Interesting stuff on Marijuana
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From: AOL usa.
What about my glaucoma? 
I'd only be for legalization if marijuana was regulated (kind of like liquor) by our govt. Huge profit margins I bet, you could use that money for all sorts of causes.
And our jails could be relieved of over crowding, freeing up even more tax dollars.
I'd only be for legalization if marijuana was regulated (kind of like liquor) by our govt. Huge profit margins I bet, you could use that money for all sorts of causes.
And our jails could be relieved of over crowding, freeing up even more tax dollars.
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From: Moscow
Originally Posted by kane.s2k,Dec 2 2004, 02:58 AM
Let's hear ur side of the proof then. I brought out mine and where I based my opinions from. Where do you get yours?
BTW, it's pretty clear it's not an anti-drug opinion. It's heavy usage and just effects it has even in infrequent use.
Also my habits weren't because I couldn't control myself. I just liked getting really really twisted. I still do when I drink.
BTW, it's pretty clear it's not an anti-drug opinion. It's heavy usage and just effects it has even in infrequent use.
Also my habits weren't because I couldn't control myself. I just liked getting really really twisted. I still do when I drink.
Besides, my objective wasn't to prove marijauna use is safe and fun for kids of all ages, but rather, for you to maybe understand that your argument is irrelevant to any other person but yourself.
There are many working, successful people in the world who enjoy responsible drug use. So maybe you should stop pointing your finger at mary jane and focus more on "twisted burnout" issues.
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From: SF Bay Area
Originally Posted by Bernie Lomax,Dec 2 2004, 01:36 PM
I was always under the impression that there were no cancer causing agents in marijuana. Is that not correct?
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Originally Posted by kane.s2k,Dec 2 2004, 12:38 AM
A lot of my good friends are burn outs. In HS I was a burnout too but not really from herb (though it was the gateway). All my HS friends were burn outs. I went from a A+ honor student to someone who didn't graduate with his classmates and had to goto summer school and take a bunch of other programs outside of that to get credit to graduate. It is almost clearly addictive mentally since things are more fun when you are high. Eventually nothing is fun without being high and even when you're high it's not as fun. That's the problem with taking anything with excess or taking it on a regular basis. You get so used to it that you consider it normal and you need to get more buzzed to feel that much better.
I would never allow marijuana to go mainstream. I think alcohol is more than enough for society and people can't even control that.
I would never allow marijuana to go mainstream. I think alcohol is more than enough for society and people can't even control that.
I personally can't hang with drinking - one beer and I'm buzzed, and after two or three beers, I'll have a hangover the next morning. But I've smoked weed regularly for over ten years, and can't say that it's impacted my life negatively in any way at all. When the stress of college aggravated my OCD and caused me to vomit with acid reflux, smoking weed allowed me to de-stress and eat normally. After a crappy day at work, nothing feels better than sparking up a bowl. In my book, weed is enjoyable, therapeutic, and has fringe benefits.
I work a decent job, go to grad school, and so on, and haven't noticed weed negatively impacting me there, either. If burning out is inevitable, then my personal experience would indicate that it takes more than ten years of heavy smoking! A close friend of mine is the second biggest weed smoker I know, and just finished up medical school. That having been said, I know plenty of stoners who have dropped out of school and such, but I just don't believe that the weed made them do it.
You've said yourself that tolerance and mental addiction are problems with taking anything in excess or on a regular basis. So how is marijuana any different from another other substance out there? Why ought it be illegal while other substances remain legal?
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From: SF Bay Area
Originally Posted by kane.s2k,Dec 2 2004, 01:31 AM
You really think u can? Just try and notice how different your life became after u started smoking. I noticed it within the first month I ever smoked. I compare the people who never smoked to the people who smoke occationally and the ones who smoke everyday. You can clearly see a difference in the way they act. It's not something I notice from seeing two or three of my friends. It's what I noticed after taking the time to watch over 50 people.
Let's say you've never met an individual before and don't know anything about him. But, you are allowed to observe this person for X period of time. After X period of time, you can accurately determine how much weed this person smokes?
