Cannot stand people who are completely against drugs when never actually tried them themselves, and I mean ACTUALLY tried them. More than once. For different reasons, in different situations, in different quantities.
I smoked tonnes of weed for years. It made be better at a lot of things (including coping with things emotionally and more importantly, obtaining a rational view of the world we live in), and to say 'worse at others' is a personal cop-out. Life throws things at you whether you are high or not, and if you are high you can normally take it and deal with it.
People need to realise that a person's relationship with marijuana is a completely symbiotic one. Marijuana neither adds or subtracts from a person's intelligence, mentality or persona. It simply gets them high. I am talking here about actual marijuana use, not a sixteen year old smoking a joint at a party and getting completely paralysed by laughter. To real smokers, a bong has a similar affect to a cigarette. It's not huge, it's calming and subtle, even sharpens focus and increases concentration.
The only thing is, it costs too much money. The people posting here who are anti-marijuana have the same mindset as 75-year-old Christian ladies.
Wait, no, there are probably 75-year-old Christian ladies who have the common sense to know that anyone can do whatever the hell they want. Especially when it's something as harmless as marijuana.
On April 03 2011 12:56 sikyon wrote: Why are people so eager for drugs to be legalized?
Because it's our right.
Says who? Rights are debatable things. Saying you have a right to something is merely stating your personal opinion unless it is some sort of practical legal discussion.
What the hell is your point? Are you trying to imply with a straight face that the right to control your own body is debatable? Are you THAT gung-ho about imposing your own morals onto us? Please spare me; the government does it enough to me already.
Most governmental decisions about drugs are not based on science, but based on winning votes from the majority of people who would take offence at the legalisation of something that they perceive as immoral. Take a look at the Professor David Nutt debacle that occurred here in the UK.
On April 03 2011 16:01 redtooth wrote: To those arguing federal legalization of marijuana, there is close to 0% chance that it will happen in the next 25 years (that being a very conservative and generous number). America is way too socially conservative at this point to even begin considering legalizing marijuana on a federal level. Look at our Congress where ultimately nearly every decision is based on getting reelected.
I'm convinced that Supreme Court is one of the very few things that we got correct.
On April 03 2011 13:38 UisTehSux wrote: I just don't think that we need another substance legalized that, if used irresponsibly, lessens an individuals potential. If everyone was smart enough to maintain control and not use in excesses, than I believe it would be legalized and would not have a problem with it. But when ever my peers talk about legalization of weed, they all fantasize about smoking their brains out and not doing anything for weeks. Aka : Being worthless.
USA, 1933 I just don't think that we need another substance legalized that, if used irresponsibly, lessens an individuals potential. If everyone was smart enough to maintain control and not use in excesses, than I believe it would be legalized and would not have a problem with it. But when ever my peers talk about legalization of alcohol, they all fantasize about drinking their brains out and not doing anything for weeks. Aka : Being worthless
You guys do realize that this is one study and it may be right or wrong and it is on freaken mice right? I really don't think there will be anything that doesn't have a slight show in doing anything based on one study, that's how fragile it is. People need to redo tests many many times before they can even come to final conclusion and assuming based on this is just irrelevant. I for one do not do marijuana since I'm a law abiding citizen and I am huge on anti drugs. I am over 21 yet I have yet to drink alcohol or smoke any cigarettes or do any other freaken drugs. So I will take that 2% chance of not getting psychosis thank you very much.
On April 03 2011 15:30 LilClinkin wrote: Silmakuoppaanikinko, obviously you enjoy argument for arguments sake. No one ever said psychiatry is a precise science
Quite true, quite true, however I give it less credit than most people give it. My stance is:
A: It's a pseudo-science. B: If it's 'useful' or not is inconclusive as far as I go. Some pseudo-sciences like for instance acupuncture are still 'useful' in that it has some beneficial effects, though how this works is currently unknown. I have not yet made my mind up if psychiatry is beneficial, or even harmful to society. But in any case it's not remotely in any way even resembling a scientific approach.
but it does strive to be as scientific as possible in a field where many things cannot be quantitatively measured.
Define 'as scientific as possible'.
'as scientific as possible' to me is just scrapping any diagnosis and category as soon as you encounter a Sorites paradox, something as basic as that I expect from any science. When your theory/hypothesis encounters a contradiction like that, it's falsified in any science.
