# Do people in our generation care about weed?



## olina009 (Jul 2, 2009)

Okay so if it's not clear by "our" generation I mean generation Y and to give that some perspective I'm 22 at the moment, though I imagine generation X is relatively similar in beliefs and political leanings.

But I never talk to anyone my age or even a bit older who supports the continued illegalization of marijuana; most of them when pressed can articulate the basic pragmatic issues, which is amazing given our peers' ability to speak intelligently about any issue whatsoever. I know people who are pro-life, against gay marriage, I even know a couple of creationists, but I don't know a single person my age who believes we should continue throwing potheads and dealers in jail.

Do you guys know anyone in their early to mid twenties who doesn't support the legalization of marijuana?


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## VisionaryMom (Feb 20, 2007)

I'm barely in my 20s anymore (just turned 29), but neither DH nor I think marijuana should be illegal. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure of anyone our age who does feel that way. In Kentucky, it's actually been a big political issue in recent years as we had a candidate for governor who believes we should try to be the first state to legalize marijuana completely to capitalize on the economic benefits.


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## mistymama (Oct 12, 2004)

I'm 32, but know a very wide range of people, including my younger sisters and all of their friends who are now in their mid-twenties. I don't know a single person that thinks mj should still be illegal.

I'll also add that there is a real stigma attached to those that partake - and an very unfair one. So most people that do keep it really hush-hush. I've discovered that many of the people I know smoke, but keep it very quiet.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

im surprised its still illegal. I think it hurts us more then it helps us to have those things illegal. Turning more people into "criminals" then there needs to be and tying up resources. I would prefer my tax dollars go to find murderers, rapists, child abductors and molesters, etc. not to marijuana related "crimes"


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## genifer (Feb 19, 2006)

Well, I cant understand why its illegal. Imho it isnt even remotely as dangerous as alcohol. the only reason I believe its illegal still is bc it is so easily grown and the government cannot make enough money on it/control it enough. I do think its a dangerous drug if its abused and over used, it is addictive, tho not physically. I know people who use it heavily and they go thru some kind of withdrawl when trying to come off it. These people use it regularly, habitually. Im 32 btw. Keeping it illegal has not caused anyone to stay away from it thats for sure.


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

As my travels and dealings in natural parenting circles have become more indepth and varied...I'm astounded (the good kind) by the number of people who are recreational smokers....doctors, lawyers, artists, chefs, SAHMs, SAHDs....and since noticing that...I see it everywhere in my life...not even confined to those who prescribe to a "natural" lifestyle. I mean, really "normal" people, with nice homes and great lawns...good marriages, who go to tupperware parties and are memebers of the PTA, really active in local going-ons and you know, who like, wear makeup and shave their armpits! I really have come to see, that a LOT of people smoke!

I think if every smoker in the States, stood up all at once and said "Enough with this" it would be ridiculous to continue to pretend that MJ is some scary, underworld, shadowy danger that needs to be squashed out. Some of the best, brightest and most capable parents I know...are out on their decks, "unwinding" after their kids go to bed...and I was SHOCKED to discover this! I don't know why...but I was.

So...yeah. I don't know many people PERIOD who truly believe it should be illegal..and I'm up in conservative NH! What kills me, is the number of lives I've seen destroyed, bodies wrecked, homes split apart...by excessive alcohol use. Now...I've also, in my youth, known a kid or two who had REALLY checked out parents and I sometimes wonder if they weren't gigantic potheads...so, you know, anything in excessive amounts I think can make you a crummy parent....but alcohol, it's SOOO bad. I can remember being on college campuses and seeing all these kids, SUPER pumped on alcohol, fighting, vandelizing, getting rough with their girlfriends...I wonder now, if those kids had been relaxing, smoking MJ, would it have been like that? The fact is, most people I know who partake, are not excessive users...they are people who smoke when they hike and fish...or in the evenings after small people are tucked in...or whenever else. I haven't known anyone, since I was much younger, who NEEDED to smoke to function...it just blows me away that something so potent, which KILLS so many people a year, as alcohol, would be so easy to legally get your hands on....and something like pot, which I consider to be, comparably, not anywhere near as dangerous, could be illegal?? I mean, that, and the MEDICINAL uses for MJ....man, how CRAZY that something which is proven to be helpful to sick people, dying people, women with horrible sickness due to pregnancy, etc could be called "bad" and made illegal?

But I guess when the [sarcasm]Good Ole Gov't of the USA[/sarcasm] gets around to figuring out the tax code for MJ and thinks up some really awesome regulations, permit fees, etc....people can puff in peace.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

I've yet to hear anyone other than a politician say anything about needing to keep MJ illegal, and the few times I've seen a politician make a statement about that, they've been speaking in response to a pro-legalization argument.


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
I've yet to hear anyone other than a politician say anything about needing to keep MJ illegal, and the few times I've seen a politician make a statement about that, they've been speaking in response to a pro-legalization argument.

I know a few politicians who speak out about it from the heart...and who aren't ashamed to say that they think it's time to start re-evaluating our true goals in keeping it illegal, especially for medicinal purposes....and even a small feeew politicians for whom the issue, *ahem*, "hits" a bit closer to home...


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## Evergreen (Nov 6, 2002)

I'm only 28 so I'll play. I'm very conservative and kind of anti-mj. I'll explain- I don't like the idea of smoking anything, I don't want smoke around my kids or my family, and I do think it has health and mental health repercussions.

I DO NOT think it should be illegal though.


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## chirp (Feb 9, 2008)

even the most socially conservative person i know is not against cannibus. he isn't going to win any battles for pro-legalization folks...but he just feels that gov't shouldn't interfere with personal decisions, and that includes alcohol for him.

the most economically conservative person i know thinks that cannibus SHOULD be legalized so that companies can make $$. to him it's criminalization was just one capitalist using government to out compete another.

my own father though, thinks mj should remain illegal. he was a police officer for about 20 years and is one of those guys who thinks that laws are not "faulty" and should not be reexamined. MJ has been and is illegal for a reason, in his eyes. And the people who use it have no respect for authority, which to him should be a crime in itself. i imagine that there are other people like him. i just don't know them since we don't share many of the same circles.

eta: i am 27. First example is 37, second is 25, third is 68.


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chirp* 
even the most socially conservative person i know is not against cannibus. he isn't going to win any battles for pro-legalization folks...but he just feels that gov't shouldn't interfere with personal decisions, and that includes alcohol for him.

the most economically conservative person i know thinks that cannibus SHOULD be legalized so that companies can make $$. to him it's criminalization was just one capitalist using government to out compete another.

my own father though, thinks mj should remain illegal. he was a police officer for about 20 years and is one of those guys who thinks that laws are not "faulty" and should not be reexamined. MJ has been and is illegal for a reason, in his eyes. *And the people who use it have no respect for authority, which to him should be a crime in itself.* i imagine that there are other people like him. i just don't know them since we don't share many of the same circles.

My bolded = the type of thoughts which keep me up at night. No disrespect to your father....but that scares the crap outta me.


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## EarthMommy80 (Feb 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chirp* 
even the most socially conservative person i know is not against cannibus. he isn't going to win any battles for pro-legalization folks...but he just feels that gov't shouldn't interfere with personal decisions, and that includes alcohol for him.

the most economically conservative person i know thinks that cannibus SHOULD be legalized so that companies can make $$. to him it's criminalization was just one capitalist using government to out compete another.

my own father though, thinks mj should remain illegal. he was a police officer for about 20 years and is one of those guys who thinks that laws are not "faulty" and should not be reexamined. MJ has been and is illegal for a reason, in his eyes. And the people who use it have no respect for authority, which to him should be a crime in itself. i imagine that there are other people like him. i just don't know them since we don't share many of the same circles.

eta: i am 27. First example is 37, second is 25, third is 68.

I am 29 and have a 30 yo coworker who is a police officer. She is very anti-mj. It definately stems from the things she sees on duty due to large scale drug dealers. The thing is that most of them that are big hot shot dealers are not only dealing in mj. She once made a comment about how mj kills children and she has seen it... the reality is, people kill people, mj does not! If it were legal, it would be regulated and all those terrible "dealers" would be cut out of the circle eventually... but, the crime would still continue, because they will just find another illegal drug to profit off of.

I am obviously pro-legalization!!!









All my friends and family, younger and older, agree that it should be legal for, at the very least, medicinal use.


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## chirp (Feb 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
My bolded = the type of thoughts which keep me up at night. No disrespect to your father....but that scares the crap outta me.

hey...it scares the crap out of me too. i love him but i give his point of view no respect because he doesn't respect others P.O.V...hence the whole authority thing.

when i got caught with pot in college he said to me "I got my Sergent's stripes climbing on the backs of people like you." I responded with something about that making him a UAVhead.


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## Alyantavid (Sep 10, 2004)

Quote:

I'll also add that there is a real stigma attached to those that partake - and an very unfair one. So most people that do keep it really hush-hush. I've discovered that many of the people I know smoke, but keep it very quiet.
Yeah that.

I'm 28, dh's 31 and we both think it should be legal. At least in this area, maybe if they legalized it, they could focus more on the harder drugs that are wreaking havoc on whole communities.


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## Mal85 (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm 23. Most people I know partake or have done it or at least are not against it. It's pretty prevalent in my social group. I started partaking pretty young and was shocked to find out how many people did it. It is widespread and is definitely not limited to a "certain kind" of people. I think, economically, it would be the best move for this country to legalize it. Think of the benefits... a MJ tax. A new work industry that would offer jobs. It would seriously help the state of our economy. Plus the fact that growing MJ is amazing for the soil. The roots grow very deep and keep the soil healthy. Why do you think so many farmers grew it back in the day?

Also, if it's legal, it can be regulated. There would be an age limit, much like cigarettes and alcohol. There would be laws about not smoking and driving. You would know what you were getting was pure (or at least have a package to tell you what's been added to it). There would be no fear of it being laced with anything, etc. Right now, it's a black market thing. There are no regulations other than it being illegal. So, no one is keeping an eye on it.


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## cappuccinosmom (Dec 28, 2003)

Mmmm...I'm 26. I care. I know a lot of people who haven't done it, and others who have and now oppose it's use.

But, I travel in pretty conservative circles. I think there are plenty of our peers who do care about it and don't support it's use, but they don' tend to hang around those who are using it and passionately advocating legalization, yk? I don't know about the legalization issue myself. Alcohol abuse contributes to all sorts of horrible happenings, but we already know what happened when they tried to make the sale of alcohol illegal.


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## emmalizz (Apr 14, 2009)

I'm 20 and think weed should stay illegal because of the mental and health problems it can cause. I also think tobacco should be illegal though- so yes, I'm the odd one out apparently


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## Avani (Feb 14, 2006)

Where i live, pretty much every single family and person i know grows it to make a living. It is considered legal here within the legal guidelines, but not federally. The feds do come in a few times a year to break up the large scale grows.

The cons of marijuana. There are people who will rent and buy up all the available properties in town just to grow in and not live in which lives the people who actually need a place to live in with nothing. Many grow houses turn into electrical disasters and moldy death traps. We have house fires all the time due to people messing with the electrical. I see family gatherings where the adults are sitting around passing a bong or a joint while the children run around playing. In my opinion, smoke is smoke and teaching children it is ok to smoke anything is not a good idea healthwise. Yes it is an herb and yes it has herbal properties but the smoke is still dangerous. We have a lot of robberies around here involving marijuana. Alot!

The pros. There is little industry here and our entire town actually makes more money living off the taxes generated through the dispensaries in town. Without that money our town would be nonexistent. The families i know have the ability to raise their kids while working from home and they make quite a bit of money. Some families easily gross a few hundred thousand a year.


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## yarngoddess (Dec 27, 2006)

My neighbor is a young kid- got out of the gang life in LA and moved to norther cali- and told me about the cops in LA. They told him and his gang banger buddies one night, after a fight "See, had you just stayed home and smoked some weed we wouldn't have been here. Instead you got drunk and made an ass out of your self. How smart are you?" that was a major turning point for him. He now never drinks.

I think that it should be legal, but I still disagree with kids using it- because to me it's a medication. For all kinds of ailments- from physical pain to emotional pain. I wish our government would use the countless dollars they spend on the persuit of the never ending MJ trail.... and put that money to GOOD use hunting down Meth houses where little kids live among the horrible chemicals. Where people cook meth in hotels and kill all the innocent people that happen to sleep in the same section of motels. That would be something.

I would LOVE to see us become a productive country again- by Hemp. There is a Native American Tribe in the midwest(can't remember where it was on PBS though) that has been BEGGING the US Government to allow them to grow hemp for industrial production and they have been denied again and again. Told to open a Casino. Yet, they want to grow something from the earth and are told they cannot because Hemp is in the cannibus family and therefore illegal. Should they grow it with out permission- the DEA would burn it to the ground. The tribe? would be destroyed too because that would be their lifeline. They are dying a slow and painfull death because they have no way to better themselves, and because the US own's the water they have to have permission.

And Chirp...your dad's belief about people and authority and that laws shouldn't be re-examined is very scary. What's even scarier is that there are other's that think this- young people too! It's very scary and I hope we can start to change soon....


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *emmalizz* 
I'm 20 and think weed should stay illegal because of the mental and health problems it can cause. I also think tobacco should be illegal though- so yes, I'm the odd one out apparently









I think it could cure a few mental health problems too lol
alcohol is worse, imo, and people who are trying to escape their inner demons will turn to that if they can't get pot. I'd prefer it be easier for them to get some marij. instead. I respect your opinion though. I have tobacco, but I dont think it should be illegal. I think there are a lot of laws that violate or rights and every time they add one more... I just think, which one is going to tbe the gateway law that takes away our freedom?


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

I know a lot of people who do not support smoking MJ....or drinking, or who hate cigarettes....and I respect that, fully and wholeheartedly, because I believe that everyone should have the right to decide that something is not for them.

What scares me to death, is the number of people who believe that the Federal Government should have the right to decide FOR you, or me, what it safe, sane and should be legal. I say, give it to the states to decide....and even THAT leaves me feeling creeped out.

People give too much athourity to the government..."But Marijuana Cigarettes are BAD!" some would cry out..."They have to keep it illegal, for the greater good!" well...to those of you who, despite ongoing and emerging research to the contrary, would believe this, I as ask you this:

Is it for the "greater good" that men and women who are homosexual, do not have the right to marry? Because your government has decided that, for the "greater good" it must remain illegal for two people who love and want to honor and commit themselves to each other, cannot in matrimony, because they are of the same sex.

Is it for the greater good, that most people in America have no idea that all of the "aide" we send to nations around the world who are trying to get on their feet and join the global market place...are actually receiving LOANS from our centralized banks, which the peoples in those countries then spend the rest of their lives working to "pay off", by standing on their feet for up to 12, 16, 24 or sometimes 36 hours, with only minimal breaks, sewing boxers, shirts, jeans, etc...for PENNIES a day....so that we can walk into GAP and buy a "cute tee" for a few dollars? Because your government, has allowed trade agreements which CRUSH foreign peoples in the bonds of modern day slavery....for what, what greater good?

Is it for the greater good, that people, because of where they come from and what they look like, can be swept off the street and away to a secret prison, for a inditermenant period of time, with no charges filed....and no word to their families of what's happened? Because your government thinks so.

Look at the rights, which in the last ten years have been stripped of you....look at your waterways in this gorgeous coutry of ours, which have not been valued and protected, look. LOOK LOOK. Look all around, at this "Greater Good" that your government so valiently fights for....and begin to see it for what it is.

The greater good is not you and it is not me. It is not us, for us, determined by us. The greater good, is the almighty dollar, my friends, and I assure you, you do not have enough dollars to matter to the people who make the real rules we're all expected to live by. If you require further evidence, that your government does not really stand for liberty, protection and the greater, common good....you need only look at the thousand upon thousands of pieces of NEW legislation passed each year in this country....look around the world at the way we treat people, at the way big pharma is allowed to treat the insides of our bodies...all the while saying "no, it's safe it's safe - see, the FDA even says so"....look at the allowances made by our government, to big business, so they can smog up our air....put toxins in your water and DESTROY what's left, of the nutrients of the fruits/veggies/foods you buy in the store.....all the while telling you, that the real killers are muslim extremists and marijuana cigarettes. You want to talk dangerous...when's the last time you ate a bell pepper, which wasn't genetically mutated? Do you even know?

Your government does not stand for you and does not fight for you. You must stand for yourself and fight for yourself. "They" and their corrupt sense of what is in the interest of the "greater good"....will not save you. Your brain and willingness to use it....to ask questions, be skeptical, etc...that is what will save you.

Believe what you will, you *are perfectly sane and within your rights to think that MJ is trash*....but be wary of Federal regulation...always, in any case and under any circumstances. There are many threats out there....the least of which, I can assure you, is MJ. Do you drink public tap water, or even bottled water, as your primary water source?? You want to talk about something which causes physical and mental health problems....do a little research on flouride, my friend. NOT illegal....VERY dangerous. I wonder why.....


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## GradysMom (Jan 7, 2007)

I'm 34, Gen X technically - while I do know at leas one person who finds MJ incredibly lame I don't think even she supports the criminalization of it.

Perhaps we all have known a waking baker in our lives, and that is just sad, but it is just another form of laziness really and not a criminal activity.

SO NO, I don't know anyone who supports the law and I know quite a few who undermine it regularly...

Don't you think crime would drop drastically if every household were allowed to grow 1-2 plants a year?


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## CrunchyChristianMama (Dec 5, 2008)

I'm opposed to it's legalization because I've seen it's effects on young people. I used to teach 8th grade in a very poor area and had a few students who would show up high to school. It was clearly negatively effecting them. My fear is that making it legal would lead to even more kids smoking it. It seems to me that when something is made legal, kids don't understand that it is still dangerous. These are kids who explained to me that cigarettes aren't really that bad because if they were they would be illegal...this is the kind of thinking some of our youth has.


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

i know alot of people who think it should be illegal...but i also know alot of very religious and politically conservative people.


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## sh0rtchica (Jun 15, 2009)

i'm 26, and while i've never smoked anything (including mj), i think it should be legal. DH is on the fence with it, though, and he's 28.


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## Bluegoat (Nov 30, 2008)

I'm the wrong age, but most people that age I know seem very neutral on the issue; they don't often think it is s big deal, on the other hand, they aren't politically active to change the law.

Personally, I think it's a bit of a problematic stance in a democracy. If you think the law should be changed, work toward it. But that doesn't mean it is always ok to break the law, just because you don't agree with it. In some cases, where it is clearly an immoral law, or where the law is simply badly written and not actually intended to do what is happening, it might be justified. But in the case of recreational drugs, it's a matter of, well, recreation. The law is actually fully intending to restrict it's use. Not something I can justify flouting just because I disagree that it's necessary. I certainly got pissed off when some local person raided my garden plants, though clearly he or she had no qualms about it.


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## FondestBianca (May 9, 2008)

I just turned 25 and dh is 24 and both of us think it should remain illegal. In fact, I don't even believe in recreational use of alcohol. I won't get into this any further as the nature of the entire arguement quickly gets me worked up and downright mean.

I've never used drugs, drank alcohol, or even taken a puff of a cigarette.... so I have zero pity for people who would miss them if they weren't an option.

So, yah... people do care and there are people in younger generations that don't participate in use of mind altering substances for fun or agree with others doing it either. Don't assume.

As for gov invlovement, when the decision is so blatently clear (not to use drugs for example) I don't mind the gov stepping in and enforcing it. I think of all of the kids who would be effected by legalization of such toxins. Look at how many innocent children have been effected by alcohol (the parents using/abusing it).... far more than if it had been illegal. Some decent, hard working, good people would go to jail, get fined, loose jobs, yes... but, thats the price some have to pay for the betterment of quality of life for the kids of this nation then get over it. This arguement isn't about big brother. If thats your worry, you're WAY off the bigger issue here.


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## nerdymom (Mar 20, 2008)

I'm 23, and have never smoked pot. I'm not against it mind you, I've just never done it. I'm waiting for it to be legalized.









As an aside, I think it is hilarious when I hear people say that mj is ok, but tobacco is bad. Yes, I have heard this absurdity IRL. It's what we've done to the tobacco and how we abuse it that makes it bad, the substance itself is not bad. And you can say the same for pot, or alcohol. The product itself is not inherently bad, but the way that people abuse it is. And the fact is, the government has no right to dictate morality, moderation, or common sense. We all need to take responsibility for own actions, that is the first step towards a smaller government.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

I'm 32, don't know where I fit in. But most moms I talk to don't seem to care about it. Just yesterday I was actually talking with a mom who knows a mom who sells it and she was like "You wouldn't believe how many doctors and other professsionals buy it" and I was like, eh, maybe I would... and we were talking about how stupid it is, you can go home and have a drink every night, but smoking up is illegal, and who does it really hurt? People go home, drink, beat their wives, go out and drive, whatever... most people when they smoke, they just sit around and chill. Doesn't make any sense. Both of us used to smoke a lot, neither of us do now - though I would if offered! She works somewhere that drug tests which is another lame thing... it sticks around in your system unlike alcohol and all ...

It really seems like a lot of people I talk to just don't do it any more because they have no idea where to get it. Everyone seems to say, if I knew where to get it, I would!

Then there's the fact usually people COULD figure out where to get it... I just think it also matters that as an adult, you stand to lose so much if you get caught... esp. if you are a renter... it's just so stupid.

Anyway most people I talk to, it seems they don't think it's any different than drinking, and it's better in some ways, and it's stupid that it's illegal.

The clock on our stove is broken so I have it set peramently to 4:20... I like to see who notices when they come over LOL

eta - most moms I run with are in the 30-40ish age bracket.


