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k2o4 United States. Dec 15 2010 11:53. Posts 4803 | | |
Found this good FAQ about common misconceptions of cannabis while researching on my paper (which is due tomorrow, gah):
| | "Prohibition...goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to
control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things
that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very
principles upon which our government was founded."
-- Abraham Lincoln
December, 1840
1 Q. What is Marijuana?
A. "Marijuana" refers to the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis
plant [1], which contain the non-narcotic chemical THC at various
potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being
"high." The different strains of this herb produce different sensual
effects, ranging from sedative to stimulant.
2 Q. Who Uses Marijuana?
A. There is no simple profile of a typical marijuana user. It has been
used for 1000s of years for medical, social, and religious reasons
and for relaxation [2]. Several of our Presidents [3] are believed
to have smoked it. One out of every five Americans say they have
tried it. And it is still popular among artists, writers, musicians,
activists, lawyers, inventors, working people, etc.
3 Q. How Long Have People Been Using Marijuana?
A. Marijuana has been used since ancient times [4]. While field hands
and working people have often smoked the raw plant, aristocrats
historically prefer hashish [5] made from the cured flowers of the
plant. It was not seen as a problem until a calculated disinformation
[sic] campaign was launched in the 1930s [6], and the first American
laws against using it were passed [7].
4 Q. Is Marijuana Addictive?
A. No, it is not [8]. Most users are moderate consumers who smoke it
socially to relax. We now know that 10% of our population have
"addictive personalities" and they are neither more nor less
likely to overindulge in cannabis than in anything else. On a
relative scale, marijuana is less habit forming than either sugar
or chocolate but more so than anchovies. Sociologists report a general
pattern of marijuana use that peaks in the early adult years, followed
by a period of levelling off and then a gradual reduction in use [9].
5 Q. Has Anyone Ever Died From Smoking Marijuana?
A. No; not one single case, not ever. THC is one of the few chemicals for
which there is no known toxic amount [10]. The federal agency NIDA says
that autopsies reveal that 75 people per year are high on marijuana
when they die: this does not mean that marijuana caused or was even a
factor in their deaths. The chart below compares the number of deaths
attributable to selected substances in a typical year:
Tobacco...............................340,000 - 395,000
Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents).............125,000+
Drug Overdose (prescription)............24,000 - 27,000
Drug Overdose (illegal)...................3,800 - 5,200
Marijuana.............................................0
*Source: U.S. Government Bureau of Mortality Statistics, 1987
6 Q. Does Marijuana Lead to Crime and/or Hard Drugs?
A. No [11]. The only crime most marijuana users commit is that they use
marijuana. And, while many people who abuse dangerous drugs also smoke
marijuana, the old "stepping stone" theory is now discredited, since
virtually all of them started out "using" legal drugs like sugar,
coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.
7 Q. Does Marijuana Make People Violent?
A. No. In fact, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Anslinger once
told Congress just the opposite - that it leads to non-violence and
pacifism [12]. If he was telling the truth (which he and key federal
agencies have not often done regarding marijuana), then re-legalizing
marijuana should be considered as one way to curb violence in our
cities. The simple fact is that marijuana does not change your basic
personality. The government says that over 20 million Americans still
smoke it, probably including some of the nicest people you know.
8 Q. How Does Marijuana Affect Your Health?
A. Smoking anything is not healthy, but marijuana is less dangerous than
tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. This health risk can
be avoided by eating the plant instead of smoking it [13], or can be
reduced by smoking smaller amounts of stronger marijuana. There is
no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14]
but, like alcohol, its use by children or adolescents is discouraged.
Cannabis is a medicinal herb that has hundreds of proven, valuable
theraputic uses - from stress reduction to glaucoma to asthma to
cancer therapy, etc. [15].
9 Q. What About All Those Scary Statistics and Studies?
A. Most were prepared as scare tactics for the government by Dr. Gabriel
Nahas, and were so biased and unscientific that Nahas was fired by
the National Institute of Health [16] and finally renounced his own
studies as meaningless [17]. For one experiment, he suffocated monkeys
for five minutes at a time, using proportionately more smoke than the
average user inhales in an entire lifetime [18]. The other studies
that claim sensational health risks are also suspect, since they lack
controls and produce results which cannot be replicated or
independently verified [19].
