out of the woods Loc: to hell and gone New York State

I am a conservative, I don't smoke pot take anything beyond vitamins and herbal suppliments, don't drink, no fun at all.
Anyway, one thing I do have experience in is the catastrophic result of alcohol. Two months ago I lost a cousin, in
his fourties, damn I used to babysit him. His mother, a hippie would leave a few joints and her three kids and we were good.
So, I smoked alittle when young the 80s or so. I never saw from pot the wreckage that alcohol has caused my family. One Uncle
killed his fiance when he crashed into a telephne poll, four other died directly from the long term effect. This latest death, he had a seizure
alone, his poor now aging hippie mother found him. My mother was a heavy duty abusive drunk, wonderful sober, who finally
died from cirosis, esophageal hemmorage. Awful death at 55. Theres more but I wont go on. ? In my experiance pots main negative is its incentive draining, why it is so bad for kids. They dont want to do anything, at a time when they need to do everything. Given the choice between drinking or smoking a few dubes, I would rather they smoked.Anyone?

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

There are uses for medical pot, but I have no use for the recreational kind. I spend a great deal of my early teenage years stoned and/or drunk, and only with God's help am I still alive and have reached the ripe old age of 72. It wouldn't have taken much to have me go off the deep end and join my brother in the mire of a wasted life. He had his reasons, for me they would have been just excuses. When I see the people who have let alcohol and drugs destroy their very humanity, all i can do is try to reach out to them, but they must take the first step. then, by the grace of God they can become whole and drug free. That the society actualy encourages the use of drugs and alcohol only shows how far down the hell hole of depravity we have come.

out of the woods Loc: to hell and gone New York State

Yes I agree completely, it just seems in light of the evidence that pot is less harmful. Why do we waste so much time incarcerating people who smoke, they will do it anyway. Just as during prohibition, the criminals got rich, oh I don't know. I dont have a personal stake in it , am no expert, just looking for imput.

PeterS

Pot is less addictive then alcohol--it's nonsensical not to make it legal.

As for kids, all they do now is play on their phones. I really think that ship has sailed a long long time ago...

peter11937 Loc: NYS

I am a total non smoker, but do like VSOP Brandy, dry French red wine and Jack Daniels whiskey. Pot, no thanks, unless you are undergoing cancer treatments that make you ill. The liquors should NOT be consumed to the point where you might be impaired to drive as you never ever know what emergency might require the ability to drive safely.

Wolf counselor Loc: Heart of Texas

The basic premise in regard to smoking dope is to get " high ".

Of all that I have ever experimented with, nothing beats the euphoria that I feel after making love to my wife.

There is nothing in this world better than the feeling achieved after a good sexual climax.

NOTHING !

EconomistDon

Alcohol is far worse than pot. I've seen many lives destroyed by alcohol, from broken marriages, damaged livers, heart attacks, wasted paychecks. ........... I've also observed that it is genetic. Some people have trouble with alcohol and others don't. Those who do, start drinking and can't stop until they pass out. Others can stop any time they want and usually do. I luckily never inherited the bad alcohol gene, I have a vineyard and produce over 200 gallons of wine each year. Dry red wine helps keep my heart healthy; I very rarely actually get drunk. For those with the bad gene, they can't do this. If they drink at all, they become effectively addicted and must drink every day to excess.

Pot is different. Pot is not addictive, but it does does interact with people differently based on their genetics. If someone is predisposed to drugs, they will do pot and then move on to harder drugs, just as reefer madness warnings of the 1950s claimed. Those not predisposed genetically will not move on to harder drugs and will smoke pot as often or as little as they want without negative consequences. Those with the bad genes will get wasted and stay wasted, accomplishing little, but not damaging their health. Those with the good genes will enjoy and potentially benefit from the drug. I have children now so I don't get high anymore, but I must say that I had my most brilliant flashes of insight while high. By that, I mean that I was an innovator on the job. I made many leaps of logic that resulted in new development, moving my organization and me forward. Those leaps of logic were almost always from flashes of insight while high.

Good or bad results from alcohol or pot are dependent on the individual and his genetic makeup. I am fortunate to have good genes.

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

It's a store, if you will. Those selling the "pot" will also have access to all the other drugs. This is the REAL reason it becomes the "gateway" drug. Yes, I know there are those that become dissatisfied with the pot high and move on. Hell, I tried just about any drug that was passed under my nose. Marijuana however, was the only one I sought after.

I was raised by a hateful angry hurting alcoholic mother, after my father died, the "buffer". About 15 years later, I married an alcoholic (the "mechanic" and 1st generation German too!). When I meant him, he was a happy drunk. By the time I was done, 7 years later, he was an angry drunk.

