Cannibus legalized in Alaska, Was., and Oregon

[turtlefanforever]

finally some good news in current events. Voters last night voted in favor of legalizing Marijuana in Alaska, Oregon, and washington. Anyway. Just another step forward. Florida failed to legalize medicinal use because of some bs 60% margin in place. They still voted in favor of it but failed to reach the mark at just 58% in favor. Discuss!

[Cure]

DC is not in Maryland or any state.

[Wingnut]

Congress will shoot down DC's legalization...Maybe a medical-only provision similar to Illinois.

Not trying to be a Dale Gribble conspiracy theorist, but I'd say the endgame is Big Pharma conducting a ruthless take over of this emerging cash-only industry. Books will be cooked thoroughly. Just give it time.

[turtlefanforever]

the people are voting it in but theres still a war against it. The tax on these retailers is much higher than any other business. instead of 30-40% they are getting 80-90% and some cases people have been taxed OVER 100%

[Wingnut]

Originally Posted by turtlefanforever

the people are voting it in but theres still a war against it. The tax on these retailers is much higher than any other business. instead of 30-40% they are getting 80-90% and some cases people have been taxed OVER 100%

True. However since no federally insured bank (i.e. any legit bank) can touch that money you can bet the retailers are keeping their fair share. I would too.

From a financial standpoint, it's the wild west.

[BubblyShell22]

Here's the way I feel about recreational marijuana use: If you smoke it in the privacy of your own home, that's fine. But if you're driving under the influence, that's not cool, and I can see this happening now that it's legalized. I have nothing against medical marijuana as I see the uses of it and how it can benefit people, but this stuff is just like alcohol. If you abuse it, you should still go to jail whether it's legal or not.

[Refractive Reflections]

The extent and effort certain portions of the population are going to legalize marijuana use (outside of any medicinal use) is disappointing, just imagine if that same energy was actually used in making social or economic improvements. Oh well... I guess for some, it's more important to get high than improve standards of living.

It's ironic that society has demonized tobacco, but is now welcoming marijuana use. ...Are we just trading one drug for another? It's a little scary as to the societal effects in terms of mental health considering there's an uncertain connection (if there's a correlation versus cause-and-effect) between marijuana use and brain changes and symptoms resembling schizophrenia.

[BubblyShell22]

My fear is that legalizing marijuana for recreational use may lead to legalizing other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. That's not something I want to see at all.

[turtlefanforever]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

The extent and effort certain portions of the population are going to legalize marijuana use (outside of any medicinal use) is disappointing, just imagine if that same energy was actually used in making social or economic improvements. Oh well... I guess for some, it's more important to get high than improve standards of living.

It's ironic that society has demonized tobacco, but is now welcoming marijuana use. ...Are we just trading one drug for another? It's a little scary as to the societal effects in terms of mental health considering there's an uncertain connection (if there's a correlation versus cause-and-effect) between marijuana use and brain changes and symptoms resembling schizophrenia.

with all due respect that's a very silly thing to say. Legalizing Marijuana will also open up the hemp market. 1 acre of Hemp yields as much paper as 4 acres of trees. (you know, the things we need to give us oxygen to LIVE) there's a lot of uses to it. I understand if you're a sheltered person and just listen to what people say on tv and uneducated folk, but if you actually look up all the good it does you'd have a very differen't outlook. What benefits does tabaccoo have? I'll tell ya, none! Marijuana? it relaxes folk, hemp is a very useful and cheaper product for a wide array of items. it helps people eat. Helps anxiety, ect. There is no irony. The only thing ironic is saying it's as bad as other drugs and then actually comparing the death rate. 0 to uhhh..how many? millions? oh yeah it's just as bad.. ignorance. But again no offense.

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

My fear is that legalizing marijuana for recreational use may lead to legalizing other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. That's not something I want to see at all.

that wouldn't happen. There's no benefit to those drugs.

[tmntpower1988]

Originally Posted by turtlefanforever

with all due respect that's a very silly thing to say. Legalizing Marijuana will also open up the hemp market. 1 acre of Hemp yields as much paper as 4 acres of trees. (you know, the things we need to give us oxygen to LIVE) there's a lot of uses to it. I understand if you're a sheltered person and just listen to what people say on tv and uneducated folk, but if you actually look up all the good it does you'd have a very differen't outlook. What benefits does tabaccoo have? I'll tell ya, none! Marijuana? it relaxes folk, hemp is a very useful and cheaper product for a wide array of items. it helps people eat. Helps anxiety, ect. There is no irony. The only thing ironic is saying it's as bad as other drugs and then actually comparing the death rate. 0 to uhhh..how many? millions? oh yeah it's just as bad.. ignorance. But again no offense.



that wouldn't happen. There's no benefit to those drugs.

