Rant about the illegality of marijuana

[xxmadsenxx]

Even though I know I couldn't smoke marijuana, even if it were legal, I think the United States' marijuana laws are fucking ridiculous. If it's not going to be legalized (which I think it should be), it should at least be decriminalized everywhere.

It just doesn't make sense for it to be illegal when alcohol and cigarettes, which are legal, kill WAY more people than all other drugs combined. Tobacco kills the most people (so I really need to quit smoking), but alcohol kills A LOT of people each year.

Alcohol is involved in about half of all drug overdoses. That doesn't mean that alcohol is directly responsible for those overdoses, but a good amount of people who overdose on drugs have alcohol in their system at the time. The interaction of alcohol with the other drug(s) makes overdose even more likely, and it oftentimes makes it worse than it would have been if alcohol wasn't in their system at the same time. Take cocaine for example...when alcohol and cocaine are combined, it metabolizes into Cocaethylene, which is extremely dangerous and is more likely to cause serious heart damage and it's really bad for your liver, which is where it is metabolized. That was the problem with one of my overdoses. I have overdosed on alcohol who knows how many times (but only had to go to the hospital a few times, although I probably should have gone a couple other times), had one heroin overdose, and two cocaine overdoses, one of which was really serious and caused me to go into cardiac arrest. Paddles and everything. Luckily I was unconscious by that point, because that would have sucked. I was drunk and high out of my mind on cocaine, so cocaethylene was most likely responsible for the severity of that overdose. Using alcohol and just about any drug (except marijuana) simultaneously is dangerous. The reason I mentioned my overdose is because it never would have happened if I had just been smoking marijuana and drinking. I might still have gotten alcohol poisoning, but I wouldn't have had such a serious reaction. Same with cocaine...I still could have overdosed, but the alcohol made it worse. Alcohol is extremely dangerous when combined with cocaine, but it's also really dangerous with heroin and other painkillers, and with sleeping pills and sedatives, including benzos. Combining drugs and alcohol is just never a good idea. But back to the marijuana thing.

Alcohol alone is directly responsible for 75,000 to 80,000 deaths per year. That's approximately 300+ percent more than all other illicit drugs combined. You also have to add in the delayed effects, like liver disease, heart problems, etc. Marijuana is directly responsible for ZERO deaths per year. Literally, zero deaths. People can argue that marijuana is responsible for a good number of car accidents, but those car accidents are typically caused by people who have alcohol in their system along with marijuana. Yeah, some people can't drive very well when they're high, but the majority of people I know drive just as well, if not better, when they're high on weed. So marijuana might indirectly result in some deaths, but it's not directly responsible for any. Either way, alcohol causes WAY more car accidents and other types of accidental injuries than any other drug...ESPECIALLY marijuana. All research to date shows that it's impossible to fatally overdose on marijuana. It just doesn't make sense for marijuana to be illegal when it has never been directly responsible for any deaths, ever, while alcohol is responsible for a huge amount of deaths each year, year after year, after year.

It's just fucking ridiculous. And don't even get me started on the War on Drugs.

/rant

Comments

[midnight21.livejournal.com]

i actually agree with this. I smoked weed once and all it did is give me this weird fuzzy feeling. i didn't like it, but there was nothing wrong with trying it at least once in your life. whatever. people will always be idiots i guess and they always fail to see the big picture...

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying it either, or even smoking it recreationally. I do think it can become a problem for some people, but not most. Most people who smoke weed are fully functional members of society and just do it recreationally or as a stress reliever at the end of the day...stuff like that.

The idea that it's a gateway drug is stupid too. I mean...it's usually the first drug people do. But alcohol and tobacco are the real gateway drugs.

[midnight21.livejournal.com]

yeah. look what alcohol and nicotine did to me before i was even born... i have to pay for my mother's mistakes and live with disabilities for the rest of my life. why can't they make that illegal during pregnancy especially? at least children will have a much better chance at living successful lives...

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's messed up. With marijuana, the only thing studies suggest that could possibly cause harm is the smoke itself. Not the THC. So according to most studies (but not all...there will always be studies saying the opposite of whatever one study says, no matter the topic) a baby would probably be fine if the mom ate special brownies or smoked with a vaporizer while pregnant. Most doctors would still advise against it though, because it's not 100% proven. I know if I were a pregnant woman I wouldn't smoke it. And even if Jenny still smoked, she wouldn't either. Better safe than sorry. But it would definitely do WAY less harm than alcohol.

