I was going to post a link like that but realized that this guy is either a troll or a moron.  Oh well, hopefully someone will learn something from it.

Lightstar is neither of those things.  He's just someone who enjoys structure and rules, so he hasn't researched the issue fully, but relies on mainstream propaganda for "facts" regarding things that are illegal. 

Key words there, If Abused. Anything can be bad if it's abused.

That is Incorrect, my friend. Please, read the last paragraph of my post on Pg 1. Actually, here it is:

Also Marijuana is NOT a so called "Gateway Drug". In fact that whole term, Gateway Drug, is BULLSHIT. I've smoked Marijuana all of my life since I turned 18 and I have NEVER done Crack, Cocaine, heroine, or ANY other "Hard Drug", EVER....and I NEVER WILL, period. I've NEVER felt the urge of felt compelled to run out and try Hard Drugs, EVER. ANYONE who says that Pot made them try other drugs is nothing but another WEAK WILLED person looking for something to Blame Their Problems on because they Can Not Control their own actions, Period.

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The entire term "Gateway Drug" is nothing but a buzz word that was Made-Up to scare school children during the Reagan Years. LightStar, I do believe you have been brain washed by things like the anti-marijuana propaganda "Reefer Madness". I know you to be a well educated and intelligent poster, as such it saddens me to see you being so closed minded, my friend.

With respect to Marijuana, there is clearly too many medical, social and law enforcment-related myths that have been perpetuated.  Irrespective of this, there are SOME medical downsides to MJ, just as some of the other drugs of choice noted herein (e.g. alcohol, caffeine, etc.).  Good site on the Reefer here:

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/mjfaq1.htm

 

I guess I have to post again...

I am not closed minded Raven X or k10w3, I had a very close friend at an outdoor party one night decide to try marijuana, he ended up jumping off a bridge thinking he could "fly".  I had another good friend who smoked that crap and moved up to cocaine because "the buzz" he got off Marijuana just wasn't good enough.  I have another good friend who smoked Marijuana once and is now crippled for life after thinking they were a race car driver and crashing.  As far as your using the drug Raven X (or any one else using it), I feel very sad for you on that count. It is good you never went on to try other things.  But for people to tempt fate even by just "trying" weed is in my opinion inviting disaster in the long run.  Hell, you never know it could even be laced with something else!

I was present at all these events, and tried to talk each of them out of smoking it, so I speak from experience. As far as educating myself about Marijuana, it would not matter, I would still abhor it.

Well, it didn't take long for this thread to go to pot.

 

  Good one WZ!

 

Edit:  Meant to type WZ.. oops.

Through out life we are all faced with different opinions on all subjects.

It comes down to what we as individuals feel and doesn't and shouldn't have to do with what others opinions are.  Just because we have different opinions does not mean that we have been 'brain washed'.   All it means is that we have chosen to formulate our own opinions. 

Lets leave it at that.

It's amazing that you've personally encountered not one, but three cases of marijuana having effects that have never been scientifically documented, despite it being in use for at least 5,000 years by millions, if not billions of people.

Yeah, that's a good policy in life.  Hate what you don't know about and refuse to educate yourself.

 

Try serving in the military for 22 years, you'll see "lots" of undocumented things.

May I suggest that perhaps it wasn't the marijuana that caused your friend to jump off the bridge, but perhaps a mental illness (perhaps bipolar) that caused him both to A. DECIDE to try marijuana, and then B. jump off the bridge.  Bipolar in the manic phase reveals itself at times with much lowered inhibition thresholds -- it can lead to over spending, gambling, driving too fast, drinking binges, drug binges, (posting things that should probably not have been posted, speaking of myself, of course), lipping off to supervisors, etc.  What I'm saying is that if the plant, marijuana, had never existed, your friend might have STILL jumped off that bridge.  To assume it was the pot that caused it, is a false assumption.

 

There ya go!  It's not that the marijuana made your friend graduate to cocaine -- it was the fact that he had an addictive personality (or was bipolar, too) and WANTED a better buzz!  Marijuana didn't cause the desire for a better buzz--marijuana was just a thing he tried in his pursuit of finding the better buzz.

 

Classic bipolar behavior.

Now, should we, as a society, outlaw all substances because SOME people have a bad reaction to them?  Should we demonize all substances that certain individuals have an intolerance to?  Sugar causes diabetics great harm...should we ban it and jail people who use it?  There's no question that substances of abuse are a problem to people with mental illness--but should those without a mental illness be denied the freedom to functionally consume those substances because a certain population in society has a problem with it? 

At issue here is freedom!  I KNOW you don't believe in a Nanny State, but at the heart of this issue, is the government telling you what you can or cannot do in the privacy of your own home, not for YOUR greater good, but because your neighbor has a disability toward that substance.  That is NOT what our founding fathers had in mind when they set up our government in this country.

 

Lightstar I am truly saddened to hear about your friends but that sounds more like PCP or some other strong hallucinatory drug. Now I have friends that have done some really stupid things, but under the influence of MJ they all get more reserved, hungry, and real passive. As far as the laced stuff goes I have never heard of dealer that gives anything away for free, or heard of anyone who has found their stuff chemically altered in anyway! Not to say it has never happened, but that sounds more like urban legend than fact.

Ok, I have "educated" myself, now you do the same:

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1808

http://smoking.ygoy.com/dangers-of-smoking-marijuana/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090813192928AASgtlz

http://www.druglibrary.org/special/goode/goode2.htm

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/pot/a/blwusm030503.htm

Quote: "one person overdosed on marijuana laced with cocaine, they just thought it was marijuana, and a guy died in our school driveway when they were putting hot cement on. the cement went right on the guy unknowingly, and he died almost instantly."

Quote: "The chemicals in marijuana bring cognitive impairment and troubles with learning for the user. "Smoking [marijuana] causes some changes in the brain that are like those caused but cocaine, heroin, and alcohol. Some researchers believe that these changes may put a person more at risk of becoming addicted to other drugs such a cocaine and heroin." To prevent such harm, one must be cautious of their actions. Those who do not do drugs do not risk harm. So please the next day you light up, remember you that your central nervous system and brain will be at risk."

Quote: "Long-term studies of high school students and their patterns of drug use show that very few young people use other drugs without first trying marijuana, alcohol, or tobacco. Though few young people use cocaine, for example, the risk of doing so is much greater for youth who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.

While research has not fully explained this association, growing evidence suggests a combination of biological, social, and psychological factors are involved."

____

I can find hundreds of these on the Internet, so can you.  If you never start to begin with, you never have to worry.

 

So all of this happened in the military?  And why is "lots" in quotes?

WG?

Uh, it was Wizard1956. Tom, do you have a contact buzz?   LOL!! 

Lots, means I can't tell you about the other stuff.

 

Oh well, meant to type WZ! 

Right, anyway, did all of those instances happen in the military?

I can see your point, LightStar, truly I can. Honestly though it sounds like what-ever your friends smoked was laced with some pretty powerful LSD. I've never, Ever, had any experiences like those you describe. It sounds like that was tampered with. I don't have to worry about what I smoke being laced, I have very reliable sources and I know what to look for it were laced. Even when I first started smoking I never had any kind of experiences like the ones you describe. Truly it leads me to think what they smoked was definitely tainted or laced somehow. Even when I first started smoking, many, Many years ago, when I was what you'd call a "light weight", it never made me think anything CRAZY like that. Are you sure those people weren't mental disturbed somehow? If I had to pick what I would call a "Safe Drug" it would definitely have to be marijuana. Far safer in my book then alcohol.

Still, no need to feel sorry for me, my friend. We each have our own vices in life, mine is cigs and mary jane. I wish I could say I didn't need all the meds my doctor shoves at me, but without either them, or weed, I'm in so much pain from the Crohn's disease I literally can't stand up. I'm really, Really, hoping that after I have my surgery that my situation will change and I won't need all these pills or anything else for that matter to not be in pain. Sadly though Crohn's disease has no cure, so eventually, even if I live through my current set of problems, in the long run they'll come back again as my intestines will keep deteriorating until the day I leave this world.

I do respect your decision to never try it though. I've never been one of those "peer pressure" type of people. In fact I've done my best to keep anyone I thought was too young to steer clear of alcohol and weed and anything else. When it comes down to it though if I know someone who's going to go out and try to get a buzz anyway, I'd rather see them smoke a joint then get so drunk they start puking everywhere and risk alcohol poisoning. I'm sure as you can tell by my stance, I don't drink. I abhor alcohol as much as you abhor weed.

All but one, yes.  The other happened when I was a teenager, the one with the friend crippled for life.  Why the big inquisition anyway?  You don't think things like this happen every day and go undocumented?  Why does everything have to be documented?  Tons of stuff happens every day that never gets documented.  You are for Marijuana use, I am not, end of story.

And you're the one giving us URL's to the dangers of marijuana that cite short-term memory as one of the major dangers of smoking pot?

Because we're talking about an issue from a scientific, empiric view point.  In order for a scientific hypothesis to be made, there has to be empiric evidence, not just anecdotal evidence.

 

Well stated post Raven X.  I had a friend with Crohn's disease who has since passed on, so  I understand what you must be going through.  Best of luck to you on your surgery.

 

Read my expanded post with the links above...

Thank you, my friend. That means a lot to me