Is Marijuana More Addictive Than Alcohol?

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: amazing
Again pot should be legal and readily available to those who are sick and need it. It's that simple. The side effect is dealing with more stoners. I don't know one pot head who's not the stereotype. They all claim not to be but they don't see themselves as others' do. Just remember..."Just because something is Legal, doesn't mean it's a good idea to do."

No it should be legal. Period. End of discussion. You have no business telling me or anyone else that we can't use marijuana (or any other drug for that matter) no matter what the reason.

This.

I live in California, and while Governor Brown has done a good job of creating a surplus in the budget, we could solve many more problems (education, specifically) by legalizing marajuana, regulating it, and taxing it. Go a step further and legalize ALL drugs (with the same regulation and taxation) and we no longer have the economic difficulties that arrived with the last economic collapse. However, TPTB do not want a situation in which things reach stasis, so some drugs will continue to be illegal.

That doesn't make it right, though.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: rickymouse
I would vote that it does have addictive properties for some people. Some people can get addicted to alcohol also, but most get addicted to the way of life that alcohol steers you to. That isn't really a true addiction though, you get used to going to bars and talking to people who are more sociable when they drink. It is a social adjuvant.

Marijuana is definitely addictive. It just isn't as addictive as alcohol.

This is so true and I'm glad you pointed it out. Alcohol can kill, and marijuana can kill you faster than alcohol. But now, what do we mean by kill. Most people are aware of the "social" kill that alcohol does and it is frighting destructive. Marijuana too has a "social" kill, but it too is a different animal. Let's face it, alcohol makes you drunk and sometimes very sick, and death can occur, marijuana makes you feel good, (that is except if you are stricken with sever mental problems, which most people users would agree, the buzz you get, is of being paranoid, and that is something everyone in the medical field agrees upon) but mentally unbalanced people have a lower "crime kill" thinking when under the influence of marijuana, but drunks, hey, "I'm go'na kill ya". That is the addictive behavioral pattern that separates the two.

originally posted by: Mianeye
When seeing these threads about cannabis i also see from the comments that those are the people who use cannabis, not all of them but i would say the majority.

Even though is not allowed to speak of personal use, there is many times a slight hint that the commenter is also a user.

These people have the knowledge and answers if cannabis is addicting or not, and how that addiction works both good and bad for them.
Unfortunately there are two problems in here, we can not speak about it, and most will probably not admit the addiction if they had the chance to speak about it.

My opinion is that it's addicting as much as the person want it to be, and the same goes for alcohol, if you can lay of or just enjoy once in a while, obviously you are not addicted, and the other way around is of course you are addicted, but it's a personal preference to do or not to do.

My advice is not to do as you can be addicted from various causes and being addicted is actually not fun at all.

No dude you have not seen an alcohol addict... I have... It's a very severe physical addiction...You'll shake physically and sweat... You HAVE to have some alocohol! You can even DIE from the withdrawal...

I have been around all drugs fo4 a good part of my life... Seen heorin addicts and all sorts... Never once have I seen a physical addiction in cannabis... Not once... Sure it's nice so people want it, like chocolate, but there is no physical addiction for canabis...

The op is right, to compare the 2 is downright scandelous!

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

No it should be legal. Period. End of discussion. You have no business telling me or anyone else that we can't use marijuana (or any other drug for that matter) no matter what the reason.

absolutely correct. im with you all the way on this.

i wonder how much legalization/acceptance has been set back by religious influence.
all the way from school age influence up to the politicians and financial backers. there is still a major stigma attached to mj and im sure the church is all over that.

we are still a pretty religious country sad to say.

i was watching an interview with hugh laurie towards the end of his run on house. they asked him what is 1 major difference he noticed between here and the uk.
he said the one thing that stood out to him was how religious the country is as a whole and how many churches are all ovee the place. he said it is nothing like that over there.

i just say that because it is very noticeable.
the church has a huge influence on the way things are run in this country.


i dont know how much and of what they could have done but im sure along the way the church has done its fair share to hurt the legalization/decriminalization of mj.
just another obstacle i guess

a reply to: CardiffGiant

im just googling and messing around

www.gfcto.com...
there are many paragraphs but they all boil down to this


When the use of marijuana is legalized (permitted) by the state, a Christian must evaluate using a different grid. Is the use of marijuana similar to the use of alcohol - a matter of conscience before the Lord and consideration before the church?
Therefore, since any use of marijuana robs the individual of their ability to control themselves at that moment and since long-term marijuana use physically harms the user, we believe that a Christian must never use marijuana.