The entire point of DSM-IV and other similar classification systems are so that psychiatrist A can talk to psychiatrist B and, as much as possible, objectively construct a picture of what patient X is like.
May be, but those classifications are for a large part, cultural in nature, not scientific. Culture and politics best be kicked a thousand miles away from science. That some things are considered illnesses and others not is largely how people culturally look at them. (As a grand example homosexuality through history, or even drapetomania).
Come on, psychiatry used to make such claim as that autism could only affect white children half a century back and it continually revises its claims, can you honestly with confidence say that all the stuff it says today is not more rooted in culture than science? As an example, there's currently some debate going on within the APA if paedophilia isn't the same thing as homosexuality and not an illness but an 'orientation' (itself both words without scientific substance and purely politically motivated)
That is why it attempts to define, as precisely as possible, what terms such as 'delusion' and 'thought disorder' mean.
Precisely as possible eh?
The point is that it desperately tries to 'define' without considering the issue whether or not it exists.
It's naïve realism. Could you first perhaps consider and stop to see if it exists? Many things your senses or gut feeling tell you exist in actuality don't from scientific perspective.
Like I said before, you cannot impose a dualism on a continuum. In an actual science, people would have concluded 'Well, because there is a continuum between delusion and sanity, they don't exist as separate categories, they are the same.', even biologists will readily admit 'Well, yes, 'species', that's effectively a simplification of the real thing to keep things ordered, as there is a continuum between all species, it doesn't really exist like that.'
It is an imprecise tool, to be used in conjunction with other things, in order to attempt to improve some one's quality of life.
Exactly!, it's useful, perhaps, but it's not science.
When I make my bread in the morning, that's useful, but it's not science.
Of course, there are some indications that in a lot of cases psychiatry causes more harm than good.
I also personally feel psychiatry stems from the human need and desire to classify, even if such classifications cannot be meaningfully done. It's human nature to try to classify everything and anything, it's what a human mind seems to need to keep order.
So while you can argue semantics and show that the definition of a delusion is imprecise because you could say that some people are "deluded" for having a heightened sense of self importance, thus the definition of "delusion" no longer has any relevance is pointless because psychiatry isn't concerned with treating "delusion", it is about trying to improve quality of life for a select group of people severely impaired by their mental state.
Could be, like I said, I am open to the possibility that, albeit not a science, psychiatry is still useful.
However, this debate started because someone claimed you could get a psychosis from MJ and I simply pointed out 'How can you scientifically test that if there is no hard, scientific measure of a psychosis except some subjective interpretation by a professional which can't be done in a blind manner because you can see of people if they are high?'
That's how this started, and in this case it's very much relevant if such things are scientific, or merely useful.
One of the major factors a psychiatrist considers when deciding whether to diagnose some one with a mental illness is to qualify whether, as a result of their cognitions and behaiviors, this person's mental condition is detrimental to their own life, eg. they cannot maintain a job, their relationships are breaking down, they are at risk of harming themselves or other people, etc.
In theory, yes, in practice, it also comes down a lot to 'is this person "normal"?'
A lot of people who basically have no troubles with their 'abnormalities' are diagnosed with stuff and treated for it in the end simply because it's not 'normal', especially kids with parents who are troubled that their kids aren't normal. I've had to help some kids with troubles of whom I found out quite soon that they didn't consider them troubles themselves and lived happily with them, it just wasn't 'normal'.
Indeed, on the other side of the table, my last psychiatrist pretty much agreed with the whole story I laid out here and dismissed me because she concluded that the fact that I live in social isolation doesn't hamper me in my job and my life, more the reverse and she didn't agree with other psychiatrists who felt that I should open my windows and get out more.
Thus, the point of such systems is to help guide a psychiatrist into formulating a diagnosis so that they may be able to offer treatment to patient X to improve their quality of life. Psychiatry isn't neuroscience, it doesn't seek to come up with chemical explanations to explain why the things observed are occurring. Of course, the two are intimately related, and every psychiatrist has a grounding in neuroscience as well, but there is obviously a distinct difference between the two fields.
