I just want to say something. Cigarettes and Alcohol are two of the worst drugs that we have. It's so easy to get addicted to cigarettes. I personally think that Marijuana is a much better drug than alcohol or cigarettes. A person on pot is one of the most mellow people. I've seen a few people on pot before and I find that it is a drug that can open up your mind...whereas when a person is drunk...they are so obnoxious it's not even funny. people who are drunk can get violent...so many fights happen because people are drunk. I hate being around drunk people. When a person is high, they are just so mellow and many times happy. I'd prefer being with someone who is high than someone who is drunk. I have thought about trying Pot myself...you know...maybe do it once or twice. I don't have to worry so much about getting addicted to pot. I don't want to become a regular pot user. And marijuana actually has some medical qualities to it. I have Glaucoma, and marijuana reportedly helps with the pressures in a person's eyes who has Glaucoma. I don't think people who smoke pot are selfish. There are many drugs around that are worse than pot. Like LSDs and Hallucinogenics. And has anyone ever stopped to think WHY marijuana is an illegal drug in the first place?

My opinion on that matter is anyone can grow marijuana, so you can't make a profit. There is a tax on cigs and alcohol, but there's no way to put a tax on marijuana. Coincidence? I don't think so.

As a personal disclaimer I do not use marijuana due to a personal experience with some immature folk who hogtied me after my first try of it. So, in other words, I had a bad experience and not willing to do it again, but this was not because of the marijuana itself.

Originally Posted by Oukan

There is a few things I have to say about your post there Hyena.
1. Your just using excuses like - cigs and alcohol is bad for you too but we are allowed to still buy and use them. In my opinion those are just excuses, not good reasons for being allowed to smoke it.

Cigarettes are man made and have many toxic chemicals to make it harm the body. Marijuana is a natural growing herb just like parsley, cloves, etc. Marijuana became illegal after politicians attacked it in an attempt to gain political power.

Originally Posted by Oukan

2. Pot lasts in your system for 24 hours at the least. When ever taking drug tests anyone who has done drugs or anyone who has known someone who does drugs knows this. If you dont do any pot for atlease 24 hours before the test it wont show up. So I dont know where you get that it is out of your system after just one hour.

Marijuana lasts in your "system" for about 30 days. Drug tests will detect marijuana use up until about thirty days after your last use. What the previous person was trying to say was you are no longer 'impaired' by the effects of marijuana.

Originally Posted by Oukan

3. Pot has lasting affects on your body, even if it cant be detected by a test any more it still does damage to your body. Your lungs are damaged, brain cells as well. And those can never be recovered. Once gone they are gone forever. Your lungs can recover but some times cancer is created through scar tissue and other related reasons.

Marijuana does not have any lasting effects on your body. Your lungs and brain are not damaged from smoking hemp because marijuana does not have the same chemicals as Cigarettes to make it poisonous to the human body. I would like you to back up your claims about marijuana hurting the human body with credible sources either referencing credible nonfiction books or credible sites online.

Originally Posted by Oukan

4. If it was legalized, just like tobacco it will be treated with chemicals to cause it to be addictive. Which I still think its addictive even if its a natural not man made addiction. If you tell someone who thinks they NEED pot to stop will they stop? No. They wont cause they are addicted to the thought that they NEED it. Not cause of a chemical that was added but cause of the mental thought that it is good for them and that they will smoke it no matter what anyone thinks or says cause its what they want to do with their life.

Marijuana was legalized in the United States about 100 years ago or so I believe. The hemp was not treated with any other chemicals as you claim it would be. The only reason why it would be having other things other than marijuana is if the seller laced it with another drug like ecstasy or cocaine for a couple of examples. Another benefit of marijuana being legalized is it could then be taxed to help bring the country out of debt as all regulated products that are sold have a tax applied to them. People who smoke hemp are not chemically addicted. Whether you choose to become addicted to something is each person's choice and responsibility. People can will themselves to become addicted to video games, should video games be banned? Marijuana simply has no addictive properties and not only can you not get addicted, but you can smoke as much as you want and it will not so any long term harm to you except maybe make you laugh like a hyena for 6 hours straight :P

@Tutela: You are my hero! *glomps* thank you! Everything you said is absolutely true.

Ok, I read a bit of this thread and I can't help but laugh a bit. i suggest some of you do more research on marijuana.