3. The Possession or Marketing of Legalized Marijuana.
Therefore, we conclude that it would be sinful for a Christian to sell or otherwise distribute marijuana to others.

lifeteen.com...

There's a lot of research found today to show the physical, emotional and psychological damage marijuana can cause to your long term health, especially when used during your teenage years while you are growing and developing. Everything about it is bad news.

Using drugs is a sin because it is an act of self-destruction and thus an offense against the life that God has given us out of love. Every form of a person’s dependence on legal substances (alcohol, medication, tobacco) and even more so on illegal drugs is an exchange of freedom for slavery;

[B]Every time a person loses or forgets himself by becoming intoxicated, which can also include excessive eating and drinking, indulgence in sexual activity, or speeding with an automobile, he loses some of his human dignity and freedom and therefore sins against God.[/B]
-------------------------------------------

i know these are from well respected/sourced websites but that dont matter.
just trying to make a point and its this....

as long as millions and millions of people think(brainwashed) like this, things like legalization and decriminalization will have serious obstacles.

personally i dont care who worships what. i dont care how often they do it. if it makes them happy then i am all for it. i support their right to bow down.
we all know that a great many religious folk dont look at it like that. they are notorious for pushing their agenda on other people. they are notorious for wanting to police the public at large. they do it with many issues.

how often do 'they'(religious people at some level) get involved? we have all seen/read the arguments by them AGAINST homosexuality. we have all seen the arguments against a womans right to choose.

dont want to turn this into a religious debate. i simply wanted to put forth my opinion on another hurdle for the pro side of this debate. i make these points because religion has a loud voice in this country and there are a lot of voters who are religious. when legal/medical mj hits the ballet, a lot of 'them' vote.

i think the road to legalization is just now getting paved but we have a long while to go.

So are any of the religious folks willing to endure their chronic pain or are they popping prescription pain killers?

The reason for the resurgence of heroin is in large part due to it being less expensive than its prescription counterparts, and US officials now warn that narcotic painkillers are a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses. According to the US Justice Department, prescription opiates and heroin are two of the most lethal substances available.
articles.mercola.com...

By what I hear MJ can also alleve pain. By what I understand getting off hoeroin is hell on earth but well like many point out there isn't much of a physical addiction to MJ.

The idea that the healthcare industry can peddle opiates like it's candy but MJ should stay illegal because it's so dangerous is insane! Allow it to be used medicinally.

And those who are religious, well the biblical answer to your pain is to trust in God that he will not lay any burden on your that you can't bear. Pray that God will remove that pain or at least give you the strength to endure it!
Have fun with that!

originally posted by: OptimusCrime

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: amazing
Again pot should be legal and readily available to those who are sick and need it. It's that simple. The side effect is dealing with more stoners. I don't know one pot head who's not the stereotype. They all claim not to be but they don't see themselves as others' do. Just remember..."Just because something is Legal, doesn't mean it's a good idea to do."

No it should be legal. Period. End of discussion. You have no business telling me or anyone else that we can't use marijuana (or any other drug for that matter) no matter what the reason.

I gotta draw the line at that one. There are substances out there, yes natural ones too, that shouldn't be on a legal market. Weed isn't one of them.

Which ones? Hemlock? I am against any drug being illegal. Legalize and regulate, even the hardcore ones like heroin or coc aine. Prohibition is always a mistake.

Can I ask your plans for regulating every known drug? I'm really curious, no bs. I would like to know how this can be done.

