For or Against Marijuana

No, I live in Australia. We use quality ingredients in our "medicinal" drugs.
In all seriousness though; I'd like to see some proof that medicinal drugs are WORSE then illnesses that they cure.

In all seriousness though; I'd like to see some proof that Australia even produces it's own "medicinal" drugs.
 
Seriously though, I'd like to see proof that Australia exists. I'm pretty sure it's just a story for English parents to scare their children with.

Be nice or I'm sending you to Australia for the Summer!
 
Been reading and watching videos about cannabis' medicinal uses, and I'll try to leave links or video titles so that you can to, but what I've learned is that cannabinoids, which is type of chemical that is contained within the cannabis plant as well our own bodies, are anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous, neuroprotective and analgesic (pain-relieving) and they naturally join into cannabinoid receptors throughout our bodies to cause these medicinal effects.

Rick Simpson's "Run from the Cure" video - https://www.*******.com/watch?v=S3OzoEoeJgQ

"Holistic Biochemistry of Cannabinoids" by Robert Melamede, PhD. - https://www.*******.com/watch?v=be_xKuDRFFg

Melamede's channel has about 15 good videos to watch, too. He has done a lot of research that is amazing!

Robert Melamede's ******* channel - https://www.*******.com/user/doctorbobcannabuzz
 
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I think it should be legalized and taxed to ****e just like ciggies are. I've tried marijuana im not a fan it did make me paranoid etc but i know a load of people who smoke it at the end of a long day just like people go for a drink after work. Also if it is taxed these bums would actually have to go to work to pay for their habit instead of smoking their day away.
 
I think it should be legalized and taxed to ****e just like ciggies are. I've tried marijuana im not a fan it did make me paranoid etc but i know a load of people who smoke it at the end of a long day just like people go for a drink after work. Also if it is taxed these bums would actually have to go to work to pay for their habit instead of smoking their day away.


If you smoke marijuana you're a bum .... lol
 
Ooohhhhh. I like this subject. I think weed should be legal for recreational and medical use. We should tax it to the max. Some studies show that marijuana is harmful while others say it isn't. I really don't give a damn. People can ruin themselves if they want. Go Amendment 64 and I-502! Woo hoo!
 
Keep it illegal.

Marijuana

Marijuana and other illicit drugs are addictive and unsafe especially for use by young people. As officials with the National Institute on Drug Abuse state, drug addiction is a progressive disease and the earlier one starts, the more likely are the chances of developing a substance use disorder.

Marijuana contains chemicals that can change how the brain works. And the science, though still evolving in terms of long-term consequences of marijuana use, is clear: marijuana use is associated with addiction, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and cognitive impairment, among other negative effects. This is especially troubling since research suggests one-in-11 people who ever used marijuana will become dependent on it; this risk rises to one-in-six when use begins in adolescence. In 2009, marijuana was involved in 376,000 emergency department visits nationwide.

Marijuana Prevalence

According to the 2010 Monitoring the Future study, levels of current marijuana use among 8[SUP]th[/SUP], 10[SUP]th[/SUP], and 12[SUP]th[/SUP] graders are the highest they have been in seven years. In 2010, daily marijuana use increased significantly compared to 2009 among all three grades surveyed - among high-school seniors, daily use rose from 5.2 percent in 2009 to 6.1 percent in 2010.

Confusing messages about marijuana use that are being conveyed by proponents of “medical” marijuana perpetuate the false notion that marijuana use is harmless. These messages ignore the very real negative consequences associated with marijuana use and dependence. Given that 1 in 6 adolescents who initiate use of marijuana are at risk of developing an addiction to the drug at some time in their life, we owe it to them to make sure they understand and the people in their lives who care about them understand the real risks associated with its use.

Medical Approval Process

Marijuana itself is not an approved medicine under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) scientific review process. Yet 16 states and the District of Columbia have permitted marijuana to be sold as “medicine” for various conditions. Although, some of the individual, orally-administered components of the cannabis plant (Dronabinol and Nabilone are two such drugs available today) have medical value, smoking marijuana is an inefficient and harmful method for delivering the constituent elements that have or may have medicinal value. The FDA process for approving medicine remains the only scientific and legally recognized procedure for bringing safe and effective medications to the American public. To date, the FDA has not found smoked marijuana to be either safe or effective medicine for any condition.

No major medical association has come out in favor of smoked marijuana for widespread medical use. Further, public health organizations including the American Cancer Society, American Glaucoma Foundation, National Pain Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and other medical societies, do not support smoked “medical” marijuana. The American Medical Association has called for more research on the subject, with the caveat that this “should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product.”

