will you guys stop bagging this guy out for his opinion that weed doesn't help anyone? shit no one even goes at me for it anymore -
I'm sure you know my thoughts on marijuana by now, but I'd strongly suggest the reason that people aren't arguing with you isn't so much that you've won the battle, more that they can't get you to see their POV, even when backed by serious science. Sorry to have to attack you here MrI, but you've left yourself wide open. And I just can't let these statements go unchallenged....
and I firmly stand by the fact i think weed really isn't that beneficial to mankind.
The uses of cannabis products are well known, and the hemp industry wouldn't exist otherwise. Before nylon was invented, and Du Pont sneakily pushed for the banning of marijuana so that hemp would be banned too (and therefore unable to compete with the synthetic but inferior product) all parts of the cannabis plant were used, from rope and paper making to producing superior lubricants, to treatments for arthritis, and all manner of ailments. My uncle probably still has the hemp rope my Grandad owned. That was made during WWII and was still in fine condition when I last saw some 10 years ago. If it wasn't for hemp paper, all our manuscripts from hundreds of years ago would now be dust. I've a couple of books made from hemp that are over 100 years old and the paper is less oxidised (yellow) than a 5 year old paperback. I could write pages here, but if you'd really thought about that statement before writing you would have checked it out.
I've previously outlined the benefits of cannabis in medical treatment. I've known cannabis users that have required less of other medications, and in one case, no additional pain management, for terminal and life altering conditions. In many many cases it works, simple as that.
I start this point (for the 862nd time) by stating that the alkaloids in MJ ARE DRUGS - and not just a fucking plant.
Err...THC, CBN and CBD and all active compounds of marijuana are not alkaloids.
Definition of an alkaloid from wiki for future reference
Alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing basic nitrogen atoms
Tell me where the nitrogen is in THC
This is a fundamental reason why cannabis is unique, as most of the naturally occurring drugs with recreational potential
are alkaloids, and alkaloids are typically toxic to humans. Cannabis, on the other hand, and it's active ingredients are relatively nontoxic. There may be some exceptions to the alkaloid "must contain nitrogen" rule, but I've 3 texts on alkaloids and none includes any non N containing substances.
So, in one sense, THC is not typical of most drugs, although there's no denying it has pharmacological activity.
We don't put this rule to mescaline cactii, opium poppies, sassafrass, acacia, mushrooms - the whole plethora of plants which our favourite chemicals come from or are derived from.
Cactii -alkaloids
Opium -alkaloids
Sassafras - well, no quantities of alkaloids to speak of, but no activity either
Acacia - alkaloid
mushrooms - alkaloid
So that does make cannabis rather special, particularly when speaking of it in an alchemic, holistic, entheogenical or even biochemical sense
Of course there are other non-alkaloid psychoactives, Salvinorin A being one, but as said, most of those you know about are alkaloids.
To the anti-dope brigade generally
It truly astounds me how some people can look at one or two anecdotal examples and ignore all the science that is to the contrary, particularly when these are Bluelighters who have been around long enough to know better.
In 12 years of outreach, I've seen but one example of someone seriously affected by cannabis -that's 1 out of thousands - yet he didn't have to go to hospital. All it took was the kind words and patience from two of our girls. Incidentally, this was the first time this guy had indulged, and his friends were responsible for feeding him up with cookies. That by itself is unusual. By far, the majority of interventions involve self administration of amphetamines, LSD, GHB, or alcohol or a combination of 2 or more - with little or no encouragement required.
We could compare our intervention rates relating to cannabis, with the other commonly used recreational substances, but, well, there is no comparison really. We've seen them all, in far greater numbers. And, I might add, a significant proportion do end up with a free ambulance ride. Yet cannabis is the most widely used drug, is it not?
If you want anecdotes, then I'll just say I've known people who've smoked >10 joints a day for most of their lives, and are now in their sixties, healthy with no signs of COPD, or psychological problems, and who have otherwise been law abiding citizens their whole lives. If there's ever a cause for legalisation, it lies with marijuana. However, if the science didn't back this up, and by science I mean
real science, from independent researchers not mandated at proving it to be the evil weed - then I'd be singing a very different song.
