Why does it seem all Marijuana users are looked at like drug addicts still?

1. 84

   Annsaloposted 8 years ago

   Why does it seem all Marijuana users are looked at like drug addicts still?
   
   Even with tons of evidence that marijuana is not harmful, and in fact is beneficial for many, many illnesses, people who are marijuana users are still looked at in a bad light by many politicians and people in our country.
   Is the evidence being ignored? Should people change their opinions when new evidence is brought to life? At what point will marijuana users just be looked at like a norm, or at least in the minimal dislike that is shown towards moderate drinkers and tobacco users?

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2. 83

   Austinstarposted 8 years ago

   Until the powers that be die off, we will continue to fight change in any form. The young people are going to have to vote out all of the backwards thinking politicians and their way of doing things.
   When the word "progressive" sheds the evil connotation that it has today, that is when real progress will be made.
   Facts and logic are going to have to overcome "feelings" and beliefs. There is no other way around it.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I agree 100%!

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3. 95

   lions44posted 8 years ago

   I see these people everyday, sometimes several times a day. I live near several pot shops.  They look high as they walk toward the store.  Don't get me started on their driving habits coming in and out of the parking lots.  Wrong way turns, thinking the left lane is a turn lane and pulling out into traffic aimlessly. Scary. 
   I'm all for medical marijuana. It has some potentially great uses. I would never stop anyone with a chronic illness or in terminal care from using it.  We will all be there some day and I want that option. 
   But most of these folks in town are addicts, the same as alcoholics.  I don't get the argument that it's harmless. Would you have Vicodin brownies?   Percocet candy?  They stimulate the same receptors in the brain.   
   Again, I would not vote to make it illegal, I just want it under a doctor's care.  THC is a powerful stimulate.  Not sure why we want to make it easier to use.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Marijuana is addictive but that doesn't have to make it harmful. Please understand for every idiot pot head you see there are plenty of working average ppl getting by you never see. I'm thankful you are at least pro medical. I'm waiting on my state!

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   2. 83

      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Drunk drivers are much scarier than THC impaired drivers. Pot users drive slower, they dislike driving in the first place, and they would rather not drive at all if they don't have to. Live close to a bar and count the fatalities for each class.

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   3. 95

      lions44posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Austin star, I almost ran into a pot smoker  last month because they just stopped their car, looking for the pot shop. It is only a matter of time before pot DUIs catch up.  One pot DUI is too much, same w/alcohol.  Problem is getting worse.

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   4. 84

      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Legalization and putting the same laws that are used with alcohol in effect could help that situation. There will always be a few idiots in any group, but they should not set the view or standard for all of them.

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   5. 83

      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Congratulations on being an alert driver. But how did you determine that pot was the problem for the person just stopping their car? Did you run a drug screen on them? Or was it just a stupid driver?

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   6. 95

      lions44posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Austin Star, the only thing open at 7:30pm in the little area of shops was the pot shop.  And I see the same cars over and over again.  On the local news last night, there was talk of a backlash against the shops.  Lots of regret.

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   7. 83

      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      None of what you just said proves that the driver you are referring to was influenced by THC.

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   8. 95

      lions44posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Nothing more to say.  Get back to me when they legalize MJ in your state.  Good luck.

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4. 0

   RTalloniposted 8 years ago

   Doctors agree on two things–medical benefit comes from the oil and that inhaling any smoke is harmful, first or second hand, marijuana included. 
   
   Anything smoked by people that contaminates air with second-hand smoke should not be allowed. Doing that to children should always be criminal.  So what if some do it responsibly and never around children.  The protection of the innocent should be the priority, not mine or anyone else's entertainment.   
   
   The issues that come from people walking, driving, making decisions, and more while using it really are scary.

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   1. 83

      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Once again, check the facts. More people are killed by drunk drivers than by pot smokers, a LOT more!

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   2. 0

      RTalloniposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, true, but that does not make even one person dying due to a pot smoker driving high okay.

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   3. 84

      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Actually you are wrong about your first point. CBD Oil is great, but THC actually works both on its own and with CBD to produce medical benefits. So UR answer basically says punish those who do it right because of the ones who don't? What abt edible?

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   4. 83

      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      RT, then the answer is to make alcohol illegal, right? That worked so well before. Maybe we should just outlaw stupid drivers because they kill people in accidents too.

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   5. 0

      RTalloniposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Heeheee, it really is a shame stupidity can't be outlawed! However, laws can't change a heart/mind about what is good and right. Re outlawing alcohol, just because people won't tolerate it does not mean it's not a good idea. Docs agree there, too.

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   6. 84

      Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      My ? to U RT is why would you want to make something illegal if it could help ppl? I could get off of $600 worth of meds a month and pay $90 a month instead for something far more helpful w/ less side effects. Why keep it illegal when proven good?

