Is marijuana addictive?

EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2002

Great post sbic56! I totally agree with you, we need to stop feeding kids propaganda. I just read a really great book by Dan Savage called Skipping Towards Gomorrah, he also advocates legalizing pot for many of the same reasons you gave. I read somewhere that in some southern states like Kentucky, marajuana is the number one cash crop! We should stop prosecuting casual weekend marajuana smokers and start going after real criminals.

ziggyRn · Dec 13, 2002

Semstr, granted it was a while back when i last visited.

But who distributes it now that it is OK in the coffee shops?

Aren't they the same people that have always supplied it? Bet my bottom dollar they are.

But more significantly, aren't they the same organisations that supply the hard drugs?The as*holes that market drugs like heroin that result in immense suffering for addicts, their families and friends.

Since they were already there, then they probably just became 'legal'. And what else do these bits of excrement do...money laundering, trafficking in women, extortion and so on.

I don't think that smoking a bit of dope is necessarily a bad thing and I don't get uptight about it...i did a lot in my student days.

But my point is that legality smokescreens the wider and deeper issue. This bigger issue is still there and nothing really changes...a bunch of sleezebag crooks getting richer and more powerful by the day. To ignore it is apathy. Legalising some of their activity gives them a sense of respectibility that they don't deserve.

To say they are controlled with jail is wishfull thinking...organised crime has a firm hold in many countries...winning might be a better description.

Now off my soapbox, Ziggy.

fergus51 · Dec 13, 2002

I thought in Amsterdam the coffee shops are liscences somehow by the gov't. Wouldn't that give them enough control?

sbic56, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2002

Thanks, EmeraldNYL. Marijuana is the #1 cash crop in many US states, my state of Maine included. The entire focus of the US antidrug coalition has been to try to influence the public into believing that marijuana is something it is not. It is as benign a substance as most over the counter medications if used in moderation. If this were not so, we would have documentation to the effect that is was harmful, not just extreme assertions that this is so. The argument is weak because the danger is minimal if the drug is used responsibly.

semstr · Dec 13, 2002

Yes, of course these coffeeshops are federal controlled. (and I know from very reliable sources, that the US- DEA has a few guys in there too) And no, the shopowners weren't selling on the street before they got the shops. These guys have to have a blank police-sheet (or whatever you call that)

So, NO Ziggy, these aren't the same guys selling the illegal hard stuff.

nurseman · Dec 13, 2002

Last Christmas I was working up in an isolated fly in reservation. The band had passed a resolution that alcohol was prohibited. The nearest liquor store was a 1 ½ hour flight or 6 hour boat/skidoo ride away (Boat for 8 months, skidoo 2 months)

Bootleggers were selling the 325 ml size (mickies) of vodka, rye, rum for $100. Anyone 19 years and older could buy them in the store 200km away for $11. I talked to a lot of people that were willing to spend the money and get drunk. Those who couldn't afford the price of rum just drank hairspray. The bootleggers were the ones trying to keep the community dry. They were making $$$$ after all.

I think that the current laws trying to prohibit drugs are doing more harm than good. They haven't gotten rid of the drug after all the billions of tax dollars. They are a cash cow for organized crime. The drugs are occasionally laced with harmful chemicals or other drugs. Minors can get narcotics easier from a dealer than they can get alcohol from a liquor store. I don't smoke the stuff but I'd rather those who do pay some tax and support a local farmer rather than support the biker gangs or the mafia.

KaroSnowQueen, RN · Dec 13, 2002

How many people really believe these propoganda commercials, and who thinks them up? I'd bet that most people who got to high school age after 1968 have smoked some dope in their life. And most of them know it as most people know alcohol, a little here and there for fun or relaxation. Yes there are people who smoke so much they never do anything else, but you can say that for alcohol. And I'm sure if alcohol had been introduced in the last forty years it would be illegal too. There are plenty of states in the South where alcohol is illegal in most parts of the state, or beer and wine only, no hard stuff, etc. And people go to neighboring counties or states to buy it, there are bootleggers, etc. It's illegal in those places to drink, ,but people do it. I haven't smoked any pot in years and years, I very seldom drink alcohol but they need to get real about it and start worrying about real problems. And someone posted something about worrying about people smoking dope and driving if it was legalized, do they think that doesn't happen every single day anyway? It would most likely still be illegal to drive stoned just like it's illegal to drive drunk if they legalized it. I'm sure somebody driven by dollar signs would quickly invent some gizmo to measure your pot smoking limit.

researchrabbit · Dec 13, 2002

I think it's awfully hard to regulate something that grows wild and doesn't really require any processing.

