Your thoughts on Marijuana

[markw]

Grades are good, I'm as healthy as ever....

Dude, your effen' FIFTEEN. Your body is still growing! You better be heathy at that age.

I met some cool new people I'm now friends with....

Ya don't think you all could be friends without that bond? That'sa mighty shallow basis for a friendship I'd say. There are a heckuva lot of "cool" people that don't need the brotherhood of the bong to share common interests.

...and best of all it allows me to cool down through a hard week of school.

Now this is the scariest statement you've made yet. Life hasn't even started to get rough at your age. Mummy and daddums are still forking over for you and will for the next few years. What have you got to worry about? Jeez, If you need that crutch now, how do you think you'll handle the real world?

But, you're young and know everything. Keep it up and soon you'll realize how much you either forgot or didn't know.

Most of us have been where you are, did what you are doing and you might do well to listen to some of these old geezers. Some might have learned a trick ot two.

Oh, one last thing. Do you even drive yet? I didn't think so. At least, I hope not. Smoking that stuff most certainly DOES affect your driving. Trust me on this one. Ever notice how it kerfutzes up your depth perception? Not what you want when you're guiding a multi ton hunka metal around other multi ton hunks of metal and soft moving targets that bleed when you hit 'em.

But then again, you are 15 and know it all. Yeah, I feel comforted to know that you're only one state away from me. Riight.

[dean_martin]

Here's what happens when the outside world (those other than you and your friends) find out and they will. When you begin smoking dope more than once a week (and I'm not condoning smoking it once a week) you get sloppy. You forget to put the towel under the door. You forget to put IT back in its hiding place. You forget to open the window. You forget that the stuff smells strong especially to others who aren't smoking. You can only hide it for so long. Then -
1.Your folks find out and the sh*t hits the fan at home.
2.You get busted at school because you think you can smoke out in the bathroom or outside the gym before a dance or something. You get sent home (see 1.).
3.Worse than 1 is when your school counselor gets involved in your personal home life and that will happen if you get busted at school. It won't stop there. Some county/state agency like human resources will be called in to intefere in your home life. You will probably be removed from school (zero tolerance) and may even be removed from your home.
4.If you're removed from your home you'll be shipped off to some rehab or teen stress center that'll cost your parents thousands of $$$. You'll get to meet kids who are a thousand times more f'd up than you.
5.You'll wind up in the juvenile court system where, to keep things off your record, you'll have to endure a probationary period with a probation officer and you will be under a mandatory curfew - you can't go anywhere but school, if you're still in school; you can't leave home by yourself; you have to be in by dark; you'll be drug tested regularly.

Almost every college app. has a question about drug use. Any civil service job app. has a question about drug use. Law School apps. have questions about drug use. Most job apps. in the private sector have questions about drug use. At some point you'll have to justify a "no" (lie) just to function in society.

I know all this sounds very harsh, but it's reality until laws are changed. Some states are pushing for more lenient laws but the feds (and their wars on drugs, terror, etc.) are cutting them off at the pass. I don't think we'll see a change in our lifetime. You may have to put the weed on one scale and the rest of your life on the other and see which weighs more.

BTW, please don't drive stoned and don't ride with a driver who's stoned. Stoned people tend to drift toward oncoming traffic, especially at night. The really stoned tend to drive very slow because everything outside the car seems to be flying by. They are easy for cops to spot.

How's that for a little a stoner paranoia!

[This Guy]

Thanks for the unbiased reply Dean, I completely agree with you. IF this stuff was legal, or atleast decriminalized we wouldn't have to go through all this s h i t. And Mark, I don't mean to throw flames, but I wasn't asking for a lecture. I've got a firm grasp on my life and if you really think weed is a gateway drug to heroin and the such you're dead wrong, atleast in my opinion. I don't need your or anyones advice on my life, I was asking for your opinion on marijuana.

