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Should marijuana be legalized?

Should we legalize pot?

  • Total voters
    113
Tsunami said:
You can eat it. And there are Nicotine patches and gums. Nicotine itself is still deadly, but at least those eliminate the risk of emphysema and lung cancer. Regular pot smokers actually have a higher risk of lung cancer than cigarette smokers, because they generally don't use a filter. That is one reason why a legitimate doctor would never prescribe marijuana cigarettes to a patient. But pot brownies eliminate this risk.
Click to expand...

People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.

The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.

FOXNews.com - Marijuana Does Not Raise Lung Cancer Risk - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News
 
Zyphlin said:
I'm talking about Water, not the horrible and amazingly dangerous dhmo!

;)

(seriously, tell me you're not posting that in a serious way, right...?)
Click to expand...

I am sure it is a serious matter to the contestant who od'd on water.
 
Tsunami said:
You can eat it. And there are Nicotine patches and gums. Nicotine itself is still deadly, but at least those eliminate the risk of emphysema and lung cancer. Regular pot smokers actually have a higher risk of lung cancer than cigarette smokers, because they generally don't use a filter. That is one reason why a legitimate doctor would never prescribe marijuana cigarettes to a patient. But pot brownies eliminate this risk.



Sounds like someone has never experienced a sugar high. :wow:



In a similar study, 85% of children who hear imaginary voices develop schizophrenia in adulthood. That's a joke, but you see the point? Perhaps people prone to depression or schizophrenia seek out drugs, rather than the other way around.



We already have strung out stoned druggies for citizens. The difference is, under the current system they have to resort to crime to pay for their addiction. And the profit margins are so high that the drug trade pays for organized crime and terrorist states. The drug war wastes billions of tax dollars. And the prisons are full of non-violent offenders, so much so that the people who are actually dangerous to society are let out early.



I've never used any illegal drugs and I still want them decriminalized. So your ignorant generalization there is wrong.



Wrong, not a pothead.



Wrong, never caused a pregnancy.



Water is more dangerous. I wouldn't recommend inhaling.
Facts About Dihydrogen Monoxide
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Sugar high? I can see you have never taken drugs:confused:

There is no evidence that most people who are heavy cannabis users with mental health problems are people with mental health problems that happen to smoke dope..the mental health problems seem to get worse the more they smoke so your agument is more idle speculation than anything...



WE could have a lot more strung out druggies if we abandon control of drugs.
Please excuse me if I dont take your word that this will not

If you do not take drugs but want them decriminalised then bully for you.
If you want all drugs to be available to everyone without restraint then you are as bad as the ones who want it because they dont want to be prosecuted..worse in fact.
 
LiberalAvenger said:
I am sure it is a serious matter to the contestant who od'd on water.
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Yes, water drank in excessively large amounts and then forcibly and purposefully kept within the body despite every attempt by the body to expell it, due to a wilfull attempt by the person in question, can be dangerous.

99% of the rest of the time, water itself is essentially harmless if not beneficial.

Taking one fluke incident, in which a number of exterior influences are needed (in this case a person purposefully physically refusing to allow proper and necessary bodily functions to occur), as proof that somehow water is more dangerous that marijuana is absolutely ****ing retarded to put it bluntly.
 
winston53660 said:
People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

FOXNews.com - Marijuana Does Not Raise Lung Cancer Risk - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News
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Okay so I guess the science isn't clear on this subject. Seems like common sense to me that inhaling carcinogens damages your lungs, but I suppose I can't disprove your study.

Cannabis bigger cancer risk than cigarettes: study | Reuters

angrybeaver said:
WE could have a lot more strung out druggies if we abandon control of drugs.
Please excuse me if I dont take your word that this will not

If you do not take drugs but want them decriminalised then bully for you.
If you want all drugs to be available to everyone without restraint then you are as bad as the ones who want it because they dont want to be prosecuted..worse in fact.
Click to expand...

You don't have to take my word for it, someone just showed you that is what happened in Portugal. You conveniently ignored that information, I noticed.

