Aaron, The "Pot smoking, sinner."

[Haarstad]

See, Haarstad, people aren't just hurting themselves if they don't wear a seatbelt. Physically they only hurt themselves, but if they die in the crash then their spouse and children are left mourning. You know? Same goes for alcohol. Yeah, if you drink at home your chances of killing someone go way down, but you can still kill yourself (alcohol poisoning, becoming an alcoholic and dying of liver failure, etc) and I think it goes without saying that a lot of fights are caused by the fact that people are drunk. I personally hate the stuff in all applications but cooking.

I also have to disagree with you and say that the government does not control us too much. I haven't heard of any laws that are unreasonable to me. Most of the time, I don't think they're harsh enough!

In Minnesota:
It's illegal to sleep naked
It's illegal to cross the border with a duck on top of your head
Exception- Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head
It's illegal for any male to ride a motorcycle shirtless
If any officer finds a cat that is running at large, or which is found in any street, alley or public place, it shall be the duty of any policeman or other officer of the city to kill such cat
Red cars may not drive down Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN
All bathtubs must have feet
Any person who persuades another to enter a massage therapist business after 11:00 PM is guilty of a misdemeanor
Hamburgers may not be eaten on Sundays in St. Cloud, MN
You're not allowed to park your elephant on Main Street in Virginia, MN

And that's just SOME in ONE state lol

 

[KingCrimson<3]

I almost don't want to touch this, but I'm twenty and go to the most liberal school on the East Coast, so I feel obligated.

Marijuana is a taxable and extremely profitable crop. The benefits of legalization for medical use and decriminalization of non-prescription possession can make the state governments LOTS of money which can go toward things like education, state run drug rehabilitation programs (and trust me, no one has ever needed rehab for weed) and other stuff that is way more important than the government's need to control every aspect of American life.

I'm not condoning marijuana use, but I can't condemn it either. It is no more harmful than many things that are legal, I mean living under power lines seriously increases your chances of getting cancer. Does that mean we should stop using electricity? It just seems silly not to take advantage of the possible profits when the country is in so much debt.

Also, I don't buy that whole drugs=bad thing.

 

[Michael823]

I just find it kind of sad that there are people who need to drink, smoke, whatever in order to enjoy life. I used to do drink (still have a glass or two, but never enough to get drunk anymore) and smoked weed a few times, but found out early that I had a much better time when I was straight.

I REALLY agree to this. As a teen the general way to have fun with my friends was either smoking or drinking, and although I have no regrets or residual affects for being a part of it, I do regret not having made better friendships with people outside of that narrow way of living when I was younger.

Once I turned 18 I felt a huge responsibility to rise above that way of living. It was only an illusion that temporarily seemed satisfying, but it didn't benefit the way I was living in any way. And having the responsibility of adult hood made me want to free myself of anything that wasn't beneficial to my well being, including friends. Sadly I felt like friends were friends and that it would all be the same regardless of my personal choices, maybe I was even naive enough to think that I would be looked at favorably, but that wasn't the case. Now, whether I just grew up and apart from it all, or whether I just became a less appealing person to hang out with when I didn't partake in drinking or smoking, I feel like it was hugely beneficial to my life to become fully of anything that didn't create positivity and progress.

To be honest, me deciding to not drink or smoke really changed my life, even if it was only a small aspect of my life. It all started with me getting into reptiles when I got my Leopard Geckos and a Corn Snake at 17. They really taught me what it was to see the beauty of life outside of the small world that I was living, and the hope of branching out to creating a peaceful and enriching environment that also had the possibility of becoming something bigger.

However, I do fully stand for people's rights to recreationally drink, and in my opinion to also smoke Marijuana. But I wish that more people could see the huge responsibility that comes with using those substances to have fun. It's sad when I see people who are my age or older still doing the same things that they did as teenagers, but I feel proud and fortunate to be removed from any form of that.

Also, I feel as though drinking is much more destructive than smoking. I just feel like Marijuana is more of a relaxant than a mood altering threat that can harm others (like drinking). I know a handful of older people who still smoke marijuana late in their lives (A lot of hippies in my town, lol), and they are much different from those who drink. And so long as drinking is promoted and consumed in the way that it is, I think it's an outrage to still have marijuana illegal.

Just my opinion...

