papayanirvana Loc: Kauai

Nancy makes some really good points about keeping marijuana illegal.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/17/nancy-grace-people-on-pot-shoot-each-other-strangle-each-other-and-kill-whole-families/

Roger-Louisiana Loc: Slidell, LA

What a space alien.....

ottopj Loc: Annapolis, MD USA

Just keep lookin' under those rocks! You'll be amazed what you find.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

I haven't smoked this stuff since I was a teenager, but the last thing it made you is violent. Maybe some of the chemicals it's mixed with these days can have that effect, if so that's a good argument for legalising it so it can be controled.

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

I bought some Twinkes the other day. My wife asked if I was going to vote for recreational MJ next.

Sarge69
PS: HELL YES

GeneB Loc: Chattanooga Tennessee

hard to understand why you post this stuff.

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

Pot will live on regardless!

papayanirvana Loc: Kauai

..as an avid pot smoker, I like to educate myself to the dangers.

Kalskag2

Methinks Ms. Grace has watched Reefer Madness one too many times.

farmerjim Loc: Rugby, England

Sheesh! That Grace lady is deffo a space cadet :):)

Wink44 Loc: Montgomery AL

I encourage all pot heads to just smoke themselves into oblivion-- it will come faster than most think (at least to the extent that they will continue to be able to do so.) Having worked in both the treatment and education/ awareness/ prevention arena for over 20 years (and in law enforcement for 25 before that) I believe I can talk to the issue with at least some cred.
Pot proponents love to say that smoking weed never killed anyone. Try to tell that to the cops and state troopers who have pulled dead bodies out of wrecks caused by someone high on cannabis. Pot should be legalized, according to proponents, because it has medicinal qualities. True enough-- the psycho-active ingredient in pot is THC (delta-9 tetra-hydro-cannabinol) which when introduced to the blood stream via smoking (and to a lesser extent, by eating) mimics analgesic cannabinols produced naturally by the brain in response to pain stimulation- but in greatly reduced quantities and strengths. So why hasn't the pharmaceutical community responded with such a medication? In fact, it has-- Merinol (generic name, dronabinol) which has been around for decades, is a chemically pure form of synthesized THC-- very potent in its own right- that has the same effect, and when taken correctly, without the high-- a fact that most proponents really don't care to acknowledge.
Rigorous scientific studies too numerous to count have been done globally for decades regarding marijuana to identify its properties and effects, as well as risks and benefits. It does impact systems in a number of ways, and medically, it can have a beneficial impact on reducing excessive pressure on the eye's optic nerve (glaucoma) in stimulating appetite and in suppressing nausea associated with radiation and chemo in treating cancer patients, as well as other forms of serious illness and disease. For that reason, it is being evaluated and studied for it use to treat such conditions. But marijuana in such a form would not be readily recognizable; most likely it would be reduced to an oil or other pharmaceutical. But even if smoked for medicinal purposes, it is not risk-free-- see below for details.
Another argument frequently presented in defense of pot is that it is not addictive, and true enough- sort of- it is not addictive like heroin, cocaine or meth, or even alcohol. But that does not by any stretch mean that it is not addictive. Don't believe it? Check the stats for treatment centers across the nation-- the large majority treat patients for addiction to- you guessed it- marijuana- and not just because the patients were ordered into treatment by courts. So why and how is it in fact addictive? Like all addictions, it has to do with the brain. Again, see below for details.
But perhaps my favorite excuse/ rationale for use of weed is, that God put marijuana on the planet in the first place, didn't he (or she?)- and God doesn't make mistakes! Maybe so- I have no argument with God, or any other deity, regardless of gender. But God didn't pump up THC content to 15, 20 and higher percentage THC content in so-called high grade marijuana- that took decades of selective cross-breeding and hybridization by dedicated growers . Marijuana that grows in the wild typically has about 1%- more or less- THC content. One simply could not smoke enough f it to get even a mild buzz. And as the THC percentage content increases, so also does its potential to become addictive.
Finally, perhaps the single most often cited justification for smoking weed, is that marijuana is harmless, according to its proponents. That is simply not the case. Ignoring for the moment the tremendous number of carcinogens present in the smoke (so far, over 400 identified) the real damage is in the brain. Take a moment to check out brain scans using SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography- a form of imaging something roughly like PET or MRI) imaging of pot smokers, especially those who smoke regularly. What becomes immediately and glaringly apparent is the impairment and often- permanent shut-down of parts of various brain regions-- prefrontal cortex (executive function, decision making and judgment- the area of the brain that distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom) right and left temporal lobes, etc., etc., etc.
So, what happens? Brain research clearly shows that THC causes the dendrites- the connections at the end of the synapses (the extensions from neurons) that communicate electronically via the brain's neurotransmitter chemicals- notably, dopamine, serotonin, etc.- to separate farther from each other, thus resulting in a slowdown of message transmission, and often in a complete inability of dendrites to successfully transmit at all-- the electro-chemical message simply cannot bridge the expanded gap. This is the basic process used by the brain to conduct all transactions.
Don't believe it? Check out SPECT images at Dr. Daniel Amen's site. Amen is the psychologist who pioneered the use of SPECT to better diagnose and treat patients with severe mental disorders to discern exactly what was happening in the brain- a process now in use at neural treatment centers across the nation. If you're still not convinced, compare SPECT images for pot smokers with scans of schizophrenic patients-- the similarity just might surprise you!
So how does THC affect the brain of the user? THC interferes with and disrupts neural activity- communication between neurons and neural regions in the brain. When dendrites/ synapses/ neurons fail to function properly, they become damaged and shut down- either from over-load or in defense; they do not then reactivate at a later time- they are gone- as in dead. So what, you might ask? Doesn't the brain grow new replacement neurons and connectivity? Yes, it does, but just like having to replace or supplement the hard drive in your computer to replace a damaged drive or to increase storage, such new neural space is useless unless and until it is re-programmed. SPECT scans show clearly that such replacement neural areas typically don't work quite the same as the originals-- neural stimulation is often processed abnormally, meaning that your conscious perception and reaction may well be abnormal, as well. This can and does impact memory, span of attention, emotional response, etc. And as an additional consideration, one should be aware as well that the neural replacement process doesn't take place over night. On average, research shows clearly that the replacement process takes a minimum of two years- and that occurs only after total abstinence.
Consider this: your brain is what makes you, you. It provides you with your sense of consciousness, your self-awareness; it provides your ability to perceive, learn, think, communicate, and interact with others, it is for all intents and purposes, your personality. It is what drives your autonomic functions that regulate and control your temperature, your breathing, digestion, heart rate, eye sight, hearing, touch, etc., etc. etc. Imagine what life would be like without any of these. Given that, is it really worth putting it at risk to get high?
So, pot proponents-- go ahead and smoke your brains out, because that is exactly what you are doing, however gradually. But out of consideration of the rest of us, please do so at home- and stay there. But quit lying to yourselves- and the rest of us- about what you are doing- and why.

