Is marijuana really that bad?

Also I wanted to add in that I can understand why some people are so very defensive about marijuana and it's use. The drug has not had the same positive exposure that, unfortunately, the use of alchohol or cigaretts have over the years. Alchohol/cigarrets are a form of social drug, even though smoking in public is really getting pounded in some areas.

I have a couple of really great friends who smoke up on a regular basis, unfortunately I had to call them at home to find out what they thought about this. One of them explained to me that most people do not feel comfortable around people that 'smoke up' to relax where they have no problem being around someone that needs a 'nip' to do the same. He said that it's really easy for someone that smokes often, or even someone that abuses it, to get incredibly defensive when the topic comes up in any form. For him he thinks that many people make the drug a way of life for them, to be used when the world is 'just too much to take'. I guess I can understand this statement, alchoholics get the same way when people say that you should take their booze away. There is little anyone can do until you convince the alchoholic that their addiction really is hurting them, and everyone around them that cares about them.

Here's the funny thing, I'm being defensive. Mainly because I believe it should be legal for a myriad of reasons. However, I haven't "smoked" in a good two years.

Why? Well, when I moved to St. Louis, I moved away from the people around me who usually had pot. I've always been one of those annoying social smokers who never had any of her own but would take a hit of the bowl passed 'round. Needless to say, going into the grocery and grabbing a bottle of amaretto (now that I'm old) is a lot easier than finding illegal drugs when you don't know anyone in a city. Heh.

So, no, it's _really_ NOT any addiction making me "defensive".

Oh, and as for Geneseo changing, I dunno, Bozz. Gamma Chi (sp?) still on campus?

That's why I think both should be illegal. :) Then again, that's highly opinionated and I wouldn't expect many to share that. Alcohol -used- to be banned for that very reason, but that was a long time ago.

Oh! Im not arguing about it being illegal or not. I don't care as long as I dont have to pay more for someone else's addiction, I have enough trouble with my own annoying habits.

As far as GC... They are pretty much non-existent, freshmen year they got the living shit beat out of them for smoking pot (and other things) at the Idiot Box (IB). Don't you remember that it was like the first time that hell hole had been closed down for 2 straight weeks?

I think there is one Gamma Chi left on campus this year.

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Originally posted by Sier
If it's not possible, then why did it happen? I know it was weed and for a fact that he doesn't do any other drugs. Your sources must not be accurate, unless he is suffering from a bout of insanity.

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There has been an ongoing argument that pot is not physically addictive. I could provide medical data to both sides of that argument. What no one can deny is that, like Nicotine and Heroin, there are NO PROVEN physical detox symptoms for MJ. There are, however may psychological symptoms that will induce headache or lethargy. I think your friend is full of shit.

My parents are true blue "Pot Smokers." They smoke every day since before I can remember. They both hold good jobs and are productive members of society. They don't suffer from that myth that pot makes you "Dim". Addicted? Well, there are times that they call DRY PERIODS when it is just to difficult to get it, so they go without. They dont twich, they dont shake, they dont jitter. If anything maybe they are crankier...but then again, my mom is going through menopause so I could attribute crankiness to that too. My point, is after smoking pot for 20+years, they NEVER experienced DT's like that of narcotics or even nicotine or alcohol, if at all. So I would have to agree with the argument that it is, in fact, not physically addictive based on the case study of "My mom and dad".

In short, I think your friend is suffering from "Idiocy" or he is lying to you and into heavier shit than you think he is.

All of the health and welfare issues aside, Legalizing pot would have one big-ass positive effect.

It would effectively cut the nuts off of every (pot) dealer in the country.

Joe Average, instead of paying $50 for a bag of weed that probably cost the dealer about 5 cents to grow, (5c To pay for the band-aid when he slipped with the scissors, that is.) will be able to go down to the local nursery or hydroponics store and buy his own little kit. In a few months, he'll have his own supply, and will never need anything from the dealer again. That dealer will have to actually go out and work (SHOCK HORROR) instead of living high (No pun intended) on dirty money.

Anything that hits dealers is a good thing IMO.

And seriously, I think legalizing it would make a lot of difference. After all, the government could tax on the sales, thus lower taxes for all. It would lose the rebellious mistique that surrounds it, thus kids would not feel pressured to hit the spliff to look cool.

