marijuana

[angelheartee]

Why is marijuana not band,it is a drug like the rest of that cramp

[sammywantsya]

it is banned but its a natural plant tho its not man made so it cant be a drug..

[king4cash]

I think the government must legalise marijuana. This will make it less of an incentive to the traders to make money, where  everyone can plant it in thier back yard, and use it for medicinal purposes, or personal reasons.

[Pplaya123]

Marijuana is illegal when not using it for medical purposes. The fact that it is effective for people who actually need it will not ban it from society itself like the other drugs. In fact, the other drugs cause much worse damage. I don't smoke or do anything and I don't like marijuana personally. It sucks how people abuse it.

[Flackle]

This argument has two facets. One is that marijuana is just as dangerous as other drugs, which is bogus. The second is that marijuana should be illegal since other drugs are, which is also bogus.

There is no no scientific evidence whatsoever that marijuana is harmful in it of itself in any way, shape or form when used in moderation^{1 2}. Anyone who argues otherwise is arguing under ignorance, and there is absolutely no reason to argue such nonsense. There are countless sources that discredit all of the made up notions of marijuana that includes:

The lie that its a gateway drug ³
The lie that it causes people to go crazy ²
The lie that it causes lung disease ^{1 2 3}
The lie that it is physically addictive ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes cancer ³
The lie that it causes traffic accidents ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes suicide ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes violent crime ²

These are completely false, made up, and there is no scientific evidence to back up any of these claims. I will include resources to help you read for yourself, but any simple search would bring overwhelming evidence that marijuana does not hurt anyone. Anyone that has been hurt by marijuana has not been hurt because of its effects on its users, but because it is illegal and anything illegal automatically has a dangerous culture surrounding it (where it would otherwise be perfectly safe.)

This leads me to the second notion: Marijuana should be illegal because other drugs are illegal. I have already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that marijuana (and other drugs of similar nature) cannot be compared to other drugs that are harmful and hurtful. Cocaine, Methamphetamine⁴, Heroin⁵, Alcohol⁶, Tobacco⁷, and even Caffeine⁸ can cause at least one of the above mentioned effects if not more than half. Alcohol has been proven to cause traffic accidents, suicide, and is physically addictive. Tobacco has been proven to cause lung cancer and is physically addictive. Caffeine can be physically addictive when used excessively. And yet, those last three drugs are perfectly legal, can be bought in stores without a doctors note, and caffeine can be bought at any age. Of course all drugs can be beneficial or their adverse effects limited if taken in correct amounts and under appropriate conditions.

So not only is marijuana scientifically proven to be not harmful in any way possible (the only possible way marijuana could cause cancer is if it is smoke using rolling papers, and you only get cancer from the smoke the papers produce, and even then this is not completely conclusive. The only argument that has any merit would be to limit the exposure to marijuana on children by putting an age limit. There has not been any studies done to show the affects of marijuana on kids who are still developing so its logical to limit exposure of these drugs like we do with alcohol and tobacco.²), and not only are there are other drugs which are proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be harmful are perfectly legal, the entire notion that something should be illegal because it hurts the user are also complete nonsense.

All these drugs should be 100% legal to use, in your home as you see fit. If a drug does impair your ability to drive, then it should be illegal. But other than that any adverse affects that another person would experience from someone Else's use of drugs are already illegal in some other form (Murder, rape, assault, and harassment.)

To not accept any of this is to accept that there are victimless crimes, and that the government should be allowed to govern our lives as the government sees fit even if we are not negatively affecting anyone around us. If we are going to allow to the government to tell us what we can put into our bodies, in our own homes, on our own property, without harming anyone else then we might as well let them put us all into internment camps and be forced to sing the national anthem every morning. Freedom isn't freedom unless that freedom is absolute.

¹ http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104848
² http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/SIOW/2010/09/some-scientific-facts-about-marijuana.html
³ http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/10-facts-about-marijuana
⁴ http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/meth/meth_effects.shtml
⁵ Merck Manual of Home Health Handbook - 2nd edition, 2003, p. 2097
⁶ http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/
⁷ http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_full.pdf
⁸ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0119_050119_ngm_caffeine.html

[osage]

   To Flackel: Your brain is lying to you man! That is what drugs do. Alcohol, cannibus, everything created on this planet is some way a natural plant or other. Asphalt is of natural earth elements. Yes, even cow manure! Everything made in a laboratory is planet produced. Now, should we demoralize our own systems for ultimate pleasures. I THINK NOT. Stupidity is not one of my characteristics. I did get sprayed by a skunk on purpose one when I was 15 so I could get rid of some perfume a girl in school threw on me!  I showed her!!!    

