Legalize Marijuana

[RubberDucky]

i'm too lazy to write an introduction but basically i want to hear people's opinions on legalizing reefer.

1) it is better than cigarettes for the body
2) it is less anebriating (sp?) than alcohol
3) it has fewer long term effects


comment in please :)

[aclu14]

Only as anestesia (however you spell it)

[MacReady]

it depends on person. There is difference between abuse and use of using marijuana. Some people use it for health reasons, but some use it for wrong reasons like party, getting high, making friends through using marijuana, depend on marijuana for emotional problems making it like depression drugs which we should struggle on our emotion by depending on ourselves not marijuana makes us stronger. I dont blame those who have health problems who need marijuana and that they should be legalize for it. In some way marijuana is better than cigarette but marijuana can be worse than cigarette. it all depends on who is using and how it affect a person.

[jettmotto]

i think i posted this somewhere else but oh well:) my "counciler" told me marijuana has the same affect as alcohol cos they are both depressents! i then asked him if he has ever drank/smoked pot? then he states that marijuana is a hullusinagent (spell check) i told him now i know you never smoked just pot! if you are seeing stuff when you smoke the ganga then its laced!! not even the mawui wowie, alaskan thunder f*@% will make you see things! anyways yea pot should be legal for medical reasons..... by medical i mean to cure a hang over too:D sell it like tylenol not pounds at a time just like enough for if you need some anytime...bla

[little_army_babe]

Only reason it's not legal is because the government hasn't figured out a way to control it. I however do believe that it should be legal.

But if you look at it.....
God made weed and Man made cigarettes which do you trust???

:D :D

[cleoeo]

I don't smoke it and havn't for 20 years, but it should be legalized along the same lines as alcohol. We're locking up a lot of peaceful dope smokers and providing an easy cashflow for criminal doperunners in my opinion.

[little_army_babe]

I have to go back to what I originally said. I don't smoke and haven't for a really long time but like I said

"God made weed, Man made cigarettes who do you trust"?

[Serendipity]

I smoked marijuana for many years. I don't now, though that's not a hard-and-fast rule - I may do so again, I know exactly what it's all about, and it's not a problem. :D

Let's dispel some myths:Only reason it's not legal is because the government hasn't figured out a way to control it. Not altogether true. Hemp fibre is used for rope-making, and when marijuana was made illegal, nylon and otherv artificial polymers were hitting the market. I've heard that DuPont had some say in making it illegal, though I don't know the details. As with so many things, it's not a question of control, it's a question of profit. Despite all the narcotics laws (which IMO should be aimed at substances like crack, heroin, etc, and should target suppliers, not users), there are millions (billions?) of cannabis users all across the USA, Europe, Asia, Australasia, and Africa, which shows that, whatever your opinion on cannabis, these laws are not working.

...then he states that marijuana is a hullusinagent... Cannabis is not hallucinogenic (the word you were looking for is "hallucinogen", Jetmotto :) ) In many years' use, I never once saw, or imagined I saw, anything that was not there, and nobody I know has ever mentioned such a experience to me.

Cannabis is often called a "gateway drug" because cannabis is what most drug users start with before "graduating" to other, harder drugs. While this is factually questionable (many users start out on crack or heroin), it is beyond me quite how anybody can work out that this is a good reason for keeping cannabis illegal and imposing harsher penalties on its users. If cannabis were taken out of the criminals' hands and put into the public domain, then it would not be a gateway drug, as cannabis users wouldn't come into contact with the black marketeers. Better still, let people cultivate their own, and cut money out of the equation (almost) altogether.

What is needed is not all the "Just Say No" guff, not "Reefer Madness" films, and not the phoney War On Drugs, because all of these have proven to be ineffective. We need good education, giving young people the facts about (all) drugs, presented in a way that young people won't laugh at. Probably the best people to do that are ex-users.

[CBranski]

I'm certainly in favor of a "grow your own, smoke your own" rule regarding marijuana-the fact is that marijuana when compared to other drugs (including alcohol) is somewhat harmless.

"Gateway Drug?" What's that, anyway? If we want to find "gateway drugs" maybe we should start with soda and candy-most kids get a hold of these before they think about pot.

The greatest weapon in the Drug War should be facts, not monster under the bed stories that few believe anyway. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think we could have "won" the drug war in the US if we kept in mind that "victory" means that a whole lot of people are going to be out of work.

[RubberDucky]

from what i've heard the main effect of marijuana is it makes you feel very relaxed and seems to slow things down..

but seriously, from being around high people and drunk people, i'd say the high ones have more control.


also, i believe marijuana is an upper while alcohol is a downer.. can anybody verify?

[paulgro]

Pot is a downer also...

[Serendipity]

CB: A Gateway Drug is one that leads to a person taking other, usually "harder" drugs, due to the person being in a social circle that uses both cannabis and other drugs. There is also a proper medical meaning for the term, "Gateway Drug", but it's all biotechnical rather than sociological and I can't find a link to it. ;) However, here's Three (http://www.health.org/reality/publications/others/questions/q7.asp) Gateway (http://members.optusnet.com.au/~apfdfy/Gate.html) Drug (http://www.geocities.com/cannabismyths/Gateway001.html) sites.

My argument is that, by taking cannabis out of the black market and making it accessible (legally accessible, that is: there's plenty of it around anyway!), it's easier to avoid that social circle. As it is, millions of Europeans and Americans (and everywhere else-ians, too) smoke it every day, which just helps the black marketeers make a nice profit (except for the handful who get caught).

