Your stance on the drug war

[89PalermoSHP]

I dont know who says weed isn't addictive...also, people frown now on people that smoke cigarettes, imagine your co-worker going outside on his/her break and getting high. How would that reflect on their performance...you cant fire them for being high, its legal. Unless of course they write it in their rules of conduct that you cant get high at while at work. Weed opens the doors for many other drugs....most of the people I have encountered started out with weed and when it started costing to much on weed to get high they went off to another drug. A persons body builds a tolerance to drugs and eventually you have to do more and more to get high....always chasing that first high.

 

With all due respect(and respect to the OP rules), I couldnt disagree with you more.

 

Just because booze is legal doesnt mean you can come to work drunk, obviously the same would apply to pot.

 

Also, if you want to make ALL drugs illegal, you MUST include alcohol because it is also a drug.

[Dave-O]

There was a local public radio segment on this on my way home earlier.

 

One particular mention of an article that PROVED MEDICALLY AND SCIENTIFICALLY that Aspirin was more harmful than marijuana, when used appropriately in either manner.

 

I have smoked it, I know people who smoke it, I know people who use it medically, I know people who use it to release anxiety, and I know people who abuse it.

 

If it is CONTROLLED, then abuse should be a "once-here, once-there" occasional thing to deal with.

 

In the Netherlands, case-in-point, once a legal "tolerance" to marijuana was given, usage spiked to an all-time high, then leveled out to a LOWER overall usage. The key with their system is the "tolerance" portion ... they [their government] has the ability to crack down if it gets too out-of-hand or necessity requires.

[Truth]

I haven't read any of the replies, but I'll add my two cents. The people they arrest for stealing in order to get the drugs should go to prison. Knocking over banks and whathaveyou. But some dude just sitting in his basement getting baked is not hurting anyone. If someone wants to ruin their life and waste all their money smack and being spaced out, he's not really hurting anyone but himself... why send him to prison? Now, if he starts robbing and killing people because of it, then yeah, but otherwise let him be.

[Caliber308]

Here's the problem. I grew up in the late 60's and 70's. Smoked pot at 13, a week later I was dropping uppers. Then went to downers, acid, mushrooms and angel dust. By the time I was in my 20's it was Cocaine and Heroin. So, you can see where a "little pot" can lead to other things.

 

CALIBER 308

[Dave-O]

Here's the problem. I grew up in the late 60's and 70's. Smoked pot at 13, a week later I was dropping uppers. Then went to downers, acid, mushrooms and angel dust. By the time I was in my 20's it was Cocaine and Heroin. So, you can see where a "little pot" can lead to other things.

 

CALIBER 308

 

I hate to sound frank, but I think that's your own ****** fault. :emot-bandwagon:

 

If you're not an idiot and don't try the drugs that have PROVEN harm and danger to you, you're not putting yourself in a reckless position.

 

In all honesty, how does "Let's have a couple puffs to release some tension and chill" turn into "Yo dawg, you wanna get f***ing cranked on this s**t?"

[Edde]

IMO the whole "gateway" and "stemmed from" pot is bogus... Pot is probablly the easiest to get of all illegal drug(and probably the least harmful) so its easy to make the "connection" that its the gateway. I believe its the person, not the drugs that lead to harder stuff. If someone was willing to do heroin or meth and pot didnt exist, do you think this person would still do the heroin or meth? I belive they would.

 

I also believe if they legalized pot it would keep it out of minors hands better than the current system. There would be no market for "underground" pot effectivly putting less-than-desirable people out of work and buying it at a liquor store or something similar would be the only way to get it. Economic stimulus from the tax proceeds???

 

Mother milk leads to heroin.

 

 

 

The stories will a little later, I have to call to a few places right now.

 

 

As far as the issue, it's a wasted effort. We spend too much money maintaining the prohibition for lack-luster results for the most part.

 

Fixed :biggrinumbrella1:

 

Here's the problem. I grew up in the late 60's and 70's. Smoked pot at 13, a week later I was dropping uppers. Then went to downers, acid, mushrooms and angel dust. By the time I was in my 20's it was Cocaine and Heroin. So, you can see where a "little pot" can lead to other things.

 

CALIBER 308

 

Me too. But I never went real far and had no problem getting out (crystal pcp was the really ugly). Now the guy who supplied fresh buttons in high school ended up years later in the street in SE DC with a SGW to the chest about 2am. Everybody's different. I still like my bud but have no desire for anything else. Well, except for my alcohol of course.

 

Oh and the reason the stuff isn't legalized and regulated is lack of political will. No one wants to spend their political capital on it, despite overwhelming popularity of the concept.

Edited February 17, 2009 by Edde

[Caliber308]

Mother milk leads to heroin.

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed :biggrinumbrella1:

 

 

 

Me too. But I never went real far and had no problem getting out (crystal pcp was the really ugly). Now the guy who supplied fresh buttons in high school ended up years later in the street in SE DC with a SGW to the chest about 2am. Everybody's different. I still like my bud but have no desire for anything else. Well, except for my alcohol of course.

 

Oh and the reason the stuff isn't legalized and regulated is lack of political will. No one wants to spend their political capital on it, despite overwhelming popularity of the concept.

 

Yep, I hear you!!! Haven't touched any drugs since 1994. But I like my Bud Ice :hmm3grin2orange:

 

CALIBER 308

 

[Edde]

Yep, I hear you!!! Haven't touched any drugs since 1994. But I like my Bud Ice :hmm3grin2orange:

 

CALIBER 308

 

Good one. :biggrinumbrella1: Seriously though I knew a lot of guys who got messed up and most made it out, and I'm glad you're good.

[UlrichWolf]

All of you folks who say pot is a gateway drug couldn't be further from the facts. Show me something, some hard evidence, or proof, or something.

 

A person's mindset has a lot to do with it, too. I used to smoke some herb here and there.....I've always been a pretty level-headed fellow, and really.....you smoke the roach, you eat the Twinkie, and you hit the sack.

 

NEVER have I taken it further. Know why? Herb's all natural, a little in moderation is fine, and if you don't know when to say when, that's your own damned fault.

 

Moderation seems to be the trick with people........gambling, pot, booze, hookers.........some folks just can't say no, no matter what it may be. Get some willpower.

 

Tim

[speed racer]

Pot is just a gateway to uhmm....twinkies.

Allways been able to take it or leave it with the pot or alchohol.My mom and 90 percent of her side of family have had or still have chemical dependance probs.They were a basket case to begin with.My aunt has tried to kill herself atleast 6 times that I know of.Countless rehabs and "vacations"

 

Luckily I inherited my fathers ability to take it or leave it as I said.I never had a desire to go beyond pot.tried mushrooms and lsd couple times but didn't wanna end up braindead like others around me.

 

My half sister still uses whatever she can get despite having a child.That's what our brother says.He's an alchoholic.Other brother eats pain pills like PEZZ candy.They don't have room to put her down.I think she just smokes pot and I really don't have a prob with that.She takes good care of her child and stays outta trouble.

 

 

 

 

I only have an occasional miller lite.I have kids and a morgage.My employer drug test like crazy so not gonna risk it.

 

would I if i could get away with it. certainly.Anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications are far more harmfull in my opinion.Did waste a lot of time smoking out and doing NOTHING.That's the biggest pot related problem I ever had.

 

 

EDIT:getting together with my now ex-wife.There's a bad pot experience for ya..............................

[JustPaus_88TSi]

I don't think herb in itself is a gateway to anything psychological until you've become accustomed to the "act" of smoking. If you're an addict, you're an addict. What you choose to "fix" with is up to you. Where you get into trouble is when you knowingly get high/drunk to feel better about something.

 

 

However, herb is most certainly a gateway drug due to the new people you start to associate yourself with because of it. The easier it is to get something, the more likely you'll be to try and abuse it.

 

It's the same thing with court ordered rehab. It doesn't work, period. The vast majority of people who are sentenced to a program will either get high on things that pass through your system in days(thus bypassing the weekly UA's), that and you just meet a dozen(or more) people who share your desires and can either buy from or sell to you. It's a joke. At least, that was my experience with others who were 15-17yrs old at the time.

 

I haven't smoked herb in a year or so, and haven't drank more than very lightly once or twice a year for the last seven years. I still have a fifth of jack that I bought on my 18th birthday, but never cracked it open. The only reason why I could quit, is because I wasn't forced to. I actually wanted to. I've never had one single issue with stopping anything, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, acid, shrooms. None of it. Especially with the meth, I asked myself one day what the F$%# I was doing, and stopped right then and there. I used that for about two months and still hung out with the same people I always had, it either had no hold on me or i'm stronger than any addiction i've subjected myself to. I started smoking/drinking when I was 12 and I was using every single day(literally) for a good three year span before I got put on probation(7 minor consumption over one summer break), sent to rehab, kicked out of school and rehab on the same day(it was a bad day lol), then locked up on my moms birthday and released(close to my 16th birthday) back into rehab.

 

The main reason why I didn't fall into real problems was because I also hung out with someone who genuinely loved and cared about my well being(my cousin), whom I literally owe my life to.

[JustPaus_88TSi]

Okay, Szester.. It's story time.

 

 

Katie.

 

Circa 1997-1998.

 

Katie was a single mother in her late 30's who lived next door to one of my friends at the time. Her daughter was probably around 10 at the time, and was normal just like her mom. After a while, we used to go to her place and get drunk, because "it was better to do it there than on the street" as i'm sure most people have heard before. She didn't do anything but drink every now and then. She eventually met some guy and before I knew it, he was living there at her house. I hadn't been going over there for a while, so i'm not sure where he came from or how long they were dating prior to him moving in. Anyways, he seemed fairly decent. Had a nice truck, a couple harleys and such. Not exactly the norm for the neighborhood though. He wound up cooking and selling meth, cocaine and sometimes weed. Really weird, based on Katies very harsh thoughts on drugs beyond alcohol and pot. Time goes on and she deteriorates both physically and mentally. Beyond dozens of side stories that would take hours to write, she came to an end when the police and the swat team raided her house based on her boyfriends drug dealing. I was out in the front yard of another house we partied at about four houses down the street. The police rolled up hard and swat went in to clear the house while announcing their presence, not more than fifteen seconds go by and gunfire erupts. Katie was in her bedroom and had pointed a revolver at the swat team as they entered her room. She was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

 

It's hard for me to remember exactly, but it seemed like this all happened within six months or so. From her going from a pretty normal mother who had her stuff together, to an illogical drug addicted woman who threw her and her daughters lives away merely for a substance.

 

 

 

The other death related stories range from two friends who were dealers that were murdered by the mexican mafia, to suicides via guns/pills/smack, car accidents while under the influence, various fights involving knives, golf clubs, bricks, bottles and such. Robberies, home invasions, car jackings, and the occasional accidental overdose. An old friend died one night when his moms new junkie boyfriend shot him with a shotgun, and they'd never even met prior to that. My friend didn't do anything beyond the rare drink, but he grew up with junkie parents. Right off the top of my head, I can think of at least 20 people that have died one way or another and a dozen who are in prison(three doing life, and two doing at least 20yrs) due to drugs in the past 7 years. And there's a whole group of old friends that I haven't seen or even heard about since 2001. Who knows what ever happened to them.

 

Of course there's the other things that happened over the years, like what some people would trade for a score. From houses, cars, old family heirlooms, jewelry, stolen goods, sexual favors and even prostituting their own daughters. These people are dead and don't even realize it.

 

 

 

[Szester]

With all due respect(and respect to the OP rules), I couldnt disagree with you more.

 

Just because booze is legal doesnt mean you can come to work drunk, obviously the same would apply to pot.

 

Also, if you want to make ALL drugs illegal, you MUST include alcohol because it is also a drug.

Yea i agree. I dont think you would take Spliff breaks instead of cig breaks. Although my boss probably wouldnt mind as he comes in high sometimes himself.

[89PalermoSHP]

Even if it was acceptable where I work, I would never even consider it. Back in the days when i bartended....now that was a different story

[Edde]

Wake n' Bake.

[Dcrasta]

Wake n' Bake.

 

PPP (Puff Puff Pass!)

 

[silkdagger05]

my 0.2 ZERO tolerance policy.

you do it around me or I find out you do and I wont let you near my life.

 

with all fairness to my 0.2 it comes from a mother who used weed, and meth. and I watched both get people killed and ******** up beyond belief.

 

edit= my SDI and plt sgt both used to say when briefing us for leave, that if you need anything else than taking life on full in the face as we do to make your life exciting or calmer then your doing something wrong and you need to come talk to me."

 

 

his point was you would need guidance , leadership. I suggest any teen having troubles with those drugs find a good person too follow for guidance marine, army, navy, air force, you find an e-5 in good standing and they will save you. not a recruiter. Just a good solid man or woman to follow. see how life is on the flip side.

Edited February 17, 2009 by silkdagger05

[Edde]

my 0.2 ZERO tolerance policy.

you do it around me or I find out you do and I wont let you near my life.

 

with all fairness to my 0.2 it comes from a mother who used weed, and meth. and I watched both get people killed and ******** up beyond belief.

 

Meth = big problem.

[Caliber308]

However, herb is most certainly a gateway drug due to the new people you start to associate yourself with because of it. The easier it is to get something, the more likely you'll be to try and abuse it.

 

There is the correct answer on not legalizing pot. Hell, I smoked a lot of pot in the 60's and 70's, sold it too. Would I want to be in the passenger seat with a driver high on pot???? HELL NO. Same reason I wouldn't want to be in the same situation with a driver who had too much to drink. And I know i'm going to hear this: " Well alcohol is legal, why not pot" So then we will have two problems to deal with on the roads. As if we don't have enough already. And if we legalize pot, what's next Cocaine, Mushrooms and Opium???? Hey, their "natural and organic?? Only the people who have been there and done that know the ramifications of such a thing. Cocaine and Opium were legal in the U.S. in the early 1900s, Why did the government BAN them?? Before some of you speak on the legalization of pot. Go back and do some reading on the trouble that was caused back then with Cocaine and Opium.

 

CALIBER 308

Edited February 18, 2009 by Caliber308

[iamlew]

I think the gateway thing is true. Not in all cases but it seems people who smoke weed are more likely to "break the law" and do other drugs. It's just the scene, like listening to emo music and going to emo concerts you may start to dress emo. It's just how it is. It also happens because someone wants to get a better or bigger high, so they try something else, or they don't like being on a downer so they start uppers. Weed shouldn't really be legalized, it has its ups and downs too. I know ciggs and alcohol are legal but they built this country, and the only reason they are legal is because of lobbyists. if all you pot smoking hippies spent all your money on lobbying instead of buying pot it'd be legal pretty quickly. Everyone thinks weed doesn't kill people, but there is a lot of intoxicated drivers on drugs getting into wrecks. Sure you may argue you drive better on it because you're paranoid and drive slower, but thats also against the law for a reason. Slow drivers cause road rage, and even wrecks from causing others to drive unsafe, the statistics for these death's can't even be measured.

 

I don't care if you get high, but stay the f*** at home, just like drinking, I know a lot of people who drive high or drunk and they're all stupid f***** for doing it.

 

But legalizing pot is just a stepping stone. then we legalize say ectasy. They're trying to make it a class b drug instead of class a because it isn't really bad for you. It has side effects like every drug sure, but it's not as bad for your health as most drugs. Same with shrooms, they make you do stupid s*** but they're not "bad" for you.

 

My brother died 5 years ago, and he started out on weed. Moved to other drugs, again because he was young and him and his friends got talked into it since they "already smoke pot." He ended up OD'ing on a lot of things though, he was mixing benzos, drinking, doing oxies, and finally spooned some methadone and died in his sleep. He was so bad they claimed he drank rat poison to kill himself during his autopsy(later overturned).

 

If you know anyone taking methadone that s**** dangerous as f***, it has so many deaths, even from people taking their prescribed amounts,some people even die from it taking less than their prescribed amount.

 

I take pills every once in a while and the key really is moderation, just like drinking or doing anything in life. It's those stupid f***** who ruin it for us all.

 

As for the "war on drugs" it's a waste of money, we should legalize EVERY drug and let all those stupid f***** die off and leave the world to people who aren't idiots

Edited February 18, 2009 by iamlew

[redecocav]

http://ohregina.com/drugsrbad.jpg

[kozmikkroozer]

I have at some point in my youth tried just about every drug out there and by far weed is the least destructive.That includes alcohol. I've never seen an "intervention" for a weed addict.You'll always have the few who really abuse it but even they are functional tax paying citizens.You can't say that about most other drugs.It will be legalized as it should be - it's just a matter of time.

 

As far as the other drugs.I'm really tired of all the cry baby drug addicts out there. You know it's addicting right? It's not like there is some big secret.We all had classes on drugs at school right? You know what each drug represents and the possible outcome.Hmm I know it's addicting so let me keep doing it repeatedly.If your addicted to anything it's your own damn fault. I have no sympathy or tax dollars for that matter to give to anyone who is the source of their own problems. Be responsible and manage your life and don't come begging for handouts when you screw it up.

 

 

[cyberquest]

i have been a "AVID" pot smoker for going on 20 years now, i tried coke twice in my life, and NO OTHER DRUG EVER.

 

the reason POT is a gatway drug is BECAUSE its not legal.

 

i have yet to find a guy that sells pot and pot alone, hes a business man not babysitter. chances are most drug dealers have those other "GATEWAY" drugs laying around.

 

dont know how many times i have gone to pick up a "bag of smoke" and find three people sitting down doing lines of coke while i am there.

 

if it was legal, i stop at the liquir store on my way home from work , pick up a doobie, go home and go to bed.

 

since its "ILLEGAL" i am subjected to going to "MR. X'S" house who not only has pot but has any other thing i might want too. thats where most FAIL and become WEAK and give into things like peer pressure.

 

for 20 YEARS i have been able to resist any urge to try something else for a better high or whatever a persons reasons might be for doing so.

 

its the "TYPES" of people a person is forced to be around having to buy a illegal substance.

 

when they made alcohol illegal it didnt make any less drunks in the world, it just made a bunch of regular people into criminals.

 

next time you go to vote on a issue that pertains to legalizing pot think about your son or daughter. if they want to smoke a joint, THEY ARE GONNA DO IT, now you have to think do you want her at "MR. X'S" house buying it on the downlow and being subjected to other drugs or would you feel more at ease if she just stopped at the gas station to pick some up like a pack of cigarettes and never have to be subject to the influences of "other" drugs.

 

PUFF PUFF PUFF.........................pass.

[macrophage]

If i start telling my NYC stories this wont be a quest website anymore!

[kozmikkroozer]

Cyberquest I understand where your coming from but that does not excuse the responsibility of the individual to control their own actions."I did it because it was there",very poor excuse to ruin your life over. Like my grandfather used to say and I'm sure we have all heard it "If so and so jumps off a bridge it doesn't mean you have to".

As far as the Gov't , they are not there to babysit or pass legislation that leads people down the "yellow brick road" to utopia. That the last thing I want from Gov't.

It's the parents job not the school or anyone else to educate the young person on the dangers of drugs.Then they can make informed decisions for themselves.That's the goal right?

I think were creating a whole country full of excuse makers and blamers.This is why I'm all messed up - My daddy was an alcoholic - my parents divorced, we were poor - excuse after excuse.I guess I'm just tired of people not taking responsibility for their own actions.

And fyi I smoke more trees then Tommy Chong and Snoop put together but that doesn't mean I'm going to smoke crack.My point is - you know the hard drugs are very addicting - if you want to try it go ahead but don't use it all the damn time - what did you think the outcome would be? As in all things moderation is the key.