Yes, I agree that this is the goal its set out to do and your view on its relation to neuroscience. It's also why I don't believe in many psychiatrist categories of course because they have no hard neurological component.
But like I said, in practice, it often comes to the point where people are being helped with problems they don't perceive as problems and have no troubles with but are simply forced to be 'normal'.
The most striking thing I ever saw was a kid being forced to like deserts when he didn't, the kid had autism or something, and he didn't like desert (I'm not sure the two are even related, a lot of kids don't like sweets in the end.) but normal kids like deserts eh? So he was forced to eat it, was in a clinic for young children, really strange...
To argue that there is no strict measurable instrument with which to classify what a "delusion" is, or a "thought disorder" or any other inherent bias you have against the field of psychiatry, and to then use that as a basis to discredit this entire branch of medicine which has shown to be beneficial to countless people's lives, is illogical, and I would argue, irresponsible.
I never said it wasn't beneficial, my original point was that there cannot be a scientific research done most likely about MJ causing psychosis as there is no hard objective scientific test for 'psychosis' beyond psychiatric evaluation which can't be done blindly as you can see from people if they are high.
To use it as a reason to justify that marijuana is 100% harmless and does not cause in some cases and in some people a long-term impairment in their brains' ability to function, when this has in fact been statistically measured, is ridiculous.
I never said it was harmless, got a big coffee addiction here and I'd say that even that is harmful.
All drugs have their harms and risks.
This is again a false dilemma that a lot of people work themselves in, just because I say that other things are just as harmless or more harmless doesn't mean I don't think it's harmless.
Like I said in my first post, I don't use, drink, or smoke, my hardest drugs are coffee, chocolate, sugar, and sex.
ˇWhy is the premise of justification of punishment of victimless crimes so rarely discussed? I think that is the far bigger question, on the topic. The technicals of what harm is and how harm is administered in the plants is assumes the former question already be answered, yet it is a very dubious premise indeed, given that it rejects the welfarist conclusions of accepting the concept of action
there are no go or bad drugs. only good or bad drug users.
nobody has ever died from cannabis use. there are no fact to justify the negative perception behind it. its all propoganda, hence the term, marijuana, which is mexican. The two major players in keeping it illegal were the oil companies and lumber companies. Now everythings going digital...hey, we're not dependent on paper like we used to be. Must suck to be in the lumber industry in the digital age. And the fact that they put the word "Medical" in front of the word marijauan now, somehow, makes it ok. States are SO damn broke they're trying to sell drugs WTF?!?!?! Cali hit it big, now everyone else wants a piece. I would know. I go to all the rallies, go to the legislative meetings, and i'm a medial patient myself. For those that are looking planning on a college education and do smoke, be careful. It is still federally illegal, and if you DO get arrested and charged, you will NEVER get a student loan. You can rape and murder someone though, the government will still hook you up.
the most dangerous drugs and 3rd leading cause of death in the US are prescribe by your doctor. Remember people, doctors and medial clinics are in debt too. And they also get the drugs from drug dealers. Except these guys have white jackets and have no consequence for their actions. Doctors need to push that stuff and pay off their bank loans. Sad how much influence business has in the world, yet people don't understand that business' are trying to remove the human element from it. Business is only math, but they use your emotion to get you to keep paying them. Only function of ANY business is to TAKE MONEY FROM YOU.
Here's some common sense. In America, most people believe that capitalsm is great. "Lets get rich!!!" Yet the banks give out "Strong-arm loans". does anyone know what strong armed robbery is? either way.. "ISM" is a beliefe system. "Captalize" means to take advantage of.
hmmm....the belief to take advantage of? yeah...Banks made 34 billion in overdraft fees last year from low income neighborhoods. "i know you don't have money, and you can't pay it back, but here's a loan." think about it. its some scandalous shit. They're putting everyone is SO much debt that they can't pay it back, and one day, they'll cut off the supply and everyone will have to work for free. People in the streets could teach these guys something because they have a more advanced criminal mind. These business men are actually rookies when it comes to this scandalous crap. The problem is most people blindly believe the government and whatever they tell them, yet 70% of Americans stated that they feel the US is corrupt.
but don't get me started on how poor the american education system is. 1 in 5 drop out. still leaves room for those that fail. people that don't learn HOW to use their brains, don't just "get it" when they get older.
