[OnYourKnees]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

That's just as illegal as it will be a few years from now when those under 18 will not be allowed to purchase marijuana.

Um, it's already illegal for those under 18 to buy marijuana. AND those over 18. AND those currently 18.

[Bobby-Joe]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

I can tell you are basing your 'marijuana-supports-terrorism' simply on the philosophy of muslims being scapegoats. Bush wants to keep marijuana illegal, so naturally you want to justify it by laying blame on Bush's enemies. However, in no way does marijuana warp your mind to make you want to destroy America.

No friend; we are saying the left wants to destroy America by using the Muslims to do their dirty work. To do this during the Clinton administration the liberals filled the CIA and the State Department with their patsies. These liberal fifth columnists use money from illegal drug sales in the US to fund terrorists in the Middle East.

Sure drug users don’t consciously buy drugs because they want to kill Americans (like themselves). But if the Bible teaches us anything it is actions that counts, not intentions or results. And the action here is directly funding anti-American terrorists.

[BornAgain]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

If the marijuana laws were enforced, all liberals would be in jail.

I think we don't have strong enough laws against this dangerous drug.

[M.D. (Quarantined)]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

I'd just like to know your views on the near-century long drug war, mainly revolving around the legalization of marijuana. Personally, I don't find the laws against it to be justified. I'm sure we know the origins of its banishment were based on racism and lies, and it has faced so much inaccurate propaganda since that it has grown with the public. So, should we legaLIZE?

Well....

Short term effects: Memory loss, problems with learning, trouble in thinking and problem solving, distorted perception, increased heart rate, anxiety, and user may experience dry mouth and throat.

Long term effects: Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations.Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day. I.e. Cancer...Expensive surgery (not to mention having to buy pot all the time...) Stupidity...Death...

[M.D. (Quarantined)]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

^ See, generalizing marijuana's use demographic is part of unethical and illegal discrimination. Also, your 'lazy' comment refers to the speculatory theory of Amotivational Syndrome in marijuana users. There is no convincing evidence that scientifically proves (Oh no...not science...) a connection between marijuana users and Amotivational Syndrome.

No, it just makes said user have trouble learning, hence getting jobs at fast food joints because they don't have the mental capacity to learn beyond a 10th grade level (or usually when they start somking pot). Creating the illusion of laziness. So, you're right... in the sense....

Secondly, an underground experiment may contribute the fact that certain chemicals in both cigarettes/marijuana/and various narcotic drugs (usually illegal, or drugs that you snort or inject) may cause schizophrenia sense several of those chemicals go to your brain. If you'd like me to further elaborate, I'd be happy to oblige.

[Bobby-Joe]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

Well....

Short term effects: Memory loss, problems with learning, trouble in thinking and problem solving, distorted perception, increased heart rate, anxiety, and user may experience dry mouth and throat.

Long term effects: Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations.Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day. I.e. Cancer...Expensive surgery (not to mention having to buy pot all the time...) Stupidity...Death...

As you can see the description of marijuana's effects are identical to the typical behavior of a liberal. Get rid of the marijuana you get rid of the liberals.

[M.D. (Quarantined)]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

As you can see the description of marijuana's effects are identical to the typical behavior of a liberal. Get rid of the marijuana you get rid of the liberals.

Yeah, well Bush is a moron too, and he's a conservative, isn't he? I don't really pay attention to politics anymore.

[M.D. (Quarantined)]

Reasons mariljuana is justifiably illegal.

Here's a paper I wrote some time ago. More reasons not to abuse (orsmoke at all) marijuana.

Effects on the Brain


Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain.

In the brain, THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. Research findings for long-term marijuana abuse indicate some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs. For example, cannabinoid (THC or synthetic forms of THC) withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine. Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse.

Effects on the Heart


One study has indicated that an abuser's risk of heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana. The researchers suggest that such an effect might occur from marijuana's effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

Effects on the Lungs


A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers. Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

Even infrequent abuse can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to obstructed airways. Smoking marijuana possibly increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck. A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced evidence that marijuana smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers.

Marijuana abuse also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke. It also induces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form—levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells. Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which increases the lungs' exposure to carcinogenic smoke. These facts suggest that, puff for puff, smoking marijuana may be more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco.

Other Health Effects


Some of marijuana's adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system's ability to fight disease. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were inhibited. In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop bacterial infections and tumors.

Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use on Learning and Social Behavior


Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances have been associated with chronic marijuana use. Because marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in accumulating intellectual, job, or social skills. Moreover, research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on memory and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.

Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers. A study of 129 college students found that, among those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the 30 days prior to being surveyed, critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired, even after the students had not taken the drug for at least 24 hours. These "heavy" marijuana abusers had more trouble sustaining and shifting their attention and in registering, organizing, and using information than did the study participants who had abused marijuana no more than 3 of the previous 30 days. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time.

