Marijuana

[Tigg]

Oh come on. This is like Reefer Madness 2.0. Let’s just ban everything… for the kids…

Homes will still explode when someone lights butane to make meth, hash, or deep fry a turkey…

Yeah……we especially loved it when they chose Easter Sunday ( the holiest of feast days for Christians,) to salute their victory by raising their joints and pipes to the sky! One paper wrote of the 4/20 celebration: “At 4:20 p.m., an enormous plume of marijuana smoke wafted into the sky above downtown Denver as rapper B.o.B. belted out his song “Strange Clouds,” with the hook: “And all we do is light it up, all night/All you see is strange clouds/Strange clouds, strange clouds.”

Even the tourism industry is changing…instead of coming to see the Rocky Mountains, we have chartered buses coming all the way from Texas to light up and enjoy!

We’re so proud!

Most popular bumper sticker: The elevation isn’t the only thing that’s high in Colorado.

 

[SyroMalankara]

This is hilarious… Golden, CO is home to Coors-Molson Brewing… there have been songs written about drunkeness and barfighting, women and whiskey for centuries… is it the rap you dislike?

Examples:

“Alcohol” Brad Paisley. You know well that by the time Brad Paisley gets to the part about wearing lampshades on your head, your buddies will have already done so. This song is one of the best country drinking songs by praising the poison and reminding us that it’s because of alcohol that white people have any chance of dancing.
“Ten Rounds of José Cuervo” Tracy Byrd. What better contender for the best country drinking song than one that counts out the number of rounds of tequila shots? Byrd takes us through an evening where everything gets better (and a little blurrier) after every shot.
“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. This song became the anthem for anyone sneaking out of the office early for a happy hour head start. It also served to rationalize needing excuses to drink before noon (as if we needed one). Plus, pair one of country music’s most-loved crooners with the margarita man himself, and you’ve got a perfect formula for one of the best country drinking songs to ever grace the airwaves.
“All My Exes Live in Texas” George Straight. Country superstar George Straight gives us something to toast to as he celebrates the distance he’s placed between himself and his exes. “All my exes live in Texas, that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee,” is a line reminding us that life does in fact go on after relationships end, and quickly when you’re states apart. This barroom ballad is a perfect sing-a-long, which makes it one of the best country drinking songs of all time.
“I Love this Bar” Toby Keith. What better song for drinking than one praising your favorite hometown dive bar? Toby Keith lauds his bar welcoming all: cowboys, truckers, yuppies, bikers, lovers, and lookers. It’s a song about a place where all are welcome, everybody drinks, and the music is your theme song. Certainly on the list of best country drinking songs, we can relate to knowing that place we can go to toast to life with the best of our bests.
“Beer Run,” Garth Brooks and George Jones. These two country big shots team up for a quick and dirty song about the inevitable beer run. It’s a song about pickup trucks, buddies, and 12 packs – all important parts of a song destined to be one of the best country drinking songs.
“Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” Big & Rich. Every wedding reception in the last five years has included this song, and for good reason! It’s one that was made for drinking and dancing, giving cowboys a little love in dance clubs and honky-tonks everywhere.
“Family Tradition” Hank Williams, Jr. This list would be incomplete without something from one of the Hank Williams, and this song by the junior of the two is a perfect addition to a song about the best country drinking songs. With a call-and-response chorus that encourages getting drunk and stoned and laid, it’s an easy song for a crowd to get into and is absolutely one of the best country drinking songs ever.
“Friends in Low Places” Garth Brooks. This is at the top of the list of the best country drinking songs. Turn this song on at a party or a bar and you’ve got an instant sing-along. Lyrics about drowning fears in whiskey and crashing your ex-girlfriend’s party tend to get a crowd rowdy. Released in 1990, this has been one of the best country drinking songs ever since.
“You Never Even Call Me By My Name” David Allan Coe. When a song starts out with, “I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison,” you know you’re hearing the BEST country drinking song. David Allen Coe gives us a sing-along chorus, a nod to what he calls the “greatest country western song,” and lyrics about pickup trucks, beers, and buddies.

 

[Tigg]

Actually, you can keep your rap altho I’ve been known to dance to some good CW music. I, for one, see quite a distinction in tens of thousands celebrating a marijuana holiday across the U.S. on a religious holy day as opposed to a few obscure songs most of the population has never heard about. But please…keep the laughter coming. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.

