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Disclaimer: I did a search and couldn't find anything quite like what I am posting. Read on.
What do you think, are smokers (from here out smokers refers to Marijuana and not tobacco or anything else) too lazy to stand up for their rights?
I'm not looking to start a debate exactly, I'm just looking to see how many of you are smokers, and what is your reason for not seeking out ways to make Marijuana legal.
I'm Thinking of becoming a supporter and donator to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) They have active politicians raising awareness of people and supporting smokers.
Basing this on where I live and work (So Cal, USA) I would say that 75% or more of the people I see have or do smoke pot. So why isn't anything getting done? People say that the push for medical Marijuana is a start, I disagree. Medical Marijuana is a very small step, Marijuana for recreational use should be legal, taxed and grown to a standard, there is no basis or reason to deny us that. Why are people so unmoved to do something about this? Why not organize and protest?
Well anyways, these are only questions (serious though) and I'm just looking for a little discussion and maybe some support. I am interested in looking for ways to actually push something in motion, I'm tired of hiding in my house, and paying a premium for such an easily grown plant that could be so much more readily available. Anyways a good quote we have all heard but should really reflect upon from time to time. "The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is when good men do nothing."
Thanks 3nodding
Amended to thread: (just a little something to think about..)
On March 22, 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana (sic) and Drug Abuse – chaired by former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer – recommended Congress amend federal law so that the use and possession of pot would no longer be a criminal offense. State legislatures, the Commission added, should do likewise.
“[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use,” concluded the Commission, which included several conservative appointees of then-President Richard Nixon. “It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only with the greatest reluctance.
“… Therefore, the Commission recommends ... [that the] possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense.”
Nixon, true to his ‘law-and-order’ roots, shelved the report – announcing instead that when it came to weed, “We need, and I use the word 'all out war,' on all fronts.” For the last 35 years, that’s what we’ve had.
Source
Some Interesting Quotes from this thread:
Random Plight
I see a lot of people talking about the adverse affects, but half of what they say isn't true. Weed does not make you violent in most cases, so killing a baby as mentioned on the first page is improbable, it's much better for you than cigarettes and alcohol, and studies show that it may actually help prevent lung cancer. Proof? http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/04/10346/
"THC fights lung cancer by curbing epidermal growth factor (EGF), a molecule that promotes the growth and spread of particularly aggressive non-small cell lung cancers. “It seems to go to (EGF) receptor sites on cells and inhibit growth,”
I mean, of course there is going to be a few problems with smoking it, mainly because human bodies are not meant to breath smoke, but most, if not all toxins can be removed by using a vaporizer or by eating it. If it's legalized, then awareness can be raised about safe ways to ingest it, and toxins can be taken out, although it's more likely that companies would put more toxins in.
"THC fights lung cancer by curbing epidermal growth factor (EGF), a molecule that promotes the growth and spread of particularly aggressive non-small cell lung cancers. “It seems to go to (EGF) receptor sites on cells and inhibit growth,”
I mean, of course there is going to be a few problems with smoking it, mainly because human bodies are not meant to breath smoke, but most, if not all toxins can be removed by using a vaporizer or by eating it. If it's legalized, then awareness can be raised about safe ways to ingest it, and toxins can be taken out, although it's more likely that companies would put more toxins in.
chibi-faolan
Ostenuto
marijuana is illegal in the US due to the possibility of substance abuse.
Correction: marijuana is illegal in 38 of the U.S. states due to an effective propaganda campaign in the 1930s.
Ostenuto
Quite obviously, if somebody who is high decides to drive, we're going to have issues, aren't we?
Possibly, depending on a number of factors -- just as we have potential issues with persons who legally consume alcohol and over-the-counter and prescription medications who then decide to drive.
Ostenuto
And even if some people are amazingly in control of themselves, and WON'T abuse marijuana....who's to account for those less "trustable" people?
Probably the same people who account for those with less control of alchohol and cigarette addictions -- which, unlike marijuana, do create a physical dependency and are addictive in the first place.
Ostenuto
The magnitude of damage that can be done by people "under the influence" is too high to be ignored.
Was that a pun? whee At any rate -- the magnitude of potential damage cause by persons "under the unfluence" would likely decrease; compare the societal problems connected with alcohol abuse during Prohibition and after.
Ostenuto
Childish complaints that "we want to be able to smoke pot!" is the same as "I'm going to take something that might cause me to kill people, but don't stop me!"
Unlike perfectly safe substances like beer? I mean, an alcoholic has never comitted a crime, correct?
And I'd really like to see a record of a murder having been committed due to the murderer's having been under the influence of marijuana. Just out of curiosity.
