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GOP Congressman Warns Of The Real Social Ill Destroying American Values: Marijuana
Huffington Post ^ | Sep 26th, 2014 | Elise Foley

Posted on 09/26/2014 6:15:59 PM PDT by Mariner

WASHINGTON -- Conservatives are losing ground on the fight to keep marijuana illegal, a Republican congressman warned in dire terms at the Values Voter Summit.

During a conference mostly focused on religious liberty, abolishing the IRS and promoting small government, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) delivered a full speech on the ills of decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana.

Fleming, a medical doctor, warned of a "growing acceptance" of marijuana -- a fact hard to deny, considering public opinion and state laws. Colorado and Washington state have legalized recreational marijuana, and 23 states and the District of Columbia have allowed the substance for medical use.

(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Colorado; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: cannabis; colorado; johnfleming; libertarians; louisiana; marijuana; medicalmarijuana; pot; rockymountainhigh; wod
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To: Mariner

And marijuana smoking it is not embedded in the Chinese Japanese Taiwanese or Korean tech culture..... So which culture and nation is going to do better over the long haul?

Plus as far as I know the drug of choice in Japan is meth. North Korea seems to be huge in the meth manufacturing business.

More details here. Are the techies in Japan and Korea taking meth. I feel its use is minimal there
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/04/10/japan-land-of-the-rising-crystal-meth/


121 posted on 09/28/2014 9:03:32 AM PDT by dennisw (The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
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To: free_life
The only thing predictable about pot smokers is they giggle a lot and then fall asleep.

You have not been around pot many smoking kids. In some pot can cause quite a bit of irrationality if they perceive you as a threat to their good time. It is true that alcohol can do the same. I have seen both. Alcoholism runs in my family, but I am not for prohibition for the selfish reason that I like a beer every now and then. Everything in moderation.

So here's my question, how do you moderate pot in kids, when they can buy potent seeds on the internet, no questions asked and grow it themselves.

122 posted on 09/28/2014 11:41:14 AM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: palmer

How do you moderate alcohol with kids when they can buy it just about everywhere including on the internet? The same standards should apply for both. Making teens and even kids criminals for smoking pot is beyond crazy. When it comes to kids it is like everything and kids, good parenting vs bad parenting, enough with the nanny state telling people they can’t grow a plant or make brownies. How did govt get the authority to put people in prison over a plant!

Yes it must be illegal to sell any psychoactive substance to minors including alcohol but it should be perfectly legal for adults to grow and consume cannabis just like tomatoes. Govt should never have any authority over growing or the use of plants.

I am glad my kids (grown up now) don’t use pot and are very moderate when drinking alcohol, but I would by far rather they be high on pot than drunk on alcohol.


123 posted on 09/28/2014 1:54:02 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: free_life

” but I would by far rather they be high on pot than drunk on alcohol.”

I know nothing about pot but agree with you.

Alcohol destroyed a few members of my family.Very dangerous stuff for some people.


124 posted on 09/28/2014 2:00:18 PM PDT by Mears
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To: free_life
How do you moderate alcohol with kids when they can buy it just about everywhere including on the internet?

That powdered alcohol sure makes it very difficult for postal authorities to detect. Telling kids it is ok to smoke in my state is the very worst outcome of legalization in other states, although I respect the people of those states to run their own affairs. The media is the biggest culprit in pushing drugs.

by far rather they be high on pot than drunk on alcohol.

Then you really have not seen the effects of pot on kids. Here's the quote from the science: "Cannabis use during adolescence increases the risk of developing psychotic disorders later in life."

As for the red herring criminalization that you keep waving around, my prior comments were in support of decriminalization, but I would make a major exception for selling to kids. MJ use by adults should not be tolerated in society, but it makes no sense to put someone in jail for it.

125 posted on 09/28/2014 2:16:33 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: Mears

I know what you are saying.

I knew lots of people who smoked pot in my late teens and twenties and a few probably still do. They all live good decent lives, they are not criminals or freeloaders. They are business owners, teachers, cops, a politician, pastors, a rancher, one who lives off property investments...all good people. Now when I compare them to people I know who are alcoholics; some are in fact criminals, freeloaders, in prison, a cop and bad one, some who hold down a job and are even successful in their careers, but the destruction of families and years of pain and broken promises, alcoholism is as bad as it gets and you don’t go to prison for drinking alcohol.

Most alcoholics will say they don’t even have a problem. “My drinking is hurting no one” and “I don’t drink as much as lots of people I know” are two commons denials.

To me the best intoxication is not being intoxicated by any substance but enjoying life and friends and family. My limit is a glass of red wine but if it were legal here I would try medical cannabis oil and see if it helped with my arthritis as I don’t use pharmaceuticals , they are just to dangerous, imo.


126 posted on 09/28/2014 2:24:17 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: free_life

“but the destruction of families and years of pain and broken promises, alcoholism is as bad as it gets and you don’t go to prison for drinking alcohol.”

Awful!

My mothered suffered from alcoholism for many years-——and she didn’t drink.

.


127 posted on 09/28/2014 2:27:31 PM PDT by Mears
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To: palmer
"Cannabis use during adolescence increases the risk of developing psychotic disorders later in life."

A true statement for alcohol.

