Alcohol vs Marijuana - what do you think?

[Graeme]

I should add that I will smoke a joint with a friend 2 or 3 times a year I maybe inhale 1 gram a year.

I have never "craved" a joint, I don't believe weed is very addictive. I would say it is a kin to greasy food. While most people never crave it for anything more than the "taste" some people after eating it for too long really do seem to be dependent on it.. Although I am sure it is more of a habit and easy to curtail.

 

[Colpy]

Graeme, I have no doubt your research is completely accurate.

As well, I have seen an article by a British physician that claims long-term very heavy use of marijuana produces Schizophrenia-type symptoms (voices, hallucinations...) and I have seen one example of that, so I would agree.(If the patient stops smoking, the symptoms disappear......)

Nevertheless, I've seen many, many people destroyed by alcohol. My best friend when I was in my teens died March 28 of cirrosis of the liver, aged 51. He drank himself to death. You simply can't compare the damage done by alcohol, and that done by grass. Alcohol is physically addictive, and in large doses KILLS.

Do not misinterpret this. I hate the concept of a "nanny state". If I want to drink myself to death, so be it, likewise smoke myself into a daze. And that's the crux of the matter.

 

[Liz]

I that Marijuna should be threated like all other drugs, it is a drug, some might say somewhat milder than the others, but nevertheless a drug that should be illegal. You can get mental illnesses by smoking it. Alchol on the other hand, is not the same, it does affect you but not as much as Marijuana and there is a reason why it is legal almost worldwide.

You are right that they are very different drugs indeed. I have seen many a drunk get violent and sick...but I have only ever seen a pothead get hungry and peacful. Has anyone seen someone OD on pot??

 

[Vereya]

Re: RE: Alcohol vs Marijuana - what do you think?

Memory and learning
Recent research shows that regular marijuana use compromises the ability to learn and to remember information by impairing the ability to focus, sustain, and shift attention. One study also found that long-term use reduces the ability to organize and integrate complex information.

In addition, marijuana impairs short-term memory and decreases motivation to accomplish tasks, even after the high is over. In one study, even small doses impaired the ability to recall words from a list seen 20 minutes earlier.

You know, about a year ago I quit the job I had at that time, and took up another. This new job (it is connected with computer technologies) was something totally new for me. I am a technologically illiterate person :lol: , so I had to learn a lot of things new to me, and to acquire a lot of new skills. At that time I was smoking quite a lot. Well, I am still on this job and I am doing fine. I haven't had any learning, memory or motivation problems. And I do not think that I am a lucky exception.

 

[feronia]

The only reason marijuana isn't legal is that the government can’t tax it efficiently. It’s easily grown and therefore not easily contained as a taxable substance.

 

[Vereya]

That's an interesting statement, Feronia! I never actually thought about it from your point of view!

 

[ol' dawg]

I was talking to a cop (narc) a couple years ago who told me the THC level has changed drastically from 25 - 30 years ago (when I smoked). Then the THC level was about 3 - 5%, and you'd have to puff a bit to get a buzz. Now, with hydroponics, it's common to find THC levels at at least 40%, often 48%, and they have even found some pot at 60+%.

(He also said the greater fear was meth, and how it could permanently destroy brain cells. He also stated that ecstacy alters a personality after 3 uses, and the person will never be the same again. There's stuff out there that is much more dangerous than pot.)

I remember reading a few years ago the government grew pot in an old Manitoba mine and those that were to use it said it was too weak to be effective. I don't recall it's strength, but I wonder if people would buy legal pot from the gov't at 10 - 15% THC, or buy illegal pot at 50 - 60%.

A few years ago I had a toke with a roommate. I recall having deep, major drags on a pipe (25 years ago), and getting a nice buzz - especially with a glass of wine. When I took that same kind of toke from that joint, I found myself so blitzed I couldn't even remember how to form words. I watched the fish tank and wondered if the fish lived long enough - say 500 years - would they repeat the patterns of swimming? Then my roommate said something about tearing the skin off a criminal and leaving him naked on an anthill ... sounded pretty violent to me ... I was a liitle shocked ... I always thought pot didn't create that kind of aggression.

Other than that smoke, I quit 20+ years ago because I lost my focus in an important sales presentation. I felt the nightly smoke was responsible. Yes, every once in a while I feel like I'd like the buzz again, but the urge passes ... and I have a beer. :roll:

 

[mikewest]

Both are drugs that alter the brain to change the state of the mind so we don't have to live in the world of stress we have created for ourselves for the time we are drunk or stoned. You will never control the uses of them as humans create to much stress to live without them. I wonder whey wild animal don't use drugs.

 

[feronia]

Yes they do. Ever seen a squirrel on mushrooms?

 

[gc]

The only reason marijuana isn't legal is that the government can’t tax it efficiently. It’s easily grown and therefore not easily contained as a taxable substance.

But if the government started selling it close to the price on the street and taxed it, they could make money. Why would a person looking for pot go to a (sometimes) sketchy drug dealer, and risk getting caught, when they could just go to a Government run Pot store? The government would put dealers out of business. Think about it, it's pretty cheap to distill liquor, but how many people do you know get their booze from bootleggers?

And yes, wild animals do like to munch on certain types of "special" plants, which is actually quite surprising given that most animals should be more worried about not getting eaten then getting high. I imagine a stoned animal is a pretty easy target.

 

[feronia]

This is a CNN article I found interesting.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/07/commentary/wastler/wastler/

 

[feronia]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101398061731_96807261/?hub=Canada

http://allfreeessays.com/student/Leaglization_of_Marijuana_.html

http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/marijuana.htm

I liked the last article. The second one speaks closest to this thread's subject and the first adds legitamacy coming frome a major network.

