Marijuana debate, decriminalized or no?

[crookedmidget]

I couldn't agree with you more..

 

[Veovis]

I smoke for recreational uses, but i've seen people with cancer and other such illnesses that are, indeed, life threatening, smoking just as much if not more than I do. Theres places in california you can go to if you have a doctor approved card that you can buy marijuana from called 'clinics', and i've met people there in said states, and they tell me that though theyre dying, the relief that the weed provides from their pain improves the quality of what life they have left.

A friend across the street from me had cancer, and he couldnt even walk on his own due to his pain. He began experimental medicinal marijuana treatment, the next week, the pain was lessened to the extent that he could move about, albeit slowly. He died a few months later due to the cancer inside his body, but he told me that those few months never would have come if he hadnt taken up smoking.

And these days, you dont even have to smoke. You can ingest it in many different forms from cookies to candy bars and the ever popular brownie. I feel that california is on the verge of legallizing it period, not just for medicinal use. I've been smoking for about 8 years now, and I dont plan on stopping. I prefer how it is now, with the card, as opposed to having to go and buy it from some dealer. Not only does it cost less, but with the card you can legally posess and smoke what you've got on you, and you can even grow your own legally. It's time to market it like they did with cigarettes. Tax the shit out of it, grow it on a grand scale, and profit like mad. It'll be the next fad, I guarantee.

For all of you who live in fear, come to California. Watch one of our beautiful sunsets and smoke freely.

 

[The Druw]

To be honest, I don't really care.

Whatever floats your boat, as long as it doesn't sink mine.

I've had friends who smoke, but I don't like being around them when they're high, or smoking. I hate the smell of it with a passion, but maybe thats just me.

I've had friends try to preassure me into it, they're no longer my friends.

If people respect you enough to not ride you about smoking, don't ride them about starting it.

 

[BlackMage]

I smoke for recreational uses, but i've seen people with cancer and other such illnesses that are, indeed, life threatening, smoking just as much if not more than I do. Theres places in california you can go to if you have a doctor approved card that you can buy marijuana from called 'clinics', and i've met people there in said states, and they tell me that though theyre dying, the relief that the weed provides from their pain improves the quality of what life they have left.

A friend across the street from me had cancer, and he couldnt even walk on his own due to his pain. He began experimental medicinal marijuana treatment, the next week, the pain was lessened to the extent that he could move about, albeit slowly. He died a few months later due to the cancer inside his body, but he told me that those few months never would have come if he hadnt taken up smoking.

And these days, you dont even have to smoke. You can ingest it in many different forms from cookies to candy bars and the ever popular brownie. I feel that california is on the verge of legallizing it period, not just for medicinal use. I've been smoking for about 8 years now, and I dont plan on stopping. I prefer how it is now, with the card, as opposed to having to go and buy it from some dealer. Not only does it cost less, but with the card you can legally posess and smoke what you've got on you, and you can even grow your own legally. It's time to market it like they did with cigarettes. Tax the shit out of it, grow it on a grand scale, and profit like mad. It'll be the next fad, I guarantee.

For all of you who live in fear, come to California. Watch one of our beautiful sunsets and smoke freely.

Getting high off of eating cookies? Duuudeee xDD

 

[Aerandir]

I hate the smell of it with a passion, but maybe thats just me.

I imagine most everyone that doesn't smoke it hates the smell. Personally I love the smell of some nice stinky sticky stuff.

I love the smell of bud in the morning, smells like victory!

 

[Veovis]

I hate the smell of it with a passion, but maybe thats just me.

I imagine most everyone that doesn't smoke it hates the smell. Personally I love the smell of some nice stinky sticky stuff.

I love the smell of bud in the morning, smells like victory!

Too true, too true. Wake and bake, anyone?

No but seriously, I agree. Most those I know who dont smoke cant stand the scent of the ickiest of the sticky. Personally I cant smell a dead skunk on the highway without getting the itch to flick open the zippo and have at it.

 

[Rorschach]

For medical purposes, I think it's a big plus. I know a lot of older people at work that prefer marijuana to any over the counter drug to simmer down their pains...And it ain't no thang. They are perfectly "normal" and responsible people. They understand the consequence of their actions. No harm done.

First off, i'm sorry if someone might have posted this or not, but its late and this thread is 6 pages atm.

