Cannabis

[fuckyeahfinnegan]

I was sitting in work a few days ago reading Philadelphia Weekly when I came to the letters section where people write in. One guy wrote in response to an online article talking about drugs I guess (I hadn't read the actual article he was responding to).

He talked about how he had just buried a friend because of "dope", attacked its potential medical use (citing that meds were more safe and effective) and that marijuana caused irreversible damage to the body and is used by people who can't face their problems.

I disagreed with nearly all his "points."

I suspect most of you to be pro-pot, but I'm wondering if we can start a healthy discussion (though i'm sure it has been done in the past) about the affects of marijuana on your physical and mental health as well as its illegality

[Trathena]

Re: Cannabis

Well, I'll jump in and say that I think that all drugs should be legal. Heroin, crack, meth, all of it. But I know that this will probably never happen in America.

That being said, I think that just decriminalizing pot would go a long way toward ending the "drug war," and helping our country out of this recession we're in. I also think that if only weed was legal, people wouldn't move onto harder drugs so easily.

Off topic, but I think that prostitution should be legal too.

[BuddyGoodness]

Re: Cannabis

Yeah, pot does have some negative effects, especially for heavy long term smokers but I always laugh at the argument that it is worse for you than prescription drugs and alcohol, that is just absurd. Was that article saying pot killed his friend? Because if so, good, the guy was obviously a moron if he died from pot and that means one less moron in the world. Pot is used as a crutch though by many, myself included at times, but so is everything else that renders the argument null. Prescriptions are not as safe and not all always as effective as pot for treating certain diseases and the after effects of chemo. If pot is worthless as a medicine then why is synthetic THC (marinol) a commonly prescribed medication for treating the same things people self medicate with pot?

I think it is such a farce that pot is still illegal and just goes to show how spineless our politicians are that they cannot resolve this issue because they are scared about being seen as soft on crime.

[Ars Sycro]

Re: Cannabis

I think marijuana will be legalized during our lives. It will also be heavily taxed, like cigarettes.

I agree with Trathena that prostitution should be legalized, but all drugs? There are drugs that do serious damage even with minor usage. There are special classes for these drugs, and to even consider legalizing them would be irresponsible.

[TheRuleofThree]

Re: Cannabis

I agree with Ars. I think it is fair to say that certain drugs and substances pose serious threats to social stability and general public health. There is no reason meth should be legal. At all. Meth lab explosions alone are reason enough for the drug to be illegal.

Marijuana, however, grows out of the ground and has no permanent effects. You can hear testimony from several federal medical marijuana patients, who have been studied and tested countless ways over the past few decades, that contradicts all the arguments made against the plant.

But there are so many other benefits to the plant, including hemp oil as an alternative fuel option or hemp used in rope and clothing. There are websites everywhere that spell out the benefits of hemp, and the bottom line is that there is no reason to be limiting the cultivation of such a powerful natural resource.

As far as the fact that it makes you a little giggly and dizzy, does anyone really care? Seriously? Absolutely, if someone is smoking while driving they should be ticketed and seriously fined. It certainly counts and driving under the influence and does pose a risk to others. But the law has to make sense, and treating cannabis as a drug equal to heroine or cocaine is like saying Iraq posed a threat to the United States in 2002.

[Sittingsideways]

Re: Cannabis

i think you just described why marijuana/hemp is pushed aside by the goverment in the "legalization" dept.

[Trathena]

Re: Cannabis

There are drugs that do serious damage even with minor usage. There are special classes for these drugs, and to even consider legalizing them would be irresponsible.

I'm not irresponsible.

Cigarettes do serious damage with minor usage. So do guns for that matter, but that's another topic. Tobacco is as addictive as heroin and just as hard to quit. If we legalized opium, LSD, etc. they'd have to be heavily taxed and monitored. But I'm not a hardcore advocate of legalizing all drugs. I'm cool with leaving the ones created in labs illegal. But pot needs to be legalized.

I also really think that if pot was legal, we'd have a lot less people moving onto the harder drugs, which would effectively end the war on drugs, which would leave a lot of cops without much to do, which is why pot is still illegal.

