The Obama Administration Officially Considers Marijuana To Be As Dangerous As Heroin

[Pluvia]

There's nothing wrong with having restricted smoking areas, imo. If you want to indulge in an obnoxious habit like smoking in public you should be corralled to an appropriate area, away from people who would rather not be around it.

In the whole of the UK it's already illegal to smoke inside somewhere that's not a home.

 

[Shorts]

I feel like if you're going to advocate for Marijuana being legalized, you should at least take the "It can be used to help with pain/medicinal route" over "WELL, it's like, a weak high unlike meth so it's not even that big of a deal. We have Alcohol? Why not have Weed?"

At least make it SOUND like a good idea. I'm just thinking of the high AND drunk drivers, what a mess. I just don't see how adding to the pile of bad decisions is a GOOD IDEA.

 

[Vinylic.]

Which is why people came up with electronic cigarettes. Which people should be using more often.

@Pluvia

 

[Crooked Crow]

I feel like if you're going to advocate for Marijuana being legalized, you should at least take the "It can be used to help with pain/medicinal route" over "WELL, it's like, a weak high unlike meth so it's not even that big of a deal. We have Alcohol? Why not have Weed?"

At least make it SOUND like a good idea. I'm just thinking of the high AND drunk drivers, what a mess. I just don't see how adding to the pile of bad decisions is a GOOD IDEA.

Was this directed at me? If so, where did I imply these points? I advocated reasonable usage.

Which is why people came up with electronic cigarettes. Which people should be using more often.

@Pluvia

Must be fun potentially inhaling diethylene glycol.

 

[Shorts]

Not pointed at anyone, it's just reasoning a lot of people use, which sucks.

 

[Vinylic.]

Must be fun potentially inhaling diethylene glycol.

Have fun reading all of this.

http://www.ecigarettesnational.com/pages/E-Cigarette-Fact-vs-Fiction.html

 

[frotaz37]

I feel like if you're going to advocate for Marijuana being legalized, you should at least take the "It can be used to help with pain/medicinal route" over "WELL, it's like, a weak high unlike meth so it's not even that big of a deal. We have Alcohol? Why not have Weed?"

At least make it SOUND like a good idea. I'm just thinking of the high AND drunk drivers, what a mess. I just don't see how adding to the pile of bad decisions is a GOOD IDEA.

This attitude always confuses me because people are already smoking marijuana. People already drive while high. It's already in the pile. It's widely available. It's super easy to get. This type of "If drugs are legalized all hell will break loose" mentality makes no sense because drugs being illegal does not stop people from doing drugs.

 

[Crooked Crow]

They're clearly trying to sell a product, Vinyl. What makes you sure it's not biased?

Here is the link I visited.

 

[Vinylic.]

Because it's an only solution. Afterwards, there are ways to solve that problem in the near future.
Even if both can kill, E-cigarettes are less harmful than an Ordinary cigarette.

People often worry whether Electronic Cigarettes give rise to cancer. In electronic cigarette nicotine, flavourings and many other harmful chemicals are used that may have cancerous effects on the body. However, carcinogenic electronic cigarette health risks have not been proved by any study.

This is a good solution. If this continues, people can find out ways to make smokers less addicted throughout the process.

 

[frotaz37]

Have you ever even smoked an electronic cigarette?

It's a joke. After you smoke it you'll be like "Hmm, that sucked" and then smoke a real one.

 

[Shorts]

This attitude always confuses me because people are already smoking marijuana. People already drive while high. It's already in the pile. It's widely available. It's super easy to get. This type of "If drugs are legalized all hell will break loose" mentality makes no sense because drugs being illegal does not stop people from doing drugs.

No, but if it became as easy to get your hands on as beer, then there will be just that much more impared people on the road. Why add to a problem? That's what I want to know.

Overall I just don't give a **** if you smoke, or drink, or do freaking meth. I just don't think a legal free for all is a good idea. MM is one thing I can get behind though.

