[twinklesweep]

I have not read this thread before, so I am responding to a number of posts. I am not taking a position one way or the other on the subject:

Originally Posted by golf2140

Ask any Heroin user what they started off with !!!!

I would still answer "alcohol," even though others answered "caffeine"; it is true that both are drugs and potentially addictive.

Originally Posted by rubicon

This subject is an explosive one for some including me. Regulators have declared war on cigarette smokers, including e-cigarettes and they do not see a problem with legalizing marijuanta.

there is no logic in comparing cigarettes to alcohol or to marijuanta because each has its own sets of health and social problems

The Daily Sun carried a cartoon which spoke to this issue in its Sunday edition. Two panels show a drawing of the brain. In the top panel it reads 'Liberals this is your brain and the brain in that panel reads "Ban soda"" Ban cupcakes" Öutlaw all unhealthy snacks"

The second panel reads "This is your brain on legalized pot." Any questions?
The writing on the brain reads "Hey man who took my munchies?

States like Colorado that open themselves up to legalized recreational pot have opened up a Pandora's box. It will not stop illegal pot it will not keep the criminal element out but actually increase their insertion into this program and they will not be able to keep it away from minors nor control the amount they purchase.

and to the benefit of medical marijuanta the fact is that other alternatives are available some more effective

someone joked about reefer madness so I won't bother to explain the brain damage caused by this drug. and you can count on people with addictive behavior from all walks of life being stoned most of the day....and that's why its called dope

And the decline of America continues

Where do I start?!

Can you please document the following statement that says that these "regulators" are one and the same persons? "Regulators have declared war on cigarette smokers, including e-cigarettes and they do not see a problem with legalizing marijuanta."

Leave it to the Daily Sun to politicize an issue like this (and so many other issues); other than to sell homes in TV, that is its role in our community!

Can you please document the following statement? "It will not stop illegal pot it will not keep the criminal element out but actually increase their insertion into this program and they will not be able to keep it away from minors nor control the amount they purchase." As pointed out in numerous postings, minors (and "majors") have no problem purchasing marijuana in whatever quantities they can afford NOW. Does anyone doubt this?

Not being a physician, I cannot comment on this statement, but I do know some persons who have benefited greatly from medical marijuana use: "and to the benefit of medical marijuanta the fact is that other alternatives are available some more effective"

And this is in relation to this discussion about legalizing marijuana and its medical uses? Huh? "And the decline of America continues"

Originally Posted by joerocker

I'm sure it's not good for your lungs. What smoke would be? But, from what I hear, it's the additives (what's new right?) in cigarettes that cause most of the damage. Commercial tobacco is supposedly full of all kinds of additives and enhancers. People who grow their own tobacco reportedly don't develop the problems that commercial cigarette smokers develop....

There has been a seriously disingenuous campaign to make it out as something it isn't. I personally believe it's the alcohol and drug manufacturers who want to keep it illegal. Its legality will seriously cut into alcohol sales, so it's days may be numbered. Those corporations will fund "studies", they'll "report" all kinds of negatives about it to force the people and the states to make it illegal again. Mark my words, the smear campaigns will begin shortly. There will be news stories about all the "stoners" being created to discredit this legalization decision. Or, the Federal government will relent and remove it as a schedule 1 drug so the "big boys" can get involved and commercialize it...with artificial additives and enhancers.

Yes, the additives to commercial tobacco are there to make cigarettes addictive. This is common knowledge, now that the cat is out of the bag insofar as big tobacco companies are concerned; one can Google this and easily find info about it.

But the important point here is about the "seriously disingenuous campaign," and my comment is off-topic because it is not about the legalization of marijuana, I realize, but the point is too important to overlook. For those who believe our country is run by politicians/elected officials, there is that same bridge I would like to sell you--cheap! (Yes, it's the Brooklyn Bridge, and I can even give you a deed of ownership made by myself on my home computer, but don't tell anyone....) Our country is run by LOBBYISTS, and those lobbyists with the deepest pockets get to do the most "governing," that is, manipulating! I don't want to go so off topic by naming other issues unrelated to marijuana, but they are definitely there!

Originally Posted by joerocker

.... I simply stated that caffeine is a drug. It's a stimulant. How many people do you know who can't/won't do anything without their morning coffee? They're addicted to caffeine. There are people who lose their mind without a cigarette. They are addicted. I've yet to hear anything of people "addicted" to marijuana.