For those still in high school, i'm sure you all know that all politician are liars. well, when you get older, somehow your thought process gets put in a box they created and you believe everything they say. its pretty sad. these guys have people destroying each other. I'm glad that admins here are conscience to inconsideration and issue warnings and temporary bans. I've had my fair share already and i try not to be so judgmental and call half these idiots idiots anymore. Sorry for the rant... One thing i will say, if you take nothing from what i typed. QUESTION EVERYTHING.
In the last 100 years people have not advanced at all, while business and technology has moved forward more than 10 fold. They like to keep us dumb so we keep thinking we need them.
People used to want to be millionaiers. Now there are billionaires. Think about that for a week and maybe people will start to realize that our concept of the value of money is only x% of what it actually is. <-math problem for anyone
$1 to $1,000,000 x 999 . move the decimal over and you the the actual pathetic percentage of what money is worth today.
On April 03 2011 07:22 zalz wrote: Cannabis could cure everything known to man and people would still not want to see it legalized.
This report once agains shows that the stuff isn't just harmless, it's even beneficial. The stigma however is just too great, an entire generation has been brought up on the notion that weed makes you want to kill your family.
Atleast it's semi-legal in my country, that still leaves it up in the air and very easy to ban. I don't even use the stuff and i still want to see police do real police work rather then going after people that smoke weed whilst child-porn cases are left on the shelves due to understaffing.
You're completely out of your mind if you think child-porn cases are under-enforced. In the grand scheme of societal harm, they are likely the most disproportionately high-priority crimes in any system of law. Think of all the meth labs, weed plantations, work camps and slave labor in the world and then stop to think about the people that put together child porn to make money. Oh wait, you can't? That's right, nobody makes money from producing child porn and no actual children are really at risk as we speak. It's illegal and stigmatized so much that people don't wanna touch or be associated with it so it's a problem that will never grow.
Domestic abuse and sexual predators are a real problem make no mistake about that but there is no child porn industry in the same sense as drugs constitute an industry. Largely an imaginary evil.
There might not be an actual child pornography industry but there is definately a child trafficing industry that is very serious and is connected to a lot the child pornography that exists on the net. I don't think you're trying to imply that we are doing too much to stop these problems but there is a reason why people take child abuse and child molestation as one of the most (if not the most) serious crimes. Because it breaks children for life.
That being said yes the "war on drugs" especially weed is extremely stigmatised and unfairly so. There have been numerous studies that show african americans being over represented in american prisons. Not because they commit more muders, not because they commit more robberies and not because they commit more white collar crimes than other ethnicities (because they don't if that point didnt come across well enough) in the US. But because the vast majority of black men in prison are there for selling drugs. Mostly weed. I find it sick that selling weed can give you more jail time than stuff that actually ruins peoples lives. Of course when there are violent gangs involved then the crime becomes more serious. But some dude dealing to make ends meet shoulnd not end up with muderers and rapists in jail.
On April 03 2011 15:51 PhiGgoT wrote: It's ridiculous that YOU a med student is going around here saying shit like "acute psychosis" and "delusions" from weed lol, please, please do not be my doctor if I ever need one. I use to smoke tons of weed for 4 years straight and never once have I "hallucinated" or had any psychosis or whatever term you want to define it as. The only place where I can see you having a point is "thought disorder (lol btw)". I had some thought disorder ( when your mind just wanders) which pretty much went away in a week (understandably) after quitting. and yes there is no way to measure any "delusions" or "psychosis", but i know from personal experience that everything youve been spewing out of that mouth makes it sound much worst than it is. any symptoms or side affects one might have are pretty much non factors from long term smoking of weed (unless we are talking like decades here then who knows..) even then I know people that have been smoking for more than that and are still fine.
I dont really see why people want weed to be legal, i remember being 13 and 14 running around stores with friends picking up bottles and shit, pretty much just doing it wrong and being stupid. Maybe its easier to say this in cali but weed is practically nothing here even if you dont have a card, you might get a fine if you're stupid enough to get pulled over with it on you or something. But my point is, why would you want your kids to have easy access to it? It certainly isn't anything kids should be doing because it makes *most* people lazy (some people actually do better on it) If you wanna smoke it you still can, and if you dont mind your kids smoking it dont you atleast want to introduce it to them the correct way yourself instead of running around with their friends or so?
