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[kenberg]

I have less than zero interest in whether pot is less harmful than cigarettes, less harmful than alcohol, etc. It's not how I go about these things. I drink wine. Recently there have been some claims that red wine in moderation is good for you. I have neither increased not decreased the amount of wine that I drink as a result of these claims. Excessive wine drinking is surely bad, I don't do it. Similarly for coffee. Maybe some is actually good for you. Yeah, so? I don't drink it for my health. On the tobacco thread I noted that I started in 1953, Contrary to those who claim that the bad effects were hidden by the awful tobacco companies, I was fully aware that it was bad for me and I think you had to be an idiot not to be aware of it. But I did it. In the mid-sixties I had friends that consumed anything that had a three letter name. I didn't do it. I figured at least some of it wasn't going to go well and from what I observed, I think I was right.

 

 

If pot won't harm me than I will go to my death never having had this experience that won't harm me. Oh well, there are probably other experiences I have missed as well. Never went sky-diving. Despite Bush the Elder in his parachute, I don't plan on giving it a shot.

 

 

As mentioned, my older daughter became pretty adamant about not wanting to be in the least involved in the pot scene. Her social environment was such that she saw the effects close up, pretty much as I saw the effects of LSD close up. She looked it over and said no thanks. I'll follow her lead on this. If smoking pot would improve my bridge I'll still take a pass.

 

What other people do is their business.

[blackshoe]

Cocoa leaves? You mean coca, I suspect. The former come from a tree, the beans of which are the source of chocolate. The latter come from a shrub (one of several, actually) and are the source of cocaine.

[OleBerg]

I never tried it.

I tried it but I didn't inhale. :)

Neither did Monica Lewinsky.

[OleBerg]

FWIW I see this as no worse than drinking alcohol.

There is one difference though: Paying for alcohol isn't harmful, it goes to pay poor workers in Russian wodka factories or former-actors-turned-vineyards who need all the help to be able to afford living in Santa Barbara. Paying for illegal drugs helps financing gang violence, corruption and similar things that aren't quite as helpful for society.

Well, if it was legal, that problem would go away.

[Fluffy]

I never tried it.

I tried it but I didn't inhale. :)

Now I read this I remember, I voted for never tried it, but actually I once ate a cookie made with it. It was a good cookie but I just got one. People who got many were obvious to have gotten many for everyone.

[brianshark]

I'm always amused by the various studies that say drinking red wine, or a pint of guinness now and then, etc are good for you. It's a bit like putting arsenic in your milk and saying it's good for your bones. A glass of wine a day probably is good for you overall, but a glass of grape juice (or some combination of other non-alcoholic stuff) will probably do the same job minus the toxin.

 

Not that I have anything against drinking on moderation in general, but to call alcohol anything other than a mild toxin is fooling yourself.

 

I've never tried pot and am mildly curious, but I hate smoking so I think I'll pass. Would not object to trying pot brownies and variations like that if I ever got the chance.

[helene_t]

You can buy hemp infuses and hemp flapjacks in the supermarkets here, and in the airports they sell hemp seeds as snacks. All three products are very tasty. They have very low contents of cannabinol though. My cat managed to find half a hemp flapjack and eat it and she didn't seem to get affected.

[Fluffy]

Not that I have anything against drinking on moderation in general, but to call alcohol anything other than a mild toxin is fooling yourself.

I always though alcohol is inherent in the human body. Don't we produce it ourselves?

[G_R__E_G]

You need to add one more option to your poll...

 

- I smoked bushels of it 20 years ago but now that I'm all grown up and have a wife and kids I stick to legal drugs like alcohol now.

 

That's the option I'd have voted for. The closest there is for me is "I've tried it" but when you've done it several hundred times you really can't claim you're just trying it" anymore.

[Phil]

You need to add one more option to your poll...

 

- I smoked bushels of it 20 years ago but now that I'm all grown up and have a wife and kids I stick to legal drugs like alcohol now.

 

That's the option I'd have voted for.  The closest there is for me is "I've tried it" but when you've done it several hundred times you really can't claim you're just trying it" anymore.

True, I could have added:

 

Regular/ Occasional / Seldom (at one time or another in my life).

[brianshark]

Not that I have anything against drinking on moderation in general, but to call alcohol anything other than a mild toxin is fooling yourself.

I always though alcohol is inherent in the human body. Don't we produce it ourselves?

I wasn't sure so I looked it up on wikipedia. It seems that it is only there as a byproduct of what bacteria do and is quickly disposed of along with the rest of the waste stuff. So it doesn't, in itself, serve a purpose to the human body in the way say Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorous, etc do. I think.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol#Endogenous

[PassedOut]

i used to, long ago, and probably still would if it wasn't illegal (i don't think i'd like jail)

In many states a first time possessor of a small amount of marijuana is subject to no jail time -- the consequences are little different than a speeding ticket.

I knew a young woman named Cindy who sold pot occasionally from her seemingly inexhaustible supply. One day she sold some to the wrong person and wound up in court.

 

Her attorney asked me and some others of her acquaintance to show up in court as a sign of support. Cindy appeared in an uncharacteristically modest outfit, and things seemed to be going smoothly until the prosecutor asked Cindy whether she realized that her actions created marijuana addicts.

 

Cindy snapped that she knew for a fact that marijuana was not addictive, and that she she was in a position to know. "I've been smoking weed myself for --," and here she paused, turned to her attorney, and asked, "How old am I?"

 

She went to jail and I never saw her again.

