Hi I was just wondering if anyone has smoked weed and what your thoughts and opions are around this subject. Do u do it have u ever tried it or how do u feel about this
thank you so much for your opinion
christle

My honest opinion of marijuana is the only thing wrong with it is that it's illegal.

I really don't consider weed a drug if you're using it as a responsible adult. I live in Oregon where it's legal to grow and have quite a bit if you are over 18 and apply for a medical use permit, which is fairly easy to get. Our state judicial system is extremely lenient with weed cases. My opinion is that weed is a whole lot better than alcohol, and doesn't cause the death and destruction that alcohol does. If alchohol is legal and acceptable, weed should be more so.

Well thank you very much one luv I live in canada and it is not legal at all but wanted to know what people thought of it as a whole. Thank you for your opinion.
christle

I feel like liquor one day it will be legal once uncle Sam gets away to get his tax cut.

I second that!:D


My honest opinion of marijuana is the only thing wrong with it is that it's illegal.

Actually the laws in Canada were suppose to change and the bill is in Parliment for the third time now, it made it all the way to paper to be signed last time but was forgotten because of our last elections. Now its there again and we have elections yet again. It wouldnt actually legalize it but make it an offense that would only a be a fine, like a parking ticket.
There is also legal medical pot in Canada now and has been for a couple years. You need to apply for a licence and its quite lengthy but there are a growing amount of people in Canada now on medicinal weed. If you fit the criteria then you can apply in Canada here: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/how-comment/index_e.html
I have feelings about pot that arent always shared by others. I dont consider it a gateway drug, I consider some lifestyles of chronic pot users a gateway but not the drug itself. I can't remember hearing about a robbery or mugging or anything related exclusively to pot. I know they often throw that in on news reports but there is always mention of booze or harder drugs also and not just pot. Most people who use harder drugs and pot use pot to make the coming down easier and the withdrawl easier so they can sleep.
About the only thing that scares me about a pot user would be that they might steal my food...lol. Some addicts of harder drugs have found that rehab and other things didnt work for them but pot did and when it comes down to choices between crack or pot then at least they wont die from pot or have to rob people. Not for everyone though, depends on their triggers.
There has been a lot of research that shows very positive results with pot for various mental disorders and pain relief as well as pot being used for drug rehabilitation though the jury is still out on that one. I think that the approach by the U.S. gov and the Canadian gov is quite different. They have also developed a weed nose spray in Canada that I think is available for licenced medicinal pot users (Bayer Pharm).
Personally I am on the criteria list to get medicinal pot in Canada but I havent applied and probably never will because I never liked the feeling of a pot high.
With the completely scarey figures coming out of North America now about addiction to pain killers, it alarms me that there isnt more attention on getting weed legalized everywhere for medicinal purposes. The opiate based and similiar pain killers are highly addictive and the fastest growing addiction trend in North America and Europe. I have been prescribed those plenty of times and have a cupboard full of them. I always have to stop them because of my addiction past and because my body cant tolerate a drug that powerful anymore. If it came down to pain I couldnt deal with I would rather smoke pot then take a prescription painkiller any day.
I know that the use of it is a very good painkiller though, I rolled joints for a friend of mine that was terminally ill in the few days before he died. It was the only relief he had in the end and as far as I was concerned it was healthier for him then the Morphine and he was able to still enjoy his friends on pot intstead of the other drugs.
Also I would rather there were weed bars instead of alcohol bars like in Amsterdam. The amount of booze sold in our countries are crazy and dangerous. I think if someone is smoking pot they shouldnt drive or things like that, but a weed high person is a lot safer then a drunk and is not usually violent unless another substance is involved.
just my two cents.

Thank you very much for your input it made me think about it in a diffrent way

Originally Posted by pinky666
My honest opinion of marijuana is the only thing wrong with it is that it's illegal.

I too agree....I have never heard if a crime that was caused by smoking weed! It will be legal one day!

i don't use it due to my profession and when i did try it when i was younger it pretty much just put me to sleep. i think it is much less destructive than alcohol. after all, how many people do you see fighting, and driving crazy because they smoked some pot? i think they should tax it and use that money to get the harder drugs like crack and meth off the street. just my 2 cents.

It's a natural plant, medicinal and sacramental for many. Having it be a Schedule Whatever narcotic is just goofy.
As for the gateway issue they are asking the wrong question. If somebody goes on to hard stuff, OF COURSE, they probably smoke weed also/first. They should be studying the people who do NOT need to escalate, and the differences between the two, not demonizing ganja

i honestly think that weed isnt all that bad. I mean almost everyone nowadays smokes and it doesnt affect the way they live their life. It will end up being legalized one day also...better weed than crystal meth or cocaine

thank you for ur comments who here smokes weed come on now be honest
take care
christle
As for me I do it once in a while when I'm REALLY streesed out!

Not to sound paranoid, which could be taken as a symptom or something:) BUT...This IS a public forum, and no matter what we might think of the law it's still the law...Do I think somebody's going to track me down from here and bust me for a roach? Probably not. Do I wish to make any definitive statement that I have ever or ever intend to break a law? nah...

:wave: I do! I will honestly and openly tell anyone that. I have for years and probably will for the rest of my life. As for weed being a gateway drug I do not believe it, I believe it's up to the individual person if they want a harder drug.


thank you for ur comments who here smokes weed come on now be honest
take care
christle
As for me I do it once in a while when I'm REALLY streesed out!

good point im sorry if I offended anyone here is was not my intent.
merry christmas and a happy new year have a safe and happy holiday season.

I dont think you offended anyone at all, that was an interesting question actually. You have a safe holiday too and nobody drink and drive !!! Lets all get home safe and sound.

I used to smoke weed...all the time. I dont think there is anything wrong with it at all. My husband smoked too...everyday. We had some of our best times together after we smoked!

I wasn't offended! Just being (overly) cautious. Joyous holiday, hope everybody has a high old time!

