The Great Cannabis Debate

[purebred]

Nah, I had a broken taillight. I was going to the Albertson's to get some snacks, as I had JUST finished blazing a blunt in my red Mustang Cobra (real attention getter). So anyways, female cop, red mustang, loud exhaust, broken taillight, 2 12" subs, and weed-smell ALL over the car and myself, and blood-shot eyes. There was NO way I was not going to jail! Oh well, that was 6 years ago now, 4 years to go until I can have it expunged from my record, and start paying normal car insurance rates. Now, I don't drive after even ONE beer (or joint/blunt/bong-rip/etc.), it's just not worth it. I thank God every day I didn't kill anybody, because I literally could not live with myself after that.

LOL oh hell no. You're what my friends and I call a "heat-up" Sorry to hear about the charge man! Keep your head up brother! I say you look into expunging!

[diablosho]

LOL oh hell no. You're what my friends and I call a "heat-up" Sorry to hear about the charge man! Keep your head up brother! I say you look into expunging!

Ya know, that DUI may be the best thing to ever happen to me in my life (although it is still very difficult financially even 6 years later). I was going down the WRONG path at that time (very self-destructive), and after the DUI, I decided to straighten out my life (already had two drug-charges before the DUI). Now, I'm an Air Force veteran, and straight-A college student aspiring to be a Computer Programmer. Never saw any of this in my future back then, and I thank God all the time that I was stopped before I killed someone (or myself), ruined my future, or both!

[raptor20561]

What are the documented negative effects of occasional use of marijuana?
(We're not talking about someone who smokes 10 grams every day, alone BTW)

Even smoking 1 gram a day is bad for your lungs, I know from personal experience. Imagine what your lungs look like if the inside of a pipe after just a few weeks is all covered in resin. Try switching to a vaporizer or baking it instead!

[raptor20561]

drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30 sorry i dont have enough posts to link it

scroll down to the death chart...theres 7,600 people a year being killed because of aspirin. How many recorded weed deaths are there? 0. Everyone needs to watch The Union: the buisness behind getting high. When is the last time you heard about someone that was stoned smashing there car into another car? I hear about drunk drivers killing people everytime i turn on the news.

*raises hand*

well, almost anyways. if it wasnt for my friend sitting shotgun who screamed "DUDE!" I would've totally rear ended a car that stopped on the freeway because of traffic. I was kinda drifting off in my head and thinking about something else and didn't notice the brake lights.

[diablosho]

*raises hand*

well, almost anyways. if it wasnt for my friend sitting shotgun who screamed "DUDE!" I would've totally rear ended a car that stopped on the freeway because of traffic. I was kinda drifting off in my head and thinking about something else and didn't notice the brake lights.

Happened all the time back when I risked driving afterwards. Scared the hell out of me. I think that may be more due to sleepiness than the marijuana though, but either way, it's very bad juju!

[purebred]

What exactly are the documented negative effects of marijuana? Most of what I hear has to do with cognitive function--specifically memory.

[raptor20561]

What exactly are the documented negative effects of marijuana? Most of what I hear has to do with cognitive function--specifically memory.

Other than the whole short term memory thing which usually goes away after a few weeks of abstaining, I think the only documented neg effects so far are how ****ed up your lungs become after years of smoking (anything for that matter).

There's still a lot we don't know about. It was just a while ago that we finally understood where cannabinoids bind to. The receptors were ironically named cannabinoid receptors and they're activated on a daily basis in EVERYONES brain by endocannabinoids -- cannabinoids created in our heads

When you smoke thc it floods the brain very quickly and lights up the receptors. As much as I want to deny it, there just has to be some sort of negative effect from flooding the brain with a nonendogonous (spelling?) source of thc. Along with the thc, there's hundreds of cannabinoids that are in marijuana that we are still classifying and understanding to this day. By no means am I trying to be the bearer of bad news; the brain is a resiliant organ with a high degree of plasticity. It does a great job at maintaining equilibrium and homeostasis over time. meaning that the negative effects you experience should (almost) go away after a few months of abstaining from marijuana. If your interested, read about the cannabinoid receptor and what it does. It has great anxiolytic properties, I did a bio project on those effects in college. It's good to know what the receptor your ****ing with actually does; however, ignorance is bliss

[raptor20561]

sorry for any spelling or grammar errors. I'm on my iPhone and don't really give a ****

[OrganicShadow]

In response to anything from drugwarfacts.org

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics"
-Mark Twain

Find real evidence.

[protoculture]

I think this thread would have had a lot more legs if it weren't trying to be so academic. I think that may have scared a lot of ppl off.

I'd just as soon here people sharing their experiences with using it as it relates to bodybuilding mostly.

[OrganicShadow]

The purpose of this particular thread was to be academic (correct me if im wrong OP) with evidence based claims.

