Should pot be legalized?

[Sunstone]

If so, why should it be legalized? Or why not? What do you think of the present laws?

 

[Adie]

I think it should be legalized. The government can regulate it and can tax it, and thus make sure it hasn't been laced with other chemicals and is safe and can also make money off of it. Also, hemp is so useful, and right now is hardly being used. We can make paper, cloth, clothing, etc, etc, etc, with hemp. I think we could save so many trees by using hemp (which grows so much faster than trees do) as a paper product.

 

[Engyo]

Personally, I look at marijuana as no more dangerous or destructive than alcohol. I also favor a long-term strategy of decriminalization of drugs in general; but for a variety of social reasons. I like England's approach of treating the whole issue as a medical problem rather than a criminal one. I think we would be much better served this way; less stress on courts and prisons, much higher probablilty of persons whose addictions can be cured being cured, and better management of those whose addictions aren't curable. It also takes away one of the primary funding sources of organized crime, from local areas all the way to international cartels and revolutionary groups.

Yes, I know this isn't as rosy as painted here, and brings its own set of problems. However, I think that we can work this in such a way as to come out with a net positive in the end, on the social scale. In general, I don't think that legislating morality is all that successful.

 

[Lightkeeper]

"no more dangerous than alcohol,"

Alcohol is a poison. Have you never read the studies of what alcohol does to your body?
I think pot should only be legalized for medicinal uses.

 

[Engyo]

I know what alcohol does. I wasn't commenting on that, but the disparity between the approaches to alcohol and marijuana. If alcohol, with all we know about it, can be legal as well as a source of tax revenue, why not marijuana also? Conversely, if marijuana needs to be criminalized, then alcohol probably should be too given its known dangers.

Alcohol has health benefits in small amounts. I imagine that marijuana might be found to do the same, if studied properly. This brings up the questions of use vs. abuse. Alcohol, used responsibly, isn't *necessarily* harmful. I believe that marijuana *could be* the same. Of course this can't be proven until the laws are changed.

Alcohol, abused, contributes directly to far more deaths per year than any of the illegal drugs do. Yet we don't even strictly enforce the laws we have now on alcohol use. I'd really like to see John Ashcroft and co. go after alcohol abusers the same way they go after medical marijuana users.

 

[Pah]

If so, why should it be legalized? Or why not? What do you think of the present laws?

Yes it should be legalized with no more restriction than alcohol or tobacco. The present laws were brought to you by the same type people that brought you prohibition.

-pah-

 

[Druidus]

Marijuana causes no ill effects, unlike alcohol, so it is better, and should be legalized.

 

[Lightkeeper]

Marijuana causes no ill effects, unlike alcohol, so it is better, and should be legalized.

Here are some of the effects on the body.

http://www.well.com/user/woa/fspot.htm

 

[Rex]

Legalize it so we can regulate it.

 

[Druidus]

What are some of the immediate effects of smoking marijuana?
Some immediate physical effects of marijuana include a faster heartbeat and pulse rate, bloodshot eyes, and a dry mouth and throat. No scientific evidence indicates that marijuana improves hearing, eyesight, and skin sensitivity. Studies of marijuana's mental effects show that the drug can impair or reduce short-term memory, alter sense of time, and reduce ability to do things which require concentration, swift reactions, and coordination, such as driving a car or operating machinery.

All short term, like alcohol.

Are there any other adverse reactions to marijuana?
A common bad reaction to marijuana is the "acute panic anxiety reaction." People describe this reaction as an extreme fear of "losing control," which causes panic. The symptoms usually disappear in a few hours.

I've never seen this. If it happens, it most likely occurs with alcohol too, as the symptom isn't drug specific.

What about psychological dependence on marijuana?
Long-term regular users of marijuana may become psychologically dependent. They may have a hard time limiting their use, they may need more of the drug to get the same effect, and they may develop problems with their jobs and personal relationships. The drug can become the most important aspect of their lives.

The same thing can happen to alcohol. Also, notice they said may. I can say that something may happen, and when it turns out that it can't, I'm not wrong.

