Originally Posted by Oscar the Wild

Either they support it because they're already smoking it, or they figure that it's a harmless drug and there's no reason to make it illegal.

I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I don't doubt the fact that everyone TELLING them its good for them - like in these studies they found some where on the internet or in a magazine - done by someone likely just like them trying to find some sort of reason to approve of doing it.

Originally Posted by Oscar the Wild

Either they support it because they're already smoking it, or they figure that it's a harmless drug and there's no reason to make it illegal.

Well? It is harmless. If it is harmful, its because its been laced with something. I feel that legalizing it and regulating it via FDA would decrease the amount of lacing significantly.

Yeah, pot isn't all sunshine and roses, but it's not that bad if it's just pot. You could do a lot worse. This is probably why people approve of it. Sure, it'd be great if all of these things were illegal, but they're not, so people are going to be really baffled when one of the less harmful ones is illegal when the very harmful ones aren't.

I don't see the argument that it screwed up lives. How many times has alcohol screwed up lives? My father is an alcoholic who nearly killed a family in a car crash, who has lost his license more times than I have years, who has put my little sister and I in traumatizing and dangerous situations, who has hurt my mother physically and emotionally when he was drunk, who has lost his friends and family and house, etc.

Does this mean I think alcohol is the root of all evil? No! My father could not handle his alcohol in a responsible way, and he and his family, and whoever else he encountered, paid for it. But I'm not going to say no one can drink simply because my father fucked up. Personal stories tend to bias us one way or another, but I know that many people are capable of drinking alcohol and smoking pot in moderation.

If it were legalized, it could be monitored by the FDA in such that it isn't laced with other harmful chemicals or addictive ones, and I'd much prefer people to be potheads than alcoholics or chain-smokers. It's not like people would be high on pot when driving--that would be just as illegal as drunk driving!

As for medical uses, well, that shouldn't even be debated. If it helps with pain, let them have it.

Originally Posted by Deji-chan

I don't see the argument that it screwed up lives. How many times has alcohol screwed up lives? My father is an alcoholic who nearly killed a family in a car crash, who has lost his license more times than I have years, who has put my little sister and I in traumatizing and dangerous situations, who has hurt my mother physically and emotionally when he was drunk, who has lost his friends and family and house, etc.

Does this mean I think alcohol is the root of all evil? No! My father could not handle his alcohol in a responsible way, and he and his family, and whoever else he encountered, paid for it. But I'm not going to say no one can drink simply because my father fucked up. Personal stories tend to bias us one way or another, but I know that many people are capable of drinking alcohol and smoking pot in moderation.

This. Just because a big bunch are irresponsible doesn't mean the plant itself is bad.

And I guess I'm biased by positive personal stories too.

Originally Posted by Deji-chan

If it were legalized, it could be monitored by the FDA in such that it isn't laced with other harmful chemicals or addictive ones, and I'd much prefer people to be potheads than alcoholics or chain-smokers. It's not like people would be high on pot when driving--that would be just as illegal as drunk driving!

Indeed. At least people would know their pot is pure marihuana and it's clean from any other chemicals that might be not suitable for human consumption.

Originally Posted by Oukan

@Kris - Acctually, yes. I don't use any of those. I don't drink sodas, coffees etc. Nore do I smoke or drink.

I get it. It's right for you, so it is right for everyone.
Hm.
That's not egocentric.

I think I'm going to just stick to the games on this site cause obviously, most the people (atlease in this debate section) is stupid and have no sense of right from wrong. But thats OK, I do have a sense of right from wrong, but I guess having that sense makes me egotistical.

Originally Posted by Oukan

I think I'm going to just stick to the games on this site cause obviously, most the people (atlease in this debate section) is stupid and have no sense of right from wrong. But thats OK, I do have a sense of right from wrong, but I guess having that sense makes me egotistical.

"Most people is stupid"?
I'm not going to lie, you made me laugh quite hard.

