Anyone up for a roadtrip?

[nastygunz]

Call it pot, grass, weed, or any one of nearly 200 other names, marijuana is, by far, the world’s most commonly used illicit drugâ€"and far more dangerous than most users realize. So, there is just cause for alarm when adolescent marijuana use increases, as it did in the mid-1990’s, and the age at which youngsters first experiment with pot starts to drops.

Marijuana has been around for a long while. Its source, the hemp plant (cannabis sativa), was being cultivated for psychoactive properties more than 2,000 years ago. Although cannabis contains at least 400 different chemicals, its main mind-altering ingredient is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).The amount of THC in marijuana determines the drug’s strength, and THC levels are affected by a great many factors, including plant type, weather, soil, and time of harvest. Sophisticated cannabis cultivation of today produces high levels of THC and marijuana that is far more potent than pot of the past. THC content of marijuana, which averaged less than 1 percent in 1974, rose to an average 4 percent by 1994.

For the highly popular form of marijuana called Sinsemilla (from the Spanish "without seeds"), made from just the buds and flowering tops of female plants, THC content averages 7.5 percent and ranges as high as 24 percent. As for hashish, a resin made from flowers of the female plant, THC levels may be five to ten times higher than crude marijuana’s.


How is it Used?

Marijuana and other cannabis products are usually smoked, sometimes in a pipe or water pipe, but most often in loosely rolled cigarettes known as "joints." Some users will slice open and hollow out cigars, replacing the tobacco with marijuana, to make what are called "blunts." Joints and blunts may be laced with other substances, including crack cocaine and the potent hallucinogen phencyclidine (PCP), substantially altering effects of the drug.

Smoking, however, is not the sole route of administration. Marijuana can be brewed into tea or mixed in baked products (cookies or brownies).


How Does it Affect You?

A mild hallucinogen, marijuana has some of alcohol’s depressant and disinhibiting properties. User reaction, however, is heavily influenced by expectations and past experience, and many first-time users feel nothing at all.

Effects of smoking are generally felt within a few minutes and peak in 10 to 30 minutes. They include dry mouth and throat, increased heart rate, impaired coordination and balance, delayed reaction time, and diminished short-term memory. Moderate doses tend to induce a sense of well-being and a dreamy state of relaxation that encourages fantasies, renders some users highly suggestible, and distorts perception (making it dangerous to operate machinery, drive a car or boat, or ride a bicycle). Stronger doses prompt more intense and often disturbing reactions including paranoia and hallucinations.

Most of marijuana’s short-term effects wear off within two or three hours. The drug itself, however, tends to linger on. THC is a fat-soluble substance and will accumulate in fatty tissues in the liver, lungs, testes, and other organs. Two days after smoking marijuana, one-quarter of the THC content may still be retained. It will show up in urine tests three days after use, and traces may be picked up by sensitive blood tests two to four weeks later.


The Impact on the Mind

Marijuana use reduces learning ability. Research has been piling up of late demonstrating clearly that marijuana limits the capacity to absorb and retain information. A 1995 study of college students discovered that the inability of heavy marijuana users to focus, sustain attention, and organize data persists for as long as 24 hours after their last use of the drug. Earlier research, comparing cognitive abilities of adult marijuana users with non-using adults, found that users fall short on memory as well as math and verbal skills. Although it has yet to be proven conclusively that heavy marijuana use can cause irreversible loss of intellectual capacity, animal studies have shown marijuana-induced structural damage to portions of the brain essential to memory and learning.


The Impact on the Body

Chronic marijuana smokers are prey to chest colds, bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Persistent use will damage lungs and airways and raise the risk of cancer. There is just as much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals from smoking one marijuana joint as smoking five tobacco cigarettes. And there is evidence that marijuana may limit the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease.

Marijuana also affects hormones. Regular use can delay the onset of puberty in young men and reduce sperm production. For women, regular use may disrupt normal monthly menstrual cycles and inhibit ovulation. When pregnant women use marijuana, they run the risk of having smaller babies with lower birth weights, who are more likely than other babies to develop health problems. Some studies have also found indications of developmental delays in children exposed to marijuana before birth.


