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stupid weed


Question Posted Tuesday September 30 2008, 6:50 pm

15/f

i really hate when people smoke weed. the thing is like everyone i'm around smokes it. i don't know why it bothers me so much because it really doesn't do anything to you but it just bothers me soooo much. i think it's just because if its people i care about i don't want them to get hurt or get caught. does any one know how i can make it not bother me when it's people who i don't care about as much as like my boyfriend or best friend? or to not even worry if it is them?

or just give me all the bad things it does and that can reassure me that its stupid.

ha i know i might sound crazy right now butttt i don't want to get peer pressured so i want to know all the bad things about it.


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MADISAN answered Thursday October 2 2008, 1:07 pm:
Why don't you try and open your mind and ask about the positive things about it? One cannot have a valuable opinion when they don't know both arguments of the debate.

Marijuana is not stupid. Marijuana does nothing bad to you. Marijuana is a plant that is grown in the ground. Marijuana houses THC, which is put into pills and given to cancer patients to ease them out of pain.

Read up before you judge.

MARIJUANA MYTHS
by Paul Hager
Chair, ICLU Drug Task Force
1. Marijuana causes brain damage
The most celebrated study that claims to show brain damage is the rhesus monkey study of Dr. Robert Heath, done in the late 1970s. This study was reviewed by a distinguished panel of scientists sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. Their results were published under the title, Marijuana and Health in 1982. Heath's work was sharply criticized for its insufficient sample size (only four monkeys), its failure to control experimental bias, and the misidentification of normal monkey brain structure as "damaged". Actual studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no evidence of brain damage. For example, two studies from 1977, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana. That same year, the American Medical Association (AMA) officially came out in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. That's not the sort of thing you'd expect if the AMA thought marijuana damaged the brain.

2. Marijuana damages the reproductive system
This claim is based chiefly on the work of Dr. Gabriel Nahas, who experimented with tissue (cells) isolated in petri dishes, and the work of researchers who dosed animals with near-lethal amounts of cannabinoids (i.e., the intoxicating part of marijuana). Nahas' generalizations from his petri dishes to human beings have been rejected by the scientific community as being invalid. In the case of the animal experiments, the animals that survived their ordeal returned to normal within 30 days of the end of the experiment. Studies of actual human populations have failed to demonstrate that marijuana adversely affects the reproductive system.

3. Marijuana is a "gateway" drug-it leads to hard drugs
This is one of the more persistent myths. A real world example of what happens when marijuana is readily available can be found in Holland. The Dutch partially legalized marijuana in the 1970s. Since then, hard drug use-heroin and cocaine-have DECLINED substantially. If marijuana really were a gateway drug, one would have expected use of hard drugs to have gone up, not down. This apparent "negative gateway" effect has also been observed in the United States. Studies done in the early 1970s showed a negative correlation between use of marijuana and use of alcohol. A 1993 Rand Corporation study that compared drug use in states that had decriminalized marijuana versus those that had not, found that where marijuana was more available-the states that had decriminalized-hard drug abuse as measured by emergency room episodes decreased. In short, what science and actual experience tell us is that marijuana tends to substitute for the much more dangerous hard drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin.

4. Marijuana suppresses the immune system
Like the studies claiming to show damage to the reproductive system, this myth is based on studies where animals were given extremely high-in many cases, near-lethal-doses of cannabinoids. These results have never been duplicated in human beings. Interestingly, two studies done in 1978 and one done in 1988 showed that hashish and marijuana may have actually stimulated the immune system in the people studied.

5. Marijuana is much more dangerous than tobacco
Smoked marijuana contains about the same amount of carcinogens as does an equivalent amount of tobacco. It should be remembered, however, that a heavy tobacco smoker consumes much more tobacco than a heavy marijuana smoker consumes marijuana. This is because smoked tobacco, with a 90% addiction rate, is the most addictive of all drugs while marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. Two other factors are important. The first is that paraphernalia laws directed against marijuana users make it difficult to smoke safely. These laws make water pipes and bongs, which filter some of the carcinogens out of the smoke, illegal and, hence, unavailable. The second is that, if marijuana were legal, it would be more economical to have cannabis drinks like bhang (a traditional drink in the Middle East) or tea which are totally non-carcinogenic. This is in stark contrast with "smokeless" tobacco products like snuff which can cause cancer of the mouth and throat. When all of these facts are taken together, it can be clearly seen that the reverse is true: marijuana is much SAFER than tobacco.