It is NOT a drug, and I will explain why. The effects it creates are natural. A drug is something you CREATE. You do something CHEMICALLY to it to give yourself a high. Yes, by modern terms, it's a drug. But so is Tylenol.

Marijuana is in NO WAY physically addicting according to current studies. It does NOT kill brain cells. It puts some of your brain cells into a coma like state. Once you come down from that high though, they will work perfectly fine. Yes, marijuana is known to bring you schizophrenia early in people. It does not CREATE it. It only appears in people who may have already been showing signs, or where it seems to run in the family. As schizophrenia is a DISORDER and not a DISEASE there is NO way for ANYONE to know if it "causes" it. No one has ever OD'd from it. Ever.

A lot of people like to scare their children with "it slows your reflexes and you'll end up killing someone". Uhm, from my own experience, and from talking to anyone who's ever tried it, you don't lose you sense of right and wrong and responsibility when you get high off it. If someone decides to go for a drive when they're high (if they can even get so far as their car), it's because of their own stupidity, not the marijuana. Alcohol related accidents are still far higher, yet that's still legal.

It has definite health benefits. My roommates mom died of cancer earlier this year. She was on 2 fetnal patches and taking up to 6 oxey cottons a day (sp?). They got her on some marijuana and she stopped taking the oxey cottons altogether. The pills are more addicting and they weren't working nearly as well. Marijuana is also far cheaper and unless you're allergic, there aren't any side-effects other than the high. What's the issue with this plant?

The only reason it was made illegal in the first place is because two people were running for governor. (or senator, something like that) One of the men running, his biggest cash crop was marijuana so his competitor ran a hate campaign trying to bring down marijuana so that it would make the other man look bad. Even to this day, even though it's illegal in most states altogether, marijuana is STILL the biggest cash crop in AMERICA. It's not extremely difficult to grow. It can be used for medicinal purposes, it can be used in clothes, lotion, lip balm (anything like that), rope. Ever single part of the pant can be used. It's cheap. Why aren't we using it? It would help our country a great deal by providing jobs, cheap medical uses and so much more.

If I own my body and should be allowed to enjoy the pleasures of my body as I like. Just because another person would not choose that for themselves does not mean that I or another person should not be free to indulge ourselves. Pleasure is not a bad thing to me.

Did you know that rock and roll was once prohibited in Russia? Guess what happened? Prohibition is an old and failed experiment. Investigate the information for yourself and you will be surprised by what you learn. I was.

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.

Being a person who lives with pain on a daily basis (ruptured disks in my spine, chronic migraines) I can honestly say that it DOES help. I very rarely smoke pot, only when the pain is so bad that I can not function at all, can not sleep, eat, or even sit, and it does take an edge off that no pain medication does other than morphine... which is even worse for you. My step-son has cancer, a tumor on his brain stem that he has relapsed from and if he wanted to smoke it and it helped him with the pain or with chemo then I would not deny him the release from pain no matter how small or 'risky'.

Many real studies have shown that the side effects of smoking pot (and I do not mean every day/all the time) are no more than the bad effects we currently get from our own air pollution in most places. Pollution from cars, factories, etc can actually be much more harmful to us than marijuana ever could be.

While I do admit that many, many people use it just for their own purposes (getting high) there are more than enough people who do use it medically as well. And honestly, most of our prescription medications have just as many if not more, and worse, side effects.

On another note for whoever said "the Indians did it." Uhm. No. They smoke Peyote. It is highly hallucinogenic, but it does not last long. It is STILL legal for them to use for ritual purposes. I PERSONALLY can legally smoke it. There have been studies that have shown that this actually helps kids to stay away form alcohol.

As to it going out of style because it loses it's "thrill", no, that won't happen. In the countries where it is legal it is used quite regularly, some even mix it with their tobacco. I believe it is in England where it is legal to smoke in tea shops, though it may become illegal soon. I'm not 100% positive on this.

Pot does not KILL brain cells, as I explain in my previous post. They go into a coma like state, which they come out of once you come down from the high. Also, a high can last up to 2-3 hours and takes FAR longer than 24 hours to completely leave you body. It can take up to one MONTH. Usually about 10 days though.

The fact that the OP has never heard of marijuana being used to relieve pain just shows she hasn't done her research. It is used as a pain reliever for people recovering from broken limbs and for the nausea chemo patients experience (which deals with their appetite) along with many other things.

Also, it IS used for medicinal purposes. It's still the biggest cash crop in America, speaking in LEGAL terms.