Posted on 05/10/2005 2:33:54 PM PDT by bassmaner
"I think it would be wise to advise your friend to sober up before driving."
Has this ever worked for you? Please let me know how you've accomplished this.
"I hope you're not driving around with your buddies under the influence."
Observing that it does happen does not equate with advocating the behavior. That said, if I were forced to choose which I'd rather encounter on the highway, a drunk or a pot smoker, I'd choose the pot smoker.
I smoked the evil weed for nearly 30 years.. Want to know what I learned from it?
It makes you lazy & stupid... and paranoid.
But still, I agree that it should be legal. Booze is far more dangerous. The WOP (war on pot) is a huge waste of resources.
I don't smoke it anymore. I haven't for a number of years now because I no longer enjoy how it makes me feel (lazy, paranoid and stupid). I wouldn't advise anyone to start smoking it any more than I would suggest someone start smoking Camels or drinking heavily.
But should people go to jail for it?
Nah...
"Has this ever worked for you? Please let me know how you've accomplished this."
Discuss rationally. If they are too stoned/drunk to listen to reason then physically stop them if necessary. Yes, I have done this and it does work. At the very least, you shouldn't step into the car with them.
Nope, just popcorn and soda.
Ever had one of your 2 kids drive you home from the bar?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1400477/posts
"i gave up my 7 year ounce a day habit"
either that is a typo, or you did nothing from smoke from noone till night, or you are full of BS.
I know very heavy smokers (my connection for one) and I doubt if he goes through an ounce a week. Not to mention a good ounce of pot goes for over $200 bucks around here
"...a drunk or a pot smoker, I'd choose the pot smoker."
Me, too. And I do not advocate their behavior, I just can't see where anything I would say would change their behavior, even as their friend. Nothing they ever said to me changed my behavior and I drove under the influence UNTIL I got caught, and haven't since. Thankfully, no one was injured, just totalled my car.
At the same time, I have to smile. I think NR waxes libertarian quite consciously when they want to draw in more South Park conservatives.
A very sane and reasonable approach. I would ask you this, though: how is it that you define conservatism that would preclude libertarianism as well? Limited governance at the federal (parliamentary?) level of necessity means that a great deal of the goings on within a given society are handled at increasingly local levels. Issues in the moral realm are (or should be) handled by that locality, without the involvement of a legal system, assuming individual rights are upheld. Obviously, I see no inherent conflict between the two, conservative and libertarian.
recently read a study about this, smoking pot vs alcohol in coordination, sensory perception and reaction time. It found booze was much MUCH worse. Not saying I want pot heads out on the roads driving.
OK going to look for link to that information now
I've swilled my share of beer in my time, but I've never touched an illegal drug. That being said, I'd give pot a try maybe if it were made legal. I really think it's senseless to have it be illegal, and I think it's the height of idiocy to not give Doctors the option of prescribing it for pain management, etc.
"If it was available at bars then you'd probably instead be saying that you'd prefer to encounter someone high on cocaine on the road rather than a stoner or a drunk."
I base the observation on past experience with college friends who were fairly heavy smokers. A "high" of any kind is going to involve sensory distortion of some sort... if that weren't the case, there would be no reason to seek it out, it would be no different from everyday experience. As far as auditory and/or visual hallucinations are concerned, I don't know what you've smoked in the past, but it sure wasn't straight up marijuana. Based, again, upon personal experience, someone who has consumed large amounts of alcohol has severely impaired reaction times and motor coordination in general, and has greatly reduced inhibitions which leads to very risky behavior, behind the wheel of a car or not. Marijuana is, in my observation, more of an inward thing, yourself and close friends. Little impairment of motor skills, increased inhibitions which would imply a lessened likelihood of risky behavior, behind the wheel or otherwise. Cocaine has its own problems, chiefly among those problems would be that it is highly addictive, unlike marijuana. So, this attempt to create the appearance that I'm just some sort of easily-dismissed drug apologist doesn't hold water. If you're opposed to all mind-altering substances on principle, that's fine by me; I would hope that you could see your way past that opposition to understand that there actually are merits to this discussion.
"recently read a study about this, smoking pot vs alcohol in coordination, sensory perception and reaction time. It found booze was much MUCH worse."
Seems rather difficult to make an objective comparison in an experiment and I have the suspicion that study was likely set up to validate a pro-cannabis viewpoint. How are you going to compare quantities? One bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 = one joint? Doesn't seem very scientific. The only valid comparision would be to make pot available in bars and restaurants and see what happens. Anything else seems pretty meaningless.
In what you said above, very little. Both ideologies stem from the classical liberalism of the 19th century, from the writings of Stuart Mill, Burke and the Framers, what difference there is, is very difficult to tell.
I think the real difference is an abstract one, conservatives regard tradition as the mainstay of society, while libertarians regard the free market as the mainstay.
But with the relatively new ideologies of neoliberalism (e.g Thatcherism) and neoconservatism becoming part and parcel of conservatism, and with libertarians becoming more realistic about immigration and national security, I believe the differences are rapidly closing.
Alcohol is a CNS depressant. Cannabis is a CNS stimulant but tends to relax, which is why it is so effective on migraine headaches (smoke pot and that headache is gone).
Cannabis has no effect on reaction time. In large amounts it does have an effect on focus, but in smaller amounts it has the effect of strengthening focus.
"and with libertarians becoming more realistic about immigration and national security"
If the "big L" Libertarians weren't so incredibly naive about immigration and national security, I would be Libertarian. As it stands, I vote for the Libertarian candidate only when little is at stake, and swing Republican when it matters. Not that Republicans are acting all that conservative or libertarian of late, but the alternative is absolutely totalitarian, which is far worse in my book.
"hide 'de white wimmin" bump
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