Carson City, Nev.  Voters in Nevada, which up until last year had the nation's strictest marijuana law, will decide in November whether to let adults legally possess small amounts of the narcotic. State officials said that Tuesday a petition drive to put the measure on the ballot had narrowly succeeded with about 75,000 valid signatures.   Seems like at least 75,000 people in Nev. don't think marijuana is a gateway drug.

[url]http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/460912p-3688515c.html[/url]

I saw this yesterday after reading the post about the Hitler Youth turning his father in for growing some dope. Kinda ironic...!

I say it's legal.

Now blaze up!

Pot is [u]not[/u] a narcotic!

Its not a gateway drug. Sure it may be the first drug some teens use before trying others but so is alchohol. I would be willing to bet my AR collection more people use DRUGS in this order:

Alchohol = worse than sativa
Cigaretts = worse than sativa
Sativa = marijuana
Extasy
LSD
crank
Ect.

I bet if kids couldnt get the first two they would be much less likely to try the rest yet most everyone think the first two are OK.

I bet the first two drugs on my list kill WAY more people than MARIJUANA.

Note: I dont smoke the chronic BUT, I have plenty-o-friends that do and they seem to be perfectly good people in this society.

Agreed.  This is a common mistake and very misleading.

Narcotics are generally derivatives of opium or synthetic opiates.  These substances include heroin, morphine, oxycodone, etc.

THC is a hallucinogenic substance.

The only reason pot could reasonably be considered a "gateway" drug is because of the way it is demonized to kids. There's so much negative hype surrounding it and when a kid gets ahold of a doob for the first time, they realize that after all the nonsense hubbub, it's really not as big of a deal as it was made out to be. That's where the gateway comes in. They now wonder, "What else is no big deal? What else has been overhyped?" So there they go down the path of trying other, more dangerous drugs.

You cannot make a naturally occuring species illegal. What about human egocentricity lets us believe that in all of nature, we can legislate the legality of a PLANT?? Salvia Divinorum is legal. Hell, even poppies are legal. Cocoa is legal. Kava is legal. But we try to legislate the extinction of a species for what???

People talk all sorts of smack about pot. But when any marginally educated person starts to research the history of its criminalization, whether or not they are even a user, they will quickly realize a couple of things:

1. pot was criminalized for racist motivation
2. pot was criminalized for economic strategy (wood pulp paper mills competing against hemp paper mills)
3. there is yet to be produced a single, uncontestable medical study which conclusively proves that marijuana is physically harmful.

It's all crap.

What about Red Bull?  That stuff is way worse for you than marajewanna.  I see dudes at the gym down like 3 of those things in an hour.  Makes 'em crazy.

There have been multiple attempts to legalize it here in Oregon, each time it seems to get closer to passing. One day it will.

Class III and pot. Could you ask for anything more? [;)]

This man hit it ALL right on the head, especially about kids questioning what else they have been told after finding they have been lied to about a particular item.

If it is a hallucinogenic shouldn't we be hearing about people hallucinating while under the influence.

I have not.


Maybe is should reclassified. It would be a step in the right direction.

How about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Sativa and Firearms?


Never mix your vices.

No guns and booze.
No guns and women.
No booze and women.
No booze and cars.
No guns and cars.
No women and cars.
No gambling and booze.
No gambling and women.
No gambling and guns.
No gambling and cars.

I think drugs should be legallized and taxed.  The huge amounts of money made can be put towards rehab centers and the rest can be used for whatever.  The war on drugs is just as dumb as prohibition.  There are perhaps a handful of drugs that should remain illegal, like PCP, but the rest should be available for the idiots...

I once heard about this bodybuilder who was, like, totally whacked out on Red Bull.  He just went crazy and they called the cops.  He busted through, like, five cops or something like that before they had to pull their weapons.  Mace, Tasers, clubs, NOTHING WORKED!!!

Finally, they had to drop him.  He sucked up, like, fifteen rounds of .45 JHP and STILL KEPT COMING!  Finally, one of the cops had to drop him with a head shot and that was that.

