mot---

[Nick]

I know many people, who are in the 50 - 60 range who smoke weed and they have zero health issues, are very successful, and have families. So to respond to that comment, yes, he does have an idea what it will do in 20 - 30 years.

I know many people in the 50-60 year old range who've been in car accidents and have zero health issues. So I guess that means car accidents are totally good for your health, right?

I did a little research:
Long term effects of marijuana use are similar to those of cigarettes, maybe moreso because of the lack of filters, maybe a little less so because of the lack of industrial carcinogens.
Research shows it acts as a t-cell supressor, which reduces immune-system response.
Introducing THC into the brain over the long term causes a reduction in dopamine production, which increases stress response.

Maybe it's not all that bad for you, but I notice that drug users always feel a need to defend themselves and deny that it's in ANY WAY bad for them.
Granted, EVERYTHING is probably bad for you in one way or another, but be realistic.

[StereoInstaller1]

I started smoking pot when I was 8.

I quit when I was 34.

I smoked pretty much all day, every day. Even on the job, since it was common in my industry...but i pushed it. I was "un-firable" since I was such hot shit. One of the best, ever.

Pot made it easier to keep my head in the sand. It allowed life to pass me by without ruffling my feathers too much, allowed social situations to meld easier.

I always was a square peg in a round hole. Pot helped "round me off".

One day I got high when I didn't want to. Again. Like all of the other times before...except that I decided I had become addicted. I got sober.

I work hard at staying sober. It is important to me . I have not had a drink or drug since 8/26/1997. Pot is only one of the things I did to excess. If you want to discuss your past, my past, or possible futures, PM me.

I, (like Blunt mentioned about himself) have an addictive personality. I do everything to excess. I have learned some moderation. I see the same traits in my children...who were not raised by me...I believe it to be genetic.

You are welcome to your own beliefs about this, just as I am welcome to believe you wrong.

Is Pot a gateway drug? I say yes. Does it force you through the gate? I say no...but it definately cracks the door open. For me, my personality works as a battering ram. Damaged as it is, that is who I am.

It is now up to me to make it better.

Luke

[blunttech]

I know many people, who are in the 50 - 60 range who smoke weed and they have zero health issues, are very successful, and have families. So to respond to that comment, yes, he does have an idea what it will do in 20 - 30 years.

your ignorance is showing. when i was your age and someone was questioning my drug abuse i would defend it to the end.
fact is im older and wiser now but i do understand your thoughts as i was the same way when i was your age. at 20 years old you can dump all kinds of shit into your body. it may take 10 or 20 years for you to form an addiction and it may take 6 weeks. nobody knows that. i knew the first time i had a beer at age 14 i was different than most kids. i knew at that time i liked this shit way too much

[pineapplegti]

when i blow coke i like to hit women.. yet i dont drink.. marajuana makes me sleepy and im addicted to bean burritos... have u ever sucked dick for bean burritos....?? no i dont think so. fuck ya'll

[Mot]

Is Pot a gateway drug? I say yes. Does it force you through the gate? I say no...but it definately cracks the door open. For me, my personality works as a battering ram. Damaged as it is, that is who I am.

It is now up to me to make it better.

Luke

Luke I think you just said it better then I was able to.

Thank you.

[schmidty]

came upon this article on cnn.com about the war on drugs...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/13/Dobbs.Feb14/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

a few exerts....

While Walters focused on a marginal decline in drug use, he made no mention of the shocking rise in drug overdoses.... Fatal drug overdoses in teenagers and young adults soared 113 percent.

How can anyone rationalize the fact that the United States, with only 4 percent of the world's population, consumes two-thirds of the world's illegal drugs?

Illicit drug use costs the United States almost $200 billion a year, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Include alcohol and tobacco-related costs along with health care, criminal justice and lost productivity and the figure exceeds $500 billion annually.

[smonkbmw]

your ignorance is showing. when i was your age and someone was questioning my drug abuse i would defend it to the end.

i think your ignorance is showing.

at no point is he defending HIS addiction. he is pointing out a fact that he knows people that are older that do fine, even with their habits.

what it comes down to in any case is ones lack of willpower. if you cant say no, how is it a drugs fault? it doesnt jump into your bowl,system on its own. YOU have to choose to do it. saying that its a gateway drug to other things is ignoring that simple fact.

