Legalization of Marijuana

The only real reason is that it is a drug. Even in low quantities it drastically changes the users perspective and reaction times. Unlike alcohol, you can't just smoke a little marijuana and get a little high.

But, I voted to legalize it.

Unlike alcohol marujuana doesn't cause drunk driving and thousands of deaths on our nations highways each year. Drunk driving deaths total more per year then soldiers deaths in Iraq and yet no one is looking to end the war on our roads. People don't get high on pot then rob a liquior store or 7-11. You can't die from weed poisioning but you sure can die from alcohol poisioning.

While alcohol does a job on your liver, pot eats away at your brain.

So what do you need the most and for which there's no transplant available? Your liver or your brain?

My sympathies. Apparently there's no hope for your particular condition then.

The term "drug" is effectively meaningless (coffee, nicotine, beer, etc etc) and functions in this context as a jingoist label for the simple-minded.

There's actually tons and tons of research that has been done on marijuana use beginning in the late sixties and continuing on through the present. I'd very much doubt that there is a single western nation which has not contributed to this body of knowledge.

You'll find lots of reference data here and you can follow that up as you see appropriate...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana

But be careful, wikipedia eats away at your brain.

The term in "drug" is meaningless? Huh. When did that happen?

Main Entry: 1drug
Pronunciation: 'dr&g
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English drogge
1 a obsolete : a substance used in dyeing or chemical operations b : a substance used as a medication or in the preparation of medication c according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1) : a substance recognized in an official pharmacopoeia or formulary (2) : a substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease (3) : a substance other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body (4) : a substance intended for use as a component of a medicine but not a device or a component, part, or accessory of a device
2 : a commodity that is not salable or for which there is no demand -- used in the phrase drug on the market
3 : something and often an illegal substance that causes addiction, habituation, or a marked change in consciousness

Doesn't seem at all jingoistic, nor for the simple-minded.

People can drink a beer with dinner and safely drive home. Can't really smoke a doob with dinner and do the same. That some people do not drink in moderation is not really a good example to use. Lots of people do stupid **** all the time.

Wrong. There's not even a comparison.

Cycloptichorn

legalize

Legal. And taxed.

Knee jerk much?

Let me add more, McG, as I didn't mean to be rude.

Marijuana simply doesn't mess someone up the way alcohol does. You never hear about anyone getting stoned and beating people up. And it certainly doesn't impair driving ability to the level that alcohol does, at all.

I've seen 20-year studies which show neither an appreciable drop in mental function OR a rise in cancer rates amongst lifetime smokers. I haven't seen any convincing evidence that it should be illegal at all.

What really kills me is that marijuana was lumped in with all the other drugs when I was in the DARE program as a kid. I was taught that it was literally the devil's own substance, just like heroin and crack cocaine. When I finally got around to smoking some, I realized that not only wasn't it evil stuff, it was actually far, far superior to alcohol. And that the people who ran DARE were full of ****.

Blatham is right; Refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco. All drugs as much as marijuana is, but they aren't counted as such for social reasons. There's no logical difference between them and other drugs.

Cycloptichorn

ehbeth...legal ok but taxed? we've enough taxes as it is. the price would double if the govt were involved.

The medical dangers of marijuana

Health_Concerns: WHAT ARE THE MEDICAL DANGERS OF MARIJUANA USE?

I must preface these statements with the remark that there is still a great deal of research to be done concerning the effects of marijuana on the health of humans due to the fact that widespread marijuana use has only become prevalent in this country within the last three decades, so the effects of long-term use are just beginning to become apparent. I should also add that in making these observations, I have concentrated on the risks of smoking natural marijuana, since it is the most effective method of ingesting its active cannabinoids.

Marijuana has often been touted as one of the safest recreational substances available. This is perhaps true; many reputable scientific studies support the conclusion that cocaine, heroine, alcohol, and even cigarettes are more dangerous to the user's health than marijuana. In addition, the celebrated pharmacological properties of cannabis have led thirty-six states to permit its use as a therapeutic drug for, among others, those suffering from AIDS; various painful, incurable and debilitating illnesses; the harmful side effects of cancer chemotherapy, and glaucoma. Additional research is being conducted concerning the use of marijuana on the treatment of anxiety and mental disorders.