Sorry It's So Long but It's Worth the Read :p

1. Marijuana Causes Brain Damage
The most celebrated study that claims to show brain damage is the rhesus monkey study of Dr. Robert Heath, done in the late 1970s.
This study was reviewed by a distinguished panel of scientists sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.
Their results were published under the title, Marijuana and Health in 1982.
Heath's work was sharply criticized for its insufficient sample size (only four monkeys), its failure to control experimental bias, and the misidentification of normal monkey brain structure as "damaged".
Actual studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no evidence of brain damage.
For example, two studies from 1977, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana.
That same year, the American Medical Association (AMA) officially came out in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. That's not the sort of thing you'd expect if the AMA thought marijuana damaged the brain.

2. Marijuana Damages the Reproductive System
This claim is based chiefly on the work of Dr. Gabriel Nahas, who experimented with tissue (cells) isolated in petri dishes, and the work of researchers who dosed animals with near-lethal amounts of cannabinoids (i.e., the intoxicating part of marijuana).
Nahas' generalizations from his petri dishes to human beings have been rejected by the scientific community as being invalid.
In the case of the animal experiments, the animals that survived their ordeal returned to normal within 30 days of the end of the experiment.
Studies of actual human populations have failed to demonstrate that marijuana adversely affects the reproductive system.

3. Marijuana Is a "Gateway" Drug It Leads To Hard Drugs
This is one of the more persistent myths. A real world example of what happens when marijuana is readily available can be found in Holland.
The Dutch partially legalized marijuana in the 1970s. Since then, hard drug use, heroin and cocaine, have DECLINED substantially.
If marijuana really were a gateway drug, one would have expected use of hard drugs to have gone up, not down.
This apparent "negative gateway" effect has also been observed in the United States.
Studies done in the early 1970s showed a negative correlation between use of marijuana and use of alcohol.
A 1993 Rand Corporation study that compared drug use in states that had decriminalized marijuana versus those that had not, found that where marijuana was more available, the states that had decriminalized, hard drug abuse as measured by emergency room episodes decreased.
In short, what science and actual experience tell us is that marijuana tends to substitute for the much more dangerous hard drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin.

4. Marijuana Suppresses The Immune System
Like the studies claiming to show damage to the reproductive system, this myth is based on studies where animals were given extremely high, in many cases, near-lethal, doses of cannabinoids.
These results have never been duplicated in human beings. Interestingly, two studies done in 1978 and one done in 1988 showed that hashish and marijuana may have actually stimulated the immune system in the people studied.

5. Marijuana Is Much More Dangerous Than Tobacco
Smoked marijuana contains about the same amount of carcinogens as does an equivalent amount of tobacco.
It should be remembered, however, that a heavy tobacco smoker consumes much more tobacco than a heavy marijuana smoker consumes marijuana.
This is because smoked tobacco, with a 90% addiction rate, is the most addictive of all drugs while marijuana is less addictive than caffeine.
Two other factors are important. The first is that paraphernalia laws directed against marijuana users make it difficult to smoke safely.
These laws make water pipes and bongs, which filter some of the carcinogens out of the smoke, illegal and, hence, unavailable.
The second is that, if marijuana were legal, it would be more economical to have cannabis drinks like Bhang (a traditional drink in the Middle East) or tea which are totally non-carcinogenic.
This is in stark contrast with "smokeless" tobacco products like snuff which can cause cancer of the mouth and throat.
When all of these facts are taken together, it can be clearly seen that the reverse is true: marijuana is much SAFER than tobacco.

6. Legal Marijuana Would Cause Carnage On The Highways
Although marijuana, when used to intoxication, does impair performance in a manner similar to alcohol, actual studies of the effect of marijuana on the automobile accident rate suggest that it poses LESS of a hazard than alcohol.
When a random sample of fatal accident victims was studied, it was initially found that marijuana was associated with RELATIVELY as many accidents as alcohol.
In other words, the number of accident victims intoxicated on marijuana relative to the number of marijuana users in society gave a ratio similar to that for accident victims intoxicated on alcohol relative to the total number of alcohol users.
However, a closer examination of the victims revealed that around 85% of the people intoxicated on marijuana WERE ALSO INTOXICATED ON ALCOHOL.
For people only intoxicated on marijuana, the rate was much lower than for alcohol alone. This finding has been supported by other research using completely different methods.
For example, an economic analysis of the effects of decriminalization on marijuana usage found that states that had reduced penalties for marijuana possession experienced a rise in marijuana use and a decline in alcohol use with the result that fatal highway accidents decreased.
This would suggest that, far from causing "carnage", legal marijuana might actually save lives.

7. Marijuana "Flattens" Human Brainwaves
This is an out-and-out lie perpetrated by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
A few years ago, they ran a TV ad that purported to show, first, a normal human brainwave, and second, a flat brainwave from a 14-year-old "on marijuana".
When researchers called up the TV networks to complain about this commercial, the Partnership had to pull it from the air.
It seems that the Partnership faked the flat "marijuana brainwave".
In reality, marijuana has the effect of slightly INCREASING alpha wave activity. Alpha waves are associated with meditative and relaxed states which are, in turn, often associated with human creativity.

8. Marijuana Is More Potent Today Than In The Past
This is not a myth, on average the THC content of marijuana tested from 2000-2005 was about two to three times as high as it was in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

9. Marijuana Impairs Short Term Memory
This is true but misleading. Any impairment of short-term memory disappears when one is no longer under the influence of marijuana.
Often, the short-term memory effect is paired with a reference to Dr. Heath's poor rhesus monkeys to imply that the condition is permanent.

10. Marijuana Lingers In The Body Like DDT
This is also true but misleading. Cannabinoids are fat soluble as are innumerable nutrients (like Vitamin A) and, yes, some poisons like DDT.

11. There Are Over A Thousand Chemicals In Marijuana Smoke
Again, true but misleading. The 31 August 1990 issue of the magazine Science notes that of the over 800 volatile chemicals present in roasted COFFEE, only 21 have actually been tested on animals and 16 of these cause cancer in rodents.
Yet, coffee remains legal and is generally considered fairly safe.

