The Addiction Help .com

If somone had never heard of either Cannabis or Sugar/fats/oils before in their life, and I showed them a highly accurate and detailed report of both substances how many people do you think would say bad food is way worse for you than cannabis??

I think the numbers would be overwhelmingly in favor of cannabis being better for you... Please keep in mind though the diffrence between abuse and use.

Let me clear up some Stuff as well. Sugar less addictive than weed? thats hard to belive, less than 1% of cannabis users develope a physical or mental addiction to Marijuana. While i don't have statistics for sugar i can allmost garentee more kids/adults these days are addictied to sugar far more than they are to weed.

I am a person who has done MDMA(Ecstasy) meth, weed, coke, lsd, shrooms, dmt, alcohol, tabbaco, and i can honestly say giving up bad foods was the 1 thing i cannot do. And not im not obese or eat a TON its just i need them, its serously the only thing ive been addicted too.
Cannabis has worse effects over time? That’s debatable... diabetes, obesity, rotting teeth, gastrointestinal cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, low levels of physical activity all sound serous to me...

While cannabis has about 2-4X more cancer causing components than Cigarettes, studies show long term abuse of cannabis is unlikely to cause cancer of the lungs or upper airways. They suspect that tobacco only causes cancer because of the radioactive soil and nicotine. Also I might add an average marijuana smoker only needs 2-5 “hits” to get high while a cigarette smoker may smoke a Pack(!) a day and 1 cigarette alone will be more smoke than a marijuana smokes in 1 day.

I’m not saying cannabis is healthy I’m just saying sugar can and most likely is worse than cannabis if abused even If the marijuana smoker is an extremely heavy user.


and yes about 50% of america abuses it allready(bad foods)

I agree. I wish our legislators did, and ended this drug war crap.

2007-01-25 14:48:12 by Im not stupid i just dont care

This man isn#39;t afraid to speak it like it is. Check out this awesome true story at stop-smoking-weed.org You#39;ll read about all the ...

Before you read the following data understand that I feel it is our constitutional right to do as we wish, as long as we do NOT violate the constitutional
rights of others. I respect your rights, you respect mine. I feel as if I am being religously and socially discriminated against for my beliefs, since the issue is
"controversial." Driving impaired is already illegal (and wrong), smoking publicly is a LOCAL issue, but private use of cannabis should remain constitutionally protected.
Whether the government can tax it or not is moot, what matters is that you retain the right to choose for yourself, not have someone choose for you. Drug imports/exports are a federal matter.

Addiction rates:
Nicotine - 35%
Cocaine - 19%
Marijuana - 9%

Death rates:
Tobacco - 435,000 /yr
Alcohol - 85,000 /yr
All illicit drugs - 17,000/yr
Marijuana - 0 (can not overdose)
* center for disease control

Effects:
*Tobacco
Very mild calming feeling, Yellow teeth/nails/skin, emphysema, lung cancer, etc.
*Marijuana
Obvious acute effects, bronchitis (long term) -- notice I did NOT list cancer.

** A california study observing heavy marijuana users over the course of 8 years found that marijuana smokers were no more prone to cancer than non-smokers.

The U.S. federal government spent over $19 billion dollars in 2003 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $600 per second. The budget has since been increased by over a billion dollars.
* Office of National Drug Control Policy
**

Just this year 540,658 arrests have been made for cannibis. FBI statistics reported 829,625 arrests in 2006 for cannibis, the highest ever in one year, and of those arrests 738,915 (89%) were for possession alone. An American is now arrested for violating cannabis laws every 38 seconds.
*Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation

"Both Australian studies suggest cannabis may actually reduce the responsibility rate and lower crash risk. Put another way, cannabis consumption either increases driving ability or, more likely, drivers who use cannabis make adjustments in driving style to compensate for any loss of skill (Drummer, 1995). This is consistent with simulator and road studies that show drivers who consumed cannabis slowed down and drove more cautiously (see Ward & Dye, 1999; Smiley, 1999. "
* many sources, taken from #30 at http://www.drugwarfacts.org/marijuan.htm

"Since 1969, government-appointed commissions in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, and the Netherlands concluded, after reviewing the scientific evidence, that marijuana's dangers had previously been greatly exaggerated, and urged lawmakers to drastically reduce or eliminate penalties for marijuana possession."
*#32

"...It criminalizes large numbers of otherwise law-abiding, mainly young, people to the detriment of their futures. It has become a proxy for the control of public order; and it inhibits accurate education about the relative risks of different drugs including the risks of cannabis itself."
* #37

"Statements in the popular media that the potency of cannabis has increased by ten times or more in recent decades are not support by the data from either the USA or Europe."
* #39

Other reasons why marijuana is still illegal:

** Local and state police make ENORMOUS amounts of money from drug busts. If they can prove that the money was tied to criminal activity they are allowed to confiscate it. Federally we are losing approximately 19 billion dollars annually on the War on Drugs.

