I don't smoke pot. It's something that's never had a place in my life and I've always seen drugs, even alcohol, as a potential hindrance to my goals in life. That's why I've always been very careful about where I tread, what I take and when I take it. But despite this goodie-two-shoes approach to all things potentially addictive, I'm probably one of the few human beings that's genuinely outraged that marijuana is illegal.
You see, I'm a libertarian at heart and being a libertarian means you have one simple, fundamental rule when it comes to government, "The government's job is to protect me from others, but I'm the only person who's responsible for protecting me from myself." This means that if there's no victim outside of the perpetrator, there is no crime. Period.
However, I'm also a realist and I understand that I live in a society that's hell-bent enforcing morals through laws and watching over people's shoulders to make sure they're doing what's right, even when it doesn't affect anyone else. But even under such a restrictive government, the hypocrisy of making marijuana illegal is dumbfounding and, to a libertarian such as myself, is infuriating.
First of all, marijuana as a substance is less harmful and less addictive than cigarettes, less intoxicating than alcohol and the only illegal drug that has not killed a single person in recorded history. In fact, much to my shame, some studies indicate that caffeine, my drug of choice, comes with more harmful side effects than marijuana does.
Now let's take a quick moment to contrast marijuana to each of these other, completely legal, drugs.
Cigarettes have an absolutely abominable record when it comes to public safety. Not only do 400,000 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses, but also the nicotine found in cigarettes has been tested as being the most addictive drug that's widely used, up to five times more addictive than cocaine. Meanwhile, just a few years ago, tobacco executives were swearing that nicotine wasn't addictive and that people were smoking cigarettes purely for personal enjoyment. It's a sad spectacle to say the least. However, tobacco, in all its forms, remains completely legal to anyone over the age of 18.
However, alcohol isn't doing much better. Another highly addictive substance, upwards of 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning (this doesn't count drunk driving, other accidents, liver disease or kidney failure). To make matters worse, alcohol is implicated in over half of all domestic violence and rape cases, up to 2/3 of all assaults and a quarter of all suicides. Yet despite this tremendous societal impact, alcohol remains completely legal for anyone over the age of 21 who isn't operating a motor vehicle.
Caffeine, however, is much more innocent. But it too rings in as one of the most addictive substances available, ahead of PCP, and the negative health consequences of caffeine, including lost sleep, jitters and ulcers are well documented.
Compared to these three, marijuana, a drug with no physical dependency and one of the lowest overall addictiveness ratings, seems rather tame. While taking smoke into your lungs is never a good thing and some of the side effects of marijuana, including mental impairment and sexual dysfunction, are undeniable, it's no more dangerous than many over-the-counter medications. Combine that with the complete lack of a body count and marijuana becomes one of the safest things to breathe in a society surrounded by gas fumes and wet paint. Even the hardest skeptics of the drug have to admit, it's better for you than cigarettes and less of a societal problem than alcohol.
Despite this, the government has fought tooth and nail to keep marijuana illegal, including taking states that try to decriminalize the drug to court. But while the federal government ignores the obvious, nearly 750,000 people each year are arrested for mere marijuana possession costing taxpayers an estimated $10 billion. This number dwarfs the number of violent criminals arrested and most law enforcement experts agree that the "war on pot" has become nothing but a huge burden on the nation's police force.
But then comes the big question, why is it illegal in the first place? I've read about a dozen theories on the issue, but as I see it, it boils down to one critical factor, the users. The people who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol come from all walks of life and any attempt to criminalize those two drugs would be resisted by A) powerful lobby groups and B) the wealthy and middle-class users of the products. However, pot smokers tend to be younger, less politically involved and smaller in number than any of the other groups in question. So while speaking out against cigarettes or alcohol is political suicide, it's completely safe to pick on marijuana users and, in fact, with the public crying for a "war on drugs" it's a very, very smart move.
Now, on an aside note, a lot of people have taken to calling pot a "gateway drug" to justify maintaining its criminal status. But the term "gateway drug", while it seems to implicate marijuana in causing more serious addictions, is actually a term that means very little for the simple reason that any drug can be a gateway drug. While there's a strong correlation between people who use pot and then move onto other things, a similar correlation exists for both alcohol and caffeine. The truth is, a lot of people who use marijuana never move onto harder drugs just like light drinkers don't always become raging alcoholics. In the end, it's just a convenient statistic to justify an unjustifiable law.
But there is hope. Several states and many nations are moving to decriminalize marijuana. By one estimate, 30% of the United States population lives under some form of decriminalization and in those states there's been no reported increase of marijuana use. Other states, like Nevada, are pushing legislation through to decriminalize marijuana possession despite the federal governments legal maneuvering to get the laws repealed.
What needs to happen is more political activism on the part of pot smokers. More than just protests and publicity stunts, there needs to be a serious push not just for the legalization of marijuana, but to promote the responsible use of it. Rather than simply fighting to lift the ban, there needs to be an understanding that any legalization of it is going to come with restrictions and the consensus among the current marijuana lobbyists is that the restrictions should be similar to those placed on alcohol (age, location of consumption, driving, etc.).
But most importantly, pot smokers needs to shake their image of being stupid, lazy and useless. Being politically active and promoting responsible use is one of the best ways to do that, but also important is being a productive member of the community, a law-abiding citizen (marijuana use aside) and a contributor to government both as a taxpayer and as a voter.
