Legalized Marijuana Hasn’t Caused The Sky To Fall

a reply to: nOraKat

I don't think many people are advocating that there is no risk involved, but rather that the individual should be free to decide whether they want to partake in such a practice.

originally posted by: nOraKat
I think it is great that Marijuana has been legalized, but lets not turn it into something it is not - that is something that is not without any potential problems if smoked too often.

I think some problems associated with it is:

- Depressed states of mind (especially when smoked for a long time starting in the daytime.)
- indolence
- disrupts thought processes and memory for particular tasks.

Whether it is suitable or a hindrance depends on the person, his state of mind, and what he is doing.

But who is arguing that it has no downsides? I can state a downside of your average cigarrette which can easily end up in the hands of children and is readily available in the entire world in vast, vast quantities:

- They give you cancer and eventually kill you.

Yeah... And still its legal?

Same thing with alcohol. All "drugs" have downsides.

originally posted by: merka

originally posted by: WeAreAWAKE
Bottom line. We keep lowering that level. We say "more people are having abortions" and to make them feel better...we lower the bar. We have more divorces, more single parents...we lower the bar. We have been lowering this bar for so long, just to make what was once "shameful" into something acceptable. We have done this to make people feel better and not feel like they have done something bad or failed. But none-the-less...as a society, we have lowered the bar.

And do you know what that's also called in a simpler term?

Freedom.

Freedom to choose, freedom to experiment, freedom over your own life.... Freedom to be different. God I sound like a 'murican, lol. But that's what it is. Modern society is not about the moral obligation to continue the human race. We dont need the church to tell us what's "shamefull" just so that a man and woman can live in a perfect happy little marriage and raise perfect happy little children which will go on and make more perfect families. We dont want the goverment to tell us how to live our lives.

Either way, the whole marijuana argument really boils down to psychology 101 - tell children and teens not to do something and you can be sure they'll find a way to do it on their own. And guess what? It'll be uncontrolled and very messy. You can try to teach your children to take the moral high ground, but in the end they will have to figure that out themselves. You can only guide them.

Mostly agree...but this wasn't an argument to begin with. However...freedom to what extent? You have to agree that some actions should be illegal...right? As much as I am a fan of pot and it's legalization...let me ask you this. If you have, or if you were to have children, would you set a goal for them to start smoking pot on a weekly basis as some age? Would you aspire to have them begin that, would you teach them how great and fun it is leading up to that age and would you provide them with all the tools to smoke pot correctly and well? Is getting your children going with smoking pot on your agenda?

Or...is it more of an "if they do...it isn't horrible or bad" type of attitude? Or...would you prefer they don't smoke pot but not really go out of your way to prevent it? And I mean all this in the most serious and positive manner possible. I'm not being an ass. Do you hope your children get high on a regular basis, spend money on legal pot? If so...if you are going to set a goal to have your kids getting high on a somewhat regular basis...how do you feel about the possibility that they may end up driving when they are higher than they thought? If you have a daughter...how do you feel about her accidentally getting higher than she meant to and maybe allowing someone to do more than she would if she were less high?

While I don't believe they are any major medical issues with pot, and some definite positive ones...you are still putting something in your body that wasn't meant to be there, counting smoke in general. IF in ten years it is discovered that smoking pot does cause some medical problems...and if you promoted it to your children...would you take responsibility for setting the bar too low? If they smoke and feel lazy and lose a job...maybe oversleep too many times...will you step up and support them financially? You see...I know that I set the bar too low for myself and began smoking. I chose to continue to smoke and that is a bad decision. I'm not going to walk around pretending it is "just fine to smoke cigarettes". It isn't and I have the freedom to make that choice. But I'm not going to try to self-justify my bad choice by making my children smoke cigarettes. I'm going to tell them not to and hope they never do. I won't ASPIRE to have my children smoke.

