Legalization of Medical and Recreational Cannabis

Hey Guys, This topic has always shown up on the news and such. I would like to see some opinions of how you feel about the Legalization of Medical and/or Recreational Cannabis(Marijuana). I fully support both because the fact that Alcohol and Tobacco are far more dangerous than Cannabis yet they are legal and regulated. What do you think?

My opinions are rather odd as I still go back and forth a lot. I used to be very much of the opinion that all of it should just be illegal as they all can be pretty bad for you and I disagree with the use of all of them. However, as I have grown up and matured (and joined here) I have started to be more of the opinion that what people want to put into their own bodies should really be up to them. Just because I don't want to do it doesn't mean I can tell you not to.

I do think that there should be stricter punishments for things like driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs because that is where a personal choice can have the greatest impact on another person. Also you shouldn't be allowed to do it in public places (for me that includes regular cigarettes) you should only be able to do it in specially designated places and in your own home. I think that laws should be made to protect people from other people's decisions, not from their own.

One benefit to legalization is the tax revenue. Colorado is raking in quite a bit of dough now thanks to taxes on marijuana.

In summation, do I think marijuana should be legal? While I would not personally use it and therefore I don't care greatly if it is I also don't like restricting personal freedoms so long as they don't harm other's who choose not to partake. Make it legal, regulate it, tax the crap out of it, and put the money to good use like education.

Well said Goken.

I'm in favor of legalization, or at the very least decriminalization. Truthfully, I wouldn't care so much about legalization if they would just release all the people who were given bogus marijuana charges and continually put into the penal system like circuit.

Best arguement I have ever heard.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zHPGvKGgHKk

I am in favor.

It's probably not a good idea (thinking First Opium War) but I think it should be allowed for personal home use, both medical or recreational, but not in public or as an industry.... though I'm sure the taxes would be welcome by governments. I guess its tricky to test for impairment empirically? As unlike alcohol it seems to hang around in the system a lot longer I think.

http://higherperspective.com/2014/12/colorado.html?utm_content=buffer53d16&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Adder You are right THC stays in the body for up to 30 days or more depending on usage. Although the actual "high" lasts for an hour or two(depending also on usage).

Take this into account:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7fa4gV06pg

As a resident of the State of Washington, I voted for it last year when it came to the ballot. I consider myself a Constitutionalist, and as such, I believe that you should be able to do whatever you please, as long as you don't infringe on other people's right to the same. If you want to get high, be my guest, as long as I don't have to smell it (it gives me headaches).

The only problem I see is that we are demanding more freedoms, but with less accountability.

"With great power comes great responsibility" - Voltaire

Coming from northern California in the heart of the 'Emerald Triangle' I live and breathe the good and bad of this. Anyone truly interested in this topic should really check out the book Smoke Signals. It goes over the historical medical, industrial and spiritual use of this wonderful plant. Like anything it has good and bad aspects. Where I live, everyone is involved and our communities thrive off it. The problem here is that there are massive unregulated industrial sized grows that can have a heavy environmental cost. People who do not know what they are doing with the land cause a lot of damage as the cartels will pollute our forests and leave trash, poisons, etc. Others will pull water from places that are already stressed and clearcut entire mountain tops to put up their greenhouses.

It can actually be very helpful medically, if you watch the documentary American Drug War 2: Cannabis Destiny you will see how under the microscope compounds in cannabis will literally attack cancer cells. This scratches the surface of what this plant can do, and to consider how our bodies have an endocannabinoid system we should all really take a hard look into this. However this does not come about by smoking it, rather ingesting oils extracted from the flowers. Being a long time user of it and have actually stopped smoking I can say that it can definitely have a negative affect, but not nearly as bad as alcohol. It's really all about moderation, yes it can help you focus and relax, you can think things through and have a much more open perspective towards things but at the same time it can cause panic attacks, make you lazy, etc. Healthwise of course it's not good to have smoke in your lungs, in places like India they smoke some very dirty cannabis that leads to lung infections and is probably just as bad as tobacco in that form.