Nonetheless, it would be fallacious to conclude that because the chemicals in marijuana have been found to present fewer dangers than some very harmful substances, the medical or recreational use of marijuana is perfectly safe. In a recreational context, marijuana has been shown to affect health, brain function, and memory. And in a medical context, marijuana is like any other powerful prescription drug: it has potentially dangerous side effects, and the decision to use it to treat patients must involve the same balancing test as the one required for chemotherapy or AZT: do the therapeutic effects of the drug outweigh its harmful effects? Though there are many more studies to be done on this issue, current data shows that the answer to this question may not always be "yes."



EFFECTS OF HABITUAL MARIJUANA USE ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

The most potent argument against the use of marijuana to treat medical disorders is that marijuana may cause the acceleration or aggravation of the very disorders it is being used to treat.

Smoking marijuana regularly (a joint a day) can damage the cells in the bronchial passages which protect the body against inhaled microorganisms and decrease the ability of the immune cells in the lungs to fight off fungi, bacteria, and tumor cells. For patients with already weakened immune systems, this means an increase in the possibility of dangerous pulmonary infections, including pneumonia, which often proves fatal in AIDS patients.

Studies further suggest that marijuana is a general "immunosuppressant" whose degenerative influence extends beyond the respiratory system. Regular smoking has been shown to materially affect the overall ability of the smoker's body to defend itself against infection by weakening various natural immune mechanisms, including macrophages (a.k.a. "killer cells") and the all-important T-cells. Obviously, this suggests the conclusion, which is well-supported by scientific studies, that the use of marijuana as a medical therapy can and does have a very serious negative effect on patients with pre-existing immune deficits resulting from AIDS, organ transplantation, or cancer chemotherapy, the very conditions for which marijuana has most often been touted and suggested as a treatment. It has also been shown that marijuana use can accelerate the progression of HIV to full-blown AIDS and increase the occurrence of infections and Kaposi's sarcoma. In addition, patients with weak immune systems will be even less able to defend themselves against the various respiratory cancers and conditions to which consistent marijuana use has been linked, and which are discussed briefly under "Respiratory Illnesses."

In conclusion, it seems that the potential dangers presented by the medical use of marijuana may actually contribute to the dangers of the diseases which it would be used to combat. Therefore, I suggest that marijuana should not be permitted as a therapy, at least until a good deal more conclusive research has been completed concerning its debilitating effect on the immune system.

For more on this topic, please see Donald P. Tashkin, M.D., "Effects of Marijuana on the Lung and Its Immune Defenses," Secretary's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Intiative: Resource Papers, March 1997, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Pages 33-51 of this address can be found at the website of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University, located at http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/druginfo/tashkin- marijuana.html.



RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES

The main respiratory consequences of smoking marijuana regularly (one joint a day) are pulmonary infections and respiratory cancer, whose connection to marijuana use has been strongly suggested but not conclusively proven. The effects also include chronic bronchitis, impairment in the function of the smaller air passages, inflammation of the lung, the development of potentially pre-cancerous abnormalities in the bronchial lining and lungs, and, as discussed, a reduction in the capabilities of many defensive mechanisms within the lungs.

Marijuana smoke and cigarette smoke contain many of the same toxins, including one which has been identified as a key factor in the promotion of lung cancer. This toxin is found in the tar phase of both, and it should be noted that one joint has four times more tar than a cigarette, which means that the lungs are exposed four-fold to this toxin and others in the tar. It has been concretely established that smoking cigarettes promotes lung cancer (which causes more than 125,000 deaths in the US every year), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema) and increased incidence of respiratory tract infections. This implies, but does not establish, that smoking marijuana may lead to some of the same results as smoking cigarettes. It is notable that several reports indicate an unexpectedly large proportion ofmarijuana users among cases of lung cancer and cancers of the oral cavity,pharynx, and larynx. Thus, it appears that the use of marijuana as a medicine has the potential to further harm an already ill patient in the same way that taking up regular cigarette smoking would, particularly in light of the fact that those patients for whom marijuana is recommended are already poorly equipped to fight off these infections and diseases.

For more information, please see the Tashkin website mentioned at the end of the section on immune disorders. See also:

* www.sarnia.com/GROUPS/ANTIDRUG/mrr/ 21.96.10.html, for information on the link between chemicals contained in marijuana and lung cancer.
* http://www.marijuananews.com/latest_research_finds_that_heavy.htm, for an article concerning the link between marijuana and cancer, with commentary



MENTAL HEALTH, BRAIN FUNCTION, AND MEMORY

It has been suggested that marijuana is at the root of many mental disorders, including acute toxic psychosis, panic attacks (one of the very conditions it is being used experimentally to treat), flashbacks, delusions, depersonalization, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, and uncontrollable aggressiveness. Marijuana has long been known to trigger attacks of mental illness, such as bipolar (manic-depressive) psychosis and schizophrenia. This connection with mental illness should make health care providers for terminally ill patients and the patients themselves, who may already be suffering from some form of clinical depression, weigh very carefully the pros and cons of adopting a therapeutic course of marijuana.