Perhaps then marijuana users and marijuana supporters will be able to show the people the error of the existing laws and take their case to government in a way that will earn them respect and, justice willing, a victory.
i agree totaly with you im a potsmoker but im not stupid in fact my iq actually went up after i started using the reason we have an image of being stupid and lazy is because of the media no matter what we do society will look at half baked and jay and silent bob and think we all act like thatthe media sadly will never portray a law-abiding intelligent stoner my momsmokes pot and she is neither lazy or stupid she runs her own bussniess and is very successful but she will never get any recignition.
I agree whole heartedly with what you have said. I admit I smoke pot every once in a while and I really don't see the hype about it. I am a straight A student, top in my class. I am finishing high school along with taking a full college load. I am extremely active in my community and basically have my future planned out. I am headed towards a career in oncology and I think that marijuana is an absolute "wonder" herb that needs to legalized, if not for recreation for at least medicinal purposes. I honestly use to think that marijuana was this horrible mind erasing substance. That is what society wants us to think. Society raises us to think that marijuana is this God-awful,stupefying drug that will kill us or ultimately make us brainless vegetables. I admit that I use to be a huge anti-marijuana advocate but then I started to actually research its affects, outside of what I had been told. Cannabis Setiva is an incredible plant; medically and economically ( textiles & etc). I fully believe that the only way pot will be legalized is if Americans are educated on the TRUE effects of marijuana. Thank you so much for printing your article on the net, each person counts and with your article you are educating that much more on the truth of marijuana. Take Care.
Though I agree with you wholeheartedly on the issue of making marijuana legal, I must raise a question on one thing. In your article, you state that marijuana is the only illegal drug without a body count in the whole history of its existence as a drug. What about the people, countless adults, children, and senior citizens, that are raped, run over, beten, etc. because the perpetrator has been stoned? If you want to count deaths by drunk driving as a negative for alcohol, I think you should also count this for marijuana. I myself was raped by a man that had a ridiculous amount of marijuana in his system. So even if marijuana hasn't killed anyody, you have to take into account the number of people that have been affected by it in other ways. That said, I believe your article was a well-written one. Keep writing!
I agree with you on this. Marijuana is a very harmless drug, I have smoked marijuana for the past two years off and on and at one point I was high for two months straight, and there was not a single minute where I ran a kid over or robbed a store. I admitt that i am just one out of countless other people who smoke weed. But ciggarettes are more addicting, i cant go a day with out a ciggarette, but with marijuana i can go months at a time without having a single sign of withdrals. Marijuana should be legalized but i doubt that it ever will be.
Marijuana helps.
What I have to say about Marijuana is this; I have never been into the whole "smoking pot" thing. Yes, i have done it before, but it is not an every day, every week,nor every month thing for me. My best friends, they do it all the time. It is a constant thing for them. Every day, they smoke pot numerous times. Do I look down on all of my friends because they smoke pot and I don't? No. Do I think that they are less intelligent because they do smoke pot? Yes. That is my reason to abstain from doing so. I am not saying that i want it to be legalized nor am I saying I don't want it to be. It does not matter to me. The way I see it is this, if you want to do it, more power to you, but if you don't, then don't. If people want to do something with their life, such as smoke pot, and it is not affecting anyone else, then go ahead. Like you said, Raven, it has not killed anyone, and it does not even come close to what cigarrettes do, which are very addictive, so, then why try so hard to ban something that isn't making any progress getting banned anyway? I am just saying, that I do not think it will help me with my life's goals, but if it helps someone else with their life goals, then they should be able to have it legalized for them.
I don't smoke pot, but my brother does. He believes the only reason the government is against pot is because they can't tax it.
im doing a research paper on Legalization of Marijuana and i read your entire opinion and i agree with it. I am a pot smoker, but i agree.
I think that marijuana should be legal because personally i know of no one that has just died from smoking marijuana. I do also smoke marijuana, not because i need to but because it relaxes me. Compared to all other legal drugs and illegal drugs marijuana is by far the least drug to kill or injure anyone. The government just is afraid that they wont be able to make any moey off marijuana because it's a plant! Why should the government be able to tell us what we can and what we can not do with plants and herbs? Thats like telling people that they cannot grow their own basil or tomatoes!
Marijuana is, to me, a relaxing way to spend your time. I smoke cigarettes and marijuana and, if I could, I would quit smoking cigarettes immediately and simply revert to marijuana. As you have said, marijuana doesn't have near the effects that cigarettes have on people, and I, as a legal smoker and pot smoker, can vouch for your truthfulness. All pot does is raise the THC in the back of your head, which gives you a light-headed and 'high' feeling. It doesn't kill your brain cells and liver like alcohol does and it doesn't damage your lungs to the horrendous degree that cigarettes do.
I have smoked pot off and on my whole life. For over 25 years. I use it recreationally. I do not use any other drugs nor am I tempted by them. I don't like alcohol for the problem of once you are intoxicated it keeps you out of focus for at least 24 hours from its effects and withdrawal from your system. I smoke a little pot in a couple hours I am fully back in focus and able to deal with everyday life.
I own my own business and am not by any means a "stupid waste of a person" as the stereotype suggests.
At this point of the game though I am in the closet due to the fact with laws such as they are, I could lose everything I have worked for by standing up for what I believe in.
