|
MARIJUANA
Drug use and abuse, particularly of marijuana, is a controversial issue. The debates on either side of the issue often revolve around valid scientific studies, deeply-held long-standing beliefs and biases, personal freedom, religion, sketchy research, practical use, and ignorance, among many things. But heated arguments that generate much heat and little light is not enough justification to not conduct a thoughtful respectful discussion on the matter.
This topic is massive with a lot of issues and sub-issues and would require active and diligent study of each of us to make sure the discussion will be productive and enlightening, regardless which side of the issue we stand.
WHAT IS MARIJUANA
Marijuana (marihuana) Cannabis sativa L., also known as Indian hemp, is a member of the Cannabaceae or hemp family, thought to have originated in the mountainous districts of India, north of the Himalayan mountains. A preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant is usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/marijuana
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS
Proponents for legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana based believe that it is safe (within regulation) and has proven medical value in diseases like AIDS, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and others.
Proponents for (continued) illegalizing marijuana argue that it is dangerous and various legal drugs make marijuana use unnecessary. They say marijuana is addictive and poses many health issues, including pulmonary, neurological, and reproductive risks.
WORLD LAWS
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/World-cannabis-laws.png/800px-World-cannabis-laws.png) Wikipedia
KEY ISSUES
1. Health Risks
- Legalize/Decriminalize
There is very little evidence that smoking marijuana as a means of taking it represents a significant health risk. Although cannabis has been smoked widely in Western countries for more than four decades, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana.
- Illegalize
3-4 Cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day.
2. Addiction and "Gateway" Effect
- Legalize/Decriminalize
For some users, perhaps as many as 10 per cent, cannabis leads to psychological dependence, but there is scant evidence that it carries a risk of true addiction. Unlike cigarette smokers, most users do not take the drug on a daily basis, and usually abandon it in their twenties or thirties.
There is also no causative evidence linking marijuana use to elevation to harder drugs. The people who are predisposed to use drugs and have the opportunity to use drugs are more likely than others to use both marijuana and harder drugs. Marijuana typically comes first because it is more available, not because marijuana makes them try harder drugs.
- Illegalize
There are several specific effects of marijuana abstinence in heavy marijuana users, and showed they were reliable and clinically significant. These withdrawal effects appear similar in type and magnitude to those observed in studies of nicotine withdrawal. Craving for marijuana, decreased appetite, sleep difficulty, and weight loss reliably changed across the smoking and abstinence phases. Aggression, anger, irritability, restlessness, and strange dreams increased significantly during one abstinence phase, but not the other.
Moreover, the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults. Increases in the likelihood of cocaine and heroin use and drug dependence are also apparent for those who initiate use of marijuana at any later age.
3. Medical Use
- Legalize/Decriminalize
The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS -- or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety.
- Illegalize
There is lack of consistent, repeatable scientific data available to prove marijuana's medical benefits. Based on current evidence, marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms.
YOUR OPINION
If you can, please post in the thread your vote and your explanation.
Poll: Marijuana use should beLegalized (475) 63% Decriminalized (regulated medical/recreational use) (143) 19% Illegalized (135) 18% 753 total votes Your vote: Marijuana use should be (Vote): Illegalized
(Vote): Decriminalized (regulated medical/recreational use)
(Vote): Legalized
KEY STUDIES/DOCUMENTS/RESOURCES
Legalize/Decriminalize (medical/recreational use)
- European Journal of Neurology: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group, Enriched-design Study of Nabiximols (Sativex), as Add-on Therapy, in Subjects with Refractory Spasticity Caused by Multiple Sclerosis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21362108
- Journal of Pain and Symptom Management: Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of THC:CBD Extract and THC Extract in Patients With Intractable Cancer-Related Pain
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19896326
- Journal of the American Medical Association: Association Between Marijuana Exposure and Pulmonary Function Over 20 Years
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22235088
Illegalize
Resources
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1971_en.pdf
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/annual-report/2009
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/
http://www.cannabis-med.org/
http://www.samhsa.gov/
http://www.justice.gov/dea/
http://www.marijuana.com/
|
By the way,
Legalized - like cigarette and alcohol, they become available without any legal prohibitions. Legal interventions only come to deal with the results and not with the acquisition itself, that is, a person being drunk may be penalized after vandalizing or breaking a window.
Decriminalized - legal only in some specific cases, like for medical purposes, or, upon scientific investigation proving the baseline standard, (hypothetical in this case) a person is only allowed a certain amount of cannabis in his system for recreational purposes. Anything more results in an arrest.
Illegalize - punishable under any circumstance.
Marijuana is illegal but largely tolerated in Germany and most of Europe. Many, mostly students, use it freely, outside the view of authorities. I vote decriminalize. Regulated marijuana use has good medical and recreational purpose. Also, can I request the moderators to please delete the period "." in the thread title. Thank you.
|
Legalize.
There's a chance it could be voted legal in a few states in the US this November. Colorado and Washington, I believe.
|
On October 21 2012 16:56 Voltaire wrote:
Legalize.
There's a chance it could be voted legal in a few states in the US this November. Colorado and Washington, I believe.
Irrelevant because Federal law states that marijuana is illegal. Any state measure to legalize marijuana is simply a show of public opinion. At the end of the day it is still illegal, and the Federal government is well within their right to stage raids against dispensaries.
Anyways, I don't see why it is illegal to possess/use. We waste far too much money punishing petty criminals for stupid shit. As far as I'm concerned, legalize all drugs and let the abusers die out.
|
Pretty much illegal but its everywhere. In time we will get legalization, as said above, in a few states are possible this year.
|
I vote for legalize, I honestly see no problem with using marijuana. In fact I think its use would decrease once legalized.
|
The primary reason marijuana isn't legal is that it makes people think critically. This isn't a comment on whether or not marijuana is a positive thing just my opinion on why it's illegal. Marijuana teaches many people to be more open minded and more capable of following trains of thought that they would otherwise dismiss. Again, just my opinion.