[heroftimes]

This argument has two facets. One is that marijuana is just as dangerous as other drugs, which is bogus. The second is that marijuana should be illegal since other drugs are, which is also bogus.

Marijuana has absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that marijuana is harmful in it of itself in any way, shape or form when used in moderation^{1 2}. Anyone who argues otherwise is arguing under ignorance, and there is absolutely no reason to argue such nonsense. There are countless sources that discredit all of the made up notions of marijuana that includes:

The lie that its a gateway drug ³
The lie that it causes people to go crazy ²
The lie that it causes lung disease ^{1 2 3}
The lie that it is physically addictive ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes cancer ³
The lie that it causes traffic accidents ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes suicide ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes violent crime ²

These are completely false, made up, and there is no scientific evidence to back up any of these claims. I will include resources to help you read for yourself, but any simple search would bring overwhelming evidence that marijuana does not hurt anyone. Anyone that has been hurt by marijuana has not been hurt because of its effects on its users, but because it is illegal and anything illegal automatically has a dangerous culture surrounding it (where it would otherwise be perfectly safe.)

This leads me to the second notion: Marijuana should be illegal because other drugs are illegal. I have already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that marijuana (and other drugs of similar nature) cannot be compared to other drugs that are harmful and hurtful. Cocaine, Methamphetamine⁴, Heroin⁵, Alcohol⁶, Tobacco⁷, and even Caffeine⁸ can cause at least one of the above mentioned effects if not more than half. Alcohol has been proven to cause traffic accidents, suicide, and is physically addictive. Tobacco has been proven to cause lung cancer and is physically addictive. Caffeine can be physically addictive when used excessively. And yet, those last three drugs are perfectly legal, can be bought in stores without a doctors note, and caffeine can be bought at any age. Of course all drugs can be beneficial or their adverse effects limited if taken in correct amounts and under appropriate conditions.

So not only is marijuana scientifically proven to be not harmful in any way possible (the only possible way marijuana could cause cancer is if it is smoke using rolling papers, and you only get cancer from the smoke the papers produce, and even then this is not completely conclusive. The only argument that has any merit would be to limit the exposure to marijuana on children by putting an age limit. There has not been any studies done to show the affects of marijuana on kids who are still developing so its logical to limit exposure of these drugs like we do with alcohol and tobacco.²), and not only are there are other drugs which are proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be harmful are perfectly legal, the entire notion that something should be illegal because it hurts the user are also complete nonsense.

All these drugs should be 100% legal to use, in your home as you see fit. If a drug does impair your ability to drive, then it should be illegal. But other than that any adverse affects that another person would experience from someone Else's use of drugs are already illegal in some other form (Murder, rape, assault, and harassment.)

To not accept any of this is to accept that there are victimless crimes, and that the government should be allowed to govern our lives as the government sees fit even if we are not negatively affecting anyone around us. If we are going to allow to the government to tell us what we can put into our bodies, in our own homes, on our own property, without harming anyone else then we might as well let them put us all into internment camps and be forced to sing the national anthem every morning. Freedom isn't freedom unless that freedom is absolute.

¹ http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104848
² http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/SIOW/2010/09/some-scientific-facts-about-marijuana.html
³ http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/10-facts-about-marijuana
⁴ http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/meth/meth_effects.shtml
⁵ Merck Manual of Home Health Handbook - 2nd edition, 2003, p. 2097
⁶ http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/
⁷ http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_full.pdf
⁸ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0119_050119_ngm_caffeine.html

Very well written arguement, I, for one, agree with you.  If someone wants to do something on their own time and it doesn't affect others, have at it.  Who am I to dictate what you do with yourself. 

   To Flackel: Your brain is lying to you man! That is what drugs do. Alcohol, cannibus, everything created on this planet is some way a natural plant or other. Asphalt is of natural earth elements. Yes, even cow manure! Everything made in a laboratory is planet produced. Now, should we demoralize our own systems for ultimate pleasures. I THINK NOT. Stupidity is not one of my characteristics. I did get sprayed by a skunk on purpose one when I was 15 so I could get rid of some perfume a girl in school threw on me!  I showed her!!!    

I don't know what sort of argument this is but who are you to tell others what they should and shouldn't do.  If they want to smoke pot and it only affects them, who cares.

