Because something is illegal, doesn't.....

[Chicklet]

My mother smoked pot while I was growing up. Actually, she's recently told me that she started smoking it at age 12 and hadn't gone a day since, except for when she was pregnant with me.

Until recently, I had NO idea she was such a pothead.

She has admitted to me that she rarely goes more than a couple of hours without it, and it was the same while I was growing up.

I made it to adult hood.

I'm a somewhat normal if not kinky person

I grew up in a pothead's household but had no idea my mothers bongs weren't incense holders' - i made it through 24 years without knowing she had a problem at all.

I don't think marijuana was harmful to my wonderful childhood at all. my mother got to indulge and enjoy herself and didn't feel the need to worry she was endangering her child.

i'm fighting on the side of legalization, if i'm fighting at all. if it was legalized, it'd be taxed, and the government could have more money to go to war. the price would probably go up.

 

[wouldloveto]

I have been a little surprised at some of the attitudes towards marijuana here... I would have guessed a bit more tolerance and a little less 'Mother Hen'...

 

[yevkassem72]

I have been a little surprised at some of the attitudes towards marijuana here... I would have guessed a bit more tolerance and a little less 'Mother Hen'...

Same here, but you never know.

 

[Chicklet]

to clarify, i'm all for it, and don't believe it adversely effects anything.

 

[yevkassem72]

to clarify, i'm all for it, and don't believe it adversely effects anything.

Applauds. Not just your stance, but your lovely AV, too...

 

[wouldloveto]

Applauds. Not just your stance, but your lovely AV, too...

I understood Chicklet... and I think her AV is lovely too! And since I think it is a window to her soul...

 

[MasterPhoenix]

Brothels are legal here, but there are lots of regulations on where they can be situated etc.

I worked in one for a few weeks as a receptionist. Condom use was mandatory, and the girls were drug free (if they weren't, and management found out, they got the sack). They had to produce a medical certificate once a month to prove they were disease free.

Mind you the girls certainly earned their money judging by some of the clientele who came through the doors *shudder*

Thats how the houses in Nevada are. They are not in the more populous counties (Clark & whatever the hell county Reno is in) so they are out in the sticks. THey also have the other rules you were tlaking about.

 

[MasterPhoenix]

See, I think drugs have done some *good* things for us, I really do. And if you don’t believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a Favor: go home tonight and take all your albums, all your tapes, and all your cd’s and burn em’. 'Cause you know what? The musicians who’ve made all that great music that’s enhanced your lives throughout the years...
Rrrrrrrrrrrrreal ------ high on drugs."
--Bill Hicks

 

[yevkassem72]

I understood Chicklet... and I think her AV is lovely too! And since I think it is a window to her soul...

Indeed.

 

[graceanne]

My mothers drug of choice was pot. I know that pot is like alcohol for some people, just relaxes them and makes them mellow. Pot made my mother angry and abusive.

My step-mom's drug of choice was pot. My step mother is schizophrenic and pot makes her hallucinate. The last time she got high she was found in down town San Francisco waving a gun and screaming at imaginary people.

 

[Netzach]

See, I think drugs have done some *good* things for us, I really do. And if you don’t believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a Favor: go home tonight and take all your albums, all your tapes, and all your cd’s and burn em’. 'Cause you know what? The musicians who’ve made all that great music that’s enhanced your lives throughout the years...
Rrrrrrrrrrrrreal ------ high on drugs."
--Bill Hicks

Hour 41 of a Dead jam makes me question even Bill Hicks wisdom.

 

[Blushing Bottom]

No actually chicklet it would come down. Marijuana is cheaper to grow than tobacco. After all it is a WEED. And you know 20 years ago when I smoked I had those same thoughts all but the waring part.

The issue I have with marijuana is not from a mental status standpoint. It is from a room in which I watched my mother die , gasping for air from COPD. Which is the disease anyone who smokes pot on a regular basis risks.

Again...just saying.

d

the price would probably go up.

 

[pinkeden]

I find it interesting that alcohol, pot and tobacco are the main contenders of discussion in this topic.

Historically, marijuana has been used LONGER than alcohol, and at one point in American history (1760's I think), it was ILLEGAL to refuse to grow hemp. I find it fascinating the way things have so radically changed these days in regards to hemp's cousin marijuana.


I personally feel that alcohol has a greater negative effect (on families/ society/pyl)- I'm going to pull out the typical and possibly cliched argument:

How many people do you know that go home, get drunk and beat up on their wife/ family
VS.
How many people do you know that go home, get stoned, and sit on the couch not doing much?

