Justin Trudeau says marijuana should be legalized

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Really? Most prescription drugs and even food products (like sugar for example) have worse withdrawl symptoms and side effects. Not to mention those symptoms might last for 2 days for a habitual weed smoker. Its all a joke.

That is just so not true

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by calculoso

Not addictive? The withdrawal effects that people go through speak otherwise.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publication...acts/marijuana
http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2013/03...ay-experience/

etc

Those sites certainly show one side of the story, but it's kind of like getting information about the Alberta oil sands from the Green Party or dietary advice from PETA. They have a particular angle they want to show and aren't necessarily offering up the full picture. They are focusing on people who cannot, or don't want to moderate their use. It's no different than alcohol in that respect. There seems to be the impression among many people that all marijuana users are chronic habitual users, when in reality most are just people who occasionally use marijuana and only take light doses.

This is a little personal, but I was prescribed benzodiazepines by a doctor about 8 years ago and they were extremely hard to get off of. It was actually hell, and those drugs are legal and marketed right to people. It's funny, because I experimented with marijuana a few times as a teenager but I never liked it and never touched it through my 20s and part of my 30s. It wasn't until I had to come off of benzodiazepines that some recommended marijuana as a way to help with the withdrawal. Not to mention that I drank less alcohol, exercised more and weighed less when I was on pot than when I was lulled into a coma with clonazepam. It was definitely the lesser of two evils for me. I haven't used anything in about a year now, but if somene offered it, I probably would. I certainly don't feel the need to run out and get some though.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Really? Most prescription drugs and even food products (like sugar for example) have worse withdrawl symptoms and side effects. Not to mention those symptoms might last for 2 days for a habitual weed smoker. Its all a joke.

As a non-pot-smoker, I had one pot smoker say to another... "Have fun with the withdrawal!", and then personally witness and hear about the symptoms over the next 3-4 days. Joke to you or not, my personal experience says different.

Originally Posted by Trumbull

There is some useful information on THC itself in that .gov article, but it's mostly at the start, the rest of the article is almost entirely War on Drugs propaganda that only spells doom and gloom for marijuana users.

Perhaps I should have done more than take 2 of the first 3-4 hits on a google search...

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

That is just so not true

Clearly you know more about prescription drugs than I do, but are you telling me that many prescription drugs, if taken daily for long periods of time, don't have worse withdrawl symptoms than irritability or loss of appetite?

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by calculoso

As a non-pot-smoker, I had one pot smoker say to another... "Have fun with the withdrawal!", and then personally witness and hear about the symptoms over the next 3-4 days. Joke to you or not, my personal experience says different.



Perhaps I should have done more than take 2 of the first 3-4 hits on a google search...

As a pot smoker, your personal experiences while not being a pot smoker, pretty much amount to nothing.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by RyZ

As a pot smoker, your personal experiences while not being a pot smoker, pretty much amount to nothing.

My experiences with prescription drugs mean anything? Or do you know about those too?

[AcGold]

It does have withdrawl symptoms that are psychological and similar to breaking an addiction to television or videogames. When you do something every day and it plays a significant portion in ones life (e.g. time spent dedicated to one activity) removing said activity results in irritability. For the most part it's been shown not to be chemically addictive like alcohol is which is why people who smoke only once in a while have no hangover.

The science shows that there are both negative and positive aspects to it, but that should be obvious. Things that are good for you can have a negative impact on one's life just like anything else. Anyone who takes the extreme side on the subject is uninformed which fortunately in this thread is very few people. The people who say there are good things about it are right and those who say there are bad things about it are also correct. Fact is it's been around for thousands of years and nobody has died from it once so it only makes sense to shift our attention to educating people about things that pose a legitimate threat to the overall health of the population such as fast food, alcohol, cigarettes and lethargy.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by calculoso

As a non-pot-smoker, I had one pot smoker say to another... "Have fun with the withdrawal!", and then personally witness and hear about the symptoms over the next 3-4 days. Joke to you or not, my personal experience says different.

As a former heavy pot-smoker, who quit about 7-8 years ago, I can tell you I had no withdrawal symptoms. See how much fun anecdotal evidence is?

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Clearly you know more about prescription drugs than I do, but are you telling me that many prescription drugs, if taken daily for long periods of time, don't have worse withdrawl symptoms than irritability or loss of appetite?

Most prescription drugs are for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc and have no withdrawl effects.

Antidepressants, anti anxiety meds and narcotics do, but they are only a small portion of what makes up "prescription drugs"

[GreenLantern2814]

I have actively tried to avoid this topic as the discussion rarely goes anywhere constructive. Like Apple v Android, domestic cars vs imports, really anything, nobody seems to be getting their mind changed based on the same arguments that each side continues to trot out. This post is directed to whoever ends up in power at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

I like my weed and I like my booze. I've enjoyed both for many years, and not once have I had the urge to steal/rape/murder as a result of using these substances. I don't see that changing. I've never driven drunk or high, I've never missed a day of work to go smoke or pound a few beers.

I'm not asking the world from my leadership. I'm not asking for a bullet train to Edmonton, a new fleet of fighter jets, five doctors for every puppy, I'm asking for you all to let me buy this stuff in a goddamn store like a civilized human being. The worst part about weed is waiting in some Home Depot parking lot for half an hour to have a horrible forced conversation with the dude who knows a guy.

