Why do people still think this way?

Discussion in 'Marijuana Legalization' started by Dankblower2639, Dec 9, 2012.

  1. http://www.indystar.com/article/201...ught-risk?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p


    It's apparent that the Indiana General Assembly will consider changes to our Controlled Substances Act during the 2013 legislative session. Drug Free Marion County supports policymakers' efforts to assess the impact of laws that affect public safety, especially as they relate to the use of drugs. It is our belief that equitable punishment for the crimes associated with them is appropriate. We also believe a well-informed decision based on a full knowledge and understanding of the facts is crucial.

    The Indiana Criminal Code Evaluation Commission has submitted recommendations for the legislature that include reducing penalties for various marijuana possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors. At the same time, they are recommending harsher penalties for marijuana "grow houses," where large amounts of the drug are produced in bulk.

    With minor exceptions, we concur with the commission's recommendations. However, our general agreement with these recommendations should not be construed as an indication that marijuana is not a drug with potentially harmful consequences for individuals, families and communities.

    Although it may not be the most dangerous substance that one can ingest, marijuana is certainly not a benign drug. Its use carries with it significant implications for not only our public safety and criminal justice systems, but also education, health, treatment, businesses and our economy. Consequently, any plans to move beyond revising laws regarding possession of marijuana should be weighed very carefully against the impact they may have on all these areas of our lives.

    From a prevention standpoint, it is important to know that Indiana youth already report use of marijuana at rates higher than the rest of the nation. Marion County use rates are even higher. More than 17 percent of Indianapolis eighth-graders report using marijuana within the past month, which is more than twice the rate for the rest of Indiana. To that disturbing data, add the results of a new longitudinal study that found that regular preteen and adolescent use of marijuana reduces adult IQs by more than 8 points and the fact that youth who have used marijuana are four times more likely to get Ds rather than As on their report card. It is also significant that youth perceptions of the risk of harm from marijuana use are decreasing, which portends a continued increase in use of a substance that is known to hurt motivation, memory and learning for those young brains that are still developing.

    Claims of marijuana's potential medicinal benefits withstanding, when it is smoked, it can have adverse effects on one's health and lead to treatment for dependence or addiction. Harmful effects of use include respiratory illness, a weakened immune system, poor motor performance, cognitive impairment and increased risk of heart attack and cancer. Marijuana also is the leading cause of dependence after alcohol in the United States. In 2008, marijuana use accounted for roughly two-thirds of the Americans suffering from a substance use disorder.

    An often overlooked and understated result of marijuana use is its impact on work places and potential drain on our economy. Frequent marijuana smokers have more health problems and miss more days of work due to respiratory illnesses. Also, employers in states where medical marijuana has been approved are facing business and legal difficulties in maintaining safe workplaces when employees' use butts up against drug testing and impairment policies.

    As for legalization and taxation being a solution to our economic woes, we need look no further than the legal product often touted as the model for that proposed remedy. The total cost to the U.S. for alcohol use -- including productivity, health and crime -- is estimated to be $235 billion annually. Unfortunately, federal and state alcohol taxes raise only $14.5 billion dollars annually, or about 6 percent of the total cost to society.

    It is our contention that while crafting laws to address inequities in marijuana possession penalties is prudent, any other steps being considered are fraught with risk and consequences that require further scrutiny.
     
  2. I dont understand how anyone can believe any of this article. First of all if marijuana was legal it would be only legalized for adults. Everyone who sides with prohibition always brings up the youth. They shouldn't be smoking it anyways. And it may not be the most dangerous drug? Its been proven it's the safest drug on this planet. 0 deaths in history. How does it cause heart attacks or respiratory illness? I have yet to hear one story where someone had a heart attack or respiratory problems due to smoking weed. When ignorant people like this are still comparing it to alcohol is just flat out ridiculous. People die every day from alcohol. But that's okay to society to drink every night and kill your liver.
     

  3. Money talks and those who listen are the filthiest, most disgusting human beings on this planet.
     
  4. Honestly its getting fucking sickening. Big business can do whatever they want and get away with it, but us citizens are supposed to sit back and be controlled by selfish assholes, I'm tired of it. I was hopeful for nationwide legalization within the next 15 years but not anymore.
     

  5. Well the USA is letting its grip, slowly. Washington and Colorado have legalized already. That's 2 states more than I ever imagined!
    But this will not be the end of governments fucking people over and getting away with it. Read about Agenda 21 and you'll be fucking shocked.
     
  6. People think this way because not enough is being done to help them understand what to do - that's how.

    How do we change this? By promoting what is right, and by making a stand for the truth.
     
  7. Yeah i heard about that shit. If we actually took a stand against them to get our freedom back like this country used to have, we would surprise the fuck out of them. The gov't knows that us citizens wont do shit so they'll continue to do whatever they want.
     
  8. There is a shitload of rioting and protesting going on in the US, though. People are fed up and it shows.
    Not to mention all over the world, I recall Spain and Portugal having some really hardcore riots going on.

    Cowards are tightening their grip because they're scared. Now would be a great time to act, but people are too cozy with their lives, not understanding that it's the tomorrow that is at stake here.
     
  9. Disagree, man. I think more and more people are making a stand than ever - the recent US election had the highest voter turnout, highest youth turnout etc. In Britain, things like the 2011 riots and the student fees increases had more youth making a stand against them - it's things like Obama, like Facebook, that make this possible, and it's working.
     
  10. In the USA yes, but in Finland people don't seem to care because they have their TV and alcohol. Agenda 21 might fuck us even harder than USA, but not many seem to have even heard of it.

    Saddens me to see our people bend over after what our grandfathers and grandmothers went through in their youth. Men as young as 16 had no choice but to fight while heavily outnumbered by Soviets, with a lot of guts and sharp wit, they won that war.

    Now people are living too well, enjoying their booze. Too apathetic to care about tomorrow.
     
  11. Yeah, people are just settling with whatever life throws at them, doing what they want but aren't strong willed enough to make a name for themselves, and make a change. Just retarded how easily most people give up
     
  12. #13 Mozambiqua, Dec 10, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 10, 2012
    I do understand where you're coming from, there's a similiar mentality with regards to alcohol here in Britain as well, and I too feel like it's certainly a struggle. But that doesn't mean I don't try and point people in the right direction.

    I have a flatmate at university who drinks a lot - but in about 3 months, he's gone from drinking insane amounts to less and less. You know why? Because I keep reinforcing the message to him that he should drink because he wants to, not because someone else wants him to - and I think he's starting to realise that alcohol isn't the only thing worth enjoying in this life.

    If you can do that with one person, it'll make a difference.
     
  13. The stubborn will to hold on to the comforting lie rather than the hurtful truth. :rolleyes:



    You're doing good work, cheers! :) I try my best to inform people about these matters, of course not many dare to pay attention, knowing the wayward nature of Finns. Even the understanding of cannabis in Finland is that of what is written in the OP; extremely sure that it's a dangerous, medically useless drug only capable of killing people and making them insane.

    But I'm getting slightly optimistic about the cannabis situation in here. Even the school nurse talked to me about MMJ in a positive light. We'll have to wait until the generation of sadistic, bitter old wankers and hags to drop dead and I'm sure the MMJ laws in Finland may as well face some good reformation. ;)

    As of now it's a highly inhumane, misanthropic program. It seems that people need to be terminally ill (cancer, AIDS, multiple-schlerosis etc.) to begin with. In hope of acquiring the very rare permission to enjoy a denied human right, they'll have to go through a very wide variety of different awful chemical substances, which I think is the epitome of sadistic bullying. :mad:
     

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