Holmes, Aurora, CO shooter, killed 12, injured 17, 2012
Jared Loughner, Tucson shooter, killed 6, injured 7, including Representative Gabby Giffords, 2011
Kevin Neal, Red Bluff, CA shooter, killed 4, injured 14, 2017
Omar Mateen, Orlando night club shooter, killed 49, 2016, had used steroids for years which is bigger theme than marijuana.
Tsarnaev Bros, Boston bombers, killed 3, injured many others, 2013. After the bombing incident, authorities connected Tamerlane Tsarnaev to 2 other homicides, victims covered with marijuana.
Mohammed Abdulazeez, Chattanooga shooter, killed 5, wounded 2, 2015
Additional killers connected to marijuana
Gregory Ulrich, the recent shooter at a clinic in Minnesota, killed one and injured 4 others. Although he had a conviction for marijuana, he also had alcohol convictions and was addicted to opioids, so it can’t be claimed that marijuana was a major contributor to that incident.
Emanuel Lopes, MA, killed 2, a woman and a cop, MA, 2018
Ottawa terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, Ottawa terrorist, shot and killed one security officer, 2014
Cosmo DiNardo, PA, killed 4, 2017
Noah Harpham, Colorado Springs, killed 3, 2015
Robert Dear, Planned Parenthood shooter, killed 3, 2015 (He moved to Colorado for the marijuana )
Nathan Desai, Texas Mall shooter, injured 9, 2016
Jody Herring, Vermont shooter, killed 4, 2015
Aaron Ybarra, Seattle Pacific University, killed one and injured others
Robert Durst —killed 3 or 4 people over course of years, discovered in 2015.
Killers of one’s own family
Dakota Theriot, killed parents, girlfriend and girlfriend’s father, brother, killed 5, 2019
Gregory Gago, killed 4 in his family, Oregon, 2019
Camden Nicholson, Newport Beach, CA, killed parents and housekeeper, killed 3, 2019
Malik Murphy, CO, killed 2, little brother and sister and attempted to kill parents, 2017
Henri Van Breda, South Africa, killed both parents and tried to kill sister, 2015
Ashton Sachs, California, killed 2 parents, tried to kill two siblings, left 7-year-old brother paralyzed, 2014
Bruce Blackman killed 6 in his family, while on “an intense stone,” in British Columbia, Canada, 1983
Zachary Ham, 19, of Staunton, VA, killed 2: his girlfriend, mother of his baby, and then turned on himself, in 2015. He had been smoking pot since age 13, which his grandfather claims changed his personality and caused depression.
Had PTSD and used weed for relief:
Richard Rojas, vet, used car weapon in Times, killed one teen and left 20 injured, 2017
Steven Bourgoin, victim of PTSD, under influence of pot, when he killed 5, Vermont, 2016
Arcan Cetin, Cascades Mall shooter, killed 5, 2016
Eddie Routh, vet with PTSD, killed 2, Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, 2013
(Others such as Ian David Long, may have claimed to suffer from PTSD in order to get a “medical” marijuana card. However, there’s not overwhelming evidence that PTSD was a driving force in their condition.
PTSD plus marijuana is known to exacerbate tendencies toward violence, but this can also happen to those who don’t have PTSD.) A large study of 2000 participants, from Yale University, showed that marijuana use made outcomes for vets with PTSD worse over time.
Hate crimes:
(Dylann Roof who wanted to start a race war)
Grafton Thomas, Hannakuh dinner killer, one dead, others injured, 2019
Samuel Little, confessed to killing more than 90 women, mainly prostitutes, died in 2020
Jeremy Christian, Portland, OR, train killer of 2, 2017, attacked women wearing hijabs, but killed the men trying to defend them.
Salman Abedi, Manchester, England, terrorist, killed 23 in, 2017
James Hodgkinson, shot “Republicans” and wounded 4 people but died in shootout, 2017
Mohammed Bouhlel, Nice terrorist, murdered 86 people on July 14, 2016
Satoshi Uematsu, Japan knife attacker, killed 19 handicapped people, 2016, and had been diagnosed with cannabis abuse disorder
Ibrahim and Salah Abdeslam, Paris bombers, Paris, killed 90 at Bataclan Night Club, 130 deaths in total, injured 400, November 13, 2015
Seiffeddine Rezgui, Tunisian Beach shooter, killed 38, mainly British, tourists on the beach, 2016
Cherif and Said Kouachi, Charlie Hebdo murderers, killed 12, 2015
(Note that the Texas Church shooting and the Orlando night club shooting may be considered hate crimes by some observers. However, it’s more likely that the shooters were most interested in finding places where they could kill a lot of people.)
