Heh, I wasn't sure if it was John or Jim, either way, both their careers died a long time ago...
A couple people's replies surprised me a bit. Lali, I expected you to be more against it but I'm glad to see that even though you have a personal view you also have a broader less biased view. I usually try to do the same.
And Jude, here's the link to the article and yes it did provide an age demographic it was ages 15-64:
http://mostlywater.org/canada_leads_wor ... ijuana_use
I really think that sometimes its really hard to speak on certain subjects when people haven't tried certain things. I'm certainly not minimalizing anyone who's expressed an opinion and hasn't tried drugs, I really wanted everyone's view. But like Vison said about heroin, so other drugs have really been slandered (I guess is the word). Coke for example, is, and pardon my French, fucking terrible in when its crack cocaine. The shit is bad for you, messes you up and is extremely addictive. But that's the poor man's cheap coke high. Cocaine in its pure white form is usually a bit of a status symbol here in North America. Blow, aka snorted coke, isn't really bad for you unless you take massive amounts and often. The recreational user is at little to no risk.
If fact in 1995 the World Health Organization did a huge report investigating cocaine and the results were less negative than anything and the study was basically banned. The U.S. embassador said that the U.S. would pull funding for all further WHO drug projects unless it surpressed the results of the study. Some of the study has been leaked in recent years though.
Here's a brief summary:
In March 1995 WHO/UNICRI released a briefing kit summarising the key conclusions, as a curtain raiser to the report's imminent publication.
"Health problem; from the use of legal substances, particularly alcohol and tobacco, are greater than health problems from cocaine use.
Few experts describe cocaine as invariably harmful to health. Cocaine-related problems are widely perceived to be more common and more severe for intensive, high-dosage users and very rare and much less severe for occasional, low-dosage users." (pg. 1)
So I'm sure that many smarter minds than my own should determine the continued legallity or illegallity of these substances but at the same time, they really need to open their minds to all the facts, not the biases and extreme cases. I remember another study (which I can't find now, if anyone wants it I'll look harder) which showed a statistic that those who used cocaine recreationally tend to have better mental health than the average person (and I believe mental health referred to depression proneness, personality disorders etc.)
Another note to Lali, I read yet another report (its starting to look like I spend my life reading reports), that talked about crime in relation to drugs and they said that because at the moment drugs are illegal, they're not able to determine what effect drugs have on crimes of theft in particular. As most people, even non users know, drugs tend to calm you down or wake you up, make you more perceptive etc. and doesn't usually lead to irrational behavior as on alcohol. Aka, people are much less likely to get angry on drugs than alcohol. So I don't know, you could be entirely right, or not.
I can't say which, but like Vison said about other countries which at least decriminalize certain drugs, it does tend to lead to lower crime rates. Trust me, not that I really want my (future) kids to partake of anything, I'd much rather see them smoke pot than drinking. That's purely personal though.
*E*, I'm also on board with what you said about bragging about it. I just don't like those kind of people in general. Heck, I've used some drugs since I was 16 or 17 yet I've never really said anything about it to people here until now. I epecially can't stand people who talk about being drunk. Seriously? What's cool about that? Any single person above the age of 19 (here anyway) can do that, you're not special!
Vison, the mere mention of meth usually gives me the creeps. Its my hope that if they at least legalized one or two drugs that it would lead to the lessening of bad drug, like meth, production.
If they ever did legalize it, I would be for the government regulating it, not it being something that your local convenience store would sell. That way if someone comes in to buy there are trained people there to say no and recognize symptoms to turn people away.
Something else funny, I saw Cheech, as in from Cheech and Chong, mop the floor with Anderson Cooper and Aisha Tyler last night on Celebrity Jeopardy. L.O.L.
Not all potheads are stupid.