[Flackle]

  To Flackel: Your brain is lying to you man! That is what drugs do. Alcohol, cannibus, everything created on this planet is some way a natural plant or other. Asphalt is of natural earth elements. Yes, even cow manure! Everything made in a laboratory is planet produced. Now, should we demoralize our own systems for ultimate pleasures. I THINK NOT. Stupidity is not one of my characteristics. I did get sprayed by a skunk on purpose one when I was 15 so I could get rid of some perfume a girl in school threw on me!  I showed her!!!  

I think the fact that my claims are backed up by facts, and that there are scientific journals that agree with my statements speaks for itself. No where in my argument did I attempt to state that marijuana is different from other drugs because its a plant. Marijuana is different from the drugs that I stated (There are plenty of other drugs that have no real evidence of prevailing physical consequences in doses too large to be possible ingested) because those drugs do have evidence that they have negative physical and psychological consequences.

In reality, there is no such thing as a harmful drug. Toxicity is measured not by just the material, but the amount of the material injected. Water is toxic at high levels, yet we need it to survive. If we where to breath nothing but oxygen or nothing but nitrogen, we would die of suffocation since we need both to breathe. All drugs have harmful effects if taken to extremes, and those extremes vary depending on the drug. If I where to ingest heroin at the same rate someone ingest beer, I would probably die of an overdose way before the beer drinker since beer has a low amount of alcohol. Marijuana (and other such drugs) is different in that we have tolerance for it. We would need to ingest such a large amount that and overdose would be the last of our worries. If drugs where only categorized by our tolerance for them, then you may have somewhat of an argument. But its not. Alcohol is legal, marijuana is not. And there is absolutely no scientific nor rational reason for it to be so. ^{1 2}

Also, the statement that I have bolded is just plain scary. Just because you don't want to enjoy a certain substance does not mean you can control others and tell them they cannot do the same to you. Just because you think you know what's best for you doesn't mean you know what's best for everyone. If you don't want to do these things, then that's fine. But don't support a system that imprisons hundreds of thousands for simply possessing a plant. Its not only scary, but unethical and insane.

¹ http://learn.caim.yale.edu/chemsafe/references/dose.html
² http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/58

[tuscarorarain]

I can understand two sides to this topic. In one case its good for those with cancer and other certian medical conditions, but on the other hand it gets abused. I think it is just one of those things that should be legal, but should be way harder to get because of needed regualtions.

[Warhol04]

I'm fine with marijuana for medicinal uses.  I imagine smoking marijuana for anxiety instead of taking benzos or SSRIs would be less harmful.  At the least detoxing wouldn't be as bad.   

[heroftimes]

Alcohol gets abused, should we make that even harder to obtain?

I can understand two sides to this topic. In one case its good for those with cancer and other certian medical conditions, but on the other hand it gets abused. I think it is just one of those things that should be legal, but should be way harder to get because of needed regualtions.

[firestorm420]

Alcohol gets abused, should we make that even harder to obtain?

I can understand two sides to this topic. In one case its good for those with cancer and other certian medical conditions, but on the other hand it gets abused. I think it is just one of those things that should be legal, but should be way harder to get because of needed regualtions.

Yeah, alcohol gets abused, as do pain killers, anxiety meds, ADD/ADHD meds, muscle relaxers, and tons of other harmful things like these medicines. Even caffeine gets abused for crying out loud. People huff air sprays and gas too. There are lots of things that can be abused, that doesnt mean they are all bad or evil.

The difference with marijuana is you wont overdose or die from it, which you can from any of those other things, including caffeine.
And long term effects of use are not as bad or addictive either.

[Flackle]

Alcohol gets abused, should we make that even harder to obtain?

I can understand two sides to this topic. In one case its good for those with cancer and other certian medical conditions, but on the other hand it gets abused. I think it is just one of those things that should be legal, but should be way harder to get because of needed regualtions.

Yeah, alcohol gets abused, as do pain killers, anxiety meds, ADD/ADHD meds, muscle relaxers, and tons of other harmful things like these medicines. Even caffeine gets abused for crying out loud. People huff air sprays and gas too. There are lots of things that can be abused, that doesnt mean they are all bad or evil.

The difference with marijuana is you wont overdose or die from it, which you can from any of those other things, including caffeine.
And long term effects of use are not as bad or addictive either.

This statement is 100% correct. Caffeine should be illegal if we are going to make marijuana illegal. I wonder how those who support the drug war would feel if we took away their coffee?