They ought to outlaw that stuff! [}:)]

oh yah!
one time i was puffin' tha' chron' and i went into a psychadelic rage...
okay, who are we kidding... one time i was in college and smoked some dope and ate a lot of chips and took a nap.
BIG FRIGGIN DEAL!
if people cooked with it, then it wouldn't even be cancerous as with cigarette smoke!
POT=what i would rather most people be doing than tobacco or booze!

No bull -- Red Bull has been implicated in several deaths.  It was in the news about three months ago.  Something about triggering cardiac arrhythmia in people while they were exercising.

Compare this to THC (the "dangerous" chemical in pot), which has no known lethal dose (unless you were to drown in a vat of it, of course).

Actually many medical marijuana patients vaporize marijuana to eliminate the health hazards associated with smoking. Check out the high tech gadgets at [url]http://www.vapir.com[/url]

It will never be legal on a federal level, as there are just too many people dependant on it's illegal status.  We would reduce violent crime (and property crime) by 90%, does anyone here actually beleive that the law enforcement hiearchy would ever get behind that?

Ain't gonna happen.

As a historical footnote, once we built up the federal beaurcracy against alcohol, what does everyone think all those federal agents did after prohibition was found to be a resounding failure?

Right about that time, Drugs of all flavors (but mostly opiates and pot) became the new frontier for the law enforcement world, where it continues to this day.

I know a kick boxer that, when competing, drinks it [i]in between rounds[/i]!  That just can't be good for ya.



Well, "Lethal" to any stray bags of Doritos laying around.

On my way back from lunch there was a song playing on the radio called "Let's Smoke Some Pot", a punk parody of oldie "Let's Go To the Hop"

One funny line:

...
There's some words here but I can't remember because I smoke some pot
(pot pot pot)
...

It would be sad if they did. Another way for people to buy in the liberal way of thinking, become depended on dope and well treat your disease, take care of you and provide for your family, trust us and don't worry take another hit off of your bong.

Hmmmmm I'm going to starting a dependency clinic, throw 50k to my elected official and
reap the benefits of a political buyoff.

Marijuana get legalized in Carson City, within 2 months half of Carson City's workforce becomes potheads and can't hold down a job, welfare kicks in, potheads realize how cool it is that they can stay home and smoke weed and get paid for it, Carson City turns into 1 giant slum and becomes the public assistance capital of the world.  

What happened? I thought AR15 was a conservative board, not DU with guns.

Marijuana is not a narcotic. In most states marijuana has been decriminalized, but not legalized.

In California for example, possession of less than 28 grams is a misdemeanor cite & release which is handled in traffic court as in infraction, before a commissioner. The fine is $100.00 for the first offense and $100.00 for the 50th offense. It is esentially a traffic ticket.

Being conservative means being 100% behind personal responsibility.  That is all being conservative means to me.

Oh no here goes glock31 again. This guy really hates pot.

I don't care what anybody sez.  Smokin pot ain't bad for....  Uh, what was I talking about?

Anybody see the Allstar game last night when that dude started floating past the billboard (or did I hallucinate that?)?

Actually, marijuana is classified as both a depressant, and a mild hallucinogenic.  In college, I did get "visuals" from it, but they were nothing compared to "real" hallucinogenic like LSD or "shrooms".  There are actually certain kinds of tobacco that have about the same hallucinogenic quality as some kinds of pot, so pot's not that special in that respect.  I agree that ignorance is a big problem in dealing with drugs.  Mary Jane is not nearly as bad as other things that are legal, but there are things that people should know about:

1)  De-motivational syndrome (in other words, you get too damn lazy to do anything)  This is one of the worst side effect.  It won't make you do anything bad, but it may make you do nothing at all.  For some, that may be a good thing.  Serial Killer quote: "I was gonna kill those people, but I got high and just didn't feel like it."

2)  Short term memory shot to hell

3)  3-4 times more carcinogenic by weight than tobacco (now, this isn't that much of a problem unless you smoke more than 5 joints a day.  5 cigarette sized joints = 1 pack of regular cigarettes worth of carcinogens)

4)  It can effect your ability to drive and operate heavy machinery, mainly because it's hard to pay attention and focus.  I would much rather someone drive high than drunk, but neither would be best.

