Well I re-read it but it seems I not seeing what you are. That said, I'm open to changing my mind, so show me what I'm missing.
To me, he is saying pretty much the same thing that it seems that you are saying. Although he does recognize a difference between someone who uses pot to get high and someone who uses medical marijuana, he is not in favor of getting high on pot or drunk with alcohol. I am sure that he will speak for himself when he comes into the forum again, his last sentence should clear that up.
Again, you are comparing apples with some other fruit. A casual glass of wine before bed does not a wino make just the same as a toke off of a joint after work doesn't make someone a pot head BUT: The casual drinker isn't looking to get drunk but the casual cannabis smoker is definitely looking to get stoned. I thought I made it pretty clear that people who use alcohol to get plastered on a continual basis need help just the same as someone who grabs a joint before morning coffee needs to re-evaluate their habits as well. And, do note that I am / was in the home missions field for well over 25 years whereby I ran programs to treat both the boozer and druggie no matter what kind of alcohol nor what kind of other brain banging substance they chose to wreck their lives with. I do NOT get my information nor personal opinions from the tabloids nor google but from actual first hand, real up close and personal experience with pot, dope and alcohol so saying that I have some affinity for liking one substance over the other is more than just a grand piece of misinformation. I KNOW how my brain reacts to alcohol and pot and neither one places myself nor anyone else on the "real smart" list. ALL substances affect the brain either negatively or positively and neither pot or alcohol are on the positive side for the brain healthy individual. As a side note: The only thing I have never done to my brain and body is "inject" because frankly, I do not like needles. So yeah, I do know the whole street and do not come to the board with someone else's information. So far as an employer "running" an employee's life, I am sure that I really do not need to comment too heavily. Where people handle money and / or use life threatening machinery or even have access to company secrets are involved, yes, companies do check for drugs and if a person wants that job they just have to suck it up and take the test. I am sure that if a person shows up with their eyes glazed over from alcohol abuse then they will not pass either. When I pay someone to do a job I want 100% of their attention and their physical and mental ability and if something preventable such as dope, pot or booze usage gets in the way of him or her giving me that 100% I will not hire them and if for whatever reason I do and they show themselves a waste of wages at a later date I will fire them. More and more employers will not even hire a tobacco user. Now, the thread is about Medical Marijuana for which I have no aught for indeed, when we peruse proverbs we find that giving wine and strong drink to the sick and dying is recommended and I am sure Pot or whatever derivative would be on that list if it were indeed made available during that time period. As it is, it probably was in some sort of medicine that might have been given but of that, I have no substantial provable knowledge. One of the best "on line" friends I have and a member of a think tank I belong to is a scientist who grows, experiments, and yes, is a cannabis user. He has an IQ even higher than mine and believes he might have stumbled upon a positive cure for most forms of cancer. So no, I am not against the use of cannabis but even Rich will admit, yeah, even though he may have found a sort of panacea in the cannabis plant, he smokes it to get stoned.
Okay, but I never said a casual glass of wine before bed made a wino, I said them that start out with a martini or glass of wine after supper, then another and another til they go to sleep drunk, wake up, more drinking for breakfast, stagger to work, more drinks at lunch, and so on. I don't see that as any better than being stoned on pot at work. I can say I've never seen a pothead on a forklift weaving down an aisle nearly running me over, or staggering over a railing, or puking 2 or 3 times a day. Your words gave me the idea that being stoned on pot at work was worse than being stoned on booze, prescription drugs, etc. Had a boss tell me that same thing once, right after firing the potheads, while turning a blind eye to his opiated secretary that was constantly nodding off, and the boozing fork lift driver, among others. Somehow their drug tests never seemed to turn up any dirt....imagine that. I find it interesting that employers are only willing to pay their workers a salary eight hours a day, usually five days a week, yet expect to rule over said employee 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Those drug tests pick up at least 48 hours, and THC stays in the body quite awhile: https://hightimes.com/health/long-thc-stay-urine/ I guess then it is quite fortunate that the scientist you know is not subject to these drug tests, and does not have a boss that demands 24/7 control over him, else he would be on unemployment. As I said, I am not in favor of being stoned or drunk or high on pills while on the job, but we part company after that. Good thing most here are retired, and can enjoy a martini (or joint) after supper, without some jerk boss using livelihood to make demands and issue edicts.
I'm done. Why is it that you seem to pick up "my words" so skewed and totally out of context? Were you stoned when you read my post or are you just trying to be as arbitrary as you possibly can? How is it that I can write a complex paper and everyone understands each and every word without any misinterpretation in any way yet you seem to be able to take a simple, well explained post and make it into something it is not intended to do? In my side of the ministry I have met thousands of people who admitted to be stuck on stupid with some really stinkin' thinkin' and THEY know what I am saying because I say the same things each time but with some heavy duty first hand knowledge to go with it and then there are those who have some kind of stigmata and believe their homelessness doesn't come from their own personal habits. The later are those that I simply throw up my hands and say, "I'm done" as I am doing with you. I do prefer to stay on topic which is where I brought it back to in my last post. Observe that part and you might be on the right track but you'd have to be a little straight to get everything out of it. Bye..................
Just came across this thread. If, and when, we do move to Colorado, we will definitely try some type of pot, not sure if a doctor will prescribe medical for either of us, but some type. Actually, I order some Hemp Balm this AM from GoGreen online. I've read, in another forum, that it's very good for arthritis pain. A 500mg jar cost us $32.98 total (including Priority Shipping). Won't know how good it does until we try it. Currently we are using 500mg Turmeric capsules. It works, but doesn't last long. One reason I take one in the AM with breakfast and one in the PM with lunch. Just order a bottle of 500mg Turmeric with Black Pepper in it. Not sold in Walgreens, where we got the other Turmeric. The Black Pepper is suppose to help the Turmeric act faster on the pain. Will find that out also. Also use Topricin Pain Relief Cream for arthritis and joint pain, but again, doesn't keep the pain away long enough. My pain isn't that serious, but I hate pain anyway. Wife has been getting arthritis pain in her hands, so, hopefully, the Balm will help with that.