10 Q. What Can I Do About Marijuana?
A. No independent government panel that has studied marijuana has ever
recommended jail for users [20]. Concerned persons should therefore
ask their legislators to re-legalize and tax this plant, subject to
age limits and regulations similar to those on alcohol and tobacco.
For More Information, Write:
Family Coucil on Drug Awareness
P.O. Box 71093, LA CA 90071-0093
FOOTNOTES TO THE TEXT:
+ Show Spoiler +
1. The same plant, known as hemp, has an estimated 50,000 non-drug
commercial uses including paper, textiles, fuels, food and sealants,
but these uses are also banned by existing laws. Sources: Encyclopedia
Britannica, federal documents and historical records.
2. Coptic Christians, Rhastafarnians [sic], Shintos, Hinus, Buddhists,
Sufis, Essenes, Zoroastrians, Bantus, and many other sects have
traditions that consider the plant to have religious value.
3. Their personal correspondence and records reveal that U.S. Presidents
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and others smoked hashish, as did Benjamin
Franklin and Mary Todd Lincoln. President John F. Kennedy is also
reported to have smoked marijuana to relieve his back pain. Many of
America's greatest leaders and Founding Fathers (including George
Washington) were hemp farmers. Sources: National Archives, published
reports.
4. Archeologists report that cannabis was possibly the first plant
cultivated by humans - about 8000 B.C. - and was used for linen,
paper, and garments. Source: Columbia University, _History of the
World_. It was being smoked in China and India as early as 2700 B.C.
5. Turkish smoking parlors were popular in both Europe and America. as
well as the Middle and Far East, as recently as the turn of the
Century.
6. The exhaustive Indian Hemp "Raj" Commission report (1986) by British
authorities found no reason to restrict its use. But the notorious
yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst fabricated and published
horror stories about marijuana that were eventually investigated and
shown to be lies, but not until long after the marijuana prohibition
was enacted in 1938. Source: Larry Sloman, _Reefer Madness_.
7. Laws against marijuana were passed a year after the invention of a
machine to harvest and process hemp so it could compete commercially
against businesses owned by Hearst, the DuPonts and other powerful
families. Source: Jack Herer, _The Emporor Wears No Clothes_.
8. Marijuana does not lead to physical dependency. Costa Rican Study,
1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; Nixon Blue Ribbon Report, 1972, et. al.
9. Source: Psychology Today, Newsweek, et.al.
10. Source: All univerity medical studies: UCLA, Harvard, Temple, etc.
11. Costa Rican Study, 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; "The legal drugs for
adults, such as alcohol and tobacco...precede the use of all illicit
drugs." Source: National Academy of Sciences.
12. The FBI reports that 65-75% of criminal violence is alcohol related.
"Pacifist syndrome" testimony was given by Federal Bureau of Narcotics
Director Harry Anslinger before Congress (1948). However, the "Siler"
Study conducted by the U.S in Panama (1931) reported "no impairment"
in military personnel who smoked marijuana while off duty.
13. "The only clinically significant medical problem is that
scientifically linked to marijuana is bronchitis. Like smoking
tobacco, the treatment is the same: stop smoking." Source: Dr. Fred
Oerther, M.D.
14. Coptic study (UCLA), 1981; "There is not yet any conclusive evidence
as to whether prolonged use of marijuana causes permanent changes in
the nervous system or sustained impairment of brain function and
behavior in human beings." Source: National Academy of Sciences.
15. Source: Dr. Tod Mikuriya, _Marijuana Medical Papers_. Marijuana could
replace at least 10-20% of prescribed drugs now in use. Source: Dr.
Raphael Mechoulam. Marijuana was a major active ingredient in 40-50%
of patent medicines before its ban.
16. 1976
17. 1983
18. The U.S. Government reports that the oral dose of cannabis required to
kill a mouse is about 40,000 times the dose required to produce
symptoms of intoxication in man. Source: Lowe, _Journal of
Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics_, Oct. 1946.