5)  It is illegal, and they can throw you in the pokey for it no matter how cool you are about it (unless you're a cop, and then you can get by with almost anything.  Sorry LEO's.  Just stating a pseudo fact.  No offence meant towards you).

6)  It kills brain cells.  Now, just about everything kills brain cells, so this isn't really that big of a deal, in my opinion.

7)  People have died as a result of car or heavy machinery accidents due to the operator being high

8)  In 10,000 years of documented use, no one has ever died as a direct cause of marijuana intake(according to their official cause of death)

9)  It has been used to treat diseases.


I did a report in college on extracts from marijuana to treat it, and here's what I found:

ALL cases of mild epilepsy in test subjects were cured.

Approx 50%-75% of normal cases were cured

Approx %25-%50 of severe cases were cured.

There have been similar studies conducted with cancer patients, with similar results.

We've all heard about what it does for glaucoma, and that's actually true.

For people that have diseases that cause a loss of appetite, it can literally save or prolong their life

Bottom line:  learn all you can, and be honest about it.  It's not right for everyone, but I would hope that as adults, we should have the right to decide for ourselves.  As long as things like tobacco, alcohol, salvia divinorum, etc are legal, it doesn't make sense that marijuana isn't legal.  It's a logical conclusion that the reason it's not legal is for political reasons.  In light of what is legal, there's no other logical explanation.  That's the big issue, and that's what we should be focusing on.

Glock 31

You honestly think that is the outcome of people smokin one of Gods creations. Sorry to say fella take a hard look at NV and you will see a huge BOOZE problem. I know a lot of very succesful people that puff often and they have 6 figure salarys.

It is the person with a stupid sign around their neck that lets a drug ruin their life. Not the drug.

Its not the gun that killed the victim it was the Bad Guy that killed the victim. He made the poor decision.

I see Glock 31 (a fine firearm by the way) is from Kentucky.

In order of agricultural export income, which is the most lucrative in your state: corn, tobacco, or cannabis?

Yep

Glock31
Just out of total curiousity, an nothing else, why do you hate pot?  Do you hate it more than other drugs?  I guess someone you care about got hurt in relation to it?

ummm.... ahem... that would be...

uhhh... nevermind... it doesn't matter...

Almost a whole page of flames directed my way.  Am I the only anti-legalization one here, or the only one with enough sack to express this view?

Do you drink? Do you smoke cigarettes? Be honest.

As I've said before, I believe that pot is illegal for political reasons.  People have suggested outlawing alcohol, but prohibition failed, so they gave up on that one.

Marijuana was made illegal, but that has never been repealed.  I have my own opinions on why, but rather than bore you with that, I would like your thoughts on why the laws on pot haven't been repealed, but prohibition was.  I believe that someone earlier said something about it being for racial or social reasons.  you care to expand on that?

Glock31
Just to play devil's advocate with you:
I would assume that you're pro-gun based on the fact that you're on this site, and you obviously like Glocks (me to.  I think they rock, and my Glock 23 is my favorite pistol).  I assume that you believe that adult americans should have the right to own firearms and have the sense to use them.  Why do you not feel that these same adults should have the right to choose if they want to use marijuana without the gov't telling them that they can't use it?  I just want to understand your reasoning, that's all.  I'm in no way attacking anything you have said.

IIRC pot was made illegal in 1933. One of the main propaganda tools the government used to justify criminalzing pot was that mexicans in america would smoke it and go crazy. This might just be an urban legend but I heard that the movie "Reffer Madness" was made by the government as a propaganda tool.

1914 marked the year that the States first began to strictly prohibit substance use. The Harrison Act made criminal the use of Opium, Morphine, Cocaine, and other similarly processed or harvested drugs. Technically, the act didn't prohibit any of the listed drugs -- the Act actually imposed a rather unreasonable tax on the possession of any of those substances. For example, in order to possess ten dollars worth of coke, you'd have to pay the gov't a thousand. In any case, many people were arrested due to this change in policy. The charges were never 'trafficking' or 'possession' or anything like that -- they got nabbed for 'tax evasion'. The point is, in 1914, the States began their policy of fear and ignorance when it comes to chemical substances that actively effect human consciousness (the reason for this as is morphine abuse by civil war vets and rednecks, but that’s another story).

