Steve Grenier Steve Grenier

Your thoughts on Marijuana

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Your thoughts on Marijuana

from JoeUser Forums
Hey,

I have tried having this conversion on other forums but it always gets out of hand with people flaming eachother. I just want to have a conversation about the subject and hear peoples thoughts on it and maybe clear some rumors about it up. There are many people who think it's bad and that it's very bad for your lungs. Me being from Canada I smoke it regularly so I don't have a problem with it. The only factor I can see is that it is bad for the lungs as is any smoke to inhale. I was thinking for medical reasons, if they extracted the THC from inside the plant and simply put it in canisters and distrubute it to patients much like anesthesia. That way there is no lung damage from inhaling the smoke and the patients can be given certian dosages to scale rather than having to smoke up.

Say what you have to say. All opinions welcome.
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68,623 views 181 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
People do have the right to destroy their bodies any way they like, though they should be a little more aware of the effects these things have on them before setting out to do so. Saying pot is harmless is a perfect example. So, you drink/toke, get drunk/high, black out but you're alive the next day, and you think it's all good. Then you realize you woke up in a drunk tank or rehab because you were trying to drive home.

People are, inherently, stupid. They'll be more likely to be more stupid the more intoxicated they get, whether through drugs or booze. I couldn't care less about what diseases they bring on themselves, but they aren't the only people they're affecting in their haze.
Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It's one thing to say it's bad but actually saying it's makes a big difference when driving is another. If you have actually ever done it you can see that it's not that harmful when driving on the road. It makes you more aware and you see everything going on around you and at least me, take it slower and more careful. How many deaths have been caused by drivers under the influence of marijuana. Look at the number of deaths from alcohol. As far as it controlling your life. That's so stupid. There are people we can get horribly addicted and there are people that can do it fine and they still can perform normally. It makes me so angry everytime someone makes a comment like that. Look at alcoholics. There are people that can drink and not become an alcoholic and there are some that will right off the bat. It's the same with marijuana. There are the ones that become horribly addicted and there are those that don't and can control themselves.

As far as being in Canada they don't freak out when pulled over while under the influence the only things they do is take away any of the marijuana you have and the products you use to smoke it with. If they can tell that your are 2 out of it to drive then they will make you call someone to take you home. Simple as that.

It's just annoying to hear people saying you will "blow your mind" and not be able to control your actions. It's nothing like that. it doesn't affect your knowledge or the way that you perform in life and/or the actions you do. (ie. Driving) I'm sure smoking is bad for the lungs, that is true. But there are alternatives for taking the drug that doesn't involve smoking. Just like with anything there are the people that can't handle it.

There are bad drivers anywhere regardless what drug/alcohol your on. Bad drivers are bad drivers.
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If you have actually ever done it you can see that it's not that harmful when driving on the road. It makes you more aware and you see everything going on around you and at least me, take it slower and more careful.


Absolutely wrong. You actually think that pot makes you a better driver? So wrong. It makes you better at using the radio controls.

A few years back I was stoned out of my mind driving and drove right through an intersection where a cop was directing traffic. I drove right through him telling me to stop. My passenger says to me, Did you see that cop? My answer,No what cop. lol
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've decided to edit this post totally - it occurs that there could well be WC members who have lost a loved one as the result of the selfish actions of another who also believed their mind was altered for the better.
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm a complete lightweight and can't handle any kind of substance, yes I have tried a few things but could not handle it nor did I like or enjoy the effects, for me a good deep breath of night air is enough to make me high...
(that is good for the lungs and also clears the head alot whereas smoking any kind of substance does the opposite)
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Smoking pot while driving increases your ability to focus...

... on the yellow lines in the middle of the road, as you watch them pass by in amazement.

And yes. I have done that. And yes. If you honestly belive that pot, or any other type of narcotic doesnt affect your ability to drive, then I would guess that you've smoked far too much already, or you *really really* enjoy living in fantasy land.

I'm astounded that with all the data available that someone would honestly choose to be that niave. Or maybe he's just trolling...

