Pot does not affect the brain centers that control respiration like heroin and the other opiates. I think with the stimulant drugs like meth and coke, you can have heart failures and irregularities, and there can be seizures and strokes. I don't know what exactly alcohol poisoning does. Pot is in a category of its own, a mellow chill-out drug, most notably producing a change in sensory perception. Not completely harmless, but it won't kill you just to smoke it.
well you never gave us any proof that canibus sativa is harmful, but here are some facts about weed not all weed contains high amounts of thc(the drug that fools your liver into thinking the bodies chemistry is out of balance so it creates another chemical to balance the body out, and that chemical goes to the brain, 90% of thc goes to the liver) yet all types of mar1juana is illegal but thats not why it should be legal... this is why... 1.with the mar1juana that does not contain high amounts of thc the plants grow to 7'-15' and can be used for cordage that is not as strong as nylon, but nylon is a sinthetic material, hemp(weed that contains low amounts of thc) cordage is stronger that most other cordage, and is cheaper. 2.hemp also can produce cloth, cloth that rivals cotton, and it cheaper and can produce much more per acreage than cotton(this is one reason why is it illegal, textile companies in the south would loose money if they produce a cheaper product) 3.1 acre of hemp can produce enough writing paper to equal 4 acres of forest and can be reharvested the following season unlike trees 4.cancer patients use weed to calm there stomachs from nausea created by chemotherapy, if you have ever known anyone to have cancer ask them how sick they got from chemo 5. noone ever in the history of the world has ever overdosed on weed... unlike alcohol, heroin, coke, opium (which can be made itno morphine and its very legal just ask our troops if they have any morphine packs) 6. some doctors say it helps in musle regeneration(after a work out it relaxes the muscles so they can heal faster) i have asked my doc and he said its true i also asked another doc and he said he never heard that before so take is how ever 7.thc has been found to relieve headaches, and lower body temp. so if you have a fever of 102 you know what to do. 8.thc also helps control epilepsy the first time weed was prohibited was back in the 30's. in the 20's weed was smoked by minorities(mostly blacks by way of the carribean) so most people didnt care about it. but in the 30's "white kids" started smoking weed more and more. the news papers at the time attacked the situation and crazily played up every fragment of the news that marijauna and turned weed smokers into satanic anarchist(at that time anarchist were feared like the commies were feared in the 80's) popular slogans go like this "reefer madness" which said that people on weed were always masterbating waiting until they founf a young victum to rape they even made a movie about it, its very funny. in the 30's weed was thought of as the brother of herion and opium. so they passed laws making it illegal to have mar1juana without a "hemp stamp" but in order to get the hemp stamp you had to go with an once of weed to the courts tax office and ask for the stamp, but if you did that you broke the law. so to fallow the law you first had to break the law. so in 69 someone challenged the "mar1juana stamp act" stating that is was an illegal bill because you have to break the law to follow the law. and they won. but later that year a new law stating that since mar1juana does not have any medicinal value it should be illegal since it alters the mind. and thats where we are today. oh and in pregnant lab rats that were "infected"(that was the wording) she would produce stunted offspring, thoug not deformed or apearing in any lack of mental or motor skills. it also made rats learn new tasks faster, thought they would forget past tasks, and in the study i also read that at least one or the rats when in his cage after a day of tests acually starting "singing"(again they words) weed since it is not filtered contains more tar that ciggs, and the rats that were"infected" with both weed and cigg smoke doubled there chance of lung cancer and heart-disease. another wierd thing is this, the longer one smokes in ones life the less it takes to get "high" but if excess amounts of thc is in the body then the pleasure effect seems to reverse themselves. the "fun" part of the thc high may not occur at all, leaving only the sluggish "aint got no motovation" effect. so you can get a "higher high" if you smoke 3 jays every other day rather than 6 jays a day. "habit blunts the edge of pleasure"
the workers do use it in its natural state, they take it right off the plant in the feilds, it is not refined so it is not nearly as strong, so in turn it is a lot safer that the white stuff you find on the corner. coca leaves can be used like coffee in the morning, it also suppresses apitite. in the late 1800's people said cocaine was ok, coke put it in there product(hence the name) and it was thought that it made baseball players play better. opium i really dont have that much knowledge on, other than they use it to make morphine which is legal if you are in the hospital or have a prescription. so morphine should be taken out of the arguement and so should opium ... shrooms if you pick the ones that dont kill you will give you a big time trip, but i have never heard of anyone overdoesing, and that goes for peyote which has been used for centuries in the southwest.
I think it should be decriminalized for economic reasons as well as the personal ones stated above. Granted this source is from NORML, but it still makes you think... October 14, 1998, Washington, D.C.: mar1juana remains the fourth largest cash crop in America despite law enforcement spending approximately $10 billion annually to enforce prohibition, a new report from The NORML Foundation concluded today. Nationally, only corn, soybeans, and hay rank as more profitable cash crops to American farmers. "These findings clearly illustrate the failure and futility of mar1juana prohibition," charged Allen St. Pierre, executive director of The NORML Foundation. "mar1juana should be legally controlled like any other legitimate cash crop." The report, entitled "1998 mar1juana Crop Report: An Evaluation of mar1juana Production, Value, and Eradication Efforts in the United States," estimates that farmers harvested 8.7 million mar1juana plants in 1997 worth $15.1 billion dollars to growers and $25.2 billion on the retail market. The report used mar1juana¡¯s wholesale value to compare it to other cash crops. "Had the author¡¯s calculated mar1juana¡¯s total value to growers by street market prices, mar1juana would decidedly rank as America¡¯s number one cash crop," St. Pierre said. mar1juana stands as the largest revenue producing crop in Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It ranks as one of the top five cash crops in 29 others. Increases in state and federal spending since 1980 to reduce mar1juana cultivation demonstrated little effect in limiting overall production. The report bases its findings on Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) mar1juana eradication statistics, a survey of state police eradication self-appraisals, and published mar1juana price reports. Authors calculated mar1juana weight and yield estimates based on a conservative ten ounce per plant model. Had the authors accepted the government¡¯s one pound per plant standard, 1997¡¯s mar1juana crop would have been worth $26.3 billion to growers and $43.8 billion on the street. "mar1juana cultivation is here to stay," said St. Pierre. "The question is: Do we continue with current, unsuccessful efforts to sanction growers and users, or do we try to harness this unregulated, multi-billion dollar-a-year industry? The report also found that law enforcement eradicated over 237 million ditchweed plants in 1997 compared to only four million cultivated mar1juana plants. Ditchweed, otherwise known as feral hemp, is nonpsychoactive and has no retail value or market value to farmers. Nevertheless, it comprises more than 98 percent of all the mar1juana eradicated annually by law enforcement. "Ditchweed presents no threat to public safety, does not contribute to the black market mar1juana trade, and should not be targeted by law enforcement," St. Pierre said.
481.121. Offense: Possession of Marihuana a) Except as authorized by this chapter, a person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally possesses a usable quantity of marihuana. (b) An offense under Subsection (a) is: (1) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of marihuana possessed is two ounces or less; (2) a Class A misdemeanor if the amount of marihuana possessed is four ounces or less but more than two ounces; (3) a state jail felony if the amount of marihuana possessed is five pounds or less but more than four ounces; (4) a felony of the third degree if the amount of marihuana possessed is 50 pounds or less but more than 5 pounds; (5) a felony of the second degree if the amount of marihuana possessed is 2,000 pounds or less but more than 50 pounds; and (6) punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years, and a fine not to exceed $50,000, if the amount of marihuana possessed is more than 2,000 pounds. Oh, and before you think "Class B misdemeanor, how bad could it be?" Here's the answer: For small amounts of ... mar1juana: Class B misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2,000 and/or jail up to 180 days.
The black market in illegal drugs encourages the drug smugglers to transport the most refined, processed version of a drug rather than the naturally occuring, less potent type. Thus, crack is sold in the U.S. wheras coca leaves were originally chewed by South American natives to increase endurance. Likewise, crystal meth is sold rather than regular amphetamines and opium is converted into morphine and heroin. The more refined versions of these drugs are far more potent and deadly, with a much higher potential for addiction. Thus, the anti-drug laws counter-intuitively make more dangerous drugs available to the general public.
