Ok here's a ? I have always had, but please let's be civil...
Noticed that a bunch of you listed in your "whys" of crunchiness, that *it* should be legal. Now, I am totally for the government staying out of our business, but....
If you want it legal, I imagine it would be used, or already is. So how do you justify putting toxins like that in your bodies? I mean, aren't they worse than refined sugar or pesticides? Or other medical drugs? Do you have different rules for the pollution of your body than you do for the earth?
Not trying to be offensive or anything. Just trying to figure out if maybe my perceptions of what *it* does are wrong, or to figure out if my definition of what is crunchy is wrong.
Ok flame away!
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Like I said previously, there *is* no real definition of *crunchy* that I am aware of... So, that said, I'm sure that we'll have many varied opinions on thing here....
I listed in my crunchy list, that I think "it" (meaning marijuana) should be legalized... It's inconsequential whether or not it is used in my home.
In my opinion, marijuana is an herb, just like ecchinachea, cohosh, you name it. I feel that you should be allowed to grow it and use it on your own property and not have to worry about it being illegal...
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!
Now, do you think that someone on a perscription anti-depressant could be considered crunchy?? Personally, I do, ulthough I also believe they are adding toxins to their bodies with those pills.
Now whether or not ganja is worse for your body than refined sugars and pesticides, personally I think it is not... Most marijuana is organic. And remember, not all herb is smoked... You can eat it as well, thereby keeping those lungs pure and clean.
My biggest problem with marijuana being illegal is this.... I could grow any number of plants on my property and use them for my own use... But marijuana is illegal.... Do you know why it was first made illegal? Because when plastics were starting to be used more and more, the Dupont corporation decided that they wanted to change from an agricultural society (hemp etc) to a petroleum based society... Basically, they bought off a few policy makers (corporations do that??? who knew?!) and marijuana was made illegal! No, I don't have sourses for this offhand, but I have read several articles on the subject. I believe you can find artices in the archives of www.groundscore.org to back this up.
Do I think that they should legalize it and we should all have a big ol' pot-fest?? No. I feel like it should have the same restrictions as alcohol and tobacco do... I don't think it should be any more easily accessible to kids/teens... I don't think you should drive while high... but I do think you should have the right to grow it and partake without fearing that yu;re going to go to jail.
Ok, maybe got a bit off the subject here... Your main concern seemed to be the *pollution* issue... Though I do see that a lot of crunchies try to maintain a level of only pure things entering their bodies, I don't think that alone is the key to crunch.
For me, it's more of a political/freedom issue than anything else...
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This answers a few FAQ about marijuana in general.... They do briefly touch on Dupont's part in everything but it just skims the surface. A little OT, but informative just the same...
Actually, according to the book Ain't Nobody's Business if you do (a book that explores consensual crime-- and a VERY good, very informative and educational book) -- Dupont was very heavily involved in the prohibition of it-- both because they had just developed a process for refining paper made from trees, and because they were involved in the creation of nylon. Paper from trees was a much more expensive product thatn paper from hemp (especially since ag machines were making huge leaps at the time, and there were several products that would have made hemp much easier than it already was to plant and harvest). Up until that point hemp was used because it provided an inexpensive and renewable resource.
Ainslinger then enters into the picture and begins his campaign against the devil weed which causes vivid hallucinations and would cause a normal person to rape and kill their own family. :rollseyes: Oh, and it was also identified as a "negro" drug, and if you were white and caught doing it, it meant you had been hanging around "negroes"-- which in the 1930's was a very socially unacceptable thing. Ainslinger spread blatant lies about the effects of marijuana which eventually led to laws against it-- not because of any real studies based upon the effects of marijuana, but because of one man's crusade againt the devil weed-- which had economic and racial basis. And don't get me started on opium and racial bias against the chinese.
Oh, and just because I will stand up for your right to do it in your home doesn't necessarily mean I have it in mine. There are many many consensual crimes that I will stand up for your right to participate in but do not participate in myself. To me it is an issue that involves civil liberties more than anything else (now hemp is a seperate issue entirely). I also maintain that marijuana remains illegal due to major corporations--- not so much papaer and fiber companies anymore (although I believe thay have a hand in it) but think about how much legalizing marijuana would affect alcohol companies. I really could go on about the issue forever. Marijuana is not in the same class as cocaine, and it is ludicrous to suggest that it is.
but do a little research-- don't let 70 years of preaching about the devil weed cloud your vision of what marijuana and hemp really are, and what they can offer us. Marijuana could be so much more than a recreational herb if allowed to reach its potential-- and we are starting to see the health benefits of hemp oil and hemp seed in products in hfs's now--- sadly these products stilll have to be imported. We want to give tobacco farmers something to replace tobacco as their cash crop???Hemp would be a great replacement-- oh, and as a side note-- hemp and marijuana are related, but ARE different plants-- you would have to smoke a field of hemp to get even a tiny bit high.