My political position makes me a bad person? It isn't bad just because you say it is bad. My position is logical and supported by numerous experts. Drug use is bad, but the effect of drug laws are worse, and inflict damage on innocent civilians who would never choose to abuse drugs, whether legal or not.
 
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angrybeaver said:
There is no evidence that most people who are heavy cannabis users with mental health problems are people with mental health problems that happen to smoke dope..the mental health problems seem to get worse the more they smoke so your agument is more idle speculation than anything...
Click to expand...

Bull****. You have not shown this.
 
Zyphlin said:
Yes, water drank in excessively large amounts and then forcibly and purposefully kept within the body despite every attempt by the body to expell it, due to a wilfull attempt by the person in question, can be dangerous.

99% of the rest of the time, water itself is essentially harmless if not beneficial.

Taking one fluke incident, in which a number of exterior influences are needed (in this case a person purposefully physically refusing to allow proper and necessary bodily functions to occur), as proof that somehow water is more dangerous that marijuana is absolutely ****ing retarded to put it bluntly.
Click to expand...

I have never heard of anybody od'ing on pot. Why do you cuss and insult me?:(
 
angrybeaver said:
Sugar high? I can see you have never taken drugs:confused:
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Sugar is addictive on a similar level to cannabis, I'll look for the article I posted elsewhere before.

There is no evidence that most people who are heavy cannabis users with mental health problems are people with mental health problems that happen to smoke dope..the mental health problems seem to get worse the more they smoke so your agument is more idle speculation than anything...
Click to expand...
The studies state that they could not establish a causative effect of cannabis, so it's neither one way nor the other.
Some people self-medicating with it and getting worse rather than better isn't a compelling argument for banning the substance.

WE could have a lot more strung out druggies if we abandon control of drugs.
Please excuse me if I dont take your word that this will not
Click to expand...
Your concerns are appropriate, but it is speculation.
There is the Dutch model to consider, no significant increase there after de-criminalising.

If you do not take drugs but want them decriminalised then bully for you.
If you want all drugs to be available to everyone without restraint then you are as bad as the ones who want it because they dont want to be prosecuted..worse in fact.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I fail to follow this, come again?
 
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reefedjib said:
Bull****. You have not shown this.
Click to expand...

Long term smokers are usually the ones that suffer the mental illness.
Refer to links..
If long term smokers have more problems then it follows that the more you smoke the worse it gets.
So its not Bull**** by maybe but not me
 
angrybeaver said:
Long term smokers are usually the ones that suffer the mental illness.
Refer to links..
If long term smokers have more problems then it follows that the more you smoke the worse it gets.
So its not Bull**** by maybe but not me
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It is bull****. Everyone of those articles claimed that they didn't know if it was merely correlation and not causation.
 
roderic said:
Sugar is addictive on a similar level to cannabis, I'll look for the article I posted elsewhere before.

The studies state that they could not establish a causative effect of cannabis, so it's neither one way nor the other.
Some people self-medicating with it and getting worse rather than better isn't a compelling argument for banning the substance.

Your concerns are appropriate, but it is speculation.
There is the Dutch model to consider, no significant increase there after de-criminalising.

Sorry, I fail to follow this, come again?
Click to expand...

Sugar is as addictive as cannabis yes food can be addictive:roll:

Its is clear by the links that there is a concern that cannabis causes mental health problems ..see links again.
Even Portugeuse authorities think so.
No matter how much you deny it there is evidence for it.
We are going round in circles I provide links that show there is concern and you deny it.

The last sentence did not refer to you.
 
reefedjib said:
It is bull****. Everyone of those articles claimed that they didn't know if it was merely correlation and not causation.
Click to expand...

Your writing skills amount to posting bull**** and you reading skills are worse


BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis link to depression

Do you seriously expect you writing bull**** to be a more compelling agument than this post .
Pot can make you delusional
 
This comment by PROFFESOR Joseph Rey.
Could and should carry more weight than life time of posts by tokers and lets make drug legal posters

In an accompanying editorial Joseph Rey, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Sydney, said the studies backed up previous research.

