What a great thread. I am admittedly a fence sitter here. I would love to grow hemp (we don't) but that is just for shock factor.
In Colorado (and a few other States, I am sure). You can get Marajana through and Rx for medicinal purposes. I did see this as a break through. BUt alas, I continue to fence sit
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Mommy to five little earthlings and a baby in heaven.
I want to say on the reproduction thing...
My whole life I was around pot heads.
My parents, their friends, my dh, his friends.
I do not mean occasional smokers.
I mean day to day smoking, smoking, smoking from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed.
I am laughing at the posts that say pot smokers are occasional smokers.
Snort.
Anyway...
I have never known any of these people to be infertile, quite the opposite!
Not saying it could not happen...
I do not want it to be legal so I can smoke.
I think it can be a beneficial herb.
When used properly.
Your body would be harmed if you drank a ton of goldenseal, but in small amounts, it can be very helpful.
Same with just about any herb...
Nettles, comfrey....
My dh's grandfather was a very 'outstanding ' man in his community.
Was NOT a pot smoker.
When he was diagnosed with cancer, he smoked pot to help him feel better after chemo.
He was getting this illegal.
What a shame this 76 yr old man could have gone to jail for this.
After researching, my grandfather had wanted to get medical marijuana for his glaucoma, but the doctors laughed at him.
I agree it can add to depression to people, it did with my dh.
However, see above!
It took him years to quit.
He was a mess.
I do not agree that it is not physically addictive, because he was addicted to it! He had stomach cramps and headaches unless he smoked.
However, even with going though that with him, I still think it should be legal.
I get what you are asking, the hypocrisy of trying to be healthy but wanting this legalized.
However, I am sure alot of people that would like to see it legalized are NOT pot heads!
What you are talking about my stepmother used to love to make fun of.
She had lived in a commune and she said it was hilarious to her, because they only ate organic grown food they had grown.
Yet, everyone was a big fat drug addict and would take any and every drug that crossed their path.
Now,THAT is hypocrisy!
Originally posted by Wendydagny:
And to me, when someone says they want it legal, that tends to mean they'd use it. Am I wrong here?
------Yes you are. I don't smoke it, I hate it for personal reasons/my own issues. If it were legal still I'd have zero deisre or tendency to smoke it.
But yes, I do think it should be legal.
Just for the record I hate cigarettes too.
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~Jen- Mama to all girls all 4 years apart
my feedback
Boy, I wish I could say exactly what I thought without fear of repercussion-- these ARE open forums though, and marijuana IS illegal. That being said, I do have friends who use marijuana responsibly and occasionally. They use it in their own home in the same way that they would use alcohol-- on occasion, and to relax-- like at the end of a long work week. These are middle class people-- people I would almost term yuppies-- they are not part of any group that you would identify as typical drug users (please no one take offense-- you know what I mean OK). SO I disagree -- I think you CAN be an occasional somoker--
anyway, I need to go-- will add more later
heather
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Heather , mama to Liam, born 12-19-01, and Simon, born 04-17-05 wife to Mark, married 09-23-97
Hmmm, but buying from a dealer who is regulated and licensed does not solve the fact that if my neighbors smoke it on their porch, *I* end up smelling it and being exposed to it....and yes, cigarettes are the same way.....but I don't get high or a buzz off those....and I don't get drunk sitting next to a drinker......And I'd really worry for the children being exposed....so you can smoke it in your own home? What about the kids? How do you hide the smell? Not expose them? I just can't see it. I really hope we never legalize it for use like that. Medicinal, ok, under strict guidelines and using in homes with no children....What are you going to do, hide the kids or send them off while you get high? Hmmm, I just feel they'd end up being exposed and with such young and small systems, getting highs along with you. Yuck.