As for the commentor who stated they were hurt by a pot smoker I would almost put money on the fact that is not all that was in the persons system who created the crime. I have never met a violent user. Everyone I associate with that smokes marijuana uses it as a relaxant.
As for the goverment not being able to tax it sure they could.. Just like they do tobacco or alcohol. There would be growers and packagers, graders for quality and a whole line of jobs waiting to happen. It would help the farmers who have been hurt by the tobacco industry. It could lessen the prison population and redirect the tax money we now pay to (cough)rehabilitate users and distributers of this drug.
It might even break up some of the gang type behaviors lessening their power.
The place I see where it might effect big business would be pharmacuticals. Depression is a big business these days. Marijuana is possibly the answer to those that need a fast and short termed break from their everyday stress levels which would keep them from a full blown depressive state. Drug companies have a heavy hand on today's policies and politics. Not to mention addictive life styles. (something to consider)
being one of the younger pot smokers i can see where you are coming from.I think that all the people that posted a letter here should spend there time fighting insted of writing unless of course they are writing to try and legalize the drug.
well thats pretty much all i have to say on the topic and hopefully people will come to there senses and work a little harder and thank you ranting raven for giving me new insight on the matter
now i feel mor confident on the topic
Yo! I read this article because I was doing an essay for english class about legalizing weed. I agree with what you said for sure…legalize it but even if they never do im always gunna smoke it!!
It is blasphemous for the government or anyone else to think that a plant can be illegal?
a living organism…
when will man stop thinking he can control everything with laws.
i hope people never become illegal.
i myself am a pot smoker and i find the fact that the government won't legalize it appalling. don't they have any idea how much better the economy would be if pot was legalized. and to the woman who said she was raped by a man that was stoned. i'm sorry hun, but he was on more than marijuana. i've never had to punch a stoned kid in the face because he got a case of "wandering hands" but i have had to with a drunk kid. if they really want to ban something it should be alcohol i've seen more people act a fool, start fights, wreck their cars just because they were drunk i've never seen anyone do anything that stupid on just pot alone.
personally i do not agree with the illegalism of weed. though i do not smoke i will agree with Raven's comment that drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and, yes, even weed can and will hinder your goals in life. If this does not bother you then please go home to your parents, go back to school and reassess your priorities.
I smoke pot and I like it
I have to say that i am truely disgusted by the populus that smokes marijuana simply because they are lazy and are the ones that simply wrote things like "POT ROCKS!" in this site. I do smoke marijuana and i do believe that the first step towards sucessfully legalizing it is mentioned in the article. I mean come on. not everyone who smokes pot is a perfect person. but if the people that are well educated and able to make good arguments on the role of pot on their lives came forward and began really fighting for legalization, thats what we'll get. I'd have to say i am appauled by the current fight for legalization. The laziness of the people fighting for this plant to be legal is surely whats feeding this sterotype.
I forgot to mention the medicinal and governmental reason for legalizing. If pot were to become governmentally funded and taxed and regulated, our country would prosper beyond all belief and therefore benifit the country in the long hall.
Raven, i am glad that you have spoken up and stated your opinion on the legalization of marijuana, the world, specifically the United States could use more minds like yourself. Although you yourself are not a user of the drug, your mind and political stances have allowed you to see the truth of the matter, marijuana should be legalized, plain and simple. Marijuana can be a large factor for my continuing existence, sometimes shit get's that bad, and i'll i've got is a bud and a bud, special emphasis should be noted that one of those buds is a friend and the other would be the marijuna, and that keeps me going till things clear up. I have never tried another drug besides marijuana, with the exception of alcohol, this is not to say that i have not considered it. Inorganic drugs have just never appealed to me, and they very likely, never will. In no way has marijuana been a "gateway drug" for me, i came into this world with a like mind to what i use now, smoke first entered my lungs when i first could walk, and very quickly after that the thought that i would never do a drug that i could not produce myself, accumulated in my head. Since then i have stuck to that, marijuana has changed nothing in that regard. The governmetns continual oppression of the stonerand his wonder drug have created the overall distrust and widespread disobey-ance of themselves, if someone could be so stupid as to illegalize one of natures harmless wonders, maybe abusing some of the other illegalities would be fine. For me, that's probably the only way that marijuana could be considered a "gateway drug". The government is what's fucking up the minds of our children. They're just a massive brain washing system, that happens to be fronting this nation's survival. If i were old enough and at my political, knowledgeable, and economical prime i would have to voice my opinion a little more than on this highly influential website, no offense intended, just that this page will not directly affect our government at all. There's just too much that has to change in this great, yet pocked, land of ours for this site to make a big difference, but it's possible for this site to influence the people enough to pursue this, even by research and you've made a difference. Our nation as a majority, or an overwhelming division, must be pro-marijuana and liberal, and most importantly, intelligent and unopinionated, don't take the unopinionated part unless you know how i meant it. What we need is a massive star to stand up and say that they wouldn't be where they were without weed, i'm not sure who this would be, perhaps Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan could have done it a few years ago, someone that is as big as they were. Obviously we would need more than one person, we would need many, and they would have to synchronize their statements coming out and saying it, we would need more than just super stars, we would need musicians, big business CEo's, politicians, and scientists. We would need an overall improvement of the image that is projected of the everyday stoner, and we would need someone to argue with the injust smoking commercials that are against marijuana, the ones that are soley based on responsibility, the ones that boil so much hatred from me. We would need plenty more, but that's all i have time for at the moment, i'll post again, most likely…
Hey my name is Issac and i am a certified stoner. And i agree with what you are trying to do but am another person that understands that it will not happen in our lifetime. Me and mick have known each other scince we were in diapers and we have the same views on this subject. To give yet another ex. of a stoner accomplishment my father is a stoner, and every morning scince i can remember him and one of his old time friends have got together in our kitchen and smoked a bowl during breakfast. He is the sole owner of more than 4 small buisnesses. All of them are prosperous and many of his employee's are stoners as well. From what he has told me he alone is worth over 3 million dollars, and that is quite an achievemant for a lifetime stoner.