Im not opposed to opening it up to relation to bodybuilding but I wanna see numbers.

[purebred]

The purpose of this particular thread was to be academic (correct me if im wrong OP) with evidence based claims.

Im not opposed to opening it up to relation to bodybuilding but I wanna see numbers.

This. All ideas and non-biased contributions are welcomed. It's easier to understand any topic when you view the many aspects that compose it.

[diablosho]

The purpose of this particular thread was to be academic (correct me if im wrong OP) with evidence based claims.

Im not opposed to opening it up to relation to bodybuilding but I wanna see numbers.

But the problem with that is that research studies on marijuana were illegal until JUST recently, and even then, only a very select few universities are able to get funding to do so. So between the 60's I think to about 5 years ago or so, there was a marijuana-research blackout, and lies and propaganda filled the void. So much so, that people FIRMLY believe the lies because there is no scientific truth to rebut the lies with. As such, creating a thread restricting information only to scientific research studies will restrict you to the propaganda in the 60's, but by opening it up, you will be allowing other viewpoints in. Just my opinion.
P.S.
Remember Superdrol was supposed to be liver friendly as far as science and research was concerned. WE know better. Had the OP limited THAT discussion to science only, he would have been misled. Sometimes anecdotal evidence goes a long way.

[DAdams91982]

But the problem with that is that research studies on marijuana were illegal until JUST recently, and even then, only a very select few universities are able to get funding to do so. So between the 60's I think to about 5 years ago or so, there was a marijuana-research blackout, and lies and propaganda filled the void. So much so, that people FIRMLY believe the lies because there is no scientific truth to rebut the lies with. As such, creating a thread restricting information only to scientific research studies will restrict you to the propaganda in the 60's, but by opening it up, you will be allowing other viewpoints in. Just my opinion.
P.S.
Remember Superdrol was supposed to be liver friendly as far as science and research was concerned. WE know better. Had the OP limited THAT discussion to science only, he would have been misled. Sometimes anecdotal evidence goes a long way.

There is a phenomenal amount of medical research on marijuana. America is only 300MM people out of 6.5B, research has been done millions of times over, regardless if it was performed here or not. There is no shortage of marijuana research to talk about.

[diablosho]

There is a phenomenal amount of medical research on marijuana. America is only 300MM people out of 6.5B, research has been done millions of times over, regardless if it was performed here or not. There is no shortage of marijuana research to talk about.

True. I'm just saying we are more likely to find research information presented from and in our country. Not to mention the fact that America has always been an EXTREMELY LARGE monetary fund for research studies, more so I believe than any other country. However, if you look here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...juana-research, not only were the grants restricted to very limited purposes for research, but they even denied people based on their intentions! One scientist in that link wrote a proposition to get funding to study the medical effects of marijuana and was denied. He then re-wrote the proposition claiming to study the negative effects of marijuana, and was approved. So again, accurate research is limited. I have never seen ANY research from other countries, positive or negative. However, if we open up to anecdotal evidence, there may be 10's of millions of people doing the studies as we speak! So why not ask them, so long as we keep it objective.
P.S.
Cannabis is a Schedule I drug according to the federal government of the United States. Other Schedule I drugs include Heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy. Schedule I states that the drug has no safe nor accepted medical use, and has a high abuse risk. Seems like our government has a bias against marijuana (as I'm sure everyone would believe that it does have at least SOME redeeming medicinal value, is relatively safe (safer than alcohol anyways), and has less of an addiction potential than Heroin). As such, I find it hard to believe they would be willing to fund research studies attempting to prove it's safety. Hell, they won't even fund research studies attempting to disprove global warming. But anecdotally, I'm fairly certain that many people suspect this global warming thing is a hoax, and it sure would be nice to have research funded to counteract the bias, and actually attempt to find the truth. Kinda the same principle.

[diablosho]

Ha, I just found that Schedule II drugs (which are "more accepted" than Schedule I) include: Cocaine, Morphine, Oxycodone, Ritalin, and Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine). Schedule III: Valium, Xanax, Codeine, Hydrocodone, etc.

So now, to recap, according to our government:
Marijuana has no medicinal value, and is more unsafe than: Cocaine, Morphine, Oxycodone, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Valium, Xanax, Codeine, Hydrocodone,

and is as unsafe as: Heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy!

Do we really need a research study to get marijuana scheduled differently? Probably not. As such, I believe this is pretty clear evidence of a federal bias against marijuana, for whatever reason, but to think that bias wouldn't carry over into it's decisions on what marijuana studies to fund is, I believe, kinda ludicrous.