The type in bold kind of upsets me. "They understand the consequences of their actions. No harm done." (now i'm not getting on your friends mind you, just the stand that people take that "I can handle it, I'm a big boy/girl")

We arent worried about the older folks who want to take away the pain from their old age and use weed to do so. Its the fools who will use this as an excuse to get high all the time and hurt others in the process. I'm sorry but if we lived in a perfect world where people were able to control themselves and be able to stop themselves for doing stupid things under the influence of a substance, then this wouldnt be a problem. But common, people who know the effects of alcohol still get drunk, still drive their cars and still get into accidents. Do you not think that this might happen if pot was legalized? If you legalize it, people wont have a need to hide it so they will end up smoking that shit the same way people do cigs, out in the open and constantly.

If it was as legal as say booze people wouldnt have a reason to get high in their basements secretly. They wouldnt need to worry about being caught, and tossed in jail. You would have people high doing all types of stuff while high "cause they can".

Now "if" they did make it legal, the big question is on regulation. Would it be the same as buying a pack of Marlbros? Would it be the same as buying a 6-pack? Would there be a test to see how high you are say from a minimum of "Harold & Kumar" to the highest of "Cheech & Chong"? And if you werent "that-high" you can go about your business?

Just cause they can be held accountable/"know what they are doing" doesnt help the victems or the families of those that get hurt. It doenst bring them back. Do I think that this applies to alcohol and smoking? Hell yes, cigs kill people when used properly. Common sence tells me that this should not be made for the public to buy ESPECIALLY since they are addictive and everyone knows it. And with drinking?... well while I do enjoy a beer here and there and the occsional(sp) harder liquer, I DO think that it should be regulated more since people have a nasty habbit of driving drunk or getting drunk and beating the tar out of their spouse or doing other stupid shit under the influence.

 

[Sneakypants]

For medical purposes, I think it's a big plus. I know a lot of older people at work that prefer marijuana to any over the counter drug to simmer down their pains...And it ain't no thang. They are perfectly "normal" and responsible people. They understand the consequence of their actions. No harm done.

First off, i'm sorry if someone might have posted this or not, but its late and this thread is 6 pages atm.

The type in bold kind of upsets me. "They understand the consequences of their actions. No harm done." (now i'm not getting on your friends mind you, just the stand that people take that "I can handle it, I'm a big boy/girl")

We arent worried about the older folks who want to take away the pain from their old age and use weed to do so. Its the fools who will use this as an excuse to get high all the time and hurt others in the process. I'm sorry but if we lived in a perfect world where people were able to control themselves and be able to stop themselves for doing stupid things under the influence of a substance, then this wouldnt be a problem. But common, people who know the effects of alcohol still get drunk, still drive their cars and still get into accidents. Do you not think that this might happen if pot was legalized? If you legalize it, people wont have a need to hide it so they will end up smoking that shit the same way people do cigs, out in the open and constantly.

If it was as legal as say booze people wouldnt have a reason to get high in their basements secretly. They wouldnt need to worry about being caught, and tossed in jail. You would have people high doing all types of stuff while high "cause they can".

Now "if" they did make it legal, the big question is on regulation. Would it be the same as buying a pack of Marlbros? Would it be the same as buying a 6-pack? Would there be a test to see how high you are say from a minimum of "Harold & Kumar" to the highest of "Cheech & Chong"? And if you werent "that-high" you can go about your business?

Just cause they can be held accountable/"know what they are doing" doesnt help the victems or the families of those that get hurt. It doenst bring them back. Do I think that this applies to alcohol and smoking? Hell yes, cigs kill people when used properly. Common sence tells me that this should not be made for the public to buy ESPECIALLY since they are addictive and everyone knows it. And with drinking?... well while I do enjoy a beer here and there and the occsional(sp) harder liquer, I DO think that it should be regulated more since people have a nasty habbit of driving drunk or getting drunk and beating the tar out of their spouse or doing other stupid shit under the influence.

Rorschach, If I had said NOTHING else but what you've bolded I would agree 100% with what you say. But I have said much, much more in this thread that proves my stand on this is not limited to just those 10 words.

The only point you make, based on that statement, that isn't putting words in my mouth is, "Just cause they can be held accountable/"know what they are doing" doesnt help the victems or the families of those that get hurt. It doenst bring them back." And I agree with that. At NO point did I even tread that direction. I feel as if that sentence strikes a personal nerve with you or something.

