Legalise Marijuana?

[User6060]

Yeah i do grow a plant, my frind gave it to me cause he said he couldnt nurse it back to life, but with some patience and alot of love my plants greener then ever, and its leaves are superb!!!!

585863935[/snapback]

screw the leaves, the bud is the cronic yo.

[mikey1001]

I can understand how some people are against marijuana, morally, religously, or simply just to play Devil's Advocate. But I never believed that people actually bought into the BS of it being addictive. That word gets thrown around far too often, and if you are serious when you label pot users as addicts, I invite you to go to an addiction center and see what real physical addiction is, from heroin, cocaine, alcohol and known physically addictive agents.

As for "psycholgical addiction", there can be an arguement for that, as there can be for TV, Internet, fattening foods, or a thousand other things...physical addiction is very harsh and painful and can cause great sickness and suffering when someone simply stops using that drug. When I stopped smoking pot, none of that happened, not even close; and any of most of you here that have smoked and then didn't anymore can attest to similar experiences.

[Korneliouz]

Legalize something that eventually will get you killed?

Yeah sure :rolleyes:

[deadonthefloor]

Legalize something that eventually will get you killed?

Yeah sure :rolleyes:

585864231[/snapback]

guns are legal

[Mike Douglas]

Legalize something that eventually will get you killed?

Yeah sure :rolleyes:

585864231[/snapback]

Eating enough potatoes and you will suffer Solanine poisoning.

[giantsnyy]

Legalize something that eventually will get you killed?

Yeah sure :rolleyes:

585864231[/snapback]

Cigarettes are legal. You can get lung cancer from that too, except a lot sooner than weed.

Alcohol is legal. You can overdose on that. You can't overdose on weed.

[deadonthefloor]

Personally. I am for legalization.

I`ve heard good things for and against the usage, but not much about whether it should or should not be legalized.

Any widely used drug should be regulated for safety purposes. The major problem I see with pot, as well as other herbal or natural products, is that you can not be sure of the content or quality of what you are getting.

Now that the Canadian government has realized the need to oversee the herbal remedies and supplements sold in health food stores, they will have the perfect opportunity and infrastructure to sell safe legal marijuana.

As much as I may think that the government is too involved in protecting people from themselves, I would rather trust that the package of joints I buy at 7-11 is safe, then trust the dealer down the street to sell me pure, unblemished weed.

Revenues gained from the legalization of pot could be used to offset the (likely small) increase in health care and police services - we still should treat pot as a mind-altering substance and penalize driving under the influence. Too, this would take money out of the hands of criminals and smugglers and put it back into local economies. There is no reason that the pot I smoke should be supporting some Mexican guy or a Montreal crime family.

Canada is home to B.C., who`s marijuana is renowned worldwide and is the largest source of revenue in the province, adding up to about 8% of the GDP. It is a shame that all of that money is made illegally, and thus likely never taxed, and doing nothing for the average citizen.

I think that the likelihood of the average person becoming a chronic just because pot is legalized is slim to none, and there is no reason to suggest that taking it off the streets and putting it in the corner store is going to turn us into a country full of lazy, stupid people. If a person chooses to smoke weed, it is their own choice, and they will have to deal with the repercusssions of their actions as they would with any other choice. At least with legalization we could better see the effects of these choices on society as a whole, while a the same time protecting people from pcp and crystal meth spiked marijuana, and perhaps have the means and authority to keep our kids safer.

After all, if pot is the `gateway drug`, shouldn`t you have to at least show some ID to get into the party

[david]

If they legalize it, it would result in less shootings/murders. no more people killing over pot because it will be distrubited in pot cafes :)

[username]

I can understand how some people are against marijuana, morally, religously, or simply just to play Devil's Advocate. But I never believed that people actually bought into the BS of it being addictive. That word gets thrown around far too often, and if you are serious when you label pot users as addicts, I invite you to go to an addiction center and see what real physical addiction is, from heroin, cocaine, alcohol and known physically addictive agents.

As for "psycholgical addiction", there can be an arguement for that, as there can be for TV, Internet, fattening foods, or a thousand other things...physical addiction is very harsh and painful and can cause great sickness and suffering when someone simply stops using that drug. When I stopped smoking pot, none of that happened, not even close; and any of most of you here that have smoked and then didn't anymore can attest to similar experiences.

585863979[/snapback]

well you are wrong, THC is a depressant and is physically addictive, PERIOD

[mikey1001]

well you are wrong, THC is a depressant and is physically addictive, PERIOD

585864460[/snapback]

OK, I'll bite...if you are just arguing for the sake of arguing, then go waste someone else's time. However...