 

[Crooked Crow]

Because it's an only solution. Afterwards, there are ways to solve that problem in the near future.
Even if both can kill, E-cigarettes are less harmful than an Ordinary cigarette.



This is a good solution. If this continues, people can find out ways to make smokers less addicted throughout the process.

It's a positive concept on paper, but it's not a realistic one. Cigarette sales are still insurmountably high, they don't really have the same effect. People prefer real tobacco and its nicotine counterpart.

The air you breathe in is just as toxic. Next thing you know, you'll be advocating wearing masks that use recycled and artificially created oxygen.

 

[frotaz37]

No, but if it became as easy to get your hands on as beer, then there will be just that much more impared people on the road. Why add to a problem? That's what I want to know.

It is easier to get than beer, especially for people under the age of 21. I don't know if you realize how widespread cannabis use is.

Overall I just don't give a **** if you smoke, or drink, or do freaking meth. I just don't think a legal free for all is a good idea. MM is one thing I can get behind though

What the hell is MM?

As for a legal free for all being a bad idea...again, you seem to be approaching this like legalizing marijuana would create giant mobs of people smoking and driving and killing each other in car accidents. But man, you have to realize that most people who are going to use drugs are ALREADY USING DRUGS.

 

[Shorts]

I will always think it's a bad idea, and what you've said doesn't convince me otherwise. You can smoke your weed, and eat it too, just not legally.

 

[Vinylic.]

Have you ever even smoked an electronic cigarette?

It's a joke. After you smoke it you'll be like "Hmm, that sucked" and then smoke a real one.

As much as I'd be willing to develop something for an E-cigarette, I doubt I will ever smoke a rolled piece of paper filled with deadly toxins and chemicals.

It's a positive concept on paper, but it's not a realistic one. Cigarette sales are still insurmountably high, they don't really have the same effect. People prefer real tobacco and its nicotine counterpart.

The air you breathe in is just as toxic. Next thing you know, you'll be advocating wearing masks that use recycled and artificially created oxygen.

That is very true. But that is only possible if there aren't enough plants on earth imo.

As people prefer real cigarettes and pay the price of 3-5 dollars with certain taxes that helps out on something else like public schools for example, It would just look like they're sacrificing themselves to keep factories (who make the products) running.

Many people who are opposed to this can think of it like this:
"people who make cigarettes assassinate people and take their money"

But they just do it for the money to keep their family and kids to a good future.

For that, I don't ever want to struggle about what will happen to who when that who gets lung cancer until I hear some news saying a cigarette company shut down. But that would make more problems for the economy because of this "obamacare" and other things.

 

[frotaz37]

I will always think it's a bad idea, and what you've said doesn't convince me otherwise. You can smoke your weed, and eat it too, just not legally.

So you think it should remain illegal, which means sending minor drug offenders to prison with murderers and rapists? Because they got high?

Do you have any reasons for thinking these things or are you just having an opinion for the sake of having one?

 

[Crooked Crow]

As people prefer real cigarettes and pay the price of 3-5 dollars with certain taxes that helps out on something else like public schools for example, It would just look like they're sacrificing themselves to keep factories (who make the products) running.

Many people who are opposed to this can think of it like this:
"people who make cigarettes assassinate people and take their money"

You're going all over the place. I don't think I mentioned anything involving a moral standpoint?

And lastly... assassination? Customers don't have their money "taken" either, they consensually purchase these items because of the nicotine, and society, along with corporatist media endorse these products.

 

[Shorts]

So you think it should remain illegal, which means sending minor drug offenders to prison with murderers and rapists? Because they got high?

Maybe they should have been more sneaky?.. They broke the law, life sucks.

Do you have any reasons for thinking these things or are you just having an opinion for the sake of having one?

Pretty much. I was bored, so I clicked on this topic and started talking. It honestly wouldn't phase me at all if it was legalized, stupid decisions are made by governments all the time. I would just rather NOT have it legalized, because it's a bad idea. Literally, I was bored, so I clicked on this topic. I have minimal interest in this marijuana outside of MM.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind pot being legalized just so potheads would shut the **** up and move on.