The effects of marijuana are not as bad as most make them seem all of those new anti drug commercials that will empower the parents to step up and talk to their son or daughter and tell them to stop, are among the most hypocritical things that i have ever seen. The only reaston the government does not leagalize marijawana is bacause they can not controll the substance. If they would simply step to the challange that this presents and find how to get past all of there conservitive pricks and leagalze and tax this shit than we might be able to dig our country out of this dephacite that now exsists.and have you ever seen what happens when lots of people smoke weed together? everyone becomes open and talk openly with out thinking about what there gonna say which makes it muk easier to know people and makes for great long lasting relationships and what else can you wish for.
marijuana makes a persons creativity awaken at least thats exactly what has happend to me and in the words of a great man "imagination is more important than knolege." Albert Einstein (1879-1955) peace be the jorney
I will be straight up and say that I am pretty young, but I have only used marijuana for a little under four months now, and it is just a once a week thing for me. I have really started to enjoy using marijuana, although I don't plan on increasing my use. It makes me very calm, takes away stress, and I usually have a very good time. I have been drunk two times in my life, and both were very bad experiences. I have also used another drug called DXM and it was another unenjoyable experience for me. Since using marijuana, I have had no sign of lowered grades in school, and I think I have become more alert in class since I started using it. As for legalizing marijuana, my older brother has sent various letters to Senators in Ohio on the legalization of pot. I personally don't see it happening in the near future, but if the fight keeps going, it will eventually happen. It is ming boggling to say that a plant that was created on this earth is illegal to use. Hopefully there will be a change in the future of America for Marijuana.
Well, hmmm all of my friends smoke, and although I dont, I agree with your article. I will because I see absolutely nothing wrong with the drug itself and I think the whole "gateway" drug issue is bullshit. I live in a little Vermont town where everyone smokes but the issue of other illegal drugs is basically non-existant. The fact that its illegal, i believe is mostly due to all of the pompous asses who run our government. And to all of the parents who try to prevent there kids from not only smoking pot, but drinking- Alot of you were hippies and cant even try to tell us that we're wrong, you just forgot what it was like. Thats pretty much it, even if my friends are all stoners, they are still good people (for the most part), and shouldnt be considered menacing, law-breaking citizens.
when i was born all the way up to my sophmore year i was against pot becuz my parents said it was bad,the tv said it was bad, school said it was bad. our society thinks its bad and why is that? becuz our government wants to make it seem that a plant that grows outside is bad.i honestly disagree with them and agree with all the arguments before mine.i disagree with the people that said weed causes things like rape. alot of people rape and they are under no influence what so ever how do we know they rape only becuz they were high? i finally tried pot even though i was against it fully..it was one of the best feelings of my life..i loved life!! i was actually depressed my whole freshman year and first part of my sophmore year. weed turned my life around. i was happy for the first time in a long time!!it made me so relaxed and happy…laughing is one of the best things you can do with your life. and i laughed alot..why shouldn't weed be legal..give me one good reason..chances are that reason could also go under why alchohal,ciggerettes and caffein shouldn't be consumed. i would like to hear the defense the government has to this whole argument…if anyone knows please tell me..i am really curious.i will post again.
I am definitely all for legalizing marijuana. The fact that it isn't simply puts a burden on both law enforcement and the judicial system. I am the son of the District Attorney, and ironically, i would almost call myself a stoner. Now, i'm not one of those kids that goes to school high or shit like that, i use it for recreation and fun only, and at appropriate times. I think that marijuana can be abused.. just the same as any other drug in this world. However, society and government promotes the idea that all people that smoke pot, abuse it. And this, is COMPLETELY FALSE. Alcohol use and marijuana use can be compared closely. Those who are high all the time can basically ruin their lives…same w/ people that are drunk all the time. However, people who are high 24/7 have been known to carry on fully functional lives, wheras those who are drunk 34/7, are almost consistantly what I would call WHITE TRASH. So, basically, marijuana can be abused the same as alcohol can, it is the user's choice. In fact, abusing alcohol is much worse! You can even die from alcohol… wheras a death by THC overdose has never been recorded. Yet, smoking pot is still concidered much worse than drinking alcohol in most every household in the nation. Our society and out Government tells us this. People do not realize that the vast majority of those who smoke pot do so responsibly and pose no threat to the health of others.
My belief is that if alcohol is legal, then marijuana should be too. They tried making alcohol illegal once, and it did not work. It was appealed and was once again a completely legal substance to those over the age of.. well.. the age has changed over the years.. but.. you got me. If it was marijuana, and not alcohol, i gaurentee the outcome would have been much the same. People don't know what they are missing, and they don't know what they are critisizing, either.
