I am new to these forums, are they usually so off topic. Anyone care how much we spend every year to lock up pot smokers? I have first hand knowledge it improves lives, and is not detrimental except to those who are addicted to self and the pursuit of pleasure.
I think marijuana should be removed from the list of controlled substances and anyone who wishes should be given a permit to grow it for their own use just as people are given the right to brew beer, wine, whiskey and grow tobacco for same purpose. The reduction in crime statistics relative to cannabis would be immediate and devastating to the drug lords.
I heartily contest the notion that in spite of it’s long life in the body, THC is not addictive. Can it become habitual? Most certainly but it fails the test for addiction. Unlike real addictive substances like alcohol and tobacco and caffeine to name three legal ones, there are no withdrawal symptoms to speak of.
As for the smoke being bad for the lungs, fact is the new varieties of the weed allow for far less inhaling than the old less potent herb and if even this is a problem it is quite simple to eat the stuff in candy, cookies, brownies etc.
Though a lot of focus is placed on smuggled pot, nearly every state in the union produces quite substantial amounts of high quality cannabis much of it grown under lights hydroponically. Mexican weed has only one benefit to the smoker, it’s far cheaper than the home grown varieties which typically sell for $50 an eighth and that, I am given to understand, is a low figure.
Washington, DC: Marijuana production and the amount of cannabis available domestically are on the increase, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center’s (NDIC) 2006 “National Drug Threat Assessment” report.
The report finds that marijuana production in Mexico, Canada and the US is rising, with domestic cannabis production increasing sharply in 2005 to its “highest recorded level.”
Marijuana availability is also increasing, the NDIC finds. Among those state and local law enforcement agencies polled in the study, 98 percent rank pot’s availability in their area is either “moderate” or “high.” Last year’s NDIC report estimated that between 12,000 and 25,000 metric tons of marijuana is available in the United States.
So much for the war on drugs which should, if anything, be concentrated on much more harmful substances like cocaine, meth and heroin, the last being a huge contributor to the Taliban from sales of opium grown in Afghanistan.
The whole medical marijuana thing is a big scam. It is just subtrafuge for a NORML attempt to legalize dope smoking. Smoking marijuana is just plain stupid. Why do you think they call it dope? Stick with beer. You’ll retain more brain cells that way.
The whole medical marijuana thing is a big scam. It is just subtrafuge for a NORML attempt to legalize dope smoking. Smoking marijuana is just plain stupid. Why do you think they call it dope? Stick with beer. You’ll retain more brain cells that way.
I don’t believe you’re correct. You are saying doctors who prescribe cannabis are in collusion with NORML? I don’t think so.
As for whether or not smoking weed is stupid, this has no bearing on legalization. The substance is not, as you say, dope. It’s a non narcotic, non addictive recreational substance that never ever should have been listed. Removing it from the list would put a huge dent in police budgets and drug smuggler’s pocket books.
It is, by the way, a hell of a lot safer than your beer which also kills brain cells. Did youi know that binge drinking is the number one cause of pancreatitis? It’s true and a recent bout of that malady has ended my beer drinking days.
Marijuana Should Be Legalized Because Its Prohibition Unnecessarily Taxes Law Enforcement
The whole medical marijuana thing is a big scam. It is just subtrafuge for a NORML attempt to legalize dope smoking. Smoking marijuana is just plain stupid. Why do you think they call it dope? Stick with beer. You’ll retain more brain cells that way.
So a guy who styles himself as a “social liberal/fiscal conservative” thinks that the federal government should continue to enforce a law prohibiting people from using a plant?
The Pharmaceutical companies would Lose Billions of dollars that people spend on medicine for one thing or another. “Sanity Saver” is an herbal Prozac.
My eyesight gradually decreased since I was a child.. till I wore coke bottle glasses (thick lenses)
Then… from 18 till… my eyesight has stayed the same for 30 yrs.... Medicinal, religious, economic, what reason do you want for the legalization to be an intelligent decision?
Hemp.....rope, paper, clothing.... cash crop that greed wants to buy....
The Pharmaceutical companies would Lose Billions of dollars that people spend on medicine for one thing or another. “Sanity Saver” is an herbal Prozac.
...
Hemp.....rope, paper, clothing.... cash crop that greed wants to buy....
If that were true, I’d be inclined to think that these companies would be doing everything they could to legalize it. Get a tobacco-like stamp from the FDA, mark it up and sell it. Sure, there’d be competition from homegrown stuff, but most people are too lazy for that. And since it’s a weed that will grow on its own, the profit margin would be insane.
My own take on it is that few career lawmakers want to be on record for voting “yes” on a bill that would legalize pot, even in a medical context. If it changes, it’ll probably be the court system that does it.
