They say the cotton industry really pushed to make it illegal because the fiber is better cheaper and easier to farm
[quote]ty45 wrote:
Although I think everyone could use a little herb once in a while I do firmly believe it is a gateway drug. A lot of my friends started off blazing, eventually began to be chronic smokers (pun intended) and now they are doing coke, E, special K, salvia, and others. I have seen it happen to a lot of my close friends. But I still believe pot should be legal and not frowned upon so much. Sorry if my logic doesn’t make sense.[/quote]
Sorry man, but the gateway logic DOES NOT apply. Yeah, some people that smoke weed also do hard drugs. 99% of my stoner friends have been smoking anywhere from 5-10+ years, and have either tried something harder and didn’t like it, or never had any sort of desire to, myself included.
[quote]tribunaldude wrote:
Dude…what manner of self-respecting stoner actually gives a rats ass about what some non-enlightened condescending authority figures say about our wonder herb?
Stop seeking validation from society, fantasize with all your might on imposing your will on the same society, grab a joint/bong and you’re good to go.
Choose the reality you live in, look at yourself as a stout oak tree testing the winds of change and emotion - let yourself sway to the rhythm of your soul…but be uprooted by nothing!
Short answer: Pot Rocks!
Long answer: Pot STILL rocks![/quote]
QFT… I’m digging the answers.
[quote]Joe84 wrote:
Why is it that every lifetime pot smoker I have ever known is 1) a welfare loser 2) seems to be bipolar to some degree 3) both 1 & 2.
I’m referring to people 25+ who have been smoking on a regular basis for several+ years. My opinion, based on my emperical observations, is that it has long term effects on the mind and is addictive. [/quote]
Maybe you need to start running with a new crowd.
EDIT: Testy1 beat me to it. I do know some people who smoked a lot of pot when they were younger or still smoke occasionally, and they’re doing well as professionals (lawyers, etc.) Ultimately, I think a loser will be a loser no matter what. Pot can be a means of escape or killing time, but there are plenty of such means out there.
[quote]joburnet wrote:
I believe that all drugs should be legal, sorta. Drugs that can harm people like heroin, LSD, PCP, ect… should be heavily restricted, taxed, and only allowed to be done in certain places.
So if you want to shoot up heroin you go to your local heroin bar, buy taxed but quality controlled drugs, and shoot up. You aren’t allowed to leave till you’re sober.
This way you put illegal drug cartels out of business as well as all the local importers and dealers.
People will always want drugs and people will always get drugs. Why not control it rather then have it go underground.[/quote]
Strongly agree.
[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
Professor X wrote:
The black market exists because of illegal materials/substances. There is no black market for legal substances. So how does what you wrote make sense? The cartels exist because the substance is illegal. That means the government is creating its own problems (and departments to fight these “problems”…meaning they receive more money to fight them) by allowing it to remain illegal.
I generally agree with marijuana legalization, but this is incorrect - or at least not specific enough. High-tax items can also be sold “on the black market”, with the seller not collecting the tax. Alcohol and cigarettes are sold this way - and the Bureau of ATF is dedicated to stopping such sales.[/quote]
Not in the United States. The only way a indirect consumer is going to get his alcohol/cigs is from a dealer. Well, unless the dealer is making it him/herself, they gotta get it from somewhere, right? So where do you get alcohol in America? The STORE, and when you buy it, you pay TAX. So if your 17 and your 21 y.o friend is supplying you alcohol/cigs, you may not be paying tax, but your friend is. That is unless he/she is a moonshiner.
I choose not to use. But I feel it should be legal.
I’ll point out I do not advocate smoking up everyday, but using responsibly.
i.e. Weekends, at home or at the home of a friend who is comfortable with use.
[quote]Joe84 wrote:
I also know a couple professionals who smoke pot, and again they seem to be a bit bipolar. However, they also smoke it every day, I’m not talking about occasianal smokers. [/quote]
I have noticed this as well with heavy users. I firmly believe that because heavy smokers maintain either a constant manic or constant depressive state, they either develop bipolar tendencies or the weed exacerbates pre-existing bipolar tendencies.
Also, I love hearing from pro-weed folks how “marijuana is not addictive.” That is the ultimate sign that a person is uneducated for two reasons.
First, some people who tout that as a benefit to recreational use almost use it to justify weed as an ‘alternate’ drug to something like ciagrettes, but they wrongly associate ‘alternate’ with ‘opposite,’ meaning they think that the criteria for addiction is rooted solely in the chemical makeup of the drug.
Nicotine is known to be physically addictive, while weed has it not known to be physically addictive, ergo cigarettes are addictive and weed is not. Wrong.
Second, some folks claim it’s not addictive as if to draw early some sort of trump card in the never-ending debate about the legalization of weed. In reality, I can trump even that non-chemical dependence aspect of weed with something else that involves NO chemicals, yet is as serious an addiction as any observed chemical dependency: gambling.
Any exogenous chemicals involved there? Nope. Do people with gambling problems become suicidal? You bet. Is it a tough addiction to beat? Absolutely.
