Legalize it!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Man, we have so many smart people on this site, but apparently not one doctor. I wish someone could come along and set us straight on this.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Even if one doctor came on here and said that pot is harmful another one could come along and say that it isn't, and vice versa.

Based on what you and Matty posted I think it's pretty clear that there is not a consensus on pot's effects.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

I wouldn't hold your breath. Even if one doctor came on here and said that pot is harmful another one could come along and say that it isn't, and vice versa.

Based on what you and Matty posted I think it's pretty clear that there is not a consensus on pot's effects.

That's the thing, the medical consensus is moving to it being harmful. Matty's stuff was from 2003. That's four years old, which is ages in the medical community.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

That's the thing, the medical consensus is moving to it being harmful. Matty's stuff was from 2003. That's four years old, which is ages in the medical community.

It'll swing back and forth ad infinitum.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

It'll swing back and forth ad infinitum.

Pretty much. Anyone that will try to suggest that people that smoke pot are somehow lazier or more incompetent or not as mentally sharp as someone who doesn't are kidding themselves. As previously stated, there is no hard core medical edvidence to suggest this.

In fact, for many years scientist would flip-flop on whether or not a glass of wine per day is good for you. Depending on whom you talk to and who's doing the research, the resutls could definitely vary.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

That's the thing, the medical consensus is moving to it being harmful. Matty's stuff was from 2003. That's four years old, which is ages in the medical community.

There has been more recent research, one study concluded that pot doesn't have any long-term link to cancer

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

There has been more recent research, one study concluded that pot doesn't have any long-term link to cancer

This makes sense, our lung docs here at Temple agree with this. But it still causes emphysema.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Also, I had a roommate in college that was pretty severely bi-polar. He was prescribed many different antidepressants, but he said nothing ever worked as good as smoking pot.
I don't think it was just the pot itself that allowed him to relax. I think the whole ritual of rolling a blunt and going out and smoking it alone made him feel better. I know that probably won't make sense for someone who has never smoked and thinks that marijuana is an evil weed, but I do think there is something to it.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Also, I had a roommate in college that was pretty severely bi-polar. He was prescribed many different antidepressants, but he said nothing ever worked as good as smoking pot.
I don't think it was just the pot itself that allowed him to relax. I think the whole ritual of rolling a blunt and going out and smoking it alone made him feel better. I know that probably won't make sense for someone who has never smoked and thinks that marijuana is an evil weed, but I do think there is something to it.

I can agree with that. Really, the ones that are dead set against it, generally are people that haven't tried it, or didn't have a "positive" effect when they did try it.

Someone said they had friends that were lazy after habitual use. I have only 1 friend that does it habitually and he's 32. (I do not see myself as a habitual user since I do it once a month or so at max) My friend has smoked twice a day, every day since he was a freshman in college when a very handsome and strapping young fellow introduced it to him. (me, hehe) He manages an electrical supply company and makes right around 6 figures a year. He has worked for this company for 9 years. When he thought about moving to a different company, the owner begged him to stay and upped his pay by 15k a year because of his value to his company. How many people here can match that salary / longevity within a company / and value? I can't really say it's definitive proof about a person not eing lazy after habitual use, but I think it's a pretty good indicator.
Just remember this, if you WANT to be lazy, you will be. The ONLY thing keeping you on that sofa is YOU. You can use any excuse you want, but it is you.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Schneed, I can tell you from experience that it does in fact affect your lungs (no real surprise there). Since I have reduced the frequency with which I smoke, I have noticed a difference. There was a time when I couldn't play intense basketball for more than 10 minutes, without feeling like I was suffocating. Although, that could be related to smoking tobacco for 6 years -- even though I have been a non-smoker for about 4 years now.

That said, I still don't think it should be illegal. I think I deserve the right to do to my body as I wish. It frustrates me that other people think they have the authority to grant, or deny, me that right.

If the only adverse affects are related to inhaling the smoke, how do you feel about eating it? Many of the same benefits can be received through eating it, without many, if any, of the costs. Would you be opposed to the legalization of cannabis pills?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

Schneed, I can tell you from experience that it does in fact affect your lungs (no real surprise there). Since I have reduced the frequency with which I smoke, I have noticed a difference. There was a time when I couldn't play intense basketball for more than 10 minutes, without feeling like I was suffocating. Although, that could be related to smoking tobacco for 6 years -- even though I have been a non-smoker for about 4 years now.

That said, I still don't think it should be illegal. I think I deserve the right to do to my body as I wish. It frustrates me that other people think they have the authority to grant, or deny, me that right.

If the only adverse affects are related to inhaling the smoke, how do you feel about eating it? Many of the same benefits can be received through eating it, without many, if any, of the costs. Would you be opposed to the legalization of cannabis pills?

