http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/arti...

in my family there are some who have had problems their whole life because of alcohol and drug abuse. Most of it started with a little pot smoking and escalated to other addictive drugs. They have actually told me that it leads to other things because they could get a bigger high. I don't agree that it should be legal. I've seen the devastating effects personally and am sick of it! Now they are living off the system and I work and my pay goes to them via the system! I love my family but if they hadn't started with a little thing called "POT" they wouldn't be in this mess!

id agree a majority of pot smokers also drink. its probably the same percantage as non smokers who drink. if you seperate the two drugs and look at the pros/cons of both its more than apparent that the legal/illegal aspect is completely irrelevant to the effect these drugs are CURRENTLY having on our society.

thekid, you are coasting on the assumption that pot heads exclusively smoke pot. Unlike you, the great majority of pot smokers also drink. Drunk drivers are labeled only as drunk drivers but many have them had been smoking pot too. You can't present your defense of pot smoking in a pristine vacuum.

thats silly. i said the bad version of butt:) ill try again...

one we discuss the potential medical uses and the mere POSSESSION of, and the other we discuss the drunk drivings...domestic violence and lame BUTT punishments for those who abuse it. legal/illegal OBVIOUSLY HAS NOTHING to do with the effects these two drugs are CURRENTLY having on our society.

Except for the fact that alcohol is legal and smoking pot never will be.

whatever marijuana is doesn't change what alcohol is and does.

Again, what ever alcohol is doesn't change what marijuana is.

the goofy stuff that stoners do. like giggle?? munch out?? get lazy?? i guess i can see why it should remain illegal. shall i list some of the goofy things alcohol will make you do...leaving out the silly deaths it causes...

booch- Most likely the brawl at Penn state had to do with dealers. Legalization would fix that problem.

Or should that be: The untimeliness of the testability of pot works against it being legalized(?)

The testability problem doesn't mitigate or excuse the goofy stuff that stoners do.

The untimely testability of pot works against it being legalized.

If you smoke, THC can say in the system for up to 30 days. Just because someone test positive doesn’t mean there high at the time. The only test that proves in the now is Sylvia. Cocaine only lasts up to 72 hours. 8 ball on Friday drive school buss on Monday.

lakekennedy:
as for your statement, "I never read of anyone who smoked a joint and ran someone over, anyone who smoked a joint and went home and beat their wife and kids, anyone who smoked a joint a got into a fight at a bar.?

well, according to webmd:
-People who drive after using marijuana are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash.
-according to a mutual liberty insurance study, "Many people are surprised to find out that after alcohol, marijuana is the next most prevalent substance found in impaired drivers. When used together, marijuana and alcohol have a significant impact on a driver's ability to perform."
-The driver of a charter bus that on May 9, 1999 , crashed and killed 22 people was fired from bus companies in 1989 and 1996 after testing positive for marijuana four times. A federal investigator also confirmed a report that Frank Bedell, 46, tested positive for marijuana when he was hospitalized after the bus veered off a highway in New Orleans , Louisiana and plunged into an embankment.
-Four children and the driver died in April 2002 when a Tippy Toes Learning Academy van veered off a bustling freeway and hit a concrete bridge abutment. Investigators say the driver, Wesley Hudson, regularly smoked marijuana, and that the kids nicknamed him "Smokey." He was found with 1.9 grams of pot in his pocket at the crash scene.
-here's one from penn state -- big brawl over pot Four men were arrested after police said a bloody, drug-related brawl ensued early Sunday morning at a University Terrace apartment.)
-admittedly, seems all i can find regarding stoners beating their wives is this amusing statement, "a man comes home drunk and beats his wife. a man comes home stoned and eats her food.

so -- you win one.

The question is rhetorical and was posed as a subconscious decision. No one here really wants a stoned pilot. Guess we now know who the boozers are ;)

lakekennedy:
your use of the word 'rather' is what's puzzling.
i'd rather the pilot be sober.

