Marijuana - good or bad?

[Escher]

Anybody who declares that only idiots smoke weed is simply ignorant. Would you say the same thing about alcohol? No, because alcohol is culturally accepted.

People simply need to look at the facts.

http://www.udel.edu/chem/theopold/chem465/copland.udel.edu/~rmarcus/drug%20chart.gif

And right, if used responsibly, I would say marijuana is better than some acne-faced kid who doesn't shower for weeks on end because he's just playing World of Warcraft.

I don't disagree with you, but isn't 'physical harm' a little limited when looking at the 'harm' of drugs?
I was talking to a Doctor I know the other day and he mentioned the Harm Index as a way of measuring harm from drug use, that includes not just physical harm but harm to other areas of the individuals life and activity. A lengthy bit of info is on it here:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr2405.pdf

 

[Tyson]

That's a bit long for me to read right now, but I'll definitely check it out.

Another way to look at it is to simply look at I guess, the societal damage that the drugs do.

How many alcoholics are there? How many people are addicted to marijuana? I guess to define 'addicted' here, we'd have to say that you're addicted when the drug starts affecting your life, such as work, school, or whatever. If you miss work because of alcohol, that's a problem.

(And I can't tell you how many times I've seen people come into work hungover, or calling in sick from alcohol.) I've never heard of someone smoking up, and then being unable to go into work the next morning. I just don't think marijuana trashes your system like alcohol.

How many deaths are caused by alcohol vs. marijuana? It is pretty much impossible to overdose on marijuana. And if you think about drunk driving, alcohol is pretty terrible.

I think if I got high every day of the week for a month, and someone got drunk every day of the week for a month, the marijuana user would come out on top. (not that I'm willing to test this out...)

 

[Escher]

I think if I got high every day of the week for a month, and someone got drunk every day of the week for a month, the marijuana user would come out on top. (not that I'm willing to test this out...)

It's funny that you mention this; you mustn't have seen 'Super High Me'.
Doug Benson (the comedian who made the documentary) actually saw his sperm count and scores on an SAT rise after 30 days of taking the drug daily...
Although he did put on 8 pounds (munchies anyone?).

 

[DavidWoner]

I think if I got high every day of the week for a month, and someone got drunk every day of the week for a month, the marijuana user would come out on top. (not that I'm willing to test this out...)

It's funny that you mention this; you mustn't have seen 'Super High Me'.
Doug Benson (the comedian who made the documentary) actually saw his sperm count and scores on an SAT rise after 30 days of taking the drug daily...
Although he did put on 8 pounds (munchies anyone?).

You also must not have seen this documentary*.

As for the so-called social detriments of marijuana, it has actually led me to become best friends with a lot of people that I otherwise would not have spent much time with. It's also a great opportunity to get out and explore the city and some local trails/parks, instead of just sitting in someone's basement playing video games or something.

*"documentary" used in the loosest sense of the word.

 

[Escher]

Something else that those interested in the debate might like to read:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00638/Professor_Nutt_pape_638397a.pdf

 

[Dene]

ONLY IDIOTS SMOKE WEED.


On a more serious note, I may as well point out that I would be much happier if alcohol was eradicated from the earth. Unfortunately, not such a practical hope. I also agree that drugs should stay banned, but definitely not as bad as alcohol. I'm glad that the NZ government is seriously considering raising the drinking age back up to 20 here.

 

[MichaelErskine]

Alcohol & Weed are like Apples & Oranges: they don't stand side by side in so many of the comparisons being made here.

Neither is inherently evil. You make your choices and deal with the consequences.

Know your limits, be considerate of others, and enjoy yourself but above all stay safe

 

[qqwref]

On a more serious note, I may as well point out that I would be much happier if alcohol was eradicated from the earth.

This is actually literally impossible. Alcohol is the product of the metabolization reactions (fermentation) of many types of microorganisms. I've accidentally produced small amounts of alcohol myself through just leaving sugary liquids around too long.

It'd be nice if alcohol wasn't such a huge part of culture, but there's no way that's going to happen without a gigantic awareness campaign for what it can do to people (and people caring about that), like what they have been doing with smoking for a couple of decades.

 

[RubiksMathMaster]

PEOPLE SMOKE WEED CUZ THEY THINK THEIR COOL. POTHEADS ARE STUPID AND THATS THE FINAL ANSWER RIGHT OFF THE BACK, NO EXCEPTIONS. IF YOU SMOKE IT GUESS WHAT?, YOU'VE JUST RUINED UR WHOLE LIFE...

 

[Swordsman Kirby]

PEOPLE SMOKE WEED CUZ THEY THINK THEIR COOL. POTHEADS ARE STUPID AND THATS THE FINAL ANSWER RIGHT OFF THE BACK, NO EXCEPTIONS. IF YOU SMOKE IT GUESS WHAT?, YOU'VE JUST RUINED UR WHOLE LIFE...

um... lol

 

[DavidWoner]

Just in case you tl;dr Rowan's article, here are some interesting excerpts:

There have been some horrifi c examples where some of the so-called ‘top’ scientific journals have published poor quality research about the harms of drugs such as cannabis or ecstasy, sometimes having to retract the articles. The problem is, you never see the retractions, you just see the front page of newspapers saying ‘ecstasy fries your brain’. The retraction explaining that methamphetamine rather than ecstasy was given by mistake is much less visible, if published at all!

