Posted on 08/28/2006 7:29:35 AM PDT by tang0r
It turns out that alcohol is legal for the simplest, most nostalgic, and most American reason of all. Despite its risks and harmful side-effects, adults are reserved right to drink because they are independent adults in a free country. For all of the empty rhetoric about economics and black markets, the end of Prohibition was due to a single principle: even if drinking may be bad for society, government has no right to keep the people from doing it. The ability to get drunk is an inalienable right that we have forever confirmed with the 18th Amendment.
(Excerpt) Read more at prometheusinstitute.net ...
Yeah. When I was young and foolish, I was known to hit a joint every now and again. I remember being high and driving down the interstate at 25 miles per hour for lord who knows how long without realizing it.
Great drivers.
APf
They won't turn you in but they also will not hire you and if you do pass will fire you in a second if you fail subsequent tests.
Only a matter of time before some attorney makes a drug test part of his civil suit litigation in accidents.
Drink enough and it will impair your ability to live.
Drink the right amount and you will live longer.
There are clearly not enough drug sniffing dogs deployed in public places and we need enough to randomly patrol neighborhoods and see what they can sniff out. We should do random drug tests at each concert venue and ball park. One period of each school day should be spent pulling students out at random. Anyone who has ever been in possession should have drug testing for at least ten years until they prove they are no longer using.
We'll win this war if we have to go bankrupt doing it.
Some of these people think they have the freedom to use this stuff. Where do they get such a ridiculous idea?
what in the world makes you think big-government nany-state liberals would advocate an increase in personal liberty?
this pie-in-the-sky fallacy is maybe the only reason Dems get elected in this country, and you help them by perpetuating the myth.
It would be interesting if one of the major parties became an advocate for personal liberty and limited government, but unfortunately both tend toward statist policies to keep their awkward coalitions voting for them.
Edited for clarity.
and CLARETy
"I remember being high and driving down the interstate at 25 miles per hour for lord who knows how long without realizing it."
All I can remember saying to myself was "Was that light Red or Green that I just went through?"
Concede it? He should shout it from the roof tops!
Pot smokers may or may not drive as badly as people under the influence of alcohol, but pot does affect depth perception. If you get rear ended or run over in a crosswalk by a pot smoker it's because he thought he was stopping 10 feet back from where he actually stopped.
Now THAT, was clever! I won't wine about it.
Alcohol is a bad thing. Drink enough and you can be impaired for a day or even two.
Marijuana, however, impairs a user for weeks. It's use is also tied to the development of schizophrenia and clinical depression.
Equating the two is pointless.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Both are powerful drugs which, used improperly can lead to serious negative consequences. The difference between them is in legal precedent. Alcohol has always been legal (excepting prohibition which is another great example of the power of precedent), and weed has always been illegal. Logically, neither should be legal, and if introduced now, would never get past the FDA.
What would the Mexican Drug Cartels do BUMP?
"Like alcohol? So they are the same, kinda?"
Except that it is not the same. The effects of Marijuana are much more insidous. (Sorry for the cut and paste but I gotta get going for the day)
Addictive effects
Marijuana use affects dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in the brain's pleasure producing or reward mechanism, which helps explain its potential for dependency.
Memory impairment
Marijuana use can negatively affect short-term memory, especially memories trying to be recovered during the time when one was using this drug.
Amotivational syndrome
Since testosterone levels are temporarily lowered, users of marijuana don't feel like doing much besides eating and hanging out with the small group of friends with which they are most comfortable.
Disease
Long-term marijuana use can cause irreversible changes in both male and female reproductive organs, such as lowered sperm count in men and altered shape of the uterus in women. Lung cancer, emphysema, and lowered immune system responses, such as decreased white blood cell count, could also result from extended marijuana use.
Mental health
Marijuana increases the risk of developing depression and/or schizophrenia the more that one uses it.
 |
| I managed to raise four kids that don't smoke pot and my reasoning with them over the years didn't have a thing to do with it's legality. I watched stoner movies with them, pointed out stoners when I saw them in public and on the school campus and let them make their own decision. I could truly not care more or less whether it is legal or illegal, but my preference would be for fewer laws and simply more responsible people. |
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.