 

[frotaz37]

Maybe they should have been more sneaky?.. They broke the law, life sucks.

What the hell.

 

[Melomaniacal]

Enough with the "smoke" point.

You don't have to smoke it, and you don't have to eat it. You can vaporize it. Little-to-no real lung damage.

Also, about the addiction business:
Marijuana does not induce significant withdrawal symptoms. However, this is not the criteria for addiction. Marijuana is addictive the same way skydiving or masturbating can be addictive (as someone else has stated). Anything that produces a chemical change in the brain can be addictive. The important thing to note when talking about marijuana and addiction is that it is extremely low on the addiction "scale," lower than caffeine, alcohol, and prescription medicine, and these drugs also have much, much, much more severe withdrawal symptoms.

It also really bothers me when people have this idea that if marijuana were to be legalized it would be like... "WOOO LEGAL WEED PARTY TIME!" It would likely have laws similar to or stricter than alcohol laws.

 

[Glöwworm]

I like this video so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EupRuxwuMLE

 

[etecoon]

only read half the thread, just wanted to say that the few people I saw claiming that people only want pot legal so they can get high in peace are full of ****. I have no interest in the drug personally and I think it's ridiculous that it's illegal, how sad that we are a society that prides itself on freedom and personal choice yet adults can't choose what they can and can't put in their own bodies, in many cases the illegal substances being more innocuous than the legal ones. just the level of corruption involved in it is sickening enough(pharma lobbying, sponsorship for a drug free america being sponsored by alcohol companies etc), nevermind the fact that there is a huge demand for it and SOMEONE(organized crime) is going to profit from that regardless of what the government says...and our overcrowded prison system full of people in on weed related charges. illegalizing it is simply more problematic for society than allowing it, people can already legally **** themselves up way way worse with alcohol and prescription drugs as it is

 

[deepseadiva]

sponsorship for a drug free america being sponsored by alcohol companies

Wow, is that seriously happening? That's disgusting.

 

[Dastrn]

Tobacco is far too cemented in culture, and there is a key difference between tobacco and weed or heroin.

Cigarettes have a very mild narcotic effect, I mean yes it is frighteningly addictive but it doesn't cause you to trip balls, lose motor function, act out in a psychotic rage etc.

Cannabis may be less physiologically damaging than tobacco (well lung wise anyway), but when you get high, you lose a significant level of alertness, THC is classified as a hallucinogen, and even though it isn't exactly LSD, it causes a warped perception of reality and a loss of motor/mental function. Not to mention people may possibly go psychotic on it, and it can cause schizophrenia in those prone if used chronically. Cigarettes just give you cancer if used chronically, which don't make you an immediate threat to society.

Booze does obviously cause many more bad mental effects, but there are a **** ton of restrictions on who can drink, what they can do under the influence, so basically they're trying every possible way to control a problem that basically can't be stopped with complete outlawing.

Cannabis has never been a universally acceptable recreational substance, and so basically it's not so big a deal to keep it outlawed. People who say cannabis isn't dangerous are naïve and are basically only interested in making it legal so they can blaze in peace.

I mean there's nothing wrong with wanting it legalised, but championing some bull**** notion that it is safe as an ice cream cone is just absurd, and shouldn't be done.

You're talking out of your ***. It's like you're just used to having strong opinions on things, and so you just have a strong opinion on this too, and say whatever you kinda think might be true and call it true.

Marijuana is FAR safer than tobacco or alcohol.
There has literally never been a single case of death attributed solely to marijuana. Not one. It doesn't happen.

I have never smoked it in my life, so I'm just just naive and only interested in making it legal so I can blaze in peace. I think it's none of the government's business what I do with a plant I can grow myself and consume myself.

Anyone who says alcohol and cigarettes should be legal but marijuana shouldn't is an idiot.

