Your stance on Weed.

[Cadell]

I'm not sure about that, but it has been used thousands of years ago as a medicine, and in religious rituals.
From my project:

China: Concerned at the frequent failure of the shamans, legendary Emperor Shen Nung of the third millennium BC set off to study Chinese flora, testing the plants on himself. It has been said that he turned green and died of self-administered poisoning. The information that he collected became the standard reference work for Chinese medicine, leading Shen Nung to deification, and the title father of Chinese medicine. He advised the use of ‘hemp elixir,’ a tea made of cannabis flowers, to treat a wide range of ailments, like gout and malaria.
Chinese medicine was the most advanced in the world by the second century AD. Hua Tuo discovered cannabis resin mixed with wine made an effective analgesic, called ma yo, and created an anesthetic composed of cannabis and aconite, which he was to conduct major invasive surgery with.

Hinduism: According to the Vedas, four books of the Hindu faith:

around 1100 BC, Shiva brought cannabis down from the Himalayas for the pleasure of mankind. According to legend, cannabis was created when the gods stirred the heavenly oceans with the peak of Mount Mandara… A drop of celestial nectar, amrita, fell to earth and a hemp plant sprouted from the spot. It became the favorite drink of Indra, the Lord of Kings, and was subsequently consecrated to Shiva.
(24)

The Atharva Veda, book four, says that one uses cannabis to commune with Shiva, and calls cannabis one of the five sacred plants which contains a prayer of deliverance from disaster, disease, and demons. Through the use of cannabis, mankind is cleansed of sin.

Zoroastrianism: lists cannabis as the most important medicinal plant of 10,000.

There's some irony there. Isn't there laws protecting religious rights in terms of drug use?

[Iamtheway]

Just to respond to those of you under the impression that weed, in and of itself, is chemically addictive.

Its not.

The chemical in weed that affects the brain simply is NOT addictive, you can stop using at any time and have no withdrawal or other ill effects like you would with caffine, commercial tobacco(Btw, home grown tobacco has less withdrawal symptom then commercial), alcohol(for actual alchohol addicts). Some of those symptoms with tobacco, caffine, and alcohol include severe mood swings, irritability, cold swears, hot flashes, vomiting, shakes, etc. You simply wont get that with weed.

I know, I was a heavy pot smoker for 10 years, smoking every day almost of every grade of pot you could think of. I stopped cold turkey when my kid was born and the only yearning ive had for pot has been for the social interactions that i had while using the drug.

There are some jerk dealers out there that mix in other substances with their weed when they sell, and thats just not cool and messes ppl up. Get your pot from a friend! not some jerk on the side of the road!

Now, the mental effects that pot has on the system are about the only thing that could be come addictive, euphoria, being slightly lightheaded, having a sense of happiness without working for it. In that case it works like a dumbed down version of an opiate, but its still not chemically addictive.

Like any drug(i include alcohol, tobacco, and every legal means of obtaining any mood altering substance) it should be used responsibly, with proper judgment.

and technically, dracopnious is right, pot was made illegal for a number of reasons in the 20's(it was as widely used as alcohol back then). Some of those reasons were fear, greed(lul hemp fooked you over rope and canvas!!) and people with interests in big buisness(canvass, rope, and other markets at the time) had a hand in the government and decided to lock the market in by making it illegal. Reefer Madness is one of the more silly propaganda movies that was designed to instill fear and other emotions in the god fearing voters of the time(Remember, a person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky animals[ty MiB])

BTW if you really want an interesting story on how pot affects your streets and how it actually BECOMES a gateway drug, go look up amsterdam's policies on it, how they control it, and their crime rates and drug usages across the board. One of the only reasons pot is a gateway drug is BECAUSE OF THE TYPES OF PEOPLE SELLING IT. Most of the illegal dealers will have some sort of hard drug lying around waiting to be sold, and of course you trust your "guy" somewhat when you are young and stupid, and then BAM, you got a hardcore drug addict.

Legalizing pot almost completely removes the temptation, yes, the temptation and opportunity to acquire harder drugs. I'll bet you if you look up denver's crime numbers in the last 5 years there had been a sharp decline in drug related crimes, and other crime for that matter, since they started. Hell, i walked down colfax by cap hill on a weekend and didnt see one pusher or hooker for about 3 hours(which used to be fairly common)

ok, im done with my rant

[LeClaires]

There's some irony there. Isn't there laws protecting religious rights in terms of drug use?

I remember there being laws to protect them; however, I don't think they were specific to America. That was partly why Rastafarians in Jamaica could partake in marijuana to get closer or commune with Jah, but other citizens who weren't of the religion couldn't partake. Or something like that. Trying to remember it lol.

[Mudpile]

I have 0 tolerance to weed, and the reason is very obvious.

