12volt_man said:
I've already answered both of these questions more than once for you.
First of all, pot isn't a "pain medication". That it can be used that way may be a pleasant side effect of the drug, but that doesn't mean that that is it's purpose.
Second, assuming that pain medications have these mind altering effects, I believe that there is a world of difference between taking something to control pain and taking something recreationally.
according to the american medical association, it is a pain medication. prove me otherwise.
nociception. prostiglandins. lipid-affinity. stereoisometry. hepatotoxicity. enkephalin. have you heard of any of these terms, or the thousand more that would have to be understood in order to appreciate, in basic terms, the mechanisms by which drugs interact with the body? yet, i suppose you know best.
what do you mean by "...assuming that pain medications have...mind altering effects...?" granted, not all of them do (like aspirin), but many, many, many do. to even post such a statement shows know knowledge of medications used to alleviate suffering.
and finally, you have not answered the questions i had posed "more than once." you rambled on about how marijuana use is the same as alcohol intoxication in reference to the bible (how so? i was asking you to explain this). you mentioned the mental effects of marijuana as being comparable to those of alcohol (again, you answered nothing. you simply stated an unsupported claim).
you have not answered these questions at all, never mind "more than once."
some people can drink a glass of wine, and be ok. others can't control their drinking and become alcoholics. you had mentioned your sailing days, and having used this drug. apparently, you felt that the negative affects it was having on you outweighed the positive effects. in such a case, it's respectable that you stopped using it. many people engaged in self-destructive behaviour never change their ways. but your experiences, and the experiences of those you encountered (as valuable as they may be) don't make this behaviour negative for everyone that indulges in it. trying to head up a cutter in a storm after your outhaul has snapped is not an easy thing, yet people manage. i think this alone speaks to the differences between the use of marijuana and alcohol.