 

[feronia]

Why can squirrels eat poison mushrooms and not die?

Squirrels eat mushrooms, plants, and bulbs, that may be poisonous to humans. This is due in part to their short digestive tract which seems to handle these compounds.

Honey Mushrooms "bloom" in late Summer and early Fall.

These mushrooms are edible, but there are many dangerous mushrooms which are not Honey Mushrooms, even though they look just like them. Even Honey Mushrooms cause upset stomachs in some people.

Many animals that eat mushrooms, such as Eastern Box Turtles, Eastern Gray Squirrels, and Leopard Slugs, eat these mushrooms too.

Sometimes Honey Mushrooms can have a mutualistic relationship with trees and shrubs, helping share nutrients from the soil. Other times, especially if there are too many, Honey Mushrooms become parasites.

Horned Fungus Beetles and Fungus Gnats use Honey Mushrooms as shelter as well as food.

Honey Mushrooms can act as decomposers when they break down old stumps and logs.

http://www.fcps.edu/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/honey_mushroom.htm

Mushrooms are food for many kinds of animals and insects. Over time, some species of mushroom have developed poisons that protect them from being eaten. Their poisons are mostly effective against eager vertebrates, such as mice, gray squirrels, and flying squirrels, but some poisons may also protect a mushroom from snacking insects. If the mushroom is mycorrhizal, the poisons do not affect the associated tree.

http://www.archbold-station.org/discoveringflscrub/unit3/unit3a.html

There was more but this should do.

 

[tamarin]

Interesting articles on MaryJane. Lots to think about and lots to keep your head shaking for a week.
Will legalization fatten government coffers? To a degree initially. However, as with cigarettes, weed will have to be priced high enough to discourage its use. Thus independents will still thrive and prove a competitive headache for the government. You can't have a two tier pricing system that sees cigarettes set at prohibitive levels and weed sold to reflect former street commerce values.
The one lad/lass opines that once it's legal a lot of problems with adolescents and teens will disappear. Huh? Increased availability and usage of marijuana will inevitably lead to greater truancy, drop-out rates and anti-social activity. You need kids, whether they like it or not, to be attentive to their education. If you're always getting high - because legalization removes the stigmatization involved with usage and makes usage more accessible - you're not going to be a student in any acceptable form.
Why can't we just move ahead in this society without drugs being one of our generals?

 

[feronia]

Go check out anyone of the "Peace" subjects on this site and you'll get your answer.

 

[XxX]

RE: Alcohol vs Marijuana

2 tell the truth by personal experience i really love Marijuana .My experience with it is that it make me relaxed but at the same time it make me lazy but sometime i,m just the smartest person when i,m under its effect.

 

[XxX]

Did you notice that only the people who do not smoke Marijuana think that it is addictive? Believe me, it is not. It knows when to stop. Or your body knows, when it's had enough. I've been smoking Marijuana for two years, and I can say from my one experience - there are times, when I smoke every night, for maybe two or three weeks, and then there are months when I don't do it at all, simply because I don't feel like. No addiction is formed. As for getting paranoid - well, I never experienced this, but people might have different reactions. I only get positive feelings and useful ideas. For me, Marijuana is something that helps to make an unbiased analysis of some situation.
Alcohol is a far more dangerous substance. Those, who think that alcohol is not addictive, should take a field trip to some special clinic and take a good look at all those alcoholics. Alcohol is very, very addictive. And its main danger lies in the fact that people take few precautions with it. I mean, if you are about to take some substance, like Marijuana, or to take some drug for the first time, you realise that you are doing what few people do, so it makes you more careful. And alcohol is a kind of a social habit (and a very bad one, IMO). Everyone takes it, so what's the problem? So it is much easier to become addicted to alcohol, as it is also more available.
Marijuana helps to open doors in your mind that would otherwise remain closed forever. I think that this is the main reason why it is illegal. Alcohol doesn't do anything of the kind - it just stupefies you and makes you mess up your life and all the situations you might be in when drinking.
And, by the way, look at the Netherlands - Marijuana is legal there, and the Netherlands, nevertheless, is not a country of paranoics

lol u r my dream girl

 

[XxX]

RE: Alcohol vs Marijuana

another experience of mine with mariuana that it increased sense of pleasure ,i love listining to music under its influence ,its like every part of the body is enjoying the music.i feel really calm n collective.

 

[Vereya]

Re: RE: Alcohol vs Marijuana

another experience of mine with mariuana that it increased sense of pleasure ,i love listining to music under its influence ,its like every part of the body is enjoying the music.i feel really calm n collective.

Listening to music, watching a movie, watching a candle burn, eating, thinking, having sex - every feeling is enhanced, every occupation is more enjoyable...

And this year's crop is already usable... :wink:

 

[XxX]

Re: RE: Alcohol vs Marijuana

another experience of mine with mariuana that it increased sense of pleasure ,i love listining to music under its influence ,its like every part of the body is enjoying the music.i feel really calm n collective.

Listening to music, watching a movie, watching a candle burn, eating, thinking, having sex - every feeling is enhanced, every occupation is more enjoyable...

And this year's crop is already usable... :wink:

Its just wonderful n the thought associated with it is just unexplainable ,its like every pleasure in life is extended to infinity lol

:idea: but extrem of nothing is good ,u should always stands in the middle to be safe but thats where i fail ,i just cant stop my self from smoking it more when i have it ,i just want to go for n more