"These findings strengthen the argument that use of cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia and depression."

But he added that further research is needed.

"Whether the use of cannabis triggers the onset of schizophrenia or depression in otherwise vulnerable people or whether it actually causes these conditions in non-predisposed people is not yet resolved


Further research is needed BEFORE cannabis should be considered to be legalised not after.
I would not be willing to run the risk of causing many people mental health prolems just because tokers cannot be convinced that the poison that they take is not toxic.
 
roderic said:
A correlation is still of concern.
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The only thing you can say about such studies is that a much higher percentage of people who smoke pot end up in serious depression or schizophrenia. Not that smoking pot triggers the onset of these diseases or that pot causes these diseases. Only that they correlate. They didn't do a control group or look to isolate the people genetically predisposed to depression or schizophrenia. They only observed the natural occurrence of pot smoking and mental illness. It is no surprise that people already at high risk of depression or schizophrenia concurrently seek self-medication through pot smoking. These users tend to be heavy users as well. Anecdote: I smoked 3-4 times a day for 23 years. I was a very heavy user. It was entirely self-medication. Once I got on proper medication, I put my bong away. To me, the high occurrence of heavy pot smoking is an indicator for mental illness and those users should be identified and treated. But heavy pot smoking is not the cause of mental illness.
 
angrybeaver said:
This comment by PROFFESOR Joseph Rey.
Could and should carry more weight than life time of posts by tokers and lets make drug legal posters

In an accompanying editorial Joseph Rey, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Sydney, said the studies backed up previous research.

"These findings strengthen the argument that use of cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia and depression."

But he added that further research is needed.

"Whether the use of cannabis triggers the onset of schizophrenia or depression in otherwise vulnerable people or whether it actually causes these conditions in non-predisposed people is not yet resolved


Further research is needed BEFORE cannabis should be considered to be legalised not after.
I would not be willing to run the risk of causing many people mental health prolems just because tokers cannot be convinced that the poison that they take is not toxic.
Click to expand...
I trust my evaluations, more than some one who has no first hand experience with the topic. It's like people trying to talk about the affects of apples, who have never eaten one. Everybody is an expert now days.
 
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angrybeaver said:
Your writing skills amount to posting bull**** and you reading skills are worse


BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis link to depression

Do you seriously expect you writing bull**** to be a more compelling agument than this post .
Pot can make you delusional
Click to expand...

As I'm sure you noticed after posting this, your own link contradicts your argument:

"Whether the use of cannabis triggers the onset of schizophrenia or depression in otherwise vulnerable people or whether it actually causes these conditions in non-predisposed people is not yet resolved."

angrybeaver said:
Further research is needed BEFORE cannabis should be considered to be legalised not after.
I would not be willing to run the risk of causing many people mental health prolems just because tokers cannot be convinced that the poison that they take is not toxic.
Click to expand...

Why does something have to be declared harmless for it to be legal? By your logic, recreational use of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, motor vehicles, swimming pools, and just about everything else should be illegal before marijuana. Nothing in life is harmless. People die from toasters and vending machines. Driving your car to buy some pot is more dangerous than ingesting it. Let people make up their own mind.

Skateguy said:
I trust my evaluations, more than some one who has no first hand experience with the topic. It's like people trying to talk about the affects of apples, who have never eaten one. Everybody is an expert now days.
Click to expand...

You don't have to fall off a cliff to see the effects of someone else doing it.

Well, I don't have to. You might.
 
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angrybeaver said:
Further research is needed BEFORE cannabis should be considered to be legalised not after.
I would not be willing to run the risk of causing many people mental health prolems just because tokers cannot be convinced that the poison that they take is not toxic.
Click to expand...

I disagree. It's current black market status means users get their drugs in an unregulated fashion right now. Legalizing will not increase the number of users, it will just take it off the black market. To do studies, you need users.
 
LiberalAvenger said:
I have never heard of anybody od'ing on pot. Why do you cuss and insult me?:(
Click to expand...

