Obama: Marijuana a 'bad habit and a vice,' no more dangerous than alcohol

The Hill ^ | January 20, 2014 | Justin Sink

[Biggirl]

President Obama said in an interview published Sunday he does not believe marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol and that it was “important” that the legalization of the drug in some states to “go forward” because it would prevent unfair penalties for some users.

[MeshugeMikey]

They NEED the young..the Stoned, the Ill Informed... and Podesta will hone in on getting that support.

[riri]

I never understood the attraction for marijuana, except maybe as a sleep aid. I am introspective, paranoid, introverted, lacking in motivation and struggle with procrastination enough, I don't need something that emphasizes these traits.

[what's up]

Mortality associated with marijuana is both indirect and indeterminate

Pot use opens the door to other drugs, many of which are instantly addictive... unlike alchohol. And those drugs have killed plenty.

[Finny]

Thank you kindly! As for me, I really like reading posts like yours where common sense and reliance on SELF and MORALITY take precedence over emotion. In my life, I have seen many, many lives destroyed and much misery caused because of the abuse of alcohol, and it doesn't even remotely compare to the misery (yes, I've seen it) caused by pot. Emotionally, I "think" America would be a better place if it had zero alcohol because I have experienced a few of the very negative, destructive effects of alcohol abuse. But like you, I kind of figured a few things out over the years. It ain't the substance, it's the user.

Modern Americans invest way, way too much power in the substance. The current popular trend is to relieve individuals entirely of any responsibility for the actions they take while under the influence of such drugs, whether it's pot, booze, or "legal" antidepressents. It is a victicrat mentality, and all too often it masquerades as conservatism!!!!!!!

It's why the Founders wrote the Constitution the way they did.

[what's up]

and Podesta will hone in on getting that support.

Yes, an attempt to get the potheads to sign up for ACA by voicing their support for their habit.

What a President SHOULD in fact do is not pontificate about which drug is better or worse than another (alcohol vs. pot) but send a message to kids to not indulge in either one.

Of course our adolescent President doesn't think that way.

[duckman]

Zero brings to mind that commercial ‘This is your brain on drugs’. Probably the reason he is supporting ACA.

[Finny]

Your observations of the two types of pot users squares almost exactly with my own. WELL SAID. Good post.

[MeshugeMikey]

our adolescent pres is addicted ...to ,,in addition to LYING....several substances of note..

[Finny]

Pot use opens the door to other drugs, many of which are instantly addictive ...

Done much in the way of dabbling with addictive drugs? My guess would be "no."

As one who experimented too much with a few of the so-called "instantly addictive" drugs in my wanton youth, and as one who has had literally DOZENS of friends who did likewise, I can tell you with certainty that "instantly addictive" is a semantic trick it behooves the medical community to push, because it means a lot of dough for them from people who invest power in the substance rather than in the mind. VICTICRAT mentality is enabled by the "addiction is a disease" myth.

It's a behavior. Any "disease" whose symptoms can be made to disappear by a simple change in behavior, is a "disease" in wish only.

For what it's worth, I've been "addicted" by any definition to three things: booze, pot, and tobacco. Of the three, pot was BY FAR the most difficult to break, but break it I did, many moons ago. But the reality is that an unhealthy addiction is actually a bad habit. For me, breaking the bad habit of daily habitual pot smoking was MUCH more difficult than breaking the bad habit of drinking (and being tossed in jail or waking up in strange places multiple times with no memory of how I got there!!!!) or smoking cigarettes. Just an interesting observation.

[Gabz]

Pot use opens the door to other drugs, many of which are instantly addictive... unlike alchohol.

You're kidding, right? Instantly addictive? What kind of babble is that. You sound like those self righteous Know(nothing)-it-alls who claim smoking a single cigarette immediately makes you an addict.

[what's up]

No, smoking one cigarette does not make one an addict...and neither does taking one drink make one an alcoholic.

But heroin and meth are in a different class. And kids who die from these were often introduced to the drug culture by smoking pot.

[Ken H]

CA medical marijuana generates $1B/year in revenues, CO over $200M/yr, and there are 18 other states and DC with medical mj. It's been legal for over a year in CO and WA.

Yeah, the cartels are going to show up. Any day now. LOL!

[Jack of all Trades]

Pretty much anything in moderation is harmless. Alcohol is physically addictive, and you can consume a lethal does in minutes.

I don’t consume either substance, so I don’t have any personal skin in the game, but I believe relaxing pot laws will be a benefit to society.

[Fuzz]

“And kids who die from these were often introduced to the drug culture by smoking pot.”

Probably smoked tobacco or drank a beer before the pot though.

[Biggirl]

Well they pretty have not touch it so far.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Pot use? Not particularly. Addictive substances make children more susceptible to other addictive substances, and the younger the children, the easier it is for them to become addicted.

Before brain maturity, anywhere from the age 19-25, exposure to addictive substances may actually permanently affect the development of the brain, making them more susceptible to addiction, and harder for them to break an addiction. Plus, it is now known that if children become addicted to one thing, it becomes easier for them to become addicted to other things.

