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Legal Weed

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The pros and cons of the medical marijuana debate examined.
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35 responses // Legal Weed

  • This is radical - not only you can "make money without doing evil" you can make money upholding a cause.
    yea "making all information universally available" really is upholding a cause.
    I like how different points lead to one conclusion, but the doctor might be wrong, there was this article on Wikipedia and there was something about interaction of different compounds in marijuana that is necessary to achieve the anti-emetic and pain-killer properties that marijuana has, that the primitive artificial marijuana-based medicines are not able to replicate.

    this is so cool futuristic-sortof radical;
    in the content (not just appearance)
    maarcis
  • I just got this is not Google current
    well anyway they''ve deemed this content extremely valuable directly linking from Google Zeitgeist.
    maarcis
  • Marijuana is a legal substance due to the fact that it is a substance that can alter the mind. It can literally be a chill pill. Smoking is a culture, it is a trade. Doesnt matter what you get for how much. All that matters is if a person had a right to smoke, they would because its alot easier and safer than most other substances. Marijuana should always be legal and its own trade. Its own "black market". If the government were to regulate, the whole culture would be demolished and nothing but bad times would spring. Police would be more involved and alot more curruption. The way the marijuana traffics itself is fine, not perfect, but it works for the most part. The thing that can lead to the addiction is a fear of a "run-out". The fear that what would become if I dont have a stash. to cure this, only a simple phrase works, "did the world run out, or can you not afford some?"
    Marijuana was shoved under the table when it was introduced to society, it was labeled a "drug" and that lead to a doper being a junkie. Hippies smoked alot of it, gave alot of it away. But what alot of people dont see, is how woodstock changed the world. Everyone was high, so everyone was getting along listening to some tunes by Guitar Gods. I would like to have seen the mosh if everyone had been drinking. (Just food for thought)
    Stanmm1fan
  • I just think it is insane that the Federal government continues to uphold that "holier than thou" attitude fed by an outdated stigma attached to a plant. I would have though that by now, our "best and brightest" representing us in congress would have educated themselves enough on a subject that directly affects a large part of their constituencies. Seems that no one in congress has the balls to put their political ass on the line to admit that it is important that the outdated ideas and "common knowledge" surrounding the issue need to be reviewed seriously.
    It is no secret that responsible and generally good, law abiding people from all walks of life such as scientists, businessmen, artists, lawyers, judges and even politicians are at risk of having their lives ruined by outdated laws for the crime indulging in the recreational use of a plant to get a little high.

    Many people are being robbed of a choice and treated like children. Others with "higher moral standards" are getting away with enforcing their view on a huge sector of our population by dictating what they should or should not do.

    I leave the reader with one question...

    Mind you, many will sincerely not know the answer because their knowledge on the subject is based on stigma rather than facts.

    Here it goes:

    Given the situation, who would you trust more to help you out during an emergency, a person that smoked a joint an hour ago, or a person who downed a bottle of vodka an hour ago?
    corujoj
  • It''s funny how the only hope there is of ever legalizing marijuana in the U.S. is by labeling it "medicinal". I agree that pot has medicinal properties, but in my opinion the "medical marijuana" term is merely a label that has somewhat effectively managed to soften the moral barrier with those that can not get past the facts.
    corujoj
  • the laws don''t have to change...people who use marijuana for a medical reason should just try a little harder not to get caught. that''s what everybody else has to do.
    bernardreed
  • Here is something to think about....

    What if people such as cancer patients and MS patients were able to get medicine on their own and not have to purchase as many pharmaceuticals to aid in their treatment or palliative care.

    What would that do to the pharmaceutical industry?

    dpark
  • As for that doctor saying he''s not comfortable signing a script for a medicine one would have to smoke... They have it in a THC pill form now. My boyfriends mother has had MS for the past 6yrs. The pill has recently been sold at the pharmacy she goes to. Legally!! But with a lot of red tape surrounding it, not many doctors are willing to write it. She still smokes pot... as needed for her symptoms... illegally.
    applesauce77
  • So the Federal government thinks they can deny the ppl the God Lords Herbs... ha! stupid fucks...
    KingHigh
  • Good thing weed is criminal. That way, we can make the streets safer for gambling and those who wish to purchase alcohol.
    JohnConnor2029
  • http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19833390/
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    Religious Marijuana
    MSNBC: The mail-order minister of a Hollywood church that burns marijuana during services and allegedly sells it to members says thatÂ’s protected under federal law because the drug is a religious sacrament.
    Swiyyah
  • Medical Marijuana huh...I don''t think herb is as bad as the gov''t and whoever tries to say. Let people decide for themselves. Isn''t that what america is all about. Having people of and with freedom. If i want to dry and smoke something that comes out of the ground why are you gonna stop me? For my own good, or coz you say its bad for whoever i''m influencing. I mean come on people, you know, betta free ur mind instead....
    bldshotcrazy
  • http://mydemoralization.blogspot.com/2007/03/what-would...
    Image...
    WWJ SMOKE?
    ...what do Christian groups really think about marijuana?
    amaness
  • http://www.temple420.org/index.html
    Image...
    The forums are pretty interesting too.
    Fridays at sundown, for Sabbath candlelighting.
    Saturdays at 4:20pm for an Old Testament.
    Sundays at 4:20pm for a New Testament.
    amaness
  • http://www.Smoke-Bloke.com
    What about the legal alternatives?
    What about all those legal buds that you can find online?