[mike777]

FWIW I see this as no worse than drinking alcohol.

There is one difference though: Paying for alcohol isn't harmful, it goes to pay poor workers in Russian wodka factories or former-actors-turned-vineyards who need all the help to be able to afford living in Santa Barbara. Paying for illegal drugs helps financing gang violence, corruption and similar things that aren't quite as helpful for society.

Well, if it was legal, that problem would go away.

This simply is not true, sigh.

 

Lots of things are legal and the mob and gangs are very involved in them.

 

Also keep in mind even if pot is made legal, there will still be many illegal things about pot. For example selling it to minors, or smoking and driving or driving under the influence. Assuming pot is heavily taxed the mob/gangs will try and sell untaxed pot or lower quality pot cheaper than government quality approved pot.

 

Of course pot farmers will want a government subsidy just like tobacco farmers. People addicted to pot will want taxpayer supported rehab and lets not forget at somepoint down the road manufactures will want some taxpayer TARP bailout money. :)

[mike777]

BTW as a sidenote I read last week that in Italy the mob makes more money selling women's shoes, handbags and clothing then they do selling drugs. The reason is higher profit margins.

 

The article went on to say that about 9% of GDP in Italy is generated by mob business.

[blackshoe]

The mob has made (and continues to make) sufficient money from illegal operations that they both need and can afford to put their money into legal operations as well. However, as you yourself say, Mike, the profit margin from illegal drugs is small. If those drugs were legal, the profit margin would be even smaller. Would not criminals then look for more lucrative endeavors?

 

I don't think the problem of "drug money" financing criminals will go away if drugs are legalized — certainly not overnight — but it will certainly be lessened considerably.

[mike777]

If you want to make Weed legal, fair enough.

 

Cigs, booze and gambling have been legal for decades or longer.

 

Just please do not claim that the mob will not be involved, there are not serious public health issues involved and that somehow the taxes raised will solve the school/social issues. (See where all the tax money from cigs, booze and gambling are going and public schools are still a mess).

[kenberg]

There will always be somethings that are illegal and that people want. There will always be profit in supplying these desires. I think my arguments for legalizing pot would go differently. I say 'would go" because actually I don't really much care. Here are the arguments.

 

1. If someone wants to go through life stoned, let him.

 

2. The current arrangement leads to enormous hypocrisy. Here is what I observed with a young man, let's call him Joe. Joe was using pot and was arrested. He was put on probation and had to undergo drug testing. The probation officer was busy, so the checking consisted of the officer calling Joe and asking him if he was using drugs. Later, Joe got arrested for selling drugs. I was in the courtroom. Several cases of the same sort came up one after the other. Each person did the following, as if reading from a script. They pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, and asked the judge for a chance to turn their lives around. This request, in each case, was granted.

 

Either we regard marijuana use as a serious offense or we do not. We need to treat it seriously, or forget it. Currently we treat it as a joke, except somewhat randomly some poor stiff gets a judge who is one of the few who take it seriously or maybe his honor had a fight with his wife that morning, and then that particular Joe ends up with a substantial sentence.

 

 

This is not the way to promote respect for the law.

[luke warm]

mike is right that there would still be crime associated with pot, if it were legal... but so what? there's crime associated with liquor, but not nearly as much as there was (and would be again) if it were illegal

[blackshoe]

There's crimes associated with banks — people rob them. Maybe we should make banks illegal. :)

[kenberg]

There's crimes associated with banks — people rob them. Maybe we should make banks illegal. :)

Works for me!

[mtvesuvius]

There's crimes associated with banks — people rob them. Maybe we should make banks illegal. :)

Not many people have anything in the banks nowadays anyway...

 

And no, at the age of 13 I have never tried it... Is that abnormal? :P

[crazy4hoop]

Prescription drugs are more fun - just ask Rush Limbaugh. Legal too since lobbyists can get politicians to look after their interests. Pharmaceutical companies can't make a dime off pot use so they want to keep it illegal and have their drugs be the only option. They even make up diseases like restless leg syndrome as if that couldn't just be one's body telling one to get off his or her duff and start exercising. Instead, they prescribe a pill to cure this "problem" and rake in the dough. If you feel tired after a hard workout, they'll ask you if you have sore muscles and prescribe yet another drug on which they can profit. It's not like the proper diet and rest could be the answer.

 

If anybody out there is truly suffering from restless leg syndrome, I apologize for making light of your affliction. I do not mean to offend anyone and am fully aware that there are prescription drugs out there that do a lot of good for people with real medical and/or psychological problems.

[Phil]

There's crimes associated with banks — people rob them. Maybe we should make banks illegal.  :P

Not many people have anything in the banks nowadays anyway...

 

And no, at the age of 13 I have never tried it... Is that abnormal? :P

I'm surprised your net nanny allowed this image to even show up :)

[PassedOut]

If anybody out there is truly suffering from restless leg syndrome, I apologize for making light of your affliction.

I shall use your post to tease my sister again about her restless leg syndrome. She's a bicycle racer in the summer and a cross-country skier in the winter, so it will be fun to tell her that she needs to get out and exercise more!

[PassedOut]

Speaking of which, California might again be a destination for a massive western migration: Governor says he's open to debate on legal pot

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday the time is right to debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California.

 

The governor's comments were made as support grows nationwide for relaxing pot laws and only days after a poll found that for the first time a majority of California voters back legal marijuana. Also, a San Francisco legislator has proposed regulating and taxing marijuana to bring the state as much as $1.3 billion a year in extra revenue.

There might be some federal resistance though.