And you know what? This phenomenon, addiction in the absence of exogenous chemicals, has led many researchers to develop new models for addiction based entirely on the cognitive factors of pathological gambling. These models are now used to treat even the most severe forms of SUBSTANCE-related addictions.
This has NOTHING to do with being weak-minded, by the way. We are all fallible to the darkness of mental illness, given the right circumstances (favorable to developing a mental disorder, such as addiction).
It is this attitude that has kept the issue of mental health in this country so taboo, that people do not accept mental health just as they do physical health: there are genetic factors, environmental factors, physiological factors. That’s another discussion, though…
I don’t mind some herb now and then - actually, I hate to smoke it and prefer to eat it- but please, just pass the dutchie and keep the pro-pot nonsense to yourself; plenty of flawed arguments on both sides. Always been that way.
Anything can be addictive. Marijuana’s not physiologically addiictive and doesn’t cause withdrawal symptoms in regular smokers who stop using it. But anyone using something with any large degree of regularity can get used to how they feel on it and not like ihow they feel without it.
Hell, even something like Z-12 can be addictive in this sense. It’s not addictieve in the sense that it makes it physiologically harder to sleep without it. But you can used to that relaxed, calm pre-bed feeling and have a harder time falling asleep without it than you did before taking it regularly.
I think anyone that relies on regular use of an extrinsic subtance to make them feel good or accomplish basic life tasks is making a mistake. Still, marijuana is quite harmless in the scheme of things. No physiological addiction, no withdrawal, no overdoses. There’s no comparison to other illegal drugs and it’s much less harmful than the granddady of legal drugs-alcohol.
I like to smoke from time to time but wouldn’t choose to do it a high degree of frequency anymore. But I respect the personal freedom of those who would choose to do so. I don’t think there are such consequences–societal or otherwise–that it’s something the government should be able to justify banning and infringing on this freedom.
[quote]Makavali wrote:
sands wrote:
It’s to hard to tax is probably one of the main reasons.
And I doubt that making them legal will drive the cartels out of business, it’ll simply make them drop there prices to compete.
Hard to tax is not a reason to ban a non-dangerous substance.
EDIT: Also, cartels would have to offer mega-cheap weed to counter the promise of legal consequence free weed.[/quote]
But a good enough reason to keep it banned as aposed to legalising it?
As for the lower prices, I was refering to the ‘harder’ drugs, coke, pills etc.
[quote]Makavali wrote:
I’ll point out I do not advocate smoking up everyday, but using responsibly.
i.e. Weekends, at home or at the home of a friend who is comfortable with use.[/quote]
Hypothetical, but how does everyone feel about it as in true medicinal use? I do use every day, but after my working out, after my work shifts and everything else, only to help get to sleep at night. Thoughts?
Joe Rogan talks about pot-very funny
US Gov’t Patents Medical Pot- Digg this
[quote]Rocky101 wrote:
Joe Rogan talks about pot-very funny
US Gov’t Patents Medical Pot- Digg this
[/quote]
Very Interesting
[quote]sands wrote:
As for the lower prices, I was refering to the ‘harder’ drugs, coke, pills etc.[/quote]
But that’s going off the gateway theory, when in fact not many people use Marijuana as a stepping stone. Dealers would be stupid to lower the price of other drugs. Someone addicted to meth won’t suddenly stop and switch to weed because it’s cheaper.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Hypothetical, but how does everyone feel about it as in true medicinal use? I do use every day, but after my working out, after my work shifts and everything else, only to help get to sleep at night. Thoughts?[/quote]
Medicinal use would be great. There are studies showing great potential, and side effects like the “munchies” have promise with cancer patients who can’t eat after chemotherapy.
[quote]Makavali wrote:
SSC wrote:
Hypothetical, but how does everyone feel about it as in true medicinal use? I do use every day, but after my working out, after my work shifts and everything else, only to help get to sleep at night. Thoughts?
Medicinal use would be great. There are studies showing great potential, and side effects like the “munchies” have promise with cancer patients who can’t eat after chemotherapy.[/quote]
Definitely… I just wish I didn’t have that side effect during this time when I’m trying to diet… :-/
[quote]SSC wrote:
Definitely… I just wish I didn’t have that side effect during this time when I’m trying to diet… :-/[/quote]
LMAO! I find it to be a great addition to a bulk. Grilled chicken breast, some chilli powder, salt and pepper… heaven.
[quote]Makavali wrote:
SSC wrote:
Definitely… I just wish I didn’t have that side effect during this time when I’m trying to diet… :-/
LMAO! I find it to be a great addition to a bulk. Grilled chicken breast, some chilli powder, salt and pepper… heaven.[/quote]
Fuck you… I’m hungry now.
(Exos+Kush+Orange Rhino+Vanilla Dutch = Good god I had an awesome day…)
I fuckin blazed now. Just chillin to some Ravi Shankar and George Harrison.
I love you guys. I mean in a totally non-gay way. Man this music is freaking AWESOME. Man I would so bone Norah Jones in a heartbeat.