Marijuana is surely unhealthy as you are putting smoke in your lungs. But this isn't a justification for it being illegal. It has no synthetic chemicals in it unlikely cigarettes and is definitely healthier.
I smoked marijuana for years and didn't have much trouble quitting. It is not physically addictive, and being psychologically addictive isn't really a point. Psychological addiction is the same as wanting something because you know you like it.
The 'medical use' section doesn't even contain a reason for keeping it illegal.
The entire war on drugs is bogus anyways it's about money and control not about doing anything good.
|
Someday this guy should get a star for his OPs. Lives up to his name, though I have little knowledge on the topic
I'm surprised France isn't in orange based on what my teacher told me.
Edit oh wait reading wikipedia cleared it up
|
I find it kind of silly it's illegal. I don't understand the people that want it illegal either. I don't drink alcohol, just because I don't find it appealing to me. But I don't look down on others for drinking, or feel like I have to stop them. I don't understand why people don't just let me smoke weed in the same way.
Also it's kind of crazy that it's illegal to grow hemp in the US. And restricted in the UK with government controlled licenses etc. Even though the industrial version of hemp is almost impossible to get high from. It's got so many uses, which just completely blow other materials out of the water. But just doesn't seem to be used because of a stigma attached to it.
|
It's always the case, that those, who use Marijuana, are the ones, who make such threads and discussions.
Am i right, AUFKLARUNG? Do you use Marijuana?
|
Marijuana does not hurt more than alcohol in my opinion. Yet alcohol is legal in broadly around the world. I smoke marijuana and have done so for many years. I do not touch alcohol because I believe that it is more harmful than smoking a joint.
I'd rather sit with some friends and share a few joints than I want to get drunk.
I do not like to be drunk and not in control of myself so you do stupid things you regret the next day.
Legalize it and let the goverment earn big! instead of financing Drug wars around the world!
|
Personally I was never a fan of marijuana, The people who tend to be "addicted" to it for lack of a better word and smoke heavily that I personally have ever known were always the type of people who couldn't keep a job and were not the smartest people, I figured this was a coincidence.
But then when I was at university I witnessed a straight A/HD student start smoking and within 6 months he didn't care about anything other than smoking it and even quit university and went on welfare. so it got me thinking, what is the tradeoff, having it illegal and people being hurt trying to get it that way, or having it legal and running the risk of those with addictive personalities get hooked on it, but that being said its just as much a risk that they get addicted to anything else.
That being said i'm sure there are many people who have the self control to do it moderately, so really why isn't it legalized yet when cigarettes and alcohol is pretty much the same thing.
|
I can't believe some people here really voted "illegalized" in the poll. I wonder if they put their "GOD HATE FAGS" sign aside or if they keep holding it up while voting. lol
they are doing bad to their health, better put them in the jail. lol
|
Marijuana SHOULD be legal. There's like no reason for it to be illegal. A lot of people smarter than me have discussed how alcohol is somehow legal and pot isn't, so I'm not gonna write a poor quality post about that, I'll just share my opinion.
As I said, it should be legal, but I personally don't think it should be. The main reason I'm not down with marijuana is because I don't support intoxication through use of drugs and alchohol and the like... it just isn't useful to anyone and is somewhat selfish. I'm a Christian (I suck at it but I adhere to its most basic principles), but I don't think anyone here would want me to go into the Christian-based reasoning against it.
I'm against it, but I'm not really into forcing my beliefs on people and I don't like any conflicts between people in general, so if it was legal then whatever, I guess.
I don't know anything about the negative effects of marijuana, but some people I know who smoke A LOT are not as quick minded and don't talk as fast as they used to. lol
btw I almost misspelled marajuana like 5 times while writing this post. That would have been fucking embarrassing hahaha.
|
|
|
well from a society point of view, people who smoke weed are also the the laziest and most unproductive people. i'm not sure i'd want that legalised so everyone goes on welfare to get high every day.
|
3-4 Cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day.
That's not a real argument. It's like banning water because people might fill their lungs with it.
|
On October 21 2012 18:17 jimbob615 wrote:
well from a society point of view, people who smoke weed are also the the laziest and most unproductive people. i'm not sure i'd want that legalised so everyone goes on welfare to get high every day.
From personal experience I can say that's not true, some of the best workers I know also smoke weed in their free time.
|
On October 21 2012 18:19 DystopiaX wrote:Show nested quote +On October 21 2012 18:17 jimbob615 wrote:
well from a society point of view, people who smoke weed are also the the laziest and most unproductive people. i'm not sure i'd want that legalised so everyone goes on welfare to get high every day. From personal experience I can say that's not true, some of the best workers I know also smoke weed in their free time.
i believe you, but like anything in life, there will be a spread from one extreme to another.
i can counter by saying from my personal experience, the laziest people i've met, EVER, also smoke weed in their free time. a better way to look at it is, on average, is someone going to be slower, more dim-witted and lazier after smoking? on average, i think you will find the answer to this is yes. and is that something we want the masses to have open access to?
|
On October 21 2012 18:19 HwangjaeTerran wrote:Show nested quote +3-4 Cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day. That's not a real argument. It's like banning water because people might fill their lungs with it.
Yes it is. Smoking 3-4 unfiltered cigarettes a day is also like smoking 20 or more filtered cigarettes.
Cannabis contains far more carcinogens than tobacco. I've smoked pot for over 10 years and I support legalization but please, don't try to blow smoke up my ass. It's cancerous.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