At any rate. Fantasy land. Yeah.
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Steve, you keep making the comparison to alcohol, which is a bad argument. To say that one is better than the other is not seeing the whole picture. It's like saying that it's better to get run over by a van than it is a car. The abuse of substances is the problem. Smoke at home, drink at home, but don't endanger other lives by driving while under the influence. You are awfully young to know so much. Maybe you have known people who have died because of substance abuse. Maybe you have seen marriages ruined or bank accounts squandered; but maybe you haven't. People will tend to feed their addictions before they feed their kids. Monkeys that are tested with cocaine starve to death because they always choose coke over food.
You may think that I am over the line or being too dramatic, but I know what I have seen. Just do it at home, if you want to ruin your brain, and don't ruin the lives of others. You may think you have a right and that you're pretty smart, but every time you try to make an argument, you're convicting yourself of being "not that smart". Just my opinion.
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
after studying the ancient science of herbs and yoga of foods for over thirty years, ive discovered that the healing quality of cannabis is best released when eaten ( like with healthy foods, etc) . this is the traditional way of useing it from the ancient times where they would watch how it would effect people over a long period of time. smoking it can cause problems; often subtle . if you want to use the herb, dont smoke it. smoking it can bring panic into your life.
if you must smoke it try putting a pinch of gotu kola or calamis root with it. this will reduce the toxicity brought on by all the residue ash of a smoked substance. gotu kola and calamis root are two of the most healing substances to smoke.
Reply #35 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think it's really sad that us humans are actually born with a wish to f*ck up our bodies and minds. No other species have that wish, why do we?
If I ruled the world, I'd outlaw drugs in one second. And breaking that law would be punished extremely hard, like after 3 offences litterally cut an arm of or something similar. And yes, I'm serious. Drugs is one of the absolutely biggest factors to regeneration of society. The bad outweights the good by infinity. Can't someone just make all drugs go away RIGHT NOW???
I'm a normal student. I go to raves, I party hard between exams. But if I find out that someone that I know do drugs, I report that person and never talk to him or her again. It's as easy as that.
Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Like I said before. Some people can't drive while under it, and some people can. I'm not saying that you should toke up and go hop in a car. That is not at all what I am saying. I normally don't drive after doing it, I would rather sit down and just talk with my friends and what not. I was simply saying that under the influence of marijuana and driving is much safer than being drunk and driving. As far as Night Train's comment that was simply because you haven't done the drug a lot and your the perfect example of those bad apples who shouldn't be driving. Me on the other hand am fine with it. I don't space out on the yellow lines, or get lost in radio controls. I see cops I see other cars I see traffic lights. I love driving it's one of the most fun you can have. I find whenever I am high and driving it just allows me to have a bigger love for driving and I enjoy it more because I am paying more attention to it. Now I can't speak for everyone and that isn't my intention to come off that way, but I am saying that for me it doesn't make driving harder it makes it easier. Living a stressful life it allows you to relax and focus on one thing (driving) that way your mind isn't busy thinking about the other problems in life.

As far as my age being a question that is a poor excuse age is simply a number and has no effect on your intelligence and knowledge.

Prehaps we could also get off the topic of driving and move to new points.

How does everyone feel about it being used in the medical industry?
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What you want to do in your own private home is fine with me - be it smoking dope, shooting drugs, drinking alcohol etc...

As soon as it effects any one/thing other than yourself - then I got a problem with 'it'.

If your vise causes you imparement and you injure someone/thing - then I have a problem it.
If your vise causes my taxes to go up because I now have to pay more money for Gov. programs for all the addicted people - then I have a problem with it.

Herein lies the problem - sure , YOU could probably handle smoking , but someone else can't - which leads to my previous problems.
So - that's why there are laws - because some people CAN'T handle it - over do it, etc.

Why isn't Alcohol or Tobacco outlawed? Good question - can you say LOBBIEST

As for being used for Medicinal Purposes - absolutley - if anything can be used to ease the pain and suffering of individuals - and at the same time not pose the previously mentioned problems - go for it.
Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
As long as the patients will not be driving, it's OK.