1915 to 1937: Early state laws. In this time period, there was no strict tax or prohibition on weed. Individual states, however, had the option of inflicting such fortune on their respective populaces, and thusly, a number of states developed their own laws due to a variety of reasons. I have broken these three down to a trio of fears:

Fear of Mexicans -- a large immigration of Mexicans to the southwest prompted white officials to question the culture and customs of the newcomers. One habit that the Mexicans brought over the border was their taste for herbs. Common white folk everywhere latched on to the idea that Mexicans are crazy because they smoke pot. Thusly, many states passed anti-Marijuana laws in order to curb the influx of strange Chico's and their funky plants. The cause is clearly a derivative of racism and fear. This accounts for anti-MJ laws throughout the southwest in the 1915 to 1937 transition period. Here's a quote from the Texas State Legislature to sum it all up:


"All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff is what makes them crazy."
Fear of Polygamous Mormons -- the one state in the southwest that did not experience much of a Mexican influx was Utah. The path to the prohibition of pot in this one state is a bit strange, but sensible, considering the strong and intolerant church-led government. In 1914, the Feds decided to deprive Americans of the option of polygamous marriage. Mormons, who had always been a fan of that particular practice, swept across the border to isolated areas in the north of Mexico. In a few years that Mormon colonies flourished in Mexico, attempting to convert 'the heathen', the Mormons themselves underwent a little conversion. During visits or returns to the motherland, the state of Utah became familiar with Marijuana and its euphoric effects, and prohibited it on the grounds that it was unholy. Oh, and what ever happened to those tree-hugging multi-married Mormons from Mexico? They've all got three eyes and spend a lot of time looking at the sun for flashback value. Uh, anyways, the point is that Utah nuked the herbs in 1915.

Fear of Substitution -- few Eastern states paid much attention to dope. Caution was used as deemed necessary by the interested public -- many thought that since many drugs were becoming illegal in the 20s, weed might be used in place of other drugs. The problem of hard substance addiction (such as coke and morphine, not to mention alcohol, which was prohibited in 1919) would only have been sidestepped.

Glock31, you are entitled to your views, but like the vocal minority why try and push them on others, if pot was legalized , no one says you got to go out and grow some, or use it, I think , it's about free choice. PS You do have sack to come on and express a different idea on something that was running against you, for this you got my respect.And again I will say say the only reason pot is illegal is because of the Liquor lobby and the feds can't tax what you can grow in your garden.

1937: Marijuana becomes illegal. Yeah, that’s the date. Many seem to assume that pot has always been considered a bad drug. Naw: not in the states until such a late date was it strictly criminal. In order to get the 'Marijuana Tax Act' passed the Senate held a hearing to determine the legitimacy of the claim that pot should be illegal. The representative of the Government on this bill was a young Mr. Anslinger (see below). One quote sums up his position:

"Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death."
You'll see how this little quote gets put to good use later on. Industry reps from hemp-based farms, refineries, rope manufacturers, and seed packagers met and exclaimed their general apathy on the topic. Industries that had a beef were granted exceptions under the new law (birdseed may be made from grass). Medical testimonies from an out-of-favour medical association (AMA) were disregarded on a political basis, and a stirring delivery by Dog Guy (no joke, see below) left the Senate with the picture that no one would really give a damn either way. The bill was passed without a debate or a recorded vote, and the law was signed later on by President Roosevelt.

A note on the pharmacologist: this guy is about to play a few key parts, so here's some more information on... The Dog Guy! -- At the 1937 hearing to determine the legality of toke, Anslinger had some pharmacologist step up and give a testimony. This researcher from Utah had injected the active ingredient of MJ* into the brains of 300 dogs (hence: Dog Guy) of which two died. Based on the sketchy logic that dogs are pretty close to humans and that dogs can die from pot, the hearing accepted the testimony as in favor of criminalization.