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## barefootmama0709 (Jun 25, 2009)

I support legalization for many reasons. My main one is that legalization will allow government regulation of marijuana sales as well as taxation similar to that of alcohol. Currently marijuana import/export and sales are controlled by criminals who use the profit from said industry to further many other criminal activities. Furthermore I don't believe that marijuana in and of itself has a drastic effect on who someone is as a person, including their ability to parent. Myself and DH were both raised by recreational smokers-his dad was fairly neglectful and my parents were not. Their marijuana usage was not the key factor in their parenting abilities. I could go on but I need to shower before ODS wakes up from his nap!


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## jeminijad (Mar 27, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 

The clock on our stove is broken so I have it set peramently to 4:20... I like to see who notices when they come over LOL












I think that we waste far, far too many resources on prosecuting marijuana related "crimes." I also am in the 'booze is much worse than weed' club.

However, DH is thinks only 'losers' smoke. Not sure whether he has strong feeling about its legal v illegal status.

Those of you who support the continued illegalization of mj because of its 'effect on children' or something- we were meant to be a free nation. We aren't anymore, and this is one of many laws retricting personal freedoms that don't seem like a big deal- they may even seem good- but enable the govt to do what they please, when they please with its citizenry.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

I do care about it, but I also think it should be legalized. It's silly that there's an entire crime industry being supported around a relatively innocuous substance. For me, the risks associated with marijuana don't warrant the money required to enforce the current laws surrounding it.

That said, I don't smoke weed, and I will encourage my kids not to, just like I'll encourage them not to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol as minors. Supporting legalization doesn't necessarily mean that a person loves the idea of everyone smoking pot all the time. It's legal in some other countries, but there is still a framework of laws surrounding its use, just like there is here surrounding alcohol and tobacco use. I don't know if people who don't support its legalization are picturing 11-year-olds walking around with joints hanging out of their mouths at school or what.

I have a 50-something coworker whose political views have been described as "slightly to the right of Bill O'Reilly," and she supports the legalization of marijuana too. Mostly from a fiscal standpoint, but still -- she doesn't have enough of a problem with the ramifications of its use to support its continued criminal status the way she does with more harmful drugs such as meth.


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## TheBluebird (Dec 20, 2006)

I don't know many people that think MJ should stay illegal. Most outright support legalization.

However, I do know people my age (30) who do think it should be illegal. Specifically, a friend of mine from HS who is a cop. I made a comment on his page (he posted pics of his friends with a huge pot bust) about it being "just weed" and something about "real crime"







and it started this huge debate between me and his cop friends and their wives, etc. They all really believe that "drugs are bad, mmmkay?"

Whatev. If cigarettes and alcohol are going to be legal, there's no reason why weed shouldn't be. I do think we'll see decriminalization in my lifetime, though. IF the weed lobbyists (for lack of a better term) don't see to it that it stays illegal. There's a lot of money in illegal drug dealing and belive me, the person selling your dealer his supply has a vested interested in pot remaining illegal.


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)

I know some who think it should remain illegal. I think they are mainly misinformed and try to give them the right info or a website link or two (http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html)
I also know a whole lot of people who smoke at least recreationally. ( I'm almost 30, most of my friends are older than me...my dh is almost a decade older than me...) Even my conservative parents have agreed that it should be legalized.








:

( I can take that link out if it's a no-no..







)

PS> Dh and I think it should be taxed and sold OR just grow your own....


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## FondestBianca (May 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jeminijad* 

Those of you who support the continued illegalization of mj because of its 'effect on children' or something- we were meant to be a free nation. We aren't anymore, and this is one of many laws retricting personal freedoms that don't seem like a big deal- they may even seem good- but enable the govt to do what they please, when they please with its citizenry.

ok, then lets allow people to smoke crack too.... yk, for the sake of being free. A completely "free" nation would destroy itself. Part of the reason we are what we are is because of laws and regulations. I don't think every law is good or nessesary but, I'm also not for the supporting legalizing exposure of MORE toxins to some poor kid who just happens to have pot heads for parents who HAD given it up until it became legal.

In the city I live in theres a fair deal of drugs. Within one block (keep in mind I also live within a block from the city park and gradeschool) I could wander to one of 2 houses that sell pot, meth, x, perscription pain killers, and other stuff when they fall upon a good deal. I HATE that these people are able to get away with this (it's not that difficult. The people I live near prove that even idiots can run a drug business from their house) but, as it is, with all of those things being illegal to have and sell cops still pretty much have their hands tied even though they KNOW drugs are being sold. Now imagine how many houses would use and sell in the same block if they had legal right to do what they do! Furthermore, pot isn't very lucrative as far as the drug business goes. You'll find that most people who sell pot for profit eventually move on to harder drugs because they have more room for profit. If you made pot legal you'd be left with a bunch of growers who now have to find another way to make money while keeping the same lazy, won't get a job, lifestyle.

With pot would come other drugs. It's not as cut and dry as it sounds. Maybe to a strictly pot smoker it sounds pretty simple and harmless but, for my neighborhood and my children it would mean much rougher drugs moving in across the street from the playground... (literally, across the street from where the city's little one's play). I'm not about to vote more of that to my backdoor and I'd appreciate others not. It's about the big picture not the self centered view of how it wouldnt' change your life, so no big deal.

You vote it in and a month later my entire town goes to heck.


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)

So with that said....
Did anyone notice that my post count?????










(teeheee)


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)

FB, with all due respect, I think you're misinformed. Do you even know any normal people who smoke or grow weed? Do you even realize that crack can literally KILL you and pot couldn't in a million years? Did you read my link?

Please don't believe all that crap. Seriously. Whew.


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## Bluegoat (Nov 30, 2008)

It is interesting to see the changes in tobacco smoking laws, and think about comparing them to mj. Tobacco smoking is becoming more and more restricted, it's not allowed in most public places, workplaces, sometimes in cars that have kids in them. It wouldn't be surprising to see a move to banning it in homes with kids present.

I'm curious that people think it's a good idea that government would make tax dollars off of legalization. It's always seemed a bit of a conflict of interest with tax revenues from cigarettes vs the government's mandate to encourage healthy living. They end up in a position of supporting an activity that is bad for citizens health for grubby money.


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
<snip>A completely "free" nation would destroy itself. <snip>


I need for you to think really long and really, really hard, about why you beleive this. I'm not asking you to tell ME....I'm asking you to tell YOU.

Everything you believe, you believe, because you have been shown....there is no thought that enters into your conciousness out of nowhere.....who needs you to believe that we as a people are unable to properly govern our own lives?? WHO? And did it ever occur to you, that there could be another way? Of course not, why would that ever pop into your mind...who would want to give you that idea? Nobody who is in charge of "ideas", that's for sure.

And, ask yourself this: Which came first; the big government which tells you how to live, or the people who believed they needed big government to tell them how to live.

And an even better question: Which came first; the people who live like animals as a direct result of big government "aide/welfare/social programs(including public schools)...or big government.

The myth, that we are incapable of ruling our own lives...that the absence of obcenely large government would surely bring chaos and riots and crime in the streets, complete with mass rape and drug lords taking over the planet....is just that, a myth....albeit a VERY convenient one, for some people.

I'm not telling you what to believe....I'm asking you to examine your beliefs...to challenge yourself not only to decide....but to investigate what MAKES you decide.

Someone challenged me to do this very thing years ago...and the rollercoaster ride of joy at discovering truth...and sorrow at discovering how different that truth is, from the truth we are taught....has been crazy. Sometimes, it makes me feel lonely and scared, to know how very bad things are, how much of an illusion this created reality actually is.....but at least now I know. There is that.


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)

BlueGoat ( like your name, btw I love goats!) I see what you mean about taxes and such. It is more of a response to the illusion that the government would somehow "miss out" on all the revenue that they get from drug busts and DWI's. There is no reason to think people could not control their intake of "mj cigarettes" and there's no reason to think the government couldn't try to profit off of that somehow. (LOL I say this with a mix of truth and sarcasm I guess...heh.)
Also, tobacco is a different beast than mj. Mj is a plant too....BUT smoking it is only one way of enjoying it and also it has never given anyone cancer.


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## FondestBianca (May 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mountaingirl79* 
FB, with all due respect, I think you're misinformed. Do you even know any normal people who smoke or grow weed? Do you even realize that crack can literally KILL you and pot couldn't in a million years? Did you read my link?

Please don't believe all that crap. Seriously. Whew.

did you read anything i wrote about how legalizing pot brings drugs like meth into our communities??

and I wasn't hardly being serious about legalizing meth... I thought I put it on thick enough to make that clear. I was trying to illustrate just how silly it sounds to say that legalizing makes us free in some magical way. This isn't a pot issue. This is a drug issue. Do you live near pot sellers..... as in, people who make their income selling drugs? I do live near people like that and I know that while a decent amount of thier business is in pot, about 2 seconds after it was legalized they'd move toward nasty drugs like meth in order to keep profits up and support their own habits. I know a few people who are highly functioning "normal" people who smoke pot... but, it's not them I'm worried about.

Do you even get how hugely legalization would effect some communities?!?! On tuesday, we returned home after a couple days at the lake and dd was still pretty full of energy so I decided to walk down to the park with dd and ds until dh returned home from fishing. It was 7pm and lots of kids were enjoying the playground in the cooler evening air. The lawn in green and lush, the grounds are tidy, and the equiptment is new and well kept... but, across the street (DIRECTLY across the 2 laned city street, not 300 feet from the playground) 8-12, 16-26 year olds entered then soon exited a home that sell drugs... many of them probably buying pot- all in the span of time while we were at the park playing. Selling pot alone does not afford those sellers their own habbits and lifestyles. More customers for them and bit less hounding from the police would mean more motivation to up sales of illegal, higher priced drugs. There is a DIRECT link between pot sales and sales of other drugs. Functioning pot smokers aren't my concern.... the crackheads down the street are. Give me $220,000 and I'll move somewhere where I have at least 4 or 5 blocks between crack dealers and my house... then maybe I can ignore the lesser fortunate population like others seem to so easily be able to do.


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## Chloebeansmom (Jul 16, 2008)

I'm 28 and have never smoked MJ (or anything else), ever. But, I was raised by 2 VERY successful parents who are now in their mid-fifties, who smoke MJ almost everyday . They smoke every night after work, together. They have both been smoking it since their teen years. They aren't dependent on it, it is just somethign they enjoy. Neither have ever tried harder drugs (they certainly haven't ended up as crackheads). They believe in legalization, as do I. I just was never interested in trying it. My mom always told me as a teen that she'd rather have me smoke MJ than drink alcohol (she is from a family of alcoholics). I drink socially, but I've never taken a puff of anything. My DH agrees with us, and will have some now and then. He was raised by very conservative parents who agree with some of the staements made here. I just don't see why something less dangerous than alcohol, should be a criminal substance.

ETA: If cigarettes were made illegal, there would be a link between them and crack sales as well. If somethig is criminal is stands to reason that it would have a link to other criminal activity.


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## bebebradford (Apr 4, 2008)

Meh................... Have you ever head of a mean pothead? I don't have too much of a problem with weed. HONESTLY, alcohol is FAR more dangerous and addictive. So why not make it ILLEGAL?


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## annethcz (Apr 1, 2004)

I'm 32, so on the cusp between gen X and gen Y. The only person I know who vigorously opposes the legalization of MJ is a person who works in the juvenille prison system. She things that MJ is a gateway drug and its use results in crime.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
I've never used drugs, drank alcohol, or even taken a puff of a cigarette.... so I have zero pity for people who would miss them if they weren't an option.

You know, I used to feel that way. I didn't understand what was so great about using alcohol recreationally.... until I started drinking at the ripe old age of 30







I'm not an alcoholic, I don't drink frequently, but I've discovered that drinking occasionally really does make life more fun for me. It's not something I *have* to do, and I don't NEED it to have fun, but it is something I'd miss if it was taken away. The same way I'd miss amusement parks or board games or pizza if they were suddenly outlawed. I've never smoked MJ (although I have participated in university research studies about the effects of MJ on the social activity of mice







). But I can understand WHY people enjoy smoking it. And I certainly don't believe it should be illegal.


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## FondestBianca (May 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
I need for you to think really long and really, really hard, about why you beleive this. I'm not asking you to tell ME....I'm asking you to tell YOU.


YOU don't NEED for me to do anything. If you want my answer, read my last post, above.

and I believe that some people can govern themsevles just fine. I can. I don't use drugs, smoke, eat horrible, drive dangerously, steal, cheat on my taxes, abuse anyone or anything, etc, etc, etc... and I still wouldn't even if there were no laws to tell me to or not to do so. Others however, need some mentoring.

I'm not focusing on the health aspect of pot at this point.... though everyone who has responded to what I've said seems to pinpoint that for some odd reason. Pot IS part of the reason so many cities and neighborhoods are declining. Think about the mentality and motivation of dealers.... not users. Users hurt those close to their hearts, dealers hurt those within a 5 mile radius.


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## BBerryBliss (Sep 20, 2004)

I hate to break it to you but moving to a "better" neighborhood doesn't mean the crack dealers are not there, they're just better at hiding it.


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)




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## chirp (Feb 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
I need for you to think really long and really, really hard, about why you beleive this. I'm not asking you to tell ME....I'm asking you to tell YOU.

Everything you believe, you believe, because you have been shown....there is no thought that enters into your conciousness out of nowhere.....who needs you to believe that we as a people are unable to properly govern our own lives?? WHO? And did it ever occur to you, that there could be another way? Of course not, why would that ever pop into your mind...who would want to give you that idea? Nobody who is in charge of "ideas", that's for sure.

And, ask yourself this: Which came first; the big government which tells you how to live, or the people who believed they needed big government to tell them how to live.

And an even better question: Which came first; the people who live like animals as a direct result of big government "aide/welfare/social programs(including public schools)...or big government.

The myth, that we are incapable of ruling our own lives...that the absence of obcenely large government would surely bring chaos and riots and crime in the streets, complete with mass rape and drug lords taking over the planet....is just that, a myth....albeit a VERY convenient one, for some people.

I'm not telling you what to believe....I'm asking you to examine your beliefs...to challenge yourself not only to decide....but to investigate what MAKES you decide.

Someone challenged me to do this very thing years ago...and the rollercoaster ride of joy at discovering truth...and sorrow at discovering how different that truth is, from the truth we are taught....has been crazy. Sometimes, it makes me feel lonely and scared, to know how very bad things are, how much of an illusion this created reality actually is.....but at least now I know. There is that.


amen.

fondestbianca...i also come from a place of respect...and live in a town that has a lot of drugs in it.

my point of view is that is that currently pot is completely accessible to people under the age of 24 or so...then as people get older it gets harder to come by, unless they really keep up contacts because they are regular smokers.

if it were decriminalized--not even made legal...just not grounds for jail time and major fines...i believe the problem would become bigger...because people would still be reliant on the same drug dealers to get the pot. the dealers that are also selling and mixing pot with other more dangerous substances.

if it were made completely legal...where people would be allowed to grow their own plants...then i think we would actually see less people who enjoyed the occassional smoke, contributing to or becoming victims of those "bad egg" dealers.

i also think we would see less people getting hooked on those harder drugs...since instead of coming into regular contact with dealers who are trying to push harder drugs on them...they are just snipping a little piece of home grown pesticide and violence free bud from their very own plant.

As for those dealers turning to harder drugs in order to finance the loss they incurred from pot legalization...I would say that hopefully with such a drastic change police efforts could actually be more focused on hard drug producers and dealers...and more money could be spent on rehabbing their victims...once the time and cost of arresting and incarcerating mj users has been erased. Also, as a side note, I've read that MJ selling does not produce much profit anyway...)

I fully appreciate your point of view, though, because before now, I would not have thought about how dealers would compensate for the lack of $$ coming in from pot sales.


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## mistymama (Oct 12, 2004)

Tracy - first you say if pot is legal then dealers will turn to meth which which would be a bad thing for your neighborhood - then you say pot IS the reason neighborhoods are declining.

Can you tell me exactly how you feel pot - not other drugs - is responsible? Honestly curious. Your argument sounds very much like the DARE "gateway drug" bs.









I smoke. Have since I was a teen off and on. Everyone I know smokes, or has smoked and does not have a problem with it. And I'm living in a conservative southern state - it was even more out in the open when I lived in Cali. Doctors, Vets, lawyers - and dh and I - professional, responsible parents. Pot is so much less destructive than liquor. It is illegal for stupid, political reasons that have NOTHING to do with it's danger, or ruining of neighborhoods.

I'm always amazed at the few here at MDC that still buy into the propaganda and lies surrounding pot.


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## chirp (Feb 9, 2008)

i forgot to add something pertaining to the beginning of my last post...

it sucks that the younger people are the ones who are most in contact with dealers. they know where to get the drugs, all of them. as i got older the range of drugs i could get dwindled...now its hard if i want to find some mj. impossible for anything else.

in my opinion if people were allowed to grow for personal consumption less kids would be exposed to these hard core dealers when so young. these dealers prey on the young. its amazing that i could find X and special k, and coke in hs but wouldn't know where to begin finding it now.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
Pot IS part of the reason so many cities and neighborhoods are declining. Think about the mentality and motivation of dealers.... not users. Users hurt those close to their hearts, dealers hurt those within a 5 mile radius.

If it were legalized, there wouldn't be pot dealers.


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## Alyantavid (Sep 10, 2004)

Quote:

With pot would come other drugs. It's not as cut and dry as it sounds. Maybe to a strictly pot smoker it sounds pretty simple and harmless but, for my neighborhood and my children it would mean much rougher drugs moving in across the street from the playground... (literally, across the street from where the city's little one's play). I'm not about to vote more of that to my backdoor and I'd appreciate others not. It's about the big picture not the self centered view of how it wouldnt' change your life, so no big deal.
Um, those drugs are out there. In massive quantities. And obviously keeping pot illegal isn't exactly slowing down the drug trade at all.

Most of the pot smokers I know, are just that. Pot smokers. They don't use meth or any of the other hard drugs. I really don't see pot as any worse at all than alcohol. The government spends an insane amount of time and money dealing with pot. They could use that money instead for fighting drugs that do major damage.

Quote:

then maybe I can ignore the lesser fortunate population like others seem to so easily be able to do.
Moving isn't a guarantee of anything. I live outside an extremely small, extremely rural town. We have a huge meth problem here. And the fact that some people see legalization as a good thing, doesn't mean we're deaf and blind to the "less fortunate".


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## FondestBianca (May 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *limabean* 
If it were legalized, there wouldn't be pot dealers.

OMgoodness!!!!!!! How can I make my point clear????

this is exactly my point. People who make a good deal or all of their income selling pot would MOST LIKELY up their sales of other, more dangerous, deadly, hazardous drugs to keep their lifestyle close to the same and keep income coming in. THAT is the problem!!!!!!!!!!!


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
OMgoodness!!!!!!! How can I make my point clear????

this is exactly my point. People who make a good deal or all of their income selling pot would MOST LIKELY up their sales of other, more dangerous, deadly, hazardous drugs to keep their lifestyle close to the same and keep income coming in. THAT is the problem!!!!!!!!!!!

So keeping pot illegal gives those dealers a "safer" drug to peddle and keeps them from putting more dangerous stuff out there?


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## chirp (Feb 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *limabean* 
If it were legalized, there wouldn't be pot dealers.


limab...i think what shes saying is that they would all turn into meth dealers.

the dealers i know now would not turn to meth or anything else hard. they would ask for more hours at their crappy job that doesn't pay them enough.


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## FondestBianca (May 9, 2008)

ok.

seriously.

nevermind.

I can't explain it any other way. This is starting to get really sad! I'm so done. My head is going to explode if I have to find another way to try to describe my thoughts accurately.


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## spicyrock (Apr 11, 2009)

The only person I know who thinks pot should be illegal is my seventy-three year old grandmother. She also thinks that alcohol should be illegal. She is a strict Southern Baptist... who drinks brandy at night, so she is also a hypocrit. In my experience, most people who have a serious problem with pot have some sort of personal vendetta against it. They rarely think their arguments through, and they resort to using scare tactics and emotionalism instead of reason.

I don't smoke pot. I tried it when I was younger, and all it did was make me eat everything in the house. But I know plenty of people who responsibly enjoy this substance, and other people who choose not to because of its illegality, but would use it sometimes if it were legal. They are all adults... and for the record, none of the pot-smokers that I know use meth or anything, either. If there is a gateway drug out there, I believe it is alcohol, not pot.


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Evie's Mama* 
I'm opposed to it's legalization because I've seen it's effects on young people. I used to teach 8th grade in a very poor area and had a few students who would show up high to school. It was clearly negatively effecting them. My fear is that making it legal would lead to even more kids smoking it. It seems to me that when something is made legal, kids don't understand that it is still dangerous. These are kids who explained to me that cigarettes aren't really that bad because if they were they would be illegal...this is the kind of thinking some of our youth has.









You should check out these stats on effects of marijuana decriminalization. They compare Netherlands (where MJ is decriminalized) and the US. Education on drugs/cigarettes/alcohol is very important. I'm not leaving it up to the schools to teach my children. They're 7 and 5 and it's already an ongoing discussion in our home. I don't tell them it's okay to use any of those, but I also tell them dh and I will be honest with them on this topic.


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## number572 (Aug 25, 2004)

I don't think it should be illegal and most people I know (unless they have some misinformation) don't feel it should be illegal either - most of us feel strongly that there needs to be regulation along with it's legalization. I definitely think it should be more understood and that schools need to offer classes on responsible drug use - including everything from otc cold meds, caffeine, prescription drugs, nicotine & alcohol to mj and so on. Sooo many kids today are hooked on prescription drugs! I'm far more worried about that, than mj!

We need to evolve from illegalizing & banning everything that could possibly be abused, to educating ourselves and then making informed decisions for our own lives.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

I think pot should be legal. I'm in BC, 91% of my province thinks pot should be legal.

I have smoked pot and still do on occasion. I have used other drugs in my time, but that was more of misspent youth then anything else.

I have never heard of a hard core drug dealer who sells _only_ pot. The only people I know who sell only pot, sell it to friends who they know smoke it. They do that because they are the one who actually grows it. These people wouldn't really be affected if pot were legalized because they have other jobs and don't rely on drugs to make money. The ones that do, already sell meth and 101 other drugs.