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

WOW _ I wonder what an article like this would look like if the subject was "Alcohol" - just about 1,000,000 time worse.

papayanirvana Loc: Kauai

Wink,

having worked in both the treatment and education/ awareness/ prevention arena for over 20 years (and in law enforcement for 25 before that), you can probably give us a similar comprehensive education on the dangers of alcohol.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

Wow! I hope that you are kidding.... Pot is not at all like that.

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

Really? Hey, when I was a kid I used to play around quite a bit, now I am not recommending pot and especially for kids... but I smoked daily for about 10 years, stopped when my wife became pregnant with our first child... I am not about to claim that pot made any improvements in my life, but I will damn sure make the statement that I am glad that I was smoking pot rather than drinking alcohol on a daily basis.

The two biggest problems with pot are, that it will be hard to determine when a user is operating a car under the influence as the testing is not that precise, if you have not smoked pot in a week you will still test positive. The other major problem that we currently have with pot is that it is considered a gateway drug, purely because we have made it as such. When kids smoke pot they have already stepped into the arena of illegal drugs and will be exposed to many more through association of the distribution system of illegal drugs.... if it were legal we could change this...

Puck the war on drugs, we lost that some 50 years ago just in case you have not noticed, we would do much better to fund legal activities and education programs than Mexican drug dealers and violent gangs here in our own country.