• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

7 big myths about marijuana and legalization

OK, replace "grandma" with "McLean Stevenson"
 
The link was dead when I tried it, but I assume this Christian Science Monitor opinion piece is what you're talking about

I disagree with most of these points. The most appalling thing written here is: For every $1 in state and federal revenue from alcohol and tobacco taxes, America spends more than $10 in social costs

So we shouldn't legalize marijuana because the government spends ten times as much for "social costs" as they receive for alcohol and tobacco taxes? CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT THIS MEANS?! So here's my counter to this particular tidbit - legalizing marijuana would make money for the government. That's it. It's true. Oh, you want to start questioning whether or not the "social costs" would increase due to a higher rate of marijuana users who need rehab for some weird reason? Well then also factor in the money saved by not having law enforcement spend a large percentage of their time pursuing people selling, trafficking, and using marijuana. Money saved from the people who no longer are in jail on the taxpayer's dime (the article addresses this to some extent). The biggest push against legalization is from those who profit from keeping marijuana illegal. That's called pork and last I checked, the Republicans were theoretically supposed to be the ones against it.

There's some garbage about causing schizophrenia in here, which made me feel like I was watching an episode of Dragnet, but most of the other points actually come off to me as saying "legalizing marijuana is not quite as good as you think it will be." That's not super persuasive.

Most people who "abuse" marijuana are young folks. I knew a lot of them. They all grew out of it, including myself. That's what happens with the vast majority of people. At a certain point in their mid-twenties, they just have no interest in using it more than once in a blue moon. And the older dudes I know who have been smoking for 40 years (I don't know many but I have come across them) are happy people with decent jobs and don't make any trouble. It's just common sense to change our current stance, and if not to legalize, then simply to stop using federal money to wage a war on people using marijuana and to allow people to freely grow and smoke it.
 
Cardinal said:
[shrug]

Whatever happens when you get older and the things you used to enjoy stop being enjoyable. Who knows. Suffice it to say, pot makes me intensely uncomfortable now.
Click to expand...

I can relate to this. I haven't partook in over 20 years, but the last six months of when I did were interesting. I got intensely paranoid whenever I did it. That had never happened before. It had ceased to be enjoyable.
 
I once injected two marijuana joints and now I give handies for crystal meth behind a Circle-K.
 
radcen said:
I can relate to this. I haven't partook in over 20 years, but the last six months of when I did were interesting. I got intensely paranoid whenever I did it. That had never happened before. It had ceased to be enjoyable.
Click to expand...

I'm the same way ... when I was in college, I was a pothead. Moved away after graduation, was in an area where I didn't know anyone who puffed, so I would only do it when I came home, and even then rarely. Once I moved back to my hometown in 2004, I would do it every so often, then less and less as time went on ... now, at 36, I've probably smoked four times in the last year. Just got old for me. And +1 to the paranoia thing as well.
 
Kobie said:
I'm the same way ... when I was in college, I was a pothead. Moved away after graduation, was in an area where I didn't know anyone who puffed, so I would only do it when I came home, and even then rarely. Once I moved back to my hometown in 2004, I would do it every so often, then less and less as time went on ... now, at 36, I've probably smoked four times in the last year. Just got old for me. And +1 to the paranoia thing as well.
Click to expand...

Close enough to my story. I literally cannot put myself in the head of my 20+ year old self to understand what I liked about pot. Now, I know I made that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers remark a fews posts back (actually, my thing was Transformers), the point being we just grow out of our childhood and move on. But to be fair I grew bored of my Transformers. I didn't wake up one day and find them horrifying. Bizarre.
 
onelucidvoice said:
In my youth, one of my best friends' parents were drug dealers. They dealt in home grown marijuana. They were sweet people, a little bit "hard assed" but with big and generous hearts. They treated me like a member of the family, and on my 18th birthday, they declared me "of age" and let me get high with them. It was the first time I had tried pot, and it was fun just for the experience.

I did pot with them and others a few more times before I made the decision for myself that pot wasn't my cup of tea. It put me to sleep, made me feel a bit nauseous, and didn't really have any positives for me. I could achieve the same mental state by listening to music in the dark without the nausea, and I didn't get any of the benefits others talked about, like it being an aphrodisiac. Bottom line here is I tried it, but I didn't become addicted, nor was it a "gateway" into other things. Doing pot is not the gateway; dealing it is!