My opinion is that it should be legal just like alcohol and tobacco, but the production of it is where we run into issues. I think it should be regulated like agriculture and adhere to certain environmental controls. I think the small farmer should be covered and production not only permitted to handful of producers. There is little negative effects on the environment when one works with the land and applies organic techniques such as using compost teas and natural management of pests and molds. The amount grown should be mostly regulated based on techniques as well as your water source, the size of your property, location, etc. It's currently a $4-10 billion a year industry and of course there would be benefits from taxation and permitting processes because our towns, cities, counties, states, and nation are bankrupt and operating in the red. Then there's also the prison industrial complex that thrives off this bogus drug war.

Unfortunately, big pharma would rather have you on opiates and other harmful drugs until they can isolate something from cannabis and patent it. It's not just about using the flowers for medicine or recreation though, we all know the US required citizens to grow hemp back in the day, and the UNLIMITED uses it has that would allow all of us as individuals to regain a sense of producing our own goods again, from clothes to building materials. This issue is bigger than most people think. When I drive down south I see mountains clearcut for vineyards, I see wine tasting places everywhere, and considering the potential for cannabis I think it is insane to keep this plant from expressing itself and helping us as a whole.

Generally, I try to abstain from anything that impedes with my meditation. That said, if there's scientific proof that there's medical merit to it, use it, by all means. As for legalizing it: I don't mind if other people get stoned as long as they don't hop into cars afterwards or do harm to others in any other way. The problem is that while many people possess the degree of self-control necessary to use this particular drug only occasionally and for personal pleasure, others clearly do not and descend into a vicious circle that might be hard to get out of. The same goes for other drugs, of course, like alcohol etc.

Generally, I try to abstain from anything that impedes with my meditation.

This is interesting given that one could argue marijuana would not impede this process.

Many here and in other forum talk about meditation and other spiritual and shamanic practices and always leave out just how prevalent plants were, and are, used for a myriad of things, anthing from simple medicine(white willow bark effectively being aspirin) to spirit journeys(too many to name).

Humans have been working with plants since...well, since we have been around, though there is evidence of animals "going on trips", and recognizing plants,etc.

As one who at one time did smoke marijuana, and if it becomes legal, will again, I can attest that you need not get extremely high every time you smoke weed.

I know people who drink chamomile tea to relax, or valerian root to help them sleep and in that you are ingesting a plant to cause a chemical change in your body producing an artificial( at least in the sense that it was not how you were "naturally" ) and altered state of consciousness.

Smoking a joint is no different.

Especially given for those who are health nuts that you do not have to smoke it, but can eat it, make a tincture, and ingest it a myriad of other ways that do involve involve smoking.

Adder You are right THC stays in the body for up to 30 days or more depending on usage. Although the actual "high" lasts for an hour or two(depending also on usage).

I you smoke it, yes, but if you ingest it through cookies, or brownies it will be for quite a bit longer and is much more potent, so keep that in mind and clear your schedule.

Working with plants, is the working with the Force, plants alre alive, the Force is life, etc,etc, blah, blah....

Khaos wrote:

Generally, I try to abstain from anything that impedes with my meditation.

This is interesting given that one could argue marijuana would not impede this process.

Depends on how you meditate. I primarily do mindfulness meditation and pot most certainly doesn't help there. THC leaves you stoned and not merely relaxed. If you've tried Vipassana after having had 2 glasses of wine, you'll know that it doesn't take much to mess it up.

I'm sure there are many meditation techniques involving drugs but I'm not looking for a hallucinatory (or, in the case of THC, mind altering) experience in meditation.

Hi everybody
I think i first would opinionate that medical marijuhana i.e that marij has legit documented cases of provng its medical value-
is similar to global warming inzofar as the science is really no longer questioned by actual scientists that dont work for shell or monsanto or some other sith institution.

