What's ur take on weed/marijuana/ganja/dagga?

[tyler711]

If the government would legalize it, tax the hell out of it, and crack down on dealers

 

If it was legalized, why would the government need to punish dealers? I doubt taxing it would do a thing. Look at cigarettes. The price per pack is $4 to $5 and rising and it's more popular than ever, and all it does is make you stink. What Uncle Sam needs to do is strongly enforce the laws we have in place, secure the border from drug smugglers, and get this crap out of our society. Marijuana is absolutely a gate way drug, it is also a DRUG unto itself. I used to be a firefighter and I've seen the firsthand effects of people driving while high, spousal abuse, etc. It may not kill you from overdosing, but it will kill you if you're stupid, and that right there is enough reason to never legalize it.

[Dako]

I wonder how you can say cigarets are more popular than ever unless you're referring to the third world. My parents generation was full of smokers, yet today I know few people who are hooked. I recall cartoons sponsored by tobacco, and multiple TV shows had stars pushing butts.

Today most workplaces ban smoking, as do most indoor spaces.

 

Sorry, but you're blowing smoke.

[tyler711]

Referring to our society, as well as third world. I see people smoking everywhere. Phillip-Morris is a multi billion dollar company. In my lifetime, I've seen it dramatically increase. It is more acceptable today than before because we are more politically correct, along with obesity, homoesexuality, whatever. I don't know about the 40's or 50's. I don't know the percentage of adults who smoke, don't really care, but I know it's a good percentage. I was making a small point about smoking being popular, which it is. If you want to argue internet semantics, and nitpick three words from my post, then please do so, I have better things to do.

 

Sorry, but you're blowing smoke.

Actually, I'm not. I'm stating my opinion, which is neither right nor wrong, but what I know based upon my observations. The poster asked what I thought of weed so I gave my opinion, never did I say it was concrete fact, so don't accuse me of being ignorant or wrong.

[VibratingRainbow]

lol but tyler711 you clearly are wrong statistics prove this for one. Far less of the population of at least my country smoke.. im not sure where your from but New Zealand is a western country which is economicaly and socialy similar to most other western countries. As to weather your observations as an individual are correct i cannot argue but on a national scale it has reduced signifigantly, mainly through heightened public awareness.

[ShySoul]

 

 

See registered's post (#17) for good information. Conclusion, marijuana may be less harmful then other drugs, but is still harmful in its own right. Taking it once does not make you wrong or bad, but it is still not good for you and there is really no good reason to take it. Why take it? Because others do? Do you really want to be someone who does things just because others do? For fun? You can have fun in thousands of ways, better on your health that don't involve drugs of any kind. And it can lead to other things. Most people don't intend to get into heavier things. But it still happens. You can try to put the blame on the person and say you are different, but the drug still has an affect. And it is when you get the attitude that one time won't hurt you that you are at the most risk. You don't think something bad will happen, get the feeling you are invincible, which makes it easier to lose control. I've seen it happen with people I love on drugs and on alcohol. You can say they weren't strong people and it was all on them, but the problem wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did if they had never started small. Best way to avoid a problem is to never put yourself into that position.

[MI_Shell]

It is a very dangerous door to open, what a gamble, some people have addictive personalitys and if crap happens in their life and they are extra tempted they may settle for what drugs are going at the time. You may not plan it this way or even think you could be that weak. But once you have had a taste it can be darn hard to go back without sheer miracles.

 

To think that weed does not harm your brain chemistry is a little blind. I have done a lot of research into the topic and read many scientific reports. There is a lot of evidence that it has an impact on peoples brains from intelligence levels to tendencys of psychotic disorders. Certainly it has medical benefits if administered under scrutiny.

 

You may be lucky and not suffer the more common side effects,

since I gave up pot (which led me to harder drugs) I have finally found out my true self. Drugs are a substitute for the real thing there are better highs that don't have to destroy your life.

[novaseeker]

I agree with the latest posts, but all of that also applies to alcohol, which is totally legal: it starts small, leads to a progressively hardening addiction amongst those who have "addictive personalities", leads to a lot of violence, spousal abuse, drunk driving fatalities, unemployment, etc. ... but it's still legal. It's actually very much like marijuana, and even though I don't care for marijuana's effects myself, the way we legally treat it differently from alcohol (which engenders just as many social problems, really) is strictly culturally-based.