What are the dangers for young people?
One major concern about marijuana is its possible effects on young people as they grow up. Research shows that the earlier people start using drugs, the more likely they are to go on to experiment with other drugs. In addition, when young people start using marijuana regularly, they often lose interest and are not motivated to do their schoolwork. The effects of marijuana can interfere with learning by impairing thinking, reading comprehension, and verbal and mathematical skills. Research shows that students do not remember what they have learned when they are "high".

Can I remember what I've learned if I am drunk? Also, I want to see the research of theirs. As a young person, I know that I would never use harder drugs, and almost all of my friends agree, even the ones who regularily smoke pot. The only one who doesn't agree does acid, and he started acid first.

How does marijuana affect driving ability?
Driving experiments show that marijuana affects a wide range of skills needed for safe driving -- thinking and reflexes are slowed, making it hard for drivers to respond to sudden, unexpected events. Also, a driver's ability to "track" (stay in lane) through curves, to brake quickly, and to maintain speed and the proper distance between cars is affected. Research shows that these skills are impaired for at least 4-6 hours after smoking a single marijuana cigarette, long after the "high" is gone. If a person drinks alcohol, along with using marijuana, the risk of an accident greatly increases. Marijuana presents a definite danger on the road.

This is still short-term. In fact, alcohols effect on driving is much worse.

Does marijuana affect the human reproductive system?
Some research studies suggest that the use of marijuana during pregnancy may result in premature babies and in low birth weights. Studies of men and women may have a temporary loss of fertility. These findings suggest that marijuana may be especially harmful during adolescence, a period of rapid physical and sexual development.

I agree that smoking marijuana is wrong if you are pregnant, same as with alcohol or cigarettes. However, again with the may. The results must be either assumptions or non-conclusive.

How does marijuana affect the heart?
Marijuana use increases the heart rate as much as 50 percent, depending on the amount of THC. It can cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply to the heart - and it produces these effects more rapidly than tobacco smoke does.

People with such problems as poor blood supply shouldn't smoke marijuana, simple as that. Your heart rate goes up when you watch suspense or horror, or even when you laugh. Should these be prohibited?

How does marijuana affect the lungs?
Scientists believe that marijuana can be especially harmful to the lungs because users often inhale the unfiltered smoke deeply and hold it in their lungs as long as possible. Therefore, the smoke is in contact with lung tissues for long periods of time, which irritates the lungs and damages the way they work. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same ingredients in tobacco smoke that can cause emphysema and cancer. In addition, many marijuana users also smoke cigarettes; the combined effects of smoking these two substances creates an increased health risk.

The evidence that marijuana effects the lungs at all is non-existent. Even if it does harm the lungs more because they hold it in longer, you could do the same with cigarettes, should they be illegal?

Can marijuana cause cancer?
Marijuana smoke has been found to contain more cancer-causing agents than is found in tobacco smoke. Examination of human lung tissue that had been exposed to marijuana smoke over a long period of time in a laboratory showed cellular changes called metaplasia that are considered precancerous. In laboratory test, the tars from marijuana smoke have produced tumors when applied to animal skin. These studies suggest that it is likely that marijuana may cause cancer if used for a number of years.

First of all, so can cigarettes. Also, no evidence is shown that proves it causes cancer, we have only seen pre-cancerous, and I have looked at the research of this. Apparently, these pre-cancerous cells occured only in the people that smoked high amounts of marijuana, often at least a join a day. This is FAR from regular. Most people smoke only one or two every two weeks.

How are people usually introduced to marijuana?
Many young people are introduced to marijuana by their peers - usually acquaintances, friends, sisters, and brothers. People often try drugs such as marijuana because they feel pressured by peers to be part of the group. Children must be taught how to say no to peer pressure to try drugs. Parents can get involved by becoming informed about marijuana and by talking to their children about drug use.

Many people are introduced to tobacco or alcohol through peers as well. You don't just go up to a stranger and have them ask you to smoke marijuana. There is little peer pressure involved. When I used to not want to smoke pot, all of the people in my school didn't pressure me to do so.