12. No One Has Ever Died Of A Marijuana Overdose
This is true. Animal tests have revealed that extremely high doses of cannabinoids are needed to have lethal effect.
This has led scientists to conclude that the ratio of the amount of cannabinoids necessary to get a person intoxicated (i.e., stoned) relative to the amount necessary to kill them is 1 to 40,000.
In other words, to overdose, you would have to consume 40,000 times as much marijuana as you needed to get stoned.
In contrast, the ratio for alcohol varies between 1 to 4 and 1 to 10. It is easy to see how upwards of 5000 people die from alcohol overdoses every year and no one EVER dies of marijuana overdoses.

Sources...
1) Marijuana and Health, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 1982. Note: the Committee on Substance Abuse and Habitual Behavior of the "Marijuana and Health" study had its part of the final report suppressed when it reviewed the evidence and recommended that possession of small amounts of marijuana should no longer be a crime (TIME magazine, July 19, 1982). The two JAMA studies are: Co, B.T., Goodwin, D.W., Gado, M., Mikhael, M., and Hill, S.Y.: "Absence of cerebral atrophy in chronic cannabis users", JAMA, 237:1229-1230, 1977; and, Kuehnle, J., Mendelson, J.H., Davis, K.R., and New, P.F.J.: "Computed tomographic examination of heavy marijuana smokers", JAMA, 237:1231-1232, 1977.
2) See Marijuana and Health, ibid., for information on this research. See also, Marijuana Reconsidered (1978) by Dr. Lester Grinspoon.
3) The Dutch experience is written up in "The Economics of Legalizing Drugs", by Richard J. Dennis, The Atlantic Monthly, Vol 266, No. 5, Nov 1990, p. 130. See "A Comparison of Marijuana Users and Non-users" by Norman Zinberg and Andrew Weil (1971) for the negative correlation between use of marijuana and use of alcohol. The 1993 Rand Corporation study is "The Effect of Marijuana Decriminalization on Hospital Emergency Room Episodes: 1975 - 1978" by Karyn E. Model.
4) See a review of studies and their methodology in "Marijuana and Immunity", Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Vol 20(1), Jan-Mar 1988. Studies showing stimulation of the immune system: Kaklamani, et al., "Hashish smoking and T- lymphocytes", 1978; Kalofoutis et al., "The significance of lymphocyte lipid changes after smoking hashish", 1978. The 1988 study: Wallace, J.M., Tashkin, D.P., Oishi, J.S., Barbers, R.G., "Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations and Mitogen Responsiveness in Tobacco and Marijuana Smokers", 1988, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, ibid.
5) The 90% figure comes from Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction, Surgeon General's Report, 1988. In Health magazine in an article entitled, "Hooked, Not Hooked" by Deborah Franklin (pp. 39-52), compares the addictiveness of various drugs and ranks marijuana below caffeine. For current information on cannabis drinks see Working Men and Ganja: Marijuana Use in Rural Jamaica by M. C. Dreher, Institute for the Study of Human Issues, 1982, ISBN 0-89727-025-8. For information on cannabis and actual cancer risk, see Marijuana and Health, ibid.
6) For a survey of studies relating to cannabis and highway accidents see "Marijuana, Driving and Accident Safety", by Dale Gieringer, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, ibid. The effect of decriminalization on highway accidents is analyzed in "Do Youths Substitute Alcohol and Marijuana? Some Econometric Evidence" by Frank J. Chaloupka and Adit Laixuthai, Nov. 1992, University of Illinois at Chicago.
7) For information about the Partnership ad, see Jack Herer's book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, 1990, p. 74. See also "Hard Sell in the Drug War", The Nation, March 9, 1992, by Cynthia Cotts, which reveals that the Partnership receives a large percentage of its advertising budget from alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical companies and is thus disposed toward exaggerating the risks of marijuana while downplaying the risks of legal drugs. For information on memory and the alpha brainwave enhancement effect, see "Marijuana, Memory, and Perception", by R. L. Dornbush, M.D., M. Fink, M.D., and A. M. Freedman, M.D., presented at the 124th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, May 3-7, 1971.
8) DEA, NIDA, MAPS.
9) See Marijuana and Health, ibid. Also see "Marijuana, Memory, and Perception", ibid.
10) The fat solubility of cannabinoids and certain vitamins is well known. See Marijuana and Health, ibid. For some information on vitamin A, see "The A Team" in Scientific American, Vol 264, No. 2, February 1991, p. 16.
11) See "Too Many Rodent Carcinogens: Mitogenesis Increases Mutagenesis", Bruce N. Ames and Lois Swirsky Gold, Science, Vol 249, 31 August 1990, p. 971.
12) Cannabis and alcohol toxicity is compared in Marijuana Reconsidered, ibid., p. 227. Yearly alcohol overdoses was taken from "Drug Prohibition in the United States: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives" by Ethan A. Nadelmann, Science, Vol 245, 1 September 1989, p. 943. -- paul hager hagerp@moose.cs.indiana.edu (hagerp@moose.cs.indiana.edu) "The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason." -- Thomas Paine, _The Age of Reason_

If weed were legalized we wouldnt have overcrowding in the prisons,and the govt, would make money and I think that people should be judged on the their behavior when they are on a drug not just because their using a drug. I have never in my 49 years seen anyone violent and commiting burglaries from smoking pot. Cocaine and meth and pills and heroin are a different stry. even drinking causes more problems than pot.

That was really worth the read, Shhh! Thanks for posting that! It was very informative.

Anytime! :hee: I love being of some help to my fellow PTO'ers :thumbsup:

That was really worth the read, Shhh! Thanks for posting that! It was very informative.

I used to smoke week on occasion, but it never really did anything for me. I don't think it's harmful when compared to alcohol and so many other substances.

Also it seems to me that it's more socially accepted these days than ever before.

I have used weed on and off for over 14 years. Today I am not using it, but I can honestly say (in my opinion) that it can be an issue. My boyfriend and I have used together...it was one of the things that brought us together, and one of the things that tore us apart time and again. Everyone has their own beliefs on specific subjects, and I respect everyone's opinion...some people don't see it as a problem, and some people do.

