why is marijuana illegal?

[Geebs]

Alcohol is a perfect drug - it renders the populace submissive and uncritical. You don't have much "out of the box" thinking with alcohol (typically). Alcohol inspires trust, as opposed to paranoia, which is why it is a great tool for business deals and the like.

Jules, come round my neighbourhood one night, stitch a few heads and you'll agree that the statement above is utter horseshit (no offence )

As tnf said, though, alcoholics are second only to junkies for sheer skankiness.

I'm fully aware of the violence associated with alcohol - during my days in the cybercafe industry, my least favourite customers were the ones on alcohol. They tended to be the least cooperative.

By submissive and uncritical, I mean with respect to things that require higher levels of cognitive analysis.

It's been recently shown in a clinical study that people who inhale oxytocin are willing to gamble/invest more money - it suggests that feeling good inspires feelings of trust. This is consistent with Damasio's "somatic marker hypothesis" which is based on the idea that when positive emotions (which are manifested primarily on a somatic level - meaning that positive emotions actually make your body feel good) are neurally linked to thoughts within a judgement, your mind judges those thoughts as "good" - and vice versa. This serves to make decision making efficient (else we'd be paralyzed trying to calculate cost benefit analyses ad infinitum for even the most simple decisions).

Alcohol definitely inspires euphoric feelings. Marijuana, while able to have euphoric effects, also has potential to inspire negative feelings such as anxiety.

I think this is one reason why people on pot (so long as they're not completely stoned) tend to experience paranoia and distrust more so than alcohol.

I would be willing to bet that a clinical study done properly would prove this. Get five groups of people:

A: drink alcohol
B: drink alcohol tasting "placebo"
C: smoke pot
D: smoke pot tasting "placebo"
E: drink and smoke nothing

Then have them watch a sequence from a videotape that involves a social situation. Within that sequence are subtle cues that suggest potential betrayal to the main character.

Afterwards you ask the subjects how likely it is that they thought the main character was gonna be betrayed.

I'm pretty sure the pot group would score high, the control group would score normal, and the alcohol group would score low.

What about those studies showing that there is a significant difference in the pattern of the effects of alcohol in different ethnic groups? Plus there's a very large placebo effect - people who think they're drinking alcohol act drunk

[Cool Blue]

What about those studies showing that there is a significant difference in the pattern of the effects of alcohol in different ethnic groups? Plus there's a very large placebo effect - people who think they're drinking alcohol act drunk

And people will 'trip out' if they think they've taken LSD (watched many a dumb teenager eat a piece of cigarette pack and trip thinking it was legit LSD. LOL!).

[[xeno]Julios]

What about those studies showing that there is a significant difference in the pattern of the effects of alcohol in different ethnic groups?

I'm sure there are different effects depending on cultural/ethnic background. However I'm pretty sure that the biological constraints that are shared between these groups would facilitate the general effects I referred to.

Plus there's a very large placebo effect - people who think they're drinking alcohol act drunk

hence the placebo groups, to control for the expectancy effects.

[Keep It Real]

oh and this is the real reason its illegal....turns u into this...

lol

[iambowelfish]

i drink coffee, but not because i need it, but rather i enjoy a cup.

Ha, that's what people think until they try to quit.

Having said that you might be an occasional user like myself who doesn't have a caffeine habit.

ive taken caffeine or alcohol but i dont need them

Right. Many people feel the same way about illegal drugs.

But if there was a movement to ban caffeine or alcohol, the fact that you "don't need them" probably wouldn't stop you from opposing it.

CRUTCH!

K... So would you or wouldn't you?

So if the government decides to take away your coffee, you just say "Sure, I don't need it" and whenever the subject comes up again you go

drugs :lol:

[Tormentius]

K... So would you or wouldn't you?

So if the government decides to take away your coffee, you just say "Sure, I don't need it" and whenever the subject comes up again you go

drugs :lol:

One affects thought processes in a fairly major way and the other doesn't. I'm not saying I think weed should be illegal persay but comparing it to caffeine is a little ridiculous.

[HM-PuFFNSTuFF]

I don't need them.

Oh right...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No wait, I still don't get it.

You saying you've never taken anything with caffeine or alcohol in it?

i drink coffee, but not because i need it, but rather i enjoy a cup. alcohol? no thanks.

quit caffeine for a month then and see if you need it or not

[shadd_.]

if i don't drink coffee for a few days, then have a big cup, i get high.

sweaty hands, somewhat hyper, and enhanced sexual prowess.