[hungover]

Re: Cannabis

i love drugs, thats all...

[dredgfan001]

Re: Cannabis

I love, zboes, and brock, thats all.

[Ars Sycro]

Re: Cannabis

Cigarettes do serious damage with minor usage. So do guns for that matter, but that's another topic. Tobacco is as addictive as heroin and just as hard to quit. If we legalized opium, LSD, etc. they'd have to be heavily taxed and monitored. But I'm not a hardcore advocate of legalizing all drugs. I'm cool with leaving the ones created in labs illegal. But pot needs to be legalized.

I've never heard of cigarettes killing someone on their first use... but I have heard of cocaine and meth killing on their first use.

[Sittingsideways]

Re: Cannabis

I'm not irresponsible.

Cigarettes do serious damage with minor usage. So do guns for that matter, but that's another topic. Tobacco is as addictive as heroin and just as hard to quit. If we legalized opium, LSD, etc. they'd have to be heavily taxed and monitored. But I'm not a hardcore advocate of legalizing all drugs. I'm cool with leaving the ones created in labs illegal. But pot needs to be legalized.

I also really think that if pot was legal, we'd have a lot less people moving onto the harder drugs, which would effectively end the war on drugs, which would leave a lot of cops without much to do, which is why pot is still illegal.

WHAT?!

See what you are saying is that tobacco is just as addictive as meth, and cocaine? So outside of bars their will be people taking breaks from drinking shooting up in parking lots? Every major city has at least 100 dive bars which would quickly turn into heroin bars... then the number of citizens who are addicted to opiates would probably quadruple and then you have people losing jobs, more children with defects/no parents, buiseness' going under and pretty soon all of the american population spend all their paychecks on snickers bars.

Cmon... this whole things is ridiculous. I think its fucken stupid to say that marijuana should be legalized. It would be bad all around. The only thing that would be good is that people would no longer be prosicuted for the possesion of it, and it would probly be a little bit good for the economy but you know the money made from taxing it would go to the wrong areas.

NEGATIVES
1. you would cause numerous dealers to lose their jobs because if it were to be legalized you wouldnt be able to sell it (and you would be suprised how many people actually sell weed)

2. It would be taxed so all of us that do it would be bitching all the time about the rising cost of a gram.

3. You would have a rising number of people being stoned all the time and then all you people that dont do it will bitch because their caramel machiatto wont be made correctly.

4. I will say theres at least twenty percent of people that smoke pot on the sole basis that its illegal and thus would move on to other drugs that are illegal.

I am a marijuana user, and im completely fine with it being the way it is. I have no problem finding it, i use it in a completely mature manner. It dosent hurt anyone, the only people that get caught with it are the people that are stupid about it. Keep shit to yourself, live your life and there is no reason for it to be legalized.

Oh, it would probably increase jobs too. State wide growing farms... they would need employees. But i think the negatives far outweigh the positives.

[Trathena]

Re: Cannabis

I've never heard of cigarettes killing someone on their first use... but I have heard of cocaine and meth killing on their first use.

Ahh. Good point.

[Ars Sycro]

Re: Cannabis

See what you are saying is that tobacco is just as addictive as meth, and cocaine? So outside of bars their will be people taking breaks from drinking shooting up in parking lots? Every major city has at least 100 dive bars which would quickly turn into heroin bars... then the number of citizens who are addicted to opiates would probably quadruple and then you have people losing jobs, more children with defects/no parents, buiseness' going under and pretty soon all of the american population spend all their paychecks on snickers bars.

I think this is fear mongering more than anything. Just because it's legal doesn't mean the number of users would quadruple or even rise.

1. you would cause numerous dealers to lose their jobs because if it were to be legalized you wouldnt be able to sell it (and you would be suprised how many people actually sell weed)

Why exactly would this be a negative? They'd either move to a different drug or they'd become productive members of society and actually pay taxes.

2. It would be taxed so all of us that do it would be bitching all the time about the rising cost of a gram.

You're neglecting primary laws of economics. Yes, it would be taxed, but it would also be CHEAPER before the tax. So it would probably come out to about the same as what you would pay now.