Seriously though, go and reread, with an open mind, everything I posted and you'll see that your post to me, isolating that one statement, is pretty damn narrow.

Additionally, what you've chosen to bold is still true no matter if it brings people back from the dead because of truly stupid behavior or a mere accident. What it boils down to is that I don't believe marijuana should be illegal. I believe it should be legal and a choice for everyone, but that you had better understand whatever you are doing while high is all stuff you'll be held accountable for.

Just like booze, aspirin, Nyquil, cigs, and anything harder. The buck stops if you kill someone, obviously. Do you think the family of someone killed by someone else will feel any better about their loss if the person that killed their loved one was sober? Nope. They might, in their grief, look to blame anything and anyone for this. And yes, I have firsthand experience with that too.


Please take the time to reread and realize that I am not the college kid telling high school kids how the world is... :roll:
I'm 30, and only speaking to what I know in this world. The only opinion I am even expressing is that I believe marijuana should be legal and a choice for those that need it OR want it.

 

[Rorschach]

Well I just want to say that at the time of the posting, it was very late, like 5am or around there. So I was just posting in reaction to the statement of "They understand the consequnce of their actions." Since it was on the first page of the thead.

Now again I'm not taking a swing at the people you know or even you when I said this. The reason I posted before I read the rest of the thread was cause i really didnt have the time or the energy to read 6 pages of what usually ends up being "You're a stoner, your views dont count!" "Well you're a conservative! You're views dont count!" (Yes i know i'm being kind of brash in my thinking of what debates end up turning into here, but it was 5 am, i was tired... and common how many times have we seen it happen before )

Oh and the thing about putting words in your mouth. Sorry to sound like i was inferring that your stance was something else then what you put down. I didnt mean it to come off that way. I was only talking about the bolded statement since i didnt read the rest of the 6 page thread. I was just talking about people who want to use the stance of "I know the consequces, I can handle it." that cant handle it. The ones who would try to use the legalization to basicly get high all the live long day. The only reason i went farther then your statement goes is because it usually end up going there sooner or later. "I know the consequences." is usually followed by the statement "I can handle it." The older folks who smoke weed to get over their pain is one thing. But the dumbfuck kid who thinks he needs weed to handle his problems and ends up ruining his life over it is another.

Now am i saying that everyone will, in one fell swoop, become the next Cheech and Chong? No, that would be ignorant. But then again I'm not saying that some kid who got high for his 3rd time should go to jail for years at a time. I'm saying that being able to smoke weed while you drive cant be a good thing. I'm saying that being able to pick up a pack of "weed cigerittes", or whatever they will call them if they are legalized, is probably not the best thing this country needs.

In my opinion, the reason that there arent many bad things happening with weed (ie driving while high and getting into accidents/robberies while high and things like that) is because most of these people get high over a friends house or in their basement. Its because its illegal that they keep it behind closed doors. Its because its illegal that they keep it hidden and so we dont hear of many or any big problems with weed. And i know you can say (not YOU, the collective "you") well what about crack/herion/Acid ect. they are illegal too and they have people that have WAY more problems. Yes, but thats because as people have said before "Weed isnt the same as crack" and thats true. Crack and all the rest are WAY worse then weed. I'll take a pot head over a crack head any day. But do you want to live in a city where everyone can/will by weed as easily as cigs? Imagine a city of pot heads, or alteast a real good portion of pot heads. No offence, but I dont want to see that. Again i think the laws on weed should be way more leinient(sp) since its something that is not nearly as harmful as crack or the bigger drugs.

 

[Kat]

You weren't alive in the 70's were you :lol: ? Believe me pretty much EVERYONE smoked pot. At least where I came from. Fun times back then to be sure.

So yah, a town/country full of stoners to me wouldn't be a bad thing at all. I'd rather be around a town of "Cheech & Chongs" (totally mellowwwwww people just laughin' and havin' a good time) vs. a town of drinkers (loud, boisterous, tall-tale telling people) any day.

When/if it is legalized, it needs to be moderated, there is no denying that. But it should be legalized. I'm a 44 (well almost) year old Mom saying this. And, most of your parents, whether they'll admit it or not, I'll bet have tried pot at least once in their lifetime. Most of them are probably my age, and it was the "times".

One last thing. If you don't think that people aren't drivin' around in their cars doin' 1 hits, you really need to get a clue. My husband sees people doin' 1 hits all day long as he's drivin' around in his gravel truck every day^^. So as far as people just smokin' pot in their basement ... :lol: ... I don't think sooooooooo ...

