# marijuana, what is the big deal.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 15, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428 "2003-08-15T17:47:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/21 "2003-08-15T21:03:49Z")
You know, on this website there is a swath of the world’s intellectual population very well represented. Almost every argument that comes about shows a remarkale balance as both sides weigh in, make good points, provide cites, and so on. The one single argument that I see come up time and time again with the smallest amount of dissent seems to be related to legalizing pot. So if this huge selection of intellectual posters can almost all agree on something, what is that telling you? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/22 "2003-08-15T21:06:56Z")
Another one… [http://www.watton.org/drugsinfo/aboutpot.html](http://www.watton.org/drugsinfo/aboutpot.html) > [@](#): > > The biggest danger comes from the actual smoking, like tobacco, cannabis has a high tar factor, so smoking it can cause bronchitis and lung cancer. There is now some evidence suggesting that cannabis may cause some own cancers in its own right. And this… [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/cannabis/facts.htm](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/cannabis/facts.htm) > [@](#): > > [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/cannabis/facts.htm](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/cannabis/facts.htm) And one more… [http://www.ukcia.org/research/pipes.htm](http://www.ukcia.org/research/pipes.htm) > [@](#): > > Like tobacco, marijuana tars are rich in carcinogenic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are a prime culprit in smoking-related cancers. Most sites, however, point out that smoking pot through a bong can limit the amount of tars (the cannabinoid attribute of the drug is not the carcinogenic culprit). In fact, that last cite has this to say, immediately after the bit I quoted above: > [@](#): > > However, cannabinoids themselves are not carcinogenic. An obvious way to protect smokers’ health is therefore to minimize the content of smoke tars relative to cannabinoids. I’m not saying “Don’t smoke pot”. Frankly, I think the world would be a better place if most everyone had a toke every now and then. I just think it’s important for people to be aware of the risks. In my opinion, legalization can help develop pot that minimizes the amounts of tars in marijuana cigs, thus making the practice even more positive. (Didn’t wanna jump all over ya, **freajnt** … hell, if we ever met, I’d probably be honored to pack a bowl with ya. I just wanna make sure the proper information gets out there.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/23 "2003-08-15T21:08:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spiral Out3 \* > \*\*Most people here are correct. > > That being said, if marijuana was legalized like it should be, it would have tons of more uses than just smoking it. You can make clothes and jewlery. Farmers could harvest it and make millions off of high demand. You can make anything with hemp. And by anything I mean something like oil. (hemp oil) you know, that stuff which caused a big war in the middle east because we want some. The solution could be as easy as making marijuana legal and processing our own oil from it. > \*\* Uh no. Hemp is a speciality crop that basicly gets its value from its “fobidden fruit” aspect. The cloth it makes is strong, but prone to rot. I don’t know about making jewelry with it. Hemp seeds can be sold for bird seed, and the oil is edible. That’s pretty much it. Forget about pipe-dreams of running cars on hemp oil. If we could have done that we would have done it years ago with crops that have higher oil yield than hemp, such as corn or beans. Hemp is no solution to oil problems. Farmers have been able to grow Hemp in Canada and Europe for a few years now. They use it, but they aren’t becoming millionaires off it. In fact, there are problems with hemp frequently damaging farming equipment, meaning a crop of hemp can easily have a net loss. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/24 "2003-08-15T21:08:40Z")
> [@](#): > > The one single argument that I see come up time and time again with the smallest amount of dissent seems to be related to legalizing pot. So if this huge selection of intellectual posters can almost all agree on something, what is that telling you? That the politicians and justices and other officials that keep pot from being legalized are total buffoons? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/25 "2003-08-15T21:11:06Z")
> [@](#): > > [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/cannabis/facts.htm](http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cds/cannabis/facts.htm) Sigh. Got a little hasty with my cuttin’ and pastin’… our Canadian brothers provided this snippet of information I wanted to point out: > [@](#): > > The respiratory system is damaged by smoking; a single joint of marijuana yields much more tar than a strong cigarette. Tar in cannabis smoke contains higher amounts of cancer-producing agents than tar in tobacco smoke. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/26 "2003-08-15T21:14:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Instead of only trucks full of brown leaves pulling up to the factory, there’d be trucks full of brown leaves and trucks full of green leaves. Leaves? Why, pray tell, would they go for leaves over buds? ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/27 "2003-08-15T21:15:59Z")
