Drugs

[inkonpaperhero]

As I begin this thread, I wonder if anyone will want to talk about it at all. But I think it is something worth having an open dialogue about. Also, I know that many nerd fighters are young and that youth almost inherently breeds a misunderstanding and complete rejection of drugs, due to the absolute horrid drug education in this country and, most importantly, a lack of experience.
Let's all try to keep an open mind.

My opinion:
The two recreational drugs that are legal as such in this country are nicotine and alcohol. They are both massive killers. Neither opens your mind in a thoughtful, helpful, or creative way.
At the same time this country vilifies MARIJUANA. A drug that has never killed anyone.
I submit to you that ALL drugs should be legal.

Talk about it.

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

Who exactly would benefit from cannabis continuing to be criminalised? Other than people not being on the drug because of the wider availability.

[KevinC]

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSKJrgGqx_E

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

Yet the studies, with a broader collection of experiance, have concluded that these are common experiances.

[Josh Braun]

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.questions.php?issueID=00003...

Here are studies that have evidence of what you said and of having no side effects of marijuana. Just because you copy paste a few articles in your favor when the effects are unknown, doesn't make you right.

With that said, I'm not saying we should legalize weed with the very little knowledge we have now of the long term effects. If we find no long term side effects, then it should be legalized, but if there is, then we don't legalize it. We don't know enough yet.

[Latch33570]

Vertigo if the effects are as common as you seem to think why hasn't someone spoke up on this site? Think about it. You ythink our pool is too small but I disagree. For me personally I know dozens of people who smoke regularly or used to. I bet a lot of them on this site por thread whatever you call it know lots of people also. That amounts to a lpot of people, a big pool of people. If it was as common as you think someone would know of someone who was so terribly affectly. If it isn't so common then you should be able to assume the risk yourself just like cigarrets and alcohol.

You asked who benefits keeping it illegal. Here in the states the government does. If they bust you for drugs they can and do take your car and sometimes your home. There is an auction and the police/govt gets the money. I don't like that because the cops can get preditory in some areas.

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

Some people on this site HAVE said about its negative affects. Me and others.

[KevinC]

Considering you ignore links posted maybe you'd care to respond to some quotes about the safety of cannibis:

Lester Grinspoon, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School:

"There are many thousands of patients who currently use cannabis as a medicine... There is no question about its safety.  

It is one of humanity's oldest medicines, used for thousands of years by millions of poeple with very little evidence of significant toxic effects.  More is known about its adverse effects than about those of most prescription drugs."

Francis L. Young, DEA Administrative Law Judge:

"A commonly used over-the-counter product like aspirin has a therapeutic ratio of around 1:20. Two aspirins are the recommended dose for adult patients. Twenty times this dose, forty aspirins, may cause a lethal reaction in some patients and will almost certainly cause gross injury to the digestive system... By contrast, marijuana's therapeutic ratio... is impossible to quantify because it is so high."

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

And you seem to have ignored all the quotes I posted disagreeing. Cannabis may have medical uses, but to legalise it more broadly is not safe.

[Latch33570]

Vertigo I was talking about pot. I have seen noone talking about the negative side effects of pot to anyone they know personally. Of course I didn't read all 73 pages of this thread. My point was that me and the people who I know and have known who use pot plus the people that everyone else on this thread that they know who use it. That is a big pool of people. Your big thing about pot is that it might cause psychosis in a few people.  The term psychosis is too broad.Most people who have psychosis get buy just fine. Lots of things are addictive and dangerous if abused. Its your body. The police shouldn't be clogging up the jails with farmers and businessmen when there is thieves and violent criminals on the street.If you want to drop out of society and be a useless druggie. what gives anyone the right to say what you can and can not do with your body and your life. Noone is totally useless. They can always be used as a bad example.

[Latch33570]

Vertigo no matter how you say it. It is their body and their choice. Making things illegal makes things worse. Better to make it legal, tax it and use the funds for rehabs and med research. Beats the heck out of further ruining peoples lives.

[Rowan Glenny]

Thing with marijuana now is that dealers put so much shit into a simple joint, like mixing it with tobbaco to get the addiction, or in some cases even heroin, putting things like glass into it to get the weight, and even putting things like horse tranquiliser into it. I think that's part of the reason why people are more uptight about drugs now, especially as marijuana has been upgraded to a class A drug

[KevinC]

If you get marijuana from drug dealers you are likely to be coaxed into other drugs that have a more profound effect on your psyche as well as the obvious mixing in of other rubbish that is more harmful than the drug.

This is why the decriminalisation of marijuana has worked in the Netherlands and Portugal, because people are less likely to get into more psychologically damaging drugs and the purity of the joints purchased is far higher. The flip side is also good because police can focus on finding drug dealers rather than putting users into jail.