American Marijuana Policy - an allegory.
A man walks down a sidewalk. Another man says "Don't walk down that sidewalk, I'll ruin your life". The first man, says "I've walked on this sidewalk my whole life, and I'm quite successful. You must be mistaken". The second man takes out a bat and beats the first to a bloody pulp and says "See! I told you so."
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A college student can be a convicted felon and get federal assistance, but not if he got caught with a joint.
February 2, 2009 8:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, that's because... ummmm... damn.
Forgot.
February 2, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why is it OK for someone to be whacked out on Prozac, Valium, and etc., but to not self-medicate with marijuana grown in the back yard or medications cooked up in the kitchen?
Because it denies profits to drug manufacturers, doctors, and pharmacists, it seems to me.
February 2, 2009 8:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you making a literary allusion to Rush the lush?
If so, I join in your protest whole heartedly.
I am so sick of this Mary Jane crap. I never even liked the stuff. We should all let it go free.
All the issues before us and joints are still putting happy citizens in prison.
February 2, 2009 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, I was not making a reference to Rush. I, unlike some others am not obsessed with the guy. I don't pay him any attention.
February 2, 2009 10:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Because it is a herb and can be grown as easy as tomatoes in the garden IT CAN NOT BE TAXED wears off rather quickly opposed to the 12 hour or more hangover you paid luxury taxes on at the bar ,If legalized look at all the unemployment of City,State Federal you name it works ect. Lets keep the prisons full,court and systems clogged,it is high time we the people should put this to a nation wide vote!
February 3, 2009 9:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
...anybody have any chips and cookies? Dude, I gotta find something to eat!
February 2, 2009 9:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cannabis is proven to be less harmful than alcohol, has legitimate medicinal value and the stalk of which can be used to make a whole host of different things including clothing and rope, and is used in a number of religions.
And money can be made by a whole host of people, like Pharma as a pain killer for a number of different conditions, plus it could be sold over the counter as an alternative to alcohol. The cost of alcohol abuse is staggering. The number of illnesses, addiction issues, drunk driving deaths/injuries attributed to alcohol is staggering along with the cost to society. Yet alcohol is legal and readily accessible and cannabis is illegal and could land the user in jail. Plus there would be hundreds of millions of dollars saved by not incarcerating cannabis users.
Plus they can be used as a food additive for people averse to smoking in general. Now where did I leave those brownies? For some reason I can't remember, lol? :-P
February 2, 2009 11:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
(urp)
I dunno, haven't seen zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (thunk)
February 3, 2009 12:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
...oh shit.....Dude......wake up.....Dude
February 3, 2009 2:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe this will help. From what I can remember from the 70's this always did the trick when that problem occurred...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPBYLDqUwQk&feature=related
February 3, 2009 11:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good thing there is no toxic dose level, as I've certainly tried to find it.
As Bob Marley said, "De mon he drink de rum, he get to tinkin' he don' like some guy, and he get a knife and stab him. De mon he smoke de spliff, he maybe tink' about it a little, but he smoke some more and forget."
February 3, 2009 2:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
I hear you can get a lot closer if you start by baking several dozen "special" cookies :-)
February 3, 2009 3:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
My favorite proportion is roughly one oz. per recipe, of four dozen or so. But I haven't been into them in a while.
BTW, a big-name sumo wrestler had to resign his title in Japan for doing a spliff or some such.
February 3, 2009 3:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, I can't seem to let a perfectly good metaphor stand for itself without revisiting the point (it's a sickness I think). Something about seeing Michael Phelps with all his Olympic medals made me think "Crap - are they going to destroy ANOTHER person just to 'prove' marijuana wrecks lives?"
If you think about it; had Clinton, Bush or Obama been subjected to the same penalties imposed on today's children - not one of them would have been allowed to be President. Today, rumors of a weekend party (let alone a photo like the one of Michael Phelps) disqualifies a kid from even playing high school sports.
I just can't shake the feeling that we're gleefully throwing away some the best and brightest futures of the younger generations.
February 3, 2009 3:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was hoping it might lead to a more reasonable discussion on the subject like: Se kids, you can do bong hits and still be the most winning Olympian in history. For from being an object lesson, this should be used to motivate directionless stoners.
February 3, 2009 1:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
This site has the current date but looks like no actual content updates.
http://www.pot-party.com/
Decriminalizing pot seems like a rational idea, really. Regulated and taxed like alcohol. The policies are already there...just erase booze and write in pot.