[Duhard]

Is that grey hair I'm seeing there?

You're getting old fagot, time to be destroyed...

[lostfile401]

All drugs, not just illegal drugs are regulated by the us government. This system was introduced when a large portion of the us started to suffer from opium addiction. The new system required drugs to be tested and documented, along with going through a series of processes to safely asses their values and it's side effects. Drugs that make it through this process are then able to be prescribed by doctors. Who have been educated on how drugs can be properly used, with out abuse.

Most advocates of legal marijuana want it to be distributed like cigarets or alcohol as a recreational drug. Most likely if it was legalized, it would be a regulated drug, and it would still be illegal for them to posses such a drug. Let aloen grow it, or sell it.

Pot isn't a light drug, and it isn't harmless. The environment of addiction states that addicts ignore facts and common sense. They have a tendency to want to bring other people into their social circle, witch is just another system to reinforce their drug use. Witch explains why addict have a tendency to advocate that it's a harmless, and that their choice of drugs should be legal.

After all it's not hurting any one.. except for them self and of corse, oh and the people they drag into the addiction.

Even though pot dose not meet the definition of an addictive substance, some people find it highly addictive. Like most addictions user complaining of numbness, not being able to feel, or be emotional with out continued self medication. They no longer do the drug for fun, in-fact they claim they don't do it for recreation. They claim to use the drug to regulate their mood. To quote the doctor from love line, "That's the number one sign some one is an addict."

How pot works is not completely known. How ever, They do know that it triggers the brain to release endorphins. UCSD is in the process of linking pot use with sex. It appears that pot may stimulate some of the same areas triggered during sex. Part of their research shows a high rate of sexual addiction in pot addicts. Not to mention sexual disfunction.

The problem with unregulated pot use, is that it most commonly used in dangerous ways. Trigging the release of too many endorphins leave the brain depleted, causing events that would normally trigger such endorphins lacking.

Plus the excess release of chemically can cause an echo effect. where cells around them are bombarded, causing those cells to start to release their chemicals. The end result over time is that it requires more chemicals to be released in the future to have the same effect as before. This dulls emotions, not just in future drug use, but in this case most likely sexual arousal / satisfaction from regular sex.

Then there are the completely negative side effects. Pot increases the chance of genetically passed mental disorder of triggering. Pot also bonds to nerve endings and fat. This slows down the chemical and electrical reaction of the brain and nervous system. Any thing above a very mild use of pot one very couple of months is more then the body can handle. And the user is using the drug faster then the body can recover, causing a build up.

Using pot excessively interferes with cell production. The wall of new cells may mutate, causing the cells to produce an excess of free radicals. These mutates cells bombard the nabering cells. Free radicals pollution the interment of the body, they bounce into cells. This can destroy cells, Including brain cells, witch will never be replaces.

As people age free radicals naturally increase throughout the body. These free radicals cause extra strain on the body. Basically pot increase wear and tear on the body. Free radicals are suspected as one of the major trigger of aging.

Pot is also a powerful stimulant. It causes a permanent change in the brain after only a couple uses. While anti depressants take a year to cause any kind of permanent change in the brain. Considering we don't know exactly how this change effect the brain, that's pretty crazy.

Addict of pot, who seek recovery through 12 step, concealing, and other programs. Often complain about not being able to anisette new tasks. For instance they may want to get a job, but just can't seem to sit down and write their Résumé.

[tnf]

BTW, smoking weed means smoking tobacco, which in my opinion should be made illegal.

Geebs, what is your take on things like the availability of prescription pain meds and the like?

Do you have problems with vicodin/oxycodone/other narcotic painkillers over there like we do here? I've got students popping 8
15 mg oxycodones a day...hydrocodone is handed around like candy amongst some of the kids. Don't know where a steady supply of a schedule II narcotic like oxy is coming from.

But I am curious as to whether or not you really think outlawing tobacco, and any other drug, will be effective. We saw what happened when we tried to outlaw alcohol in the states. And the fact that it is illegal to have oxy's, etc., without a prescription here isn't much of a deterrent for a lot of people.