Honey, let me tell you something: just because you think something is wrong, doesn't mean it is. Just because you have one opinion doesn't make you right. That's why it's an opinion, not a fact.

So, yes, thinking that your opinions are the end-all be-all of everything is extremely egotistical.

Let's not make this personal, please.

In a debate forum, it's quite common to see people from both sides of an argument. In fact, it's encouraged. So if you disagree, all you can do is present your own point of view and provide everyone with information that supports your opinion. :yes:

There's nothing wrong with a bit of disagreement.

Originally Posted by Oukan

Ive never heard of pot curing pain. Ive heard it used for cancer victims that have had cemo (sp?) theropy to help them regain an appitite. Or those who are anorexic trying to get back on track. But Ive never heard of it being used as a pain supressive.

Actually, it's quite common to hear of it's use for pain control. Whether it actually does so is up to those who use it for that reason and would know personally, not to anyone else who has no idea. I DO know that it helped my husband a few times with his nausea during the course of his cancer, while the legally prescribed drug form of it, Marinol, did not. Neither did any of the other legal drugs they gave him for it. It seems he got the most help from natural herbs, which also included ginger and a certain special herbal tea I researched and made for him, with all legal herbs I might add.

Originally Posted by Oukan

Of course thats only the people you know of. I have atlease one friend off the top of my head that IS addicted to pot. And he does suffer from it. You should see the guy. I knew him before he started smoking it and he was very healthy. Now he cares very little about his appearance, his hair is never groomed, he HAS to have it atlease once a day or else he claims he is going to go insane. And he is not the only person who I know of or knew of that was like that cause of pot. Im not just throwing hear-say out like confettii here. My own experiances with pot as a child was horrific. My mother and father did pot. Every time they would get high they would lock me and my brother out of the house and some times not let us come back in till night fall. They also grew it and sold it. The worst years of my life evolved around the time I stayed with my parents. Of course it wasnt all of my life that I did but it was a huge part of it. After they got busted they went to jail. My mom was able to get out but my dad wasnt for 6 more months. After he got out and they no longer had any pot, or a home to live in. They spirraled down cause they depended on it to maintain a lifestyle. They later got back on it but was too afraid of selling and growing it again to start making any profit off it. They now are dead beats, neither of them work and they live off the goverment. Why might you ask? Cause they both have health issues now. My mom got high one day and decided to ride my uncle's horse, she fell off it cause she was too high ON POT to maintain her rational train of thought. Thus she got dragged down the road by the horse for a good while. Her head was stepped on, brain damaged, and even though I considered her half retarded to begin with, she really is mentaly unstable now from that added to the years of doing pot on top of it.
My dad is unemployeed cause he forgot how to count after doing years of pot. He use to be very good at math when I was growing up. But now he cant get past 20 and the doctor told us it was cause he had done pot so much.

This pretty much boils up to who is lucky and who isnt. Who gets the pot that is grown and treated to be more potent and dangerous and who does not get that "special" stuff. Cigs, alcohol, pot and any other type of drug is wrong to use, should all be illegalized and banned. Anyone who says that is not true is either on it, wants to be on it or is making excuses for people that they know who are on it. Cause the only reason why you could even consider that stuff good is if you, yourself are addicted and dont want to stop doing it cause of that addiction.

So you have let your bad experience with your parents color your entire world on this subject, to the point that you would like to see your opinions forced onto the rest of the population. You should blame your parents, not the drug. That weed didn't light itself up and force it's way down into their lungs. By the things you've said, I have no doubt in my mind that pot wasn't the only thing your parents were into.

As for accusing anyone who has a different opinion than yours of being an addict, that's just ridiculous. I don't smoke the stuff, nor do I want to. I can see the good in it for medical use as I know for a fact it did help my husband a few times. For someone with a horribly painful disease or a terminal illness, a few bad side effects may be well worth the relief it may bring.

