Posted on 10/09/2014 3:06:56 PM PDT by CharlesOConnell
Tea is a highly ceremonialized substance for human consumption. It’s only mildly addictive, but like much more addictive substances—tobacco & heroin—the importance of the ceremonial attribute of human substance consumption, needs to be recognized in the abstract and applied to the cannabis issue currently under consideration.
Mother Superior Jumped the Gun. Some former junkies of my acquaintance, recounted that they habitually vomited as they were being driven to their pusher—they associated the location with becoming intoxicated on heroin.
Cannabis should be examined in common with consumption substances with strong cultural connotations, like a substance unfamiliar to westerners but widely used in remote parts of the world: Khat (Ghat), used widely in south Asia and Africa.
Various irrational attitudes toward cannabis should be accounted for. One of most significant is that it would be contrary to the vast majority of pharmacological experience, if cannabis were at the same time, harmless, and yet medicinally effective.
In other words, cannabis cannot be of any medicinal use, if it doesn’t have side-effects. Claims to this effect place cannabis in the category of panacea, like patent medicines. In view of recent pesticide poisoning cases, it should be compared with a widespread patent medicine, Calomel, a heavy-metal, mercury based medication once taken internally.
Cannabis is a culturally, highly ceremonialized substance. Take a look at an issue of High Times, a magazine which uniformly presents cannabis as a panacea.
Hard cases make bad law. If there is to be a rational discourse on the institution--why complain that the law doesn't protect you in big things, if you flout it in little ones?--changes to the laws we use to regulate ourselves should be conducted without sentimentality.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacra-pizza-man.org ...
The link takes you to an article that says that “Teenage Cannabis Smoking ‘Permanently Lowers IQ’”
That, I can agree with. Pot also reduces energy and ambition, and tends to destroy the possibility of a decent career.
Its amazing how profound I sounded to myself when I was high. If I heard it said back to me when I was straight it sounded like I might run out and vote democrat.
Dave’s not here (Cheech & Chong).
Sometime in the future another study will be released proving that POT causes cancer, impotence ,poor night vision and bad luck at the Vegas crap tables. No one will believe it. No one will care.
What factors guarantee a “decent career”?
Plenty of middle class folks have lost benefits, pensions and ultimately jobs, due to factors independent of their performance or use of any substances (including alcohol).
If that is the standard, then maybe we should evaluate the effects of granting tariff waivers like MFN status to third-world countries like China, in the same light.
I would agree with random drug-testing of all legislators, using the same logic.
The DSM used to classify 'amotivational syndrome' with cannabis use, but many health organizations have dismissed this.
Having once been a heavy marijuana user, I can attest that I was heavily stricken with what used to be called 'amotivational syndrome.' The symptoms matched me to a tee:
As this is on the Florida ballot in November, I've come out strongly against its legalization and have been called a coward and hypocrite by people I used to call friend. Marijuana is going to dumb down our population to the point that meaningful discourse is useless and our elected officials become princes vs. representatives.
Tea isn’t mildly addictive. I have drinking it daily for 45 years and I’ve never noticed that symptom at all.
While some have claimed that chronic use of cannabis causes amotivational syndrome in some users, empirical studies suggest that there is no such thing as “amotivational syndrome”, per se. From a World Health Organization report:
The evidence for an “amotivational syndrome” among adults consists largely of case histories and observational reports (e.g. Kolansky and Moore, 1971; Millman and Sbriglio, 1986). The small number of controlled field and laboratory studies have not found compelling evidence for such a syndrome (Dornbush, 1974; Negrete, 1983; Hollister, 1986)... (I)t is doubtful that cannabis use produces a well defined amotivational syndrome. It may be more parsimonious to regard the symptoms of impaired motivation as symptoms of chronic cannabis intoxication rather than inventing a new psychiatric syndrome. [1]
A study done by researchers Barnwell, Earleywine and Wilcox[1] also suggests that cannabis use does not cause an amotivational syndrome. The e-mail survey showed no significant difference in motivation (as measured on the Apathy Evaluation Scale[2]) between cannabis users and cannabis abstainers.
Did you leave out “the munchies”?
FMCDH(BITS)
Marijuana is going to dumb down our population to the point that meaningful discourse is useless and our elected officials become princes vs. representatives
The frequency with which this claim is rebutted is in inverse proportion to the frequency with which it is actually made. If government bans everything that is not harmless, welcome to the Gulag.
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