[James Crivellone]

your ignorance is showing. when i was your age and someone was questioning my drug abuse i would defend it to the end.
fact is im older and wiser now but i do understand your thoughts as i was the same way when i was your age. at 20 years old you can dump all kinds of shit into your body. it may take 10 or 20 years for you to form an addiction and it may take 6 weeks. nobody knows that. i knew the first time i had a beer at age 14 i was different than most kids. i knew at that time i liked this shit way too much

First off I'm not a drug user, yes I've smoked pot, I fully admit that, and it was for a brief period of about a year or so.

Second the 50 - 60 year old range I posted is not a lie, I know these people, have tons of respect for them, and I have no reason to change that. Pot has clearly not affected them over the years.. I'm not defending anybody, its a decision they made its its clearly not had any effect.

I'm not on anybody's side.. I don't need the stuff, but its clear that some people either need it, or want to need it.

I am not ignorant on the subject, I'm just part of the who cares what they do corner.

my

[blunttech]

i think your ignorance is showing.

at no point is he defending HIS addiction. he is pointing out a fact that he knows people that are older that do fine, even with their habits.

what it comes down to in any case is ones lack of willpower. if you cant say no, how is it a drugs fault? it doesnt jump into your bowl,system on its own. YOU have to choose to do it. saying that its a gateway drug to other things is ignoring that simple fact.

maybe that weed is keeping you from being able to comprehend

"So to respond to that comment, yes, he does have an idea what it will do in 20 - 30 years"

that statement is ignorant. show me anywhere where i said there arent functioning pot smokers. i am fully aware some people are able to do it. they are not addicts nor do they have addictive personalities. and if you think willpower has anything to do with addiction youre sadly mistaken. kids experiment. can you say youve never put a foreign substance in your body? have you ever smoked a cigarette, drank a beverage with caffeine in it, smoked weed or had a beer? perhaps the caffeine is a stretch but they are all drugs. addiction is a scientific proven disease. you know, science??
i guess if those fucking diabetics had more willpower they could get by without that insulin. at mots point in his life he has no idea how drugs will effect him. his drug use could easily escalate over the next 10 years perhaps he wouldnt be a functioning adult at that point. its a fucking gamble using drugs. plain and simple. i gambled and lost. bottom line is staying away from the shit is the best policy

[schmidty]

what it comes down to in any case is ones lack of willpower. if you cant say no, how is it a drugs fault? it doesnt jump into your bowl,system on its own. YOU have to choose to do it. saying that its a gateway drug to other things is ignoring that simple fact.

WOW...I can't believe you're actually defending a drug! Obviously the drug isn't being forced on anyone. It's not like the dealers are out there sayin "snort this or die"....the point is that drugs have very addictive qualities...you body forms a dependency on them once you DO start using and that's when it becomes a problem and that is when the CHOICE to quit becomes near impossible for some. Yes, its still a matter of willpower but the drug can cause that willpower to be thrown out the window.

[James Crivellone]

maybe that weed is keeping you from being able to comprehend

"So to respond to that comment, yes, he does have an idea what it will do in 20 - 30 years"

that statement is ignorant. show me anywhere where i said there arent functioning pot smokers. i am fully aware some people are able to do it. they are not addicts nor do they have addictive personalities. and if you think willpower has anything to do with addiction youre sadly mistaken. kids experiment. can you say youve never put a foreign substance in your body? have you ever smoked a cigarette, drank a beverage with caffeine in it, smoked weed or had a beer? perhaps the caffeine is a stretch but they are all drugs. addiction is a scientific proven disease. you know, science??
i guess if those fucking diabetics had more willpower they could get by without that insulin. at mots point in his life he has no idea how drugs will effect him. his drug use could easily escalate over the next 10 years perhaps he wouldnt be a functioning adult at that point. its a fucking gamble using drugs. plain and simple. i gambled and lost. bottom line is staying away from the shit is the best policy

blunt, with all due respect it sounds like you just got royally FUCKED with the use of this shit, which is why you are stating that keeping away from it is the best policy.

