Posted on 11/05/2004 1:38:10 PM PST by Ahriman
. . and neither should you!
"It impairs learning, motivation, and productivity. / Our culture doesn't need another mechanism to convey to our youth that drugs are an acceptable form of recreation. / There is no upside. / And don't whine to me about law enforcement and prisons. / Rather, look at Holland, Norway, & Sweeden and tell me how many of their social problems you would like to import."
Larry, common sense observations such as yours have no place in discussions such as these :)
Yeah, it's buried right next to the research on that carburetor that delivered 200 miles/gal.
Certainly Marinol can be used by these people?
Give the man a see-gar! He figured it out.
"Pot is a Miracle Drug" research papers are abounding because these people see their government research money slipping away to the "Embryonic Stem Cells are the New Miracle Drugs" researchers.
This funding would consist of whatever government money is left over after previously funding the "Cold Fusion is the New Energy Source" researchers.
B) "Legalizing and controlling marijuana is a no brainer.
Since you brought up the subject of no brains, can you tell me how it is you find statements "A" and "B" to be compatible with each other?
No. We've simply learned from our experience with alcohol that banning alcohol caused more problems than it solved. Alcohol prohibition lasted what, 13 short years?
Marijuana has been illegal for almost 70 years now with no end in sight. Marijuana use dropped over 60% from its high point in 1979.
The rough drafts were written on hemp paper, historians believe. The final documents were written on parchment, which is an excellent material.
At least. It was at that level when it was illegal.
In today's society, legalization carries with it an implied societal acceptance. People have the attitude of, "Hey, it's legal, I can do it, and don't you impose your morals on me."
How many times have we heard or read, "Yes, I did that. But it's not illegal!" Like that's the only standard.
Your neighbor is wrong. There is a visual test of the pupil that acts as an acuurate starting point. As reliably as alchohol roadside sobriety tests. It can open the door for justifying a blood test or saliva smear or a piss test.
Let's seeeeee......
We like reality, we like our loved ones alive rather than killed by drunk and stoned drivers, we don't like living in single-wide trailers with other trash, we believe that every brain cell is precious, we are still "high" from the election, and we believe in handling our problems head on rather than hallucinating them away...
Got it now, POTHEAD!
Jail the illegal recreational users and allow use only to the sick and dying who need it.
"Jail the illegal recreational users and allow use only to the sick and dying who need it."
*Cough cough, sneeze sneeze*
C'mon Doc, I'm like sick and stuff...
Heh. Seriously, though. As a conservative and a pothead, I've given a good amount of thought to both sides of this issue and I'm still up in the air about it. While I think that legalizing pot would generate a lot of tax revenue there are a few problems that I can see with it. One of them is the fact that there is currently no "scientific" method that I'm aware of to do things like roadside testing, unlike a DWI, where it is pretty easy to scientificially ascertain what someone's blood alcohol content is. Another one is the fact that pot makes you put on weight, not take it off, and we are not exactly known as a nation of thin people. The biggest problem with pot is that to a segment of the population, it is indeed addictive. The last time that I quit smoking for a few weeks I went through an extemely unpleasent physicial sensation. It wasn't like detoxing from "hard drugs" but it was a pretty tense, sweaty palmed experiance and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty much on edge for the whole 10 days. Another down side is it sets a precedance for the legalization of "harder drugs".
On the positive side, I honestly don't think that smoking pot has any long term detriment, at least any worse then smoking cigarettes. I can retain gainful employment and be a professional and productive member of society. I think that legalizing weed would be a powerful political manuever by a politicial party in the next 20 years, and whichever party does this will be the party to finally crack the youth vote. Trust me on this. I also think there could be a steady stream of revenue generated from this.
Smoking pot might not be best thing for you, or even the smartest thing to do. But God help us if we turn into a nation of people that demands that everyone wakes up at 5am for prayer and excercise. I believe the governments role should be one of general governance, not intrusion into people's lives and insistance upon conformity under penalty of punishment.
Oh, by the way, earlier in the thread, there was something of a disagreement over the effects of driving stoned. I'm certainly not advocating it but it is honestly not much differant then driving with a sinus infection.
Just say no and be happy.
Why hemp?
Back when hemp was grown nationwide, it was for a variety of uses. Rope, as you mentioned. Clothing is another. Certainly paper.
But there are better materials now for all of these applications. Bringing back hemp just for making paper seems rather silly. Plus, it would mean massive manufacturing retooling, altering production cycles to harvesting cycles, and really screwing up the recycling program (38% of the paper market).
You want my opinion? The only reason for the hullabaloo in "hemp as paper" is like the push for "medical" marijuana -- to immunize the public against their objection to the cannabis plant. It's a "camel's nose" approach to marijuana legalization.
Nothing else explains this sudden interest in hemp (and the sudden interest in the medical uses of marijuana).
A little test. Find for me one pro-marijuana (a different product, I'm sure you agree) web site that is against hemp.
- An unproven hypothesis.
No, one well proven by history; heard of Prohibition?
Alcohol at least has thousands of years of western experience with it's use so we, as a society, have built a set of rules around it - and even then it's a major damaging factor in many peoples lives.
Prohibition was more damaging still, which is why we ended it ... as we should end the current marijuana ban.
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