30/5/10: Sixty Minutes Marijuana legalization story

[drug_mentor]

No it isn't a moral issue at all. I mean I do sort of see how someone could try argue that conforming to societies already outlined rules is a moral issue but I don't believe that either, if that was the case then any move for change would be immoral.

 

[WitchfinderGeneral]

^As I thought.

For me it clearly isn't a moral issue. I know plenty of people who indulge occasionally, yet aside from that are honourable, well adjusted people. I was slightly stunned by her opinion. She makes the government scare campaigns look moderate.

 

[lynnie]

I'm curious, Lynnie, do you drink alcohol? Have you ever gotten drunk? If so, how is it different to people who choose to use cannabis?

Anyway, this topic is eerily similar to a conversation I recently had with a close friend. The skinny is that she essentially believes that because something is illegal, it is wrong, and those people who are imprisoned are simply collateral damage in the bid for a better society. Most interestingly, she believes it is a moral choice to use or abstain from drugs. I feel I know what the answer will be, but do people here believe it is a moral choice?

Yes i do drink moderately, i would be lying if i told you i never got drunk before, alcohol is legal the availability is pretty much all four corners. I have known some people who drank strong alcohol daily and passed away at early age and when there was a autopsy done they found the liver charcoaled, this a person that is only 32 years old i am quite certain it builded over a period of time. He actually was the son of a person who owned a pub/bar and what he done was completely legal, it was quite sad really because no one saw it coming, i personally spoke to him and he seemed all fine and had no mental issues whatsoever. I am not going to compare alcohol with marijuana because these are both two difference classes and both have fewer casualties compared to other drugs that are out there. Most of my friends though they have the money to drink but none of them are alcoholics, most of them drink once a week at most and worst of all is that they will probably binge drink once a year when they are on vacation the majority of them go to the gym regularly.

 

[lynnie]

I recently gave up 1-2 a day habit that had been going on for the past 8-12 months. Had been smoking 3-4 times a week before that, and had up to 6 month stretches of 1-3 times a day.

It took me a while to stop smoking but once I did I found it pretty easy, the only difficultly is the large number of people who relied on me getting it for them (and at no profit to myself). I've had it once since (my aim was to cut down rather than completely stop) and felt a little unimpressed by it.

Yeah it can make you feel lazy but once you actually stop it isn't that hard given the lack of physical addictiveness. I've been using cannabis for quite a while and have come to the conclusion that the problems people have with it (and becoming reliant on it) are not because of the drug itself but self control and lack of motivation.

You’re a great example you didn’t give it up but stopped and felt unimpressed by it. The reason being is because you lost interest and saw the negativity. But if you were still on it you defiantly wouldn’t of came to this, this is a prime example to users that if you do stop you can start thinking about reality, you fully understand the cycle you repeated daily, no one will understand how you feel right now unless they did what you have done. Can you believe that there are some users out there who think it isn’t possible to stop or get out of that scenario? Because certainly you didn’t expect it to be so simple until you stopped and lost interest.

 

[phase_dancer]

p_d, why is it that most alkaloids are typically toxic to humans? Off the top of my fried head I can only think of the relatively non-toxic alkaloids like DMT, 7-hydroxymitragynine and psilocybin... but I am curious about what makes other alkaloids as a rule generally more toxic then say, THC?

Overall it has to do with the similarities and differences between the alkaloids and neurotransmitters, and also the way these substances bind to enzymes etc. Normally, these compounds work by mimicking endogenous substances, but with less specific actions. In some instances the body's attempts at producing a more easily excreted product also produces a more toxic metabolite.


Nature typically uses alkaloids as a defense against predators and accordingly, some alkaloids are less toxic to different species. There's many plant derived substances that aren't alkaloids however, some of which are very toxic to humans.

THC's primary function is probably to prevent dehydration, and possibly also prevent predators and bacteria from eating the plan. In humans the primary actions of THC seem fairly CB receptor specific (which of course has many secondary actions), and its high lipid solubility and long half life of its carboxylic acid metabolite probably also play a part. And none of the major metabolites appear to be appreciably more toxic than THC itself.

 

[thickskin]

You’re a great example you didn’t give it up but stopped and felt unimpressed by it. The reason being is because you lost interest and saw the negativity. But if you were still on it you defiantly wouldn’t of came to this, this is a prime example to users that if you do stop you can start thinking about reality, you fully understand the cycle you repeated daily, no one will understand how you feel right now unless they did what you have done. Can you believe that there are some users out there who think it isn’t possible to stop or get out of that scenario? Because certainly you didn’t expect it to be so simple until you stopped and lost interest.

Yes I understand that there are people in that situation but the illegality doesn't make that any better.
The only real problems I had from it was being too tired the next morning and a little exy (when you smoke upwards of 2g in a session). Nowhere near as bad as when I drank a lot.
While I was smoking I did understand the patterns of my smoking abuse and did comprehend reality (the effects in the end were not much stronger than when I smoked for the first few times). Understanding my patterns allowed me to quit because I realized the main problem was the very easy availability I had.
Also it helped I stopped being friends with someone who abused everything all the time (but suffered most from abusing alcohol). If weed had been legal she would have smoked instead of drank and she was much better off smoking.

Still I'm going to amsterdam soon and will be smoking there, not really expecting to smoke much when I get back. Not smoking between now and then to lower tolerance and save money.
My point is most people who use it use it responsibly. Problems often come up when friends buy a lot at one time (because availability can be low for them due to the laws). When they have easy access they don't have such long binges and will be able to use without impacting on their lives.