 

[Havard]

I’m thinking the easiest response to this is that 95% of musicians are using marijuana when being creative. Yes, I made up that stat, but it seems to improve brain function in certain areas. In addition, marijuana has been around longer and been used by human in different forms for much longer than either coffee or perhaps even alcohol.

You could say the same about opium, look at all the celebrated artists who chased the dragon. A good result doesn’t make an act moral. The ends justify the means argument runs contrary to Catholic philosophy.

As for how long something has been used, what does it matter? Mushroom use predates recorded history, but that doesn’t make mushrooms suitable for using.

My conscience is examined and clear.

Are you judging from a place of abstinence, or a place of experience? Because it sounds like you might not really understand what ingesting or smoking marijuana actually accomplishes, and are extrapolating based on general stereotypes and vague news reports.

I smoked recreationally for six years. You’ll find no naivete or false propaganda here. Your neuroprocessing degrades. Your senses of time and space are dampened. That’s how it works.

That being said, everyone’s experience is personal and unique, even if common patterns emerge, so trust your good judgment. If you’re afraid of it, or contemptuous of it, don’t do it.

First you raise the speculation of ignorance and now here’s the insinuation of fear or hatred? Come on.

None of my points are personal. They are broad, and they are consistent. If you believe they are wrong, then by all means please address them.

 

[SyroMalankara]

You could say the same about opium, look at all the celebrated artists who chased the dragon. A good result doesn’t make an act moral. The ends justify the means argument runs contrary to Catholic philosophy.

As for how long something has been used, what does it matter? Mushroom use predates recorded history, but that doesn’t make mushrooms suitable for using.

The statement wasn’t regarding good, it was in comparison to alcohol, as well as cognitive ability.

I smoked recreationally for six years. You’ll find no naivete or false propaganda here. Your neuroprocessing degrades. Your senses of time and space are dampened. That’s how it works.

Again, same with alcohol. You seem perfectly normal at the moment, but I don’t really know you.

 

[SyroMalankara]

Actually, you can keep your rap altho I’ve been known to dance to some good CW music. I, for one, see quite a distinction in tens of thousands celebrating a marijuana holiday across the U.S. on a religious holy day as opposed to a few obscure songs most of the population has never heard about. But please…keep the laughter coming. If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.

Oh I see. When it’s a rap song you don’t like with a “holiday” you don’t prefer - it’s evil. When it’s a country song you can dance to, and a “holiday” (St. Pats) you may prefer or tolerate - no prob??

 

[Havard]

The statement wasn’t regarding good, it was in comparison to alcohol, as well as cognitive ability.

Right. In that sense, they are similar. They both intoxicate, by impairing brain functions.

I believe the pertinent question is whether one is consuming a drug for the deleterious effects, or in spite of them. If you are smoking marijuana because you have low appetite and need to eat, that’s an example of using it in spite of them. Likewise, people consume alcohol in moderate amounts for flavor and sustenance.

Again, same with alcohol. You seem perfectly normal at the moment, but I don’t really know you.

Thanks!

 

[Tigg]

Oh I see. When it’s a rap song you don’t like with a “holiday” you don’t prefer - it’s evil. When it’s a country song you can dance to, and a “holiday” (St. Pats) you may prefer or tolerate - no prob??

Who used the word evil? It wasn’t me. We frequently encounter marijuana use; even going to the grocery store, you can smell it on people. We live next a golf course outside the city in a very nice area with a marijuana dispensary a mile away with several more being planned to open in space which otherwise is a recreational area for families who like to camp, hike and fish. I do not like what the legalization of it is doing to our community, nor the many side effects we see daily, nor the potential harm to others. Getting back to the original post of this thread, I think I’ll go along with Pope Francis on this one. Here is an accurate source:

Pope Francis emerged on Friday as a speaker at the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Rome, where he said he was opposed to the legalization of drugs—including marijuana—for recreational use.

newsweek.com/pope-francis-says-he-opposes-marijuana-legalization-255708

 

[SyroMalankara]

Your quote is not what Pope Francis said, but an editorial paraphrase.