1938 to 1951: Goofballs. Alongside the creation of the FBI came the FBN (Federal Bureau of Narcotics). In the same respect that the FBI had a dictator/director of sorts (Hoover), the FBN had Harry Anslinger. That particular cat had a difficult time finding experts on various substances enough to warrant the continuation of the agency. Thusly, Anslinger appointed the only guy he knew who shared his views: Dog Guy. In planning their strategies, the two enforcers decided to target a community they felt was using weed all the time -- Jazz musicians. Anslinger sent out various memos to branches of the gov't requesting the support for a nation-wide musician round up. Needless to say, his receivers were less than pleased with a request for such a targeted attack. Not willing to suffer failure, Anslinger made an appointment with the Senate in order to increase funding and hire more agents.

Anslinger: "I need more agents." The Senate Committee then inquires as to why Anslinger wants more agents. Anslinger: "Because there are people out there violating the marijuana laws." The Senate Committee then inquires as to whom is violating the law. Anslinger: "Musicians." (pause for dramatic effect) "And I don't mean good musicians, I mean jazz musicians."

Two things must be remembered: this all takes place when Jazz music is an incredibly strong force in America. Also, reporters were attending this particular hearing for whatever reason, and happened to get a few chuckles out of that line. Anslinger got fucked up over all this!

Some ghosts come back to haunt a person. Anslinger's quotation (heh) stating that marijuana use = insanity gave lawyers everywhere a wild card. Remember, Anslinger was speaking on behalf of the gov't; the top dog says that reefer madness is real, so it is! A number of murder trials in this time period gave MJ a bad name for the simple reason that the defense often used marijuana as a rationale for pleading insanity. But oh, don't take the word from paper; these trials required an Expert to provide witness. Guess who?


Defense Lawyer: "Doctor, when you used the drug, what happened?" Dog Guy: "After two puffs on a marijuana cigarette, I was turned into a bat. I flew around the room for fifteen minutes and then found myself at the bottom of a two-hundred-foot high ink well."
Being an Expert, the Dog Guy had of course tried some for himself. Musta been fun. In any case, following such a testimony, the defendant would rise to the stand and proclaim something along the lines of:


"After two puffs on a marijuana cigarette my incisor teeth grew six inches long and dripped with blood."
After a few of these cases, Anslinger got wind and told Dog Guy to beat it. What could have been successful trials for extreme murder cases were turned into a pathetic misuse of the justice system. Following a number of these successful defenses, public opinion darkened over the issue of pot use. I mean, smoking it makes you kill people, dogs, cats, and other small woodland creatures. Of course it should be illegal! (snort)

By now (the 50s) a lot of distinguished officials began to have a look at the matter and were generally peeved at the way the bureaucracy had handled such an issue. In an attempt to call for relegislation, informed doctors were shot down by Anslinger's confession that, no, marijuana does not cause death, criminality, or insanity, and above that, it isn't even addictive... but:


"[Marijuana is] the certain first step on the road to heroin addiction."
Uh oh. So much for that. To this very day that mind-set is still prevalent. Pot is often lumped in with hard substances such as coke & heroin and all that shit. Responding to this statement, the gov't increased the penalties for drug-related offenses four-fold through the Boggs Act. This was the basis of modern thinking when it comes to drugs, and specifically, marijuana: the solution is harsher punishment, and the dangers are substitution (remember the East Coast '15 to '37?).

From that point, drug doing and dealing became the affair of men who had little respect for the law. Dope became the business of organized crime, which served only to increase the negative image of MJ and other drugs. State legislation continued to increase penalties (in Virginia, trafficking carried a minimum of forty years, whereas murder was half that). The hippie movement of the sixties served to provide an element of peace amidst the chaos that was drug culture. Perhaps owing to the tree-hugging ideology of pacifism, a more detailed drug law was written up that classified different substances based on their potential for medical use, and for addiction. Pot, hash, and LSD all fit into the category of 'no medical use, high addiction value' (which, by the way, is absolutely false) and cocaine, heroine, morphine, and that sort of thing got slapped in 'potential medical use, high addiction value'. Recreational drugs got the shaft in other words.

