Marijuana

[Valjean]

Do many judge this issue just with regards to the USA? So many all around the world consume alcohol, for millennia no doubt too, and the solution seems to be - don't aim to get drunk! - and where their alcohol usage doesn't tend to see the catastrophic scenarios so often allied to alcohol use by the few. For the many, alcohol usually is a pleasant relaxant and not something that unleashes one's hidden aggression or wantonness.

I wish more wouldn't see all addictive behaviours or simple usage as necessarily being equivalent.

Always good to look at issues from a historical context, Turtle.

Coca and various hallucinogens were used by native Americans for millennia with no untoward effects. In British India alcoholwas illegal in some states, and ganja legal. In other states it was the other way round. The problematic gateway drug, in each case, was the illegal one.

 

[Father Heathen]

I'm capable of moderating coffee. Addicts don't have the power to moderate.

Why are people who use THC "addicts" by default, but not those who use caffeine? Btw, caffeine is actually more addictive than THC.

 

[Valjean]

The deleterious effect of the weed life is much more subtle, but frankly people who smoke also drink. Life is just a big party for part of the population.

Not necessarily. Many prefer one or the other. Many use them socially, not just to get high and party. In my case, back in my youth, when I smoked pot, I also scrupulously avoided alcohol.

Now that weed is basically legal then it will be easier to get AND the message to young people is that its harmless.

Valid point. Promotion of this new product may need to be regulated carefully.

BTW, illegal unregulated weed is far cheaper now.

I've heard this. It sounds like the government needs to get its act together.

 

[Alien826]

You think people treat potato plants like they treat marijuana plants?

Plant, care for, harvest, use. But that not the point I was making. See my response to @Kathryn. It was in response to your idea that started "An interesting hypothesis is that marijuana is exploiting and using people".

 

[Stevicus]

Now that weed is basically legal then it will be easier to get AND the message to young people is that its harmless. BTW, illegal unregulated weed is far cheaper now.

It's legal in some states but not yet legal at the federal level. And even in states where it's legal, there are still limitations. It's not as if you can go to the 7-11 or grocery store where you can buy a six-pack of beer. When people are allowed to purchase in any store where beer and cigarettes are sold, then I would consider that to be "basically legal."

 

[Father Heathen]

Now that weed is basically legal then it will be easier to get AND the message to young people is that its harmless. BTW, illegal unregulated weed is far cheaper now.

Does having alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, sugar, guns, fast food (heart disease is the #1 killer in the U.S.), etc. legal send the message that they're harmless as well?

 

[SkepticThinker]

I can explain, they knew the truth about alcohol back when it was banned as well but the same forces and reasoning normalized drinking. Everything they warned about with the legalization of alcohol came true. The cost in lives and resources is an accepted byproduct of the freedom.

The deleterious effect of the weed life is much more subtle, but frankly people who smoke also drink. Life is just a big party for part of the population.

Your views on marijuana are comically propagandistic in nature. And outdated. And completely inaccurate.

My 68 year-old-mom just loves to party. That's why she takes marijuana oil to relieve her arthritis. LOL

 

[Colt]

Does having alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, sugar, guns, fast food (heart disease is the #1 killer in the U.S.), etc. legal send the message that they're harmless as well?

Basically yes.

 

[SkepticThinker]

Unfortunately,the problem is now too much weight gain. And he is self-conscious about it. To add to the problem my husband is one who calls it like it is.

I'm sorry to hear that. It can often be difficult to find the right balance and it can take time. Luckily he's young, and he's got some time to work on it. I wish him all the best.

 

[pearl]

I wish him all the best.

Thanks

 

[SkepticThinker]

I had a similar experience in college. I was on academic probation and struggling with the material. This was the '70s, so drugs were everywhere.
One weekend I tried a certain hallucinogen in my bedroom; one dose, and I was on the dean's list by the end of the semester. It was as if my whole brain were reorganized in just a few hours.

I know exactly what you're talking about, and I've been there too. Helped me deal with some deep-seated traumas as well, in ways I never could have imagined during all the years I struggled with them. I'm pretty sure there are some decent studies on this.

