Why are cigarettes legal, but marijuana illegal?

[That Guy]

if alcohol and cigarettes were introduced today, they'd probably be illegal.

but because they've been around since this countries founding, and because tobacco was our only valueable major export for a long time (WAY back), they're still here. as far as medicinal purposes, that's not nearly enough because it's really not that useful, and it has somewhat serious side effects (memory loss).

studies have shown (i believe from a jamacian work place) that regular smokers that came to work sober showed no loss in productivity. I really haven't bothered to do much research though cause i have no interest in using it and it'll never be legal here anyways.

oh yeah, and that flawed gateway drug thing.

[dmek25]

the government still thinks that reefer leads to heavier drugs. I'm against it( except for medical purposes) because I'm a fresh air kid. always have been, always will

[RobH4413]

By the way.... pot doesn't give you cancer either...

light it uuuuup!

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by RobH4413

By the way.... pot doesn't give you cancer either...

light it uuuuup!

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection

Great post rob.

Gus, fear of marijuana is what feeds the notion that it's badfor you. Your parents tell you it's bad, or the government, or whoever, but it's all out of fear. Just like anything, you need to find your own answers, not regurgitate (sp?) what you've "heard".

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Great post rob.

Gus, fear of marijuana is what feeds the notion that it's badfor you. Your parents tell you it's bad, or the government, or whoever, but it's all out of fear. Just like anything, you need to find your own answers, not regurgitate (sp?) what you've "heard".

from the article... greatness

"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by That Guy

it is bad for you. memory loss, wasted time, and overconsumption of doritos.

I'd like to see what kind of proof you have that it is bad for you (not that I believe you are wrong).
Wasted time is a weak argument at best. Stress relief trumps wasted time and memory loss any day of the week.
So what exactly is "wasted time"? Some of the best memories in my life came from when my best friend and I smoked a bowl and played playstation all day, laughing and having a great time.

(don't try that at home kids, I am a trained professional)

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by RobH4413

Let's make video-games illegal...

That's a democrat thing to say. Blame the medium, not the person. hahaha

When I was 15, I wasted alot of time, ate alot Dorito's... all due to video-games....

There have been extensive studies done that prove that video games help to develope hand / eye coordination. FYI

Thus far there hasn't been any conclusive scientific evidence to suggest long-term memory loss and marijuana are associated. But honestly who cares?

Apparently some do, otherwise we wouldn't be in this thread discussing it.

I think the debates over... Pot will become legal in the next 5-10 and mabye sooner. It's not something that deserves passionate political debate in the spotlight... lets start talking about crime and poverty before we go all ape-shit over something pretty insignificant.

Start a thread about crime and poverty and most of us will visit it. However don't pass a thread off as insignificant because you don't like what the discussion is about. Why do people feel the need to "stop" a debate? If you choose not to participate, that's your perogative.

[RobH4413]

Make videogames illegal was a sarcastic comment jack-ass....

A democrat thing to say? Get a life.

Grow some balls and use facts to counter someones argument, not random banter that is just useless. Quoting something I say and calling it something a "democrat" would say is just plain ignorant. Fuck that I won't have it.

As far as conclusive study?
ASA : Is there reputable research showing long term memory loss due to occasional or even heavy use of marijuana?

There is not any conclusive evidence as I commented earlier.

And passing this thread off as insignificant is my personal opinion, but it's only because we've already discussed everything to discuss. Why don't we gain some new ground and talk about something that matters for a little while. I'm not trying to be the moral hierarchy of the situation, but just thought some re-directed focus was probably more beneficial to everyone here... especially given the direction this thread was headed.

[RobH4413]

No personal offense, I know it probably doesn't seem it... But i'm a bit frustrated... sooo yeah... apologize for the intensity of the argument...

all love...

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Great post rob.

Gus, fear of marijuana is what feeds the notion that it's badfor you. Your parents tell you it's bad, or the government, or whoever, but it's all out of fear. Just like anything, you need to find your own answers, not regurgitate (sp?) what you've "heard".

it is bad for you. memory loss, wasted time, and overconsumption of doritos.

[gusbus]

What happened to the foorball discussions.
Anyway to let you know that marijuana was made illegal back in the day because it was found to have uses similar to plastic. At that time Dupont had a lot invested in plastic and didn't want marijuana to take their business so they lobbied for it to be illegal. On the harmful side, marijuan has many more side-effects than tobacco, ie one joint has as many cancer causing agents as one pack of regular cigarettes.
Lets get back to football.

[LadyT]

It's all about money. Tobacco is a big cash crop in the South. And the big tobacco companies have way too much clout to ever allow cigaretttes to be made illegal. There's no way that Congress or any President will ever have the guts to do anything about it. In fact, many politicos get big campaign contributions from the tobacco industry. Cynical? Yes. The truth? Also yes.

So, you and I, through higher insurance premiums, will continue to pay to cover the medical costs that smoking creates.

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by gusbus

What happened to the foorball discussions.
Anyway to let you know that marijuana was made illegal back in the day because it was found to have uses similar to plastic. At that time Dupont had a lot invested in plastic and didn't want marijuana to take their business so they lobbied for it to be illegal. On the harmful side, marijuan has many more side-effects than tobacco, ie one joint has as many cancer causing agents as one pack of regular cigarettes.
Lets get back to football.

You're wrong... The original reason it was illegal was racism.

Yellow Journalism was used as proof during the senate debates on making it illegal (essentially, a senator called his buddy up to write newspaper articles on how pot made people crazy, and those articles were used as evidence... and the rest is history)....

Tabacco was the white man's drug... refer was the Mexicans drug and back in the day that was a problem.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by gusbus

What happened to the foorball discussions.

They still exist over in the football threads...this is to discuss things "off topic", ie: non football / redskins related.

On the harmful side, marijuan has many more side-effects than tobacco, ie one joint has as many cancer causing agents as one pack of regular cigarettes.

Ummm what? Where did you hear that? I have still yet to hear of anyone dieing of cancer caused by marijuana. I'm not saying it's great for you...heck any smoke in the lungs can't be good, but worse than cigarettes?? I need to see proof of that.


originally posted by "That guy".

oh yeah, and that flawed gateway drug thing.

Everything is a gateway drug! Asperin, alcohol, cigarettes, cough syrup...it's all a gateway drug. Fact is, if you have an addictive personality then anything would be bad for you. But I know guys that are addicted to pain pills, but nothing else, I know alcoholics, but they won't touch anything else, and i know pot heads that won't even drink. It has to do with your personality whether or not you will become addicted to what a drug does to you.

I used to laugh at all those old commercials like if you smoked weed, then you're a terrorist, or if you smoke weed, you'll run over some little girl. It's crap. The new commercials are better where the one kid says "nothing will happen, but I for one want to live life" implying he'd rather be outside than vegging on the sofa. At least that is realistic.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Everything is a gateway drug! (etc...)

you did see that i said flawed, right?