Quote :

"Why don't you search Google for some (credible) studies about that? After consistently finding that 9 out of 10 conclude that driving under the influence of marijuana is far safer than driving under the influence of alcohol, perhaps you'll be inclined to pull your head out of your ass. Some even conclude that driving under the influence of marijuana (by experienced marijuana users) is safer than driving sober."

No offense, but for every study saying that marijuana doesn't impact driving and whatnot, I find another one saying that it does. I consider this to be far from conclusive. There's just not enough data out there yet to make a conclusion one way or the other. Besides, if marijuana were to go mainstream and become readily available (ie. cheaper and thus more widely consumed in larger quantities), we don't know what kind of impact it will have.

Again, I'm not saying we shouldn't legalize it, but to imply that it's as safe as caffeine (like in your chart above) is intellectually dishonest.

Quote :

"Before you point out that nearly everyone smokes it, rather than eats it, keep in mind--smoking it produces a stronger effect than does eating it, therefore with prohibition prices (about $340/oz.--the same price as gold,) people tend to not want to waste their money by eating it. "

That's a pretty weak argument. You're talking about a substantial change in usage and pattern. Even if it becomes cheaper, and people bake it into pastries more instead of smoking it, the bulk of people are still simply going to smoke it since it provides the biggest bang for their buck AND since that's still the primary method of delivery. If we look at countries where marijuana is legalized or where cannabis policy is not enforced, the majority of consumers still smoke it.

Quote :

"I would agree that it is not responsible to drive under too much influence of anything. "

This is the point I'm trying to make. I'm not saying that someone coming off of a high is going to go run his car through a playground or rob a bank. I'm simply saying that if someone's been smoking weed for an extended period and then just hops into their car and drives off to go grab a snack, there is a serious chance of DUI. Again, I'm not saying weed is more dangerous than alcohol; I don't know that and the little evidence we have points contrary. However, to say that it's perfectly harmless and will be completely benign is wrong as well. I simply want to make the point that if it is legalized, it needs to be properly regulated and controlled like other drugs that have a significant impact on judgement such as alcohol.

1/11/2006 6:14:36 PM

i still find the assertion...

Quote :

"Most people become more cautious and reserved after smoking marijuana. Drunk people are much more of a danger to society than high people."

to be questionable. that and the one about high ppl not making asses of themselves. none of that really matters overall, except that all drugs are going to affect different people in different ways and i hate generalizations that say otherwise.

that study and other documents posted being over 10 years old isnt helping much either.

1/11/2006 8:41:34 PM

^I disagree, but ok. Have you seen drunk people? Have you truly seen high people?

Quote :

"However, to say that it's perfectly harmless and will be completely benign is wrong as well. I simply want to make the point that if it is legalized, it needs to be properly regulated and controlled like other drugs that have a significant impact on judgement such as alcohol."

I'm not sure where anybody suggested that it just be legal to purchase by anyone. If it were legalized of course it would need to be controlled. I don't see why you're responsible enough to moderate alcohol use but not responsible enough to moderate marijuana use. You decision making skills are much more impaired with alcohol.

Quote :

"Your little edit was less than impressive."

I was pretty fond of it.

[Edited on January 11, 2006 at 11:05 PM. Reason : ]

1/11/2006 10:53:46 PM

what are you disagreeing with exactly if you dont mind me asking.

i dont see how you could disagree with drugs affecting different ppl different ways. hell, look at something as simple as caffeine and the relatively varied results you get with different people. chemicals are chemicals and gonna fuck with ur system, sometimes in weird ways.

1/11/2006 11:06:27 PM