The last chapter of this epic is familiar to many of us. Having grown up in an environment in the midst of anti-drug propaganda, we all know about the War on Drugs. The cynics would state that the WOD began when the Americans ran out of opportunities to show their glory: there was no Vietnam, Korea, or USSR with which a squabble could be initiated. Thusly, to stay in the light of public favour, the States began to fight on the streets.

All of the elements combine to create the philosophy shared by many that Drugs are Bad. Forced into an association with criminals through an association with foreigners, weed has been treated badly by the legal system. Misinformed and selfish individuals seeking power have done much to ruin the name of pot. In my mind, Power Tools are Bad. If you don't know how to use them, it is really easy to lose a finger, or maybe even an eye. But that only happens if you don't know how to use them. Knowledge empowers.

ANNUAL AMERICAN DEATHS CAUSED BY DRUGS

  TOBACCO ........................ 400,000
  ALCOHOL ........................ 100,000
  ALL LEGAL DRUGS ................  20,000
  ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS ..............  15,000
  CAFFEINE .......................   2,000
  ASPIRIN ........................     500
  MARIJUANA ......................       0
  ----------------------------------------
  Source: United States government...
          National Institute on Drug Abuse,
          Bureau of Mortality Statistics



Like any substance, marijuana can be abused. The most common problem attributed to marijuana is frequent overuse, which can induce lethargic behavior, but does not cause serious health problems. Marijuana can cause short-term memory loss, but only while under the influence. Marijuana does not impair long-term memory. Marijuana does not lead to harder drugs. Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic damage, or damage the immune system. Unlike alcohol, marijuana does not kill brain cells or induce violent behavior. Continuous long-term smoking of marijuana can cause bronchitis, but the chance of contracting bronchitis from casual marijuana smoking is minuscule. Respiratory health hazards can be totally eliminated by consuming marijuana via non-smoking methods, i.e., ingesting marijuana via baked foods, tincture, or vaporizer.
A 1997 UCLA School of Medicine study (Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine) conducted on 243 marijuana smokers over an 8-year period reported the following: "Findings from the long-term study of heavy, habitual marijuana smokers argue against the concept that continuing heavy use of marijuana is a significant risk factor for the development of chronic lung disease." "Neither the continuing nor the intermittent marijuana smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of decline in lung function as compared with those individuals who never smoked marijuana." The study concluded: "No differences were noted between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and nonsmoking of marijuana."

Marijuana does not cause serious health problems like those caused by tobacco or alcohol (e.g., strong addiction, cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, liver damage, etc.). Death from a marijuana overdose is impossible. In all of world history, there has never been a single human death attributed to a health problem caused by marijuana.

OK sport, let me buy ya a clue since it's obvious you don't have one. People that want to smoke pot are already smoking it. Only the truely pathetic use the excuse "I would smoke pot if it was legal". Second clue: I know people that smoke pot that probably pay more in taxes in a year then you make in salary. I've smoked pot and have not been unemployed more than a month in the last 23 years, and I'd be willing to put my yearly income against yours anytime sport.

Incidently, the UK also just removed criminal penalties for possession of MJ today. It is still an offense, but so low that it's like citing someone for jaywalking. Coupled with that though, they proposed to double penalties for trafficking it. I agree with this philosophy. Encourage people to grow their own.

Here is a link to the site of the organization that was very active and can take much credit for the laws being changed. It is chick full of factual information, links, etc...

[url]http://www.ukcia.org/research/default.php[/url]

Way back can't remember the year, pot was legal, and used in New Orleans by mostly blacks I think it was decided by the City fathers that they were afraid the blacks would cause them problems so it was made Illegal. Other cities followed suit and of course the Fed. Gov. had to get in on the act(they were losing liquor tax dollars, hence it was demonized and to this day illegal.

To be technical....

There are 2 main strains of marijuana that are smoked.

1)Indica
2)Sativa

There are also many varieties of hybrids that combine examples of both strains.