What is the world coming to?

[-IRC-MIKE]

Did you click on the ad?

My guess would be that it leads to an anti-drug site of some sort.

-Rand

+1

I firmly believe it was an anti-drug campaign showing what the effects are and how it will kill you (which they take to the extremes, IMO) and such. I don't smoke weed, but I have friends that do and it doesn't bother me. I have smoked it before, and I didn't like it, but I DO have to say that I believe it is safer than alcohol. All I wanted to do when I smoked it was get the hell away from EVERYONE, get something to eat, and go to sleep.

[Hammy]

I appreciate the conversation, and I recognize the government barriers around this topic makes it hard to look into.

My only twoconcerns relate to:

1) the fact that so much mercury is now found in that product thanks to a significant portion of it now being grown in volcanic soils. (legalization aside with this point).

2) a recent study (cant remember where I read the published finding) did a report on people who smoked marijuana versus people who smoked cigarettes versus people who did neither, with a subset of each group in metropolitan areas with smog indexes higher than some number (the mean of where polution is damaging).



In that study, they were shocked to find that the marijuana smoke had accelerated lung tissue damage in advance of regular cigarette smoke.
They were also shocked to find that the people living in heightened smog indexes were also accelerated further.

Why is this even a factor in my thinking? Well I think that people with more money to spend tend to smoke marijuana, and those same people are often found in more densely populated areas. Which means that people who smoke marijuana regularly (whatever that means in the study) are likely to have some issues later in life.

Also, mercury contributes to dimentia, alzheimers and a ton of other problems for people after 40 years of age, and one comment I remember focusing on was about the diminished hand to eye motorskills co-ordination of the test group. That is, the cigarrette smokers had better hand eye co-ordination than the marijuana smokers. I recall that they also took into consideration of the "under the influence" factor, and required both subject groups to be clear of both drugs prior to the motorskills and hand eye tests.

While I wish I had the study to cite completely, I dont think it matters because I can agree that it always depends on who was doing the research, who was funding it, and what group was the recipient of said findings.

That being said, what I can tell you is that the study was done by a pro-marijuana group, and that they recommissioned the study because they claimed bias on the part of the collection agents.

[Trooper110]

I tried it a few times my friends had it and were doing it, never felt the urge to buy it myself or use it regularly. I wouldn't do it if they legalized it. I rarely drink and almost never to excess to actually being drunk, maybe once every 3 or 4 years now. I've recently quit smoking cigarettes, and feel better for it. But if you want to smoke pot, then by all means lets legalize and regulate it. Just don't do it around me where I'll get an instant contact high from it

[Todd98]

Guy's I am not saying that what you do under your roof is of any my business nor starting a flame war or getting on my soap box nor judging anyone. I think that Trooper110 can back me on this one. We both have one of the worlds most dangerous jobs law enforcement and the railroad and other jobs were your fellow co-worker will have your life in their hands going about daily task could get you killed because of some type of substance abuse. There have been lots of major derailments on the railroad were the engineers or other railroad employees has caused which resulted in deaths because they tested positive for drugs or alcohol. Everytime I go to work I my not return home because of how dangerous it is so I want my co-workers level headed and clean of any substances in their system. Getting coupled up between cars or getting cut half into is not a pretty site as I have seen a man get coupled up between two freight cars. The railroad called emergency services and his family out to the location too say there good bye's and when they seperated the cars he was gone.


Stop and think if a close friend or family member simply drove too the grocery store and was killed by a individual that was high or drunk, and you were devistated by it. Lets say that this was one of your close friends that was the vice president of a large company that you new did drugs no matter what kind. Would you still feel the same way about legalizing marijuana or any other type of drug?

What folks do is their business as long as they do it responsibly! And does not hurt others.

[Todd98]

Sorry Br@nFl@Kes{CLR} I apologize if I hijacked your post.

[BigTwinky]

Todd, I think the thread is a great thread, no hijacks. An initial post about pot being advertised to kids has been turned into a discussion.


As for your comments about working under the influence...legalizing pot does not mean it now has the OK to be used whenever and whereever the user wants to. It comes under laws, just like alchohol.

I think that the people who use pot will use pot, whether its legal or not. I don't think legalizing pot will make the % of people who are users increase all that much. Maybe for first timers, but not for long time users.

So yes, you work a dangerous job. A very dangerous one. But smoeone who is under the influence of ANY substance should not be working there, end of story. I don't see how legalizing pot would make your job any less or more dangerous.

I get the sense that people do not think that people who user pot or who drink alcohol can be responsible people. People seem to assume that the second you touch a joint (or drink a glass) that you are suddenly going to kill someone.

The person I know who is a company VP and is a pot smoker is a very responsible person. I know he would never drive under any type of influence.

Now to answer your question, if a person I knew would get stoned (or drunk) and decide to drive their car and kill someone, I think THEY would be an ass, that is was their fault, as a person. I would not blame the substance. Is it the alcohols fault that drunk drivers run down innocent people? No... it is the person's fault. Many people drink and DON'T drive. They are responsible. The drunk driver/murder is not. Same would go for pot.

