Your thoughts on Marijuana

[This Guy]

I was just wondering what you guys think of weed? You can probably tell what my opnion is, but I want to hear yours. I mean, in my opinion you haven't listened to music until you listened to it stoned. I'm not promoting it, I just want to hear what the general public has to say about it. I see these anti-pot commercials and they stretch the truth so far. I mean, If you shoot someone with a gun while high, I'd say you are pretty messed up to begin with. I just wish they would decriminalize it like they do in Amsterdam and show the public what weed really is. I just hate to hear people saying they love to get piss ass drunk, but would never take a puff off a joint. Alcohol has caused far more deaths than any drug I believe, where as it's impossible to OD on marijuana, and it doesn't impair your judgement enough to crash a car. In my experience alcohol has been a much heavier drug than weed. Sure weed isn't good for you, but it's not as bad as cigarrettes and you don't smoke it nearly as much as cigarrettes. What do you guys think?

[Resident Loser]

...you gonna' eat that?

jimHJJ(..I think...)

[plextor guy]

Personally I think it's a waste of time and a long term health hazard but when compared to alcohol, much less damaging to society. I can't remember the last time someone high on weed picked a fight, beat his or her spouse, was loud or particularly inappropriate. Further, prisons and jails in the US should be emptied of all nonviolent weed offenders. Tax it, regulate it like alcohol, end of story.

[topspeed]

it's impossible to OD on marijuana

As Gallagher so eloquently put it: Once you're stoned, STOP SMOKING!!! You won't get any higher, just lower on dope!

it doesn't impair your judgement enough to crash a car.

No offense Joey, but you're 17. At this age, everyone (not just you) thinks they are invincible and can do anything. The fact is a little Mary Jane does impact your ability to drive a car, just like drinking alcohol, playing with your ipod, or talking on your damn cell phone. People take driving too lightly in my opinion. You're piloting what is essentially a moving 3000lb lump of metal that is by nature continuously out of control but for the ability of the driver to make the exact right decision at the exact right times. Don't think ganja effects this ability? Your short term memory is already gone, bud (pun intended).

If you want to smoke a little chronic now and again, fire it up! Pink Floyd isn't a complete experience without it, imo. Just stay off the road, allright?

[This Guy]

[QUOTE=topspeed]As Gallagher so eloquently put it: Once you're stoned, STOP SMOKING!!! You won't get any higher, just lower on dope!

No offense Joey, but you're 17. At this age, everyone (not just you) thinks they are invincible and can do anything. QUOTE]

No I'm only gonna be 16 in a month. But I said this because that is what people told me when they drove (i know, probabky not reliable). Plus, how many car accidents have you heard of happened because the driver was too high? I never heard that once. But this wasn't really the main part of my post, I may have done a little ranting. I had no plans on driving while high anyway. No offence taken.

[Pat D]

Personally I think it's a waste of time and a long term health hazard but when compared to alcohol, much less damaging to society. I can't remember the last time someone high on weed picked a fight, beat his or her spouse, was loud or particularly inappropriate. Further, prisons and jails in the US should be emptied of all nonviolent weed offenders. Tax it, regulate it like alcohol, end of story.

I like your last sentence best of all. The stuff is pretty harmless and the only problem I've ever seen people have with it is that they could get a criminal record. With marijuana illegal, there is an illegal industry to meet the demand. Since the industry is illegal, it is unregulated, so that there are no standards for size of dose, purity, freedom from contaminants. And, it doesn't pay taxes. The US government is completely crazy about marijuana.

[JSE]

Plus, how many car accidents have you heard of happened because the driver was too high? I never heard that once.

Well, I have worked in the insurance industry for many years and I used to see it all the time. Not as much as alcohol, but it was common.

I personally don't have a problem with Happy Weed anymore than alcohol. But, it should still be highly regulated if made legal and laws should be in place regarding it's use, just like alcohol. The "FACT" is that it impaires your ability to drive.

No offense, but smokin weed at 15 is not a good start. I can't wait until you get behind a car!

JSE

[piece-it pete]

"you haven't listened to music until you listened to it stoned." - I'm sorry, Guy, but lmao - "Duuuuuuude! I don't need pot to experience this - only to enhance it!" Otto

Ok, ok, let me wipe the tears from eyes now.

Pot isn't on the list of "old school" drugs like alcohol or nicotine. Those commercials are aimed at school kids, who should NEVER be encouraged, or perhaps as much as they should drink Kentucky moonshine. That said, it is a relatively mild drug.