For myself, I never considered it a problem, because I was always responsible. I still went to work, went to school....did all the things I had to do. For other's it is a major problem. My boyfriend for example....when he wasn't using it, he was thinking about it or looking for it. On and off all day long....kept him lazy and unmotivated....stuck and in denial.

I have defended marijuana several times, because it was my drug of choice. To this day I still feel that it's not so bad, but then again...it depends on the individual. Many people switch drugs because the one they started with isn't working as well anymore. They go to the next big thing.

Whether or not it's a major problem....it's a drug regardless. It keeps people numb and it alters their abilities. It may or not be harmful depending on how often it's used, and how it affects the individual using it.

Okay here we go...i am going to be the one different here. I don't like, never have, never will, and if i can't sit here and think God would approve then i am not going to do it. I keep my life straight and walk with God. He is my strength and my drug.~~~Brandi

Congratulations on your strength and trusting your higher power. You are as different as you many think and I would like to hope that many people walk in your shoes also. So we know what gets you high -- God !
Not a bad choice at all, good for you to have something so positive and powerful in your life.

Tried it years ago...didn't do much for me.....I agree with every post here. All are valid points. Only thing I can add is my older sis was VERY into it in the 70's and she claims that it's the reason she doesnt have memories of her younger years....I can't say if that 's valid but that is what she has said for the past 10 years. Just my 2 cents

I have also smoked weed on and off for the past few years, that is how I met my man and in turn what he is incarcerated for.

I also think it should be legalized and taxed and that would cut down on some of the inmates in our already overcrowed corrections system!

I don't condone illegal drug use. If you are caught and do jail time or violate parole because of it, is it worth spending time or more time behind bars? Is it worth missing out on months or years of your life away from your loved ones? The cost is too high.
LeA

GOD MADE POT..... MAN MADE BEER ......
WHO DO YOU TRUST?!?!?!?
:thumbsup::p:thumbsup::p:D:D:D

Robs_angel......amen to that lol

Hi I was just wondering if anyone has smoked weed and what your thoughts and opions are around this subject. Do u do it have u ever tried it or how do u feel about this
thank you so much for your opinion
christle

I have never smoked it but my man smoked while out of jail and many of my friends smoke weed. Honestly I disapprove of smoking weed just because of my past history with weed and drugs involved in my family. I've always told my boyfriend that I won't make him stop and that it's ok to smoke as long as he doesn't lie about it or make it a everday habit recently we have been debating about it and he's chosen to give it up once released at least for awhile. But I'm rambling on, overall I do think the laws over weed do need to change they are much too strict.

I have had cops tell me the same thing

As a substance abuse counselor, you'd think I'd be against weed be legalized. I'm not, I would like to see it de-criminalized.

When's the last time anyone saw someone get into a 'high' fight after they smoked weed? Bar fights are very common, other violent crimes could be committed after using PCP (for example).

I remember from my college days that the biggest concern about weed is the weight we'd gain from sitting around and eating too much. :D

I smoked weed back in the late 60's and early 70's. Once I was with a group of people, and they brought a man from work who had never smoked weed before. I was sick with mono and the man came into my bedroom and attacked me.
I twice got sick and then dropped out of college while I was smoking weed reguarly. I didn't care about things and let two grades turn into F's because I didn't take quick action. Once I had something else, perhaps PCP slipped into a joint without my knowledge and had terrifying hallucinations that lasted all night and flash backs for a week. ( that was the LAST time I used it!) I also do worry about the chemicals in it. I have a mildly retarded daughter. I don't know if her oxygen was cut off during birth,, or what. I will tell you I never took over the counter drugs for even a cold during my pregnancies. I never smoked it that often, but I do not consider it harmless. E knows I have a zero tolerance for any drugs in my house. I'm working on him to quit smoking before he gets out. And if he's on parole, I might have to get liquor out of the house.
rob's angel, plants have many different purposes and fermenting is a natural process. Marijuana is used to make rope. I don't think that is logical!
I don't think people should go to prison for using it, so perhaps it should be decriminalized. But I do not think it is harmless, but then neither is alcohol.

i have smoked weed many times in my younger years.....and sense it a natual herb that you can practically grow in your back yard, i don't see anything wrong with as long as your being responsible!!!!! i've said it many times over to those around me and many don't agree with me but i don't care...they need to legalize it!!!!!

Wow CET, that attack must have been awful. Not exactly a typical symptom of MJ use though, but maybe he figured he could use that as an excuse for behaving badly...I smoked a little weed throughout pregnancY #1 and the baby is now making As in college.

I have smoked weed off and on thru the years. I personally have mixed feelings about its use. I started smoking pot in my teens and can tell you that I believe my drug use, which started w/pot led to me dropping out of school for awhile. I returned and completed school by the way. I hate to see young kids using pot as I don't think they have the emotional maturity to use it in a responsible manner and I do believe they are much more likely to go onto harder drugs. I have no hard data to back that up, its just a personal belief, one that I have seen repeated over and over in many friends.

Some of the people that I got high with as a teenager truly developed terrible addictions to narcotics over the years. Some have been able to quit, some haven't. What I know is that every single one started w/smoking weed. Most have been like me, they are now as an adult able to smoke on occasion without it making a huge impact on their everyday lives. They hold down jobs, pay bills, etc, etc.....
I will say this though, I don't think anybody should expose their children to marijuana. I have two friends that smoked in front of their kids as they grew up and both kids became involved with drug use for a time.
Me, I was more hypocritical I guess. I hid it completely from my children. I would not allow it in their presence, nor did I ever smoke in front of them. My kids have grown up without a drug problem, and are doing very well.
So there's my two cents worth of opinion on the subject of pot. ;) I must say, I much prefer it over alcohol.

I have never had any desire to even try it. I don't see me having any desire,m either. But, I don't smoke cigarettes, or drink (except wine) either.

