Notice I give you links and you can either believe the source or not. Tried not to use just U.S, gov facts (since so many here complain about that) but we have done a lot of research over the years and its not the politicians that do the tests its science & people just like you & I. Colleges everywhere contribute there findings, so just because it has the gov label it shouldnt make you paranoid unless you distrust all the schools & labs & scientists in the country. A lot more research is being done now but it doesnt look good for the pot smoker so far, sorry.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-31-marijuana-study_N.htm
I just read another person on here say first med. Then decriminalization then legalization. I am anticipating that effort as well.
I Dont compare alcohol prohibition because alcohol was around and widely accepted & by the rest of the world, then all the sudden taken away. so to me thats quite a bit different. Btw;(A glass of red wine a day is good for you. It contains anti-oxidants, and the most important of these is resveratrol. It keeps your arteries clear of plaque therefore reducing the risk of heart disease).
Regulation; who will sell? Experience with taxing alcohol and tobacco show us that any attempt to pay for lost costs through taxes would be futile. Indeed the social costs of legalization outweigh any possible tax that could be levied against the drug. In 1999, state and federal governments gained about $11 billion from alcohol taxes -- but direct health care costs amounted to four times that much, notwithstanding the costs to the criminal justice system, federal entitlement programs, and loss of productivity (U.S. Census Bureau 1999 and 2000; CASA 1996). Tobacco was worse -- the $13 billion in federal and state tobacco tax revenue in 1999 was one sixth of the $75 billion in direct health care costs attributable to tobacco (U.S. Census Bureau 1999 and 2000; CASA 1996).
from your same link you used; http://www.rand.org/news/press.02/gateway.html
“Marijuana typically comes first because it is more available. Once we incorporated these facts into our mathematical model of adolescent drug use, we could explain all of the drug use associations that have been cited as evidence of marijuana's gateway effect “
the study does not conclude that marijuana should be legalized or decriminalized. "Even without the effects of a marijuana gateway, relaxing marijuana prohibitions could affect the incidence of hard drug use by diminishing the stigma of drug use generally, thereby increasing adolescents' willingness to try hard drugs," Morral said. "Moreover, marijuana itself can be a serious problem for those who become dependent on it."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction
if it gets you high it can be addicitve or call it a dependency. This is especially a problem the younger you are. Young people will still get drugs if its legalized thru the same black market they always have. Why would that change? it will only get worse as pot is more widely accepted.
what scares me is when its laced with other drugs...oh so thats why we should regulate it, Which brings me back to the black market which is well established and its easier to hide pot then alcohol was. If I was a dealer why would I only sell pot since you can make so much more on the other stuff.?
Is Marijuana a safe drug.? http://www.nursinglink.com/training/articles/2084-is-your-patient-in-marijuana-withdrawal
Marina Goldman, MD; Dimitri Markov, MD; Elisabeth J.S. Kunkel, MD; Ron Ehrman, PhD
Dr. Goldman is an addiction fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Markov is assistant professor of psychiatry and Dr. Kunkel is professor of psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Ehrman is associate clinical professor of psychology, University of Pennsylvania.
Marijuana-dependent patients often report that withdrawal symptoms hinder their attempts to quit and trigger relapse. Up to 95% of marijuana users report withdrawal symptoms during abstinence, and you can gauge a patient’s withdrawal risk by knowing how much cannabis he or she has used.1
Light to heavy use
Using greater amounts of marijuana, meeting criteria for abuse or dependence, and a history of chronic use (>10 years) increase the risk of developing clinically significant withdrawal symptoms.1,2
Light use —smoking ≤2 joints/day on fewer than 4 days a week—is associated with low withdrawal risk.1
Moderate use—2 to 3 joints almost daily—results in significant withdrawal symptoms in 50% to 60% of marijuana users, with the higher rate associated with chronic use.1,2
Heavy use—≥4 joints daily or almost daily—usually results in significant withdrawal symptoms.1
Symptoms
Marijuana withdrawal is associated with neurovegetative symptoms, such as loss of appetite that can result in transient weight loss; trouble sleeping or sleep disrupted by strange dreams; and physical malaise, such as abdominal discomfort, chills, and feeling “shaky.”1 Patients may also report psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, or depressed mood.2
Most studies show irritability, appetite changes, sleep disruption, and anxiety occur more frequently than craving, abdominal discomfort, and increased sex drive during marijuana abstinence.1 One preliminary study found that women were more likely to describe abdominal discomfort and men were more likely to report marijuana craving and increased sex drive during withdrawal.3
Withdrawal symptoms usually begin 24 to 48 hours after patients’ last marijuana use, and most resolve within 2 to 4 weeks. In some cases, anxiety and irritability can persist >4 weeks.
While I agree you could overdose from water easier then marjuana, it is a drug. And all drugs have side effects. So is it safe? Can you mix it with other drugs? Like alcohol? Since all people are different I think its very dangerous, but maybe not demonic.
Many young people smoke pot before their brain developement is settled and their chronic use of the drug can affect certain centers in the brain that control emotion and reason. Research shows that regular use of marijuana may also lead to mental health problems. Youth who use marijuana weekly have double the risk of depression later in life and three times more likely than nonusers to have suicidal thoughts. Marc Galanter MD Director, Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, New York University Medical Center.
Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be promoted by marijuana smoke. Marijuana has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.
http://www.nida.nih.gov/researchreports/marijuana/Marijuana3.html
No one has EVER died from marijuana use. How do you know? How could you get an accurate estimate?
