Comments on: The Debate On California's Pot Shops

Morley Safer Reports On Proposition 215

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by drivelphobe

Your opinions are perfectly reasonable, if you don''t want to associate with people who use it, fine. Those same people are probably asking themselves why they should grind themselves to the maximum when what you pay them is at the minimum...

It does not however, justify its illegality, just because you don''t like to be around people who do like it, is no grounds to incarcerate users. If that were the case, I don''t like being around drunks, or neo nazi skinheads, so...

Posted by erasmus6

There are studies that can show almost anything one posits, but empirical statistics show that drivers under the influence tend to be even more careful than non stoned people, accident statistics show accidents related to marijuana consumption to be almost non existent. (perhaps there are those incidents where a seed popping into ones crotch while driving can be dangerous, but if one "cleans" the stash, that problem is eliminated)The same definitely cannot be said for alcohol.

By the way, even acid (the real thing, not the stuff adulterated with other drugs) does not alter reality for the vast majority of users, it simply increases the ability for abstract thinking for longer periods of time. The "psychedelic hallucinations" were only more of the same "reefer madness" scare tactics, as were the "flashback" assertions...

[trueactivist]

Medical marijuana is a scam. It''s only a matter of time before the whole thing is exposed. I personally can''t wait!

[drivelphobe]

I have had several employees over the years who I had to terminate for lethargic performance directly related to marijuana addiction. Erasmus is correct that they live in a dreamy state, dulled by the effects, while insisting that they are fine.

It is a problem, it smells and it is as unhealthy as any form of smoking. I''m not sure what the solution is about it''s use, but I want nothing to do with anyone who uses it. I sure don''t want them working for me, with me, around me, or for anyone I use in the course of my business. They are basically unreliable is every sense.

[smtchcose]

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[gunownerdan]

Marijuana has been illegal for over 70 years and today it is America''s #1 cash crop.
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[tmkgls]

I''m just wondering - is it the "buzz" that helps the pain or a specific ingredient in marijuana that is what actually helps the pain. If so, they need to find out exactly what it is and create that for the help with pain. I have Fibromyalgia and Neuropathy - both highly painful. I''ve tried marijuana but it literally makes me vomit. Non-narcotic pain medicine NEEDS to be found and legalized for those it helps. If it''s marijuana in its true form then so be it.

[myidoncbs]

erasmus6, People eat food every day, and "if you asked them to stop I bet they couldn''t do it immediately, at least not without a lot of difficulty"! However, that does NOT really mean that food has control over you, at least not in the sense that you are trying to convey.

The truth of the matter is, you have to use marijuana several times a day, for a very long time before it''s possible to become the least bit "dependent on it". It simply is not an addictive drug. Medical marijuana is an extremely useful option for the people who are supposed to be using it. It''s much better for them than taking opiate-based pain pills, which are definitely very addictive within a very short period of time.

The fact that lots of people seem to be using marijuana for situations that aren''t really intended by the medical marijuana laws simply goes to show that people want to use drugs to reduce their suffering or to escape the world they live in. That is nothing new. In nearly every known human society throughout time, some percentage of the population has used some form of mind altering drug. In the USA, 46% of the 2004 adult population had used illegal drugs at some time. Obviously, the law of the land is totally out of touch with the will of the people regarding drug use.

Alcohol use and abuse is a much bigger problem in this country than marijuana use. If you want to worry about misuse of drugs, why not focus on that?

[amazedd]

We like to call it curbing carbon.

[erasmus6]

brianbwb

And people DO become dependent on it. It becomes apart of their lives. Anyone that is smoking it everyday, if you asked them to stop I bet they couldn''t do it immediately, at least not without a lot of difficulty. Which means that it has control over you. Personally I don''t like having something controlling me.

There is something wrong with someone that chooses to live in a smoke filled haze EVERYDAY. It means they can''t deal with the real world, they need a filter.

[erasmus6]

"I also don''''t agree that someone stoned is living in some altered reality..." posted by brianbwb

I disagree, it may not be altered like if you did acid or something but it is changing your state of mind and body. If you were driving a car while stoned, would it not affect your response time? And we all know that it affects your memory BIGTIME.
We also know that it affects concentration. Sure you can concentrate on one thing but what about everything else that is going on around you at the same time? If you know what I mean.

I wonder how many are so dependent on it that they have to smoke it before they do anything, like going to work for instance. LOTS.

[skyk-2009]

The "War on Drugs" is not only a complete and total failure it takes money away from programs and needed expenditures that we desperately need RIGHT now. When are we ever going to learn that you can''t use the Government to control people''s conduct. If someone wants to smoke pot then they are going to do it and trying to stop that would take a police state plain and simple. Pot is MORE available today than it was when I was a young man. That alone should tell you something. If there is a demand for it and people do NOT see any long term harm to society with it, NO AMOUNT of Police will stop it. READ HISTORY people..

[watcher269-2009]

Well, since Bush smokes it, then it is Okay. Right?