If you REALLY do belive in what you stated above, please describe to me what physical addiction means to you and what the side effects are of not giving into in. Don't just "google it", ok, I would like to know what your thoughts are on this. How do you define a physical addiction? Can an individual have a physical addiction and yet consciously choose that he or she wishes to end said addiction, and suffer no reprecussions? Please respond.

[username]

a physical addiction is caused by changing the neural pathways and << spam >>s between nerve cells, found in stimulants and depressants (pot is a depressant). It is the slowing of acetalcolene esterace (sorry for the spelling, its all from my head) that causes the addiction as your body does not like to change as it has to while being effected by the drug, you cannot argue against this, THC is addictive, sure some people it effects less than others, but addictive none the less

[giantsnyy]

a physical addiction is caused by changing the neural pathways and << spam >>s between nerve cells, found in stimulants and depressants (pot is a depressant).  It is the slowing of acetalcolene esterace (sorry for the spelling, its all from my head) that causes the addiction as your body does not like to change as it has to while being effected by the drug, you cannot argue against this, THC is addictive, sure some people it effects less than others, but addictive none the less

585864533[/snapback]

and i sir call bull****.

all of my friends who have tried it (and for many years) are not addicted to it. in fact, one just quit after 5 years of smoking. he has no want or desire to smoke it anymore.

and there is no documented PROOF anywhere... no one can prove that its addictive.

edit: you know what... i just give up on some people. let the sheep believe what the government says. only people who have tried it and know what its effects are can truely give an explanation on what its like.

if you havent tried it, good for you, go back to whatever it is you do, but for those of us who have a bit too much stress in our lives, it is there to provide a relief to our stressful days (which is why it is most common among college students like me, theres just so much damn work to do and so little time to do it, and we get stressed out. smoking makes people forget about the stress even if its just for a small amount of time).

even typing this i'm extremely stressed out... its b/c i'm nearing the end of the semester. in the past week i had two 8 page research papers due on subjects i could care less about, and i was given barely any time to write them. these papers are worth 50% of my grades in two different classes. this thursday i have two final exams in those two classes, both of which if i don't get at least a b on i will fail. Next thursday i have a calc final exam which i would need an A on just to even get a D in the class. Plus, i have to worry about 2 grand worth of debt i'm in (car payments, and CC bills), and i have work just about every day. Tell me that isn't stressful.

Edited May 3, 2005 by giantsnyy

[username]

and i sir call bull****.

all of my friends who have tried it (and for many years) are not addicted to it.  in fact, one just quit after 5 years of smoking.  he has no want or desire to smoke it anymore.

and there is no documented PROOF anywhere... no one can prove that its addictive.

585864544[/snapback]

you are full of crap, EVERY medical research shows that THC is addictive, EVERY dressant is addictive, i don't care about your opinion or you stupid pot friend stories

do you really want me to find "documented PROOF" that you says does not exist and embarass the hell out of yourself?

[AZKABAZ]

You can't overdose on weed.

You can, but only after like 4kg in one sitting lol :p How paranoid would you be at 3kg rofl!

They did a basic study and they believe that pot can shrink and in many cases destroy brain tumours. It also has a heap of other medicinal uses.

But just under general use, I don't see a problem. Some people can get messed up by it but the majority of people are fine, It just depends on the person. I guess like alcohol, nicotine patches and other drugs, people have different reactions to it.

It should be up to the individual if he/she wants to take the risk, same as it is with cigarettes and alcohol.

Considering it is only illegal because of the cotton producers of America having a whinge about hemp and so the Yankee government banned everything to do with it and then with held aid from other countries until they destroyed their crops of it and declared it illegal, causing land slides and other ecological problems since the hemp helped stop erosion and flooding and stuff (I saw a documentary on telly about why it was illegal), I don't see a reason for it to stay illegal.

[giantsnyy]

oh well... i could care less about your 'proven' research b/c its most likely all funded by government money, and when theres government money involved, studies tend to be biased.

and embarass the hell out of myself? i could care less what people think about me. All i care about is what i think of other people (and i literally do hate just about everyone), not visa versa.

and username... what i don't get is... why is it 100% illegal in the US but "tolerated" elsewhere?

i mean... if you are found with marijuana in your possesion you are more likely going to get more jail time than a rapist.

and edit: i did a lexis-nexis search username... ur right. i mean, its not gonna affect my point of view on it, but, i stand corrected.

