Marijuana ~ What is your opinion toward it?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

My dad has a few beers after work every day. Often takes a glass of whiskey before bed. Doesn't make him an alcoholic.

That's debateable. At the very least, three drinks a day qualifies as "problem drinking".

According to this site, the theshold for problem drinking is 14 days per week for a man under 65, or 7 drinks per week for a man over 65. However, the number I was taught way back when was 5 drinks per week, regardless of gender or age.

And yes, I realize that this is much lower than the amount that many people drink.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

really? so children smoking weed and the deaths are all not a problem????

Do you think that children are any more at risk when marijuana is illegal but readily available than they would be if it was legal but controlled?

 

[Songbird]

Not really atypical or horrific. loosing friends sucked ya. i survived. many didnt.

I've been around users all my life, and no one I knew had an experience with death with marijuana. There were some stupid things and consequences, but compared to the number of pot users (from occasional to habitual use) your experience has got to be extremely rare.

 

[outhouse]

Do you think that children are any more at risk when marijuana is illegal but readily available than they would be if it was legal but controlled?

good question.

I dont know.


Like I said, here its pretty much legal here, and high school use is on the rise due to its avalibility.


americans will not let the gov control its use strictly or the ilegal prortion will remain.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

legalize it!

 

[outhouse]

I've been around users all my life, and no one I knew had an experience with death with marijuana. There were some stupid things and consequences, but compared to the number of pot users (from occasional to habitual use) your experience has got to be extremely rare.

I live in the foothills of Ca where growers surround you. So this would be a geographic issue due to avalibility.

you have a good point

 

[outhouse]

Ill bare my soul for the sake of this thread.

I started smoking weed at 15, my grades went from a b+ average to d- on average in a few months.


with only one change in enviroment, weed.



fix that and ill back it

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

americans will not let the gov control its use strictly or the ilegal prortion will remain.

And FWIW, the US government is trying to control other governments' policies as well, not just the states.

A few years back, there was a fair bit of discussion in Canada about decriminalizing pot posession for personal use up to 30 g (1 oz) - not making it legal, but just taking it out of the criminal code and making it punishable with a fine, kind of like a traffic ticket.

The US government announced that if Canada did this, they'd tighten up border controls and subject every vehicle going across the border to a search.

Since Canada is utterly dependent on trade with the US, and since multi-hour delays at the border would kill this, the issue got dropped quickly. Marijuana posession is still criminal in Canada.

 

[outhouse]

the guy in the office next to me has his and his wifes heartbreaking as they watch their sonthrowing his education and future life away. with weed use only.


not a problem, BS

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Ill bare my soul for the sake of this thread.

I started smoking weed at 15, my grades went from a b+ average to d- on average in a few months.


with only one change in enviroment, weed.



fix that and ill back it

I've heard people give similar stories about alcohol.

I think at the very least, our laws should reflect the fact that in terms of societal effect, the two substances are pretty much equivalent.

 

[gnomon]

and some show it is a gateway drug.

from my personal use I can tell you it is, it brings you nto a community that has every ileagal drug at its finger tips.


Go to a grateful dead concert or equivlent, is weed all thats floating around. hell no

Given that the best anyone can show, from surveys on overall drug use, is that perhaps less than one percent of people who smoke marijuana go on to cocaine abuse it is not much of a gateway drug presented in the sense that marijuana use inevitably leads to the use of harder drugs.

A Columbia study that looked at surveys concluded that individuals who used alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were far more likely to use cocaine than those who used nothing or just used alcohol and tobacco. Although the study did point out that 90%+ of survey respondents who used cocaine after using marijuana also used alcohol and tobacco.

A later Rand study, which looked at the same survey data and accounted for prior history of mental illness and family history of alcoholism, found a much lower rate of marijuana users graduating to heavy drugs. Those who were predisposed to substance abuse or mental illness comprised a larger percentage of those who moved onto harder drugs. This can be seen in surveys of users in treatment facilities.

Another study from the University of Pittsburgh did not rely on surveys but followed a small sample of people for 12 years. They found no relation at all of those who used which drug first and moved on to harder drugs or that marijuana use was a predictor of later substance abuse.

The sheer numbers of those who have used marijuana at least once in this nation compared to other drugs alone should show that the gateway theory is very weak.

 

[Songbird]

I live in the foothills of Ca where growers surround you. So this would be a geographic issue due to avalibility.

you have a good point

Ah. Location, location.

 

[outhouse]

I've heard people give similar stories about alcohol.

I think at the very least, our laws should reflect the fact that in terms of societal effect, the two substances are pretty much equivalent.

I dont know

when i was high I looked at booze as worse.

what I see though is weed effects stay with you longer then a day when you stop. Took me a while for my head to clear whenI stopped.

