I'm a dad and granpa, iif you care about your kinds you will say the same things because that's what caring parents. It sounds like BS from the receiving end. The wheels go round.
Caution: Marijuana may not be lesser evil
- Thread starter sanctus
- Start date
I'm a dad and granpa, iif you care about your kinds you will say the same things because that's what caring parents. It sounds like BS from the receiving end. The wheels go round.
You know Maple, I would guess all of us said the same thing at 16-17 years old
I know I did, and guess what, at 47 years old, I've become my dad
You know Maple, I would guess all of us said the same thing at 16-17 years old
Good evening Sanctus.:wave:
I dropped pot like thaaaaaaaaat. It was getting too expensive but I would still get high if I had the opportunity. I'm just going to wait 'til I'm rich so I can be that guy on your street that wears a housecoat and pipe in his hand while going out to grab the newspaper. Awwww yeaaa.
So does anyone have a copy of Reefer Madness? If we're going to compare apples and apples or oranges and oranges from 1950 and 2007, perhaps we should see both versions of marijuana hysteria. We know the anti-smoking of 2007, let's see reefer madness ... isn't it propaganda about drug use ... sort of like the same thing you'd find in the modern day Catholic Church?
Marijuana is not addictive and your original post is poppy cock, much like reefer madness. It almost seems like someone is trying to ride on the coat tails of the anti-smoking movement to imply that smoking drugs is not only equally bad for your health, but may turn you into a schitzophrenic.
Imagine that.
Just like Reefer Madness
lol Ever heard the expression "don't count your chickens before they're hatched"? After having kids one realizes that nothing important went as planned.
I have a copy of Reefer Madness. Sits on my shelf right beside Up In Smoke. Marijuana could be considered a gateway drug. It got me in to the stoner world. Next came oil and hash (same thing I know). Then LSD, then amphetamines and eventually even tried coke. I escaped addiction to all. Some may not be so lucky. Sh!tty home life, addictive "personality" even individual brain chemistry makeup may let others become addicted. Never met a junky yet who went straight to crack or speed first without trying booze or dope first. Pot is not good to go to high school on that's a given. As a teen I did not relish high school but thought best way to do it was do my time get in and get out asap. My bro almost screwed up big time at school do to pot. Went from "A" student to forging my parents signature on reports and letters explaining absenteeism. He dealt oil and it took a friend who did a B&E to get some cash to fund a drug buy and ending up freezing to death in a field evading cops looking to question him, to get him to straighten up enough to get his grades back up. He only smoked after school and on weekends after that.
Everything in moderation and a time and place for everything.
Everything in moderation and a time and place for everything.
Well aren't you adventurous ... marijuana and then cocaine or heroin. Wow. 'A' students that slide to 'C' students actually weren't really A students ... junior high is no fail policy, after all. A student in high school that steals from parents is not an A student. Nope.
There is no time and place for some drugs.
"No fail policy"? Junior high? I'm talking mid 70's here. My bro was an "A" student thru public school and except for a couple of years in grades 9&10 was an "A" student when he graduated. Straight "A"'s in all classes. Even go a plague commending his marks in drafting class at graduation. Not valedictorian type "A" student. He was still a stoner. You need to be an A student, a jock, a student council type and a community volunteer for that.
Studies have been done everywhere linking lowered IQ to smoking pot and in some cases just being exposed to marijuana use on a regular basis in the home. This old one from a 2003 article (www.research.carlton)....
The brain is a difficult part of you to fix or replace and if you want to screw it up by continued abuse of drugs or other pharmaceuticals, you probably won't care or notice - because your cognition will be
lowered significantly anyway far beyond the ability to compare before and after.
And you think life is moving smoothly along for you - you are probably locked into a steady depressed state realizing very little of mood elevation because you have forgotton what real "life" is like.
Laid back? Sure - like the rest of the world is passing you by - big time .... but who cares when you feel so mellow. Keep your name and birthdate tattoo'd somewhere on your body so you won't forget.
The brain is a difficult part of you to fix or replace and if you want to screw it up by continued abuse of drugs or other pharmaceuticals, you probably won't care or notice - because your cognition will be
lowered significantly anyway far beyond the ability to compare before and after.
And you think life is moving smoothly along for you - you are probably locked into a steady depressed state realizing very little of mood elevation because you have forgotton what real "life" is like.
Laid back? Sure - like the rest of the world is passing you by - big time .... but who cares when you feel so mellow. Keep your name and birthdate tattoo'd somewhere on your body so you won't forget.