More recently, the same researchers showed that the ability of a group of long-term heavy marijuana abusers to recall words from a list remained impaired for a week after quitting, but returned to normal within 4 weeks. Thus, some cognitive abilities may be restored in individuals who quit smoking marijuana, even after long-term heavy use.

Workers who smoke marijuana are more likely than their coworkers to have problems on the job. Several studies associate workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. A study among postal workers found that employees who tested positive for marijuana on a pre-employment urine drug test had 55 percent more industrial accidents, 85 percent more injuries, and a 75-percent increase in absenteeism compared with those who tested negative for marijuana use. In another study, heavy marijuana abusers reported that the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including cognitive abilities, career status, social life, and physical and mental health.

Effects of Exposure During Pregnancy


Research has shown that some babies born to women who abused marijuana during their pregnancies display altered responses to visual stimuli, increased tremulousness, and a high-pitched cry, which may indicate neurological problems in development. During the preschool years, marijuana-exposed children have been observed to perform tasks involving sustained attention and memory more poorly than nonexposed children do. In the school years, these children are more likely to exhibit deficits in problem-solving skills, memory, and the ability to remain attentive.

Addictive Potential


Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction for some people; that is, they abuse the drug compulsively even though it interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. Drug craving and withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for long-term marijuana smokers to stop abusing the drug. People trying to quit report irritability, sleeplessness, and anxiety. They also display increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately one week after the last use of the drug.

Genetic Vulnerability


Scientists have found that whether an individual has positive or negative sensations after smoking marijuana can be influenced by heredity. A 1997 study demonstrated that identical male twins were more likely than nonidentical male twins to report similar responses to marijuana abuse, indicating a genetic basis for their response to the drug. (Identical twins share all of their genes.)

It also was discovered that the twins' shared or family environment before age 18 had no detectable influence on their response to marijuana. Certain environmental factors, however, such as the availability of marijuana, expectations about how the drug would affect them, the influence of friends and social contacts, and other factors that differentiate experiences of identical twins were found to have an important effect.

Treating Marijuana Problems


The latest treatment data indicate that, in 2002, marijuana was the primary drug of abuse in about 15 percent (289,532) of all admissions to treatment facilities in the United States. Marijuana admissions were primarily male (75 percent), White (55 percent), and young (40 percent were in the 15-–19 age range). Those in treatment for primary marijuana abuse had begun use at an early age; 56 percent had abused it by age 14 and 92 percent had abused it by 18.

One study of adult marijuana abusers found comparable benefits from a 14-session cognitive-behavioral group treatment and a 2-session individual treatment that included motivational interviewing and advice on ways to reduce marijuana use. Participants were mostly men in their early thirties who had smoked marijuana daily for more than 10 years. By increasing patients' awareness of what triggers their marijuana abuse, both treatments sought to help patients devise avoidance strategies. Abuse, dependence symptoms, and psychosocial problems decreased for at least 1 year following both treatments; about 30 percent of the patients were abstinent during the last 3-month followup period.

Another study suggests that giving patients vouchers that they can redeem for goods—such as movie passes, sporting equipment, or vocational training—may further improve outcomes.

Although no medications are currently available for treating marijuana abuse, recent discoveries about the workings of the THC receptors have raised the possibility of eventually developing a medication that will block the intoxicating effects of THC. Such a medication might be used to prevent relapse to marijuana abuse by lessening or eliminating its appeal.

[OnYourKnees]

Re: Reasons mariljuana is justifiably illegal.

Here's a paper I wrote some time ago. More reasons not to abuse (or smoke at all) marijuana.

Interesting.

However, you use the word "abuse" without defining it. The implication is that you believe any use of marijuana (including, apparently, medical use) to be abuse.

Also, marijuana has only the potential for psychological addiction (usually among the weak-minded and lazy sort, who are far more vulnerable to such things); the body does not become dependent upon it, which is a key factor in determining "addiction".

The question in my mind becomes, does smoking marijuana cause laziness and weak-mindedness, or is regularly smoking marijuana a symptom of inability to cope with the demands of life? Or, perhaps, are users attempting to fill a void left in their lives because they have not accepted the Glorious Love of Jesus?

[Bobby-Joe]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

Yeah, well Bush is a moron too, and he's a conservative, isn't he? I don't really pay attention to politics anymore.

Friend,

I will caution you for your attacks against the President, who is our commander in chief against this War on Terror. As we have been pointing out the Muslims are just itching for an opening for another 9/11. Do not be that opening. While it is unacceptable for you to make this attack in Jesus’ favorite forum the hope of SAVING™ you from an eternity of butt buggery by Satan stays my hand at this moment.

Your' behind with thank me one day friend.