Edited May 3, 2005 by giantsnyy

[username]

alright, well sorry about you feelings, but i would not call independant journals and university studies "baised" or funded by the government, science is questioning the known, and scientist would love to disprove what is fact, but sometimes fact is just fact

[Mike Douglas]

you are full of crap, EVERY medical research shows that THC is addictive, EVERY dressant is addictive, i don't care about your opinion or you stupid pot friend stories

do you really want me to find "documented PROOF" that you says does not exist and embarass the hell out of yourself?

585864578[/snapback]

THC can hardly be described more physically addictive than coffee or chocolate, physical addiction requires a severe withdrawal period (something not found with THC). Habituation is not the same as addiction.

[username]

THC can hardly be described more physically addictive than coffee or chocolate, physical addiction requires a severe withdrawal period (something not found with THC). Habituation is not the same as addiction.

585864648[/snapback]

wow thats a great opinion man, and sorry but its wrong

[golazo]

no because then i would barely make any profit when i sell it :(

[sp0rk]

Username, I've read some of your posts in this thread, and you're totally ridiculous.

code_monkey's post that you quoted above me is not an opinion, it's a fact.

[proph3t]

Back yourself up when you talk Username.

For me, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_%28drug%29

It even stated that there has been no conclusive evidence on tests period.

[WigglesTheFish]

personally i don't know if marijuana should be legalized but i don't think it should carry such a harsh penalty for having it in your possession.

[DELTA75329]

The government should punish people when they interfere with the rights of others.

Not always the best idea to punish people for what they do to themselves.

Of course, if we had more freedom, we wouldn't have to in the first place.

(IF you can actually understand what I'm saying, then you're educated, and I'm impressed.)

[username]

Back yourself up when you talk Username.

For me, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_%28drug%29

It even stated that there has been no conclusive evidence on tests period.

585864673[/snapback]

the word "addiction" or "addictive" does not even found there

http://www.druglibrary.org/crl/behavior/kouri-01.pdf

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:_A9zn...rmacology&hl=en

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/carf...000011/art00002

do you really want more, this is kinda booring and lame

whats next, "you can't get high your first time" :laugh:

[mikey1001]

alright, well sorry about you feelings, but i would not call independant journals and university studies "baised" or funded by the government, science is questioning the known, and scientist would love to disprove what is fact, but sometimes fact is just fact

585864610[/snapback]

Ok, I wouldn't mind having a seperate discussion with you off this board,

(maybe e-mail if you're up to it?) because I don't have the time to keep posting responses but I have a lot to say on the topic.

I don't doubt that you're well read and maybe even have a few University credits in specific scientific fields, but if your teachings are telling you that marijuana (THC) is physically addictive simply because it's a depressant, then at the very least you're going to have to broaden and minimize your definition of addiction. Yes, pot acts as a depressant, and so does alcohol, and many other chemical agents, but that does not necessarily make them physically addictive in the broad sense. When you have a bad cold and walk into the Safeway to pick up some over the counter cold remedies, you will be ingesting chemicals that are indeed scientifically defined as "depressants", and many of them can bring upon your death if you intentionally overdose. None of them, however, are what the population would label as physically addictive.

My ex worked for the AFM here in my Province (which is the Addiction Foundation of Manitoba), and I know all too well the effects and unbelievable suffering real physical addicts go through, which incidentally is why so many fail. It's not because they want to go out and do more addictive drugs, it's because they cannot stand the horrible feelings they must endure to kick the habit. Does this sound like the tens of millions of people that smoke pot? Of course not. These are the sufferings of TRUE addiction, not just the word being used very loosely as it has been these past few years.

If you are still in school and are studying medicine or some different sciences and you have been led to belive that pot falls under the hard addictive drugs, I strongly urge you to book an educational tour/visit at one of your local addiction treatment centers to see first hand what is and what isn't. There is no book that will teach you better than a real life experience with drug rehab workers. I strongly suggest that you ask one of the department heads just how physically addictive marijuana really is, and then record their answer for the rest in this forum. I'll warn you though, it looks as though you need to prepare yourself for a bit of a shakeup in your belief system, at least in regards to this.

If you would still like to debate this topic however, please feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to attempt to put you in touch with gound level abuse social workers that will supply you with real, unbiased figures. Remember, no matter what your personal belief sytem may be, politically or religiously, don't let that interfere with scientific facts. Many people have hung on to the addictive arguement you've put forward simply because their political party or religious leader said so...research provides the real answers, and should be relied upon when making bold statements.