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Originally Posted by no_really,Dec 2 2004, 03:35 AM
what alot of you are forgetting is there are some people who are not happy in life, normally. Smoking pot or something on a regular basis helps them deal with the dissatisfaction they have with their lives. The long term health affects of smoking pot are much milder than the health issues associated with alcohol and tobacco. Smoking pot on weekends once in a while is no different than going to the bar, and far healthier in the long run than drinking and passing out every fri and sat.
As far as the whole "gateway drug," argument, it is based on a false premise. People who shoot heroin, snort coke, or smoke crack are obviously not going to be put off by the "health risks," associated with smoking pot, so there are obviously going to be a number of people who smoke pot and also like to do heroin, coke, or crack. In addition, since pot is illegal, in order to get it, you have to traffic with people who have incentive to "stock" harder drugs for their customers who have "varied" tastes. This means that a guy smoking pot might get introduced to heroin or coke at some point, in the same way that someone who drinks beer gets introduced to harder liquors. Not everyone who drinks beer sucks down vodka like it is going out of style, so it's not quite fair to say our heroin, coke, and crack abuse problems are caused by the presence of marijuana.
The biggest problem with long-term habitual pot use is the fact that your brain stops making some chemicals since they are already present from the pot. When you stop smoking every day, you tend to feel kind of crappy, and smoking a bowl feels good (obviously). The fact that people are not universally happy being sober should be glaringly obvious by now, and legislatiopn isn't going to change that. Selling pot at the pharmacy or liquor store would at least establish some sort of control over quality, and eliminate the crimes associated with the distribution of marijuana in this country. If a heroin or coke addict could aquire their fix from their doctor instead of having to deal with real sketchy characters operating out of a dumpster, we'd have far fewer people in jail in this country. In addition, their addiction could be treated and their mental and physical health addressed.
Removing the need for a clandestine drug society by more active and humane control of mind-altering substances would allow addiction treatments to be more effective, since the user would not need to limit their social group to those who use simply to avoid prosecution for pursuing their addictions. When a coke user can indulge their addiction without the associated legal risks, the energy previously diverted to procurement and concealment can be applied to more productive endeavors. And all the money spent paying for drug enforcement, prosecution, and imprisonment can be spent on health care and education to lessen the impact of addiction. Take distribution out of the hands of thugs, and being a thug has less payoff than the current system. Crimes will still be committed, but pharmacists and liquor store owners rarely, if ever, spend much time killing their local competitors. Adding a few new product lines to their shelves won't change that.
The US has more people in prison than another country in the world, and a very large percentage of those in prison are there for non-violent drug offenses. Sad, if you ask me.
As far as the whole "gateway drug," argument, it is based on a false premise. People who shoot heroin, snort coke, or smoke crack are obviously not going to be put off by the "health risks," associated with smoking pot, so there are obviously going to be a number of people who smoke pot and also like to do heroin, coke, or crack. In addition, since pot is illegal, in order to get it, you have to traffic with people who have incentive to "stock" harder drugs for their customers who have "varied" tastes. This means that a guy smoking pot might get introduced to heroin or coke at some point, in the same way that someone who drinks beer gets introduced to harder liquors. Not everyone who drinks beer sucks down vodka like it is going out of style, so it's not quite fair to say our heroin, coke, and crack abuse problems are caused by the presence of marijuana.
The biggest problem with long-term habitual pot use is the fact that your brain stops making some chemicals since they are already present from the pot. When you stop smoking every day, you tend to feel kind of crappy, and smoking a bowl feels good (obviously). The fact that people are not universally happy being sober should be glaringly obvious by now, and legislatiopn isn't going to change that. Selling pot at the pharmacy or liquor store would at least establish some sort of control over quality, and eliminate the crimes associated with the distribution of marijuana in this country. If a heroin or coke addict could aquire their fix from their doctor instead of having to deal with real sketchy characters operating out of a dumpster, we'd have far fewer people in jail in this country. In addition, their addiction could be treated and their mental and physical health addressed.
