Is pot smoking evil?!

[Sacred Jellybean]

Okay, looks like I have some spare time before class after all, so let the games continue!

I hardly "run screaming in the other direction". Is that how you view people who are clean of the stuff, as a bunch of tightwads who don't know how to have a good time? In fact, in the one occasion I have been offered the stuff, I simply politely declined. I will add that the person who offered it was also polite and respected that.

Haha, of course not, I was just being hyperbolic. I don't view people who abstain as "tightwads" (I'm sure they have more reasons than financial to abstain :p), just as people who have a different preference than me. I respect that choice.

I actually don't smoke nicotine either, and it's beyond me why anyone who grew up in the era where pictures of horribly blackened lungs were routinely given to children as birthday presents would actually want to take up that habbit.

Stupidity is the reason. There's no excuse for trying and continuing to something you know is terrible for your body. And, second-hand smoke always smelled great. And, I thought it'd be a good social function, me being new to college and everything. Also, I find it relaxing to take a few minutes off from whatever I'm doing to stand outside and puff on something. And *Ted Raimi voice* "Because it's coooooooooool!"

(that's a reference from "Battle of the Planets" of Zim fame)

I'm free to openly criticize your choice and say your "body policy" or whatever you call it is not very healthy. I mean it's still smoke we are talking about here. It can still cause lung cancer if nothing else, and it isn't nothing else, as it does cause memory issues.

Cannabis isn't proven to cause cancer. In fact, there was a slightly negative correlation of incidence of lung cancer when they compared those who smoke nothing and those who smoke only cannabis (and not cigarettes). It hasn't been proven to cause emphysema, either. However, cannabis smoke IS still irritating to the throat and can likely cause bronchitis. There are alternatives to smoking, of course - ingestion by cooking it by various means (brownies, cookies, tea, "cannabutter", hash oil, etc) and vaporization, mainly.

But, your choice. You won't die from it, and the smoke is actually less likely to kill you than tobacco, so hey, you've got that going for you.

I sure do. :D

Rest assured, Beanjo, that I will read your epic post in it's entirety when I have a day or so free.

However, I did read you responses to my post and, though I feel it unfair to use someones three-year-old words against them (pfft, what am I saying, in politics, that's nothing), I will say that my view on the use of marijuana has not changed much. I still have no desire to smoke it, nor will you change my mind, I'm afraid. I've no interest, so waste not your energy.

I figured some people's viewpoints would have at least softened. I won't hold those words against you, but it still felt good to type out. :)

That being said, what has changed is my viewpoint on those who do choose to partake. I do not feel these people are less than me, stupid, or anything of the like I may have felt those years ago. I've grown more tolerant of others in my wise old age, and if that is how you choose to enjoy yourself then by all means enjoy, my views on your hobby are irrelevant, as yours may be to mine.

Good to hear. I don't care whether another person smokes or not, but it's the condescension by those who don't smoke that pushes my buttons.

Let us agree to disagree, my friend. I still respect you as well .

diplomacy++; //Sounds good

(sigh, only from a bloody Computer Science major)

Intelligent people can make bad choices, certainly, but it doesn't make the choices any less bad.

What makes those choices bad in the eyes of prohibitionists is misinformation about the substance in question. Of course, I ought to ask - are you another person in the boat that believes that cigarettes and alcohol should be illegal, too? Why is it a crime to alter one's perception, if he isn't harming anyone?

As for the second paragraph... if it affects others (like secondhand cigarette smoke -- I should never have to smell that stuff and have it get in my system! Or even more obviously, drunk driving.) then it is wrong.

That's certainly your choice to make, but if pot were legalized, people wouldn't be walking down the street and smoking it (not ideally, anyway). There will still be public intoxication laws in place, and it would be similar to the fact that in many places, you aren't technically allowed to have alcohol out in the open.

If you're only hurting yourself it is a somewhat less clear picture, but I do think society has a responsibility to keep people from hurting themselves too much, and this includes efforts like trying to get people off of drugs, suicide prevention efforts, etc. These are good things.