Awesome, you picked points i had never even thought of. You put my thoughts and ideas into words. While reading this my friend thought something was wrong with me because i wasn't blinking. i never thought a person could sum up most of and all of the points of view that continue to circle this subject so profoundley. excuse me for any spelling error im just excited taht finnaly somebody understands the other side of the river, that Marijuana can be and should be legalized.
i agree you should send this to a big office. let them read this!!
I say F the government and F the schools and F the lousy stupid marijuana commercials that show marijuana to be some form of hardcore Acid or something… ITS NOT THAT BAD YOU MORONIC GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS!!…. LEAVE US POT HEADS ALONE AND LET US HAVE OUR PEACE AND YOU'LL SAVE $10 billion a year
I've never used pot in my life i have two brothers who do and I've yelled at my older brother for being a bad influence on my younger brother who over uses the drug now. I am doing research for a group speech who picked this topic. I am a college athlete, i have good grades and now feel like an dumbass for getting on my brothers cases I was completely misinformed on this shit by my parents coaches tv all the media. I am not saying i am going out and start using it now but I am now for the legalization of it. Educating people about marijuana should be the first step.
Iam a stoner and i have to agree i love weed theres nothing wrong with it, i dont inderstand how people are allowed to get wasted with alcohol but arnt allowed to get stoned which is less harmful. Even my parents agree with me that they would rather me get stoned then get drunk. I use to think that pot was so bad from what they told me in school but now i cant wiat to get home and put some new cold water in my bong and sit down for a session.
it would take 900 joints in a sitting to kill a person, on the other hand, you can o.d. on alcohol in one nite of drinking at a party. my best friend almost died from drinking too much, no one has died or gotten hosplized from pot. not too mention marijuana is as natural as the birds and the bees, if weeds illegal then the trees should be illegal also. -Angel Eyes
i love weed, i smoke religously everyday(when it's not dry) and i feel fine, even better than before, my back pain and every other aching muscle is eased as soon as i take my first hit. i think it unconstitutional to take away a persons right to get a buzz, alcohol is aloud, why not marijuana. They give the same effects, but weed doesn't make me sick!!!!!!!
The week of my 13th B-day my dad left for jail.He molested my sister.I was the most depressed person you would have ever seen.But when I got to school I met a friend that inroduced me to pot. It made me the most happiest person on earth.When I was depressed I couldnt do my work now I can I get higher then d's.Pot is a great anti-depressant. It worked for me just great.I dont even do it that often I only do it when I get with my friends. But it works.I am now pretty happy even though my dads going to prison for 5 years. I use to get so pissed off at my sister about it but now that im doing a debate about it and found research on it that its not all that harmful and its used to treat so many illnesses I apoligized to my sister. I love weed its an awosome anti-depressant.
I am in the process of researching ways to alieviate Colombia's (America's) drug problem. Suffice to say the best conclusion I have come up with would to be to legalize pot in the states. This way, growers of cocaine in colombia would be encouraged to switch their crops to marijuana. The levels of coke production would severely be reduced, and perhaps Colombia could make a legal buck or two producing marijuana for an international community. This coupled along with all the other monetary benifits of legalizing pot (taxes, advertising, trade, medical, cash crop, clothing, environment)leaves me in awe of the fact that we seem to be living in an extremely unenlightened age. sad.
Raven, I've never smoked marijuana;but I believe that it should be legal. At first when I came to this website I thought the Pot was the worst drug, but after I realized it was harmless. Your website has changed my view on MJ completly. I will never think of it the same.
Cheers
i am doing a project on the legalization of marijuana and i was hoping that you could send me any interesting facts tha tyou found
I have been smokin Pot a little under 10 years now. Being that im only 15 you can see that i have been most my life. I don't agree with most of what people say that Pot is addicting. Because i know that its not. I have quit time after time.. Only reasons i start back up is because i can get it. well.. yeah.. legalize it..
my one worry about the legalization of pot is that the government will add addictive substinses like nicotine. like they did with ciggurettes. i honestly feel if they legalized it they would ruin every reason we smoke. but if they don't legalize it every stoner has a chance of getting caught and ruining the rest of his life in jail. as long as it doesn't hurt anyone (besides the person using it) then let them smoke!!! how much money has our government wasted on commercials that exaturate pot? i saw a commercial recently that showed a girl who smoked pot then went to a party and had ALCHOHAL and passed out over a toilet puking. okay that commercial pissed me off.obviously it wasn't the pot that made her pass out a puke. IT WAS THE ALCHOHAL!!!the government is trying to have parents link weed with alchohal and parties with drugs. the government needs to stop wasting their time and effort screwing peoples lives up because they are smoking weed which doesn't hurt anybody!! and makes everyone happy. isn't our government a democracy based on what the citizens of the country say? WELL LISTEN UP, OUR COUNTRY WANTS POT AND HAVE IT LEGALIZED. WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT CARE SO MUCH???
i do smoke pot and have been for the past 8 yrs. I really enjoyed your post, it was quite intriging… I get alot of crap for smoking and have been called lazy, bum, pothead, stoner, loser and so on…but what they dont know is that i'm a college graduate with a great job and i do vote. I am not lazy, i work everyday 9 to 5 and i'm a proud parent of a little girl who i raise by myself… To me Pot is a stress reliever..and i do have to say that it is not addicting…Cigarrettes and Alcohol are more addicting than it…
I've been a pot smoker for a couple years now and i think that they should legalize it. I totally agree with your column. What harm does it do people? Like seriously…it's your choice if you want to smoke weed. It's not hurting anyone else. Cigerattes are worse. And sick. I know alot of people who are smoking and cough up shit. But when i see someone who doesn't smoke but smokes weed they don't cough shit. And cigerattes are really really addictive(speaking for experience), But i quit. And now i just smoke weed. And i know i'm not addicted cuz i can stop whenever i want. Like someone said in this thing…I can get it that's why i smoke it. It's there. Everywhere. So just legalize it already!