I don't think it was a stupid question. I'd much rather have someone who smoked pot fly my plane than someone who had drank. JMO. I never read of anyone who smoked a joint and ran someone over, anyone who smoked a joint and went home and beat their wife and kids, anyone who smoked a joint a got into a fight at a bar. I have heard of someone who had been drinking do these things, though. The ramifications of alcohol use are far more severe than those of smoking grass. I don't smoke pot, but would like to see it legalized. If for nothing else, to shut up kid. (Just pulling your leg, kid, I love ya.)

wishfulthinking:
i get 'why' you posed the question.
it's still an idiotic question.

There are definitely a lot of people out there who just want it decriminalized. I want marijuana to be decriminalized so I can enjoy it whenever I want. The way the opposition has been, though, it will be easier to get it legalized for medicinal purposes first. Either way, as I already stated, I push for the decriminalization of marijuana for recreational use first and foremost. I come right out and say it, I want marijuana decriminalized so that I can get high at my house without fear or worry.
°
Marijuana is illegal right now and alcohol is legal. I don't smoke marijuana. I want it decriminalized. Are you happy? I'm following the law -and- pushing for change. What is your argument now? "Marijuana is illegal, so don't break the law. You aren't breaking the law, but you still want it legalized..." There is no argument on your behalf anymore, if that was all you had to say. The Kid is right, though, many people in the past have broken laws that should have never been made in the first place, and eventually the law was changed.

I made that statement only to open your eyes to the differences of the two. We have already had pilots sitting in the lounge getting hammered before there flight. These cases are only the ones who get busted that we hear about. I don’t use ether alcohol or pot, but have in the past. I have worked with both types of people. My observation were that the people who had spent all night binging would come in moody and pissed at the world. They made more mistakes and had to rework there jobs more then the guys who would toke at there lunch hour. I would bet my salary on equilibrium ability joint vs. a shot any day.

thekid, EVERYTHING'S weird when you're toking on the demon-weed.

Hey, Boy Wonder, I'd rather have drunk Dean Martin flying my plane than stoned Cheech and/or Chong.

id agree booch. there are ALOT of daily stoners who want medical marijuana cuz its that much closer to legal or de-crim, or as you say some bogus reason for medical use. i am admittedly one of those:) that doesnt take away the fact that there is indeed medical uses.

wishfulthinking said the following: "You’re on a 747 and have a subconscious choice of the pilots being drunk or stone. Witch do you choose?"

i don't think I have ever read a more inane question in any comments section anywhere -- ever.

llund22 said, "This has nothing to do with stoners getting stoned."

well, for some it does. in oregon and california, you can pretty much claim any ailment and your doctor will write the prescription.
here are some: agitation, which is the inability to settle down, restlessness and pacing which leads to the patient's combativeness, gastrointestinal symptoms, seizures or muscle spasms and pms (to name a few).

you can pretty much fit anything problem you have into just about any category.

for many, it is about the ability to get stoned - legally.

mom247 there is LITTLE risk of physical addiction. maybe more of a psychological addiction. i was actually told in a drunk driving class that 'new research showed that marijuana is in fact physically addicting, its just that the THC leaves your body so slow that you dont notice the withdrawal symptoms'. google 'marijauna physically addicting' and you will read as much about how its NOT p.a as you will read about stuff that says it IS. if you ask a LARGE majority of people who actually smoke pot...they will tell you its NOT. the benefits to medical marijuana outweigh the risk of addiction...which is why you see state after state voting for medical marijuana.
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llund i know someone too who was recently diag'd w breast cancer a second time and was told by her dr to smoke pot...unfortunately she lives in wi and that dr was unable to write a script.
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localboy dont forget at one time it was illegal to consume alcohol...and that law was changed not because people were following the law...but rather they werent following the law. some laws were enacted based on ignorance or just plain misinformation. those laws are eventually changed as logic prevails(concealed weapon, slavery, alcohol prohibition, voting rights) when pot was made illegal we had NONE of the scientific PROOF that we have today. things are changin and we now have a prez who WONT veto marijuana reform laws. wooo hooo!!

What are the long term effects of this drug to your system? Are there any addiction possiblities?

I'm hanging out with seniors from now on.

Localboy- Are you against the medical use of marijuana? As the story is about?

What most of you have failed to realize is that alcohol is legal, pot is not.

Follow the law and leave it at that.

"thekid, a doctor's wish to have a patient take medicinal marijuana would be accompanied by a prescription. This has nothing to do with stoners getting stoned."
Gazettefan- My Aunt is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She had been unable to keep anything down and was downn to about 90 pounds. No medications could help her. Her Dr told her to smoke pot. He was unable to write her a prescription. She is now recovering and able to take care of her 3 small children.
HOw can you suggest for someone to start drinking? You want to encourage people to become addicted to a substance that can kill them simply from its prolonged use- or even more quickly by crashing their car, falling down the stairs, or by killing innocent people. Makes a lot of sense.

I have kids, and would rather they smoke a (little) pot, than drink, and I don't do any drugs at all.

I love how cognitively challenged people will sit back with there callow personality bashing people who may use. Then they drink like a fish cheat on there spouse and the pot smoker is the criminal. Purely hypocritical!! Riddle me this Batman? You’re on a 747 and have a subconscious choice of the pilots being drunk or stone. Witch do you choose?

I think it needs to be legalized for the recreational use, and that's what I push for first and foremost. I cannot deny it's medicinal benefits, though.

yer just weird gfan. what are you reading in my posts?? EVERYONE knows i want legal pot so im not a criminal. im talking about that here im talkin about the medical aspect of it OBVIOUSLY by mentioning the DOCTOR. in fact ive ONLY talked about the medical aspect here. i swear you just like to see yer name on the screen. if you want to join the discussion with a relevant comment or even a completely irrelevant comment please do...but dont imply that im saying something or missing something that you the almighty gfan knows...i dont know...better?? is that what you are trying to do?? just weird....

thekid, a doctor's wish to have a patient take medicinal marijuana would be accompanied by a prescription. This has nothing to do with stoners getting stoned.

I'd like you to be a charter member in my new Eleven Step program: Getting dry drunks back on the juice. (The draconian "apology" step would be mercifully omitted.)

;~)

those jokers then should smoke a joint(or admit to it;) and get it outa committee then. arent they familiar with MY needs??;) but really even the anti-potters, at least the sensible ones, tend to agree with medical marijuana. there are a ton of potential medical marijuana uses but really if someone has cancer and a DOCTOR says 'smoke some pot, it will help with your pain and appetite'. how can ANYONE say otherwise?? i agree jvillean that WHEN the majority of states pass medical marijuana initiatives the feds will fall in line. what sux is if the feds would remove all federal penalties and leave it up to the state to regulate...you would see pretty much all the states fall in line...

thekid, that's a full decriminalization bill. It didn't make it out of committee, and I don't know if any decriminalization bill has ever been voted on by the full House. Ron Paul also introduced a medical marijuana bill but similarly it never made it out of committee. Given the current minority support for the limited defunding of federal enforcement, I doubt that a federal medical marijuana bill has a chance until a majority of states (or better yet states representing a majority of the US population) pass their own legalization.

The medicinal use of marijuana is as far from stoners smoking pot as the medicinal use of morphine is from junkies mainlining morphine.

this is the bill introduced by congressman barney frank and co-sponsored by ron paul(of course:) and a couple other. it removes ALL federal penalties for marijuana POSSESSION other than $100 fine for public use. let the states decide....
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http://www.house.gov/frank/hr5843summary...

The most salient federal legislation has been the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment, a bipartisan appropriations bill that would strip the DEA of any funds for prosecuting users of medical marijuana where it is legalized (around 18 states so far). Most recently it was defeated in 2007, by about 265 to 165. It never came up in 2008 because Bush and Congress could not agree on an appropriations bill and the government was kept in business by emergency bills all year. I would guess that the new Congress might be more sympathetic to the amendment but perhaps only by about 10 or 15 votes, leaving it still at least 50 or even 75 votes short of passage.
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The Supreme Court has declined to directly address the issue, saying it's up to Congress.

Soon the federal government will also legalize marijuana...

its just a matter of time....

Yet the federal government can still arrest you for using it. Sounds like entrapment to me!

Go for it Wisconsin. Let Doctors decide. Get rid of street dealers, get the sales tax back to the state, and provide for the ill that need this option.