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   7. 0

      RTalloniposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I simply do not want it legalized for the open market like cigarettes because as with all meds, harm as well as help can be their result.  The problem that needs solving is big pharma.  I hope the best for your needs.

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5. 60

   Link10103posted 8 years ago

   Chances are, anyone who has such a view sees nothing wrong with smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol and probably do it themselves.
   
   In which case my response to that would be those kind of people are mentally impaired to the highest degree.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed!

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6. 70

   Renata Kellposted 8 years ago

   I think there is  a lot to be said about marijuana use but I just want to point out that several celebrities have been honest about marijuana use for years and because of there status people have always treated them good. I think that when a person is being looked at as a drug addict it is based on their status in life and work not necessarily the fact that they use marijuana. I have met several people in high demanding jobs that smoke and nobody says a thing because they are functioning in the real world with real lives and therefore people leave them alone.
   I have also witnessed abuse of marijuana and using it as an excuse to sit on the couch and get the munchies instead of getting a job. Just like with alcohol it all depends on the reason a person is using it in the first place and whether or not they can sustain a normal functioning life or whether they can only think about getting high all day.
   I will never condone getting high and driving just as I will never condone using any drug, legal or illegal drug including prescription drugs, and driving. I have seen accidents that have been the result of being high and that is just not OK, no matter what it is.
   Simply put I never thought in my day I would see legalized marijuana but I have done some research and I am an advocate of marijuana. I am not  in denial that it can hurt people though. It is very possible for it to become an addiction and it is also one of the easiest drugs to quite taking. Therefore it is one of the longest used drugs out there because you can stop and start time and time again. If used recreational and not behind the wheel, while living life it is no different than going out on a Friday night and having a few drinks with your pals. If used ill responsibly it is more likely to affect your decisions and your quality of life.
   It will definitely take the world some time to get used to the idea and it will take the authorities some time to figure out how to make sure people are not driving on it. although people have been doing it long before it ever became legal so I do not think it really made a difference except that people are more open today than in the past about smoking marijuana.
   As a recovering pain pill addict (prescribed by my doctor) I can tell you that It is just as dangerous to drive on several medication yet 99% of us do it even with the warnings on the bottle. Not just narcotics but several mental illness medications have horrible driving side effects.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Very good answer, and I agree with 100% of it!

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7. 85

   tamarawilhiteposted 7 years ago

   We need better pain management, not legalization of a drug that tends to sap the motivation out of people, causing many to sit on the couch, doing little to nothing.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      There is not a single prescription medication that doesn't have a side effect of possible death. You are forming a negative opinion based on SOME. My medications make me a zombie. Low THC high CBD does not cause laziness or tiredness.

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   2. 83

      Austinstarposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      TW, the people you are referring to never had motivation in the first place. I've noticed many different personality types in pot smokers, some become very creative and productive on thc.

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   3. 84

      Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Ppl against it also don't seem to comprehend that there are different strains which give different results. I know many professionals who smoke and make over $100K a year. Why? Because the MJ isn't what makes a person lazy, some ppl have no ambition.

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   4. 74

      Misfit Chickposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      There are potheads just like there are alchoholics. I live in WA state where recreational pot is now legal. I have marketing clients in that industry. I am often impressed by the brains behind the research & scientists - high or not, they're SMAR

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8. 51

   Ann810posted 7 years ago

   
   
   It's because people smoke it, Marijuana is a herb meant to be edible. Our bodies are not suppose to intentionally inhale smoke in the form of a cigarette. Herbs are a food meant for the body. It's considered drug abuse when in the form of frequently smoking it, there are individuals that rub it on their skin mixed with oils for medical problems (but individuals has gotten arrested and sent to court for using Marijuana the normal way). Marijuana is a medicinal herb for medical treatments, but for some weird reason Doctors agree with you smoking it, as long as they get major profit from it. And of course it has to be used in moderation when sprinkled in edibles to prevent getting too intoxicated. Know the laws in your state about Marijuana use. Also consider on-the-spot drug tests for employment and while emplyed.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Valid point. No smoke is good for lungs, and the best way to consume any herb is through eating. The only laws in my state say it's horrible both for fun and for medicinal use. Good ole south. We will probably be the last to legalize it for medicinal

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9. 69

   wrenchBiscuitposted 7 years ago

   
   
   As with any drug, the criminalization of marijuana has been beneficial to the governments prison for profit system, as well as the high level drug dealers and producers. Both camps will lose millions of dollars in yearly revenue if marijuana is ever universally legalized. The health and well being of the people who smoke marijuana is certainly not of great concern to either group, nor do I believe that either group necessarily perceives the marijuana user as a drug addict. From this perspective the marijuana user is simply a valuable commodity.
   
