Marijuana 2
 

Yeah, i've opened this up because people were starting to get to other points and issues, and it seemed to be going somewhere... so...

Also because i actually was posting something when my connection died and whe i got back the thread was closed.

That depends, are you a mass of people?

Because what i'm saying here is that opinions are taken in groups. When deciding the age that people should be allowed to vote, nobody went around asking what personally each person feel or thought about a subject. What you would have is a sense of a group's ideal and notions of the subject. Because that's how you pick a decision for a larger group. You step back to see if they are saying "yes" or "no".

Put anybody under the microscope, and only then, you can read between the lines.

What im saying is that when i look at the group of people who want pot to be legal, if you look from afar enough to put everybody in that picture (the whole group) what stands out are people that are angry about the fact that there is a line in the law that forbids something they want.

If i take a closer look at the individuals i'm going to find a little bit of everything. From people with a strong opinion and actuall inteligence to back it up (such as yourself) to people who wanted because the medicinal uses of Pot worked for them or for a loved one, and if it was legal, it would be much better for them. To down right to the jackass who just want to do whatever the hell he wants and think evrybody should be ok with that...

Fact being, that unless you're some kind of leader to that group, you're not in the front. You're in there, in the middle. With everybody else who agrees with your general point of view. That general point of view should be heard, ofcourse!

The thing is, that the general point of view has to be enough to sustain that change, because nobody is going to change a social mechanism (such as the regulation os narcotics) based on indiviual standpoints.

That's why, up so far, i've spoken for myself on what i belive, and refered to a larger group when speaking about this issue. Because there is no point on making it personal. Sorry if you got offended, sure as hell i wasnt going for that... but you're taking it personally in a pretty agressive manner. And i know for a fact that i wasnt trying to insult you or anyone, even though pretty much all of your responses are pretty harsh and abrasive. Really, it's not flamebait just because you didnt went for name calling yet...

I would be ok with what Spain did with it. If you want pot, you can plant it yourself for your own use up to a limit, and carry up to a limit with you. You just cant buy or sell it. Or publicly smoke it. What's wrong with that?

Beat me to it...

If it were legalized, I'd be satisfied with the "no trade" policy. Basically, if you grow it, you can smoke it, both in the privacy of your own home. No buying or selling allowed. While I don't think this would greatly reduce crime, or help the economy in any way, it would definitely get some people to stop buying from dealers, and probably get some dealers to stop buying from the bigger drug lords and grow their own. It definitely isn't be as potentially helpful as fully legalizing it, but it isn't as potentially harmful either.

Not really following thread but I noticed someone say there are no addictive chemicals in marijuana which is not correct.
They have done studies on THC showing similar changes in the brain and creation of crave/rush cycle as smoking. This effect was much lower than tobacco but it still exists.

Oddly enough, I was under the impression that MJ could be used to make hemp, which was better for making rope anyways. If we allowed hemp to be made, what would that really do to the fishing/netting industry that still uses a lot of rope?

Anyway, I'm of the opinion that MJ should be legalized for almost the same reasons. Main thing, of the ~40% of minorities that go to jail for XYZ crimes, most are first time offenders of MJ possession. While it may be a gateway drug or something else, for some, I can't verify if it would indeed be harmful for society at large.

And the fact remains, if someone wanted to get it, they still can. Now that the US government has some control over it, they can tax it and ensure more than outright banning it. Whether it's for medicinal uses, hemp, or otherwise.

I don't suppose you have a source for that? It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that that's my biggest pro-weed sentiment, and I'd hate to see it shot down.

Being semi-serious here, I get the feeling this is something that has been over exagerated by hemp-loving hippies and stoners.

Can anyone verify that hemp is actually this useful? They act like its akin to soy, which is something else that bugs me but thats a different not-as-serious topic.

No I mean it's true marijuana does have addictive effects. It's just that they're much lower than anything considered serious, on par with like, caffeine. And they deal that on every streetcorner.

For Fifthfiend:
Its less that I know the truth and more that I know I'm embarrassingly ignorant enough to have no idea what the right way is.

I'm a bigot on this subject and I'm well aware of that.

I do thank you for mentioning me by name however, it makes me feel like I matter.

Anyways, back on subject, I'm turning 21 on december 1st and I figured that I might as well go all out and indulge in a few things so I can at least experience them. I decided it might be worth trying with marijuana, but I've come across a fundamental flaw in my idea. It turns out NOBODY knows where to get the marijuana. They all just "know a friend." Needless to say, I'm currently seeking out this mysterious friend to get my hand on some of the still illegal substance.

I fancy myself a scientist, and what kind of scientist passes up a chance to experiment?

Oh. Okay. That's...kinda depressing...

I mean, I don't smoke anything with nicotine, and I always kinda championed pot as being non-addictive.

Meh, whatever. I wasn't hard for me to quit, and I'm freaking addicted to caffeine like a motherfucker.

From Wikipedia, effects of Cannabis:
The key is the mentioned changes in the brain which creates the crave/rush cycle and is key in addiction.
I mean I wouldn't really be worried as the effect is much less than most of the things we think of as addictive but there is an effect there.