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^people who constantly smoke and talk about/cant wait to smoke their next joint and whose lives are consumed by it. i know many people like this and surprisingly their life is not in order. you can't get "addicted" but you ever see a pothead who cant get a joint? they will do anything to get high
I know many pot smokers and they can go months without it if desired. Not all pot smokers are gang members or welfare recipients. Not sure, I'd trust any Kennedy as far as I can throw one, agenda seems to be ooozing here.
Legalizing pot if the government is in charge is as insane as free healthcare. Not sure of the answer, but the war is not working either. People in prison for pot possession get more time than a F'd up rapist!
Of those charged with marijuana violations, 88.6 percent - some 641,108 Americans - were charged with possession only. The remaining 82,518 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses - even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use.
The total number of marijuana arrests far exceeds the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Since 1992, approximately six million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. Annual marijuana arrests have more than doubled in that time.
"It's time we stopped arresting adults who use marijuana responsibly," says Stroup.
"As a result of increased prosecutions and longer time served in prison, the number of drug offenders in Federal prisons increased more than 12% annually, on average, from 14,976 during 1986 to 68,360 during 1999."
Looks like liberals are more for arresting people for pot charges than conservatives........
"The rate of incarceration in prison and jail was 714 inmates per 100,000 residents in 2002, up from 601 in 1995. At yearend 2003, 1 in every 140 U.S. residents were incarcerated in State or Federal prison or a local jail."
Just how does this justify being busted for pot........
"In December 2000, the Prison Journal published a study based on a survey of inmates in seven men's prison facilities in four states. The results showed that 21 percent of the inmates had experienced at least one episode of pressured or forced sexual contact since being incarcerated, and at least 7 percent had been raped in their facility. A 1996 study of the Nebraska prison system produced similar findings, with 22 percent of male inmates reporting that they had been pressured or forced to have sexual contact against their will while incarcerated. Of these, over 50 percent had submitted to forced anal sex at least once. Extrapolating these findings to the national level gives a total of at least 140,000 inmates who have been raped."
The Kennedy's got rich running bootleg liqueur during prohibition maybe they have interests in pot prohibition because they want to keep it illegal.First people to lose out on this cash crop is law enforcement and their Cash Cow corruption.
Burnouts, stoners, people walking in a perpetual haze.
So the occasional recreational user who is successful and makes a ton of money and lives a life you can only dream about doesn't count? Or am I an alcoholic for drinking this glass of wine?
I agree. Unfortunately there are many politicians in both parties who are pushing for legal drugs under the banner of "freedom". Such "freedom" will do nothing but reduce the overall freedoms from those who didn't want it in the first place. Experiments in Holland and Portugal prove legalization/decriminalization triggers massive increase in crime. Rampant crime reduces the welfare of the nation as whole, so the government actually has a constitutional mandate to put an end to this madness. It is their duty to promote the welfare of the nation, not reduce it.
If pot substitutes alcohol, we have moved forward. It is less damaging.
Finn, show me your info about Portugal and Netherlands.
The Holland (Dutch) Experiment
Holland has decriminalized drugs and tried harm reduction. Since the softening of drug policy there, shootings have increased 40%, robberies 62%, and car thefts 62%. This experiment which was meant to decrease organized crime has resulted in an increase in organized crime families from 3 in 1988 to 93 today.
The number of registered marijuana addicts has risen 30% and the number of other addicts has risen 22%
The Portuguese Experiment
In Portugal, since decriminalization has been implemented, the number of homicides related to drugs has increased 40%. "It was the only European country with a significant increase in (drug-related) murders between 2001 and 2006" (WDR, 2009).
Heroin consumption rose 57.5% in recent years
At variance with what official agencies have recently disclosed, the problem of drug dependence in Portugal has never been more serious: Between 2001, the year the decriminalization law went into effect, and 2007, continued consumption of narcotics rose, in absolute terms, by 66%.
In this period In this period consumption increased 215% for cocaine, 85% for ecstasy, 57.5% for heroin and 37% for cannabis.. These data are from a report of the Institute of Drugs and Drug Dependence (IDT), published in 2008.
Since decriminalization there has been a 50% increase in drug use among young people between the ages of 20 and 24. On the other hand, the number of persons who have experimented with illicit drugs at least once rose from 7.8% in 2001 to 12% in 2007 (IDT Report of Activities of Nov 2008).
The long term effects are known & are insignificant. It has been used by over 1 billion since Genesis without a single proven death as a direct result . Alcohol kills about a million Americans per decade.
Many have been smoking cannabis since late '60s or early'70s, and have no significant health complaints.
Patrick Kennedy could treat his mental illness with cannabis. If his dad had used cannabis oil, he'd still be alive. The only cancer treatments(?) doctors are allowed to do in this country should be considered mass murder as maybe 3% survive long-term. If they use real cancer treatments, the doctors could be imprisoned or lose their medical license. I should write him and ask a few questions.
The best sites for info I've found are rxmarijuana dot com for patient anecdotes (very detailed as to the pills that failed them); Found mostly on pothead sites, Granny Storm Crow's list has 1,200 real studies, arranged alphabetically by condition helped. Wikipedia has mostly good info. Most studies through the government were to find bad things only & they lied. mislead, or came to know conclusion as they wanted another $500K to do another fake study. Studies had to by approved by pharmaceuticals cos!
Cannabis is know known to treat over 200 medical conditions. A new site, leafly dot com, lists medical conditions each strain can help. Very educational.
Many people use cannabis & have jobs. A few employers have probably noticed they have less sick days, & many stay with the same company at the same job & get raises. Not every job is a dangerous one where a second of inattention causes deaths or serious injury. It's probably unlikely a cannabis user would be able to get a job as driver, fork-lift operator or pilot. Just like people on meds may have problems with some jobs. *Most* cannabis users are very good drivers even when stoned. It is less intoxicating than alcohol & there is a plateau effect, unlike with poisons like alcohol.
I know 3 people who use cannabis that work at a grocery that does not drug test. They've been there many years with good work & attendance & now make double or triple minimum wage.
There are many You Tube videos that feature the top experts who specialize in the study of just this plant & Dr Lester Grinspoon (MD) has studied cannabis since 1967. His boy had cancer, couldn't eat, tried cannabis & was able to eat & lived another year and a half.
The more that people read truthful things about it, the more they favor re-legalization. Only over half want it legal, but that includes people who have bad info or no real info. Some online polls have 95%+ saying it should be legal, as they know of some of the benefits.
Quote:
Originally Posted by texdav
Personally I think marijuana is as bad as alcohol and likely to eliminate many as insurable workers. Being a child of the 60's I have seen it effects like alcohol on lives.like nayhting the log term effects are not really known.
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