    http://www.Smoke-Bloke.com etc.
    clivemcg56
  • Legalize it ...
    Don't criticize it ...
    Cause i will advertise it...
    bestbet
  • To the doctor in this film: Since marijuana has no overdose limits set (there has been no one killed by it in all of our history), what's wrong with a "Use as needed" prescription? Since the smoking of it has been shown to IN NO WAY cause cancer, lung deterioration, or any major issue, why not not worry about it?

    To those who condemn people who "just want to get high," ask yourself what the motivation to "get high" is and you will find that it boils down to relieving stress. And stress relief is a perfectly valid reason to use a drug (otherwise there would be no stress-relief pharmaceuticals).

    What is the worst thing about marijuana (by leaps, bounds and astronomical jumps)? Its illegality.
    Amaterasu
  • i absolutly think that Marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes....for not only physical pain but mental as well.... i know many people who smoke and live completly normal structured lives....
    spronkles
  • i think the best choice would be to have marijuana decriminalized.... that way the government doesn't touch your weed... cause honestly... who wants the filthy gov. growin our weed? not me. i also think that marijuana blocks mind control... haha... just a conspiracy theory.
    bluesylee
  • PAIN PILLS NO PROBLEM, XANAX NO PROBLEM,MORPHINE NO PROBLEM, PRESCRIPTIONS BEING RECALLED FOR KILLING MASSES OF PEOPLE NO PROBLEM,TESTING DRUGS IN CLINICAL TRIALS NO PROBLEM, CLINICAL TRIAL FOR MARIJUANA BIG PROBLEM WHY?WE THE PEOPLE WANT OUR RIGHTS TO A JUST GOVERNMENT NOT A CORPRATE GOVERNMENT............there are not many choices when you are sick and dying give me some hope , because the medicine is killing me too.
    sickinjersey
  • Quite frankly, I don't know where to stand on this matter. I realize how it helps many people with their illnesses, but I see how it ruined my brother's life. Perhaps if it were regulated, so that it is used, as this piece illustrates, for medical use, then perhaps its benefits may outweigh the negatives. There are alot more dangerous drugs that are legal.
    Neghie
  • Neghie,

    You say "it ruined [your] brother's life..." Tell me, if he could have gotten it cheaply, readily and with no hassle, would he have had these "problems?"

    Was the issue with being arrested, and all that entails? Was it because he had to deal with shady characters? What was it that did the "ruining?"

    Or was all else ok and he just failed at life because he used marijuana?
    Amaterasu
  • Use vaporizers if you don't want to inhale smoke. It is much cleaner for the lungs.

    They can also make extracts that you would put drops of THC on your tongue. They can also make a nasal sniffer to inhale the THC into the nose. And the other thing is that the medicine can be made into eye drops as well.

    There are many methods available to deliver the life sustaining medicine.

    As for the conflict in the law about setting up two classes of people, they need to decriminalize the plant for all uses for everyone.

    Folks it's not illegal for the reason stated by the hard line that the Govt. says "Its dangerous". That is just a bunch of bull. The real reason is that it can't be controlled and would create an economic loss for pharmaceuticals, and doctors. That is the real truth behind the prohibition.

    Why do we never learn about prohibition? When alcohol was prohibited, that gave rise to the Mafia's. When marijuana was prohibited, that gave rise to the corporate Mafia's like DOW, MONSANTO, STANDARD OIL, and a host of other corporations that promote products that would have a serious competitor on their hands if Cannabis/Hemp/Marijuana were to made completely legal.
    jubal
  • Amaterasu,

    Great points you made with the questions, and I do believe environment had alot to do with his problems, and I'm not pinning marijuana as the reason to all his issues, but it certainly was the start of his problems. "Marijuana is still considered a 'gateway drug.'