[dean_martin]

Thanks for the unbiased reply Dean, I completely agree with you. IF this stuff was legal, or atleast decriminalized we wouldn't have to go through all this s h i t. And Mark, I don't mean to throw flames, but I wasn't asking for a lecture. I've got a firm grasp on my life and if you really think weed is a gateway drug to heroin and the such you're dead wrong, atleast in my opinion. I don't need your or anyones advice on my life, I was asking for your opinion on marijuana.

No thanks necessary. Regardless to whether it's good, bad or indifferent for your health, pot's still illegal and getting into trouble with it now can have lasting repercussions. But, hey, even if you get into trouble now, you can always get your GED, work your way through community college and maybe even reach management level at the local A&P. (Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with working your way through community college at a grocery store. That's what I did. But, that shouldn't be your ceiling.)

Don't count on legalized marijuana. Even when you're old and gray, your peers (other old farts), cancer victims, glaucoma patients, AIDS victims and some doctors who'll be labelled as quacks will still be trying to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes (pain killer and appetite enhancer). That's still a far cry from acceptance as a social drug like alcohol.

Finally, just remember that a judge ain't gonna give a darn about your views and opinions on marijuana.

[JSE]

I've got a firm grasp on my life and if you really think weed is a gateway drug to heroin and the such you're dead wrong, atleast in my opinion. I don't need your or anyones advice on my life, I was asking for your opinion on marijuana

Obviously, you have all the answers. Like you said, you have a firm grip on your life. Damn, you really sound like my buddy.

Welcome to the first stages of denial. BTW, why is it important what we think about pot? You said it yourself, grades are good , your as healthy as ever and meeting cool new people. Why should should you be wondering what others think. Maybe it's that little inner voice making you unsure about your current life? Maybe your looking for reassurance in regard to your habit? I doubt you are going to get many people telling you your doing the right thing and there is nothing negative about it. If your looking for someone to agree with you, then maybe you should talk to those cool new friends. I am sure they will look out for your best interest.

Sorry for the lecture. I know you don't want to hear it ( remember that little denial thing) but your going to get it from people from hear on out.

Good luck, your going to need it.

JSE

[markw]

....I was asking for your opinion on marijuana.

And you got it. Sorry you didn't like it.

[kexodusc]

Having actually spent 3 months in Amsterdam, let me be the first to say "don't believe everything you hear"...I was quit surprised when I saw that the only people that bought and smoked pot were 18-40 year old tourists, mostly men, and more than half from North America. The locals rarely smoke it, most don't even think about it,and they have more than a few derrogatory names for stoner wannabees university students from North America.

I was 23 then, now I'm 25. This trip almost changed my perception about the dangers of decriminializing it completely..hell, if we're only going to make a few bucks off stoner tourists, why not legalize pot and tax the hell out of it?

But then I got to thinking...what is the net benefit? Probably very little since the taxes generated would probably only pay for the added public administration...take into consideration the loss of current fine revenues, and you're probably behind some.
Even if you break even, or make a small, modest tax profit on the whole legalizing front, what is the potential for harm?

I've read more than a few studies that claim pot is almost as bad, as bad, or even worse than tobacco for health despite popular belief by teenagers that it's harmless...add in the long term "burn-out" effect it has on the brain, and I say this is one more problem health insurance doesn't need.
Do we really want to make it easier for stoners to drive? No. Do we want to send yet another screwed up message to kids - cigarettes, booze, and pot are okay, but don't smoke crack???
Is marijuana a "gateway drug"? Probably for more than just a few...so why make it more accessible?

The way I see, those that really want it now, are probably doing it anyway...the only real net benefit I could see to legalizing, is that you make the drug dealing business less attractive, and have fewer "Fast Eddies" visiting schools. But then, maybe they'll still be selling it to the underage anyway, or worse, they'll start pushing LSD or something??

As for the criminal records...well, for children, aren't they cleared when you reach the age of adulthood? For young adults who get caught...too bad, I guess. The way I see it, if a company wouldn't overlook marijuana offenses if they're on your record, then they probably wouldn't hire you anyway.

I say put Pot on the "To Do" list...when we've got perfect health care, education, low crimes etc, then we can work on getting ways for stoned for those that want it.
We've got more important things to worry about than legalizing pot.

