Marijuana

[hydrojakep]

I'm up for marijuana legalization, but i'd also like to see the government controlling all sales. That means for each oz of weed sold this much money goes to the government. That would improve our economy greatly.

[JurseyRider734]

People who smoke Marijuana are ignorant.

Obviously you guys don't know all of the effects of Marijuana, which is kind of sad. I've convinced someone to not ever smoke Marijuana(their decision) after they asked me to describe the effects of the drug, and also with the effects of alcohol. They decided not to drink or do drugs ever again.

I don't really have time to type this all out, but i'm going to anyways.

Marijuana kills dopamine. If you don't know what dopamine is, it's the natural stimulant that causes adrenaline. It makes you feel happy/energized/motivated and what not. It's "unrenewable", or once it dies you can never regain it back. When you're on an adrenaline rush dopamine goes into these little...uh...slots in your brain. The chemical in Marijuana, THC, will replicate the dopamine and fill up these slots and the dopamine has nowhere to go, so it dies and will never be replaced. Eventually your happy type of feeling you get after you win a soccer game or play some kind of concert or something you acomplish will decrease. Not only does this happen, but smoking Marijuana harms your lungs and will do all of that whole not being able to drive/not thinking straight deal. I hope Marijuana never becomes legal and the penalties for catching people with the drug is raised much higher.

[suicidalmuskrat]

If anything, I'd like alcohol to be banned and Cannabis legalized...Eventhough I'm a fan of the drink, and don't smoke pot much (yeah, I have a few times), I think that pot is overall much less dangerous than alcohol. For one, I agree with whoever said it doesn't effect your driving as much. I don't know if there have been tests on this or anything, but personally I find this true. Obviously sober is the best option, and so there would have to be similar laws in place as there are for drinking. My personal opinion is that all drugs should be legalized. If people want to damage themselves, what place am I in (or anyone in the government) to stop them? Even if it's an addiction, it gives them short term happiness. And if they want that short term happiness in exchange for long term suffering, it's not our place to judge that.

@ jurseyrider: So what? People do abusive things to their body all the time (smoke, drink, eat fatty foods, drink too much soda, go sun-tanning...) Why don't we try to enforce laws on this? My step mom has skin cancer, caused from the sun (tanning too much or whatever), and millions of other do as well, so why not enforce laws on things like that if it's the governments job to keep individuals safe? Point being, we can't keep them safe from everything, and the individual should be responsible for themselves.

EDIT: and if weed kills the dopamine responsible for adrenaline, or euphoric emotions, wouldn't that work for anger, sadness, disappointment as well? And wouldn't that be optimal for people who have a lot more sadness/anger/hatred in there lives than happiness? They could just cut out all of the extremes, and be overall much happier because of it. Sounds unfair for me to take that away from them.

[msbrunnettemickey]

Oh God... Kids don't do drugs...

I'm also with marijuana legalization.
Even if no one has ever died from it, you can ruin your life for just being sick, and having an ugly conscience about people you can harm around you.

You people probably heard...
We have learned a lesson from history:
Alcohol prohibition did not work, and there is no logical reason to believe that marijuana prohibition is a better idea.

Yeah, that is just stupid. And what about the government? Well, you are not wasting your money on taxes. (Just wanted you guys to know)

[hEaLiNgViSiOnAnGeLicMiX]

Alcohol prohibition did not work, and there is no logical reason to believe that marijuana prohibition is a better idea.

Yeah, that is just stupid. And what about the government? Well, you are not wasting your money on taxes. (Just wanted you guys to know)

One of the reasons that alchohol prohibition didn't work is because it has become apart of our culture. It is no longer one of those things we have because we feel like getting drunk and forgetting about all the troubles we have in the world. Alchohol is consumed during celebrations on a frequent basis. It's you 18th birthday? You and your friends go out for a drink to celebrate. It's a wedding? The man and wife share a drink.

It's also become connected to religion aswell.

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

Just a couple decades ago, said drink was alchohol. It stopped because kids who were forced to go to church with parents often go drunk off of the alchohol, and would come back later to get more.

[VxDx]

I don't really have time to type this all out, but i'm going to anyways.

Marijuana kills dopamine. If you don't know what dopamine is, it's the natural stimulant that causes adrenaline. It makes you feel happy/energized/motivated and what not. It's "unrenewable", or once it dies you can never regain it back. When you're on an adrenaline rush dopamine goes into these little...uh...slots in your brain. The chemical in Marijuana, THC, will replicate the dopamine and fill up these slots and the dopamine has nowhere to go, so it dies and will never be replaced. Eventually your happy type of feeling you get after you win a soccer game or play some kind of concert or something you acomplish will decrease. Not only does this happen, but smoking Marijuana harms your lungs and will do all of that whole not being able to drive/not thinking straight deal. I hope Marijuana never becomes legal and the penalties for catching people with the drug is raised much higher.