CET, Im very sorry to hear what happened to you. There is no way to know if this man was on other drugs and/or was mentally unstable. There are too many factors and variables that could have caused him to do that but I doubt very much that pot was responsible. A man does not become an attacker or rapist because of smoking a joint, he does because he has other problems that need to be dealt with.
As far as that PCP joint, joints can be cut with many drugs, including crack and heroin. Just like we are careful these days about who pours our drinks or leaving our drink unattended, you should never smoke a joint that a stranger offers you. You are basically consuming something a stranger has made and even with pot that should be a big no no.

As far as it being a gateway drug, I guess it depends who you are talking too since there are two schools to that theory. However, many hard drug addicts started with pot sure, but its very wrong to assume that, since many dont start with pot and there are even more who have tried pot and never anything else. I personally didnt smoke pot, I went straight to Heroin and have never liked pot. I even have a disease that enables me to apply for medicinal pot here in Canada but I chose not to because I dont like pot. Pot is a completely different high then other harder drugs, just like booze or hashish is different. Having been addicted, not just a user, to most illicit drugs known to man I feel I can voice my opinion on this.

Regardless, as far as a gateway drug there are two things that stand out for me;

1. They most likely started with booze too but that is socially acceptable and not considered a gateway drug even though its more harmful and causes more anti-social behaviour including acts of criminal intent when abused.
2. Pot is often lumped in there because it is illegal. Since it is only available in most cases from dealers who most likely also have access to harder drugs. Beause it is illegal the user is often drawn into a drug world to get it. It is also to the advantage of a successful drug dealer to up the ante and turn users on to harder (more expensive), more addictive (continuous addicted clients). In many cases the first time a pot user uses a harder drug, they do it for free.

I think for pot to be truly classified as a gateway drug it would have to be a drug that your brain would become chemically dependant on and to eventually require harder drugs or larger doses and in the case of pot that does not happen unless its a chronic pot smoker and usually they stick to pot, plus the addiction is not a chemical process though some government funded studies would argue that. I cant see that the Canadian government giving out free pot to medical patients to smoke all the time if there was a risk that they would go on to be heroin addicts. In that kind of situation the user does not have to enter the drug world to get the pot and the government knows this and knows there is not a risk of the user becoming a crackhead because of what they are supplying.

It is a door to the drug world and not to the drugs. The issue is not pot but the actually drug world/drug war. Pot is not a threat to society as I see it, when used, it should be used for its purpose by responsible adults or used medically under the supervision of a doctor. It should not be in the hands of our youth, just like booze shouldnt be. Both mess up decision making skills of our youth and should be illegal for minors, that is just sensible. The stigma attached to pot however is one that has been put there by history, the government and government funded studies. If you look at the history of why pot is illegal, posted in the drug war forum: http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127585 you can clearly see that it is a decision that was made for the wrong reasons decades ago; prejudice. As a result now medical patients are being arrested and doctors offices are being raided as we speak, not to mention people in prison for personal amounts of pot.

The laws governing pot need a complete overhaul in my opinion and they need to start with separating pot from other drugs in the eyes of the law. Pot should stand alone and be regulated in a class by itself.
They can start by treating it the way they do booze and cigarettes. By enforcing the same laws they do on selling cigarettes to minors and the booze campaigns done by MADD (Mothers Against Drinking and Driving). In Canada those all have had a major effect for the positive.

There are many drugs that are legal that are killing people right now (pharma opiates for example) and the attention and money needs to be shifted to responsible decisions made by the government, not decisions made by pre-existing stigma based on archaic laws passed as a result of prejudices in history. No one dies of a pot overdose and if the additives are going to kill people then just legalize it in order to keep the additives out of it. The drug laws are suppose to be there to protect people, how on earth do existing pot laws in America protect people. If pot is going to continue to be illegal and stigmatized then they should just go all the way and bring back total prohibition for everything and start throwing people in prison for indulging in a glass of wine in the evenings because booze is much more dangerous than pot.
They need to start by putting pot in a class with booze and regulate it the same way for now and release the pot prisoners. Its time to move up to the year 2006 and get our priorities straight.

Just my two cents or perhaps 25 cents.

Mother's milk leads to heroin.- George Carlin
I think when they ask people with addiction problems what was the first drug they tried, a lot of them probably do say marijuana. Partly because they don't think of alcohol that way, and partly because the kind of person (adventurous? suffering? risk-taking?) that will eventually go on to other drugs, well, of COURSE they aer (usually) not unlikely to have smoked pot too. To say, Most hard drug users started with pot, is IMHO to look at it backwards. They should look at how many people tried pot and never got addicted to anything harder.

I agree totally with what you say Haswtch, and as far as George, he knows all about it !!

they just passed a law that it is legal to carry it in Denver, CO. It is still against federal law, but if you get pulled over by a city cop, they don't take it from you, and from what I have heard most of the possesion tickets are being thrown out.

I plea the fifth on my actually usage, but lets just say that green is my favorite color ;)

I think a few people get very paranoid on marijuana. The man who attacked me was acting strangely while he smoked. haswtch, I agree with you about the "gateway" theory. witchnblue, that man I smoked a joint with was my upstairs neighbor! I had known him maybe 6 months. It obviously didn't affect him that much. the weirdest thing happened. I was sitting there and suddenly decided I couldn't walk and my legs were like rubber. I felt I was being set up to be raped. ( btw the other people in the house heard me struggling and came rescued me that time. He was choking me, so it was scary) So I declined any more weed and just sat there for awhile. Then I finally told him "I can't walk" ( craziness!) and went downstairs using the bannisters and called my fiance to come stay with me! I was seeing wild animals, and I remember taking a bath and thinking I would drown because I was so mesmerized with the hallucinations!
I think that weed does affect most people's get up and go. There is an Egyptian phrase, ( ma'aleash) that kind of means "whatever, happens, who cares" that fit me when I was using.

ma'aleash, well you probably just started a new catch phrase for pot smokers..lol. It probably fits quite well for many.