Originally Posted by Oukan

I think I'm going to just stick to the games on this site cause obviously, most the people (atlease in this debate section) is stupid and have no sense of right from wrong. But thats OK, I do have a sense of right from wrong, but I guess having that sense makes me egotistical.

I know the mod has already warned those who are in this debate about making it personal. You should debate the facts, not the person. You seem unable to do that. You basically state that anyone who has a different opinion than yours is stupid and have no morals about right and wrong. That's quite insulting.

Originally Posted by Oukan

I think I'm going to just stick to the games on this site cause obviously, most the people (atlease in this debate section) is stupid and have no sense of right from wrong. But thats OK, I do have a sense of right from wrong, but I guess having that sense makes me egotistical.

Well, not to be rude, but you did start a thread in the Debate forum on a subject that has been debated back and forth upon for the past century, continuously being inconclusive. You should be prepared to face opposition when it comes to a subject like this, especially online. The demographics for a site such as this are going to be different from other groups you might pose this question to. The concepts of "right" and "wrong" are different for you because you believe them. You believe that marijuana is harming the body, I believe that it is not. You could be right, I could be right. The point of a debate is to exercise the right to one's own opinion, and to learn more about the other side's claim.

We are not stupid. In fact, I think the debate forum is full of some quite eloquent individuals with interesting perspectives. I suggest you take a breather and try not to take it personally when someone's opinion opposes yours.

The people who suffer negative side effects from pot (mostly psychological addiction) are usually those who are abusing it. You can also get addicted to video games, or the internet, or food, but none of those are bad things in general.
Do I think smoking pot is healthy? No, probably not, but I also haven't read any conclusive study that it it's any worse for you than a double quarter pounder. If you're able to moderate your intake then it is, in fact, pretty freaking harmless. I know a lot of people who smoke pot and still manage to be normal, functioning members of society, not just potheads.

I approve of pot for lots of reasons:

Most importantly, it's none of my business what substances another person uses to help get themselves through the day. I think each person deserves to be trusted with the right to make their own decisions about what chemicals they want to put into their body, and if they opt that THC is something they're interested in, that's their body and thus their business.

Secondly, it's not like marijuana's addictive. Addiction is when you go through withdrawl symptoms after ceasing use of a drug, because your body has become physically dependent upon the drug. Marijuana doesn't do that - you don't turn into a quivering ball on the floor when you're kicking a pot habit, you just don't smoke anymore. Sure, people can become psychologically dependent, but that's not a risk inherent to pot - you can be dependent on anything that's fun or relaxing if you do it too frequently, and it's each person's duty and right to figure out how to have fun responsibly.

Also, pot can't kill you, because it's physically impossible to smoke enough to overdose. It doesn't cause cancer as far as we know, because no reliable studies have indicated a link. Sure, it has a lot of tar in it, so it's shitty for your lungs, don't mistake it for being healthy or anything...but if that really worries you, you can always bake brownies or buy a vaporizer.

There are legitimate medical uses. It reduces pressure on the optic nerve in patients who have glaucoma; it helps increase appetite for patients who need to eat for nutritional reasons but can't bring themselves to due to medical problems; there's a bunch of other stuff it helps with but I can't be bothered to look it up, if you're really interested I'm sure a quick Google will turn up the relevant facts. At any rate, why not leave it up to doctors? Doctors are smart people, and it's their job to figure out the best medicines for their patients. If they prescribe marijuana, who are we to tell them they're wrong?

It's social and fun, and I like it. Some people are just more fun to be around when they're fucked up, and everything's more interesting when you are too. I smoke during filler time when I wouldn't be doing anything else - what's wrong with a little recreation?

Most people approve of them because they don't think it do you any harm "The indians did it" as you put it.

What they don't realize is;
1. Pot damages your brain and your memory.
2. A very high percentage of those who takes pot, is very likely to sooner or later move on to harder drugs, because you need a bigger kick, since it is, I admit that, a very mild drug.

Also this is not just something I am making up, I have had about 1 fantasillion lectures about it in school, since my little crappy island is the one with the highest drug abuse per citizen in the whole country...