This Administration joins major medical societies in supporting increased research into marijuana’s many components, delivered in a safe (non-smoked) manner, in the hopes that they can be available for medical professionals to legally prescribe if proven safe and effective. The U.S. Federal Government is the single largest funder of research on marijuana in the world.

Furthermore, the Administration opposes drug legalization. Legalization threatens public health by increasing availability of drugs and undermining prevention activities. It also hinders recovery efforts and poses a significant health and safety risk to all Americans, especially our youth. Marijuana is a harmful drug and its use should be prevented and treated – not promoted. Outside the context of Federally approved research, the use and distribution of marijuana is prohibited in the United States.
 
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Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, with nearly 17 million Americans age 12 and older reporting past‐month use, and 374,000 people entering an emergency room annually with a primary marijuana problem. The downward trend in youth marijuana use during the late 1990s has ended. According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, past‐month marijuana use among 12‐ to 17‐year‐olds climbed 9 percent from 2008 (6.7%) to 2009 (7.3%), as shown in figure 1.
Not surprisingly, this increase coincides with a softening of youth attitudes about the risks of marijuana (figure 1). Among 12‐ to 17‐year‐olds, the
fig1_current-use-risk-of-marijuana-use-youth.png
perception of great risk in smoking marijuana once a month declined from 2008 (33.9%) to 2009 (30.7%).
Recently, there have been increasing efforts to legalize marijuana. The Obama Administration has consistently reiterated its firm opposition to any
form of drug legalization. Together with Federal partners and state and local officials, the Office of National Drug Control Policy is working to reduce the use of marijuana and other illicit drugs through development of strategies that fully integrate the principles of prevention, treatment, recovery, and effective supply reduction efforts. Proposals such as legalization that would promote marijuana use are inconsistent with this public health and safety approach.
In the highly charged debate over legalization, many troubling misperceptions have gained currency. It is critical these false assumptions be addressed and clarified using the best evidence available. A careful examination of the facts leads to the following conclusions about the dangers of marijuana use and the likely consequences of legalization:
[h=2]Marijuana use is harmful and should be discouraged[/h]
  • Marijuana use is associated with dependence, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and impaired cognitive and immune system functioning, among other negative effects.
  • Marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory.
  • Studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and schizophrenia.
  • Other research has shown marijuana smoke to contain carcinogens and to be an irritant to the lungs. Marijuana smoke, in fact, contains 50‐70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.
[h=2]Legalization would lower price, thereby increasing use[/h]
  • A recent report from the RAND Corporation, ?Altered State,? discusses how legalization would cause the price of marijuana to plummet, triggering
    fig2_current-use-of-major-substances.png
    increases in use of the drug.
  • Illegality helps keep prices higher. And because drug use is sensitive to price, especially among young people, higher prices help keep use rates relatively low.
  • Use of the legal substances alcohol and tobacco far outpaces the use of marijuana (figure 2), a strong indication that laws reduce the availability and acceptability of substances.
  • Our experience with even tightly regulated prescription drugs, such as Oxycontin, shows that legalizing drugs widens availability and misuse, even when controls are in place.
[h=2]Tax revenue would be offset by higher social costs[/h]
  • The costs to society of alcohol and tobacco ? substances that are legal and taxed ? are much greater than the revenue they generate.
  • Federal excise taxes collected on alcohol in 2007 totaled around $9 billion; states collected around $5.5 billion. Combined, these amounts are less than 10 percent of the estimated $185 billion in alcohol‐related costs to health care, criminal justice, and the workplace in lost productivity.
  • Tobacco does not yield net revenue when taxed. Each year, Americans spend more than $200 billion on the social costs of smoking, but only about $25 billion is collected in taxes.
[h=2]Legalization would further burden the criminal justice system[/h]
  • Legalizing marijuana would increase use of the drug and, consequently, the harm it causes, thus adding to the burden on the criminal justice system. Arrests for alcohol‐related crimes, such as violations of liquor laws, public drunkenness, and driving under the influence, totaled nearly 2.7 million in 2008. Marijuana‐possession arrests under current laws in 2008 totaled around 750,000.
  • Most people whose only crime is marijuana possession do not go to prison. A survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that 0.7% of all state inmates were behind bars for marijuana possession only (with many of them pleading down from more serious crimes). Other independent research has shown that the risk of arrest for each ?joint,? or marijuana cigarette, smoked is about 1 arrest for every 12,000 joints.
[h=2]Legalization would do little, if anything, to curb drug violence[/h]
  • Marijuana accounts for only a portion of the proceeds gained by criminal organizations that profit from drug distribution, human trafficking, and other crimes, so legalizing marijuana would not deter these groups from continuing to operate.
  • Under the most commonly proposed legalization regime ? one that imposes high taxes on marijuana ? violent drug cartels would simply undercut legal prices to keep their market share. With increased demand for marijuana resulting from legalization, these groups would likely grow stronger.
 