[DAdams91982]

True. I'm just saying we are more likely to find research information presented from and in our country. Not to mention the fact that America has always been an EXTREMELY LARGE monetary fund for research studies, more so I believe than any other country. However, if you look here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...juana-research, not only were the grants restricted to very limited purposes for research, but they even denied people based on their intentions! One scientist in that link wrote a proposition to get funding to study the medical effects of marijuana and was denied. He then re-wrote the proposition claiming to study the negative effects of marijuana, and was approved. So again, accurate research is limited. I have never seen ANY research from other countries, positive or negative. However, if we open up to anecdotal evidence, there may be 10's of millions of people doing the studies as we speak! So why not ask them, so long as we keep it objective.
P.S.
Cannabis is a Schedule I drug according to the federal government of the United States. Other Schedule I drugs include Heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy. Schedule I states that the drug has no safe nor accepted medical use, and has a high abuse risk. Seems like our government has a bias against marijuana (as I'm sure everyone would believe that it does have at least SOME redeeming medicinal value, is relatively safe (safer than alcohol anyways), and has less of an addiction potential than Heroin). As such, I find it hard to believe they would be willing to fund research studies attempting to prove it's safety. Hell, they won't even fund research studies attempting to disprove global warming. But anecdotally, I'm fairly certain that many people suspect this global warming thing is a hoax, and it sure would be nice to have research funded to counteract the bias, and actually attempt to find the truth. Kinda the same principle.

I think you are missing much of the available research out there then. Pubmed alone has 16K studies under the title marijuana or cannabis, and many of them originate from other countries. In fact most of the research posted on this forum is from other countries. China and Japan seem to predominately lead the research categories, with Italy and India not far behind. JAMA if I remember correctly has published quite a bit of research in the past.

I completely agree with you that the image has been warped in America, mostly by our fearful cotton industry. Everyone has the right to share their experience, but if we want to discuss facts, then we need to keep to the research and disregard Joe Smiths totally blazed evening on a thursday with so much focus in the gym it was laser like.

[DAdams91982]

Ha, I just found that Schedule II drugs (which are "more accepted" than Schedule I) include: Cocaine, Morphine, Oxycodone, Ritalin, and Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine). Schedule III: Valium, Xanax, Codeine, Hydrocodone, etc.

So now, to recap, according to our government:
Marijuana has no medicinal value, and is more unsafe than: Cocaine, Morphine, Oxycodone, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Valium, Xanax, Codeine, Hydrocodone,

and is as unsafe as: Heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy!

Do we really need a research study to get marijuana scheduled differently? Probably not. As such, I believe this is pretty clear evidence of a federal bias against marijuana, for whatever reason, but to think that bias wouldn't carry over into it's decisions on what marijuana studies to fund is, I believe, kinda ludicrous.

You can thank lobbyist from the cotton industry for the stance on cannabis in America today. It wasn't so much the government that had the bias, but pressure from their constituents to outlaw it when the fear campaign was launched. I refer you to reefer madness.

[diablosho]

You can thank lobbyist from the cotton industry for the stance on cannabis in America today. It wasn't so much the government that had the bias, but pressure from their constituents to outlaw it when the fear campaign was launched. I refer you to reefer madness.

Frustrating isn't it! I totally agree we need to keep out Joe Blow's Blazed Weekend! But as we find to be true even with our supplements, often times the research does not accurately reflect reality, and it would not be prudent to ignore people's individual studies. But I s'pose for now it would be prudent just to assist in wading through all the BS and stick to what facts we do have. How recently were these pubmed studies performed? I tried to look through EBSCO, but it seems to be down at the moment.
P.S.
I like debating you DAdams!!! It's not often people are well prepared for a debate, and I find a good debate challenges me to learn and either reinforce what I know or learn the correct information! Either way, this is fun!

[DAdams91982]

Frustrating isn't it! I totally agree we need to keep out Joe Blow's Blazed Weekend! But as we find to be true even with our supplements, often times the research does not accurately reflect reality, and it would not be prudent to ignore people's individual studies. But I s'pose for now it would be prudent just to assist in wading through all the BS and stick to what facts we do have. How recently were these pubmed studies performed? I tried to look through EBSCO, but it seems to be down at the moment.
P.S.
I like debating you DAdams!!! It's not often people are well prepared for a debate, and I find a good debate challenges me to learn and either reinforce what I know or learn the correct information! Either way, this is fun!

My searches pulled all the way back into the 50s into 2011... ironically many of them seem to come from Germany! I personally really have no stance on it at the moment so am always open to others opinions on it. Albeit, I firmly stand by the ability for mature adults to make their own decisions on the use of cannabis, especially in a climate like this where everyone is partaking anyway and we could tax the hell outta some Marlboro greens and gain stepping stone to resolving our deficit.

There are obviously medical benefits to MaryJane or otherwise pharma wouldn't have made Marinol, a synthetic THC.