Originally Posted by Mei Shinju Kokoro

Most people approve of them because they don't think it do you any harm "The indians did it" as you put it.

What they don't realize is;
1. Pot damages your brain and your memory.
2. A very high percentage of those who takes pot, is very likely to sooner or later move on to harder drugs, because you need a bigger kick, since it is, I admit that, a very mild drug.

Also this is not just something I am making up, I have had about 1 fantasillion lectures about it in school, since my little crappy island is the one with the highest drug abuse per citizen in the whole country...

Both of your points are common misconceptions:

Pot doesn't damage your brain for any longer than you on that high.

Most people who seek out stronger drugs do so because the pot they smoke is laced with harsher ones, which makes it much easier for the seller to make a quick buck. If it were regulated, that would easily change.

Originally Posted by Hyena

Both of your points are common misconceptions:

Pot doesn't damage your brain for any longer than you on that high.

Most people who seek out stronger drugs do so because the pot they smoke is laced with harsher ones, which makes it much easier for the seller to make a quick buck. If it were regulated, that would easily change.

BZZZZT! Your correction is still wrong.

Most people who seek out stronger drugs do so because they like being fucked up, and trying lots of new drugs is a good way to get fucked up and figure out which drugs you like best. Plenty of people are perfectly satisfied with smoking weed, and feel no need to try anything else (sometime to the point where potheads don't even really like to drink). If a person's tolerance goes up, they usually just smoke more or better quality pot, or quit for a while and then start back up. Pot's not a gateway drug, drugs are a gateway drug.

Also, while there are rare occasions where people get laced shit, it's really not in anyone's interest to make this happen. It CERTAINLY doesn't happen during most or many marijuana deals, although I'll reiterate that it does sometimes happen. The dealer would have to sell their product for less than it's actually worth, and risk losing a pissed-off customer who got a trip they weren't expecting. This is especially true since the only thing I've ever heard of weed being laced with is PCP, which is not exactly the type of drug you have an immediate craving to do again, and a lot of people really hate it. Plus, lying about drugs is dangerous, it's not advisable and dishonest dealers rarely last. Free, honest samples are usually more than sufficient to get people thinking about buying. You're right that legalization pretty much eliminates this risk - but it's still not that bad to begin with.

Good point. I rescind my correction. Though I still feel that the point of people seeking out stronger drugs is bit overblown.

Originally Posted by Mei Shinju Kokoro

1. Pot damages your brain and your memory.

I actually read that it could be good for your brain.

The bad memory, hell, I've never tried any drug and I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. It could be incidental instead of a consequence.

lol
I think stress and busyness damages your memory more than pot!

I tihkn it can be seen as more acceptable in society because the risks are very low, tohugh it has been move up from a class C drug to a class B drug as a detterant. I tihkn it also seems less serious as doctors can prescribe it ofr medicinal reasons.

Wait, I have tried a drug. A few years back, I sip a bit from my mom's cup of coffee...

But yeah, stress tend to do these kind of things, and apart from curiosity, what other reason would there be for you to consume drugs? Stress ;D See, it's incidental.

Pot does very little in terms of damage, it's only addictive habitually, not chemically (as long as it isn't lace, but then we aren't talking about pot), and it makes people lazy but good humored. Oh yeah, that pot head's totally going to drop the Doritos, get their ass off the couch, and shank someone. [/sarcasm]

It's not for me, I don't smoke it, but I don't understand why alcohol, which makes people violent and foolish, and cigarettes, which kill tons of people every year, are legal and yet pot, which does virtually nothing on it's own, is illegal.

Honestly, I smoke pot every once in a while to help with my mania (I'm bi-polar.) It instantly calms me down and I don't freak out anymore. I can't take anti-psychotics because they make me feel like a zombie and I can't do my art.
I don't really care how you take this, or if you say I'm making up excuses. I honestly do not feel that pot is that bad at all, and actually when used right has benefits.
...and you know what? I like it. :D
Alcohol is much worse. (But who gives a shit. P: )
Besides, let people do what they want to their bodies.
If you don't smoke pot, cool.
But don't stomp on the rest of us.