THC is the main substance in pot and some has higher percentages then others. A very high percentage of THC used by a new or inexperienced user can cause acute anxiety and you can have paranoid thoughts, sometimes extreme if the levels are high and you are not use to what is happening to you.

It was probably PCP that was in that joint since it can cause the following:

feeling of detachment, distance, being estranged from your surroundings. Numbness of the extremities, slurred speech, and loss of coordination can be accompanied by a sense of strength and invulnerability. A blank stare, rapid and involuntary eye movements, and an exaggerated gait are among the more observable effects. Auditory hallucinations, image distortion, severe mood disorders, and amnesia may also occur. In some users, PCP may cause acute anxiety and a feeling of impending doom; in others, paranoia and violent hostility, and in some, it may produce a psychoses indistinguishable from schizophrenia.

Wow, CET, yuck! sounds like a nightmare! glad you are here to tell the tale.
I have known a few people who got extremely paranoid on pot, to the point where they just couldn't manage socially at all. And I have also known people who felt like they had to be stoned all the time. As for "whatever happens, it's all good," I do my best to be like that stone cold sober:)

Originally Posted by pinky666
My honest opinion of marijuana is the only thing wrong with it is that it's illegal.

I too agree....I have never heard if a crime that was caused by smoking weed! It will be legal one day!


i agree with that also..i really hope it will be legal one day.

Would you still think there was nothing wrong with smoking weed if you got behind the wheel of a car after smoking a joint & hit & killed a child walking across the street because you were stoned & didn't have your full senses due to being stoned???

Think hard & long about it.

Would you still think there was nothing wrong with smoking weed if you got behind the wheel of a car after smoking a joint & hit & killed a child walking across the street because you were stoned & didn't have your full senses due to being stoned???

Think hard & long about it.

It's no different than someone getting behind the wheel of a car after drinking.

Everything is about moderation and smart usage. I do it in moderation, don't drive/work while using it, don't even GO anywhere. It's a waste of resources to make it a criminal act. Tax it and let people do it as they want. Just. like. alcohol. It will be a crime to drive while on it but not possess or do it on your own. I don't see how this can pose a problem to anyone. Alcohol is legal and causes SO MANY more problems in regards to fighting, anger, dangerous acts, everything.

I'm gonna differ here on some things. Personally I hate weed, I smoked it when I was younger and then grew up and got it out of my system. My Bf who is currently in prison is an addict. I watched him go from being completely sober happy affectionate loving man. Then he started smoking pot, soon he lost jobs, and couldnt keep one. The life went right out of him, no motivation no more smiling just high all day long everyday, and his only interest became hanging out with his friends that also did this all day long. It all soon led to harder drugs, and the whole path of decreased motivation, not caring, making bad decisions led to prison. It all started with weed. And he used to defend it as well, just as some of you who use it do. Any drug user whether full blown addict or recreational will defend their drug of choice and find reasons to make it ok to use.. Pot destroyed my BF.

I tried it when I was young but when my family started coming I quit and stayed "drug free" for over 20 years, then I went through a series of personal tradjedies in rapid succession and became suicidally depressed. I sought help but was turned away at a critical point and turned to cannabis to deal with the trauma I was going through. To say it saved my life would be an understatement.

Being a critical thinker and a bit OCD I studied the issues surrounding cannabis when I began using it again at age 47, because I wanted to know exactly what my risks were using this substance and the more I have studied the more clear it has become that cannabis is not only not harmful, but rather it is incredibly beneficial.

I use it now legally, medicinally virtually every day and am much healthier than I would be without it. I recommend it highly, in moderation.

People who are the most inflexible in their opinions, the most unable to accept and put to use new information tend to be endo cannabinoid deficient (their bodies do not produce enough cannabinoids to meet their needs). I have found that the more vehemently a person refuses to accept that it might be beneficial the more they actually, physically, need it.
:thumbsup:

Nothing is for everyone and I am a strong believer that people with mental health issues or who have low IQs should not use cannabis unless they are closely supervised by a medical or psychiatric proffessional and some people should not use it at all, but they are the rare exceptions, not the general rule.

BTW, at the risk of raising all kinds of outrage among the uneducated, studies have shown that parentally supervised judicious cannabis use in children can be very beneficial in certain circumstances, such as in the treatment of ADD, ADHD, Autism and other childhood cognitive disorders, and for the treatment of many ailments common to children. A profoundly thorough longitudinal study that followed hundreds of families for several years proved conclusively that mothers who use cannabis during pregnancy have healthier babies than those who do not and families in which cannabis is used produces better adjusted, healthier, happier children who are more successful in school than those who come from families that eschew cannabis as evil.

It is only excessive, uncontrolled use of cannabis by ill informed and generally incompetent people that causes any kind of problems, in children or adults. And that mostly stems from lack of good information about the true bodily effects and proper use of cannabis.

Please cite your sources.
Having been deeply involved in the campaign when Prop, 215 was on the California ballot, I'm certainly aware of the legitimate medical value of cannabis in various forms but I've never encountered a study that concluded that preinatal use was beneficial to the baby or that parental cannabis use provided a superior environment for the rearing of children.
I come from a genuine, honest to goodness, real hippie background and I've turned out pretty well, I think, but many of my friends come from more conservative/traditional families and are just as happy, functional, etc..

I'm gonna differ here on some things. Personally I hate weed, I smoked it when I was younger and then grew up and got it out of my system. My Bf who is currently in prison is an addict. I watched him go from being completely sober happy affectionate loving man. Then he started smoking pot, soon he lost jobs, and couldnt keep one. The life went right out of him, no motivation no more smiling just high all day long everyday, and his only interest became hanging out with his friends that also did this all day long. It all soon led to harder drugs, and the whole path of decreased motivation, not caring, making bad decisions led to prison. It all started with weed. And he used to defend it as well, just as some of you who use it do. Any drug user whether full blown addict or recreational will defend their drug of choice and find reasons to make it ok to use.. Pot destroyed my BF. :(

I have heard this repeated by so many people I actually believed it myself for a long time, then I did some actual research and I started asking critical questions about the individuals who "lives had been destroyed by using pot" Now it makes me sad and a little angry to hear these stories because it is the ignorant retelling of a profound lie.:blah:

If you are completely honest and can examine his life experience more open mindedly you will see that cannabis is not where it all started. It is almost certain he smoked tobacco, and drank coffee and alcohol (all of which are addictive, mind altering drugs) before he started using cannabis. He likely used prescription and OTC drugs as well.

