why is marijuana illegal?

Post by **Freakaloin** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:34 am

ahhh white widow....

Post by **Canis** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:38 am

Iccy has a lot to say...

Post by **Iccy (temp)** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:51 am

my bad

Post by **Canidae** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 1:58 am

Because its bad for worker productivity and the boss don't want that.

Post by **mjrpes** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:26 am

Alcohol would be illegal too, but Christians (puritans) can't use its absence in their religion as an excuse to ban it.

Keep It Real · Post by **Keep It Real** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:11 am

Kracus wrote:Drugs make the weak minded lazy.

Whats a weak mind

Post by **Geebs** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:08 am

[xeno]Julios wrote:Alcohol is a perfect drug - it renders the populace submissive and uncritical. You don't have much "out of the box" thinking with alcohol (typically). Alcohol inspires trust, as opposed to paranoia, which is why it is a great tool for business deals and the like.

Jules, come round my neighbourhood one night, stitch a few heads and you'll agree that the statement above is utter horseshit (no offence

)

As tnf said, though, alcoholics are second only to junkies for sheer skankiness.

Post by **Geebs** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:09 am

BTW, smoking weed means smoking tobacco, which in my opinion should be made illegal.

Keep It Real · Post by **Keep It Real** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:23 am

why does smoking weed mean smoking tobacco

Post by **iambowelfish** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:36 am

Don't have to smoke it.

Post by **iambowelfish** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:39 am

+JuggerNaut+ wrote:
iambowelfish wrote:
+JuggerNaut+ wrote:drugs :lol:
I don't get it.
I don't need them.

Oh right...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No wait, I still don't get it.

You saying you've never taken anything with caffeine or alcohol in it?

Keep It Real · Post by **Keep It Real** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:40 am

ive taken caffeine or alcohol but i dont need them

Post by **Geebs** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:41 am

Yeah, or paracetamol :lol: :lol: :lol: pedant.

Post by **seremtan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:48 am

Mention 1920s Prohibition (of alcohol), and the consensus is that it created more problems (crime, corruption etc) than it solved. Mention the prohibition of the drugs, and the exact opposite reaction occurs. It's classic Orwellian doublethink, holding two contrary views at once.

Post by **Geebs** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:54 am

I think that caners are actually secretly responsible for keeping it illegal so that they can get some cachet out of doing a totally shit drug.

Post by **iambowelfish** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:16 am

Geebs wrote:Yeah, or paracetamol :lol: :lol: :lol: pedant.

Well, I thought that but I wanted to pre-empt the "recreational" response.

Pedantry is useful, if we don't make any attempt to be exact in what we're saying then our arguments will also lack rigour.

Post by **iambowelfish** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:19 am

Keep It Real wrote:ive taken caffeine or alcohol but i dont need them

Right. Many people feel the same way about illegal drugs.

But if there was a movement to ban caffeine or alcohol, the fact that you "don't need them" probably wouldn't stop you from opposing it.

Keep It Real · Post by **Keep It Real** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:22 am

iambowelfish wrote:
Keep It Real wrote:ive taken caffeine or alcohol but i dont need them
Right. Many people feel the same way about illegal drugs.

But if there was a movement to ban caffeine or alcohol, the fact that you "don't need them" probably wouldn't stop you from opposing it.

well i think part of a pot head does "need" pot, if his brain is wired in a way that fantasizes about being high a lot..
but youre right.

Post by **seremtan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:15 pm

iambowelfish wrote:
Geebs wrote:Yeah, or paracetamol :lol: :lol: :lol: pedant.
...our arguments will also lack rigour.

Welcome to the Internet, sir. Is this your first visit?

Post by **[xeno]Julios** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:05 pm

Geebs wrote:
[xeno]Julios wrote:Alcohol is a perfect drug - it renders the populace submissive and uncritical. You don't have much "out of the box" thinking with alcohol (typically). Alcohol inspires trust, as opposed to paranoia, which is why it is a great tool for business deals and the like.
Jules, come round my neighbourhood one night, stitch a few heads and you'll agree that the statement above is utter horseshit (no offence )

As tnf said, though, alcoholics are second only to junkies for sheer skankiness.

I'm fully aware of the violence associated with alcohol - during my days in the cybercafe industry, my least favourite customers were the ones on alcohol. They tended to be the least cooperative.

By submissive and uncritical, I mean with respect to things that require higher levels of cognitive analysis.

It's been recently shown in a clinical study that people who inhale oxytocin are willing to gamble/invest more money - it suggests that feeling good inspires feelings of trust. This is consistent with Damasio's "somatic marker hypothesis" which is based on the idea that when positive emotions (which are manifested primarily on a somatic level - meaning that positive emotions actually make your body feel good) are neurally linked to thoughts within a judgement, your mind judges those thoughts as "good" - and vice versa. This serves to make decision making efficient (else we'd be paralyzed trying to calculate cost benefit analyses ad infinitum for even the most simple decisions).

Alcohol definitely inspires euphoric feelings. Marijuana, while able to have euphoric effects, also has potential to inspire negative feelings such as anxiety.

I think this is one reason why people on pot (so long as they're not completely stoned) tend to experience paranoia and distrust more so than alcohol.

I would be willing to bet that a clinical study done properly would prove this. Get five groups of people:

A: drink alcohol
B: drink alcohol tasting "placebo"
C: smoke pot
D: smoke pot tasting "placebo"
E: drink and smoke nothing

Then have them watch a sequence from a videotape that involves a social situation. Within that sequence are subtle cues that suggest potential betrayal to the main character.

Afterwards you ask the subjects how likely it is that they thought the main character was gonna be betrayed.

I'm pretty sure the pot group would score high, the control group would score normal, and the alcohol group would score low.

Post by **Freakaloin** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:20 pm

fuck u....

Post by **Freakaloin** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:22 pm

oh and this is the real reason its illegal....turns u into this...

Post by **[xeno]Julios** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:37 pm

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:40 pm

iambowelfish wrote:
+JuggerNaut+ wrote:
iambowelfish wrote: I don't get it.
I don't need them.
Oh right...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

No wait, I still don't get it.

You saying you've never taken anything with caffeine or alcohol in it?

i drink coffee, but not because i need it, but rather i enjoy a cup. alcohol? no thanks.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:42 pm

iambowelfish wrote:
Keep It Real wrote:ive taken caffeine or alcohol but i dont need them
Right. Many people feel the same way about illegal drugs.

But if there was a movement to ban caffeine or alcohol, the fact that you "don't need them" probably wouldn't stop you from opposing it.