So yes, I would still feel the same about legalizing pot if this person I knew got killed by a stoned driver. Just as I feel we should continue to have regulated alcohol production and sale in North America, even though we have thousands of people who drive drunk and kill people.

[Trooper110]

What folks do is their business as long as they do it responsibly! And does not hurt others.

Hey Big Twinky, Todd's not arguing with you :P

[BigTwinky]

I'm not arguing with anyone. I'm just discussing. hehe

He asked a question about what I would think about legalization of pot if a friend of mine got killed by a pot head.

I just tend to be VERY VERY long winded in my replies lol. Just ask my wife

[Evil_T0NY {CLR}]

Well, if we were to legalize Mary Jane, would it be any different than legalizing cocain, heroine and other substances?

[BigTwinky]

Well, if we were to legalize Mary Jane, would it be any different than legalizing cocain, heroine and other substances?

Yes, yes it would

[Thrashdragon]

Well, if we were to legalize Mary Jane, would it be any different than legalizing cocain, heroine and other substances?

There is a huge difference both in terms of what they do to the body and what they do to the mind. Coked up people go on rampages, stoned people giggle a lot and go to sleep. Marijuana is also not nearly as addictive as cocaine and other hard drugs...from my own long, long ago experience with it, I didn't find it addictive at all (and I've been trying to quit smoking cigarettes for years, so it certainly wasn't my overwhelming willpower).

Cocaine and heroin turn people into thieves, robbers and murderers so they can afford another fix. Marijuana, while it does cloud your judgment when taken in excess (as does alcohol), does not provoke one to violent rages or induce such a need that you would go against your own nature and hurt another person in order to get more.

I used to work for a law enforcement agency, and there are way too many people in jail for marijuana or paraphernalia possession...and every one of those booked in means one more rapist/pedophile/killer that gets probation a little earlier. Our government lacks the political will to enforce our borders, so they might as well legalize marijuana, make some tax money off of it, and most importantly, stop wasting law enforcement resources going after marijuana and start seriously going after those that peddle the drugs that ruin lives.



BigTwinky ain't the only long-winded one around here.

[mapes]

I used to work for a law enforcement agency, and there are way too many people in jail for marijuana or paraphernalia possession...and every one of those booked in means one more rapist/pedophile/killer that gets probation a little earlier. Our government lacks the political will to enforce our borders, so they might as well legalize marijuana, make some tax money off of it, and most importantly, stop wasting law enforcement resources going after marijuana and start seriously going after those that peddle the drugs that ruin lives.

Thankfully not in Santa Cruz county where I live. The voters passed a bill not legalizing MJ but putting it at the lowest priority for prosecution. Which is I believe how it should be. I myself do not smoke but, I do have friends who do recreational y and medicinally. One of the more annoying things that happened was about 4 years ago. The DEA raided the Womans CoOp for medical MJ. This was stupid. How the CoOp worked was that if you needed to use pot for medical reasons they gave you land on which to grow it. The rule was you or your care taker had to grow it for your own use. No selling of it allowed. The DEA came in and seized everything. You gottaa love this quote from one of the local santa cruz cops

But some local police officers were irritated by the federal agents' actions.

"What a bunch of babies these DEA guys are," said one disgusted Santa Cruz officer, who did not want to be identified. "They're up there with all these agents, but they see a bunch of pot-smoking sick people on the road, and they have to call us for help."

[BigTwinky]

I believe pot is decriminalized here, which means you can get fined for possession, but will not get a criminal record nor will you go to jail...again, for possession.

Odd, I haven't seen anarchy break lose yet...

[Hammy]

DEA is Federal.
State Troopers (CHP in California) are State.
Police Dept like Santa Cruz are local.

The DEA cannot process anyone that is not directly involved with any operation that they are part of. They also co-ordinate with the county Drug Enforcement Task Force before they conduct an operation.

I know this because we have quite an extensive relationship with the DEA in the group that I work with, as well as my friendship with some of the top officers in the San Jose DEA office.

Whoever made that statement, if it isnt just some reporter trying to stir the pot, obviously isnt on the Task Force.

I'd also like to point out that they are the same people who fund most of the summer harvest raids in the mountains of California Counties across the state. So I find it hard to believe that they had anyone out of pocket on the operation.

What usually happens in these raids is that someone inside is either selling more than they should or selling drugs in addition to marijuana. ALSO these clinics attract other drug dealers who advertise their drugs to people going in.

Two of our most favorite fugitives were caught outside one of these clinics trying to peddle oxycotton.

[GeneralSnake]

wow, I did manage to hijack this thread. And it is one of my favorites now. Everyone, great posts. Wonderful.
Twinky and Thrash, thank you guys. I am sure we have some members here who think all pot smokers are deadbeat idiot losers.
Does anyone know why it was made illegal?
LIES and RACISM