Marijuana

[Lamb_of_Gosh]

First of all, why don’t you see anything wrong w/ it. What makes it acceptable?

My personal opinion is that it could be used medically as a prescription drug of last resort for certain conditions. However, just using it recreationally should be prohibited.

There are countless studies on MJ and its use, effects, and side-effects. Some contradict one another, some don’t. However, the take-home message I generally see - even on MJ advocate pages - is that it should be used “responsibly”. Making it legal will definitely not make people use it responsibly. Instead it will make people who are just curious have a ‘reason’ to go out & get high. Then when they find they like the feeling (and hey its legal now) they’ll continue. Since it inhibits judgement, they may think they’re being responsible, but in reality they will be far from it.

I dislike the comparison of MJ to alcohol. They have completely different effects on the human body. Its also far easier to regulate alcohol since it is commercially produced - not grown. MJ has a large variance on THC levels. What one person grows will drastically differ in THC levels from what someone else grows. It seems like it would be almost impossible to regulate the levels of THC in the product. Also testing for current use of MJ is much more difficult than testing for alcohol current use. MJ use remains in your body (hair, fingernails, fat cells, etc) for at least 6 months after use. Its most readily detected in the urine, but there is no hard-fast rule about the direct correlation to urine content to blood/brain content. Its just a train wreck to think making it legal will solve any problems.

What you fail to realize is that there is absolutely no harm in marijuana use. Legalization would open a great source for tax revenue and eliminate any problems related to harmful chemicals within marijuana that you bought off of a drug dealer.

Aside from that, studies have proven that driving under the influence of marijuana is infinitely less dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. Also, if you had ever experienced intoxication from both alcohol as well as marijuana, you would be well aware that the effects of marijuana barely affect your ability to make decisions. It simply relaxes you. Alcohol on the other hand completely eliminates the ability to make decisions.

Another point that i would like to make is that of the various medical uses of marijuana one of the greatest is its treatment of glaucoma. Since glaucoma silently and gradually blinds somebody without warning or symptoms, public legalization could lead to preventing excessive build up of the intraocular pressure that causes, quite possibly reducing the national rate of blindness.
www.abovetheignorance.org/

 

[Plato34]

What you fail to realize is that there is absolutely no harm in marijuana use. Legalization would open a great source for tax revenue and eliminate any problems related to harmful chemicals within marijuana that you bought off of a drug dealer.

Aside from that, studies have proven that driving under the influence of marijuana is infinitely less dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. Also, if you had ever experienced intoxication from both alcohol as well as marijuana, you would be well aware that the effects of marijuana barely affect your ability to make decisions. It simply relaxes you. Alcohol on the other hand completely eliminates the ability to make decisions.

Another point that i would like to make is that of the various medical uses of marijuana one of the greatest is its treatment of glaucoma. Since glaucoma silently and gradually blinds somebody without warning or symptoms, public legalization could lead to preventing excessive build up of the intraocular pressure that causes, quite possibly reducing the national rate of blindness.
www.abovetheignorance.org/

Personally I like marijuana, but someone earlier in this thread said that the thing about it being less dangerous to drive under the influence of might be because less people smoke it and drive you know. Who wants to drive while high? Of course my friend is a great high driver but I feel like that’s because he is always high. My point is that not every study takes account every variable such as number of drivers total you know. You need to check on that first for it to be reliable. You need to find out the methods used. As far as ability to make decisions I don’t know about other people but I can make way better decision drunk than high. I smoke when I don’t want to or need to make decisions, at least not important ones.

 

[BiologyBrain]

What you fail to realize is that there is absolutely no harm in marijuana use. Legalization would open a great source for tax revenue and eliminate any problems related to harmful chemicals within marijuana that you bought off of a drug dealer.

There are countless studies that directly contradict your information. MJ is currently taxed Federally (I’m pretty sure). I think it was the 1927 Tax Act. It was actually aimed at taxing hemp b/c it was competing w/ the new technologies of Dupont. However, in order to make the tax act more palatable for the general public they used the Mexican term marihauna and included MJ for recreational/drug use as well. Also, I don’t think the tax income would be significant b/c MJ is generally grown as a ‘garden’ plant for personal use. Unless the IRS is going to come inspect everyone’s garden, most people aren’t going to get taxed for their MJ if it becomes legal. Its not like tobacco that needs processing etc prior to use.