In the end I think the laws are in place to protect the youth. The adults can do whatever they want
Lol? I don't care what you smoke or how often you smoke it. If you come to me complaining of sickness, I'll treat you. A doctor's job is to treat illness and advise you on how to live your life, not enforce it. Key thing is, the patients come to us. We don't go to them. Do what ever you want with your life, I honestly don't care.
edit: And just because you personally haven't hallucinated or had delusions whilst smoking weed, it means it doesn't happen? LOL! I know plenty of people who have smoked weed and reported these symptoms. I've smoked myself and had it happen, on multiple occasions. Once I was with my friends, and we were walking through the park and I thought some one was chasing us. I also thought parked cars were moving and leaving a slow-motion time trail of their previous movements. I was experiencing an episode of acute drug-induced psychosis. I also have many other friends who smoke weed all the time and are hardly affected by it. It does different things to different people. If you don't like the word "psychosis", fine, I don't care. If you think "psychosis" means murdering babies and being a bad, evil person, that's your fault for not understanding what the word means.
Sure anything can happen, i mean crazy people can hallucinate off coffee, you can believe what you want LOL. Of course shit happens on weed, it is still a DRUG after all, but the magnitude of the side affects are so small that are pretty much negligible. So im sorry that you smoked and thought some parked car was chasing you but that doesnt mean that you can come around here using such heavy words like "psychosis" and then call anyone who doesn't agree with you an idiot lol. And yes a doctor's job is to treat you and advise you how to live your life, so then why are you here just saying shit that is just pretty much just far from the truth? More importantly you are giving bad advice.
IMO weed (amongst other things) can be used to heighten one's potential if used correctly, and many people are still on the fence about it in this thread. it's sad that people like this will probably never even try it once and have their own opinions because of people like you that pretty much just spew bull shit out the mouth about things you have no idea about. and please do not treat me if I come to you LOL.
On April 03 2011 07:22 zalz wrote: Cannabis could cure everything known to man and people would still not want to see it legalized.
This report once agains shows that the stuff isn't just harmless, it's even beneficial. The stigma however is just too great, an entire generation has been brought up on the notion that weed makes you want to kill your family.
Atleast it's semi-legal in my country, that still leaves it up in the air and very easy to ban. I don't even use the stuff and i still want to see police do real police work rather then going after people that smoke weed whilst child-porn cases are left on the shelves due to understaffing.
You're completely out of your mind if you think child-porn cases are under-enforced. In the grand scheme of societal harm, they are likely the most disproportionately high-priority crimes in any system of law. Think of all the meth labs, weed plantations, work camps and slave labor in the world and then stop to think about the people that put together child porn to make money. Oh wait, you can't? That's right, nobody makes money from producing child porn and no actual children are really at risk as we speak. It's illegal and stigmatized so much that people don't wanna touch or be associated with it so it's a problem that will never grow.
Domestic abuse and sexual predators are a real problem make no mistake about that but there is no child porn industry in the same sense as drugs constitute an industry. Largely an imaginary evil.
There might not be an actual child pornography industry but there is definately a child trafficing industry that is very serious and is connected to a lot the child pornography that exists on the net. I don't think you're trying to imply that we are doing too much to stop these problems but there is a reason why people take child abuse and child molestation as one of the most (if not the most) serious crimes. Because it breaks children for life.
No, they do because it's a moral hysteria. Seriously, there is no thing as inflated as child pornography, the amount of cost put into it with respect to the amount of victims is produces is ridiculous.
The amount of child rape that leads to pornography is pretty insignificant compared to child rape as a whole. The fast majority of child rape does not lead to recorded images. If you want to combat child rape,rounding up people who have child porn on their PC's is certainly not the way to go.
That being said yes the "war on drugs" especially weed is extremely stigmatised and unfairly so. There have been numerous studies that show african americans being over represented in american prisons. Not because they commit more muders, not because they commit more robberies and not because they commit more white collar crimes than other ethnicities (because they don't if that point didnt come across well enough) in the US. But because the vast majority of black men in prison are there for selling drugs. Mostly weed. I find it sick that selling weed can give you more jail time than stuff that actually ruins peoples lives. Of course when there are violent gangs involved then the crime becomes more serious. But some dude dealing to make ends meet shoulnd not end up with muderers and rapists in jail.