PS. Just want to add to this a tad. I don't think you should be gettin' high before you go to work or while working. Like you shouldn't drink on the job. I also think it shouldn't be legal for anyone under the age of 18 or possibly even 21 unless it's for medicinal purposes.

When Heather was 16 I found out she had tried pot. I reamed her into an asshole and told her I would not condone it. I truly think she didn't start smokin' it again until about a year ago. Mebbe that is naivety on my part, but I'm hopin' she has enough respect for me to adhere to my wishes. We have a pretty close mother/daughter relationship, so I'm assuming she did^^. Lastly she has never, ever gotten high before seeing me or when I'm around her. She's very respectful that way. And I don't think she smokes it till her babies are in bed for the nite. And that my friends, I do believe is a form of moderation.

 

[Darkdante]

Just because someone says the understand the consequences of thier actions does not actually mean they do.

If they were smart enough to actually comprehend the consequences, then if they should live or die by thier actions, it will be by thier fault alone.

Personal responsiblity comes into play here, we can't take responsiblity for every dumb person alive. And if you find out later that you made a dumb decision, which consequently happens alot, well...... then you just have to live and learn.

Saving people from thier dumb decisions does not help them, it only makes them make more dumb decisions.

The only time I think you should actually interfere is when you are talking about something like "ice". Something like that, too many people can't turn back from, penealties for pushing "ice" and its use should be so stiff as to be unthinkable. I'm thinking along the lines of 10 years hard labor, and education in a boot camp style prison.

Alot of the other drugs, well while bad, doesn't seem as bad to me. Herion and cocain though should probably be included in that as well.

 

[dragoonnerzul]

i think it should be legalized

"Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit... paranoid? You know what I mean? It's nature. How do you make nature against the fucking law?"

"And on the seventh day, God stepped back and said, 'There is my creation, perfect in every way... oh, my Me. I left fucking pot everywhere. Shit. That'll give humans the impression they're supposed to use it....Now I'll have to create Republicans.'" - Bill Hicks

 

[Sneakypants]

I love how many people seem to think personal accountability isn't good enough anymore. This PC shit has gone far enough. I am sick and tired of the actions of few ruining it for many. That's unfair to the masses and just gives those who suck at life more of an excuse for themselves. Survival of the fittest should apply to the decisions one makes, but NOOOO! We wouldn't want to hurt the feels of someone that fucked up, would we?

Bullshit.



And what does Republican have to do with marijuana? I sure as shit am not a liberal, and I'll smoke what I please, legal or not.
Which goes back to an earlier point I make. If people want to get high on anything, they will if it's legal or not. Just because weed suddenly becomes legal, doesn't mean we'll have a nation of stoned zombies come out of the woodwork. :roll:
They're already there...More than you know.

 

[Chemical_Penguin]

Bullshit.

Excellent point.

In the 2nd season of "Penn & Teller's: Bullshit!," a show that is NOT a magic show, but is dedicated to exposing false beliefs, hoaxes, frauds, and anything else that may appear to be legit, but is actually just bullshit in disguise. They tackle this very issue in an episode called "War on Drugs."

It's a 30 minute episode with no commercials, since the series airs on Showtime. I'd advise downlo....err buying the DVD for anyone interested. And just to let you know before hand, they come to the conclusion that marijuana should be legalized. But they've got very credible people on both sides of the debate appearing through-out the show, it is very interesting.

 

[Kimberely]

As Acute stated (and others prolly I just want to put my two cents in before I read in detail what people have to say ^^) cigarettes cause cancer, so does alcohol. In fact a number of compounds that we are exposed to every day cause cancer (check the link above on the national toxicology program's 11th annual report on carcinogens). And to make matters worse, there is a chemical in common household cleaners that weakens the body's ability to fight cancer. But we aren't talking about cancer, we are talking about marijuana.

I think marijuana should be legal because there are no harmful effects from smoking it. Ok so you have a short memory and become kinda lazy but I know plenty of people who smoke pot and they are all decent people. They don't go out and knock over 7-elevens to score a bag of pot, they are all to damn lazy to do this!!

