dlowan wrote:LOL! Frank - that is the very reason why our drug and alcohol agency, at least in this state, is extremely reluctant to promulgate dicey stuff. As I said above, they are in some conflict with mental health services, who want them to push more strongly the dangers of psychosis for THC users, while they are very reluctant to do so, fearing the dangers are exaggerated and not wanting to lose credibility around well substantiated risk.
Our drug agency policies differ greatly, I suspect, from government programs in the USA - here, the emphasis is on harm minimisation, and very accurate info, NOT on abstinence. In half of geographical Australia possession of reasonable (ie not trafficable) amounts of marijuana is treated like a traffic infringement, if it is prosecuted at all - you would have the cops bothering you about something else, and stroppy to boot, before you would be given an on the spot fine notice for dope. In my state, you can grow up to three plants for personal use, before you start being chargerd with anything serious.
I've always wanted to visit Australia. I am fascinated by Ayers Rock (uluru?) -- but now I see I have other motivation.
Keep on truckin'.
Q: How many dead heads does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Change it? Once it burns out, they just follow it around for thirty years.
I'm with Craven on the memory thing (although it was over a year ago, I juts noticed!). As a regular smoker (most days for 8 years) I've definately noticed the memory going, albeit in a random way. I can remember vivid details of an unimportant conversation I had years ago, and yet not what I had for my dinner last night.
It also seems to have affected my concentration and general 'mental sharpness' to a certain degree. One thing it has created (and which I never noticed until I gave up for 8 months last year) is a general apathy & lethargy - not caring much about much, basically. A few weeks after I stopped I found that I had so much energy & drive that it really got on my nerves.
Decriminalisation must surely be the way forward. I'm sure that if alchohol had just been discovered for the first time and the breweries etc were trying to get licences to sell it, that they would be refused. Alcohol only enjoys its legal status due to long-standing mass acceptance rather than because its 'safer' than cannabis.
There was another point I was going to make but (rather ironically) by the time I'd typed all the above I'd forgotten what it was!