(really went a little off topic. I guess I give a lot more thought to the issue than I realized)

 

[vetusvates]

Eric, I am going to be puzzling, marveling over that list for days.
From the police officers...to the hamburgers...is like a peep thru a keyhole into a Salvador Dalian land of 10,000 lakes.

 

[Haarstad]

Eric, I am going to be puzzling, marveling over that list for days.
From the police officers...to the hamburgers...is like a peep thru a keyhole into a Salvador Dalian land of 10,000 lakes.

HAHA, It's not only us... i know in Maine it's illegal to jump out of a plane without a parachute, in Louisiana it's illegal to catch a boot while fishing, in Oregon it's illegal to kill Sasquatch... and again, that's only some of them...

 

[vetusvates]

It seems like back in the 1990's, there was a beer or malt beverage or wine or vodka cooler...that had weird state laws printed on the inside of the bottle cap.
Seems like I remember something illegal about a deer, after dark, sex, a national park, and North Carolina.....

 

[Haarstad]

It seems like back in the 1990's, there was a beer or malt beverage or wine or vodka cooler...that had weird state laws printed on the inside of the bottle cap.
Seems like I remember something illegal about a deer, after dark, sex, a national park, and North Carolina.....

HAHAHA ROFL :roflmao: I think that's illegal in every state lol

 

[Fatman608]

Hey VickyChaiTea,

I understand what you are saying because both my parents died from cigarette smoke. However, that was their chose. We live in a country were we should be able to do what ever we want so long as it does not hurt someone else.

I hate that stupid seat beat law and I do not wear one and I got the tickets to prove it. I hate that the Federal Government infringes on my rights to do as I please because if I chose to die in my stupid old truck that to me should be my right. I do understand your thought on what it would mean to my family but they all know my thought on it and would try to understand.

I figure by now you get what I would say about alcohol, but I would like to say one thing. I understand you do not like the taste of alcoholic drinks in your food but what about the people like me how do. I will admit that almost all the alcohol has evaporated out of the food by the time that I eat it but the flavor of the wine, booze, or beer is still there and I enjoy that flavor.

If any of this comes off as uncivil I am sorry. I did not mean it to.

Love the Fatman

 

[c'est propice]

First medical marijuana is BS. All the drugs in marijuana that do any good are artificially manufactured by drug companies. My source is my wife who is a pharmacist.

Second, I think it should be legalized for several reasons.
1. There is scientific proof that marijuana is not physical addictive - mentally maybe a different story.
2. The War On Drugs is a joke and the money used to stop marijuana could be used to stop the harder stuff.
3. With marijuana legalized and taxed like tobacco and alcohol the money could be used to treat people with serious drug problems.
4. Denmark has shown that with marijuana legalized you have less people who use serious drugs.

Love the Fatman

All of the above,...and...I just wonder if removing the "taboo" would result in less marijuana use. The "naughty" or "risk-taking" (legal) factor would be gone from the equation. Just wondering...

 

[Lolo]

I did not know that civil unions were not legally the same as marriages.

And herein lies one of the major problems... people latch onto buzzwords like "civil union," without looking into the legal implications of marriage vs unions. They lose approximately 100(?) various rights without marriage, hence the reason a civil union simply isn't enough.

Back to the original topic! As a Californian I'm in the center of the pot debate, as you'll know if you've heard of Prop 19... didn't pass yesterday, but I wasn't surprised about that at all. Some people think CA is all liberal, when in fact it's about 50/50 liberal vs conservative. Most of those conservatives (and probably some liberals) are still caught in the "drugs are baaad" mentality, which has been drilled in by our government.

Truth is, marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes, certain Rx drugs - even junk food when you think about it. We're wasting BILLIONS of dollars on this failed war on drugs, and it's time everyone woke up and realized that already. California is something like 2 billion in debt right now, yet they voted down a measure that could have helped to dig us out. Why???

For the record, I've been a legal medical user of marijuana for about 6 years now... so whether Prop 19 passed or not didn't affect me, but I still voted YES. We need to stop wasting money on pot-related crimes, tax those who are using it, and accept the scientific research that proves it's less harmful than other legal substances. Of course it's not healthy, but adults should be allowed to decide how to treat their own bodies. If you can eat a double cheeseburger with bacon & cheese, or chug a beer at the bar - I should be allowed to smoke a joint after work.

 

[Lolo]

All of the above,...and...I just wonder if removing the "taboo" would result in less marijuana use. The "naughty" or "risk-taking" (legal) factor would be gone from the equation. Just wondering...