Now, I know being a lazy-ass isn't necessarily good for you (but that is a typical effect of pot), but I certainly think it's better than becoming abusive, which is more typical of alcohol use.


A point I think is important to bring up with pot is what kind of pot you're smoking.

Most people who are fucked up (have psych type issues) seemingly from their use of pot are most likely those to be smoking hydroponicly grown grass, in completely unnatural environments, often with chemical additives to make them grow more. The kind of high you tend to get from this shit often is more of a body stone, paranoid and zombifying high, mostly because you're smoking flyspray and liquid fertiliser.

Bush- natural grass that's grown in the ground, without chemical additives gives a more mellowed out, retrospective, reflective high, with more giggly qualities.

People are growing more hydpronicly, it's more covert and you get more "bang for your buck". A LOT of problematic pot-smokers are those that are smoking hydro- because it's unregulated, the people who grow it can put whatever they want in it.. If it were legalised and controlled, the government could have natural pot plantations, be sure of what smokers are actually smoking, tax it, and have a much more mellowed out collective of pot smokers.


Also, whilst I'm not debating the fact that smoking pot (especially hydro), on a regular basis WILL affect your mental health, The various resources I've consulted (including psychiatrists and psychologists) have, as a majority, pointed out that marijuana WONT "make you crazy" UNLESS there is an underlying psychological issue. It can act as a trigger, however- as most drugs do (and yes alcohol, your asthma puffer and your aspirin is a drug )

Smoking marijuana by itself, unmixed with tobacco is APPARENTLY better for you than smoking tobacco. Smoking marijuana and tobacco mixed together is apparently really bad for your lungs.


I am heartened by the fact that places are allowing/ introducing medical marijuana programs. I know there are a LOT of problems that can be helped by marijuana (asthmas, claucoma, period, back, cancer, arthritic, osteoporosis pain is a good example) as well as people with social disorders such as anger management issues, anxiety and hypertension. An amount as small as (if not smaller, if we're talking about medicinal marijuana) 0.25 of a gram is enough for an individual to find some relief.

I really DON'T think marijuana is a bad drug, it has just been perpetuated as such for so many decades and stigmatised in such a way that is HAS become a "bad" drug because it has been pushed aside and allowed to become a product of low-life scum only interested in continuous profit.

I have an interesting link if anyone is interested. Post in here or PM me

 

[FurryFury]

....make it wrong. Yes, this is a deliberate parody of the Jesus Freak's sanctimonious little thread.

Anyway, let's start with marijuana. I do not see how anyone could condemn this. It is a truly wonderful plant and much better for you than booze or tobacco (though I use both of the latter, I freely admit). Thoughts?

I've seen people abuse pot. I've seen people abuse booze. Damned abusive people.

I'm generally for legalizing and taxing anything that can't be controlled. Then utilizing our legal and peace keeping resources on more important things but that's just me.

Fury

 

[graceanne]

How many people do you know that go home, get drunk and beat up on their wife/ family
VS.
How many people do you know that go home, get stoned, and sit on the couch not doing much?

Am I invisible? Pot made my mother go home and abuse me and my sister.

 

[satindesire]

It's also not necessarily true that tolerance will lead to a 'better' mindset towards alcohol with kids and teens.

My parents had alcohol literally ONCE in the house while I was growing up...my mother bought a bottle of white wine to cook fish in. She gave the rest away.

My parents did not drink in front of me or have it in the house. They didn't drink, period, actually.

I, also, do not drink. I did not see alcohol, think alcohol was common or normal, and I do not like the smell, taste, or effects of alcohol.

I think that seeing your parents drink and seeing it as 'normal' and an everyday occurrence can also make children think of it as normal. Having alcohol in the house is a surefire way to get kinds to start drinking at an early age. How many stories have I heard of my peer-group 'coming home from school and taking shots of tequila while my parents were out of the house'? Children will emulate their parents and seeing drinking as an acceptable behavior of adults can make children and/or teens want to drink, too.

Letting your children know that it takes a certain level of maturity to handle mind-altering substances, keeping alcohol and drugs out of the house and away from your kids, and monitoring who and what kind of friends your child has can prevent a lot of problems that might occur when a more moderate lifestyle isn't presented as normal to your children.

It may be a mother-hen attitude, but that's my opinion. And I might hear this one day from my kids..."When I have kids of my own, I won't treat them like this!"

You know what I'm gonna say? "If you love them, you will."

(Added on edit: Not saying that you don't love your kids if you don't act like this. Again, let me remind you, this is only my personal opinion and I am no more right or wrong in life than anyone else. Thank you! )

 

[wouldloveto]

I've seen people abuse pot. I've seen people abuse booze. Damned abusive people.