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## number572 (Aug 25, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Doodlebugsmom* 
You should check out these stats on effects of marijuana decriminalization. They compare Netherlands (where MJ is decriminalized) and the US. Education on drugs/cigarettes/alcohol is very important. I'm not leaving it up to the schools to teach my children. They're 7 and 5 and it's already an ongoing discussion in our home. I don't tell them it's okay to use any of those, but I also tell them dh and I will be honest with them on this topic.

ita - I wrote "schools" in my above post b'c some parents will not or can not (due to religion, etc) discuss it with their kids. But, yes, having education from parents AND schools would be great. I also include unschooling and homeschools when I say "school"... includes "any kind of education" that the kid may be getting.


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Also, not really weed because it doesn't produce enough THC for a buzz, but you know the laws here in the states are messed up when industrial hemp is also illegal. It's obvious that the laws were not made because smoking MJ is harmful. A bit on the uses of industrial hemp from wikipedia:

"Industrial hemp has been tried for many uses, including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and fuel[1], but with very limited commercial success.[2] It is one of the fastest growing biomasses known,[3] and one of the earliest domesticated plants known.[4] It may be environmentally helpful, for example hemp requires fewer pesticides,[5] no herbicides,[6] controls erosion of the topsoil, and produces oxygen."


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Doodlebugsmom* 
Also, not really weed because it doesn't produce enough THC for a buzz, but you know the laws here in the states are messed up when industrial hemp is also illegal. It's obvious that the laws were not made because smoking MJ is harmful. A bit on the uses of industrial hemp from wikipedia:

"Industrial hemp has been tried for many uses, including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and fuel[1], but with very limited commercial success.[2] It is one of the fastest growing biomasses known,[3] and one of the earliest domesticated plants known.[4] It may be environmentally helpful, for example hemp requires fewer pesticides,[5] no herbicides,[6] controls erosion of the topsoil, and produces oxygen."

Think of all the companies that would loose money if hemp was used to it's fullest potential.

_That_ is why it's illegal.


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

I'm 25.. I can't think of anyone anywhere near my age who thinks it should be illegal. Most of the people of my parents generation don't think so either. Honestly, I'm still semi-surprised when some of dads friends come over and start smoking. DH & I don't smoke much anymore, but thats mostly due to him attempting to get a job and *EVERYONE* requiring a drug test pre-employment... and its just awkward for me to smoke around him, yk? And Dad is abstaining for the next 2 years, till he retires just out of fear of having some sort of a minor accident at work and getting drug tested (works for the state).


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
YOU don't NEED for me to do anything. If you want my answer, read my last post, above.

and I believe that some people can govern themsevles just fine. I can. I don't use drugs, smoke, eat horrible, drive dangerously, steal, cheat on my taxes, abuse anyone or anything, etc, etc, etc... and I still wouldn't even if there were no laws to tell me to or not to do so. Others however, need some mentoring.

I'm not focusing on the health aspect of pot at this point.... though everyone who has responded to what I've said seems to pinpoint that for some odd reason. Pot IS part of the reason so many cities and neighborhoods are declining. Think about the mentality and motivation of dealers.... not users. Users hurt those close to their hearts, dealers hurt those within a 5 mile radius.

OKay, but here's the crappy part: I actually DO need you to do that...actually NEED....because so long as people like you insist upon drawing lines where none exist, and eating up the "information" which supports your views without questioning it, we will all be in this same, crappy, sinking ship together.

Why....ON EARTH...would you blame crackheads, on CRACK. Crackheads are not CREATED BY crack. If that's the case....then, why aren't YOU a crack head?? Come on, you know where it is, you're in close proximity....by your logic, YOU should be a crack head....so, what's wrong??

I'll tell you. The things which separate you, from a person who throws their life away on crack, have nothing to do with proximity or how many drug dealers you know...can't you see that?

The War on Drugs...is a war on your mentality. It accomplishes so many things at once, that it really could be compared to a magic trick, or illusion...illusion is better, actually. See, the government CREATES the problem...then convinces you that the problem is GROWING which causes you to scream "something must be done, to stop this growing problem!"....then gives you the SOLUTION to the problem. Here's the thing...the problem they created, is not actually being solved....it's not SUPPOSED to be solved. What's the matter, with a gigantic portion of our society, living off the dole and as a result kept squashed down in an unending cycle of poverty and broken homes? Nothing, if you're a "person in charge". All of these people you're talking about, these little kids going in and out of the crack houses....who made their daddy a non-existent factor in their lives? Crack? Who made their mothers into addict? Not crack. Crack was the drug of choice...but not the cause to any of it. You can fight crack all you want, but until you fight the deep seated and looooong established culture that is guiding these peoples lives...I mean, you said you were a teacher, right? Do you KNOW the rates of desparity in the public school system, between the children who are living in these high poverty, mainly african american areas...and kid living in middle class, white america??? In some cases...70% or more. You're going to tell me, that THAT has nothing to do with these children having little to no chance, of the type of future you hope for, for your OWN children??? BS. Well, who runs the schoools around here.....ooohh,, riiiiight. All of these things are connected. You can fight crack, meth, etc...all you want. There is an element of all of this, which is not being addressed.....and it's not supposed to be. If you are holding your breath for your neighborhood to turn around...you need to stop, because it's not going to, because it's not supposed to. The folks in charge don't care about these crackheads...and the poor kids on their WAY to becoming crack heads just like they dont care about YOU. SO...okay, follow the rules, pay your taxes, all that other stuff you listed off as reasons why you "shouldn't have to live this way"...that's fine, but where's it getting you? Your city is overrun with crack heads...and crack (by way of MJ







) is the obvious culprit to you??? Well of course it is......but ask yourself where you got the idea! ASK YOURSELF! Because it doesn't even make sense?!

But, never the less, there you are. Screaming for a solution...and as long as the thugs keep coming in and rounding people up and sending them off to prison, you imagine that "all that could be done, is being done" - well, you're wrong. Incarceration does jack to help your neighborhood, lady. The War on Drugs, is a war on your wallet, mind and freedom. In other words...the same people who are handing you the bandaide, also gave you the paper cut....and you were looking right at them when they did it!!

I understand that you want to see the streets of your city cleaned up...but honey, the War on Drugs has been operating since the 80's.....how may decades before you decide that it's not working...then, reaserch the numbers which PROVE it's not working...then stumble on the numbers, outlining how much MONEY the government makes off this ridiculous lie...and start connecting the dots? The War on Drugs is not what it is supposed to be.

Stop looking at the crackheads...and start looking at the culture they come from...the culture which has been institutionally(sp?) created there over many many many years...then, start to realize that it's NOT THE DAMN CRACK! And it's CERTAINLY not the marijiuana....


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Think of all the companies that would loose money if hemp was used to it's fullest potential.

_That_ is why it's illegal.

EXACTLY!

I recommend The Emperor Wears No Clothes to anyone who is interested in learning about the real reasons it's illegal.


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)

Thats what my link was to! You can read several chapters there.















( Great minds think alike..lol)


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## rebecca03 (May 27, 2008)

MJ should be legal. I think if the war on drugs were to be taken seriously, it should be the war on meth. Meth is what is destroying communities. Have you ever come across a tweaker??? It's not a fun or pretty thing. I know someone who is a recovering alcoholic, and was absolutely horrible when he was drunk. He would lose his mind, act like an ass. Now, he doesn't drink (albeit for two beers every month), but he does smoke pot. Now, instead of acting horribly, he's chill. There are many people out there, that you wouldn't expect to smoke pot, successful people, those with doctorates or masters degrees. Most people I know don't really have a problem with smoking pot. Some think it's "bad" (like how they teach you in DARE), others think it's not for them, but is ok, and some think it's for "losers". For me, I'd rather be around someone that is stoned, than someone who is drunk, or on any other drug (cokeheads, crackheads, tweakers, etc). Oh, and some people do get lazy and turn into bad pot heads, but that had to be in their personality before they started smoking pot. Pot doesn't take over your life like crack or meth will. I don't understand why some people hate pot so much when there are better things to hate, like meth.

Pot also doesn't attribute to crime. Most car break ins and house break ins are by crackheads and tweakers. They NEED that next high, and will do nearly anything to get it. (I'm not saying potheads are angels, and don't contribute to any crimes whatsoever.)

And, to quote the lovely band 311, that I love:
"Mandatory sentence for a crime with no victim
When everyone knows jail terms should be picked in
Order of the pain that they cause
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law
Until you violate the rights of another
Respect the space of your sister and your brother
The war on drugs may be well intentioned
But it falls ------- flat when you stop and mention
The overcrowded prisons where a rapists gets paroled
To make room for a dude who has sold
A pound of weed to me that's a crime
Here's to good people doin time y'all"

ETA: Sorry if this is rambly....DD is in the waking-up stage of her nap....


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## mistymama (Oct 12, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Think of all the companies that would loose money if hemp was used to it's fullest potential.

_That_ is why it's illegal.


----------



## smeisnotapirate (Aug 24, 2007)

My neighbor is a pot dealer. He's great, and a church-going man. Watches our dog when we're away. We play board games at his house all the time. His (soon to be) wife is a Scrabble junkie.

Our neighborhoods aren't declining because of the pot dealers - they're declining because of the fragmentation of family structure and trust, creating gang action - totally unrelated to drugs. It's the gangs that get into drugs - not the drugs that create gangs.

MJ got me through my first trimester, when I was so sick I couldn't get out of bed. It's not legal in PA. I didn't have a prescription. It also helps me with clinical anxiety, and is safer for my nursing DS than prescription meds.

Our neighbor, DH, and I would NEVER think of switching to harder drugs. None of us smoke tobacco or would ever think of it. Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug - THEY are telling you that to scare you. Just logically, when weed is $50/quarter and crack is $175 for the same amount (I'm guessing here, but I know it's WAYYYY more), you're getting a different demographic. My DH went to his preppy school with crack dealers. Kids from affluent families who can afford it buy crack. It's a different world.

BTW. I'm 24, DH is 27, and our neighbors are also the same age.

It's going to happen, and in MY lifetime. It's just a matter of time - like gay marriage.


----------



## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mountaingirl79* 
Thats what my link was to! You can read several chapters there.















( Great minds think alike..lol)


----------



## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *smeisnotapirate* 
My neighbor is a pot dealer. He's great, and a church-going man. Watches our dog when we're away. We play board games at his house all the time. His (soon to be) wife is a Scrabble junkie.

*Our neighborhoods aren't declining because of the pot dealers - they're declining because of the fragmentation of family structure and trust, creating gang action - totally unrelated to drugs. It's the gangs that get into drugs - not the drugs that create gangs.*

MJ got me through my first trimester, when I was so sick I couldn't get out of bed. It's not legal in PA. I didn't have a prescription. It also helps me with clinical anxiety, and is safer for my nursing DS than prescription meds.

Our neighbor, DH, and I would NEVER think of switching to harder drugs. None of us smoke tobacco or would ever think of it. Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug - THEY are telling you that to scare you. Just logically, when weed is $50/quarter and crack is $175 for the same amount (I'm guessing here, but I know it's WAYYYY more), you're getting a different demographic. My DH went to his preppy school with crack dealers. Kids from affluent families who can afford it buy crack. It's a different world.

BTW. I'm 24, DH is 27, and our neighbors are also the same age.

It's going to happen, and in MY lifetime. It's just a matter of time - like gay marriage.

Yes...bolded = YESSSSSS! Thank you!


----------



## Alyantavid (Sep 10, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rebecca03* 
MJ should be legal. I think if the war on drugs were to be taken seriously, it should be the war on meth. Meth is what is destroying communities. Have you ever come across a tweaker??? It's not a fun or pretty thing. I know someone who is a recovering alcoholic, and was absolutely horrible when he was drunk. He would lose his mind, act like an ass. Now, he doesn't drink (albeit for two beers every month), but he does smoke pot. Now, instead of acting horribly, he's chill. There are many people out there, that you wouldn't expect to smoke pot, successful people, those with doctorates or masters degrees. Most people I know don't really have a problem with smoking pot. Some think it's "bad" (like how they teach you in DARE), others think it's not for them, but is ok, and some think it's for "losers". For me, I'd rather be around someone that is stoned, than someone who is drunk, or on any other drug (cokeheads, crackheads, tweakers, etc). Oh, and some people do get lazy and turn into bad pot heads, but that had to be in their personality before they started smoking pot. Pot doesn't take over your life like crack or meth will. I don't understand why some people hate pot so much when there are better things to hate, like meth.

Pot also doesn't attribute to crime. Most car break ins and house break ins are by crackheads and tweakers. They NEED that next high, and will do nearly anything to get it. (I'm not saying potheads are angels, and don't contribute to any crimes whatsoever.)

And, to quote the lovely band 311, that I love:
"Mandatory sentence for a crime with no victim
When everyone knows jail terms should be picked in
Order of the pain that they cause
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law
Until you violate the rights of another
Respect the space of your sister and your brother
The war on drugs may be well intentioned
But it falls ------- flat when you stop and mention
The overcrowded prisons where a rapists gets paroled
To make room for a dude who has sold
A pound of weed to me that's a crime
Here's to good people doin time y'all"

ETA: Sorry if this is rambly....DD is in the waking-up stage of her nap....

Exactly! I totally agree with your whole post.

And love 311, btw.


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## chirp (Feb 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
I think pot should be legal. I'm in BC, 91% of my province thinks pot should be legal.

I have smoked pot and still do on occasion. I have used other drugs in my time, but that was more of misspent youth then anything else.

I have never heard of a hard core drug dealer who sells _only_ pot. The only people I know who sell only pot, sell it to friends who they know smoke it. They do that because they are the one who actually grows it. These people wouldn't really be affected if pot were legalized because they have other jobs and don't rely on drugs to make money. The ones that do, already sell meth and 101 other drugs.


yup.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *emmalizz* 
I'm 20 and think weed should stay illegal because of the mental and health problems it can cause.

It can cause those whether it's legal or not. It's very unlikely that I'd have survived high school without weed, so I don't tend to focus much on the mental problems it can cause. It kept my depression from overwhelming me...

I'm 41. I don't think I know anybody who supports mj being illegal. I know lots who think it should be legalized, and quite a few who don't really care, either way. I don't know any who actually believe it should be illegal. That includes quite a few fairly conservative senior citizens.

I don't use pot. I never will again, and I don't want it in my life, to be honest. While my ex's problems actually weren't about pot, his actions and attitudes have caused me to have strong negative associations with pot use. But, that's for me. I can choose not to have it in my life, without deciding that nobody should be allowed to have it in theirs. I think that the police and courts have far more important things to use their resources on.


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## Sasharna (Nov 19, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *smeisnotapirate* 
Our neighborhoods aren't declining because of the pot dealers - they're declining because of the fragmentation of family structure and trust, creating gang action - totally unrelated to drugs. It's the gangs that get into drugs - not the drugs that create gangs.

This is how I believe as well.

I'm still a bit of a fence sitter though. I've never smoked pot myself but I've been close to many people who have. The vast majority seem to indulge in marijuana as a way to escape psychological pain. I don't know enough to say whether this holds true in larger populations. I have never hung out with happy-go-lucky partying types of people, for instance... and for all I know the majority of marijuana users could be of that variety and it doesn't hurt them at all. I have known casual users, but they have still been among the saddest people I've known.

Anyhow... I guess what I'm wondering is if marijuana may damage people (especially young adults and teens) by offering a way to escape reality and thus removing the necessity to really think through their problems and figure out how to fix things. I feel like my friends who have used pot have also remained in a very dysfunctional state of mind until they _stopped_. I know corrolation doesn't mean that one thing caused the other, but it's hard for me to brush it off, you know? The people I know who haven't stopped after a number of years have ended up in bad places... suicide, more serious criminal behavior, development of narcissistic/sociopathic traits, etc.

I'm not blaming pot. I recognize that their pain steered them toward it in the first place. And maybe it's dxm I should be focusing on .. as inevitably it seems the people I've loved who get into pot start to combine the two. But on the whole _my experience_ has been that people who cope with nearly identical circumstances/traumas without drugs tend to end up better off.

So it does scare me to think of my beloved children getting caught up in something like this. Alcohol scares me, too, but I just haven't known as many people struggle with it. I can't stand the thought of my kids drowning their normal teenage troubles in some kind of substance abuse, making things worse for themselves. Like I said, I've never smoked so I don't know how it feels. I only know what I've observed others doing.

If someone can address some of these feelings of mine compassionately, without flames, I'd really appreciate it. Oh, and I'm 26.


----------



## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
I know a lot of people who do not support smoking MJ....or drinking, or who hate cigarettes....and I respect that, fully and wholeheartedly, because I believe that everyone should have the right to decide that something is not for them.

What scares me to death, is the number of people who believe that the Federal Government should have the right to decide FOR you, or me, what it safe, sane and should be legal. I say, give it to the states to decide....and even THAT leaves me feeling creeped out.

People give too much athourity to the government..."But Marijuana Cigarettes are BAD!" some would cry out..."They have to keep it illegal, for the greater good!" well...to those of you who, despite ongoing and emerging research to the contrary, would believe this, I as ask you this:

Is it for the "greater good" that men and women who are homosexual, do not have the right to marry? Because your government has decided that, for the "greater good" it must remain illegal for two people who love and want to honor and commit themselves to each other, cannot in matrimony, because they are of the same sex.

Is it for the greater good, that most people in America have no idea that all of the "aide" we send to nations around the world who are trying to get on their feet and join the global market place...are actually receiving LOANS from our centralized banks, which the peoples in those countries then spend the rest of their lives working to "pay off", by standing on their feet for up to 12, 16, 24 or sometimes 36 hours, with only minimal breaks, sewing boxers, shirts, jeans, etc...for PENNIES a day....so that we can walk into GAP and buy a "cute tee" for a few dollars? Because your government, has allowed trade agreements which CRUSH foreign peoples in the bonds of modern day slavery....for what, what greater good?

Is it for the greater good, that people, because of where they come from and what they look like, can be swept off the street and away to a secret prison, for a inditermenant period of time, with no charges filed....and no word to their families of what's happened? Because your government thinks so.

Look at the rights, which in the last ten years have been stripped of you....look at your waterways in this gorgeous coutry of ours, which have not been valued and protected, look. LOOK LOOK. Look all around, at this "Greater Good" that your government so valiently fights for....and begin to see it for what it is.

The greater good is not you and it is not me. It is not us, for us, determined by us. The greater good, is the almighty dollar, my friends, and I assure you, you do not have enough dollars to matter to the people who make the real rules we're all expected to live by. If you require further evidence, that your government does not really stand for liberty, protection and the greater, common good....you need only look at the thousand upon thousands of pieces of NEW legislation passed each year in this country....look around the world at the way we treat people, at the way big pharma is allowed to treat the insides of our bodies...all the while saying "no, it's safe it's safe - see, the FDA even says so"....look at the allowances made by our government, to big business, so they can smog up our air....put toxins in your water and DESTROY what's left, of the nutrients of the fruits/veggies/foods you buy in the store.....all the while telling you, that the real killers are muslim extremists and marijuana cigarettes. You want to talk dangerous...when's the last time you ate a bell pepper, which wasn't genetically mutated? Do you even know?

Your government does not stand for you and does not fight for you. You must stand for yourself and fight for yourself. "They" and their corrupt sense of what is in the interest of the "greater good"....will not save you. Your brain and willingness to use it....to ask questions, be skeptical, etc...that is what will save you.

Believe what you will, you *are perfectly sane and within your rights to think that MJ is trash*....but be wary of Federal regulation...always, in any case and under any circumstances. There are many threats out there....the least of which, I can assure you, is MJ. Do you drink public tap water, or even bottled water, as your primary water source?? You want to talk about something which causes physical and mental health problems....do a little research on flouride, my friend. NOT illegal....VERY dangerous. I wonder why.....

I would ask you to marry me if it were legal lol I love this post!


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
I think pot should be legal. I'm in BC, 91% of my province thinks pot should be legal.

I actually thought it might be higher than that.

Quote:

I have smoked pot and still do on occasion. I have used other drugs in my time, but that was more of misspent youth then anything else.
This...except that I don't smoke pot, anymore.

Quote:

I have never heard of a hard core drug dealer who sells _only_ pot. The only people I know who sell only pot, sell it to friends who they know smoke it. They do that because they are the one who actually grows it. These people wouldn't really be affected if pot were legalized because they have other jobs and don't rely on drugs to make money. The ones that do, already sell meth and 101 other drugs.
And, also this. As much as my ex's pot habit drove me crazy, I quite liked his dealer. We hung out sometimes. When I was pregnant with ds1, my ex's dealer was always the one who insisted they smoke (cigarettes or pot) away from me, and then away from ds1. He bought us a wedding gift, and was part of our wedding party. He was a really cool guy. He was also a heavy pot smoker, and he found a contact who would sell him large amounts. So, he became the dealer for most of his friends who smoked. He was definitely a criminal, in the sense that he was breaking the law - but he wasn't a gangster type, yk? He was actually one of the least violent people I've ever known, and he wouldn't even dream of approaching anyone to sell to them...the existing market found him.


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## rhubarbarin (May 2, 2008)

I don't use any substances myself (I did smoke a lot of pot for about a year a few years back, but being high/drunk just doesn't do much for me) but I think they should all be legal and regulated. I don't know anyone personally in my age group (I am 24) who thinks weed is a big bad scary thing or that people deserve jail time for it.. and most older people I know think it's a bit ridiculous as well.

As for the whole dealer issue.. lol. To people who think people dealing pot are some kind of blight on society, it's just not true for probably 80% of cases. Of course shady people who deal and use hard drugs sell weed too, and they are often bad sorts. But I'm fairly certain everyone knows quite a few upstanding citizens who happen to deal weed, we just don't know it! I know some who have had legal troubles from selling, they are all great people and it sucks that they have to be punished and see negative repercussions in their life from something so essentially harmless.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Storm Bride* 
I actually thought it might be higher than that.


