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There are a lot of issues to consider here. I am one who has serious reactions to drugs given with a prescription, but is also addicted to nicotine.
But I have also helped raise two children whose parents were on street drugs, and whose rights were terminated because of neglecting and abusing their children.
There are a lot of innocents that would be effected with the legalization of drugs.
A lot more to consider than empyting jails.
Neverose
Which type of drugs? The kind that make you peaceful or the kind that make you go insane?Quote:
Originally posted by Neverose@16 August 2003 - 19:36
But I have also helped raise two children whose parents were on street drugs, and whose rights were terminated because of neglecting and abusing their children.
Both of these statments are pure drivel.Quote:
Originally posted by balamm+16 August 2003 - 19:35--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (balamm @ 16 August 2003 - 19:35)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-evilbagpuss@17 August 2003 - 02:13
Cannabis is not physically addictive, it is no more harmful than tobacco and is less harmful than alcohol.
A tiny number of people will experience mental difficulties, paranoia etc, but these are temporary and besides this only occurs with extremely excessive usage.
The problem with smoking dope is it makes you a dope. You haven't got the faculties left to reason out the effects. What seems normal to you is an illusion. You are not what you once were. And that also comes from personal experience. Mine and people who's lives I've seen destroyed by this crap.
The effects are not temporary. They do diminish somewhat with time but the stigma for some will be permanent.
It may be that your experience is based on diluted goods.
In British Columbia, the quality and potency has been genetically manipulated to the point where it could almost be considered a poison.
It does in fact cause some people to be hospitalized.
You can expect this problem to increase even more with decriminalisation or legalisation.
There is just no stopping it. [/b][/quote]
Amazingly, I find myself in complete agreement with Evilbagpuss on this issue.
Perhaps almost 40 years of use has made me a dope.
In my opinion, the problem with smoking dope is not that "it makes you a dope", rather that it can make you a criminal.
Which type of drugs? The kind that make you peaceful or the kind that make you go insane? [/b][/quote]Quote:
Originally posted by SodiumChloride+16 August 2003 - 22:52--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (SodiumChloride @ 16 August 2003 - 22:52)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Neverose@16 August 2003 - 19:36
But I have also helped raise two children whose parents were on street drugs, and whose rights were terminated because of neglecting and abusing their children.
Who knows? Even alcohol abuse can result in fetal alcohol syndrome in a child.
Maybe we could just legalize this for everyone that agrees to sterilization????
;) :D
Oh, that makes a difference then. Only paranoia. mental difficulties, etc.Quote:
Originally posted by evilbagpuss@16 August 2003 - 21:13
A tiny number of people will experience mental difficulties, paranoia etc, but these are temporary and besides this only occurs with extremely excessive usage.
I think I will get a pre-skin test before just in case.
All I was worried about were the 'munchies.
Now you say there is possible paranoia?
Like....did anyone see me do this? Are they still watching? Can I outwit them? Am I in trouble? Did you see that cop? Calm down, breathe in, breathe out. Ten deep breaths...dang, that cop is still there.....oh, probably just my imagination. I sure would like a brownie about right now.!!!! dang, he is headed this way. Oh no :o Gulp. gag, gag, gag, gulp gulp!!! ;)
;) :D :lol: :lol: :lol:
I hope drugs like PCP are never considered for legalization because they truelyQuote:
Which type of drugs? The kind that make you peaceful or the kind that make you go insane?
can cause insanity.
But anyone that thinks even pot is the utopian drug are either justifying the use of
or are deluding themself. The lesser evil I tend to agree. Smoking pot kills
brain cells that do not rejuvinate themselves.
http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/drugs..._marijuana.html
Effects of Marijuana on the Brain. Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is acted on by the hippocampus. This is a component of the brain's limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. Investigations have shown that THC suppresses neurons in the information-processing system of the hippocampus. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate.
Effects on the Lungs. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have. These individuals may have daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. Continuing to smoke marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke.
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread14040.shtml
The House of Sober Second Thought has endorsed the outright legalization of marijuana. Prohibition advocates are clamouring to have their voices heard.
Both camps have indoctrinated themselves to such a degree that when approached by legislators who wish to re-examine our nation's marijuana policies, they downshift into automatic, dogmatic, sound-bite machines.
Senator Pierre Claude Nolin has said that "pot is certainly less grave than alcohol and tobacco as far as health is concerned."
Pro-pot groups love using that argument. They promote the concept that marijuana is a benign recreational drug, far less deadly or addictive than cigarettes or alcohol.
