Unbelievable

SMace · June 2005

If you want to read about the great things that have come from the legalization of medical marijuana use in CA click on this link. This article is unbelievable.

[url]http://www.hendersonvillenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050615/ZNYT02/506150355[/url]

LivindonSouth · June 2005

Interesting. But another Forumite from CA has warned me that CA is a land of diverse opinion and behavior and we therefore must be careful not to stereotype the residents.

JudyT929 · June 2005

I don't see the problem? I've always thought pot should be legal. Heck cigarettes are legal and they cause cancer, ever heard of anyone getting cancer from pot? Alcohol is legal and seems to cause a whole lot more problems/deaths/violence than smoking a little weed. It would probably help my chronic back pain AND make me a more mellow person.

Whirlwind · June 2005

I agree. Other advantages compared to alcohol: No hangovers and no calories. What's not to like?

SMace · June 2005

No calories???? What about the munchies?????

Whirlwind · June 2005

Okay, you got me on that one. I have a distant, hazy memory of an entire Sara Lee blueberry cheesecake consumed by two people in one sitting. That notwithstanding, technically speaking the calories are not physically present in the substance. And I stand by my "no hangover" remark.
x0:)

atrimble · June 2005

Don't think pot doesn't cause hangovers; I've "seen" it first-hand. Anything done excessively leaves toxins in the system that can induce a hangover or other lingering effects. Back in college, I switched to alcohol to escape the marijuana hangovers. Of course, moderation never crossed my young mind (for either substance).

Whatever · June 2005

And, of course, from 1960's the "Alice B. Toklas Brownie."

Leslie · June 2005

Arizona has a medical marijuana law also, but it doesn't do you much good if you can bust an 86 year old grandma with glaucoma for possession.

I had a "friend" who used to air pop popcorn trying to keep those calories to a minimum. Of course, I wouldn't know...x;-)

LivindonSouth · June 2005

SMace: Be careful! We've got arguably the Forum's three most liberal females jumping on the bandwagon here for pot legalization, or at minimum reliving distant toking memories.

Hey, what's a little forklift accident here or there or an 18 wheeler plowing into a line of slower moving traffic? The permanent haze that regular dope smokers walk around in is, in my estimation, much worse (for safety) than a hangover.

I've not heard of any of those guys dying from putting a gerbil in their rectum either, but that's no reason I would advocate it.

Leslie · June 2005

Awwww, c'mon. We're talking the same restrictions as alcohol...you don't drive or work impaired do ya? Same with marijuana. If it were legal and I heard one "Dude, bummer," out of someone they'd be fired! x:o

LivindonSouth · June 2005

SMace: The votes are being recounted. Make that four.

SMace · June 2005

Wait a minute. I'm not on any bandwagon. I just posted an article and mentioned the munchies. I'm staying out of this one.

Shadowfax · June 2005

The difference between alcohol and pot is an argument that can't be won , but I am amazed ath the number of otherwise rational people who fail to see the twisted logic of no hangover etc. I grew up with an alcoholic, and hated every minute of it. I've know a couple of dedicated pot smokers - and I'd take the alchy in a heart beat. At least the alchy had moments of rational, even serious thought. Not my experience with a pot head. "A little pot' is like a 'little booze' or a 'little rat poison (cumudin)', probably no harm at all - maybe even do some good (red wine). The problem with it is that very few can be satisfied for long with 'a little'.

HRinNH · June 2005

That's right. An addiction starts with only a little touch or taste; but when it gets a foothold on someone, it's extremely hard to say no and turn away from it.

LivindonSouth · June 2005

Well, that's certainly what happened to me in the back seat in the summer between 9th and 10th grade.

Leslie · June 2005

I'm not condoning an addiction with either! Goodness. I'm saying I don't believe there's a whole lot of difference in the usage of alcohol or marijuana for most REASONABLE people. I don't drink every night (well, at least not a lot - I usually have a beer or glass of wine with my evening meal) - I wouldn't smoke pot every night.

I've been around an alcoholic. Can't say that there was a lot of coherency there when the drinks start pouring at 8 a.m. Never been around someone who consistently starts smoking pot at 8 a.m. so wouldn't know which one is better, or worse, as the case may be.

Kent · June 2005

What about the amount of time marijuana stays in the system. Isn't it much longer than alcohol. Therefore, isn't it reasonable to think there would be residual side effects.

Leslie · June 2005

Marijuana can stay in your system for up to a month depending on the amount/frequency of use. Unlike all other alcohol/drugs, it attaches to fatty tissue and hangs around. Figuring out a level when you would say someone is impaired - as we do with breath alcohol levels - would be very problematic. A person could be perfectly "sober," have not ingested marijuana for a week or more, and still have a relatively high ng/ml (nanogram per milliliter) score.

I know way too much about this stuff. I've administered our pre-employment, random, general, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion drug testing program for 10 years.

Whatever · June 2005

First, of all, as far as safety goes, anyone who is impaired, no matter what the reason, cannot operate a forklift. I am sure that practically everyone has at some point taken a medication that warns against operating machinery or driving a car(think of all those OTC medications that do).
I see no reason why an individual, under a doctor's supervision, should not be allowed to take something that helps. Otherwise, maybe we should ban any medication that can become addictive or can be abused or can impair a person's performance (however, then we would have no medications available).

lhill · June 2005

I don't think marijuana should be legalized. I read somewhere that heroin addicts start with marijuana then turn to increasingly stronger drugs as their tolerance grows.

Linda

TN HR · June 2005

I've been carefully following this thread and have certainly gained a lot of insight into different perspectives. I am not opposed to marijuana legalization, however, it will not cure the ills of the small minority that use it in conjunction with other recreational pharmaceuticals.

I don't think it is more of a gateway drug than alcohol is. If you can't say no to a joint being passed around, you're likely to also not be able to say no to a rolled-up bill and some lines of the white stuff or a syringe and a spoon.

Gene

System · June 2005

I'm not advocating legalization, but the irony and hypocracy of the whole issue is that in the course of treating workers comp injuries we allow "pain doctors" to continually prescribe medications that do nothing but create pain medication addicts, unable to work, constantly impaired in a state of semi-consciousness, and yet, this process is totally legal, accepted and promoted by the pharmaceutical industry. But by God, don't let somebody smoke a joint for fear they may be unable to properly function- PLEASE

Whirlwind · June 2005

And I read somewhere that hard core alcoholics start with a couple of beers or a margarita at happy hour. The point is, I'm not aware of any evidence to support the notion that occasional recreational pot use is more harmful or more likely to lead to harder stuff than "social drinking" is likely to lead to alcoholism and related diseases.

lhill · June 2005

Seems like it boils down to whether you are addiction-prone. Some people can drink socially and never become an alcoholic. Others probably can smoke pot recreationally and not become addicted or go on to use hard drugs. Guess it just depends on the person. I was raised in a strict Southern Baptist church and was told if I ever took that first drink I'd turn into an alcoholic. The first time I had a drink I waited to see what it was going to feel like turning immediately into an alcoholic. I still enjoy an occasional margarita and still haven't turned into an alcoholic. I did, however, turn into a Methodist!

Linda

LivindonSouth · June 2005

That was a pretty cool post!

And just think of all the 13 year old blind boys running around out there!

LarryC · June 2005

I was 9 when I first started flirting with blindness.

deniseE · June 2005

I doubt that the use of pot/maryjane/dope would increase much if it were legal....maybe an initial spike (similar to the end of prohibition) but it would drop in no time.

Legalization MAY, however, increase the amount of time that law enforcement has to deal with larger kinds of criminal activity and free up some court calendars.

This would be no more acceptable than coming to work intoxicated or driving under the influence. We still expect people to show up ready and fit to work.

it would be even better if we could tax it....but that's another discussion!

marc · June 2005

I think this is a State's Rights issues. The Feds are only supposed to provide for the national defense and only get to take on issues that the States don't reserve for themselves.

By legalizing MJ, the States that have done so have taken on those issues.

Nevada is one of the states that has done this. We also just adopted legislation that can allow consumers to buy drugs from Canadian pharmacies - which is also against federal law.

I am for legalizing MJ. There are a bunch of reasons for it, which I won't get into here.

LivindonSouth · June 2005

What's with all the disappearing posts? Christy is this hormonal, or what??? The conversation was going along fine and now posts are missing. This is insane. Deja Vu.

marc · June 2005

17 and 19 are missing? I don't recall anything particularly controversial or confrontational about anything in this thread.

Mysterious.

Unbelievable

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