Tobacco and alcohol are more damaging that Marijuana. They're also more addictive. More people die from the two legal substances than with the illegal substance, Marijuana. Alcohol is the result of 75,000 deaths every year in the US alone, while tobacco is in the lead with 443,000 deaths. Marijuana is the result of 0 deaths worldwide. People know the risks when using drugs or alcohol, and they continue to do it. Tobacco, alcohol, Marijuana and all other drugs all come with their own risks. They're all in some form damaging, expensive and addictive. You can't forget about their close similarities. Tobacco and alcohol don't have any benefits, while cannabis does. I don't think people are prescribed tobacco or alcohol, but I can't say the same for Marijuana. I'm in full support for it being legalized.
 

In all seriousness though; I'd like to see some proof that Australia even produces it's own "medicinal" drugs.

The use of plant hallucinogens by the Australian aboriginals is not well understood, in part reflecting a reluctance by native shamans to share their knowledge with non-believers. The aboriginals used various types of native tobaccos, some of which may have mildly hallucinogenic effects. Pituri is by far the most important and powerful entheogen, however, and even today it is a critical part of the Australian aboriginal social life. Pituri is a member of the tomato family. Some members of the tomato family, including a close relative of pituri known as corkwood, contain the powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid scopolamine.


In all seriousness though; I'd like to see some proof that medicinal drugs are WORSE then illnesses that they cure.
To put in in perspective. A survey of American health practitioners produced the following rankings (on a 0-100 scale, with 100 being the highest level of addiction):
99 - Nicotine (found in cigarette)
98 - Methamphetamine (smoked)
97 - Crack cocaine
81 - Alcohol
80 - Heroin
57 - Caffeine
22 - Marijuana
19 - Psilocybin
16 - Lysergic acid
15 - Mescaline
 
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The use of plant hallucinogens by the Australian aboriginals is not well understood, in part reflecting a reluctance by native shamans to share their knowledge with non-believers. The aboriginals used various types of native tobaccos (Nicotiana gossei and related spices), some of which may have mildly hallucinogenic effects. Pituri (Duboisia hopwoodii) is by far the most important and powerful entheogen, however, and even today it is a critical part of the Australian aboriginal social life. Pituri is a member of the tomato (Solanaceae) family. Some solanaceous species, including a close relative of pituri known as corkwood (D. myoporoides), contain the powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid scopolamine.




To put in in perspective. A survey of American health practitioners produced the following rankings (on a 0-100 scale, with 100 denoting the highest level of addiction):
99 - Nicotine (found in cigarette)
98 - Methamphetamine (smoked)
97 - Crack cocaine
81 - Alcohol
80 - Heroin
57 - Caffeine
22 - Marijuana
19 - Psilocybin
16 - Lysergic acid
15 - Mescaline

Nice copy and paste.
So much for original thought.
 
ugh!

ugh!

i am against drugs! bad! people shouldn't smoke or drink either! people should be healthy if you stop in look at it, aint no one having to smoke or drink or do drugs! its stupid choices! i say just hang the crap up and be healthy end of story and hey look no one has any probs! smile! 😉
 
I find legalizing it for everyone to use to be... Quite different.
Yes, I think pot should be legalized. I also think alcohol should be criminalized. Pot smokers become lethargic. The biggest crime they would commit is stealing a hoagie. Pot is not habit forming. It relieves pain naturally. Does not cause liver damage and it is a myth about memory loss. More crimes are committed while someone has consumed alcohol.
 
The one thing I would change is that it's possible to have memory loss because of what cannabinoids can do which is basically they control all the systems of the body, such as respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and it causes those systems to happen, so when you intake phytocannabinoids, the cannabinoids from plants, you're feeding that natural cycle in your body more power to work good, along with a good diet in general of course, and so what they do is destroy the old and create new cells so when you smoke, cannabinoids in your brain, carried from the lungs to the blood into the brain, cause you to forget some old memories while being helped to create new memories. It's a lot to explain, and it's difficult, haha, but I learned a lot from these videos. Here is one real long one that explains a lot. There's a few other real good ones with the same person, Robert Melamede.

*******.com/watch?v=be_xKuDRFFg
 
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