> [@](#): > > You know, on this website there is a swath of the world’s intellectual population very well represented. Almost every argument that comes about shows a remarkale balance as both sides weigh in, make good points, provide cites, and so on. The one single argument that I see come up time and time again with the smallest amount of dissent seems to be related to legalizing pot. So if this huge selection of intellectual posters can almost all agree on something, what is that telling you? Good point, **Bongmaster**. I’d say it’s been at least 2 years since we’ve had a vocal anti-legalization voice (hands up if you remember **Rousseau** ) in any thread like this. These “debates” tend to be more preaching to the choir than any actual argument. **SPOOFE** , with all of the cites you’re throwing up, it might be worth noting that few, if any, people smoke 20-40 joints a day, which is pretty much the average for a tobacco smoker. ---
**Author:** ![freajnt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@freajnt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freajnt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/28 "2003-08-15T21:19:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > > (Didn’t wanna jump all over ya, **freajnt** … hell, if we ever met, I’d probably be honored to pack a bowl with ya. I just wanna make sure the proper information gets out there.) \*\* I’m with ya SPOOFE on the info angle. Even though I toke, I’m not a ganjanazi. I realize that there are risks and potential negative outcomes. I just thought that your characterization of mj as “very carcinogenic” was off the mark. I suppose this should have been done previously: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_225.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_225.html) ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/29 "2003-08-15T22:08:03Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > [BOne marijuana cigarette deposits four times as much tar in the lungs as one tobacco cigarette, which amplifies the exposure of the lungs to carcinogens._\* Be very careful when using such claims to back your argument. While it seems a good comparison, it is misleeding. Marjuana is NOT smoked the same way as tobacco. An average marijuana smoker is not going to smoke 20 joints by himself every day, as a typical cigarette smoke would. Typically a joint (marijuana cigarette) is smoked among multiple people, as it is wasteful and hard to smoke it by yourself. I would suggest that taking part in smoking a joint, or a small pipe’s worth gives roughly the same tar content as one cigarette. While it obviously depends on the strength and strain of the marijuana, I would estimate that an average smoker stays ‘high’ for at least an hour, before needing to smoke more to stay at the same level. Do the math, and it turns out that a cigarette smoker of just a pack a day will smoke more than once an hour. Conclusion - an average pot smoker is not doing as much damage as a typical cigarette smoker. For this example, I’m estimating that an average cigarette smoker smokes about a pack a day. I don’t want to get nitpicked about the minor points or statistics, I’m just trying to make a point. BTW - while there are tons of holes in my argument ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/30 "2003-08-15T22:19:08Z")
> [@](#): > > SPOOFE, with all of the cites you’re throwing up, it might be worth noting that few, if any, people smoke 20-40 joints a day, which is pretty much the average for a tobacco smoker. Too true… two or three per day should be enough for most, and seven or eight for even heavy pot smokers. 'Course, this is balanced out by the fact that tar in marijuana is four times as carcinogenic… making it almost even. However, my point is not that marijuana smoking is worse than cigarette smoking. I just wanted to point out one of the risks involved… it’s important for people to know what possible negative impacts their habits might have. Furthermore, let me again stress that the cites I provided above make it abundantly clear that the tars and carcinogens in marijuana are not a part of the cannabinoids that contain THC… they’re byproducts of the plant itself. It is wholly possible to get better pot that has lower quantities of tars and carcinogens. I would hope it to be entirely possible to develop a means of processing marijuana in order to eliminate most unhealthy substances from the material. > [@](#): > > I just thought that your characterization of mj as “very carcinogenic” was off the mark. Perhaps. It’s not as big a risk as cigarettes, since marijuana is not as physically addictive as nicotine (though psychological addiction is a whole 'nother matter), and, as **neutron star** pointed out, a far lesser amount of marijuana is needed to produce the desired effect. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/31 "2003-08-15T22:20:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Be very careful when using such claims to back your argument. My argument is that marijuana is a good substance, should be legalized, and that I think most everyone should take a hit every now and again. So how am I using “such claims” to back my argument again? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/32 "2003-08-15T22:23:56Z")
I was just responding to your cite that there was 4 times as much tar in one mj cigarette as a tobacco cigarette. I was speaking to the general practive of anti-marijuana activists using deceptive stats to ‘prove’ their point. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/33 "2003-08-15T23:08:09Z")