   I have often wondered about the first person to do anything. The first person to drink apple cider, the first person to perform oral sex, the first person to step in front of a moving locomotive, and the first person to say "whatchamacallit". Yes, there is a first time for everything. And so today, let the world marvel at this great revelation:
   
   Many have commiserated about the slothfulness of the habitual marijuana user; about the apparent lack of motivation; about the seemingly wasted life. But today I can tell you that it may not be so! The life of the habitual user may not be wasted at all, even though he might sit for hours, day in and day out, contemplating the trajectory of a dead fly who gave up the ghost in mid-air; somewhere between here, and somewhere between there.
   
   Rather than seeing a wasted life, perhaps we are looking at the hand of God. And this is a great teaching. If  tyrants, throughout the history of the world, would have spent their days in a vegetative state, we can clearly understand that hundreds of millions of lives would have been spared the indignities and the cruelties of war. And today, the Earth would not be filled with the rotten corpses, and the bones of the innocents who were laid to rest many years before their time.
   
   In other words, the habitual marijuana user who lives his life in a vegetative state appears to have been quarantined, contained, and restrained  by an emissary of the Earth. Perhaps he is a would-be tyrant and monster who might otherwise go to and fro across the Earth, raping and pillaging and creating havoc; the kind of havoc we now witness in the Middle East. But instead, he is now pacified and neutralized. And so, let him be happy in his foggy world, so that we can be happy in ours. God has set the path for us to follow. It is only when we attempt to stray from that path, and to unduly control and pervert the nature of man, that we are bound to suffer.

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   1. 84

      Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Your answer reminds me of a post I read on Facebook that said. "If everyone in the world smoked marijuana at the same time, We'd have peace for 3 hours".

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10. 0

    jonnycomelatelyposted 7 years ago

    I have read all the replies to your question, but find the arguments a bit shallow.   However, I am not at all well informed about mind-altering drugs, so will confine my concerns to the effect of marijuana on the teen-aged brain.
    
    My young friend killed himself 11 years ago.  He was 21.  The graphics he designed on the computer were dark, morbid, grotesque.   I am led to believe that during his mid-late teenage years he was taking dope.   I wonder how much that damaged his young mind; apparently a high risk in the opinion of many experts.
    
    So.....in my book, anyone treating the subject in a casual manner needs to look at reality.  Would they happily let their child use it?   And would they admit to being complicit in a person's suicide?

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    1. 84

       Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Actually there have been several medical studies following chronic smokers from teen yrs through mid 30's and they found no link between MJ use and depression. Govern. ran studies had prev. "found a link" but independent studies find none.

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    2. 84

       Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       In fact independent (non government pockets) find links in HELPING with depression. I'm sorry Ur friend passed, but likely it had little to do with his MJ consumption. As w/ all "drugs" legalization should be for adults only though, in my opinion.

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11. 58

    Joshua 33posted 7 years ago

    Marijuana is an excellent treatment for post traumatic stress. In excess it causes severe apathy.That is the evidence being ignored.
    
    People are entitled to their opinions. Mine is based on my personal experience with vitamin THC.
    
    At what point will YOU view marijuana users differently?

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    1. 84

       Annsaloposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Everything is bad in excess. A lot of people assume that supporters also support drug "abuse". I don't. Abuse is consuming too much. In moderation though it is wonderful for so much.

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12. 39

    ChristinSposted 7 years ago

    I think the largest reason that it is pushed as "bad" is that the "war on drugs" is very profitable for certain institutions.  A lot of people in the prison system for pot use and for very long sentences.  Shameful to me that happens when violent predators are often jailed for shorter terms.  Perhaps the for profit prisons prefer to be filled with non-violent offenders for profit instead? Yes, I'm a cynic.
    
    In regards to impaired drivers I think we could stand to take some lessons from other countries there too.  Here people can get multiple DUI's without permanent consequences.  I'd be all for a "once and done" law here.  If people knew they faced the permanent revocation of their license if they drive impaired, they might be compelled to use better judgment and planning.  That would solve problems all around and I am by far more afraid of drunk drivers than high ones.  I lost a friend at 18 years old who was killed when  a drunk driver ran up on the sidewalk.  I have no tolerance for impaired drivers.

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       jonnycomelatelyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Is "better judgment and planning" something we can reasonably expect from people who would be taking mind-altering drugs in the first place?   The whole privaledge of being able to drive a motor vehicle brings with it a need for responsibility.

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       Joshua 33posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Who told you substances have the ability to alter your mind? I can assure you that is not a necessary effect.

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       jonnycomelatelyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Alcohol, pot, speed, they DO alter the mind.  Why else would ANY of us use them?   The mind alters its pattern of thinking in some way as a result of the drug.
       Whether any of us considers that change to be advantageous or not is open to opinion.

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    4. 58

       Joshua 33posted 7 years agoin reply to this

       As you wish. I happen to know otherwise. All is mind.

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