Marijuana as Medicine

Although U.S. law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance (which means it has no acceptable medical use), a number of patients claim that smoking pot has helped them deal with pain or relieved the symptoms of glaucoma, the loss of appetite that accompanies AIDS, or nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. There is, however, no solid evidence that smoking marijuana creates any greater benefits than approved medications (including oral THC) now used to treat these patients, relieve their suffering, or mitigate the side effects of their treatment. Anecdotal assertions of beneficial effects have yet to be confirmed by controlled scientific research.


Teens and Marijuana
Although dangers exist for marijuana users of all ages, risk is greatest for the young. For them, the impact of marijuana on learning is critical, and pot often proves pivotal in the failure to master vital interpersonal coping skills or make appropriate life-style choices. Thus, marijuana can inhibit maturity.

Another concern is marijuana’s role as a "gateway drug," which makes subsequent use of more potent and disabling substances more likely. The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found adolescents who smoke pot 85 times more likely to use cocaine than their nonâ€"pot smoking peers. And 60 percent of youngsters who use marijuana before they turn 15 later go on to use cocaine.

But many teens encounter serious trouble well short of the "gateway." Marijuana is, by itself, a high-risk substance for adolescents. More than adults, they are likely to be victims of automobile accidents caused by marijuana’s impact on judgment and perception. Casual sex, prompted by compromised judgment or marijuana’s disinhibiting effects, leaves them vulnerable not only to unwanted pregnancy but also to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).


Marijuana Dangers

Impaired perception
Diminished short-term memory
Loss of concentration and coordination
Impaired judgement
Increased risk of accidents
Loss of motivation
Diminished inhibitions
Increased heart rate
Anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
Hallucinations
Damage to the respiratory, reproductive, and immune systems
Increased risk of cancer
Psychological dependency

[golfertrout]

nasty do u drink or smoke cigs? post the side effects on them. o by the way i know a few surgical doctors that have been known to partake,maybe if they would not have smoked they could have been president

[golfertrout]

  DID YOU KNOW? What health problems are caused by smoking? 
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and diminishes a person’s overall health. Smoking is a leading cause of cancer and of death from cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukemia (1).

Smoking also causes heart disease, stroke, lung disease (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), hip fractures, and cataracts. Smokers are at higher risk of developing pneumonia and other airway infections (1).

A pregnant smoker is at higher risk of having her baby born too early and with an abnormally low weight. A woman who smokes during or after pregnancy increases her infant’s risk of death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (1).

Millions of Americans have health problems caused by smoking. Cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke cause an estimated average of 438,000 premature deaths each year in the United States. Of these premature deaths, about 40 percent are from cancer, 35 percent are from heart disease and stroke, and 25 percent are from lung disease (2). Smoking is the leading cause of premature, preventable death in this country.

Regardless of their age, smokers can substantially reduce their risk of disease, including cancer, by quitting.

Does tobacco smoke contain harmful chemicals?
Yes. Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and nonsmokers. Breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be harmful (1, 3). Of the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful (4, 5). The toxic chemicals found in smoke include hydrogen cyanide (used in chemical weapons), carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust), formaldehyde (used as an embalming fluid), ammonia (used in household cleaners), and toluene (found in paint thinners).

Of the 250 known harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, more than 50 have been found to cause cancer. These chemicals include (4, 5):

arsenic (a heavy metal toxin)
benzene (a chemical found in gasoline)
beryllium (a toxic metal)
cadmium (a metal used in batteries)
chromium (a metallic element)
ethylene oxide (a chemical used to sterilize medical devices)
nickel (a metallic element)
polonium-210 (a chemical element that gives off radiation)
vinyl chloride (a toxic substance used in plastics manufacture)

**Cigarettes butts are the most littered item in The United States and the world.

**Over two billion cigarette butts get tossed everyday. That’s an average of two cigarette butts daily from each of earth's 1.2 billion smokers.