So have opiates, so many of which are highly illegal without prescription.

Cigarettes are the best remedy for irritable bowel syndrome.

Out of your ***. I have IBS. There are actual MEDICINES and treatments that are the BEST remedy for IBS. You are just saying things you heard once.

Smoke bud, get in a car, you are a threat. Smoke bud at work, operate dangerous machinery, you are a threat. As you can see this goes on and on.

You're suggesting that something should be illegal because if you do unwise things while using it, it can be dangerous?

So should Ambien be legal? Take 3 ambien and try to fly a plane. YOU ARE A THREAT.
Should tylenol cold be illegal? Knock a few back, operate machinery. YOU ARE A THREAT.
The list goes on, my friend. You have a horrible understanding of this topic, or debating in general.

Hemp =/= smoking cannabis, and it was outlawed in like the 20s as a drug, along with the crowd favourites like cocaine and heroin. Cannabis has been illegal for about 3-4 generations, I think it's safe to say that in modern society, it has never been a socially acceptable drug.

Marijuana was smoked for centuries before the 1920s. It was banned under false pretenses because of political pressure from the COTTON industry. This wasn't illegal because of truth about dangers. It's political shenanigans, nothing more.
Why is it illegal today? Not cotton this time. It's the alcohol and tobacco industries paying MASSIVE dollars for lobbyists to fight to keep marijuana illegal. You can't grow Smirnoff in your yard. The corporations have a lot to lose.
This has always been about politics, and has nothing to do whatsoever with public safety.

Anyway, cannabis is still smoke, it contains all sorts of harmful chemicals, it can cause all sorts of mental issues with chronic use.

LOL. Most medical users vaporize it these days. If it was legal, I could be treated for my disease with medical marijuana, and I would absolutely vape rather than smoke.

Also, wtf chemicals does it have in it? It's a plant. From the ground. It's not like a cigarette at all. They actually add chemicals to cigarettes. What are you even talking about it?

Dude, it's clear you have no place having an opinion on this topic. You have no idea what you're talking about whatsoever. Having an opinion based on this sort of thinking is dangerous. I mean on ANY topic. You should have opinions on things you understand and have studied. But you should have an open mind about things about which you know nothing whatsoever, and that's where you find yourself in this conversation.

 

[-Jumpman-]

You're talking out of your ***. It's like you're just used to having strong opinions on things, and so you just have a strong opinion on this too, and say whatever you kinda think might be true and call it true.

Marijuana is FAR safer than tobacco or alcohol.
There has literally never been a single case of death attributed solely to marijuana. Not one. It doesn't happen.

I have never smoked it in my life, so I'm just just naive and only interested in making it legal so I can blaze in peace. I think it's none of the government's business what I do with a plant I can grow myself and consume myself.

Anyone who says alcohol and cigarettes should be legal but marijuana shouldn't is an idiot.



Out of your ***. I have IBS. There are actual MEDICINES and treatments that are the BEST remedy for IBS. You are just saying things you heard once.


You're suggesting that something should be illegal because if you do unwise things while using it, it can be dangerous?

So should Ambien be legal? Take 3 ambien and try to fly a plane. YOU ARE A THREAT.
Should tylenol cold be illegal? Knock a few back, operate machinery. YOU ARE A THREAT.
The list goes on, my friend. You have a horrible understanding of this topic, or debating in general.


Marijuana was smoked for centuries before the 1920s. It was banned under false pretenses because of political pressure from the COTTON industry. This wasn't illegal because of truth about dangers. It's political shenanigans, nothing more.
Why is it illegal today? Not cotton this time. It's the alcohol and tobacco industries paying MASSIVE dollars for lobbyists to fight to keep marijuana illegal. You can't grow Smirnoff in your yard. The corporations have a lot to lose.
This has always been about politics, and has nothing to do whatsoever with public safety.