You see...while "smoking pot" in itself isn't a problem, everything any of us do does impact other things. And I'm not talking about religion, but morals do have to exist...there have to be choices. And within those choices are good ones and bad ones. Everything can't be good just because people want to do it. I smoke cigarettes. It is (or maybe I should say should be) my right to do so. But...I don't wish it upon my children nor do I have a goal to get them smoking. I would much rather they never start. If they do...I can live with it. But I'm not going to lie and pretend that smoking is something positive. Even though it contributes to our economy in a huge way.

Pot is fun. Most people can handle anything in moderation. I'm not against legalized pot or anyone who smokes. But I don't strive to have anyone smoke nor do I hope anyone does. If they do...fine. Go for it. But it is probably better if they choose not to.

originally posted by: darkbake

originally posted by: WeAreAWAKE
I don't disagree with anything in the OP, but I would like to throw out a thought here. We are a society that has rules, laws, goals, etc. We want the best for our children, friends and family.

I have two daughters. I hope they both grow up happy and healthy. I hope they get good jobs and/or marry someone who loves them and that they have great lives.

discovered that they are gay, it would bother me. Why? Not because that is what she is, but because it will make life slightly more difficult for her.

What would make life harder for your daughter is pretending she was straight because she didn't want to face a society that discriminates against her. Pretending she was straight would not make her happier.

Also, people tend to be able to choose what is best for them if they are given the option. Maybe a lot of single parents are better off than when they were in an abusive relationship. Maybe some people are better off smoking pot. In the end, it is best if the person chooses their own way.

You don't have to get divorced or smoke pot, or you can, up to you. I don't think the bar is being lowered, it is being raised.

About the daughter example. You are correct. But parents want the best, easiest life for their children...anything that complicates is not something you hope for. YES...things happen and you deal with them. But I'm speaking in general and of what you hope for your children.

But on the bar...I disagree. The worst a person can do is still the worst and the best a person can do is still the best. I assume anyone would agree that smoking, drugs, abortions, manslaughter, theft, etc. are things we HOPE we and our children don't have to experience...something we don't have on a list of things we WANT them to do...right? If so...then we HOPE they won't happen but you never know. It doesn't make them a horrible person if these things happen, it doesn't make them bad, etc. But we don't ASPIRE for them to experience them. That is the bar I'm speaking of. And yes...we keep lowering that bar. Not on all these levels yet...but consider this. There ARE people out there that believe stealing, under certain circumstances is OK. There are people out there that STRIVE to be on welfare. There are people who have another child which they can't afford to raise to get more money from the system. And while I'm sure some people will get pissed off over this...I'm sure that if there was a way to make money out of getting pregnant and then having an abortion...there would be people doing that also.

Bottom line. Not everything that "people do" should be made the norm. Everything is not acceptable. Tolerable...maybe...acceptable or normal...no. But again...my opinion.

a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

What I'm getting from your posts is that we should now ban arcades because we would rather aspire for our children to be in the library instead.

Am I incorrect?

a reply to: merka

Yeah I have had the pleasure of seeing autopsy on Livers of heavy drinkers and lungs of heavy smokers.

Not very pretty sights.

originally posted by: IslandOfMisfitToys
a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

What I'm getting from your posts is that we should now ban arcades because we would rather aspire for our children to be in the library instead.

Am I incorrect?

Absolutely not...and if you can't tell what I am talking about from my posts, you never will from me explaining. Mostly because you missed my repeated "I'm in favor or legal pot" comments.

While I don't smoke pot, I don't see the big deal honestly. Cigs are so much worse for your health, it's amazing they could be legal while pot is not. Hemp could be a huge industry for farmers - there are lots of benefits economically - although I don't think all the construction projects we are seeing around Denver has anything to do with pot sales, as someone mentioned.

Keep in mind that many people still cannot smoke pot if they want to keep their jobs. It's fine if the state allows it.. but most companies still do drug screenings, both at hire, and randomly... and they will fire folks if positive. It's not as if the entirety of the State's population became potheads overnight. : )

Also pot sales have really calmed down after the initial "omg it's legal!" surge of purchasing. While the 45 million in taxes received is nothing to sniff at, it's not close to the 70 million they were shooting for when they created those high taxes on marijuana.

