about Smoking Pot
Lying to Teens about Marijuana does more harm than good.
For those parents who are reading this in horror, I am not trying to get kids to smoke Pot. What I am doing here is trying to tell them the truth, and tell you the truth about a widely misunderstood substance. This is an opportunity for everyone to have a better understanding of reality. If you can't handle reality, stop reading this web page. There are plenty of other web sites that will tell you what you want to hear. This is not one of them.
How bad is Marijuana Really?
As compared to most drugs, Pot is the least dangerous. Pot is not an addictive drug. For those who claim it is, anything is theoretically addictive, and there are some people who can become addicted to spring water. So to put it in perspective, Pot is less addictive than coffee. I have become addicted to coffee myself and have broken the habit. You get mild headaches for a few days. I have never had any symptoms for withdrawal from Pot.Pot will give you the Munchies. You may eat more than you would normally. If you are on a diet, you should factor this in when deciding to smoke Pot. It could cause you to gain weight.
Pot is a sexual stimulant. It removes a persons inhibitions. You are more likely to agree to have sex when you are stoned. You are also more likely to not use birth control while stoned. Sometimes people get others stoned to try to get them to have sex when they normally wouldn't. If you are getting stoned with members of the opposite sex, be aware of this and realize that it can have this effect on you.
If anyone asks if you smoke Pot, Just say No! |
Pot will give you dry mouth. Have something to drink when smoking Pot.
The most dangerous thing about Pot is getting caught with it. You can go to jail. People get very weird about Pot and you can get in a lot of trouble over it. So if anyone asks if you've been smoking Pot, Just Say No!
Benefits of Marijuana
Marijuana make most people more relaxed. It relieves the clutter and tension after a hard days work or school. It mellows you out and makes you more relaxed. It heightens the imagination and improves creativity. If you have a problem with anger, Pot is usually a good drug to reduce it.
Marijuana has other medical benefits. It helps reduce problems with glaucoma. If you have cancer, it reduces nausea from chemotherapy. I had a close friend who died of cancer. His doctor prescribed Pot even though it wasn't legal. I gave him some and it allowed him to eat food again. This was three weeks before he died. I think the Pot gave him another week of quality life.
Marijuana is also safer, more effective, and has less side effects than many prescription antidepressants. Shortly after my divorce when I learned that I got a judgement for more that 100% of everything I owned, my doctor put me on Pamalor, a common antidepressant. Pamalor turned me into a zombie and made me practically impotent. I merely existed and felt nothing, had no motivation, couldn't accomplish anything, and became basically useless. After two weeks of that I got off it. Getting stoned and laid a couple time a week had a much better result. I was alert, motivated, effective, sharp, got better sleep, happy, and alive. Not all antidepressants have this same effect. However, these drugs are overperscribed and in many cases I think that an occasional joint is a better alternative to antidepressant drugs.
Marijuana is especially good for those with high stress lifestyles. The brain has a tendency to lock on to a problem and your mind gets into a mental loop where you can't stop thinking about work or some other problem. Pot can help you break the cycle and see the problem from a different perspective, or allow your mind to move on and rest allowing you to enjoy life so that you can recover and have a fresh perspective for the next day.
Marijuana can make you Smarter
When used correctly and responsibly, Pot can actually increase your ability to find new and innovative solutions to problems. |
People who think "in the box" would conclude that cancer and death are the strongest arguments and that if that doesn't work then other issues wouldn't be important. But what these in the box thinkers don't realize is that they are coloring things from their perspective. They are for the most part non-smokers who have bought the cancer and death argument and wrongly assumes that everyone else thinks like they do. But smokers see things differently. Most smokers don't even know why they started smoking because they can't remember a rational process that caused them to decide to start to smoke. That's because most people smoke because of instinctive forces which are more powerful in humans than we would like to admit. People are herd animals, and the instinct to be part of the herd is more powerful than reasoning. And those who advertise tobacco product know this all too well.
Am I saying that my web page is better than the addiction, cancer, and death web pages? No. I think those reach most people. But my Pot inspired web page reaches a significant number of additional teens that the cancer and death pages don't reach. My point in this and I hope you as the reader have understood it, is that Pot inspires this kind of analytical thinking that results in being able to think outside the box and to come up with new approaches to problem solving that compliment traditional solutions. I hope that I have made it clear by example that Pot, when used correctly and responsibly, has a mind enhancing effect. But I want to stress to all you read this that any drug, legal or not, prescription or not, from coffee to LSD, should only be used correctly and responsibly.
Marijuana can make you Dumber
Marijuana use has been associated with turning teens into mental zombies who lose all motivation. They claim that it makes it so that all you want to do is lay around and get high, that you will become like Cheech 'n Chong. There is a real correlation with lazy dopers and Pot but I'm not sure if the Pot makes you a lazy doper or if you are a lazy doper type first and are therefore attracted to Pot. Some people experience fear and paranoia while high on Pot. Some people get headaches. Marijuana does compromise certain mental abilities on a short term basis. You don't want to smoke a joint before taking a test. Therefore, if Pot is messing up your life, or you don't have the self control to use it moderately and appropriately, don't use Pot.
Drug Abuse is a Bad Idea
Drugs of all kinds have varying degrees of danger. You have to be mature and responsible when experimenting with any drug. You should never do a drug that you don't know what the effects are. And drugs should be used in moderation and under the right circumstances. You should never do any drug while driving a car, especially alcohol. If you are a teenager, one beer can make you wreck your car.
Many drugs out there are highly addictive. The most addictive drug that kills more people than any other drug is Tobacco. This drug is to be avoided at all costs. The addiction to Tobacco is much harder to break if you get hooked at a young age. Besides cancer and death, Tobacco will totally change your lifestyle. Your whole life will revolve around scheduling when and where you'll be able to smoke next.
LSD is not an addictive drug but it is very mind altering. It can be viewed as having similar characteristics as Pot by much more powerful. Mushrooms, Mescaline, and Peyote are also in the non-addictive psychedelic class of drugs. They are similar to the neurotransmitters in the brain and are more mind altering than any other drug. The experience can have a profound effect on you and should be used only with extreme caution.
Once you become addicted, you can't just quit. You become a slave to the drug. Your life revolves around getting it. This includes cigarettes. |
Teens usually have a stronger tendency to follow the crowd than adults do. You may find yourself in a situation where everyone else is doing a drug that you don't want to do. You find yourself tempted because you don't want to go to the trouble to not go along. What you may not realize is that it's kool to say that you just don't want to do whatever everyone else is doing, and not make a big deal out of it. Usually the others will just say OK and it's no big deal. In other words, you really can "Just say No." If you don't want to do a drug, don't do it. If someone gets pushy about it, tell them to fuck off!
It's your Life! Be Responsible!
What I want to make clear to you who read this is that people make choices in their lives that affect who they are and who they will become. If you make the right choices you are more likely to have a better life than if you make the wrong choices. Although you can make all the right choices and still be killed in a car accident because someone else ran a red light. But if you are smart about what you do then the odds are in your favor.
The most important thing a Teenager needs to learn is how to say NO and mean it. |
It's your life. If you screw it up, you've screwed it up. It's your fault. |
Why Marijuana should be Legal
If Pot were legal, many people would switch from alcohol to Pot. I think that a lot of Alcohol abuse come from the fact that it is the only legal drug and therefore is overused. Alcohol is highly addictive, physically and psychologically destructive, and is a severe drag on society. I think that if Pot were legal that many people would switch to Pot and be much better off. I think one side effect of legalizing Pot would be a major reduction in the abuse of Alcohol and that the number of traffic deaths would drop dramatically.
The only reason Pot isn't legal is because there are a lot of people making money because it's not legal. |
Who opposes legalizing Marijuana and why
- The Uninformed - People who believe the misinformation that Pot is harmful to society.
- The Government - Pot has been illegal for so long that no politicians have the political courage to tell the truth about Pot. The ones that do tell the truth are defeated by their opponents that paint them as a druggie. Many of these anti-drug politicians are funded by the Alcohol lobby.
- Religion - Anything fun is sin and of the Devil. Churches might lose members as people figure out that God can't be that stupid.
- Moralizers - The morally superior who enjoy looking down their noses at the less fortunate and get a sadistic thrill in putting people in jail.
- People who do no Drugs - These people who don't drink, don't smoke, in some cases don't even drink coffee. They just don't understand why anyone would want to smoke anything or do any drug. From their perspective the world would be better off if no one did anything.
- The Alcohol Lobby - Legalizing Pot would seriously cut into the sales of Beer. Pot would become the recreational drug of choice because it is safer than Beer.
- The Tobacco Lobby - Pot has the ability in some people to help them break the addiction of nicotine. Pot smoking could actually reduce the number of tobacco addicts.
- Law Enforcement - There are a lot of people who make a living fighting Pot who would have to go get a real job if Pot were legalized. Police departments get a lot of funding to fight Marijuana and those funds could be returned to the taxpayer if Pot were made legal. Cops would have to chase robbers, rapists, and murderers.
- Government Agencies - Using unconstitutional civil forfeiture laws the government has been able to use the presence of Pot to steal billions of dollars of private property from the People. Drug laws have been an excuse to circumvent our constitutional right and justify wire tap laws, the erosion of protection from illegal searches, key recovery encryption, and domestic spying. If you take a politically unpopular position like this one I'm taking now, the government can plant drugs on you and put you away.
- Pot Dealers - If Pot were legalized then people making money off of selling Pot illegally would be out of business. Pot prices would drop to $10 a bale. Crime relating to illegal Pot money would vanish.
- Wood Industry - Hemp would become the primary source of fiber for paper products as well as a new source for building materials. We wouldn't have to cut down every big tree in the world.
- Private Prisons - If Pot were legalized the private prison industry would be hurt. They would no longer jail Pot smokers. It could free up space for violent criminals.