I have a grand idea. Let's make all drugs legal. In the short term, there will be a huge spike in ODs and numbnuts running off roads, and all that schtuff, but after a while the useless bunch of weak DNAs will be eliminated from the gene pool and humanity will be better off.

So, go ahead Steve, puff another one... Even better, try something harder to see if you can handle it with your super senses and better-than-others brain. Do the humanity a favor...

There is a reason they are called mind-altering drugs... The evidence is you.

As for medical use, there are other pain-killers so just saying that pot is the only thing that helps is stupid. If a patient needs to be dozed on pot, we might as well just shoot them. They are a drag for humanity and I don't want to be paying for their legal pot.
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It seems to me that there are actually two different conversations going on here. One is the simple one about whether Marijuana should be legal. First off, I don't smoke it, or any other drugs, and very rarely drink (six pack lasts me a month or so). Up until my early twenties I did very large amoutns of just about anything that was around whether injested or smoked. Nowadays I don't have time for the crap. It does dull your senses and impairs your judgement (as does alcohol, with the addition of killing all of those wonderful grey cells). Although I have a dim view of the drugs and quite a few people who participate in their use, I think that they should be legalized (not just marijuana). Prohibition didn't work with alcohol and in the long run won't work for anything else. It just creates a multi-billion dollar market that never gets taxed and operates under the radar of the goverment (for the most part). The war on drugs is a joke and a waste of my paycheck. I think that what you do in the privacy of your own home is nobodys business, especially the government.

On the issue of driving under the influence, or participating in other activities that might harm others, the penalites cannot be too harsh. Anyone that gets behind the wheel of a car, or other equipment without their full and complete attention is a friggin idiot and should do time (at the minimum).

I also think that even though we should have the right to do whatever the hell we want in the privacy of our own homes, our employers ALSO have the right to drug test if they should choose to do so. If you don't like your employers policies, work elsewhere.
Reply #42 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I reluctantly am getting involved in this, simply because of the misinformation.
1) THC has been synthesised for sometime, and is not effective . Chemotherapy patients suffering from dismal nausea, MS people with the spasms, and Glaucoma people all must smoke to achieve benefit from the dreaded weed.

2) marijauna was illegalized after prohibition was a dismal failure. There needed to be a "bad guy" so the killer weed that those awful jazz musicians were smoking won the prize. Laws will never change because politicians need something to scare people with, and while close to a dozen states have legalized it for medicinal use, the feds can still supercede state laws if they need some publicity.
3) marijuana is not addictive unto itself. If one has an addictive personality, then aspirin can become a crutch.
4)We know drunks kill thousands every year on the road, yet it is legal. Tobacco kills even more and is still subsidized by the taxpayers, even after its been proven that the industry deliberately manipulated the nicotine levels to cause addiction.

I dont advocate the use of any drug, but I abhor hypocrisy
Reply #44 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WHAT IS THE DIFFERANCE IN AN CASUAL JOINT,BLUNT,BONG HIT WHATEVER.THAN A DRINK.EXCEPT THEY PASSED A LAW WHERE THEY CAN TAX THE ALCOHOL.IF THEY COULD KEEP PEOPLE FROM GROWING IT AND TAX IT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE LEGAL.LIGHT THEM IF YOU HAVE THEM
Reply #45 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I find whenever I am high and driving it just allows me to have a bigger love for driving and I enjoy it more because I am paying more attention to it.


Now what happens when you focus your attention on something else while behind the wheel? Can you guarantee that you won't harm anyone? Probably not. You should consider your actions when driving under the influence of any drug or alcohol. Could you live with yourself if you were to harm or kill another?

As with any drug, when used as prescribed by a doctor for medicinal purposes, it should be allowed. Its when you abuse drugs, it can become a problem for you, and other people. What you do in your own home is your business. You wanna get high, keep it at home where it belongs.
Reply #46 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't have a problem whatsoever with anyone smoking pot...especially if you can obtain some medical use from it.