One that can still impair driving, absolutely! When you're operating a 2 ton 65 mph missile a little can mean a lot, and depending on your stuff it could be a lot more than a little. As my blues-playing friend told me, "People come up to me between sets, and say 'hey man, smoke this, you'll play better.' They're crazy. They mean well, but they're nuts."

And he was no lightweight.

"you don't smoke it nearly as much as cigarrettes." Hey buddy, speak for yourself!!

So in a nutshell: Jeez I don't know. What we do here in not-so-hip Cleveland is, if you're not dealing and get popped for posession you get what amounts to a ticket, and even if you're dealing heavy you don't actually go to jail. Works for me.

Pete

BTW Jim, you mean a universe could actually fit in my thumbnail? It's freaking me out man!

[edit: Joey, I didn't know you were 15. Let me tell you from bitter experience that, if you smoke regular, you will lose to a varying degree your short term memory and possibly become goofy, no joke. Adults have learned a few things that I didn't know at 15, for sure for sure!]

[This Guy]

Well, I have worked in the insurance industry for many years and I used to see it all the time. Not as much as alcohol, but it was common.

I personally don't have a problem with Happy Weed anymore than alcohol. But, it should still be highly regulated if made legal and laws should be in place regarding it's use, just like alcohol. The "FACT" is that it impaires your ability to drive.

No offense, but smokin weed at 15 is not a good start. I can't wait until you get behind a car!

JSE

I know I shouldn't be doing it, but it's not like I'm doin it everyday. Grades are good, I'm as healthy as ever, I met some cool new people I'm now friends with, and best of all it allows me to cool down through a hard week of school. Right now I really don't see the need to stop. Just one question, did the reports say the driver was high at the time they crashed or that they found marijuana in their urine/blood? Cause in some of the commercials I see say " The driver of this car (it was wrecked) tested positive for marijuana." The driver could have gotten high last week, not necessarily was he high when he crashed.

[Jim Clark]

Can't say that I have any use for it what so ever. Don't imagine my children would take a great deal of pride in having a stoner for a father and conversely I wouldn't exactly be beaming with pride raising pot smoking children. Fortunately we are a very athletic family and our priorities lie elsewhere.

How miserable must a life be for someone to feel they need brain altering chemicals to escape it. By the same measure, to feel the need for pot to experience life at it's best is both incredibly sad and pointless. Hey, I'm not the moral majority here so if you or someone else feels the need, what do I care? If you're willing to deal with brutal foreiture laws and potential jail time then nothing anyone writes is going to make a darn bit of difference. To me it doesn't really matter if pot should be legalized or not. The only point that matters is that currently it's not. Good luck, it looks like you may need some.

jc

[JSE]

I know I shouldn't be doing it, but it's not like I'm doin it everyday. Grades are good, I'm as healthy as ever, I met some cool new people I'm now friends with, and best of all it allows me to cool down through a hard week of school. Right now I really don't see the need to stop. Just one question, did the reports say the driver was high at the time they crashed or that they found marijuana in their urine/blood? Cause in some of the commercials I see say " The driver of this car (it was wrecked) tested positive for marijuana." The driver could have gotten high last week, not necessarily was he high when he crashed.

I used to deal with lawsuits arrising out of accidents. I handle cases were Pot and other drugs were alleged and I also saw cased where there was scientific evidence. I also saw many cases where witnesses testified to the driver using drugs immediately before the accident and in some cases at the time of the accident. I had one case where a young kid was shooting up and passed out. He was sitting at a gas station with the car still in drive. He passed out and his foot hit the gas. He took out a gas pump, 2 cars, 1 pedestrian, some bushes and ended up in a store front. He woke up in the E/R.

Your responses and general attitude towards pot does not sit well with me. I lost one of my best friends to drugs. You sound just like he did when he was a few years younger than you. At 15, he was already doing Heroin. He started out with pot at about age 12 I guess. He was 19 when he died. He was shooting up and somehow caught his house on fire after passing out. He died in the fire. He had been clean for about 2 years. College actually calmed him down. However, when home from college, he hooked with some of his old friends and fell back into it. I normally tried to come home with him just for that reason but I did not that time. I stayed at school due to my job. He had only used once or twice while back at home when he died. I know this sounds like some stupid add against drugs but, kids your age are not physically, mentally nor emtionally able to deal with drugs in most cases. I know my friend is not always the norm, but it can and does happen. Something to think about.