One year into the marriage, I demanded a divorce (my mistake, he was a good man) and started drinking myself. Up to that point, I knew not life without alcohol in it. Alcoholic chaos was all I knew. How does the non-drinker cope? What choice did I have? Well, after swimming around in the bottom of a variety of bottles (once one made me puke, I'd move to another flavor) for not quite five years, it stopped numbing the pain. At that point, there was simply no reason to drink. That all ended over 25 years ago.

I still haven't fully recovered from all the destruction alcohol has caused in my life. I overcame it, but getting "over it" is a daily process. I caused a lot of pain and destroyed at least two lives, one being my own.

Having said all that, I still enjoy a good Margarita, while out to dinner, but that doesn't happen but rarely. Or a glass of good red wine at Christmas, usually of a variety served through desert!

To my understanding, alcohol, heroin (Opiod) and nicotine are the only truly addictive drugs. Methamphetamine may belong in that category as well. But, there is nothing "herbal" (naturally grown) used to produce Meth.

Just today I listened to a report about the "hemp seed" having the properties to boost our bodies ability to heal itself (I can't recall the biological term... Endocrine maybe?). That we need to eat them, as well as in FRESH plant form, the younger the plant, the better. This property is transformed when the plant is cut to be dried for smoking, when it then becomes "toxic". If I recall correctly, this "discovery" was made by Israeli scientists.

Anyway, probably more than two cents worth, but since you asked.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Pot may not be addictive in the way that Heroin and Alcohol are, but they are addictive. Each time you do anything on a repetative basis, the brain develops pathways in the brain that become the immediate response the next time you do the same thing. That is the pathway that allows us to do things by muscle memory, the brain has been programed by repetitive actions.That is what we use to learn to walk, talk and drive a car. Those pathways are also used t make use of your Iphone an addictive behavior if done often enough or using your computer, or automatically picking up the phone when it rings. So on the same principle that computer games, or porn are addictive, pot usage is addictive. you are programing your brain to respond to the drug. How do you think habits are developed?

L8erToots

I agree with you 100% on the destruction alcohol abuse causes, physically on the abuser and emotionally on the abuser's family and society. As far as the pot smoking, personally I don't like the way it makes me feel (it was worth it though after major abdominal surgery to fuse my lower back...100% pain relief when the opiates/muscle relaxers weren't offering me 5%, if that) and it makes me highly unproductive too, therefore, I don't smoke it and maybe did twice as a teen...hated it. However...having grown up in the 70's in the LA, Calif area, I know plenty of my guy (boy)friends that were moderate to heavy pot smokers and the majority of them turned out to be highly successful, they are highly intelligent and for a few of them, pot actually made them highly active and productive. SO, my personal view regarding pot, or any drug including alcohol is: they affect everyone differently and as long as a person's usage isn't causing problems with them in their job, their family or any of their responsibilities in being a productive member of society...it's none of my business what they use or how much of it they use...my rule of thumb is: everything in moderation is ok - SELF control is a human's paramount responsibility and what we should be most concerned with and focus our energy on, not trying to control others, IMO.

out of the woods Loc: to hell and gone New York State

Yes, the genetic aspect is true. People predisposed fly into it headlong, unable to stop regardless of damage that occurs. Pot on the other hand seems to be more psychological form of addiction, maybe habituation.You dont see angry potheads or potheads passed out in the gutter, and driving, they would rather stay home. So why is it considered so dangerous when alcohol which is proven dangerous is promoted.

QuestGirl Loc: Jayhawk Country

Physical addiction, not psychological. Anything and everything can be psychologically addictive.

roy

Dont think it really matters what we think about it,when our lawermakers figure out how to fill their pockets full of money off the selling of pot,then it will be legal. Shame they cant cant go ahead and make it legal now and tax the hell out of it and use it to pay on healthcare for the people.

Super Dave Loc: Realville, USA

The two are not mutually exclusive or connected.

It's like asking for your child to have a broken leg or a broken arm.

L8erToots

That is what I call being addicted to the ritual. I'm a perfect example - I can't seem to stop myself from the ritual of going out to my back porch and smoking a cigarette, but I can visit a friend in another state the next day, spend a month with them, and never once crave or smoke a cigarette. Break the ritual, break the habit. I know men that have smoked pot at least once or twice a day for 35 years suddenly get a job where they will be randomly tested for drugs and they quit pot overnight. My dad was an alcoholic, until he decided he didn't want to wake up feeling like crap every morning, so he stopped...cold turkey, after years of daily heavy drinking (he did it more than once in his lifetime). Do you think we do people more of a disservice when we say they have a disease or an addiction (helpless victim words) instead of trying to convince them of how powerful their brains really are and it all boils down to making a choice in our minds and choosing to stick with that choice?