In a perfect world (IMHO) liquor, tobacco, etc wouldn't ever have been discovered. But then, I've never smoked and didn't try the alcohol stuff for long...doesn't taste good to me and I didn't like the way it felt. Doesn't bother me if other people choose to indulge, though.

But all this stuff is here, people want it, and better to regulate than totally forbid and have all these people breaking the law.

There was a time when I would have agreed with prosecuting users and sellers of marijuana. Now I think it's better to use our jails for people who steal, commit violent crimes -- these folks ought to be serving their entire sentence, not being released to make room for people who had a dried plant in their possession. We are feeding and housing a tremendous number of people in our jails these days.

And yes, maybe the people who are currently selling illegally will be selling legally...but how many people who buy it now will choose to grow their own (and thus not contribute to those folks anymore)?

ziggyRn · Dec 13, 2002

Semstr...no I didn't think that the actual shop owners were crooks.

But I was asking who the distributors are? where does it come from?

When a whole industry is already in place...even if it is illegal...then the experience, infrastructure are already established.

It wont disappear just like that. Wouldn't it just move in and take up the business?

:confused: Ziggy.

imn2nursing · Dec 14, 2002

Portland guy, I beg to differ. I KNOW from personal experience that marijauna IS a gateway drug for harder drugs. I smoked marijuana for many many years before moving on to much worse things. Don't always believe what you read, but I'm just telling you from person knowledge.

nurs4kids · Dec 14, 2002

hmmmm..

I say legalize it..tax it and use that money to treat the addicted. One small problem there though, that takes the money out of the government's hands..makes them have to show where the money was spent. Right now, imho, the gov't is making a killing off of illegal pot, they'd be insane to legalize it. As for the debate over whether it's addictive or not..

any damn thing that makes you (me) feel that dang good has GOT to be addictive. For my benefit, I hope it is never legalized. It's bad enough being addicted to tobacco..

I absolutely loved the high from pot (back in my younger days) and I know if it was legal, I'd be more apt to smoke one now. I hate the way alcohol leaves me feeling afterwards, so I don't drink..pot never gave me a hangover.

So, do I think it's addictive? Definitely.

Should it be legalized? Probably so..it's no more addictive than cigs, alcohol, etc. However, the ill effects may be worse. Not only is it worse on the lungs, but it also affects the brain cells. Don't know if it truly "burns brain cells" as I've always heard, but anyone I know who is a long term smoker of pot definitely has lost some brain function .

Okay, I gotta leave this thread alone..it's really making me want some of that good smellin', mind easin', stuff

flowerchild · Dec 14, 2002

I don't believe all the govt propaganda about pot. Nor do I believe that it is "gateway" to hard drugs. If pot was not around then people with addictive personalities would find something else to blame thier hard drug addictions on, like alcohol. I went to a class for CEU's on addictions several years ago and learned that nicotine and herion are about the same when it comes to level of addiction, whereas pot was the least and at the bottom of the curve. I found the information below while searching the internet. Sorry, it's not a perfect cut and paste but it proves my point. It's unfortunate that there are so many people with misconceptions about these substances.

HENNINGFIELD RATINGS 1 = Most serious 6 = Least serious

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Substance Withdrawal Reinforcement Tolerance Dependence Intoxication

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Nicotine 3 4 2 1 5

Heroin 2 2 1 2 2

Cocaine 4 1 4 3 3

Alcohol 1 3 3 4 1

Caffeine 5 6 5 5 6

Marijuana 6 5 6 6 4

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BENOWITZ RATINGS 1 = Most serious 6 = Least serious

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Substance Withdrawal Reinforcement Tolerance Dependence Intoxication

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Nicotine 3* equal 4 4 1 6

Heroin 2 2 2 2 2

Cocaine 3* equal 1 1 3 3

Alcohol 1 3 4 4 1

Caffeine 4 5 3 5 5

Marijuana 5 6 5 6 4