Aside from that, studies have proven that driving under the influence of marijuana is infinitely less dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. Also, if you had ever experienced intoxication from both alcohol as well as marijuana, you would be well aware that the effects of marijuana barely affect your ability to make decisions. It simply relaxes you. Alcohol on the other hand completely eliminates the ability to make decisions.

Again there are countless studies that disagree w/ your statement. Many of the DUIs that come through our office are not alcohol related - they’re drug (of one type or another). Many of these are MJ-related (ie the only drug being used currently or in recent past). If MJ doesn’t alter your driving ability, why are these cops able to pull people over on suspicion of DUI? Its apparently fairly obvious that they’re not driving properly. When you’re overly relaxed your reaction time is going to be off. MJ does affect your decision making ability. It is psycho-active and alters your brain chemistry. If you’re under the influence of MJ you are not bound by contracts signed under the influence legally speaking. That indicates there is something to the theory that it affects judgement. Alcohol & MJ have very different effects on individuals. However, neither of them increase judgement skills, reaction time, and/or health. Even Erowid (a drug information site) indicates that driving, decision-making etc should not be undertaken while high on MJ.

Another point that i would like to make is that of the various medical uses of marijuana one of the greatest is its treatment of glaucoma. Since glaucoma silently and gradually blinds somebody without warning or symptoms, public legalization could lead to preventing excessive build up of the intraocular pressure that causes, quite possibly reducing the national rate of blindness.
www.abovetheignorance.org/

There are again many articles that contradict your statement. Has MJ use ever actually been studied in the long term for glaucoma prevention? I’m not against prudent medical use of MJ, I just don’t think it should be abused and/or used recreationally.

 

[manualman]

Seems easy to me. Jesus and many of the saints partook of alcoholic drinks in moderation (as part of the meal experience, not to get drunk).

Find me a saint who recommends marijuana, mushrooms or any other such “escape from reality” drug. Then maybe I’ll give you a listen - dude.

 

[mary1173]

well I am a product of the wigged out 60s generation of pot worshippers and I have seen plenty of evidence, then and now, of its bad effects. But even if it were as benign as cigarettes and alcohol, two other recreational drugs, that does not argue for it being legal. As it stands now, anyone who uses this or any other illegal drug is contributing to an ongoing system of criminal violence on a huge multi-national scale, and supporting not only drug-running, but porn, the sex trade and all the corruption that goes with this culture. That alone is reason enough to avoid its use, even if it had beneficial effects.

Unless the government could show that a grow it, sell it, tax it policy would work (and they don’t have a very good success record with most other government programs) legalization should not even be considered. there is absolutely no argument and no evidence that its legality would contribute to the public welfare.

cigarettes are not benign, neither is alcohol for that matter. These two items should ALSO be illegal to purchase and use. God wanted us to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit that resides in us all. That means respecting and loving yourself enough to not fall into the temptation to use ANY form of illicit drug, food source, to ‘‘get high’’ ‘‘drunk’’ or impare our judgement on ANY level. Organ damage leads to an early death. The liver is most affected by the use of these recreational drugs, and without a proper functioning liver you die at a younger age. But then that’s coming from a woman who has liver disease- who for God only knows what reason- never smoked, never drank, and never used MJ…Somebody tell me why THAT kind of stuff happens? I’d love to hear an answer.
MJ is illegal and should remain so.

 

[stringbeanduck]

cigarettes are not benign, neither is alcohol for that matter. **These two items should ALSO be illegal to purchase and use. **God wanted us to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit that resides in us all. That means respecting and loving yourself enough to not fall into the temptation to use ANY form of illicit drug, food source, to ‘‘get high’’ ‘‘drunk’’ or impare our judgement on ANY level. Organ damage leads to an early death. The liver is most affected by the use of these recreational drugs, and without a proper functioning liver you die at a younger age. But then that’s coming from a woman who has liver disease- who for God only knows what reason- never smoked, never drank, and never used MJ…Somebody tell me why THAT kind of stuff happens? I’d love to hear an answer.
MJ is illegal and should remain so.