I often watch "TED" episodes on YouTube and this one popped up regarding the manufacturing and use of today's cannabis. It's short, easy to understand and it's an eye opener........
Well, I agree with a lot of what he says. Pot has been legal here for personal use longer than anywhere else--since 1976--but it was confined to what you grew yourself in your personal dwelling. It was commercialized and regulated just last year, so things have been different. Alaska hasn't had a lot of the issues that Colorado had, and the poor here just grow their own. The Native communities have been impacted heavily, but that is the same type of issue that leads us to have the highest suicide rate in the U.S. I don't think gays, transwhatevers have any more issues than anyone else here. I think that Cannabis is harmful, not innocuous, but probably not as harmful as alcohol from a societal standpoint. I said before that I think marijuana in at least as harmful as tobacco, but not many smoke 20 or more joints a day like they do with cigarettes. I also don't think it should be classed with heroin and LSD at the Federal level as I think it does have some valid medicinal uses, as does cocaine and morphine.
I think people aren't looking at the real issues when marijuana laws are argued. Although regular people are being duped into doing much of the legwork, the push for the legalization of pot is intended to benefit everyone but the people who would like to be able to smoke pot, whether for health or other reasons. The only reason this issue has been allowed to get airplay and political support is because of those it will enrich: the large corporations that will grow up around legalized marijuana, state and federal tax entities, lawyers, politicians, and the non-profits who will later lead the charge against Big Marijuana, as they did with Big Tobacco. Big Marijuana is likely to be the same people we knew as Big Tobacco, by the way. If it was about being able to smoke pot, the campaign would be to repeal all of our laws against the plant. That might make sense. No, instead, what we're going to see is some pretty heavy taxes placed on the plant from the start. After a few years, some of the same people who are now lobbying for the legalization of pot will be decrying the harm of marijuana smoke, including second-hand smoke, as well as the need to keep children from being able to buy marijuana. As a result, we'll see higher and higher taxes. Politicians, for or against, will have an issue that they can raise funds for. Lawyers on both sides will get rich. Whereas, before legalization, growing a few plants for personal use wouldn't carry much of a penalty, once state and federal governments get into the tax game, they will ruin you. If you don't think so, try forming a small tobacco company on the side, without paying taxes. As for personal use, once a few people are found to be selling some of the pot that they were allowed to grow for personal use, greater and greater restrictions will be placed on that. Perhaps the doctors will be able to dip into the pot, as well, since medical marijuana will require a prescription. This marijuana legalization push is not what you might think it is.
Here's the kicker for me. CBD oil which is harvested from the Cannabis Sativa (hemp) plant is controlled by the FDA and is legal in all 50 states. For the most part, CBD is considered a supplement and is valued for it's medicinal values. Now, THC is derived from the Cannabis Indica plant ( marijuana) and is under the controlled substance act and therefore federally illegal. Note: Both varieties have THC and CBD but hemp is much higher in the medicinal CBD and marijuana is higher in the psychotropic THC. Now, in the states that have made marijuana use legal, the taxation on it is already in the billions of dollars and most of the platform for the legalization is that it is a medicinal plant when in fact the medicinal part (CBD) is so minimal it's barely recognized. Hemp, on the other hand, is totally legal, IS a medicinal plant and makes very little in taxation compared to it's counterpart which means it pretty much gets buried by the lobbyists and major corporations.
Maine's marijuana laws just took place in January (or maybe it was a year ago January) and already, while people were allowed to grow up to six plants for personal use, there is legislation to reduce that to three.
I'm a legal medical marijuana patient. I can tell you there are many who use products that don't get a person high. I hear discussions often with patients specifically requesting products that won't get them high. Personally, I like getting high. So I'm not one of those people.
I can not believe this is still such a topic -but like many other things the debate will continue forever. Medical marijuana, for use of chronic conditions,of course should be legal...high or no high , who cares as long as it works. It is a plant based drug, that has been used for centuries. To legalize, like alcohol, no biggie, but should carry same penalties like DUI and DWI - not everyone performs their best under the influence of any drug in the body. I have not partaken of the Weed since Jan 6, 1986...because got a hold of some really ...flipped me out, thought I would die kinda stuff. Lord please let me get thru this and I will give it up-unless i am terminal I promise! So, i have not. Now, I could not take a toke if I wanted due to the lung situation-and having given up cigarettes after 50 years..six months free. However, I did tell someone... when the time comes, make me a big pan of brownies. If I know when my time is coming... I be going out in style
Many of the legal prescription drugs have mind-altering affects; and have warning labels on them not to drive or operate any kind of machinery while taking them; so truthfully, I do not see why that would be any more of a problem if someone was taking cannabis. No matter what a person has taken as a drug, youcan be arrested for driving when your are intoxicated , whether it was something you drank or swallowed or smoked. Hemp seeds and hemp oil are one of the most healing foods on this earth, and you can legally buy those. I think that it should be totally legal for anyone to grow cannabis if they want to, and then smoke it, or eat it or put the leaves in a green smoothie, whether they do it for pain relief or to get high. What is the difference between that and making your own alcoholic drinks, when you come right down to it ? They just should not be out doing something that endangers themselves or someone else when they have gotten high, just like with any other mind-altering substance.