I would love to answer any questions-- consensual crimes are a pet of mine
heather
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but if you were going to do it, wouldn't it be best to grow your own?
Then you'd know if it was "pure" or not or whatever...I'm not up on the "lingo".
I know some people - vaguely - who grow their own so they are not supporting the drug trade and all the violence associated with it, etc. It's something they enjoy - like a glass of wine or beer - or it used to be before they had kids. I'm pretty sure they abstain now...and with six kids, who's got time?
LOL
I concur with herc about Dupont...they invented the synthetic fiber that replaced hemp in rope making. You couldn't get high off hemp if you tried, but DuPont had a vested interest in leading everyone to believe you could. Hemp, if planted near marijuana, will actually lower the level of THC (what caused the "high") in the pot plants through cross-polination...and it's much more environmentally friendly to produce than cotton, taking virtually no pesticides or herbicides and creating a much longer, stronger and more durable fiber than the cotton plant.
A lot of people are not for the legalization of pot so they can sit on their porches and get high without fear of incarceration, but, instead, view it as both an answer to the drug problem (making it legal and regulated would eliminate the violence and crime associated with the illegal drug trade) and to the ability of farmers to grow hemp, a sustainable fiber resource that just got lumped in with pot so that DuPont could make a lot of money producing nylon.
Me? I'm on the fence. I'm not always convinced that the legalization of pot would be the panacea many people envision, but then, I can also see that the current approach is not working.
I'm all for the legalization of hemp growing in this country.
"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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Isn't it worse than cigarette smoking on your lungs though?
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Okay, a bit off topic....but since we're all mamas I thought it might be interesting to some...
Dr. Andrew Weil, who is into complementary medicine and organic food and so on, seems to believe that marijuana during pregnancy may be less harmful than either caffeine or alcohol: http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cd...stionI d=4076
If you read some of his other answers about pot, it seems clear that he also feels it have important uses as an herb.
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.
I just want to agree with you here. I didn't mean to make it sound like it was a completely safe and harmless thing. Whether we're talking marijuana, Zoloft, valerian root, tobacco, alcohol, Paxil, they *all* have potentially negative side effects.
And Sara, I guess it depends on how you use it. Many people eat it. Or smoke it with a filter, or through a water filtration device (*lol* or, a bong).
I don't consider myself "crunchy" (just working on it, bit by bit ) but I agree with the comparisons to the chemical anti-depressants... I used in the past both as an anti-depressant and for horrible cramps I get with AF. Worked better than anything else I tried, and even with the side effects I had (typical dry mouth, etc.) it was much easier on me than Effexor, Zoloft, or Prozac. Now this may not mean that it's less "dangerous" or pollutes your body less.... But it seems like less toxins being in your system is as good a reson as any other for there being less side effects, KWIM?
Thanks for all the links, and I did find that Dupont link quite interesting.
I guess my issue with it is that as a medical student, I had the opportunity to see lungs of smokers and marijuana users, and they were obviously diseased. They were black, unhealthy, and keratinized (no longer inflatable).
And I find that interesting that Meeshi would say it's an anti-depressant. (I just looked this up in my neurophysiology text). It is for some people, but the effects of marijuana are so unpredictable, that *my book* says that it intensifies depression more often than it cures it.
The same text says that it inhibits male sex hormones and lowers sperm production.
It just kind of weirds me out that someone would put that in their body after going to the trouble to avoid any chemicals in foods or prescription/non-prescription drugs. We personally don't use *any* drugs or eat non-organic food. The only herb I've even used medicinally in the past four years has been in my rr leaf tea.
I was not saying I disagreed with legalization. I believe myself in minimalist government and regulation of things in general. I am just surprised when I see health-conscious people in favor of drug use. And to me, when someone says they want it legal, that tends to mean they'd use it. Am I wrong here?
Thanks for the insight! And I really hope I am not offending again. I know I keep saying that, but I tend to come across a little raw in my posts
>Isn't it worse than cigarette smoking on your lungs though?
From what I remember, yes. My memory says that 1 complete marijuana cig= 2 packs of tobacco in terms of lung damage. But that may be because of the unfilter/filter thing. And I don't have a source on that-- just what's stuck in my head.
Ok here's a ? I have always had, but please let's be civil...
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.
Smoking pot while pregnant
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