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The Cannabis Catastrophe (Pot softens brains: Stoners don't care)
The Daily Mail [UK] ^ | January 26 2003 | Melanie Phillips

Posted on 01/26/2004 2:36:49 PM PST by quidnunc

As David Blunkett contemplates the chaos and fury triggered by his decision to downgrade the law on cannabis, he could do worse than consider the case of Dominique Lansdowne.

Eleven years ago, when she was 18, the former care assistant from Swindon started smoking cannabis once a week. ‘After a couple of weeks, I found it was addictive’, she said. ‘As soon as you start you get the feeling you’re completely relaxed and calm, but then you crave it. I used it more and more until I was smoking it every day. Then I couldn’t work because I was too stoned all the time. I was so paranoid I couldn’t leave the house.

‘I haven’t worked for the past six years. I lost all my friends and nearly lost my family. I couldn’t afford to pay my mortgage, my house was repossessed, I had to live in a hostel. I was in hospital three times, and couldn’t cope at all in the community. I had no social skills left. My life was in tatters. I didn’t stop completely until two years ago.

‘I still take anti-psychotics, antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, and will probably have to take medication for the rest of my life. I’m positive cannabis was the cause; I became paranoid as soon as I started smoking it. I’ve known hundreds of people who smoke it; all of them have some kind of paranoia or a problem, whether they recognise it or not.’

All of which makes it truly extraordinary that this Thursday, cannabis will be downgraded from a class B to a class C drug.

The Home Secretary’s move has delighted the drug legalisers — but astonished and horrified those like Dominique, who know the truth about its effects.

Tory leader Michael Howard has boldly declared that a future Conservative government will reverse the policy. Yet Mr Blunkett’s so called ‘reform’ has already caused many people mistakenly to believe cannabis is now legal or safe to use.

Despite ministers’ desperate insistence that it remains illegal and dangerous, putting cannabis in the same category as slimming pills, painkillers, tranquillisers and anabolic steroids sends the inescapable signal that it is not very dangerous after all.

Dominique Lansdowne knows what nonsense this is. Before she used cannabis, she had not even smoked tobacco; afterwards she also tried speed, LSD and ecstasy. ‘I would never have touched hard drugs if I hadn’t taken cannabis. Reclassification is really dreadful and sad because the government is saying cannabis isn’t that bad and so people are going to take it thinking it’s not going to do them any harm.’

-snip-

(Excerpt) Read more at melaniephillips.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cannabis; marijuana; needlessexcerpt; pot; wodlist
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To: Monty22
I just did a quick search on "hashish assassin" and I see plenty of historical references that back your post from Webster's. I don't know why everyone is getting so angry at you, kill the messenger, I guess. lol
121 posted on 01/26/2004 4:53:34 PM PST by #3Fan
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To: little jeremiah
You can keep punishing, but you won't stop the crime. You can keep eradicating but you won'i stop production.

How many shall we kill? How many shall we imprison? What addictions shall we make illegal? Religion is an addiction, so is love. Shall we kill all addicts?

The problem is that even though your solution sounds effective, the do gooders will carry it to extremes.

Keep in mind that we are the only free country in world history to wage this kind war against our own citizens.

This type of authoritarianism has previously been the method employed by tyrants to get rid of non conformists.

If you really want to end drug abuse you must end freedom. Only then will we have a safe and sane world for the Borg!
122 posted on 01/26/2004 4:53:52 PM PST by LittleJoe
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To: missyme
Before the coming of the white and black people the American people were deeply into the use of over 200 intoxicating or hallucinogenic substances.

The only white people the Indians ever met who were half way decent about it were the Saami. They were into Amanita Muscaria, an hallucinogenic mushroom that grows in the Northlands of the Old World.

SEE: Santa Claus, Raindeer Man, Herb Woman, Saami ~

Most recently my research into the matter has revealed to me that the Nanticoke Indians suffer from many of the same genetically based ailments as do the Saami. I believe this starts with the founding of New Sweden in Delaware ~ place had 103 guys, 5 spoke Swedish, 98 spoke "FINN", also known at that time among the Swedes as one of the 9 Saami languages.

Oh, yes, those 98 Saami had iron implements, knowledge of higher orders of technology, how to engage in foreign trade with the large boats then ranging up and down Chesapeake Bay, etc. No doubt their attention was highly desirable in their day.

The present day chief settlement of the Nanticoke is Millsboro, DE. Each year they have a cultural festival celebrating the old times. Plan to attend.

