About Marijuana

[Kain Nobel]

Hello and good day folks!

This is a subject I hate to bring out in the open, with the legal controversy surrounding the 'drug' known as marijuana, but I feel it is an important and civilized topic to be brought up. What I am here to discuss is not only the issues surrounding a silly plant, but also to testify my experiences with it and how it has helped me throughout life.

A Brief History of Marijuana

I'm not going to go out of my way to write out the history of marijuana, you can do your own research or, if you're lazy, read all about it on wikipedia, but from what I've read and heard is that people all over the world have used it for thousands of years for various recreational and medical purposes. Anyways, somehow it has become illegal in many places, I can't be assed to know why, but I can tell you how it got banned in the United States.

First off, did you know that the United States forefathers had harvested hemp for materials such as rope and clothing, as well as smoked it for its calming effects? Yes, its true, it used to be no thang for a president to roll a dooby up and get stoned, there was no law preventing civilians from hitting the bong either. It wasn't until one day the leading lumber companies decided that, with hemp being so easy to grow an idiot could do it, they lobbied for Congress to make it illegal to grow and cultivate the plant as it was a threat to their business.

So yeah, when marijuana was made illegal, it wasn't because the government thought it was some satanic zombie super plant but more-so it was strictly business and propaganda as usual.

Marijuana is NOT a Gateway Drug

Actually, I hate even calling marijuana a drug (just like I hate calling french fries and cheeseburgers "drugs", even though the definition does sound loose enough encompass ANYTHING that makes a change to your mind or body, but I digress), but this whole "marijuana is a gateway drug" is just government hype to scare people away from trying it and thinking its evil. Ever see the old 60's era PSA's talking about how some dumb broad smoked a joint and then started shooting heroine right after? I'm not saying that's a fake story, but the way it was portrayed, it's as if she smoked a joint and suddenly wanted to start using needles and sniffing Elmer's Glue and cutting up lines of coke and... you get the picture. If you pay closer attention to the PSA, the joint wasn't the one pressuring her into the needle, it was that persuasive douchebag boyfriend who coerced her into doing it. So yeah, ladies, stay away from persuasive douchebag boyfriends, they're more likely to drug you up and rape you than a marijuana cigarette.

Here is the video BTW if anybody doesn't know what I'm talking about. In all honesty, this video is purely propaganda on our government's part, don't take anything too seriously here.



Here's another stupid anti-marijuana PSA that went way out of left field! Whoever was in charge of this one must've spent a hard day licking up pee and snorting ants with Ozzy Osbourne because I have no idea what correlation leeches could possibly have with people who smoke weed, it makes me cringe.



So, with that said, I tried marijuana, it didn't make me want to start shooting up black tar heroine, I'm still afraid of leeches, I've never accidentally walked off a cliff or into traffic, I've never ate or drank broken glass because I was stoned, etc. Matter of fact...

Marijuana Doesn't Make You Stupid!

Have I ever met a stupid stoner? Of course I have! But those same stupid stoners weren't very bright prior to ever touching a joint, and I doubt they'll ever figure it out on their own.

On the other hand, I've never seen somebody who was intellectually gifted suddenly turn into a retard even after years of smoking the good stuff. I was somewhat athletic in my school years, so I've seen some jocks that decided to quit sports and get blazed instead. Okay, so maybe it makes potential football stars paradigm shift out of wanting to throw around dead pig skin for million+ dollar paychecks, but its probably saving them from a future of sports injuries which can be especially devastating to the brain amongst other parts of your body.

Oh wait, some of these folks I still know and they still smoke the herb, but they're taking college courses to become somebody more important; a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, a mechanic, etc. I bet there are folks right now that visit this forum and smoke weed all day and go to a university to make something of themselves. At first, it seems like "oh it makes people lazy" but, at a second glance, perhaps it just makes people sit back and think realistically about what they want to do with their lives. Sports is fun and all, but who said you can't get stoned and experiment with splicing genomes and curing cancers instead?

Marijuana Itself Doesn't Ruin Lives

What ruins lives isn't the herb itself, but rather the strict laws and negative beliefs about it. While there are many people against a harmless crop, I'll sum them up in two majority groups with a scenario for how its bad.

The Righteous Family Unit: I'm sure this is probably a bigger issue in highly religious families than it would be for an atheist or agnostic family, but nevertheless I've seen families that have turned their backs on their next of kin because "oh Timmy was caught smoking a joint, he might as well be sucking cock for crack." Again, these so-called parents were probably raised on those silly 60's anti-drug PSAs that depicts weed to heroine and swallowing broken glass. Of course it wouldn't surprise me if these same parents carried their racist beliefs into the year 2012, but some people never learn or give up on their wars...

I guess I can't blame them for their apparent freak outs of their son or daughter coming home stoned, but somebody needs to inform the parents about what marijuana really is.

The Strong Arm of the Law: While I don't entirely trust them, I respect law enforcement for the fact that they keep our streets safer and that they're willing to put their lives on the line in the name of duty and justice. That still doesn't change the fact that charges on possession and such are harsh for a crop that is practically harmless. Its quite often that a level headed stoner gets thrown into the general population of convicted rapists, murderers and psychopaths rather than just giving them treatment.

On that note...