    "Marijuana, for instance, is considered by some to be a gateway to harder drugs. George Koob, M.D., of the Scripps Research Institute says that studies of long-term exposure to cannabinoids, the active ingredient in marijuana, suggest that addiction to one drug could make a person vulnerable to abuse and addiction to other drugs. Cannabis abuse, he says, appears to activate corticotropin-releasing factor, a brain chemical that increases during periods of stress. Consequently, Koob says, this could "lead to a subtle disruption of brain processes that are then 'primed' for further and easier disruption by other drugs of abuse."

    Some people can smoke cigarettes occasionally, drink, even do hard time drugs and never get hooked. There are far too many, however, that can't handle it. I understand the medicinal benefits such a substance can bring many, and I also think legalizing, could also help control it better too. I just don't think it should be free to be smoked like it's a cigarette, however dangerous cancer sticks can be. It's not the same.
    Neghie
  • Jubal,

    It's not just Big Pharm - though they are the main issue these days. It's also Big Oil, that despite Henry Ford creating a car that ran on hemp oil, doesn't want you to know that hemp oil can perform all functions of petro-oil including producing plastics.

    It's also Big Chem because they want to keep products in the fields that require pesticide and fertilizer. Hemp does not require these.

    It's also Big Alcohol because they want you to get high on what they sell, instead of marijuana.

    It's also Big Textiles (cotton) because they want us to buy cotton and not hemp fabrics and rope.

    It's also Big Paper that is invested in forests and wants no competition from hemp fiber.

    It's also Big Prison (the prison-industrial complexes) that wants to keep their human-cattle coming in to be paid for by government and used as slave labor to their profit as well.

    It's also all the many people who have jobs because of Prohibition: cops, lawyers, administration, clerical, judges, prison guards, and so on. (Although many of these people are just as furious at our insane laws.)

    So you see... We are locking up our citizens, breaking families up, harassing citizens, denying citizens, ruining lives and opportunities...

    All so that some can make money.

    Is this acceptable? Is this ethical? Is this what we want from the US of A? From the world?

    I am of the opinion that this is the most vile, evil, heinous choice we could make.
    Amaterasu
  • Neghie,

    It has been proven over and again that marijuana is no more a "gateway" drug than caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. But you can still find doctors who will say it is a gateway drug - usually in return for some compensation.

    The only reason it might contribute to "harder" drugs is the exposure factor. If you have to buy the drug on the illicit market, you will be exposed to and have access to harder drugs. If, on the other hand, if you could buy the drug at your drugstore, you might decide to buy some aspirin as well.

    This doctor you quoted said many things that are said because either he was offered compensation (most likely hidden) or because to say otherwise would threaten his position (many a doctor has been dismissed for advocating legal marijuana).

    So you see... Just because you can find a doctor that will say these things doesn't mean they are accurate. And from my study, marijuana has never killed anyone in all our 5000 year history, and has a tremedous list of issues it can medically address - up to and including treatment and prevention of cancer.

    I'd like to share with you something I wrote to someone I was discussing the ethics of marijuana with:

    "You asked, "Do you think marijuana in medicine is ethical or unethical and why?"

    "Any medicine that has no side effects, no probability of weakening you, no probability of killing you, and has been shown to treat the widest array of ailments on top of that, would be the MOST ethical drug to promote and use. Certainly over any medicine that might have debilitating side effects, or might make you need more medicine or might even kill you.

    "Marijuana, being the only drug to fill the former and ethical slot, makes it clear that other choices are not ethical unless you've tried marijuana first and did not get relief, for things like stress, anorexia, glaucoma, nausea, headache, general aches, chronic pain, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, ADD, hyperactivity, menstrual issues, and on...

    "Did I answer the question?"
    ___________

    There is something to think about.
    Amaterasu
  • If you want to smoke weed, be my guest! I said, I wasn't sure where I stand on it. I apologize for not waving a flag for it. And just as you can find reasons for legalizing it, I can find reasons against it. There are many more doctors with the same opinions, but I it would be impossible to put them down here. Please, get high. I really couldn't care less about what you do. Just don't get behind a wheel while on it.
    Neghie
  • Neghie...

    You seem to feel I am attacking you. Not in the least; merely informing you.

    You seem to think I am defending it for myself. I am defending it because WE ARE LOCKING UP OUR CITIZENS SO THAT SOME CAN MAKE MONEY, and that is extremely vile to me.

    And there is a lot of money spent on disinfo. You may recall there were doctors back in the day that claimed marijuana use turned users criminally insane (Reefer Madness). They no longer ascribe to THAt because the data are out there with the fact that it DOESN'T make one criminally insane.