Meanwhile, here in Las Vegas we had 18 people/groups of people who had done all the necessary paperwork and money transactions to the state and what not for dispensaries. Our idiots in charge just pulled the rug out from under eight of them for no reason that I can find. At least nothing logical.

The local PTB are so afraid of pot it's insane. It's been years since we voted for MM and it still hasn't happened and they are making it worse. They just don't want it to happen and are doing everything they can to make it not happen, it seems.18 dispensaries is too many for a city of 2 million people. Complete insanity.

I'd link the story but it's the LVRJ. They don't play nice and can't be linked to from here.

originally posted by: theMediator

“Two or three years ago, a kilogram [2.2 pounds] of marijuana was worth $60 to $90,” a 24-year-old pot grower in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa told NPR. “But now they’re paying us $30 to $40 a kilo. It’s a big difference. If the U.S. continues to legalize pot, they’ll run us into the ground. … The day we get $20 a kilo, it will get to the point that we just won’t plant marijuana anymore.”

Those prices are outrageous!??!?

I've been paying about 5000$ a kg for the last 20 years...this just doesn't make sense.

40$ a kilo = 2 cents for a joint

What the hell is he talking about.

That's how much the cartel pocket!

The cartels pay the Mexican growers $30 a kg, and sell it for $5000.00 a kg in the US.

By legalizing private growers, like here in CO; use can produce your own crops for $30 a kg, like the Mexican growers and pass the savings (pun intended) on to yourself... or to the left LOL.

God Bless,

a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

Lowering the level? Pot has only been illegal for a fraction of the span of human history. Heck, it's been illegal here for less than half of US history. Before that it was a recipe in many herbal medicines that actually worked. That is until it was made illegal and all main ingredients were shifted to opium derivatives. If you study history beyond the approved propaganda, you'll see that marijuana has been a VERY beneficial thing for humans throughout the ages. That's medically, industrially, spiritually, and yes even recreationly. If anything we are restoring the level to where it previously was.

But hey don't believe me. Here's Carl Sagan talking about it.

Carl Sagan, Marijuana Advocate, Explains What It's Like To Be High While Carl Sagan

Writing that he'd begun smoking intermittently around 10 years before, Sagan noted that marijuana "amplifies torpid sensibilities and produces what to me are even more interesting effects." "The cannabis experience has greatly improved my appreciation for art, a subject which I had never much appreciated before," he wrote. "The understanding of the intent of the artist which I can achieve when high sometimes carries over to when I’m down. This is one of many human frontiers which cannabis has helped me traverse." Sagan went on to explain in intricate detail how his experiences listening to music, eating food and even having sex were all heightened while high.

The only bar you fear being lowered is in your head. But it's ok, it's just the propaganda talking. Just let it go.

originally posted by: ElohimJD
By legalizing private growers, like here in CO; use can produce your own crops for $30 a kg, like the Mexican growers and pass the savings (pun intended) on to yourself... or to the left LOL.

Err.. no you can't.

Only licensed dispensaries are allowed to grow pot.

If you look into the details, it is next to impossible for the average person to become a dispensary.

..which is not too good for the average guy who would like to get into growing for a business.

a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

Very good Point, We want our sons and daughters protected and US as well. and to live a healthy happy life. Now to me that statement says to make MJ legal and i tell ya why. Hope i can post a link here ?¿? www.ohiorightsgroup.org...
Now if you look at the site and see some of the research findings on different sickness's and how it can help. now that proper research can be done on it we are finding out alot of great things.
What i really dont get on most people. they dont think 2x about stopping at McDonald's and picking up some chicken nuggets. thats filled with 0% chicken and 60% silicon 40% of what ever is cheap that week and feeding that junk to your kid. but they get worried when MJ has already been proven to slow down cancer that is caused from stuff like chicken nuggets with 0% chicken So its ok to buy, eat, drink cancer driven products but not ok to take anything to stop it?