I guess what I'm saying is that I concede that my argument for keeping it illegal isn't all that strong. There are some objective reasons for it which I still believe strongly in keeping it illegal (and I won't rehash because I've expressed them already). But there are strong arguments in favor of legalizing it, the biggest of which is that people should be free to eff themselves up if they want to, which I actually buy into. If you want to make a bad decision regarding how to treat your body, you should be free to do so. I think the affect of legalizing will be deleterious to our youth. Us adults, we'll be just fine. But it's the kids I'd worry about with the increased accessibility to pot.

But mainly at this point, I've moved on to expressing my subjective and personal distaste for marijuana and those who smoke it. I agree that you should be free to make decisions regarding your own body (to the extent it doesn't affect others). But I also feel that if you're going to make bad decisions regarding your health, you should be prepared to deal with uppity people like me who consider you an idiot for doing so. Freedom is a two-way street; if you're free to decide to smoke pot, others should be free to look at you with derision, voice their opinions, and shake their heads in disgust.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I guess what I'm saying is that I concede that my argument for keeping it illegal isn't all that strong. There are some objective reasons for it which I still believe strongly in keeping it illegal (and I won't rehash because I've expressed them already). But there are strong arguments in favor of legalizing it, the biggest of which is that people should be free to eff themselves up if they want to, which I actually buy into. If you want to make a bad decision regarding how to treat your body, you should be free to do so. I think the affect of legalizing will be deleterious to our youth. Us adults, we'll be just fine. But it's the kids I'd worry about with the increased accessibility to pot.

But mainly at this point, I've moved on to expressing my subjective and personal distaste for marijuana and those who smoke it. I agree that you should be free to make decisions regarding your own body (to the extent it doesn't affect others). But I also feel that if you're going to make bad decisions regarding your health, you should be prepared to deal with uppity people like me who consider you an idiot for doing so. Freedom is a two-way street; if you're free to decide to smoke pot, others should be free to look at you with derision, voice their opinions, and shake their heads in disgust.

I'm sure we could look at your lifestyle and find some questionable decisions in there regarding your health. Difference is I wouldn't shake my head in disgust or judge you. Your life is your own and as long as your decisions don't directly effect my life, to each his own.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I'm sure we could look at your lifestyle and find some questionable decisions in there regarding your health. Difference is I wouldn't shake my head in disgust or judge you. Your life is your own and as long as your decisions don't directly effect my life, to each his own.

If you smoke weed around me, then it affects me. I have to smell the crap and it grosses me out, and watching people do it makes me feel dumber by association.

I don't ever come in contact with you guys so I don't have a problem if you're smoking it; so you're right, I should clarify. The concept of smoking weed doesn't bother me. But doing it around me, that's when I'd drop the judgment on a pot smoker.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

If you smoke weed around me, then it affects me. I have to smell the crap and it grosses me out, and watching people do it makes me feel dumber by association.

I don't ever come in contact with you guys so I don't have a problem if you're smoking it; so you're right, I should clarify. The concept of smoking weed doesn't bother me. But doing it around me, that's when I'd drop the judgment on a pot smoker.

Ok I can understand that. I don't have a problem with people who smoke cigarettes, it's their choice if they want to shorten their lives, but if someone is blowing cigarette smoke in my direct area then I have a problem with it.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I guess what I'm saying is that I concede that my argument for keeping it illegal isn't all that strong. There are some objective reasons for it which I still believe strongly in keeping it illegal (and I won't rehash because I've expressed them already). But there are strong arguments in favor of legalizing it, the biggest of which is that people should be free to eff themselves up if they want to, which I actually buy into. If you want to make a bad decision regarding how to treat your body, you should be free to do so. I think the affect of legalizing will be deleterious to our youth. Us adults, we'll be just fine. But it's the kids I'd worry about with the increased accessibility to pot.

But mainly at this point, I've moved on to expressing my subjective and personal distaste for marijuana and those who smoke it. I agree that you should be free to make decisions regarding your own body (to the extent it doesn't affect others). But I also feel that if you're going to make bad decisions regarding your health, you should be prepared to deal with uppity people like me who consider you an idiot for doing so. Freedom is a two-way street; if you're free to decide to smoke pot, others should be free to look at you with derision, voice their opinions, and shake their heads in disgust.

I think our opinions are closer than you, or I, thought. I would like to stop completely. I really just think it is a waste of money. However, I have the same opinion about alcohol. I think I just have less judgment, because I myself am a user. I don't think pot smokers are dumb because they smoke pot, but there are certainly a lot of dumb pot smokers.

I totally accept other people's opinions about smoking pot. It doesn't bother me if people think I am making a bad decision about smoking pot. I have made, and will continue to make, poor decisions throughout my life. It's mostly due to a lack of self-discipline. I don't really have a problem with the criticism. I just don't like people trying to control my life, based on their own morals/opinions. Just because another person's lifestyle does not conform to your own, does not mean it is any less valid (note: I mean 'your' in a general sense -- not you specifically).

[jsarno]

I'm sure you guys have seen the reports, but here is a link that smoking weed does not cause cancer in the lungs, or any other area like the throat etc.
US CA: Column: Marijuana Smoking Does Not Cause Lung Cancer