What is Digg?142 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+55I'm too high to read the article, someone just tell me when they're gonna legalize it..
- norris, on 10/12/2007, -2/+39Reminds me of the morning after pill debacle.
It was suggested by a nearly unanimous advisory committee and the American Medical Association, yet the FDA rejected OTC status. - Misos, on 10/12/2007, -3/+39"It's not a 'war on drugs,' it's a war on personal freedom. That's what it is, OK? Keep that in mind at all times." - Bill Hicks
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+39The morning after pill was shot down for religious reasons - dont pretend it was "safety", far more people die every year from other approved medications.
Marijuana was shot down for political reasons, simply because the big drug companies make far too much money selling pain killers like oxycodone and vicodin (that are worse than marijuana because they are addictive) to patients. Marijuana is non-addictive, and free - 2 things the drug companies who own the republican party will never allow.
America - land of the free. Free to be exploited and repressed by religion and big buisness. - fyngyrz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30"I haven't really heard of somebody od'ng on marijuana."
...and I want you to know, there were times in my teens when I tried really, really hard. :-)
More seriously, here's where I stand: I don't need a mommy. I'm an adult, and I will make *all* final decisions about what I will, or will not, put into my body, and for what reasons. I will try to be informed about these choices because I am quite certain that I am more likely to benefit in direct proportion to how informed I am, and I am certainly very, very wary of the blunt power that the state wields; but I will not, under any circumstances, pay one second's worth of attention to a "law" where the state attempts to tell me where my *personal* limits are. Catch me driving drunk? You can shoot me. I mean that quite literally. Operating equipment around other people stoned? Shoot me. Forcing anyone else to use any drug? Definitely: Shoot me. You'll never have to, because that kind of behavior is stupid, and frankly, I'm not stupid. But give me crap for choosing to zone out in my bedroom on my own? The shooting goes the other way, now.
To paraphrase Saint Augustine, an unjust law is no law at all.
Stand up for yourself. You don't need a mommy either. Mommy laws are bad laws, no matter what it is they are trying to "save" you from. Want to wear a seatbelt? Fine. Wear one. Or not, you decide. Helmets. Drugs. Alcohol. Smoking.
Your right to "do stuff" ends where other people's rights begin, and not one inch sooner. Other people's rights to *tell* you what you can do end where their immediate concerns end. And yes, that includes the interests of the state. And no, the state enacting a law that says that all accident victims must receive treatment does NOT give them the right to tell you you must wear a helmet. One stupid law cannot justify the creation of another.
In the article, the question was posed: "What are the feds smoking?" One respondent answered something along the lines of, "They're smoking... what is left of the constitution." You know what? That's really not very funny if you'll just think about it for a moment. The truth often isn't.
By the way, my "drug" of choice as an adult is meditation. I don't drink *or* drug recreationally, in the sense that I take in external chemicals to get off. But I can assure you, I get as high, or higher, than your average druggie. Should the feds find out the potential for hallucination and euphoria as a direct consequence of advanced meditation regimes, I'm sure they'd outlaw meditation in a heartbeat.
And I'd still profoundly ignore them, because they are what our founding fathers feared: The evil inheritors of England's most repressive political and religious tenants and behaviors. In a word, scum and villainy.
So. Where's the next tea party? - mst3kcrow, on 10/12/2007, -4/+33I'd put money on the reason mary jane is illegal. My guess would be that very large drug companies wouldn't want everyone to possess the ability to grow a pain killer in their back yard.
- chembro84, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29I think he's referring to the fact that if Marijuana was unregulated it'd be about as expensive as planting some flowers in your back yard. The only real cost would be seeds. That's one obvious reason the pharmaceutical doesn't like it, they can't control it.
- shotgunefx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28This is a real push-button issue for me.
When my brother was dying of cancer (he had it literally everywhere when they found it), they gave him two months tops. His goal was to make it to his 40th birthday almost a year away, which he did (the day he died) and a large part of why was marijuana.
He was on just about every painkiller there was, and almost inhuman levels. OC 120s like 8 times a day, a sub-dermal pump that constantly metered opiates to him (can't recall which medication), and about six other pain killers simultaneously (and adivan to try and keep him calm).