Alcohol directly affects one's central nurveous system, and brain areas that control consciousness, respiration and heart rate. In lethal dose, or alcohol poisoning cases these vital brain areas are turned off, resulting in coma and then death.
"....life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness....." If I am smoking weed, I am trying to pursue happiness, if only temporarily. Is someone trying to deny my inalienable rights? Legalizing pot is only the beginning. If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would be verbally tearing you anti-drug people a new hole.
That is the worst argument ever. What if killing pets makes you happy? Is that your RIGHT to kill them? Our country just doesn't work that way. This is not a do whatever makes you happy society(even though the radio likes to differ). I like the enthusiasm, but Jefferson had things in mind other than this. Keep trying, it may be worth the fight.
Anything that paralyzes the mind to make it feel good is BAD. BAD BAD BAD. Including Alcohol and cigs. Two wrongs don't make one right. There is no other ways to look at it. Avoid it at all cost.
Smoking pot can be distinguished from animal killing because it doesn' t harm anyone else or anyone else's pet. Even if it harms the user, which is debatable, it should be up to the individual to determine whether the risks outweigh the benefits. What do you mean this is not a do whatever makes you happy society. That's exactly what it is, as long as you are not infringing on other people's right to do the same. There's a little concept called freedom that some of us in the United States are a bit fond of. You may want to look into it.
I think there are many laws you have never heard of before. There are age limits for p*rnography, statutory rape laws, age limits on driving, sodomy laws, the aforementioned drug laws, prostitution laws, age limits for movies and music, and many more. None of those things is about preventing infringement on anothers rights. don g was right, this isn't a do whatever makes you happy society, there are many, many restrictions, some of them arbitrary.
Perhaps you're right, StupidMoniker, but the government often sticks its nose into people's personal lives when it really shouldn't IMHO. I'm sure that opinion has been expressed earlier in the thread, just reiterating.
Don't believe the hype, Panda. mar1juana certainly has some undesirable effects but to say it "paralyzes the mind" is dead wrong. If anything, it has the opposite effect. Many famous creative thinkers have (at least) experimented with psychoactive substances in an effort to free the mind. Of all mind altering substances, mar1juana is by far the least harmful (LSD is less physically harmful, but can be dangerous to your mental health). If you ingest it by eating rather than smoking it is virtually harmless. Almost like a good hit of yoga. Or so I've heard, anyway. And the comparison to alcohol and tobacco is invoked in order to point out the hypocrisy in this nation's drug laws -- not to infer that "two wrongs make one right." Upon recognizing the hypocrisy you might look at the cynical reasons mar1juana is illegal in the first place. The alcohol and tobacco lobbies have spent a great deal of money to ensure it remains so.
I agree with you, just pointing out that the government does regulate behaviors that don't harm anyone else. I for one wish they wouldn't. I guess that's why I always test as a libertarian.
Tell me what you know about adrenaline. A runner's high is terrible for you, BAD BAD BAD. Laughing is another thing that is bad for you. Oh, and don't get me started on dreams. I can think of nothing worse for the human mind.
why not legalize it?? It is not like there die alot of people because of it, there die more people because of alcohol.or because of a car crash.or because of smoking a sigarette. In holland it is legal.i think it is good that way, i'm not bothered because of it. I do not smoke it. but i know alot of people who do it, i think it is there own choise to smoke, or do other drug. if they are happy with it, why not.
"Yeah, it's legal but it ain't hundred percent legal. I mean you just can't walk into a restaraunt, roll a joint and start puffin' away. I mean they want you to smoke in your home or certain designated places." "And those are the hash bars?" "Yeah, it breaks down like this, okay. It's legal to buy it, it's legal to own it, and if you're the proprietor of a hash bar, it's legal to sell it. It's legal to carry it, but...but that doesn't matter, 'cause get a load of this; Alright, if you get stopped by a cop in Amsterdam, it's illegal for them to search you. I mean that's a right the cops in Amsterdam don't have."