With respect, anyone who has spent time on a university campus in the past few years has gleaned enough empirical data to wholly refute that claim. As a freshman, I had a friend with a near-photographic memory and a desire to experiment with anything and everything.
Four years later, he was nearly two years away from graduation, he had a world-class collection of bongs and he frequently forgot why he had even walked into a room. Deadly? Definitely not. Benign? Ask my friend. He's probably still in school, trying to graduate.
We are told that if Canada legalizes pot and brings it under the umbrella of government regulation, there will be no more black market. There will be no more organized crime running the show and our kids will be safer.
The funny thing about criminals is that they don't always agree with lawmakers. In a legalized Canada, the government would issue licences to growers and sellers, tax marijuana cigarettes at a hefty rate and regulate THC levels, the key ingredient in pot.
The government would have instituted a system delivering high-priced, low-grade pot, the perfect framework for the creation of a brand-new black market.
If you only listened to supporters of legalization, you'd think that all that ails our society is rooted in our drug laws: Loosen them up, and everyone would have jobs, schools would be safe and we'd all live forever. Such an idea is as ludicrous as total prohibition.
The problem is that neither side has ever painted a realistic picture of the future. The Marijuana Party would have much more credibility in the eyes of the public if it conceded that legalization would have some negative effects on society. Meanwhile, prohibitionists should stop endorsing such an apocalyptic view of a marijuana-friendly Canada.
In order to make informed decisions, legislators need more than battle lines drawn in the sand and catchy slogans from pressure groups.
Canadians want to know how our border policy with the United States would change if our drug laws suddenly became less harmonized. Would every Canadian under the age of 30 be searched at the border? Would the cost of travel increase?
Canadians want to know if medicinal marijuana would be covered by medicare and they want to know if smoking a joint behind the wheel is tantamount to drinking and driving. Without these details, we cannot take that great leap into a world of a more sensible and compassionate view of marijuana.
The Senate committee has taken a bold first step in changing our drug laws, but until those seeking to legalize pot start painting a more realistic portrait of a Canada brimming with legal weed, legislators will tell them to take their recommendations, stick them in their collective pipe and smoke it.
Complete Title: Where There's Toke ...Marijuana Law Debate Must Get Realistic
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Author: Ben Mulroney -- For the Sun
Published: September 8, 2002
Copyright: 2002 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtml
Related Articles & Web Site:
Marijuana Party of Canada
http://www.marijuanaparty.org/
Don't Legalize Pot, Decriminalize It
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14032.shtml
Activists, Experts Hail Senate's Report on Pot
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13995.shtml
Legalize Marijuana, Senate Committee Says
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13989.shtml
I for one hope that drugs continue to be illegal. I've seen too many people die that i care about to try and buy in to the legalisation argument. imnotanaddict you sound just like me about 7 or 8 years ago before I got sober and began to learn the real facts about what drugs do to people. I hope you live long enough to see for your self. This is not a shot at you this fact in my life. The gate-way myth is not a myth sorry.
@imnotanaddict
All recreational drugs destroy brain cells and alcohol is far far worse in that respect. It really is a non-issue.
Now.. no one is saying cannabis is a harmless 'utopian' drug. The argument is that it is less harmful than alcohol and that criminalizing millions of otherwise law abiding citizens causes much more harm and is a waste of resources.
Given the choice I would rather go out looking for a job whilst in possession of a poor short term memory as opposed to a criminal record.
Anyway.. at least when your smoking dope with strangers you dont have to worry about some idiot shoving a pint glass in your face. As well as liver transplants etc the NHS spends tens of millions (if not more) cleaning up the damage people do to themselves and each other when they're completely pissed out of their minds.
For me the bottom line is that pot allows you far more control over your actions compared to alcohol and unlike alcohol its not physically addictive.
You just keep right on telling yourself that ;)Quote:
Originally posted by evilbagpuss@17 August 2003 - 06:19
For me the bottom line is that pot allows you far more control over your actions compared to alcohol and unlike alcohol its not physically addictive.
Someday you may even believe it enough not to have to look for validation in a forum like this.
Intresting theory I suppose you would rather deal with lung cancer and heart disease, but hey whatever floats your boat.Quote:
Originally posted by evilbagpuss@17 August 2003 - 05:19
Anyway.. at least when your smoking dope with strangers you dont have to worry about some idiot shoving a pint glass in your face. As well as liver transplants etc the NHS spends tens of millions (if not more) cleaning up the damage people do to themselves and each other when they're completely pissed out of their minds.