Marijuana is the most overrated 'substance' on earth

[timtim]

There is no money to be made from MJ

this statement is so wrong on so many levels. research oaksterdam university in oakland, ca. the owner payed $1.8 million in taxes for the school and his medical marijuana shop. thats what he paid to the government, not his profit.

 

[Alpha-Male]

Wrong there's no way some half-pint limey prick is related to me.

Besides I'm the youngest in my family.

Cheers,
Scotsman

Haha, well I'm actually of indian origin so I don't know if I can be classed as a 'limey' per se

Although I suppose I could beef up a little more.

 

[ortiz34]

legalize it or don't

we'll still blaze and there is plenty available

 

[chris302001]

Haha, well I'm actually of indian origin so I don't know if I can be classed as a 'limey' per se

Although I suppose I could stop acting like a little bitch all the time.

indeed

 

[FriendlyCanadian]

Weed is a joke and I like the punks that do it so much and they sound like fuckin burnouts...nice lives

I smoke the occasional joint lol

bastard!

 

[mrplunkey]

You don't get it. It's closing an economic gate, so to speak. Preventing "organic" drugs from being accessed by the general public just creates a larger market for synthetic drugs. For example, in Amersterdam they've never heard of crystal meth.

They've never head of meth in Amsterdam because people tired of pot wanting something more can easily get high quality heroin or cocaine.

Crystal meth (and oxycontin) abuse are more rampant on a per capita basis in rural areas that don't have interstate access to major drug lanes. So if your goal is to stop crystal meth, just put a well-traveled drug trafficing route in their backyard so they can go for the less dangerous substance.

If the war on drugs in America ended tomorrow it would put more than 2 billion a year back into the economy that is currently being used to "fight the war" and feed/house non violent drug offenders.

Let's pretend for a moment that number is correct. In a $14.4T economy, that would be 0.014% of our GDP. So we're going to endorse and effectively promote a new drug to the public for 0.014%? Think about how many people already have diminished ambition due to pot. Even the most miniscule decrease in productivity would crush that 0.0145% gain hundreds of times over.

It's the same situation as what happened back with prohibition. People didn't stop drinking, they just drank poison and the govt. spent money (which they could have been collecting in taxes) chasing the bootleggers.

If they cared so much about protecting our health, why don't they make cigarettes, which kill about 1/2 a million people in this country alone, illegal?

You answered your own question about tobacco. It's difficult enough to contain an illegal substance (you can argue we're losing that war anyway) -- but it's virtually impossible to repeal the legality of a widely-accepted substance like alcohol or tobacco. So even if pot was legalized for a short time, there would be no going back.

 

[redsamurai]

Think about how many people already have diminished ambition due to pot. Even the most miniscule decrease in productivity would crush that 0.0145% gain hundreds of times over.

There are plenty of people with "diminished ambition" that don't do drugs. People with diminished ambition will do drugs "because" of their depression or whatever. The diminshed ambition does not come from the drug. I know too many people who smoked their way through difficult degree's to beleive that propaganda anymore. You're just regurgitating talking points, not giving an opinion based on personal experience. The stress reduction benefits alone make pot worth it's weight in gold.

 

[mrplunkey]

There are plenty of people with "diminished ambition" that don't do drugs. People with diminished ambition will do drugs "because" of their depression or whatever. The diminshed ambition does not come from the drug. I know too many people who smoked their way through difficult degree's to beleive that propaganda anymore. You're just regurgitating talking points, not giving an opinion based on personal experience. The stress reduction benefits alone make pot worth it's weight in gold.

I personally don't smoke pot because it makes me not want to do shit for 1-2 days after I use it. It's a massive demotivator for me.

As for other people, everyone knows someone who lost a year in college or who lost several years in real life with a wake-and-bake lifestyle.

And how can you miss the evidence? There are studies everywhere. Here are four that show pot to have an adverse effect on developing brains:

Block, R.I., and Ghoneim, M.M. Effects of chronic marijuana use on human cognition. Psychopharmacology 100(1-2): 219-228, 1993.

Brook, J.S.; Rosen, Z.; Brook, D.W. The effect of early marijuana use on later anxiety and depressive symptoms. NYS Psychologist January:35-39, 2001.

Wilson, W.; Mathew, R.; Turkington, T.; Hawk, T.; Coleman, R.E.; and Provenzale, J. Brain morphological changes and early marijuana use: A magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography study. J Addict Dis 19(1):1-22, 2000.

Brook, J.S.; Balka, E.B.; and Whiteman, M. The risks for late adolescence of early adolescent marijuana use. Am J Public Health 89(10):1549-1554, 1999.

Here are two articles demonstrating pot's diminishment of short-term memory:

Heishman, S.J.; Arasteh, K; and Stitzer, M.L. Comparative effects of alcohol and marijuana on mood, memory, and performance. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 58(1):93-101, 1997.

Fletcher, J.M.; Page, J.B.; Francis, D.J.; Copeland, K.; Naus, M.J.; Davis, C.M.; Morris, R.; Krauskopf, D.; and Satz, P. Cognitive correlates of chronic cannabis use in Costa Rican men. Archives of General Psychiatry 53:1051-1057, 1996.

This stuff is everywhere. How could anyone possibly miss it?

 

[PICK3]

I personally don't smoke pot because it maked me a Mo.

fixed

 

[mrplunkey]

And here's a study of 300 identical twins. The twin exposed to pot at 17 or below had elevated risk of subsequent drug problems (for other drugs) as compared to the identical twin that didn't get exposed.

Lynskey, M.T.; Heath, A.C.; Bucholz, K.K.; Slutske, W.S.; Madden, P.A.F.; Nelson, E.C.; Statham, D.J.; and Martin, N.G. Escalation of drug use in early-onset cannabis users vs. co-twin controls. JAMA 289(4):427-433, 2003.

This stuff is out there everywhere. How could someone miss it?