[Lady Bugg]

Hmmmm

 

All I know is when anyone greets me with the word "Duuuuuude", there is an issue there. LOL

[shyanne]

i'm not proud to say this but i've tried weed off and on since teen years, mostly off. never finding it addictive or never getting into stronger drugs... to me it's not like smoking cigarettes, those things are addictive, nor can it do what alcohol can do to you.. i don't believe weed is okay and wouldn't want it legalized but at the same time, it may stop some crimes we have because of it.. also.........my kids will never know i tried it nor will they ever be excused should they try it.. if this makes any sense.

[xtina]

Hmmmm

 

All I know is when anyone greets me with the word "Duuuuuude", there is an issue there. LOL

 

 

dude! what are you talking about man?

 

i say dude a lot...

[ShySoul]

In my estimation it is exactly like alcohol, still dangerous but somehow socially accepted. For years I've referred to alcohol as the "legal drug." Just because it is legal doesn't mean marijuna should be legal. That could start a dangerous trend to saying, "well if this drug is legal, this other drug should be as well." It then becomes a matter of when do you draw the line?

 

I also think it is a message of the kinds of values the country is trying to put out. To make it legal sends the message that its ok to take drugs, which goes against what we are suppose to stand for.

[shyanne]

yes, weed is like alcohol without the hangover.. i think health wise, a lot of alcohol can damage your insides more so then weed... i don't think that legalizing weed will necessarily open the doors to other drugs since all other drugs are much more dangerous and addictive.. i never heard of anyone having a weed over dose. i personally wouldn't want it legalized because it can and has lead some people to harder drugs which makes it dangerous to lots. also because it does send out the message to our kids, saying drugs or this drug is okay to do and it's not.. we want our kids growing up knowing that life is better without drugs.. we wouldn't be able to convince them of that if it was legal. teens are hard to raise as it is and by legalizing weed, they may use that as an excuse to try or continue to use it.... just like cigarettes now. i think we have a better chance at keeping our kids away from drugs if it stays illegal.. so i would vote no to legalizing it....... even if it could decrease some crimes, it's just not worth the chance we would be taking with our kids.

[xtina]

And if it gets ligalized, there would be no thrill behind it (kiding)

[Dako]

There are stores in my town that sell pot to people with a medical need.

My friend goes there for weed because he has a spinal condition. He's showed me the price list, doctor's letter and the stuff. They sell shake, buds, oil and hashish.

 

If someone I knew would be comforted by pot when they're ill or dying,

I'd get it for them, regardless of the political or social climate at the time.

We consume tons of products made from the opium poppy without such controversy or hand-wringing, yet patients sometimes become dependant on these narcotics.

 

I don't smoke weed because it's boring and makes me stupider.

[Carnatic]

Interesting viewpoint, but to go back to something you said earler, one of the arguments for legalising weed is that it will stop weed users being exposed to harder drugs, because if there is no risk in selling it openly then more people who aren't involved in hard drugs will be selling it like just average users, and even some shops so people won't have to go to drug dealers to get it.

[shyanne]

yes they legally allow people with serious illnesses to use weed.. if you think about it, they used alcohol for the same reasons many, many years ago.. they gave that to people for pain because they had nothing else to comfort them at the time.. then they found more effective drugs to help ease pain and alcohol was no longer used for that.... the difference is, alcohol was always legal and not just used or given to those in pain... many people abused it then and still do now.

 

legalizing weed will not stop some weed users from using harder drugs... it doesn't matter who sells it.......whether it's a legal store or a drug dealer.. it all depends on the person who uses weed. some people will get addicted and no longer get high from weed so they'll go out looking for stronger drugs.. chances are, they will find it.. so i really don't think legalizing it will be good for anyone.

 

also not just low lives sell drugs now, some people with good jobs sell only weed to friends to support their own after hours habit... no one i'm close to does but each time in the past that i've tried it, was from a person with a regular full time job and not your normal street drug dealer.. so there is people from all walks of life that do this..