** Tobacco lobbyists obviously oppose the legalization of marijuana. Legalization would put an item on the market that can compete with tobacco, and it will be extremely cheap when current marijuana smokers start growing in their backyards. This could mean huge losses.

** Marijuana is commonly used to treat physical and psychological symptoms. Legalization would make it much more difficult for drug companies to obtain the consumer base they have today.

** International treaties make it difficult for individual countries to change their laws. If they were to legalize marijuana, they would violate the treaty, and that would cost them certain benefits.

** Marijauna pacifies the person, making them less "gun ho." War, one of the most profitible engagements ever, would not start very easy if much of the american body were more prudent with their decisions. Ignorance and blind rage is the "bread and butter" of the federal government, allowing legislation and wars we do not even want to go into effect.

** The larger religions oppose marijuana, because of their personal beliefs, and refuse to allow others (that don't share their beliefs) to make that choice for themselves. It must be "god's will."

Final notes:

The effects drug use (of any kind) has on your body is a concern for doctors, but that doesn't mean they can push to make it illegal. They can recommend to you not to do it, and they can ask for the public use of d
If i'm not dead in ten years? What part of not being able to overdose do you not understand? The only thing i'm addicted to is nicotine, because cunts like yourself keep weed illegal. The only reason i'd be serving a prison sentence is if assholes (such as yourself) refuse to loosen the vice around my balls.

Legalize it.

2008-08-24 21:38:04 by tylanbo

Price: $13.95

Sources from http://www.drugwarfacts.org/marijuan.htm will be cited by the number corresponding to where it was found.

Understand that I believe that possession and the private use of marijuana should always be legal. Driving while intoxicated should not (and already is illegal). Smoking in public should be a local issue, as it is the preference of the people living there that should decide whether marijuana can be used publicly. Trafficking of drugs is the only thing that should be federally regulated, as it is an international issue and directly falls under their jurisdiction. Also understand that whether or not you use (or would use) marijauna is your choice, having marijuana legalized only means you can legally make the choice for yourself. At all times you can decide not to use it, but those millions of americans who do are facing excessive criminal penalties for behavior that affects only them, NOT YOU. You have the constitutional right to not use marijuana, but I believe that it should also be your right to choose for yourself.

The long half-life of THC prevents "crashing" after using the drug and greatly reduces the chance of dependency. Little to no withdraw symptoms were found with average marijuana use.
* paraphrased from the IOM report "Marijuana and Medicine"

There is no scientific evidence that marijuana use leads to 'harder' drugs.
* need citation

Addiction rates:
Nicotine - 35% * almost twice as addictive as cocaine and kills 25 times more people per year (if all 17000 deaths from all illicit substances were contributed to cocaine).
Cocaine - 19%
Marijuana - 9%

Death rates:
Tobacco - 435,000 /yr
Alcohol - 85,000 /yr
All illicit drugs - 17,000/yr
Marijuana - 0 (can not overdose)
* center for disease control
** Alcohol related deaths kill 5 times more people per year than ALL illicit drugs

Effects:
*Tobacco
Very mild calming feeling, Yellow teeth/nails/skin, emphysema, lung cancer, etc.
*Marijuana
Obvious acute effects, bronchitis (long term) -- notice I did NOT list cancer.

** A california study observing heavy marijuana users over the course of 8 years found that marijuana smokers were no more prone to cancer than non-smokers.

"Since 1969, government-appointed commissions in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, and the Netherlands concluded, after reviewing the scientific evidence, that marijuana's dangers had previously been greatly exaggerated, and urged lawmakers to drastically reduce or eliminate penalties for marijuana possession."
*#32

"...It criminalizes large numbers of otherwise law-abiding, mainly young, people to the detriment of their futures. It has become a proxy for the control of public order; and it inhibits accurate education about the relative risks of different drugs including the risks of cannabis itself."
* #37

"Statements in the popular media that the potency of cannabis has increased by ten times or more in recent decades are not support by the data from either the USA or Europe."
* #39

The U.S. federal government spent over $19 billion dollars in 2003 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $600 per second. The budget has since been increased by over a billion dollars.
* Office of National Drug Control Policy
** Don't you think this could go to more important expenditures?

Just this year 540,658 arrests have been made for cannibis. FBI statistics reported 829,625 arrests in 2006 for cannibis, the highest ever in one year, and of those arrests 738,915 (89%) were for possession alone. An American is now arrested for violating cannabis laws every 38 seconds.
*Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Nope.

The laws are way too lenient.

We should bar anybody with any kind of a drug conviction from any job where judgment is required.