**It is estimated that Americans toss more than 175 million pounds of cigarette butts out every year. These butts are frequently cast onto the sidewalk and streets and then pushed into storm drains that flow to streams, rivers, bays, lagoons and ultimately the ocean.

**At beach cleanups, cigarettes butts are the most common form of trash found (typically accounting for one in every five items collected).

**The cigarette filter was designed to trap the toxic chemicals in the cigarette smoke from entering the smoker's body. When submerged in water, the toxic chemicals trapped in the filter leak out into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and many forms of aquatic life.

**Cigarette butts may seem small, but with an estimated 4.5 trillion butts (worldwide) littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up!

**Over 99% of cigarettes are now smoked outside.

**Eighteen percent of all litter dropped to the ground is washed into streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean by storm water runoff. Cigarette butts, are little and lightweight and are the first to get carried away into our waterways

**Studies indicate that since we have enacted indoor smoking bans, more cigarette butts are being tossed directly into the environment. Unfortunately, this means that ecosystems have a higher chance of being affected by cigarette butts. Biologists have found butts in the stomachs of young birds, sea turtles and other marine creatures.

**Cigarette butts can cause other environmental problems, such as fires. For example, a cigarette butt was the possible cause of an 11,000 acre fire in San Diego in January 2001.

**Smokers incorrectly believe that cigarette filters are made of biodegradable cotton. In fact, cigarette filters are made of plastic cellulose acetate, and can take 15 years to decompose.

Ultimately, the Surfrider Foundation is calling for better enforcement of laws against cigarette butt littering; additional taxes on tobacco products specifically earmarked for clean-up efforts; more effort on the part of tobacco companies to improve the biodegradability of filters, reduce packaging waste and educate consumers about the impacts of tobacco waste on the environment; and more local involvement from governments and businesses to reduce cigarette littering by supplying ashtrays and other "disposal mechanisms" at building entrances

[msmith]

Unfortunatley, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs are harmful in many ways. The bottom line is marijuana is illegal, the others aren't. I don't do any of them btw.

[NASA]

Is it just me, or are the intellectually dibilitating effects of marijuana use "self evident"?   

[pitw]

Is it just me, or are the intellectually dibilitating effects of marijuana use "self evident"?   

No I see it all the time 

But no more so than say living in a country that has major propaganda agenda's.  Like say you die for the country and you will be invited into the next world by virgins  .

[alscalls]

FYI :      I dont do drugs!     Being Married  is what has ruined my life.......

[NASA]

So you see a parallel between a dope induced stupor, and a stupid dope seduced by a promise of 72 virgins when he dies killing "infidels"?  

Are you proposing that the same thought processes (or lack thereof) are the common denominator?

[pitw]

Are you proposing that the same thought processes (or lack thereof) are the common denominator?

Certainly not .  I'm saying that are minds are changed by many inputs that include pollution, food, experience and a whole host of things.
  I made the choice after seeing as much of the world as I wanted, to live in one of the cleanest places on the planet with an abundance of the things I love to do[mentally debilitating effects or not], so I feel it is my call on what I do.  I don't sell, push or try to change peoples minds on what I do but I do what I do.
  Little story for you.  I once had a customer[10 years my senior and a heavy drinker] that I did 10,000 acres a year for.  I did this for 5 years and then he found out I did pot and said I would never work for him again[Oh well].  Two years he had someone else do it.  One killed a 1/4 section of crop and the other didn't kill much of anything. 2 years ago he drove out to see me and asked if I'd come back and I have done his work since at an increased rate.  What he learned was that not all he believed in was right and that I stood behind my way of doing things.
  There is one other thing I don't do and not because it's illegal and that is speed[like in a car].

