Pot/drugs: An all-encompassing explanation.

[President Television]

I DO have a gripe with people who insist that substance abuse connects you to a higher plane, or makes you telepathic, or more creative.

Do you make any differentation between use and abuse? Or is any ingestion of a psychoactive chemical simply "bad, m'kay".

No, I don't consider it all bad.  My hypocrisy only goes so far, after all, and I've choked down a few in my time.  My gripe is when people allow a drug to define their existence.

For example, if you were to say, "I occasionally chow down some cactus/shrooms/whatever and get all weird for kicks", okay.  If on the other hand, you reference drugs in everything you post, in your screen name, in every facet of your life as shown to a group, expect that group to treat you as you are:  A chronic pinkboy.

THIS.

The "420 smoke weed everyday blaze it" graffiti I see everywhere annoys me to no end. I've hung around with people who smoke pot, and I find them to be very friendly and likable people in general, but I can't stand the people who walk around spouting cannabis-themed catchphrases like some kind of pull-string doll.

That was basically the whole point of my rant.

Then we're in agreement.

[Doktor Howl]

I wonder what the statistic would be if MDMA was sold in quickie marts.

Probably safer, because you wouldn't have it made in horrible fucking trailer labs and cut with borax.

Yeah.  There are too many unforseeable factors to really extrapolate though.  For instance, does anyone have numbers on the ratio of deaths to uses?  It seems like that would give a clearer comparison to tobacco and alcohol.

I think the graph he posted said enough.

Also, assuming that quality is monitored, if alcohol and tobacco are legal, and are KNOWN to kill a motherfucker, then why NOT allow E and weed to be sold in convenience stores, under the same restrictions as Tobacco (age 18, here at least)?  Booze, too.  If you're old enough to serve in the military, you're old enough to be served in a bar.

Come to think of it, given quality control, why shouldn't you be able to bang any old shit you want into yourself?  It's your fucking body, it should be your right to do as you see fit with it, once you are legally an adult.

I'm taking shit that has horrible side effects, just to sleep.  PAINFUL, debilitating side effects.  But that's legal, and pot isn't, because someone's making money on synthetic valium, and any jackass can grow his own pot.

I'm getting a little tired of being told what I can't do.  Know what I mean?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I wonder what the statistic would be if MDMA was sold in quickie marts.

Probably safer, because you wouldn't have it made in horrible fucking trailer labs and cut with borax.

Yeah.  There are too many unforseeable factors to really extrapolate though.  For instance, does anyone have numbers on the ratio of deaths to uses?  It seems like that would give a clearer comparison to tobacco and alcohol.

The ratio is given in the aboveposted graph. "per 100,000 users/year".

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I wonder what the statistic would be if MDMA was sold in quickie marts.

Probably safer, because you wouldn't have it made in horrible fucking trailer labs and cut with borax.

Yeah.  There are too many unforseeable factors to really extrapolate though.  For instance, does anyone have numbers on the ratio of deaths to uses?  It seems like that would give a clearer comparison to tobacco and alcohol.

I think the graph he posted said enough.

Also, assuming that quality is monitored, if alcohol and tobacco are legal, and are KNOWN to kill a motherfucker, then why NOT allow E and weed to be sold in convenience stores, under the same restrictions as Tobacco (age 18, here at least)?  Booze, too.  If you're old enough to serve in the military, you're old enough to be served in a bar.

Come to think of it, given quality control, why shouldn't you be able to bang any old shit you want into yourself?  It's your fucking body, it should be your right to do as you see fit with it, once you are legally an adult.

I'm taking shit that has horrible side effects, just to sleep.  PAINFUL, debilitating side effects.  But that's legal, and pot isn't, because someone's making money on synthetic valium, and any jackass can grow his own pot.

I'm getting a little tired of being told what I can't do.  Know what I mean?

That's about exactly how I feel about it. Make the manufacturers legally responsible for the quality, let the buyers decide if they want to put it in their body.