As you think about it, if you can set aside your personal prejudice against cannabis, you will discover that the spiral downward for your bf did not begin with cannabis, that was simply something he tried in his efforts to self medicate for the emotional or psychological problems he was already having.

Every soundly done, peer reviewed study that has been done on the Marijuana Gateway Drug theory, the one still being spewed out in the media by the DEA and repeated by the ill informed, has shown conclusively that cannabis use does not lead to hard drug use or the so called amotivational syndrome you have described and in this kind of situation cannabis use is just one more attempt at self treatment for emotional pain. In fact cannabis in the vast majority of cases is the last/only "drug" people who try will ever use.

Something else was eating at him and he tried all kinds of things to make himself feel better. Nothing he tried worked for him, which is why he devolved to the use of other, potentially harmful drugs and became less and less productive. Self destructive poly drug use is a symptom of an underlying psychological problem. It is not the drugs that cause the problem, but rather their abuse is a symptom of an underlying condition.

What you have described is a textbook example of an addictive personality disorder unfolding, which often occurs in young adulthood. It is most likely a condition he was born with, or may have resulted from his having suffered serious abuse as a child. Do you know him well enough to know if this is the case?

Repeating your ill informed opinion about the cause of his crash and burn life experience only furthers the prejudices of others and re-enforces the carefully planted propaganda of the DEA. Please do some research on the now completely refuted Gateway Drug theory and the results of the extensive research that has been done it before you speak in support of the malicious propaganda of the DEA any further.

Sorry if I seem harsh in my response, but this issue is one I hear raised frequently and it is very frustrating to deal with for me because of all the lives that are being destroyed by these kinds of misguided beliefs about cannabis and drug prohibition.

I am 53 and have smoked Pot since 1969. I don't drink or smoke cigs and dont do any other drug. I do not smoke daily and have never had the urge to move on to any other type of drug. It balances me out. I am bipolar with a homocidal rage disorder and it reduces my anxiety, it is the ONLY thing that has ever helped. People who claim it is a gateway to other drugs are using that as an excuse.. I have never seen anyone rob or kill to obtain pot . Crack addicts, Meth addicts aren't Pot smokers, they want to be cranked up. We who partake in weed are mellow . I have functioned all my life.. I work and walk 2 miles a day so I am not lazy . I have never seen anyone not be able to hold down a job or function on just smoking pot and I know many,many people who smoke it. I am also responsible..i don't drive around and smoke, I don't carry it on me.I don't and never have sold it, I don't have people over to smoke with me,nor do I go to anyone else home to smoke with them. I never have much around that would cost me over 100 dollars in a fine. I don't go to parties, or bars. I don't bang the drug dealers for a daily fix. It is not addictive unless you have some type of addictive personality disorder; in that case, even a candy bar can be your worst enemy..
Pot has many uses and it does work for hyper activity, for many illness. Hemp makes the best clothing, great oil and the list goes on.
I have never in all my life seen anyone's life destroyed by smoking pot that is pure nonsense. Some of the people that have committed crimes and said," I was smoking pot " were smoking more than pot or it was laced with PCP or something else or they were drinking, had they been just smoking pot, they would not have the desire to go out and do what they were accused of. Anything can be abused and moderation is the key.. You don't drink and drive so don't smoke and drive. Use some sense.There are way over four hundred alcohol related deaths a year and People bust there butts to hit the bars and then drive. Now that is really stupid,Yet alcohol is legal.

There are no lasting ill effects from the acute use of marijuana, and fatalities have not been known to occur.

Careful and complete medical and neuropsychiatric examinations of habitués reveal no pathological conditions or disorders of cerebral functions attributable to the drug.


A greater number of opiate users started with bananas, cigarettes and alcohol than started with marijuana -- no causal relationship is indicated in any case.

D) The number of millions of respectable Americans who smoke marijuana have obviously not proceeded to opiates.
E) In test sociological cases, i.e., societies such as Morocco and India where marijuana use is universal, there is very small use of opiates and no social association or juxtaposition between the two classes of drugs. What juxtaposition there is in America has been created and encouraged by the propaganda and repression tactics of the Narcotics Bureauhttp://www.marijuana-uses.com/essays/004.html
GOD BLESS YOU DR. NICE! ((hugs)) What you said is the truth and thank you for it.

I think a few people get very paranoid on marijuana. The man who attacked me was acting strangely while he smoked. haswtch, I agree with you about the "gateway" theory. witchnblue, that man I smoked a joint with was my upstairs neighbor! I had known him maybe 6 months. It obviously didn't affect him that much. the weirdest thing happened. I was sitting there and suddenly decided I couldn't walk and my legs were like rubber. I felt I was being set up to be raped. ( btw the other people in the house heard me struggling and came rescued me that time. He was choking me, so it was scary) So I declined any more weed and just sat there for awhile. Then I finally told him "I can't walk" ( craziness!) and went downstairs using the bannisters and called my fiance to come stay with me! I was seeing wild animals, and I remember taking a bath and thinking I would drown because I was so mesmerized with the hallucinations!
I think that weed does affect most people's get up and go. There is an Egyptian phrase, ( ma'aleash) that kind of means "whatever, happens, who cares" that fit me when I was using.