Marijuana Doesn't Turn You Into a Dangerous Psychopath

I'm just going to be really brief here and say that, of all the people I've known that were strictly bud smokers, I've never met one who had come down their weed high and flipped out. I've never seen anybody crave a joint so bad that they go out and suck a dick for a bowl of greenery. Certainly, I did have a girl in high school who would exchange sex for weed, but um... she was my girlfriend, what she craved was the simply hormonal passions of spring and the pleasures I bring! ;D

But my point is marijuana isn't one of those crazy habits with cravings that catch up to you and take over your mind. The folks who go around hooking for drugs and stealing AC units and copper wiring and robbing people are usually desperate for hard candy, nobody takes reefer to the same extreme as meth, heroine, Nyquil, Vicodin, cocaine, etc.

Marijuana is NOT a Cure-All

While I do believe that marijuana does have some valuable medical qualities, I feel that the whole 'medical marijuana' movement is kind of silly; we should all be able to come out and be like "Hey, this stuff isn't as bad as people think. We want this legal so we can just enjoy it, same way we like to enjoy our wine and whisky!" Hey, I'm not against the whole 'medical marijuana' movement, I never said I was! But its just funny that, in my teen years, I guess I never really thought of how therapeutic it is, I just always thought of what a great time my friends and I always had socializing while passing around a blunt. I find it mind-blowing that scientists are claiming that weed cures certain kinds of cancer, that is so awesome but, just like a Double Whopper with extra bacon, it probably has some kind of negative effect to our bodies too.

I digress, I'm glad I found Mary Jane, she freed me from the revolving door of prescription medications that had been walking in and out of my life, some which often stopped working or made things worse. It was fate, we were introduced in middle school and she cured me of most of all my anxiety and mental ills. My parents still think that all the prescription anti-depressants, sleep medications, placebo pills and talks with my shrinks cured me, but I don't have the heart to tell them they're wrong, all that ever did was cause me more frustration and misery. The day I started smoking pot is the day that I started feeling like a happy normal kid and the rest of my life up to this point has been awesome because of it, even when I stopped smoking weed things remained good.

Conclusion

Even if you don't agree with the points of my article, thank you to those who took the time to read my thoughts and my testimony on marijuana as it has helped me regain my sanity and happiness. Be responsible, be educated and stay away from liquor and hard drugs. Matter of fact, you don't even need to smoke pot to live your life, I just urge you to know that marijuana isn't the boogy man that people often believe it is.

On that note, while this article is officially over, feel free to discuss your feelings and experiences on the subject.

[ClockworkAngel]

I can't really say much on this as I've only tried marijuana once, but I know plenty of people that smoke it, and one, like you mentioned, is in his third year of studying Geographical Science at a university in Northumberland and is one of the most intelligent people I know. He just likes to chill out with a joint on the weekends and I see nothing wrong with that.
I'm totally for marijuana. Not for myself, as, like I said, I'm not exactly big on it myself, but I know people that smoke it (a reasonable number) and none of them have ever come to any harm through it.

[MetalRenard]

I won't get into this debate, I just want to say I knew some people who smoked it, and it got worse and worse, a couple ended up on cocaine. So yeah, Marijuana definitely isn't something I like.

[KasperKalamity]

i started smoking mj two years ago when i bruised a rib at wrestlig practice. my doctor told me that if Illinois was a mmj state, he could prescribe it. with a wink and a nudge, i was on my couch at home, totally baked, playing Oblivion, and smiling the biggest smile in my life.
the gateway theory was disproven back in 2008 (i think) nobody just wakes up and decides to snort rails, cocaine is a business just like any other. you have salesmen, manufacturers, transporters, brokers, and customers. if someone is going to ruin their life, it won't JUST be fo drugs, there are an innumerable amount of variables involved. I did mushrooms before i smoked weed, so that's out the window...

I like smoking marijuana because it helps me escape the confines of my normal logical mind. i think of it like this: your normal mind is a hallway with a lot of doors. you can go in one room, and come back out into the hallway. on marijuana, it turns into a crazy scooby doo hallway where you're going in one door, and coming out a different door. i enjoy it, i can handle it, i can smoke a bowl, and walk down to kmart to buy sunglasses without acting like i'm high. i don't drive high, i don't go to work high, i don't really do anything i wouldn't do drunk, and i think that's the responsible and correct way to enjoy it.

if i could replace alcohol with marijuana on a consistent basis, i would do it in a heartbeat, and the money at stake is too great for liquor companies not to bribe lawmakers to keep mj illegal. it's safer to use, and won't give you a hangover. nobody's ever smoked a joint and beat their wife, nobody's ever eaten a brownie and robbed a bank. mj is a substance of peace, love, and empathy for your fellow man, and nobody makes money when there's peace.

[KasperKalamity]

i wasn't in a miserable mindset per se, but im a very active person, and i get stir crazy if i cant work out, or run around outside. the 'miserable' part came from that, im not the type of person that can just sit around playing video games all day.

you can get addicted to anything that makes you feel good, it's just what mj does, lawmakers don't like. it causes you to feel good, and not care that you don't drive a mercedes. it's anti-capitalist. there are people addicted to fapping, coffee, chewing their tongues, working out, and counting to 42. we just consider some healthy, and some destructive. it's not that the action itself is destructive, but the effects on your life when you do it too much. moderation is key to everything.