The Battle to Decriminalize All Drugs

Alcohols sole purpose is to cause intoxication....every single beer drinker I know starts their drinking spree with " I'm gonna get drunk tonight" or " I'm gonna get s#1tfaced tonight"

Yes if one drinks in moderation they may not get completely hammered, just lightly buzzed, the same could be said of many other things done in moderation...

Alcohol lowers ones inhibitions just as any drug would...my brother in law used to actively try to get me drunk just for a laugh because of how different I became....it's why I know my limits and choose to stop before reaching them...

Second hand smoke is bs?...hah tell that to the 6 year old girl I know that has to use an oxygen mask because of the chronic bronchitis she got from being surrounded by 3pack a day smokers...

RyuJin wrote: Alcohols sole purpose is to cause intoxication....every single beer drinker I know starts their drinking spree with " I'm gonna get drunk tonight" or " I'm gonna get s#1tfaced tonight"

Yes if one drinks in moderation they may not get completely hammered, just lightly buzzed, the same could be said of many other things done in moderation...

Alcohol lowers ones inhibitions just as any drug would...my brother in law used to actively try to get me drunk just for a laugh because of how different I became....it's why I know my limits and choose to stop before reaching them...

I have three beers a night and never feel a buzz. If my tolerance was lower, I'd reduce it to one or two.

My family is full of moonshiners, and I live in the deep south. I have encountered more problematic potheads than drunks, and that is saying something, especially considering that everybody I know drinks, and I try to avoid pot smokers like AIDS. Weed is a problem, a very serious one.

Star Forge wrote:

Abhaya Budhil wrote: But how is weed different to you than the legal drugs I listed? Drugs don't automatically cause someone to harm another person, and plenty of people harm others without using drugs. I think that drugs should be illegal, but harming someone should of course not be allowed. So if your drug addiction starts causing you to harm others, then of course you shouldn't be allowed to have drugs. But if you aren't addicted or if you aren't letting your addiction harm others, then I see no problem with drug use.

You mean alcohol and cigs? Easy.

As I already explained, alcohol is only a problem when you overdo it. You can only drink a little. I was staying over at a friend's house the other night, and had seven beers and a margarita, but I stretched it all across eight hours, so I was never drunk. Cigarettes only harm the user, as the whole secondhand smoke thing is BS, unless, perhaps, you're smoking in the car with somebody.

On the other hand, weed, heroin, etc, are only there to get you high, no other purpose.

Actually, most people, as far as I've observed, drink alcohol to get "buzzed"... I believe "buzzed" is also the same word used for getting at least mildly high, as opposed to "stoned out of your mind".

There is a difference between "using" a substance and "abusing" a substance. There are countless people who "use" marijuana, meaning, they smoke a small amount Only when needed on occasion for certain things such as pain/anxiety relief and even for helping with creative process. Hm... I believe drinking is commonly used in the same way. "Abusing" it however means to use it from sun up to sun down to the point where you are completely inebriated with no attention span and sitting on the couch unable to independently think, almost like a vegetable.

As for cigarettes, maybe I can let you meet my mother one day. She has lost her voice to larnyx and esophagal cancer... it was caused by?.... both cigarettes and alcohol consumption. Would she have gotten this cancer if she had only been smoking weed during that time?

I rest my case.

Proteus wrote:

Star Forge wrote:

Abhaya Budhil wrote: But how is weed different to you than the legal drugs I listed? Drugs don't automatically cause someone to harm another person, and plenty of people harm others without using drugs. I think that drugs should be illegal, but harming someone should of course not be allowed. So if your drug addiction starts causing you to harm others, then of course you shouldn't be allowed to have drugs. But if you aren't addicted or if you aren't letting your addiction harm others, then I see no problem with drug use.

You mean alcohol and cigs? Easy.

As I already explained, alcohol is only a problem when you overdo it. You can only drink a little. I was staying over at a friend's house the other night, and had seven beers and a margarita, but I stretched it all across eight hours, so I was never drunk. Cigarettes only harm the user, as the whole secondhand smoke thing is BS, unless, perhaps, you're smoking in the car with somebody.

On the other hand, weed, heroin, etc, are only there to get you high, no other purpose.

Actually, most people, as far as I've observed, drink alcohol to get "buzzed"... I believe "buzzed" is also the same word used for getting at least mildly high, as opposed to "stoned out of your mind".

There is a difference between "using" a substance and "abusing" a substance. There are countless people who "use" marijuana, meaning, they smoke a small amount Only when needed on occasion for certain things such as pain/anxiety relief and even for helping with creative process. Hm... I believe drinking is commonly used in the same way. "Abusing" it however means to use it from sun up to sun down to the point where you are completely inebriated with no attention span and sitting on the couch unable to independently think, almost like a vegetable.