So there’s a peculiar imbalance in terms of reporting that is clearly inappropriate in relation to the relative harms of ecstasy compared with other drugs

So, overall, cannabis use does not lead to major health problems.

I'll finish reading it later, its interesting but I have things to do.

 

[daniel0731ex]

marijuana should be limited for only medical uses, and requires a liscence to produce/own/sell/use. end of discussion.

 

[blade740]

end of discussion.

Oh, thanks, I thought we were just going to keep discussing until nobody had anything else to discuss.

 

[Innocence]

marijuana should be limited for only medical uses, and requires a liscence to produce/own/sell/use. end of discussion.

How did you draw that conclusion with what has been said here?

My personal opinion on the matter is that all mind-altering substances aren't the best thing for you, as the human mind is the way it is for a reason. That said, I would much prefer marijuana to be legalized, because if people are going to waste their money on something, I'd prefer it to be something of a calming nature, unlike alcohol.

I see it this way: If there is more MJ readily available, then there will be more money being spent on it. If there is more money being spent on it, then there will be less being spent on alcohol, cigarettes, and other 'hard' drugs.

Yes, I'm aware that because another commodity exists, there is more wealth in the economy, but the average joe probably wouldn't be making his money from weed. (Except in present times, obviously)

EDIT: I was inclined to think so, too. I don't really think he has power to end the discussion anyway.

 

[qqwref]

end of discussion.

Oh, thanks, I thought we were just going to keep discussing until nobody had anything else to discuss.

That would be awful. It's a good thing daniel is here.

 

[cmhardw]

PEOPLE SMOKE WEED CUZ THEY THINK THEIR COOL. POTHEADS ARE STUPID AND THATS THE FINAL ANSWER RIGHT OFF THE BACK, NO EXCEPTIONS. IF YOU SMOKE IT GUESS WHAT?, YOU'VE JUST RUINED UR WHOLE LIFE...

Thanks for stating your opinion in this thread, even if some of us don't share the same opinions as you.

One useful tip: to get more respect on this forum you really should press the key to the left of the letter "A" on your QWERTY keyboard. Make sure the little light on your keyboard that comes on when you do this is turned off. Contrary to popular belief, that little light does not signify that "Respect me more" mode is engaged.

Chris

 

[anythingtwisty]

I find the situation with MDMA (ecstasy) to be quite similar. A huge problem that started occurring when ecstasy was banned is the problem of impurities and adulterants. Due to the (il)legal status of ecstacy in most countries, methamphetamine, caffeine, cocaine, and other substances are sold as ecstasy, all of which have worse effects than pure MDMA. If you want to learn more about this subject, search for the documentary Ecstasy Rising on Google Video. It was made by ABC and is very well done.

 

[masterofthebass]

The problem with MDMA is the after effects of the drug. Due to the massive amount of seratonin given off, if someone were to use MDMA, the time after the high is quite depressing, possibly leading to various things. Also, you can overdose on it relatively easily.

 

[Dene]

PEOPLE SMOKE WEED CUZ THEY THINK THEIR COOL. POTHEADS ARE STUPID AND THATS THE FINAL ANSWER RIGHT OFF THE BACK, NO EXCEPTIONS. IF YOU SMOKE IT GUESS WHAT?, YOU'VE JUST RUINED UR WHOLE LIFE...

Thanks for stating your opinion in this thread, even if some of us don't share the same opinions as you.

One useful tip: to get more respect on this forum you really should press the key to the left of the letter "A" on your QWERTY keyboard. Make sure the little light on your keyboard that comes on when you do this is turned off. Contrary to popular belief, that little light does not signify that "Respect me more" mode is engaged.

Chris

DENE BEGS TO DIFFER, BUT AGREES THAT RUBIKSMATHMASTER IS NOT COOL.

 

[luke1984]

The problem with MDMA is the after effects of the drug. Due to the massive amount of seratonin given off, if someone were to use MDMA, the time after the high is quite depressing, possibly leading to various things. Also, you can overdose on it relatively easily.

I've tried MDMA on several occasions, and I can say it has been a very special experience every time. I've never overdosed on it, nor have I ever seen anyone overdose on it. My own doses ranged from 60mg to 500mg(spread out of course) and I've never had any side-effects. I've seen people dosing much higher than that without any negative effects. I've seen so many people overdosing on alcohol though, including myself.
Now I'm NOT saying you should pick MDMA over alcohol, I'm just saying the nature of the effects of alcohol could cause a user to overdose quite easily.

Not cannabis, nor MDMA, nor cocaine have ever been addictive to me. Not any kind of drug for that matter, besides alcohol.

Again, I'm not advocating drug use, I'm just saying what my own experiences have been. There can be negative after effects after using MDMA, but not everyone experiences them and only for a small percentage of people they can be bad. It mostly depends on a persons serotonin metabolism and the way the neurons handle reuptake inhibition of serotonin.

Some people experience no after effects what so ever, but others do. I've experienced slight emotional discomfort 2 days after use, but it's managable. Alcohol hangover is much, much worse.