 

look at cigarettes, always legal and lots of us are addicted and slowing killing ourselves... it's very hard to stop something once your addicted even though we know the risk we are taking, we are damaging our lungs, among other things.

 

the argument about decresing crimes is crazy too if you think about it... the people who make a living just selling weed on street corners will now be selling stronger stuff so crimes will still happen because of drugs.

 

those using weed are taking a chance, not just our kids, everyone is at risk... life is better drug free period.. weed doesn't cause everyone to try harder drugs but using it a lot over time will make them stupid, forgetful and lazy. which in my opinion, will end up making our unemployment rate even higher.

 

it's a hard fight to fight period.. so lets just keep it illegal and teach our kids proper in hopes of a better future for all.

[Carnatic]

It is now so easy to get weed though that it may as well be legal, I know at least 30 people who could get me some if i asked them. Weed is endemic within the student culture so as a result I have known 100s of people who smoke weed regularly and have done for the last few years and hardly any of those have moved onto harder drugs.

[Royltnxile]

What's my take?

 

People who use drugs are losers in serious need of help.

 

End of discussion.

[deep_mode]

What's my take?

 

People who use drugs are losers in serious need of help.

 

End of discussion.

 

I disagree. When my husband died, it helped me greatly to numb the pain and got me through some serious grief. I don't think I could have coped without it. I am not a loser and I am not in serious need of help, I am someone who holds down a responsible full-time job in charge of many people, and I am someone who USED it, it most certainly did not use me.

[Kyoshiro Ogari]

I agree deep_mode, you are not a loser. It can help ease the pain, but it is still a drug, just like Tylenol. It is just seen differently because it's illegal and often abused.

 

I've never had the yam yam, the oowee, the sticky icky, the love boat, the sherman hemsley, the mayflower or whatever they call it, but I always wondered how it would be used if it was legal. Is it any different than aspirin or ibuprofen, which is also used for medicinal purposes as well? Is it the fact that the government can't make money off that it's illegal? Is weed seen as a drug because it's abused and sold on street corners and smoke shops instead of Rite Aid & Duane Read? I mean there's marijuana, and then there's the shanghai sally. Sort of different I guess.

 

I wouldn't use it. My best friend uses it. He actually got fired from a job because they dropped a drug test on him out of the green... or blue. He's stopped ever since. They all tell me that as silly as I am, if I ever got high off of weed that I'd probably kill 'em in Vegas. As for me taking it, if I found out that it cured whatever disease I had, I'd probably take it as a tea. But only for a cure. I believe it is a medicine just like any other. After all, isn't it the same as taking Bayer, except accompanied with pink elephants?

[Dako]

What's my take?

 

People who use drugs are losers in serious need of help.

 

End of discussion.

 

I'm afraid many of history's most successful people got high on something.

The list would go on forever, but Sigmund Freud, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill and Aldous Huxley are a start.

[tyler711]

legalizing weed will not stop some weed users from using harder drugs

 

100% correct. I actually think legalizing weed will make harder drugs more of a problem. What will happen when all these new junkies are bored with weed? They will upgrade! Consider this analogy: An alcoholic may start out with a few glasses of wine on weekends, but once the addiction kicks in, what happens? Do they keep drinking wine? Nope. They want more, and before you know it they are drinking a pint of whiskey a day. If someone wants to puff the magic dragon in their own house, then I don't really care, but I'm not ready to walk down the street and have to smell this nasty stuff (not to mention the inevitable rise in car accidents). Smelling ciggarette smoke is bad enough.

[keenan]

What will happen when all these new junkies are bored with weed? They will upgrade! Consider this analogy: An alcoholic may start out with a few glasses of wine on weekends, but once the addiction kicks in, what happens? Do they keep drinking wine? Nope. They want more, and before you know it they are drinking a pint of whiskey a day.

 

 

Oh, crap! That's where all those empty whisky bottles are coming from. And all along I thought I was just enjoying a nice glass of wine with dinner. Clearly, I'm outta control.

[Dako]

Intervention time!

Keenan, we're all very concerned about your drinking. We overlooked the odd glass of claret, but this Jim Beam habit is worrying us.

[keenan]

Hmmm. Dako, perhaps YOU'RE drinking the bourbon and are attempting to lay the blame at my feet. Nice try.