I just have to add that this just needs to be pushed at a fed level everyone should have this right to grow, not just a select few.. equal rights

originally posted by: Unrealised
Nobody likes a druggo.

Have fun filling your heads with emptiness.

Once the big growers take over, you'll eventually forget your own names.

You reap what you sow, literally.

Nobody likes me and my head is filled with emptiness.
Can't even remember my own name for kri-sakes!

It all started with the gateway drug I called breast milk, don't know what I called it then, but I wanted more, then that led to juice, then strained peas n stuff like that.

Going to have a clearance sale, the product is brains, EVERYTHING MUST GO!

Gotta go to work though, perhaps I will empty up before I go?

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Here is a video about your brain on MJ.




Appears to me to be a natural product not a drug.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I think it is fine if people want to use drugs, but if you are giving it to someone else, or selling it to someone else, it should come with a warning label.

Like so:

Warning: This drug may impair cognition. Do not use while operating machinery. Do not use in proximity to others who are not using, as your impaired mentality may cause you to do or say something extremely upsetting to others. You should prepare everything you will need while under the influence of this drug prior to taking this drug. Also, watch where you are walking, and do not groom yourself while under the influence of this drug, as you might trip and land in a stupid looking hair cut, or worse. You have been warned.

originally posted by: olaru12
Legalization and decriminilization of MJ will skyrocket now that it is seen a money making proposition...here come the corporate big boys to try and control the market, just like tobacco.... Mark my words!

But, what is to stop new businesses from flourishing in this new market? There's actually a massive opportunity here, for anyone with ambition and a business mind. In fact, the small business has a better opportunity than any corporation to capitalize on the legalization.

Most corporations would not touch this until it's become entirely socially acceptable. They have brands to protect and images to uphold, they have a lot more to lose from associating themselves with what their lawyers will be calling a risky business. You don't have that same concern.

In addition, the buyers are more likely to buy from a small company than a corporation, that's just the attitude the sub-culture has.

If this was coming to the UK right now, if it even looked plausible here, I would already be looking into becoming a retailer, putting everything in place to get in "on the ground floor" as they say. Within a few years that small start-up with almost no outlay could be a leader in national sales, just as happened in vaping.

originally posted by: St0mP121
a reply to: WeAreAWAKE

Very good Point, We want our sons and daughters protected and US as well. and to live a healthy happy life. Now to me that statement says to make MJ legal and i tell ya why. Hope i can post a link here ?¿? www.ohiorightsgroup.org...
Now if you look at the site and see some of the research findings on different sickness's and how it can help. now that proper research can be done on it we are finding out alot of great things.
What i really dont get on most people. they dont think 2x about stopping at McDonald's and picking up some chicken nuggets. thats filled with 0% chicken and 60% silicon 40% of what ever is cheap that week and feeding that junk to your kid. but they get worried when MJ has already been proven to slow down cancer that is caused from stuff like chicken nuggets with 0% chicken So its ok to buy, eat, drink cancer driven products but not ok to take anything to stop it?

I just have to add that this just needs to be pushed at a fed level everyone should have this right to grow, not just a select few.. equal rights

I should probably just bail on trying to make my point...but had to take one more stab at it. I'M IN FAVOR OF LEGAL POT!!!! But in your example about McDonalds...I consider their "food" below the bar. I would hope my kids and everyone take the high road and eat healthy food, in responsible serving sizes, etc. I think people fall below the bar when they eat junk food. Again, not that that is a horrible thing, but not something I would HOPE people do all the time.

My point? Just since so many eat McDonalds food way to often, is no reason to move the bar down to accommodate what the masses do that isn't good for them. Don't start saying "McDonalds food is fine" when it is not...nor say "pot is fine" when it is not.

Oh well. Last try...probably won't be received any better than before.