[damedosbesos.livejournal.com]

In California if you get a DWI from MJ they don't take away your drivers license but for alcohol they do (just the way the law is written) and at work we always joke that it is because people who are high just drive too slow not all crazy like people drinking do.

I totally agree though, it should be legalized. But, I live in CA where it is a slap on the hand and we have "medical" MJ which is easily accessible because of the shady doctors

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

What do they do when you get one for weed? Just make you pay a fine? It's true, most people just drive slower when they're high, and they're hyper vigilant.

I think that at the very least marijuana should be legalized for medical use. Yeah, then a lot of people who don't really need it and just want it for recreational purposes would get it, but so could people who would really benefit from it.

[damedosbesos.livejournal.com]

When you get a DUI or DWI you have to pay a fine, do community service and go through classes. Kind of like traffic school but with drinking, driving & drug awareness.

I'm a firm believer in medical MJ. I really don't see the harm in it. Especially considering how much money the state of CA makes off of taxing the dispensaries.

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Haha I teach one of those classes sometimes at the youth center. Well, ok, I have only taught it once so far and helped with it another time. But still.

I don't see the harm in it either. The pros outweigh any cons there may be. And the government would certainly benefit from it. Imagine how much money they could make if it was completely legal and they taxed it like they do cigarettes. They'd get so much money.

[damedosbesos.livejournal.com]

Well, that's where I work. :)

States should really look into it. Or at the very least be fair across the board and make all of it illegal.

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. I didn't think about that.

I agree wholeheartedly.

[electric-sparks.livejournal.com]

I've never done any drugs or smoked cigarettes ever in my life but I do agree with this. I don't see why marijuana is illegal when alcohol and cigarettes do cause more deaths. I think America would fix a lot of its financial issues if they legalized it. I mean...surely heroin and cocaine are of a bigger concern than pot!? It just seems so off-balance. And alcohol is basically just poison you put into your body. I mean, there is no health benefit to it at all. People just seem to like to get fucked up and do fucked up shit hence why the prohibition era didn't seem to work out very well.

I agree with you.

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Prohibition was ridiculous. It just made things worse. The government basically does the same thing with weed now, and the fact is, it isn't working. I don't think any drug other than marijuana should become legal, ever. But there are so many more important problems to focus on...marijuana just isn't that big of a deal. I think it's funny that marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no medicinal properties whatsoever, yet doctors in some states prescribe it for medical reasons. At the very least, they need to reschedule it, because that doesn't even make sense.

Also, whether something is legal or not, people are going to do it if they want to. Prohibition showed that. The drug laws now show that. The government could benefit from legalizing marijuana. If they legalized it and taxed it like they do cigarettes, they would make SO much money.

[electric-sparks.livejournal.com]

"If they legalized it and taxed it like they do cigarettes, they would make SO much money."

I've been saying the same thing for years too! Jobs would be created and everything. It would be epic for the economy!

[mcmurphy79.livejournal.com]

I'm not American so my opinion counts for shit but I disagree. I agree totally that smoking and alcohol are on the whole way more damaging but we didn't always know what we know now about smoking and attitudes have changed, I doubt we'd legalise it now but making it illegal would cause an outcry. Smoking is the largest killer killing 1 in 2 people who use it, there is no safe wasy to use tobacco. Alcohol in moderation can be ok. Mixing any substances as far as I'm concerned is bad news. Weed is bad, I have seen weed induced psychosis, it zapps many young people of their motivation. It may not kill them but the effects are bad.

Just becasue 2 harmful things are legal doesn't mean that we should decriminalise something else that is also harmful.

Just my thoughts

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Your opinion counts. It's an issue worldwide, not just here.

Well, legalizing it because two other harmful things are legal isn't the reason I think it should be legalized. You're right, there's no safe way to use tobacco. Hookahs aren't too bad, but still not great. But as a rule it's terrible for you. I know that, yet I still smoke. :\ But the reasons marijuana originally became illegal in the U.S. had nothing to do with health or safety. Those are just the reasons they use to explain it now.

Even if it never becomes legal, I think our laws surrounding marijuana are way, way too harsh. There are much worse things we use our resources for. I just don't think the punishment fits the crime in our system. I probably should have included something about that in this entry. There's A LOT to tell about that type of stuff.