Ok I would think secondhand smoke from cigarettes is MUCH worse than secondhand smoke from marijuana. ANd I am not sure where you get the idea that you could get high from your neighbors smoking on their porch??? Dh has a bachelors degree in psychology, and psychpharmachology was one of his senior level classes--- he said that the concept of a conact buzz is a myth, and people who claim to have it are actually experiencing a placebo effect. The smoke to air ratio is so low that there is no way THC could enter into the bloodstream in high enough amts to make a difference (and DH went to a religious college, so I assure you, if this were even a possibliity, they would have touted the evils of it )
heather
Oh, and also, I think we are talking about smoking AND otherwise ingesting marijuana-- smoking is not the only way to get a high from pot
I just wanted to weigh in that I am pro-marijuana decriminalization even though:
1. I have never smoked or ingested pot in my life (gasp!)
2. I wouldn't even if it were legal, except for medical reasons (if I ever develpoed glaucoma or cancer, for example)
I choose not to use it, but I don't care for the fact that that choice is made for me, or that it is difficult to get realistic information to make that choice with because the govt diseminates incorrect information (a habit for them, but still...)
Since the Sacrameto valley is the meth production capitol of the world the war on drugs is big here. Lots of federal money, state money, local money, lots of time police could be spending on something else, and you know what- there are crank addicts all over the place, and none of them have a problem getting thier next high. The war on drugs doesn't work.
They do surveys time and again and find out that teens can get pot easier than cigarretes or alcohol. Maybe we could keep it away from minors a bit better if it was behind store counters and needed ID, instead of being sold out of the locker of that kid in fourth peroid, YKWIM?
Magnoliamom, nope not a sag, although I was raised around a couple so that might explain something.......hey I am pregnant with one (I think it will be anyway). ((((( ??????? I am like this all the time, so there really is no excuse (Im a virgo for the record though)!
Originally posted by magnoliamom
I am laughing at the posts that say pot smokers are occasional smokers.
Snort.
I don't think all pot smoker's are occasional smokers, just like all aren't potheads. I think usage varies, just like people who drink alcohol or caffeine or eat sugar or so on. I know people that smoke maybe once a year and others that smoke once a day.
Denise, I don't think the people would be toking up in the park if it were legalized, I think it would be the same as alcohol, but keeping it illegal doesn't mean your neighbors aren't doing it - just means that they can go to jail if they are caught.
I have never received a contact high from being around someone that is smoking or even a whole group that is smoking. Pot is something that you need to inhale a big ole lung full and hold it in for a bit to get high, not just sniff it in the air.
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Allison
mama to Ara, Simone, and Zarin
Christy!! I totally agree with you. 3 years ago I would have told you marijuana isn't a bad drug. Now I know differently. My dh has been suffering from depression ever since he quit smoking it 2 1/2 years ago. He doesn't like putting toxins in his body but if it weren't for his efexxor, I don't know where he'd be right now.
Granted, I don't know if the pot caused the depression or if the pot masked the depression all these years. But I no longer think pot is as great as it I use to.
JMHO
Quote:
Originally posted by woodfairie "I know several people who use marijuana as an antidepressant, and a very effictive one at that... Instead of turning to the pharmaceutical companies and ingesting their chemicals every day, they turn to a natural herb to push the dark away. J's mother is on several anti-depressants and she is far more whacked out than most people I've seen that have smoked a doobie, that's for sure!"
I needed to respond to this...marijuana can also induce depression in people who have been chronic users for years and years. It occurs frequently enough that there is actually a "marijuana induced depression" diagnosis. I write this because my ex suffers from this form of depression. He went from being a supportive, loving partner and completed devoted father (at the beginning when he was not smoking) to being in a place where he is unemployed, often does not have enough food to eat, is on the verge of being homeless, incapable of taking care of his daughter, etc. He also made several comments about comtemplating suicide. It is very sad to witness a person go through such a dramatic change. Recently, his depression has drastically improved. He signed up for school, spends time with dd everyday, and seems to be developing a positive outlook on life. He also mentioned that he has not smoked for a while because he cannot afford to.
I am just telling this story because I used to think that marijuana was this completely safe, harmless thing. I never really used it myself, but was supportive of it being legal because it seemed so "safe".