I think there are several reasons why it isn't legalized. First I think it has a lot to do with Reefer Madness and Marijuana. Please check these out if you haven't seen them! They are 1938 propaganda for the crimilization of marijuana because of the 1934 Marijuana Tax Act started by DuPont and Hurst among others. Why did DuPont and Hurst care? Well, you can make paper and fabric out of hemp a very close cousin to marijuana. DuPont had just came out with nylon and Hurst...well we all know that at one point in time 3/4 Americans read a Hurst newspaper...and if memory serves me correctly Hurst owned paper mills and lumber yards to suppy his newspapers with paper. Hemp is much much cheaper than finding the chemicals to make nylon (especially in the 1930s!!!) and hemp paper well it is also cheaper. So my number one reason on why marijuana is illegal is because of greed.

Secondly, (not to be ad hominem again...I am very guilty of this all the time) but Christians.....I am sorry....you have your head up your ass. It is a sin to take something into the body that causes an effect on the body. If you look back in history you find that most religious figures (priests, shamen, etc) actually would either chew on the leaves of the Coaca plant (yeah the one used to make cocaine) or eat mushrooms or smoke pot or even (I know this isn't a drug but it is part of my point) recieve a trephination, all of which cause "visions" or enlightenment. There is even historical evidence to suggest that the last chapter of the Bible was wrote by a guy on an island saturated with psychotropic plants. Which off subject leads me to believe that religion is based on a drug trip anyways. The worse thing that can come from doing a natural drug is an open mind. From my personal experience, religion completely closes the mind off from new ideas and the ablity to accept something that you may not believe in, therefore you only look at the "facts" that support what you believe and everything else is just incorrect by default (if I am wrong...I am wrong...I will listen and try to understand where you are coming from but you will not change my belief in this). All of this being said, we (most of the world so I dont have a problem with using we here) live in a Christian society who to avoid being hypocrite should work to make cigarettes and alcohol illegal (I am ignoring the prohibition here and the current attempts to make smoking illegal in public). Other than the....what...not even 10 years of the prohibition (even if it was started by a group of Christain women who were sick of their husbands not being home for dinner on time) no one has made an attempt to do this. But to be very honest, if taking anything into the body that has an effect on the body, then salt is a drug, caffeine is a drug (an addictive one too! don't belive me and you love your soda? try not drinking it for a day and if you get a headache you are techinically addicted), I am not going to touch the topic of perscription drugs (these aren't always needed either most chemicals made by man cause cancer or have other effects on the body that we don't know about or know how to avoid). Main point here is that if drugs are so bad then your tea, coffee, soda, salt on your french fries, and oh even sugar should all be illegal.

Why dont we just legalize marijuana and tax it like cigarettes? More people smoke pot than cigarettes anyways....they just don't talk about it because it is illegal and people have this tendency to look down on people that smoke it (back to the Christians :roll. There's a list of over 80 different diseases that THC (technically delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) helps with. These include hypertension, depression, anxiety, bullimia, anorexia, AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy just to name a few. We just can't accept new ideas and become willing to change our views of the world. There is a value in toxicology called the R value. This value tells how likey something is to be taken into the body through inhalation. The higher the R value the better it is able to be absorbed in the lungs. Marijuana has a very high R value. This is why that smoking marijuana is better than taking a synthetic form of the drug. And I think I have already expressed my opinion on synthetic chemicals anyways. The synthetic THC is still not the same as real THC and does not have the same effects. So for the medical point of view marijuana definitely needs to be legal.

Also see http://www.norml.org

Edit after reading:
For the record...the only effect marijuana has on an unborn fetus is lowered birth weight.

I am a chemistry major in undergraduate study and I want to go on to graduate school for toxicology. I have done my research on this in more than just chemistry classes. I have a minor in sociology and have taken child psychology, all of which have stated that marijuana has no detrimental effect on an unborn child. Not even in later stages of life...sorry guys...

I am glad I didn't read what most of you had to say before hand. This almost needs to be a flame board post!! ^^

Statistics on drug use are not accurate guys. How many people do you think would answer truthfully to questions about drug use that they may or may not have. Of course the highest percent of drug users are between the ages of 18-21 because that is the time in your life where it is still fresh out of high school and you want to try and be cool still. They don't think, "Oh yeah, people might not see me as an intelligent individual if they know I smoke pot." When you are that age you don't care what people think...because you still have your entire life ahead of you. Those over the age of 21 (in other words you have already turned 22 and realize that you are growing up [not all people under the age of 21 are like this I know I am stereotyping]) I think might know what I am trying to say. If you don't and are under 21 you will see...give it a few years...