- Trial Lawyers - Normal people caught with a joint spend billions each year on lawyers to get them off of criminal charges after getting caught with a joint. Lawyers get rich off of the Marijuana laws. If Marijuana were legal this money could be spent sending your kids to college.
- Mental Hospitals - There's a big industry treating people for problems they don't have. If you have insurance, you're crazy until the insurance coverage runs out. If you smoke Pot then you have mental problems. If Pot were legal some of these people would have to get real jobs. We should start treating people who are addicted to 12 step programs.
- Republicans - Pot helps you see reality the way it really is. It's harder to con a Pot smoker on political issues. Once you get stoned it's harder to want to hate Liberals, Queers, Blacks, Pregnant Teens, Draft Dodgers, President Clinton, Feminists, Lesbians, Pot Smokers, and other people the Republicans want you to hate. When you're stoned it's harder to like Newt Gingrich, John Ashcroft, the KKK, the Christian Coalition, Jerry Falwell, Pat Buchanan, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, People who beat Gay's to Death, People who blow up Abortion Clinics, and the morally superior in general.
- Political Cowards - Politicians like to pose with police as somebody who is "against drugs" promising to lock up all the pot smokers and throw away the key. These people need an artificial issue to be against so they don't have to face real issues like how to protect the public from crooked lawyers and crooked judges. Political cowards cross all party lines when it comes to pot and includes President Clinton.
- Others - These groups could also be hurt by legalizing Pot. Car body shops would get less alcohol related wrecks to fix. Hospitals would get less alcohol related business as would alcohol treatment centers and funeral homes. It could hurt cemeteries and tombstone makers as well.
Important People for Legalizing Marijuana
- Governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota - Governor Ventura, the first governor elected by the Reform Party, is the famous ex-wrestler/Navy Seal who is known for telling it like it is.
- Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico - The Republican governor has come out in favor of legalizing pot. This is an especially brave move for a Republican as the Republican Party has been especially abusive of Marijuana users.
- Hugh Downs - ABC News 20/20 co-anchor and respected journalist for more than 60 years retired. On his last show he was asked if he had any opinions of his own that he'd like to express. He responded the marijuana should be legalized.
Oppressing Pot Smokers is the Real Crime
Myths about Marijuana
Marijuana does not lead to harder drugs! |
Another common myth is, "there is no official proof to back the contention that marijuana can help ease symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other serious diseases." But the reason there is no proof is that the government is actively avoiding the funding of medical research into medical uses of Marijuana because they are afraid that they will indeed discover what doctors already know and it would undermine the laws criminalizing Marijuana and lead to legalization. If you want to read something amusing, read the study from National Institute of Health. Here's pages and pages documenting the results of doing nothing to research the medical benefits of smoking Pot. I've never seen such a long paper documenting what the government hasn't investigated or tested. If the government weren't afraid of legalizing Pot they would test it. The fact that the government won't do medical tests on Pot proves that they don't want to know the truth.
Twisting Logic
I find it amazing how the anti-pot organizations twist logic to try to justify their positions that pot is a dangerous drug. And these people wonder why teenagers don't take their message seriously. Teens just aren't that stupid. And when you try to pull stupid logic tricks on teens they resent it and ignore you. If they are going to accuse us of being brain damaged, the sure aren't setting a very good example of what "normal" is supposed to be. Here some examples of tortured logic:- "90% of drug addicts smoked Marijuana first. Therefore, smoking Marijuana leads to harder drugs."
Wow! This is really brilliant. Based on that reasoning, 99% of drug addicts attended church before becoming a drug addict. Therefore going to church leads to harder drugs. What else did over 90% of drug addicts do first? Over 90% of drug addicts smoked a cigarette, most still do. They drank alcohol, most still do. How about watched television, voted for a Democrat, had a pet, had sex, owned a bicycle, chewed gum, participated in sports, celebrated Halloween, had a religious experience, took something that didn't belong to them, voted for a Republican, told a lie, wondered if they might be homosexual, or ate too much white sugar. Using the same reasoning, all these activities must also lead to harder drugs.
- "There are over 400 chemicals in the marijuana plant."There are over 400 chemicals in every plant. There are over 700 chemicals added to American cigarettes.
- "When a user begins to feel that he or she needs to take the drug to feel well, that person is said to be dependent or addicted to the drug.
I suppose I'm addicted to aspirin. When I get a headache, I need aspirin to feel well. Everything that feels good is addictive and there's a 12 step program out there for every one of them. And if you don't believe it, you're in DENIAL! Since they know that Pot isn't addictive, they try to redefine the word "addiction" and try to make Pot fit the new definition. The fact that the need to twist the definition indicates that they know that Pot doesn't fit the traditional definition of addiction.
Drug addiction occurs when the drug affects the body in a way that causes the body to become dependent on the drug and causes a negative reaction when the drug is removed. Marijuana, LSD, and magic mushrooms are examples of non-addictive drugs. Cocaine, Heroine, Methamphedamine, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Caffeine are examples of addictive drugs. Telling lies about what drugs are addictive is not going to help solve the drug problem.