Pot smokers, drug users.

#1
McDad

McDad

I can't brain today; I has the dumb.
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
49,085
Likes
95,164
#1
The social conservatives in the Republican party are against drug legalization. Many pundits, including R's, are adamant that the social conservatives need to soften and the party focus on fiscal issues.

I have never smoked pot or taken an illegal drug. So, if I am going to change my view on drug legalization, I would like some insight.

Alcohol is a drug and it is legal. However, I can have a glass of wine and not get drunk; can someone smoke pot and not get high? Is the whole purpose in smoking a high?

If pot is legalized, should a smoker be able to toke in public (or would the anti tobacco smoking laws apply to pot?) What drugs should remain illegal because of extreme addiction or harm to the user (if any)?

Thanks.
 
#2
#2
The war on drugs is a complete failure, time to legalize and tax. Regulate and sell it in liqour stores or heck even pharmacies. One stipulation, companies can elect to remain drug free work places with testing and termination without benefits.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6 people
#3
#3
Hai guise

Pot works the same way as alcohol. I smoke to take the edge off and sometimes cope with anxiety, rarely to get ripped. I tend to keep it to a small to medium sized bowl and you would probably never know I smoked, but it gets the job done. I haven't done this in a couple years, but conversely I could rip two or three bowls in a row and go all cotton mouthed and blood shot eyes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#4
#4
hog88 said:
The war on drugs is a complete failure, time to legalize and tax. Regulate and sell it in liqour stores or heck even pharmacies. One stipulation, companies can elect to remain drug free work places with testing and termination without benefits.
Click to expand...

Agree.
 
#5
#5
milohimself said:
Hai guise

Pot works the same way as alcohol. I smoke to take the edge off and sometimes cope with anxiety, rarely to get ripped. I tend to keep it to a small to medium sized bowl and you would probably never know I smoked, but it gets the job done. I haven't done this in a couple years, but conversely I could rip two or three bowls in a row and go all cotton mouthed and blood shot eyes.
Click to expand...

Seriously?
 
#6
#6
I'm sure smarter posters than me will give you a better answer, but here is my take.

1. Alcohol and THC are both depressants, so both have a similar effect. The more you drink, the more alcohol affects you, same with pot.

2. Given that pot is currently unregulated there is little data that could allow a good comparison of like quantities. I would suspect that regulation would come with legalization, either government regulation or commercial quality regs, which in the end would rationalize it to equate with alcohol. Therefore, a joint would probably end up equating to a glass of wine, bottle of beer, shot of whiskey standard (my opinion).

3. I would also predict the smoking laws would apply.

4. The other consideration would be the question of how legalized marijuana would affect healthcare. This debate would be interesting to me as I've heard that since it takes less pot to have the intended affect that it could lower cancer rates, however, it could also follow that people who smoke pot would do so in conjunction with their tobacco use so it would lead to increases in lung cancer, or no significant change.
 
#7
#7
As a matter of principle, all drugs should be legal, because mankind should be free to choose.

As a matter of practicality, all drugs should be legal because prohibition is impossible to enforce, and it's costly.
 
#8
#8
I have never figured out why government can tell what you can and cannot do with your money and body. Government overreach to the hilt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#10
#10
YorkVol said:
I'm sure smarter posters than me will give you a better answer, but here is my take.

1. Alcohol and THC are both depressants, so both have a similar effect. The more you drink, the more alcohol affects you, same with pot.

2. Given that pot is currently unregulated there is little data that could allow a good comparison of like quantities. I would suspect that regulation would come with legalization, either government regulation or commercial quality regs, which in the end would rationalize it to equate with alcohol. Therefore, a joint would probably end up equating to a glass of wine, bottle of beer, shot of whiskey standard (my opinion).

3. I would also predict the smoking laws would apply.

4. The other consideration would be the question of how legalized marijuana would affect healthcare. This debate would be interesting to me as I've heard that since it takes less pot to have the intended affect that it could lower cancer rates, however, it could also follow that people who smoke pot would do so in conjunction with their tobacco use so it would lead to increases in lung cancer, or no significant change.
Click to expand...
You are discounting edibles and vaporization which deliver THC with no known carcinogens whatsoever.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#11
#11
Here are some bullet points and factoids:

-the difference between a drunk driver and a stoned driver is that the former will run a stop sign. The latter, however, will simply wait for it to turn green.

But seriously:

-It's nowhere near as unhealthy for you as cigarettes (~20 cigarettes a day versus 1-4 joints) or alcohol (long term liver damage).

-There are no physically addictive properties, unlike (you guessed it) cigarettes and alcohol.

-It isn't possible to overdose as a result of smoking, eating, or vaporizing cannabis.

So, as far as health and safety goes, this plant pales in comparison to legal alternatives.

Why I support decriminalization instead of legalization:

-I don't believe in the regulation of psychoactive substances. It invites taxation and an overall diminishment of the final product.

-Decriminalization solves the number one problem of cannabis users: it keeps them out of jail. Therefore, the government involvement is minimalized. It also severely lessens the penalties for unlicensed growers and dealers. Nobody deserves jailtime over something so common and harmless.

-Legalization would put a lot of dealers and growers out of business (due to loss in sales and the taxation) and leave smokers with a more expensive and lower quality product.

/soapbox
/roll
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#12
#12
YorkVol said:
.

1. Alcohol and THC are both depressants, so both have a similar effect. The more you drink, the more alcohol affects you, same with pot.

.
Click to expand...

