Booze Industry Says "Don't Smoke That Doobie"

my 30 something cousin (4.00 / 5)

was arrested with pot in his car almost 2 years ago. He was in the drivers seat in a parking lot. The court case was continued for over a fucking year. What a scam..He had to pay a fine,do community service and taking some kind of lame-o class for addicts. Oh and he lost his drivers license for 3 months. Everyone connected to this makes money including the lawyers...

I know how you feel about your friend. At the time of my husbands suicide, he was on 8 different meds for depression.I don't have to tell you what these meds cost. For all the good it did, he would have been better smoking weed.

Did you read that the Republicans put up a web site to get ideas for what changes people want 2 see The number one change?
decriminalize or legalize pot.

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by: LeeN @ Tue Sep 21, 2010 at 11:59:58 AM UTC

hmmm, seems to me, when the Dems (4.00 / 5)

asked the same question, legalizing pot was also at or near the top of the list. the admin laughed it off as DFH.

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by: nycstray @ Tue Sep 21, 2010 at 16:28:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

oh, the irony (4.00 / 3)

This country is full of people who are smoking pot and in the closet about it, including Republicans. Hypocritical assholes.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 05:55:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

oh, yes; the pills (4.00 / 3)

The pills they invented last Tuesday. The pills about which they cherrypick the clinical trials to publish, because otherwise Big Pharma has a hissy fit and pulls its ads from the medical journals.

The ones where the real results demonstrate they're not much better than placebos, in double blind trials.

The pills that, still, have real side affects; unpleasant ones.

The pills they charge all that money for.

The pills that people are hustled into taking, and then hassled to keep taking, because their affects are deadened, and people think they're "better" because they don't look upset anymore.

The pills that nobody really knows much about the side effects from, until the public has been used as guinea pigs for long enough.

Those pills.

(caveat; the grammar in this comment is horrible, but my style slips when I'm writing about something I'm angry about, at times)

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 06:05:04 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

yay (4.00 / 3)

I used to smoke pot, but I live where it's just too dangerous to do so illegally.

My mental health has gone downhill since I quit.

When I did stop, I'd gotten to the point where I smoked about a quarter of a pinner a day. That made a difference. That helped with the depression, it helped with the ADD.

A quarter of a pinner a day.

I was totally in control of this self-medication, I could keep a quarter of an ounce around for a month. And ever since I've stopped, things have gone downhill (I mentioned that already, but it bears repeating).

I did not stop by choice; I stopped because it's illegal and I live in a conservative area and I don't want to try to buy from strangers, on the street, etc.

If I lived where I could get it legally, or only risk a misdemeanor charge, or somewhere the laws were ignored, I'd start smoking a quarter of a pinner a day in a New York Minute.

Thanks for the essay, Jill. Right effing on.


"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 05:53:38 AM UTC

I've been known to keep... (4.00 / 3)

...a jay (sly grin...) or six in a checkbook box for weeks at a time.

I don't smoke often, but every once in a while or so I'll pick up an eighth.  Roll 'em, stash 'em, and use 'em when necessary.  And it ain't recreational (it was as a teen, but not now), it's pain management.

Fuck yeah I self medicate.  And it helps with my skin condition.  Psoriasis and eczema (and my liver problems).  It doesn't clear the skin obviously, but it helps deal with the constant and brutal pain that defines my existence during the ever more regular flare-ups these days.

Instead of spending $320 a month on topical corticosteroids from the pharmacy, I can stretch it out to $320 three or four times a year.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 06:07:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

How unpatriotic of you (4.00 / 3)

I've never experienced it helping with physical pain management, but so many people have.

But emotional pain management? Boy howdy. I hate the government.

Corticosteroids sends up red flags for me. You can self-medicate with grass indefinitely, but that shit starts causing problems after awhile, no?

Dog, I'm sorry you're having so much trouble, Jay.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 06:41:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

But see there's the thing... (4.00 / 4)

I used to self medicate with alcohol for a while.  Alcohol is, of course, legal and there are 'dipensaries' on 80 million street corners in the US.  And alcohol actually kills, weed doesn't.

No problems with weed, the stuff has never hurt anybody, as far as I know, outside of the lifelong legal damage caused to those caught up in the current battle pushed by so-called 'Conservative' Culture Warriors... who are all about "personal freedom" except of course for when it comes to what a woman does with her uterus or what a person smokes in their homes or who any given person loves / chooses to have sex with and etc etc etc.  In those cases, they'll tell you just exactly how their imaginary friend in the sky wants you to live (or die)...

And Their Way is The Only Way, of course.

I know drugs.  I've stayed away from them my whole life, except for alcohol and tobacco.  Two of the deadliest drugs in the world, btw, but they're okay because they have Big Money behind them.

My childhood best friend was coked up 24/7 for months before he hung himself a few days shy of his 21st birthday.  Coming up on 10 years there, in a few weeks.

I stopped hanging out with another childhood friend of mine around the same time, because every time I saw him he was rolling on E (ecstasy) and all he'd do was stare at the ceiling and smile and drool.  Or he was tripping.  Shit got tired right quick after awhile.

At least when we smoked up, we'd have stimulating discussions about White Castle and Conrail and Bill Clinton and the New Jersey Devils and Clinton Road and the Passaic River and Jungle Habitat and Six Flags Great Adventure and White Manna sliders and Taylor Ham... and Bacon, Egg & Cheese on a hard roll, salt pepper ketchup.

And that shit always made sense at the time, too!

;)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 08:21:04 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I did coke for about seven years (4.00 / 3)

Bad idea. Could have bought a house with all that money. Terrible drug.

Look at THIS effer:

http://www.currentargus.com/ci...

Cat is convinced his daughter died from marijuana craziness, is all obsessed with it. This article is dumbass as all hell. I trolled him on Topix. Bite me, Woods.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Thu Sep 23, 2010 at 01:51:08 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

There are people who can't tollerate marijuana though (4.00 / 3)

I can't use the stuff. Makes me puke so bad I can't stop, heart racing, can't breathe. If I were to use much I'd probably be one of the people in the hospital or I'd be dead. Been there done that, won't ever go back.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Sep 24, 2010 at 00:06:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I can't use it either (4.00 / 2)

Gives me a sore throat and doesn't get me high - why bother?

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Fri Sep 24, 2010 at 02:15:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

people should have choices (4.00 / 1)

It helps some people a lot. Jailing them for using it doesn't do anything but make the jails money, and ruin people's lives.

The point of living in a democracy should be that nothing is made illegal without solid rationally argued cause. That goes for smoking grass as much as it does for gay sex. It's oppression plain and simple.

Meanwhile just try getting legislature passed about clean air or water supplies or controlling the use of noxious pesticides or worker rights.  

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Sep 24, 2010 at 06:45:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think it's like allergies (4.00 / 1)

some people can't eat peanut butter. Should we outlaw peanut butter? Should we put people in jail for eating it? For suggesting that it's tasty?

I'm just pissed because there are so many people in jail for marijuana. Inexcusable.  

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Sep 24, 2010 at 06:41:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm sure that the issue for me with marijuana is part sensitivity to some (4.00 / 1)

compound in the plant. The puking thing is that the stuff makes me dizzy when I've used it in the past. If I drink too much too fast and get dizzy I puke uncontrollably too.

I agree with you that the stuff should be made legal. I like my wine, beer, and when I'm feeling flush, distilled spirits. I can make my own wine and beer for home consumption. In Oregon the limit is 100 gallons/adult/household (although if I drink it as I make it, how anyone would determine how many gallons a year I'd make, I don't know). Similarly, I think that people should be able to grow marijuana for personal consumption, and I think I should be able to have a still for personal use.

Actually, in Oregon, the permiting process isn't too difficult on the state level, it's the federal government that makes it difficult and even at that I could do it if I want to set up a commercial distillery. Of course the permit is expensive, then I'd have to make all the material handling (except the still itself) out of stainless steel, pay the taxes on production, and given the land use laws in Oregon, I don't know if I'd be allowed a permit from the county for that type of production, although maybe. I think I could get a permit for a winery if I was growing the grapes onsite.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Sep 24, 2010 at 15:52:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Weed saved my life (4.00 / 4)

after enduring 6 consecutive years of a health crisis.  Started with cancer, moved on to chronic nerve pain, massive stroke, 4 operations and a physical and mental melt down.

I have pills for pain, oxy, percs, etc; pills for depression and I prefer dope.  I only use the pain pills for serious breakthrough pain, the depression is hereditary so not much choice but I'm on low doses.

I lived in NC for the last 18 months and had to buy street weed not very therapeutic, now that I'm back in CA I can buy dope varietals that specifically helps pain or depression.  Yea a lot of stoners get cards in CA but so what, people who need this medicine can get it legally.

Now if we can just get the stoners to vote in November.....  

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by: OrganicGeorge @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 16:15:14 PM UTC

I believe NJWeedman... (4.00 / 2)

...lives in California now.  He can probably help.

;)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Sep 22, 2010 at 16:43:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]