Well you start with the ones that cause the most problems. As new ones appear, you analyze the risks and then regulate appropriately. Though personally, I'm all for responsibility. The only thing I think the government should be doing is offering assistance for addiction and withdrawal. Maybe a real solution to mental health (one of the real driving forces behind drug seeking behavior).

a reply to: Krazysh0t

i think one good argument for legalization is the past track record with illegal drugs.
in the last 75 years how many billions of dollars have been spent fighting illegal drugs on the street?
how many man hours spent trying to stop illegal drugs on the street?
how many billions have been spent on litigation?
how many man hours spent by district attorney's and such?
how many people have been killed on both sides?
how many billions spent keeping people in jail?


now add all that up and what is the end result thus far?
illegal drugs are still in every city in america..
did all that actually accomplish anything?

sure, the dea/feds have confiscated drug shipments... got some drugs off the street
lots of drugs still on the street though.

i would say looking at the past 75 years up till now it is pretty apparent that this whole war on illegal drugs is not working.
not in the big picture. for every cargo box they grab and pull off the street im sure at least 1 more makes it through.

too much has been spent with the wrong results

i also think its funny that heroin is illegal but the gov passes out free needles... you can go right to certain clinics in certain cities and get needles. what a joke

i know why this is done. they are trying to prevent people from sharing needles and contracting a disease.
its just laughable......

"hey you.... heroin is illegal. you will get arrested and go to prison if you have heroin on you.....but if youre gonna shoot up the free needles are this way"

can people not see how much of a joke this is

a reply to: CardiffGiant

I agree man. Check this out:

80 Years Ago Today We Repealed Alcohol Prohibition...Now It's Time to End Drug Prohibition

Not to oversimplify things, but the Eighteenth Amendment (which established national prohibition) made a sizeable portion of the population criminals overnight. Even though the sale and manufacturing of alcohol was criminalized, the majority of the people who drank responsibly wanted to continue to do so. I'm not an economist but I learned that where there is a demand for something, a supply will be filled, whether it is legal or not. So Prohibition didn’t make alcohol disappear, it just allowed famous mobsters like Al Capone to step in and provide an elaborate, yet dangerous, underground market. See Boardwalk Empire more details.

Like I said, not to oversimplify it, but the mob thrived, crime soared, and gangsters killed anyone and everyone who got in their way. Tens of thousands of people died because of prohibition-related violence and drinking unregulated booze. The big experiment came to an end in 1933 when the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified by 36 of the 48 states. The Twenty-first Amendment was deemed so necessary (and the Eighteenth so ineffective), it is the only Constitutional amendment ever passed to overturn a previous amendment. Hence, Prohibition was a terrible mistake.

Fast forward to today – our society is swimming in drugs. We all have family members who use drugs, whether it’s Prozac or Ritalin or Viagra or painkillers or marijuana or coc aine, etc., and every other commercial on TV is trying to sell us a drug. Yet we still have a failed prohibitionist policy that is responsible for 1.5 million people getting arrested every year for drugs and tens of thousands of people dying because of a drug overdose – more than the number of people who die in car accidents. It's estimated that more than 100,000 people in Mexico have been killed or have gone missing since they militarized their war on drugs in 2006. And despite it all, millions of people around the world continue to use drugs every day.

It’s costing us way too much money trying to enforce prohibition. One of the main reasons Prohibition was repealed was because it was an unenforceable policy. Today, half of what we spend on law enforcement and the criminal justice system is for drug law enforcement. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. And despite all these efforts, drugs are cheaper and purer than ever before. Instead of wasting money on incarceration and a bloated prison industrial complex, we should invest in treatment and rehabilitation, which costs far less than imprisonment and actually attempts to help people. We need to find the best policy that reduces the harms of drug use.

More reading:
Today’s war on drugs: Prohibition then and now
80 Years After Prohibition's Repeal, President Obama Continues A Failed Drug War
The War on Drugs: Today's Prohibition

ALL of the same reasons that Prohibition failed are occurring with the War of Drugs, but the only difference is that the failures are on a MUCH greater scale since the War on Drugs has lasted much longer than Prohibition did. And thee failures only grow exponentially. The War on Drugs is single handedly responsible for destabilizing Mexico and other countries in Central America.

There is an entire body of scientific and psychological research on both drugs.

There are medical charts, statistics, etc etc.

Factually, medically, scientifically, marijuana is a far less harmful and addictive drug than alcohol. Ask an actual doctor or addiction-medicine specialist. There is no comparison.

Most people who think otherwise really just aren't educated at all on the evidence.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Time for a new update in the war against marijuana disinformation.

Is Marijuana More Addictive Than Alcohol?