19. In another famous study, Heath/Tulane (1974), wild monkeys were
brutally captured, then virtually suffocated in marijuana smoke over a
period of 90 days. Source: National Institute of Health.
20. Examples: the "LaGuardia" Committee Report (New York, 1944) and
President Richard Nixon's Blue Ribbon "Shafer" Commission (1972).
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YouGoTGoT United States. Dec 15 2010 11:57. Posts 1118 | | |
If I wasnt already a weed smoker I would start |
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| YA I TALK SHIT, GOTTA DEFECATE TO CONVERSATE | |
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"There is
no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14]"
Thats wrong man. I think its proven that it does damage your lungs and also can cause bad trips or a kind of psychosis under extreme circumstances. |
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k2o4 United States. Dec 15 2010 12:31. Posts 4803 | | |
| | On December 15 2010 11:16 def_jammer wrote:
"There is
no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14]"
Thats wrong man. I think its proven that it does damage your lungs and also can cause bad trips or a kind of psychosis under extreme circumstances. |
The lung damage is minimal and goes away when you stop smoking. And the damage isn't so much damage as much as it is irritation, which happens when you inhale any type of smoke or smog or pollution. Cannabis actually does more to clean your lungs as it is an extremely strong bronchodilator which opens up your airways and causes you to cough. By doing that it helps you clean tar, pollution, etc, out of your lungs. This dilation (opening of the lungs) is why cannabis is such a great treatment for asthma and can be used to help people with emphysema.
About the bad trips, yeah you're right. If you eat a shitload you will trip and if you aren't used to it or ready for it, you can definitely have a bad trip. But that goes away within 24 hrs (a bit longer if you take in insane amounts, maybe a few days before 100% normal but you're not tripping the entire time). And I wouldn't call a bad trip a serious health problem - it's a temporary time of going "holy shit" but there's no long term effect or damage done, just temporary intense times. |
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pinbaLL  Sweden. Dec 15 2010 12:42. Posts 7243 | | |
If weed was legalized in Sweden I would probably start smoking once a week or once every two weeks.. I wont take it up now since Im not into supporting criminals. Wish it was legalized though :< |
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mnj United States. Dec 15 2010 13:41. Posts 3848 | | |
I think everyone trips out the first time they smoke. Also you can buy a $40 dollar vap no problem.
Also it does make me less sexually active....
all in all i think pot is a great social drug, and my views on pot is the same as alcohol. once you start drinking/smoking alone you Might have a problem.
although i think smoking alone is better than drinking alone.
w.e you are your own man. if you smoke 8 hours a day but still manage to do your job/life is straight it's not a problem. you should be your own judge of whether it is proper or not proper to smoke the ganja. |
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longple Sweden. Dec 15 2010 14:00. Posts 4472 | | |
yea, i so so so wish it was legal here, but its pretty nice to not be able to smoke to much also, like a couple times/month u get some "decent" weed and ur happy about it, and once in a bluemoon u get ur hands on something amazing (like standard amsterdamweed) u really appriziate it and enjoy it so much.
so thats kinda nice i guess if we try to stay positive.. but about addiction and shit, that every nonesmoker in sweden either think it kills u or make u wanna kill ppl / it will make u laazy and it will ruin sociaty, wich is all BS
like last week i talked to my affiliate who is from holland, who is 21 year old student
convo went like
"
me- i wish we had nice weed in sweden  u smoke alot man?
he- ye ofc i smoke alot :D
he- well, "alot" depends what that means, obv i dont smoke to much in the weeks cuz i have studys, but i smoke on weekends since i workout on saturday i mostly smoke on saturdaynight and just chill on sunday"
"
and thats what he calls "alot", a young kid from amsterdam
yes, society will break down in total disasters, all young ppl will stop working/studying and we will all live in our mothers basement
wtf |
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hey k2o4. I miss your blogs on US politics. There is so much going on in that respect atm. I'm sure you have some interesting views to share |
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| | On December 15 2010 11:31 k2o4 wrote:
The lung damage is minimal and goes away when you stop smoking. And the damage isn't so much damage as much as it is irritation, which happens when you inhale any type of smoke or smog or pollution. Cannabis actually does more to clean your lungs as it is an extremely strong bronchodilator which opens up your airways and causes you to cough. By doing that it helps you clean tar, pollution, etc, out of your lungs. This dilation (opening of the lungs) is why cannabis is such a great treatment for asthma and can be used to help people with emphysema.