As for cigarettes, maybe I can let you meet my mother one day. She has lost her voice to larnyx and esophagal cancer... it was caused by?.... both cigarettes and alcohol consumption. Would she have gotten this cancer if she had only been smoking weed during that time?

I rest my case.

The fact that I use tobacco does not invalidate my arguments against weed, so please, no ad hominem stuff.

Star Forge wrote:
My family is full of moonshiners, and I live in the deep south. I have encountered more problematic potheads than drunks, and that is saying something, especially considering that everybody I know drinks, and I try to avoid pot smokers like AIDS. Weed is a problem, a very serious one.

You should come visit New Zealand where 33% of all police reported incidents are alcohol related and half of all violent crimes are commited by people who are drunk.

Also

3.8 percent of all global deaths and 4.6 percent of the global burden of disease (measured in disability-adjusted life-years) are attributable to alcohol.Between 18 and 35 percent of injury-based emergency department presentations are estimated to be alcohol-related, rising to between 60 and 70 percent during the weekend. 14 percent of the worlds population are predicted to meet criteria for a alcohol use disorder at some time in their lives. A 2009 study by the World Health Organization estimated harmful alcohol use cost estimates are around $16.1 billion

Totally not an issue.

Brenna wrote:

Star Forge wrote:
My family is full of moonshiners, and I live in the deep south. I have encountered more problematic potheads than drunks, and that is saying something, especially considering that everybody I know drinks, and I try to avoid pot smokers like AIDS. Weed is a problem, a very serious one.

You should come visit New Zealand where 33% of all police reported incidents are alcohol related and half of all violent crimes are commited by people who are drunk.

Also

3.8 percent of all global deaths and 4.6 percent of the global burden of disease (measured in disability-adjusted life-years) are attributable to alcohol.Between 18 and 35 percent of injury-based emergency department presentations are estimated to be alcohol-related, rising to between 60 and 70 percent during the weekend. 14 percent of the worlds population are predicted to meet criteria for a alcohol use disorder at some time in their lives. A 2009 study by the World Health Organization estimated harmful alcohol use cost estimates are around $16.1 billion

Totally not an issue.

I am not here to defend alcohol. If it was illegal, I would not use it. It is, so I do, in strict moderation. All I know is the proof is in the pudding. In Malaysia, we had a no-s*** policy concerning drugs, and it was cleaner and safer than anywhere in the west. Alcohol is legal for non-Muslims. Weed, however, is illegal for everybody, as will most recreational drugs. As I said, if the federal government, or my state, caves on this, I'm back to swinging the cane in those sunny regions.

Star Forge wrote: I am not here to defend alcohol. If it was illegal, I would not use it. It is, so I do, in strict moderation. All I know is the proof is in the pudding. In Malaysia, we had a no-s*** policy concerning drugs, and it was cleaner and safer than anywhere in the west. Alcohol is legal for non-Muslims. Weed, however, is illegal for everybody, as will most recreational drugs. As I said, if the federal government, or my state, caves on this, I'm back to swinging the cane in those sunny regions.

Perhaps you are just better suited to the climate and values there then.

Incidently there are less than 500 deaths a year attributable to the use of weed in the states, in comparisson to around 75000 alcohol related and 100000 from legal drug use. My point was that in comparrison, weeds impact is not nearly as problematic. It seems that it is simply very concerntrated where you live, but that is not a representation of the over all problem, just what you are able to observe.

Brenna wrote:

Star Forge wrote: I am not here to defend alcohol. If it was illegal, I would not use it. It is, so I do, in strict moderation. All I know is the proof is in the pudding. In Malaysia, we had a no-s*** policy concerning drugs, and it was cleaner and safer than anywhere in the west. Alcohol is legal for non-Muslims. Weed, however, is illegal for everybody, as will most recreational drugs. As I said, if the federal government, or my state, caves on this, I'm back to swinging the cane in those sunny regions.

Perhaps you are just better suited to the climate and values there then.

Incidently there are less than 500 deaths a year attributable to the use of weed in the states, comparable to around 75000. My point was that in comparrison, weeds impact is not nearly as problematic. It seems that it is simply very concerntrated where you live, but that is not a representation of the over all problem, just what you are able to observe.

The alcoholics I observe are burdened with an addiction they chose to enter, but on the other hand, most of them work, don't drive drunk, and have clean records.

Most of the potheads I know are young left-wing low-lives who generally have no jobs but always have money for weed, which is almost certainly ill-gotten. The drunks at least buy their booze. Drugs fuel crime.

As the saying goes: the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence...

The problem is that once you get on the other side you find out its not...