Pot legalization gains momentum in California

[muman613]

I don't want to complain about it but I am addicted to Coke... Coca-Cola that is... I know that it is wrong and am working on stopping drinking so much. At this point in time I drink about a 12pack of Coke a day...

[Americanhero1]

I don't want to complain about it but I am addicted to Coke... Coca-Cola that is... I know that it is wrong and am working on stopping drinking so much. At this point in time I drink about a 12pack of Coke a day...

[muman613]

[GoIsraelGo!]

I don't want to complain about it but I am addicted to Coke... Coca-Cola that is... I know that it is wrong and am working on stopping drinking so much. At this point in time I drink about a 12pack of Coke a day...

Muman, that is hard on your kidneys. Try drinking water instead of coke, and if you must, you can add sugary apple juice to your water. Each day decrease the amount of apple juice from the water until you get used to the water alone. The only time you should have coke is at the movies with popcorn. That wouldn't hurt your system like drinking a six pack a day. I wish you luck in kicking your soda habit.


                                                      Shalom - Dox

[Americanhero1]

[muman613]

I don't want to complain about it but I am addicted to Coke... Coca-Cola that is... I know that it is wrong and am working on stopping drinking so much. At this point in time I drink about a 12pack of Coke a day...

Muman, that is hard on your kidneys. Try drinking water instead of coke, and if you must, you can add sugary apple juice to your water. Each day decrease the amount of apple juice from the water until you get used to the water alone. The only time you should have coke is at the movies with popcorn. That wouldn't hurt your system like drinking a six pack a day. I wish you luck in kicking your soda habit.


                                                      Shalom - Dox

Thank you... I know that I can quit when I want to... Over the High Holiday period last week I went for three days without drinking a coke. I had a headache for the 1st day but by Yom Kippur the headache was gone.

Thanks and I will once again attempt to cut down my coke consumption.

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

בס''ד

1. Legalizing drugs does lead to increased drug use. Every European country that has legalized drugs now has a severe drug addiction problem which is much worse than it was when the drug was illegal. Legalization is like giving a stamp of approval to drug use and that greatly increases drug use among young people who have to decide whether to try it or not.

2. Marijuana is definitely a gateway drug for many people. Most heroin, cocaine, crack and meth addicts started with marijuana. The vast majority of recovering addicts will tell you that marijuana started them down the road to self-destruction. I personally met many hardcore junkies who started out smoking joints.

3. Even many people who do not take other drugs but only stay with marijuana become potheads. Potheads are marijuana addicts - yes, marijuana can be addictive. Again, I know quite a few people who ruined their lives with marijuana. They smoke several times a day and feel that they cannot function without it. They are constantly seeking more potent weed to get them high.

4. The fact that cigarettes and booze are also destructive does not justify increasing the destructive effects of marijuana. Because people are addicted to cigarettes and to alcohol, we should make marijuana an even bigger problem?

5. When Rudy Giuliani ordered the New York police to crack down even on the sale of small amounts of marijuana and to crack down on marijuana use, it was one of the factors that led to a dramatic drop in the city's crime rate.

Chaim, I agree with you. I am not for legalizing dope. However, with the number of horrific travesties of justice taking place in California (and the rest of the nation) as we speak, I cannot be that angered about it.

[GoIsraelGo!]

I don't want to complain about it but I am addicted to Coke... Coca-Cola that is... I know that it is wrong and am working on stopping drinking so much. At this point in time I drink about a 12pack of Coke a day...

Muman, that is hard on your kidneys. Try drinking water instead of coke, and if you must, you can add sugary apple juice to your water. Each day decrease the amount of apple juice from the water until you get used to the water alone. The only time you should have coke is at the movies with popcorn. That wouldn't hurt your system like drinking a six pack a day. I wish you luck in kicking your soda habit.


                                                      Shalom - Dox

Thank you... I know that I can quit when I want to... Over the High Holiday period last week I went for three days without drinking a coke. I had a headache for the 1st day but by Yom Kippur the headache was gone.

Thanks and I will once again attempt to cut down my coke consumption.

It has been almost one year since I had to go to the hospital...for the last 10 months I drink lots of water and 2 small glasses of cranberry juice each day ( morning and evening. ) My kidneys are great now...no more problems.

I had to go to the hospital often because I never drank water....I hate water but trained myself to drink it.

[patches]

I think alcohol is and always has been much more destructive than pot. Irish Zionist, let me ask you a question. What's a bigger problem in Ireland, alcoholism or potheads running amok?

When people talk about "drugs" they never mention alcohol, but alcohol is a drug too. If alcohol is legal, then pot should be too. My opinion.