I'm not insulting YOU, I'm insulting your insinuation. You need to understand the difference. Your argument is idiotic. Its ridiculous. Its hillariously bad. To argue that Water is more dangerous than Pot is ludicrous on so many levels its not funny.

Now, as to "ODing" on weed I've never made that suggestion. My suggestion is that its ridiculous to say water is MORE dangerous because of that fact.

For one, your body needs water. This is an item necessary for life to exist. You can not survive without having water of some kind on a relatively regular basis. This is not the case for marijuana. So to start off water has a large positive, one Marijuana will never and can never touch....it physically helps keep you alive. Marijuana is a non-essential thing you add into your body.

While mild compared to Alcohol and some hard drug withdrawls, there is still withdrawl symptoms associated with Marijuana. There is legitimately studied memory issues in the short term associated with Marijuana and some studies suggest long term potential damage. There is evidence of it impariing coordination and critical thinking, both of which would be determinental when ones is driving. While not physically addictive, there is legitimate studied and anecdotal evidence of it being psychologically addictive. While not the cause of the manifestation of various mental medical issues, there is evidence to suggest that it may act as an excellerant or trigger for such things if already present with the individual.

I'm sorry, but all of that fully and completely trumps the potential dangers of simply drinking water.

If you want to talk about the dangers of contaminated water, fine, but then you have to talk about marijuana laced with other substances as well.

If you want to talk about water intoxication (the overdosing you're talking about) then you're generally talking about water consumption PLUS another action....either a contest causing one to drink extremely unusually large amounts and stop bodily functions from occuring or extremely strenuous sports activity done in an unsafe manner is typically the cause...which in that case you need to talk about smoking pot PLUS driving and other such "Pot + something else" situations.

No, you can take your stereotypical pathetic "pothead hippy rhetoric" elsewhere, because as I said previously, those kind of ridiculous arguments are part of the reason why pot is not likely to be legalized within the next decade. You are the pot movements equivilent to 9/11 truthers or Obama Birthers, you are so deluded in your arguments and so exaggerated in your debate that you embarress those that agree with you causing them to have to argue against you while simultaneously causing the entire movement to look like you and the rest of those in the extreme wing of it to those members of the public that are in the middle and are the key group to either getting it legalized or not.
 
Tsunami said:
As I'm sure you noticed after posting this, your own link contradicts your argument:

"Whether the use of cannabis triggers the onset of schizophrenia or depression in otherwise vulnerable people or whether it actually causes these conditions in non-predisposed people is not yet resolved."



Why does something have to be declared harmless for it to be legal? By your logic, recreational use of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, motor vehicles, swimming pools, and just about everything else should be illegal before marijuana. Nothing in life is harmless. People die from toasters and vending machines. Driving your car to buy some pot is more dangerous than ingesting it. Let people make up their own mind.



You don't have to fall off a cliff to see the effects of someone else doing it.

Well, I don't have to. You might.
Click to expand...
When you reach my age, one finds that all people are different, and react in different ways. It is hard to use blanket statements, and expect them to apply to all people. I know people, that I feel eat to much cake---but that is up to them. I'm not their Mama.
 
angrybeaver said:
Further research is needed BEFORE cannabis should be considered to be legalised not after.
I would not be willing to run the risk of causing many people mental health prolems just because tokers cannot be convinced that the poison that they take is not toxic.
Click to expand...

Why are you not equally as strongly arguing for the prohibition of Alcohol, whose negetive qualities is on par if not greater than Marijuana and whose positive reasons for being legal are relatively the same?

If its 21 years of age just like Alcohol the sample size of the population that can be affected by it is no larger than what the sample size for alcohol is. Alcohol has similar negative effects. Why should it matter which thing they get the negative effects from. And furthermore what right does the government have in saying that you're allowed to use this recreational drug that has many adverse affects but you're not allowed to use this recreational drug that has similar adverse affects?
 