In the short term, marijuana use impairs perception, judgment, thinking, memory, and learning; memory defects may persist six weeks after last use. Mental disorders connected with marijuana use merit their own category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV, published by the American Psychiatric Association. These include Cannabis Intoxication (consisting of impaired motor coordination, anxiety, impaired judgment, sensation of slowed time, social withdrawal, and often includes perceptual disturbances; Cannabis Intoxication Delirium (memory deficit, disorientation); Cannabis Induced Psychotic Disorder, Delusions; Cannabis Induced Psychotic Disorder, Hallucinations; and Cannabis Induced Anxiety Disorder.

In addition, marijuana use has many indirect effects on health. Its effect on coordination, perception, and judgment means that it causes a number of accidents, vehicular and otherwise.

For further information, you may find the following sites helpful:

* www.sarnia.com/GROUPS/ANTIDRUG/reality/updatejl.html, for information on links between marijuana use and mental health risks.
* www.sarnia.com/GROUPS/ANTIDRUG/mrr/21.96.10.html, for more information on the indirect effects of marijuana on health
* http://www.adf.org.au/drughit, the Australian Drug Foundation's website
* http://marijuananews.com/a_safe_ high_.htm, a reprint of New Science magazine's "Marijuana Special Report: A Safe High?" with commentary
* http://marijuananews.com/claim_four.htm, an article about the similarity of long-term marijuana use's effect on the brain to that of "hard" drugs, with commentary
* www.drugs.indiana.edu/publications/iprc/misc/smokescreen.html, for general information on the health risks of marijuana.
* http://www.health.org, the homepage of the National Clearinghouse on Alcohol and Drug Information, for general information on marijuana.

In some cases, it leads to gardening:


a dirty business.

It's not that I don't believe the substance has its' ups and downs - it is like everything else in life, and an excess of use or abuse of the substance no doubt has ill effects. The same can be said about each and every thing you put in your body, every day of your life.

I do have to wonder where you find this stuff, though? As each and every link, except for the last one, goes to a dead link. And the last one goes to the Dept. of Health and Human services website, which isn't exactly the information clearing house I go to for the truth on topics.

Also,



Well, your link might be a bit behind the times.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0002491F-755F-1473-B55F83414B7F0000



Cycloptichorn

funny about how nasty herb is... it'll make you sick, it'll make you stupid, it'll make you crazy, fill your lungs and brain with smokey tar, but lay those investigations down side by side with what legal drugs like alcohol or nicotine do and one doesn't have a lot of faith that the antidrug laws are based upon a rational system that acts through its drug laws to actually prevent health problems.

what's the numbers again annum? 200,000 deaths from booze, 450,000 more from tobacco, maybe a dozen potheads wrap themselves around a tree each year during a twinkie run to the 711 on a cold rainy night, and likely there is the presence of alcohol too.

Its all driven by money and it won't make any difference unless you grow herb that can cure male pattern baldness at the same time it cures erectile disfunction.

I don't know about herb, but if some son of a bitch ''guvment" man tried to restrict my coffee uptake I'd likely murder the prick

You can take my beer, you can take my cocaine and heroin, but don't even try taking my coffee or you'll see me traveling to washington with a pointy pitchfork.

I worry that weed tends to tip people with schizophrenic tendencies into fullblown mental illness. But alcohol isn't exactly harmless either. And there's a big difference between leaf and skunk and sensimilla heads. Bud lite vs Polish pure spirit.

Maybe when everyone's DNA is on file they'll risk assess what a particular drug will do to your permanent mental state and allow you to use what you want on that basis. Then LSD will be legal again. Yay. Nanny world.

I am always baffled by people who say that marijuana should be legalized because it's no worse than alcohol.

That's rather like saying that, since you already have diabetes, you won't mind having malaria too.

Akin to what Aristotle said about good similes giving an "effect of brilliance", your asymmetric ones show the affect of stupidity.

You posted your opinion ad nauseum on other threads about this so why don't you sit back and spare us your continuing attempt at inflicting your own personal mouth-breathing morality on the rest of us, its not so much that you are a unmitigated bore, and you are that to a tee, but that you've said it all before. If you going to hijack this thread as your personal crusade just cut and paste your earlier nonsense and be done with it.

Excellent references.

Thanks, Mcgentrix