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143 Comments
- asdfasdf, on 10/12/2007, -4/+45OK. There is evidence that Cannabis smoke doesn't cause cancer. It might have a trillion particulates, most or all of which can be carcinogens, but the truth (fact) is that it does not increase your risk of cancer, no matter how many joints you smoke a day.
Reference: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0002491F-755F-1473-B55F83414B7F0000&ref=rss
Now stop arguing this point.
Does it cause other harms? Probably. It's certainly doing some heat damage, although it's minimal compared to tobacco because most people will only smoke pot occasionally, and if they do it daily, it's a few tokes every few hours. In contrast, a lot of smokers go through 10-20 cigarettes a day. We have bongs and vaporizers, so heat damage isn't a problem.
What about burned plant material? That's probably not good for you, but it's not going to be worse than breathing in air standing at a bus stop in a major city. Again, most people will only smoke pot occasionally, so this isn't of much concern. As for medical patients, there are bongs, vaporizers and you can cook with it.
If somebody wants to smoke it, then so be it. What's the problem? I can IV ethanol or caffeine everyday if I wish. That doesn't mean they should be prohibited. The drug is harmless compared to tobacco, smoked or not. The drug is harmless compared to alcohol, smoked or not.
Nobody is saying pot "is harmless (period)." Obviously, it's a relative statement. If you prohibit all drugs including caffeine, tobacco and alcohol, then it would be hard to argue anything other than liberty and freedom. However, the current drug laws are very inconsistent. How are the harms of drugs measured? WHY is tobacco legal if it's just as addicting as heroin? Why are 'shrooms illegal at all? Why is pot illegal at all? This is a serious issue, especially in regard to our freedoms.
The argument IS freedom. It's not "my drug is better than your drug." It's liberty. If there was a drug that if ingested, would cause you to go out and kill people, or to kill yourself, then maybe one can make a valid argument on why that drug should be illegal. Pot, shrooms, LSD, none of these do this. Maybe PCP does, and alcohol certainly raises aggression and promotes violence. - AntBing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21Vaporizing is easier on my lungs. I used to cough and cough until I could hardly take a breath. Once I started using the Volcano all the pain went away and I could use the spent buds to make extra useful munchies like brownies and cakes!
- Skettalee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17I am a chronic smoker! So let me suggest the Valcano Vaporizer and a great podcast to listen to while smoking.
Dopefiend Podcast: http://www.dopefiend.co.uk/
Valcano Vaporizer: https://www.storz-bickel.com/go?r=16&c=EUR&l=en
Valcano Info: http://www.google.com/search?q=volcano+vaporizer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a - VaporBro, on 10/26/2007, -0/+13I have to disagree. The Volcano is good, but every Vaporizer has it's plus and minuses. If I had enough extra funds to be able to buy a Volcano I would; but their are others just as good. The Aromed Vaporizer is also a $500+ vaporizer. Turns one bowl into about 50 hits. I highly recommend it.
I have a Vapor Brother next to my bed going through a Water Filtration Device. It cost me $125 for a hands-free model + a free bong my friends gave me. The water filtration is nice; it collects up the dust and pollen that is in the air plus it cools the vapor. It gets me very stoned without the damaging effects on the lungs from smoking. I live quit an active life. I can hike mountains without smoker's fatigue, I can run miles, and I can bike without feeling the least bit bogged down.
I think the thing that disappointments me the most about Digg and Marijuana articles is the amount of pure ignorance people have on Marijuana. Duh Vaporizers are easier on the lungs. Duh the the argument that the medical use of cannabis is inappropriate because of its potential to create (lung) problems is now clearly invalid. Anyone who says otherwise or even thinks of bringing up the argument of Tobacco vs Marijuana is just plain stupid. The research has been done, the results are in: Marijuana is a safe plant.
Tell me that Marijuana makes you lazy...and I will still outrun you while laughing at Cheech and Chong. =] - roadracersweet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15"Cannabis burns much hotter than Tobacco so tends to burn any cell it damages completely. Hence no cancer."