LOL. Most medical users vaporize it these days. If it was legal, I could be treated for my disease with medical marijuana, and I would absolutely vape rather than smoke.

Also, wtf chemicals does it have in it? It's a plant. From the ground. It's not like a cigarette at all. They actually add chemicals to cigarettes. What are you even talking about it?

Dude, it's clear you have no place having an opinion on this topic. You have no idea what you're talking about whatsoever. Having an opinion based on this sort of thinking is dangerous. I mean on ANY topic. You should have opinions on things you understand and have studied. But you should have an open mind about things about which you know nothing whatsoever, and that's where you find yourself in this conversation.

Incomplete combustion leads to damaging chemicals. So yes, while it's not as dangerous as ciggs, it does have a significant effect on the lungs etc.

 

[Pluvia]

And again, X thing is more dangerous than Y, therefore Y should be legal, isn't a good argument.

 

[Melomaniacal]

Also, just on the point of marijuana and social acceptability:

Uh... marijuana is pretty damn socially acceptable. Maybe not amongst your parents and their generation, but really, it doesn't take much to see how much of a cultural force marijuana is. Stoner comedies, the shear number of users (casual or otherwise), it's just unavoidable. I don't know about you, but I have an incredibly hard time finding ANYONE around my age group who really looks down on marijuana. Sure, this is mostly an argument from personal experience, which is mostly useless, but that seems to be the basis for most anti-marijuana arguments these days anyway ("MY FRIEND SMOKED POT AND NOW HE'S USELESS", etc., etc.).

And again, X thing is more dangerous than Y, therefore Y should be legal, isn't a good argument.

What about "X legal thing is more dangerous than Y, and Y itself is barely harmful at all to begin with, therefore Y should be legal"? Don't just take have the argument and call it bad. The only reason "X" is brought up is because "Y" is already established to be negligibly harmful, while "X" is undeniably harmful AND legal. It is only used to strengthen the point that the "health hazards" of "X" aren't actually a point in why it's illegal. Get it?

 

[Dastrn]

All serious research is demonstrating that marijuana used medically is at least as safe as current pharmaceuticals.

Illegality shouldn't be assumed. The onus should be to prove something should be illegal because of the deleterious effects consumption by one person has on an innocent and uninvolved citizen.
Yes, I believe this to be globally applicable.

 

[Melomaniacal]

All serious research is demonstrating that marijuana used medically is at least as safe as current pharmaceuticals.

Illegality shouldn't be assumed. The onus should be to prove something should be illegal because of the deleterious effects consumption by one person has on an innocent and uninvolved citizen.
Yes, I believe this to be globally applicable.

Honestly, if there's one thing I've learned from my physiological psychology course, it's that prescription medication is absolutely TERRIBLE for you, has horrible side effects, and not uncommonly lead to death. You know what doesn't include any of these things? Marijuana. It's not just "at least as safe as current pharmaceuticals," it's by a large margin safer. I'd even argue that marijuana is safer than most over-the-counter medication. Seriously.

 

[Glöwworm]

Incomplete combustion leads to damaging chemicals. So yes, while it's not as dangerous as ciggs, it does have a significant effect on the lungs etc.

Any form of smoke going into your lungs is harmful. Period. That is why you get educated and get a vaporizer.

 

[Fuelbi]

I'm gonna bank and say that booze and pot are both equally dangerous to each other. The only reason why it's dangerous to begin with is because most people don't have any idea what the word moderation means and instead drinking a bit of beer or smoke a bit of pot, they go overboard and get themselves *** faced and do crazy ****. I'm pretty sure that if you smoke a bit of pot then you won't be stoned as if you drank like a bottle or two of beer

I'm not 100% sure if that can happen with weed where the amount that you get high depends on the amount consumed though

 

[Glöwworm]

I'm gonna bank and say that booze and pot are both equally dangerous to each other. The only reason why it's dangerous to begin with is because most people don't have any idea what the word moderation means and instead drinking a bit of beer or smoke a bit of pot, they go overboard and get themselves *** faced and do crazy ****. I'm pretty sure that if you smoke a bit of pot then you won't be stoned as if you drank like a bottle or two of beer