Its easy enough to find the medical consensus among the doctors and patients who have used it and it is in probably every case of its being arbitrarily denied as valid an instance pf fear or of greed.
Thatz my opinionate which i draw from the fact that any one of us can web search right now and find tons of info including lpersonal testimony of people with firsthand experience.
to saythe least i am full support. Personally my inclnation is alwayz PLANT before PILL (PILL here meaning something i wouldnt know to make at my kitchen sink with morter and pestle or pot of boiling water- or maybe just something that doesnt affect the stock portfios of men who would feed me to alligators for quarterly rise of 4%)

As for meditate
im at the place previous poster (hi) mentioned where thc makes you stoned not just relaxed. If i smoke i get STONED. im closer by far to 35 than i am to 15 tho. And there was type of meditation that i used to practice called GAZING and i used to feel that smoking went well with that.
Also anyone that smokes can tell you there are moments when you get "in the zone" in whatever youre doing. Thats why i dont smoke now, i dont get in the zone i just get stoned. Usually waste my time, cant proper focus and have to go to sleep just to escape the stone. No fun no mo.

I think cultivating personal responsibilty and personal freedom is ok though, so long as the responsibility part is valued in equ proportion to the freedom part

Medical weed is really just a Trojan horse for those who want it legalized; we already have Marinol to fill that role, which is healthier and safer since it is not smoked. I'm not attacking anybody in this thread, only the concept of recreational weed use.

That being said, the pharmaceutical industry indisputably peddles stuff that is much, much worse than weed. Nonetheless, the fact that there are worse things is a pretty week argument for weed legalization.

My personal view is that it should not be legalized. I am fine with my tax money going toward the war on drugs. I formed this opinion in college. I once, during a brief spell as a libertarian, thought that weed should be legalized, even though I have never had any intention of using it. After seeing it used by a diverse array of people in every significant way possible- race, class, occupation- I have concluded that recreational weed use is a very bad thing.

That's the brief version of it.

Before anybody makes comparisons to alcohol, I want to add that I do not drink, nor use any drugs (even OTC medication), nor tobacco, nor do I eat meat.

I'm all for it. However I live in a deep south red state that will probably implode before putting a legalization vote on the ballot.

Criminalizing marijuana makes as much sense as criminalizing prostitution. Which is to say, absolutely none. Both are harmless to people who don't partake in them, both are highly lucrative, and both could use a little government regulation to clean them up, make them safer, and put some unsavory characters out of business.

Im confident its less an issue of IF than when

I also have this sense that the more rules and laws societies have the more the individuals tend to get ground up in the gears and wheels of the machine.

As a result i dont belive theres very much thatshould be illegal

I always felt like freedom and defending freedom meant that people could live and do as they pleased
becaue you know their free and all

And i remember reading that SMOKING works better than marinol
this was in the nineties or early2000s before vaporizers caught on which are even "better" than smoking
i might be wrong but im pretty sure at least that the case is made for marinol not being as effective for some or another reason.. i think it one of the issues was that pills are not as effective delivery system. Also nausea was much more significant.

like i said it was a long time ago i read about it
I may look it up later
but
on the "war on drugs"
There is no war on DRUGS
drugs just sit there
they dont carry guns and they dont invade other countries
you can only declare war on people
and i dont see how a nation declaring war on its own citizens is a good thing
unless youre one of the warlords dictators drug kingpins gangsters greasy politicians who profit from it i mean

everyone else is ff'd

i do not feel in theleast that it is inappropriate or disrespectful to speak on issues i have spent serious time and thought on and this is one of them.
The so called drug war has had horrible effects on american society (i cant speak for the other side of the pond) with tbe results being that drugs are stronger more dangerous and easier to get than ever.
I dont belive theres a high school in any major city in america that one cant go into and nerwork their way to any drug you can name.
Thats why we call them HIGH schools.

One generation ago that was incomprehensible

OB1Shinobi wrote: Im confident its less an issue of IF than when

I also have this sense that the more rules and laws societies have the more the individuals tend to get ground up in the gears and wheels of the machine.

