Please link your articles. The JAMA publication in question actually stated the following: "While the findings of this study indicate that early cannabis use is associated with increased risks of progression to other illicit drug use and drug abuse/dependence, it is not possible to draw strong causal conclusions solely on the basis of the associations shown in this study." Source: Lynskey, Michael T., PhD, et al., "Escalation of Drug Use in Early-Onset Cannabis Users vs Co-twin Controls," Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 289 No. 4, January 22/29, 2003, online at http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v289n4/rfull/joc21156.html, last accessed Jan. 31, 2003. Which would be obvious to anyone familair with experiments of this caliber. You could just as easily state that homes with less trees in the front yard are indicative of higher levels of cocaine use. While possibly true, it means little other than an interesting correlation. I would be flabbergasted if JAMA ever made a concrete statement regarding drug use factors or even drug effects. Scientists do not (generally) inflate or elaborate their conclusions. But the author in your article most certainly did. Asking two teenagers for further collaboration? Please.
It is a HOUSTON ROCKETS forum, not a Texas forum. Thats why there are more liberals. I'm a registered Republican, but thats because I'm a fiscal conservative and against big government(though my party no longer shows these values when in control), not my views on mar1juana. I don't smoke and never have, but I seem to be an exception. Almost everyone I know smokes mar1juana. The vast majority of them don't do any hard drugs. I would prefer nobody smoke it, but the law isn't going to change what they do. Let pot smokers smoke pot in the freedom of their own house.
We can "predict" all day what would happen if it was legal. Fact is, it wont. If you want smoke pot, got to Amsterdam? Legalize other drugs then. If people are still gonna do coke, let them do coke in their house.
Look, all other crap aside, SHOW YOUR FREAKIN" LINKS!!! If you don't, I'll report you. Clutch demands it. And if you are simply too lazy, then don't post at a BBS that has this requirement, because it IS a requirement. For you, for me, and for everyone else. Got it?
Wrong, I tried smoking 4 joints in 30 minutes and they had to call the paramedics. You people are all trying to justify something that is not essential for a normal and healthy functional society. Get high, lose your concentration while driving, let's see what happens ?? I recently lost a good friend and the other is still in the hospital. What the hell are you thinking about ? All this can happen, now let's see who is going to be stupid enough to try and prove or disprove what I've just said ? Although I believe in freedom of speach, this question should not have been polled, it just brought out a lot of nut cases. I would love for the "**** to be legal. But as a recovering Alcoholic, we get people in the program all the time, that display and admit to the problems I"ve just described and much more. Some people can drink and some can't. Some people can smoke the "wacky weed" and some can't. Don't encourage people to do things that are not normal. I grew up in the 50's and 60's it was more popular then, we called it Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll. I'm here to tell you it wasn't that Great. Like sex, it's great at first, but once it's over, you just roll over and go to sleep. Get a chance read my other comments posted on this poll.
Indeed. I'm considering never having a drink of water again. It's too dangerous! Oh, and for the chump who didn't post his links, the clock is ticking.
I contribute just like you, so don’t act like you’re a big bad guy behind the computer My views won’t change, and neither will yalls. We are all wasting our time. At lease I kept yall busy! Haha. And this debate is nothing personal at all, so please don’t have anything personal with me please. At least we can talk about these things in America, without being killed.
That is from my buddy in a blog. Weed and alcohol can both be bad in different situations. You can't tell me that weed is going to make american safer.
It isn't personal. You are not the first person I've told to post links, and I wasn't the first person in this thread to tell you to post the links. Again, it is the rules. Apparently you are too immature to comprehend that. What's so hard for you to understand? Just post the freakin' links. Please. Like yesterday. Oh, and you haven't contributed just like me. If you had, it would say "contributing member" under your moniker. That's neither here or there. Just post the links. Please.
I’m warming up to the idea of legalizing pot as the best possible solution to a big problem. I also think that if it was legalized, since it’s an intoxicant and usually smoked, that all the laws that apply to intoxicants and smoking should apply. It’s not legal to be drunk in public so I think it shouldn’t be legal to be stoned in public either, and it shouldn’t be legal to smoke it in public either. I think I would also like to see some close restrictions on the way it’s sold. I think you’d want to be sure that organized crime was kept out of the picture. Perhaps is should sold only in specialty stores by licensed merchants who pass police background checks. It should only be sold to people of drinking age and older as well, and I think you might want to regulate the ways it would be advertised as well. So as not to offend the sensibilities of the public, many of whom would likely be very iffy on this issue as it is, you’d want to keep the advertising very low key. With these restrictions I don’t think society would look a whole lot different. Pot would be consumed in private, and perhaps at certain social clubs. You wouldn’t have a chain of Bobz Budz! stores springing up at your local malls. The main difference would be that you would cut organized crime out of the picture, at least to a significant extent.
I'll say it again since you (conveniantly) ignored it last time: Tax revenue. Less support for violent drug cartels. More room in prisons for actual threats to society.
Abuse of anything can lead to problems. I you tried to funnel twelve gallons of water into your stomach I daresay you'd also need medical attention. Proof of your own abuse isn't prove of an inherent problem with mar1juana. If you ate 50 aspirin and gave yourself stomach problems, surely you wouldn't advocate criminalizing aspirin? Think about the standard you are setting for our society. Should we criminalize anything that isn't ESSENTIAL for a "normal, healthy, and functional society (of course we all realize how loaded these terms are, but let's come along for the ride). Criminalize with stiff penalties those caught driving while high. The current solution is like chopping off someone's head to cure a headache. I think we agree that some people act responsibly and some people don't. But by your standard we would need to ban things like cars (many people drive recklessly), salt (have you seen what it does to some people's blood pressure?), booze (of course that worked well last time), fried chicken - waffles - candy - ice cream - pizza - donuts - potato chips etc (have you seen how these are gateway foods to obesity?). Even granting your argument that some people will fall pray to abuse, we know prohibition isn't stopping either supply or demand, so if anything I'd think you'd want to support the rehabilitation/health care agenda rather than the criminalized one.
Remember that drinking in public isn't illegal, just "being intoxicated in public." I think you could do the same with mar1juana. In Amsterdam you can go to a place that offers product and smoke it there. There's no more (probably less) trouble from that than from alcohol. If someone's stumbling around high, incoherent etc, then sure the police could intervene. But if four friends are sitting in a restaurant/mar1juana bar playing dominoes they ought to be left alone.
Good post. You've obviously been to A'dam! (Dutch friends use the contraction in letters they've written to me. Thanks for the chance to use it!)
There are very few places where you can smoke in public now, however. I think smoking pot would have to take place at home or in a private club, which would take it even further out of the public eye.
