Weed

[Haze]

i think the taxation law would only apply if you were to SELL your backyard weed.

[Torpedo]

Since I started it I have loads more friends...

Friends that word is strong ... hate easy ironies, but this should be taken seriously even when it is in the best heart of the matter.

[Aceo]

"yoda shooting people and drink driving is illegal too yet thats far more higher.......your logic baffles me!"
As logic said - you compared murder to a substance
I compared a substance to another substance and got the conclusion that the easier you can buy something, the more people will buy it and thus rate of injuries will rise.

You're right on the comparing substance to murder not being very relevant, but the drink driving is a valid point. It is illegal, and an effect from the drinking of alcohol. So, comparing the deaths of the two, cannabis is the safer drug.

[Mr Tortoise]

btw im all for legalising weed


but the comparison with car accidents dur to drink driving is wrong in so many ays that im not even going to bother starting to list the immediatley obvious ones.

[Zircon]

Ok I'm gonna bump this one up since there's still so much ignorance around and also there's something happening in the world right now. So listen:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 4651731007

please watch it all. It's probably the best document film about the case.
Wait, there's more!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/2 ... 20013.html

Wake up people!

[Mr Tortoise]

well it doesn;t need to be illegal


right now you have cartels controlling all drug markets


they are profit centered - and moreover there is research that shows they are killing their own argument.


Eg cocaine. right now less and less people are taking this. Can;t remember where the article was but the reasons are sipmle ... its expensive and its not as good as it used to be.

The same is true of ectasy ... you hear stories of people taking 7-8 pills a night ... that just is not possible with what came out origionally ... thats why they are so cheap ... so what else is in them?

Then you get to cannabis ... it is now very veyr difficult to get this by weight. Instead the majority of people use dial a dealers from mobile phone numbers and get ripped off regularly ... but at least it gets you stoned.

The cost of it has gone up loads because of this. a 20 bag is now about 2.5g rather than an eigth = 3.5g
The result is that you cant buy weight as it takes too much profit and as such you have to use tobacco - which sucks.

Moreover i know people who have been robbed by dealers who found out they were growing.

It is depressing tbh.

[Zircon]

The people profiting of prohibition law = criminals
tbh
see the document

[Wizav]

Einstein was a pot head , It helped him think and relax

[Safire]

Anything in excess is bad for you, drinking, smoking, eating, taking drugs...
All of these things can be addictive, which is why there are a lot of health risks surrounding them and laws out there to protect us.
I know a guy who smokes all the time, he doesn't go out, all he worries about is where he'll get his next batch of weed. He's utterly miserable. His sister used to smoke weed as well... then she had a stroke at 26 and was left unable to walk or talk. She was a heavy weed smoker, and it's a fact that tobacco and weed have very high nicotine concentrates which clog up the arteries :/ She may not have had a stroke because of the weed, but it would certainly not have helped...
From my point of view, it's never worth it. If you "need" something to make you artificially "happy", then you have to look at your whole way of living.

[Zircon]

Anything in excess is bad for you, drinking, smoking, eating, taking drugs...
All of these things can be addictive, which is why there are a lot of health risks surrounding them and laws out there to protect us.

I consider alcohol and tobacco more dangerous than cannabis (and that's a fact too). So maybe we should make beer and cigarettes illegal too? Hell no! There's so much hypocrisy in our current drug laws that it makes me depressed. Every 25th death in the world is caused by alcohol. Where's the law that protects us?

From my point of view, it's never worth it. If you "need" something to make you artificially "happy", then you have to look at your whole way of living.

That just doesn't work for me as well as it should I guess.
I'm happy with or without drugs (referring to coffee, tobacco, alcohol, weed and hard drugs) but why shouldn't I try to get higher? Life happens only once in a lifetime I can get good vibes and feel happy for just seeing a beautiful landscape or a small miracle in my daily life but that's not enough for me. You can't produce the same chemical feeling of good with just power of will.
I do envy the people who can get their maximal satisfaction without any drugs after trying them.

Life is too short to be unhappy

PS. Cannabis doesn't have nicotine in it btw. Sorry to hear about your mate too :/

[bigbmxdave]

this whole thread just reminded me of this guy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be7Og9Gc_KY&feature=related[/youtube]

as for my opinion on weed, its not bad, but at the moment beer is 10x better than a spliff for me.
-its cheaper
-its easier to get
-you dont have to try and hide it
-lots of varieties
-after opening a beer I dont get others asking for a sip

[Zircon]

Haha dave
If cannabis was legal, you wouldn't face those problems wouldn't you (yeayea, I know you said "at the moment")
Besides there are lots of varieties of weed. I mean lots.
But for the mainstream it's easier to consume legal drugs of course. I'm not trying to raise myself upon anyone. I'm just a regular guy, I like drinking beer. But in my opinion we need a change. I just wish everyone would pay some attention to the existing drug politics and see through them.