[cathryn]

cigs and alcohol are legal because rich white collar people partake in them and they make tobacco and cigarette companies alot of money by doing so.alcohol and cigs are portrayed to be glamorous and those who partake of them are cpnsidered glamourous in alot of setting.
go out to an upscale restaraunt and see who beltin back the nmartinins and scotch or visit Congress and id bet 90% of the people who represent us make laws over cigs and a brandy..

weed is illegal because the stigma of it is thats its used by so called white trash and poor blacks and only makes monay for what people consider, the underclass. backwoods boys and the guys in the ghetto.

its all a buncha BS..its funny how people smoke cigs and drink their beer but judge someone who smokes a joint.

i am not advocating anyone going out and breaking the law by smoking a joint but if they do, i aint gonna set back on my soapbox and drink a case a beer and smoke a pack of cigs and talk trash about their chosen drug when alcohol and nicotine are just as bad and addicting as weed.
just my .02.


if weed was portrayed as glamorous the way cigs and alcohol are , itd be legal and the ones who are secretly smoking it now and talking trash about those who admit smoking it,would openly toke instead of being the hypocrites they are,lol.

i will readily admit i have smoked weed in the past and i have drank and i would have been a whole lot more dangerous drunk than high,both on the road and at home.i discovered i was mean when i drank and mellow when i smoked.
not saying it effects everyone that way but its how it effected me. thanks God i had sense enough to stay at home. it took me about 3 times to learn that alcohol was not for me.

also the idea that weed is a"gateway" drug is a farce far as im concerned because i smoked alot of pot in my college days,and i mean alot, and i never ever had any desire to try any other drug.

if the govt would legalize weed and tax ,like they do cigs,it theyd get us out of debt a lot sooner than they woudl otherwise.

[golfertrout]

yes it is illegal and so is drunk driving

[HaMeR]

cigs and alcohol are legal because rich white collar people partake in them

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:


I know soooo many people that don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of & by God come hell or high water they will have their smokes & Bud Light regardless. So don't give anybody any shit with that line as it's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time. The fact is that poor smokers & drinkers,, black white red orange or green,, will find a way to support their vices AND buy pot while the "rich white collar people" will do the same but only AFTER caring for their Families. So the rich VS poverty argument is a crock of shit.

[pitw]

I know soooo many people that don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of & by God come hell or high water they will have their smokes & Bud Light regardless. So don't give anybody any shit with that line as it's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time. The fact is that poor smokers & drinkers,, black white red orange or green,, will find a way to support their vices AND buy pot while the "rich white collar people" will do the same but only AFTER caring for their Families. So the rich VS poverty argument is a crock of shit.

  I agree with the whole statement you just made.  It doesn't matter what the color or placement in society to me.  The simple fact of do what you want and can live with works.  I smoke but not in my house or car[when the family is with].  I smoke the other stuff never at home or near my family. 
  Name calling is not much of an argument either for that matter.
  A good discussion never hurt anyone and even I have changed some of my thinking thanks to the folk here.  Just because it is what we were taught or brought up with doesn't make something right or wrong.

[CCP]

My biggest problem with the legalization of pot are that there is no test available ( Iam aware of) that can tell if you are under the influence at the time. Here in lies the problem.


If someone comes to work drunk I can smell it or suspect it I have them tested (breathalyzer ,Blood test)then address the issue. In a pot legal world if I suspected them of being high and they were tested and it was positive it would be as easy as saying “I smoked pot 2 days ago and I am not high now”. So where is my recourse for proving they are high on the job?


Same situation but that employee is a Cop ,a Doctor, a fireman. Would you want to be pulled over by a stoned Cop? Or one of your kids being operated on by a stoned Doctor? What test do they have to prove they are under the influence at that given time?


Most of us have worked with co-workers that say “ I work better stoned”  How many of them would want the Doctor that say’s “I work better stoned doing their heart surgery?


Every new employee that comes to work I give them the same speech “I don’t care what you do off the clock it is your business”. With that said if you come to work stoned or do drugs at work I will be the first person to take you to the office and give you your last check. I like to drink I go all day at work without drinking sometimes weeks or months without drinking. A lot of pot heads I know can’t do that.