And now I can see that it has risks...like all other substances do. It IS a "pollution" that we put in our body. A little bit might not be that harmful, but when the pollution builds up, it does have negative effects. Just like if I drink a glass of wine with dinner, that is not going to have a huge negative effect on my body. But if I drink two bottles of wine every single day, that is going to harm me.
christy
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Liz~ single mama to Kaitlyn Logan and Christine
My First Half Marathon!
Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit.
Well, *I* have gotten a buzz from being in the same room as pot smokers....placebo affect? I doubt it. And knowing how small babies are, and how pot reeks the air up for so long, like smoke it attaches to curtains, clothing etc., I could never imagine it being legal in a home with children. Or anywhere where anyone else had to smell it. Heck, I feel the same about cigarettes....I don't think anyone should have to smell them when being outside. Interesting to read most of the replies for pot here, but I still hold the same strong opinion that it's a nasty habit, like smoking, and one I hope does not become legal. Sorry, I just don't want to smell it or have anything to do with it, secondhand or not. It's a drug, imo, and is easily abused as well. And yes, I know alcohol and cigarettes are too.....but making one more high causing habit legal is not going to help. MY opinion. (o;
I guess I see us having two different conversations. You think pot shouldn't be smoked, I think drugs should be legal. I don't really see them as related. Making drugs illegal does NOT stop their usage. We have proved that over and over and over. Doesn't matter if you don't want your neighbors smoking, making it illegal won't/doesn't stop them.
I think we should be spending the "war on drugs" money HELPING people, not criminalizing them. The threat of jail does not stop someone from purchasing drugs. People using hard core drugs (like meth, etc) need intervention, they need counseling, they need life skills training, not jail time. We are throwing billions of dollar to the wind just so our government can feel that they are doing something about our horrendous drug problem when they aren't doing crap. They keep pouring in more money, putting more people in prison yet the drug problem gets worse and worse.
My SIL is dead from meth usage. It made her so sick she got pnuemonia and died. The threat of jail didn't keep her clean, the fact that she has two wonderful children that she never got to see didn't keep her clean. She needed help, she needed counseling, she needed professional intervention - not the threat of jail time.
Originally posted by Lizzie3143 Christy!! I totally agree with you. 3 years ago I would have told you marijuana isn't a bad drug. Now I know differently. My dh has been suffering from depression ever since he quit smoking it 2 1/2 years ago. He doesn't like putting toxins in his body but if it weren't for his efexxor, I don't know where he'd be right now.
Granted, I don't know if the pot caused the depression or if the pot masked the depression all these years. But I no longer think pot is as great as it I use to.
JMHO
I've had experience with this also. I don't think pot causes the depression. I think many people use marijuana (as well as alcohol, meth, etc etc) to escape from their problems. That is why my dh smoked. When he gave it up when I got pregnant with Ara he started sinking into depression. He wasn't able to escape from his problems anymore and he had no other skills for handling them. By the time Ara was 18 months old he was suicidal. He got counseling and learned skills for handling stress, plus worked through some issues from childhood and he hasn't been depressed since.
There are so many facets to this conversation. It's fascinating reading.
The way I see it, there are people who use pot and alcohol for many, many, many reasons. Like:
- they think it's fun to get high/drunk every now and again.
- medicinally for proven ailments - cancer, glaucoma, etc.
- self-medicinally or as an escape from undiagnosed or untreated psychological problems - depression, pschizophrenia, panic disorders, etc.
- simply as an escape from an unbearable situation without one of the above disorders.
and it could go on and on.
And I know people who could fall in to any of those categories. The research on marijuana that should've/could've been done hasn't been done because it's been a criminalized substance for the past 80-years and a demonized substance longer than that.
It could be both an anti-depressant for some and a depressant for others, just as Prozac is great for treating depression but wrong for treating other problems like bi-polar disorder.
) 
It is very sad to witness a person go through such a dramatic change. Recently, his depression has drastically improved. He signed up for school, spends time with dd everyday, and seems to be developing a positive outlook on life. He also mentioned that he has not smoked for a while because he cannot afford to.
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