Marijuana for everyone!

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  1. Should marijuana be legal?

    • 48
      It should be illegal/criminal
    • 136
      only legal for medicinal use
    • 286
      should be legal (and taxable)

470 members have participated

What is your take on the issue of legalizing marijuana?

Specializes in Intermediate Care.

Marie, stevielynn's post was the jump-off point for my comment as she talked about possibly being stereotypical.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Well as someone that works with cancer patients and has also been treated with chemo, MJ is highly overrated as an antiemetic.

A recent editorial published in the Oncology Nursing Forum describes NCI study to examine effectiveness of THC in relieving chemo related nausea. This was prior to the advent of the 5HT3 drugs (aloxi/kytril/anzemet/zofran). when the prime antiemetics were phenergan and compazine, which were highly ineffective against chemo related nausea. Even then, the results were highly mixed. While some patients had relief, others were disturbed by the side effects.

I personally found no relief from the nausea, as did many others that I observed in treatment that tried MJ. It did reduce anxiety and made it so that I didn't care about the nausea quite as much....but then, we typically now use ativan/lorazepam for with cancer patients as it reduces anxiety and is demonstrated to reduce breakthrough nausea. And it is legally available.

Since then, we have developed substantially better, legal meds that are proven to be effective, without the side effects of MJ and without the dangers associated with smoking.

Do I think it hypocritical that MJ is illegally, while alcohol is legal? Yes, I do. But by the same issue, I would not mind alcohol being banned. Do I drink...yes, ocasionally, but would be more than happy to give up the bellinis with brunch and the Amaretto sour on a night out.

Because recreational drugs (including alcohol) are stupid and wasteful of our potential.

Yes, there are people that claim that they fuel creativity...how much greater would our creativity be if we weren't getting wasted. If you need a drug to be creative, you have serious problems that need to be solved and will not be, while your are smoking or drinking your "crutch". Much like a smoker that allows their life be controlled by use of a weed (tobacco), how much better could we be if we cease to be controlled by something that "wastes" us, and "stones" us?

Sorry, but I have never met a potsmoker that wouldn't have been a much better person when sober. I have never met someone drunk that wouldn't have been much better sober. People are brought down to a lower level by uses of these drugs.

Why would I want to legeislate down to a lower common denominator?

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This was my college research paper topic.

It should be legal for medical purposes based on the research (or at least given a fair chance to pass trials).

No more to say except I could send you the souce list.

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Marie, stevielynn's post was the jump-off point for my comment as she talked about possibly being stereotypical.

I got that. :)

And you are right - I'm only talking about the people I personally know who smoke pot. But if you want to draw a cartoon character of a pot head, look no further than our local high school football coach . . . .think "Cheech and Chong". :rolleyes: He walks and talks in "pothead" mode - all the kids know he smokes pot and they think it is hilarious. He isn't a great coach either. Ah yes, anecdotal . . I too know the guys who smoke on the 9th hole. I'm not saying that "potheads" just sit in a room watching MTV . . . these people all had day jobs and some had kids and one was pregnant. But when people are truly stoned, you have to admit they aren't of much use in a conversation. :rolleyes:

caroladybelle - I think your points are so good. Pot isn't that great an anti-emetic AND everyone who uses would be much better sober.

Reminds me of having a Demerol shot when in labor . . . .it didn't do a damn thing for the pain but I sure zoned out in between the pains.

Plus, what message are we sending our kids when we do things that are illegal? Hey, it is ok if you don't like the rules to break them? So when I say you have a curfew, it is ok to break it? Hard to be consistent when the parents are breaking the rules.

steph

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This was my college research paper topic.

It should be legal for medical purposes based on the research (or at least given a fair chance to pass trials).

No more to say except I could send you the souce list.

Much of the research says there are better antiemetics, as Caroladybelle mentioned.

I just can't get past the idea that this is all a ruse so people who want to get stoned can do so legally. And it has very little to do with medicinal use.

steph

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Ahh nothing wrong with getting stoned

except for getting the munchies, blows your diet every time

Of course you shouldnt get stoned and drive, that includes driving the cart on the fairway and trying to drive the ball off the Tee.

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I think that it would do a lot of good to legalize marijuana for medical use only. My FIL, for one, would benefit greatly from it due to nerve damage from a bad fall he took 4 years ago. Very rarely is he anywhere near free from pain. He's thinking about moving to a state that allows the use of marijuana but with the recent Supreme Court ruling, that may not be a safe bet legally for him to use it. :( My heart really goes out to him.

We have so many puritanical laws in the U.S. This is one of them.

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Ahh nothing wrong with getting stoned

except for getting the munchies, blows your diet every time

Of course you shouldnt get stoned and drive, that includes driving the cart on the fairway and trying to drive the ball off the Tee.

Speaking from experience Tom? :rotfl: :rotfl:

Z

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saying all people who use marijuana are brain dead stoners is like saying that everyone who drinks is a hard core alcoholic rolling in the gutter. anything to excess isn't good for you.

if someone wants to smoke a joint to relax and reflect, it's his/her right. i smoke marijuana once in a while (gasp!)... and i don't consider it to be anyone's business but my own. not my employer's, and not the government's.

and i haven't come close to running over any little kids on bikes. nor have i robbed the convenience store for my next fix. and i haven't progressed to crack cocaine. am i doing something wrong?

i'm hardly alone. i know tons of professionals who use marijuana. these are hard working folks who are anything but criminals (except for the stupid, hypocritical laws against marijuana). i'd much rather deal with a pot smoker than a drinker.

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saying all people who use marijuana are brain dead stoners is like saying that everyone who drinks is a hard core alcoholic rolling in the gutter. anything to excess isn't good for you.

if someone wants to smoke a joint to relax and reflect, it's his/her right. i smoke marijuana once in a while (gasp!)... and i don't consider it to be anyone's business but my own. not my employer's, and not the government's.

and i haven't come close to running over any little kids on bikes. nor have i robbed the convenience store for my next fix. and i haven't progressed to crack cocaine. am i doing something wrong?

i'm hardly alone. i know tons of professionals who use marijuana. these are hard working folks who are anything but criminals (except for the stupid, hypocritical laws against marijuana). i'd much rather deal with a pot smoker than a drinker.

YOU SMOKE POT?! :smackingf

(no kidding) :)

Actually as long as it is illegal, it is someone else's business.

Just as I can't make generalizations about anything, neither can you. There ARE not very nice people out there who smoke pot and drink alcohol, people who don't take care of their kids, people who mistreat their spouses, etc.

I'd much rather deal with honorable hardworking folks - whether they use alcohol or pot or not.

steph

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Ahh nothing wrong with getting stoned

except for getting the munchies, blows your diet every time

Of course you shouldnt get stoned and drive, that includes driving the cart on the fairway and trying to drive the ball off the Tee.

:rotfl: Good one.

steph

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Actually as long as it is illegal, it is someone else's business.

steph

hmmm.. then by that standard, it's someone else's business if you break laws against sodomy, huh? whose business is that?

i'm not sure what sex acts these laws cover, but i'm sure i'm guilty if i enjoyed it :)

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