That was horrible and sorry that it happend to you . The guy was smoking more than pot, it was laced with something. People are idiots and will lace it with PCP , embalming fluid, raid etc.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7002

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/

the way Canada is going with their Tobacco bans..there ain't no fraking way they will legalize bud

Actually, while I think that marijuana laws are idiotic in the extreme, and hallucinations are certainly not a predictable or common effect, it is not true that smoking only makes people paranoid if it is laced with something- different people are affected differently and different strains of marijuana can vary in both effect and potency... Back when I still indulged, sativa strains typically made me very giggly and chatty and convinced me I was funnier than I am:o, while indica was no good to me at all unless I was just trying to quell PMS enough to go to sleep- made me terribly self-conscious, withdrawn and distorted my perception of sounds- not fun.

I have not made 25 posts yet, so I cannot site my sources, PTO doesn't allow it. However if one does a search for the
Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica:
An Ethnographic Study

Melanie C. Dreher, PhD; Kevin Nugent, PhD; and Rebekah Hudgins, MA



they will find the evidence that I am referring to.


There have been many other similar studies done that all came to the conclusion that there is little or no difference between children born to cannabis smoking mothers and those who are born to those who do not use cannabis, even when the studies have been designed and conducted by scientists with a clear, prejudical, condemnatory agenda against cannabis use.

Interestingly what most of these studies did not address is the positive effects on the mother of their cannabis use during pregnancy, which includes significant reduction or outright elimination of morning sickness, mood swings, irritability, cravings and many of the other negative effects normally associated with pregnancy.

The reduction or elimination of morning sickness alone should improve the health of the mother and baby during pregnancy. That is just simple common sense.

And, BTW, the richest source of endo cannabinoids is in mother's milk. Doesn't it make sense that if the mother's own bodies produce an abundance of endo cannabinoids for babies that ecto cannabinoids consumed by the mother during pregnancy are going to be beneficial and not harmful to the unborn infant? (Assuming those compounds are able to cross the placental barrier. I am not currently aware of any studies in humans demonstrating if cannabinoids can cross that barrier or not. My belief is that they do, but I have no hard evidence to support that belief.)

Bottom line - The cannabinoids in cannabis are very similar to the cannabinoids our own bodies produce. The reactions they cause at the cellular level are virtually identical. The biggest difference is the rate of metabolism. Endo cannabinoids have a very short metabolism cycle, they break down in just a few minutes and some in seconds after attaching to the cell receptor sites, whereas the cannabinoids from cannabis take much longer to metabolize, many minutes to a few hours being typical.

The other difference, and the big benefit of using cannabis as a source of cannabinoids is quantity. Your body simply cannot produce levels of cannabinoids that you can obtain by ingesting cannabis. Normally the production of larger amounts of endo cannabinoids occurs only during crisis events such as injury, trauma or serious threat of trauma. I laugh every time I hear someone say they have never used cannabis. Your body makes it. You would be very ill and possible die if you did not have an ongoing supply pumping through your veins. Anyone who has been in a car accident and experienced those moments when time seems to slow down and they become hyper aware has been "stoned" on endo cannabinoids.

Many people's bodies do not produce enough endo cannabinoids to provide them with normal body function, especially in those who are over 30, and the benefits of increased cannabinoid presence in the body are manifold, when one considers the actual roles cannabinoids play in the body at the cellular level. If I was in a serious car wreck and had spinal or head injuries the first thing I would want the EMTs to administer to me would be a massive dose of cannabinoids because of the incredible neuro protective effects and pain management effects, coupled with the complete absence of serious negative side effects associated with virtually any other drug that could be administered. It is only sheer prejudice against cannabis that has prevented the science that has shown the benefits of cannabis from being put into practice. Cannabis is good for the body, and with very few exceptions should be used on a regular basis by the majority of the general population.

The key to prudent cannabis use is moderation. Overindulgence can be fun and will not hurt you, but it is imprudent to engage in such behavior on an ongoing basis, but judicious supplementation has a host of beneficial effects like helping one maintain an even temperament, responding more appropriately and thoughtfully to events and particularly crisises, heightened awareness of and improved sense of connection to others, not to mention an expanded ability to cross pollinate thoughts and ideas, which is one of the things that makes us both creative and differentiates us from all other animals on the planet. (I have wondered what might happen to the dolphins or some of the higher apes if they had access to such a rich source of cannabinoids and used them.)

Oh, and one last thought on this - There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that people who refuse to partake of natural sources of cannabinoids such as cannabis (I am not aware of any other rich natural sources, but there must be others) and increase their bodily levels of cannabinoids, especially as they age, are much more susceptible to brain washing and manipulatory conditioning techniques. Those who are cannabinoid defficient tend to be inflexible in their thought processes, unable to effectively absorb and process new information and fearful of anything different. Just think about an old person you know who is cranky and "set in their ways" and you know exactly what being cannabinoid deficient looks like.

Now, when you consider this you have to ask yourself; why in the world would our federal government want to keep such a beneficial resource as cannabis out of the hands of it's citizens?

Any thoughts on that?

Here's a link to the study (http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/medical/can-babies.htm)

The study includes fewer than 50 babies, born to women in a region where extreme poverty is the norm and includes virtually no data on other relevant factors such as diet before and during the study, physical activity, stability in the home situation, previous pregnancies, and the overall physical health of the mothers prior to and during the pregnancy and does not take into account the very relevant issue of whether or not the pregnancy was desired. Whether pregnancy was planned or not, women who are happy about being pregnant tend to produce healthier offspring and find those offspring more "rewarding" than women who have ambivilant or negative feelings about it.

The researchers themselves state that the selection methodology may have resulted in some bias and their own conclusions suggest that the better developmental assessments of the infants of the marijuana using mothers is likely more environmental than organic...
Conclusions. The absence of any differences between the exposed on nonexposed groups in the early neonatal period suggest that the better scores of exposed neonates at 1 month are traceable to the cultural positioning and social and economic characteristics of mothers using marijuana that select for the use of marijuana but also promote neonatal development. Pediatrics 1994;93:254-260; prenatal marijuana exposure, neonatal outcomes, Jamaica, Brazelton scale supplementary items.


(Boldface is mine, not the author's)

I'm afraid that, as interesting as this is, I can't view this study as "conclusive".... relevant, certainly and meriting further studies but not conclusive.