We all have a face that we have to put on every morning when we wake up. We have to leave behind our pot smoking and go out into the real world were we could be fired from our jobs, arrested, or judged for the actions that we do in our own privacy (off subject again but we do this anyways with sodomy laws in the USA, last I heard 13 states say it is illegal for you to recieve or give oral/anal sex and most punish with time in jail and a fine). When we are by ourselves we are completely different individuals and this is what makes us human.

You can't say that driving while high is a bad idea either....um.....I know other wise....you just have to find back roads where very few people go (ok I live in a very rural area so this probably helps). My judgement is no more impaired by being high than it is by the normal everyday distractions that cause more accidents than people who do smoke and drive, these distractions being cellphones, the radio, friends in the car, eating while driving, or reading a book (I have seen this). You can't make assumptions that A is the only true reason for C, when you don't look at other factors such as B which lead to C probably more frequently than A.

 

[Atraiu]

As Acute stated (and others prolly I just want to put my two cents in before I read in detail what people have to say ^^) cigarettes cause cancer, so does alcohol. In fact a number of compounds that we are exposed to every day cause cancer (check the link above on the national toxicology program's 11th annual report on carcinogens). And to make matters worse, there is a chemical in common household cleaners that weakens the body's ability to fight cancer. But we aren't talking about cancer, we are talking about marijuana.

I think marijuana should be legal because there are no harmful effects from smoking it. Ok so you have a short memory and become kinda lazy but I know plenty of people who smoke pot and they are all decent people. They don't go out and knock over 7-elevens to score a bag of pot, they are all to damn lazy to do this!!

I think there are several reasons why it isn't legalized. First I think it has a lot to do with Reefer Madness and Marijuana. Please check these out if you haven't seen them! They are 1938 propaganda for the crimilization of marijuana because of the 1934 Marijuana Tax Act started by DuPont and Hurst among others. Why did DuPont and Hurst care? Well, you can make paper and fabric out of hemp a very close cousin to marijuana. DuPont had just came out with nylon and Hurst...well we all know that at one point in time 3/4 Americans read a Hurst newspaper...and if memory serves me correctly Hurst owned paper mills and lumber yards to suppy his newspapers with paper. Hemp is much much cheaper than finding the chemicals to make nylon (especially in the 1930s!!!) and hemp paper well it is also cheaper. So my number one reason on why marijuana is illegal is because of greed.

Secondly, (not to be ad hominem again...I am very guilty of this all the time) but Christians.....I am sorry....you have your head up your ass. It is a sin to take something into the body that causes an effect on the body. If you look back in history you find that most religious figures (priests, shamen, etc) actually would either chew on the leaves of the Coaca plant (yeah the one used to make cocaine) or eat mushrooms or smoke pot or even (I know this isn't a drug but it is part of my point) recieve a trephination, all of which cause "visions" or enlightenment. There is even historical evidence to suggest that the last chapter of the Bible was wrote by a guy on an island saturated with psychotropic plants. Which off subject leads me to believe that religion is based on a drug trip anyways. The worse thing that can come from doing a natural drug is an open mind. From my personal experience, religion completely closes the mind off from new ideas and the ablity to accept something that you may not believe in, therefore you only look at the "facts" that support what you believe and everything else is just incorrect by default (if I am wrong...I am wrong...I will listen and try to understand where you are coming from but you will not change my belief in this). All of this being said, we (most of the world so I dont have a problem with using we here) live in a Christian society who to avoid being hypocrite should work to make cigarettes and alcohol illegal (I am ignoring the prohibition here and the current attempts to make smoking illegal in public). Other than the....what...not even 10 years of the prohibition (even if it was started by a group of Christain women who were sick of their husbands not being home for dinner on time) no one has made an attempt to do this. But to be very honest, if taking anything into the body that has an effect on the body, then salt is a drug, caffeine is a drug (an addictive one too! don't belive me and you love your soda? try not drinking it for a day and if you get a headache you are techinically addicted), I am not going to touch the topic of perscription drugs (these aren't always needed either most chemicals made by man cause cancer or have other effects on the body that we don't know about or know how to avoid). Main point here is that if drugs are so bad then your tea, coffee, soda, salt on your french fries, and oh even sugar should all be illegal.

