Marijuana: Facts, Myths, and plain old Stupidity.

[GVC]

Interesting correlation to make: disagree with you on this topic = valuing conformity over justice. Hence since that person has a character flaw that keeps them from actually thinking critically about a topic, implied by their tendency toward "conformity", their arguments or opinions cannot possibly be valid. Textbook ad hominem.

I'm not trying to descredit you, I'm giving you an honest evaluation. I'm not denying the possibility that I'm looking at your position wrong.

Why should anyone be deprived of or punished for doing something that improves their quality of life and hurts no one? The law is more at fault than the violator of the law in this case.

 

[GVC]

By the way, to the general public and not that incredibly small percentage that might make legitimate use of it medicinally, what are the negative repercussions of never doing drugs?

Why do there have to be negative repercussions? How does that outweigh the brainwashing of America's youth? We pay for those lies, and we implicitly punish the people hurt by the laws established by those lies. No one gets hurt if someone isn't arrested for simple possession of marijuana (which account for more arrests than ALL violent crimes combined). At least one person gets hurt, the violator, and everyone else gets to pay the steep price if he is arrested. If the dude goes to jail, even better; A felon who can't find gainful employment. And because he was charged with possession, he can't get government assistance (edit: Read "student loans") to go to college (unlike convicted rapists, for example). Brilliant. Good job. Those ****ers should have known better...

 

[GVC]

And civil disobedience has always been one of the best ways to stimulate democratic reform.

 

[Nate505]

There are methods for changing laws, and they get better all the time. The days of individual martydom to right societal wrongs are largely over. Do not dare to equate pot-heads to slavery, that is beyond stupid, and quite insulting. It is reasonable to expect individuals to uphold the laws that were democratically instituted in our democratic society in order to uphold that democratic society. In a democratic society there are democratic methods for changing laws. Blatant disregard of laws is not one of them.

The comparison may be extreme, but the rigid dogma of "one must follow the law regardless of what it is" dies with that example. It's obvious that when a law harms other people that disobeying the law is a just reaction to it. Then on a lesser scale are laws that restrict civil liberties. Should Catholics have been allowed to worship in Maryland freely before the 1st amendment was passed and there was freedom of religion? Most people would say freedom of religion is an important civil liberty, but for those of us who are not religious it may not be viewed as vital. And then there are moral laws, under which drug laws really fall under. Is it just to disobey a law that tries to force morality onto people? Provided the laws are against actions that don't directly harm another or their property.

Frankly I'm against all laws that are harmful, deny civil liberties, and are made to enforce morality (with maybe a few exceptions...I don't necessarily want to see people walking around nude, but provided the behavior is in private it does not bother me what adults choose to do with their lives). But it's all where you want to draw the line I guess. On a general note, I disagree with the idea that something is bad because something is illegal. Illegal != bad/immoral, much like legal != good/moral. And that is why I do have sympathy for those who are caught breaking laws but have not acted "bad" or immoral, because I don't think people should be punished for not acting immoral.

 

[Nate505]

By the way, to the general public and not that incredibly small percentage that might make legitimate use of it medicinally, what are the negative repercussions of never doing drugs?

They'd never be able to appreciate a Pink Floyd song on the level I do.

 

[GVC]

I should be more like Nate. No one likes a jackass.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

They'd never be able to appreciate a Pink Floyd song on the level I do.

x1000000

 

[TroutBum]

I should be more like Nate. No one likes a jackass.

Not true, I have the second highest rep on the board -- behind King Jackass, Logg.

 

[colton]

Sure it does. If you slow down enough none of the effects of marijuana hinder your driving, so your driving isn't impaired anymore.

And who is making that determination? The person who is high on marijuana??

https://www.nida.nih.gov/Marijbroch/Marijteenstxt.html

Marijuana affects memory, judgment, and perception (11).

...

Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, concentration, coordination, and reaction time. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road.

Marijuana may play a role in car accidents. In one study conducted in Memphis, TN, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine (1). Data have also shown that while smoking marijuana, people show the same lack of coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who have had too much to drink (8).

OK, I haven't read the other studies that have been posted in this thread, but this NIH website is one of the first that popped up for me when I did some searching just now.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

It really, really depends on who you ask. I prefer the plant overwhelmingly, myself.

The way I break it down is that alcohol is basically giving the devil on your shoulder a megaphone. Tendency for erratic behavior increases with alcohol. Along with generally making for a better time than being sober, it also has a tendency to exacerbate mood changes which can be plainly dangerous for people with anger issues, and it universally makes people hornier to the point that it becomes a pre-occupation.

With marijuana, I just find I enjoy things more. I get most of the benefits of alcohol without getting the mad hornies, and there is not much of a dark side to the experience. Generally, anyway. I have never had a hangover or had to vomit from marijuana (even though I have definitely smoked too much on several occasions). In addition to all of that, unlike alcohol where you generally become uncharacteristically more sexually aggressive but it can also inhibit your sexual experience, I find that if I find myself in a sexual situation when high, it's... whew. Awesome.

Getting high is also a lot cheaper than getting drunk.

For me personally, I have yet to have a truly bad experience (including repercussions/later consequences) with marijuana. That's not to say that that can't happen and I think I have gone about it's usage very responsibly (where depending on my work situation, I'll stay clean for months on end). Moderation is the key to everything.

I personally enjoy the combo of 4 beers and 1 joint.

 

[GVC]

Another gem from that site, Colton:

[h=3]Q: Why do young people use marijuana?[/h] A: There are many reasons why some children and young teens start smoking marijuana. Many young people smoke marijuana because they see their brothers, sisters, friends, or even older family members using it. Some use marijuana because of peer pressure.

Others may think it’s cool to use marijuana because they hear songs about it and see it on TV and in movies. Some teens may feel they need marijuana and other drugs to help them escape from problems at home, at school, or with friends.

No matter how many shirts and caps you see printed with the marijuana leaf, or how many groups sing about it, remember this: You don’t have to use marijuana just because you think everybody else is doing it. Most teenagers do not use marijuana!

Hilarious.

 

[colton]

Uh, why not? Should homosexuals, African-Americans, etc. have been harassed, imprisoned or worse because of their illegal activities that hurt no one in the past? Cannabis improves the quality of life of many people, but they should be obligated to cease use because of some archaic law? Give me a break, Colton.

You, as a scientist, should be open to rational arguments. Before your posts in this thread, I had never thought of you as a mindless authoritarian.

And who gets to make that determination? You?? All of the laws that YOU disagree with are automatically bad, and anyone who follows them is a mindless authoritarian? Who died and made YOU God?

Or me? How about everyone stop following the laws that I think are stupid? Or Logan? Nate? Salty? Trout? Tell you what... let's all figure out what laws any one of us thinks is stupid, and then none of us follow them. Or else the others will call him a mindless authoritarian.

Sheesh.

And don't even start with equating drug use with the civil rights movement. I started out in this thread by saying right away that I had mixed feelings on this issue. But you are changing that.