I'm not 100% sure if that can happen with weed where the amount that you get high depends on the amount consumed though

You're definitely banking here. Booze and pot are nowhere comparable in how dangerous they are. You do have to consider moderation with everything. Drink too much water and you'll be really sick or most likely dead due to poisoning. However, with cannabis, unlike alcohol, you can do a lot of it and not die. Get really ****ed up? Yes. But die because of this? No. As for doing crazy ****, alcohol is the primary suspect here. With cannabis, there's two different kinds of strains. The first one is called sativa and this type of high is mostly celebral. This strain gives a feeling of optimism and makes you feel good. It's also known to have a spacey and hallucinogenic effect which I'm assuming is the most popular where people are 'tripping balls.' Then there's the indica strain which essentially makes you a couch potato. You will never see a person under the influence of an indica strain running around naked while screaming at the top of their lungs unlike alcohol.

Also, to further add to my previous post, I forgot about edibles. Edibles are another way to avoid smoking but because the THC is absorbed by your digestive track, the high is more intense and lasts longer. Unfortunately, people eat too much and end up not being able to handle the high because you don't feel the effects of the THC almost immediately like with smoking or vaping.

 

[Melomaniacal]

Booze and pot equally bad?

Face palm... extreme face palm.

 

[Pluvia]

What about "X legal thing is more dangerous than Y, and Y itself is barely harmful at all to begin with, therefore Y should be legal"? Don't just take have the argument and call it bad. The only reason "X" is brought up is because "Y" is already established to be negligibly harmful, while "X" is undeniably harmful AND legal. It is only used to strengthen the point that the "health hazards" of "X" aren't actually a point in why it's illegal. Get it?

But what you should be saying is lets make X illegal.

Alcohol and cigs are bad for you, and no matter how much you dress it up so is pot when it comes down to it. It's not as bad as the first 2 by a long shot, but it's still worse than not smoking it altogether, so saying "Well those 2 are pretty bad so lets just make it worse" isn't a good argument for legality.

 

[Glöwworm]

OMG. I am a bit annoyed right now. I wrote up a huge reply towards Pluvia and Smashboards crapped out. I might try again and post it later <_<

 

[Melomaniacal]

But what you should be saying is lets make X illegal.

Alcohol and cigs are bad for you, and no matter how much you dress it up so is pot when it comes down to it. It's not as bad as the first 2 by a long shot, but it's still worse than not smoking it altogether, so saying "Well those 2 are pretty bad so lets just make it worse" isn't a good argument for legality.

I can agree to that. If you are going to say marijuana should be illegal, I believe you HAVE to also say cigarettes and alcohol should be illegal. I can understand and accept that. I can't accept an anti-marijuana argument if you are also pro alcohol/cigarettes.

However, marijuana also has more benefits than alcohol and cigarettes. I might even go as far as to argue that marijuana's benefits outweigh its negative aspects. The more I think about it, the more willing I am to make that argument.

 

[Dastrn]

Alcohol can directly kill you.

Ask Amy Winehouse about that. And a few MILLION other people who have died ONLY from alcohol. (NOT from doing something stupid while drunk. The alcohol itself.)

Marijuana has never killed a single person.

 

[-Jumpman-]

Any form of smoke going into your lungs is harmful. Period. That is why you get educated and get a vaporizer.

1) Not true, complete combustion leads to CO2 and H2O (example), and isn't necessarily harmful.
2) I just said (although you might not have understood) that smoking marijuana is harmful, so get your **** straight.

 

[GreenKirby]

Whether mary-jane is dangerous or not, the fact of the matter is that the Obama Administration is under the influence of the tobacco industry and is too much of coward to do anything about it.

 

[Glöwworm]

Can you believe this? http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/12/medical_marijuana_patients_opp.php