420 celebration!

[cuterebra]

The whole "war on drugs" bullshit always made me hissing, spitting mad. I recently sat down and actually read some of the marijuana laws that are still on the books in about half the states in the US--I was dumbfounded. In some states, you are required to purchase a marijuana tax stamp if you buy marijuana. Now, of course nobody actually goes out and buys the damn things. Most people have never heard of them, and if they have why announce to the government that you're breaking the law?

But if you get busted for possession, it lets them nail you with additional fines for tax evasion. Fucking tax evasion!

I'll get off my soap box now...

BTW, as for the cancer thing--anything that is burned has stuff in it with carcinogenic properties. That includes tobacco, marijuana, charred BBQ chicken, etc. Of course, there's no comparison between the risk of smoking a half a day vs. smoking a bowl now and again, but if you really want to minimize your exposure to carcinogens, use a vaporizer instead of smoking. You inhale virtually none of the bad stuff but just as much (if not more) of the THC. It's also a lot less wasteful; your stash will last longer.

Or so I've heard; we residents of tax stamp states don't inhale

 

[420MuNkEy]

The whole "war on drugs" bullshit always made me hissing, spitting mad. I recently sat down and actually read some of the marijuana laws that are still on the books in about half the states in the US--I was dumbfounded. In some states, you are required to purchase a marijuana tax stamp if you buy marijuana. Now, of course nobody actually goes out and buys the damn things. Most people have never heard of them, and if they have why announce to the government that you're breaking the law?

But if you get busted for possession, it lets them nail you with additional fines for tax evasion. Fucking tax evasion!

I'll get off my soap box now...

BTW, as for the cancer thing--anything that is burned has stuff in it with carcinogenic properties. That includes tobacco, marijuana, charred BBQ chicken, etc. Of course, there's no comparison between the risk of smoking a half a day vs. smoking a bowl now and again, but if you really want to minimize your exposure to carcinogens, use a vaporizer instead of smoking. You inhale virtually none of the bad stuff but just as much (if not more) of the THC. It's also a lot less wasteful; your stash will last longer.

Or so I've heard; we residents of tax stamp states don't inhale

I read about those tax stamps a while ago and even contemplated trying to acquire them so that I could argue it was a blatant violation of my 5th amendment right. Of course, such idea's are merely pipe dreams (pun intended).

But speaking of Pipe Dreams, there is not a clearer depiction of the absurdity of the American 'War on Drugs' than Operation Pipe dreams. In this 'Operation', federal authorities targeted the comedian Tommy Chong (there were some others, but they hardly even compare). Undercover agents badgered his sons bong company for months trying to get the company to ship to a state where they aren't legal. Eventually, the feds got what they were after and put on a show arresting Tommy Chong (Stormed his house with helicopters flying overhead).

There was is a documentary documenting this whole process (called A/K/A Tommy Chong). To add to the insanity, federal agents raided the owner of the distribution rights for this movie in 2008 and seized a bunch of copies.

 

[bananaphallus]

...and those 'Above the Influence' commercials - fuck me! "Be yourself, be you're own man/woman, but take the message of this commercial as gospel/don't question it"

They must know that some (I'd proffer most) people just genuinely enjoy the sensation of being stoned in good company, and smoke for that reason and that reason alone/somehow manage to continue being themselves.

 

[cuterebra]

There are just so many reasons to legalize marijuana (at the very least), I simply cannot understand what the resistance is. It would generate so much money in tax revenue and it hasn't shown to be the least bit harmful--certainly less so than alcohol. The only argument that holds even a little bit of water is that it might possibly be a gateway drug--but even if that's true, I suspect it's only because when it's illegal you have to buy it from drug dealers, who often sell harder drugs as well.

 

[bananaphallus]

There are just so many reasons to legalize marijuana (at the very least), I simply cannot understand what the resistance is. It would generate so much money in tax revenue and it hasn't shown to be the least bit harmful--certainly less so than alcohol. The only argument that holds even a little bit of water is that it might possibly be a gateway drug--but even if that's true, I suspect it's only because when it's illegal you have to buy it from drug dealers, who often sell harder drugs as well.

Even if it was a gateway drug, what difference would it make? Riding a motorcycle is much more dangerous/potentially lethal than riding a bicycle, yet both are legal. Would you like the government to decide which drugs are too harmful or potent for you?

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Even if it was a gateway drug, what difference would it make? Riding a motorcycle is much more dangerous/potentially lethal than riding a bicycle, yet both are legal. Would you like the government to decide which drugs are too harmful or potent for you?

you know, actually, as long as I got legal access to weed & psychedelics, I think I would be happy.

I would, of course, feel guilty because even for harder drugs I know that the drug war is not successful in what it's trying to do.

 

[flow]

It's only a gateway drug because it's illegal. Oh the same guy I buy my weed from also sells coke? Welllll, I guess I could try that too.... Almost everyone I know who has experimented with drugs is content to just smoke weed for the rest of their lives and avoid anything else. Granted I've experimented with about every drug I could get my hands on, but that had nothing to do with weed.. I was just a curious kitten. Fucking alcohol is a gateway drug, so is caffeine.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Fucking alcohol is a gateway drug, so is caffeine.

How about mother's milk? Is it a gateway drug? I hear that a lot of drug users had mother's milk when they were an infant. Then you move up to cow milk, juice boxes... and just spirals out of control.

 

[Nicholas A. A. E.]

RT

 

[Agent Intellect]

There are drugs in our drinking water:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/science/earth/03water.html

http://waterindustry.org/Water-Facts/genetic-water.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23503485/

Which causes:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1874176/