A few years after that first experience with pot, my friend's father died. His mother had trouble making sales from competing dealers in the area, but she had heard about this new drug that was selling like crazy, and she had an opportunity to invest in a stash and begin turning a profit. I had never heard of meth before then (we're talking like 1995). I had stopped hanging out with her son, but remained friends with her because she was kinda like a second mom to me. She knew I didn't smoke pot and she warned me away from trying meth, even refusing to sell to me (not that I ever wanted to buy). She knew it was a dangerous drug, but she was just trying to make ends meet. Everything was fine....until she tried her product.

Meth is an evil evil evil thing. She changed almost overnight. All the sweet reasons I had loved and admired this woman disappeared as she became hostile, antagonistic, rude and deceitful. She accused me of the most ridiculous things and then kicked me out of her home because I "was too good" to buy her product. She felt I was looking down my nose at her because I wouldn't buy anything from her, and no amount of explaining that I wasn't buying anything (meth or pot) from anyone would appease her.

Pot is not Meth. Period. The worst thing Pot ever did was making people lazy and stupid (not that all pot smokers are lazy and stupid). Pot is natural and requires only drying to make it ready for use (unlike other drugs that require extensive processing). I've also tried two of the prescription drugs mentioned by Jaeger19: Effexor and Cymbalta. Effexor did its job, reduced my anxiety, calmed me down and allowed me to focus on my work without all the stress. Cymbalta on the other hand is a horrible drug (IMO). I see it advertised for depression, back pain and other ailments, and when I took it, I had to stop after only two days. It made me fill uncomfortable in my own skin and exacerbated my depression further. IMO, Cymbalta is "snake oil" that pharmaceutical companies are making serious bank on.

The point, however, is that Marijuana is far less harsh on the human body and psyche than many of the prescription drugs out there, and the biggest reason it's not legal is because pharmaceutical companies want to continue to make profits on drugs they can control. Marijuana can be grown in the back yard or in a sealed room with UV lamps. Drug companies can't control its production and distribution, so they don't want to see it legalized and regulated. Fortunately, they can't argue with the voters.
Click to expand...

Yes! Well said! Welcome to DP, I think you'll like it here, you're a very good writer!
 
radcen said:
I can relate to this. I haven't partook in over 20 years, but the last six months of when I did were interesting. I got intensely paranoid whenever I did it. That had never happened before. It had ceased to be enjoyable.
Click to expand...
Cardinal said:
Close enough to my story. I literally cannot put myself in the head of my 20+ year old self to understand what I liked about pot. Now, I know I made that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers remark a fews posts back (actually, my thing was Transformers), the point being we just grow out of our childhood and move on. But to be fair I grew bored of my Transformers. I didn't wake up one day and find them horrifying. Bizarre.
Click to expand...

I have a theory. I think it's possible the pot you two smoked in your younger days was a lot weaker than what's out there now. I'm not sure, but I don't think a lot of people were growing it hydroponically back then, and not to mention you two obviously lost any tolerance you had. I thinking maybe the high you two got was too strong for your tastes? I've never had bad high, but I have smoked some kinds of weed where I'm like "man, this really is a little much for me, almost overwhelming.".
 
sbrettt said:
I have a theory. I think it's possible the pot you two smoked in your younger days was a lot weaker than what's out there now. I'm not sure, but I don't think a lot of people were growing it hydroponically back then, and not to mention you two obviously lost any tolerance you had. I thinking maybe the high you two got was too strong for your tastes? I've never had bad high, but I have smoked some kinds of weed where I'm like "man, this really is a little much for me, almost overwhelming.".
Click to expand...

While the fact that it's stronger is of course true, a strong high is different from a bad high. Besides, I have my own working theory, which I've never discussed with anyone else and could easily be completely wrong: when you hit a certain age a part of your brain says, "Hey, I've got responsibilities now. People are actually depending on me. I can't be doing this crap anymore."

Just a thought.
 
Cardinal said:
While the fact that it's stronger is of course true, a strong high is different from a bad high. Besides, I have my own working theory, which I've never discussed with anyone else and could easily be completely wrong: when you hit a certain age a part of your brain says, "Hey, I've got responsibilities now. People are actually depending on me. I can't be doing this crap anymore."