What is marijuana "burnout"?
"Burnout" is a term first used by marijuana smokers themselves to describe the effect of prolonged use. Young people who smoke marijuana heavily over long periods of time can become dull, slow moving, and inattentive. These "burned-out" users are sometimes so unaware of their surroundings that they do not respond when friends speak to them, and they do not realize they have a problem.

Again, this requires MANY, MANY high-doses of marijuana, if it happens at all. Notice that these people have mentioned no research to suggest that this happens at all. In reality, we refer to burnout as the tired feeling you might get after smoking marijuana.

How long do chemicals from marijuana stay in the body after the drug is smoked?
When marijuana is smoked, THC, its active ingredient, is absorbed by most tissues and organs in the body; however, it is primarily found in fat tissues. The body, in its attempt to rid itself of the foreign chemical, chemically transforms the THC into metabolites. Urine tests can detect THC metabolites for up to a week after people have smoked marijuana. Tests involving radioactively labeled THC have traced these metabolites in animals for up to a month.

Many nutrients are stored in fat cells as well. Other drugs are too. For instance, alcohol. What's wrong with this?

 

[Druidus]

Also, this was taken from a government comitee, and the president of the time was vehemenantly against marijuana (used it as a platform, I believe).

 

[Lightkeeper]

More effects of Marijauna on the body.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/marijuana4.htm

 

[Druidus]

Again, their information is taken from the goverment, amd some of the same faulty research.

 

[huajiro]

Since marijuana is illegal, alcohol should be too....for that matter all hypocrisy should be illegal.

Let me get my umbrella....I think it is going to rain

 

[Druidus]

Why should marijuana be legalized? It has many valuable medical uses, is relatively safe, and prohibition of the drug not only is ineffective, it’s costly and dangerous. In the past year 20 million Americans have used marijuana, and 11 million continue to do so regularly. Marijuana is one of the most popular recreational drugs, ranking right behind alcohol and tobacco, two substances scientifically regarded as more hazardous. “Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is non-toxic and cannot cause death by overdose” (NORML, 2002) Many myths circulate about the safety of marijuana, such that it causes brain damage, it impairs the immune system, it lowers sperm counts, and that it leads to use of more harmful drugs. All of these claims are false. Based on experiments conducted on monkeys, researchers found that animals, when exposed to tetrahydrocannabinol (the active ingredient in marijuana, also known as THC) would be adversely affected in learning, memory, and have more diseases. However it took up to 1000x the dosage needed to produce a psychoactive effect, and the dosage had to be taken every day.

 

[Faust]

Prohibition of anything in demand creates a black market and thus increases criminal activity exponentially. You also create a forbidden fruit mystique.
Perhaps some things are better dealt with in society in a controlled permissive manner.
( And you just can't beat a good buzz.):jiggy:

 

[Michelle]

I think it should be legalized. Druidus pointed out many postive effects of it. There are a lot of people that use it or should use it medically speaking. But I think it causes cancer when inhaled. Though most of the other claims of it causing harm are biased opinions .

Anything in excess is bad for us but most people don't sit around and smoke an ounce a day. Most of the people that I know that are long term users smoke less than the equivalent of a half a cigarrette a day. And have for many years and live productive lives.

 

[huajiro]

Anything that gives you a false sense of euphoria can be dangerous. Trust me I have felt just about anything you can imagine. I do believe that people should have the freedom to decide what they want to injest. What if we legalized everything, taxed it, and used the money to educate people on the effects of all of it?

 

[robtex]

Lightkeeper I like the idea that you research stuff that you commenting on. I was gonna give you frubars but I went frubar happy and am out.....Having said that I am not stating an opinion cause I am not informed enough at this time to make an educated one.

 

[Lightkeeper]

Lightkeeper I like the idea that you research stuff that you commenting on. I was gonna give you frubars but I went frubar happy and am out.....Having said that I am not stating an opinion cause I am not informed enough at this time to make an educated one.

Thank you. You never run out of frubals, there must be another reason why you can't give them. i.e. you can't give frubals to a person you just gave them to.