They also put him on Marinol (a component of marijuana). The Marinol did ***** for him. Marijuana OTOH, helped him quite a bit.It calmed his stomach and nausea from all the drugs and chemo, allowed him to eat more and try and keep some weight on. One other extremely important effect was to help calm him.
You see, within a few weeks of him getting diagnosed, my mother did as well. She died 3 months later. It's bad enough to be eaten alive, every movement racked with pain, it's even worse when you see someone you love going through it as well and knowing that the same end is closing in on you yourself.
The benefits of marijuana for him were numerous. I've no doubt it helped him. I saw it. The thing that burns me the most is that he could be on all those drugs, experimental platinum based chemos (one of the side effects was that cold of any type could trigger a reaction that could kill you), but god forbid he smoke a ***** joint. - adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30Politics trumps everything...if these guys haven't picked up on that by now then they arn't as smart as they think they are.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+25I believe whoever posted before me was talking about THC not TLC... maybe he was just a little high.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+25Yet again we are shown that this government is pretty much incompetent. If we don't listen to doctors and researchers, why do we care about our health? If something can help people who are ill, why not allow it to be used? People need to stop crying about how bad marijuana is. It is obvious now that it can help nausea and stimulate a person's appetite, something very important to cancer and AIDS patients just to name a few who could benefit from medicinal marijuana. The FDA, and the rest of the federal government can deny the facts as much as they want, but soon people won't give a crap about what the government has to say, and it will be used widely as a medicine. Yes it can screw people up, but for people that are already extremely sick, this should not be a reason to avoid it. Alcohol can screw people up big time, yet it has less medicinal potential than marijuana, and it is legal. There are other drugs that are used medicinally already that are much much more dangerous than Marijuana; klonopin, oxycontin, and even just plain old Robitussin cough medicine taken improperly can be dangerous. Everybody needs to get a grip and not believe the "Reefer Madness crap" that marijuana will make those who use it into a criminal. There are officials in the government that don't smoke marijuana that are criminals, anyone care to explain that?
http://www.dpodgor.net - veter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19titanass: Marijuana is NOT addictive like cigarettes and alcohol. Nicotine and Alcohol are both physically addictive. Marijuana is not. You will not have physical withdrawls from Pot.
You are correct in that marijuana is addictive like TV...but I dare you to find anything that is NEVER mentally addictive...even pain can fall into that category for some people.
The fact is, drug companies can't patent a plant and thus Marijuana legalization means a loss in money on perscription drugs. - marijuanaman, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24hold in in man... hold it in
- agneovo, on 10/12/2007, -9/+25This is an example of why the US is slowly falling to the wayside of other more scientifically focused countries. These are are the facts folks, like it or not science brought humans into and out-of the bronze age. The more it is embraced the better we are as a species. The politics of this country is ruining its greatness. IMHO.
Granted I dont condone smoking marijuana for recreational purposes but medicinally, cannibus has great strengths and thus cannot be put aside completely. - jmnormand, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19marijuana is to easy and cheap to produce. the lobbyists for the drug companies will never let it be legalized. The drug companies would stand to lose millions or even billions on their drug patents if they let such a cheap easy cure on the market. and the fact that its a "gateway drug" makes it easy for politicians to justify...
- Joe_rigby, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18God damn you, Nixon.
- themachina, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15"Politics Trumps Science"
"Marketing Trumps Engineering"
Sadly, since when is that news? :-/ - Democritus2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15The war against drugs is unconstitutional. It violates my right to the "pursuit of happiness"
Who is to say that getting blazed doesnt make me happier and therefore taking this away makes me sad and thoroughly blocks my pursuit of "happiness" - themachina, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Which one killed 1 in 10? Musta missed that story.
- 4degrees, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16
not TLC its THC (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol)
although marijuana does provide a bit of TLC to those who enjoy it, especially the "kind buds" - Daryl209, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17While Carl's Jr could use a self righteous prick like yourself.