It's 98% if we're talking about medicinal MJ.

It's still technically illigal though... Go figure.









The "dealer" (quotes because he's really just a friend) is the sweetest, nicest human being ever to set foot in my life. He's more of a pacifist then I am too.


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## MamaLaurie (Jul 2, 2009)

I think it should be treated the same as alcohol. You cant smoke and drive.You gotta be 21 to buy, that kinda stuff.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaLaurie* 
I think it should be treated the same as alcohol. You cant smoke and drive.You gotta be 21 to buy, that kinda stuff.

19 in most of Canada, 18 in Alberta.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
I know a few politicians who speak out about it from the heart...and who aren't ashamed to say that they think it's time to start re-evaluating our true goals in keeping it illegal, especially for medicinal purposes

Yeah, and it's to compete with those politicians that the few politicians I've seen speak out against MJ get all "Oh noes t3h evil drug!!!!!111!!bbq111" about it. It's soooo obvious that they're overdoing things because they want their opposition to look bad.

"He wants to legalize the devil's weed! Next he will eat your children!!" is sort of the implied effect.


----------



## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
19 in most of Canada, 18 in Alberta.









Quite sensible people, Canadians.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

I hate the "gate way drug" argument.

I love the line in halfbaked when they are like

Maryjane: Marijuana is a gateway drug. It leads to other things.

Thurgood: Yeah, mostly junk food!








:

I will admit I smoked a LOT of pot in college. I also did other stuff. LSD, shrooms, opium, salvia, DXM, something called DPT (or was it DTP?), ecstasy, ketamine... Did I try these other things because I smoke pot? Not exactly. I did these other things because I was young and it was available and young people like to try crazy stuff like that. I never branched into harder stuff like heroin or meth or cocaine. (I was offered cocaine once but didn't try it)

Most of these other things in my experience are self limiting. People don't really develop acid habits. Ecstasy, shrooms... they burn you out big time. I don't seek out ANY of them as a "responsible" adult. I have zero desire to ever use them again.

I also drank in college. Some people smoked cigarettes. Both of these are drugs and no one calls them gateway drugs. There's just something about pot that is supposed to make it lead to worse things. But I think it's crap.

All my pot head friends in college, most are now just boring adults enjoying a drink now and then... some still smoke now and then... 2 have rolled a few times since then... but we're just boring people, more or less responsible, more than making ends meet, doing just fine.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

The only real reason I can think of for not legalizing pot is that it provides television, movies, books, and music with a fairly innocuous substance for the characters to misbehave with and need to hide for plot purposes.

And then we'd miss out on great lines like from Doll House:
Carrots! Medicinal carrots! Personal use medicinal carrots that were here when I moved in! I'm holding it for a friend!


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
I hate the "gate way drug" argument.

I love the line in halfbaked when they are like

Maryjane: Marijuana is a gateway drug. It leads to other things.

Thurgood: Yeah, mostly junk food!








:

Amen!

Now... Where did I put those cheese doodles.


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## kriket (Nov 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
All my pot head friends in college, most are now just boring adults enjoying a drink now and then... some still smoke now and then... 2 have rolled a few times since then... but we're just boring people, more or less responsible, more than making ends meet, doing just fine.









sounds like thee story of my life! minus the rolling, i can't take any decongestants without tripping!

i agree mj being illegal is hogwash. as soon as it legal i'm growing it myself.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mal85* 
I
Also, if it's legal, it can be regulated. There would be an age limit, much like cigarettes and alcohol. There would be laws about not smoking and driving. You would know what you were getting was pure (or at least have a package to tell you what's been added to it). There would be no fear of it being laced with anything, etc.

Like how tobacco products are pure tobacco?

Y'know that's another argument against legalization, right there. As soon as it's an industry there's a chance that all the tar and formaldehyde and junk that they put in cigarettes would go into to commercially available pot.

ETA: I'm joking! And getting in a dig at the tobacco industry as well.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
Like how tobacco products are pure tobacco?

Y'know that's another argument against legalization, right there. As soon as it's an industry there's a chance that all the tar and formaldehyde and junk that they put in cigarettes would go into to commercially available pot.

Legal tobacco products are more pure then illegal tobacco products.

Some hard core dealers lace their pot with other drugs to hook the customer. Keep them coming back. I'm pretty sure that commericial pot companies won't be allowed to lace their product with crack.


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## Snuzzmom (Feb 6, 2008)

I was an acting major in college and worked very closely with the same group of people for four years. During that time, several of the guys became heavy pot smokers and I watched their motivation, energy and general lack of concern for their work decline steadily from Freshman to Senior year. I've known people so addicted that they would without question rather sit home and smoke and do nothing else, night after night, over any other option. I am not a fan of pot. This is MY personal experience with it and I'm not going to debate whether the above actually happened or not.

That said: Sure, legalize it. Even given the above, I don't think MJ is worse than tobacco or alcohol, and both of those are legal; seems hypocritical to allow those to items to be legal and not MJ. At least if MJ was legal we could tax it and give the money to schools, or something. Given the literal non-existant state of the California budget, I think all avenues for income should be explored. This seems like a given to me.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
People give too much athourity to the government..."But Marijuana Cigarettes are BAD!" some would cry out..."They have to keep it illegal, for the greater good!" well...to those of you who, despite ongoing and emerging research to the contrary, would believe this, I as ask you this:

Is it for the "greater good" that .....

And in the same lines:
Was it for the "greater good" that slavery remained legal for so long? That women didn't get the vote until the '20s?


----------



## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
I also drank in college. Some people smoked cigarettes. Both of these are drugs and no one calls them gateway drugs. There's just something about pot that is supposed to make it lead to worse things.

I think the only "gateway" aspect to pot is the fact that it's illegal. If you want to get it, you have to deal with _someone_ and that someone is frequently (not always, by any means) also a source for _other_ illegal drugs. I've definitely seen people become exposed to other drugs through their acquisition of pot...but that doesn't mean they've all done those other drugs, and it certainly doesn't mean that the actual drug is a gateway.


----------



## kriket (Nov 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Legal tobacco products are more pure then illegal tobacco products.

Some hard core dealers lace their pot with other drugs to hook the customer. Keep them coming back. I'm pretty sure that commercial pot companies won't be allowed to lace their product with crack.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *Storm Bride* 
If you want to get it, you have to deal with _someone_ and that someone is frequently (not always, by any means) also a source for _other_ illegal drugs.

it cracks me up when people say this, where the heck are you getting your pot?







I know several 'drug dealers' and only one is actually a drug dealer, and I don't associate with him because he's a UAV.

If they do ever have commercial pot it will probably be horrible, like beasters (sorry Canada, all the pot that makes it down here is icky) My 'pot ethics' won't allow me to buy anything that has been bricked. Its probably Mexican, and probably has blood 'on' it.









Buy local.... even your pot.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Course all the pot that makes it down there is yucky.

You honestly thing we'd send out best stuff south? Everyone knows that we send our crap pot south and keep the best for ourselves.


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## TheBluebird (Dec 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
I have never heard of a hard core drug dealer who sells _only_ pot. The only people I know who sell only pot, sell it to friends who they know smoke it. They do that because they are the one who actually grows it. These people wouldn't really be affected if pot were legalized because they have other jobs and don't rely on drugs to make money. The ones that do, already sell meth and 101 other drugs.

You make a VERY good point. QFT.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
"He wants to legalize the devil's weed! Next he will eat your children!!" is sort of the implied effect.


----------



## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kriket* 
it cracks me up when people say this, where the heck are you getting your pot?







I know several 'drug dealers' and only one is actually a drug dealer, and I don't associate with him because he's a UAV.

What does this mean?? This is the second time I have seen UAV used in a context where "user agreement violation" doesn't make sense.

Is this just some new way to say jackass that I don't know about? Like he violates the agreement of being a member of the human race?


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
What does this mean?? This is the second time I have seen UAV used in a context where "user agreement violation" doesn't make sense.

Is this just some new way to say jackass that I don't know about? Like he violates the agreement of being a member of the human race?









Saying someone is a UAV means they are wanting to call them something else but can't because it would be a UAV.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kriket* 
it cracks me up when people say this, where the heck are you getting your pot?







I know several 'drug dealers' and only one is actually a drug dealer, and I don't associate with him because he's a UAV.

I don't get "my" pot, anywhere....I haven't smoked it regularly in over 20 years, and not at all in...15?

I was referring solely to the "gateway drug" argument. IME, this argument tends to be more about young people than older pot smokers...and young people, by and large, aren't going looking for a local, ethical source. They're buying from whoever has it. The dealer most of my friends used in high school sold pot, acid and amphetamines. Another one I knew later sold pot, acid, amphetamines and cocaine. These are the people the average young user trips over when they're first looking to score, and that, imo, is the only validity the "gateway drug" theory has ever had.


----------



## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
Yeah, and it's to compete with those politicians that the few politicians I've seen speak out against MJ get all "Oh noes t3h evil drug!!!!!111!!bbq111" about it. It's soooo obvious that they're overdoing things because they want their opposition to look bad.

*"He wants to legalize the devil's weed! Next he will eat your children!!"* is sort of the implied effect.

























Juuuuust about wet my pants on that one, HILARIOUS...


----------



## munkeesmama (May 17, 2005)

I know a few who feel that weed is the devil and it shouldn't be legalized, They're my age between 24-26 (i'm 25) I think is should be legalized and taxed just like beer and cigarettes.


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## Aubergine68 (Jan 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 

I also drank in college. Some people smoked cigarettes. Both of these are drugs and no one calls them gateway drugs. There's just something about pot that is supposed to make it lead to worse things. But I think it's crap.

I certainly consider tobacco and alcohol gateway drugs, when used by underage users. I think that anything you have to break a law to use makes it easier to break more laws and move to harder drugs. Doesn't mean that everyone who drinks or smokes will do it, but I've never met a user of hard-core drugs who didn't drink or smoke.

Gen X, btw.

I am strongly pro-hemp, but since my father died ten years ago of tobacco-smoking-related causes, smoking of any kind repulses and emotionally upsets me. You won't find me in the same room as anyone smoking tobacco or pot or marching in any "legalize pot" rallies for this reason.

I would support legalization/decriminalization/deregulation initiatives if it came to a vote, though, because I think that legalizing pot throughout North America would make it easier for farmers to grow hemp and produce hemp products for me to buy.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *olina009* 
Okay so if it's not clear by "our" generation I mean generation Y and to give that some perspective I'm 22 at the moment, though I imagine generation X is relatively similar in beliefs and political leanings.

But I never talk to anyone my age or even a bit older who supports the continued illegalization of marijuana; most of them when pressed can articulate the basic pragmatic issues, which is amazing given our peers' ability to speak intelligently about any issue whatsoever. I know people who are pro-life, against gay marriage, I even know a couple of creationists, but I don't know a single person my age who believes we should continue throwing potheads and dealers in jail.

Do you guys know anyone in their early to mid twenties who doesn't support the legalization of marijuana?

I am 38.. I have no idea what generation I am considered to be.. and I believe pot should be legalized. I always have.


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## SpiderMum (Sep 13, 2008)

I am 24 and definitely think it should be legal. So does my husband who is almost 28. I know a lot of smokers in a variety of ages, obviously they're for legalization. Now my family is another story...they don't understand weed so they are afraid of it. I think if they knew the facts they'd rethink their position. Of course my parents are in their 60's and my siblings are in their 40's.

I think drinking is a huge problem, not smoking pot. You also don't HAVE to smoke it...you can get the THC in other ways that doesn't involve harming your lungs.


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## LiLStar (Jul 7, 2006)

Didn't read the whole thread. I'm 22, and around the time I was 18 or so, started realizing, holy CRAP did DARE ever brainwash me! Taught by such a nice police officer who I even remember was the same one who came to my preschool when I was 4 to teach about safety. I graduated DARE with the belief that MJ was BAD... very very BAD and that not many people used it. That only gang members and creepy BAD people used it. My profile of someone who used marijuana was the kind of person who probably also regularly shoplifts, carries a gun under their clothes, and throws rocks at puppies.

Then I got out into the real world and learned that lots of people, my friends, normal people who aren't menaces to society, smoke marijuana! Then I gradually learned that marijuana is.. an herb. And can accomplish the same thing pharmaceuticals can but with less side effects. Its dizzying, to unlearn what was pounded into me since childhood.


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## Keria (Sep 27, 2008)

Honestly I don't care one way or another, I wouldn't spend a second of my life trying to make it legal/illegal, what I do care is people doing it in public places, I hate going to a concert or a park and having to smell weed. I don't really know about secondayr smoke thing with pot but your body your business if I don't smoke it why should I smell it. I don't mind the public use of special brownies though


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## weliveintheforest (Sep 3, 2005)

I'm sure I know someone who doesn't think it should be legalized, but they've never said it to me. It's common here in BC to hear people of all ages say that MJ should not be illegal, even if they have quite different opinons on the subject.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
did you read anything i wrote about how legalizing pot brings drugs like meth into our communities??

I just don't understand this reasoning. Your communities are already full of meth. Pot has been illegal for *decades.* Long before the meth of today was around. Pot had nothing to do with it. I also don't believe pot is a gateway drug. I think "they" just want you to believe that for their own reasons. You have been brainwashed into believing their propaganda.







now you think the way they want you too!


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LiLStar* 
Didn't read the whole thread. I'm 22, and around the time I was 18 or so, started realizing, holy CRAP did DARE ever brainwash me! Taught by such a nice police officer who I even remember was the same one who came to my preschool when I was 4 to teach about safety. I graduated DARE with the belief that MJ was BAD... very very BAD and that not many people used it. That only gang members and creepy BAD people used it. My profile of someone who used marijuana was the kind of person who probably also regularly shoplifts, carries a gun under their clothes, and throws rocks at puppies.

Then I got out into the real world and learned that lots of people, my friends, normal people who aren't menaces to society, smoke marijuana! Then I gradually learned that marijuana is.. an herb. And can accomplish the same thing pharmaceuticals can but with less side effects. Its dizzying, to unlearn what was pounded into me since childhood.

It took me about 14 years. Thankfully I used to hang out with musicians upto and including college aged, so I learned it was a load of bunk early on.


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## LionTigerBear (Jan 13, 2006)

I haven't read the whole thread, but FWIW, my thoughts on weed are, that it should not be illegal-- yet it _does_ bother me. Sorry, it does. So do cigarettes. So does liquor. I can't stand them, personally. But that doesn't mean they should be illegal. (Just because something should be legal doesn't make it okay, in my mind, though.) I would much prefer, however, if there weren't the whole underground/black market/criminal aspect along with it-- which is what is caused by them being illegal. Oh, and if they were legal, they should absolutely be illegal when around kids (all of them, cigarettes, weed, liquor). IMO.

ETA: I have had friends who smoke weed (and I have many friends and family members who smoke cigarettes and drink liquor) and I do not judge them, personally. FWIW. Hate the weed, not the smoker.









ETA again: I'm 26, FWIW.


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## purplepaperclip (May 19, 2008)

Legalize it! I'm 30.


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## averlee (Apr 10, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bluegoat* 
It is interesting to see the changes in tobacco smoking laws, and think about comparing them to mj. Tobacco smoking is becoming more and more restricted, it's not allowed in most public places, workplaces, sometimes in cars that have kids in them. It wouldn't be surprising to see a move to banning it in homes with kids present.

This issue gets me steamed, because if as a nation we were interested in passing laws that protect kids, the US would have laws granting children the right not to be assaulted by adults. You can't smoke in your car but you can drive down the street smacking your kid upside the head all you want.


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## ~Boudicca~ (Sep 7, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *suebee79* 
Legalize it! I'm 30.

Yup! Me too. And I agree.














:


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## EFmom (Mar 16, 2002)

I'm 50 and pretty much everybody I know my age thinks it should be legalized, taxed and regulated. I tend to run in a fairly liberal circle of academics.

I don't use it and probably wouldn't use it if it were legal, unless I needed it medicinally. In my youth, I did a lot of things I wouldn't necessarily do now. I would discourage my kids from using it. I also don't drink because I have too many alcoholics in the extended family tree. But that's me. I can't think of a single valid reason why it should be illegal.

The government could raise a bundle off taxing it. Some people could grow their own, but I don't think that's any different than the fact that some people homebrew. Most would just pay the tax on the regulated product. We'd save a fortune in the criminal justice system by not squandering all sorts of resources on something so relatively harmless.

I keep my kids out of the DARE program because I don't want their heads filled with untruths about MJ.


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## itsrtimedownhere (Jul 18, 2008)

26 y.o. non-smoker vote for legalizing


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## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

I am 28 and I don't think any drug should be legalized. I believe we have plenty of dangerous substances people can use legally already. I think that alcohol and tobacco may be a bigger problem than weed and other drugs, but that is probably because they are legal and it is socially acceptable to use them. I worry about what would happen if other drugs are made legal for use and more accessible and acceptable.

I do think that the government should be focusing more on prevention and rehabilitation than on jailing people for little crimes that only affect the person doing them. I do think we need to do something like jail to protect ourselves and our children from people who become intoxicated or drugged and go out and hurt others, neglect their children, or rob people and who are unwilling change.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *One_Girl* 
I am 28 and I don't think any drug should be legalized.

Pot is not a drug.. it's an herb. There lies the problem. People seem to misunderstand what it really is.

So in that case, lets make chamomile illegal, and peppermint, and nutmeg (it's a hallucinogenic if you take enough!)

In my opinion drugs are chemical concoctions cooked up in labs and do not grow naturally, (and cigarettes don't count cause even though tobacco is natural, it is no longer natural by the time it hits the shelves.)

So lets make all drugs illegal.. even prescription ones!


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## Cherry Alive (Mar 11, 2007)

I'm 35, never smoked it, but got plenty if 2nd hand smoke from my parents going to parties, and smoking it at home. I'm on the fence about legalization. A lot of my friends who did it for decades quit and won't touch it. I've noticed it causes major memory issues for some ppl. I know it does a lot of good, too..but I wonder if legalizing it will make it too easy for under age smokers to get.


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## ancoda (Oct 17, 2005)

I am 29, so whatever generation that puts me in. I really have mixed feelings about this subject. I think if it is used responsibly mj really is better then alcohol and probably cigarettes that are legal. My problem is that I have not known very many responsible users. I had several friends in high school that went from decent "C" students to failing out and/or dropping out within about a year of starting mj.
I do think it should be more availible for medical use, especially for all forms of pain.

I also called up my sisters to ask there opinions after first reading this, mainly because they better fit into generation Y and all three age 25, 21, and 19 want it to stay illegal, and would gladdly vote to make alcohol, cigarettes and most fast food illegal too.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cherry Alive* 
I know it does a lot of good, too..but I wonder if legalizing it will make it too easy for under age smokers to get.

You think it;'s hard for them to get it now?


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## ErinBird (Dec 5, 2005)

I'm in my mid-20s and don't support legalization of marijuana, though I do support its decriminalization.


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## inkslinger (May 29, 2009)

Didn't read the entire thread. I'm 28, used to smoke it but haven't for years. I think it should be legalized and so do most of my peers.


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## tallulahma (Jun 16, 2006)

28- non smoker voting for legalization









I know so many military men that smoke sage.... which is also a hallucinatory drug. lol

the lengths people go to.

and marijuana need not be smoked to be effective.... its fat soluble so you can put it in butter and use the butter to bake and cook.... I mean.. so Ive heard.


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## DragonflyBlue (Oct 21, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FondestBianca* 
YOU don't NEED for me to do anything. If you want my answer, read my last post, above.

and I believe that some people can govern themsevles just fine. I can. I don't use drugs, smoke, eat horrible, drive dangerously, steal, cheat on my taxes, abuse anyone or anything, etc, etc, etc... and I still wouldn't even if there were no laws to tell me to or not to do so. Others however, need some mentoring.

I'm not focusing on the health aspect of pot at this point.... though everyone who has responded to what I've said seems to pinpoint that for some odd reason. Pot IS part of the reason so many cities and neighborhoods are declining. Think about the mentality and motivation of dealers.... not users. Users hurt those close to their hearts, dealers hurt those within a 5 mile radius.


*sigh*

My dearest neighbors are pot smokers.

They were the biggest help to my family when my dd passed away. They've been wonderful about being active in my kids lives to try and bridge the gap her death left.

They have pets who are spoiled rotten and treated better than most people treat their human kids. Grandkids who are loved and cherished.

They have the most awesome yard in the neighborhood.

Their house is well kept and decorated nicely.

They both hold down full time jobs and do volunteer work.

They have a band and play several times a month. They even played at no charge when my son got married.

Yeah.... those evil pot smokers are tearing my neighborhood apart....


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## TheBluebird (Dec 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cherry Alive* 
..but I wonder if legalizing it will make it too easy for under age smokers to get.

It would make it harder to get unless they're willing to grow their own. At least I think so.

It's FAR easier for my 18 year old sister to get weed than it is alcohol. Getting alcohol is very difficult unless you know an overage person willing to risk buying it for you. (Not me, sorry sis







) But she can get weed with one text message, easy peasy. If she had to buy it at the store, she'd have a harder time getting it.


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## flower01 (Aug 1, 2007)

I'm 29. Haven't read all posts...way too many. But, I definitely do not support the use of marijuana. Should it be illegal? I have no idea. TBH, this is an issue that has never directly affected me, and I have no opinion because I really don't know anything about it. I know I don't want me kids to smoke pot...and I'd prefer if their friends didn't either. Will I be protesting either way? No. There are much more important issues to me. But, maybe if my daughter becomes a pothead I'll think differently. On the one hand...I do not want people smoking marijuana around me...just like I don't want tobacco smoke around me. So I wouldn't want it legalized to the point that people are smoking it everywhere with no regard for non-smokers. Honestly, I can't stand smokers...and of all the people that I look up to and hope to gain wisdom from...none of them smoke weed.