I can agree with that, its a great statement, but its not ignorant to assume that some people will do perfectly fine.

People drink, they are not always alcoholics
People smoke weed, they are not all malfunctioning members of society.
People eat, they are all not all fat asses
People own weapons, they are not all murderers... <-- left field but same general point.

I know mot very well, and I'd be perfectly comfortable with him flying a commercial flight with me in the back.

Notice I said he would have a general idea of what to expect in 20 - 30 years, that is if he continued smoking, which based on his career choice is impossible.

Everybody looks at older experienced people to gauge how a career path can go, and while statistically most pot smokers don't amount to anything, we never hear about the success stories, because frankly I'd imagine most business professionals, pilots, etc are not too talkative about how much weed they smoked in college.

I respect what you say, I do, because based on personal experiences that is the only thing that can make sense, does not always apply to everybody though.

[LINUS]

Pot smoking stunts your capabilities to be as great as your original genetics allowed you to become. No one ever got smarter, or more driven and motivated because of a half dozen bong hits.
That said, it isn't the government's job to tell you that you can't by making it illegal.

It's a bummer we don't realize before we started dumb habits at young ages what the further reaching effects might be. I'm not saying every last person who puffs will wind up working at Jiffy Lube or 7-11, but I wonder how far that "average" accountant or lawyer might further have gone by not killing brain cells during his formative/college years. I think there might have been a lot of potential genius' who dumbed themselves down through pot. Not all the way to blithering idiots, but just dumb enough that MIT isn't where they're headed after HS.

And then there's also the whole concentration of THC in the pot thing too - I almost think that the current hydroponic is hardly a gateway anymore, some of that isht is its' own door. Hippies smoked shake compared to the weed we had in high school (late 80's), and I only imagine that the THC content is still rising. Do kids even smoke that nasty weed from Mexico with seeds in it still?

I still support the right for others to smoke, but we need to figure out a way to just control the stuff (if possible), and really just level with kids about the stuff. No, it won't kill you - but you are forced to choose your lifes' path and get on it by the time you are 18, and that using anything that hurts your chances of getting where you want to go during that short timeframe really handicaps your ability to get as far as you might hope and dream of going.

[MikeE30325i]

from Chris Rock

"i think you should legalize all the drugs. legalize em all. why? cause people wanna get high. legalize all the herb all the blow all the smack, people still gonna get high. guys will go into there basement and become scientists. guys will call there buddies over and be like 'hey if you take a baby bottle right tight, fill it up with a little gasoline and a dead lima bean and suck it, you'll be fucked up!'"

[smonkbmw]

bottom line is staying away from the shit is the best policy

agreed

[blunttech]

blunt, with all due respect it sounds like you just got royally FUCKED with the use of this shit, which is why you are stating that keeping away from it is the best policy.

I can agree with that, its a great statement, but its not ignorant to assume that some people will do perfectly fine.

People drink, they are not always alcoholics
People smoke weed, they are not all malfunctioning members of society.
People eat, they are all not all fat asses
People own weapons, they are not all murderers... <-- left field but same general point.

I know mot very well, and I'd be perfectly comfortable with him flying a commercial flight with me in the back.

Notice I said he would have a general idea of what to expect in 20 - 30 years, that is if he continued smoking, which based on his career choice is impossible.

Everybody looks at older experienced people to gauge how a career path can go, and while statistically most pot smokers don't amount to anything, we never hear about the success stories, because frankly I'd imagine most business professionals, pilots, etc are not too talkative about how much weed they smoked in college.

I respect what you say, I do, because based on personal experiences that is the only thing that can make sense, does not always apply to everybody though.

ok but youre not reading what im writing. we are agreeing with each other. i said im aware there are successful people who smoke weed. i know this, but as linus so wisely states they are most likely not all they could be.
this may be hard to believe but when i was a kid i was highly intelligent and well spoken for my age. drug use killed my brain. im not a drooling idiot but i know my memory was effected and i didnt begin to live up to what i could have been had i stayed away from drugs. i would call myself very average today. not extremely brilliant but not a burnout like many of my friends i ran with. weed,coke,x,heroin whatever has never done one positive thing for anyone. thats all im saying and im done saying it. lets start a new thread and rip on someone