I absolutely think that would be the case! When I was 15 my Sunday School class spent the summer in Israel... there's not really a drinking age there (it's 18 but not enforced), so of course we all went CRAZY and hit the bars. While hanging out with some Israeli teens that summer, we asked if they wanted to get drunk - most of them replied "why?" They didn't see it as something cool or taboo, since they literally grew up drinking wine. In the Jewish religion you're actually expected to drink (ceremoniously) after your Bar/Bat-Mitzvah at age 13... and wine with lunch & dinner, offered to everyone over 13, is quite commonplace. Take away that cool factor, and you definitely lessen the glamor of doing it.

 

[SnakeAround]

Maybe taking away the cool factor works for teenagers, but for them it won't be legal to drink alcohol or smoke pot anyway, so it's not relevant. I hope most people over 18 or 21 are not attracted by things that are illegal anymore.

 

[oneirogenesis]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, Aaron. I was raised Christian and I still believe in a higher power and find myself trying to live a good life by Christian principles. But I fall in and out of favor with the religion, not because of anything Jesus said, but because I don't feel like joining a community of people just to be judged by them. I also don't feel like mixing up my spiritual life and my relationship to the sacred with something mundane like politics.

There are some risks inherent to marijuana use, but overall it is a low-risk activity so long as its use is tempered by common sense. We can't ban everything because of personal risk. A couple of months ago my boss permanently damaged a rib riding his skateboard. I'm not about to start advocating nation-wide skateboard bans. I would advocate for him being more careful on the thing.

As for it being sad to need drugs/alcohol to have fun, I've always been under the impression that the responsible use of substances entails using them to enhance experiences, rather than escape from negative ones (aside from medical issues, of course). I don't have a drink because I am miserable and think that life is not inherently any fun without it, or because my friends and I can't socialize without being inebriated. I have a drink because it enhances the experience of relaxing.

Addressing the issue of same-sex marriage versus civil unions, I will come right out and say that I am a bisexual woman and most of my relationships have been with other women. I never got a choice in the matter, so it's certainly far from fair for straight people to decide for me.

 

[Haarstad]

Maybe taking away the cool factor works for teenagers, but for them it won't be legal to drink alcohol or smoke pot anyway, so it's not relevant. I hope most people over 18 or 21 are not attracted by things that are illegal anymore.

I'm 19 and occasionally i'll have a drink, but not cause it's illegal... back when i was really young (14) i started smoking and chewing cause i thought it was cool... now i still smoke and chew and honestly, how cool was it? Now i'm stuck buying the nasty stuff... what a waste of my time and money, now i need a cigarette every time i wake up, get done eating, bored, hungry, in a car, stresses, before i go to bed... and i chew about every time in between them...

I don't think chew has the physical addiction that cigarettes do but it relaxes you, which makes it hard not to have it... in any case, i wish i hadn't started any of it

 

[Nanci]

I, personally, would like to see cigarettes AND alcohol banned, with the medicinal use of marijuana legalized but recreational kept illegal. I don't like harmful substances, substances that people can kill themselves with if used recreationally, made legal. It just doesn't make any sense. I am a firm believer in the saying "Sometimes people have to be saved from themselves." Which is very slippery territory, I know.

What about bacon? What about sugar? While I can't think of any studies that show good of any kind comes from cigarettes, alcohol, in moderation, has been shown to have a number of health benefits.

 

[Nanci]

I'm 19 and occasionally i'll have a drink, but not cause it's illegal... back when i was really young (14) i started smoking and chewing cause i thought it was cool... now i still smoke and chew and honestly, how cool was it? Now i'm stuck buying the nasty stuff... what a waste of my time and money, now i need a cigarette every time i wake up, get done eating, bored, hungry, in a car, stresses, before i go to bed... and i chew about every time in between them...

I don't think chew has the physical addiction that cigarettes do but it relaxes you, which makes it hard not to have it... in any case, i wish i hadn't started any of it

You still have plenty of time to quit and reverse the damage. A portion of my patients are people who have their tongues, larynxes, roofs of their mouths removed after getting cancer from smoking/chewing. how relaxing is that? I was one of the most addicted smokers EVER. EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I quit about 15 years ago. You can do it.

 

[Nanci]

I just find it kind of sad that there are people who need to drink, smoke, whatever in order to enjoy life. I used to do drink (still have a glass or two, but never enough to get drunk anymore) and smoked weed a few times, but found out early that I had a much better time when I was straight.