2008-08-25 12:29:11 by tylanbo

Price: $5.95 $5.95

(re-stating my earlier question)
I was curious and i visited several websites such as www.abovetheinfluence.com, and www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov. I found that many people try and classify marijuana as a illicit substance that's crippling all of American youth causing addiction and other negative effects. Its ironic that their "proof" or their main information backing them up is all statistical information, it just goes to show you that they have no conclusive information proving that marijuana is harmful. now yes i know that its a carcinogen because it burns, but keep in mind you can eat it in baked good too. now a good example of a typical marijuana user is me, im high right now. i go to college, have a successful group of friends and am very happy but i use pot on a somewhat regular basis. i just don't understand why everyone is so damn worked up over a small little plant, if they just sat down and sparked it up they might see how frivolous this whole situation is...

now keep in mind statistics are really not proven ratifiable data, its just collections of generalized data surveyed on only a few people. the person who is making the study can easily skew their results by selective surveying. if you don't think that it happens then you guys have alot to learn, i could easy make a survey to have the answers i want in completely legitimate ways. and im saying generally speaking weed is not harmful in the way it affects you, myself and most other users are able to live fine while enjoying. some people who are generally weaker-minded in general are the ones who spiral into life ruining drug habits which is what anti pot advocates capitalize on. im not trying to say that everything i believe is whats right and anti-drug lobbyists are all completely wrong, im just wanting to say "hey look theres another side to the whole issue"

and im not really touching on the legalization issue, im just talking about why people have so much support against it when its not such a horrible thing. its all about self control and knowing your priority's. i know some people that cant manage smoking, their like crack addicts. but should that be a reason for us all to not be able to smoke because some people have no willpower. i know many people that eat entire bags of doughnuts and live harmful dietary lives, does that mean i cannot enjoy an occasional doughnut?

Once something is termed evil, it is very difficult for it to be seen any other way. The government reacted negatively to the entire hippy movement that involved all types of drugs. Notice the movement is not recognized for alcohol use. So an entire class of things was characterized as evil, with MJ being one of them. Now the baby boomers who were hippies are in control and they don't want their children doing what they did, so it continues to maintain an "evil" persona. The truth is, it is only addictive to those people who are the type to become mentally dependent. It's capture ration of first time users is one of the lowest of all substances...including caffeine. But how do you move something that has so much negativity and bad karma built up around it and move it to socially acceptable? We might see a shift as the older generation moves out of power, so it will be interesting to watch for the next 10 years what happens.

And to address the point on top...it is a common misconception that putting people in jail makes money for the government. For every day a person is in jail in Texas, they receive $50 towards their fines and court costs, not including the money spent to house and feed them. I am a state prosecutor and trust me, I am sick of seeing possession for less than two ounces cases on my desk. They clutter our docket, we don't fine that much for them, we aren't making money off of potheads basically. It is a waste of resources.

**Edit: People are addicted to alcohol, higher capture ratio than pot, and that is legal. Obesity in America is claimed to be caused to food addictions...legal. Nyquil...addictive...legal. Prescription drugs...addictive (even can be with prescribed use)...legal. Sex...can be addictive...legal. See the trend here? Calling something addictive isn't a bar to legality. It is an excuse to ignore reality.

2008-09-27 13:19:09 by Paul

drug addiction and drug abuse, chronic or habitual use of any chemical substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Traditional definitions of addiction, with their criteria of physical dependence and withdrawal (and often an underlying tenor of depravity and sin) have been modified with increased understanding; with the introduction of new drugs, such as cocaine, that are psychologically or neuropsychologically addicting; and with the realization that its stereotypical application to opiate-drug users was invalid because many of them remain occasional users with no physical dependence. Addiction is more often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society and includes both licit and illicit drugs, and the term "substance abuse" is now frequently used because of the broad range of substances (including alcohol and inhalants) that can fit the addictive profile. Psychological dependence is the subjective feeling that the user needs the drug to maintain a feeling of well-being; physical dependence is characterized by tolerance (the need for increasingly larger doses in order to achieve the initial effect) and withdrawal symptoms when the user is abstinent.
Definitions of drug abuse and addiction are subjective and infused with the political and moral values of the society or culture. For example, the stimulant caffeine in coffee and tea is a drug used by millions of people, but because of its relatively mild stimulatory effects and because caffeine does not generally trigger antisocial behavior in users, the drinking of coffee and tea, despite the fact that caffeine is physically addictive, is not generally considered drug abuse. Even narcotics addiction is seen only as drug abuse in certain social contexts. In India opium has been used for centuries without becoming unduly corrosive to the social fabric.

The United States has the highest substance abuse rate of any industrialized nation. Government statistics (1997) show that 36% of the United States population has tried marijuana, cocaine, or other illicit drugs. By comparison, 71% of the population has smoked cigarettes and 82% has tried alcoholic beverages. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug.

Drug abuse and addictions go hand in hand but are also different. Generally addiction is seen as a physical and/or mental dependance on the drug, which leads to compulsive abuse of the drug. Because drugs can range from caffine to nicotine to cocaine the terms abuse and addiction are subjective to the American society. Caffine is a physically addictive drug, but so is Cocaine. Therefore drinking coffee every morning may be an physical addiction but is not looked upon as Abuse in the same matter as a regular cocaine user. Illicit drugs and legal drugs are treated different for obvious reasons. The United stated has the highest substance abuse reates of any modern nation.


Why do you ask this... hope im not doing someones homework. hahah ... MAtt

2007-05-17 14:59:35 by xXx_Cyber_Doll_xXx