6. Legal marijuana would cause carnage on the highways
Although marijuana, when used to intoxication, does impair performance in a manner similar to alcohol, actual studies of the effect of marijuana on the automobile accident rate suggest that it poses LESS of a hazard than alcohol. When a random sample of fatal accident victims was studied, it was initially found that marijuana was associated with RELATIVELY as many accidents as alcohol. In other words, the number of accident victims intoxicated on marijuana relative to the number of marijuana users in society gave a ratio similar to that for accident victims intoxicated on alcohol relative to the total number of alcohol users. However, a closer examination of the victims revealed that around 85% of the people intoxicated on marijuana WERE ALSO INTOXICATED ON ALCOHOL. For people only intoxicated on marijuana, the rate was much lower than for alcohol alone. This finding has been supported by other research using completely different methods. For example, an economic analysis of the effects of decriminalization on marijuana usage found that states that had reduced penalties for marijuana possession experienced a rise in marijuana use and a decline in alcohol use with the result that fatal highway accidents decreased. This would suggest that, far from causing "carnage", legal marijuana might actually save lives.

7. Marijuana "flattens" human brainwaves
This is an out-and-out lie perpetrated by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. A few years ago, they ran a TV ad that purported to show, first, a normal human brainwave, and second, a flat brainwave from a 14-year-old "on marijuana". When researchers called up the TV networks to complain about this commercial, the Partnership had to pull it from the air. It seems that the Partnership faked the flat "marijuana brainwave". In reality, marijuana has the effect of slightly INCREASING alpha wave activity. Alpha waves are associated with meditative and relaxed states which are, in turn, often associated with human creativity.

8. Marijuana is more potent today than in the past
This myth is the result of bad data. The researchers who made the claim of increased potency used as their baseline the THC content of marijuana seized by police in the early 1970s. Poor storage of this marijuana in un-air conditioned evidence rooms caused it to deteriorate and decline in potency before any chemical assay was performed. Contemporaneous, independent assays of unseized "street" marijuana from the early 1970s showed a potency equivalent to that of modern "street" marijuana. Actually, the most potent form of this drug that was generally available was sold legally in the 1920s and 1930s by the pharmaceutical company Smith-Klein under the name, "American Cannabis".

9. Marijuana impairs short-term memory
This is true but misleading. Any impairment of short-term memory disappears when one is no longer under the influence of marijuana. Often, the short-term memory effect is paired with a reference to Dr. Heath's poor rhesus monkeys to imply that the condition is permanent.

10. Marijuana lingers in the body like DDT
This is also true but misleading. Cannabinoids are fat soluble as are innumerable nutrients and, yes, some poisons like DDT. For example, the essential nutrient, Vitamin A, is fat soluble but one never hears people who favor marijuana prohibition making this comparison.

11. There are over a thousand chemicals in marijuana smoke
Again, true but misleading. The 31 August 1990 issue of the magazine Science notes that of the over 800 volatile chemicals present in roasted COFFEE, only 21 have actually been tested on animals and 16 of these cause cancer in rodents. Yet, coffee remains legal and is generally considered fairly safe.

12. No one has ever died of a marijuana overdose
This is true. It was put in to see if you are paying attention. Animal tests have revealed that extremely high doses of cannabinoids are needed to have lethal effect. This has led scientists to conclude that the ratio of the amount of cannabinoids necessary to get a person intoxicated (i.e., stoned) relative to the amount necessary to kill them is 1 to 40,000. In other words, to overdose, you would have to consume 40,000 times as much marijuana as you needed to get stoned. In contrast, the ratio for alcohol varies between 1 to 4 and 1 to 10. It is easy to see how upwards of 5000 people die from alcohol overdoses every year and no one EVER dies of marijuana overdoses.