Removing the need for a clandestine drug society by more active and humane control of mind-altering substances would allow addiction treatments to be more effective, since the user would not need to limit their social group to those who use simply to avoid prosecution for pursuing their addictions. When a coke user can indulge their addiction without the associated legal risks, the energy previously diverted to procurement and concealment can be applied to more productive endeavors. And all the money spent paying for drug enforcement, prosecution, and imprisonment can be spent on health care and education to lessen the impact of addiction. Take distribution out of the hands of thugs, and being a thug has less payoff than the current system. Crimes will still be committed, but pharmacists and liquor store owners rarely, if ever, spend much time killing their local competitors. Adding a few new product lines to their shelves won't change that.
The US has more people in prison than another country in the world, and a very large percentage of those in prison are there for non-violent drug offenses. Sad, if you ask me.
It's funny how our society talks about substance abuse being an illness, but when it comes time to act, simply labels these supposedly sick people "criminals" and tosses them in jail.
If government were so concerned about our welfare, then it sure has a real subjective way of showing it. Let's celebrate the use of booze at every national holiday or social gathering, get rich off legally-obtained cigarette taxes, but outlaw "dangerous" stuff like marijuana and throw smokers in prison even though they were still otherwise productive members of society. Yeah!
Why not start cracking down on extreme sports too? Seems that climbing sheer rock faces and jumping off the tops of mountains is a wee bit riskier than smoking marijuana, no?
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From: MAHT-O-MEDI
First let me say, I don't care if anyone want to smoke, no biggie to me. I know a girl who smokes everyday, she was wondering about long term effects. I only have anecdotal eveidence about two people I know that smoke about every day and suddenly went wacky in their early fifties. No BS. One guy thinks that space aliens are stealing his landscaping rock. That IS NOT made up. He just went goofy at 52.
I was at one time an abnormal psyche major. The first thing you learn is that when people develop most psychotic stuff like serious bipolar disorder in late teens or early twenties. (unless following pregnancy) During late twenties the chances of becoming a total nutjob go down dramatically and by mid thirties are gone almost entirely. I state this only because the two people I know that became goofy as a shithouse rat, did so in there early fifties and the only thing they had in common was they were total potheads.
This link was on Drudge today..... take it for what it is worth.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6629828/
I was at one time an abnormal psyche major. The first thing you learn is that when people develop most psychotic stuff like serious bipolar disorder in late teens or early twenties. (unless following pregnancy) During late twenties the chances of becoming a total nutjob go down dramatically and by mid thirties are gone almost entirely. I state this only because the two people I know that became goofy as a shithouse rat, did so in there early fifties and the only thing they had in common was they were total potheads.
This link was on Drudge today..... take it for what it is worth.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6629828/
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From: SF Bay Area
^I can see truth to that. Smoking weed does cause extreme paranoia, and sometimes delusions, in some people. I know more than a handful of people who tried weed once or twice, became uncontrollably paranoid and self-conscious, and never dared to try it again.
Going back to the medical marijuana issue since you were an abnormal pysch major, vader1... I have had moderate to severe OCD my entire life (how severe depends on my stress level at any given time), which also led to a chronic acid reflux problem. I've tried several psychotropic drugs from the SSRI family (never tried MAOIs though) to combat my OCD. Those drugs have absolutely horrible side effects and have a tendency to suck you into an emotional void. Yet, they're prescribed for treating depression, OCD, and social anxiety. Paxil is the last one I tried, and I quit because it was absolutely unbearable. Smoking weed has helped immensely with both my OCD and acid reflux - more so than any of the approved drugs - and has far fewer detrimental side effects.
This is why, at the very least, I strongly feel that marijuana should be legalized for at least medical use. It doesn't make any sense that drugs like SSRIs are approved as medicine but marijuana doesn't even get a chance. SSRIs and most other psychotropic drugs don't cure disorders; they only control them. Hence, patients have to take them for life. And anyone familiar with these drugs knows that patients almost always have to switch SSRIs every so often (on the order of years) to prevent harm. I'd wager that these drugs cause people to go wacky even more than marijuana does (just look at the recent furor over Prozac suicides).