Pope Francis said the following, which I think anyone will agree with:

“A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, rather, it is necessary to confront the problems underlying the use of these drugs, by promoting greater justice, educating young people in the values that build up life in society, accompanying those in difficulty and giving them hope for the future.”

“If we say ‘yes’ to all these things, there will be no room for illicit drugs, for alcohol abuse, for other forms of addiction”

“Attempts, however limited, to legalise so-called ‘recreational drugs’, are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects”

Here Pope Francis is including alcohol abuse and not singling out any particular addictive drug. It should be noted that marijuana hasn’t yet been shown to cause physical dependency.

 

[BornInMarch]

I heard that recently Pope Francis announced that he was against marijuana legalization. Can anyone explain why? How can I present this to the many people who would disagree with the Pope?

Contrary to popular belief, Marijuana is very dangerous for human health. Its possible to drink beer without getting drunk; it is not possible to smoke pot without getting high.

 

[edwest2]

Your quote is not what Pope Francis said, but an editorial paraphrase.

Pope Francis said the following, which I think anyone will agree with:

“A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, rather, it is necessary to confront the problems underlying the use of these drugs, by promoting greater justice, educating young people in the values that build up life in society, accompanying those in difficulty and giving them hope for the future.”

“If we say ‘yes’ to all these things, there will be no room for illicit drugs, for alcohol abuse, for other forms of addiction”

“Attempts, however limited, to legalise so-called ‘recreational drugs’, are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects”

Here Pope Francis is including alcohol abuse and not singling out any particular addictive drug. It should be noted that marijuana hasn’t yet been shown to cause physical dependency.

I don’t understand how adding one problem to one other problem is a good idea. Anyone can go to google, type in marijuana rehab, and read the various site links they get.

Peace,
Ed

 

[1newcatholic]

I don’t understand how adding one problem to one other problem is a good idea. Anyone can go to google, type in marijuana rehab, and read the various site links they get.

Peace,
Ed

Google “divorce lawyers.” Do the results prove marriage is a failed institution and should be criminalized?

 

[1newcatholic]

it is not possible to smoke pot without getting high.

False equivalence.

Just as with alcohol drinkers, marijuana users develop a tolerance.

More importantly, anyone who drinks alcohol experiences chemical effects from drinking (including communion wine). They may not be legally “drunk,” but they have been chemically influenced. Your qualitative contrast between “drunk” and “high” is just word games.

 

[1newcatholic]

None of my points are personal. They are broad, and they are consistent. If you believe they are wrong, then by all means please address them.

I must have missed your broadly consistent explanation of why marijuana is worse than other legal chemicals that can cause damage to your body or impair your judgment when used in excess.

What is inherently morally wrong about using marijuana?

What is inherently morally wrong about using marijuana for “recreational” reasons?

 

[Mark121359]

I think I’ll go along with Pope Francis on this one. Here is an accurate source:

Pope Francis emerged on Friday as a speaker at the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Rome, where he said he was opposed to the legalization of drugs—including marijuana—for recreational use.

newsweek.com/pope-francis-says-he-opposes-marijuana-legalization-255708

Your quote is not what Pope Francis said, but an editorial paraphrase.

Pope Francis said the following, which I think anyone will agree with:

“A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, rather, it is necessary to confront the problems underlying the use of these drugs, by promoting greater justice, educating young people in the values that build up life in society, accompanying those in difficulty and giving them hope for the future.”

“If we say ‘yes’ to all these things, there will be no room for illicit drugs, for alcohol abuse, for other forms of addiction”

“Attempts, however limited, to legalise so-called ‘recreational drugs’, are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects”

Here Pope Francis is including alcohol abuse and not singling out any particular addictive drug. It should be noted that marijuana hasn’t yet been shown to cause physical dependency.