Last edited:
Those of us who don't have a reserve capacity of brain cells no doubt would notice an overall decline in IQ, this however occurs in dullards anyway with or without grass. If we go long enough with this thread we will have mention of male breast enhancement from cannibis, lowered sperm count from cannibis, homosexuality, rape, sloth, and suicide, every ailment known to man has been laid at the foot of that nobel plant and not one of them has any basis in science.I'v seen studies out of the UK that showed stoned drivers were safer than the sober.The most intelligent advice about cannabis is practice moderation.:wave:
Pot doesn't kill brain cells in and of itself tho, so that research is pure hokum (the brain has THC receptors in it which will metabolize the substance- any dead brain cells would result from the act of smoking the stuff, which CAN be avoided- and eating it gets you WAY more screwed up, depending on dosage- it's so heavy I rarely do it)
And for the record, I am in the same camp as Darkbeaver pretty much- I smoke a little bit here and there- I do NOT roll up big cannons and get wired to my couch, I do NOT smoke it before or during work (it's honestly no fun, and I know it makes prioritization trickier at times) and I most certainly am not suffering any sort of mental devolution.
On an addiction level, I would say that the definition of the term is too fluid- I am about as "addicted" as many folks are to coffee I think- I would NOT nor have I EVER commited any sort of crime (well, besides buying or posessing the stuff) due either to the use of it OR the need to procure more, I have NEVER done ANYTHING I am even remotely ashamed of while under the "influence" ,which in my case is shockingly marginal, and I know I usually smoke killer stuff, but it doesn't make me messed up- as far as music and painting miniatures, I find it helps to make it possible to focus on producing stuff for longer than if I am not using it.
And the only time I would say that I might overdo it a bit would be at parties (which don't happen too much with everyone from my circle of friends having "grown up" and actually taken charge of their responsibilities) and even then, it's not a "smoke til something stupid happens" kind of thing, usually a bunch of us will roll a fair-sized number and just smoke it, then get down to whatever business might be at hand, usually hockey games or playing or recording music, or if it's a real crazy party, just listening to tunes and catching up with folks we don't get to see as much as we'd like
So my point- well, there's some REAL scary literature and some frightening studies, but I have done my own research- while marijuana is DEFINITELY not for everyone, it is perfectly fine for some, if not many.
As for being a "gateway" drug- a friend of mine is an RCMP officer (undercover Narc, no less) and his take on it is very realistic and in line with what others have said- nicotine is pretty much THE "gateway" if there is one, as it accustoms the user to getting comfortable with inhalinbg smoke (which is BAD for you and you shouldn't do it). Once you're past that, whoc knows what's next. That marijuana is a "gateway" is kinda absurd- it really REALLY depends on what your own particular "journey" is. Sorta like "fire exits", if you only want an "exit", the fire exit is NOT the one you'd take, only if you're fleeing a fire would you go out the fire exit. I DID do LSD and mushrooms, but that was just based on an intense curiousity (which was pretty much FULLY satisfied way back when) as to the very different effects of them. I LIKE marijuana, kind of a lot, and I like it for what it is- to me, it is not the "bottom rung" of anything, it's just what it is. I have no interest in heroin, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, pharmaceuticals, none of that stuff, and have never tried any of them either. My "journey" was about building me in all departments, not about wiping myself out
And for the record, I am in the same camp as Darkbeaver pretty much- I smoke a little bit here and there- I do NOT roll up big cannons and get wired to my couch, I do NOT smoke it before or during work (it's honestly no fun, and I know it makes prioritization trickier at times) and I most certainly am not suffering any sort of mental devolution.
On an addiction level, I would say that the definition of the term is too fluid- I am about as "addicted" as many folks are to coffee I think- I would NOT nor have I EVER commited any sort of crime (well, besides buying or posessing the stuff) due either to the use of it OR the need to procure more, I have NEVER done ANYTHING I am even remotely ashamed of while under the "influence" ,which in my case is shockingly marginal, and I know I usually smoke killer stuff, but it doesn't make me messed up- as far as music and painting miniatures, I find it helps to make it possible to focus on producing stuff for longer than if I am not using it.
And the only time I would say that I might overdo it a bit would be at parties (which don't happen too much with everyone from my circle of friends having "grown up" and actually taken charge of their responsibilities) and even then, it's not a "smoke til something stupid happens" kind of thing, usually a bunch of us will roll a fair-sized number and just smoke it, then get down to whatever business might be at hand, usually hockey games or playing or recording music, or if it's a real crazy party, just listening to tunes and catching up with folks we don't get to see as much as we'd like
So my point- well, there's some REAL scary literature and some frightening studies, but I have done my own research- while marijuana is DEFINITELY not for everyone, it is perfectly fine for some, if not many.
As for being a "gateway" drug- a friend of mine is an RCMP officer (undercover Narc, no less) and his take on it is very realistic and in line with what others have said- nicotine is pretty much THE "gateway" if there is one, as it accustoms the user to getting comfortable with inhalinbg smoke (which is BAD for you and you shouldn't do it). Once you're past that, whoc knows what's next. That marijuana is a "gateway" is kinda absurd- it really REALLY depends on what your own particular "journey" is. Sorta like "fire exits", if you only want an "exit", the fire exit is NOT the one you'd take, only if you're fleeing a fire would you go out the fire exit. I DID do LSD and mushrooms, but that was just based on an intense curiousity (which was pretty much FULLY satisfied way back when) as to the very different effects of them. I LIKE marijuana, kind of a lot, and I like it for what it is- to me, it is not the "bottom rung" of anything, it's just what it is. I have no interest in heroin, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, pharmaceuticals, none of that stuff, and have never tried any of them either. My "journey" was about building me in all departments, not about wiping myself out
The cost of pot policy
Pot Prisoners Cost Americans $1 Billion a Year
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet
Posted on February 10, 2007, Printed on February 10, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/47815/
American taxpayers are now spending more than a billion dollars per year to incarcerate its citizens for pot. That's according to statistics recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
According to the new BJS report, "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners suggests that there are now about 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses. The report failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county and/or local jails for pot-related offenses.