JSE

[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.

[Woochifer]

I can tell you firsthand that pot pretty much scuttled one of my tightest friendships from high school. In fact, it was with that friend that I got into the audio hobby. Once he started smoking pot, he told me that he could control it, and that he only took it on occasion. And of course, he made "new friends" but assured me that it wouldn't affect our friendship.

Of course, that was all a load of bull****. Once he started, he gradually kept increasing his usage until the only thing he ever wanted to do was sit around and get stoned. He didn't want to go out and do stuff anymore, unless it involved going over to one of his "new friends'" places to get high over there. And he could no longer maintain a coherent conversation without spewing out a whole bunch of ridiculous nonsense. And even when he wasn't high, his mind still wasn't clicking on all cylinders. He was forgetful, and he couldn't think quick on his feet anymore, which was sad because before he discovered pot, he was a champion debater and could talk about just about any subject.

I knew that our friendship was pretty much over when I came home from college with a girlfriend and bumped into him at a local Denny's. He was stoned and hanging out with one of his "new friends" -- I just said hi and he started spouting off incoherently. I didn't bothered to introduce him to my girlfriend, even though just a year earlier we were best friends.

I agree that pot is not all that different than alcohol or smoking in that they're all highly addictive drugs with health consequences, but there is a difference in that pot has long-term effects on the brain chemistry. It affects your cognitive capacity, your memory, your judgment, and if you keep it up long enough, it will have long-term effects. Plenty of friends that I knew in high school started doing pot after I went away to college, and during my breaks, I would see them and it was like dealing with a totally different person.

Pot by itself is not the issue, it's all the waves that it leaves in its wake where the damage really occurs. Personally, I think you legalize, regulate it, and tax the hell out of it. But, when it comes to getting high in public or getting behind the wheel, you treat it like public drunkeness or alcohol DUI and throw the book at anyone who's caught driving stoned.

[This Guy]

wow thanks for the reply man. I'm sorry to hear about your buddy. Hell that actually happened to a couple of my friends and I'm young yet. Having been through that I think I got the strength to not fall down that hole. This is the kind of response I was looking for. Everyone else feel free to say your opinions, and/or experiences (no lectures please).

[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.

[Resident Loser]

...let me apologize for my glib attempt at humor in my first response and get serious...

There was a point in time when I was a card-carrying member of NORML and wore my little "smoke-leaf cluster" pin indicating that association...

Late 60s to mid 70s, wacky-tabacky of all types, from homegrown to Panama Red, Thai sticks, hash, opiated hash and probably treated oregano...name it, I probably smoked it...joints, carburetors, water pipes, Oat Willies "Power Hitter"...when I was still using tobacco products, I know for a fact I never, EVER inhaled as deeply as I did with weed...way down, deep into the lungs...the paper, the glue, whatever...that can't be good for you...and of course, wine went well with the food and friends...there was a period of time that for every waking hour of my life I was fundamentally zapped...I never graduated to anything heavier...unfortunately, there were many of my buds who did...lost jobs, lost loves...and now nearly thirty years later I have health problems that may have their roots in my full-tilt idiocy...

I don't want to fly a plane or ride in a bus that may have been serviced or piloted by someone who is high...I could go on, you know the drill...you may THINK you can handle it...the key word is think...

And if at fifteen, you have problems that need to be addressed with drugs or alcohol, what's gonna' happen when you actually face life as a adult? Trust me, it only gets worse...sometimes on a daily basis...

Music sounds better? No not really, it's all in your head...trust me. "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Autobahn" or "Tubular Bells"...WOW MAN, that's heavy...well, you just get sucked into the loop...you just think you see and hear better...you might even think sexual activity is better...all in your head...there is a definite psychological addiction, period...

I had seen a couple of flicks way back when that struck me as the funniest stuff I'd ever seen...many years later I found them boring and disconnected, even though I had built them up(in my mind) as otherwise...it does affect your senses, like it or not...

I wish I had never used tobacco, or drank, or used weed etc. I'd have a lot more cash and probably better health...

jimHJJ(...my advice is, lose it before you lose something else...)

[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.

[topspeed]

...let me apologize for my glib attempt at humor in my first response and get serious...

I laughed my a$$ off at your response, Jim. A little levity is always a good thing .

[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.