So today we got this article that asks the question, "Is marijuana more addictive than alcohol?" Now anyone who is even remotely familiar with this plant should already know the answer to this question. It's almost insulting what some people will go to try to drag this plant back down into the depths of evilness. With that being said, let's begin the disinformation deconstruction.

But how much is too much? For this, you must know: Is marijuana less addictive than alcohol, the drug you plan to swap it for? Or will you end up like that guy in college who wore a Bob Marley beanie and whose desk was littered with “idea napkins”?

The answer to this and other questions surrounding the safety of marijuana is “we don’t know yet.” Pot has been illegal for decades, we have very little research on it, and the self-reported data of heavy smokers can be, shall we say, unreliable.

First, why is the author of the article even writing the article if she doesn't know the answer to the question in the title? Second, the statement above is incorrect. We actually have quite a bit of research on marijuana.

The lie that won’t die: “We don’t know enough about marijuana!”

Despite the US government’s nearly century-long prohibition of the plant, cannabis is nonetheless one of the most investigated therapeutically active substances in history. To date, there are over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature referencing the cannabis plant and its cannabinoids, nearly half of which were published within the last five years according to a keyword search on PubMed Central, the US government repository for peer-reviewed scientific research. Over 1,450 peer-reviewed papers were published in 2013 alone. (By contrast, a keyword search of “hydrocodone,” a commonly prescribed painkiller, yields just over 600 total references in the entire body of available scientific literature.)

What information do these thousands of studies about cannabis provide us? For starters, they reveal that marijuana and its active constituents, known as cannabinoids, are relatively safe and effective therapeutic and/or recreational compounds. Unlike alcohol and most prescription or over-the-counter medications, cannabinoids are virtually nontoxic to health cells or organs, and they are incapable of causing the user to experience a fatal overdose. Unlike opiates or ethanol, cannabinoids are not classified as central nervous depressants and cannot cause respiratory failure. In fact, a 2008 meta-analysis published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association reported that cannabis-based drugs were associated with virtually no elevated incidences of serious adverse side-effects in over 30 years of investigative use.

So either the article author didn't do her due diligence or she is purposely hiding this information to create this imaginary conflict between alcohol and marijuana. What's even funnier is that she goes on to say this (and includes a graph):

Here’s what we do know: According to many studies, the lifetime risk of dependence—defined as a desire to use increasing amounts of a substance and suffering withdrawal symptoms if you don’t—is lower for marijuana than it is for most other drugs, including alcohol. Here's one data series that several prominent researchers point to:

Of all the people who smoke pot, in other words, about 9 percent will become dependent. But of all the people who drink, about 16 percent will become alcoholics.

So without even answering her own question, she posts information that literally says, "No, marijuana isn't more addictive than alcohol." Of course then we get this qualifying statement:

But this is all based on the studies that were conducted during the age of prohibition. Historically, people haven’t been able to get marijuana easily, which skews the addiction statistics.

She must be smoking the plant as well, because anyone with any sense knows that marijuana use has risen exponentially throughout its prohibition. It's not like since it is illegal, people aren't using it or anything. Though I can kind of see what she is getting at. She is referring to availability. With it being legal, it is easier to obtain than it being illegal. But I'm not sure how a percentage can increase because of the availability. If the population size increases the number of people addicted will go up, but the percentage should stay the same. This seems like a loose argument to try to incite doubt of the plant.

Before I go, I'll leave you guys with this nice website showing history of marijuana and hemp use throughout the ages:
10,000-year History of Marijuana use in the World

Don't believe the lie. Marijuana has PLENTY of research throughout history backing up its usefulness.

No, the use of marijuana does NOT cause people to lose control of themselves. You see, the effects of varying drugs, including alcohol, vary widely.

For example, alcohol impairs the frontal cortex which therefore inhibits self control and decision making. It at later stages affects motor control of the body.

Marijuana, does neither.

Alcohol is factually and medically far more harmful to the body, far more addictive, and is responsible for far more deaths, car crashes, and violent crimes every year.