Wow buddy, were you high when you wrote this?? Is this statement demonstrable of the intellectual insight one gets while high? You MUST be some dumbass teenager. Here I will help you get through grade 6 science: If your lung cells are being burned, you just inhaled the whole joint. Might I suggest you toke with a little less force. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12My ex wife smokes cannabis in amounts that are staggering even by dutch standards. She smokes cigarettes, rolled as small works of art, with a teeny bit of light tobacco, very thin rolling paper and about 75% industrial strength cannabis, generally white widow. A handful of this stuff is capable to not just killing a mature male bull elephant but causing heavy scarification, organ evisceration and bone fractures at 50 paces.
We occasionally get American visitors. They proudly boast of the almost celestial magnificience of US cannabis and are willing to try that contemptible continental stuff. After a handful of inhalations they invariably slump down in a state of stupor only occasionally rousing to eat something semi-edible nearby, whimper something pityfull or twitch helplessly.
My wife is asthmatic. So I made her smoke it with a vaporizer, a small apparatus that has become fairly prevalent here in the Netherlands. I gave it a try, as I normally can't handle tobacco; I seem to be allergic to tobacco.
Without an inhaler I get acutely sick from smoking pot. With an inhaler I barely notice the effects until that proverbial ton of bricks hit me. I get migraines from just about anything; smoking a single cigarette will always give me a migraine the next day. With a vaporizer - not a problem.
My personal experiences have left me swayed, despite my deep suspicions of purposefully inhaling burning plant debris, that inhaling in this way is actually beneficient to my ex-wife; It HELPS with her asthma problem, apparently relaxing the respiratory tissues. - ecto311, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Wow vaporizors have been around forever. There is no smoke or shouldn't be, it just heats it up enough to free the THC and get it moving in the air to your lungs. Good thing the public could catch on to this after 10 years.
- Gunrun, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16Oh yes, those "lucky people on medical marijuana", its not as though they have massively painful illnesses or anything.
- protossss, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15Of course it is harmful to begin with - LOL . The carcinogens etc are horrible on the lungs! Vapes certainly do help. If you smoke A LOT (you lucky medicinal marijuana users) then a nice vape is recommended. Nothing worse than a rough, heavy chest after a night of glaucoma relief.
- VaporBro, on 10/26/2007, -0/+11I've smoked with Doctors, Lawyers, and straight A Post Grad College students. I've smoked with Daily Smokers who have a mind like a steel trap. The "norm" is different to each smoking group. Most people who know "stoners" know the people who label themselves as such. It's all about your mindset. The problem is that Lazy people start smoking pot. When a lazy procrastinator smokes pot it can perpetuate them to stay in their Lazy state if they so allow it to. These people need to take a break from smoking and get ***** back on track. To those people:
Why do we fall? To learn how to pick ourselves back up. - LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Am I the only one who went to Akira's website and noticed layer upon layer of propoganda? One example:
*** Marijuana tends to be the first illegal and illicit drug used by teenagers (after tobacco and alcohol) and is considered a "gateway drug", because it often leads to other illegal drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, and LSD. ***
Funny how it's often used AFTER tobacco and alcohol yet weed is considered the gateway drug. And no, it does not "often" lead to harder stuff. Put it this way: Many coke addcits do weed, many weed users smoke tobacco and many tobacco smokers drink. Looking at it in the other direction though, not all drinkers smoke, not all smokers do pot and not all potheads do coke. It's like a funnel, the harder you get, the fewer that do it. The gateway effect is 100% false. - TheWedge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Everyone stay away from the cheap vaporizers. I bought an Oxygen Mini and its the worst 100 bucks I ever spent. Go all the way and get a Volcano, thats the only vaporizer I've heard good stories about.
- idugcoal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I must assume, then, that you are in favor of the prohibition of alcohol, too. Indeed, every argument you made against pot could be used, and to greater degree if magnitude, against alcohol. The Prohibition coincided with the rise of the mafia here in the states. And as long as drugs are illegal, the people selling them (who are only criminals because you say they are) will be collecting the taxes that the government would be collecting, if they were to decriminalize and regulate the ***** out of em.
As for the "crooked doctors," do you think it's possible that maybe some doctors might be a little bit more educated than you? I'm not trying to insult you, but just because someone thinks differently than you, doesn't mean that they're somehow criminal or inferior. Besides, if you don't like it, why do you care if I do it? You don't see me trying to get you to stop eating grapefruit just because it's too sour for my tastes. Is it really that big of an issue? Does it affect you, really, at all?
I don't drink (not as a rule, i just don't like booze). Basically, I don't like hangovers, I don't like getting tired by 10pm, and I don't like not being able to legally control a vehicle. I like to be on something or another all day long, every day, for as long as possible. It's what i like to do. I don't like drunk people, generally, because i only know they're drunk when they're obnoxious. But no matter how belligerently frat-boy people get, I don't look down on them, or try to tell them how to live their lives. I'm too busy living my own.
edit: i just read thru that, realized it was kind of rambling, and i'm not exactly sure what my point was when i started. i was about to proofread and try to rewrite it, but...basically, thank science that this is digg and not some strictly on-topic grammar nazi forum... - Timmaay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7This isn't exactly new news, more like common knowledge.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@mightyzug - nicotine is not carcinogenic, it is the tar which is one of the primary carcinogens in tobacco smoke, why do you bother making brave comments when you have such limited knowledge
- TheWedge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7How do you define "abuse"? Occasional recreational enjoyment?
- akira117, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@mightyzug
Link for where you got your info? - Corrosionx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Some people smoke marijuana because they can't keep their pills down. You don't give these people ANOTHER pill.
Breathing your medecine is easier than digesting a pill. - mightyzug, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7someone actually measured the vapor vs smoke in a different study and showed that vapor has absolutely 0 carcinogens or other toxic byproducts of smoke which made up about 88% of the smoke sample... the vapor was nothing but thc (95%) and other cannabinoids along with trace amount of plant oil that gives it the taste and that is all that is in the stuff
vapor easier on the lungs???? no ***** sherlock. how did they ever arrive at that conclusion?? ***** genius!!!! :P
and don't be a tool. of course smoke is bad for you, period. just because it is far, far LESS harmful than anything else does not make it completely not harmful, even if you can't percieve any ill effects. come on, you're breathing in fire.... if you need a scientific study to tell you that pot smoke containing 88% toxic ingredients is harmful then you're an idiot. just because pot smoke is extremely mild, has never caused any disease, and MAY actually fight cancer is no reason to run around claiming that toxic smoke is not harmful :)
i love my vap btw... after a few days of using nothin else now if i smoke it just tastes disgusting and doesn't work as well. - asdfasdf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@curtis87xc03
Did you just say alcohol doesn't cause any social harms? You're retarded, ***** your opinion.
This chart takes physical and social harm into account:
http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/2563/25633101.jpg
Coca tea is legal in the US and is a great substitute for caffeinated drinks. The coca leaves are decocanized, but just like decaffeination of coffee, a very miniscule amount of cocaine remains in the final product. The buzz is clean, not like the jittery caffeine buzz, and it's longer lasting, without the nausea and other unpleasant symptoms of a caffeine come-down. Google for "mate de coca shipping"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_de_coca - AceTracer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6In the submitter's defense, we're also informed that marijuana is sometimes called cannabis.
- fscker, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Volcano is pretty good. Personally, I find the vapourisers a lot better than bongs.....no harshness to them at all.
- Smuikas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's also very expensive.
- Juntistik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"Alcohol, Tobacco and Caffeine don't degrade society like most drugs including marijuana do. If they were going to legalize another drug, I think Cocaine would be next because it would increase productivity like coffee does. Marijuana creates lazy people where Alcohol, Tobacco and Caffeine do not"
Alcohol doesn't degrade society? Are you ***** kidding me? Have you ever seen an alcoholic? Why is there AA meetings? My stepfather is an alcoholic, he can't get out of bed without a belly full of beer/liquor. If thats not degrading, I don't know what is.
You sir, win the biggest retard on dig award.
Please kill yourself - ganjadude4391, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5marinol is also synthetic not real tHC
this is so that the drug company could patent the fake THC and other companies could not work with it therefore keeping the price of marinol high
plus it dont work - gamerage, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Man you need to update your readings. They work incredibly well. I have a head gun based one and it is fantastic. It helps 10 people at once.
I agree that the container style vapourizers (glass jar trapping) do not work well. - offwhite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5They are seriously concerned about a little scorching on the lungs when a guy is going through chemo? That is like being concerned about the incision and bleeding which happens during open heart surgery. There is a clear trade off which is worth the downside. I think their argument was already clearly invalid.
I am not a smoker myself, but if someone suffering from a disease can use this to make their life more manageable then we should allow it. It is a far cry from a real danger to society. It is just a plant that they smoke. It is not like they are turning around and selling them. But if they do allow it for medical use they should still go after the ones who make false medical claims to use it. That is like like parking in the handicap space which is just tasteless. - emjaymj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@curtis87xc03
Hah! That's an ignorant comment. Tobacco and caffeine may not cause significant social harm, but alcohol is much much worse in this respect than weed. It's obvious you don't know many alcoholics because they're even less motivated than potheads, and where somebody who smokes weed all day is only hurting themselves, alcohol can destroy the life of the drinker and everybody close to him. - grinch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I agree with Skettalee. The Volcano rocks. Anything else is a waste of THC.
- ryodoan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@akira117
I applaud you, rarely do we see such intellectual comments here on Digg.
@ MightyZug
If you really were a medical proffessional as you claim, you would already know where to find the information online, Online medical resources exist. Therefore I think you are just full of it. - andyman1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"In the submitter's defense, we're also informed that marijuana is sometimes called cannabis."
"Users of marijuana (also called cannabis)"
Based on the structure of this sentence, it looks like subby is trying to tell us that users of marijuana may be called cannabis, as well as the implied "stoner", "pothead", etc.
That's news to me. - edebolt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I have found the best system is a variable temperature heat gun that you place over your bong bowl etc. You might need to hunt around or modify things to mate well. Once you have a good fit then can put ice in the bong etc to cool things a little more. Gives a nice taste.
The first generation heating element type vaporizers are junk. You need to force the heated air across and thru the plant matter.
Its takes a little practice and experimentation but can deliver a lot more THC to your body. The high is different though and takes some getting used to. A regular smoker is getting a dose of carbon monoxide and other toxins that they may associate with getting high..In reality its just short term brain damage . Leave that in the past for your health. I find with the right technique its a higher and clearer high.
Also don't underestimate dissolving THC into a fat like olive oil or butter and ingesting. If done properly its a powerful, long lasting and efficient. - Drakeno, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Mr. Gravel or Mr. Paul, It is your duty to legalize cannabis and bring it to CVS so every man, woman, and child can have access to real cannabis! Not ***** shwag but Cali mist for everyone! Good buds for all!
Seriously though, if an alcoholic bastard can go into any pretty much any store and buy his and become violet,abusive, lewd, cruel, perverse, etc. etc.
Then why cant pot heads buy their drug? All we do is vape, listen to music, and come up with creative ways of dethroning Bush.
Does this scare the elite? Probably. Do they really think about this *****? Probably not. Is it the real reason why its be considered a "demon seed". Conspiracy theories aside.
It all comes down to the creativity aspect that comes with ingesting cannabis vapour.
People drink alcohol and act like the fools on TV, (Or otherwise become emotional schizophrenic compulsive obedient consumers :)) and provide revenue for the rich, while the rest of the population is forced into buying dangerous drugs which cannot compare to mother natures Cannabis.
The REAL DRUG PUSHERS are the same ones that CLAIM DRUGS ARE BAD. When drug companies hire hot models to push their drugs, then we have a serious issue. Its not that poor man down the street selling the crack that's the problem, its the ***** Corporations who steal from the poor and the middle class and shove THEIR drugs down their throats.
People vape cannabis and act like that guy in the bible. You know, that one hippy dude who hung out with ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE and actually LISTENED to them instead of waited for his turn to speak.
Cannabis has awakened a generation from a deep slumber, we are giants being raised by pygmies. it is only a matter of time before the giants are angry...
Once people realize the truth, say hello to REVOLUTION BABY!
NO MORE DRY TIMES. ONLY HIGH TIMES! PEACE AND LOVE! :) - grinch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Why should they keep it illegal? So Phillip Morris can keep selling cigarettes?
- maexus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@danarama
Again, I have to agree. The meds I'm on for anxiety scare the hell out of me. SSRI's as well as Benzos. You want to talk about rewiring the brain, lets talk about rx drugs. I remember trying to get off of Lexapro and the horrific nightmares and brain zaps I used to get. - mightyzug, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@jellomizer. you're an idiot.
just because there are always going to be people that abuse it is not a valid argument for keeping it criminalized.
by that logic we need to outlaw alcohol too, coz people can abuse that, and it doesn't even have medical value. cigarettes, gone, caffine, gone, chocolate, gone, fast food, gone, ice cream gone.... there is potential for abuse with just about anything that is available for consumption and the first 3 on that list are all much more harmful than marijuana. if you didn't learn from alcohol prohibition just because some people will abuse is no valid reason to maintain the insanity.
better get to work on outlawing video games while we're at it, they have a HUGE potential for abuse.
or maybe we could trust that the majority of smokers out there are normal, average, somewhat intelligent people with some concept of moderation :P - Innatech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Uninformed screaming about the evils of cannabis and medical marijuana drives me up the wall.
It's not hard to educate yourself on these issues:
I'm going to copy below the VERY FIRST article I got back from running a query for the term "cannabis" on PubMed. There are plenty more for your inspection, should you be interested. Take a look.
-----------------
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/531038
-----------------
Commentaries
Medical Marijuana: Politics Trumps Science at the FDA
Gregory T. Carter, MD; Bruce Mirken
Medscape General Medicine. 2006;8(2):46. ©2006 Medscape
Posted 05/17/2006
For a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) increasingly mired in controversies over the politicization of scientific and regulatory decisions, the agency's April 20, 2006 statement regarding medical use of marijuana may represent an all-time low point.[1] Politics, it appears, has now completely trumped science at this once proudly independent agency. The FDA has announced that "no sound scientific studies" support the medical use of marijuana, contradicting an increasingly large body of scientific literature. To those of us who do research in this area, this is a personal affront.
Even the federal Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) own Administrative Law Judge, the Honorable Francis Young, stated in 1988, "Marijuana is the safest therapeutically active substance known to man..." He went on to say, "The evidence clearly shows that marijuana is capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. . .it would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance."[2] Perhaps more remarkable were the conclusions of President Nixon's Shafer Commission, who were appointed to investigate marijuana's available scientific and medical evidence. To the shock and dismay of President Nixon, the Commission found enough evidence to recommend that marijuana be decriminalized.[3]
The FDA's announcement is puzzling at many levels. It makes no mention of any recent FDA analysis or investigation, regulatory filing, or any other activity within the normal scope of the agency's work that led to this policy change. Thus, there is no indication as to why the agency chose to issue this opinion at this particular moment. Rather than being based on new data or analysis, the statement appears to have been issued in response to the repeated requests from US Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), a vehement opponent of medical marijuana use. Souder wrote to acting FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach on January 18, 2006, saying, "I am exasperated at the FDA's failure to act against the fraudulent claims about 'medical' marijuana." He urged that the FDA "post accurate information about the claims of 'medical' marijuana on its website."[4] After 2 months he renewed the request, taking an impatient tone: "I have yet to receive a response from the Food and Drug Administration regarding my January 18, 2006 letter to you about the FDA's failure to provide any meaningful information on its website about the dangers of marijuana. I am quite concerned that the FDA does not take seriously the threat posed by marijuana, our nation's most abused drug."[5] The FDA's missive appears to be just what Souder wanted; it asserts that there is a lack of evidence regarding the medical value of marijuana and argues that state laws permitting medical use of marijuana without criminal penalty "are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process." The statement concludes by saying that the FDA, along with 2 nonmedical agencies, the DEA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, "do not support the use of smoked marijuana for medical purposes."
We beg to differ with Mr. Souder, who, to our knowledge has no scientific background or medical training. The scientific studies that document the medical efficacy and safety of smoked marijuana are published in peer-reviewed medical journals and are available through the National Library of Medicine. In our experience, the medical peer-review process is very harsh and stringent. Thus, it is not likely that the hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles published documenting the benefits of marijuana contain "fraudulent claims."
Moreover, maybe the FDA and Mr. Souder are not aware that The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute of Medicine have previously issued statements of support for medical marijuana and have called for further investigation.[6,7] The Institute of Medicine reviewed the issue a second time at the request of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, resulting in a 1999 report which declared, "Nausea appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." While expressing concern over the risks of smoking, the Institute noted that for some patients -- particularly those with terminal conditions or who do not respond to standard therapies -- those risks would be "of little consequence." The report added pointedly, "We acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting."[8]
This was, in fact, the prior stance taken by the FDA itself, before this sudden turnaround.[9] Perhaps the FDA has forgotten that doctors can prescribe dronabinol (Marinol), which is 100% pure synthetic delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This is the most powerful psychoactive compound in marijuana, and it is placed in the same category as the prescription strengths of ibuprofen, meaning a physician can phone in the prescription. Furthermore, the recent discovery of an endogenous cannabinoid system with specific receptors and ligands has increased our understanding of the actions of marijuana.[10] The cannabinoid system appears to be intricately involved in normal human physiology, specifically in the control of movement, pain, memory and appetite, among others. Widespread cannabinoid receptors have been discovered in the brain and peripheral tissues. The cannabinoid system represents a previously unrecognized ubiquitous network in the nervous system. There is a dense receptor concentration in the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and hippocampus, accounting for the effects on motor tone, coordination, and mood state.[11] There are very few cannabinoid receptors in the brainstem, which may explain marijuana's remarkably low toxicity. There has never been a lethal overdose of marijuana reported in humans. In addition, we have shown that marijuana can be dosed, much like other prescribed drugs.[12] Moreover, in some instances patients report it as more therapeutic and better tolerated than other medications.[13,14]
Despite all of this scientific documentation, following the recent Supreme Court ruling [Gonzales v. Raich], Drug Czar John Walters commented, "The medical marijuana farce is done." He then added, "I don't doubt that some people feel better when they use marijuana, but that's not modern science. That's snake oil." But isn't the very definition of palliative care the abatement of suffering in order to make patients "feel better"? Isn't that what doctors and other health professionals are supposed to do for a living?[15]
In what appears to be an effort to justify the issuance of a statement on medical marijuana with no evident scientific or regulatory reason to do so, the FDA misrepresents the nature and purpose of state medical marijuana laws, stating, "A growing number of states have passed voter referenda (or legislative actions) making smoked marijuana available for a variety of medical conditions upon a doctor's recommendation," suggesting that such laws "seek to bypass the FDA drug approval process." If that were the case, the FDA might arguably have an interest in opining about such laws. But as a general rule, the 11 state medical marijuana laws do not make marijuana available or in any way address the issue of marketing or sales. Rather, they simply protect patients who meet certain conditions (usually including a physician recommendation and/or diagnosis with a qualifying condition) from arrest and punishment under state laws that otherwise forbid marijuana possession or cultivation, Indeed, the lack of a legal means for patients to obtain marijuana for medical use has been a source of controversy in some states that have adopted medical marijuana laws.[16,17]
One wonders: Does the FDA not understand the difference between licensing a drug for marketing and simply choosing not to arrest individuals who possess that drug under certain conditions? Does the agency believe that arrest and imprisonment are appropriate ways of dealing with a patient's choice to self-treat with an herbal product not approved as a medicine by the FDA?
The recent change of heart by the FDA is disappointing on many levels. This is certainly not the first time the FDA has been accused of letting politics trump science.[18-20] However, it is the duty of the FDA to be an impartial scientific body and not rent itself out to political agendas. Arguably, marijuana is neither a miracle compound nor the answer to everyone's ills. Yet it is not a compound that deserves the tremendous legal and societal commotion that has surrounded its use. Over the past 30 years, the United States has spent billions in an effort to stem the use of illicit drugs, including marijuana, with limited success. Some very ill people have had to fight long court battles to defend themselves for having used a compound that has helped them. There is no evidence that recreational marijuana use is any higher in states that allow for its medicinal use.[21] Moreover, prohibition strategies have never proven terribly effective at limiting the use of a substance - whether it be alcohol or other compounds -- for any reason.
Rational, apolitical minds need to take over the debate on marijuana, separating myth from fact, right from wrong, and responsible, medicinal use from other, less compelling usages. However one feels about nonmedical use of marijuana, in our opinion, the medicinal marijuana user should not be considered a criminal in any state. The scientific process continues to document the therapeutic effects of marijuana through ongoing research and assessment of available data. With regard to the medicinal use of marijuana, our federal government and legal system should take a similar approach, using science and logic, rather than politics, as the basis of policymaking. This recent change of policy by the FDA, with politics apparently taking precedence over science, is disappointing and unwarranted. - templest, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@umbrae: almost %90 of the kids who smoke around here either skateboard, play hacky-sack, bike, or just tend to walk around outside all day.