Society is full of hypocrites. Alcohol causes more deaths than illegal drugs but yet getting drunk all the time is socially acceptable and if you take drugs you're labelled as a scumbag. When I used to take ecstasy pills people said that I was a scumbag for taking them (even my own mother called me it). I wasn't doing anybody any harm.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by turtlefanforever

with all due respect that's a very silly thing to say. Legalizing Marijuana will also open up the hemp market. 1 acre of Hemp yields as much paper as 4 acres of trees. (you know, the things we need to give us oxygen to LIVE)

C'mon... like agrarian hemp is going to make a massive improvement to the oxygen levels in our world? So much for the rainforests (like the Amazon) and the unimaginable amounts of phytoplankton then.

Originally Posted by turtlefanforever

there's a lot of uses to it. I understand if you're a sheltered person and just listen to what people say on tv and uneducated folk, but if you actually look up all the good it does you'd have a very differen't outlook. What benefits does tabaccoo have? I'll tell ya, none! Marijuana? it relaxes folk, hemp is a very useful and cheaper product for a wide array of items. it helps people eat. Helps anxiety, ect. There is no irony. The only thing ironic is saying it's as bad as other drugs and then actually comparing the death rate. 0 to uhhh..how many? millions? oh yeah it's just as bad.. ignorance. But again no offense.

Oh really? How would you explain these articles about the hazy, uncertain connection between marijuana use and schizophrenic-like brain changes:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270262.php
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...zophrenia.html
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscent...or-memory.html
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/t...s-201103071676
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/schi...psychosis-link
...Are those people from Northwestern University and Harvard just that "uneducated" then? If one wants to take that unnecessary cognition and psychological risk for a self-gratifying high, go right ahead, eventually if someone's just that determined for that particular high, they'll reach it.

Originally Posted by turtlefanforever

What benefits does tabaccoo have? I'll tell ya, none!

Here's a silver lining, as thin as it is: http://www.livescience.com/15115-5-h...g-disease.html


If people want to take tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, shrooms, cocaine, or whatever psychoactive substance and whatever amounts, fine. That's their life, their business, and their outcomes to deal and live with. What I'm emphasizing here is that with all the political redtape associated with pursuing in legalizing marijuana (pursing the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to get it on the ballot, the demonstrations, conferring with politicians, etc.), just imagine if this same fervency was used to improve medical care in the United States...? Or improve social programs? Rather than the pursuit of legalizing a health-questionable form of self-gratification. ...But like I said, I guess for some individuals, I guess getting high is more important than improving the standard of living considering the extent of political work necessary to make such a change.


Edit: By the way, there's research pointing to an association with marijuana use and anxiety problems:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/14/136

The results of the current meta-analysis suggest that anxiety is positively related to cannabis use or cannabis use disorders in cohorts, not in treatment for anxiety or cannabis use disorders, drawn from the general population of 10 countries. These associations were only small in magnitude, but were observed even after controlling for confounding factors (demographics, other substance use, and/or other psychiatric comorbidity). The prospective analysis revealed that cannabis use at baseline was positively associated with anxiety at follow-up. While the causal direction of this relationship could not be established using the available data, this result suggests that even infrequent cannabis use is associated with clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety. Therefore, an appropriate assessment of cannabis use might be necessary for an effective treatment of anxiety disorders.

Plus, a possible association with marijuana use and depression:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23795762

CONCLUSIONS: Cannabis use, and particularly heavy cannabis use, may be associated with an increased risk for developing depressive disorders. There is need for further longitudinal exploration of the association between cannabis use and developing depression, particularly taking into account cumulative exposure to cannabis and potentially significant confounding factors.

[Gunpowder]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

My fear is that legalizing marijuana for recreational use may lead to legalizing other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. That's not something I want to see at all.

That won't happen.

[Discogod]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

My fear is that legalizing marijuana for recreational use may lead to legalizing other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. That's not something I want to see at all.