Wheres the source for all your estimates? Since you do not trust the government you have second hand info at best, and theres lots of bogus info on the internet from pot smokers who sit in front of there computers and there product.
The Netherlands has led Europe in the liberalization of drug policy. “Coffee shops” began to emerge throughout the Netherlands in 1976, offering marijuana products for sale. Possession and sale of marijuana are not legal, but coffee shops are permitted to operate and sell marijuana under certain restrictions, including a limit of no more than 5 grams sold to a person at any one time, no alcohol or hard drugs, no minors, and no advertising. In the Netherlands, it is illegal to sell or possess marijuana products. So coffee shop operators must purchase their marijuana products from illegal drug trafficking organizations.
Furthermore, drug abuse has increased in the Netherlands. From 1984 to 1996, marijuana use among 18-25 year olds in Holland increased twofold. Since legalization of marijuana, heroin addiction levels in Holland have tripled and perhaps even quadrupled by some estimates.
The increasing use of marijuana is responsible for more than increased crime. It has widespread social implications as well. The head of Holland’s best-known drug abuse rehabilitation center has described what the new drug culture has created: The strong form of marijuana that most of the young people smoke, he says, produces “a chronically passive individual—someone who is lazy, who doesn’t want to take initiatives, doesn’t want to be active—the kid who’d prefer to lie in bed with a joint in the morning rather than getting up and doing something.”
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/demand/speakout/09so.htm
Dr. Fletcher Brothers runs a Freedom Village, a faith-based organization that is the largest privately owned home for troubled teenagers in the country. And Dr. Brothers has been doing that for three decades. He's seen a lot of teens mess up their lives. And this is what he had to say about marijuana: "Never once, after dealing with thousands and thousands of addicts, have I ever dealt with a heroin addict, a cocaine addict, or anybody else that didn't start with marijuana."
medical marijuana laws; real problems from the DEA’s experience in other states. For example, two investigations involving “medical” marijuana clubs demonstrate that purported “medical” use only hides everyday drug dealing. The clubs’ owners cultivated and distributed significant amounts of “medical” marijuana in the area, not only to “patients,” but to anyone who wanted to buy it. In one of the investigations, a witness claims to have seen more than 4,000 plants being cultivated inside one of the clubs. In the second case, approximately 979 plants and several pounds of processed marijuana were seized during the execution of a Federal search warrant. One of the owners admitted that he rented the property and grew the marijuana for his 120 “patients.” In addition to the contraband that was seized, documents indicating that the grower had made $140,000 in profits from his drug dealing were also seized. http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct041504.html
Anyone seeking to grow marijuana must apply for registration as a manufacturer pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 823(a). http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr980312.htm
http://www.pathguy.com/lxa/cannabis.txt
Ed Friedlander, M.D.
SMOKING MARIJUANA IS UNHEALTHY
long-term effects on the brain.
Users frequently report problems with short-term memory, both
while using and between uses. Short-term memory is the most
fragile brain function, and this spontaneous observation tells me
that something real is happening. The mental aftereffects of a pot
high are measurable, and are commensurate with the aftereffects of
a drunken debauch (Psychopharmacology 115: 340, 1994).
The active component of cannabis (tetrahydrocannabinol), when
administered for five days or more, is now known to greatly
increase the numbers of cannabinoid receptors, and to alter their
chemical binding characteristics (Pharm. Bioch. Behav. 51: 731,
1995). We don't know what this means yet, except that it's clear
that using cannabis does alter the molecular structure of the
brain. Although we don't know what the cannabinoid receptors do
for us in health, they must be there for a reason. And smoking
cannabis alters them.
A marijuana smoker's performance on tests of thinking and
coordination is impaired while on the drug (J. Exp. Anal. Behav.
62: 73, 1994; Psych. Res. 51: 115, 1994). Contrary to what you may
have heard, it's clear that marijuana smoking does impair a user's
ability to drive a car safely (NEJM 332: 892, 1995).
The effects of marijuana smoking on the unborn child are
unknown. A group of scientists in Madrid has found long-term
behavioral damage in rats exposed in the womb to cannabis (Pharm.
Bioch. Behav. 47: 47, 1994). This is in keeping with the idea of
real damage, albeit milder, in adult users.
In conclusion; Society isn't exactly going uphill but you might be an exceptional person who can do a lot even stoned but thats probably not going to lead you to discover the cure for cancer. who knows, it's much more likely for that to happen if you are clean in mind and body.
good things:u can sell drugs than make a war on drugs for $
prisons which fund towns make $ off arrested
druggies,therefore good for townfolk!
u can use drugs for enhancement in sports
drugs can be used medically
u can manipulate people to give u $
u can make people stupid then take advantage
u can make ur kids addicts then take advantage
u can kill evil people by o d ing them
u can sell drugs purposely to african american dense cities to make $ for weapons to kill people that are (supposedly) evil
u can kill good people(if u want) by o d ing them
when ur high sometimes its fun
u can live the american dream by selling drugs
u can make a girl an addict, then u can make her do things u want
drugs save people sometimes
the people at stop the drugwar.com will support u sometimes
badthings:prisons make $ off townfolk and are richer than every1 else!
drugs can be used medically wrong and used to get high for fun, and u end up dumb and drop out of school
drugs are for commies!
drugs are for capitalist pigs!
u can get killed by being od
u might be a girl and might be taken advantage of through drugs
after being high # of times its not as fun anymore
ur parents might force you to be high so they can take advantage of you
u might end up in prison where u get sodomized and are forced to shove coke in ur anus
Drugs,Drugs,Drugs.....