I think the “4 times as much tar in pot” stat is the least of our worries, as far as deception goes. I would highly recommend watching _Reefer Madness_… it portrays pot as a drug that causes insanity and will turn otherwise good people into murdering rapists. THAT’s the danger of anti-pot activists… ignorance. It’s important that people realize the TRUE risks of marijuana: 1. tar and carcinogens (a lower risk than cigarette smoking, as we’ve already established), 2. possible psychological addiction (more a problem with the addictee than pot), and 3. the munchies (Christ, I can down four or five burgers when I’m munchin’…). ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/34 "2003-08-15T23:58:54Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by tilly_ > A friend of mine sent me this article. Now I know you are suppose to post links instead of the whole thing but it was mailed out and I do not have a link (if this is a violation of the rules please except my apology). **Moderator’s Note:** If you can’t find a link to something, the solution is still not to just copy and paste the entire thing. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/35 "2003-08-15T23:59:19Z")
Just as a point fo reference, and sadly I looked but couldn’t find a cite as yet, but there’s a doctor down here in Australia who has perfected a perfectly safe and non-carcinogenic inhaler device which doesn’t create smoke at all. I saw this device recently in a documentary regarding the use of THC as part of paleative care for pain relief by registered users in the privacy of home. Being very much aware that the “smoking” aspects of THC delivery are very open to valid criticism, the good doctor has invented a device which works somewhat similarly to an asthma inhaler. If memory serves me, pure distilled THC crystals are placed in the inhaler, and the user pressess a button, which then activates an ultrasonic atomiser - the THC is turned into a super fine mist and it then disseminates through the inhalers output tube. It seemed like a real cool little jigger, let me tell you. The research indicated that the inhaler was 100% non carcinogenic in every way, seeing as no smoke of any sort is being produced, and apparently it gives users an almighty hit. But for such a device to work, I’m told, a legalised pharmaceutical industry needs to manifest itself which can produce the THC crystals in large scale quantities - and therein lies the rub - such a policy requires an overall governmental approval and changes to the laws etc. At this point in time, the New South Wales government is considering how best to wrestle with such changes to allow the ultrasonic inhaler form part of Australia’s National Pharmaceutical subsidised scheme. Stay tuned on this one. The ultrasonic inhaler will probaly become known as the smokeless bong I’m predicting. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Friendly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr\_Friendly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Friendly)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/36 "2003-08-16T00:11:07Z")
Even if smoking ganja does cause cancer which I think we can largely agree it isnt likely to, using this as an arugment against legalisation is a complete fallacy on the part of the prohibitionists because you dont have to smoke to get high. Vapourisation offers the best alternative to smoking at the moment. It is benign to the lungs, more efficient and more pleasent than inhaling smoke. I’d post a link showign such a device but I fear it would break board rules, google “vapourizer volcano” to see one of the best available. I’ve smoked out of one of these babies in Amsterdam and let me tell you they’re amazing. The hit is clean, uplifting and makes you feel far more healthy and shiny and energised than smoking. Bongmaster’s point is one I have always thought. This board is without a doubt one of the best I have ever seen on the net and the quality of debate is impeccable. If debates here have inevitably led to legalization then surey this must indicate not that politicians are jackasses, because ignorance can be pierced with the right information but that ganja is illegal still because of vested interests in it being so. ---
**Author:** ![tilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@tilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tilly)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/37 "2003-08-16T00:27:50Z")
Cook it down in butter and put it on your toast, the only thing you have to worry about is peeing in the cup…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/38 "2003-08-16T14:10:50Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** Marijuana _is_ illegal, so let’s keep this discussion to whether or not it _ought_ to be illegal, and omit the marijuana “recipes”. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/39 "2003-08-16T14:18:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tilly \* > \*\*Our prison systems are overflowing with people who are there for dealing it or using it. \*\* Not really. My husband works in the criminal justice system. The only folks in there for marijuana possession are people who were caught with huge quantities, or were doing something else illegal at the time. Frankly, prosecutors have enough on their plates as it is. When a simple small-time possession case is brought before them, they’ll generally try to plea it out or reduce the charges to a misdemeanor. It’s sort of a myth that of thousands of people who were caught with a joint in their pocket are rotting in prison for years. Of course, exceptions exist, but they’re not as common as you might think. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428/40 "2003-08-16T17:58:45Z")
Years ago I knew a guy who had served in the Peace corps,in a village in nepal. He told me that the villagers grew marijuana, forthe hemp fiber and for the seeds, which they pressed to extract the oil. The oil was used for cooking. Does the THC (the psychoactive component of grass get into the oil?),he told me that everybody in that village alwys had a smileon their face! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-what-is-the-big-deal/195428.md?page=3)