[FreedomFighter08]

Chaim, I saw my friend today with puffy eyes, and I asked him if he was high. His answer was "how did you know?" This guy is the smartest guy in class and always sticks to his "marijuana does not make people stupid" theory.

But the point is, if you make it illegal, what point does it serve? Fill up our jails with potheads? Our jails should be reserved for criminals, not people who get high, unless they are crack or heroin or meth addicts who are disrupting society.

Not to continue this picture/video meme but:

[Muck DeFuslims]

I'm not sure if marijuana should be legalized, but I am sure the use of or possession of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized.

The idea of arresting people, trying them in court, and throwing them in jail for smoking a joint or possessing a 1/4 ounce of cannabis is absurd.

Talk about a waste of resources and misplaced priorities.

There is absolutely no doubt that alcoholism and alcoholics have a much more deleterious effect on individuals and society than marijuana use and pot heads ever have or ever could have. Yet as a society we've come to accept bars and taverns on virtually every street corner and being continually bombarded with ads and commercials for beer and booze.

Does this mean marijuana use should be sanctioned or approved ?

Of course not.

We should never encourage the use of drugs of any kind.

But prosecuting and incarcerating people for smoking a joint or possessing a small amount of weed ? C'mon. We've got much bigger problems to deal with.

[Cato]

I am always astonished by the number of regular contributors to this forum, otherwise calm and sober, who freely admit to drug use whenever the subject is raised. In the UK, marijuana is currently being re-criminalised because of recognition of the damage done by the drug, which is now twenty times stronger than when it was smoked 30 years ago by the crack-heads in government who dreamed up the idea of decriminalising it in the first place. It's strength, however, is irrelevant - of course it's a gateway drug! Anyone who has ever worked in a shop will know the dangers posed by even slightly drugged-up youths, and by an apathetic police force who are half drugged-up themselves with their own free supplies. Anyone who has ever been in a car crash involving a druggie will know the same feeling. In either case, the civil liberties of the druggies are irrelevant.   

[HiWarp]

This is a really bad idea and would cause even more decay. Whats the point of making it legal?

They could tax the hell out of it

So they don't care what could happen to society as long as they tax it?

Congratulations, you have described in one line what the government thinks about most everything.

[muman613]

I am always astonished by the number of regular contributors to this forum, otherwise calm and sober, who freely admit to drug use whenever the subject is raised. In the UK, marijuana is currently being re-criminalised because of recognition of the damage done by the drug, which is now twenty times stronger than when it was smoked 30 years ago by the crack-heads in government who dreamed up the idea of decriminalising it in the first place. It's strength, however, is irrelevant - of course it's a gateway drug! Anyone who has ever worked in a shop will know the dangers posed by even slightly drugged-up youths, and by an apathetic police force who are half drugged-up themselves with their own free supplies. Anyone who has ever been in a car crash involving a druggie will know the same feeling. In either case, the civil liberties of the druggies are irrelevant.   

The issue of whether it is a gateway drug is debatable because scientific evidence is otherwise. Many people here have experience that it is not. Nobody is advising anyone to do anything. But Marijuana is definately not a major issue, it should certainly be decriminalized.

There are many 'drugs' which should be illegal and nobody here is suggesting that they all should be legalized or de-criminalized... But there are many good reasons for pot to be decriminalized.

PS: More people die in car crashes due to alchohol than all other drugs combined. By your logic it should be outlawed.

[Irish Zionist]

I am always astonished by the number of regular contributors to this forum, otherwise calm and sober, who freely admit to drug use whenever the subject is raised. In the UK, marijuana is currently being re-criminalised because of recognition of the damage done by the drug, which is now twenty times stronger than when it was smoked 30 years ago by the crack-heads in government who dreamed up the idea of decriminalising it in the first place. It's strength, however, is irrelevant - of course it's a gateway drug! Anyone who has ever worked in a shop will know the dangers posed by even slightly drugged-up youths, and by an apathetic police force who are half drugged-up themselves with their own free supplies. Anyone who has ever been in a car crash involving a druggie will know the same feeling. In either case, the civil liberties of the druggies are irrelevant.   

The issue of whether it is a gateway drug is debatable because scientific evidence is otherwise. Many people here have experience that it is not. Nobody is advising anyone to do anything. But Marijuana is definately not a major issue, it should certainly be decriminalized.

There are many 'drugs' which should be illegal and nobody here is suggesting that they all should be legalized or de-criminalized... But there are many good reasons for pot to be decriminalized.

PS: More people die in car crashes due to alchohol than all other drugs combined. By your logic it should be outlawed.

Name some then.