    So they have to obliquely imply there is something wrong. None of those Public "Service" Announcements produce any studies to support the dog's plea to Lindsay, for example. There are no studies to point to! Believe me, if they had any study at all that was properly done that showed an issue...you would hear all about it.

    The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of bad information out there, mainly because a lot of money is being spent to keep it illegal. It might interest you to know that Reagan stopped studying marijuana because, instead of finding issues, every study was finding benefits.

    Also, you might be interested in the fact that when experienced users (and there is a difference between novice and experienced users) - when experienced users are tested for driving ability, they actually score marginally BETTER than "sober" test subjects.

    So I recommend checking out studies; many are listed and linked from MPP.org (Marijuana Policy Project).

    Best of luck, Neghie. Sorry if I seemed to be attacking you. That was not my goal.
    Amaterasu
  • Every point is debatable. I do feel like you were beating me over the head with it. You can show me an example where it's good, I can show you one where its bad. You can't sit here and tell me that marijuana has no drawbacks. Does the good outweigh the bad? I don't know. I have a bias and so do you. I'm willing to do the research which is more than most people are willing to do. No need for apologies. I love a good back and forth.
    Neghie
  • I knew about the other interests, thats why I said Dow, Monsanto, I was trying to think of an American Pharmaceutical company but couldn't think of one to name.

    jubal
  • Neghie,

    I do apologize. My passion for the subject, and the fact that many will read my words caused me to forget manners.

    Now, you say you can point to examples of where marijuana itself is an issue. And I invite you to do so. Please, give me an example.

    Thanks. [smile]
    Amaterasu
  • Jubal,

    I figured you did, but I wanted to put that out there for others to read and contemplate. [smile]

    Just tryin' to help, I guess.
    Amaterasu
  • Amaterasu,

    If you tell me marijuana has benefits, I can agree.
    If you try to tell me that "smoking" marijuana doesn't have a significant amount of negative effects, that's where I have a problem.

    I'm going to hit you up on your inbox.
    Neghie
  • Neghie,

    I got word that you sent something but only could see two, highly suspect sites. For everyone here, as well as you I post these:

    http://www.mpp.org/states/oregon/news/column-medical-ma...
    http://www.mpp.org/states/virginia/news/new-marijuana-s...
    http://www.mpp.org/states/new-york/news/study-finds-mar...
    http://www.mpp.org/library/medical-marijuana-science-an...
    http://www.mpp.org/states/district-of-columbia/news/stu...
    http://www.mpp.org/assets/pdfs/dm/MMJ-BRIEF_PAPER-2005....
    http://www.mpp.org/news/latest-anti-pot-quack.html
    http://www.mpp.org/news/in-the-news/dr-tashkin-makes-th...
    http://www.mpp.org/news/lte-reefer-madness-returns.html
    http://www.mpp.org/news/press-releases/white-house-ad-e...
    http://www.mpp.org/states/ohio/news/just-what-the-docto...
    http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3704
    http://www.hempworld.com/HempPharm/articles/cannabisexp...
    http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6812
    http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?art...
    http://news.healingwell.com/index.php?p=news1&id=52...
    http://www.alzheimersscreen.com/Marijuana.htm

    And:

    Cannabis & Pregnancy - Great news for heavy users!

    Pediatrics, February 1994, Volume 93, Number 2, pp. 254-260
    American Academy of Pediatrics

    Comparing the heavily exposed and the non-exposed infants, the Brazelton clusters on day 30, showed that the offspring of heavy-marijuana using mothers had significantly higher scores on:

    orientation

    autonomic stability

    reflexes

    habituation to auditory and tactile stimuli, and to animate auditory stimuli

    higher degree of alertness

    capacity for consolability

    less irritability

    had fewer startles and tremors

    better physiological stability at one month

    required less examiner facilitation to reach an organized state

    more socially responsive

    the quality of their alertness was higher

    their motor and autonomic systems were more robust

    they had better self-regulation

    they were more rewarding for caregivers than the neonates of non-using mothers at one month of age

    From the Schools of Nursing, Education and Public Health, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Received for publication Sep. 21, 1992; accepted June 30, 1993.

    So, if you look at the data from reputable sources and move past the spin... The ONLY reason we have this drug illegal is so that some can make money.
    Amaterasu
  • Oh, and on driving:

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/9903251107...
    http://www.fcda.org/driving.htm
    http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/misc/driving/dot78_...


    Never believe anything NIDA produces. They are a front used to spread disinfo.
    Amaterasu