[ariel (OP)]

well i hope this is worthy of being under general science rather than just chat.

I'd love to hear everyone's view oncannabis sativa, especially on a science forum haha.
It seems to me that from a scientific perspective there is not much wrong with the drug; cigarettes seem much more harmful! (yes, i know however that there are chemicals and cancer causing toxins released...) and I understand this whole "it's a gateway drug," but i don't think thats enough to justify making it illegal especially with its medicinal benefits.

OH yes! haha... so I read somewhere it is legal to have some in possesion in the UK is this true? any potheads on the site? haha []

and don't hold back any funny stories you'd like to share []

[gecko]

ive never done it. being 19 and always around other people doing it.. here are my brief observations

1- the medical "benefits" are a little overblown. i once read a local independant press declare it a "medical breakthrough"! penicilin is a medical breakthrough! a polio vaccine is a medical breakthrough! the appetite increase from pot is a medical afterthought. it has, and should be, used for pain reduction and increased appetite- but if you want it to be legal just so you can smoke it recreationally, just say so! dont pretend like youre doing it to help all those people who have trouble eating, youre doing it cause you like to get high, which is ok.

2- i think its effects are so pointless that its not worth doing recreationally. what a waste.

3- alot of pots "toxicity" is because it is smoked. ingested in other ways, the carcinogens and other toxins are negligable. its not good to inhale smoke.

4- i have never done a recreational drug. ive only done caffeine and nicotine, and only incidentally, not for the effect. no pot, no alcohol. that said, i think all recreational drugs should be legal. what i think is right to do to my body should not be imposed on anyone else and no government has the right to control what you do to yourself. not to mention the efforts to stop drug use and distribution are a huge waste that could be used to stop real predators.

[Mjhavok]

I know 3 people that have smoked it for over 10 years minimum and 1 has a wife and family. The other 2 sit in the house on the net most days lol. I do that alot and I don't use it so...

My point is it hasn't ruined any of their lives.

Steven

[neilep]

Sorry...too busy eating the entire contents of my fridge to answer this....



Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by ariel
OH yes! haha... so I read somewhere it is legal to have some in possesion in the UK is this true? any potheads on the site? haha []

This is categorically not true – what is true is that if you only have a very small quantity, it is most likely the police will not waste their time over you, since the total punishment for a first offence for personal use is not worth the paperwork – but it is not technically legal.

What they have done is downgraded cannabis from a class B to a class C drug, lessening the punishment for it (not that most people were ever punished for it).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3223385.stm

quote:
MPs have backed a move to downgrade cannabis, putting it in the same group as tranquilisers and steroids.
The reclassification of the drug from Class B to Class C was supported by a majority of 156, despite Tory warnings it would lead more young people into harder drug use.
Junior Home Office minister Caroline Flint rejected claims that cannabis would become "semi-legal", claiming the move was part of an "honest and credible" strategy to tackle the wider drug problem.
The changes, which will come into effect in January next year, mean penalties for possession of the drug will be lessened, but dealers could face up to 14 years in jail.
Under guidelines drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers last month, police will also retain the power to arrest users in special circumstances, such as when the drug is smoked outside schools.

Mr Blunkett believes the law must be changed to let police spend more time dealing with more harmful Class A drugs like crack cocaine and heroin which account for more crime.
At the moment, about 80,000 people are arrested and fined for cannabis possession every year.
After a change in rules, anyone caught in possession of cannabis will only receive a warning and will have the drug confiscated.

The above is a news story from October 2003.

George

[ROBERT]

There is an association between cannabis use and psychosis.
However it is difficult to prove causation: it could be that some mentally ill persons self-medicate with cannabis,
 i.e. their psychopathology pre-existed their cannabis use.

http://www.priory.com/psych/cannabis.htm

[JimBob]

Well, ariel, glad to see you participating once more.

And thank you for the subject.

First, let me quote from the website http://www.stephenjaygould.org/

"Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was among the best known and widely read scientists of the late 20th century. A paleontologist and educator at Harvard University, Gould made his largest contributions to science as the leading spokes-person for evolutionary theory. His monthly columns in Natural History magazine and his popular works on evolution have earned him numerous awards and one of the largest readerships in the popular-science genre — penning altogether over twenty successful books throughout his career.

"For more than 30 years Gould served on the faculty at Harvard, where he was Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Professor of Geology, Biology, and the History of Science, as well as curator for Invertebrate Paleontology at the institution's Museum of Comparative Zoology."

And from Wikipedia see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould

The point is this. In 1982 Dr. Gould was diagnosed with abdominal mesothelioma. Both during chemotherapy and afterwards he used ganja to deal with the pain and nausea. Hemp has other medicinal uses. Gould was an advocate for the medical use of MJ. It does not seem to have effected him adversely.

The effects of cannabis are much milder than those of the more ordinarily used pain medications. Opiates leave one in a state of depression and/or depersonalization that, for many, is very difficult to recover from.

As with a psychoactive substances, moderation is a key element in mediating use. There are some who seem incapable of this moderation so using any substance in this class for them is not wise.



The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein

[sharkeyandgeorge]

I tried (unsucessfully) to broach this topic some time ago and freely admit I love the mary jane it was some thing i did socially,in private and with girlfriends. It freed me from the shyness and social ackwardness that has plagued my life it brought me joy and a feeling of serenity that I have never felt in any other way. I only quit because my current job does random drug tests and as soon as I have another job that wont I will be back to marys sweet embrace.

and before i get any angry retorts I always used the same rules for weed as I did booze no 1 being no driving.

[cranial_implant]

I have to say that I too have enjoyed the weed for many years and still do.

I do not smoke cigarettes or even drink alcohol and so it is my only vice.

My head is not what it used to be.

[ariel (OP)]

ah yes its wonderful to have replies to a topic you post []

quote:Originally posted by gecko
 but if you want it to be legal just so you can smoke it recreationally, just say so! dont pretend like youre doing it to help all those people who have trouble eating, youre doing it cause you like to get high, which is ok.

hahaa  true.


thanks to everyone for the articles and links i did look into to them and they were helpful []


this sounds bad to say..haha but i was glad to hear this from chris and ian.
i was afraid that everyone would deny trying it.

ariel

[nexus]

I am in the medical field but I have not done any research, so most of my info is only anecdotal and second hand.

I do know that it isn't good for you. Unfiltered and untreated -- not good. I have heard that it can give various types of infections based on what is growing on the plant. Have you ever seen the shows where they show what a grow op house looks like after? All the fungi everywhere, I wouldn't want that in my lungs.

I listend to a 30 year old man's lungs once. He never smoked a tobbacco cigarette. But he freely admitted that he smoke weed almost everday since his teens. In all lobes he had this horrible weeze. Doctor gave him 3 months to live. I seen him because he was trying to kill himself. I wonder if I should delete this part -- kind of a buzzkill.

And, lastly most (bot not all) the chronics I know are in dead end jobs, in jail or don't have jobs. I find if they aren't high they are somewhat shorter tempered.

But most of this is just my opinion

[sharkeyandgeorge]

thats not always true nexus I smoked weed for yaers and currently hold a civil engineering job in a very dangerous area. the idea that you smoke weed only if you want a low I.Q and crappy job is propaganda to villifie weed...true weed is popular with the unemployed and lazy but so is alcohol both are used by such persons to escape the dull monotony of thier lives whereas my friends and I used it to increase our enjoyment of our social lives in short like every other drug its use is what the taker intends it to be.

[daveshorts]

I have very little experience of it, I don't think it is a good thing, and can probably do you harm, especially if used in large quantities.

 However I think that if something that is used as widely as Cannabis is illeagal, especially the supply side, it is just giving loads of money to criminals, and means that you can't regualte the strength, regulate what the brown vaguely plant based stuff you buy is,  put health warnings on packets, and for that matter tax it (As I am not going to buy any this sounds like a sound idea []).

 I think you would probably get lower use in 10 years time if you legalised it, taxed it lots, and had lots of public information adverts.

[another_someone]

My understanding, at least with opiates, so maybe also with THC, that it behaves differently when taken as an analgesic because the state of the brain is different when it is in pain than when taken otherwise.

George

[ariel (OP)]

quote:Originally posted by nexus
Have you ever seen the shows where they show what a grow op house looks like after? All the fungi everywhere, I wouldn't want that in my lungs.

nope. haven't seen that. but this reminds me... haha everytime i see the resin in a bowl i just think...yup thats in my lungs.

hmmm

[gecko]

"My understanding, at least with opiates, so maybe also with THC, that it behaves differently when taken as an analgesic because the state of the brain is different when it is in pain than when taken otherwise"

this makes alot of sense. it appears to me to be true. unfortunately i have no more info.

[ariel (OP)]

man
giving my current condition
i thought to myself
yaknow it would be so RIGHT (for lack of a better word)...to go to this forum and leave some post.
anypost.
didn't really have anything to say.
...
just chill.

hahhahahhahaha =]

ok nope. might come back and delete this. once im back to normal.

ariel

[RASTAMAN]

I SAY (LEGALIZE IT)
DON,T CRITAZISE IT.
GOOD FOR SOME BAD FOR SOME.[8D]

[RASTAMAN]

I SAY (LEGALIZE IT)
DON,T CRITAZISE IT.
GOOD FOR SOME BAD FOR SOME.[8D]

[RASTAMAN]

JUST GOING FOR A SPLIFFF[][]