Peace
You know, with all these commercials and public service annoucements, you'd think pot was the anti-Christ. Huh. It just shows that the government has been brainwashing me all these years about the evils of marijuana. You know, the death statistics of smoking and drinking compared with that of marijuana(0); I'm sure that I'm not the only one who found it ironic. I am now enlightened. I'm glad I read this.
I have been smoking for nearly a year now (10 or 11 months). The first time you find yourself really high, you can't seem to do anything 🙂 But I have found that whatever it is you are smoking (potentcy of weed), you not only gain resistance to it, but you get to where you can think while high: my visual memory is now enhanced, I play video games better when high, sometimes it seems like you are retarded when on it, but then you realize… it's just a light headed feeling and you find you are just as smart but more creative and by actually DOING instead of submitting to a feeling, you will find how capable you are still.
WARNING: GET SLEEP POTSMOKERS… Do not do a lot of weed not getting sleep… you will fail classes lolol… LACK OF SLEEP WILL DO YOU MORE HARM THAN ALOT OF THINGS 😮
And to the people who say you shouldn't think just relax… well umm… how can you not be relaxed when on weed when you're thinking lol 😀 I took an IQ test and I tested the same if not higher (about 150, no pun intended lol.. or was it :D). I don't know what to say :X
I think people who relax on weed are wasting it kind of… I have found that thinking while on it ( trying to remember stuff when on it) strengthens your mind… you see everything from a more objective standpoint on weed… Like I have been really high but because I could put myself on point and think still… my eyes weren't red… <– this is another argument pot raises your resolution and intelligence I think… 😮
Another thing I believe is that weed takes the hate out of you. A lady on these forums said a guy raped her when high… are you sure that is all he was on? How high was he? YOU DONT KNOW… BUT I KNOW if he was REALLY HIGH… LIKE HIGH HIGH hehe… he wouldn't have even moved 😉 no offense it's just the truth… he probably gained resistance to it and was pretty much normal, though with MJ in his system, and acted on his normal habits.
I smoked until I hallucinated once and was seeing shadows of naked women dancing on my walls, now that was fun. Abuse cannibus? LOLOL… the only abusement is outlawing a plant that is the KEY to resolving the inherent problems between DEMOCRACY and CAPITALISM in our society. Their ideals clash: get all the money and toys you can before you die to win vs. every individual is created equal… (this is a paraphrasing of Terrence McKenna's thoughts *psst the rest are kinda crazy but hehe* it's true)
I believe weed stabilized my thinking… I used to be so one-sided or something… After taking weed it seems I am able to think things through more WHOLLY… I don't stutter as much as I used to (like I am talking it went way down… a person asked me at my work today if I ever thought of going on the radio lol – I woulda never gotten that before)… not that it cures stuttering.. but I have found through singing/rapping/and weed… I can control my stuttering fairly well.. it's just wonderful
the ONLY thing I have against weed (and it is circumstantial – pretains to this time in our world)…I know I know boo boo negative weed comments but hear this out… We are talkin truth, here it is:
The pain I (notice I said "I") felt in my life before taking weed was justifiable… I had logical reasons for how I felt… weed actually seemed to make me drop those personally ailing societal points of contention.. good for me YES… for social progress NO… This is why pot smokers are not campaigning… I mean if you lose the hate the reasons you hated can still be procurred, but you lose motivation to address the problems… — THIS IS MY PROBLEM WITH ALL DRUGS… but I do believe weed = harmony just we need to get NON-POT smokers to be advocates… cause damn… If we sorted our shit out and then smoked weed, our lives would be utopian
The societal issues come up again within me, but so much of it was released … I smoked 3 months constantly 5 times a day… DEEP inhales in a pipe 🙂 Gets you soooooooo high omg… (I guess I was very good at articulating the resent I had, now it kind of is abscent unless I really think about it from my heart. I am a rapper 🙂 and it helped me RAP FROM LOVE rather than from hate… and you find you are less selfish…
As for those few people who go schizo from it 🙁 [like one of my best friends] it's irrelevant (because alchohol, cigs, all that other shit would do the same to schizo-prone people… pot isn't addicting… only the purity of the state it invokes is 🙂 — and I believe that the state it is invoking is that of a child… YOU SEE EVERYTHING in the present.. you see beauty you never noticed cause you were too BOTTLED UP in concerns with things that were and may be… ponderances that are bad for you really…
I believe if every person in the world smoked pot once a day, and kind of balanced it with then experiencing the normal perspective… this world would become an amazing place to live in…
Government doesn't want people working 9-5 jobs enjoying every moment of it lol… or seeing evil more cleary… ASSHOLES MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND AT THIS POINT WITH OUR SYSTEM… the mission is to kill that person in everyone… or atleast bring total awareness to people for themselves that they are being like that.. and that is what happens after you have smoked pot for only just a few weeks!