Why dont we just legalize marijuana and tax it like cigarettes? More people smoke pot than cigarettes anyways....they just don't talk about it because it is illegal and people have this tendency to look down on people that smoke it (back to the Christians :roll. There's a list of over 80 different diseases that THC (technically delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) helps with. These include hypertension, depression, anxiety, bullimia, anorexia, AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy just to name a few. We just can't accept new ideas and become willing to change our views of the world. There is a value in toxicology called the R value. This value tells how likey something is to be taken into the body through inhalation. The higher the R value the better it is able to be absorbed in the lungs. Marijuana has a very high R value. This is why that smoking marijuana is better than taking a synthetic form of the drug. And I think I have already expressed my opinion on synthetic chemicals anyways. The synthetic THC is still not the same as real THC and does not have the same effects. So for the medical point of view marijuana definitely needs to be legal.

Also see http://www.norml.org

Edit after reading:
For the record...the only effect marijuana has on an unborn fetus is lowered birth weight.

I am a chemistry major in undergraduate study and I want to go on to graduate school for toxicology. I have done my research on this in more than just chemistry classes. I have a minor in sociology and have taken child psychology, all of which have stated that marijuana has no detrimental effect on an unborn child. Not even in later stages of life...sorry guys...

I am glad I didn't read what most of you had to say before hand. This almost needs to be a flame board post!! ^^

Statistics on drug use are not accurate guys. How many people do you think would answer truthfully to questions about drug use that they may or may not have. Of course the highest percent of drug users are between the ages of 18-21 because that is the time in your life where it is still fresh out of high school and you want to try and be cool still. They don't think, "Oh yeah, people might not see me as an intelligent individual if they know I smoke pot." When you are that age you don't care what people think...because you still have your entire life ahead of you. Those over the age of 21 (in other words you have already turned 22 and realize that you are growing up [not all people under the age of 21 are like this I know I am stereotyping]) I think might know what I am trying to say. If you don't and are under 21 you will see...give it a few years...

We all have a face that we have to put on every morning when we wake up. We have to leave behind our pot smoking and go out into the real world were we could be fired from our jobs, arrested, or judged for the actions that we do in our own privacy (off subject again but we do this anyways with sodomy laws in the USA, last I heard 13 states say it is illegal for you to recieve or give oral/anal sex and most punish with time in jail and a fine). When we are by ourselves we are completely different individuals and this is what makes us human.

You can't say that driving while high is a bad idea either....um.....I know other wise....you just have to find back roads where very few people go (ok I live in a very rural area so this probably helps). My judgement is no more impaired by being high than it is by the normal everyday distractions that cause more accidents than people who do smoke and drive, these distractions being cellphones, the radio, friends in the car, eating while driving, or reading a book (I have seen this). You can't make assumptions that A is the only true reason for C, when you don't look at other factors such as B which lead to C probably more frequently than A.

Wow. I was going to just pull a few things out then I kept reading and it's hard to believe that you are going to school for any of the things you claim. First you start out by saying that cigarettes and alcohol cause cancer.....then you say that smoking marijuana is perfectly safe. FYI the same stuff that is in cigarette smoke is in pot smoke. Then you go on to say that in a time right after prohibition that it was greed that is what caused pot to be made illegal. Then you go on some hippy christian bashing rant and lead into the "fact" that more people smoke pot than cigarettes.....sure okay. All in all it sounds like your high. Then as a final insult to anyone dumb enough to listen to you past your second paragraph......YOU SAY THAT DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE IS OK???? Do everyone a favor and step back and think about what your going to write next time you get the urge to do so when your "all smoked up"

 

[Sneakypants]

The same people that make the "rules" and tend to speak out against it, are the the same ones that haven't tried it.

I understand not doing something because it conflicts with morals, religion, etc. To not try it just because of your own righteousness, and then to ding people for doing it is just ignorant.

As you find yourself rolling eyes at those who drive their cars while high, realize that it's no different, and perhaps less of a hinderance to one's motor skills than a dose of Nyquil...But the government has no problem with that, or any other drug they "allow" to be legal.



Marijuana is so terrible for you! Hurry! Tell everyone you know! :roll:



If you have none of your own personal experience with marijuana, you really have no place to make any kind of decision on it's potential legality. ALL you've got is righteousness and beliefs, and nothing concrete or trumping to determine that it should remain illegal.

 

[Dowzer]

Does anyone know the statistic on houses burning down due to faulty grow op's?

