Congratulations to Maine, Washington and Colorado

[Rozel]

Lmao. This thread really made my day. lol

[Secretwriter]

I am one who has indulged in the delights of smoking pot. It affects everyone differently and while it isn't addictive itself, the feeling of being high can be, just as any other feeling can be. An orgasm, feeling safe, feeling adrenaline...

The only way that I can explain my point of view on legalizing weed is this:

When I turned 21, it wasn't all that fun to buy beer anymore. I could, any time I wanted, just go and buy it. I didn't have to smuggle it, I didn't have to pray that I didn't get pulled over with booze in my trunk. It was fun sneaking around to do it. 

Same with weed. The thrill in it for me is the sneaky part. A lot of people will likely stop smoking weed when the thrill is gone. It will become more regulated.

But, in all honesty, people with illnesses and pain... they could use weed instead of dangerously addicting narcotics to ease their pain. Get a little buzz and chill out versus being too zonked to operate and having addictions long after their pain has healed from an injury. Just an example, if not a rather rambling one.

[Chris Brady]

Living in a rooming house full of pot addicts and general smokers, I can tell you, whether or not it gets legalized, it will change nothing.  People will still do the stupid shit they've always been doing.

I have no problems with people who smoke in moderation.  Problem is...  Addicts are not known for 'moderation'.

[Stattick]

Legalize it already. Comon... we've been working at this for fifty friggen years.

And let me tell you something. It's no fun living next to an addict. But if I had to, I'd MUCH rather live next to a pothead then an alcoholic. Alcoholics get violent. Pothead just wanna eat twinkies and watch cartoons.

[Vanity Evolved]

I was quite pleased to see the election results, even as a Brit! It was scary how much support Romney got, but to hear the news about pot and gay marriage was a breath of fresh air (or in the case of the former, a breath of fresh smoke!)

I've never found any interest in weed, but I've always found the political controversy surrounding it ridiculous; something on par with, and better in some instances, tobacco and alcohol which has remained illegal just to throw some more people into the privatized prison system. An entire system built around an intoxicant which, to me, has -far- more press than it deserves. Good to see people are finally dispensing with the non-sense of spending hundreds of thousands of millions of tax payer money on cracking down on a plant a bunch of kids do in their dorms rather than doing their homework.

As for gay marriage, well, what else can I say? Congrats to the LGBT of Maine and Washington!

[Skynet]

I offer my congratulations as well.  Hopefully marijuana gets legalized in more states so we'd stop throwing pot-smokers in prison for years.  Such arrests make up a big chunk of the US prison population, and it's sickening.

I'm also happy that Washington, Maine, and now Maryland legalized gay marriage!  With all the hate and extremism in the world, we can certainly do with more love!

[SinXAzgard21]

Living in a rooming house full of pot addicts and general smokers, I can tell you, whether or not it gets legalized, it will change nothing.  People will still do the stupid shit they've always been doing.

I have no problems with people who smoke in moderation.  Problem is...  Addicts are not known for 'moderation'.

Well yeah cigarettes are addictive and people I know smoke like 4 packs a day... Pot...  Never heard of someone addicted to it...  Unless the shit is laced.

[Miss Lilly]

Pot is addictive. No one I know who smokes pot ISN'T addicted to it.

[Vekseid]

Are they ruining any lives besides their own?

[Miss Lilly]

There is evidence that after prolonged use cannabis is addictive. People who use cannabis regularly can develop dependence and tolerance to it, which means they need to take larger amounts of cannabis to get the same effect.

Dependence on cannabis can be psychological, physical, or both. People who are dependent on cannabis find that using the drug becomes far more important than other activities in their life. They crave the drug and find it very difficult to stop using it. People who are psychologically dependent on cannabis may find they feel an urge to use it when they are in specific surroundings or socialising with friends. Physical dependence occurs when a person’s body adapts to cannabis and gets used to functioning with the cannabis present.

source: http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/drug-facts/cannabis?gclid=CNfYkZqEv7MCFcZbpQodPykAGw

Veks....possibly, yes. The effects of pot addiction on an addicts family can be profound.  But my point is that it IS addictive, and anyone who dismisses it as otherwise is in denial.

[Vekseid]

I'm not disputing mild addictive effects like that - gaming addiction has similar effects on lives and families - but it does not spread beyond aiding and abetting a lapse in personal responsibility.

This is not true for alcoholism (legal) or say, opiate addiction.

[Miss Lilly]

I can see your point there, but often pot addiction and tolerance can lead to abuse of harder substances.  Obviously not in every case, and I'm not in any way making blanket statements.  However, I've experienced this exact scenario in my own family, and have seen how the destructive behaviours that started with pot use first hand.

[Vekseid]

When I hear of pot being a gateway drug is usually when some asshat laced a friend's joint. Friend of mine. Not friend of theirs.

Regulation will help that.