As a result i dont belive theres very much thatshould be illegal

I always felt like freedom and defending freedom meant that people could live and do as they pleased
becaue you know their free and all

And i remember reading that SMOKING works better than marinol
this was in the nineties or early2000s before vaporizers caught on which are even "better" than smoking
i might be wrong but im pretty sure at least that the case is made for marinol not being as effective for some or another reason.. i think it one of the issues was that pills are not as effective delivery system. Also nausea was much more significant.

like i said it was a long time ago i read about it
I may look it up later
but
on the "war on drugs"
There is no war on DRUGS
drugs just sit there
they dont carry guns and they dont invade other countries
you can only declare war on people
and i dont see how a nation declaring war on its own citizens is a good thing
unless youre one of the warlords dictators drug kingpins gangsters greasy politicians who profit from it i mean

everyone else is ff'd

i do not feel in theleast that it is inappropriate or disrespectful to speak on issues i have spent serious time and thought on and this is one of them.
The so called drug war has had horrible effects on american society (i cant speak for the other side of the pond) with tbe results being that drugs are stronger more dangerous and easier to get than ever.
I dont belive theres a high school in any major city in america that one cant go into and nerwork their way to any drug you can name.
Thats why we call them HIGH schools.

One generation ago that was incomprehensible

I personally do not vote or participate in politics, so I will have no say in the decision when it comes. I opt to exempt myself from a lot. For instance, I am opposed to TV, so I do not own one. I am opposed to film, so I do not go to theaters. I have made a personal decision not to drink alcohol, so I stay away from bars. Now and then, somebody tries to force these things on me. Somebody will preach to me about the greatness of cinema, or try to pressure me into drinking, but I am resilient, and these things are thankfully pretty rare.

More people have preached to me about weed than about movies and booze combined. I live in a state where weed is illegal, and most people want to keep it that way. A lot of the more regular weed users act as if it is perfectly legal and show very little precaution. Worst of all, they show no consideration toward the non-smoker.

When I was in college, a lot of people around me smoked weed, yet knew that I didn't. I kept being lured into weed-oriented situations. Want to hang out? We would end up somewhere private, and everybody would be burning it up but me. Can you give me a ride? People would carry weed in my car without letting me know that they had it, just assuming that I would be cool with it.

I have actually physically assaulted people for smoking weed near me. I even once broke a girl's nose. I would not have done this had weed been legal, but these people were threatening my future by smoking near me.

Aside from the recklessness of stoners, I have seen the effects of weed, and to me, it's worse than booze. I've heard conflicting stories as to which one is more physically harmful, but there is no doubt that weed can seriously mess with a person's brain. I have seen it, and I don't want to be around it. I am convinced that recreational weed has no place in society.

I resolved to defend myself because I was sick of living in fear of potheads having me arrested and ruined along with them. I have ended many friendships due to weed. It is simply something that I will not allow near myself.

Well, i respect your commitment.
more, i respect that you take responsibility for your opinion and assessments to the point that your actions reflect your belifs.
also that you keep your own counsel regardless of external pressures

these are attributes we have in common
and here are some other things you and i have in common.
i also do not vote or officially participate in politics. To me the mere discussion of issues is a form of participation but thats semantics.

I dont vote and i dont campaign because i feel the system is broken and corrupted beyond repair and i refuse to perpetuate that through participation.

im not assuming this is why you abstain
i merely relate my own reasons

i also do not watch or own a television. I dont belive theres any other single thing inthe history of human civilization to have such a detrimental impact on human intelligence and emotional development as the aptly named BOOB TUBE"

i do eat meat but not if it has irradiated hormone treated or geneticly modfied or fed on crops that were gmo crops

i dont eat chicken or eggs of chickens that are not organic free range
i dont asume that our reasons are the same but these are things i can relate to you over

Do you mind if i ask what were the circumstances you broke he girls nose?

and also i agree that for myself whenever i explain what i feel to someone i usually go to good lengths to explain WHY i feel that way so tHt i can impress upon them that its sometjing i take serious.
So for a person i like to consider a friend to treat lightly my conusions is not imo a respctful thing

It does sound tho like as if a lot of the bad history youve had with marijuhana has been a result of tbe fact that it is illegal e en more than just that its not healthy

Also there is medical substantiation to the assertion that cannabis is much lezz destructive purely fro.m a physiologic standloint than alcohol

If youre not interested i tbe discussion thats ok. I do feel it appropriate to resond enough to say that the assertion is not without merrit, and i am WILLING go engage in respectful dialogue with you on the issue if youd like. I am also wiing to just "shake hands and call it a day"