To even speak on these topics people need to research the medical, psychological, and qualitative research on all of these substances. It's all there. Otherwise you come across as ignorant and spouting nonsense.

originally posted by: CardiffGiant
a reply to: CardiffGiant

im just googling and messing around

www.gfcto.com...
there are many paragraphs but they all boil down to this


When the use of marijuana is legalized (permitted) by the state, a Christian must evaluate using a different grid. Is the use of marijuana similar to the use of alcohol - a matter of conscience before the Lord and consideration before the church?
Therefore, since any use of marijuana robs the individual of their ability to control themselves at that moment and since long-term marijuana use physically harms the user, we believe that a Christian must never use marijuana.

3. The Possession or Marketing of Legalized Marijuana.
Therefore, we conclude that it would be sinful for a Christian to sell or otherwise distribute marijuana to others.

lifeteen.com...

There's a lot of research found today to show the physical, emotional and psychological damage marijuana can cause to your long term health, especially when used during your teenage years while you are growing and developing. Everything about it is bad news.

Using drugs is a sin because it is an act of self-destruction and thus an offense against the life that God has given us out of love. Every form of a person’s dependence on legal substances (alcohol, medication, tobacco) and even more so on illegal drugs is an exchange of freedom for slavery;

[B]Every time a person loses or forgets himself by becoming intoxicated, which can also include excessive eating and drinking, indulgence in sexual activity, or speeding with an automobile, he loses some of his human dignity and freedom and therefore sins against God.[/B]
-------------------------------------------

i know these are from well respected/sourced websites but that dont matter.
just trying to make a point and its this....

as long as millions and millions of people think(brainwashed) like this, things like legalization and decriminalization will have serious obstacles.

personally i dont care who worships what. i dont care how often they do it. if it makes them happy then i am all for it. i support their right to bow down.
we all know that a great many religious folk dont look at it like that. they are notorious for pushing their agenda on other people. they are notorious for wanting to police the public at large. they do it with many issues.

how often do 'they'(religious people at some level) get involved? we have all seen/read the arguments by them AGAINST homosexuality. we have all seen the arguments against a womans right to choose.

dont want to turn this into a religious debate. i simply wanted to put forth my opinion on another hurdle for the pro side of this debate. i make these points because religion has a loud voice in this country and there are a lot of voters who are religious. when legal/medical mj hits the ballet, a lot of 'them' vote.

i think the road to legalization is just now getting paved but we have a long while to go.

People need to be open and honest about pot before sweeping changes will even be considered. STOP the whole pot never hurt a fly and has zero negative attributes routine. This is coming from a pro legalization person, if you say it will not do this or that, and just one study or one "right" person finds out it just might, you have lost the whole argument. Start off with the whole truth and that will get results.

Alcohol is worse, most will agree any way you look at it or compare the 2. With anything there are minor things to consider, it does alter your mood, thinking and reflexes. Pot is NOT a big scary drug at all, but to say any person can just fire one up and still be able to carry on like nothing happened with the rest of their day is selling a lie. Thats the point Im trying to make.

Next, STOP trying to push an ALL drugs or nothing platform. This WILL, I repeat, WILL NEVER work in our lifetimes and will stall the headway that marijuana has gained. Work with weed for now, dont even put another drug in the same sentence, paragraph, etc. Separate them. Pot is a sometimes helpful , natural plant with some medical properties that can be useful. Stick with that and it will happen sooner than later.

Also , you guys are really going with the war on drugs is not working, so give up and just make it all legal, if you cant beat em join em. Why fight it...If domestic abuse becomes impossible to stop will you just join them and start smacking around your old lady? Why fight it?? Hard core drugs can NOT be made available to anyone, as bad as drug use is, the point that you have to know somebody, or travel to a seedy part of town to get what you need does keep the average joe from messing with that stuff. Not many school teachers know a crack or heroine dealer.

a reply to: Wiz4769

Did you know that the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world? Did you know that most of those people incarcerated have some sort of drug offense? Did you know that jail does practically nothing to help their addictions? Heck, you can literally score any drug in prison. So did you know that jail pretty much guarantees you leave with a worse addiction meaning that it is only a matter of time before you are back in jail? Did you know that one of the primary motives behind drug seeking is mental health? Did you know that our mental health education in this country SUCKS?

