More on the marijuana topic

I found myself writing a lot in the comments on the last post, so I thought I'd just create a whole new discussion instead. But before I go into what I wanted to talk about, I wanted to give some background information and dispel some assumptions first.

~ I would not call myself pro-marijuana in the definition I am pushing marijuana use on anyone. I am, however, anti-anti-marijuana. I simply do not think marijuana should be bundled into the "drug" category, next to crack and methamphetamine.

~ I did smoke pot for quite a long time (started at end of high school), but I do not smoke anymore. I quit back before I had kids and maybe even before I got married. There has been the random partaking though.

~ I'm not anti-marijuana, but would I want my children to smoke it? It's one of those moral questions I can't answer because I'm not there yet. I can say I won't ~want~ my children to smoke pot, but I certainly won't think I'll be disappointed if they do. I'd much rather them smoke pot instead of drink beer - that's for damned sure.

~ I am anti pot smoking in regards to some types of smokers. When I smoked, it was a casual thing. Something we did at a party or after work or after classes. Something we did at home or some other "safe" place. I never got high before school or work. I don't think you should smoke pot and drive, although I believe it's a million times safer than drinking and driving. Fact remains it's still a mind altering substance and it's unfair to put other people on the road at risk. So. The pot smokers which I am "against" are the kinds who blow off anything to smoke pot (school, work, etc.) or who get high and go to class or work high. The smokers who think it's okay to smoke and drive. Basically, I think it can be abused and I am definitely not "for" that.

As for the comments I wanted to make from the last post:

~ The entire "gateway" drug thing is utterly ridiculous! I can see why those against drugs just LOVE the idea of a "gateway drug", but it just seems so fucking brainless to me. Marijuana is simply one of the most available drugs out there. And I bet it's one of the most used drugs out there too (more on this in a moment). It's common sense most hardcore drug users had tried marijuana first. This whole concept is like using hindsight judgement and declaring "I knew it!" Ask a crackhead if they smoked pot first and you are more than likely going to get a "yes" in response. But marijuana use causing the use of "more dangerous hard drugs and crime"?? Let me just point out some numbers and you can come to your own conclusion.

SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) has come up with a few numbers about drug use in the United States:

12.5 million people in the US are current users of ~any~ illicit drug. Of that large number, 2.1 million people are users of what is considered the hard stuff: heroin, crack, and cocaine.

NHSDA (National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) came up with some very interesting numbers about marijuana use:

Marijuana is the Nation's most commonly used illicit drug. More than 83 million Americans (37 percent) age 12 and older have tried marijuana at least once

WOW!! 83 million people have tried marijuana at least once, yet only 2.1 million people are current users of the hard stuff (heroin, crack and cocaine) which are the "more dangerous hard drugs" as defined by the gateway drug theory. Marijuana sure isn't doing it's job as a working gateway drug. Out of the 83 million people who have smoked marijuana, only 2.1 million people are using those dangerous drugs the gateway drug theory warns us about. There is still time though! Maybe 80,900,000 of those marijuana users are going to pick up a crack pipe soon to fulfill the gateway drug prophecy.

~ Someone commented and asked why pot smokers hide their marijuana from their children. He points out that since we think it's so harmless, we should share it with our children.

I'm hoping that was supposed to be a funny comment and the question isn't actually being asked, but just in case ...

Just because beer is legal, I'm not sharing it with my kids. And like I mentioned above, I don't think anyone ~wants~ their children to smoke pot (or anything like that - beer, cigarettes, etc), so we aren't going to glorify it. Plus, it's illegal and who would want to put their children in that position? As for it being "harmless", I don't know where that comes from. No one said marijuana was harmless. It's less harmful comparatively speaking, but harmless it's not. I speak to this very subject in my last bulleted item on this list.

~ Mareike made a really good comment about the 'lawbreakers': "If people didn't break unjust laws they may never be changed. Inter-racial marriage would still be illegal. Co-habitation would still be illegal. Black people would still be having to ride in the back of the bus, be in separate schools, use different bathrooms etc." Makes you think, doesn't it?

~ Joe's statement, "I don’t want to hear any of that, 'he’s setting a bad example with the children' nonsense either, because we all know if he had a gin and tonic in his hand instead of a bong this would never have been an issue." REALLY struck a chord with me. It's such hypocrisy (alcohol being okay when it is so bad for you.)!!

Hey, if the nation wants to make a guy who simply swims fast a national hero, maybe they should make the guy sign a binding contract agreeing he will NOT partake in anything unhealthy. No drugs for sure. No alcohol. No fatty foods. No sugar. No staying up late. No jaywalking. ONLY THEN can you hold the poor guy accountable for being a freaking ~normal~ kid. Phelps didn't apply for the "national hero" job.

~ I don't think any marijuana supporters think its harmless. It's just less damaging than virtually everything else. Yes, the smoking aspect of it IS the issue. Even Mr Rogan said "Marijuana is relatively harmless and certainly far less dangerous than a host of other things that are not only legal but also readily available, like alcohol and prescription drugs."

I have seen the studies over the years about how bad smoking a joint really is, because there is no filter - and how it's that "same as" smoking something like 5 cigarettes. (not the actual number, I don't remember and I'm not looking it up).

But the thing is - most people don't smoke the comparative number of joints to cigarettes (ie: a pack a day = 4 joints and most pot smokers just don't smoke 4 entire joints a day. Hell, I used to smoke pot every single day (stopped smoking for work years ago, before kids) and I never ever smoked an entire joint myself.

And smoking through a bong may be "better" for you due to (did look this up): "they filter out other, non-solid smoke toxins occurring in the gas phase of the smoke. Noxious gases known to occur in marijuana smoke include hydrogen cyanide, which incapacitates the lung's defensive cilia; volatile phenols, which contribute to the harshness of the taste; aldehydes, which promote cancer; and carbon monoxide, a known risk factor in heart disease. Previous studies indicate that water filtration may be quite effective in absorbing some of these".

No matter what someone smokes out of, it's better to NOT smoke.