This is not entirely chemical addiction either. Behaviors such as gambling and other obsessive/compulsive behaviors fit into this paradigm. And addictions are subdivided into both psychological (PSY) and physiological (PHY) effects.

1) Stimulants. Strong PSY dependance, weak PHY.
2) Sedatives and hypnotics. Mild to strong PSY, severe PHY.
3) Opiate and opioid analgesics. Mild to severe, both.

Importantly, substances like caffeine and nicotine are part of this picture, and are rated far stronger than marijuana for their addictive effects.

The bottom line is that there is no direct linkage between marijuana and other drugs; except for the *social* link. That is, if you are in a group that obtains and uses marijuana, they are likely to be involved with other behaviors, some of which are addictive, and some of which are just foolish.

[Grampa Dave]

Ken, a little wake up call here:

Mexico’s drug lords’s best allies in America, Holder and his AG/DEA thugs have been waging a war against medical marijuana dispensaries in California and other states for about 2 years.

DEA letters: Is this how the feds might fight state’s marijuana market ... http://blog.seattlepi.com/marijuana/2013/06/02/dea-letters-is-this-how-the-feds-might-fight-states-marijuana-market/ - 57k - Cached -

Similar pages Jun 2, 2013 ... Medical marijuana providers are all but powerless once one of ... minted laws Feds cracking down on California medical marijuana dispensaries ... http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/feds-cracking-down-on-california-medical-marijuana-dispensaries.html - 219k -

Cached - Similar pages Oct 6, 2011 ... Federal prosecutors are threatening to shut down medical marijuana Feds crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries | www.kirotv.com http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/federal-crackdown-medical-marijuana-dispensaries/nXdjQ/ - 86k -

Cached - Similar pages May 1, 2013 ... The Drug Enforcement Administration has ordered 11 medical marijuana DEA Continues Crackdown on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries ... http://news.yahoo.com/dea-continues-crackdown-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-172506568.html - 230k -

Cached - Similar pages Aug 4, 2013 ... DEA Continues Crackdown on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries ... for the Feds Launch New Crackdown on California Medical Marijuana ... http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/21994/feds-launch-new-crackdown-on-california-medical-marijuana-dispensaries/ - 176k -

Cached - Similar pages Jun 12, 2013 ... Feds Order over 100 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Close ... launched a Marijuana Dispensary Crackdown by Feds in Echo Park, Westlake ... http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/06/marijuana_crackdown_newton_rampart_federal.php - 207k -

Cached - Similar pages Jun 11, 2013 ... Federal authorities today moved to shut down marijuana dispensaries in Echo Breaking News: San Jose Dispensary Landlords Threatened with 40 ... http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2013/04/30/breaking-news-san-jose-dispensary-landlords-threatened-with-40-years-prison-as-feds-marijuana-crackdown-continues - 146k -

Cached - Similar pages Apr 30, 2013 ... A San Jose dispensary operator has informed us that the federal government has Feds Hit LA In Medical Marijuana Crackdown - Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/medical-marijuana-la-feds_n_1916191.html - 191k -

Cached - Similar pages Sep 26, 2012 ... Feds Hit LA In Medical Marijuana Crackdown ... The city’s own ban on Obama’s Justice Department Cracking Down On California Pot Shops http://gawker.com/obamas-justice-department-cracking-down-on-california-486527454 - 66k -

[what's up]

Behaviors such as gambling and other obsessive/compulsive behaviors fit into this paradigm

I don't think gambling or OC disorders are going to land you in a hospital which just a little use.

Same can't be said for hard core drugs. Most hard core drug users started with pot use. Sure, the social circles are the usual introduction. Which is why they should be discouraged, not encouraged.

[Finny]

But heroin and meth are in a different class.

Meth is pure evil. I believe that if Christ was on earth today, he would be found among the meth-heads who need Him so much. I have known way too many meth-heads; knew one whose life was SAVED because of a Christian-minded gentleman who "loved" her into breaking the habit. She told me, and I quote: "He saved my life." The truth is that she saved her own life through Christian-founded values; ultimately, Christ saved her, as He can save us all.

I also have personally spoken with THREE former heroin addicts who decided to break their addiction -- and did, without any outside help, in spite of warnings from so-called experts assuring them they would die quitting if they didn't have help.

I am an addict -- I'm addicted to water, food, and air because without them, I would die. A type 1 diabetic is addicted insulin by injection; without it, the type 1 diabetic dies.

Like the alcohol, heroin, meth, or pot addict, the gambling "addict" is engaging in self-indulgent bad habits that gratify him/her on one level or another. The medical community, however, profits when bad habits and screwed up priorities when it comes to good moral values, are blamed on "addiction" that only the medical community can "cure."

[Grampa Dave]

“Well they pretty have not touch it so far.”

I wouldn’t bet very much that they haven’t touched it yet.

Holder and his thugs have been waging wars on medical pot dispensaries for a few years.

Again cui bono prevails. Who benefits if the medical pot dispensaries are shut down?

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