Got a stat on that? It's pretty interesting.
Anyway, I think the majority of legal stuff is ultimately hysteria. The majority of deaths in the US is still caused by drowning and heart related diseases. If you're worried about 'American lives at risk' Mrs. Palin, might want to go after McDonald's and not after Mr. Assange.
On April 03 2011 07:22 zalz wrote: Cannabis could cure everything known to man and people would still not want to see it legalized.
This report once agains shows that the stuff isn't just harmless, it's even beneficial. The stigma however is just too great, an entire generation has been brought up on the notion that weed makes you want to kill your family.
Atleast it's semi-legal in my country, that still leaves it up in the air and very easy to ban. I don't even use the stuff and i still want to see police do real police work rather then going after people that smoke weed whilst child-porn cases are left on the shelves due to understaffing.
You're completely out of your mind if you think child-porn cases are under-enforced. In the grand scheme of societal harm, they are likely the most disproportionately high-priority crimes in any system of law. Think of all the meth labs, weed plantations, work camps and slave labor in the world and then stop to think about the people that put together child porn to make money. Oh wait, you can't? That's right, nobody makes money from producing child porn and no actual children are really at risk as we speak. It's illegal and stigmatized so much that people don't wanna touch or be associated with it so it's a problem that will never grow.
Domestic abuse and sexual predators are a real problem make no mistake about that but there is no child porn industry in the same sense as drugs constitute an industry. Largely an imaginary evil.
There might not be an actual child pornography industry but there is definately a child trafficing industry that is very serious and is connected to a lot the child pornography that exists on the net. I don't think you're trying to imply that we are doing too much to stop these problems but there is a reason why people take child abuse and child molestation as one of the most (if not the most) serious crimes. Because it breaks children for life.
No, they do because it's a moral hysteria. Seriously, there is no thing as inflated as child pornography, the amount of cost put into it with respect to the amount of victims is produces is ridiculous.
The amount of child rape that leads to pornography is pretty insignificant compared to child rape as a whole. The fast majority of child rape does not lead to recorded images. If you want to combat child rape,rounding up people who have child porn on their PC's is certainly not the way to go.
That being said yes the "war on drugs" especially weed is extremely stigmatised and unfairly so. There have been numerous studies that show african americans being over represented in american prisons. Not because they commit more muders, not because they commit more robberies and not because they commit more white collar crimes than other ethnicities (because they don't if that point didnt come across well enough) in the US. But because the vast majority of black men in prison are there for selling drugs. Mostly weed. I find it sick that selling weed can give you more jail time than stuff that actually ruins peoples lives. Of course when there are violent gangs involved then the crime becomes more serious. But some dude dealing to make ends meet shoulnd not end up with muderers and rapists in jail.
Got a stat on that? It's pretty interesting.
Anyway, I think the majority of legal stuff is ultimately hysteria. The majority of deaths in the US is still caused by drowning and heart related diseases. If you're worried about 'American lives at risk' Mrs. Palin, might want to go after McDonald's and not after Mr. Assange.
"African Americans comprise only 12.2 percent of the population and 13 percent of drug users, they make up 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 59 percent of those convicted of drug offenses causing critics to call the war on drugs the "New Jim Crow."'
On April 03 2011 07:22 zalz wrote: Cannabis could cure everything known to man and people would still not want to see it legalized.
This report once agains shows that the stuff isn't just harmless, it's even beneficial. The stigma however is just too great, an entire generation has been brought up on the notion that weed makes you want to kill your family.
Atleast it's semi-legal in my country, that still leaves it up in the air and very easy to ban. I don't even use the stuff and i still want to see police do real police work rather then going after people that smoke weed whilst child-porn cases are left on the shelves due to understaffing.
You're completely out of your mind if you think child-porn cases are under-enforced. In the grand scheme of societal harm, they are likely the most disproportionately high-priority crimes in any system of law. Think of all the meth labs, weed plantations, work camps and slave labor in the world and then stop to think about the people that put together child porn to make money. Oh wait, you can't? That's right, nobody makes money from producing child porn and no actual children are really at risk as we speak. It's illegal and stigmatized so much that people don't wanna touch or be associated with it so it's a problem that will never grow.