I really think they need a unique approach and shouldnt be lumped in together.


kids in school go out blow off some steam at a party and drink have fun and sober up and go back to school.


many tokers wake up get stoned and go to school, even the hard core kids rarely are popping open a 6 pac before class.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

the gy in the office next to me has his and his wifes heartbreaking as they watch their sonthrowing his education and future life away. with weed use only.


not a problem, BS

If someone is determined to throw their life away, they'll be able to do it.

Some people do it with pot, others do it with alcohol. Or plain ol' TV.

In Canada, there are many northern communities where they've banned alcohol. Many of them have rampant problems with teenagers abusing inhalants like paint and gasoline.

I think the solution to this is to teach responsibility. You will never be able to fix the problem by getting rid of some thing, because there will always be something around that kids can use if they're inclined to do it.

 

[Storm]

stupid???

That's awfully close to breaking Rule 1. I'll say it again, you need to calm the **** down.

really? so children smoking weed and the deaths are all not a problem????

Of course they are. They're problems with the war on drugs, not marijuana. Legalization would do more to solve them than anything else.

yes

So you admit that regular usage isn't addiction?

 

[Storm]

That's debateable. At the very least, three drinks a day qualifies as "problem drinking".

According to this site, the theshold for problem drinking is 14 days per week for a man under 65, or 7 drinks per week for a man over 65. However, the number I was taught way back when was 5 drinks per week, regardless of gender or age.

And yes, I realize that this is much lower than the amount that many people drink.

Signs of Alcoholism:
Signs of Alcohol Abuse
• The ability to consume a good deal of alcohol without getting intoxicated
• A preoccupation with drinking and alcohol
• Experiencing blackouts or memory lapses
• The use of alcohol to alter one’s mood, i.e., to “calm the nerves”
• Binge drinking: episodic, gross over indulgence
• Hiding alcohol or sneaking drinks
• Drinking before events or social gatherings
• Job losses or complaints by employers regarding one’s drinking
• Relationship or marital problems as a result of too much drinking
• Friends, relatives or co-workers complain about problem drinking incidents
• Alcohol related arrests: public intoxication, DUI, lewd behavior, altercations
• Behavioral changes while intoxicated: anger, sexual promiscuity, rash acts
• Feeling remorseful or ashamed of behavior after drinking
• Losing friendships or social rejection as a result of one’s drinking
• Drinking before noon
• A decline in self-care or hygiene
• Family history of alcohol abuse or alcoholism
• Frequent intoxication: drinking two or more days a week
• Physical harm as a result of drinking (accidents or fights)
• Drinking alone
source



One symptom does not a disease make.

 

[outhouse]

Given that the best anyone can show, from surveys on overall drug use, is that perhaps less than one percent of people who smoke marijuana go on to cocaine abuse it is not much of a gateway drug presented in the sense that marijuana use inevitably leads to the use of harder drugs.

I will give you that its not as much the drug as the community of new friends you hang around that leeds to other drug use.

heads that do weed only are very very rare.

The sheer numbers of those who have used marijuana at least once in this nation compared to other drugs alone should show that the gateway theory is very weak.

like i said, go to a concert and see if weed is all their doing.



there are real world results, me smoking weed led me to meth, coke, shroom's, LSD. I will give you its more a enviroment you find yourself in.

 

[idav]

the guy in the office next to me has his and his wifes heartbreaking as they watch their sonthrowing his education and future life away. with weed use only.


not a problem, BS

I hear that these days a huge problem in universities is that students are becoming binge drinkers. As far as getting too lazy thats why students use so much nodoze. It isn't like marijuana makes people retarded. Universities have 80%+ freshman drop out rates over here where I'm at and I'd say alcohol is the biggest factor.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I dont know

when i was high I looked at booze as worse.

That's not a universal attitude by any stretch of the imagination.

what I see though is weed effects stay with you longer then a day when you stop. Took me a while for my head to clear whenI stopped.

I really think they need a unique approach and shouldnt be lumped in together.

To a certain extent, but in the ways that they're similar, it makes sense to have similar approaches.

kids in school go out blow off some steam at a party and drink have fun and sober up and go back to school.


many tokers wake up get stoned and go to school, even the hard core kids rarely are popping open a 6 pac before class.

But if pot wasn't available, don't you think kids would do this more?

And I think you'd be amazed at what can go on. Pot is not the only substance that teenagers will use and abuse on a regular basis. A surprising number of kids I knew in high school would come to class on LSD; on one occasion, one friend of a friend did it every day for a week.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

One symptom does not a disease make.

From what you describe, it's actually two symptoms:

- volume consumed
- drinking habitually

I'm not saying he's an alcoholic, but just based on what you describe, his drinking behaviour does not fall within the bounds of "safe drinking" (defined a bit down the page in my link).