Jeebus, aNOTHer pot thread?

[Velokid1]

This Gary Johnson fellow is interesting. Seems like a good guy so it's no wonder he isn't on the Presidential Candidate radar at all.

[

Be advised.
He has almost the same belief's/ideas as Ron Paul. They probably agree on 95%+
So whatever turned you off to Ron Paul will more than likely turn you off with him.

I also find Ron Paul interesting.

[Velokid1]

Studies aside, lungs aren't supposed to have smoke in them. It may not be as risky as tobacco, but I'd not call it physically medicinal. Mentally yes.
The question is, how to slow down the world to match the mellow gentleness that cannabis provides? I am becomming more and more unable (unwilling?) to speed up to jump onto the running box car. Or society is hurtling out of control and we all feel the desperation.

The underlying question here is this: Should the FDA continue to refuse to reschedule marijuana based on the idea that smoking it is not an acceptable mode of ingestion? They claim that smoking marijuana is harmful to lungs, but studies have repeatedly shown ZERO link between moderate use and any type of lung malady.

I think you're right that on a cellular level, no smoke can be good for your lungs. But our bodies are designed to expel harmful substances that enter it or otherwise come into contact with it, and then to heal a reasonable amount of damage done by those harmful substances. In most cases of medical use, the benefits of the compounds in marijuana outweigh the miniscule (and usually reparable) damage done by the smoking of it. A reasonable comparison would be having a B-12 injection: the needle is not good for the skin... it's not "good" to have your skin pierced. However, the skin will repair itself and the B-12 can be life-saving for people who need it.

The medicinal benefits of cannabis are extremely well-documented by the scientific community at this point, to the point that refuting their findings is pretty much absurd. I understand that most people haven't had cause yet to extensively research it, so I don't blame them for being in the dark about it. And I would be happy if all those people never come across a sick family member or friend that gave them reason to jump into such research.

The good news though is that when they do, the scientific community has been working very hard, in spite of the FDA and DEA, over the past 20 years, so there is a large body of research out there to dig into.

[BellePlaine]

Thinking about the government setting up Big Tobacco thing; hasn’t it been a pro-marijuana argument that pot could be regulated and taxed? I’m not saying that I agree with gifting corporations with such a head start, but if the law allows us to grow at home like beer brewing laws have allowed homebrewers to make small amounts of their own beer for personal use then I think that the market will take care of Big Tobacco the way that craft brewing is taking care of Big Beer. It was because Jimmy Carter corrected a clerical error on his way out of office in 1979 to allow the making of wine and beer at home, beer was left out before ’79, that started the homebrewing movement which then spawned the craft brewing movement. Craft brewing is experiencing double digit growth for the past 5 or 6 years while Big Beer’s market share is decreasing. And there are about 450,000 homebrewers in the U.S. There is such a large variety of cannabis strains and growing is relatively easy to do at home, I would think that it’s likely that a strong craft pot market could occur.

One of the headwinds against RP is that he would legalize drugs on the Federal level. Opponents/talking heads are suggesting that the only reason he is getting half of the under 30 vote is because he’ll give them pot.

[poptop tom]

Saw this article yesterday.
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/ ... tudy-shows

[steve74baywin]

Even though I look like I am spinning in circles, I am slipping into Mellow Gentle. Is it because I smoke cannabis? No.
It is because I take the time to enjoy the time ... like cannabis users do in the very act of getting high and enjoying a buzz. Now I am addicted to not rushing.

I am unable and unwilling to speed up and jump onto a running box car, because I found where the parked ones are. I see society and the marketplace owning people's time, and think that is more the crime against people's singular journeys here on Earth.

The threat of cannabis almost looks to be because it re-prioritizes people back to their God-given sensory lives instead of the manufactured helter-skelter of frantically helping others make more money.
Colin.

I have thought the same, and still do think this.

[Velokid1]

One of the headwinds against RP is that he would legalize drugs on the Federal level. Opponents/talking heads are suggesting that the only reason he is getting half of the under 30 vote is because he’ll give them pot.

What's interesting about that is that marijuana, if anything, is an "old person" drug. I'm 38 and most of the staunch users/supporters/activists that I know are older than me, in their 50s and 60s. So it's interesting that the "he'll give us pot" allure is something that seems more pronounced in the under-30 pot supporters but that older pot supporters don't find as convincing when it comes to supporting Ron Paul or not.

(That sentence sucks but hopefully you get what I'm saying.)

[Velokid1]

The threat of cannabis almost looks to be because it re-prioritizes people back to their God-given sensory lives instead of the manufactured helter-skelter of frantically helping others make more money.
Colin.

I agree that this plays a large role in the opinion people form around marijuana use. When it comes to the forces that work to keep marijuana illegal, I think the threat to corporate profits (pharma, private prisons, law enforcement budgets, etc.) are the real drive, but public opinion/perception of marijuana is a tool that the corporate forces use to keep people blinded to prohibition's true effects.

Still, public opinion is a very important tool they use, and I do think that there are many people who come to believe various classic stereotypes (the lazy stoner, the killing of brain cells, the DUI toker, the silly giggling baked idiot) primarily because they are misinterpreting marijuana's ability to remind people to stop and feel the grass between their toes. It's sad that people see no value in things like:

Giggling your head off
Staring into the clouds above you
Feeling extremely inspired by abstract thoughts or tiny epiphanies.
Having normal, healthy, colorful foods taste RRRRREEALLY good all of a sudden.

The argument seems to be that those things are a waste of time, and that that time would be better spent working another 10 hours per week instead of enjoying being alive. We value working and being product sponges more than we value breathing, moving, laughing, running, connecting, enjoying.

However... public opinion has changed drastically over the past 15 years. Full legalization of marijuana now has 50% support among Americans nationwide, according to Gallup.

[BellePlaine]

So it's interesting that the "he'll give us pot" allure is something that seems more pronounced in the under-30 pot supporters but that older pot supporters don't find as convincing when it comes to supporting Ron Paul or not.

I think what you are saying is true regardless of age; that pot supporters do or don't support Ron Paul NOT because of his possition on drugs. I think that RP supporters understand that he cannot "give us pot" but would just leave the matter up to the states. Pot would/could still remain illegal. But what is interesting is that since he has such a large young following that his opponents (and largely the MSM) explain it away because young people just want to get high. Like they can't do that now anyway.

Jeebus, aNOTHer Ron Paul thread!

[vdubyah73]

i think that as you get up in years you gain wisdom and realise there are many planks to a political platform. i can't vote for or against a politician based on one issue. that seems foolish to me. ron paul is on my radar for my vote just because he would throw a wrench into the same old, same old works.

saw a bumper sticker the other day, it really rings true.

''elect citizens not politians''

vote against incumbents that are in office 2 terms or more. after 2 terms, most are in it for the wealth gained by semi legal insider trading on wall street and the power.

[Velokid1]

So it's interesting that the "he'll give us pot" allure is something that seems more pronounced in the under-30 pot supporters but that older pot supporters don't find as convincing when it comes to supporting Ron Paul or not.

I think what you are saying is true regardless of age; that pot supporters do or don't support Ron Paul NOT because of his possition on drugs. I think that RP supporters understand that he cannot "give us pot" but would just leave the matter up to the states. Pot would/could still remain illegal. But what is interesting is that since he has such a large young following that his opponents (and largely the MSM) explain it away because young people just want to get high. Like they can't do that now anyway.

Jeebus, aNOTHer Ron Paul thread!

Every thread is an RP thread! LOL It's fine. I almost posted my VW Chicken Coop Conversion thread in Free Speech this morning, since it's likely to turn into an RP thread like all the others. :) In this case, it's very relevant to the thread.

My opinion, if anyone cares: Repeal of federal prohibition would lead to full legalization in at least half of the United States. Perhaps another 1/4 of the states would only legalize medical use and the remaining states might continue prohibition. But who wants to live in Alabama anyway? :)

[poptop tom]

The threat of cannabis almost looks to be because it re-prioritizes people back to their God-given sensory lives instead of the manufactured helter-skelter of frantically helping others make more money.
Colin.

I agree that this plays a large role in the opinion people form around marijuana use. When it comes to the forces that work to keep marijuana illegal, I think the threat to corporate profits (pharma, private prisons, law enforcement budgets, etc.) are the real drive, but public opinion/perception of marijuana is a tool that the corporate forces use to keep people blinded to prohibition's true effects.

Still, public opinion is a very important tool they use, and I do think that there are many people who come to believe various classic stereotypes (the lazy stoner, the killing of brain cells, the DUI toker, the silly giggling baked idiot) primarily because they are misinterpreting marijuana's ability to remind people to stop and feel the grass between their toes. It's sad that people see no value in things like:

Giggling your head off
Staring into the clouds above you
Feeling extremely inspired by abstract thoughts or tiny epiphanies.
Having normal, healthy, colorful feeds taste RRRRREEALLY good all of a sudden.

The argument seems to be that those things are a waste of time, and that that time would be better spent working another 10 hours per week instead of enjoying being alive. We value working and being product sponges more than we value breathing, moving, laughing, running, connecting, enjoying.

However... public opinion has changed drastically over the past 15 years. Full legalization of marijuana now has 50% support among Americans nationwide, according to Gallup.

You forgot forgetful.

[Velokid1]

Ha! Yes, I did! And I haven't been high for 4 days now, which proves that forgetfulness isn't solely the domain of high people. ;)

[Velokid1]

I sort of feel like a man should be cast out of the presidential race after handling an exchange with someone the way Mitt Romney handled this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 9cn0M_AFWg#!

[ruckman101]

http://news.yahoo.com/washington-state- ... 13060.html

And I just moved to this state.


neal

[Velokid1]

Good stuff. There are a couple (medical mj) legalization measures gaining full traction in other states this year, too. 16 states and counting.

And as the full legalization movement (and public opinion thereof) has skyrocketed over the past several years (Gallup says just over 50% of Americans favor full legalization now), Big Business (and their co-conspirator, the Federal Gov) has really ramped up their efforts to (1) suppress legalization (2) promote stiff penalties and the incarceration/rehabilitation industries and (3) put patents in place while they rush to develop synthetic "medicines" that are able to do what natural cannabis can.

They see the groundswell coming and they want to keep it as illegal as possible until THEY are ready to pull the trigger on accepting cannabis' unique, safe therapeutic uses, while they file patents that will allow them to legally pursue anyone trying to grow cannabis in their homes and turn it into tinctures, balms, oil or other concentrates. They're in an interesting position because in order to have full control over the cannabis-derived medicines market, they have to keep it illegal until the last minute, then overnight admit that it has medical value (which will force the Federal Gov to reschedule it, thus making it legal) while they concurrently release their new medicines to the market.

Their medicines will have the standard number of pharma industry side effects, whereas natural cannabis has almost none at all, and their "new" medicines will cost hundreds of dollars per month, whereas natural cannabis can be grown for pennies.

It will be interesting to see how they make their move... "Woh! We just discovered this month that cannabis may actually have legitimate medical uses... it came as a total surprise to us, we swear! Oh and by the way, we've spent the last decade doing research on a new compound called Dankaweedamyocin, and the last year paying the FDA to push it through to market. We had no idea we were doing any of that. Our researchers and lobbyists must have been sleepwalking. And we're glad they were cause we're gonna be RICH BITCH!"