I don't believe you. You have insulted me way too much. I may have to report you. You are bullying me.:(
 
Zyphlin said:
I'm not insulting YOU, I'm insulting your insinuation. You need to understand the difference. Your argument is idiotic. Its ridiculous. Its hillariously bad. To argue that Water is more dangerous than Pot is ludicrous on so many levels its not funny.

Now, as to "ODing" on weed I've never made that suggestion. My suggestion is that its ridiculous to say water is MORE dangerous because of that fact.

For one, your body needs water. This is an item necessary for life to exist. You can not survive without having water of some kind on a relatively regular basis. This is not the case for marijuana. So to start off water has a large positive, one Marijuana will never and can never touch....it physically helps keep you alive. Marijuana is a non-essential thing you add into your body.

While mild compared to Alcohol and some hard drug withdrawls, there is still withdrawl symptoms associated with Marijuana. There is legitimately studied memory issues in the short term associated with Marijuana and some studies suggest long term potential damage. There is evidence of it impariing coordination and critical thinking, both of which would be determinental when ones is driving. While not physically addictive, there is legitimate studied and anecdotal evidence of it being psychologically addictive. While not the cause of the manifestation of various mental medical issues, there is evidence to suggest that it may act as an excellerant or trigger for such things if already present with the individual.

I'm sorry, but all of that fully and completely trumps the potential dangers of simply drinking water.

If you want to talk about the dangers of contaminated water, fine, but then you have to talk about marijuana laced with other substances as well.

If you want to talk about water intoxication (the overdosing you're talking about) then you're generally talking about water consumption PLUS another action....either a contest causing one to drink extremely unusually large amounts and stop bodily functions from occuring or extremely strenuous sports activity done in an unsafe manner is typically the cause...which in that case you need to talk about smoking pot PLUS driving and other such "Pot + something else" situations.

No, you can take your stereotypical pathetic "pothead hippy rhetoric" elsewhere, because as I said previously, those kind of ridiculous arguments are part of the reason why pot is not likely to be legalized within the next decade. You are the pot movements equivilent to 9/11 truthers or Obama Birthers, you are so deluded in your arguments and so exaggerated in your debate that you embarress those that agree with you causing them to have to argue against you while simultaneously causing the entire movement to look like you and the rest of those in the extreme wing of it to those members of the public that are in the middle and are the key group to either getting it legalized or not.
Click to expand...

I don't believe you. Your reality is not my reality. Just because you disagree with me is no reason to infer insults upon my person.

You are not being a good role model for such a high ranking member.:(
 
Skateguy said:
When you reach my age, one finds that all people are different, and react in different ways. It is hard to use blanket statements, and expect them to apply to all people. I know people, that I feel eat to much cake---but that is up to them. I'm not their Mama.
Click to expand...

Like you, I trust my own judgment more than that of others. But unlike you, I don't base my knowledge on personal experience. I have done nothing. I agree with most of the points you are making, I just don't feel that your argument of having to try something yourself before developing a valid opinion makes sense.

Zyphlin said:
I'm not insulting YOU, I'm insulting your insinuation. You need to understand the difference. Your argument is idiotic. Its ridiculous. Its hillariously bad. To argue that Water is more dangerous than Pot is ludicrous on so many levels its not funny.

Now, as to "ODing" on weed I've never made that suggestion. My suggestion is that its ridiculous to say water is MORE dangerous because of that fact.

For one, your body needs water. This is an item necessary for life to exist. You can not survive without having water of some kind on a relatively regular basis. This is not the case for marijuana. So to start off water has a large positive, one Marijuana will never and can never touch....it physically helps keep you alive. Marijuana is a non-essential thing you add into your body.
Click to expand...

I know you took my last response as a joke, but I actually agree that water is more dangerous than cannabis. There are a lot of things that your body needs that can kill you if you overdose. These things used responsibly are relatively harmless, and the same is possibly true for marijuana. But like anything, if you drink too much water or take too much iron or iodine then they can kill you. Water intoxication is more dangerous than cannabis overdose because it is easier to do and also because people remain unaware of the danger.
 
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