# Smoke dope, get a free car! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275 "2003-10-24T07:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leatherheather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea666f/32.png) [@leatherheather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leatherheather)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/21 "2003-10-24T18:56:04Z")
I think some people shouldn’t be allowed to drive at all… but, I digress. Each person is different… some people **can** actually drive stoned, I’ve done it myself (not proud of it) but I was so paranoid about getting pulled over that I drove like someone trying to pass a driving test. Some people can drive while talking on a cell phone, while most people cannot… I think those things are more deadly on the road than a joint… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mom\_in\_Motion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mom\_in\_Motion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mom_in_Motion)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/22 "2003-10-24T19:24:04Z")
It seems strange to me that ads where it is glorified when a man was too drunk to remember a girl (Baccardi ad) are showen on prime time,yet they show ads where a girl gets raped due to being high and unable to stop the assault. I have never heard of a girl being raped simply because she smoked a lot of weed. Yet how many times have we all heard stories of a girl having her drink spiked and being raped or worse. If I were passed out from smoking too much weed I know something like that would wake me up asap, and I’d be able to stop is from happening. Weed gets a bad rap. Almost everyone I know smokes it. People I know range in age from 73 to 16 and most of them smoke. A higher number than those who drink. My own mother prefers me to smoke than to drink. Can anyone cite a study indicating that just smoking weed causes any kind of cancer, such as cigarettes do? ---
**Author:** ![carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/23 "2003-10-24T19:47:07Z")
Well, **Mom in Motion** , according to one anti-marijuana ad that I have seen, smoking pot leads to TEEN PREGNANCY. The implication being that if the main commercial protagonists’ daughter hadn’t been smoking pot, she would have A) not had sex, or B) used protection. At this point, I’d like to say that getting high was something I used to do instead of having sex, but I don’t think that getting rid of pot is going to stop teens having sex. Maybe it’s just me. Furthermore, the times that I have had sex while high (and I was really, _really_ toasted–my wife and I were in Amsterdam and…well, I’ll leave the rest as an exercise for the reader), I managed to remember protection no problem. So I can only conclude that pot was not actually a major factor in the pregnancy, and was merely being used as a scapegoat. However, with the completely disinterested parties who fund these commercials, I doubt that this could be the correct interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/24 "2003-10-24T19:56:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Can anyone cite a study indicating that just smoking weed causes any kind of cancer, such as cigarettes do? I would think that the risk would be less for pot than cigs just because people smoke much less pot than cigarettes. This site says joints have more cancer causing stuff than cigarettes. but the increase seems to be only about 30% more which is not all that much considering a pack a day joint habit is really extreme but a 2 pack a day cig habit is not. [http://www.sarnia.com/groups/antidrug/rltychck/cncrlink.html](http://www.sarnia.com/groups/antidrug/rltychck/cncrlink.html) This one says that 3 joint is equivalent to a pack of cigs. 3 joints a day seems pretty high to me. (man I just slay myself sometimes) But I can imagine a committed dope fiend could smoke that many every day after work and still be contribute just as much to society as the next guy. [http://www.bdtzone.com/news\_details.asp?ID=50](http://www.bdtzone.com/news_details.asp?ID=50) ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/25 "2003-10-24T20:32:25Z")
Proper placement of advertisements is, like, key. At 5:20 A.M last Wednesday on the Scream network, I saw the ad for GM where the guy sits on the curb and says: “I love you” to his new GM SUV. Which movie was on? _Christine_ _giggles uncontrollably then gets, like, totally serious_ Dude, where’s my free car? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/26 "2003-10-24T20:35:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > \*\*I’ve also had plenty of opportunity to observe significant performance reductions while play simulator-style video games while under the influence of cannabis. No _way_ would I attempt to drive a vehicle in real space and time. Unforgivably irresponsible behavior. \*\* Yeah, but you live in Vancouver where there is a law against crappy weed. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/27 "2003-10-24T20:39:26Z")
BTW, I want a [Canyonero](http://hangingon.org/canyonero.html). ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/28 "2003-10-24T20:50:48Z")
Hey **eunoia** , pass the Cheetos. Oh yeah. I’d like one of those SpongeBob SUVs. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/29 "2003-10-24T21:16:34Z")
The one commercial with the older brother in the basement being a total loser and watching cartoons all day is the only _remotely_ realistic anti-pot commercial. And even that ones a stretch. I know a _lot_ of people that smoke weed and have probably known only _one_ who was like that. Prolly the same correlation between people who drink occasionally and people who are raging alchoholics. The other commercials are just stupid and I gurantee they’d never stop anyone from smoking who already does, since they are so obviously over the top and anyone who’s smoked any weed at any time in their lives knows this. The fact that they’d show them back to back with liquor commercials is so hypocritical it boggles the mind. One can get in a helluvalot more trouble drunk than stoned. I guess you’ve gotta just laugh at those commercials, otherwise they’ll drive you straight to the bottle! 😃 ---