Yes, but even if other, harder drugs are legalized, it won't neccessarily lead to an increase in use. There's several countries in Europe where hard drugs have been decriminalized and it's lead to a decrease in use - mainly because people have found it easier to get treatment when they don't also have the risk of getting arrested to think about.

Personally, I'd like to see cannabis legalized over here. I thought it was a step in the right direction when it was declassified a few years back, but the new govenment quickly reversed that decision. I'd estimate that maybe 75% of the people I know smoke, including quite a few people you wouldn't expect (when I used to deal, my customers included a magistrate, several GPs and the then-mayor), but it's never been harder to get hold of the stuff. Busting dealers & grow ops seems to be all the police are focusing on in my area, to the detriment of virtually everything else. Meanwhile, the streets are flooded with cheap coke & smack...

[Netkeeper]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

The extent and effort certain portions of the population are going to legalize marijuana use (outside of any medicinal use) is disappointing, just imagine if that same energy was actually used in making social or economic improvements. Oh well... I guess for some, it's more important to get high than improve standards of living.

It's ironic that society has demonized tobacco, but is now welcoming marijuana use. ...Are we just trading one drug for another? It's a little scary as to the societal effects in terms of mental health considering there's an uncertain connection (if there's a correlation versus cause-and-effect) between marijuana use and brain changes and symptoms resembling schizophrenia.

Why don't you take your nonsense and your attitude elsewhere? You act as if people can't... gASP... SUPPORT MULTIPLE CAUSES... no that would be too much... ONLY SUPPORT WEED... NEVER SUPPORT ANYTHING ELSE.

No, we wouldn't be ****ing trading one drug for another. Tobacco is worse. There's literally no benefit to tobacco consumption over marijuana.

I'm not even going to dignify that last bit with a response because you are so painfully uneducated that, perhaps, you should actually consider Googling a few things before further "contribution" to the discussion. Or, preferably, you can just **** off the thread.

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

My fear is that legalizing marijuana for recreational use may lead to legalizing other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. That's not something I want to see at all.

You clearly know nothing about heroin and cocaine. Or weed, for that matter. Try reading up on what all three of those drugs actually do and you'll see why two of them are some of the worst things you can do to yourself and why marijuana isn't the same as alcohol like you seem to think.

Being straightedge is fine. But blurring all drugs and alcohol together then acting mightier than us for it is just going to piss people off.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by Netkeeper

Why don't you take your nonsense and your attitude elsewhere? You act as if people can't... gASP... SUPPORT MULTIPLE CAUSES... no that would be too much... ONLY SUPPORT WEED... NEVER SUPPORT ANYTHING ELSE.

No, we wouldn't be ****ing trading one drug for another. Tobacco is worse. There's literally no benefit to tobacco consumption over marijuana.

Wow... that reaction said it all right there. Thank you for your entertaining response.

Again with the time spent legalizing it, why not spend that same time doing something even more beneficial? I mean with all the resources, time, and energy spent on that, why not?

Originally Posted by Netkeeper

I'm not even going to dignify that last bit with a response because you are so painfully uneducated that, perhaps, you should actually consider Googling a few things before further "contribution" to the discussion. Or, preferably, you can just **** off the thread.

I'm sorry, but I'll take the words of scientists and scholarly research journals concerning the possible harmful effects of marijuana rather than the lay public who want to constantly tout "marijuana does nothing harmful" who have no actual scientific background in the matter.

[BubblyShell22]

Originally Posted by Netkeeper

You clearly know nothing about heroin and cocaine. Or weed, for that matter. Try reading up on what all three of those drugs actually do and you'll see why two of them are some of the worst things you can do to yourself and why marijuana isn't the same as alcohol like you seem to think.

Being straightedge is fine. But blurring all drugs and alcohol together then acting mightier than us for it is just going to piss people off.

I'm not acting mightier than anybody. I've watched Cops so I know what those drugs can do and how they benefit nobody. Marijuana is fine for medical use, but making it legal for recreational use is just stupid as it benefits nobody in the long run. I agree with RR that our country can do better than that as we have bigger problems facing us than whether to legalize weed for recreational use just so people can sit on their a**ses and get stoned for their own enjoyment. If you want to get stoned, go for it, but you'll probably lose a lot of brain cells in the process just like with alcohol.