Jamaican vacation

Ah, I was waiting for the inevitable implication that because I'm in favor of legalization, I must be a drug user. Well, I'll have you know that I'm completely drug-free myself. I don't even drink much. So how is it that we disagree on what "reality" is if it's so apparent to the drug-free mind?
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...a natural high? Seriously though, if you've had exposure to long term pot users, the the occasional toker, you you'd have to agree that it has much more of an impact than a drinker. Everyone I know that has had a similar observation. Your comments lead me to believe you've had little or no exposure to users.
You do realize, do you not, that this is an extremely unscientific conclusion? How do you know that those people didn't keep smoking pot because they hadn't matured mentally, rather than the other way around?
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Or maybe it's the repeated holding of one's breath? We might need a control study to know for certain.
Lots of people experiment with drugs and later go on to live healthy, productive lives. Look at Richard Feynman -- he experimented with acid, and he only won the Nobel Prize in physics. I have a friend who used Ecstasy (probably one of the more harmful illegal drugs) quite a few times in college, but nevertheless went on to get a Ph.D. in chemistry from one of the best grad schools in the country. I could give you plenty of other examples. What would have become of these people if "drug warriors" with half their IQs had busted them?
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I was talking specifically about pot and its' unique properties. Sure lots of folks experimented with drugs and moved on. Some of them did get busted too. If it was up to me I wouldn't send them to jail, maybe pay a fine. I would reserve jail for violent offenders.
Sure -- and tobacco causes it, too. Why isn't tobacco illegal, then? And how about all the diseases (including various kinds of cancer) that are associated with long-term alcohol abuse?

And again, what business is it of the government or society if an individual wants to hurt himself? It's his health and his business. Anything else is socialism.
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You have a rather loose definition of socialism and you keep ignoring the point that drugs are more harmful. I'm glad you said "or society", it isn't just the government, society doesn't want them legal and the government carries out its' wishes. Society has the right to set its' boundaries. Are you suggesting minority rule or anarchy?

Your cited study doesn't indicate what "heavy smoking" means. For how long? Days? Months? Years? Neither was it actual neurological research. However, looky what I found...

http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/marijuana.htm
Effects of Marijuana on the Brain
Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is acted on by the hippocampus. This is a component of the brain’s limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. Investigations have shown that THC suppresses neurons in the information processing system of the hippocampus. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate.

Long Term Effects
Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. Someone who smokes 1 to 3 joints can produce the same lung damage and potential cancer risk as smoking five times as many cigarettes.

Study: Alcohol and Tobacco More Dangerous Than Some Illegal Drugs Like Marijuana or Ecstasy
http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ory?id=2975214
"The researchers asked two groups of experts psychiatrists specializing in addiction and legal or police officials with scientific or medical expertise to assign scores to 20 different drugs, including heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, amphetamines, and LSD."
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Gimmie a break. No neurological research. Professor Nutt and colleges question a group of shrinks for a study to criticize the drug laws? They're probably all a bunch of potheads!
Obesity causes a lot more health problems in this country than crack ever did. Most people have no desire to use crack, even when it's readily available (which it is and always will be).
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You don't believe that easy access will increase use? OoooK. Obesity is a problem and much more prolific but I'd rather have fat neighbors than crackheads. Sorry.
That's basically what it boils down to: "I don't like you hurting yourself that way, so I'm gonna sic the Nanny State on you."
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That's a naive view. Drugs hurt much more than the individual using them.
 
I can tell you from my stint in the restaurant biz that over half of the restaurants in the US would shut down immediately if there was anything close to 100% enforcement of drug laws. I'd venture to say that at least one in four meals you've ever sat down and eaten that you didn't cook for yourself was cooked under the influence of one or more illicit substances.
 
Pot has very long lasting side effects. Regular use seriously alters your ability to perceive reality.
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WRONG. I know far too many people that are direct counter examples to this. Regular spouting of completely incorrect information seriously alters one's ability to perceive reality for more than marijuana ever will.
 
WRONG. I know far too many people that are direct counter examples to this. Regular spouting of completely incorrect information seriously alters one's ability to perceive reality for more than marijuana ever will.
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"Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is acted on by the hippocampus. This is a component of the brain’s limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations."

Now, now. Let's not get too excited. :)
 
Look at the medical definition of "drug"

a substance other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body
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In addition, caffeine is:

1 addictive (habit forming)
2 mind altering

Caffeine has no medical use that I am aware of (except possibly keeping medical students awake so they can study)

Consider that marijuana is a schedule I drug, meaning that the FDA has ruled that is has a high abuse potential, and NO medical uses. Since THC, the chemical in marijuana, has been found to have medical uses, this is a patently false accusation.
 
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