 

[Father Heathen]

Basically yes.

But surely you wouldn't want a "nanny state" stifling freedom for the sake of health and safety?

 

[Alien826]

I had a similar experience in college. I was on academic probation and struggling with the material. This was the '70s, so drugs were everywhere.
One weekend I tried a certain hallucinogen in my bedroom; one dose, and I was on the dean's list by the end of the semester. It was as if my whole brain were reorganized in just a few hours.

I have no real evidence for this, but I wonder if what these drugs were doing were reducing stress, rather than having any miraculous effect. I find that if I am stressed, my mental abilities reduce noticeably. My example involves taking the driving test in England. I had driven with a "learner' permit for several years and was probably an average driver as far as skill went. I took the test and was so nervous that I did ridiculous things. As an example the examiner asked me to pull up at the kerb and I got one wheel on the pavement (sidewalk)! A friend gave me some valium and I breezed through the next test I took, with the examiner remarking on how well I did.

 

[Colt]

It's legal in some states but not yet legal at the federal level. And even in states where it's legal, there are still limitations. It's not as if you can go to the 7-11 or grocery store where you can buy a six-pack of beer. When people are allowed to purchase in any store where beer and cigarettes are sold, then I would consider that to be "basically legal."

Technically correct but the majority of states are NOT prosecuting possession of small amounts. Like shoplifting. The anti police/incarceration issue is leading states to not prosecute shoplifters up to a certain dollar amount so, shazam! shoplifting is skyrocketing!

Shoplifting is surging across America with dangerous and costly consequences

 

[Colt]

But surely you wouldn't want a "nanny state" stifling freedom for the sake of health and safety?

The wisdom of the ages is that drug use is detrimental to society. In this age where defiant humans are rebelling against everything they can it, looks like we are stating over again!

Politicians in 20-30 years "tax on weed needs to be increased to pay for drug treatment centers"......

 

[SkepticThinker]

It helps my ADHD for which there is no cure. 1-2 cups a day but I prefer diet soft drinks.

I'll throw your own words back at you here:

Mature people don't need to self-medicate in order to enjoy reality. Drug use is self-centered behavior.

 

[Valjean]

I'm capable of moderating coffee. Addicts don't have the power to moderate.

Not all users are addicted, nor do all cultures view drug use as a naughty pleasure or sybaritic indulgence, or see it mostly as a means to get high.

Pot addicts were dissatisfied with the old weed, they wanted more THC. So now they abuse the hard stuff all day long!

No, they're just taking fewer tokes.

Does a beer drinker who switches to scotch, still drink it from Steins?

 

[Colt]

Your views on marijuana are comically propagandistic in nature. And outdated. And completely inaccurate.

My 68 year-old-mom just loves to party. That's why she takes marijuana oil to relieve her arthritis. LOL

Prescription weed for such cases is a good idea. The kids that are starting to smoke weed today aren't medicating arthritis.

 

[SkepticThinker]

Pot addicts were dissatisfied with the old weed, they wanted more THC. So now they abuse the hard stuff all day long!

You should pay closer attention to other peoples' posts.

I already pointed out that in places where it's legal, like here in Canada, you can access many different potencies of THC, starting as low as like, 0.5%. You can even buy marijuana (or edibles, or oil or hash, or whatever) with 0% THC content, with just CBD instead. Because it's regulated, all of information needed is provided by the growers and sellers, so that you know exactly what you're getting. Which is what you don't get when it's criminalized and you have to buy it from a guy on a street corner and have no idea what's even in it.

And let's be clear, "hard stuff" marijuana tends to just make people happy, hungry and then sleepy. You make it sound as though it's akin to smoking crack or mainlining heroin or something.

 

[SkepticThinker]

No, coffee doesn't have the severity of negative effects that weed and alcohol abuse have. For the addictive brain weed is often a gateway into harder drugs. The addict brain needs more and more and eventually different kinds of drugs to get satisfied.

I guess you aren't aware that you can overdose on caffeine.