[Safire]

I shot too fast and loose with the word fact there didn't I? ;D
You are right there is no nicotine in weed, but I was right in that it's very damaging to the lungs, just like smoking normal cigarettes.

"It is a common misconception that smoking cannabis is somehow less harmful than smoking cigarettes but experts from the British Lung Foundation believe smoking one cannabis joint has the same damaging effect on the lungs as five cigarettes. You're also at higher risk of lung cancer and emphysema if you smoke cannabis and other lung problems linked to the drug include bronchitis and asthma."

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pages/ ... ngers.aspx

I remember hearing of this research somewhere else, but this was the most comprehensive overview.

As for the why not be more happy because you only live once thing. I am also aware that life is very short and we should make the most of it, which is why I wouldn't touch drugs. I don't like the chances of being screwed up or dying. What I've never had, I cannot miss, so I have no desire to take drugs.
I also find happiness from doing something productive. I like making cards, and I feel a big sense of satisfaction when I finish it and see my work. Makes me feel goooood! If I just take a pill or smoke a joint or get drunk, what actually have I done? :S

In reference to the legalisation of cannabis, I am glad it's illegal. I know there are many people who can smoke it now and again and be fine but there are people who can't stop and whose life it ruins. Laws are there to protect the vulnerable.

[bokkie]

in my town i rekon about 70% of people aged 15-21 smoke it

[CATCHERAL]

I used to smoke every day, now I smoke just at the weekend and occasianally midweek after work too, but I think its easy to stop for a week or two and you really feel more fresh after doing that..

Ive seen some family members who drink alcohol every day get into a very bad state and get very ill because of it, and at the same time I was smoking cannabis every day. I did that just to go to sleep easier and so I didnt worry as much about things going on around me,

The person who drank heavily everyday is now ill in hospital directly because of that

Im still happily going to work and seeing my friends each day..

[Haze]

it depends who you are, my family and I for example have never really shown any psychosis symptoms (nothing permanent anyway) whereas two of my friends have gone sketchy and paranoid permanently because of it.

some people can hack it, others cant.

[Safire]

Precisely, it's ok to say drinking/smoking etc is worse but it depends on the person and their body's response to it. Basically all of these things are bad for you in excess and if you are particularly succeptible then it ain't good

[FunkySpider]

In reference to the legalisation of cannabis, I am glad it's illegal. I know there are many people who can smoke it now and again and be fine but there are people who can't stop and whose life it ruins. Laws are there to protect the vulnerable.

Where are the laws to protect people about lung cancer and liver damage or families that suffer from abuse due to alcohol addiction?
It's hypocritical imo to outlaw something like cannabis when alcohol abuse is rampant and cigarettes are still sold by the truck load. if you're going to outlaw one then why not the others? They are at the end of the day just as bad for you.
I don't smoke weed anymore but i have no problem with people smoking it as long as they realise it isn't a miracle drug that makes you smarter and more socially adept, it's just a form of relaxant, like beer. I have more of a problem with the binge drinking culture that makes many of our towns and cities a no go area after 8pm

[Safire]

Well we live in a democracy, supposedly people have free will which means if they wish to smoke/drink themselves into ill health and maybe even death then it is their choice. The government has laws such as no drinking and driving or drinking and using heavy machinery etc, this in a way is a law to encourage people NOT to drink all day for example. Same with not being allowed to smoke in certain places and needing to be of a certain age to be able to buy cigarettes. It's not telling people you can't smoke/drink it's just perhaps encouraging you not to.
Drugs are a bit different because of the culture that goes along with it. I don't really know all the ins and outs, this is just my assumption.

[Rico]

Well we live in a democracy, supposedly people have free will which means if they wish to smoke/drink themselves into ill health and maybe even death then it is their choice.

A problem with things like smoking and drinking is they are too often not self-contained. Be it passive smoking, alcohol-induced violence or accidents resulting from drunk/drugged driving, these things affect others beyond the individual himself.

If it's one person in the confines of his own home, that's fair enough. But if he steals to feed his habit, or becomes a burden on the NHS to treat problems stemming from his abuse of alcohol or other drugs, it's not OK.

As for alcohol and tobacco, rather than seeing it as an argument in favour of legalising cannabis, I see the illegality of cannabis and the problems alcohol or tobacco can cause as arguments for greater controls on them. I'd be perfectly happy to see tobacco and alcohol completely prohibited, personally. Shame they generate so much tax revenue for the state.