Peace and keep smokin those trees well unless you're an employee and you have to take a pee
and they take it to the lab to see if you have THC and then it's get another jobby cause I'm
not quiting my hobby to rob me of stopping the
hateful throbbing in my body… ya got me?
I freestyled that while typin this for ya guys heh
Hell… I am such a flake… hrmm I have stayed in this menial job for 2+ yrs… (well cause piss tests but ya know)… I have worked pretty high… eyes a blazing and some people scoff.. but I still am the best worker there (because I knew the weed I had and never went over the amount to total inebriation lol)… but I got nothing but appraisal… (shrugs)…
GL to all of you who search your heart in all matters… I love ya "keep on keepin on" (Tech N9ne) 😀
Also, I think it's possible to be SUPER HIGH and maintain your thinking flawlessly… but who knows… I am the wizard just wait till my ish is heard and I bust the dissers and sinners to becoming givers and kissers pure listeners
so we can persist without hilters
Please go back and read some of the comments written. "I have smoked pot for 8 years but I'm not addicted" if you drank for 8 years or smoked cigs for 8 years you'd be considered addicted. Issac says his father smokes every day yet has many businesses and is worth 3 million dollars. What could he be worth if he didn't smoke pot? Someone said that the pot gives them a clear head and makes them more creative. Think again, you just don't realize what you are doing because your judgement is clouded. You believe you are more creative but really you have just lowered your standards of creativity so now what you do passes as creative. Those of you that think smoking pot doesn't hurt anyone, think again. I used to think that way, I'd smoke and drive and think I was fine. I may have wisened up faster if I didn't smoke but it took 5 wrecks before it dawned on me that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, the last time I almost killed my two year old daughter. I wasn't under the influence of anything else either. Pot does have it's place, when given for medical reasons. I do think that it should be leagal medically, that's it. It does hurt and injure people, both innocent and not. I also smoked my way through three marriages and divorces. This one remarkably has lasted 13 years but guess what, I quit smoking before we got married.
Think about all the possibilities before you light up, please.
Hrmm… Dude I could smoke 4 blunts and drive perfectly… I can be drunk and still drive well… some people I guess just don't think enough to be able to handle the HIGHER RESOLUTION pot can provide… (getting drunk does make you dumber you forget shit it's just BAD… yet IT and CIGS are outlawed… they shit kills you… pot makes you smarter if you are smart and THINK to begin with… otherwise you will just REMAIN DUMBED just like you ALWAYS WERE and NEVER TRIED TO CHANGE)
Listen, I totally heard everything you said. Some people are brain dead to begin with and when they smoke they have the tendency to just lay there and not think.
I am a wizard of sorts I suppose… pot relaxes me but my mind is always at work… I come up with relations that I never would have not on pot that are really genius… isn't it a coincidence all of the good rappers smoke pot heavily and think up relations no politican could derive in their lifetime… Why is it I play VIDEO GAMES better when on pot… I have documented this heavily…
Why is it I can NEVER reach the state again where I can smoke pot and not be able to say a sentence… Since my first times smoking my mind has expanded because I always tried – it's because I thought to begin with guys…
Go to Terrence McKenna's stuff… this guy has done soo many drugs… he smokes pot everyday practically.. he said he uses it viciously or somethin… He does hour long lectures like never saying "UMM" or losing train of thought while improvising with knowledge he has amassed…
HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE ME SOME MARIJUANA AND I WILL SMOKE IT AND OUT THINK YOU AND OUT PERFORM YOU IN NEARLY ANYTHING (INCLUDING DRIVING)… just words of wisdom from someone who's not dissin but wishin for his visions of livin he's been givin to fission but listen it's not splitten cause you're missin the point like most christians with faith in this system were beginnin to kill from sinnin to win with riches when were existin for selfishness and lavish spendin… it's not communism or socialism… or prison of incentive it's just BEING A BETTER PERSON OF WHICH YOU AREN'T MAN ENOUGH TO COMPREHEND FROM YA ATTENDIN … WAIT … YOU NEVER WERE ABSORBIN YOUR RETENTION AND YOU DIDN'T CARE TO BECOME AWARE AND HELP IN THE PRESENT…
^ now.. I wrote that while writing this… you could never do something that profound that rhymed that tightly in your entire life dude…
It's just truth.. and that dominates over all… listen… you are a commonality… but just a personality who with fatality will be exempt from the totality of reality (the sum of our conscious rationality) so the mal can be out with the drought of externality… I am in this country and proud to be… but people hate our freedom of mouthing… why don't we spring out of this heap and show the world what were about but see… were all about monetary amounting… fuck it… like eminem "Im outee.. Why don't you tell some more people something they don't know about" TICAL IN ME? 🙂
AHHAHA… wow that extended long…
FACTS: I am 21, I go to college that costs 15k a year… I handle my grades was getting high 3 times a day… go to class high… I was always smart… creativeness? Yes weed does give you that but you don't understand… That's not even the half of what it does… IT DOESNT KILL YOU… IT DOESNT SCREW UP YOUR LONGS IF YOU BREATHE IT RIGHT… (60+ yr old healthy pot smokers will atest to that)… It awakens in you a state of curiousity… you start to ARTIFICALLY CARE? I think that's it 🙂
AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU CARE MY FRIEND… these are just words of wisdom from without your minds prison (not within)… you're my apprentice because you have yet to understand our situations…
HERE'S THE EASY 3rD GRADE MATH TARDS:
CARING cancels out the need for capitalistic incentive.. when on pot and you think you care… you are heartful HRMMMMM… NO MORE MONEY FOR GREEDY ASSHOLES TO MAKE IT INT HE WORLD??? HRMM… oh well… it replaces the need for incentive… but guess what? People lives are pensions to the benefit of… of…
A horrific ending…
Ok that's enough for now… Think about it … If I can rap and explain what I mean to say perfectly… ANd I smoke pot and care enough to write this to one guy and a rarely seen forum LOLOL… am I psycho? am I… no I am not… I'm surrounded by em…
I wish you all the best of lives but the pesticides and the blessed who die are best to fly to heaven cause were messed inside our worldy survived by hurting pride that's gonna leave us gourneyed and burning… ONE BY ONE UNTIL KINGDOM COMES… MARK MY WORDING
(btw I just started rapping 7 months ago when I started smoking pot and realized I could rap faster than anyone in the world… about 13 syllables a second that are understandable…)
Gn… hopefully I won't die and you all lose a good person in life who's wise and could have surmised the demise of our wicked eyes…
Bye all <3… light some dub and think until you can't think buds (a *pun* that rhymed lolol… what?…) lolol…
Do you see what I mean? I work at a burger king right now going to college btw… I have to remember all this shit at once.. multi-tasking.. filling drinks… taking orders… doing change in my head adding numbers… listening to other workers… and I'm the best worker we have and yet worthless really… but the PEOPLE there love me.. and that is all I am about… not this world UGLY…
GN don't end fights… THEY MUST GO ON UNTIL WE EITHER LEARN OR DIE!!!!
I am sorry but it has nothing to do with pot but more of how you are a person and your nature… Perhaps some chemical stuff but
sXe, I'm straightedge and I love it. No drugs not booze no ciggs….
I was doing a search to talk about the negative effects of using marijuana to present to students. As I came upon your website- I thought "you should spend your time advocating for something a little more important and a lot more healthy". Smoking pot can cause mental impairment as you said- when someone steps into a car after smoking pot -that can be dangerous- people have died- indirectly from smoking pot- a car accident is an example. There are pelnty of issues to advocate for in our community, society, culture, world….much bigger issues- think about those and build a website on that.
Thank you
raven, i smoke weed myself heavily and i like alot of the things that you had to say.. the only thing i have against weed is that it has caused many of my friends and myself to suffer from depression, anxiety and mental problems. what do you have to say on the matter?
it comes down to this weed cant kill you at least not as quick as ciggerets. And it grows form the earth and is not tamperd with like coke. Its basically a mood inhancer …..why?
Yes… weed causes depression… it takes a lot of the strength you had out of you to fight and carry on through this world of bullshit that will never change… you don't want to deal with all the shit anymore… so it will cause depression in that respect (atleast it has for me)…
But that's not the weed… that's just life and all of you confused people saying it's bad… it's only bad because the world's bad…
We need to start dealing with the real issues in our society god damn it… it just amazes me people can be so fucking retarded
"Please go back and read some of the comments written. "I have smoked pot for 8 years but I'm not addicted" if you drank for 8 years or smoked cigs for 8 years you'd be considered addicted. Issac says his father smokes every day yet has many businesses and is worth 3 million dollars. What could he be worth if he didn't smoke pot? Someone said that the pot gives them a clear head and makes them more creative. Think again, you just don't realize what you are doing because your judgement is clouded. You believe you are more creative but really you have just lowered your standards of creativity so now what you do passes as creative. Those of you that think smoking pot doesn't hurt anyone, think again. I used to think that way, I'd smoke and drive and think I was fine. I may have wisened up faster if I didn't smoke but it took 5 wrecks before it dawned on me that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, the last time I almost killed my two year old daughter. I wasn't under the influence of anything else either. Pot does have it's place, when given for medical reasons. I do think that it should be leagal medically, that's it. It does hurt and injure people, both innocent and not. I also smoked my way through three marriages and divorces. This one remarkably has lasted 13 years but guess what, I quit smoking before we got married.
Think about all the possibilities before you light up, please."
OK let me completely trash your opinion. One) The whole 8 years thing. If you smoked cigarettes for 8 years or drank alcohol for 8 years, that's because you ARE addicted. Scientific studies show that there are no physical addictions to marijuana AT ALL. Cigarettes have been proven harmful and addictive along with alcohol. So that comment was just fucking ignorant. Two) What could he be worth without pot? Probably the same damn thing. Pot didn't hinder that guy in any way, shape, or form. Three) Marijuana is a psychoactive drug, therefore it enhances your senses. You are able to feel, see, and taste things like never before. It opens your mind to new ways of seeing things and that is what makes people more creative. And don't say it just seems that way because we're stoned. Because we're not always stoned, and if you look at things you've done after the fact, they're usually pretty fucking good. Four) Who the fuck said it was OK to drive while stoned? Maybe a few people who commented said they've done it and it didn't affect them, but that's just their personal ability. It's not marijuana's fault that you were dumb enough to drive around stoned with your own child in the back. And five) Are you trying to blame your failed marriages on weed? Seriously if you are, you need to get a fucking clue. Have you ever thought that maybe it was your fault? Or your husband's? I mean Jesus Christ, this is why it's illegal because shit heads like you go blaming bad shit that happens to them on weed. Get over it. You're stupid and/or ignorant.