[muman613]

I am always astonished by the number of regular contributors to this forum, otherwise calm and sober, who freely admit to drug use whenever the subject is raised. In the UK, marijuana is currently being re-criminalised because of recognition of the damage done by the drug, which is now twenty times stronger than when it was smoked 30 years ago by the crack-heads in government who dreamed up the idea of decriminalising it in the first place. It's strength, however, is irrelevant - of course it's a gateway drug! Anyone who has ever worked in a shop will know the dangers posed by even slightly drugged-up youths, and by an apathetic police force who are half drugged-up themselves with their own free supplies. Anyone who has ever been in a car crash involving a druggie will know the same feeling. In either case, the civil liberties of the druggies are irrelevant.   

The issue of whether it is a gateway drug is debatable because scientific evidence is otherwise. Many people here have experience that it is not. Nobody is advising anyone to do anything. But Marijuana is definately not a major issue, it should certainly be decriminalized.

There are many 'drugs' which should be illegal and nobody here is suggesting that they all should be legalized or de-criminalized... But there are many good reasons for pot to be decriminalized.

PS: More people die in car crashes due to alchohol than all other drugs combined. By your logic it should be outlawed.

Name some then.

Off the top of my head here are two:

1) Reduce the overcrowding of jails which currently requires the state to release prisoners before their sentence is completed. Overcrowding is caused by filling jails with minor offenders of drug laws. The amount of money the state can save due to housing 'pot criminals' will be reduced.

2) Taxing the substance and regulating it. This will provide an important revenue stream in CA which is currently issuing IOUs to teachers and other state workers...

There are other benefits also but I will start with these two...

PS: I have said many times that I am not fully for legalization because it may cause erosion of some other social laws. But maybe the gains outweigh the losses...

[Americanhero1]

I am always astonished by the number of regular contributors to this forum, otherwise calm and sober, who freely admit to drug use whenever the subject is raised. In the UK, marijuana is currently being re-criminalised because of recognition of the damage done by the drug, which is now twenty times stronger than when it was smoked 30 years ago by the crack-heads in government who dreamed up the idea of decriminalising it in the first place. It's strength, however, is irrelevant - of course it's a gateway drug! Anyone who has ever worked in a shop will know the dangers posed by even slightly drugged-up youths, and by an apathetic police force who are half drugged-up themselves with their own free supplies. Anyone who has ever been in a car crash involving a druggie will know the same feeling. In either case, the civil liberties of the druggies are irrelevant.   

The issue of whether it is a gateway drug is debatable because scientific evidence is otherwise. Many people here have experience that it is not. Nobody is advising anyone to do anything. But Marijuana is definately not a major issue, it should certainly be decriminalized.

There are many 'drugs' which should be illegal and nobody here is suggesting that they all should be legalized or de-criminalized... But there are many good reasons for pot to be decriminalized.

PS: More people die in car crashes due to alchohol than all other drugs combined. By your logic it should be outlawed.

Name some then.

Off the top of my head here are two:

1) Reduce the overcrowding of jails which currently requires the state to release prisoners before their sentence is completed. Overcrowding is caused by filling jails with minor offenders of drug laws. The amount of money the state can save due to housing 'pot criminals' will be reduced.

2) Taxing the substance and regulating it. This will provide an important revenue stream in CA which is currently issuing IOUs to teachers and other state workers...

There are other benefits also but I will start with these two...

Don't forget that Taco Bell,Burger King,etc, and snack food companies will have to produce more cause of the munchies

[Rubystars]

I think the police should go after people actually harming others rather than harassing someone smoking pot.

I've never used it and never plan to, but I don't think it's so horrible it needs to be illegal.

[Irish Zionist]

I think the police should go after people actually harming others rather than harassing someone smoking pot.

I've never used it and never plan to, but I don't think it's so horrible it needs to be illegal.

They are also more likely to harm you while their high. And another note, it will increase patients in hospitals as it causes cancer. I heard somewhere it is twice as likely you will get cancer than smoking cigarette's. Also if it becomes legal, it will be cheaper and more readily available, thus increasing death rates.

[The One and Only Mo]

I think the police should go after people actually harming others rather than harassing someone smoking pot.

I've never used it and never plan to, but I don't think it's so horrible it needs to be illegal.

They are also more likely to harm you while their high. And another note, it will increase patients in hospitals as it causes cancer. I heard somewhere it is twice as likely you will get cancer than smoking cigarette's. Also if it becomes legal, it will be cheaper and more readily available, thus increasing death rates.

Yes, and assur.