I would argue to make all those completely legal once you reach the age of 18. By then you should be a responsible adult, and any effects you receive from the overdose of drugs will be your own fault unless forced to take them.

[HuffmanFamilyof4]

This argument has two facets. One is that marijuana is just as dangerous as other drugs, which is bogus. The second is that marijuana should be illegal since other drugs are, which is also bogus.

There is no no scientific evidence whatsoever that marijuana is harmful in it of itself in any way, shape or form when used in moderation^{1 2}. Anyone who argues otherwise is arguing under ignorance, and there is absolutely no reason to argue such nonsense. There are countless sources that discredit all of the made up notions of marijuana that includes:

The lie that its a gateway drug ³
The lie that it causes people to go crazy ²
The lie that it causes lung disease ^{1 2 3}
The lie that it is physically addictive ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes cancer ³
The lie that it causes traffic accidents ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes suicide ^{2 3}
The lie that it causes violent crime ²

These are completely false, made up, and there is no scientific evidence to back up any of these claims. I will include resources to help you read for yourself, but any simple search would bring overwhelming evidence that marijuana does not hurt anyone. Anyone that has been hurt by marijuana has not been hurt because of its effects on its users, but because it is illegal and anything illegal automatically has a dangerous culture surrounding it (where it would otherwise be perfectly safe.)

This leads me to the second notion: Marijuana should be illegal because other drugs are illegal. I have already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that marijuana (and other drugs of similar nature) cannot be compared to other drugs that are harmful and hurtful. Cocaine, Methamphetamine⁴, Heroin⁵, Alcohol⁶, Tobacco⁷, and even Caffeine⁸ can cause at least one of the above mentioned effects if not more than half. Alcohol has been proven to cause traffic accidents, suicide, and is physically addictive. Tobacco has been proven to cause lung cancer and is physically addictive. Caffeine can be physically addictive when used excessively. And yet, those last three drugs are perfectly legal, can be bought in stores without a doctors note, and caffeine can be bought at any age. Of course all drugs can be beneficial or their adverse effects limited if taken in correct amounts and under appropriate conditions.

So not only is marijuana scientifically proven to be not harmful in any way possible (the only possible way marijuana could cause cancer is if it is smoke using rolling papers, and you only get cancer from the smoke the papers produce, and even then this is not completely conclusive. The only argument that has any merit would be to limit the exposure to marijuana on children by putting an age limit. There has not been any studies done to show the affects of marijuana on kids who are still developing so its logical to limit exposure of these drugs like we do with alcohol and tobacco.²), and not only are there are other drugs which are proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be harmful are perfectly legal, the entire notion that something should be illegal because it hurts the user are also complete nonsense.

All these drugs should be 100% legal to use, in your home as you see fit. If a drug does impair your ability to drive, then it should be illegal. But other than that any adverse affects that another person would experience from someone Else's use of drugs are already illegal in some other form (Murder, rape, assault, and harassment.)

To not accept any of this is to accept that there are victimless crimes, and that the government should be allowed to govern our lives as the government sees fit even if we are not negatively affecting anyone around us. If we are going to allow to the government to tell us what we can put into our bodies, in our own homes, on our own property, without harming anyone else then we might as well let them put us all into internment camps and be forced to sing the national anthem every morning. Freedom isn't freedom unless that freedom is absolute.

¹ http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104848
² http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/SIOW/2010/09/some-scientific-facts-about-marijuana.html
³ http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/10-facts-about-marijuana
⁴ http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/meth/meth_effects.shtml
⁵ Merck Manual of Home Health Handbook - 2nd edition, 2003, p. 2097
⁶ http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/
⁷ http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_full.pdf
⁸ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0119_050119_ngm_caffeine.html

well said, I don't think I've seen an arguement for marijuana that tells it like this any where. ^5's to you dude

[HuffmanFamilyof4]

   To Flackel: Your brain is lying to you man! That is what drugs do. Alcohol, cannibus, everything created on this planet is some way a natural plant or other. Asphalt is of natural earth elements. Yes, even cow manure! Everything made in a laboratory is planet produced. Now, should we demoralize our own systems for ultimate pleasures. I THINK NOT. Stupidity is not one of my characteristics. I did get sprayed by a skunk on purpose one when I was 15 so I could get rid of some perfume a girl in school threw on me!  I showed her!!!    

stupidity might not be one of your characteristics, you make it sound like it's your only one.