Posted on 02/05/2013 7:59:15 AM PST by Cheerio
Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Jared Polis to introduce bill Tuesday to end prohibition
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
HUH?? (Mouth breathing)
The gateway claim is nonsense - research shows that the correlation between earlier marijuana use and later use of other drugs can be explained by a "common-factor" model, that is, a third factor that causes both results, such as individuals' opportunities and unique propensities to use drugs, or more broadly a social or psychological predisposition towards anti-social behavior. (http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB6010/index1.html, http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors253.pdf)
Also note that the same sort of correlation between earlier marijuana and later harder drugs also exists between earlier alcohol and tobacco and later illegal drugs - so if marijuana is a "gateway" so are alcohol and tobacco.
Alcohol is a physical addiction, marijuana is a psychological addiction. Detoxing from hardcore marijuana use won't kill you, alcohol on the other hand? Have you ever witnessed a person first hand in the throes of DT's? Probably not or you would not have made your statement.
"Easier" is a relative term - the War On Manufactured Drugs appears to be failing. But I do agree that ending the War On Disapproved Plants would leave the other war that much less unwinnable.
Just that the war on drugs or pot is not the root cause of our problems today. It goes back much further than the 60’s and pot is the least likely culprit.
Both you and monty need to study some history before you go spouting off.
I think it will have to be a wait and see to be honest. I think more lefties are out in the open with their usage while more conservative types just want to be left alone and don’t want to telegraph their business. While the blue states will most likely lead the legalization front, they usually get it wrong first as well. CA is a prime example. Last time I was out there I was actually amazed at how many people were against the “shops” springing up everywhere. I think CA got it wrong by the whole wink-wink “medicinal” thing. Bottom line, legalize it and leave it to the individual to decide what to do with their body.
Here comes the dem Tax & Regulation brigade.
I’m no fan of pot, but even I knew Reefer Madness was ridiculous.
The first big lie about pot is addiction.
Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, most of my friends smoked it, but I didnt’. I thought it would make me stupid, cause birth defects, etc. Well, being politically minded and loving to prove the other side wrong, I decided that the subject of a report I was doing in my senior year would be “The Evils of Marijuana”. This was early 1972.
Anyway, the results of my research at the time is that everything “negative” was either speculation or BS. It’s not that it isn’t bad for you, but that everything we were being told back then was just like all the crap we’re being told about Global Warming today.
And December of ‘72 I took my first toke. In ‘77 I stopped. It just ran it’s course. I suppose my becoming a Christian in 1981 is why I’ve NEVER touched it since.
But it is not the gateway drug everyone claims it is, and time has shown me that a LOT of people use it “socially” and actually function VERY well in society. My main problem with it is that it’s like alcohol but the ONLY reason to use it is to get “drunk”. You don’t smoke pot the way a person would have a single glass of single malt. The whole point is to get stoned. (obviously I’m not including medicinal use here.)
Better update your list - I count at least 22 FReepers who posted to this thread on the pro-legalization side (and 18 antis).
Your post reminded me of what I’ve been thinking as I read a lot of judgemental posts here: I always thought divorced people were second class citizens. I really didn’t have much respect for them. Then it happened to me. And I mean “it happened to me”. I cut people a LOT of slack now.
We are all too quick to judge others “not like us”. Jesus was very clear: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” When People call drug users scum, in my head I ask, “Who isn’t? Who has not sinned?”
We seem to love to escalate the sins of others that just don’t happen to be our area of temptation. The fat tea totaler ridicules the drinker. The drinker ridicules the fat “glutton”. And on it goes...
We have 20,000,000 or more alcholics in this country...why not legalize POT and add another 10,000,000 pot heads like you see in Amsterdam and the Middle East? Legalize Cocaine too while you’re at it?
I’ve tried both. They really are different. BTW, I’d like to see the stats on the Amsterdam “pot heads”, whatever that actually means.
I get the feeling a few people here took Reefer Madness way too seriously. They actually remind me of me back in the early 70’s, when everyone EXCEPT me was using it and I was sure they were all going to die of drug overdoses someday.
Time has proven me dead wrong.
Not that I don’t think it’s stupid to use it, but I have my own vices. I don’t need to judge others based on theirs.
My attitude regarding this whole thread is summed up in this G. K Chesterson quote:
“The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.”
Are we free men?
But - as usual - the facts speak for themselves. Just look at the headline:
Dems move to change federal pot laws
As always... It is the liberal leftist democraps who are pushing this agenda. As we know - there are NO CREDIBLE conservatives who argue for relaxing drug laws either at the state or federal level.
There’s some pro-legalizers that aren’t total loons. Maybe 10 or so. The others are wingnut crazy like yourself.
He’s keeping a count of the pro-democrat move.
Remember, this is a DEMOCRAT move. And the anti-democrat party ones are getting bashed on this thread.
That just say no guy is a paid shill for NORML. All he does troll threads with his pro-dope agenda. Ignore him.
It’s amazing. He used to be MrLeroy back in the day and then came back to push the democrat agenda. DU is cheering polis and the other dem like nuts.
This is a democrat issue. We have democrats here that are RINOs of the worst kind that are pushing that agenda.
MrLeRoy?
I had no idea. But you’re right. Same troll then. Same troll now.
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:mrleroy/index?tab=comments;brevity=full;options=no-change
Wonder what he got the zot for back then. Better question: When will he get a new zot now?
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