- metroidchief, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Hardly, growing weed would be more expensive than most painkillers. Morphine is dirt cheap, as well as hydrocodone/apap (vicodin) or oxycodone/apap (percocet) (I work in a pharmacy and know how much they actually pay for drugs). Those are a heck of a lot more danagerous to a person because they can0 easily overdose somebody. I haven't really heard of somebody od'ng on marijuana. Also the most prescribed drug in America is Vicodin and the effects that tylenol can have on the liver are troubling at best.
- Alphabet, on 10/12/2007, -10/+21a common misconception is that medical marijuana will allow widespread use of marijuana. Medical marijuana can only be given to patients that are in pain, not to some hippie that you assume. Especially when the alternative to medical marijuana is Marinol, which by the way, contains the same ingredients as marijuana(TLC). The only difference is that medical marijuana is estimated to have over 400 active ingredients that can be beneficial to patients, while Marinol only has one.
The other alternatives to medical marijuana are even worse, which can cause permanent damage to the patient's body with prolonged use. - mycatsboots, on 10/12/2007, -6/+17Marijuana will be legal when G-Dubbya Unit and friends can find a way to tax it and make more money on it.
Gee-Wiz Information: Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine (some scientists say heroin as well), yet cigarettes are legal. - Ignathius, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14anyone thinking we want marijuana legealized (i.e. aviable anywhere like cigarettes), is a fool. places like NORML *are not* trying to make marijuana widly avaible. what we're trying to do is get it DECRIMINALIZED. mandatory minimum sentences are absoloute crap. someone SHOULD NOT have their entire live ruined because they were cought smoking a joint. someone SHOULD NOT have to serve a 20-life sentance for getting cought smoking a joint. marijuana is the LEAST harmfull *drug* there is. cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands of people a year from cancer. alchohol kills hundreds of thousands of people a year through things like liver disease, and drunk drivers. show me 1 single case, just 1, where a death was attributed to marijuana and marijuana alone. we're not asking for wide spread aviablity. we're not asking for marijuana to be legal. WE WANT IT RECLASSIFIED AND DECRIMINALIZED.
Oregan decriminilized it some time back. guess what happened? marijuana use DID NOT go up. however, they were able to save MILLIONS a year because they were no longer throwing money away on the 'war on marajuana'.
and the government keeping it illegal has nothing to do with the drug companies. drug companies would LOVE to be able to sell cheap OTC medical marijuana. you can buy a micro brewery and easily make your own beer. but how many people actually go through with the hassle of it? connoisseurs only usually. everyone else hops in their car and drives down to the local 7-11 to pick up a 6 pack. it'd be the same thing here. why would i go through the hassle of growing and maintaining a garden, when i can just get some at the drug store (which can easily be taxed to hell, much like cigarettes are). the government keeps it illegal as a way to control people. you can't be arrested solely on your beliefs, or how you dress, or who you associate with. it's unconstitutinal. however, if you're seen buying/selling/smoking marijuana, or they think you have marijuana, suddenly they have a legal leg to stand on when invading your privacy and overcrowding the prisons.
the american government is a complete and total joke. it's corrupt, easily bought, and stupid as hell.
if you want *real* facts, i suggest you check out places like www.NORML.org and www.pot.tv - Pottersquash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Actually, correct would be Politics trumps, even though Politics ends in a "s" it is a singlar know, ever heard of a politic? not in our language.
- frelk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11What we should do is pit the tobacco lobbyists, with their new marijuana cash crop, against the pharmaceutical lobby.
Remember, the Nobel laureate Milton Friedman (and Republican economic advisor to Pres. Reagan), two other laureates for Economics, and 400 other economists have signed an open letter to Congress and the President supporting the legalization of marijuana, citing its relative safety, the yearly cost of prohibition ($7.7 billion), missed yearly tax revenue ($6.2 billion), and stripping the industry away from violent criminals. http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/endorsers.html - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11i have a strong suspicion that marijuana cured me from epilepsy.
Its all started about 5 years ago, i suffered from seizures that occurs during my sleep time in frequency about once a month. Three or more years ago i started smoke occasionally without knowing that it could help me. It probably did, coz i don't have this ***** seizures for about 2 years. - Area51mafia, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13@Alphabet: Marinol is also quite expensive compared to an amount of Cannabis that would produce the same effects. There's dozens (hundreds?) of other cannibanoids in Cannabis that contribute to the overall effect aswell, that are not in Marinol, just THC.
Cwazy doctors..
We could all use some Tender Loving Care tho, eh? - DDRSkata, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12@Alphabet: The drug in marijuana is THC, not TLC. I don't think weed would be quite as popular if it released '90s R&B stars.
- Democritus2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9skeletal i disagree.
Number one in your example you state something that infringes on others.
Me smoking pot doesnt. So it is not a good example at all.
Now with my argument, mostly i was being funny anyway. However, I believe that in a free society I should be able to make the choice on my own whether to smoke pot or not. - Drizzit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9You know it's the whole problem of people who think that your sin is their sin. So if I'm banging my wife with a condom and the catholic next door is going to hell or something like that. Maybe it's high time these idiots actually mind their own sins and let us worry about ours.
- acusticthoughts, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Skeletal...I have to agree and disagree with what you wrote. I agree that sometimes science can be wrong (we used to believe we were made of four things only...little did they know that were were all just random combinations of the same things - strings or so...), however, obviously "science" did not create those superstiions of the early 1900's which caused us to outlaw. Those impressions were created by politicians. Because real scientists would have actually tested marijuana's affects on black males and would have notcied they act about the same as white males...stoned, stupid and hungry. And then they would have watched their waking habits and noted that, not only were black males NOT waking up in a raping rampage, but that they were probably in fact a little groggy and hung over a bit after a good session...and they also took lots of cat naps.
Good Science never produces bad things because Good Science doesnt incorrectly do things. Limited Science can produce bad things or Science guided by Policy can do bad things...but not Good Science. Good Science is a lot like math...it is nothing other than a description of reality. When we properly harness it we can do nothing greater than tell the world what is going on. because Good Science doesn't describe fairy tales, it paints a picture of what is there. - Azurensis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9>You could make the same argument for coffee, chocolate, sugar, sex, etc...
Except that you'd be wrong. None of these things are anywhere near as addicting as either cigarettes or heroin. - SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10When last poled, 55% of people said they think marijuana should be legal. More think that way every day. Hopefully Canada's legalization efforts will be successful and force us to follow suit rather than waste hundreds of billions trying to keep it from crossing the world's largest border.
- CornStarch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I wonder if this ruling will only give more steam to the shysters who say the FDA are a bunch of liars.
- Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9The fact that recreational drugs are illegal is just more proof that you're a vassal of the government rather than a full equal partner in society. So what if a person wants to sit around getting high all the time? It's their life! By way of protest, I plan on doing as little as possible in the way of earning money, paying taxes, and making other people richer. Outlaw loafing, why don't you!
- ZMorek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8In America these days, with such strict ascetic puritanical views, sex would be made illegal if they could help it and still allow for procreation (as long as no fetuses die). Christian Conservatives will argue to the death... "Your smiles make Jesus cry". Don't be happy, it's a sin. Unless of course you're blindly happy about Jesus.... but I digress.
Legalize it.
Sure marijuana dampens short term memory, and creates "laziness" among users. It surely doesn't enhance productivity like caffeine, but if a society cannot allow it's individuals to relax (unless they feel tobacco and alcohol alone do that sufficiently well) then it is treating those individuals poorly. - jetjaguar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@pottersquash
And you can buy beer at the gas station, what's the difference? I've driven stoned enough times to know that I'd rather share the road with a blunted driver than with a drunk driver. The only impairment to my driving I experienced was driving 15 mph under the speed limit. - deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The drug companies will never allow us to have such a cheap, safe and easy to produce drug. It just won't happen. They're out to make money, not make you feel better.
- GunsGermsSteel, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I think I read about this in The DUH Journal of Science. I'm looking forward to next month's story about how diet and exercise are good for your health.
- nolanistic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Can't believe Hicks is dead. He'd be having a field day right about now. Bush #2, Iraq War 2: The Reckoning.