**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:** [October 24, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/30 "2003-10-24T23:40:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > **neutron** , I’m all for decriminalization, but I’m quite certain that smoking marijuana impairs your driving abilities. Maybe not as significantly as alcohol, but way beyond what’s acceptable. The numbers don’t lie. The Australian study, in particular, is very telling because of the sample size; 2,500 accidents, and drivers on cannabis were less likely to be the cause than people who hadn’t used any drugs at all! > [@](#): > > There was a time when I believed it probably just made you more cautious, but that belief vapourized pretty quickly after I was in a minor accident of such monumental stupidity that I quite frankly can not imagine it having happened if the driver had not been high. Four people in the car driving through a residential are, trying to remember the name of a minor character actor. The driver had it “on the tip of his tongue,” and _closed his eyes in concentration_. The driver was stupid. And he was distracted by a conversation - the same reason cell phone drivers cause accidents. In contrast, I hold out my own lengthy stoned driving record, which remains accident-free with one speeding ticket (10 Mph too fast on a desolate Interstate in the desert). Sober, I’ve totalled three cars, scratched two others (I hit one of my cars with my other car :smack: ), and racked up at least a half-dozen tickets. > [@](#): > > I’ve also had plenty of opportunity to observe significant performance reductions while play simulator-style video games while under the influence of cannabis. No _way_ would I attempt to drive a vehicle in real space and time. Unforgivably irresponsible behavior. And some of my best scores in video games and quickest stops in avoiding accidents while driving have been under the [influence](http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1951.html). > [@](#): > > Charles Oakley of the Toronto Raptors told the New York Post in February _(2001)_ that 60% of NBA players use marijuana. “You got guys out there playing high every night,” said Oakley. His claim matches a 1997 poll by the New York Times, which claimed that 60% to 70% of NBA players smoke pot. > > Although no studies have been done, it’s possible that marijuana use could improve the game of NBA players, and other athletes. The noted “time dilation” effects of cannabis could help players to analyze different options in less time. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/31 "2003-10-25T00:30:01Z")
I don’t drive at all, myself, but most of my friends regularly drive under the influence of pot. Some of them smoke _while_ they’re driving. None of 'em have got in any accidents. It’s probably dumb, but I don’t have any qualms about riding in a car whose driver is high. Drunk is, of course, an entirely different matter. Actually, one of my friends had to give it up because his new job drug tests. Since he’s stopped smoking, I’ve noticed something interesting. When we play head-to-head video games, and we’re both sober, he kicks my ass. The more I smoke, though, the more I start to win. Anecdotal, obviously, but I don’t have any problems believing **neutron star** ’s cite. > [@](#): > > _Orignally posted by lezlers_ > The one commercial with the older brother in the basement being a total loser and watching cartoons all day is the only remotely realistic anti-pot commercial. And even that ones a stretch. I know a lot of people that smoke weed and have probably known only one who was like that. Sounds like a real loser to me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/32 "2003-10-25T01:02:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\* > Sounds like a real loser to me. 😉 \*\* Whoops. I mean, I’ve only known _two_ people like that. 😃 [sub]I kid, I kid! I kid because I love![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![fallapart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fallapart/32/3018_2.png) [@fallapart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fallapart)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/33 "2003-10-25T02:38:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Troy McClure SF \* > \*\*UC Santa Cruz is located on High Street. > > The street signs don’t last long. \*\* The really sad thing is I’ve been living there for 3 years and I just now noticed that :smack: ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/34 "2003-10-25T15:44:19Z")
A friend of mine burned an anti-pot commercial onto a CD for me… Very amusing. It shows a guy concentrating in some Asian robe in front of a board propped up on blocks. He then takes a very poorly aimed chop, and the board falls to the floor. He is almost knocked over by the effort. Then the words “High for a night, slow for a month” fade in. HAHAHAHAHA. And I used to work on Weed St. The town gave up on putting up signs… I think the last one they put up there was in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/35 "2003-10-25T16:33:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by eunoia \* > \*\*BTW, I want a [Canyonero](http://hangingon.org/canyonero.html). \*\* Thank you! I have wanted a clip of that for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![jujuju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jujuju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jujuju)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/36 "2003-10-26T15:36:06Z")
one of the main streets leading into georgia tech is Hemphill Ave. amazingly, it’s almost always standing. must be bolted on pretty tight. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/37 "2003-10-27T02:17:48Z")
[quote] Upon further review turns out you’re right. For some reason these commercials don’t seem to make it to my tv, probably because my tv happens to be in Jacksonville, Florida. They banned all sales and rental of porn here, so I am not surprised hard liquor ads are not shown \* Ha. Ha, I say! My parents live in Fernandina Beach, a few miles up the road from Jacksonville, a few blocks from TWO, not one but TWO on opposite corners of the same intersection, TWO DRIVE THROUGH LIQUOR STORES. Drive through! Thru, maybe even! I had no idea such a thing existed in all the world! Also, in Florida they advertise liquor with prices and everything. Not done here in SC. Oh, and I’m not sure but I think you might can get your drive thru liquor on Sunday. Oh, the humanity! ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/38 "2003-10-27T10:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by even sven \* > **They show amaretto ads? Like the stuff old Italian ladies drink by the thimbleful before they go to sleep? And they try to portray it as cool and sexy?** I don’t know if you drink alcohol or not, but if you do, amaretto _is_ cool and sexy because amaretto sours are incredibly delicious. Amaretto’s not bad in coffee either. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![leatherheather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea666f/32.png) [@leatherheather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leatherheather)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/39 "2003-10-27T16:42:17Z")
> [@](#): > > The driver was stupid. And he was distracted by a conversation - the same reason cell phone drivers cause accidents. My thoughts exactly!! ---
**Author:** ![Wholesome\_Goodness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7cd45c/32.png) [@Wholesome\_Goodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wholesome_Goodness)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275/40 "2003-10-27T18:42:12Z")
It’s always seemed to me that anti-pot commercials are not only useless but in fact the most counter-productive advertising in existence. As a teenager I was so irritated by them that I always wanted to go and get stoned immediately, just to spite them, just to say, “Ha ha! Your shitty commercials don’t work on me! Fools!” And, as a very young kid—6 or 7—I found these ads deeply perplexing. “What’s wrong with pots,” I would think, “My mom uses them to cook all the time.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-dope-get-a-free-car/209275.md?page=3)