123 posted on 01/26/2004 4:54:34 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: #3Fan
Seriously, anyone that dares offend the allmighty pot god gets skewered by the followers. It's like going to mecca and yelling 'allah sucks'.
124 posted on 01/26/2004 4:54:47 PM PST by Monty22
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To: Monty22
Seriously, anyone that dares offend the allmighty pot god gets skewered by the followers. It's like going to mecca and yelling 'allah sucks'.

LOL And this author is right about the paranoia. There are different degrees of it I'm sure but I have always noticed that stoners are spooked easily by things like mud puddles. lol

125 posted on 01/26/2004 4:57:08 PM PST by #3Fan
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To: Cultural Jihad
Mohammad, in the Koran, objects to drugs. Later on cooler heads prevailed and these injunctions were rejected except with regard to alcohol (most of the time unless convenience otherwise dictates).

Muammar Khadaffi is reputed to be a total heroin junky (for example), and you can buy a beer in Egypt quite openly. They make wine in Algeria. It's for sale in the local wine store in fact.

Stoners are a widespread phenomenon in virtually all Moslem nations. I am thinking, too, of the guys in Afghanistan who smoke opium laced MJ sticks!

126 posted on 01/26/2004 4:57:50 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: Monty22
Well, now you're being ridiculous. Most of those things you can also find as commandments from God in the Old Testament. You just want to piggyback onto the bigotry against Islam to justify your angst over cannabis. Of course, you are free to rant about how damaging the drug can be, as indeed it can be, but you are not free to malign a billion peaceful and successful members of a valid religion in doing so.

When 911 happened it didn't take long for the pro-drug people to scream about how the WOD needs to end, as well as traffic tickets, since we are fighting a war against terrorists, and we can't fight against crime and terrorists at the same time, yada yada. Now we see others claiming that since there are terrorists out there that they must be jacked up on hashish and all users of hashish must therefore be killers, too.

As I said, it's all ridiculous.

127 posted on 01/26/2004 4:59:48 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: Cultural Jihad
I wasn't saying that islam is bad because of pot.

I said it's bad anyway, and they also use pot.

Not using one to justify the other. Just that both are bad..
128 posted on 01/26/2004 5:00:41 PM PST by Monty22
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To: muawiyah
If you don't mind me asking are you Indian? I studied alot of the American Indian Culture it's fascinating and I enjoy attending there cultural events...
129 posted on 01/26/2004 5:00:54 PM PST by missyme
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To: tacticalogic
[ You walked in here on 3 legs, and two of 'em have "Dogma" written all over them. ]

LoooooL....

130 posted on 01/26/2004 5:00:55 PM PST by hosepipe
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To: Monty22
First of all Have you smoked Marijuana? if you did then when? and what for? back up your statements....
131 posted on 01/26/2004 5:02:26 PM PST by missyme
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To: missyme
I never have.

132 posted on 01/26/2004 5:02:54 PM PST by Monty22
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To: quidnunc
Hey man, ya got any Cheetos and M&Ms?
133 posted on 01/26/2004 5:04:07 PM PST by savedbygrace
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To: Monty22
Then how do you know the pros and cons?
134 posted on 01/26/2004 5:04:10 PM PST by missyme
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To: missyme
We've dug up a few ancestors here and there ~ bunch of them were Infantry Scouts during the American Revolution. They had white and Indian ancestors themselves.
135 posted on 01/26/2004 5:04:13 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: Monty22
In reality, neither of them are bad in and of themselves.
136 posted on 01/26/2004 5:04:21 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: Huck; Devil_Anse
Hey, why don't y'all come over here? I have several bo- um, I mean water pipes.
137 posted on 01/26/2004 5:04:39 PM PST by Xenalyte (I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
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To: missyme
I think all Muslims should become "Pot Heads" listen to The Who and practice yoga. What a mellow world we would have...

While I agree that keeping the islamofascists stoned out of their so-called minds is a good idea, the Who are anything BUT mellow! Maybe some lesbo folk music might work...

138 posted on 01/26/2004 5:05:39 PM PST by NYC GOP Chick (Kaddafi is such a whack job that he never promoted himself past Colonel!)
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To: missyme
Observation of users and other objective data.

I don't have to do crack either to study it.
139 posted on 01/26/2004 5:05:50 PM PST by Monty22
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To: Monty22
Searched the web for islam + marijuana. Results 1 - 10 of about 73,500. Search took 0.37 seconds

Just for kicks, I Googled "george w. bush" and "moron." I got about 24,400 hits in a search that took 0.3 seconds.

That lots of people post it online don't make it so.
140 posted on 01/26/2004 5:06:27 PM PST by Xenalyte (I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
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