Also, I personally have seen family members and friends who smoke it and have done nothing with their lives except try to cling onto more financially secure family members/friends and then proceed to steal from them to continue their habbit. Or have proceeded to more hardcore drugs. Also, chances are they work at some Min. Wage Job and have no ambition to advance in life.

In other words, I have seen nothing good with this drug.

I completely understand where that is coming from as that is personal to you. I myself had always been against it because my ex used to smoke up from time to time. I told her she should let go of it but even so she went off with her friends but on rarer occasions. One day at this house party after a long day we were in a circle and a friend gets out some herbs. I wasnt too use and asked how it felt. I gave in from my own will I wasnt pushed and I highly appreciate that they did that nowadays. I took a few puffs and it wasnt all too bad. It was a fun night and since then I probably go off with some friends once a month.

Now, daginni, have you ever seen anything good with alcohol? The usual argument for weed is that it is not a dangerous as alcohol. To that I say yes and no. I preffer smoking weed over alcohol. I've seen more people get in danger because of alcohol than weed. I try to be discrete about it. I go around have some fun but I dont act like an alcoholic falling on peoples faces.

Personally its not a problem to stop. But its a relief to me and some friends to just go out and smoke weed after a hard week at school. Just like people here in switzerland go to pubs to get a nice dose of alcohol to have fun.

So weed: yes. Alcohol: yes. But one needs to be aware of what they are doing. Once they start doing it for the sake of it its too far. As long as control insues over consumption all is fine and we can keep getting high

[Baz]

I've smoked it at parties a few times but really it has no serious affects. I've seen someone drink a bunch and go drive, and hit a fucking telephone pole in half a minute. I've also seen a friend of mine smoke a damn ton of weed, get in his car, and drive alright. Imo, its going to be legalized in the US sometime. If the government can't stop its dealing and its not as bad as alcohol and cigarettes, might as well just tax it.

[nickster]

yea for 2 years or something i smoked it everyday then i went to the gym a few times got hooked on the gym.
(its a wayyy better drug) now i smoke it occasionaly like 1 every 6 week -2 months .
but time spending with friends whas great. can still remember the stoney laughs where u would almost pee ur pants from laughing.

although the introduction into got me into trying the harder stuff (xtc and some other stuffs )
wich whas also fun

so i dont regret using it it whas time FUN spend

if u can controle urself taking it its ok

[Limbs of a Stare]

fuckin stoner right here, i mean check the avatar.
anyway i really dont see why anybody would want to go out of there way to stop someone (especially if they dont even know the person) from doing a relatively harmless drug.
whats even worse is people who smoke just cause they think its cool or people who try to pressure people who dont want to to try it. If someone wants to try it then sweet, but if not thats chill too.

[JasonWuzHear]

I'd also like to add a fact:

Industrial Cannabis can not make you high, and in fact, has hundreds, if not thousands of uses. Yet, it's illegal to grow in America without a permit. The thing is, the DEA is so strict with handing out the permit that no one since 1958 has grown hemp legally on American soil.

[pionock]

I personally have no problem with marijuana itself, nor do I really have a problem with people who use it as long as they still are productive in their life, which sadly is not the case the majority of the time. I've never done it, and I never will as I see no point in sinking more money into something non-productive. I mean, I play WoW already, that's bad enough

My real beef with marijuana is the people who broadcast that they're smoking it, or they died because they're "so stoned, brah." Nobody gives a flying, purple-people-eating fuck that you smoke marijuana. It's hilarious how people seem to forget that it's still illegal in the USA, and you can get charged for possession and use by simply posting about it. http://www.cracked.com/article_18554...jail-time.html Go to list number 3 and the articles linked within that section for proof. Not saying that you can go to jail for talking about weed in WoW, but anything's possible.

[Deleted]

Father smoked and grew it since I was born, I've smoked it, friends smoked it. Don't give a shit about it.

[LonesomeCrowdedWest-]

I get the impression that people who are arguing against it have done little to no research on the topic, and if they have done any research at all they've googled "why is marijuana bad" and clicked on the first link.
The facts speak for themselves, marijuana is not bad for you other than smoke inhalation, but you're inhaling a different kind of smoke, so the worst that can happen is your lungs may seem to burn. You're inhaling heated plants matter, what would you expect to happen? If you vaporize or eat it, it has no negative effects on your health. You can't look at your average high school pot head and think that's how all people who smoke weed are. If they never touched a joint they would still be an idiot. They're probably more likely to try marijuana seeing as it's illegal and they care less about them getting in trouble.
It's also a myth that marijuana is stronger today than it was in the 60's. They take the highest THC content and compare it to the normal 60's weed. You won't meet very many people smoking weed with 20% TCH unless you live in California, heh. People have crossbreed it to make it better, who wouldn't want to improve something they're passionate about? I'm obviously not talking about Mexican drug cartels, ect. (which thrive in selling marijuana due to prohibition) but by people who actually care. And if it did have more THC, why would that be bad? THC is good for you, that's not up for debate. THC was never supposed to be what made marijuana bad for you, but the other carcinogenic compounds that are in it. Which the anti-tumoral affects of TCH nullifies. The more TCH in your weed, the less smoke you have to inhale. But alas, the TCH content of your average joint today is almost exactly the same as it was in 1969.

