What is your stance on legalizing marijuana? (or any other drug)

[crash]

One thing of which we are pretty sure is that THC is lipophilic; it tends to cling to fatty tissue e.g. fatty tissue in the brain.

It has been suggested, but not proven...at least not enough to convince me, that THC may actually be physically addictive. When the body feels it may be withdrawing from the drug, The THC stored in the fatty tissue in the brain is released in small doses; small enough so the you do not consciously realize you are experiencing a withdrawl symptom.

Does this sound logical and reasonable, or even plausible to anyone else? I think it is interesting, and would explain a lack of withdrawl symptoms. I am hesitant to completely accept the idea with out further study, but I will by no means discount it either.

[liza123]

I agree with Kallisti. Drugs such as marijuana, heroin, etc are addictive and detrimental to health in the shorter run, much more so than alcohol and cigarettes. How much of alcohol do you need to consume before it affects your health? I have taken alcohol occasionally and there were no side effects. How many things do not turn poisonous when taken excessively? Can you take the same amount of marijuana as alcohol and what would happen????Amount is the operative word. Shorter run are the operative words.

drug (drug)
1. a chemical substance that affects the processes of the mind or body.
2. any chemical compound used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease or other abnormal condition.
3. a substance used recreationally for its effects on the central nervous system, such as a narcotic.
4. to administer a drug to.
________________________________________
alcohol /al•co•hol/ (al´kah-hol)
1. any of a class of organic compounds containing the hydroxyl (—OH) functional group except those in which the OH group is attached to an aromatic ring (phenols). Alcohols are classified as primary, secondary, or tertiary according to whether the carbon atom to which the OH group is attached is bonded to one, two, or three other carbon atoms and as monohydric, dihydric, or trihydric according to whether they contain one, two, or three OH groups; the latter two are called diols and triols, respectively.

[liza123]

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=marijuana
Noun
•S: (n) marijuana, marihuana, ganja, Cannabis sativa (a strong-smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared) •S: (n) cannabis, marijuana, marihuana, ganja (the most commonly used illicit drug; considered a soft drug, it consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect)

http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/cognition-unaffected-marijuana-use...is harvard good enough?
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cannabis-May-Lead-to-Heroin-Addiction-28837.shtml.
 Find out how a cig is made, what alcohol refers to, why not only US  but other countries in the world are hesitating to legalize marijuana instead of 'trying' to be 'oversmart', etc. Are they all fools and only some people are genuises? bear in mind that some pharmaceutical drugs, etc had to be recalled years later after findings of problems that affect health due to lack of proper studies and later findings. In simple words, prevention is better than cure.  FULL STOP.
PS- i have taken alcoholic beverages and did not feel high or whatsover due to the amount. now, if i were to take the same amount of marijuana, would i feel the same as when i took the liquor?that there is no immediate effect of taking marijuana like feeling high or whatsover?


"Greed breeds turmoil"

[liza123]

"And yes, I do smoke marijuana.  And it's misinformed people like liza that are hampering the legalization effort in this country.  Grow a fucking brain people.is flatout untrue and demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge of the subject.  Also, this is the internet.  If you can't deal with occasional flaming than I suggest you avoid forums all together.Aside from the health aspects of marijuana, does it not concern you that we have wasted billions of dollars fighting this war on drugs and are incarcerating millions of nonviolet drug offenders?"-quote from Enigma, the genius

I cannot seem to find anywhere in Dark Poet 's STATING CLEARLY that she wants the opinions from US residents(and SWM answering?).
Engima, smart guy,
Just because this forum has .us does not mean it is closed to non-US residents. Or did you not know that forums were open to people from other countries? Example, SWM is from UK.
Hmm, so what made you ASSUME that I am from US? Ha, I forgot, the pot? Is it your way to analyse, "fucking brain "(your qoute; aren 't you the smart one?), etc? When and where did I tell you that I am from US?Perhaps, if you had noted/observed?(helps for analysis), you would have realised that I am prone to British English rather than American English. You can make suggestions about me getting off all forums. But, did I ask you? Who are you to do so? What right do you have to tell another person such a thing?
Self-conquest is the greatest victory. If you get inflamed as you put it, it simply means that you cannot control yourself. More marijuana?

[liza123]

Enigma, since you have "grown a fucking brain", please which part of your brain told you that I am from US? Did you not know that the same problem of legalization, war on drugs, etc. applies to other countries as well? "None so blind as those who will not see, none so deaf as those who will not hear". My, my, your brain is indeed BIG, assumptions, no proper analysis, evidence..jump to conclusion and make wonderful comments...people like liza(who may or may not reside in US ) are ruining US by not supporting legalization of marijuana in US. Shall I laugh or cry? I am laughing
LOL. That was good.   Please do take more marijuana, it is apparently helping your thinking powers

[Enigma]

Ok, I made an assumption that was wrong.  I admit that.  But I'm an American so I guess that means I'm an egocentric asshole by default.
But if you think marijuana is more dangerous in the shorter run or longer run than alcohol, heroin, or cigarettes than you quite simply do not know what you are talking about. 