Dopamine is a NEUROTRANSMITTER, not a stimulant. Dopamine is a CHEMICAL so it can't be killed. Dopamine is renewable by the process Tyrosine -> L-Dopa -> Dopamine. THC binds to THC receptors ("little...uh...slots") which release GABA which causes a dopamine release (the GABA interneural release isn't necessarily proven). Either way THC, like cocaine and opiates is a DOPAMINE AGONIST not a dopamine inhibitor. Dopamine does NOT have anything to do with adrenaline, as that is a function of the endocrine system. Furthermore, though you may, with heavy, continuous use, see a lessening in positive reinforcement it has never been scientifically or otherwise proven, which would indicate that the effect is negligible.

Marijuana does harm the lungs, however, similar to cigarettes.

All I have to say is that if you've never tried it, you really have no place to try to weigh the positives to the negatives. By your logic, we should ban fatty foods, because they're bad for you, though many people still eat it because it tastes good. We should also ban cigarettes and alcohol for similar reasons, as well as many perscription and non-perscription drugs. We should also ban cars, because the exhaust is harmful.

YOU shouldn't be able to make a judgement for all other people, especially if you haven't done it yourself, which I doubt you have. If you somehow have tried all that you condemn, then you still wouldn't have a good arguement.

[JurseyRider734]

I have a feeling that if I tried all that I condemn I would be dead by now.

[The_Q]

That means for each oz of weed sold this much money goes to the government. That would improve our economy greatly.

Those are called taxes. I mentioned earlier that they provide no net gain to the economy. It can be that they provide net loss, though (Freedom Fries!).

This is really just a matter of letting people have the choice of smoking or not. I say they deserve that choice entirely and have a right to it.

Q

[gardyloo]

I agree with it being legalized, but I don't agree with the use of it by the youth of America. Marijuana is a lot better on the environment than cotton, and more durable. I'm looking forward to a greener earth more than a cheap high.

[blahblah18]

Wow VxDx just totally shat all over you.. I never smiled so much from a post before.

hmm, before reading that, I had something else to say... oh yeah.. the sole reason cigarettes are legal are thanks to the BILLIONS in lobbying... if you don't believe me, just do a little reading on the definition of drugs by the FDA, they're separated into 5 major calsses, and basically the definition of each class is strict and rigid based on the drug's properties, and certain calsses are illegal, while others are legal

both alchol and cigarettes would normally fall under a class 1 drug, but there is a bylaw that actually states "Exclude tobacco and alchol from falling under class 1 drug categories" and thereofre, they're legal

[magister_negi_magi]

I hope marijuana never, ever becomes legalized. My father's life has been destroyed because of marijuana(along with a few other drugs), and I don't want that to happen to anybody else. I may not know as much as say, VxDx, but I do know that smoking marijuana cannot be good. I mean, they tell you, "Drugs are bad, remember that" throughout elementary to high school. How can anything positive come from a drug you're told not to do, aside from the ephemeral high? I don't have to actually smoke marijuana to be able to know what's good and bad about it, I've witnessed it firsthand. People are foolish to harm their body and mind for a few moments of pleasure, no matter what the drug. You don't know what it's like to see someone you love passed out on the front porch after drugging up the previous night...it...it just hurts. He doesn't want help, he doesn't try to quit...hell, he once told my family that he doesn't want to quit. Things like that...I really don't want anyone else to go through, because it's just not pleasant. There are only a few things I disapprove of, and one of those things is drugs. Think about it: Alcohol and cigarettes are the only legal non-medicinal drugs, right? And how many people are alcoholics or cigarette addicts? Marijuana isn't even legal and yet so many people do it on a daily basis...If it were to be legalized, a pothead would be no stranger than an alcoholic. As a said pothead, my father is prone to mood swings and acts of violence which did not occur before he started drugs. I don't think that anyone wants to go to their pharmacy, only to find your average druggy throwing a fit because the price of his marijuana was too steep. It's just not a good idea to legalize this drug, nor any drug, for that matter. My post had no statistics, no document listings, but I put my heart and soul into this. Someone is definitely going to disregard this, but maybe some of you will change your mind about legalizing marijuana, and about drugs entirely.

[sleeplessdragn]

It isn't so much that marijuana is good or bad. It is proven that the long term effects are bad, and most people recognize this. The argument here is that of free choice; do we allow the American public to take personal responsibility in whether or not they should take up getting high? A major reason why many people, including myself, feel that it should be legalized is because as Americans we are given the right to free choice, and that includes bodily abuse as well. It also ticks me off that somehow smoking is legal, even though its consequences are worse than marijuana, and it supplies no effect to the mind or body. To me, that is the epitome of stupid.

[suicidalmuskrat]

I have a feeling that if I tried all that I condemn I would be dead by now.

especially if you condemn suicide.


And magister, I'm sorry about your dad. But it's pretty much what sleepless said...we, as american's, should have the freedom to do retarded things if we want. Oh, and cigarettes do have quite an effect on the mind and body. When you first start smoking you'll usually get a decent buzz. Or if you stop smoking for a while, and start again, you'll usually get a buzz. It also speeds up the heart beat. It does a lot more, but I don't have time to research it, so rather than risking sounding like a retard, I'll just stop now.

[Reishiro]

I am ignorant.

[Snowcraftanyo]

I am ignorant.

QFE

Drugs and such, I dont have a problem with. Just as long as the people who do them dont try to get you into it like anime nerds try to get you to like anime.