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## ananas (Jun 6, 2006)

I am all for legalizing it, but also preserving it as it is NOW. The government getting their hands on it scares me a bit.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TheBluebird* 
It's FAR easier for my 18 year old sister to get weed than it is alcohol. Getting alcohol is very difficult unless you know an overage person willing to risk buying it for you.

Exactly. Weed is everywhere...it's extremely easy for anyone to get it, whether they're senior citizens, college students, or 12 year olds. It would actually be harder for young kids to access if it was illegal, because the government would not just legalize it for everyone and make it that easily available.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flower01* 
TBH, this is an issue that has never directly affected me, and I have no opinion because I really don't know anything about it. I know I don't want me kids to smoke pot...and I'd prefer if their friends didn't either.

I'm a little confused by this...you say you know nothing about it, and then state that you don't want your kids to use it, or even their friends...but why? How do you know it's that bad if you've never looked into it? Would you have a problem if they became regular smokers, or drank frequently, as adults, or only if they started smoking weed?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flower01* 
and of all the people that I look up to and hope to gain wisdom from...none of them smoke weed.

How do you know, for sure? Many, many people keep it under wraps for years, because of the stigma associated to weed in our society. Many of the people we meet on a daily basis, including doctors, professionals, people we pass on the street...are frequent smokers and no one ever knows.


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## frontierpsych (Jun 11, 2006)

I believe pot should be legal, if not for recreational use then at least for medicinal. My husband has MS, which is one of the many diseases that marijuana can treat.
Even if it were legal, I don't see myself being an avid user. I might use it occasionally in lieu of alcohol, because I like the feeling better. But as far as that goes I never have more than a few drinks at once and when I did used to smoke pot I was never the "smoke till you pass out" type anyway.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ancoda* 
I am 29, so whatever generation that puts me in. I really have mixed feelings about this subject. I think if it is used responsibly mj really is better then alcohol and probably cigarettes that are legal. My problem is that I have not known very many responsible users. I had several friends in high school that went from decent "C" students to failing out and/or dropping out within about a year of starting mj.

I've seen stuff like that happen. OTOH, I went from the honour roll to barely passing (and failed Social Studies) within a year of starting to smoke pot, too. It had nothing to do with the pot. It had everything to do with the extreme depression I was experiencing...which was the _reason_ I was smoking the pot.

And, honestly...I've known some serious perma-fries...including my ex-husband. I've known at least 10 times as many people who smoke it without any negative effects on their lives...from the couple who split a joint every night after work (just like some people have 1-2 beer) to the woman who buys a couple of grams twice a year. I suspect that I know other people who smoke and I have no idea that they do. I know one of my neighbours does, because I smell it outside sometimes...but I'm not sure which neighbour it is.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cherry Alive* 
..but I wonder if legalizing it will make it too easy for under age smokers to get.

When I was 14, I knew at least a dozen different people I could get weed from. I'm 41 now, and I have no clue where I'd go if I wanted some. My son doesn't smoke it, but I'd be willing to bet he knows where to get it if he wants it.


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## Tigerchild (Dec 2, 2001)

I was far less tolerant of drug use (including tobacco and alcohol) as a teen and young twentysomething as I am now. I think it was because a lot of the people that I personally knew that imbibed went way over the top, and I saw them engaging in a lot of other dangerous activities alongside it.

But the folks I knew in my teens/college years who did it primarily did it out of boredom, because we always lived in the sticks and there was 'nothing else to do', or to self-medicate.

I support decriminalization of MJ, but I don't think it should be uncontrolled, I think it should be treated like any other legal recreational drug. But now that I have seen folks who use it more as a recreational thing rather than going over the top or self-medicating, I have more of an understanding as to how/why some folks just enjoy it as a relaxing thing now and then or can use it medicinally.

I didn't really get why anyone would want to drink alcohol for a long time either, since my primary experience with that was pulling my binge drinking friends out of their own vomit and urine and having to comb the sidewalks/bushes for binge drinking alcoholic roommates who didn't come home when they said they would (that was my cue to start looking for them because they were passed out somewhere). Once I met different people as responsible adults who enjoyed the taste, or did it as a mild social thing--well, that was different, and now I see that side of the argument.


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## jlovesl (Dec 19, 2008)

Wow how nice to see a younger person with the same thoughts as me. I think it should be illegal. I don't care what anyone says, it is just like alcohol it can cloud judgement and reaction times. I would hate to see someone in an accident that got seriously hurt then have to tell the people of that loved one that they were hit by someone who was doing MJ. Then on top of it all told" sorry nothing we can do because MJ is legal". Besides IT STINKS and who wants to smell that stuff around them every where you go. YUCK....But I come from a circle of people and a business where we are all randomly drug tested for safety reasons. And I feel NO sorrow for those who get caught and lose their jobs. Better their jobs then someones life.


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## Tigerchild (Dec 2, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jlovesl* 
I don't care what anyone says, it is just like alcohol it can cloud judgement and reaction times. I would hate to see someone in an accident that got seriously hurt then have to tell the people of that loved one that they were hit by someone who was doing MJ. Then on top of it all told" sorry nothing we can do because MJ is legal".

Yes, but that wouldn't happen. Alcohol is legal, and if you are impaired and hurt someone, you get a more severe sentance that in many cases is mandatory--whereas if it truly was an accident with no impairment you might not receive any punishment at all (except for paying liability).

Why would you think that MJ would be enforced differently than other legal recreational drugs?


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jlovesl* 
Wow how nice to see a younger person with the same thoughts as me. I think it should be illegal. I don't care what anyone says, it is just like alcohol it can cloud judgement and reaction times. I would hate to see someone in an accident that got seriously hurt then have to tell the people of that loved one that they were hit by someone who was doing MJ. Then on top of it all told" sorry nothing we can do because MJ is legal".

Could you explain what you mean by this? Alcohol is legal. I can go buy it whenever a store is open, and drink it whenever I want. But, if I killed somebody while under the influence, it wouldn't be "there's nothing we can do, because alcohol is legal". It's _not_ legal for me to endanger others by being drunk. Driving drunk is a criminal offense...but _being_ drunk isn't.


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## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nerdymom* 

As an aside, I think it is hilarious when I hear people say that mj is ok, but tobacco is bad. Yes, I have heard this absurdity IRL. It's what we've done to the tobacco and how we abuse it that makes it bad, the substance itself is not bad. And you can say the same for pot, or alcohol. The product itself is not inherently bad, but the way that people abuse it is. And the fact is, the government has no right to dictate morality, moderation, or common sense. We all need to take responsibility for own actions, that is the first step towards a smaller government.









:

We're Canadian so our opinion may not count LOL.
I support legalization personally, so does my dh. I'll be 25 in a couple of weeks(very very rare toker, rare drinker, never tried a cig) and dh is 33(use to be chronic now rare toker, smokes like a chimney, drinks to much, imho), we're pretty different on the addiction spectrum. Our friends ages span over 10 years basically. But I also know many people older(including my grandmother who believe it should be legal) I will say that dh's friends in general are more users then my friends. Some are occasional some are chronic. I can handle them all better when they are "stoned" then when "drunk". I also agree that anything can be addictive/dangerous if used to much. Don't even get me started on the addiction of sugar! coffee, pop, t.v., fast food, cigarettes,

We do have hemp farm about an hour to us. So yes we can grow hemp in Canada BUT it is a hard process full of red tape. But oh man does that farm make the yummyest hemp seeds for salads!..but the pro's of hemp are just to numerous to get started on


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jlovesl* 
Wow how nice to see a younger person with the same thoughts as me. I think it should be illegal. I don't care what anyone says, it is just like alcohol it can cloud judgement and reaction times. I would hate to see someone in an accident that got seriously hurt then have to tell the people of that loved one that they were hit by someone who was doing MJ. Then on top of it all told" sorry nothing we can do because MJ is legal". Besides IT STINKS and who wants to smell that stuff around them every where you go. YUCK....But I come from a circle of people and a business where we are all randomly drug tested for safety reasons. And I feel NO sorrow for those who get caught and lose their jobs. Better their jobs then someones life.

Alcohol is legal and harming someone while under the influence of alcohol can get you into a boat load of trouble. You know the whole drinking and driving being illegal and possibly getting charged with manslaughter if you kill someone while driving under the influence.

Also, there is no either/or. It's not "don't use MJ or get hurt" plenty of people use it responsibly and never do anything while smoking it that would cause harm to themselves or others. Except for maybe falling of the couch or something.

And I kind of like the smell, so liking the smell of MJ is a personal opinion not a general consensus.


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## Mrsboyko (Nov 13, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LiLStar* 
Didn't read the whole thread. I'm 22, and around the time I was 18 or so, started realizing, holy CRAP did DARE ever brainwash me! Taught by such a nice police officer who I even remember was the same one who came to my preschool when I was 4 to teach about safety. I graduated DARE with the belief that MJ was BAD... very very BAD and that not many people used it. That only gang members and creepy BAD people used it. My profile of someone who used marijuana was the kind of person who probably also regularly shoplifts, carries a gun under their clothes, and throws rocks at puppies.

Then I got out into the real world and learned that lots of people, my friends, normal people who aren't menaces to society, smoke marijuana! Then I gradually learned that marijuana is.. an herb. And can accomplish the same thing pharmaceuticals can but with less side effects. Its dizzying, to unlearn what was pounded into me since childhood.

Just after I "graduated" the D.A.R.E. program I turned my parents in to the cops. Talk about brain washing. Have you read 1984? It was kinda like that.

Coming to terms with the fact that a huge portion of normal society smokes pot was such a mind trip for me. Yes, I smoked for a few years in college but I came to the conclusion ON MY OWN that I didn't like how it made me feel. Same for drinking. There are people who can not self regulate (DH and BIL to name a few) so they either do it all the freakin' time (BIL), or not at all (DH). Both of these people have addictive personalities though. They have control issues with alcohol and cigarettes too. But those are their own personal demons they must fright with. It is NOT the government right or responsibility to tell them what they can or can not do.

FTR: I am 26, DH is 27, and DH was one of those unfortunate "criminals" who did jail time for having pot on him.


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## AutumnAir (Jun 10, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Think of all the companies that would loose money if hemp was used to it's fullest potential.

_That_ is why it's illegal.









:

I'm 30 and DH is 42 and we both believe that it should be legal. We've both smoked in the past, though since giving up smoking cigarettes we haven't smoked pot either. The majority of people I know who smoke/have smoked pot only do that - very few even try other harder drugs, let alone use them regularly.

It's a complete waste of time, money and resources to incarcerate pot users and those who deal only in pot and I would much rather the legal and police system put a concerted effort into prosecuting rapists, child abusers, and so on - people who really deserve to be punished and whose presence in society poses a genuine risk to those around them.

In fact I would prefer to see that time, money and resources being put to use catching, prosecuting, rehabilitating and preventing those who put the lives of others in jeopardy by drinking and driving. (And I both drink and drive - though NEVER at the same time.)


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## Calee (May 10, 2008)

My DH and I are both 27. We do not support the use of or legalization of weed.


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## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chirp* 
limab...i think what shes saying is that they would all turn into meth dealers.

the dealers i know now would not turn to meth or anything else hard. they would ask for more hours at their crappy job that doesn't pay them enough.
































YES YES AND AGAIN YES


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## moaningminny (Dec 31, 2007)

I'm 33 and don't have a strong opinion either way. I do, however, think it stinks to high heaven and would never choose to be around it. I also can't get over the "pothead" stereotype and automatically think of people who use it as...for lack of a better word - dumb. That's my own problem though - and I'm working on it, really I am!

Also, while I don't buy into the 'everyone who smokes pot goes onto harder drugs' I do see those who use harder drugs starting out using pot. From what I see you don't hear of many cocaine or heroine abusers who haven't used pot.

Oh, and I'm Canadian, but I don't live in B.C.


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## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Course all the pot that makes it down there is yucky.

You honestly thing we'd send out best stuff south? Everyone knows that we send our crap pot south and keep the best for ourselves.

OMG!! I LOVE YOU Musician Dad!..My straight dh may leave me for you if he reads this link!


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *caiesmommy* 
OMG!! I LOVE YOU Musician Dad!..My straight dh may leave me for you if he reads this link!

He'll have to fight my DH for me though. Dh maybe an artist, but he can hold his own.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

add me (22) DP (24) my brother (20) and my parents (49 & 54) to the legalize it list.

mostly i think it is illegal because pharmaceutical companies would lost a lot of business if people could legally use (not even smoke necessarily. it used to be sold in tinctures, you can also eat it, etc) marijuana. fwiw i think one of the biggest cruel injustices in the US is denying chemo patients medical marijuana. for some people going through chemo medical marijuana was a godsend... and yet medical marijuana is illegal. instead they continue to refuse legalizing even medical marijuana allow pharmaceutical companies to give chemotherapy patients buckets of pills that my not help at all even if they are able to keep them down. sorry i can't get over this. it is really incredibly cruel IMO.

and on a more socioeconomic note: the legalization of marijuana will absolutely not make drug problems worse. in fact it will probably make them better. marijuana is easy to grow, one plant produces a lot of pot, and it sells for a ton of money (yk since its illegal) gangs, drug cartels etc. use the ridiculous amount of money they make from selling marijuana to fund the trafficking of guns, heroine, cocaine etc.

by keeping marijuana illegal we are basically handing them a billion dollar pay check (at least this much) to buy themselves big guns and truly dangerous drugs to sell on our streets. and (this is actually worse) the guns the buy for themselves and don't sell are often used for the noble and righteous purpose of causing terrifying and dangerous unrest in their countries. the governments solution to this is to spend billions of dollars a year on a war on drugs. our tax dollars are paying for this, the same tax dollars that could be better spent on things like healthcare for everyone.. or paying off china.

ask someone why marijuana is dangerous. most people will tell you about drug dealers, harder drugs, guns, and gangs. and i ask what exactly does that have to do with marijuana? well it is what the drug dealers sell, it leads to harder drugs, gangs sell it etc. well all of those things are true and the only reason they are true is because marijuana is illegal. if it were legal we would have no use for pot dealers and if the big time drug suppliers didn't have the money from the pot they would be hard pressed to have enough money to sell the other drugs. marijuana can most definitely lead to harder stuff when your drug dealer laces it with cocaine or something else addictive... gives him lots of business ya know? if you could buy MJ at target you wouldn't need drug mules, dealers, suppliers etc.

but marijuana in and of itself .. simply ingesting it... what is so horrible about it that it is illegal. most people cannot answer that. and 'the effects it has on mental and physical health' is not an answer. what effects? are they worse then alcohol? how about caffeine? adderall? morpheine? zoloft? xanex?

sorry this subject makes me sick. i hate that we are denying sick people something that could give them some relief and we are sacrificing our kids, our streets, our money, and our health so big freakin pharm can make more money.


----------



## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
He'll have to fight my DH for me though. Dh maybe an artist, but he can hold his own.

Oh, well then we may have a problem...dh is a Buddhist who smokes weed making him entirely to lazy to do that....


----------



## frontierpsych (Jun 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
by keeping marijuana illegal we are basically handing them a billion dollar pay check (at least this much) to buy themselves big guns and truly dangerous drugs to sell on our streets. and (this is actually worse) the guns the buy for themselves and don't sell are often used for the noble and righteous purpose of causing terrifying and dangerous unrest in their countries. the governments solution to this is to spend billions of dollars a year on a war on drugs. our tax dollars are paying for this, the same tax dollars that could be better spent on things like healthcare for everyone.. or paying off china.

























I agree with everything you just said, but mostly THIS!


----------



## frontierpsych (Jun 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aubergine68* 
I certainly consider tobacco and alcohol gateway drugs, when used by underage users. I think that anything you have to break a law to use makes it easier to break more laws and move to harder drugs. Doesn't mean that everyone who drinks or smokes will do it, but I've never met a user of hard-core drugs who didn't drink or smoke.

And I've never met a dog that didn't bark. I can bark all I want, but it doesn't make me a dog.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i have never heard the term 'gateway drug' used in such a way that the 'drug' is not an actual substance but an action.

and um even if this were the case making it legal should take care of the problem.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *caiesmommy* 
Oh, well then we may have a problem...dh is a Buddhist who smokes weed making him entirely to lazy to do that....









Then you get to keep him. My dh smokes weed for "insperation". He... ah... has never actually painted anything while high though. Mostly he just stares at the paints.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Mostly he just stares at the paints.









: you're cracking me up today.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Thank you.









He's fun to watch when he's staring at the paints. At least IMO, but that's probably because we usually smoke together.


----------



## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

I so wanted in on this discussion. You all are too fast for me.























was anyone anti? wish I had time to read this thread throuh


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

DP is so mellow already babi have no idea what pot would do. I, on the other hand, would probably benefit from a lil pot now and again. i haven't smoked since college (a whopping 2.5 ish years) and i have absolutely no idea where i would go about getting it.

this is a good example of the demographic pot is most available to. if i asked my high school and college aged friends and family i would be willing to bet a lot that most of them could tell me where to get some.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *transformed* 
I so wanted in on this discussion. You all are too fast for me.























was anyone anti? wish I had time to read this thread throuh

yeppers. a couple people.

i don't suppose we have a legalize MJ smiley do we?


----------



## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frontierpsych* 
I believe pot should be legal, if not for recreational use then at least for medicinal. My husband has MS, which is one of the many diseases that marijuana can treat.
Even if it were legal, I don't see myself being an avid user. I might use it occasionally in lieu of alcohol, because I like the feeling better. But as far as that goes I never have more than a few drinks at once and when I did used to smoke pot I was never the "smoke till you pass out" type anyway.

When I smoked.. I always stopped when I got buzzed. Same with alcohol. Cause I don't like being falling down stupid drunk or high.. I like the buzz. I know that is not possible for all people however.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jlovesl* 
Wow how nice to see a younger person with the same thoughts as me. I think it should be illegal. I don't care what anyone says, it is just like alcohol it can cloud judgement and reaction times. I would hate to see someone in an accident that got seriously hurt then have to tell the people of that loved one that they were hit by someone who was doing MJ. Then on top of it all told" sorry nothing we can do because MJ is legal". Besides IT STINKS and who wants to smell that stuff around them every where you go. YUCK....But I come from a circle of people and a business where we are all randomly drug tested for safety reasons. And I feel NO sorrow for those who get caught and lose their jobs. Better their jobs then someones life.

First of all.. I LOVE the smell of pot. Mmmmmm.... 2nd.. when I was in high school there were people I knew who I would NOT get in the car with UNLESS they were high. It's like for some reason the pot made them concentrate better than when they were sober. You can't wrap it up in a pretty bow and say this will do this to everyone. Everyone has different reactions to everything. Why on earth do you think they give speed to hyper children? Oh yea.. and all the other stuff about driving while under the influence of legal substances (cause you can get in trouble for driving while taking LEGAL scripts too.) So your whole argument is moot.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frontierpsych* 
And I've never met a dog that didn't bark. I can bark all I want, but it doesn't make me a dog.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

one of my neighbors smokes pot.. i am not sure which one but i can smell it sometimes when i sit on the balcony. beats the he!! out of cig smoke IMO.


----------



## ananas (Jun 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Storm Bride* 
Could you explain what you mean by this? Alcohol is legal. I can go buy it whenever a store is open, and drink it whenever I want. But, if I killed somebody while under the influence, it wouldn't be "there's nothing we can do, because alcohol is legal". It's _not_ legal for me to endanger others by being drunk. Driving drunk is a criminal offense...but _being_ drunk isn't.

I was going to reply on my own, but your post was so perfect it was worth just quoting that instead. There WILL be restrictions on weed, as there is with alcohol and cigarettes...I think many people aren't getting that.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *moaningminny* 
From what I see you don't hear of many cocaine or heroine abusers who haven't used pot.

This argument doesn't hold up, though, because how many people in general do you hear of who have never, ever smoked a joint? MANY people smoke marijuana, a FEW of those go on to hard drugs, but you know what? They would have anyway. It has to do with the person, and their personality, not what they have or haven't used.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
when I was in high school there were people I knew who I would NOT get in the car with UNLESS they were high. It's like for some reason the pot made them concentrate better than when they were sober. You can't wrap it up in a pretty bow and say this will do this to everyone.

Exactly. It makes some people calm down and others get hyper, it makes some people go into a daze and makes other people (my SO for instance) able to completely focus and concentrate better than ever.


----------



## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

If marijuana is a/the "gateway" drug... then WTF does that make tobacco?!?!?! Seriously. You've never heard of anyone who does coke/heroine who doesn't smoke weed?? Well, do you know any that *don't* smoke tobacco?????? Come on. This is the most lame argument ever. And honestly, the only reason marijuana makes coke/heroine/meth/crack/etc more easily accessible is, as others have already said: *because its illegal!!*. If you could walk into Walmart or any old gas station and buy a joint or 5, then that takes that whole equation out.

Of course, IMO, crack, heroine, coke & the rest should be legal too. Because, lets be honest here, the amount of those drugs that come into the country, if everyone was a real hardcore good-for-nothing addict who did them, well, there wouldn't be too many folks sober enough to go to work everyday!! The vast majority of folks who do coke, heroine, etc (and yes, I know/knew lots of people in college who did, and can honestly say I've done coke & acid & mushrooms & a ton of other stuff too, but somehow I'm still a functioning adult, crazy huh?) are just as responsible as you and me, your brother and parents. If we made them *ALL* legal and we put sane restrictions on their use (no driving while high, etc), taxed them and provided people with free drug rehab for if/when they want help getting off them, we'd save BILLIONS in law enforcement, and make BILLIONS more in taxes. Not to mention totally destroy the entire underground markets both here and abroad, cut off funding for the huge drug cartels, gangs, etc & thus lesson the insane amounts of violence being caused by drugs both here and abroad, thereby saving ourselves even *MORE* money in law enforcement.