Now, as far as the mental effects of regular recreational smoking over an entire lifetime, I can't claim to know anything about that. But the risk of psychosis in my 50's, or jail time, is a risk I'm willing to take for a life free from OCD and acid reflux (and for what I believe to be my right).
Going back to the medical marijuana issue since you were an abnormal pysch major, vader1... I have had moderate to severe OCD my entire life (how severe depends on my stress level at any given time), which also led to a chronic acid reflux problem. I've tried several psychotropic drugs from the SSRI family (never tried MAOIs though) to combat my OCD. Those drugs have absolutely horrible side effects and have a tendency to suck you into an emotional void. Yet, they're prescribed for treating depression, OCD, and social anxiety. Paxil is the last one I tried, and I quit because it was absolutely unbearable. Smoking weed has helped immensely with both my OCD and acid reflux - more so than any of the approved drugs - and has far fewer detrimental side effects.
This is why, at the very least, I strongly feel that marijuana should be legalized for at least medical use. It doesn't make any sense that drugs like SSRIs are approved as medicine but marijuana doesn't even get a chance. SSRIs and most other psychotropic drugs don't cure disorders; they only control them. Hence, patients have to take them for life. And anyone familiar with these drugs knows that patients almost always have to switch SSRIs every so often (on the order of years) to prevent harm. I'd wager that these drugs cause people to go wacky even more than marijuana does (just look at the recent furor over Prozac suicides).
Now, as far as the mental effects of regular recreational smoking over an entire lifetime, I can't claim to know anything about that. But the risk of psychosis in my 50's, or jail time, is a risk I'm willing to take for a life free from OCD and acid reflux (and for what I believe to be my right).
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From: Orlando, FL
^ lol sounds to me like your friends are just total nut jobs? its funny how if someone is known to smoke marijauana and has a problem, thats the first thing people think causes the problem...bs government propaganda seems to persuade everyone that weed is like crack or heroin...FACT : Marijuana is not a physical addiction, it can turn into a mental addiction, but thats within the same lines as alcohol...if you don't understand what that means, its this" Crack and Heroin are physically addicting and you would actually be in pain, shaking, throwing up, sweating etc. if you cant get your next fix...if a pot head wants some weed and they cant get it,"its a total bummer dude."
Individual cases of people who cant control marijauana should deff not use it. I agree completely with that. If you take a look at alcohol for a second, theres people who drink responably and those who dont. Alcohol is a drug and is legal, and whether some of you believe it or not it does alot more damage then smokin pot ever will.
Within the next few years Marijauana will become legal for Medical use nation wide....it already is in many parts of our country. That will be the next step, and soon after should be legalized and regulated for personal use. Well thats what i hope anyway.
Why throw so many people in jail for smoking, its a waste of space. It shows how shitty our system really is when they get longer sentences then rapists and some times even murderers. Remember, Alocohol was looked at just like this many years ago. Its called Prohibition, and hopefully it can be lifted from its definition of such an illegal activity. Regulate and tax it. Use the taxes for the school systems or whatever. It would work.
On a lighter note check this out, these guys are great. http://www.marijuanalogues.com/videos/
Individual cases of people who cant control marijauana should deff not use it. I agree completely with that. If you take a look at alcohol for a second, theres people who drink responably and those who dont. Alcohol is a drug and is legal, and whether some of you believe it or not it does alot more damage then smokin pot ever will.
Within the next few years Marijauana will become legal for Medical use nation wide....it already is in many parts of our country. That will be the next step, and soon after should be legalized and regulated for personal use. Well thats what i hope anyway.
Why throw so many people in jail for smoking, its a waste of space. It shows how shitty our system really is when they get longer sentences then rapists and some times even murderers. Remember, Alocohol was looked at just like this many years ago. Its called Prohibition, and hopefully it can be lifted from its definition of such an illegal activity. Regulate and tax it. Use the taxes for the school systems or whatever. It would work.
On a lighter note check this out, these guys are great. http://www.marijuanalogues.com/videos/