Uh… Mr2001… WebMD lists “cannabis” as a Depressant. Note the use of bullets in the list. However, that may be just a typo, as it also lists “hallucinogens” under Depressant, while I’ve always been under the impression that it was a completely different category.
Note that WebMD lists several long-term side effects (lung disease, weakened immune system, memory and sensory skills, etc.). Perhaps they consider the benefits of the product to not outweight the costs?
Being in high school myself…
I know about 40 people who smoke pot at least every other day. They didn’t used to. Some started in 9th grade, others 10th or 11th. Since they’ve started smoking consistently, their grades have all dropped. Most of them have stopped doing any kind of exercise (One of them used to be a long distance track runner, now he cannot run 100 yards without coughing and hacking up his lungs).
However, I also know some people who have been smoking pot for as long as I’ve known them, and they seem to be very good people. Good grades, decent athletic abilities…but then again, they smoke in moderation, usually on weekends.
Trying to say “pot is better for you than cigarettes or alcohol”, you’d be partly correct. You’d be better off stating “pot is less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol”. Used too often or in too great of quantities, pot can be very harmful, just like alcohol.
One reason why pot is illegal is because it does not have the same effects on everybody. I know quite a few people who get violent. A few of them have committed serious crimes while high. Not everyone gets the giggles, not everyone becomes mellow. A drug with effects that are unpredictable is very dangerous.
IMHO, while pot might be fun to use, I do not think it should be considered for legalization until how it interacts with the mind and body is completely understood. Until then, the drug is unpredictable, and is therefore potentially dangerous.
It’s not an official medical taxonomy. It’s based on, um, “experience”. :o
True enough. From m-w.com:
depressant
: one that depresses; specifically : an agent that reduces a bodily functional activity or an instinctive desire (as appetite)
I can see your angle, SPOOFE, in that drowsiness and a tendency toward apathy are part of the pot experience - but so is increased bodily sensation and “right-brain” mental activity (mainly, visualization and intuition). Classifying it as either stimulant or depressant seems to capture only half the picture.
BTW, there’s an amusing slab of pot propoganda on the WebMD site, from a discussion given by a law enforcement officer. Not sure I’d trust WebMD’s objectivity in these matters.
-J-
You wanna see Pot Propaganda, Jay? Run a Yahoo search on “Marijuana”, and you’ll see everything from “Pot causes spontaneous combustion” to “Pot will give you a bigger penis”.
Well, okay, not those two specifically, but… I hope you get the idea.
Drugs?
Heroin is a drug. Alcohol is a drug. Crack is a drug.
Marijuana is milk and cookies.
I read half of this thread and you know what?
I don’t care if it kills brain cells I’ve always been at least 3.0 student.
I don’t care if it’s legal or illegal I’m still going to do it. In fact I’m going to make a trip to the porch right now.
Fact is pot is everywhere and it is actually pretty easy to get ahold of, or for me anyway. It’s not going away nor will it ever.
If they want to tax it let them sell it at Go-mart for all I care. It might even be cheaper that way? Bottom line is pot is getting to be more, and more sociallable acceptable everyday. I believe when my age group 18-24yr olds reach there 40s it will be legalized. Pot is a very mild drug, for someone in middle or high school it is actually easier to get, than alcohol. Well it is time for me to make that trip to the porch.
“I’d never want to take a drug named after a part of my own ass.” -Dennis Leary
Well, there ya go. Someone who knows the consequences of his actions and still does it anyway. That’s how it should be.
Coke, crack, whatever you want to call it, is legal to use in it’s base form, Cocaine, for medical problems at prescribed dosages. Paregoric, which was once sold over the counter, is a morphine preparation, now prescription only and used for medical conditions.
People using pot for medical conditions should be allowed to do so, especially those desperately trying to get relief from the side effects of chemotherapy. Placing it under prescription only would not hurt at all.
I heard once, actually, more than once, where our banking and financial system is so dependent on illegal drug money now that if we ever did win the war on drugs, we would face a depression. This makes me think that the criminal element is doing everything they can to make sure that even pot never becomes legal and the bankers are joining them.
I’ve read about many instances of people on other drugs going nuts and doing great harm and how other drugs have quickly killed people through organ failure or over dosage, but I don’t recall anything like that ever happening to those who use untreated pot.
There is that major amount of residue that pot leaves behind to consider, though. I know pot smokers who had to scrape the stuff out of their pipes more frequently than tobacco pipe smokers. I figure that the stuff will probably turn out to be dangerous and most regular users of pot that I know have a smokers cough.
Filters could be used, though, if it ever gets legalized.
The US government classifies pot as a Schedule 1 drug, along with the hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Mr. 2001 listed the definition of a Schedule 1 drug:
> The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
> The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
> There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
I repeat, it is idiotic to classify pot as a Schedule 1 drug. It’s potential for abuse is no higher then (legal) alcohol; probably lower. It does have legitimate medical uses, esp. for people on chemotherapy. It is less dangerous then (legal) alcohol, less dangerous then (legal) tobacco products.
It’s idiotic for the US criminal justice system to waste time and effort catching, trying, and jailing people for marijuana offences. It’s idiotic for the US government to be killing cancer patients by taking their marijuana away (case in point: Peter McWilliams). It’s idiotic to ruin people’s lives over their smoking some weed for pleasure.
Container20…
Eh… just for the record, I seriously doubt that the “loss” of drug money would have any serious impact on the economy…
Hazel…
Since when does Pot cure cancer?