IMO, people who casually use marijuana (let's say, once a week) simply aren't harming themselves. The harm from grass only comes from A) smoking it and irritating the throat, B) becoming addicted to it (don't forget that physical dependency is hardly present - it's less physically addictive than caffeine) and smoking it to the point where it interferes with one's social life, job, relationships, etc. How likely is this to happen? Well, an estimated 83 million people (37 percent) over the age of 12 have tried marijuana. If cannabis addiction were an epidemic, I think we'd know. ;)

Many sources try to make the claim that most people go to rehab for marijuana abuse, but the truth is, many people are SENT there by a judge as part of a plea bargain. The statistic of how many people is then abused, with prohibitionists claiming that people are mostly dependent upon cannabis. See how their propaganda works?

Yes, I know that marijuana 'isn't as bad' as harder drugs. This just isn't that relevant, really. Less bad is still bad!

Many things can be considered "bad", given the proper context. Drinking too much water is bad. Rigorous exercise can cause a heart-attack. Here, let me give you an even better example:

(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000

(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000

© Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health Human Services.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now think about this:

(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.

(Yes, that's 80 million..)

(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.

© The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .000188

Statistics courtesy of the FBI

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So, statistically, doctors are approximately

9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN,

BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand!!!!!

(that was taken from a chain-email from people who are anti-gun-control)

Once again, given the proper context, anything can be considered bad.

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Etoven: I'm still planning to pick apart your post, but I have class in an hour and need some time for some last-minute preparations. However, I'll answer the part of your post that you actually wrote for now.

Let me pose this question SJ....

You say you drove stoned off your ass with no insident while high on marijuana.

Hold on, there. I've driven while under the influence of cannabis, not "stoned off my ass". I may have been under some influence, but that's hardly a black-and-white issue. Same with alcohol: there's a blood alcohol content level which states use as a threshold to determine when a driver is too intoxicated.

How the hell do you know your drive was with out incident? You where stoned off your ass being stupid!

I'm glad you were there to know how stupid I was being. Which night in particular are you talking about?

You could have murdered fifty people and not realized it cause you where stoned off your ass.

Please, PLEASE tell me you don't actually believe this. Where do you draw your knowledge from - Reefer Madness?

Not to mention that being stoned certainly does nothing for the reflexes, timing, coordination, reaction time all crucial to driving. No doubt you ran several red lights and almost caused numerous traffic accidents and didn't realize it.

Ahahahahahahaha!! Hoo-boy, you've never smoked, have you? I can get a good buzz from cannabis going on without being rendered completely oblivious, thank you very much. I can't say the same about alcohol, unfortunately. I can smoke and have intelligent conversations, cook food, do homework (though I prefer to be sober, because I don't get distracted as easily, and feel like I retain information better) and... well, pretty much anything I can do while sober.

You probably didn't hear anything about it or assume it was without incident, because there where enough clear headed drivers out that night to get the hell out of your way.

I'm staying the hell off the road when your pot head ass comes driving by!

If this is your attitude towards cannabis (completely unfounded and inaccurate and based on myths that have been proven false decades ago), I won't even bother arguing with you. Next thing, you'll tell me that I'll sprout BREASTS because I smoke weed!

You say you where clear headed while smoking pot.

Not entirely clearheaded, no, but I'm nowhere NEAR as incapacitated as you're suggesting.

But You where high as well Your senses where also imparted. I did need the personal experiences of person in a drug induced state, I will not and can not except that as evidence to the contrary.

I'm assuming you meant "I don't need the personal...", as you've clearly had no experience with grass or grass-smokers whatsoever. Your delusional ideas of marijuana usage seem like they come directly from D.A.R.E.

I choose to rely on empirical evidence, the facts of pot smoking are in abundance.

On the contrary, you're relying on misinformation and propaganda from a source that makes its money offering drug rehabilitation.