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

That's very possible. Although I have family that are on the older side that still enjoy smoking, and are no less responsible because of it. I guess it's different for everyone.
 
sbrettt said:
That's very possible. Although I have family that are on the older side that still enjoy smoking, and are no less responsible because of it. I guess it's different for everyone.
Click to expand...

I never claimed to be representative of a lot of people, though I would be somewhat curious how many people who've quit pot have had similar thoughts.
 
Cardinal said:
I never claimed to be representative of a lot of people, though I would be somewhat curious how many people who've quit pot have had similar thoughts.
Click to expand...
I know, but I think there's some people who would read your post and think "That's right! Marijuana does make people irresponsible!" :lol: Me too. It's definitely not for everyone.
 
sbrettt said:
I have a theory. I think it's possible the pot you two smoked in your younger days was a lot weaker than what's out there now. I'm not sure, but I don't think a lot of people were growing it hydroponically back then, and not to mention you two obviously lost any tolerance you had. I thinking maybe the high you two got was too strong for your tastes? I've never had bad high, but I have smoked some kinds of weed where I'm like "man, this really is a little much for me, almost overwhelming.".
Click to expand...
Cardinal said:
While the fact that it's stronger is of course true, a strong high is different from a bad high. Besides, I have my own working theory, which I've never discussed with anyone else and could easily be completely wrong: when you hit a certain age a part of your brain says, "Hey, I've got responsibilities now. People are actually depending on me. I can't be doing this crap anymore."

Just a thought.
Click to expand...
I'm open to both possibilities.
 
sbrettt said:
I have a theory. I think it's possible the pot you two smoked in your younger days was a lot weaker than what's out there now. I'm not sure, but I don't think a lot of people were growing it hydroponically back then, and not to mention you two obviously lost any tolerance you had. I thinking maybe the high you two got was too strong for your tastes? I've never had bad high, but I have smoked some kinds of weed where I'm like "man, this really is a little much for me, almost overwhelming.".
Click to expand...
Several independent labs have shown that an apples to apples comparison of "grades" of marijuana show just above twice the concentration of THC, since 1970.

To summarize, all these studies show THC potency doubling or tripling since the late 1970s.
Click to expand...
The Straight Dope: Is marijuana stronger than it used to be?

The marijuana used today is stronger than it used to be, but not as strong as has been written in some media reports (claiming marijuana is 30 times stronger today than during the 1970s). Depending on how analysis was conducted and the sample analyzed, marijuana strength has increased by 2 to 7 times since the 1970s, measured by THC levels.
Click to expand...
Learn About Marijuana: Factsheets: Potency of Cannabis

Of course, people can moderate their intake, so I don't see what the problem is; if it's twice as strong, smoke half as much. Problem solved. (Not legal advise)
 
douglas said:
Several independent labs have shown that an apples to apples comparison of "grades" of marijuana show just above twice the concentration of THC, since 1970.


The Straight Dope: Is marijuana stronger than it used to be?


Learn About Marijuana: Factsheets: Potency of Cannabis

Of course, people can moderate their intake, so I don't see what the problem is; if it's twice as strong, smoke half as much. Problem solved. (Not legal advise)
Click to expand...
I just hope it continues to go up. :cool:
 
sbrettt said:
You would hate it now, but maybe you smoked hash in your younger years? It takes a lot of the fun out of smoking the normal stuff.
Click to expand...

No, I just...I just don't think anything needs to be that strong...
 
Cardinal said:
No, I just...I just don't think anything needs to be that strong...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's not for everyone. I think it really depends on how much you smoked. I'm not even gonna lie, I'm a pothead, and that comes with a high tolerance so I like the stronger stuff.
 
Cardinal said:
No, I just...I just don't think anything needs to be that strong...
Click to expand...

It is essentially the same as the difference between a scotch and a beer. The dosage will typically get titrated. A half gallon of beer is almost routine (a tad over 5 beers) for many. A half gallon of scotch? not so much since that scotch is roughly 6-8x stronger than a typical beer.

Then there is inconsistency of all the hype about how strength has gone up and how bad that is on one hand, and a FDA approved pill that is essentially 100% THC in the other. If potency was so evil then surely 100% is as evil as it could get.

When I used to smoke I would much rather have one small nugget of high THC stickiness where I could take a couple of puffs and be good to go instead smoking multiple bowls or a fat joint of "regs".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom