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Americans Just Want To Get High
For the first time (in the 44 years of polling), the majority of Americans favor legalizing marijuana. As Gallup notes, from a low of 12% in favor in 1969, the latest poll shows a clear majority (58%) now believe the drug should be made legal.
Perhaps not so surprising, given the prospects for much of today's youth (67% of 18 to 29 year olds in favor), Gallup adds that a sizable percentage of Americans (38%) this year admitted to having tried the drug, which may be a contributing factor to greater acceptance.
Those who identfied themselves as Democrats were almost twice as 'in favor' of legalization as Republicans.
Via Gallup,
It has been a long path toward majority acceptance of marijuana over the past 44 years, but Americans' support for legalization accelerated as the new millennium began. This acceptance of a substance that most people might have considered forbidden in the late 1960s and 1970s may be attributed to changing social mores and growing social acceptance. The increasing prevalence of medical marijuana as a socially acceptable way to alleviate symptoms of diseases such as arthritis, and as a way to mitigate side effects of chemotherapy, may have also contributed to Americans' growing support.
Whatever the reasons for Americans' greater acceptance of marijuana, it is likely that this momentum will spur further legalization efforts across the United States. Advocates of legalizing marijuana say taxing and regulating the drug could be financially beneficial to states and municipalities nationwide. But detractors such as law enforcement and substance abuse professionals have cited health risks including an increased heart rate, and respiratory and memory problems.
With Americans' support for legalization quadrupling since 1969, and localities on the East Coast such as Portland, Maine, considering a symbolic referendum to legalize marijuana, it is clear that interest in this drug and these issues will remain elevated in the foreseeable future.
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Very well said.
I'm not sure anyone here is advocating teens (children) smoke pot on a daily basis. And, their aren't any brown-shirts coming to your door enforcing mandatory pot use for minors. I'm not sure where the boundaries sidebar is coming from. You don't need a PhD to understand that using a substance that alters the mind in any way during it's development is a bad thing. Every second a child is intoxicated is a second their brain is not developing. But, I think the legal drugs getting shoved down their throats in record numbers are a much bigger problem. FYI, their is absolutely zero correlation between adult pot use and decreased brain function. If anything, it has been shown to increase nuerogenesis in lab rats while any affect on cognition are completely erased with a small period of non-use. As far as the law is concerned, t's becoming increasingly ridiculous to prohibit the largest cash crop in America.
Lol so the article concerns legalization for adults. Then when you have been comprehensively debunked, you resort to "What about the children yada yada?"
You are a fuckwit and a moron and an enemy of freedom. Every bad thing that the future may bring to you will be richly deserved.
What argument of mine was comprehensively debunked?
Other posters have pointed out how "scientific studies", such as the one you bring up, without exception fail to prove any causation and have myriad methodological problems.
Governments around the world have spent millions in funding for "studies" attempting to justify the war on pot. These are not objective "scientific studies", but rather part of a propaganda effort you have fallen for. If as much money was spent on trying to prove MJs safety, that's what you would be hearing. Do you always believe what gov and their lackeys tell you is true?
Even after millions of dollars and shoddy attempts, precious little actual scientific evidence exists for the badmouthing MJ. In reality, compared to other recreational drugs such as alcohol, MJ causes minimal harm.
Then to top it off, other posters have pointed out your "evidence", false as it is, is completely irrelevant to the topic of legislation. Your personal distaste for MJ is of no import or interest to anyone.
So all in all, you fail.
It has been proved that you are on the wrong side of nature here, and could very well be in denile. We know the brain doesn't fully develope until well after 25 years, and who wants to wait that long to have a beer or smoke a joint?
I DO support your right to set boundries for YOUR children, but not to impose that on society as a whole, this is the joy's of FREEDOM. The same as others Freedom to FAIL. But from my view point what Human has the RIGHT to tell another Human what Plant[s] they can and cannot use, just my 2c......
http://www.realfarmacy.com/34-medical-studies-for-the-skeptic/ <--For Cannabis Skeptics, it is REAL medicine and so much more.
.
Relevance to legal status of Cannabis?
Good. Same here.
Absolutely. Do you support my right to pursue happiness in the way I see fit (so long as it harms nobody else), and oppose do-gooders leveraging the power of the state to imprison those whose behavior, while harming nobody, offends them? If you do, then we are in alignment.
HH, I repeat a previous reply that that Youth psychosis excuse is mostly junk science, which is presented in ways which are grossly irrational risk assessments. Fructose is more harmful than marijuana. Lack of Vitamin D is more harmful, and so on and so forth ... And I repeat, criminalizing cannabis only makes its moderate risk of harms worse, since the social facts are that in those places where marijuana becomes more legal, the actual rates of youth consumption go down, not up.
There are about 5% of young people who are practically guaranteed to do some of the things that they are told not to do. Most programs to try to persuade them not to do something tend to actually backfire.
Re: That is exactly what I have witnessed, too.
That applies to those hooked on Robert Park 95pts Cab too.
There are lots of things children (aka "developing minds") should not be allowed to do...drive cars, vote, enter contracts, and other dangerous stuff. As for grown adults, get real. I watched a good friend suffer terribly w/stage 4 brain cancer, and eventually succumb to it. One of his brightest moments occured when he shared a joint w/one of his friends. He perked up, had an appetite and was better (if not well) for a little while. In a word, he got some blessed if brief relief.
This psychotic and immoral war on drugs has to end. People who support it, and esp those who profit from it do so by inflicting pain and suffering on their fellow human beings. The drug war supporters cruelly deny the least bit of solace to cancer and other sufferers because of their irrational fears and prejudice.
HH seems quite concerned that the undeveloped minds of he and his children might lose some of their precious few IQ points. Perhaps he should examine instead the severe damage done to intelligence by the long-term habitual consumption of monotheistic religious dogma. He'd have a case study right there in his mirror.
Cannabis enables nonmusicians to know a little about what it is like to be a musician, and nonartists to grasp the joys of art. But I am neither an artist nor a musician. What about my own scientific work? While I find a curious disinclination to think of my professional concerns when high – the attractive intellectual adventures always seem to be in every other area – I have made a conscious effort to think of a few particularly difficult current problems in my field when high. It works, at least to a degree. I find I can bring to bear, for example, a range of relevant experimental facts which appear to be mutually inconsistent. So far, so good. At least the recall works. Then in trying to conceive of a way of reconciling the disparate facts, I was able to come up with a very bizarre possibility, one that I’m sure I would never have thought of down. I’ve written a paper which mentions this idea in passing. I think it’s very unlikely to be true, but it has consequences which are experimentally testable, which is the hallmark of an acceptable theory.
I have mentioned that in the cannabis experience there is a part of your mind that remains a dispassionate observer, who is able to take you down in a hurry if need be. I have on a few occasions been forced to drive in heavy traffic when high. I’ve negotiated it with no difficult at all, though I did have some thoughts about the marvelous cherry-red color of traffic lights. I find that after the drive I’m not high at all. There are no flashes on the insides of my eyelids. If you’re high and your child is calling, you can respond about as capably as you usually do. I don’t advocate driving when high on cannabis, but I can tell you from personal experience that it certainly can be done. My high is always reflective, peaceable, intellectually exciting, and sociable, unlike most alcohol highs, and there is never a hangover. Through the years I find that slightly smaller amounts of cannabis suffice to produce the same degree of high, and in one movie theater recently I found I could get high just by inhaling the cannabis smoke which permeated the theater.
There is a very nice self-titering aspect to cannabis. Each puff is a very small dose; the time lag between inhaling a puff and sensing its effect is small; and there is no desire for more after the high is there. I think the ratio, R, of the time to sense the dose taken to the time required to take an excessive dose is an important quantity. R is very large for LSD (which I’ve never taken) and reasonably short for cannabis. Small values of R should be one measure of the safety of psychedelic drugs. When cannabis is legalized, I hope to see this ratio as one of he parameters printed on the pack. I hope that time isn’t too distant; the illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world. [Carl Sagan, source]
Various psychiatric disorders such as major depression are associated with abnormalities in emotional processing. Evidence indicating involvement of the endocannabinoid system in emotional processing, and thus potentially in related abnormalities, is increasing. In the present study, we examined the role of the endocannabinoid system in processing of stimuli with a positive and negative emotional content in healthy volunteers. A pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted with a placebo-controlled, cross-over design, investigating effects of the endocannabinoid agonist ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on brain function related to emotional processing in 11 healthy subjects. Performance and brain activity during matching of stimuli with a negative (‘fearful faces’) or a positive content (‘happy faces’) were assessed after placebo and THC administration. After THC administration, performance accuracy was decreased for stimuli with a negative but not for stimuli with a positive emotional content. Our task activated a network of brain regions including amygdala, orbital frontal gyrus, hippocampus, parietal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and regions in the occipital cortex. THC interacted with emotional content, as activity in this network was reduced for negative content, while activity for positive content was increased. These results indicate that THC administration reduces the negative bias in emotional processing. This adds human evidence to support the hypothesis that the endocannabinoid system is involved in modulation of emotional processing. Our findings also suggest a possible role for the endocannabinoid system in abnormal emotional processing, and may thus be relevant for psychiatric disorders such as major depression. [Source]
Yeah, big pharma has killed more people than pot ever has.
Had a buddy who fought cronic pain for years. Didn't have the money for pot but was able to get prescription drugs through some plan he had. Ended up dieing at 42 when his central nervous system shut down because of a bad mix of lorazipam and some pain killer. Left two little kids behind. I'd bet my last dollar he would still be here if he could have smoke pot to manage his pain.
drugs will never be leagal in this country ... if it did the whole "war on drugs" will fall apart and the government will lose one their many tentacles to terrorize the citizens.
Go tell that to Washington and Colorado. They're legalizing weed right now with a green-light from the DOJ.
Let's legalize tobacco first.
No, Let's legalize making your own moonshine first!
Start with learning how to make mead (Honey Wine): http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/fast-cheap-mead-making.htm
Does duh beef jerkey flavored weed qualify for muh EBT yo?
I've no illusions about America being "turned around".
It's over.
As the song said....the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.
Then go ahead and do so.
@Tsar: Just want you to know I didn't down ya.
I never down comments unless they're really egregious and always write a response when doing so.
I do appreciate your going that extra mile. I hate drive-by downvoters.
So americans want what R Paul said for a long time but Vote for Dems and Reps..... Strange behaviour indeed.
Re: Strange behaviour indeed
Well, in private yeah. But, when it comes to actually voting you really want:
1) Spending more of other people's money, and
2) Using the power of the government to annoy people you don't like.
Everybody loves a Big-Gov run by the sociopaths they like.
"The Politics of Experience", by R.D. Laing
decriminalization will happen when more money can be made (for the state) by growing crops than burning them.
Not before.
. . . and that time would be coming due right about now. See WA and CO's legalization programs.
" Dave ? Dave ? Dave ? Dave's not here, man. "
No... No.. Man It's me Daaave. I got the stuff.
ITS SIMPLE MATH
SPEND a billion dollars getting high
or
10 billion dollars preventing people from getting high, and then arresting them for getting high anyway.
People don't have anything left, they just wana get high and forget about everything for 30 minutes a day.
Its a god-given right to have 30 minutes a day to tell the world to "fuck off".
;0
Re; Its a god-given right
And what NEXT, huh? Fornicating harlots not being punished.
Yer forgitten what made this goddamn country great-n-glorious, and it wasn't immorality.
NO! It was boy-scout leaders on disability toppling huge rocks, is what made this country great, not fornicating harlots smokin pot!
Get a goddamn haircut you hippy!!
You had me goin' for a sec. +1
Choom Stamps?
Maybe this is why the market keeps going up-n-up-n-up.
Man, like, how hi can it go man? Man, it's like way up there now. I can't even see it, man.
Should we by more, man? Man, I say lets do it, man.
Yeah, man, look at it go up.
Cue: giggling.
Yeah, man, it's really flying up there. Tastes like shit, though, man.
Yeah, that's because they roll it with Ben's toilet paper, man.
Just goes to show that any supposed libertarian tendencies in the GOP are quite DEAD.
Re: libertarian tendencies
The "Conservatives" think you can go blind from libertarian tendencies.
I have actually recently converted one of my conservative friends into a libertarian. He read For A New Liberty by Murray Rothbard and after he got done reading it, he said he would never read another Ann Coulter book again. Seriously, I kid you not, he actually said that. He loved reading all of Coulter's books before I introduced him to Rothbard. ;)
Re: he said he would never read another Ann Coulter book again
Give him a few months. Most "Conservatives" love authoritarian govenment. REAL Libertarians have as little in common with "Conservatives" (aka Fascists) as they do with "Liberals" (aka Socialist).
People change their political OCD very slowly. It's very tough to go from kick-ass daddy "Conservative" to live-n-let-live Libertarianism. Different chemicals in the brain.
We'll see. If he wants to take the plunge and read something like Man, Economy, and State, then I'd say he'll have crossed over.
But I still was in shock in what he said. Less Ann Coulter and more Murray Rothbard!
The problem is labels and the fact that everyone has some aspects of each ideology in them. It is simply a matter of perportion or degrees. Even the most staunch libertarian is still left to covet that which he perceives he needs which must be "liberated" from those who need it less, if at all, in his approximation. I am a conservative with libertarian leanings...mostly. But I'm also human. The key is minimizing ANYONE, regardless of ideology, from obtaining too much power. Decentralization of power in government and corporations. We now have a system that encourages centralization on all fronts, government, business, economics and data, yet rationalizes the danger by instituting fines and penalties, including taxes to stiffle yet harvest the "worst" of the results. This willingness to tax as a systemic means of regulation simultaneously encourages and penalizes the same actions, leading to no societal benefit but huge gains in wealth and power for those in power and commercial entities "cooperating". Weed is no different in that it will be legalized yet taxed and regulated. Just like with the vice of gambling, all was forgotten once the tax stream was illustrated. Now, gambling is legal and even state sponsored, because its for the children (schools that is). We are morally bankrupt along with economically. Things may be bad or good depending on perception in some cases and science in others, but we should be free to be stupid, as long as others do not have to bear the cost. Those in power will simply love a stoned low information voter. Its like the absolute best ever. Easily passified and cheaper than food stamps by a long way. It will actually pay rather than cost for the same dependency. Perfect!
You've gotta love the "limited government Constitutional conservatives" who oppose marijuana legalization while simultaneously being unable to point to any section of the Constitution that allows it to be outlawed.
EDIT: Don't just hit and run — defend that anonymous down-arrow. By what Constitutional authority does the federal government criminalize marijuana? And if you utter the phrase "interstate commerce," you should rightfully be laughed out of ZH.
Re: By what Constitutional authority does the federal government criminalize marijuana?
ALL true "Conservatives" know that the Constitution was inspired by their imaginary-friend, and - just because he forgot to mention it - doesn't mean it's allowed.
It's because those fake and phony "conservatives" are still supporting the GOP and its fascist neocon wing of "do gooders". You know, "Making the World Safe for Democracy".
Fact is, they have no ethical, moral or legal leg to stand on when it comes to the Constitution.
There are a lot of people who have seen the destruction that drugs leave first hand. All freedoms are not equal but we should have them none the less. I just despise our government interceeding to simply create new government jobs of regulation and a new tax base. We should honor our freedoms by letting the failures of choice glare brightly in our faces, exactly the same as we demand form our Federal Reserve and government. We know that the real destruction comes form the concealmnet of fact and the manipulation of data. People have been choosing badly throughout existence. Let us see the drug addicts wandering the streets and the death tolls associated and maybe our schools can make some field trips to some drug houses and let the kids make their choices as well. Instead we glamorize drugs, booze and tobacco in our culture as the "bad boy" meme. People can learn but they need real raw data. And we don't need to be protected. Its the protected that suffer first.
I've known a lot of alcoholics, destroyed by their drug of choice, yet the USA acknowledged that "Prohibition" was an utter failure!
I like pointing out it took a constitutional amendment to prohibit alcohol, a product of processed plants, yet now they ban anything including an actual plant! 'Merrica!
Big Pharma is a principal owner/operator of the USSA gubmint. They can't make money selling choom when customers can grow it in their backyards.......and .gov can't figure out how to tax your backyard harvest.
Legalization denied ! ...now go and be content with your synthetic opiates < 29 million prescription users per year can't be wrong ! >
Libertarians 100%
Those in favor of MJ legalization are all for the abolition of tobacco.
Heard an advocacy group say that the FDA needs to regulate E-Cigarettes because they are a "gateway" to smoking tobacco.
ROFLMAO!
Funny how .gov badmouths tobacco and alcohol but are more than happy to tax the shit out of it.
.gov will legalize pot when they calculate potential tax revenues.
They've actually got a win/win right now. Under the tax code you have to pay income tax on income made from illegal activity (eg growing/distributing weed), but you can't write-off any of your expenses. WA and CO producers, processors, and retailers, therefore, are going to get double-fucked by Uncle Sugar.
The best bet for them is "allow" state legalization but keep it illegal at the federal level.
Does anyone ask the question of who wants to pay for the enforcement of this policy?
hell, even the governmint expeerimented with LSD man
prolly still do some drug speriments.
When the society has gone completely mad, is it any wonder people want to get high?
Don't tap into your Choom money for insurance bro, we got that covered.
"G's up ho's down while you mother fuckers bounce ta dis"
"A gramme is better than a damn" -- Lenina, Brave New World
A friend with weed
is a friend indeed.
Give me Librium or give me Meth.
The best part of getting high is the view.
LSD, DMT, STP, THC ... a mantra of our time ...
get small today.
Don't take any wooden nickel bags.
Two bongs don't make a right.
Don't look a gift of horse in the mouth.
Crack is beautiful.
As cute as a peyote button.
Just say "yes".
They lost the drug war. About fucking time.
What scares me is what these fuckers will come up with for the next "war." They've been floating the war on guns balloon but that's not working very well. Domestic terrorism, maybe?
It seems silly to make illegal something that takes as much skill as growing a tomato plant in ones basement.
Not when you and/or some of your best friends (ie largest donators) have prison beds that need fillin'
Makes sense to me. Why wouldnt you want to light up if youre younger. Not much to look forward to, and the inexpensive cost means you can grt high while discussing your English degree and complaining about your job at Starbucks.
Won't you please think of Hedgeless Horseman's children?!!?!?!
Let them eat cake, i mean smoke marijuana!
Nice one
I never really understood why conservatives don't use the same logic for legalizing pot as they do when it comes to gun control. Obviously, we all know that gun control doesn't stop bad guys from getting guns (thank you Chicago for being living proof of that). But apparently "drug control" means the drugs magically disappear? Stilly statists.
(Replace "conservative with "liberal" and switch gun control and pot around and the same thing is true as well. I hate being called crazy by Team Red and Team Blue for wanting both my guns and pot legalized.)
It's makes perfect sense when you realize the "two sides" are basically a bunch of control freaks with different obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
Re: I never really understood why conservatives
You are assuming "Conservative", Libertarians, "Liberals", & Socialist think. They don't. Politics is just an OCD.
"Conservatives" like an authoritarian kick-ass-daddy old-testament based society. Smokin' week doesn't fit, daddy don't cut his kids no slack when it comes to drugs because it clouds the free-will needed to make good decisions. (Special note, booze is ok because it's manly, like Big-MIC which isn't really socialism because it's manly).
"Liberals", however, are just girly-men and panzies who like weed, and if kick-ass daddy sees them he gonna kick there asses.
I don't hurt others, and therefore any self-proclaimed authority that would call me a criminal loses all respect from me. Violations of personal sovereignty are acts of war, and among the comprehensive freedoms I reserve for myself is self-defence. I dislike being at perpetual war with self-proclaimed authorities, but I did not start the conflict, and I will not capitulate.
If one wants me to stop living my lifestyle, one will have to put me in jail, but if one wants to put me in jail, one will have to kill me. Sovereignty, bitchez.
Legailise it! Tax it!
There ya go, end to global economic contraction. Every fast food place will be booming, especially the pizza places:)
i think the economy would contract, people tend to be less materialistic when high, less consumption, except you are right about the pizza.
The difficulties in taxing it are probably the reason it remains illegal. Medical marijuana is a convenient excuse for controlling the production/point of (legal)sale. To continue my tomato plant analogy from above. . .they could no more tax marijuana than they could tax successfully my tomato plants. Trust me. . .if they legalize it, every "pot head" will be growing it in their basements, back yards, parks, storage unit, etc.
Unlike most drugs (including alcohol, tobacco, etc). . .it takes little to no processing. A plant.
Eh, but by that same logic most people would grow their own eggplant, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, spices, etc. but how many just buy from the grocery store instead? Even with the lack of nutrients the grocery store selection provides. You're naive to think that an industry wouldn't boom just because the option to grow it exists...
The consequences to families inflicted from zealous enforcement are more severe than the consequences of the drug itself.
If we are consistent with our message of freedom, we should be in favor of ending marijuana prohibition.
That and Obamacare prohibition.
Re; with our message of freedom
Hey, we all love OUR freedum. It those people we don't agree with that need to be controlled.
It isn't just that Americans want to get high. They have seen way too much reality and have decided that Dr. Leary was right: Its time to tune in, turn on, and drop out.
Uh. The proper order is:
Turn on.
Tune in.
Drop out.
The last one may have actually been: Drop another 500 mics.
I knew Art Kleps.
Look, smoking pot has never made me or anybody else I know want to do harder drugs. This "gateway drug" BS is just that - lying BS.
Just as having homosexual relations with another consenting adult has never made me or anybody else I know want to have sexual relations with a dog. Or an elephant. Or a turtle. Or a child. Or a box of Twinkies. Or any other wacky example that is dreamed up in the twisted, sick minds of closet cases and other alarmists.
Freedom is free. The propaganda has led you to believe otherwise.
Conservatives believe its its fun its likely going to be bad for you while liberals think if it isn't fun there is no point. Both sides are wrong and as usual the truth is somewhere in the middle. Its called balance. The trouble is with a living breathing system like we have, balance is never a static position, it is constantly in motion. And with motion it can swing to extremes sometimes that can cause a lot of damage. Most policies instituted by left and right have had good intentions, but unfortunately they seldom look beyond the end of their nose to see if the results truely justify the costs. Drug laws or homeland security. The real problem is that no matter how well meaning, because of size and scope of powers, all lose rationality for sake of the system integrity and corruption almost always takes over.
All those laid-off workers who still can't find jobs need something to occupy their time. This is probably why the numbers changed.
Plus think of all the young people with unpaid college loans and no jobs who need something to take their mind off their situations,
Anyone high right now?
Why are so many afraid to die. Everyone will die. It's in our culture to deny death. That's because this Kulture is unclean.
Sativa, if you let him, will help you clean out.
The first time I got high on the serious California choom I went to see Midnight in Paris. I drifted out of that pleasant fantasy in 20 minutes but one line from the Hemingway character stayed with me;
"All men must pass through the same gate."
I more than got my money's worth just from that sentence. When I get high these days it's not a casual buzz; it's a Sufic ecstasy. I don't expect or plan to operate any machinery. I may not remember where I put my pen, but I take notes of the dialogue I have with myself.
I consider Marijuana to be one of the few really good things strongly going in the U.S. I think the cat's out of the bag and even the Admin knows that.
I still like to drink but I will not do so if I have the other option. The advantage to drinking for me is twofold; (1) I can increment the experience; and (2) drinking is social whereas the current Choom is just too strong for me (52 1/2 y/o) to deal with with people around.
But drinking is corrosive, expensive and potentially dangerous.
Don't assume the iKidz are on board - the current crop is so concentrated it scares a lot of unprepared people - because it's a clean thing and it illuminates what's dirty inside - and that is often disturbing if not frightening. I am an experienced mariner and it got to me the first few times. But if you can go with it, clean out & dance with it, there is nothing better. It is a true Ally in the Don Juan sense.
The mental healing facilitates the physical. You will see how they are joined.
I don't know if you have legal medical dispensaries near you, or if you are "qualified" to purchase from one, but if you do/are, look for a Sativa dominant strain higher in CBDs than THC, - one of those may be more to your liking. . .
Citx; I do and yes. Egzactly 420 is 4 blocks away. Tim Lincecum's favorite dispensary is another 3 blocks. I hear he gives out tix in exchange for some quiet time in the hash bar...
a few must-watch movies while high:
Life of Pi
Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels
Groundhog Day
Get a copy of the movie "The Intouchables" (correct spelling). It's in French with subtitles but don't let that put you off. It's the true story of a wealthy Frenchman who, as the result of an accident is paralysed from the neck down. His life is made sweeter by a street punk in Paris who introduces him to cannabis. Totally captivating.
i have watched it german dubbed! but, i should watch the original in french. thanks for the pro tip ;-)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
I eat it. The old way was eating it in cakes with tea.
I went from coffee, cigarettes and alcohol to sativa and jasmine tea.
If you want a change, change your habits.
How often? Once every 4-6 weeks. I get too high and have too many prejudiced people very close to me, to be able to do it more often. Even my San Fran law office is 95% redneck on the topic.
it seems necessary...nay, down-right obligatory, that janus post this-here dylan classic (can't believe you ZHealots didn't beat me to it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daRC0sQj5fw
oh but i would not feel so all alone...,
janus
Bill Hicks - Mandatory Marijuana: (6 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZqYV9KKOZQ
i thought of posting that myself...
hicks was/is both an inspiration and caution for janus. i didn't find the man till recently (i'm always woefully outta step with things -- sometimes decades off); and i was all-like, 'whoa! so, there are people out there that actually like to hear that kind of extemporaneous pontificating...and they'll pay for it if it's hilarious.' and then i was all-like, 'whoa'. it was revelatory; to say the least.
hicks mismanaged his own constitution...didn't know when to quit. hicks was angry with an indolent, nonplussed and casually ignorant society -- there are agonizingly few methods for mediating the angst...hardcore drug use is the least heroic. it's cowardly, if truth be known.
disaffected cynicism might've been meet for the late eighties and early ninties; but now methinks it's time to fight.
but that doesn't mean we cannot occassionaly fire-up a brimmin bowl of KGB...helps to reflect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xscuS9H8U
roll another one/
just like the other one...,
janus
Past Intel drug-testing of new-hires not-withstanding, Silicon Valley culture is permeated ... inextricably intertwined ... with high-grade marijuana.
With the movement of many high-tech companies' headquarters to San Francisco, even more so.
About all of the "Reefer Madness" bullshit ... I'd like to see all those "anti-drug" Republicans put their money where their mouth is, and divest themselves of all their Silicon Valley stocks, except maybe Intel.
Apple, Oracle, etc.
It's been this way - acceptance of marijuana - since the 1980's. Probably longer.
Like the stock market is rational. Traders are probably higher than anyone in silicon valley. They have to be!
Past Intel drug-testing of new-hires not-withstanding, Silicon Valley culture is permeated ... inextricably intertwined ... with high-grade marijuana.
With the movement of many high-tech companies' headquarters to San Francisco, even more so.
About all of the "Reefer Madness" bullshit ... I'd like to see all those "anti-drug" Republicans put their money where their mouth is, and divest themselves of all their Silicon Valley stocks, except maybe Intel.
Apple, Oracle, etc.
It's been this way - acceptance of marijuana - since the 1980's. Probably longer.
"Throughout that period of time I used the LSD approximately ten to fifteen times," Jobs said. "I would ingest the LSD on a sugar cube or in a hard form of gelatin. I would usually take the LSD when I was by myself. I have no words to explain the effect the LSD had on me, although, I can say it was a positive life changing experience for me and I am glad I went through that experience.”
But LSD wasn't the only drug that Jobs had an affinity for way back when - it was the 70's after all.
Specifically, Jobs was also no stranger to smoking both marijuana and hashish, explaining that he used to smoke it with friends and even used to eat pot brownies. During the course of his DoD interview, Jobs said that the last time he got high was in 1977. Explaining the impetus behind his marijuana usage, Jobs said that it helped him relax and made him more creative.
All told, Jobs said that he used drugs anywhere from once a week to once a month during that time period. [source]
In holland, where it is legal for decades now, marijuana has become something for highschool kids. If you still use it when older than 20, you're considered a loser (or a tourist)
How sophisticated of you. Do you lift a pinkie while you drink?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/22/uruguay-legal-cannabis-1-do...
I was way ahead of the majority on this one...
Starve the beast!!!!
The US government has been growing and distributing marijuana since the 70's.
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-12-11/news/ls-12854_1_marijuana-farm
It is hypocritical for the government to take any other position.
hedgeless,
It's none of the governments, my next door neighbor, or anybody elses business what I smoke. I'm always taken aback by these so called "conservatives" and "constitutionalists" who become the worst nanny state, big brother do gooder pieces of shit when it comes to weed. Go fuck yourself and leave me alone. The reality is it's been kept illegal for so long because the cops and other welfare state queens depend on the drug laws for jobs. Maybe this trend we see in public opinion means we are FINALLY move towards a more libertarian (small "L") society here in the USSR.
As long as an employer has the right to not employ you or fire you if you decide to get high and we have legitimate tests that can determine whether you are driving under the influence of marijuana.
http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/02/why-medical-marijuana-laws-reduce-...
I miss weed being fun. Those were great days, but I was very young, music was new. Physical Graffitti had just come out. My brother had a copy of Made In Japan. A friend of mine brought over Black Sabbath: Volume 4 and Robin Trower LIVE!. Colombian Gold. Thai Stick. Panama Red. Formative shit, let me tell you. Being a stoner was subersive when you were 13 in 1975. Now weed just gives me the heebie jeebies.
If I ever find myself in a situation where I need weed in a medicinal way, its legality will hardly be of concern. But I'm all for it. I've gotten in a hell of a lot more idiotic situations from booze than I ever did from smoking dope.
Making maryjane illeagal is the best agricultural price support program the US government has ever came up with.
it was also quite fruitful for all those fuckers who owned vast tracts of land with virgin timber to be clearcut for papermills to turn into newspapers & magazines to stone the masses with propaganda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMPB-aqW9rU
If it's good enough for Sir Patrick Stewart surely it's good enough for the commoner.
okay, okay, okay! enough already...janus will now tell the tale of his love affair with mary jane.
a brief history of marijuana (and jauns):
this story begins, as do so many similar sagas, in a frat house, within the campus of mississippi state university (go dawgs!!! -- go to hell, ole miss!!!), which is situated in northeast mississippi -- that'd be starkville.
you see, janus was raised according to the olde and accepted ways; he'd never even seen the frosty herb whilst whiling away his high-school days in north georgia. my high school set were a clean-cut and all-american sort (many have gone on to attain their grand ambitions); illegal drugs were both anathema and alien -- sneering contempt was our answer to poison-pushers and peddlers.
then i pledged SAE (Phi Alpha, bitchez). and though there are stories a'plenty thus regarding, we'll do well in illuminating the highlights of our chosen subject -- me and mary jane. and so it came to pass -- the joint, that is -- and when it was my turn to toke (having never smoked a cigarette or any other leafy combustables) i did but choke, sputter and spray the surroundings with a finely misted blend of spittle and sputem. i thought i did everything correctly: pinched the thing betwixt my thumb and forefinger (aping the man before me), pulled the smoke slowly into my mouth and then did what i could to force it down my windpipe and onto my lungs (again, in imitation of the others there gathered). and then smiled in a satisfied way, such that those around would clearly see that i was no rookie. i tried to play it cool, but...
i don't think they bought it, the sputem-spray betrayed me.
like so many others, my first attempt at getting stoned netted nothing in the way of stonage...i felt absolutely unstoned -- perhaps even more unstoned than before my first toke. i was likewise ashamed (shamed in a way that inevitably results when you soak your frat-brother's furniture with spittle). but it wasn't a total loss.
my take-away?: i, at the very moment the coughing spasm subsided, understood that, if i were to share in this university's ubiquitious past-time, i'd have to toughen up the ole lungs. it was in that short span of time that a life-altering decision was made: janus resolved to take up the coolest past-time of them all -- cigarette smoking.
i was nearing this decision anyway. back in the day, a young man could buy any tobacco product in the state of georgia if'n he'd surpassed his sixteenth year (can't expect a young man to drive a vehicle without the support and succor of nicotine). and so i, like most of the other white wrestlers, had taken to snuff ('dip' in the deep south); we would incessantly spit to shed any superflous weight. {remind me to someday tell you ZHealots the story of "Copenhagen" and how it served as my nickname on the mat}.
now, i soon thereafter engaged in a bout of ponderation and serious contemplation: my nicotine habit having been firmly established, the inconducivity of 'dip' and alcoholic beverages, my observation that loose women likewise smoked, and the afore mentioned lung-toughening regimine to which i'd dedicated myself...leaving me with but one decision. to wit, what brand.
i settled on marlboro mediums...but that's neither here nor there...back to the buddage...
and so it was that janus spent many a solitary night practicing with the cigarettes until, at long last, he felt he'd mastered the simple device. he could now smoke in all confidence -- certain that neither cancer nor social scorn could in any meaningful way deter him. it was time to take the bull by the horns; to assert myself; to assume my seat at the table (you know, the one where pot smokers are to be found)...but still, i was unsure. i needed to practice before again hazarding the approbation of my more experienced bretheren.
so there was this dude in my speech class -- freshman year. he was GDI (goddam independent...in other words, uninitiated in any frat), but i, being the egalitarian that i am, reserved judgement and did but follow him from class to his apartment on nash st...right in the heart of the cotton district (neighborhood in starkville, ms)...such that we should raid his stash; and by it see our way to a successful stoneage.
but there was a catch: this fella was a bona fide pro; which is to say, he had a bong. 'what the fuck is this funky contraption?' janus thought and then soon after asked. again, i betrayed my naivete. 'ben' (to protect the innocent i'm using their real names) chuckeled as he informed young janus as to its functioning and purpose. i nodded as he demonstrated the peculiar methodologies involved. nothing to it.
it's a good thing ben's bong was made of plexi-glass; otherwise, he would've been dealing with innumberable shards of shattered glass flecking a foaming pond of the vilest batch of bong-water you've evah seen...disgusting. and, truth be known, ben had lots to learn about the stewadship of a bong (they simply must be kept clean and freshened with spring water at regular intervals)...poor ben.
ben forgot to mention that the bowl itself gets whelp-inducing-hot once a flame is for several seconds applied to it; and so i blame him for janus dropping the funky contraption on his linoleum floor and surefitting all the surrounding fabrics with that miasmatic bong-dreck; and i almost cold-cocked him for the whelp that formed on my thumb and forefinger. and let this be a lesson to all you young ZHealots: drugs are dangerous! (you can get a nasty whelp if'n you don't pay attention).
success...stoned at last; stoned at last; thank God Almighty, janus was stoned at last.
the queer and irrational thing about intoxication is that it cannot last -- alas, one must sober-up...whether he wants to or not. aware of this dynamic as he was, janus did therefore brace himself for some kinda fierce hangover. none. nada. nothing of the sort.
awww, hell...there's so many ancillary anecdotes that cry-out for inclusion; and i'd feel i did them a disservice if i failed to append them...but janus is a father now; and it is withal incumbent that i affix a few cautionary clauses in conclusion of this lil story.
in social settings (or, for that matter, ANY circumstance that finds the stoned subject commercing with unstoned others) the stoner finds himself in a demonstrably disadvantaged position. gathering ones thoughts for to assemble them into a cogent statement can be nettlesome...you can clear the eyes with visene all you want, but you're gonna find yourself out-witted by the dullest of dullards.
except within a variety of approved settings (such as: an early-morning hike in the wilderness, a mid-afternoon matinee, or solitary and purposeless day-time recreation) one should never suck down the sublime-smoke while the sun shines...especially when one has practical or profitable concerns to mediate.
as shakespeare said, 'never let thy habits of vice overwhelm thy pocket-book' (i'm paraphrasing...it's from romeo and juliet; where rosencrantz or gildenstern is giving or getting some life advice -- i think).
i will duly concede that pot doth catalyze a daub of creativity; however, its consistent use can & will occulde the subtler sublimities of thought. pot and its purest pleasures, as with all other things, is a matter of balance and responsibility...too much of anything is simply too much.
and, finally, i suppose this will cause many of you to call ole janus a hypocrite (ask me if i care), but i'm gonna relate it anyway. my older two boys know that i occasionally partake. and although i told them both that, upon the occasion of their 13th birthday, they were forever free from the paddle (a spankin', in other words), there were a few stipulations. one of which involves illegal drugs or alcohol. specific to the stipulation, janus will kick their butts if'n they partake whilst living in my home. no if and or butts about it (understand, this is a hollow threat...but i would find some meaningful way to drop the hammer on em -- this is certain).
call me crazy, but young men should avoid both sex and drugs for the entirety of their adolesence. the premature indulgence in adult past-times serves only to stunt and retard their development as men...plenty of time for that shit once the multifarious & manifold pressures of living start to stamp and steam-roll your very being.
all that being said, it's now well past sunset, the gumbo is simmerin on the stove, God is in His Heaven, all is right with the world (at least in my lil neck of the woods), the kids have finished their homework and mrs. janus has been kind enough to give me a quiet moment or two...you know what time it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3ZDqe5j4q8 (yes, i know i played this song the other day...but i like it lots and lots...janus is a huge fan of moby's genius...wayne c. taint bad neither)
same applies to beck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6LlIM9M1bE
i don't need no wheels/
don't need no gasoline/
cause the wind that is blowing/
is blowing like a smoke machine...,
janus
I'm glad you were honest. -
"the premature indulgence in adult past-times serves only to stunt and retard their development as men...plenty of time for that shit once the multifarious & manifold pressures of living start to stamp and steam-roll your very being. "
Heavy marijiuana use is a limiting factor on maturity and development. It also causes adolescents to waste enourmous amounts of time that could be otherwise put to productive pursuits. Getting high is an escape from reality same with getting drunk. If you need to escape or want to kille yourself so be it. Legalize it.
Lord of the Rings stoned is worth the 11 hours and three pizzas.
After retirement, I volunteered at a rehab center. I saw first hand what drug abuse does to people, families and society. However, the question must be asked: WHO'S BODY/LIFE IS IT ANYWAY? ARE WE SOVEREIGN INDIVIDUALS OR STATE PROPERTY? Medical marijuana is a no-brainer. Tell me again how morphine is ok, yet MaryJane isn't?
I wonder how long it will be until government subsidizes it so people stay nice and passive. Just like Soma in A Brave New World.
They've long since done that. One out of every three people in the USA is on some kind of psychoactive drug prescription.
I have been researching and writing about "legalizing marijuana" for more than 40 years, and I happen to now be the registered "leader" of the Marijuana Party of Canada. During that time, I have moved on through a number of different phases. The most important thing is to look at the funding of the political processes so that one can follow the money to its SOURCE.
Anybody curious about my bla, bla, blah on this topic could start with this "biography:"
http://www.marijuanaparty.ca/article.php3?id_article=161
i read a decent portion of it...and at some point in the future i'll return and read more of it.
you're a hell of a guy, RM...grade A beard, also.
i really need to take a look round canada...if i'm ever passing through, i'll drop by and hit you up for a dube or two.
till then, here's some richie havens to keep you company:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rynxqdNMry4
freedom!,
janus
Thanks for taking a look at my material, Janus, and thanks for the musical link! It brought back fond nostalgic memories of my youth. However, I can never provide pot to any strangers. Sorry, but IF I did, then it would be practically guaranteed that uncover police officers, pretending to by my friends, or supporters, would come around and ask for some. That has already happened too many times before to various leading figures in the marijuana movement in Canada.
you're welcome...it was interesting reading.
you have a most insightful take on the world around you.
i understand, which is why i'll bring my own and share. it'll probably be inferior to your shit, but...again, i understand.
we'll swap a few stories, too.
janus
I know of one plant-derived substance that causes hopeless addiction in everyone it touches, bringing untold misery and poverty to a lot of the Human population. Of course, I'm referring to FIAT currencies!
CANNABIS CAN CURE CANCER. This is not a joke. It's FOR REAL. That's right... Your parent, uncle, cousin, (insert loved one) died because the govt hides natural cures and makes them illegal.
Indeed, slvrizgold, marijuana issues are merely the most extreme examples of the general pattern.
Big daily doses of concentrated oil made from marijuana flowers is ONLY ONE of the possible alternatives to treat cancer. Rick Simpson is one of the people who recently popularized that:
http://www.phoenixtears.ca/
http://www.phoenixtearsplus.com/
There are now hundreds of different links to his material ... Rick Simpson's first video was "Run from the Cure." It is easy to find many different ways to watch that video ...
E.g.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvosdIXyjWM
However, in Canada, there is no legal source of that kind of hemp oil, or the concentrated marijuana flower resin. Only expensive, black market, essential marijuana flower oil is available. Furthermore, since one should take a large daily dose, it cost lots.
Smoking marijuana is relatively useless, other that to treat the secondary effects of chemo therapy, such as nausea, etc.. In order to benefit best from the pot, as a medicine itself, one should eat large amounts of the essential oils!
One possible legal alternative might be this:
CBD-rich tinctures, such as Dew Drops Hemp Oil from Denver based Dixie Botanicals sells their industrial hemp oil over the internet with no medical marijuana permit required.
http://dixiebotanicals.com/products/dew-drops-hemp-oil-supplement/
That fits into this context:
http://www.realitysandwich.com/high_health_cbd_food_supply
High on Health: CBD in the Food Supply
Another link, which puts together parts of that with others:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh2qd_foV-4
Medicinal Cannabis
- Educational Documentary - Cannabinoid Compounds
There are now literally thousands of different good sources one can find listed in various places which relate to these things.
I will also add some other links to many ALTERNATIVES below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWLrfNJICeM
Cancer - The Forbidden Cures
http://www.new-cancer-treatments.org/
Only about a dozen of these 400+ treatments are effective for advanced cancer patients. The importance of the Web sites which do not directly sell any health products cannot be overestimated because they are the only Web sites which are allowed to talk about cures for cancer.
The basic problem, which underlies it all: THE PROFIT FROM DISEASE SYSTEM.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/10/chemotheraphy-is-medical-fraud.aspx?e_cid=20120310_DNL_art_1
"... In reality, virtually the entire cancer industry is one massive fraud, in the sense that it's not really allowing authentic and inexpensive cancer cures that address the cause of the problem to come to market. They are virtually all violently opposed and condemned. It's a massive for-profit industry, and unless a treatment revolves around a costly drug that can be patented, it will never see the light of day. The whole idea that the cancer industry is "searching for a cure" is a sham... because cures already exist. But they're being massively suppressed."
The Paradox in Medicine:
... Because the media are whores who sell-out to the highest bidder; the information that is heard by the general public is totally controlled by the people with the most money, and the people with the most money have the most money precisely because they have much less concern for any others. ...
America leads the way in these trends, but Canada obviously follows along behind:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/07/04/cancer-society-funding.html
CBC's Marketplace analyzed the Canadian Cancer Society’s financial reports dating back a dozen years. It discovered that each year, as the society raised more dollars, the proportion of money it spent on research dropped dramatically — from 40.3 per cent in 2000 to under 22 per cent in 2011. ... "Cancer researchers are spending a lot of their time, or most of their time, trying to figure out how to get the money to fund their research, rather than actually doing research," ... AND, THE MAIN THINGS THEY RESEARCHED WERE TREATMENTS WHICH WOULD MAKE MONEY. They deliberately ignored alternatives which make less profit from diseases!
FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS, THE PEOPLE WITH THE MOST MONEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BUY UP CONTROL OVER MEDICAL SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS THE MEDICAL JOURNALS, AND HAVE BEEN IN A VICIOUS SPIRAL OF FUNDING POLITICIANS TO MAKE THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS GET WORSE!
Medical doctors are taught an extremely biased view of "medicine" ... The end result was often good intentioned doctors, who are torturing patients to death, while thinking that they are doing the "right thing" ... while THAT kind of treatment was more and more DISTORTED by the feedback effects of profiting from diseases. Medical marijuana is merely the single simplest symbol of that general pattern of social facts.
Hey RM, thanks for all the links and the info. Cheers!
That pdf file looks like something my 13 year old made for a high school presentation HH, did you do that all by yourself with charts from the 70s?
interesting
we have learned that tomatoes, in particular, actually produce more THC than cannabis itself.
http://thecrit.com/2009/06/03/company-makes-any-plant-produce-thc-and-th...
H_H, keep the kiddies away from the spaghetti sauce! you'll rot their brains!
(just joking, actually wish more would consider your concerns with an open mind. there's much about the Herb that humans still don't understand. as always, freedom carries the burden of responsibility.)