In the end, I feel society's right to enhanced safety and protection should always outweigh its priveledge to indulge in unecessary, health hazardous, and potentially dangerous, substances.
Period.

[piece-it pete]

No lectures? Joey, I agree with just about everything everyones' said here. I regret my 1st post.

You're clearheaded now, obviously, I thought you were older. Kiss that goodbye. Drugs affecting a still-forming brain and body will do permanent damage. Fact, like it or not.

Eyes red? Eyes are made of brain tissue. If your eyes are inflamed so is your brain. Ozzy: "If you could see inside my head, you'd see the veins inside are red". Another fact.

"Man I don't want to hear this". Denial.

I grew up in the culture, I know it inside and out.

The commercials are accurate, some dead on. The best commercial I saw about it wasn't "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs", though that was true. It was the one with the 30 year old sitting in his room at his parents house smoking a joint saying, I'm not a violent person, and I don't do hard drugs. (in the background, his mother "when are you going to get a job!")." He continues: "That's just it. I don't do anything."

Am I saying that's you? No, not now. That comes later, maybe not much later.

Good luck to you. I'll pray for you and those close to you, who will be hurt.

Pete

Here's a guy who knows, and makes money by pandering:

I was gonna clean my room until I got high
I was gonna get up and find tha broom but then I got high
my room is still messed up and I know why
why man -cause I got high

I was gonna go to class before I got high
I could have cheated and I could have passed but then I got hiiigh
Now i'm taking it next semester and I know why
why man -cause I was high

I was gonna go to work but then I got high
I just got a new promotion but I got high
now i'm selling dope and i know why
why man -cause I was high

I was gonna go to court but then I got high
I was gonna pay my child support but I was high
Now they took my whole paycheck and I know why
hey hey -caues I was high

I wasn't gonna run from the cops but I was high
I was gonna pull right over and stop but I was high
Now I a paraplegic and I know why
hey hey -cause I was high

I was gonna pay my car note until I got high
I wasn't gonna gamble on tha boat but then I got high
Now tha tow truck is pullin away and I know why
why man hey hey -cause I was high

I messed up my entire life cause i got high
I lost my kids and wife cause i got hiiigh
now i'm sleeping on tha sidewalk and i know why
-cause i was high

Now i'ma stop singing this song because i'm high
i'm singing the whole thing wrong cause i'm high
and if i don't sell one copy i'll know why
-cause i was high

It could be you - it's a likely scenario for someone who starts young - another fact.

[BRANDONH]

I smoked pot once, I was delirious, I did not know what I was doing, I was high on cocaine...
Rodney Dangerfield

P.S. spend your money on stereo equipment instead.

[alumpkin]

I don't smoke weed, so I don't really care if it is legalized or not, but I do feel that if it is legalized, it should be put under laws just as alcohol (and a few more because I don't mind someone drinking nearby in a restaraunt, but I don't want to smell someone's joint from the smoking section).

The key is for people to realize that weed (and alcohol), if abused (which people have different definitions for), can lead to horrendous results.

A true story for all you weed smokers:

My best friend from high school started smoking more and more weed throughout college. No one really knows how much he was smoking (as he never told me and he went far away to college), but he smoked so much weed that his mind basically shut down. He temporarily became a schizophrenic and begun having all of these memories of stuff that just didn't happen. I went to see him in the hospital a few times and had a few talks with his doctor as well. What the doctor told me was startling. Apparently this happens a lot more than people know or have heard of and a few "organizations" (I put " " because the doctor couldn't tell me who) were paying for all of my friend's treatment to try and figure out what happened and what are the best ways to treat this condition. According to his doctor, everyone has some point with weed (and I would assume alcohol as well - especially with alcohol poisoning) that their body just can't handle anymore and just shuts down. From talking with him, I have gathered that he was smoking a lot, but the doctor told me that this point differs for each person. The point to the story is: be careful especially with how much you smoke. And just to let you know, my friend, with the help of a lot of medication, is out of the hospital and back in college trying to finish his degree. But if you knew him before the incident, you can definitely tell a difference in him.