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iiL0VEY0U answered Thursday October 2 2008, 10:47 am:
Hmm I've read the other one's and they have a few things right -
Smokeing weed could ruin your life but then again It could also make it better.
I know that sounds stupid but it's true.
If your any one who has had a bad life or near it, You prolly smoke weed.
1. Because It makes you care free.
2. Because it makes you laugh at stupid things?

It is very stupid to smoke weed I don't think it could kill you or harm you but that's me.
Everyone thinks different.
I've tired it!- NOBODY DIED.
actually i know alot- of people who do it.
& their really SMART. it doesn't make you dumb.
but it does make you for get LITTLE things.
Don't get me wrong here I'm not saying it's okay to smoke a blunt, & I'm not saying it's not okay.
being addicted to things runs in my family,
I AM NOT ADDICTED TO WEED not in any kind of way and of done it over 5 times i do it because I WANT TO- not because I think it's cool.
Don't let other people tell you what you should & shouldn't do.
but Before you smoke a fillie THINK ABOUT IT!
& Don't judge others because they do it sweetie.
I hope i helped.
<3

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MLangowski answered Thursday October 2 2008, 9:49 am:
Good for you for NOT smoking weed. Many people believe that weed doesn't do anything to you simply because it's not addictive. That's not true AT ALL.

-Smoking one blunt is the same as smoking 4 cigarettes at once so your lungs are taking a huge beating.

-It kills many, many brain cells. Why do you think the stereotypical pot smoker is always dumb as a board?

-It's a gateway drug so A LOT of people who smoke drugs like heroin or cocaine started off smoking weed.

-Weed inhibits your ability to learn and absorb information so if you plan on going to college, stay off the grass.

-Many, many people who use it end up getting the munchies so there's a good chance that those who smoke regularly are going to gain weight.

-It can destroy your short term memory

-It can cause anxiety and panic attacks.

-While it's not considered "addictive" there is a proven psychological dependency that comes with it.

-Those who take it have a MUCH greater risk of getting cancer.

There are probably MANY more negative affects but those are just the ones that I can think of. Again, it's awesome that you aren't just following the crowd and doing something that is VERY bad for you. So many people think that weed isn't harmful which is NOT the case at all.

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xcheerbabex108 answered Wednesday October 1 2008, 6:09 pm:
DON'T BE STUPID ENOUGH TO GET PRESSURED!
Before i give you the facts, let me remind you that you need to remember your morals, know the facts, and know that you CAN say no. Yes isn't an option.

-Weed can cause increased heart rate and make some users extremely anxious or paranoid.
abovetheinfluence.
-Affects your short-term memory
-Kills brain cells!
-Research found that students with an average grade of ā€œDā€ or below were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the past year as students who reported an average grade of ā€œA.ā€
-abovetheinfluence.
-Is a gateway to other, and even more serious, drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, etc.
-Makes you lazy and unmotivated
-Poor judgement
-High distractions
- Young people who use marijuana weekly have double the risk of depression later in life.
abovetheinfluence.

More Facts (all from abovetheinfluence.com) :

Marijuana has some of the same cancer-causing substances as tobacco. One joint can deliver four times as much cancer-causing tar as one cigarette.

Teens age 12 to 17 who regularly smoke marijuana were shown to be three times more likely than non-users to have suicidal thoughts.

Can you become addicted to marijuana? Actually, yes. More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.

Know that there are more teens out there than you think that do NOT smoke pot or do drugs.

GOOD LUCK!
kitty

[ xcheerbabex108's advice column | Ask xcheerbabex108 A Question
]



sportsgirl561 answered Wednesday October 1 2008, 6:06 pm:
weed ruins your life. that's all there is to it, and you've obviously heard that before, but i mean that is the truth and it's never going to change. just keep in mind that you're the smart one, and in the future, you'll love yourself because most people your age live for the moment, and not the future, and they think it's so cool, but they're just going to grow up like trash, and i'm sorry that your boyfriend and bestfriend smoke, but just continue thinking that weed is ridiculous, because trust me, it is.

wow i probably sound like a really weird adult who doesn't understand anything, but i'm actually the same age you are and everything. haha believe it or not.

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