Spoof, pot does not cure cancer. It does, however, allow cancer patients on chemotherapy to control the nausea caused by the chemo; it enables them to keep food down. The chemo cures the cancer; the pot keeps the cure from killing the patient.
In my opinion, when the criminal justice system denied Peter McWilliams access to marijuana, it killed him as surely as if they had just taken him out and shot him. He got the death penalty for using marijuana for medicinal purposes, and aiding others to do the same. In California, where medicinal marijuana is legal. Or would be, if the states actually had any rights at all that the feds need respect.
If you’re not familiar with the case, let me know and I’ll see if I can dig up some sites.
The bottom line in any discussion on the legalization of drugs, any drugs, not just marijuana is; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.
If someone chooses to use a drug and this use affects noone else then they should be free to do so.
I would be happy if someone would realize how immoral random drug testing is, at least then I could retain my right to privacy.
BTW- Drug test can also be used to harm even those that would never touch an illegal drug;
Urine tests can detect pregnancy. This information can be used against you by an unscrupulous boss if they do not want to deal with a family leave problem a few months down the road.
Urine test can detect numerous physical ailments. If an unethical lab wanted to, they could sell this information to insurance companies.
Urine test do not test your actual condition at the time of the test, only whether you have used a substance in the past. These substances do not have to be illegal to give a positive for illicit drug use. Sudafed can show up as amphetamines, Advil as marijuana, Tylenol Cold as cocaine and the list goes on.
Simply put, drug testing helps noone, has the potential to hurt everyone and is an invasion of our privacy. You are guilty until proven innocent. Without drug testing, a person that considered themselves needy of marijuana could grow their own and noone would be the wiser.
Legal or not, if what I do doesn’t affect you, I better not hear any arguments. It’s my life, I’m gonna live it.
SPOOFE:
I took it to be a typo (missing bullets before hallucinogens and cannabis products)… otherwise they’d be saying that all drugs can be divided into stimulants and depressants.
You can find similar lists of side effects for any drug. Nothing is completely safe.
True ,but the introduction of the marijuana and hemp industries to the legit economy would enhance the current economy.Marijuana in one of it’s many enhancement roles.
Possible side effects: depression, drowsiness, convulsions, confusion, dizziness, headache, rash/hives/itch, blurred vision, ringing in ears, bloody stool, nausea, pain, constipation/diarrhea/vomiting, difficulty breathing, tightness in chest, rapid heartbeat, unusual bleeding or bruising, swollen feet or legs, bloody urine, jaundice, fatigue, and weakness.
The drug? Ibuprofen.
I didn’t mean to imply that it was. Hell, people can die eating Cheerios, fer cryin’ out loud.
But about Ibuprofen… exactly how much more legitimate research (that is, research that wasn’t conducted by “High Times”) has been done regarding Pot? No, this isn’t a rhetorical question.
I don’t really know how to phrase this question without sounding like I think there’s some big political conspiracy preventing the legalisation of marijuana(I don’t). I think this is a terribly interesting issue, and I love to read you all debating it.
So I was wondering if any of you have thoughts on this: Is part of the reason that pot may never be legal the amount of money currently generated by and for efforts to stomp it out?
So many political and social organisations are involved in, and recieve funding towards, the War on Drugs, not to mention law inforcement. Wouldn’t those groups take a fatal hit if there were suddenly no War to fight? Could this be a factor in why legalised pot may never come to be?
Also, would there be enough income from proposed taxes, etc. on marijuana to recoup the funds lost? I would think that a tax on pot equal to the funds currently allotted for its persecution would have to be quite high (sorry).
From a strictly business point of view, there would be much to lose and little to gain by legalising pot.
Anyone?
3b,
hoping she doesn’t sound like a complete crackpot…
I dont think high times has done any research.They are a periodical not a research institution.If you must see research get on that machine in front of you and start looking. Marijuana is probably the most researched plant.Don’t forget prior to the reefer madness propaganda campaign( yes all you non-believers are simply brainwashed by a bunch of govt propaganda.How’s it feel to be hoodwinked by 1930’s bureaucratic zealots.)Marijuana was the most widely used plant in the world;medicinally,industrialy,domestically.I pity the fool who continues to spout clever cliches cooked up by anti-drug think tanks.Think and experience for yourself.No one will hold your hand through this life.
Actually the converse is more accurate.From a strictly business point of view there would be much to gain.The array of potential products is vast.Conspiracy?,No, This is simply a case of so many having so much invested in the supression of this commodity.Have you ever seen the choking and spitting when a leader has to eat his words or backtrack on policy?We are on autopilot with noone at the controls and wresting the controls free means challenging the moral fiber of the do-gooders who feelannointed to think for the rest of us.
Thanx everyone for your input. You made some good points. But the fact that pot kills brain cells is not true, for most people. I smoke pot, and I am still at the top of my class. You just have to find a balance.
And Dark Prince was right when he said the Government could capitalize of making marijuana legal. They could, and they should.
Someone said pot is hard to get. That is a big MYTH. Pot is easier to get than alcohol, if your a minor. Half the people in my school have it, i have it, and you can grow it almost anywhere.
What i find funny is though, anyone on drugs is considered bad by the president, yet he used to do drugs, and now he is president. Shouldn’t he be considered bad then? Or is he going to give druggies a second chance? What also baffles me is how someone who used to do drugs and is clearly an idiot can be voted into office and liked more than a guy who just got a blow job every now and then.