3. You would have a rising number of people being stoned all the time and then all you people that dont do it will bitch because their caramel machiatto wont be made correctly.

And you would have a rising number of people getting fired. Alcohol is legal, but you'll lose your Starbucks job if they know you're drunk.

4. I will say theres at least twenty percent of people that smoke pot on the sole basis that its illegal and thus would move on to other drugs that are illegal.

And they are idiots and will move on to those other illegal drugs regardless of the legality of marijuana.

[Knifeboy]

Re: Cannabis

Legalize pot, and everything about it... Tax it if you want, but don't ban people from homegrowing it.

Decriminalize possession of all other drugs, go after the sellers, not the people who are only harming themselves

I say this as someone who's never done any drugs and never intend to.
Haven't even smoked pot (or cigarettes for that matter)

Oh yeah, that reminds me.. Ban cigarettes!

[Trathena]

Re: Cannabis

WHAT?!

Oh don't be so outraged! This is just a discussion. :-)

See what you are saying is that tobacco is just as addictive as meth, and cocaine?

No, that's not what I said. I said that tobacco is as addictive as heroin, and that's actually been established in studies. It's also as difficult to quit tobacco as it is heroin.

So outside of bars their will be people taking breaks from drinking shooting up in parking lots?

This displays a lack of understanding of how heroin works, and how it is used, but I will say that if tobacco was ever to be made illegal, you do not want to see the results. You think it's bad now with drug addicts doing anything to get their fix? Just watch what tobacco addicts would do to get their drug of choice. My point? The hypocrisy of it all.

Every major city has at least 100 dive bars which would quickly turn into heroin bars... then the number of citizens who are addicted to opiates would probably quadruple and then you have people losing jobs, more children with defects/no parents, buiseness' going under and pretty soon all of the american population spend all their paychecks on snickers bars.

The Sky Is Falling! SittingSideways, I've never seen you like this. Do you really think we'd have anarchy in the streets if drugs were legalized? But anyway, like I said, I'm not an advocate of all drugs being legal. I think they should be, but it's not a huge issue with me.

I think its fucken stupid to say that marijuana should be legalized.

This is just rude. It's not like we're saying that George Bush is a good president. Or that masturbation is wrong. Or that dredg sucks.

it would probly be a little bit good for the economy but you know the money made from taxing it would go to the wrong areas.

It would be fantastic for the economy, and the money would go to the states as sales tax. What do you think? Drug Lords would be running the distribution?

NEGATIVES
1. you would cause numerous dealers to lose their jobs because if it were to be legalized you wouldnt be able to sell it (and you would be suprised how many people actually sell weed)

No, I wouldn't be surprised. These dealers--if they're smart--would get jobs in the Pot industry. Wake-and-bakes would have an adjustment period, true. :-) But if pot were legalized it would create all kinds of jobs. It would probably be larger than the tobacco industry, as I know people who got off the much harmful tobacco by smoking the non-harmful weed.

2. It would be taxed so all of us that do it would be bitching all the time about the rising cost of a gram.

This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Economics 101, and Ars already explained that.

3. You would have a rising number of people being stoned all the time and then all you people that dont do it will bitch because their caramel machiatto wont be made correctly.

Where are you getting these ideas? "Say No To Drugs" class?

4. I will say theres at least twenty percent of people that smoke pot on the sole basis that its illegal and thus would move on to other drugs that are illegal.

These people are a waste of air anyway. Who said the rest of us have to babysit the stupid?

I am a marijuana user, and im completely fine with it being the way it is. I have no problem finding it, i use it in a completely mature manner. It dosent hurt anyone, the only people that get caught with it are the people that are stupid about it. Keep shit to yourself, live your life and there is no reason for it to be legalized.

This sounds so similar to: "If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be worried about wire tapping." My issue with pot being illegal is not that I have a hard time getting it or I'm worried I'm going to be arrested. My problem with pot being illegal is that it's bad for the economy, it's bad for people's health, it feeds into the innate racism of the legal system, it's based on ignorance and continues the trend, and it's the height of hypocrisy.


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