Multiplying these totals by U.S. DOJ prison expenditure data reveals that taxpayers are spending more than $1 billion annually to imprison pot offenders.
The new report is noteworthy because it undermines the common claim from law enforcement officers and bureaucrats, specifically White House drug czar John Walters, that few, if any, Americans are incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. In reality, nearly 1 out of 8 U.S. drug prisoners are locked up for pot.
Of course, several hundred thousand more Americans are arrested each year for violating marijuana laws, costing taxpayers another $8 billion dollars annually in criminal justice costs.
According to the most recent figures available from the FBI, police arrested an estimated 786,545 people on marijuana charges in 2005 -- more than twice the number of Americans arrested just 12 years ago. Among those arrested, about 88 percent -- some 696,074 Americans -- were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,471 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use.
These totals are the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and make up 42.6 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. Nevertheless, self-reported pot use by adults, as well as the ready availability of marijuana on the black market, remains virtually unchanged.
Marijuana isn't a harmless substance, and those who argue for a change in the drug's legal status do not claim it to be. However, pot's relative risks to the user and society are arguably fewer than those of alcohol and tobacco, and they do not warrant the expenses associated with targeting, arresting and prosecuting hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.
According to federal statistics, about 94 million Americans -- that's 40 percent of the U.S. population age 12 or older -- self-identify as having used cannabis at some point in their lives, and relatively few acknowledge having suffered significant deleterious health effects due to their use. America's public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it. It makes no sense to continue to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner.
Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. (norml.org, 888-67-NORML).
© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/47815/
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet
Posted on February 10, 2007, Printed on February 10, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/47815/
American taxpayers are now spending more than a billion dollars per year to incarcerate its citizens for pot. That's according to statistics recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics.
According to the new BJS report, "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners suggests that there are now about 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses. The report failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county and/or local jails for pot-related offenses.
Multiplying these totals by U.S. DOJ prison expenditure data reveals that taxpayers are spending more than $1 billion annually to imprison pot offenders.
The new report is noteworthy because it undermines the common claim from law enforcement officers and bureaucrats, specifically White House drug czar John Walters, that few, if any, Americans are incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. In reality, nearly 1 out of 8 U.S. drug prisoners are locked up for pot.
Of course, several hundred thousand more Americans are arrested each year for violating marijuana laws, costing taxpayers another $8 billion dollars annually in criminal justice costs.
According to the most recent figures available from the FBI, police arrested an estimated 786,545 people on marijuana charges in 2005 -- more than twice the number of Americans arrested just 12 years ago. Among those arrested, about 88 percent -- some 696,074 Americans -- were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,471 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use.
These totals are the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and make up 42.6 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. Nevertheless, self-reported pot use by adults, as well as the ready availability of marijuana on the black market, remains virtually unchanged.
Marijuana isn't a harmless substance, and those who argue for a change in the drug's legal status do not claim it to be. However, pot's relative risks to the user and society are arguably fewer than those of alcohol and tobacco, and they do not warrant the expenses associated with targeting, arresting and prosecuting hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.
According to federal statistics, about 94 million Americans -- that's 40 percent of the U.S. population age 12 or older -- self-identify as having used cannabis at some point in their lives, and relatively few acknowledge having suffered significant deleterious health effects due to their use. America's public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it. It makes no sense to continue to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner.
Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. (norml.org, 888-67-NORML).
© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/47815/
Yaeh, It's all like that. You know if you you drink too much water you will die. Anything in moderation, including whinning about who smokes a little frickin' dope. Duh! Just a few more trillion and the War on Drugs will be won. Duh!
Keeps the economy going just like Iraq and paraquat.
Keeps the economy going just like Iraq and paraquat.
Last edited:
I honestly don't care if my IQ goes down a little. I'd gladly sacrifice a few brain cells for some peace.
eh1eh: Yaeh, It's all like that. You know if you you drink too much water you will die.
this actually happened in england recently. Some kid's mother was worried about him during the hot summer and she told him to drink as much as he could and the poor little sod drank so much it killed him.
eh1eh: Yaeh, It's all like that. You know if you you drink too much water you will die.
this actually happened in england recently. Some kid's mother was worried about him during the hot summer and she told him to drink as much as he could and the poor little sod drank so much it killed him.
Yes, it also recently happened on a radio contest in USA. Free car! Many fired and I'm sure a pending lawsuit.