What I have read was "some" adolescents with heavy use of marijuana might be later diagnosed with bypolar or schizophrenia, but since it is unknown what actually causes either illness (some say it is the same illness) it is just a theory not proven science. BTW some people who suffer schizophrenia find cannabis helps to stop them hearing voices and removes anxiety while others say it increases both. Be careful what you read as science regarding this plant. I have read extensively on it and there are unproven claims both pro and con that put the "it is proven science" label in their writing claims.

MJ use by adults should not be tolerated in society, but it makes no sense to put someone in jail for it.

Alcohol use by adults should not be tolerated in society, but it makes no sense to put someone in jail for it.

128 posted on 09/28/2014 2:40:03 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: Mears

My work sometimes involves me with broken families from drug addiction and alcoholism, many women and children have paid a great price from husbands and fathers demons found in a bottle or needle or pipe. There are also women with the same problem who have caused much damage to their children. I thank God my family and mother never had to go through this.


129 posted on 09/28/2014 2:48:36 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: palmer
how do you moderate pot in kids, when they can buy potent seeds on the internet, no questions asked

When you enact a general ban on something you lose the ability to regulate it: for access by minors, or purity, or anything else. Black market sellers have no incentive to card for age. I refer you again to the FACT - not speculation - that young people report that they can get pot (which is illegal for all, except in a few states) more easily than beer or cigarettes (which are legal for adults).

130 posted on 09/28/2014 3:29:02 PM PDT by ConservingFreedom (A goverrnment strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.)
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To: free_life
What I have read was "some" adolescents with heavy use of marijuana might be later diagnosed with bypolar or schizophrenia, but since it is unknown what actually causes either illness (some say it is the same illness) it is just a theory not proven science.

I did a search. Both are bad for adolescents: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697065/ Still bad after a month, but improvement after three months of abstinence (MJ). The problems are not "proven science" but MRI abnormalities are objective measurements of differences.

Alcohol use by adults should not be tolerated in society, but it makes no sense to put someone in jail for it

Switch use to abuse and that is quite true. Then the pertinent question is how much MJ use constitutes abuse. Any ideas?

131 posted on 09/28/2014 5:17:28 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: ConservingFreedom
Black market sellers have no incentive to card for age.

And that continues after legalization. But the actual problem is legalizing makes it more acceptable to minors. Illegality is a deterrent, lose that you lose the deterrent. When you are asked to fill in your employment form they always ask about the use of illegal drugs and only sometimes ask about the illegal procurement of alcohol since it is legal for a minor to drink alcohol if the minor is with a parent.

132 posted on 09/28/2014 5:22:57 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: palmer
Black market sellers have no incentive to card for age.

And that continues after legalization.

No it doesn't - I got carded as a minor. And I refer you yet again to the FACT - not speculation - that young people report that they can get pot (which is illegal for all, except in a few states) more easily than beer or cigarettes (which are legal for adults).

When you are asked to fill in your employment form they always ask about the use of illegal drugs and only sometimes ask about the illegal procurement of alcohol

If employers aren't concerned about illegal procurement, who are you or I to force their hand?

133 posted on 09/28/2014 5:32:08 PM PDT by ConservingFreedom (A goverrnment strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.)
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To: palmer
Colorado Teens Smoking Less Pot Since Legalization

August 08, 2014

Teen marijuana use has fallen in Colorado since the state legalized the drug in 2012, according to a new report, bucking a nationwide trend of overall increases in teen use.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3190690/posts

134 posted on 09/28/2014 5:54:50 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: ConservingFreedom
No it doesn't - I got carded as a minor.

That's odd. Pot has only been legal for a couple of years. You were a minor in 2012? Or you still are? If not, your continuous repetition of your speculation does not make it fact.

135 posted on 09/28/2014 6:03:19 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: Ken H

2% drop according to the link, not very significant.


136 posted on 09/28/2014 6:09:26 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: palmer
Black market sellers have no incentive to card for age.

And that continues after legalization.

No it doesn't - I got carded as a minor.

That's odd. Pot has only been legal for a couple of years.

So rumrunners carded when the drug alcohol was illegal? Or are you passing off as fact your speculation that the economic incentives of legal pot sellers are qualitatively different from those of legal alcohol sellers?

your continuous repetition of your speculation does not make it fact.

Your continuous repetition that the following fact is speculation does not make it speculation: FACT - young people report that they can get pot (which is illegal for all, except in a few states) more easily than beer or cigarettes (which are legal for adults).

137 posted on 09/28/2014 6:24:18 PM PDT by ConservingFreedom (A goverrnment strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.)
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To: palmer; Ken H
2% drop according to the link, not very significant.

But a fact that runs counter to your speculation that "legalizing makes it more acceptable to minors."

138 posted on 09/28/2014 6:28:36 PM PDT by ConservingFreedom (A goverrnment strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.)
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To: ConservingFreedom
Until you have experience getting carded as a minor for MJ then you might as well drop that line of yammering.

I've never contested your factoid that minors can get pot more easily than booze or cigs so you can stop yammering about that too. Unfortunately your factoid even if true doesn't add any weight to your speculation that having lots of legal sellers will somehow crowd out the illegal sellers to minors. MJ will remain easy to grow under your legalization scheme and it will be easier to obtain seeds depending on how easily the legal sellers get them. As is the case in my area today, a couple kids will grow and supply and the rest will come from the Mexicans.

139 posted on 09/28/2014 6:51:34 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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To: ConservingFreedom

Taje a course in statistics and get back to me.


140 posted on 09/28/2014 6:52:05 PM PDT by palmer (This comment is not approved or cleared by FDA)
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