#### you, government, for making me do that. If you can trust me with a two-six of absinthe, if you can trust me to drive a car, if you trust me to be a contributing member of this society, trust me to be able to buy weed over the counter. I'm doing it anyway. We're all doing it anyway. So decide for yourselves if you want a cut, or if you'd like to continue with this ######ed song and dance that's been going on since William Randolph Hearst was running things.

[jayswin]

Excellent post. Sums up the ridiculousness quite nicely.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I have actively tried to avoid this topic as the discussion rarely goes anywhere constructive. Like Apple v Android, domestic cars vs imports, really anything, nobody seems to be getting their mind changed based on the same arguments that each side continues to trot out. This post is directed to whoever ends up in power at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

I like my weed and I like my booze. I've enjoyed both for many years, and not once have I had the urge to steal/rape/murder as a result of using these substances. I don't see that changing. I've never driven drunk or high, I've never missed a day of work to go smoke or pound a few beers.

I'm not asking the world from my leadership. I'm not asking for a bullet train to Edmonton, a new fleet of fighter jets, five doctors for every puppy, I'm asking for you all to let me buy this stuff in a goddamn store like a civilized human being. The worst part about weed is waiting in some Home Depot parking lot for half an hour to have a horrible forced conversation with the dude who knows a guy.

#### you, government, for making me do that. If you can trust me with a two-six of absinthe, if you can trust me to drive a car, if you trust me to be a contributing member of this society, trust me to be able to buy weed over the counter. I'm doing it anyway. We're all doing it anyway. So decide for yourselves if you want a cut, or if you'd like to continue with this ######ed song and dance that's been going on since William Randolph Hearst was running things.

####ing stoner

[AcGold]

The problem now for legalization isn't so much a scientific one as it is political. Just look at this thread, not really many people (if at all) arguing against it being legal or posing any legitimate evidence as to why it shouldn't be.

Politicians are just too afraid to take a stance on changing something that has been around for more than a generation as they are afraid of being categorized as too radical as it will hinder their political career. In all likelihood (barring some Orwellian dystopic takeover, knock on wood) it will become legal and then the issue will fade away from most people's lives as they don't care anymore. We'll teach children about why they shouldn't do it and some still will (just like alcohol) and someone will get in an accident when they're stoned, but these aren't enough of a reason to put people in jail for a plant. We all know the reality of the situation, or atleast have some approximation of it, and it's just a matter of time before the politics catch up to the science.

It's like homosexuality 2 decades ago, was a big issue then, not so much now and nobody really cares aside from those directly effected by it.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by nik-

####ing stoner

Hide your kids, hide your wife?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Politicians are just too afraid to take a stance on changing something that has been around for more than a generation as they are afraid of being categorized as too radical as it will hinder their political career. .

Trudeau has actually taken a pretty strong and clear stance on it. Whether or not he follows through if elected is another thing. This could be his version of "Senate Reform".

[AcGold]

Where did he say it? I'd bet money it was in BC and not in the exponentially more conservative Saskatchewan

edit: Kelowna so yeah, hollow words. Let's hear him say that even in Calgary. It's like 1 in 50 houses in Kelowna have a grow up or something like that.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by AcGold

The problem now for legalization isn't so much a scientific one as it is political.

Same with "tough-on-crime", same with the GST cut (if you consider economics a science - I do), same with supply management, same with birth control in the US...

The rationally correct policy frequently diverges from the politically correct one. It would be nice if the majority would use their "rule" to have decisions made by the people who produce the best evidence for what they think should be done.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Where did he say it? I'd bet money it was in BC and not in the exponentially more conservative Saskatchewan

edit: Kelowna so yeah, hollow words. Let's hear him say that even in Calgary. It's like 1 in 50 houses in Kelowna have a grow up or something like that.

It wasn't just something he said in Kelowna (although Kelowna is more conservative than you are giving it credit for even if BC in general is more pot-friendly). It has been part of the federal Liberal platform since 2012:

http://www.liberal.ca/getting-smart-...-and-cannabis/

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01...n_1207388.html

The whole draft policy FAQ is here (from the BC wings website, but it is the draft policy of the federal party):

https://bc.liberal.ca/files/2013/01/...per-Jan-13.pdf

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

She proceeds to write a column about her experience and rightfully gets ripped (no pun) by most people for not finding out what she was doing. Your first time drinking, you don't go out and get a bottle of Everclear. That's what needs to be done when pot is eventually legalized, there needs to be education as to how to best enjoy pot in moderation. That's what's good about Amsterdam, the budtenders at the coffee shops are helpful to people who don't smoke regularly.

I was slowly leaning towards legalization over the past few years, but I'm sorry, I can't get on board if that word will somehow become mainstream in Canadian society.

[FlamesAddiction]

The latest government poll shows that the loosening of marijuana laws might not be the political liability that some people thought for Trudeau (despite the misleading headline of the article):

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/just...ests-1.2723656


Roughly 70% of Canadians want to see the laws relaxed (37% for full legalization and 33% for decriminalization). Only 26% want to maintain the status quo or increase penalties (14% and 12% respectively).