Jailing people for using hard drugs is the wrong answer. Drug usage has only increased since the war on drugs has started. Marijuana is just the tip of the iceberg. I support legalization, but make no mistakes the WHOLE war on drugs needs to end. Where there is a demand, there WILL be a supply and a person willing to be the supplier, no matter WHAT the risks. Right now the people filling that role are international criminal organizations with enough financial and physical power that they are literally destabilizing and running the countries they live in and it is ALL thanks to drug money. We could cut that tap off. All we need to do is end the War on Drugs. I bet it would help our illegal alien situation as well.

originally posted by: musicismagic

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: rickymouse
I would vote that it does have addictive properties for some people. Some people can get addicted to alcohol also, but most get addicted to the way of life that alcohol steers you to. That isn't really a true addiction though, you get used to going to bars and talking to people who are more sociable when they drink. It is a social adjuvant.

Marijuana is definitely addictive. It just isn't as addictive as alcohol.

This is so true and I'm glad you pointed it out. Alcohol can kill, and marijuana can kill you faster than alcohol. But now, what do we mean by kill. Most people are aware of the "social" kill that alcohol does and it is frighting destructive. Marijuana too has a "social" kill, but it too is a different animal. Let's face it, alcohol makes you drunk and sometimes very sick, and death can occur, marijuana makes you feel good, (that is except if you are stricken with sever mental problems, which most people users would agree, the buzz you get, is of being paranoid, and that is something everyone in the medical field agrees upon) but mentally unbalanced people have a lower "crime kill" thinking when under the influence of marijuana, but drunks, hey, "I'm go'na kill ya". That is the addictive behavioral pattern that separates the two.

Completely false.
I'm not going to say anymore as it may break T&C's but as some one who knows about the subject I would NEVER say
the buzz you get is "just being paranoid".
There are different strains, different chemicals, different effects.

Paranoia is not the buzz.

When listening to music on it, you are not paranoid, you're happy.
Same for movies, I don't suddenly lose all inhibition and get paranoid that the walls are talking, that is signs of mental illness, if you suffer from that, STAY OFF IT and stop blaming the plant.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

you are right on the money again.

i wish there were stats for how many drug addicts the war on drugs has created.
how many criminals has it created?
how many people now have hiv or hep c cause of the war on drugs?

i bet those numbers are in the millions.

thats what happens when you take a 'casual' user, first time offender and slam them in jail for the max allowed by law.

first time offender, casual user goes in.

hiv infected addict comes out.

yeah, good program

what a joke

Who on here said that pot is completely harmless?

The question posed was alcohol versus pot.

The medical and psychological impact of pot seems to be the following:

1) Yes smoking high-tar marijuana has a slight risk of cancer or respiratory problems, although most people smoke it in such small amounts compared to tobacco that it's negligible.

2) Marijuana appears to carry mild psychological, not physical, addiction potential. But again, it is nowhere near the league of physical and mental addiction that alcohol, stimulants, or opiates have. This is born out by virtually all medical evidence.

3) There is the claim that it may impact motivation or ambition. This is possible. However, it is not a certainty. I know plenty of people who consume it who have very prestigious positions and are very accomplished, such as working in politics or having phds.

4) Gateway drug. This claim isn't really proven in any real sense. Why would alcohol then not also be a "gateway drug." What is more likely is that people who are open minded about trying things may be not only willing to try marijuana but also try other things. But then again, many people only ever try marijuana, not harder drugs precisely because they know that the harder stuff.... is harder.

As for legalization, I agree that the harder stuff should not be legal. But with marijuana, it really is ridiculous that a drug that is factually far less dangerous and addictive than alcohol should be illegal while alcohol and dangerous prescription drugs are not. This demonstrates that our drug policy is not based on pure evidence and impact but instead hysteria and misinformation.

originally posted by: Wiz4769
People need to be open and honest about pot before sweeping changes will even be considered. STOP the whole pot never hurt a fly and has zero negative attributes routine. This is coming from a pro legalization person, if you say it will not do this or that, and just one study or one "right" person finds out it just might, you have lost the whole argument. Start off with the whole truth and that will get results.

Alcohol is worse, most will agree any way you look at it or compare the 2. With anything there are minor things to consider, it does alter your mood, thinking and reflexes. Pot is NOT a big scary drug at all, but to say any person can just fire one up and still be able to carry on like nothing happened with the rest of their day is selling a lie. Thats the point Im trying to make.