Ultimately, though, personal responsibility is just one of those things that needs to be learned. Preferably at a young age. There are countless behaviors, attitudes, and actions that can destroy a life. Putting a barrier in front is not necessarily the best solution, and it's absolutely crazy doing it with a plant that can be grown nearly anywhere on the planet.

[Miss Lilly]

Oh, I'm not arguing against legalisation.  I actually support it.  I think the minute you make something forbidden, it becomes so much more desirable, especially for youths.  However, I have a problem with the legalisation if there is no regulation that goes along with it.  Assign the same laws to the production and sale of pot as those related to tobacco, and I'm sold.

That still doesn't make pot non-addictive, though.

[Vanity Evolved]

Oh, I'm not arguing against legalisation.  I actually support it.  I think the minute you make something forbidden, it becomes so much more desirable, especially for youths.  However, I have a problem with the legalisation if there is no regulation that goes along with it.  Assign the same laws to the production and sale of pot as those related to tobacco, and I'm sold.

That still doesn't make pot non-addictive, though.

It also doesn't change the fact that alcohol and tobacco - tobacco being hugely addictive and proven to be harmful to health directly - are allowed. For me, it's been 'it's all legal or none of it is'. If I'm allowed to pay money to destroy my body over fifteen years with these two substances, why is it wrong of me to destroy my body with this other substance over fifteen years?

[LunarSage]

My only problem with hardcore stoners is they often don't care about anything but how they're going to get high a given day and many of them are quite happy to rip off their friends and family to get more of it.

[Tamhansen]

My only problem with hardcore stoners is they often don't care about anything but how they're going to get high a given day and many of them are quite happy to rip off their friends and family to get more of it.

That has nothing to do with weed. People who do that would do the same if they were addicted to say alcohol or online poker.

As for weed being physically addictive, I do not deny there can be a physical dependence, however there is no addictant present in Cannabis sativa. An addictant being a substance whose primary goal is to make the body crave more of the substance. For example nicotine in sigarettes, Diaphorm in heroine or benzodiazepines in over the counter medications like diazepam or prozac. Basically, weed is healthier, less addictive and in quite a few cases more effective than what the shrinks are peddling.

[Skynet]

There are problems with marijuana, like any other drug.  But it's less dangerous than cigarettes and alcohol, despite being illegal in many places.

The real reason that marijuana's still illegal in many areas is because it still has a historical negative stigma attached to it, the idea people who use it are likely to be social malcontents.

[Oniya]

Hey, maybe now that the plant is no longer illegal to grow, perhaps hemp fiber can be produced more economically.

[LunarSage]

That has nothing to do with weed. People who do that would do the same if they were addicted to say alcohol or online poker.

Well I just plain disagree with that.

But that's ok.

[Lux12]

Hm.  Interesting read.

So...legalisation will mean regulation?

Exactly.If you take away their cash crop their power will diminish and if properly distributed, regulated, and sold it could mean a great boost for the economy.

[SinXAzgard21]

My only problem with hardcore stoners is they often don't care about anything but how they're going to get high a given day and many of them are quite happy to rip off their friends and family to get more of it.

Most hardcore stoners grow their own shit... So they can get their friends ripped not rip them off.  At least those I know.

[TaintedAndDelish]

If you look at alcohol, there are those who can drink in moderation, and those who cannot. I think we'll see the same pattern here.  As for pot being a gateway drug, again, it really depends a lot on the person. I don't think there's any substance in pot that "makes you try blow" or "makes you try crack" ... that would be one hell of an amazing compound.  O.o

So out of curiosity... I think I read that you can possess up to an ounce legally(forgot which state)? What about stores? Can they legally stock garbage bags full and carry those garbage bags full of weed from place to place if they say that they are just making a delivery between stores or store/warehouse?

[Chris Brady]

Are they ruining any lives besides their own?

Yes.  Friends, family who have to deal with an unmotivated (to use a personal example) youth who sits at home smoking pot, bumming money for his next high, and leeching off welfare.  He has no job, and no motivation to go to school.  Not to mention that a lot of local pot smokers drive high.  In their CAR.  Often to get something to satiate the munches.  I've nearly been hit by one, luckily a cop was near by and hauled him over after scaring me literally stiff (back spasmed, and I locked up, not fun) and arrested him for dangerous driving under impairment.  Not sure why I haven't been contacted over that yet...  But yes, pot CAN harm others.

[TaintedAndDelish]

Yes.  Friends, family who have to deal with an unmotivated (to use a personal example) youth who sits at home smoking pot, bumming money for his next high, and leeching off welfare.  He has no job, and no motivation to go to school.  Not to mention that a lot of local pot smokers drive high.  In their CAR.  Often to get something to satiate the munches.  I've nearly been hit by one, luckily a cop was near by and hauled him over after scaring me literally stiff (back spasmed, and I locked up, not fun) and arrested him for dangerous driving under impairment.  Not sure why I haven't been contacted over that yet...  But yes, pot CAN harm others.

Is this any different from alcohol? Some excessive drinkers act just as you described?