And the constant complete destruction of science, with 'facts' being puported by partisan hacks. The Government can essentially pay a 'focus group' of scientists to give them an answer they want 'Cigarettes are not addictive/don't cause cancer'; 'Global warming is just a theory and cannot be proven'.
'Marijuana is dangerous'.
Corporate money is destroying our freedoms, why hasn't someone decided that the system is corrupt, and like the IPAC guys, started a lobbying organisation for the people. Because if the Congressmen get our money, then they'll listen; the system is that flawed.
There's a lot of change to be had in this society, but we honestly need to organise a lobbying organisation for the people, have people donate 10 dollars a month or something to turn society around. It saddens me greatly that this is a necessity... but it is.
And until this country gets back on track, it's going to be going straight down the toilet. - SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11I want marijuana legalized too, but your argument is flawed. What if I claim I have the right to murder school children because that makes me happy? Then, if you try to stop me, you're violating my right to pursue happiness. It's a crude example, but the argument doesn't work. There are other reasons why we should legalize it, besides person happiness.
It should be legal for medical purposes, spiritual purposes, because it's not harmful like alcohol and cigarettes, because it's a useful plant, because it was illegalized in the first place based on erroneous racist arguments and because if it was legal there'd be no more drug dealers and drug wars. - SkeletaLlama, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13Well science doesn't always give us good things. Science can be abused. For example in the late-19th century science came up with the notion of biological race divisions and the concept of race degeneration. This "scientific" evidence was used to claim that marijuana would degenerate white people to the level of savage black men. It also claimed that black men smoked marijuana and were worked up into a frenzy in which they would rape white women and get them with child, polluting the fine white race with their degenerate seed.
It was science, so we outlawed the bad plant. Now we have to go back and undo what badly applied science has done. The problem I see here is that the government is picking the scientific evidence it wants to support the conclusions they've already made. They chose to accept racist scientific evidence to outlaw marijuana in the first place and now they're ignoring medical scientific evidence in order to promote pharmacological alternatives (which are more profitable). There are motives behind which scientific theories the government supports. Science provides enough conflicting evidence and reports that they're more or less free to pick and choose what they want and then claim science supports their decisions. - ZMorek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6To me, it seems that marijuana is gaining momentum in a sort of underground culture way. Science has done a lot to turn back the scare tatics and xenophobia used in the Reefer Madness days and create a more realistic picture. I wonder if the more rational people from each side of the argument could come to a consensus and agreement on what can be done to solve the problem at hand. Marijuana is classified among cocaine and heroin. I can recall VERY few reasons why Marijuana should be illegal and ranked with hard, addictive and dangerous drugs and not tobacco or alochol. The amount of THC considered fatal that one needs in the blood stream is nearly impossible to attain, whereas one can die from alochol poisoning and suffer severe withdrawal from both tobacco and alcohol ("nic fits", "delerium tremens"). The only reason I can think of that marijuana should be kept illegal is the maintain the status quo (Conservativism...)
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9This is your govenment...(visualise egg labeled "good idea")
this is your government on pharmaceutical lobby money(visualise egg labeled "good idea" smashed all over the place.)
any questions?? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6anything abused is bad.. everything has it's place
and drugs are for college.. - Misos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"I actually like things how they are now. Do you want to pay huge government taxes on every bag? I'd prefer marijuana stay a grey market. It's easy to get, cheap and 100% safe. Let's keep the government out of it. I'm all for decriminalization instead. Drug violations should be like traffic tickets."
Well, if you're going to be for something, why not complete legalization? It's this comprised view of liberty people continue to promote that helps give government power to take away more of our rights. Drug violations should not be like traffic tickets - "drug violations" shouldn't exist.
It's sort of funny that the biggest physical threat marijuana poses to a user is a prison sentence. - isosceles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Medical uses are one thing... Think about the cost of the "drug war" in the US. It's a never-ending battle that keeps too many people in business. Legalize them all.
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I actually like things how they are now. Do you want to pay huge government taxes on every bag? I'd prefer marijuana stay a grey market. It's easy to get, cheap and 100% safe. Let's keep the government out of it. I'm all for decriminalization instead. Drug violations should be like traffic tickets.
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