[muman613]

I dont know about that claim about cancer. I have seen studies which indicate that THC actually has anti-cancer agents in it... Let me see if I can find those studies:

http://www.nowpublic.com/thc_marijuana_helps_cure_cancer_says_harvard_study

http://www.qmw.ac.uk/news/newsrelease.php?news_id=175

Researchers investigating the role of cannabis in cancer therapy reveal it has the potential to destroy leukaemia cells, in a paper published in the March 2006 edition of Letters in Drug Design & Discovery.  Led by Dr Wai Man Liu, at Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team has followed up on their findings of 2005 which showed that the main active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has the potential to be used effectively against some forms of cancer.  Dr Liu has since moved to the Institute of Cancer in Sutton where he continues his work into investigating the potential therapeutic benefit of new anti-cancer agents.

http://scienceblogs.com/scientificactivist/2009/04/thc_gives_cancer_cells_the_mun.php

Through the results of widespread experimentation of the... well... let's say "non-scientific" variety, it's pretty well known that marijuana has the side effect of making the user very hungry. This is one of the many physiological effects of the active ingredient THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol). More relevantly, however, THC and other cannabinoids are actively being investigated for various useful clinical purposes, including the treatment of cancer through the inhibition of tumor growth.

A new study by Salazar et al. in The Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that THC causes tumor cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside (a process called autophagy, i.e. "self-eating"). Although autophagy has been shown to promote cell survival in some cases and cell death in others, the authors show that in this case it causes cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis). Thus, THC activates a series of events within cancer cells, inhibiting tumor growth.

[Irish Zionist]

Marijuana Side Effects

Marijuana side effects come from smoking or consuming the drug and marijuana side effects influence the mind and body of the user. Marijuana side effects can be as seemingly innocent as an increased appetite to as life threatening as lung cancer. Increased likelihood for accidents is also one of the marijuana side effects. Studies show that 6 to 11 percent of fatal accidents are contributed to by marijuana side effects. Other external marijuana side effects include legal problems, work and financial problems and troubles at home........
http://www.marijuana-addiction.net/marijuana-side-effects.htm


Some of the common side effects of marijuana are:
Trouble remembering things
Sleepiness
Anxiety
Paranoia
Altered time perception

Some people are not affected with these symptoms of marijuana, many are related with the person's health that smoked it, example, people who have a history of mental or health problems should be advised not to smoke or ingest it, unless it was proven that it would not affect his or hers behavior. First time smokers of marijuana should always use a small dose to see how it would effect their body or mind. This is a good way to see if marijuana is OK for you with the minimal side affects and dangers associated with smoking marijuana......
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/Marijuana-Side-Effects.html


The Impact on the Mind

Marijuana use reduces learning ability. Research has been piling up of late demonstrating clearly that marijuana limits the capacity to absorb and retain information. A 1995 study of college students discovered that the inability of heavy marijuana users to focus, sustain attention, and organize data persists for as long as 24 hours after their last use of the drug. Earlier research, comparing cognitive abilities of adult marijuana users with non-using adults, found that users fall short on memory as well as math and verbal skills. Although it has yet to be proven conclusively that heavy marijuana use can cause irreversible loss of intellectual capacity, animal studies have shown marijuana-induced structural damage to portions of the brain essential to memory and learning.


The Impact on the Body

Chronic marijuana smokers are prey to chest colds, bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Persistent use will damage lungs and airways and raise the risk of cancer. There is just as much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals from smoking one marijuana joint as smoking five tobacco cigarettes. And there is evidence that marijuana may limit the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease.....
http://www.acde.org/common/Marijana.htm

[The One and Only Mo]

Good think I only smoke cigarettes now 

[muman613]

IZ,

When I smoked it I had none of those effects...

1) I held a good paying job.

2) I learned new programming languages and operating systems.

3) I drove to work and had no tickets or legal problems.

4) I never had asthma or any other breathing related problems.

Maybe I am just a lucky guy but others I know also did not have these effects. I was concerned about memory loss so I tested myself and discovered that my learning ability was improved when I smoked. I would take an encyclopedia and open it to ten random pages, and look at the first entry of each page... I would read the article and then I would ask someone to quiz me about those topics at a later time. In all cases I retained the topic and could remember verbatim what the article said. To me this indicated that my memory was not being lost due to smoking. To this day some people think I have a photographic memory because I usually remember when and where I found various bits of information.

I am tired of arguing about this.

All I can conclude is that everyone has different reactions to substances and drugs.

PS: Thank Hashem that I survived some of the phases of my life. I live each day in awe of this world and must give credit to the Creator of all things... Every day I say blessings on things in my life because I know I don't deserve the great mercy which has been shown to me in this life...

[The One and Only Mo]

U will do well in Tzefat