Legalisation of cannabis - are you for or against?

[eMTe]

This is one hot topic in my country in recent years (together with gay marriages, but this is the fun you receive living in a country which is a couple of steps "behind"), so I wonder what are your opinions.

I am against for various reasons.

1. Practical. I have/had certain *cough* problems with addictions, so I don't see why we should legalise another addictive substance while we already have one. Defenders of cannabis often, at least in here, use the "alcohol argument", showing that smoking abuse is not more harmful than drinking abuse. My question is: if we already have one substance which you say CAN BE harmful - what's the point of legalisation of another one?

2. Sociopolitical. I am of the opinion that countries, despite increasing egalitarism and "shift of power" towards masses, should promote certain behaviours. By "certain" I mean proved to be useful/worth/not harmful/generally leading to better results. Sure, everybody must have an opportunity to ruin his life for whatever reasons available (frequently called: freedom), but there must exist some forces who will use their power/capability to say: no, you are wrong. History/experience/our age/knowlege etc. leads us to the conclusion that a) is good and b) is bad.

Smoking cannabis certainly leads people to feel happier (according to some surveys in Poland 30% of secondary school pupils smoke cannabis on regular basis and reports claim that most of them smoke to reduce stress). Alcohol works a bit differently of course

3. Philosophical. I want to stop evolution, however I am almost sure that Scythe will pierce me with the sword for using the "evolution" term on these boards.

Important note: I never smoked cannabis.

[Scythe]

Yeah, if cannabis hadn't been demonized by the tobacco industry (for real), it would have been legalized a long time ago.

Anyway, I used to be a fairly heavy social (ab)user - as in I've never lit up a joint by my lonesome self but it was what a group of us did several times a week - and there were both positive and negative aspects to it, as there are to any number of substances humans ingest, legally or otherwise. It was certainly no worse than alcohol (I'd say close to infinitely better as I was always in control of myself, completely contrary to the effect of alcohol), and I for one was not what I'd call addicted, as proven by how I stopped completely from one day to another with no negative side effects, aside from some temporary insomnia.

As with everything in life though, if you overdo it, it'll end up badly for you, so the question I see is whether we want the government to protect all of us on behalf of those who cannot control themselves. I for one don't want the government to control and restrict me any more than it already does. People with addictive personalities will get their addictions fulfilled anyway, and I personally fail to see why the rest of us have to be criminalized. On the other hand, I'd love to see alcohol banned, but that's because I have double standards.

Legalize cannabis already, stabilize the prices, let the government earn tax money from sales and deny the criminal element one more source of illicit income.

Damn, I'm itching for a joint now... nah, I'm kidding.

[eMTe]

I've just experiencied my first serious online breakdown. Cry for help. I can't love my woman, because she's not the first one, I can only treat her right, but she's not truly "mine". What's worse, I'm aware that youngsters will experience my feelings too, sooner or later. Smses to former girlfriends, death threaths, drunken poetry, same feelings, same offbeat interests.

"People with addictive personalities will get their addictions fulfilled anyway"

Now you see why do I want to stop evolution.

[Zyx]

I've just experiencied my first serious online breakdown. Cry for help. I can't love my woman, because she's not the first one, I can only treat her right, but she's not truly "mine". What's worse, I'm aware that youngsters will experience my feelings too, sooner or later. Smses to former girlfriends, death threaths, drunken poetry, same feelings, same offbeat interests.

"People with addictive personalities will get their addictions fulfilled anyway"

Now you see why do I want to stop evolution.

You choose the oddest places for your cries of help.

But we are here.

[Scythe]

Have you been drinking again? Context, please.

[Zyx]

Last visited:Thu 07 Feb, 2013 01:27

We can only hope he hasn't done anything stupid.

[eMTe]

I haven't done anything stupid and I don't intend to.

What you have read is "an entry ticket" if you'll ever dare to enter Cracow nightlife. Cyberspace (Facebook?) mixed with philosophy, neuroscience, offbeat characters, drunkards, indie music, psychoanalysis, nostalgia, sex, vomiting truth. Sort of imaginary "place" where your body fears to go, but where your brain wants to peep in.

Seriously now, this forum is too small for such talks. Let's focus on freeware gaming and stay happy. Sorry for everything.

[Zyx]

...or maybe you're just a drama queen.

[Scythe]

Long Live the Queen!

[eMTe]

...or maybe you're just a drama queen.

There is some truth in these words.

The problem is that without what you call drama queens world as we know it would cease to exist. For example one should exclude poets, actors. Life can't be downgraded to efficiency and infallability. Beauty, partially, comes from randomness, madness, mystery.