Also, Bush's intelligence is immaterial. We TRUE Christians™ yield to no one in our support for Mr Bush and even we admit his limitations. Bush is guided by Jesus and that is more than enough.

[M.D. (Quarantined)]

Re: Reasons mariljuana is justifiably illegal.

Interesting.

However, you use the word "abuse" without defining it. The implication is that you believe any use of marijuana (including, apparently, medical use) to be abuse.
There are other pain killers than marijuana. I suppose, if a patient would happen to have an advanced, untreatable cancer of some sort marijuana may be allowed. But I have seen some miraculous recoveries. So, no. I don't think it should be used...ever...
Also, marijuana has only the potential for psychological addiction (usually among the weak-minded and lazy sort, who are far more vulnerable to such things); the body does not become dependent upon it, which is a key factor in determining "addiction".

The question in my mind becomes, does smoking marijuana cause laziness and weak-mindedness, or is regularly smoking marijuana a symptom of inability to cope with the demands of life? Or, perhaps, are users attempting to fill a void left in their lives because they have not accepted the Glorious Love of Jesus?

That would depend on the user. Most kids start because it's "cool", peer pressure, or in an act of rebillion. They continue to use it because it stimiulates the "plessure" centers of the brain. In certain aspects, it may become physically addictive, although mostly mentally, nonetheless both are dangerous. Physical being: (usually an extremely heavy user) can only function normally while under the influence. This would probably have to be extensive brain damage and extreme altered perception of reality.

It does cause weak-mindedness. Perhaps, it may cause lack of judgement. This can contribute to laziness in the fact that people (especially teenagers) become apathetic to long term effects in everyday life and don't realize their future will suffer because they do such things. Therefore they become lazy in the sense they "don't care" what happens to them.

And although there were no (or few) scientific studies on the mental capacity one must have to overcome the marijuana addiction, I personally agree that smart people tend not to get addicted. Though I've seen a few intelligent people fall into the addiction, they're usually depressed and tend to go for the stronger narcotics such as cocaine, vicodin, PCP, herion, etc...

[Brother Temperance]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

I can tell you are basing your 'marijuana-supports-terrorism' simply on the philosophy of muslims being scapegoats. Bush wants to keep marijuana illegal, so naturally you want to justify it by laying blame on Bush's enemies. However, in no way does marijuana warp your mind to make you want to destroy America.

50,000 hippies disagree with you, friend. Ever heard of Students for a Democratic Society?

And also, 'little babies' smoking marijuana? You mean like the millions of minors smoking tobacco today? That's just as illegal as it will be a few years from now when those under 18 will not be allowed to purchase marijuana. While you wait for a long-dead man to suddenly wake up and 'save' you all, marijuana will eventually be legalized.

That's Star-Finder you're responding to there. He's mainly harmless, but he's not really a representative of these forums. He just hangs around here to argue with us - basically, he's like a smarter, more coherent and rational version of you.

Here's a paper I wrote some time ago. More reasons not to abuse (orsmoke at all) marijuana.

Wow, a lot of other people on the internet seem to have posted copies of your paper on their websites. Are you planning to sue?

[M.D. (Quarantined)]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

50,000 hippies disagree with you,
Wow, a lot of other people on the internet seem to have posted copies of your paper on their websites. Are you planning to sue?

Haha. No. I wrote it in highschool as a side project for a college scholarship if my memory is proven correct. It was published but has been changed to cooperate with newfound information from doctors and scientists. A little has been added to it I'll have to admit. It seems a tad more elaborate than I recall...

[Brother Sydup]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

Don't this just make you think of the devil in all his wickedness?



You smoke this stuff and your liable to start to walk around in your bare feet and pick your toenails for sustenance.

Brothers all the dank nugs I need are the nuggets of wisdom from the Lord God Almighty himself which can be found in every copy of the Holy KJV1611 Bible.

[Virginia Day Templeton]

Re: Marijuana - justifiably illegal?

From the article Brother Temp posted:

"There are many reasons the numbers vary so much, but the main reason seems to always be because of discrimination on many levels," Hipple said.

I have had it up to here with this crap. Every time a nigra stubs its toe, liberals try to blame it on the Wicked White Man, and the public buys it like a baby being spoon-fed by his mama.

Want to know the truth? Racism is dead. That's the truth. It just doesn't exist anymore, and if it does, it's almost always directed at white people. Negroes aren't unemployed because of "discrimination;" they're unemployed because they're lazy and lame-brained and would rather spend their whole lives smoking crack and robbing bakeries than do a single second of honest hard work. You know it, I know it, and every American with his head screwed on correctly knows it. Negroes are uneducated criminals, and only by surrendering themselves completely to Christ and becoming Honorary White People can they rid themselves of their nature. That's why I wouldn't dream of hiring anyone darker than the inside of a coconut to work at my bookstore--they simply don't like to work.

Discrimination? Give me a break.