Marijuana Legalization

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

Why is it always a user who starts these types of threads? Why not some one who does not use the illegal substance? There is a very good explination for that...

why? probably cause they use it and its illegal? same reason why it would always be someone who is intrested in car audio startin a car audio discussion thread, or a user who is intrested in computers starting a computer thread...

if it doesnt affect you, you dont care, so thats why its always a user who starts it...cause it affects them...

 

[g30ffr3y 10+ year member]

i was reading this thread last night and i actually voted

to legalize the stuff...

i personally feel that weed is a much lesser evil than drinking

and if someone wants to smoke weed for whatever reason

that it should be just as ok as drinking...

i dont want to be part of any flame war or argument... i just

wanted to say how i voted and why...

 

[joshpoints 10+ year member]

I just have a sensitive nose. Don't like smoke period. Now put it in a pill form and I'm okay with it. But smoke just gives me a fat headache along with making me feel sick sometimes.

I know a lot of you will disagree.

Like most people find chewing more disgusting than smoking. For me I don't mind chewing because I don't have to deal with the smoke.

 

[`pr0digy 10+ year member]

Why is it always a user who starts these types of threads? Why not some one who does not use the illegal substance? There is a very good explination for that...

... Just like black people, always talkin' like, "OMG we are being repressed" or Iraqi's under Saddam going "OMG we are being abused!". I mean, how silly of the people IT AFFECTS MOST to talk about it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/redface.gif.62fdbfe1a101588a808c4cff71bcb942.gif

 

[Rmsanger 10+ year member]

I'll have to vote against it! What would be the fun in it if it was legal? Drinking got boring once I turned 21. I haven't touched the stuff in probably about 3 years and don't plan on doing it again. My life is alot better without it and the people I hung out with.

 

[ighettoboyi 10+ year member]

we rasta mon

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

not to start anything against squeak, but squeak you dont see a difference between something like cannabis and killing someone? i think we need to think of a more rational comparison.

My point was that "who are you to decide" is a weak argument.....anyone who commits a crime can say that. Who are you to decide how fast I can drive? Who are you to decide where I can walk (trespassing)? Who are you to decide where I can park? Who are you to decide how loud I can play my stereo? Who are you to decide what actions I can and can't do?

It's just.....lame.

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

smoking sucks, and if caught, gets you turned into someones wife.

 

[wErd 5,000+ posts]

smoking sucks, and if caught, gets you turned into someones wife.

no it doesnt...selling crack on street corners turns you into someones wife.

 

[`pr0digy 10+ year member]

My point was that "who are you to decide" is a weak argument.....anyone who commits a crime can say that. Who are you to decide how fast I can drive? Who are you to decide where I can walk (trespassing)? Who are you to decide where I can park? Who are you to decide how loud I can play my stereo? Who are you to decide what actions I can and can't do?
It's just.....lame.

Your dismissing the ENTIRE argument blindly. And the "who are you to decide" really IS the heart of the debate. Did you notice your listing things that are affecting others negatively ? And that smoking harms no one but the user ? See the differance ?

 

[wErd 5,000+ posts]

"You are only free if I am free"

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Your dismissing the ENTIRE argument blindly. And the "who are you to decide" really IS the heart of the debate. Did you notice your listing things that are affecting others negatively ? And that smoking harms no one but the user ? See the differance ?

Who does speeding hurt? Nobody. Still can't legally do it.

Who does trespassing hurt? Nobody. Still can't legally do it.

Who does jaywalking hurt? Nobody. Still can't legally do it.

Who does not wearing a sealtbelt hurt? Nobody. Still can't legally do it in cars.

Who does ************ hurt?

Shall I continue?

If "who are you to decide" is the heart of the argument, then you need a better reason.....cause that's weak. Plain and simple.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. Research findings for long-term marijuana use indicate some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse. For example, cannabinoid (THC or synthetic forms of THC) withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system(6) and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine(7). Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.

A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers(9). Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

Even infrequent use can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Smoking marijuana increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck, and the more marijuana smoked the greater the increase(11). A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced strong evidence that marijuana smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.

Marijuana use also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens(12, 13). In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke(14).

Some of marijuana’s adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and cancer. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were inhibited(16).

Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their non-smoking peers(24, 25, 26, 27). A study of 129 college students found that, for heavy users of marijuana (those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the preceding 30 days), critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours(28).

Depression(19), anxiety(20), and personality disturbances(21) have been associated with marijuana use. Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person’s existing problems worse. Because marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in accumulating intellectual, job, or social skills.

Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for some people; that is, they use the drug compulsively even though it interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. Drug craving and withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for long-term marijuana smokers to stop using the drug. People trying to quit report irritability, sleeplessness, and anxiety(38). They also display increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately one week after the last use of the drug(39).

A negative aspect of increased anandamide activity was recently shown by studies done by scientists at the University at Buffalo in New York. It has been known for thirty years that very heavy marijuana smoking has drastic effects on sperm production within the testis. The study showed that human sperm contains receptors for cannabinoids. For the first time, a study showed that cannabinoids can affect three key fertilization processes: 1) Prevention of sperm binding to the egg cover, or zona, 2) Regulation of very active sperm swimming patterns, called hyperactivation, and 3) Inhibition of the acrosomal reaction, the normal release of the sperm enzymes that enable sperm to penetrate the egg. These new findings suggest that the anandamides and THC in marijuana smoke may affect sperm functions required for fertilization in the female reproductive tract.

..

 

[joshpoints 10+ year member]

..

That's quite a list.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Who is the government to decide?

Well, they are the ones who decide. It's their job to decide. They are the ones who run the country. You elect them to do so. They pass laws that keep intact the best interests of the public at large; to protect the public at large, as well as laws that maintain societal values and overall productiveness of the American workforce.

None of your rights are being impeded because you can't smoke dope. At best it would be a privilege; but definitely not a right.