Just a thought.

[Railwaymodeler]

Right. Drama is much more than the "high school girl gossip" that everyone thinks of. For example, everything Maria and I have been through could technically be considered "drama", and yes, probably would make for a good book or movie.

Very tired right now, and even typing feels difficult, so will have to expand on this some other time.

[Pager]

Drama isn't necessarily a bad thing, heck, it makes for great entertainment. Case in point, I read the original eMTe rant outloud, and my wife sat by nodding her head (although she may have been just rocking out to the music in her mind).

I'll tell you what the bad thing is...it's the people that complain day-in, day-out about their "terrible" life, and they're not willing to do anything about it except post in an online social network so they can read the pity parties that are taking place in their name. Gadzooks, even watching some movies a la, "if I don't get into dance school, I'll just die," make me feel like going on a rant (ask my wife she's heard a few)...no one cares, so don't go to dance school...invent something, sell billions, and buy your own damn dance school...
...
...
...
...and no, they shouldn't legalize cannabis.

[Scythe]

The problem is that without what you call drama queens world as we know it would cease to exist.

Platitudes now?

The problem is that without what you call X world as we know it would cease to exist. This can be dropped into any conversation.

Anyway, if your world isn't ending after all, I guess it's back to the regular humdrum forum fare.

On the actual topic, I have a cardboard poster on my wall (it's an ad I stole from a bus), which I'm going to briefly describe. It shows a surgeon and a nurse half asleep on couches. One says, "Damn, those tits turned out weird." To which the second one responds, "We shouldn't have smoked that joint."

[eMTe]

I guess, what you all learned is that internet is a "thinking in action" world. Somebody may talk about suicides and breakdowns, but he may be not suicidal at all, or he may be drunk/high having access to internet simultaneously and spreading bad vibes wherever possible, or he was in the process of writing the poem, or he might have talked about something on another forum and simply reposted it here and somewhere else. Or maybe he's just a psybot. Life is out there, as have always been, remember.

Also, and this is truism, there are good and bad sides of everything. I may be an occasional alcoholic, but the number of good poems I wrote when hangover, clever observations and discoveries I have made, now counts in tens. Heaven knows if they will change, positively, someone's life.

As for the topic, a couple of days ago, my Facebook (and also primary school) friend, heavy grass smoker, went on a rant and accidentally (?) reminded me that I was drawing comics when I was a kid and he would love to watch them again. This was something that I completely forgot (me drawing comics as a kid), but after a while memories returned. Positive ones. Of course I don't own these comics anymore, but I now remember how they looked like and what inspired them. His rant is an inspiration now.

The bottom line. You all probably remember this pic.

http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/gio/CS99I/internet.html

[Pager]

I do agree...when I was drunk my writing was definitely far more intense or creative, sober it was bland and emotionless. Drunk and angry I wrote the beginning to a novel that I can not finish now because the feeling is not there.

But to the other side of that coin I recall a profound conversation one night in University while my room mates and I were hotboxing our laundry room. One of the guys decided to test a theory that people have a higher perception when they are high and decided to play a game of telephone. The first time he gave his sentence, "The purple dog barks at midnight"...this went around the room everyone throwing in their own brand of intentional sabotage until it turned into a goofy saying that had something to do with pizza...after we bought pizza, he decided to try again with full co-operation and without intentional sabotage. The second sentence, "The red cat meows at 7pm."

Which in turn led to the realization that stoned people may not have higher perception, but they definitely possess an incredible ability to come up with formulaic sentences during a game of telephone.

[eMTe]

Basically, and this is my personal observation, not a scientific fact, so it may not be truth, while alcohol intensifies negative feelings, ganja intensifies positive ones. This is probably why marijuana has good publicity and so many defenders. The problem is that both stimulants, used in long term, have only negative physical effects.

[Pater Alf]

I think from a scientific point of view marijuana intensifies all kinds of feelings. If you smoke it when you're down, you will get more depressed, if you smoke it when you're in good mood, you will become even more happy.

[Pager]

and if you just sort of wanted Doritos before, when you smoke it you really want Doritos.

[eMTe]

I think from a scientific point of view marijuana intensifies all kinds of feelings. If you smoke it when you're down, you will get more depressed, if you smoke it when you're in good mood, you will become even more happy.

Certainly they work differently when it comes to general views about the world. Basically, alcohol intensifies "right-wing", aggressive approach to life, while marijuana turns you left.

I wonder if there's a centrist drug, capable of turning all people in the world into average, calm, good-tempered beings.

My wild guess - it's called fresh air.

[Scythe]

My wild guess - it's called fresh air.

But that will never be legal.