I thought that before I began smoking on a regular basis. I've found that you can only get so stoned. At a certain point in the evening, you reach a point where you've smoked so much that any additional buddage will be nothing more than a waste of your weed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#14
#14
Tailored for OP...
McDad said:
Alcohol is a drug and it is legal. However, I can have a glass of wine and not get drunk; can someone smoke pot and not get high? Is the whole purpose in smoking a high?
Click to expand...
Yes, you can smoke and not get high more or less the same way you can drink and not get drunk.

McDad said:
If pot is legalized, should a smoker be able to toke in public (or would the anti tobacco smoking laws apply to pot?) What drugs should remain illegal because of extreme addiction or harm to the user (if any)?
Click to expand...
Even the most liberalized countries in regards to pot still limit smoking to in the home or in designated cafes, so I doubt it would ever go beyond that.

The only drug that the war on drugs has had even marginal success with is meth. Apparently most everything else is as easy to come by now as it was 20-30 years ago.
 
#15
#15
DinkinFlicka said:
-It's nowhere near as unhealthy for you as cigarettes (~20 cigarettes a day versus 1-4 joints) or alcohol (long term liver damage).

-There are no physically addictive properties, unlike (you guessed it) cigarettes and alcohol.
Click to expand...
Just wanted to touch on these two points, first that's a bit disingenuous. Yes, 1-4 joints, bowls etc. isn't nearly as bad as smoking a pack a day or putting down 5+ drinks a night, but it can still adversely affect one's health. As I mentioned, the method of delivery is what counts. Edibles, vaps, or anything double-chambered will greatly diminish harmful effects if smoking.

Secondly, bud is addictive, just at a very low level.
 
#16
#16
milohimself said:
Just wanted to touch on these two points, first that's a bit disingenuous. Yes, 1-4 joints, bowls etc. isn't nearly as bad as smoking a pack a day or putting down 5+ drinks a night, but it can still adversely affect one's health. As I mentioned, the method of delivery is what counts. Edibles, vaps, or anything double-chambered will greatly diminish harmful effects if smoking.

Secondly, bud is addictive, just at a very low level.
Click to expand...

Psychologically, or are you saying chemically?
 
#17
#17
I don't like pot, have tried it, and wasn't my thing. However, there are 3 reasons to legalize it

1. Individual freedom of choice to consume what you like, like we do with alcohol or cigarettes.
2. We would save Billions of dollars trying to stop pot use, filling our jails with busted probation chargers (pot)
3. We could begin to tax it, which would make even more Billions of dollars. (Throw in industrialized hemp while we're at it)

For a government that will let you buy tobacco and alcohol (taxed and "harmful"), it is asinine to stand by this notion of pot being dangerous and outlawed. We've all seen drunk driving stats or lung cancer stats. Funny what our govt "allows" us to do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#18
#18
milohimself said:
Just wanted to touch on these two points, first that's a bit disingenuous. Yes, 1-4 joints, bowls etc. isn't nearly as bad as smoking a pack a day or putting down 5+ drinks a night, but it can still adversely affect one's health. As I mentioned, the method of delivery is what counts. Edibles, vaps, or anything double-chambered will greatly diminish harmful effects if smoking.

Secondly, bud is addictive, just at a very low level.
Click to expand...

I should have explained in greater detail. I was hinting that, at its worst/in its worst form, it's still nowhere near as unhealthy as the other two.

Secondly, no. It isn't physically addictive. Like anything habitual, one can develop a psychological dependency but no, it is NOT physically addicitve. You cannot experience withdrawal symptoms, which is a requirement for phsyical addiction.
 
#19
#19
I've heavily experienced both alcohol and marijuana in my life; I can tell you that booze has been far more harmful to me than weed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#20
#20
I smoke from time to time, but haven't been what I would consider "stoned" since college. Now, if someone has been drinking, and then smokes, they can get pretty sloppy.

I think smoking weed as the brain is developing at a young age is harmful.
I think smoking weed when the brain is developed can be enlightening (I picked up writing and am about to finish my first book. I also created my current business model after a puff or 2 and it has been fantastic). It can help with sleep (my brain moves @ 20 directions all day and night, so I have trouble sleeping), it can help with pain (I've had 12 surgeries), and it can help you smile or laugh.
Anything in excess is bad, imo, but I equate taking a puff to taking a couple sips from a liquor drink. If you roll a j and smoke it, you are going to be stoned and worthless.
All jmo of course. I understand why some are against it. I grew up southern baptist. We didn't even dance. I just think differently now and my family and businesses are more stable than many of those back home that spend the day judging others while not addressing issues much worse than taking a puff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#21
#21
I know a guy that has been a crack addict for 3 years. Went from snorting cocaine to smoking crack and once he started crack so much for being a recreational user. He's divorced,lost a 55,000 a year job,lives in a crack home, his gf that turns tricks to support their habits,had restraining order put on him by parents,and just got outta jail after 34 days.That's shameful trashy reality.I predict he will go back to jail for violating probation which is better than what he is doing. Weed is a joke. Less potent than drinking. I don't do drugs nor drink.
 
#25
#25
DinkinFlicka said:
This is all you had to say.
Click to expand...

I don't agree. Why gloss over the anecdotal evidence of addiction and toll it takes? Alcohol, food, tobacco abuse is out there and it is discussed. The consequences can be just as bad as a crack addict story, I suppose.

This insight is very helpful to me. It does seem hypocritical to allow alcohol, tobacco, and prescriptions when marijuana is the work of the devil.

Should all drugs be decriminalized or legalized? Opium, heroin, cocaine, etc? Are some just too dangerous?
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top