[brianbwb-2009]

To Reasmus6

I also don''t agree that someone stoned is living in some altered reality, they are still human and will go through the same life they would without it, just as real as anyone else, the only difference being the mood they are in, which is not any sort of "altered reality", or altered perception of it.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by erasmus6

People become mentally addicted to everything from gameboys to sugar to American idol. Mental addiction is a facet of life, even non humans become mentally addicted.

If the substance, or action in question happens to be pot, so what? Who are we to decide how a person should choose to enjoy their own life, as long as the usual social safeguards are observed? If Joe or Jane Sixpack wants to exist in a smoke filled haze, that should be their own business and choice.

As far as depression, your statement seemed to infer the unproven assumption that pot causes depression. If I misread it, forgive me, it is just that I have heard erroneous "reefer madness" claims about a perfectly beneficial herb for decades, 99.9999% consisting of lies dressed up with latin to lend some sort of air of authority to BS.

My point is that it shouldn''t be illegal, there is no proven reason, and also that the responsibility for consequences of use should be on the user, and the consequences should not include criminal process.

[erasmus6]

brianbwb

I didn''t say they went through physical withdrawals. I said they were mentally addicted. Do you know the difference? I would expect a person that is into smoking all the time to deny everything I have said.

As far as smoking pot and depression goes, you need to do a little research. It is a well known fact that any kind of drugs and alcohol are a problem for people with depression.

When a person smokes pot everyday and gets into the habit of it and likes the way it makes them feel, they don''t want to stop, in fact it is very hard for them to stop because they become Mentally addicted. I have been witness to it many, many times. I also know this from my own experience. Anyone that is smoking it everyday is never going to admit it because they don''t want to admit it. They like living in lala land.

But I do have to say that most people I know that smoked pot eventually grew up and started living in reality. I do much prefer living in reality more than a smoke filled haze.

[brianbwb-2009]

1. Happy new year.

2. There is nothing wrong with getting high, and no need for medical justification.

3. Erasmus 6, normally your posts show sound logic, but this time you are below par. I also know many people who enjoy pot, including my younger self. I have yet to see anyone undergoing withdrawal symptoms, and yes if we ran out, naturally we would want to resupply. It was a yearly ritual in Detroit, that in late summer the supplies would dry up for more than a month, then come back $5 more expensive, it was a drag, but still never saw anyone with withdrawal symptome, just a "man, I wish there was some herb around" general lament.

Some of the people you mention as anecdotes are simply jerks, and their personality defects have nothing to do with pot, except for maybe they weren''t such "jerks" while stoned.

The statement about depression is patently false, any real users will tell you that "the giggles", that state of stoned where many things seem very funny, is about as anti depressant as it gets.

[amaterasu101]

Dear erasmus6,

Has it occurred to you that those people of whom you spoke would be happy, chill people if they had access to a drug that relieved their stress? Without side effects and the possibility of death?

Give me a break.

[amaterasu101]

Dear erasmus6,

Has it occurreed to you that those people of whom you spoke would be happy, chill people if they had access to a drug that relieved their stress? Without side effects and the possibility of death?

Give me a break.

[amaterasu101]

(continued from previous post)

And as I pointed out the first time around, with all these people using this drug in California, there is NO increase in traffic accidents (and a large percentage of users do drive while medicated), there is NO issue of increased child abuse, there is NO issue with increased absenteeism at work, there is NO increase in cancer and other diseases, there is NO increase in violence, there is NO increase in %u201Charder%u201D drug use%u2026

So why are you playing the %u201Cjust want to get high%u201D card as if there is a problem with that? I am, quite frankly enraged, and my estimation of the honesty under which your show is driven has slipped to a very deep low.

Ask the effing right question. Ask what issues Californians are having with essentially legal marijuana. If you ask that question you will see that the answer is: None.

Well%u2026 Except for the Feds.

So if I was honest and producing such a show, I would be suggesting that the worst part about marijuana %u2013 by leaps, bounds and astronomical jumps %u2013 is its illegality.

Grow a set, will ya?

[amaterasu101]

Dear 60 Minutes,

I wrote the first time you aired the marijuana piece and I was aghast that you ran it again in its original form. The %u201Cjust want to get high%u201D *** was even more heavily stressed at the outset.

The %u201Cjust want to get high%u201D syndrome, it turns out, is an expression of individuals who want to relieve stress. And as I see it, since there are stress-relief pharmaceuticals, stress is a valid reason to use this drug.

And while we%u2019re at it, perhaps you can explain what%u2019s inherently wrong with altering one%u2019s consciousness. Sure, there are drugs that make one non-functional, and such a choice should only be made when no others depend on one%u2019s ability to respond appropriately.

But the act of altering one%u2019s consciousness, in and of itself, is a personal choice, a God-given right in line with our values of freedom.

And with marijuana, experienced users are fully capable of functioning. They can handle emergencies appropriately (unless they would have no clue %u201Csober%u201D). They are less stressed out in general, get along better with others, are more willing to let petty things go rather than create a scene, than even %u201Csober%u201D people.

(continued next post)