As for the effects, heck it's very hard to describe. I wouldn't want to be stoned when working (I'm a clown, and I need all my wits about me), but for listening to or playing music, it's great. You don't get any wonderful mystical insights or anything like that, it's just - different. You feel good, for sure! And you don't lose control, as you can with alcohol, you don't think you're God, as with cocaine (so I've heard ;) ), you don't talk rubbish for hours as with speed, you don't see things that you could easily mistake for divine intervention, as with LSD...

You're absolutely right, CB, to say that good, balanced, accurate information is what kids need. :D:D

[weldordave]

"Smokem if ya got em"
Thomas Chong

[jettmotto]

well first off i saw a lot of people talking about "gate way drug"...
my personal opinion is yea, kinda. when you run out and you gotta go find more where do you get it?? my guy does speed, shrooms, and meth. now the drug itself, not gateway, the person i go to is the gateway :confused: anyone follow that?? lol

next, (i love these drug/alcohol classes:D )this week my counciler told me that there is 400 times more "tar" in pot than ciggs. therefore ciggs. are safer! since we are censored kinda on here i'll just let you imagine what i told him next ;) he then followed up saying that "todays" pot is 60% better than was 1960's which may be true but all that told me was in 30 - 40 mores years i'm gonna have to get high again (if i'm not already :D )

and finally i'll leave you with this cos i'm getting sleepy, he tells us that pot causes cancer, broncitus, emphazima, ect. then tells us that "they" wanna make it legal for Rx patients of cancer, broncitus, emphazima sufferers......ummmm that makes sense!
**wonders, since i already have broncitus can i smoke my pot in peace now**
:p

[weldordave]

jett, take a medicinal hit from DR. Bong and keep the faith, Brother!

[Serendipity]

W-Dave, I admire your simple approach! :D

J-Motto, cannabis is an expectorant, which means it causes the smoker to cough (there's a difference between the short-term cough you get from smoking pot and the long term cough you get from smoking tobacco). Although unpleasant at the time, this coughing is actually a good thing, since it removes crap from the lungs. 400 times more tar??? Boy oh boy, they do try it on sometimes! :D And yes, I'd say that weed today is much stronger than what was around in the 60s.

I follow you perfectly when you say that drug suppliers are the gateway, not the drug itself. That's more or less my point - it's to do with who you meet, not what you take.

There's a lot of evidence for the medicinal benefits of cannabis. The only things in the way are:

1) Our preconceptions. Cannabis is an illegal substance, and no way can an illegal substance be GOOD for us - can it?

2) There's a lot of big bucks pharmaceutical companies who don't want it to be known that a weed which anyone can grow is better than their (expensive) chemical concoctions for, say, treating/alleviating arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, etc etc etc.

[The Empress]

Is there anything that does not cause cancer these days? TV, cell phones, microwave ovens, and many many other things. I personally think that marijuana should be legalized. I haven't done it in years but I remember that I didn't start using it until I needed a quick come down from the speed, acid, or E I had taken. How is that for a gateway drug?

I have known many people that have quit smoking up but hardly anyone that has quit smoking cigarettes. Very few people carry the habit of smoking weed beyond high school or college. I am speaking in relative terms of course.

Actually I am of the opinion that all drugs should be legalized and taxed.

[jettmotto]

mmmmm......pootttt:p

i follow him "the counciler" with it causes lung damage, whatever, but like ya said what doesn't? (microwave,cell phones, ect.) but if you can point out one person that can sit and smoke 20-40 "marijuana ciggs" lol like they would with a pack of camels then yea, maybe, it could cause whatever, but i think the risk is way lower in pot smokers than tobacco smokers.

(cont.)
another thing i learned at this class was that something about fat tissue around your brain expands 400 times ( i think 400 was the secret number at the class) but anyways per joint!!! i had a couple comments about that...
1.)are pot heads concidered fat heads then??
2.)400 times is a lot (per joint) why hasn't my head exploded yet cause i sit and smoke (when i smoked) 3-5 joints a day!
thats it fer now but i promise more posts with each drug/alcohol
class :D just cos what the guy says is off the wall and according to him this is all based on 80 yrs of research!!!!:confused:

[Serendipity]

This Page (http://www.iol.ie/~eurad/21cann~1.htm) amused me, J-Motto :) and so did This Page (http://www.cnoa.org/N-10.pdf) (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)

Why does everyone think that pot smokers get hallucinations? Weird.

[Phreakmeister]

Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good,
They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would.
They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home.
Then they'll stone ya when you're there all alone.
But I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.

Well, they'll stone ya when you're walkin' 'long the street.
They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to keep your seat.
They'll stone ya when you're walkin' on the floor.
They'll stone ya when you're walkin' to the door.
But I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.

They'll stone ya when you're at the breakfast table.
They'll stone ya when you are young and able.
They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to make a buck.
They'll stone ya and then they'll say, "good luck."
Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.

Well, they'll stone you and say that it's the end.
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again.
They'll stone you when you're riding in your car.
They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar.
Yes, but I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.

Well, they'll stone you when you walk all alone.
They'll stone you when you are walking home.
They'll stone you and then say you are brave.
They'll stone you when you are set down in your grave.
But I would not feel so all alone,
Everybody must get stoned.