- Zef2Def:
- THC is a lot less harmful to the body than caffeine yet we let little kids drink soda and coffee and don't let anyone ingest THC (unless prescribed in certain states). It's also less harmful than cigarettes, alcohol, car exhaust, fatty synthetic foods and many many prescription drugs such as Adderall or Prozac.
You cannot prove these opinions, and they don't entirely apply or matter anyway.
- Zef2Def:
- Also arresting people for marijuana possession wastes police officers' time, wastes jail space, tax dollars and the way in which the US legal system handles these cases can ruin a lot of peoples' lives for something incredibly minute. My friend just got arrested for possessing less than a gram, and although her live isn't screwed over, she has to go through a lot of unnecessary bs which is affecting how much time she has for her school work, which is should be (and is for her) the most important thing for college students.
Perhaps you and your friends should consider not breaking the law, then you will not have to undergo all these things that you deem to be "unnecessary." Did you purchase your weed from a dealer? Can you bear it on your conscience that you are providing income for a murderous mafia that is known to slaughter and behead innocent people? Nevermind; the drug cartels are usually put to shame by any capable police force. Those officers have my praise.
- Zef2Def:
- And the whole "gateway drug" thing is just plain dumb. Maybe we should offer factual drug education in schools that isn't filled with "War on Drugs" propaganda. Maybe we should show students films such as Requiem for a Dream, have them read books by authors who have experienced real addiction and perhaps it would give people a more realistic outlook on truly harmful drugs.
Right. Use scripted films over statistics. Let's really give them the Hollywood treatment while they're young. I'm all for educating the youth. We don't do enough of it. We could do a better job of it. But why legalize marijuana? That sort of measure only tells the public, "Hey, the government says we can do it, so it must be safe!" Legalization is a step backwards. In an ideal society, people would not smoke marijuana, so let's not concede that unless we have to (and we don't, so long as people like you make the responsible decision to stop integrating drugs into society).
All drugs are "gateway drugs," just as all video games are "gateway video games." Experience and connections will often bring people back.
- Zef2Def:
- Or maybe we should actually give help to people with serious addiction issues instead of blaming it on a plant. An addict will always be an addict, weed or no weed.
Don't you start doing that! Don't you go down that illogical road where you imply that somehow all plants are harmless!
- Zef2Def:
- Marijuana is just a plant with psychoactive (and medical) properties.
No! You did it! Oh, mercy. I had suspected it, but now I am sure: you are under the influence of drug-culture propaganda. Who "planted" that thought in your head? Get rid of it! Or do I have to show you the long list of dangerous and harmful plants in this world?
Anyway, what you say in that above quote should really translate to: "Marijuana is a psychoactive drug."
- Zef2Def:
- When my mother was a hospice nurse, she administered it to cancer patients who could not eat or drink to save their lives and watched them actually do it because of the affects of THC.
Studies have demonstrated that marijuana is no more effective than a placebo in increasing the appetite of cancer patients.
http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/results/summary/2006/cannabis0806
A midstudy review even had that research curtailed because the marijuana was having such negative effects on participants: “Certain adverse events, however, were statistically higher in both cannabis groups, including diarrhea, severe constipation, pain, and fatigue. Overall, those taking CE were nearly twice as likely to have adverse events than those taking placebo.”
- Zef2Def:
- Also, my friends and I smoke weed very regularly. We're all very good students who make As and Bs (I made straight As this quarter), routinely do our work, talk to our families, have motivation and are successful in a stressful/hard working environment. They also don't experience heightened anxiety or stress because of it.
That's all fine and dandy, but really you shouldn't be trying to determine the fate of national politics based on your personal experience. It would be far more effective if you were to produce some statistics here.
- Zef2Def:
- I do but that's because I have a pre-existing condition that has nothing to do with what I put into my body .
Are you sure? That sounds like your opinion. And that's fine, but isn't it possible that you
sometimes smoke to self-medicate? I have no crtiticism to levy against you, but if you could be completely honest in answering that question, I would greatly appreciate it for my personal account. Do you think you have ever smoke to help you with your emotions--perhaps anxiety or depression?
- Zef2Def:
- We're all perfectly healthy too. It's not just me and my friends either, most people at my school smoke weed and they're not failing out, and my school is hard! It's a lot of work.
Could you tell us how often you smoke, exactly? Could you define "regularly?"
My apologies for being such a sarcastic jerk at times, but when you have my viewpoint on this issue, you wind up debating alone against hordes of people with the opposite opinion, and you can get a bit cranky as a result.