But what about people who drink alcohol for pleasure without over-indulging? What about wine connoisseurs? What about when the point is to _not_ get drunk, because then you lose your pallate and clear head for wine tasting? I think it's a legitimate passtime. There are other reasons for drinking alcohol besides getting drunk, or looking "cool" to your friends.

 

[starsevol]

I also have to disagree with you and say that the government does not control us too much. I haven't heard of any laws that are unreasonable to me. Most of the time, I don't think they're harsh enough!

I am sorry, but you are kidding, right?
Have you ever tried to open or operate a small business?
Aren't you aware of all the laws passed yearly that we simply do not need, that controls all we do?

Just one example, my husband and I run a bike shop. We do not have a public bathroom, and one is not required by law, BUT if a customer has to use the facilities, we used to let them. Just to be nice.

We recently found out that because our bathroom is not speced to the requirements of the American With Disabilities Act, just the act of allowing someone to use the bathroom makes it a "public restroom" and we can be taken to court and fined thousands of dollars for non compliance if one of our customers turns out to be a government worker and reports us!!! So guess what, now NO ONE can use the bathroom, no matter how badly they need to.

The law spells out exactly how high the mirror must be, and the sink, and the measurement between the sink and the toilet.

Well guess what? Spending thousands of dollars we don't have to completely gut and redesign the bathroom of a 100 year old building is not a priority around here!

I learned a long time ago, it does not matter what I like or dislike. If it does not infringe on another's rights, and hurts no one but the person doing it, there should be no law against it. Case closed.

 

[Outcast]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, Aaron. I was raised Christian and I still believe in a higher power and find myself trying to live a good life by Christian principles. But I fall in and out of favor with the religion, not because of anything Jesus said, but because I don't feel like joining a community of people just to be judged by them. I also don't feel like mixing up my spiritual life and my relationship to the sacred with something mundane like politics.

There are some risks inherent to marijuana use, but overall it is a low-risk activity so long as its use is tempered by common sense. We can't ban everything because of personal risk. A couple of months ago my boss permanently damaged a rib riding his skateboard. I'm not about to start advocating nation-wide skateboard bans. I would advocate for him being more careful on the thing.

As for it being sad to need drugs/alcohol to have fun, I've always been under the impression that the responsible use of substances entails using them to enhance experiences, rather than escape from negative ones (aside from medical issues, of course). I don't have a drink because I am miserable and think that life is not inherently any fun without it, or because my friends and I can't socialize without being inebriated. I have a drink because it enhances the experience of relaxing.

Addressing the issue of same-sex marriage versus civil unions, I will come right out and say that I am a bisexual woman and most of my relationships have been with other women. I never got a choice in the matter, so it's certainly far from fair for straight people to decide for me.

I feel quite the same way, though I am a straight male, and I believe that the "Civil Union" laws should be revamped to include all of the rights as marriage. My great uncle has been with the same man for nearly 32 years. Who is anyone to tell them that they cannot have a union in which they are able to benefit from everything straight people have.
I also agree that Churches should not be a political ground, but history has shown us that to be nearly impossible. My father had us going to a UPC church and I got in trouble for wearing short sleeves and and jeans to service. I told them that when God wanted me to wear something else I would. That was the end of that conversation, though a few weeks later I started attending another church that was a little more accepting.

 

[ch1ck3n_b0k]

So much to say on this topic, lol. A lot of it has already been said, but I'll make just a few points. Our bodies have evolved with cannabinoid receptors all over. We have them in the brain, our lymph system, our digestive system, our reproductive system and so on and so forth. Cannabis is not just used to get "high" if you will. And THC is far from the only useful cannabinoid released when cannabis is ingested. There are many many others that have many many useful purposes that have been studied extensively for years now. Although most of this research is taking place outside the US due to Federal Drug scheduling. Cannabis is a schedule 1 narcotic, so according to the federal government it has no medical benefit/purpose whatsoever. Cocaine isn't even a schedule 1, nor is morphine, they are both schedule 2 which is the same schedule that drugs like Adderall (yes the same drug we give to children for ADD). This to me is beyond asinine, but that's just my opinion. I'm glad to see the discourse shifting away from legislating morality to actually discussing this subject like adults. Hopefully one day we will realize that cannabis prohibition has failed, just like alcohol prohibition did.