Edit: Besides, in this fucked up world you should seriously let people have some damn joy in life.
I'm so sick of these new age fucking granola hippies spitting on us for enjoying things that are "bad" for us.
Get your own life and stop intruding on ours. So what if we do?
I'd rather live a good exciting life then a long one. ;D

The only real issue I have with pot is all the misconceptions that are forever beaten into the brains of young people at school. I understand why people would want to keep the kids from taking pot (though, then again, I don't - I'd rather have my children smoke/swallow pot than seeing them eat/starve themselves to death, beat up their fellows while under the influence of alcohol or smoke their life-span away), but using misinformation to do so is just so very wrong.

Don't let stigmata blur your opinion about something, always question those indoctrinations spread at school and on TV.

Like Hyena already mentioned, there are so many lies about pot circulating that it makes me want to cry in frustration. Just summing them up once again:

• It's not physically addictive. Yes, for some people it might be psychologically addictive, but so is chocolate, watching TV, having sex and everything else that makes you feel good. People are prone to get "addicted" to whatever increases their mood, and it's their own responsibility to take care they don't take their source of joy in a dosage that's unhealthy for them. Actually, all of the above are even more likely to cause you damage than pot is.
• It does not destroy your brain cells. Yes, people who are smoking pot are loosing a huge amount of brain cells while they do so. But people who don't loose just as much, it's a natural process for our brain (and body as a whole).
• It's not lowering the inhibition level to take other drugs. Yes, a lot of people tend to start with pot before they move on to the more unhealthy stuff, but that's just because they were going to use them, anyway. At least with pot they start with something that does actually not hurt them before they start throwing their lives away. Go out there and talk to drug abusers, most of them will be telling you that they were looking for something to quell their problems, and if it hadn't been pot, they just would have started with something else. There are even some people who might have ended up taking drugs if not for pot, because they were under the influence of depressions, yet after smoking pot for a while they realized that those problems of them were actually rather small matters once the depressions were gone.
• It's not unhealthy. Like with alcohol (or rather, even more so), with the right dosage it's actually good for your body. It helps relieve stress (responsible for most of today's common health issues), can quell adiposis (number one death reason in the US), can get you off depressions (the most common illness with today's youth other than obesity), is assumed to actually stimulate the brain and has a whole lot of other positive effects.

And another misconception is that only those who take pot themselves are actually supportive of it. I've never smoked it myself (not because of the - non existent - negative effects, but simply because it's illegal where I live and I'm a rather law abiding individual), yet I would be one of the first people to support it's legalization. It has so many positive effects, while it shares it's only drawback with everyday substances like chocolate, ice cream and hamburgers.

While I don't smoke pot, I have nothing against it at all and in fact want few things more than to see it legalized and taxed. There are few side-effects if smoked on its own (I've heard it can interract with other drugs and pose a risk to one's health), which are far more negligable than caffeine, in my opinion. The only real problems that people run into are caused directly by it being illegal and would almost certainly disappear if it were legalized. It's not that I think it's something great or anything, I just don't see why people should be fined and sent to jail over something that causes no harm whatsoever. It seems like law enforcement ought to have better things to do.

Of course, I believe all drugs that don't pose a risk to others, such as meth (since meth labs can explode and kill innocent bystanders) should be legalized. Regardless of how we may feel about something, we shouldn't have a right to tell people they can't do it unless it's hurting others who have chosen not to be involved with it.

Only people defending pot, are the people smoking it and wanting to keep on smoking it.
It's a disgusting habit.
It kills your brain cells.
It changes a person. (I know from watching friends go through these changes)
So many car crashes because some one was HIGH.
And yes, on pot.
So don't give me the bullshit that it doesnt affect your driving.
How do you know? You're HIGH when you do it.