• Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, 2002

It is NOT addictive as you claim.

There has never been any demonstrable justification for prohibition in the first place and it is therefore unconstitutional

People who smoke it religiously are being illegally discriminated against. Some people believe Moses inhaled before he heard the voice of God.

Freedom of every individual to believe and practice whatever doesn’t harm anyone else must become universal

I started smoking joints when I was thirteen. Being a kid, and not knowing any better, it led to more dangerous substances such as alcohol and tobacco. It took me 25 years to become tobacco free. (10 yrs now) As a mentally ill youngster, (severe bipolar disorder), I discovered that marijuana enabled me to function on a higher level. (I have a genius IQ, yet was extremely sensitive and socially retarded). I am currently prescribed very high doses of lithium and quetiapine, which leaves me pretty much useless for 12hrs/day. Marijuana allows my to use much, much less of the prescribed meds saving me from extreme kidney pain from accumulated lithium in my system. Marijuana is of great health benefit to me, however I do not lobby much for medical marijuana as there is so much ignorance and prejudice educated into physicians. As I said and it bears repeating, Freedom of every individual to believe and practice whatever doesn’t harm anyone else must become universal, whether you have a prescription or not. Why would I ask for anyone’s permission or approval to do what I need to do?

Of course. The Status quo generates so much inertia to slow or prevent change…wouldn’t it be nice if all those police, guards lawyers politicians bureaucrats and otherwise unnecessary social workers, etc., could have jobs that actually contributed value to society instead of being paid out of the values generated by others. None of those people produce any good or commodity, (which is what the GDP consists of) marijuana growers, on the other hand produce billions of dollars for the global economy every year, even if it an underground economy it fuels the ‘legitimate’ economy too. Unfortunately, the ‘prison industrial complex’ consumes even more values than their counterparts produce.

I wonder why i am wasting my breath why would an evil entity publish any comment that was contradictory or disproved its hideously corrupt and malicious, nefariously wicked propaganda that marijuana has EVER been in any way harmful to anyone. Those unfortunate testimonials are from the same types who would develop issues with or without the help of marijuana. In fact in some cases it is clear they were in fact being helped for a time before they were convinced it was bad for them. Other than the effects of prohibition, there is no downside.

I do not advocate abusing any drug or substance, but properly used, drugs of all sorts can be very powerful tools. But a person can gain more damage from getting carried away on the donuts after the toke than from the toke. Want to outlaw donuts too? Why not ? They do more harm.

As I said 35 years of daily use. Lucid enough for you?

Your website full of lies and propaganda will be reported to the PROPER Authorities.

I pray the good Lord grants you wisdom, a heart filled with Peace, and the courage to do the right thing.

God Bless.

http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/1/2/190

Here’s an excerpt from the article published by the American Psychiatric Association, a very reliable and reputable source on all mental disorders and diseases.

“Not only does acute drug use modify brain function in critical ways, but prolonged drug use causes pervasive changes in brain function that persist long after the individual stops taking the drug. Significant effects of chronic use have been identified for many drugs at all levels: molecular, cellular, structural, and functional (6, 7). The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues. Some of these long-lasting brain changes are idiosyncratic to specific drugs, whereas others are common to many different drugs (6–9). The common brain effects of addicting substances suggest common brain mechanisms underlying all addictions (5, 7, 9, 10).”

And here’s all the articles and studies cited in that excerpt.

#5 G. F. Koob, Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 13, 177 (1992); G. F. Koob et al., Semin. Neurosci. 6, 221 (1994)[Medline]
#6 S. E. Hyman, Neuron 16, 901 (1996); E. J. Nestler, ibid., p. 897; W. P. Melega et al., Behav. Brain Res. 84, 259 (1997); J. Ortiz et al., Synapse 21, 289 (1995); N. D. Volkow et al., Am. J. Psychiatry 147, 719 (1990).[Medline]
#7 E. J. Nestler et al., Mol. Psychiatry 1, 190 (1996); D. W. Self and E. J. Nestler, Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 18, 463 (1995)[Medline]
#8 E. J. Nestler, J. Neurosci. 12, 2439 (1992); T. E. Robinson and K. C. Berridge, Brain Res. Rev. 18, 247 (1993); R. Z. Terwilliger et al., Brain Res. 548, 100 (1991)[Medline]
#9 G. F. Koob, Neuron 16, 893 (1996)[Medline]
#10 A. I. Leshner, Hospital Practice: A Special Report (McGraw-Hill, Minneapolis, MN, 1997)

Can someone find a legit study, article or publication stating something else?

When I was ten years old, I didn’t think that I would ever smoke marijuana – but I also didn’t think that I would be so addicted to internet technology.

If I were to rate my use of marijuana and the use of the internet, I would honestly say that I have become more addicted to facebook etc than I am to marijuana.

Sometimes I struggle with controlling my own use of marijuana. I agree that addiction can be classified as a “disease” but only to convey the notion that it is treatable and not criminal. Of course it would be a logical fallacy to assume that all marijuana use falls under the category of “addictive”.

And, just as I would not ask the government to ban facebook, I think that my own personal responsibility should allow me the right to choose how and when I enjoy marijuana, and if I should choose to get help then that’s my prerogative.

Booze in general is bad. But it depends on if you go to a bar to relax or get smashed.
It’s exactly the same with cannibas.

ITS THE PERSON, NOT THE DRUG

Get your facts RIGHT :]

I know more than you and i’m probally a quater of your age.

I pity that you are so poorly educated.

I applaud what you are doing, trying to save others from what you feel was a list of poor decisions you made. But if you really want to save someone’s life, use a scalpel not a meat cleaver.

Some science:

Cannabinoids are special molecules that interact with certain receptors in the brain, the most common of which is best known as THC. These special molecules have been proven to evoke the same coronary response as that felt during accomplishment. So when you smoke pot you feel good about your self and you can do anything (or nothing) and feel satisfaction.

The down side of course is that generally you don’t actually get anything done.

Marijuana does not kill brain cells. Inhaling carbonized (burnt) plant matter of any type can result in eventual brain damage due to asphyxia.

Fortunately for the health conscious cannabis enthusiast, some smart folks invented the vaporizer: any one of a large number of available devices designed to use super heated air to melt the crystallized THC from the outside of the marijuana plant. The vaporizer heats the crystals at such at temperature that they are instantly turned into a fine mist, or vapor. Due to the size of the THC molecule the mist is fine enough to enter the alveoli in the lungs without causing damage. These devices generally sell between one and two hundred dollars and are widely available.

Despite wide spread use for thousands of years (that’s right, thousands of years) there is NOT ONE recorded death due to long term cannabis use.

Did you know that the government of The United States of America banned, unbanned, and then re-banned cannabis all in the 20th century? At first it was banned as part of a wholesale desire to cut off the hemp industry that was taking over many other US industries and because ONE government report based on monkeys that were force fed 60 joints per day said it would kill brain cells (so does standing in a burning building inhaling that kind of smoke…)

If you’re interested in seeing both sides of the story, watch the Documentary “The Union” made in BC, Canada, the largest cannabis producing region in North America. It looks at the Marijuana industry in BC, the politics both locally and internationaly, and the science behind smoking dope.

I am in no way connected with the creators of this film but I did find it quite enlightening.

Think back to when I was ten years old? I wanted to be billionaire F1 driver with houses all over the world, thanks for making what I’ve accomplished seem insignificant. lol

I can see your trying to help people but I recommend you to please stop before before you put false ideas into very desperate peoples head.