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Cool. I always wondered about this - how I could blaze everyday and still experience less respiratory problems than when I used to smoke 2 cigarettes a day. |
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| | On December 15 2010 11:16 def_jammer wrote:
"There is
no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14]"
Thats wrong man. I think its proven that it does damage your lungs and also can cause bad trips or a kind of psychosis under extreme circumstances. |
not sure what you are smoking in Germany but...
lol no |
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| | On December 15 2010 19:11 traxamillion wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 15 2010 11:16 def_jammer wrote:
"There is
no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14]"
Thats wrong man. I think its proven that it does damage your lungs and also can cause bad trips or a kind of psychosis under extreme circumstances. |
not sure what you are smoking in Germany but...
lol no
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sry but you probably dont know shit about weed then |
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whamm! Albania. Dec 15 2010 22:25. Posts 11625 | | |
i thought this was about myth and weed |
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Siro Australia. Dec 15 2010 23:52. Posts 1540 | | |
| | On December 15 2010 19:11 traxamillion wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 15 2010 11:16 def_jammer wrote:
"There is
no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14]"
Thats wrong man. I think its proven that it does damage your lungs and also can cause bad trips or a kind of psychosis under extreme circumstances. |
not sure what you are smoking in Germany but...
lol no
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happened to me not too long ago.. |
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D_smart_S Bulgaria. Dec 16 2010 14:18. Posts 688 | | |
a couple days ago we gathered at my apt to smoke some bud and chill. We invited a friend of ours who has smoked like 1-2 times before with no real effect. This time, however, i gave him 4-5 hits from the joint which was a mistake. The next hour was just awful. He thought he was gonna die and shit, his heart rate was super fast, but I assured him that it was all fine, i've been through this many times. After an hour of that shit, he called his parents letting them know he smoked weed and was feeling awful and might die or stg like that. LOL. There was a line that he told his parents that cracked me up - "Gather everyone in my room and just stay on the phone with me". He was trippin balls!!! So yeah, things like this - panic attacks - do happen but they are not very ofter, short and really don't cause any long term damage, just a bad experience. |
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| Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech | |
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k2o4 United States. Dec 16 2010 20:20. Posts 4803 | | |
| | On December 16 2010 13:18 D_smart_S wrote:
a couple days ago we gathered at my apt to smoke some bud and chill. We invited a friend of ours who has smoked like 1-2 times before with no real effect. This time, however, i gave him 4-5 hits from the joint which was a mistake. The next hour was just awful. He thought he was gonna die and shit, his heart rate was super fast, but I assured him that it was all fine, i've been through this many times. After an hour of that shit, he called his parents letting them know he smoked weed and was feeling awful and might die or stg like that. LOL. There was a line that he told his parents that cracked me up - "Gather everyone in my room and just stay on the phone with me". He was trippin balls!!! So yeah, things like this - panic attacks - do happen but they are not very ofter, short and really don't cause any long term damage, just a bad experience. |
That's a hilarious story =)
Yeah there's 3 things that affect the experience - drug, person, and setting. The amount and potency of the drug is one aspect. The person is another aspect - the same weed can give 2 people different experiences due to their different physical biology (ie our bodies are all different, some of us have allergies, some don't, some can drink a lot, some can't). The third factor is the setting, the physical location and mental state of the people you're with. I used to have a shitty time high at parties cause it felt too intense. Then I started smoking with my wife, just the two of us, and I began having fun again. Once I got used to it and learned how to handle myself I began to enjoy going out and interacting with people while high. It also helps that there is more of an accepting attitude towards pot here in Colorado due to the medical marijuana laws and decriminalization laws in Denver. I don't feel paranoid anymore. The paranoia had nothing to do with the weed, it was cause I was scared to get caught smoking it and get in trouble. |
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