What's new
By:
Filters

Marijuana: Facts, Myths, and plain old Stupidity.

GVC said:
Again, this is inexcusable authoritarian ********, not fit for anyone who hopes to live in a free and democratic society. If someone is punished for activities that harm no one else, any decent human being should have some sympathy for that person.
Click to expand...

Ok so your argument that this is blind authoritarianism is just plain ridiculous. So anyone who believes in obeying the law is blinded by authority, is that it? All enlightened people disregard all laws so they won't be viewed as blindly authoritarian? Really?

There are methods for changing laws, and they get better all the time. The days of individual martydom to right societal wrongs are largely over. Do not dare to equate pot-heads to slavery, that is beyond stupid, and quite insulting. It is reasonable to expect individuals to uphold the laws that were democratically instituted in our democratic society in order to uphold that democratic society. In a democratic society there are democratic methods for changing laws. Blatant disregard of laws is not one of them.

Again, you know the law, so if you choose to break it, you also choose that consequence attached to it if you get caught. You have and deserve no sympathy for it.

Funny thing is, I am all for legalizing marijuana. It does not mean I am all for breaking the laws currently on the books with impunity.
 
SaltyDawg said:
Sure it does. If you slow down enough none of the effects of marijuana hinder your driving, so your driving isn't impaired anymore.
Click to expand...

Driving slower than the speed limit is as, or can even be more, dangerous than driving faster than the speed limit. In LA they are far more likely to pull you over for driving too slow, which tends to disrupt the flow of traffic more than driving too fast. Really the biggest problem with driving drunk is not driving too fast, but driving erratically. Driving too slow is a form of driving erratically, imo, which is the problem when people drive while texting. They tend to drive slower when texting, and disrupt the flow of traffic.
 
LogGrad98 said:
Ok so your argument that this is blind authoritarianism is just plain ridiculous. So anyone who believes in obeying the law is blinded by authority, is that it? All enlightened people disregard all laws so they won't be viewed as blindly authoritarian? Really?

There are methods for changing laws, and they get better all the time. The days of individual martydom to right societal wrongs are largely over. Do not dare to equate pot-heads to slavery, that is beyond stupid, and quite insulting. It is reasonable to expect individuals to uphold the laws that were democratically instituted in our democratic society in order to uphold that democratic society. In a democratic society there are democratic methods for changing laws. Blatant disregard of laws is not one of them.

Again, you know the law, so if you choose to break it, you also choose that consequence attached to it if you get caught. You have and deserve no sympathy for it.

Funny thing is, I am all for legalizing marijuana. It does not mean I am all for breaking the laws currently on the books with impunity.
Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L397TWLwrUU&ob=av3e

Shut up nerd!
 
But the laws have not been democratically instituted. Government propaganda about cannabis is pervasive in schools. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I was a child at school, we were all gathered together, lied to about drugs and their effects, and then guilted into committing to never do drugs. I'd say government propaganda falls well within the anti-democratic category.

Obviously, I'm emotional about this issue, and because I also don't have any patience or respect for people who value conformity over justice, I let my emotion get the better of me.
 
GVC said:
But the laws have not been democratically instituted. Government propaganda about cannabis is pervasive in schools. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I was a child at school, we were all gathered together, lied to about drugs and their effects, and then guilted into committing to never do drugs. I'd say government propaganda falls well within the anti-democratic category.

Obviously, I'm emotional about this issue, and because I also don't have any patience or respect for people who value conformity over justice, I let my emotion get the better of me.
Click to expand...

Interesting correlation to make: disagree with you on this topic = valuing conformity over justice. Hence since that person has a character flaw that keeps them from actually thinking critically about a topic, implied by their tendency toward "conformity", their arguments or opinions cannot possibly be valid. Textbook ad hominem.
 
By the way, to the general public and not that incredibly small percentage that might make legitimate use of it medicinally, what are the negative repercussions of never doing drugs?
 
LogGrad98 said:
Interesting correlation to make: disagree with you on this topic = valuing conformity over justice. Hence since that person has a character flaw that keeps them from actually thinking critically about a topic, implied by their tendency toward "conformity", their arguments or opinions cannot possibly be valid. Textbook ad hominem.
Click to expand...
I'm not trying to descredit you, I'm giving you an honest evaluation. I'm not denying the possibility that I'm looking at your position wrong.

Why should anyone be deprived of or punished for doing something that improves their quality of life and hurts no one? The law is more at fault than the violator of the law in this case.
 
LogGrad98 said:
By the way, to the general public and not that incredibly small percentage that might make legitimate use of it medicinally, what are the negative repercussions of never doing drugs?
Click to expand...
Why do there have to be negative repercussions? How does that outweigh the brainwashing of America's youth? We pay for those lies, and we implicitly punish the people hurt by the laws established by those lies. No one gets hurt if someone isn't arrested for simple possession of marijuana (which account for more arrests than ALL violent crimes combined). At least one person gets hurt, the violator, and everyone else gets to pay the steep price if he is arrested. If the dude goes to jail, even better; A felon who can't find gainful employment. And because he was charged with possession, he can't get government assistance (edit: Read "student loans") to go to college (unlike convicted rapists, for example). Brilliant. Good job. Those ****ers should have known better...
 