I'm generally for legalizing and taxing anything that can't be controlled. Then utilizing our legal and peace keeping resources on more important things but that's just me.

Fury

There ya go! People are gonna do what they are gonna do...

I reiterate, it is not the substance, it is the behavior that makes it bad!

I am still amazed at the judgmental attitude here, of all places!

 

[pinkeden]

I'm sorry graceann if I upset you by my generalisation.. I wasn't trying to target your nor discount what you've been through in my statement.

 

[FurryFury]

I first got drunk at home, alone in my room. I wanted to know if it made me violent or not. I hated the idea of being out of control. So I did it under controlled circumstances.

The first time I got high, it was because my 'rents didn't tell me there was hash in the brownies. If they had, I would have never eaten one.

In general, I'd rather my kids experiment with drinking at home if he wish to do such experiments.

I haven't read through this whole thread.

Graceanne, I'm sorry for what you endured. I'm glad you are such a strong survivor.

Fury

 

[CutieMouse]

*****

 

[satindesire]

I'm not sure I agree with this...

My family always had beer/wine around. My mother had a glass of wine with dinner every night; I remember as a little girl we'd go back to visit family in Nebraska, and my father and his brothers would drink so much beer, they'd build a tower taller than me over the course of an afternoon. It could be said that for the majority of my formitive years, there was a lot of alcohol around.

When I was in Junior High, my dad stopped drinking, period, and my mother reduced her drinking. They never told me it was, or wasn't, a bad thing to do, or that I needed to be 21 to partake of it.

I didn't have my first sip of alcohol until was 20, and then I only did it because I'd gotten married (which meant I was legally able to drink), and my husband encouraged me to try it. I didn't think much of whatever drink he gave me.

I'm about to turn 35, have never been drunk (lightly tipsy, yes; stupidly drunk, no), rarely allow myself more than 1 drink an evening, and if I have alcohol 3 nights in a row, I stop drinking for a while. Alcoholism runs in my family, and I took the elementary school lectures about drug/tobacco/alcohol use seriously as a kid. Generally speaking, my alcohol consuption is limited to a really kick ass Chambord Meltdown once or twice a year, and my roommate and I will usually make vanilla rum & cokes (& popcorn) if we decide to flop in her bed and do a movie marathon...

My older sister did the typical high school/college drunk stuff, still drinks more heavily than I do, but manages to be responsible about it (as far as I know).

Raising a kid in a home where alcohol is tolerated, doesn't mean they will be more inclined to break the rules, and be irresponsible with alcohol; raising a kid in a home without alcohol, doesn't mean they will grow up to hate alcohol and never partake of it. (trust me- I met a lot of kids in college who went wild ass crazy once they didn't have strict mommy and daddy around...)

This is one of those things that just depends on the individual...

Exactly why I said 'can' and 'not necessarily' instead of 'will'. But I won't take back what I said about hearing horror stories from my peer-group because the alcohol was 1) available in their homes and 2) tolerated and accepted as a normal thing to do by their parents. I have literally walked away from conversations started by 18-20 year olds as they gleefully recant how they drank a quarter of their dad's Jack Daniels and threw up all night.

Doesn't really sound like fun to ME, but who am I to say what's fun and what's not?

If you're young, you're not gonna find it as easy to imbibe if the alcohol isn't readily accessible I. E. In their mom and dad's liquor cabinet. Not to say there isn't a teen house party where alcohol won't be available by older peers buying it for them, but I digress...Ease of accessibility plus a 'normality' outlook probably adds to the problems of early abuse of alcohol.

 

[FurryFury]

As to the point of accessibility, I thought it interesting and disgusting that cough syrup was the drink of choice on the show Big Love at teen parties.

That's some nasty tasting shit there.

I grew up with people drinking, smoking pot or eating hash brownies, doing legal pills (often not legally obtained, mind you), tons of vitamins and "supplements", and even shooting up steroids.

My grandmother took me to a bar and ordered me a drink when I was 13. She also lied to me that a drug she wanted me to take was grape juice.

My parents let me drink with them whenever I would, champagne brunches, Mexican or Spanish food with sangria punch, that sort of thing at first.

As a consequence I dislike taking any sort of pills. I rarely drink more than a glass of red wine with dinner now and then.

I do have food associations with some drinks. I like a nice red wine with spaghetti for instance. I love sake with teppan table food. I won't drink champagne unless I have some fried artichoke hearts to eat with them, that sort of thing.

Fury