And please, EDIT YOUR POSTS instead of posting 3 different posts.

Find out how a cig is made, what alcohol refers to, why not only US  but other countries in the world are hesitating to legalize marijuana instead of 'trying' to be 'oversmart', etc. Are they all fools and only some people are genuises?

What does this even mean?  It's this kind of babble that makes you look unintelligent.  But as a matter of fact, I'm aware of how cigarettes are made.  I'm not sure you are.  Read this :

http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/whatsinit.htm

The complete list of chemicals added to your cigarettes is too long to list here. Here are some examples that will surprise you:

    * Fungicides and pesticides -- Cause many types of cancers and birth defects.
    * Cadmium -- Linked to lung and prostate cancer.
    * Benzene -- Linked to leukemia.
    * Formaldehyde -- Linked to lung cancer.
    * Nickel -- Causes increased susceptibility to lung infections.

Those are some examples of what's added to a cigarette.  Now, lets think, what chemicals are added to marijuana?  NONE.

 

bear in mind that some pharmaceutical drugs, etc had to be recalled years later after findings of problems that affect health due to lack of proper studies and later findings. In simple words, prevention is better than cure.  FULL STOP.

Yes this is true.  Key words here: PHARAMACEUTICAL DRUGS.  Marijuana has been used since the third millennium BC.  And in all that time, it STILL has never killed anyone. 

PS- i have taken alcoholic beverages and did not feel high or whatsover due to the amount. now, if i were to take the same amount of marijuana, would i feel the same as when i took the liquor?that there is no immediate effect of taking marijuana like feeling high or whatsover?

All depends on your tolerance.  But just because can have more immediate effects doen't automatically make it worse. 

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=marijuana
Noun
•S: (n) marijuana, marihuana, ganja, Cannabis sativa (a strong-smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared) •S: (n) cannabis, marijuana, marihuana, ganja (the most commonly used illicit drug; considered a soft drug, it consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect)

Thank you. I was entirely unfamiliar with the concept of marijuana until you posted this definition.   

http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/cognition-unaffected-marijuana-use...is harvard good enough?

Did you even read your own source?  which by the way is http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/cognition-unaffected-marijuana-use

Cognition unaffected by marijuana use

Harrison Pope, a Harvard professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues at McLean Hospital, a Harvard-affiliated psychiatric facility in Belmont, Mass., investigated the long-term cognitive effects of smoking marijuana. They recruited 180 people, who ranged from light to heavy users. Heavy use was defined as smoking pot at least 5,000 times. All the research subjects took batteries of intelligence, attention, learning, and memory tests on days zero, one, seven, and 28 after quitting the drug. On days zero, one and seven, current heavy smokers scored significantly lower than the other groups on memory tests. "By day 28, however, there were no significant differences among the groups on any of 10 different tests, and no significant association between cumulative lifetime marijuana use and test scores," Pope says. The researchers concluded that heavy marijuana use produces no irreversible mental deficits. But they cannot say for sure why pot smokers remain impaired for days or weeks after giving up the drug.

Straight from Harvard.  "Marijuana use produces no irreversible mental deficits".  So, Harvard good enough for you?

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Cannabis-May-Lead-to-Heroin-Addiction-28837.shtml.

The gateway theory is massively controversial.  Correlation =/= causation.  More than two-thirds of drug abusers are regular tobacco smokers, a rate more than double that of the rest of the population.  So if anything, tobacco is the gateway.

[spider]

But I'm an American so I guess that means I'm an egocentric asshole by default

amen brother!

[liza123]

Ok, I made an assumption that was wrong.  I admit that.  But I'm an American so I guess that means I'm an egocentric asshole by default.

Precisely. So, there is no point discussing further. More so to a marijuana user.LOL

[Enigma]

Yup, a marijuana user who disproved every argument you had.  Looks like you don't need to use marijuana to be an idiot!

[voodoo scientist]

Legalization is the only way to solve the problems of psychoactive drug usage. It may take 5 years, it may take 20 years, it may take 100 years, but it's going to happen.

Why? There simply is no demonstrable net benefit to to banning any substance or good with significant demand, which means that eventually, the cultural conditioning most everyone has been subjected to in the past 30 years will be revealed as the artificial construct it really is.

[Karaten]

Banning things does not make them go away.