Most alcoholics’ I know make it through a whole 8 hr work day without a drink most pot heads I have known have to have a hit or two on the way to work or at one of their work breaks. 

[pitw]

Very valid points CCP.  I have fired workers for drinking[my rigs my rules] and have yet to have an employee who does pot.  I don't want the dang stuff legalized at all cause I think the only reason I do it is to break the law or at least feel like a bad person.  Most laws are there for a reason I will agree but not all work for me .
  The original post was about a coffee house and legal pot for people in pain.  Anyone here think that these people shouldn't be allowed to be free of some of their misery.

[golfertrout]

Barry ur a bad guy in the laws eyes but in my book ur         OK

[cathryn]

cigs and alcohol are legal because rich white collar people partake in them

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:


I know soooo many people that don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of & by God come hell or high water they will have their smokes & Bud Light regardless. So don't give anybody any shit with that line as it's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time. The fact is that poor smokers & drinkers,, black white red orange or green,, will find a way to support their vices AND buy pot while the "rich white collar people" will do the same but only AFTER caring for their Families. So the rich VS poverty argument is a crock of shit.

just because you dont agree with my opinion doesnt make it a crock of shit anymore than yours is if i dont agree with you.


you seem to be takin this  whole debate a little personal....are you out of cigs, beer, or weed?

chill out. the whole thread was posted to get people debating, not to give anyone a stroke.

its just a thread.relax. it was never meant to offend your sensabilities.

[HaMeR]

Trust me. I'm not offended. There aren't too many people that can offend me. Including you. 

I guess you could say I'm tired of the whole "rich white folks gotsta pay for their successes sos I kin have mine too" mentality.  That comment is the exact same one used by the no good SOB that is in office right now. He was elected because he promised the lazy class of society he would take from the rich & give to the poor. Kinda defeats the purpose of a man to be successful in this day & age dontcha think? 

BTW-- Apology accepted. 

  Being politically correct means having to say I'm sorry.    Not me!! I aint. I'm not. And I'll never be. 


CCP said it best.

[nastygunz]

nasty do u drink or smoke cigs? post the side effects on them. o by the way i know a few surgical doctors that have been known to partake,maybe if they would not have smoked they could have been president

Not that its relevant to the information I posted but I have maybe 2-3 drinks a year and have never smoked. I wasnt passing judgement just posting information, personally I could give a hoot about what anyone does as long as it doesnt bother me  ....paranoid?....

[nastygunz]

My biggest problem with the legalization of pot are that there is no test available ( Iam aware of) that can tell if you are under the influence at the time. Here in lies the problem.


If someone comes to work drunk I can smell it or suspect it I have them tested (breathalyzer ,Blood test)then address the issue. In a pot legal world if I suspected them of being high and they were tested and it was positive it would be as easy as saying “I smoked pot 2 days ago and I am not high now”. So where is my recourse for proving they are high on the job?


Same situation but that employee is a Cop ,a Doctor, a fireman. Would you want to be pulled over by a stoned Cop? Or one of your kids being operated on by a stoned Doctor? What test do they have to prove they are under the influence at that given time?


Most of us have worked with co-workers that say “ I work better stoned”  How many of them would want the Doctor that say’s “I work better stoned doing their heart surgery?


Every new employee that comes to work I give them the same speech “I don’t care what you do off the clock it is your business”. With that said if you come to work stoned or do drugs at work I will be the first person to take you to the office and give you your last check. I like to drink I go all day at work without drinking sometimes weeks or months without drinking. A lot of pot heads I know can’t do that.


Most alcoholics’ I know make it through a whole 8 hr work day without a drink most pot heads I have known have to have a hit or two on the way to work or at one of their work breaks. 

Its easy to test now, I used to give interviewees a saliva based drug test with instant results, no peeing in the cup involved, and then a psych test which they filled out, I faxed to a neutral company who graded it, and then faxed it back to me, total time, about 30 minutes. The easiest thing was to discreetly ask them if they would submit to the testing and tell them if they chose not to they could leave, no questions asked, lot of people left.
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