But of course, its way easier to blame all the coke/potheads/heroine/meth/crack addicts of the world for all the violence and money being wasted on them being illegal. Its way easier to just keep the status quo and keep filling up our prisons with thousands of people who are really doing nothing wrong. Way easier to just pretend like these things are the most evil things ever invented (ignoring the fact that most of them have been around for thousands of years and ingested by billlions of people and yet the human race has somehow managed to survive...), and we should treat anyone who uses them like crap.


----------



## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
Pot is not a drug.. it's an herb. There lies the problem. People seem to misunderstand what it really is.

So in that case, lets make chamomile illegal, and peppermint, and nutmeg (it's a hallucinogenic if you take enough!)

In my opinion drugs are chemical concoctions cooked up in labs and do not grow naturally, (and cigarettes don't count cause even though tobacco is natural, it is no longer natural by the time it hits the shelves.)

So lets make all drugs illegal.. even prescription ones!

Arsenic is also an herb and it is also illegal. I don't think legalizing things just because they are herbs is a great idea, especially if we are legalizing things that impair judgement at the same time as we are legalizing poisons. I agree with the way drugs are classified now.

Perscription drugs are also a different matter altogether. People get perscription drugs because they need them for a medical reason and I think that pot and other drugs with medical value should be legal by perscription. I don't think that we need to make more things illegal and I think we need to get more of a handle on the problems we have with people who abuse legal and illegal drugs, and our criminal justice system in general, before we go out and make more drugs legal to the general population.


----------



## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

Quote:

Originally Posted by moaningminny View Post
From what I see you don't hear of many cocaine or heroine abusers who haven't used pot.
IMO part of the reason for that is that often when one goes to buy pot they are dealing with "drug dealers" who also sell those items.

You wouldnt find a dispensary selling heroin.

I dont know if that point was made but thats my opinion.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *One_Girl* 
Arsenic is also an herb, but it is also illegal.

1. Arsenic is an element. Not an herb.

2. Arsenic is still used today in various industries.


----------



## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
1. Arsenic is an element. Not an herb.

2. Arsenic is still used today in various industries.

you can get it in a homeopathic remedy.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *transformed* 
you can get it in a homeopathic remedy.

Not just homeopathic, they are looking into useing arsenic-74 to replace iodine-124 in PET scans because it allows for a clearer image.

It's also been used to treat cancer, psoriosis and some bacterial infections in the past.


----------



## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *One_Girl* 
Arsenic is also an herb and it is also illegal. I don't think legalizing things just because they are herbs is a great idea, especially if we are legalizing things that impair judgement at the same time as we are legalizing poisons. I agree with the way drugs are classified now.

Perscription drugs are also a different matter altogether. People get perscription drugs because they need them for a medical reason and I think that pot and other drugs with medical value should be legal by perscription. I don't think that we need to make more things illegal and I think we need to get more of a handle on the problems we have with people who abuse legal and illegal drugs, and our criminal justice system in general, before we go out and make more drugs legal to the general population.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
1. Arsenic is an element. Not an herb.

2. Arsenic is still used today in various industries.









:

http://www.history-magazine.com/arsenic.html.


----------



## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Not just homeopathic, they are looking into useing arsenic-74 to replace iodine-124 in PET scans because it allows for a clearer image.

It's also been used to treat cancer, psoriosis and some bacterial infections in the past.

And syphilis according to my link.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

isn't it in cigarettes or is that just one of those weird pieces of misinformation?


----------



## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:

Cigarette smoke: Arsenic-containing pesticides used in tobacco farming persist in small quantities in cigarette smoke.
http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/chem...nicprofile.htm


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

o well there ya go. arsenic is all over the place. i swear i read somewhere that it is in vaccines too... but again.. not entirely positive.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
And syphilis according to my link.

Syphilis is a bacteria.


----------



## jlovesl (Dec 19, 2008)

Ahhh because I'm sure they don't have a breath test for MJ.


----------



## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *transformed* 
You wouldnt find a dispensary selling heroin.


Well, not nowadays. Apparently it used to be sold as a side-effects free cough suppressant, while aspirin was viewed with suspicion.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jlovesl* 
Ahhh because I'm sure they don't have a breath test for MJ.

Uh yeah... Cause you need a breath tests to figure out if someone is high of MJ...


----------



## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
Well, not nowadays. Apparently it used to be sold as a side-effects free cough suppressant, while aspirin was viewed with suspicion.

The way attitudes towards different drugs shift over time is really fascinating. I remember reading an SF short story, based in a society where caffeine was illegal, and cocaine was legal. It seemed far-fetched in some ways, but not in others.

My mom was given heroin in labour in 1963. Heck - a friend of hers was given morphine for pain, but had to jump through hoops to get medical MJ for the same purpose (she waited months for a knee replacement and was in serious chronic pain). That's just ridiculous, imo. What is it the authorities think is going to happen when they give someone MJ, that isn't going to happen when they give them _morphine_??


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Uh yeah... Cause you need a breath tests to figure out if someone is high of MJ...









and for court purposes or w/e they could do a urine test or something. i think there are a few others that you could do as well.

not to mention you would probably get a ticket for driving like an idiot. or driving really really really slow.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

you'll know their high when you have to knock on their car window to get their attention and they tell you they were watching the traffic lights change.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







and for court purposes or w/e they could do a urine test or something. i think there are a few others that you could do as well.

not to mention you would probably get a ticket for driving like an idiot. or driving really really really slow.

Exactly. As it stands, they have to do a urine test when you get to the police station for a DUI.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
you'll know their high when you have to knock on their car window to get their attention and they tell you they were watching the traffic lights change.

"Dude... They... blink at me!"


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
"Dude... They... blink at me!"

and every time it happens its eyes change color....


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
and every time it happens its eyes change color....

Do you think it wants something?


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

chips. definitely chips.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Hey I have chips!


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

:














:


----------



## Sailor (Jun 13, 2006)

I'm 26 ... I guess that's not quite mid 20's, lol. But, I support legalization. I've smoked it myself.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







:














:

I can share... I think.


----------



## rebecca03 (May 27, 2008)

LOL this thread has turned hilarious.

Awesome!


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i haven't smoked pot in over two years and i am sitting here thinking that it has really been way to long... its like when i see the dairy queen commercial for the brownie batter thing except weed is more expensive.. i can, however, probably get them both in the food court at tysons







one stop shopping.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
I can share... I think.









thats nice of you b/c ds ate all mine... wait no i definitely didn't let my toddler eat doritos...


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







thats nice of you b/c ds ate all mine... wait no i definitely didn't let my toddler eat doritos...









Lol.

I can make brownies too if you want!


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)




----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

*hands 1littlebit a towel*

You and I should get high together and watch DH stare at his paint.


----------



## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jlovesl* 
Ahhh because I'm sure they don't have a breath test for MJ.









:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







and for court purposes or w/e they could do a urine test or something. i think there are a few others that you could do as well.

not to mention you would probably get a ticket for driving like an idiot. or driving really really really slow.

Well the problem I see with a urine tests is it would show positive for like a month. So would they really be able to tell if I was high now.. or last night? YNWIM? On the other hand.. they can TELL you are high just by looking at you man. Like my friend in high school trying to touch the cars going by... we took her back in the house.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
you'll know their high when you have to knock on their car window to get their attention and they tell you they were watching the traffic lights change.

OK I stopped quoting you too.. but you are too funny!!!

I still remember the first time I got high.. and I went to bed.. and the radio was playing .. and I SWEAR there were little cartoon drums with the sticks beating on them you know floating in air) dancing in my head. I wonder if that was laced.. hehe.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
*hands 1littlebit a towel*

You and I should get high together and watch DH stare at his paint.









: paint is pretty cool

speaking of pot and paint reminds me of that scene with the strawberries in across the universe.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
OK I stopped quoting you too.. but you are too funny!!! Thanks!









I still remember the first time I got high.. and I went to bed.. and the radio was playing .. and I SWEAR there were little cartoon drums with the sticks beating on them you know floating in air) dancing in my head. I wonder if that was laced.. hehe.









the first time i got high was either in my parents basement in the bathroom while with my friend while they were eating or w/e upstairs with their friends. we tried to be really sneaky too, we used toilet paper rolls covered in dryer sheets and everything







o the work, nothing like paranoia when your high









and if that wasn't the first time then the first time was in the truck of a friend i made in summer school (failed biology... but i didn't smoke weed till after this so it wasn't the pots fault) and it was with that guy and my good friend who was, incidentally, my first girlfriend. also nothing to do with the pot... she was just awesome. and flipping gorgeous.

on a kind of funny note, my parents found pot in purse when i was like 16. i didn't get in trouble or anything but we did have a talk about it and my mom tasted it b/c she thought it was laced with something. she was right ... it was.. she puked for like two hours. i don't know why she would eat it if she thought it was spiked







probably all those drugs when she was growing up.


----------



## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







: paint is pretty cool

speaking of pot and paint reminds me of that scene with the strawberries in across the universe.

Just don't suggest mixing two colours together. He'll call you sadistic.


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i should move to canada. you guys have way better laws.

I live right by DC and we have a ton of MJ use here but not as many arrests. For some reason the cops and the FBI are not willing to arrest that many politicians


----------



## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Storm Bride* 
The way attitudes towards different drugs shift over time is really fascinating.

_totally._


----------



## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Lol.

I can make brownies too if you want!

ok thats really the only reason I want it legal. LMAO.







:







:


----------



## Purple Sage (Apr 23, 2007)

I'm 33, and I don't know a single person of any age that thinks it should be illegal. Not one.


----------



## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Then you get to keep him. My dh smokes weed for "insperation". He... ah... has never actually painted anything while high though. Mostly he just stares at the paints.

Then they can get high together and dh can stare at his bass while your dh stares at his paints LOL!


----------



## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
:

I still remember the first time I got high.. and I went to bed.. and the radio was playing .. and I SWEAR there were little cartoon drums with the sticks beating on them you know floating in air) dancing in my head. I wonder if that was laced.. hehe.

SERIOUSLY! Am I the ONLY one that doesn't get these crazy highs? I can pretty much maintain while stoned, yeah everything may be a little brighter and I'm a little happier BUT I don't "see" things

Musician Dad I want some brownies! You reminded me that we have one lone cookie in dh's underwear drawer waiting to be eaten LOL


----------



## swd12422 (Nov 9, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *emmalizz* 
I'm 20 and think weed should stay illegal because of the mental and health problems it can cause. I also think tobacco should be illegal though- so yes, I'm the odd one out apparently









Not odd, I'm with you, too. Those who don't think it's a big deal don't know anyone for whom it's a VERY big problem, physically and mentally.


----------



## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *caiesmommy* 
SERIOUSLY! Am I the ONLY one that doesn't get these crazy highs? I can pretty much maintain while stoned, yeah everything may be a little brighter and I'm a little happier BUT I don't "see" things

I still wonder if that was laced with something as I never had that happen again.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
Not odd, I'm with you, too. Those who don't think it's a big deal don't know anyone for whom it's a VERY big problem, physically and mentally.

I get really tired of arguments like that. Did it being illegal stop it from being a problem for these people in the first place?? No it did not! So how will it being legal change that?

Also I think if doctors and mental health professionals were better at diagnosing and treating mental/behavior problems instead of ignoring you or throwing pharmaceuticals at you hoping they find the right one.. then there wouldn't be so many people self medicating and over doing it.

The pot is not the problem. The problem is the underlying problem that caused them to self medicate themselves into oblivion in the first place.


----------



## vermontmomma (May 29, 2009)

mj is the second largest nontaxable cash crop in our state after maple syrup. every sunny day in spring, summer, and early fall helicopters fill the sky searching for hidden plants. it really makes me mad that so much money is being wasted on the war on drugs.
e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e knows someone who partakes in mj and it's not just the sterotyped pacholi scented hippie or heartless drug dealer.
i wouldn't want my children to smoke until they were responsible adults just like anything else. no one should ever smoke and drive.
it at least needs to be made available to those that need it medicinally.


----------



## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 

I get really tired of arguments like that. Did it being illegal stop it from being a problem for these people in the first place?? No it did not! So how will it being legal change that?


Couldn't agree more!


----------



## CatsCradle (May 7, 2007)

Quote:

The pot is not the problem. The problem is the underlying problem that caused them to self medicate themselves into oblivion in the first place.
Exactly. Alcohol is legal and I would venture to say that alcohol is not a problem for most people. Alcoholism is a self-medicating situation too. So should we make alcohol illegal even for the gal who likes to have a beer on Friday night? Is alcoholism a problem? Yes. But most people who drink are not alcoholics.


----------



## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *caiesmommy* 
SERIOUSLY! Am I the ONLY one that doesn't get these crazy highs? I can pretty much maintain while stoned, yeah everything may be a little brighter and I'm a little happier BUT I don't "see" things

I've had highs like that - I can remember trying to reach inside a speaker once, because it just seemed...bottomless - but never from weed. Weed just made me really mellow, and sometimes it put me to sleep (I had insomnia problems, so I didn't mind that). In my late teens or early 20s, it started making me feel paranoid, and then I quit smoking it.


----------



## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
Not odd, I'm with you, too. Those who don't think it's a big deal don't know anyone for whom it's a VERY big problem, physically and mentally.

Incorrect. I think pot should be legal, and I don't think it's a big problem for most people. And, pot was a major contributing factor in the breakup of my first marriage, and it was tragic watching my ex disintegrate the way he did.

But, my dad's an alcoholic, and I think booze should be legal, too.


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## kristi96 (Mar 31, 2009)

I do not smoke pot but almost everyone I know does. I think it should be legal. I have a 12 y/o son and I will encourage him not to smoke pot or anything else. However, if he did decide to smoke MJ I would rather him get it from a store than the local drug dealer. I would rather see alcohol become illegal because I think it does more damage. I mean don't get me wrong I love having a glass of wine or beer at the lake but so many people abuse it. You always hear about someone that was drinking and driving and killed an innocent family. How many time do you hear on the news local man was stoned and killed innocent family?


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## smeisnotapirate (Aug 24, 2007)

Caiesmommy, I don't get highs like that either. I just get mellow. And have great, clever comebacks.









Some people have addictive personalities. Should we outlaw food because it's destroying people's lives? Cause let me tell you, I know more people for whom that's the case than with pot.


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## number572 (Aug 25, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
Not odd, I'm with you, too. Those who don't think it's a big deal don't know anyone for whom it's a VERY big problem, physically and mentally.


Along this line of logic, from the people I've met this time around, we'd have to illegalize:

eating - have had friends with mental disorders concerning eating

gambling - same as above

sex - again, same as above

driving - some people are HORRIBLE drivers and have injured others and themselves while doing it

working - many people are workaholic and have lost their friends and families due to choosing work over anything else

and of course we'll need to ban alcohol, tobacco products, otc drugs, carbonated beverages (soda), caffeine, and on & on

geez, I don't know about anyone else, but I think getting proper help for people who have self-control issues (edited to add: depression, etc) would make alot more sense than banning EVERYTHING.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 

Some hard core dealers lace their pot with other drugs to hook the customer. Keep them coming back. I'm pretty sure that commericial pot companies won't be allowed to lace their product with crack.

I've seen a lot of poeple say this is an urban myth but I know for sure some people who DO sell their stuff laced with coke and something else. I have to think about the other thing that I know for sure.

I'd be glad if there weren't dealers because I wouldn't have had to have been freaked out when someone freaky who I knew the cops knew about who was friends with someone my kids dad was friends with came to my house looking for them. Scared the heck out of me. I've never done any illegal "drugs" of any kind myself, I have been (pre-kids) around lots of people who do all kinds of stuff and could have had anything I wanted. I was hauled into the principals office and my stuff searched because of who my bf was because of suspicion, so I was making a point by not doing it








(i did drink until i was 16 then 18-21) I was scared cops were going to decide to get him THEN because I know they follow him around and I'd have been screwed, kwim?

I was never carded for alcohol or ciggs until I was 20 and had 2 kids. Someone carded me for ciggs. Then the last few times I bought alcohol, I was and I was 21.

FTR, I have an issue with weed but not for true medicinal purposes. I do think it is much better than ridiculous amounts of chemicals with horrid side effects that pills are.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Storm_Bride* 
because how many people in general do you hear of who have never, ever smoked a joint?


Me! lol


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## Mountaingirl79 (Jul 12, 2008)

Wow, there are so many things that I have to say just aren't true...
The lacing of your common mj purchase is scare tactic propaganda. It just doesnt happen. Cocaine is so expensive there is no dealer in his or her right mind who would just lace their pot with it and sell it to you without you knowing. Combining pot and coke in a cigarette is a common practice, and some people do it willingly for the effects.
I know a lot of people with addiction problems who don't smoke weed. My brother is an opiate addict who is now on methadone therapy. His gateway drug? Oxycontin. Then he moved on to heroin. These are *real* drug problems. Now he is on methadone for who knows how long...methadone is a legal drug as well. But anyway, not every drug addict starts as a pothead. Not every pothead does other drugs. One of my very close friends smokes weed but he doesn't eat sugar or meat or drink caffeine. He certainly doesn't drink alcohol or do harder drugs.

Everyone needs to read this:::::>>>>>>>

http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mountaingirl79* 
Wow, there are so many things that I have to say just aren't true...
The lacing of your common mj purchase is scare tactic propaganda. It just doesnt happen. Cocaine is so expensive there is no dealer in his or her right mind who would just lace their pot with it and sell it to you without you knowing. Combining pot and coke in a cigarette is a common practice, and some people do it willingly for the effects.

I'll go look at your link but as I said, It *DOES* happen.
I know at least 2 dealers who *DO* lace their stuff with coke at least.
Yes, they sell coke as well.
They do it trying to get people hooked on the more expensive stuff rather than the weed that they have.

This is not some "This happenz! I saw it on the NEWS!" type stuff like a lot of people who say it.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







and for court purposes or w/e they could do a urine test or something. i think there are a few others that you could do as well.

It looks like one of the dollar store preg tests(go in a cup and use a dropper to put a few drops in the little well) but bigger. It has THC and a few other things that show.


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## transformed (Jan 26, 2007)

coke really? that does seem spendy! Wow.


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

I haven't read the _whole_ thread.

It's not about age, my dad who is in his 80s is a big believer in legalization (though it's probably been quite a few decades since he had any.)


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
I'll go look at your link but as I said, It *DOES* happen.
I know at least 2 dealers who *DO* lace their stuff with coke at least.
Yes, they sell coke as well.
They do it trying to get people hooked on the more expensive stuff rather than the weed that they have.

This is not some "This happenz! I saw it on the NEWS!" type stuff like a lot of people who say it.

It's called a cabby. I have smoked one ONCE. I didn't like it. The type of people who are going to buy and get hooked on the harder stuff are the type of people who were going to do it anyway. I doubt they are buying this unaware that it is a cabby.. and I doubt the guy is going to sell it to them for the price of an unlaced joint long enough for them to get hooked. You don't get "hooked" the first time you do it.

I think you are reaching with your arguments.

And FWIW my Dh has never smoked pot either. He wont even take tylonal.


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## its_our_family (Sep 8, 2002)

Maybe if it was presented that they can tax MJ the government might go for it... you know how they like to tax stuff!!

Here is a question that has been rolling around in my brain and if it was covered all ready I apologize. Do you think the umber of MJ users would go up if it were legalized or do you think it would stay about the same? (This given that all people were honest and admitted they smoked, cause I know ppl who do but would never admit it) I don't because, well, I'm terrified of doing anything illegal... cause I would be the one to get caught!

Oh, and I know someone who has a problem. However, his problem isn't with the pot. He has been smoking pot for 20 years now. It is the alcohol that does it. It is far more dangerous to him than the MJ.


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
I'll go look at your link but as I said, It *DOES* happen.
I know at least 2 dealers who *DO* lace their stuff with coke at least.
Yes, they sell coke as well.
They do it trying to get people hooked on the more expensive stuff rather than the weed that they have.

This is not some "This happenz! I saw it on the NEWS!" type stuff like a lot of people who say it.

I'm not saying that what you're saying isn't true....but how on earth does one go about getting these people off the weed and onto the coke?? Also...if someone is selling crummy weed, people will pay crummy prices. If someone is selling really good weed, they will pay really good prices. THe dude buying the crummy weed, will not pay "coke" prices for that weed....and the person buying really good stuff, knows what that should cost..and is gonna wanna know why it;s $20 more expensive....so....if you are sprinkling $20 worth of coke onto an eighth of pot...I just don't see you making money on that plan long term...what's the REAL plan...what business model is that?

I feel like, if I were a pot user, and my "dealer" one day was like "Yeeaaah, you like that pot, makes ya feel JAZZY huh? Wanna try some coke then, cause, SURPRISE you've already been doin' it man!! Whoohoo! I've been puttin' it on your pot for like, months, man!!" I'd be like "ummmmm, wha??" - how do they swing that? Do the people all the sudden one day say to their dealer "Hey, you know, I don't even know why....but I feel like trying some coke, man, got any?"...

I've just never, ever ever known anyone who was a "real" pothead, who went on to doing anything else. It's just IMO not a drug...it's not in any way the same as these manufactured/"cooked" drugs...I've known people who tried pot, but didn't like it, because it wasn't an upper and some people just prefer upper. It's like if you try some ding dongs...and you say "eeew, I don't like this fake filling stuff" - so then you move onto those Little Debbie apple pie things...and say "Mmmmmm, this stuff is IT for me!" and become addicted to them and blow up to 700lbs and then die...and all your friends say "wow...if he'd never tried those ding-dongs, he never would have moved on to Little Debbie pies and got hooked and died as a result. Obviously, these ding-dongs are "gateway snacks".....do you see how ridiculous that sounds??

In my experience, people who tried pot first and then moved on to other things, harder things....didn't "stay" with pot because they didn't like the mellow vibe and would have tried the harder things regardless because they LOVE being up up up....and people I've known who really liked pot, never really "moved on" to other things...because they weren't "upper types".


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## kristi96 (Mar 31, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *its_our_family* 
Maybe if it was presented that they can tax MJ the government might go for it... you know how they like to tax stuff!!