But I hate when people attempt to instill fear about marijuana through ignorance and misinformation...

First...I'm an ex-pot smoker/drug user...I started smoking pot when I was 14 years old, "after trying other drugs first." I haven't smoked it or done any other drugs for the past 20 years or so...I'm 50 now. I quit out of simple boredom with it and the cost of it became unacceptable.

OK...having said that, I get really tired of the fear mongerers and uninformed out there trying to portray marijuana as being addictive, so let's make this perfectly clear...unlike tobacco and alcohol...Marijuana is NOT addictive! It never was and never will be. If you "think" your "addicted" to it...it is purely psychological...period. There are no withdrawal symptoms, you don't break out in cold sweats or steal from anyone to support your so-called addiction. Marijuana does NOT lead to other drugs...if you moved on to other drugs you were going to do it anyway...it just happened to be that you started with pot.

Like everything else in life, it boils down to personal responsibility for your own actions and your ability or inability to control your actions. If you get into an accident driving a car after smoking pot, you are probably a bad driver and shouldn't have been driving in the first place. Pot is not for weak minded or weak willed individuals. And unless you've tried it for a long period of time...not just a few tokes...you really don't possess the experience or knowledge to comment on what it does or it's effects. Unless of course you work for the government...they know everything...they never lie...they are your friend...LOL

As far as the negative things about pot...other than the fact that unlike the tobacco plants or hops plants that kills millions...this natural growing plant has been deemed illegal. The smoke is just as bad for your lungs as smoking cigarettes. It can "increase" apathy...it does not cause it. It's way to expensive now, and you can fat from raiding the fridge.

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Reply #47 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Well, it's illegal (at least where I live) so that's pretty much the end of the story.

I will add that, were it not illegal, it is still a drug that affects your mind and body. I'm all for government butting out of people's personal choices, but that also comes with a huge amount of personal responsibility.

It's one thing to come home and sit in your easy chair and drink a beer or smoke a joint, if that's your preference, but it's another thing entirely to take it on the road so to speak. Then it is a concern to others. Last time I checked, when you are on public streets, the government decides what impairs your driving and what does not. Their roads (to govern, if not actual ownership), their rules.
Reply #48 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It can "increase" apathy...it does not cause it.


Maybe I should have said "causes increased apathy"

Silly play on words. If I am a bit cold and go into a freezer so that I become more cold, isn't that the same as causing cold and not just increasing your cold? If I am a bit drunk and partake of something that causes me to become more drunk, doesn't that substance cause you to be drunk?
Think I'll go put some Manheim Steamroller on the Nakamichi and try to forget about this thread.
Steve, you're a smart guy. Just listen to reason and in the end, you'll make the right decision.
Reply #49 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It is true that one can get used to the effects that pot has on your brain. I won't go into much details, but lets just say for short that your brain "corrects the problems" when THC is constently present in your body. If you only do marijuana occasionally, the the effect is much greater than if you do it all the time. Therefore, you need to smoke more of it to get an effect. But if you are in the situation where you smoke so much that it doesn't affect your senses (or your driving) then you have another problem. While your brain is getting used to the substance, your body isn't. Your lungs are getting destroyed and your heart is pumping like crazy and you are destroying your brain cells. You are therefore much at risk for a heart attack or a long term memory loss.
I used to smoke it on occasion when I was 16 too, and there is nothing wrong with that: when it's occasional and you don't risk anybody else's life while taking the wheel. It would never even had occured to me to try driving. It did affect my mind very much. Heck I couldn't even hold a normal conversation. I remember the phone ringing once after I had smoked a joint and I couldn't even remember when the other person's last question was, and was having a hard time answering it. LOL I remember thinking "What the heck did she just ask me again???" LOL Imagine driving. Wheew!
Reply #50 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It's not harmless, but then neither is alcohol. It should be an age restricted drug, legal to those who are mature enough to use it responsibly. No, I don't smoke it... anymore. But to me the negative aspects of marijuana are comparable, if not less than those of alcohol.