Next, STOP trying to push an ALL drugs or nothing platform. This WILL, I repeat, WILL NEVER work in our lifetimes and will stall the headway that marijuana has gained. Work with weed for now, dont even put another drug in the same sentence, paragraph, etc. Separate them. Pot is a sometimes helpful , natural plant with some medical properties that can be useful. Stick with that and it will happen sooner than later.

Also , you guys are really going with the war on drugs is not working, so give up and just make it all legal, if you cant beat em join em. Why fight it...If domestic abuse becomes impossible to stop will you just join them and start smacking around your old lady? Why fight it?? Hard core drugs can NOT be made available to anyone, as bad as drug use is, the point that you have to know somebody, or travel to a seedy part of town to get what you need does keep the average joe from messing with that stuff. Not many school teachers know a crack or heroine dealer.

Yeah.

Marijuana has some psychological addictive potential.

Alcohol is extremely addictive, factually. Once someone achieves physical addiction to alcohol, it is profoundly dangerous. The withdrawals of physical addiction to alcohol are factually worse than heroin and almost all hard drugs, excepting barbiturates. People literally die sometimes from alcohol withdrawal due to seizures.

originally posted by: Taggart

originally posted by: musicismagic

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: rickymouse
I would vote that it does have addictive properties for some people. Some people can get addicted to alcohol also, but most get addicted to the way of life that alcohol steers you to. That isn't really a true addiction though, you get used to going to bars and talking to people who are more sociable when they drink. It is a social adjuvant.

Marijuana is definitely addictive. It just isn't as addictive as alcohol.

This is so true and I'm glad you pointed it out. Alcohol can kill, and marijuana can kill you faster than alcohol. But now, what do we mean by kill. Most people are aware of the "social" kill that alcohol does and it is frighting destructive. Marijuana too has a "social" kill, but it too is a different animal. Let's face it, alcohol makes you drunk and sometimes very sick, and death can occur, marijuana makes you feel good, (that is except if you are stricken with sever mental problems, which most people users would agree, the buzz you get, is of being paranoid, and that is something everyone in the medical field agrees upon) but mentally unbalanced people have a lower "crime kill" thinking when under the influence of marijuana, but drunks, hey, "I'm go'na kill ya". That is the addictive behavioral pattern that separates the two.

Completely false.
I'm not going to say anymore as it may break T&C's but as some one who knows about the subject I would NEVER say
the buzz you get is "just being paranoid".
There are different strains, different chemicals, different effects.

Paranoia is not the buzz.

When listening to music on it, you are not paranoid, you're happy.
Same for movies, I don't suddenly lose all inhibition and get paranoid that the walls are talking, that is signs of mental illness, if you suffer from that, STAY OFF IT and stop blaming the plant.

Addictive or not, insanity causing, giggly high, low, weirdly in between... adults should be able to do what ever they want with their bodies and minds and reap the consequences, or lack thereof.

The whole state assuming the role of a moronic martinet that ruins your life for using chemicals is getting very, very old. Punishing an adult for their own good? Really?

We should embrace the concept of a free society a bit more boldly, and if you aren't hurting anyone else, the State shouldn't interfere.

And of course weed is less addictive than alcohol...

a reply to: Baddogma

Yep, it's all about risk assessment... Driving a car is a risk, hundreds die on the roads every year... Riding a horse is a risk, eating fatty foods, doing the ironing, cutting some bread or walking down the stairs lol... Maybe mother gov some come and wrap us up in some bubblewrap and tell us what to eat and every activity we do throughout the day. Perhaps they could inform us all that the iron be hot hot hot... lol

Makes me sick to be honest that anyone thinks they have some right to tell others what risks they are allowed to take... Just blows my mind... I mean they tried to do this same non sense with alcohol and the exact same thing happened as we see today with drugs. It's really not brain surgery is it XD

But alas I live in the UK and the good old chaps who went to eton know far more than I, the lowly peasant moron.

a reply to: CardiffGiant

first time offender, casual user goes in. hiv infected addict comes out. yeah, good program what a joke

well it is a good system ...at least for the private prison system and others whom profit from the war on drugs