Going back in time
Charles Severance, Alexandria, Virginia, killer of 3 between 2003 and 2014.
Darion Aguilar, Columbia Mall shooter, killer of 3, 2014
Jacob T Roberts, Clackamas Town Center shooter, killed 2 seriously injured others, 2012
John Bedell, Pentagon shooter, wounded 2, had a medical marijuana card, 2010
Michael Kennedy, ambushed a police station in Chantilly, VA, killing two police officers, 2006
Columbine shooters, 1998 (suspected but records are sealed)
Eric Rudolph, the first abortion clinic terrorist, killed 2 and injured 120 others. 1996
Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, killed 168, 1996.
George Hennard shot people Luby’s cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, killing 24, 1991
Suzan and Michael Bear Carson, 3 bizarre murders on “Murder Mountain,” CA, 1984.
Jim Jones led 400 to commit suicide at Jonestown in Guyana, 1978
Probably many more……….
QUESTION MARKS: Is there a marijuana connection to these?
- Jason Nightengale, killed 5 in on a 25-mile rampage, was known to have mental health issues, Chicago, 2021
- Alexandre Bissonette, Quebec City mosque shooter, killed 6, 2017
- Brenton Tarrant, New Zealand Mosque shooter, killed more than 50, 2019
- Anthony Warner, Nashville terrorist. He was arrested for marijuana in 1978, but did he continue to use?
- The Columbine Shooters, killed 15, (Most Likely)
- Gabriel Wortman, worst mass shooter in Canada, killed 22 in April 2020 https://nowtoronto.com/news-nova-scotia-mass-shooting-gabriel-wortman-drugs/ He was a drug dealer who smuggled drugs out of US to Canada. He wanted to be a major marijuana grower until he found it moldy.
- Patrick Crusius, had psychosis and disabilities, but was there marijuana use? He drove 580 miles to murder 23 Hispanics. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-8519581/Accused-El-Paso-shooter-mental-disabilities-lawyers-say.html
Missing from the List; no evidence they ever used marijuana:
- The Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza, killed 26
- The Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, killed 33, injured 23
- The Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, killed 58 and two more died later. Toxicology showed benzodiazepine in his urine but not in his blood.
- Anders Brievik, Norwegian shooter, killed 77, used steroids
- The San Bernardino terrorists, killed 14. The two terrorists were found to be users of other drugs at the time of the terrorist attack. However, Enrique Marquez Jr., a collaborator who bought guns for the perpetrators, was a likely marijuana user, and referred to its effects on him.
(It’s clear that marijuana isn’t the only drug connected to mass violence, but it appears to be — by far — the most important one.)
Will there still be hate crimes and mass murders?
Hate crimes would not be eliminated by eliminating marijuana use, or all drug use. However, a brain primed by marijuana use is easier to bend and manipulate towards hatred than a brain that hasn’t been affected by any drug use.
Of course, not all heavy pot users will become violent and have fantasies of mass murder. However, Europeans and Australians accept the science suggesting that marijuana use contributes to crime and violence. Listen to Peter Hitchens describes marijuana at the 28-minute mark of this interview, or read Attacker Smoked Cannabis, which describes violent incidents in Great Britain and Ireland.
We have written of the subject previously in two important articles, the common web between so many murders and the two most recent cases of religious violence. If you do not believe that all these violent individuals used a great deal of marijuana, please do your own research. Real Alex Berenson’s book, Tell Your Children the truth about marijuana, mental illness and violence. Other stories can be found by using a search of our website of the specific names. Marijuana is not the only drug associated with violence, but it is the most common drug linked to homicide.
Education about the dangers of marijuana use (drug prevention) perhaps could stem at least one-third of the mass violence incidents that plague the USA. It would not eliminate mass violence, or stop all serial killers, as some would still be devious and psychopathic with or without drug use. However, many of the killers listed above, possibly wouldn’t have become murderers had they not done a lot of pot. Too many family members and friends did not see the mysterious changes in them until after the drug use began.