While I suspect that there are those who are "addicted" to marijuana, it's a point well taken that caffeine and nicotine are addictive drugs, that is, coffee and cigarettes. Does anyone doubt this? Addiction is addiction, and an addictive personality is an addictive personality. As the same poster said in a later post, "Are you an alcoholic who can't control themselves? Then you should stay away from marijuana too.... Just like alcohol prohibition ended because the people wanted their 'buzz', marijuana prohibition will end too. Unless the big corporations can put out enough negative propaganda about it.... The pharmacists and distilleries have a monopoly on that. And they want to keep it that way." A drug is a drug is a drug! And those "big corporations," including "pharmacists and distilleries," are what I was alluding to in terms of our country being run by lobbyists!

Originally Posted by billethkid

.... True marketing states find a need and fill it. What is the need for pot the government is responding to satisfy? And per my previous post why now and not 10, 20 ,30 ,50, 70 years ago?

Short answer: Greed and politics.

Though this poster takes the opposite stance on the legalization issue, for him too it boils down to his "short answer: Greed and politics." Sounds about right....

Originally Posted by rubicon

.... what I said is by socializing it we normalize it which sends a signal to kids that's its cool....

I respectfully disagree. I believe that the fact that marijuana is illegal is part of what makes it "cool"!

Originally Posted by rubicon

I mean isn't that why kids smoke because their parents smoked and if they smoked it must not be a problem.

I also said that a comparison to cigarettes and alcohol to pot was not a basis for making an argument for a number of reasons....

Again I respectfully disagree on both points.

First, let's use cigarettes (legal) as an example. Children coming from a household where parents smoke do not necessarily (and automatically) become cigarette smokers. And conversely, children who come from a non-smoking household may become smokers for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the household they came from.

Second, let's call marijuana versus cigarettes and alcohol an "analogy" rather than a "comparison," and let's take the word "argument" out of the discussion to lessen its confrontational feel. My question is: Why would these discussions not be analogous? Could it be because there are those who say "But I only have three cigarettes a day, one after each meal" or "I just enjoy a single glass of wine with dinner" and feel that their use of nicotine and alcohol is justified based on the degree of usage and are being judgmental about others who have a different preference, in this case marijuana? Just a thought....

Originally Posted by joerocker

.... Their personality is an addictive personality, therefore they become addicted to something, anything. Marijuana is just one step in their ultimate addiction. Most who end up in rehab are/have been addicted to many things. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, usually all of them. It's like banning Cheerios because every one of the obese all have eaten cheerios. Like banning beer/wine because all alcoholics have at one time drank beer/wine. Marijuana didn't cause their addiction. It didn't do anything but happen to be widely available. It's available because nearly everyone likes it. So, they tried it. They didn't get addicted to marijuana. The marijuana didn't cause their later addiction to something else. People with addictive personalities will end up addicted to something. Whatever is available....

I made this point earlier. While I don't agree that marijuana is "available because nearly everyone likes it" (a difficult statement to document), whatever substance appeals to an individual is called "drug of choice," it can be legal or illegal, and "people with addictive personalities will end up addicted to something. Whatever is available...." I recall the wife of a public figure drinking rubbing alcohol because she was so desperate; that's how severe this disease--and that is what it is--can be! And for her and countless others, booze is essential--and legal!

Originally Posted by joerocker

Yes, the yay's are for freedom of individual choice, the nay's don't think people can make their own decisions and decisions need to be made for them....

What?! Are those who are opposed to legalization of marijuana in favor of MORE government (in terms of regulation), versus those who are in favor being "for freedom of individual choice"?! Gasp....

Originally Posted by billethkid

My point was/is, for those ranting how good it is and so on.... why did it take so long to be legalized? Why was it illegal in the first place?

My opinion? The permissive nature of our society and the rampaging non enforcement for fear of hurting someones feelings. The ongoing withering of America's core values!

Here again I am looking at an analogy between not legalizing marijuana usage and Prohibition. History tells us the latter did not work and was subsequently repealed. Was there a "withering of America's core values" stemming from the repeal? Those who were active in temperance societies would shout a resounding "YES!" Those who enjoy their booze would surely say "NO!"


I reiterate that nowhere am I expressing a point of view concerning the subject of legalization versus not. Rather, I am just commenting on the views expressed by various posters on this important subject....