*shrugs* just my unreferenced thoughts.

Is marijuana really that bad?

Yes… -IF- you abuse it.

Anything is dangerous if you abuse it. Cars, Guns, cigarettes, alcohol potato chips and even your grandmother’s new poodle.

I don’t understand why some people have to always be banning and making things illegal. Does it make you feel powerful? In control? Why the fuck do you care?

It’s nobody’s business if I toke up. Period. The government should keep its nose out of my business, and so should you.

I think smoking cigarettes is a horrible, disgusting act. I think people who do it are ignorant fools who are slowly committing suicide. Do I tell them to put down there cigarettes? Fuck no, there big boys and girls. It’s THEIR choice, not mine. I don’t hold it against them. There making a choice knowing full well the consequences.

I think it’s a HUGE waste of resources to make cops risk their lives day in and day out attempting to crack down on a bunch of dealers who are only damaging themselves and others who are –choosing- to do so. Dealers who are making shit loads of money simply because of what their selling is illegal.

The only argument you truly have is complaining about paying the welfare/hospital bill of those who are abusing those drugs. And I concur; I don’t want to be either. That’s an issue that should be dealt with.

I seldom smoke weed, so my arguments don’t come out of any particular loyalty to the drug. I simply believe that I have no right telling another person what they can drink/smoke, as long as they know what they are doing.

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Originally posted by Sier
That's why I think both should be illegal. :) Then again, that's highly opinionated and I wouldn't expect many to share that. Alcohol -used- to be banned for that very reason, but that was a long time ago.

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Prohibition were VERY educating times.

It's unfortunate that we haven't learned that lesson.

Marijuana basically dissolves your brain matter (learned that yesterday in a physiology course).

In other words, IMO people who use it should give up any right to public health care.

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Originally posted by Solmyr
Marijuana basically dissolves your brain matter (learned that yesterday in a physiology course).

In other words, IMO people who use it should give up any right to public health care.

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Bullshit, and I do not say this out of being ignorant. I mean exactly what I say, BULLSHIT!

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/mari.html

The THC (Delta-9 tetrahydracannibinol) acts on cannabinoid receptors, which are found on neurons on many places in the brain. These brain areas are involved in memory (the hippocampus), concentration (cerebral cortex), perception (sensory portions of the cerebral cortex) and movement (the cerebellum, substantia nigra, globus pallidus). When THC activates cannabinoid receptors, it interfers with the normal functioning of these brain areas. In low to medium doses, marijuana causes:

relaxation
reduced coordination
reduced blood pressure
sleepiness
disruption in attention
an altered sense of time and space...a good reason not to drive or operate machinery while under the influence.

In high doses, marijuana can cause:

hallucinations
delusions
impaired memory
disorientation.

Scientists have known for a long time that THC interacted with cannabinoid receptors in the brain, but did not know why the brain would have such receptors. They thought that the brain must make some kind of substance that naturally acted on these receptors. In 1992, they found the answer...anandamide. Anandamide is the brain's own THC (just like "endorphin" is the brain's own morphine). Still, scientists are not sure what the function of anandamide is in the normal brain.

The effects of marijuana start as soon as 1-10 minutes after it is taken and can last 3 to 4 hours or even longer. Experiments have shown that THC can affect two neurotransmitters: norepinephrine and dopamine. Serotonin and GABA levels may also be altered.

Whether marijuana can produce addiction is controversial. Also controversial is whether marijuana causes long-term mental abnormalities. Only future research will give us the answers. It is interesting to note that there are NO documented cases of a fatal overdose produced by marijuana. However, because there is a high level of tar and other chemicals in marijuana, smoking it is similar to smoking cigarettes. The lungs get a big dose of chemicals that increase the chances of lung problems and cancer later in life.

I'm not saying that marijuana doesn't affect your brain, but it definitely does not "dissolve your brain matter."

I've found that after I have smoked marijuana I'm high and I experience short term memory loss. However, when the high goes away and my anandamide's go back to their normal level in my brain, everything is fine again. I'm not losing my intelligence and I can assure you, my brain is not melting away. So, I'm sorry to say Solymr, your statement is complete and total bullshit.

Isn't impaired memory basically the same thing?