Here is a question that has been rolling around in my brain and if it was covered all ready I apologize. Do you think the umber of MJ users would go up if it were legalized or do you think it would stay about the same? (This given that all people were honest and admitted they smoked, cause I know ppl who do but would never admit it) I don't because, well, I'm terrified of doing anything illegal... cause I would be the one to get caught!

Oh, and I know someone who has a problem. However, his problem isn't with the pot. He has been smoking pot for 20 years now. It is the alcohol that does it. It is far more dangerous to him than the MJ.


I think people that smoke pot right now would admitt that they do if it became legalized. So I'm not sure if the numbers would go up but I think the undercover smokers would be more open about it. I don't smoke pot and wouldn't just because it became legal. I hope it does become legal someday. I do think it would be funny to walk into the local gas station and ask for a pack of joints lol.


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## swd12422 (Nov 9, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
...
I get really tired of arguments like that. Did it being illegal stop it from being a problem for these people in the first place?? No it did not! So how will it being legal change that?

No, it didn't. But it being illegal sure stopped MANY of my friends from trying it when we were young. A couple of my close friends ended up having chemical imbalances (one was suicidal at one point), and if she had started doing drugs she likely would have gone off the deep end. She was such a goody-goody that she drew the line at "legal" and for her, it saved her life.

And I never said that it's a problem for most people. But you know what? We all played with lead-laden toys and lived in houses with asbestos, and it wasn't a problem FOR MOST OF US. But would you raise your kid in the same conditions? I wouldn't.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
Also I think if doctors and mental health professionals were better at diagnosing and treating mental/behavior problems instead of ignoring you or throwing pharmaceuticals at you hoping they find the right one.. then there wouldn't be so many people self medicating and over doing it.

The pot is not the problem. The problem is the underlying problem that caused them to self medicate themselves into oblivion in the first place.

I do agree with this. And I do think it should be legal for medical purposes. I'm just not sure I want to see what I saw in college all over the place...


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
Not odd, I'm with you, too. Those who don't think it's a big deal don't know anyone for whom it's a VERY big problem, physically and mentally.

I have met one person for whom it was a problem. I have met a few people for whom alcohol is a problem.

Just because some people have a problem with something doesn't automatically mean it should be illegal.

People can have a problem with the internet, should we make it illegal?
What about food? TV? Video games?

What about cell phones? Can we make those illegal? People have killed someone because they couldn't stop texting long enough to drive somewhere without doing it.

Oh, and sex... Would you advocate making sex illegal because some people have so much of a problem with it that it puts their life and lives of others at risk?


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
I do agree with this. And I do think it should be legal for medical purposes. I'm just not sure I want to see what I saw in college all over the place...

And again.. it being illegal did not stop what you saw in college. You know what they say.. the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *number572* 
working - many people are workaholic and have lost their friends and families due to choosing work over anything else

I dunno, if you wanted to making working illegal I might support you.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *transformed* 
coke really? that does seem spendy! Wow.

Yeah, but you make all the money back when the person gets hooked on the coke and comes looking for it.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *its_our_family* 
Maybe if it was presented that they can tax MJ the government might go for it... you know how they like to tax stuff!!

Here is a question that has been rolling around in my brain and if it was covered all ready I apologize. Do you think the umber of MJ users would go up if it were legalized or do you think it would stay about the same? (This given that all people were honest and admitted they smoked, cause I know ppl who do but would never admit it) I don't because, well, I'm terrified of doing anything illegal... cause I would be the one to get caught!

Oh, and I know someone who has a problem. However, his problem isn't with the pot. He has been smoking pot for 20 years now. It is the alcohol that does it. It is far more dangerous to him than the MJ.

I know it's not entirely the same, but here in BC no one really cares if you have or use MJ. They have also recently found out that the number of teens smoking mj regularly has dropped by quite a bit.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
No, it didn't. But it being illegal sure stopped MANY of my friends from trying it when we were young. A couple of my close friends ended up having chemical imbalances (one was suicidal at one point), and if she had started doing drugs she likely would have gone off the deep end. She was such a goody-goody that she drew the line at "legal" and for her, it saved her life.

And I never said that it's a problem for most people. But you know what? We all played with lead-laden toys and lived in houses with asbestos, and it wasn't a problem FOR MOST OF US. But would you raise your kid in the same conditions? I wouldn't.

I know that I'm one of those people who was kept from going off the deep end by pot.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
It's called a cabby. I have smoked one ONCE. I didn't like it. The type of people who are going to buy and get hooked on the harder stuff are the type of people who were going to do it anyway. I doubt they are buying this unaware that it is a cabby.. and I doubt the guy is going to sell it to them for the price of an unlaced joint long enough for them to get hooked. You don't get "hooked" the first time you do it.

I think you are reaching with your arguments.

And FWIW my Dh has never smoked pot either. He wont even take tylonal.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
I'm not saying that what you're saying isn't true....but how on earth does one go about getting these people off the weed and onto the coke?? Also...if someone is selling crummy weed, people will pay crummy prices. If someone is selling really good weed, they will pay really good prices. THe dude buying the crummy weed, will not pay "coke" prices for that weed....and the person buying really good stuff, knows what that should cost..and is gonna wanna know why it;s $20 more expensive....so....if you are sprinkling $20 worth of coke onto an eighth of pot...I just don't see you making money on that plan long term...what's the REAL plan...what business model is that?

They put the coke in the weed. No extra prices.
Then the people only want THEIR particular weed 'cause it is so great and more people come to them.
Then the people who come want that particular high and more often, someone tells them what it is eventually and they try it by itself since they have been on it already especially if it i offered when they are high already.
There you go.

There are also people who just want the weed and back off but for the people who realize they have been doing coke and just want to try that..it is a great business model. Plus, you have more customers because of the people saying that the dealer has such great weed.

I thought it was crazy too until I met the people doing it.


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## Tigerchild (Dec 2, 2001)

I've never smoked a joint and have never been drunk. I have not smoked tobacco either. Not that I didn't have opportunity, because I did, I just didn't want anything to make me less in control of myself. (and before anyone jumps on me, yes, I'm sure some people feel even MORE in control of themselves or whatever...but the people I knew who did any of that did not were not) I had good friends who never pressured me, nor did they always make me be the designated driver/safe person (sometimes it's nice to have another sober person to talk to if you're partying all weekend).

I guess I see the middle ground here. I really don't understand why some people absolutely refuse to see that yes, sometimes it can lead to problems--especially with driving and consentual sex. (That's really what the designated sober people were for when we hung out with people outside our group--to protect our girlfriends from date rape. Far more common with alcohol than other drugs, but it can and DOES happen with others. Sorry.) On the other hand, I don't get the fear about it either. It's far less destructive to the body than alcohol or modern chemical laced tobacco, IMO.

There are herbs that can do damage to the body. Remember Fen-Phen? There's no shortage of poisonous plants, and some hallucinogens are actually toxic--you're just minding the dose. I think it's just as foolish to say/assume that just because something is "natural" it's therefore harmless, as it is to believe that the only way something can be safe is if a multinational pharmaceutical corporation makes it.

I think that decriminalization/legalization, if/when it happens will only happen if/when people can make compromises about it, and stop engaging in villanization of the other side. You can have an intelligent opinion about something even if you haven't toked anything--or if you have. I don't smoke and never will. Maybe that's why I can look at it dispassionately. I don't see the harm in legalizing MJ--and putting similar controls on it as alcohol as far as home manufacture. (you can do homebrew/growing somewhat generously, but if you move to distill/refine it into something else, you are in big trouble). I'd rather see law enforcement concentrate on things like meth, to be honest. But let's be real here. A lot of the same people who are stupid, selfish, or addicted enough to cook meth with their young children in the same house, endangering them are in the same league as people who risk their children's housing and safety by having large commercial growing operations. Stupid is as stupid does/risks. Even if you were to legalize MJ on the same level as alcohol (with some leeway for certain types of home production), you wouldn't get rid of all the stupid and unfit parents and dysfunctional families in the world. Sometimes I think legalization advocates romanticize that bit too much. The people that put their families at risk to make $$ will just probably move on to something else when it's harder for them to sell it. But all things considered, MJ is a fairly mild substance. If people can make their own homebrew, then I don't see why they can't farm their own pot. But I would like to see people acknowledge that it won't empty out the prisons nor will it solve the problem of addicted parents neglecting or doing horrible things to their children if they've reached that point.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
They put the coke in the weed. No extra prices.
Then the people only want THEIR particular weed 'cause it is so great and more people come to them.
Then the people who come want that particular high and more often, someone tells them what it is eventually and they try it by itself since they have been on it already especially if it i offered when they are high already.
There you go.

There are also people who just want the weed and back off but for the people who realize they have been doing coke and just want to try that..it is a great business model. Plus, you have more customers because of the people saying that the dealer has such great weed.

I thought it was crazy too until I met the people doing it.

But here is the deal.. it's NOT great. And it's not the same as smoking pot. There is no way these people didn't know it was laced.. unless they were newbies to begin with. And generally newbies don't buy pot.. they get high with their friends... they start buying it later.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
But here is the deal.. it's NOT great. And it's not the same as smoking pot. There is no way these people didn't know it was laced.. unless they were newbies to begin with. And generally newbies don't buy pot.. they get high with their friends... they start buying it later.

I know 4 people who think coke is the bestest thing ever. They do it occasionally (so I know not everyone is addicted and becomes a complete crackhead to it after doing it like someone else said)
because it is "fun"
and who don't act much different depending on what they are on and also someone who is locked up in federal prison for being a crack dealer who was another who thought it was hilarious but is apparently rethinking that now.

then three who thought there was something "off" when smoking laced weed but shrugged it off until they were told by the idiot friend who they were smoking with who thought it was funny or they went to the same dealer later.








also, the people I know who have gotten it laced weren't people buying the bags for 20 bucks, it was larger amounts bought for parties and stuff so maybe that factors into it.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
I know 4 people who think coke is the bestest thing ever. They do it occasionally (so I know not everyone is addicted and becomes a complete crackhead to it after doing it like someone else said)
because it is "fun"
and who don't act much different depending on what they are on and also someone who is locked up in federal prison for being a crack dealer who was another who thought it was hilarious but is apparently rethinking that now.

then three who thought there was something "off" when smoking laced weed but shrugged it off until they were told by the idiot friend who they were smoking with who thought it was funny or they went to the same dealer later.








also, the people I know who have gotten it laced weren't people buying the bags for 20 bucks, it was larger amounts bought for parties and stuff so maybe that factors into it.

I don't see how this is possible. Coke is a powder. You can't just sprinkle powder on a bag of weed. It would fall to the bottom and not be on the pot. To make a cabby you put the weed in the paper.. sprinkle coke on it.. then roll it up. (from watching my x's father do it.) What you are saying just makes no sense. Period.

And crack and coke are not the same thing. Crack is made from coke.. but they are not the same nor are they generally taken the same way.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
I don't see how this is possible. Coke is a powder. You can't just sprinkle powder on a bag of weed. It would fall to the bottom and not be on the pot. To make a cabby you put the weed in the paper.. sprinkle coke on it.. then roll it up. (from watching my x's father do it.) What you are saying just makes no sense. Period.

And crack and coke are not the same thing. Crack is made from coke.. but they are not the same nor are they generally taken the same way.

What isn't possible?
Have a party, pass it around, people smoke and pass more..
Say "Oh, btw, guess what was in that #$%$!" and







: later after being asked what was wrong with it or someone wanting more.
There you go!

I know crack and coke aren't the same thing. I was saying I know a guy locked up in a federal prison right now who was a crack dealer who thought that getting people on things other than weed was funny. Where does that say that I don't know they are different?

Granted, most of the people I know who smoke are freaking idiots, am I really losing that much of something from my thoughts to typing?


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Read what I said.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

What I'm saying is what does a bag have to do with anything? It is easily hidden if people are passing it around already rolled was what I meant.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
What I'm saying is what does a bag have to do with anything? It is easily hidden if people are passing it around already rolled was what I meant.

You said that people were unknowingly buying HUGE BAGS of weed laced with coke. I am telling you that is highly unlikely as coke is a powder and would fall to the bottom of the bag.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

No, I said people were unknowingly SMOKING what had been bought in huge bags laced.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Well your train of thought is hard to follow.

And I will repeat.. people are not going to get addicted to it by smoking it once at a party. Also people who know anything are going to realize (granted after the fact) that it was laced and will not continue to smoke it unknowingly.

Your scenario is far fetched. Furthermore.. it really doesn't have much to do with the original topic. As a matter of fact.. it shows a very good reason why pot should be legalized. People aren't going to unwittingly buy pot laced with coke or any other substance from the corner market now are they? Legalization will make pot safer since it will cut out the drug dealer trying to get you addicted to a substance that is not addictive by adding other chemicals to it.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

: I didn't mean it to be, I'm doing a lot of things and it has been a while since this happened, before my kids.

Yep like I said, I do know in gerneral you aren't going to get addicted once or once in a while.

And yep I do agree that the crazy junk wouldn't be likely if it was legal but I disagree that there wouldn't be addictive chemicals added that you don't know about. Take tobacco.

I also didn't mean any of this to be drawn out, I just know that some dealers do for sure add stuff to weed which I added because I know so many people think that it doesn't and never has happened so I said that since it kind of ties into the whole thing.


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## BroodyWoodsgal (Jan 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
They put the coke in the weed. No extra prices.
Then the people only want THEIR particular weed 'cause it is so great and more people come to them.
Then the people who come want that particular high and more often, someone tells them what it is eventually and they try it by itself since they have been on it already especially if it i offered when they are high already.
There you go.

There are also people who just want the weed and back off but for the people who realize they have been doing coke and just want to try that..it is a great business model. Plus, you have more customers because of the people saying that the dealer has such great weed.

I thought it was crazy too until I met the people doing it.

I'm a pretty peaceful lady...but I'm not quite sure what I'd do to a guy who told me he'd been selling me pot that was laced with cocaine...seriously. THat's messed up. I've never known of a person who sold pot and dealt in anything else...only nice people who wanted to smoke and who sells to friends..I've never known any of these "lacers" who are, apparently, real criminals...someone who puts drugs in your pot...is a real criminal. That's sick.


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Well, if it were decriminalized and sold in a way similar to what is done in The Netherlands, the government would not have control over the production. It would be licensed growers who are passionate about their product, and sold to the specific places that are allowed to sell it. Has anyone ever been to The Netherlands and experienced a country where it is decriminalized? It's definitely not what most people would think. There aren't people out stumbling around stoned or anything. It's quite nice, really.


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Check this out. From the British Journal of Psychiatry...

"The Dutch experience, together with those of a few other countries with more modest policy changes, provides a moderately good empirical case that removal of criminal prohibitions on cannabis possession (decriminalization) will not increase the prevalence of marijuana or any other illicit drug; the argument for decriminalization is thus strong."

Very interesting article on the topic of decriminalization. How anyone could read this and think marijuana use/possession should be a criminal offense?


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Doodlebugsmom* 
the government would not have control over the production. It would be licensed growers who are passionate about their product, and sold to the specific places that are allowed to sell it. .

That sounds pretty good.


----------



## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *onelilguysmommy* 
That sounds pretty good.

Not to mention, in The Netherlands, the MJ is sold in coffee shops. No one under the age of 18 is even allowed to enter these places.


----------



## ananas (Jun 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
Not odd, I'm with you, too. Those who don't think it's a big deal don't know anyone for whom it's a VERY big problem, physically and mentally.

Actually, I do know a couple people for whom it is a problem and I *still* don't see it as a big deal, and still don't think it should be illegal. I see MANY people addicted to many things, I don't think they should all be illegal just because some people have problems with them. Some people have very unhealthy eating habits and can go through a few bags of potato chips and a six-pack of soda in a day...should chips and soda be illegal because some people can't control themselves? SO's best friend was VERY addicted to WoW, to the point of not being able to get or hold onto a job...should video games be illegal? It's not the addictions that are the problem, it's the addictive _personalities_.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *its_our_family* 
Do you think the umber of MJ users would go up if it were legalized or do you think it would stay about the same?

I think everyone who does smoke now would be more likely to come out and admit it, once the fear was gone. I also think that some adults who did it as kids and college students, but stay away now because of the legality issue, might occasionally start smoking again as well. For the people who don't like it or don't want to try, they won't, regardless of whether it's legal or not.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
There is no way these people didn't know it was laced.. unless they were newbies to begin with. .

Yeah, I think most smokers, unless they are totally new to it, would know if they were on a cocaine trip.


----------



## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *swd12422* 
A couple of my close friends ended up having chemical imbalances (one was suicidal at one point), and if she had started doing drugs she likely would have gone off the deep end. She was such a goody-goody that she drew the line at "legal" and for her, it saved her life.

Why do you think she'd have gone off the deep end? I was suicidal from the time I turned 13 (maybe a little earlier) until almost the end of 10th grade (right around my 16th birthday), when my pot smoking shifted from a once in a while thing to daily. My grades sucked, and I hated school...but I also survived. I highly doubt I would have without the pot. You really can't say that avoiding pot saved her life, when you have no idea what she'd have felt like or behaved like on pot.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AverysMomma* 
I'm a pretty peaceful lady...but I'm not quite sure what I'd do to a guy who told me he'd been selling me pot that was laced with cocaine...seriously.

No kidding. I had a lot of friends who did coke, and I avoided it like the plague. Finding out someone had been slipping it to me without my knowledge would have set me off in a _major_ way. That said...I honestly can't imagine not realizing there was coke (or something) in my pot. While I've never done coke, I've certainly been around it enough to know the effects are _nothing_ like the effects of pot.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ananas* 
Actually, I do know a couple people for whom it is a problem and I *still* don't see it as a big deal, and still don't think it should be illegal. I see MANY people addicted to many things, I don't think they should all be illegal just because some people have problems with them. Some people have very unhealthy eating habits and can go through a few bags of potato chips and a six-pack of soda in a day...should chips and soda be illegal because some people can't control themselves? SO's best friend was VERY addicted to WoW, to the point of not being able to get or hold onto a job...should video games be illegal? It's not the addictions that are the problem, it's the addictive _personalities_.









I know someone who had a heart attack shortly after highschool from too much fast food. I don't think things should be illegal just because some people have no self control - and for those who have no self control, it being illegal wont stop them.


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## Purple Sage (Apr 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Storm Bride* 
No kidding. I had a lot of friends who did coke, and I avoided it like the plague. Finding out someone had been slipping it to me without my knowledge would have set me off in a _major_ way. That said...I honestly can't imagine not realizing there was coke (or something) in my pot. While I've never done coke, I've certainly been around it enough to know the effects are _nothing_ like the effects of pot.

I have never known anyone to lace pot with anything at all. To basically give away something they could make more money on...nope, they'd never do it.

I've done coke in the past, and I know it is NOTHING like pot. I'd know if any pot I've smoke had coke in it, and I'd be shocked to get it for free!

I wonder what anyone who laces pot with coke (or anything else) is thinking! That just does not make sense to me at all.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Purple Sage* 
I have never known anyone to lace pot with anything at all. To basically give away something they could make more money on...nope, they'd never do it.

I've done coke in the past, and I know it is NOTHING like pot. I'd know if any pot I've smoke had coke in it, and I'd be shocked to get it for free!

I wonder what anyone who laces pot with coke (or anything else) is thinking! That just does not make sense to me at all.

I agree. sounds like something from the movies or something but not something that would actually happen. unless the dealer is a moron... and if so they probably wont stay dealing for very long


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Purple Sage* 
I have never known anyone to lace pot with anything at all. To basically give away something they could make more money on...nope, they'd never do it.

A dealer probably wouldn't, but it does happen. My sister share a joint with a friend and it was laced with angel dust. The friend probably was the one who did it, and just forgot to mention it to my sister.


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

Yeah, your sisters friend 'forgot to mention it'. *Nobody* sells pot laced with crap without informing you beforehand. Why not? Cause' whatever your lacing it with inevitably costs *MORE* than the pot, and thus would raise the price of it hugely. Of course, some people will happily pay more for premium weed - I used to - but that doesn't mean tis getting laced with anything. Just means its good weed so you don't have to smoke as much to get high.

But yeah, no dealer is going to "slip" you weed with coke or heroine or angel dust or anything else mixed in and not tell/charge you for it. It just does *NOT* happen.


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## Purple Sage (Apr 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
A dealer probably wouldn't, but it does happen. My sister share a joint with a friend and it was laced with angel dust. The friend probably was the one who did it, and just forgot to mention it to my sister.


See, that's just weird to me. PCP is something that people will pay more money for - so why would someone lace pot with it and then "forget" to tell them? It doesn't make sense to me.









I think I've just been in the "scene" too long...







:


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## LoBleusMama (Aug 10, 2005)

legalize it! medicinal herbs should not be illegal


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Purple Sage* 
See, that's just weird to me. PCP is something that people will pay more money for - so why would someone lace pot with it and then "forget" to tell them? It doesn't make sense to me.









The possible reasons are:

Since the person was using it herself and sharing it with my sister, she wanted the PCP and it simply hadn't occured to her that my sister wasn't going to enjoy it as well.
She thought see unsuspecting people on PCP was funny (I've known a person who gave acid to ducks b/c he thought it was funny.)
She got confussed and grabbed the wrong bag.


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## KarlaC (Mar 20, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chirp* 
limab...i think what shes saying is that they would all turn into meth dealers.

the dealers i know now would not turn to meth or anything else hard. they would ask for more hours at their crappy job that doesn't pay them enough.

You're lucky then, every pot dealer I've ran across has meth & coke as their side line money maker. If they had no revenue from pot you bet they'd crank up the powder sales & step on it with lord knows what to make more $.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KarlaC* 
You're lucky then, every pot dealer I've ran across has meth & coke as their side line money maker. If they had no revenue from pot you bet they'd crank up the powder sales & step on it with lord knows what to make more $.









See the point there is that those dealers are _all ready_ involved in selling other drugs.