[Catta]

and you ignore the facts yourself...

facts speak for themselves: they also say it induces physcosises and other stuff - ive written this and why numerous time, i wont bother as it will just be ignored as it does not fit into ppls minds...

[LonesomeCrowdedWest-]

Okay, you claim it causes psychosis, but do you know how many cases have been recorded? There are about 1500-2000 recorded cases if memory serves me right. About 40% had prior mental problems. 1500 people die a year from caffeine, but does that change the way you look at Coca-Cola? No, because the chances that it will happen are so immensely small they are pretty much negligible. The fact is, is people are taught stereotypes from when they were children, with no basis in factual evidence. They feel no need to question what they were taught, so they always assume it's the truth. They don't take a second look later. They always assume marijuana is bad. While their ignorance may seem harmless, it's not to the thousands of people who go to jail for doing something they genuinely enjoy doing.

[Violent]

I have a strong feeling that excessive use of marijuana will lead to psychological problems like depression.

I only get depressed when I run out. (lol)

[Catta]

Okay, you claim it causes psychosis, but do you know how many cases have been recorded? There are about 1500-2000 recorded cases if memory serves me right. About 40% had prior mental problems. 1500 people die a year from caffeine, but does that change the way you look at Coca-Cola? No, because the chances that it will happen are so immensely small they are pretty much negligible. The fact is, is people are taught stereotypes from when they were children, with no basis in factual evidence. They feel no need to question what they were taught, so they always assume it's the truth. They don't take a second look later. They always assume marijuana is bad. While their ignorance may seem harmless, it's not to the thousands of people who go to jail for doing something they genuinely enjoy doing.

If you look back in these posts u see my factual evidence... im studying biology and its possible to get THC toxication and the chance of psychosis is much much larger than if drinking alcohol or tobacco

[LonesomeCrowdedWest-]

I don't know the exact number of cases, I've only read 1500-2000. The chance you'll develop a mental disorder is extremely low at any rate. Probably about the same chance that you'll eat a fruit contaminated with some type of bacteria that could make you very sick, though you don't worry when you take a bite of an apple, do you? It's fact that anti-marijuana organizations get most of their money from alcohol companies. It's all about profits and scaring people away from using a less harmful drug, as to not lose money. It seems that people have an extremely biased opinion of marijuana because the stoners in their high school turned out to be failures. I've said it like 5 times already, but they would be failures if they never came in contact with marijuana.
Anyways, deaths from substances annually...
Tobacco - 450,000.
Alcohol - 85,000.
Marijuana - 0.

[Deleted]

to the people who think weed is a gateway drug, its only a gateway drug if you are weak minded, ive smoked weed for years and never thought of taking heroin or E's or shrooms.so tbh cannabis is fine it shud be legal cos there a far worse legal things than cannabis, theres even legal highs that are more dangerous than there illegal counterparts. just legalis it and you will gain shitloads in tax and free up prisions for real offenders like murderes rapists and pedo's

[agamedes]

never smoked, never will...

But that doesn't mean I don't want weed to be legalized... On the contrary, I want it to be perfectly legal suicide isn't a crime, and if you want to kill yourself slowly (and, let's face it, with a lot of pleasure), well, you should be free to do so

making weed illegal is just stupid IMHO, and, what's worse, government spends a LOT of money on monitoring people and not letting them get high too, money that could be spent on important stuff, not this stupid sh*t...

weed should be legal, and that's a fact

[xile]

Not really. If weed was addictive in nature, everyone that tried it would be addicted, and as that is not the case, your statement is false. Water isn't a good example as it is a necessity of LIFE, as in you go without it = you die.

As for your point on self control, do you have any idea what the concept of it is? Obviously not.

Hi masturbation is addictive in nature, sugar is addictive, EVERYTHING can be addictive. And your point is still wrong, your body becomes addicted as well as your mind. AKA even if you don't feel addicted mentally you can be addicted physically which is entirely seperate of your mental thoughts, get off your high horse. Things that provide an increase in your pleasure or anything you find fun are addictive. Did you know you're probably addicted to the "high" (aka happiness) you have when you're with your friends, or your girlfriend? Ever wonder why kids go all bat shit crazy when they break up?

[Oweena]

Wow.. see the first page and no one has said it...


My stance = Fury...

That is all...

Infact honestly, I see no problems with weed specially considering the things legal on the market that are just as addictive and in some cases worse for your health.