That being said, since they do not enforce drug laws that well anyways they may as well legalize them, tax them, and regulate them. With how common they are, they're pretty much already legal.

[voodoo scientist]

I'm not saying drug users aren't idiots, just that there's no reason to or benefit derived from not allowing them to act out their idiocy.

[Enigma]

I am totally for decriminalizing LSD and other psychedelics for research and therapy under trained psychologists.  Psychedelic drugs are powerful tools for exploring the mind and have many therapeutic uses.  Stanislav Grof did an experiment in which he administered LSD to terminally ill cancer patients in guided sessions to induce a transcendent spiritual experience.  The experiences cured pain that which drugs, many with ravaging side effects, could not.  Many patients were able to reconcile with confused and distraught family members.  As a result, some patients reported being at peace with death, seeing it as a next great adventure.  More research needs to be done into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic drugs but is hampered by the current drug laws.  Evidence has shown that MDMA (aka ecstacy) can be used to help treat PTSD.  The psychological uses of these drugs cannot be ignored. 

www.maps.org
The Human Encounter With Death - By Stanislav Grof (pick it up.  only $4)

[Ajna]

For starters, I strongly believe that what you do with your body is your choice and the government has no right to interfere. Especially on a federal level.
If you want to shoot heroine into your veins, smoke crack, kill yourself, put anything into your body, why is it the governments decision that you can or cannot? What you do in public is the governments domain perhaps... (though that is strongly debatable) but in the privacy of your own home, it is certainly none of their business or concern.

Secondly, there is absolutely no doubt that marijuana is less harmful to your body and society than alcohol.
If there was a bar for cannabis, and no alcohol was allowed, it would be a very mellow environment. It is the nature of the drug to make you docile, relaxed. There would be considerably less bar fights and violence in general.
As i imagine it has already been mentioned, it is impossible to overdose on marijuana. If you had a joint that never burnt down, but always produced smoke; and you had a bottle of vodka that never ran empty; you could give the joint to one person (or bowl, blunt, etc.), and the bottle of vodka to another(or beer, wine, etc.), and tell them to consume until they drop.... the cannabis smoker would drop only into sleep if he were so inclined... the alcohol consumer would drop dead (probably before the previously mentioned sleep occurred)
While it would not be recommended for anyone to drive while intoxicated, someone who is high has much more business behind a wheel than someone who is drunk. The only people who would attest this is those who have never been high (or had only been high a few times and have a false sense of first hand experience with the substance)
Marijuana smoke alone has never killed anyone even from lung cancer in recorded history.

Marijuana has also been proven to have many medicinal purposes, thus its pseudo-legalization in places like California and Oregon. The government has a history of having invested interest in demonizing cannabis in the eyes of the public. If youve ever seen reefer madness, you cant deny this to be fact. Any hallucinogenic substance (which weed is considered to be a mild case of) commonly gives the user a wider intuitive perspective, causing a more questioning nature of standards and taboos of society. standards and taboos arguably set in place to keep society in the pyramid shape it remains in today.
Keeping the substance illegal also helps law enforcement control various groups that would otherwise be harder to contain because of their association with it, such as youths, anti-society or government activists, some minorities, and users of other drugs.
 Not to mention, making a plant that grows from the ground illegal seems a bit silly. I see it in line with outlawing tomatoes or corn. 

[pert -5]

if we can choose alcohol or cigarettes why not cannabis? but then should we also be able to chose heroin, crack, meths, were should the line be drawn? should there even be a line?

Very, very good point SWM.  It would be easy to say, "legalize pot and shrooms, but keep smack and crack illegal."  But who would make that decision?  Who would we want to make the decision as to where to draw that line.  Certainly not the government and it's little popularity contest (at least I speak in regards to the U.S. government).  The medical community would be OK, but then you run the risk of there being what I call "textbookies;" or people who make a priori judgments based on what they have read rather than what the have experienced firsthand.  A board of specialist could be brought in to observe the effects on some volunteers and deem whether a particular reagent is beneficial or not, but I'd be afraid of a scandal that would bring us back to square one.  Hmmm, I wonder...

Drugs such as marijuana...are addictive and detrimental to health in the shorter run, much more so than alcohol and cigarettes.

Ugh, where does she get this shit, from the back of a cereal box?  I mean, seriously, wtf. 

PS
I suppose it is heartening that mankind has made such great progress in the
field of propaganda and proselytization.  *This is a fucking joke.*

[pert -5]

I see it in line with outlawing tomatoes or corn. 

Datura Stramonium grows along the side of the road here in PA, U.S..

http://www.erowid.org/plants/datura/datura.shtml

It's right up there with henbane and mandrake root in scope of poison and anticholinergic ability; in other words: very potent shit.  Pretty flowers though...