It puts me in a real quandry, personally. I've drank enough alcohol for 6 lifetimes, but I've had maybe 4 drinks in the past 3-4 years. I stopped alcohol entirely when I decided to teach high school. Never tried weed, never had any desire to. But I've seen it have VERY negative effects on kids in my classes. At the same time, I feel that making things illegal does not effectively address the issues related to their misuse and abuse. So, I really don't have a solution to the 'legalize drugs' problem. I sway back and forth depending on the circumstances.

[+JuggerNaut+]

i drink coffee, but not because i need it, but rather i enjoy a cup.

Ha, that's what people think until they try to quit.

again, another assumption. during the summer months (here approximately 4 months) i don't drink coffee at all because it's too hot. and since i don't drink soda, i don't substitute one source of caffeine for another. therefore, i'm not addicted.

i like a cup of coffee (good stuff, not folgers or even $tarbuck's crap) when it's a bit chilly, which is not often in Phoenix.

quit caffeine for a month then and see if you need it or not

is it really that hard for you to believe that someone is NOT addicted to a chemical substance?

here's a tip, step outside and look around. there are others like me.

[+JuggerNaut+]

[quote="lostfile401"][/quote]

nice alt and an even nicer copy/paste. well done.

[HM-PuFFNSTuFF]

i drink coffee, but not because i need it, but rather i enjoy a cup.

Ha, that's what people think until they try to quit.

again, another assumption. during the summer months (here approximately 4 months) i don't drink coffee at all because it's too hot. and since i don't drink soda, i don't substitute one source of caffeine for another. therefore, i'm not addicted.

i like a cup of coffee (good stuff, not folgers or even $tarbuck's crap) when it's a bit chilly, which is not often in Phoenix.

quit caffeine for a month then and see if you need it or not

is it really that hard for you to believe that someone is NOT addicted to a chemical substance?

here's a tip, step outside and look around. there are others like me.

it's not hard for me to believe, but people like you are rare

[+JuggerNaut+]

Ha, that's what people think until they try to quit.

again, another assumption. during the summer months (here approximately 4 months) i don't drink coffee at all because it's too hot. and since i don't drink soda, i don't substitute one source of caffeine for another. therefore, i'm not addicted.

i like a cup of coffee (good stuff, not folgers or even $tarbuck's crap) when it's a bit chilly, which is not often in Phoenix.

quit caffeine for a month then and see if you need it or not

is it really that hard for you to believe that someone is NOT addicted to a chemical substance?

here's a tip, step outside and look around. there are others like me.

it's not hard for me to believe, but people like you are rare

interesting.

[[xeno]Julios]

nice alt and an even nicer copy/paste. well done.

i don't think it was a copy/paste. spelling errors, and google turned up nothing. Probably someone who found a reason to post.

will respond to the post later.

[lostfile401]

nice alt and an even nicer copy/paste. well done.

¿?¿?

[iambowelfish]

First I'd like to point out that I did mention that not everyone who drinks coffee has a habit.

K... So would you or wouldn't you?

So if the government decides to take away your coffee, you just say "Sure, I don't need it" and whenever the subject comes up again you go

drugs :lol:

One affects thought processes in a fairly major way and the other doesn't. I'm not saying I think weed should be illegal persay but comparing it to caffeine is a little ridiculous.

Maybe. But I wasn't trying to do that.

I was pointing out that they are both drugs, so for a coffee drinker to dismiss marijuana just because its a drug is more than a little ridiculous.

[+JuggerNaut+]

First I'd like to point out that I did mention that not everyone who drinks coffee has a habit.

K... So would you or wouldn't you?

So if the government decides to take away your coffee, you just say "Sure, I don't need it" and whenever the subject comes up again you go

One affects thought processes in a fairly major way and the other doesn't. I'm not saying I think weed should be illegal persay but comparing it to caffeine is a little ridiculous.

Maybe. But I wasn't trying to do that.

I was pointing out that they are both drugs, so for a coffee drinker to dismiss marijuana just because its a drug is more than a little ridiculous.

you're right, i should have just laughed at addiction.

[Uaintseenme]

ahhh white widow....

haha you were finally banned for 2 weeks. Bitchfist.

[The HavoX]

psst...

[Uaintseenme]

That would matter if God really existed.

[bork[e]]

look who grew the bawls to show his inter-face. :lol:

[Uaintseenme]

look who grew the pubic hair to bother trying to waste my time :lol:

[Duhard]

That would matter if God really existed.