How can you say to Tigg that the Pope wasn’t talking about marijuana? Several respectable sources quote the Pope as saying; “Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called ‘recreational drugs,’ are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce desired effects.” What “recreational drug” was he talking about if not marijuana? The Pope is concerned about things that Tigg is seeing and living first hand. And who could possibly blame her for her concerns. Some of the stories in the following links are already starting to show hints of problems…and the ink that they used to sign this crummy bill into law isn’t even dry yet!

nytimes.com/2014/06/01/us/after-5-months-of-sales-colorado-sees-the-downside-of-a-legal-high.html?_r=0
coloradoan.com/story/news/local/2014/09/14/positive-marijuana-tests-spike-among-colo-workers/15649023/
thenorthwestern.com/story/life/2014/09/02/marijuanas-hazy-contribution-highway-deaths/14997087/

Peace, Mark

 

[1newcatholic]

How can you say to Tigg that the Pope wasn’t talking about marijuana? Several respectable sources quote the Pope as saying; “Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called ‘recreational drugs,’ are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce desired effects.” What “recreational drug” was he talking about if not marijuana? The Pope is concerned about things that Tigg is seeing and living first hand. And who could possibly blame her for her concerns. Some of the stories in the following links are already starting to show hints of problems…and the ink that they used to sign this crummy bill into law isn’t even dry yet!

nytimes.com/2014/06/01/us/after-5-months-of-sales-colorado-sees-the-downside-of-a-legal-high.html?_r=0
coloradoan.com/story/news/local/2014/09/14/positive-marijuana-tests-spike-among-colo-workers/15649023/
thenorthwestern.com/story/life/2014/09/02/marijuanas-hazy-contribution-highway-deaths/14997087/

Peace, Mark

Did you read the articles?

1. Despite such anecdotes, there is scant hard data. Because of the lag in reporting many health statistics, it may take years to know legal marijuana’s effect — if any — on teenage drug use, school expulsions or the number of fatal car crashes.
2. “While it’s interesting, and it could be a harbinger for things to come, I think it’s a little too early to draw conclusions at this point,” Sample said, adding that the increase of positive tests warrants further study.
3. As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry there will be more drivers high on pot and a big increase in traffic deaths. It’s not clear, though, whether those concerns are merited. Researchers are divided on the question. A prosecutor blamed the Beer crash on “speed and weed,” but a jury that heard expert testimony on marijuana’s effects at his trial deadlocked on a homicide charge and other felonies related to whether the teenager was impaired by marijuana. Beer was convicted of manslaughter and reckless driving charges.

There are dispensaries all around where I live. The sky has not fallen. The same people live here. A lot of the drug dealers are gone though. Weird.

 

[Mark121359]

Did you read the articles?

Did you read and comprehend my words? I said; “already starting to show hints of problems.” Those articles do show hints of problems as I stated." Any Catholic, who takes their faith seriously and who has a properly formed conscience should immediately see the errors in smoking marijuana…But I also realize that this sort of Catholic is kind of rare today.

Peace, Mark

 

[SyroMalankara]

Did you read and comprehend my words? I said; “already starting to show hints of problems.” Those articles do show hints of problems as I stated." Any Catholic, who takes their faith seriously and who has a properly formed conscience should immediately see the errors in smoking marijuana…But I also realize that this sort of Catholic is kind of rare today.

Peace, Mark

This ad hominum is not worthy of hardy Catholic debate, this is what fundamentalist prohibitionists say to those opposed to their version of Christianity.

 

[Mark121359]

This ad hominum is not worthy of hardy Catholic debate, this is what fundamentalist prohibitionists say to those opposed to their version of Christianity.

Ad hominem attack eh? My version of Christianity? Fundamentalist prohibitionist?..Uh huh! Seems I’m in good company…how about you? From the CCC; 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.

And here’s some more good company;

ncregister.com/daily-news/to-puff-or-not-to-puff/
denvercatholicregister.org/opinion/marijuana-catholic-belief/#.VBsW8qNAS1t
uscatholic.org/marijuana
ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/US.php?id=2012
lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-slams-liberalization-of-drug-use-as-catholic-trudeau-campaigns

So, let me get this straight. According to you, EWTN, Pope Francis, The National Catholic Register and little ol’ me are all pushing their “fundamentalist prohibitionists” views of Christianity on all of us huh?..

Peace, Mark

 

[1newcatholic]

This ad hominum is not worthy of hardy Catholic debate, this is what fundamentalist prohibitionists say to those opposed to their version of Christianity.

The thing I love most about Catholicism is that everyone can have their opinions, but we’re all Catholic. So some stranger on the internet thinks I’m a bad Catholic because I don’t condemn people who smoke or use pot? Meh. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Fundamentalist prohibitionists might disagree with me, but they aren’t in charge of the Eucharist