The people that MJ smokers like DH and I deal with, aren't in it for the money. They are just providing a safe, reliable person for their friends to get pot from.


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## number572 (Aug 25, 2004)

ok, here's my btdt bit:
My weed dealer friends literally obsess over creating the most loved weed (of COURSE no additives! thats insulting!)... meaning hydroponic, love-fed, correctly light-fed, etc plants. I have three close friends who grow the most furry christmas tree looking well garnished buds... truly admirable specimens. And OH the fragrance! absolute divinity embodied. This is NOT the skunk-weed stench of which I think some of you are referring. That is gross, I agree. One of them(friends) doesn't even smoke... just gets off completely on creating the highest thc bearing plant. He's a love, a true botanical genius.

Not sure who some of you are hanging with, but, my lord! Seems like some of your "friends" may not be such cool people to know if they're spiking people out who just want to smoke a bud! Thats SO absolutely uncool!! Just sayin'. I would really take another look at that friendship if it were me. They aren't good people if they're lying to customers to make a sale.


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## Jojo F. (Apr 7, 2007)

It's not only about the mind altering female but, the hardy and industrious male, hemp.

Hemp was once a cash crop for our newly born country, every farmer gew it, it was law. Clothes, sails, paper (the Constitution anyone?!) oil, food, fuel, it is the wonder plant. Less land to grow in, less water to grow with, needs no pesticides, higher yeilds = more crops = more product = more jobs = better economy=







Who says you have to smoke it? Hemp is such an awsome plant.

Just read- number527- you are lucky to know such people! It took me a while to find someone like that and I am soooooo glad I did. Unfortunately, because MJ is so criminalized the regular drug dealers (those who supply other drugs as well) are the only ones around to supply MJ. But there are the few and far between honest MJ dealers. If it were decrminialized or legalized we would see a major shift in the economy. As others have stated, you'd be mighty shocked at all the people that partake!! And honestly, I don't think it would be a bad thing to be able to smoke freely in our country, we may get to know our neighbors a little better, right?!


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## number572 (Aug 25, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jojo F.* 
It's not only about the mind altering female but, the hardy and industrious male, hemp.

Hemp was once a cash crop for our newly born country, every farmer gew it, it was law. Clothes, sails, paper (the Constitution anyone?!) oil, food, fuel, it is the wonder plant. Less land to grow in, less water to grow with, needs no pesticides, higher yeilds = more crops = more product = more jobs = better economy=







Who says you have to smoke it? Hemp is such an awsome plant.

well, hemp industrial ideas died with the exposure of the existing timber industry, b'c timber already existed and could be reaped without wait and without growing expenses... if I remember correctly

Yeah, its all big money in the end. sux!! I wish more people would give a S%%iT


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## oceanbaby (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Doodlebugsmom* 
Well, if it were decriminalized and sold in a way similar to what is done in The Netherlands, the government would not have control over the production. It would be licensed growers who are passionate about their product, and sold to the specific places that are allowed to sell it. Has anyone ever been to The Netherlands and experienced a country where it is decriminalized? It's definitely not what most people would think. There aren't people out stumbling around stoned or anything. It's quite nice, really.

Been to the Netherlands several times, and it is lovely. There are far fewer people stumbling around stoned and drunk than there are here, actually, since there are nice, legal places for them to hang out in! Outside of Amsterdam I don't think I saw any "partiers" on the streets. It's all pretty mellow and unexciting, and the majority of locals we hung out with didn't even smoke.

It's only a matter of time before it's legalized. Economically, our current policy just can't last much longer.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Okay, I have to say America is just funny to me sometimes. EVERY time another country does something and has success with it, our government wants to say it wouldn't work for us. Okay, maybe thats not really funny, but it's an interesting thing to notice. That when people are doing better then us we still think we know better. Like a mathematician claiming they know more about art then Van Gogh, even after they paint something that looks like garbage. Oh, and then it turns out they can't do math either.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommysarah5* 
Okay, I have to say America is just funny to me sometimes. EVERY time another country does something and has success with it, our government wants to say it wouldn't work for us. Okay, maybe thats not really funny, but it's an interesting thing to notice. That when people are doing better then us we still tnk we know better. Like a mathematician claiming they know more about art then Van Gogh, even after they paint something that looks like garbage. Oh, and then it turns out they can't do math either.

Thats becuase our county is not legislating pot or, alcohol back in the prohibition, out of a sense of what is safe for us. It is the freaking morality police that are doing it. They are legislating morality usually due to their own personal religious beliefs. Since they rest of us don't believe the same as them.. they are just going to pass laws and force it on us. Look at who started the war on drugs and the gateway crap.

Anyway we know better because we are more "moral" than those other countries.. I mean look at them.. I bet they are "socialists too!" (tongue in check.)


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aniT* 
Thats becuase our county is not legislating pot or, alcohol back in the prohibition, out of a sense of what is safe for us. It is the freaking morality police that are doing it. They are legislating morality usually due to their own personal religious beliefs. Since they rest of us don't believe the same as them.. they are just going to pass laws and force it on us. Look at who started the war on drugs and the gateway crap.

Anyway we know better because we are more "moral" than those other countries.. I mean look at them.. I bet they are "socialists too!" (tongue in check.)

I hear you







definitely bothers me that they call it a free country, and we have all these "constitutional rights" but we can't use any of them because there are laws that prevent us from doing so.

How did we get so far of course?


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

everyone hops on board when the law doesn't infringe on them personally, not realizing that they could be next. the next law to pass may be one that effects the way they practice their rights as an american citizen - but it's fine when the gov't does it to their neighbor. People don't realize that sometimes you have to stand up for something you don't believe in so that you don't have what you do believe in taken away. Stand up for the bigger picture - for the principle of what our country was built on. Or your rights could be the next to go. We should be looking out for ourselves. As much as it would be nice to believe the gov't is looking out for us, the reality is, they aren't actually doing their job, not the way they were designed too. They do manage to keep up a nice political facade. Half the people don't know what they are voting for, and then laws get passed by politicians when they promised they would never pass such laws while in office.

Sorry to go off on a rant here. If our country is so moral, they may want to consider taking up honesty and honor.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

yeah i don't get the responses that pot (or cigs or alcohol) should be illegal b/c they don't believe anyone should ingest any mind altering substances.

no offense but i couldn't care less what you believe. i could just as easily say that i don't believe in eating meat and meat eating should be illegal.

and the every person i know who has smoked pot has had mental problems or every person i know who has smoked pot is a raging crack addict....

most serial killers i know of are middle aged white guys... should we just imprison them all from the get go? all of the KKK members i know (and yes i actually know quite a few) are christians... should we outlaw the whole religion?

i know tons of middle aged white guys who aren't serial killers and tons of Christians who are not KKK members .... some statements work one way but not the other... i think there is a name for it and i learned it in geometry class in 10th grade.


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## Sasharna (Nov 19, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommysarah5* 
everyone hops on board when the law doesn't infringe on them personally, not realizing that they could be next. the next law to pass may be one that effects the way they practice their rights as an american citizen - but it's fine when the gov't does it to their neighbor. People don't realize that sometimes you have to stand up for something you don't believe in so that you don't have what you do believe in taken away. Stand up for the bigger picture - for the principle of what our country was built on. Or your rights could be the next to go. We should be looking out for ourselves. As much as it would be nice to believe the gov't is looking out for us, the reality is, they aren't actually doing their job, not the way they were designed too. They do manage to keep up a nice political facade. Half the people don't know what they are voting for, and then laws get passed by politicians when they promised they would never pass such laws while in office.

Sorry to go off on a rant here. If our country is so moral, they may want to consider taking up honesty and honor.

I found this post inspiring. Thank you.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:

i think there is a name for it and i learned it in geometry class in 10th grade.
Hasty generalization?

I've only met pot smokes who are crack addicts, therefor all pots smokers are crack addicts.

P.S. I don't believe that.







I know some pot smokers who aren't crack addicts, so not all pot smokers are crack addicts.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Hasty generalization?

I've only met pot smokes who are crack addicts, therefor all pots smokers are crack addicts.

P.S. I don't believe that.







I know some pot smokers who aren't crack addicts, so not all pot smokers are crack addicts.

Are there still crack addicts? I thought everyone had moved on to meth now.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

oh I know what you are talking about 1 little bit... they ask it on IQ tests a lot...

If all Wargs are Twerps and no Twerps are Gollums, then no Gollums are definitely Wargs.
True or False?

or

if all snarks are snorks and all snorks and snips then all snips must be snarks.

true or false?


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

: thats exactly what i am talking about. i just can't think of the name. but they spend a lot of time in school teaching you the reverse of a statement isn't automatically true


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommysarah5* 
oh I know what you are talking about 1 little bit... they ask it on IQ tests a lot...

If all Wargs are Twerps and no Twerps are Gollums, then no Gollums are definitely Wargs.
True or False?

or

if all snarks are snorks and all snorks and snips then all snips must be snarks.

true or false?










Are we talking about the Lord of the Rings now?


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## zansmama (Feb 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LoBleusMama* 
legalize it! medicinal herbs should not be illegal

And THAT is exactly the point.
Dp and I might not be together if it wasn't for his cannabis prescription: it's like ritalin for him.
Plus, it grows in our vegetable/herb garden because, guess what? it's a PLANT. How could you make a plant illegal???


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i think it is called a conditional assertion or something... it is apparently beyond the reach of wikipedia







i just read through like 4 math and philosophy sites.. my head hurts now.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Well, when it comes to logic I can really only clearly identify circular logic.

Pot is illegal because it's bad for you.
Why is it bad for you?
Because it is illegal.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Well, when it comes to logic I can really only clearly identify circular logic.

Pot is illegal because it's bad for you.
Why is it bad for you?
Because it is illegal.










i knew someone would find a good reason to keep it illegal!







why didn't i think of that.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

somewhere up thread was a post saying that for people who are underage tabacco and alcohol are gateway drugs b/c when you break one law it makes it easier to break another.. which is why pot is a gateway drug b/c once you do it it makes it easier to break other laws... like doing heroine and cocaine.

the first thing i thought of was that if you are using that reasoning the easiest way to solve the problem would be to make it all legal.

the other thing i thought was that by that logic smoking tobacco is fine if you start once your 18 but if you start at 18 you are now a potential murder... i mean if it leads to breaking laws it could be any law, not just the substance related ones.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







: thats exactly what i am talking about. i just can't think of the name. but they spend a lot of time in school teaching you the reverse of a statement isn't automatically true

yes I remember that time in school and it was very boring for me because I understood it the first time lol but that's just how it is some people no matter how far you break it down just don't get that concept.

Like, trying to explain to someone that no 40 weeks does not equal 10 months, because there are more then 4 weeks in most months. I've always been good at math... but that makes it hard when there are so many people who aren't and they "know" I am wrong when I say things like there are closer to 4.33 weeks in a month on average.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 
i knew someone would find a good reason to keep it illegal!







why didn't i think of that.









Just think though... Make it legal and it's not bad for you.


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## mommysarah5 (Jun 22, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *musiciandad* 
well, when it comes to logic i can really only clearly identify circular logic.

Pot is illegal because it's bad for you.
Why is it bad for you?
Because it is illegal.










lol


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## Watershippy (Feb 18, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MusicianDad* 
Just think though... Make it legal and it's not bad for you.










You have no idea how true this can be!

I was a student in the Netherlands and I loved seeing how differently pot is treated there. If you want to buy some, you go to a coffeeshop and *order off the menu.* There are many choices for what kind of product you want (organic, flavored, from this region or that, etc) and the barista is always quite knowledgeable and can recommend something for you, just like a waiter at a nice restaurant could recommend a wine pairing. You can get it for here or to go. And the coffeeshops are pleasant places to be, rather like your neighborhood cafe. The entire thing reminds me so much of friends of mine who are coffee snobs (have to have there espresso poured just so) or gourmet foodies. Ever since my time in the Netherlands I've seen pot as a snobbery item along those lines









It ain't scary unless you make it that way.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

i think it would be kinda fun if restaurants had MJ brownies oe something with the cognac on the dessert menu


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Watershippy* 
You have no idea how true this can be!

I was a student in the Netherlands and I loved seeing how differently pot is treated there. If you want to buy some, you go to a coffeeshop and *order off the menu.* There are many choices for what kind of product you want (organic, flavored, from this region or that, etc) and the barista is always quite knowledgeable and can recommend something for you, just like a waiter at a nice restaurant could recommend a wine pairing. You can get it for here or to go. And the coffeeshops are pleasant places to be, rather like your neighborhood cafe. The entire thing reminds me so much of friends of mine who are coffee snobs (have to have there espresso poured just so) or gourmet foodies. Ever since my time in the Netherlands I've seen pot as a snobbery item along those lines









It ain't scary unless you make it that way.

We had one of those places in Vacouver for a while. Except they were only allowed to sell to customers that had a medical reason, they encouraged you to find _something_ to warrent using pot even if it was just stress from life in general.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Doodlebugsmom* 
Not to mention, in The Netherlands, the MJ is sold in coffee shops. No one under the age of 18 is even allowed to enter these places.

Ugh, that would've sucked in high school.

I think they should make hookah/smoking bars and all tobacco/mj/whatever consumption can happen there.


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## luckygreen713 (Apr 9, 2008)

I think it should be decriminalized. I don't know a single person, old or young, in real life, who thinks it should remain illegal.


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## Jojo F. (Apr 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *number572* 
well, hemp industrial ideas died with the exposure of the existing timber industry, b'c timber already existed and could be reaped without wait and without growing expenses... if I remember correctly

Yeah, its all big money in the end. sux!! I wish more people would give a S%%iT


Hopefully it's popularity will start growing(no pun intended), Oregaon just bacame the 6th state to legalize hemp







: The business of hemp milk, oil, etc. has been steadily growing, even in this economy, I hope the other states wise up and at least legalize hemp.


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## NotBroken (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't think MJ is a gateway drug at all!

I have smoked and still do on occasion. I have NEVER tried any other drug. Period.

If ANYTHING, opiates are the REAL gateway drug. Everyone I know who is on hardcore drugs, are-so because the got addicted to pain pills. Then they found heroin and meth were MUCH cheaper!


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
Ugh, that would've sucked in high school.

I bet they have fake ids there just like we have here!


----------



## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NotBroken* 
I don't think MJ is a gateway drug at all!

I have smoked and still do on occasion. I have NEVER tried any other drug. Period.

If ANYTHING, opiates are the REAL gateway drug. Everyone I know who is on hardcore drugs, are-so because the got addicted to pain pills. Then they found heroin and meth were MUCH cheaper!









: when we did COP in school (this is what we did instead of DARE







) the cop who taught us told us how he got addicted to pain killers after surgery. when i had my spinal fusion (i was 12 yrs old) they had me on a morphine drip in the hospital for just under a week and they sent me home with a bunch of pills (obviously a spinal fusion is going to hurt for more then a couple of days) and gave my mom instructions on how to slowly wean me off of them over the course of like 3 months. i can see how it would be very easy to get addicted if you are an adult and regulate your own medication yk?


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## EFmom (Mar 16, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *1littlebit* 







: when we did COP in school (this is what we did instead of DARE







) the cop who taught us told us how he got addicted to pain killers after surgery. when i had my spinal fusion (i was 12 yrs old) they had me on a morphine drip in the hospital for just under a week and they sent me home with a bunch of pills (obviously a spinal fusion is going to hurt for more then a couple of days) and gave my mom instructions on how to slowly wean me off of them over the course of like 3 months. i can see how it would be very easy to get addicted if you are an adult and regulate your own medication yk?

Actually, there are studies which show that patients who regulate their own pain meds (like morphine via pump, for example) take less meds than if they were prescribed a set dosage.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EFmom* 
Actually, there are studies which show that patients who regulate their own pain meds (like morphine via pump, for example) take less meds than if they were prescribed a set dosage.









really? but i was thinking more for people who are prescribed a dosage and are responsible for weaning themselves from them. obviously most people do not become addicted to pain killers but apparently it is not entirely uncommon. in my case it would have literally been impossible since i couldn't have taken more if i wanted to. i imagine it is harder if you come out of the hospital already addicted and have to wean yourself. admittedly its a bit sad that hospitals are sending people home addicted to drugs.


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## QueenOfTheMeadow (Mar 25, 2005)

I may have a different perspective than a lot of people here. My dh is a federal law enforcement officer, and very often has to deal with people who are smoking or dealing pot. In all honesty, I think his job would be a whole lot simpler if it was legal. I'd like to see it regulated similar to alcohol, as in age limits and driving.

Besides that, I'm fine with it being legalized, but at the moment, it isn't. So we can not have it around us because of dh's job.


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## aniT (Jun 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EFmom* 
Actually, there are studies which show that patients who regulate their own pain meds (like morphine via pump, for example) take less meds than if they were prescribed a set dosage.

YES!! When I was in the hospital last month.. .I found myself asking for it exactly at the four hours even if I didn't need it because too often the nurses would take an hour or two to actually get there. I was afraid if I waited til I really needed it I would be in pain for hours while I waited for them.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

when i had it for my c section i was on a totally different schedule then they were. i also had a different reaction the medicine then they expected. they gave me oxytocin which apparently knocks most people out cold and makes them loopy... not me.. it felt similar to taking my ADHD medicine.

they were giving me motrin every 6 hours and oxytocin every 4.... eventually i told them to stop offering and i would let them know when i needed something. they kept coming in at night to try and get me to let them take DS to the nursery so i could sleep and i kept saying no .... i think they were hoping the drugs would knock me out so they could take him to the nursery (i have no idea why it was really bizarre b/c the hospital LCs kept telling me to keep him in the room with me







) but that didn't work out so well.. i told them that they could take DS to the nursery if they let me redecorate their rooms and organize their charts. i also told them that if they were so invested in my amount of sleep it would probably help if they stopped waking me up to ask if they could take DS to the nursery.







common sense is a dying art.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EFmom* 
Actually, there are studies which show that patients who regulate their own pain meds (like morphine via pump, for example) take less meds than if they were prescribed a set dosage.

Do the studies indicate why people are controlling their own medication? I got a PCA with my last c-section, because I didn't _want_ the morphine they usually give me. I really don't like pain medication and take as little as I can get away with - I kind of save it for specific things (eg. I hit the pump once when they took out my catheter, because I knew I'd need to get up and use the bathroom soon, which would be rough - and I hit it just before bedtime). If people who don't want the meds are more likely to regulate their own medication (as in my case), then there'd be kind of a built-in skew.

I found it strange, actually. Every nurse in the place made some comment about my PCA, because they couldn't understand why I hadn't had morphine.


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## benj (Jun 4, 2009)

I'm 22...I would have no problem with it being legalized.

And potheads are annoying, it'd be so much better if they just got what they wanted and shut up.


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## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

I'm in my mid-20's and Dp is in his early 30's. We both support legalization. I am happy and very proud to have several friends dedicating their time and efforts to make that happen. I feel a change is coming soon.


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## darcytrue (Jan 23, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *olina009* 
Do you guys know anyone in their early to mid twenties who doesn't support the legalization of marijuana?

No, actually I don't know anyone in that age range that supports it but then again I'm 40.







I've always been one to say that it's silly that it's still considered an illegal "drug," especially after seeing what cigarettes can do to people, not to mention alcohol. Seriously, how often do you see cops pulling people over who are stoned-driving as compared to drunk driving? You don't hear of it often at all. Pot doesn't impair a person and make them dangerous like alcohol does.

I will say that "when" I was in my early 20's that I and everyone else in my age range also felt that pot was okay and it shouldn't be illegal. So I'm thinking it's just your age.







Some people in your generation will likely change their mind as they get ten, twenty or thirty years older and some may always think pot is okay. So I don't think it's a generation thing as much as it is an age thing. It's the same thing with homosexuality, abortion, etc. Some people can feel one way at 20 years old and a whole different way twenty years later after certain life experiences.


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## Bekka (Nov 20, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommysarah5* 
oh I know what you are talking about 1 little bit... they ask it on IQ tests a lot...

If all Wargs are Twerps and no Twerps are Gollums, then no Gollums are definitely Wargs.
True or False?

or

if all snarks are snorks and all snorks and snips then all snips must be snarks.

true or false?










Popping in to say that it's called Boolean logic (not sure if the spelling is right). I think MJ should be legal in all states at least for medical reasons, and probably as available as alcohol and cigs are. Never used any, never will. However, I'm very, very pro-hemp, and I think it's criminal that with all this great agricultural area in the US we're not growing hemp. I mean, NO pesticides! Come ON!!


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Doodlebugsmom* 
I bet they have fake ids there just like we have here!

Wouldn't have worked for my high school--the teachers hit the same coffee shops during their free periods that we did.


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## 1littlebit (Jun 1, 2008)

it would be unamerican to grow something without pesticides.. pesticides stimulate the economy.


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## DianeMarie (Jul 7, 2009)

I am in medicine ans I have never once heard that pot killed anybody---but booze certainly has, cigarettes certainly have, and they are legal.

The ONE AND ONLY reason why marijuana is not legal has to do with money---you can grow pot in your house or in your backyard, and the government cannot tax it and make money off of your vice. That is why it is not legal. If it were ever legalized, I do think, though, that it should have the same restrictions as alcohol with driving, operating heavy machinery, etc.---pot slows your reflexes way down and can be pretty dangerous when you can react like you usually do. They should com eup with some sort of field-sobriety test just like alcohol.

Marijuana has been shown to have some AMAZING medicinal properties---as a treatment for intractable nausea, it reduces intraocular pressure better than any other medicine, used for weight gain, blood pressure reduction........


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## knittygritty (Apr 23, 2009)

20 years old. I don't think pot should be legalized.


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## QueenOfTheMeadow (Mar 25, 2005)

I'm going to close this thread because it it OT for parenting and can't be moved to tao because the OP doesn't have access to tao. If anyone would like to discuss marijuana in relationship to parenting, please feel free to open a new thread that fits within the parenting forum. Thanks.


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