The posts here reflect two sides, those who are afraid of the stuff and those who are not. I personally have found it to be quite helpful with ADHD. alcohol makes me do things I don’t want to do, like when I get too drunk to walk I drive. I no longer drink and have become a friend of Bill W. Marijuana does not need to be smoked, hence no lung involvement. No one mentioned that fact. Alcohol has busted up more relationships than smoke ever will. Alcohol has caused more crime, more despair, and more derelection of duty than mary jane ever thought of. Ever had a smoke hangover? never happen!!
Marijuana is a plant whose uses are myriad. It can be weaved into clothing, made into paper or rope, and is GREAT medicine. Driving while high is no worse than taking pain meds and driving. The warning is just that, a warning. No one is pulled over and checked for Codine in their blood system.
All the arguments against legalization seem to come from those who don’t or never used it. I have never met anyone who used and quit who is for jailing pot smokers. Tax evaders ok, dealers ok, but not those who just use it.
I don’t like the new super THC strains. I don’t use it to drop out, but rather to tolerate those who would impose their will on me.
What ever happened to pursuit of happiness. I smoke every joint with a sense of gratitude that the GREAT Spirit has supplied it for my needs. I am old too, very close to 60.
Marijuana will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no smoke....!! I have no plans to Straighten out. It has been studied more than any other substance and no one has yet to come up with any evidence to convince me it is harmful.
You have a fool proof recipe? Eating the stuff is, to say the least, trippy. Had some hash cookies once and my only question is, how do you regulate intake? Maybe it should be, why would you want to but my problem has always been the danger of cooking some expensive stuff and still getting your money’s worth. What’s the brownie equivalent of two or three hits?
Hemp and marijuana are only marginally related. You’re not going to get a buzz off hemp. Unfortunately, the government has used the botanical relationship to ban the farming of hemp which could be a highly profitable crop for American farmers.
As far as medical cannabis is concerned the government is lying. Clinical research in the US is severely restrained due to the current laws, yet much evidence exists today about the benefits of medicinal cannabis, so here are a few examples from NORML’s publication ‘Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids’.
Alzheimer’s disease. A review of recent scientific literature indicates that cannabinoid therapy may provide symptomatic relief to AD patients while also moderating progression. (References, Ramirez et al. 2005, the Journal of Neuroscience 25; Eubanks et al. 2006 Molecular Pharmaceutics; Hampson et al. 1998, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95; Science News. June 11, 1998; and more)
ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Writing in the March 2004 issue of the journal ‘Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Other Motor Neuron Disorders’ Investigators at the California Pacific Medical Center reported that the administration of THC prior and after the onset of ALS symptoms staved disease progression and prolonged survival in laboratory animals compared to untreated control specimens.
Diabetes Mellitus. 8 references given
Dystonia. 7 references given
Fibromyalgia. 10 references given
Gliomas. 26 references given
Gastrointestinal Disorders. 12 references given
Hepatitis C. 15 references given
Hypertension. 17 references given
Incontinence. 5 references given
Multiple Sclerosis, 17 references given
Osteoporosis. 4 references given
Pruritis. 7 references given
Sleep Apnea. 4 references given
Tourette’s Syndrome. 7 references given
The aforementioned diseases are the new ones found where medical cannabis appears to be promising. Other diseases such as glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis, nausea, side effects from cancer treatment, chronic pain, neuropathic pain, eating disorders and depression, just to mention a few. As with any medicine the dosage must be controlled by a physician.
The American College of Physicians has come out recently that past approaches and debate over cannabis have clouded science and prevented meaningful research. Many researchers have come forward in the past and have complained about the federal governments resistance into full research and making money available only to study the bad side. Does that remind anyone of the government’s outright silencing of many scientists when it comes to global warming? If it don’t fit the party line, obfuscate the truth. According to Bruce Mirken who works for the Marijuana Policy Project feels that the American College of Physicians’ stand: “ pulverized the government’s two favorite myths about medical marijuana - that it’s not supported by the medical community and that science hasn’t shown marijuana to have medical value.”
“In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume… Marijuana in it’s natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.”
-Drug Enforcement Administration, Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis Young, NORML v DEA, 1988
We are currently entering the sixth year of the war in Iraq. It is another war perpetrated by a government that lied us into this quagmire and over two thirds of the country are demanding an end to this atrocity. The failed 94 year old war on drugs is also based on lies, perpetrated by the same special interest serving government, wasting your hard earned money! 60% of the population favor decriminalization of personal use and 75% of you support the idea of medical use, yet nobody speaks up. It is high time to stop this insanity, both at home and in Iraq. We Americans have the right to demand from our government that our taxes be spent wisely to benefit the public, not the Industrial Prison Complex.
We have the right to demand the truth from public servants, not propaganda, lies and favors to the special interests.
Don’t take my word for it, check this link:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3376