I'm not sure myself, though I do know that this the biggest risk of growing. Having your house burn down is worth way more than a few months in prison or a slap on the wrist(fine).

Common sized light bulbs for growing are the 1000 watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and 1000 watt Metal Halide. These light bulbs get VERY VERY hot. They are also used for baseball/football fields, street lamps, security lighting, etc. Very industrial and very dangerous.

The problem with growing, is the idiots who think they know how to. Number one rule is safety, when it comes to indoor shows. Some people forget this and like to CRAM their basements full of these 1000 watt lamps.

The biggest problem with these lamps, is how people use them. If they don't cover them or incase them somehow, there are many risks waiting to happen.

1. A spec of water hits the bulb - steams off the bulb - bulb cracks - shards of hot glass all over the room -> fire started.

2. Plant material growing into the lights - they love the light so much to know what's good for them.

3. Air flow - without a proper exhaust vent the room will reach temperatures of 120F-140F depending on how many lamps. Yes, desert weather.

These lamps need to be incased behind glass in order for full protection. I've seen more grow shows with lamps that have NO shades, than I can count on my two hands.









Now imagine if only professionals grew the stuff.

 

[Kimberely]

we know what I said.

Wow. I was going to just pull a few things out then I kept reading and it's hard to believe that you are going to school for any of the things you claim. First you start out by saying that cigarettes and alcohol cause cancer.....then you say that smoking marijuana is perfectly safe. FYI the same stuff that is in cigarette smoke is in pot smoke. Then you go on to say that in a time right after prohibition that it was greed that is what caused pot to be made illegal. Then you go on some hippy christian bashing rant and lead into the "fact" that more people smoke pot than cigarettes.....sure okay. All in all it sounds like your high. Then as a final insult to anyone dumb enough to listen to you past your second paragraph......YOU SAY THAT DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE IS OK???? Do everyone a favor and step back and think about what your going to write next time you get the urge to do so when your "all smoked up"

It is perfectly safe, if you would examine the link that I provided with the National Toxicology Program's data on known carcinogens you will find that THC the compound in marijuana does not cause cancer (the list that you see in the link is a list of things that we know to cause cancer or we can assume to do so based on physical properties of the compound) The reason that cigarettes cause cancer is because of all of the preservatives found in the cigarettes. That is where 99% of the cancer causing agents come from.. the preservatives. Please show me a site from a toxicology institute which states that smoking marijuana causes cancer, I have showed you proof it does not.

For my Christain rant I told you I was being ad hominem (if you don't know what this mean dictionary.com provides a definition). That isn't my intent but it is true. I see this everyday. People in my classes and professors at my university all who smoke marijuana but none of them will admit this in public because I am from the Bible-Belt region of the US and the main-stream christian idea is what rules supreme. Drugs are bad mmkay so lay off the sugar!

For driving under the influence, I would never drive while under the influence of alcohol. But pot does not equal alcohol. These two drugs are entirely seperate with different feelings pushed upon the body. I drive high a lot. One of my favorite study breaks is to drive a round smoking a joint. Where I drive is back roads where I never exceed more than 45-50 mph. When I am high I take into consideration that there is a possibility for my reactions to be a little slowed, so I take precautions to avoid this. I make a concious effort to realize, "Ok here is a blind curve where I can't see if a car is coming around the corner of the road I am about to cross. To safely cross this road I must in the day time turn down the radio ask my passengers to not speak and roll down the windows of my car to listen for other cars that may be approaching, in the night time I get off easier because I can more easily see the head lights of said approaching car." This is just one example of the mental capacity that I have to have in order to drive safely while under the influence of marijuana. For alcohol, one is more relaxed and unable to think as coherently and thus judgement is impaired. My point is that, I have smoked pot for years, and I know that after a certain point it doesnt help you to smoke more and more and you no longer feel the effects (the effects do not add up with the more pot that you smoke) and I have learned how to compensate for the effects of the pot and have learned how to conciously be aware of what is going on (I use pot as a relaxent for anxiety). For alcohol though the more I drink, the drunker I get and the more I am unable to make concious choices.

Before you, Atraiu, attack someone's opinion that is well supported by facts, you need to make sure that the facts you are wanting to disregard are unrelated to the issue at hand. You were right in the Christian part but I warned of my opinion before the fact....but I guess if I am allowed to be guilty of ad hominem so are you. So no hard feelings

 

[Kimberely]

oops double post :/