Legalize Marijuana

[TammySue]

i work everyday in dual diagnosis -- treating incarcerated people with both a mental health diagnosis and an addiction. there are a lot of similarities between alcohol and marijuana. one is legal and one isn't, and that doesn't make much sense.

however, the pot of today is nothing like the pot of 1965. just some facts from research:

1. there's about 18 times as much active ingredient in today's pot
2. it can take 2 years for it to clear out of your brain after total sobriety
3. your brain cells get up to 400 times thicker when using pot regularly
4. regular use is defined as 3 or more joints a week
5. this is because the half life is about 3 days
6. you will be impaired for about 3-4 days in your reaction times after one joint
7. this means its like you're no longer high, but you're still driving drunk
8. some people will have panic attacks for the rest of their lives after using pot
9. some people will have paranoia triggered by pot and need treatment for it for years afterward

i could make a similar list for alcohol, and i'm not saying we shouldn't legalize pot. i'm just saying that it's not a simple and innocuous drug. it has big effects on the body. i'm undecided about legalizing it.

but i would definitely like to see it removed from the correctional setting and taken into a treatment setting instead.

[SoldierNurse]

Tammy Sue, that was an outstanding post... Thanks for your input.

[Jo Dirt]

I know a person can legally order the seeds of the plant, but they are not supposed to grow them. I work with a nurse aide who says she used to smoke it regularly before she started working, she is one of the best and most dependable workers we have.

I say let people have it. The jails are overcrowded enough so they can't even lock away the people who should really be locked away.

[wildwood flower]

I have to agree trhat mj is not a gateway drug; my husband has smoked it for better than 30 years now and I see no bad effects from it, nor does he do anything harder.If it were legal I would smoke it because in my opinion it is a mood drug. I remember the years before I was a nurse when I smoked some occasionally.I know that if we had unexpected company or an important phone call came in, we were both straight as an arrow !

[Teeituptom]

It is time to end the prohibition of marijuana. For over 5000 years its good as a medicine has been well documented. The only reason when you research it as to why Marijuana was made illegal, started with a big push from the Cotton industry. The fibers from MJ, or Hemp are actually quite usefull in making everything from rope to paper to clothing. Its easier to grow, needs less insecticides and herbicides to grow. Cotton industry as feeling the pressure. Did you know that the Declaration of Independence is actually printed on Marijuana fiber paper.
The benefits of marijuana has shown to be beneficial to sufferers of many illnesses.This has been very well deomonstrated in research. They are too numerous to mention. It is also time to empty our prisons of people who are in there for possession of marijuana. That accounts for over 50 percent of the entire prison population. Look at all the tax money we would save there, use it for health and education maybe. My scrubs that I wear, are bought from an company that uses Hemp as a cloth. They make wonderfull scrubs, they hold their color better, are softer, and last longer than ones made with cotton. Overall as cloth for clothing I find Hemp to be superior to cotton.
The only paranoia and anxiety I see related to Pot are that people are afraid of being "Busted" it is illegal with far harsher than deserved penalties. lets face, You get busted 3 times for possession, you violate the 3 strikes rule. That means life in prison. Does this truly seem fair to anyone. I do not see how this can be.

[amberdouglas]

First, the declaration of independance is NOT written on hemp, this is an unrban legand not a fact, it is written on parchment and is on diplay in the national archives.
Second, there are MANY other drugs that can be used to treat CA patient that are more effective and more pleasant that Marijuana, (like marinol as was suggested earlier).
Third, I HAVE seen people die from being an addict to marijuana...my sister's husband and father of my 3 neices and nephew killed himself and his brother in a vehicle accident on father's day 4 years ago becasue he was high and "had" to have more.
Its dangerous and it DOES kill. Keep it illegial.

[nursinghumor]

Originally Posted by Teeituptom

The only reason when you research it as to why Marijuana was made illegal, started with a big push from the Cotton industry. The fibers from MJ, or Hemp are actually quite usefull in making everything from rope to paper to clothing. Its easier to grow, needs less insecticides and herbicides to grow. Cotton industry as feeling the pressure. Did you know that the Declaration of Independence is actually printed on Marijuana fiber paper.

Interesting, had never heard of that before. Wouldn't have been the first time big business decided to quash innovation in order to maintain the status quo (and their own profits).

Think claiming the declaration was written on it is going bit too far though.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[nursinghumor]

Originally Posted by Teeituptom

It is also time to empty our prisons of people who are in there for possession of marijuana. That accounts for over 50 percent of the entire prison population. Look at all the tax money we would save there, use it for health and education maybe.

Care to provide the source of those statistics Tee?

I think long probations, house arrest with electronic bracelet monitoring would be a much cheaper alternative. If we've learned anything about prisons, it that they do little to reform inmates.

Legalizing it would open up a new pandora's box. Give it limited use for prescription medical purposes, that is as far as I would go.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[amberdouglas]

Originally Posted by Teeituptom

It is also time to empty our prisons of people who are in there for possession of marijuana. That accounts for over 50 percent of the entire prison population.

Half of the prison population are in for non-violent crimes, and 20% are in for DRUG charges, not neccesarily marijuana charges.


Fellner, Jamie. "US Addiction to Incarceration Puts 2.3 Million in Prison". Human Rights Watch. US Addiction to Incarceration Puts 2.3 Million in Prison | Human Rights Watch.

[ppanchorage]

Who cares if someone uses or smokes? Not me. As long as it doesn't interfere with my life - driving under the influence, etc, etc. Statistics can be made to say anything. I truly don't care. I hate to criminalize any drug. Other countries don't and they don't fill their prisons with drug addicts and/or users. What's the difference in paying to house them in a prison and giving them free health care? I prefer the later. At least they have a possibility of a future with health care in lieu of prison. And I have rarely - if ever - seen any trauma (in the OR) from pot but TONS from alcohol. TONS. So---- there ya are. I really don't care if the girl next door smokes pot. Just don't.