Disagree here. Both bible and church support use of alcohal in moderation.

Deuteronomy 14:22-26:

You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat [of the tithe] before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstlings of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God choses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.

Sounds pretty clear God is saying take a load off and enjoy yourself.

 

[AHapka]

cigarettes are not benign, neither is alcohol for that matter. These two items should ALSO be illegal to purchase and use. God wanted us to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit that resides in us all. That means respecting and loving yourself enough to not fall into the temptation to use ANY form of illicit drug, food source, to ‘‘get high’’ ‘‘drunk’’ or impare our judgement on ANY level.

So you are saying that a substance Jesus used should be illegal based on the fact that God wants us to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit???

That’s simply illogical. If the proper use of alcohol was in any way a degradation of the body, Jesus wouldn’t have drank it.

If you think that alcohol should be illegal to purchase and use, how is a priest going to celebrate Mass since a valid consecration requires BOTH bread AND wine??

 

[Plato34]

yeah mary1173 maybe you should have drank and smoked a lot more. I know lots of smokers and drinkers with very healthy livers. my friends grandmother lived to be ninety-six and smoked cancers everyday of her life from the time she was fifteen.

my several times removed uncle copperfield is like 80 and fought in 2 wars and i haven
t seen him once without a scotch in his hand and a cancer in his mouth. he is the craziest most awesome person i have ever met.

except for one of my teachers who is a right there with him on the coolness scale. he was awarded a medal of honor in vietnam, attended woodstock in’69, was addicted to pain killers for a while and had to go to therapy, has been a tenured high school teacher so long he coached my principle in baseball, and he drinks whiskey and coca cola in class everyday and smokes his pipe every afternoon before he goes off to watchin the submarine races at night with his mexican wife. he is the happiest, wisest, most intelligent man i have ever met.

 

[stringbeanduck]

Tell you what, we’re all built differently. Some folks have a high tollerence to stuff, other’s can smoke and/or drink a few years and come up an assortment of diseases. Best just to follow the church and take things that are alright in moderation.

 

[DanteAlighieri]

From the Catechism:

1899 The authority required by the moral order derives from God: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” 17

1900 The **duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority **and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will.

2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.

Thus, without even addressing the whether-pot-is-bad-for-you argument, we see that nations are given authority to govern by God, and that as long as laws are not immoral, we are obliged to obey them. Furthermore, the Catechism goes on specifically to condemn illegal drug production and trafficking, which should put to bed the notion that such laws are oppressive.

Peace,
Dante

 

[alternative]

I am a patient prescribed to (marijuana) or cannabis I am not a dead beat or a drug addict. I care about my health a lot I run 2 miles a day and am a strict vegan 90 percent of the food I eat is organic I do not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. I have a medical problem and I do not want to take pills to help me with my pain. I choose cannabis because it has never once caused an overdose, cancer, liver problems or many other side affects that are caused by all other drugs. Aspirin kills about 700 people per year but cannabis has not ever killed anyone. It could be considered the safest drug known. Scientist can not overdose lab rats using THC the active drug in cannabis. When you smoke a drug it works instantly you can take just enough and stop pills take time to dissolve there amounts are how much a drug co. put in a capsule not how much you need. Some times I wake up at night in pain I can take a couple of hits cannabis and go back to sleep and only be awake 5 min when I took pills I would sit in pain in a chair for a half hour weighting for relief and then have trouble going to sleep because of being fully awakened then waking up with a pill hang over or “pill head.”

 

[alternative]

How Dangerous is Marijuana
Compared with other Substances?

Number of American deaths per year that result directly or primarily from the following selected causes nationwide, according to World Almanacs, Life Insurance Actuarial (death) Rates, and the last 20 years of U.S. Surgeon Generals’ reports.