During the winter, my friends and I go out snow-skating and had snow-ball fights galore, made snow sculptures and played hockey.
I also had a buddy who did nothing but get toasted and play Quake III Arena all day and wouldn't run a mile if his life was in danger.
Moral of the story? Different people have different hobbies; some people are lazier than others. The idiots' problem is that they try to generalize a related group of people into the same persona... not realizing that the group is comprised of individuals. - MerryJuana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Open your eyes, @FLUX. Potheads have been "just smoking the crap" since before humans invented an alphabet. The "propaganda" submitted by activists is in fact just an effort to counter the real propaganda that has brainwashed what I assume are otherwise good people like yourself. Smoking marijuana is not a crime any more than drinking beer, watching television, or jogging could be.
In other words, if it's an end to the propaganda you seek: LEGALIZE IT, LEGALIZE IT, LEGALIZE IT, LEGALIZE IT, LEGALIZE IT
If not, I promise you it is just a matter of time before activists decide to organize, exercise civil disobedience en masse, and fill America's prisons to overflowing... - TreeBranch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@datagod
Its called marinol, it already exists. And besides that you could always make the so called "pot brownies" which isn't harmful in any way (respiratory wise) but still gets you baked. - zappo1776, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4There are other reasons to use a vaporizer besides the lack of CO, tar and particulates. For one it tastes better and leaves no smell on your breath or in the air. Most importantly it doesn't burn off any cannabinoids so you get a cleaner buzz and your weed lasts longer. There are 2 basic kinds of vaporizer: hot plate and hot air. You can save a lot of money by making your own out of a soldering iron (hot plate) or a heat gun.
- Smuikas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Unless, of course, you use a vaporizor .. which is what this article is about... but of course, you skipped the article and came her to flame, didn't you?
- GenerousLinus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@Curtis87xc03
That's a pretty dangerous opinion you got there. I used to have a friend that's dead from cocaine now, and i know several who have been in DUI related accidents. As far as stoner friends go, they're as safe as it gets. They actually spend their money on goods and services like food, video games, going to the movies... Stimulating the economy. When I was into cocaine i remember buying... hmmm... Cocaine. And that's about it. Not that that's the only scenario, but IMHO cocaine and alcohol are far more dangerous to an individual and society on a whole than marijuana is. - Vajrakilaya, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If like me, you buy a Vapir Digital One because it's a third the price of a volcano, don't despair. You can modify it. You need to seal the crappy leaky case and switch to a decent sized bag. To summarize:
- cover the seams in the case with tape
- even cover the buttons with tape (but leave it loose over them so they still work)
- buy some reynolds turkey baking bags
- snip the hard plastic connector off a vapir bag, trim it down a little, and rubber band the reynolds bag to it
Voila Works almost as well as a volcano for a third the price Does not look cool, though. Probably not as durable as a volcano.
Here's where I found the instructions. They specify version 3.0, but they work for my version 4.0:
http://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/index.php?showtopic=11317&st=0
If I had it to do over again I'd buy a volcano A vaporizer is going to pay for itself by conserving herb. A volcano is just going to take a little while longer to pay for itself. (And it may be cheaper in the end because it's more durable) It's what I'll buy if the Vapir gives out on me. - kh99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Actually you're the *****, as your post demonstrates. There's no reason for your post except to be an *****. History contains a long list of things that used to be legal that we wouldn't think of making legal now, and vice versa. It can take time (and maybe some whining) to get the "majority" of stupid, uneducated and misinformed people to change their minds about a law that doesn't make sense.
- detrate, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4duh
- neuros, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@Kyberkitsume
Grower or not, you're apparently not much of a smoker. The high from a vaporizer, strain-independent, is often a more numbing and clear-cut high.
He didn't say it's all body high, just "more body high". Which is true. - Innatech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If the whole scifi feel and plastic bag part of the Volcano bothers you (as it does me), Vapor Brothers products are the other high-quality option.
Almost all vaporizer smokers I know use one or the other. (The ones who don't would rather. ;) ) - mentalstate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i love my vape! tastes yummy and gives you more of a body high
- bluejet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This article was brought to you by; Doritos.
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