Domestic abuse and sexual predators are a real problem make no mistake about that but there is no child porn industry in the same sense as drugs constitute an industry. Largely an imaginary evil.
There might not be an actual child pornography industry but there is definately a child trafficing industry that is very serious and is connected to a lot the child pornography that exists on the net. I don't think you're trying to imply that we are doing too much to stop these problems but there is a reason why people take child abuse and child molestation as one of the most (if not the most) serious crimes. Because it breaks children for life.
No, they do because it's a moral hysteria. Seriously, there is no thing as inflated as child pornography, the amount of cost put into it with respect to the amount of victims is produces is ridiculous.
The amount of child rape that leads to pornography is pretty insignificant compared to child rape as a whole. The fast majority of child rape does not lead to recorded images. If you want to combat child rape,rounding up people who have child porn on their PC's is certainly not the way to go.
That being said yes the "war on drugs" especially weed is extremely stigmatised and unfairly so. There have been numerous studies that show african americans being over represented in american prisons. Not because they commit more muders, not because they commit more robberies and not because they commit more white collar crimes than other ethnicities (because they don't if that point didnt come across well enough) in the US. But because the vast majority of black men in prison are there for selling drugs. Mostly weed. I find it sick that selling weed can give you more jail time than stuff that actually ruins peoples lives. Of course when there are violent gangs involved then the crime becomes more serious. But some dude dealing to make ends meet shoulnd not end up with muderers and rapists in jail.
Got a stat on that? It's pretty interesting.
Anyway, I think the majority of legal stuff is ultimately hysteria. The majority of deaths in the US is still caused by drowning and heart related diseases. If you're worried about 'American lives at risk' Mrs. Palin, might want to go after McDonald's and not after Mr. Assange.
"African Americans comprise only 12.2 percent of the population and 13 percent of drug users, they make up 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 59 percent of those convicted of drug offenses causing critics to call the war on drugs the "New Jim Crow."'
So basically, they are arrested more while using the same, probably because they are being hunted down more because of stereotypes? That's the basic idea?
Psychosis, along with all mental disorders are technically hard to diagnose, and does depend on the doctor/method used to diagnose. Personally I think the only real way to diagnose psychotic illnesses is through observing behavior over a period of time. Mental/psychotic illnesses aren't very well understood either. There are theories, but you have to remember a lot of these theories are made because of administration of certain drugs, for example we know dopamine and serotonin, specifically the 5ht2a receptor, play a role in schizophrenia because antagonists of d/5ht receptors reduce psychotic symptoms.
There's no denying that marijuana can cause psychotic symptoms, those being paranoia, delusions. Is someone who is having a panic attack for no reason after smoking weed psychotic? I suppose that would actually depend on the person diagnosing. Personally I don't think so. I think weed can cause said symptoms that may resemble a psychosis like state, but it will go away after the drug is done with the brain.
You're not going to get schizophrenia from smoking marijuana. Maybe depression or an anxiety order is possible, but that's hard to say for sure because people with depression/anxiety may abuse cannabis because of their depression/anxiety.
i don't use anything but i do think they should legalize it. Think about how much money they could raise with taxes! i mean come on they could raise so much money and stop spending so much on trying to control it.
On April 04 2011 00:47 SeokHY wrote: Only function of ANY business is to TAKE MONEY FROM YOU.
You mean apart from providing a service? Businesses don't magically take your money, you give it to them in return for a service or goods. If busnisses are to cease existing, what would happen to the world? I'm not trying to advocate the rock solid stone cold capitalism that is the USA, but businesses in general and some form of capitalism does strike me as both a good idea and something necessary.
On April 04 2011 00:47 SeokHY wrote: One thing i will say, if you take nothing from what i typed. QUESTION EVERYTHING.
I'm questioning you and your expertise on this area. What do you know about people only thinking inside some magical conspiracy theory box? What makes you more enlightened than others? The fact that you believe so strongly in, and yes I am placing these words in your mouth, something that cannot be described as anything less than a social prison makes me question your grip on reality. If you don't like the society you live in maybe you should investigate the idea of emigrating.
Lastly, I'll leave you with a little thought nugget. Society (in general, all countries) isn't perfect and nowhere near a utopia - but if you're going to replace it you better be damn sure that you can present an idea that's better than what is already in place. So, how should it be done? Planned economy like North Korea?
Edit: As far as cannabis goes, as this was a bit off topic, I don't think this really changes anything at all. I will say it's interesting though and it might lead to some debate.
I'm in my 3rd year of med school and I've been surprised to learn quite a few interesting things about the medical aspect of cannibinoids. I'll leave the debate on the socio-economic mumbo jumbo to you guys, but here is what i know:
1) They are actually anti-tumor agents in that they can signal deranged or mutated cells to commit suicide. This can stop the growth of tumors before they become invasive and cancerous.
2) Cannibinoids are increasingly seen as very useful in patients with neuropathic or functional pain, and the reason for this is not that they provide superior analgesia but rather they come with fewer side effects than many of the commonly prescribed medications such as NSAIDs, opioids, TCA's, etc etc etc.
3) Cannabis is actually on a very small list of drugs that does not have teratogenic effects. AKA pregnant women who smoke pot do not have children with malformations or intrinsic birth defects. Which is pretty amazing considering many of the legalized drugs (ie - alcohol, tobacco) definitely do have a detrimental effect on the unborn fetus.
However, as some people have stated they do come some negative side effects just like any drugs. Most notably that although cannabis may not cause lung cancer, it most definitely causes chronic bronchitis. Thats defined as basically having a productive cough for more than 3 months consistently in a period of 2 years, and I'm sure most people who smoke pot would probably not argue this. Also, the previous poster mentioned an increase risk for psychologic symptoms like schizophrenia. This is absolutely correct, and the earlier one starts smoking weed the more likely these things may come to manifest. I think one textbook said someone younger than 18 who smokes marijuana is 3-5x more likely to develop schizophrenia than the average.
Still though the benefits may outweigh the risks in patients with chronic debillitating diseases, which is why states are beginning to legalize it for these patients.
This is an interview with some UCLA doc who is on the leading edge of marijuana research if you are interested.
On April 04 2011 12:05 chonkyfire wrote: Silma is actually right.
wot? Didn't you said I was full of it the last time?
Psychosis, along with all mental disorders are technically hard to diagnose, and does depend on the doctor/method used to diagnose. Personally I think the only real way to diagnose psychotic illnesses is through observing behavior over a period of time. Mental/psychotic illnesses aren't very well understood either. There are theories, but you have to remember a lot of these theories are made because of administration of certain drugs, for example we know dopamine and serotonin, specifically the 5ht2a receptor, play a role in schizophrenia because antagonists of d/5ht receptors reduce psychotic symptoms.
Well, the point is, everyone knows that for some people the drugs work, for others they don't, for some, some work, for some none work.
The case that is often put forth is 'What if things like autism or depression or schizophrenia can actually have a billion different causes depending on the person? What if each case of schizophrenia is a neurologically completely different thing which just has superficially similar symptoms?'
Some people would say, for something to be called an illness it must have a single, materialistic, identifiable cause.
There's no denying that marijuana can cause psychotic symptoms, those being paranoia, delusions. Is someone who is having a panic attack for no reason after smoking weed psychotic? I suppose that would actually depend on the person diagnosing. Personally I don't think so. I think weed can cause said symptoms that may resemble a psychosis like state, but it will go away after the drug is done with the brain.
I don't know people who get these symptoms from MJ seem to be naturally inclined to be some-what angsty and suspicious people. The kind of people who are more prone to a psychosis in general.
You're not going to get schizophrenia from smoking marijuana. Maybe depression or an anxiety order is possible, but that's hard to say for sure because people with depression/anxiety may abuse cannabis because of their depression/anxiety.
Might also be the same with psychosis of course?
Maybe people just hunger for MJ when they are about to get psychotic?
Contrary to common sense, Cannibas really is an undiscovered fountain of youth that offers cures to nearly everything form alhiezmer's, to heart disease, to chicken pox! The government is trying to suppress this vital knowledge and spread gross lies saying that cannibas is unhealthy and has adverse affects on people.
EPT