TOBACCO 340,000 to 450,000
ALCOHOL (Not including 50% of all highway deaths and 65% of all murders) 150,000+
ASPIRIN (Including deliberate overdose) 180 to 1,000+
CAFFEINE (From stress, ulcers, and triggering irregular heartbeats, etc.) 1,000 to 10,000
“LEGAL” DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate or accidental) from legal, prescribed or patent medicines and/or mixing with alcohol - e.g. Valium/alcohol 14,000 to 27,000
ILLICIT DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate or accidental) from all illegal drugs. 3,800 to 5,200
MARIJUANA 0

 

[tjm190]

I believe it was either Aristotle or Sophocles that said “Reason is God’s crowning gift to man.” God gave us our intellect and free will as a gift, purposely using some substance to diminish either of them surely is almost like slapping God’s gift in the face.

If that is the logic by which we ban this drug, then the punishment for alcohol should be death.

 

[alternative]

Robert Bay
Moderator Join Date: June 26, 2005
Location: ITN: Secular News, War on Terror, Politics 2009
Posts: 11,224
Religion: Catholic

Re: You have received a warning at Catholic Answers Forums

---

My instruction to you is for now not to discuss drugs at all. After a few weeks or months we can revisit the instruction.

i am sorry i am not aloud to post here anymore this is a copy of a private message.

 

[alternative]

due to the rules

#6 Do not view the discussion area as a vehicle for single-mindedly promoting an agenda.

i will not be able to post here for a couple of weeks or a month.

 

[NoWhereMan]

I believe it was either Aristotle or Sophocles that said “Reason is God’s crowning gift to man.” God gave us our intellect and free will as a gift, purposely using some substance to diminish either of them surely is almost like slapping God’s gift in the face.

Not everyone is gifted with the same reasoning process, life is not fair & we are not all created equally. I smoked pot, & it never impaired me, drinking did, pot just made me feel mellow, why does this plant grow naturally if God didnt want us to use it, just like all the other plants that grow that we use to make Medicines etc

 

[SmokedSalmon]

The Netherlands, highest murder rate in Europe because of this one thing.

 

[colliric]

Not everyone is gifted with the same reasoning process, life is not fair & we are not all created equally. I smoked pot, & it never impaired me, drinking did, pot just made me feel mellow, why does this plant grow naturally if God didnt want us to use it, just like all the other plants that grow that we use to make Medicines etc

Toadstools also grow naturally, but I wouldn’t dare eat one and I don’t think that God wants me to either. God gave us the gift of prudence.

“Pot” may have it’s place in nature, as all things do, but it shouldn’t really have a place in the human body, except perhaps if it is perscribed by a qualified Doctor for it’s medicinal purposes. The problem is found in it’s recreational useage where people use it to get “High” and escape their problems by killing more brain cells. Ok this is probally the same sin as being a heavy drinker or smoker, but the less outlets we have the healthier our society will be. There is no credible reason to legalise more dangerous substances on the basis of simular drugs already being legal. It is rather a far fetched arguement for legalisation as it certainly doesn’t outweigh the arguement for keeping it illegal.

 

[NoWhereMan]

Toadstools also grow naturally, but I wouldn’t dare eat one and I don’t think that God wants me to either. God gave us the gift of prudence.

“Pot” may have it’s place in nature, as all things do, but it shouldn’t really have a place in the human body, except perhaps if it is perscribed by a qualified Doctor for it’s medicinal purposes. The problem is found in it’s recreational useage where people use it to get “High” and escape their problems by killing more brain cells. Ok this is probally the same sin as being a heavy drinker or smoker, but the less outlets we have the healthier our society will be. There is no credible reason to legalise more dangerous substances on the basis of simular drugs already being legal. It is rather a far fetched arguement for legalisation as it certainly doesn’t outweigh the arguement for keeping it illegal.

I dissagree, & the only reason its illegal is its not packaged & sold like Cigarettes & the government doesnt get its cut, same as why prostitution is illegal. I think its much better than drinking & getting drunk. It helps people chill & people throughout all walks of society smoke it. There is a big big demand for it cause for all these many yrs, they cant stop the flow of it into our country

 

[ditch]

Looks to me like a few people on this forum could benefit from a little weed or a few drinks. Enjoy life a little, geeeez.