February 3, 2009 9:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
I hate to be a buzzkill here. It doesn't bother me that Michael Phelps took a bong hit, but he is used to market products to young kids. That does bother me because I don't want my kids smoking pot or drinking until they can handle any consequences that arise from those actions. If Michael marketed products targeted to adults, it wouldn't bother me.
I can bitch and moan all I want to change the laws, but until they are, my kids would have a criminal record that might ruin their chances at future employment, or they might drive while being high and kill someone. Life isn't fair, but it's just how it is.
Also, after watching Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Dru, I have every intention of letting my kids watch that show to see how booze and drugs do affect your life. Michael Phelps could be the hottest sports celeb who is just hanging out smoking pot at a party, but what if he becomes just another washed up, stoned out athlete ten years down the line and has to do a reality show to support his habit? Damn, that is a sad, sad life if you ask me, but it seems to have been the path for a lot of folks that were idolized back in the 80's when I was young and impressionable. I never did drugs, but I sure am in a lot better place than those folks.
Also, I do blame the marketing agencies who scavenge around for the youngest, hottest athlete to pay millions of dollars so they can prop them up on a pedestal to be something they are not. It's too much pressure for a young person.
Finally, just because you might not drive or do anything dangerous while high doesn't mean that some other idiot wouldn't either. That's why I do like that law.
February 3, 2009 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly my point. You want to destroy Phelp's career because you "don't want my kids smoking pot or drinking until they can handle any consequences." So talk to them about the subject. Point out that Phelps is an adult and has made the primary focus of his life excellence - and that you will accept no less. Fill their lives with so much activity that they don't have TIME to get involved with drugs.
President Obama just had some of the most powerful humans on the planet over for after-vote drinks. Does that mean that your kids are going to go out and buy a keg? It seems what is really needed is parents to educate their children on the meaning of adult decisions.
The point here is the "consequences" are rarely actually negative impacts from the use of marijuana itself. They are a result of like-minded parents who can't communicate with their own kids and need to attack an external source to justify their position. Many inferior parents want a pat little speech: "If you smoke pot you will never achieve to the levels of Michael Phelps". Sadly, it's not true. The only way for it to be so is by destroying the man, because clearly he achieved greater success than most parents will ever know AND he smokes pot.
Also, for the record Phelps' main sponsors are Speedo, Omega watches, Subway and Visa. How can you argue that he's marketing primarily to kids? But even if he were, why does that make him responsible for RAISING your kids? They put him on a pedestal because he is an amazing swimmer who brought much honor to our nation through his skills at swimming. That you are looking for more from him is nobody's fault but your own.
February 3, 2009 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
In a study reported in Scientific American, volunteers were tested on a driving simulator while under the influence. Pot impaired responses somewhat, although more through concentration than reflex dulling. Alcohol as expected had more effect.
Kicker is what happens after the drinking subjects added pot. Scores improved. Most people get a little paranoid and over-cautious when stoned. It is probably about as dangerous as being a little sleepy.
I know of no reliable survey of driver-fault accidents that assign sole cause to pot. Alcohol is more like heroin, for safety, pot more like talking to your passenger.
And there are no studies that show pot associates with violent behavior. It has no toxic dose. It is not a chemical you cook up. It is probably better for your intellect than watching TV.
As to the children, the only way to make it hard to get is bring it out of the black market. My son attended high school in a good neighborhood, and he told me it was very hard to acquire beer, but you could buy pot in a particular bathroom.
Legal markets kill black markets, since the price is lower and the quality better. If you want to protect your children, you should hope it gets legalized.
February 3, 2009 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Test...
February 18, 2009 11:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Write down these names as they are traitors to the people's trust. As far as I am concerned, if the public funds it, the public gets the research. That's just good law. If an organization takes another step with it, then they might copyright that, but ti play hide the research with publicly funded work is to make the public money a private play ground. Kind of like the first TARp version, we just throw it away and never know where it went.
Write down these names as they are traitors, at least in this instance, to the people's trust:
John Conyers (D-MI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Robert Wexler (D-FL) have introduced a bill called the "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act"
February 19, 2009 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Insert [Gregor's comment] here. One more example of the short term memory loss smokin' the kind leads to...
March 17, 2009 6:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, you picked a good allegory on marijuana policy, things could have been different with marijuana, a lot better different, unfortunately they aren't. I work in California Drug Rehab Center I should be totally against drug use, and I am, but I also think legal marijuana is better for our society than illegal marijuana. The last thing we need is this chaos and confusion around the drug.
July 13, 2009 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink