Cannabis

[Guyute]

Are the penalties for use of it just? Discuss...

 

[Maynard Keenan]

No

 

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Are the penalties for use of it just? Discuss...

No, canabis is no worse than alcohol. In fact you can't overdose from canabis, but you can from alcohol.

 

[Alecto]

I think the penalties for posession are a little stiff. Arresting people for a dime gets you inmates that are beligerant and angry because they dont feel as though they should be there.

I dont know if its any better than alchahol though, it has some serious effects on your heart. Also it has some personality altering side effects and it really hurts memory

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

What are the penalties like in Jamaica, Japan and the US, then?

Here in the UK the penalties are pretty light I suppose. Whilst I've never actually be caught with cannabis (I'm far too careful ), I think that up to a certain amount-I believe it may be as high as an ounce-the police just confiscate it and possibly give you a warning. And I'm pretty sure then they just have it for themselves!

So the penalties for cannabis use are pretty lax here in the UK.

Rob

 

[maha]

The penalties are way too severe. Think about how many people are in prison for cannabis related offenses. And yet child molesters who rape fourteen year old boys at gunpoint are free to go out and abduct more children. Just one of the many...many...many injustices that our so-called "justice system" perpetrates against us.

 

[Madcoil]

I don't think there are that many molesters who rape small boys at gunpoint. That's why they don't get caught.

 

[Jetgirl]

Cannabis should have the same penalty for use as other recreationally intoxicating substances such as alcohol.

 

[psychedelicist]

It kinda blows my mind what a big deal we're making over a plant. COme on people, it's a plant. You'd think it had some kind of power or something. A frickin plant.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

It kinda blows my mind what a big deal we're making over a plant. COme on people, it's a plant. You'd think it had some kind of power or something. A frickin plant.

...the smoking of which can lead to schizophrenia and brain damage...

 

[psychedelicist]

...the smoking of which can lead to schizophrenia and brain damage...

LOL. Not quite my friend. Point me to a case where weed caused even acute schizophrenia. Perhaps a little paranoia while they're high, but most of that comes from the pre-existing conditioning of them to think that by smoing weed they are doing something vaguely naughty. It will also cause your imagination to run wild. YOu can envision a scenario in your head and see how it might turn out. As a result ofthese to things, it often leads them to think obsessively about what were to happen if they were caught being high. If it were legal and socially acceptable, it would no longer be a problem.

As for the brain damage, there is some truth in that, however, it is short to mid-term damage, not long term. What happens is, THC binds to your D2 receptor in place of dopamine. With heavy usage, your brain will start to expect constant THC and thus stop producing dopamine. If you were to stop, your brain would take at the very most 2 months to realize it's not getting any more dopamie, and start producing it by itself again.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

Whilst it is not necessarily entirely conclusive, there is repeated and strong suggestion that heavy use of cannbis can quadruple your chances of getting schizophrenia. Here is a BBC News article on the matter. Rob

 

[Jetgirl]

...the smoking of which can lead to schizophrenia and brain damage...

Wow. Who told you that, and did they have a bridge for sale?

Ok, ok, saw the link to the article...

 

[psychedelicist]

"The use of cannabis is not thought to be a primary cause of schizophrenia, although there is strong evidence to suggest that it can trigger the onset of mental illness in some people with a prior disposition.

(my bolding)

Any drug can cause mental illness in "some" people "with a prior disposition". Many people would have many prior dispositions that cannabis would likely bring out, simply by it's psychoactive nature. It is not good as a recreational drug, perhaps, but when used in the proper setting it can actually help with mental conditions alot. Just because it seems like cannabis sometimes shows people what they don't want to see- inside their head, in their subconcious, and that is very unsettling for a lot of people. I would not be suprised if someone smoked a lot of cannabis not knowing this would happen, and kind of panicked. It would probably look like some kind of schizophrenia.

I used to smoke cannabis heavily every day. If anything it made me a better person (my parents would compliment me on how unusually nice I was to my siblings, etc.). Of course, I guess I would also need to take into account what I did while I was high, which was usually to meditate.

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

It kinda blows my mind what a big deal we're making over a plant. COme on people, it's a plant. You'd think it had some kind of power or something. A frickin plant.

And heroine and coke are just plant/flowers. Beer/wine is made from grasses and grapes. Marijuana is a drug same as any drug. It has side effects when used/abused over the long term and effects a persons health and relationships.

 

[psychedelicist]

And heroine and coke are just plant/flowers. Beer/wine is made from grasses and grapes. Marijuana is a drug same as any drug. It has side effects when used/abused over the long term and effects a persons health and relationships.

Heroin is not a plant or flower.

Aside from that, you are right. But if we can handle alcohol being legal you would think we could handle having weed legal.

 

[ps139]

Cannabis can be a catalyst for schizophrenia... as people have pointed out, there has to be a predisposition first.
It can (and often does) also exacerbate already existing personality problems in people, such as making introverts into totally antisocial people, turning laziness into inertia, killing one's motivation, increasing paranoia, etc. These problems usually have to exist in some degree in the person smoking the cannabis. The people who are not affected in these ways never really had those problems to begin with.

I think the biggest danger in marijuana use is that it opens certain doors of perception that are not meant to be opened - IOW, fallen spirits can have easier access to deceive people under the influence. If you had told me this a few years ago I would have laughed at you, but back then I thought I knew everything.

I think the penalties for marijuana use/possession in the USA are awfully harsh. Especially mandatory minimums, I think they are downright evil. Drug users for the most part do not have malicious intent, and marijuana will usually make someone less inclined towards violent acts anyway... unlike alcohol, which is legal. The large scale dealers should be imprisoned, but not someone who deals a little bit to his friends. Unfortunately American law sees one as a dealer who has as little as a few grams split up in different bags. If he is dealing (unlikely) he is probably not making much anyway.

Marijuana users caught by the police should not be imprisoned, they should be counseled. (If only we could rely on having competent counselors!)

All of this I have concluded from personal observations, reading opinions of "experts" on all sides of the argument (from psychopharmacology to moral theology, hippies and cops), and a good deal of reflection on this topic.

 

[southernmissfan]

...the smoking of which can lead to schizophrenia and brain damage...

For those who are already predispositioned for such things, as do many other drugs. I admit I have a special bias for wanting lesser penalties (if you catch my drift), but it's quite absurd how weed and even other psychedelic drugs are treated.

College kids who smoke reefer don't beat up their wives, liquored up rednecks do. I'm of the opinion that more people should smoke weed, but that's just me.

 

[The_True_Prophet]

And heroine and coke are just plant/flowers. Beer/wine is made from grasses and grapes. Marijuana is a drug same as any drug. It has side effects when used/abused over the long term and effects a persons health and relationships.

ok you went way over into a different fricken sport with this , son.

Cannabis is natural. Meaning it is in it's natural (well un-naturally broken up and put into a pipe) state when we smoke it. Heroine, coke, beer.... all ahve to go through a few other processes from plant to product. Cannabis is pure product with the only process being harvesting it, unless you want to argue about using certain lights and fertalizers to gain certain kinds of pot.... but even then.. safer than heroine.... cheaper than coke...and not as hazardous as alcohol.

Ex Animo
The True Prophet - shall I tell you how you die?

 

[Electric Sceptic]

I don't care what it's likely or possible effects are - it is morally wrong to make it illegal. No person has the right to tell another person what they cannot imbibe.