Last edited:
And civil disobedience has always been one of the best ways to stimulate democratic reform.
 
LogGrad98 said:
There are methods for changing laws, and they get better all the time. The days of individual martydom to right societal wrongs are largely over. Do not dare to equate pot-heads to slavery, that is beyond stupid, and quite insulting. It is reasonable to expect individuals to uphold the laws that were democratically instituted in our democratic society in order to uphold that democratic society. In a democratic society there are democratic methods for changing laws. Blatant disregard of laws is not one of them.
Click to expand...
The comparison may be extreme, but the rigid dogma of "one must follow the law regardless of what it is" dies with that example. It's obvious that when a law harms other people that disobeying the law is a just reaction to it. Then on a lesser scale are laws that restrict civil liberties. Should Catholics have been allowed to worship in Maryland freely before the 1st amendment was passed and there was freedom of religion? Most people would say freedom of religion is an important civil liberty, but for those of us who are not religious it may not be viewed as vital. And then there are moral laws, under which drug laws really fall under. Is it just to disobey a law that tries to force morality onto people? Provided the laws are against actions that don't directly harm another or their property.

Frankly I'm against all laws that are harmful, deny civil liberties, and are made to enforce morality (with maybe a few exceptions...I don't necessarily want to see people walking around nude, but provided the behavior is in private it does not bother me what adults choose to do with their lives). But it's all where you want to draw the line I guess. On a general note, I disagree with the idea that something is bad because something is illegal. Illegal != bad/immoral, much like legal != good/moral. And that is why I do have sympathy for those who are caught breaking laws but have not acted "bad" or immoral, because I don't think people should be punished for not acting immoral.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GVC
SaltyDawg said:
Sure it does. If you slow down enough none of the effects of marijuana hinder your driving, so your driving isn't impaired anymore.
Click to expand...

And who is making that determination? The person who is high on marijuana??

https://www.nida.nih.gov/Marijbroch/Marijteenstxt.html

Marijuana affects memory, judgment, and perception (11).

...

Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, concentration, coordination, and reaction time. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road.

Marijuana may play a role in car accidents. In one study conducted in Memphis, TN, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine (1). Data have also shown that while smoking marijuana, people show the same lack of coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who have had too much to drink (8).
Click to expand...

OK, I haven't read the other studies that have been posted in this thread, but this NIH website is one of the first that popped up for me when I did some searching just now.
 
NUMBERICA said:
It really, really depends on who you ask. I prefer the plant overwhelmingly, myself.

The way I break it down is that alcohol is basically giving the devil on your shoulder a megaphone. Tendency for erratic behavior increases with alcohol. Along with generally making for a better time than being sober, it also has a tendency to exacerbate mood changes which can be plainly dangerous for people with anger issues, and it universally makes people hornier to the point that it becomes a pre-occupation.

With marijuana, I just find I enjoy things more. I get most of the benefits of alcohol without getting the mad hornies, and there is not much of a dark side to the experience. Generally, anyway. I have never had a hangover or had to vomit from marijuana (even though I have definitely smoked too much on several occasions). In addition to all of that, unlike alcohol where you generally become uncharacteristically more sexually aggressive but it can also inhibit your sexual experience, I find that if I find myself in a sexual situation when high, it's... whew. Awesome.

Getting high is also a lot cheaper than getting drunk.

For me personally, I have yet to have a truly bad experience (including repercussions/later consequences) with marijuana. That's not to say that that can't happen and I think I have gone about it's usage very responsibly (where depending on my work situation, I'll stay clean for months on end). Moderation is the key to everything.
Click to expand...

I personally enjoy the combo of 4 beers and 1 joint.
 
Another gem from that site, Colton:
[h=3]Q: Why do young people use marijuana?[/h] A: There are many reasons why some children and young teens start smoking marijuana. Many young people smoke marijuana because they see their brothers, sisters, friends, or even older family members using it. Some use marijuana because of peer pressure.

Others may think it’s cool to use marijuana because they hear songs about it and see it on TV and in movies. Some teens may feel they need marijuana and other drugs to help them escape from problems at home, at school, or with friends.

No matter how many shirts and caps you see printed with the marijuana leaf, or how many groups sing about it, remember this: You don’t have to use marijuana just because you think everybody else is doing it. Most teenagers do not use marijuana!
Click to expand...
Hilarious.
 
GVC said:
Uh, why not? Should homosexuals, African-Americans, etc. have been harassed, imprisoned or worse because of their illegal activities that hurt no one in the past? Cannabis improves the quality of life of many people, but they should be obligated to cease use because of some archaic law? Give me a break, Colton.

You, as a scientist, should be open to rational arguments. Before your posts in this thread, I had never thought of you as a mindless authoritarian.
Click to expand...

And who gets to make that determination? You?? All of the laws that YOU disagree with are automatically bad, and anyone who follows them is a mindless authoritarian? Who died and made YOU God?

Or me? How about everyone stop following the laws that I think are stupid? Or Logan? Nate? Salty? Trout? Tell you what... let's all figure out what laws any one of us thinks is stupid, and then none of us follow them. Or else the others will call him a mindless authoritarian.

Sheesh.

And don't even start with equating drug use with the civil rights movement. I started out in this thread by saying right away that I had mixed feelings on this issue. But you are changing that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top