[Jasper]

I wonder what the statistic would be if MDMA was sold in quickie marts.

Probably safer, because you wouldn't have it made in horrible fucking trailer labs and cut with borax.

Yeah.  There are too many unforseeable factors to really extrapolate though.  For instance, does anyone have numbers on the ratio of deaths to uses?  It seems like that would give a clearer comparison to tobacco and alcohol.

The ratio is given in the aboveposted graph. "per 100,000 users/year".

Oh!  I looked right past that second part of the units.  Totally assumed that the bars showed numbers of total deaths, because of the extreme bias.

Interesting. 

I'm not in any position to make value judgements on it though, I'm just interested in the numbers.

[Doktor Howl]

I wonder what the statistic would be if MDMA was sold in quickie marts.

Probably safer, because you wouldn't have it made in horrible fucking trailer labs and cut with borax.

Yeah.  There are too many unforseeable factors to really extrapolate though.  For instance, does anyone have numbers on the ratio of deaths to uses?  It seems like that would give a clearer comparison to tobacco and alcohol.

I think the graph he posted said enough.

Also, assuming that quality is monitored, if alcohol and tobacco are legal, and are KNOWN to kill a motherfucker, then why NOT allow E and weed to be sold in convenience stores, under the same restrictions as Tobacco (age 18, here at least)?  Booze, too.  If you're old enough to serve in the military, you're old enough to be served in a bar.

Come to think of it, given quality control, why shouldn't you be able to bang any old shit you want into yourself?  It's your fucking body, it should be your right to do as you see fit with it, once you are legally an adult.

I'm taking shit that has horrible side effects, just to sleep.  PAINFUL, debilitating side effects.  But that's legal, and pot isn't, because someone's making money on synthetic valium, and any jackass can grow his own pot.

I'm getting a little tired of being told what I can't do.  Know what I mean?

That's about exactly how I feel about it. Make the manufacturers legally responsible for the quality, let the buyers decide if they want to put it in their body.

If it will let me sleep, I'm happy with it.

If it will let me sleep without giving me shooting pains, panic attacks, cramps, and weird fucking illusions that AREN'T entertaining, then I'm all over that shit.

Problem:  The harmful shit is okay with our company's drug policy.  The harmless shit will get me fired. 

Of course, I wouldn't MIND being fired, except I need health insurance for my kids.  I honestly think this fucking job is killing me.

[Bruno]

It's probably just slightly different chemistry, or knowing exactly how much to have without crossing the line into worthlessness. I know a lot of artists whose productivity and ability to assimilate new inspiration increase under the influence of a very small amount of pot, but decrease with a larger amount.

I thought for years that I hated pot, but it turns out that I am just an extreme lightweight and need a very, very small dose in order to find it enjoyable rather than debilitating. Literally, one puff, no more.

I wouldn't try to work under the influence, but that's because I work with very hot oxygen-accelerated pressurized fire.

Yeah, me too.  One hit of horrible ditchweed, and I'm pretty much out for the count.

Have you checked to see if it could help you sleep? I have a friend who is pretty high strung, and has a prescription for Xanax, and he uses pot to get more of an effect with a lower dose. He even talks to his doctor about it, and she supports him.

[AFK]

Holy crap!  An 18 page thread about drugs without me.  Weird. 

[AFK]

Far be it from me to get between you and your chemical gratification.  As one who spends a significant amount of time figuring out new and interesting ways to abuse myself - with everything from synthetic valium to finding ways to actually get all fucked up on plain old caffiene - let me be the first to say, "Whatever turns you on".

However, I DO have a gripe with people who insist that substance abuse connects you to a higher plane, or makes you telepathic, or more creative.  Bullshit.  You're just all fucked up.  Likewise, people who use drugs to define themselves ("I'm a stoner") are equally guilty of being dumbasses.  So, to clarify things, I'm going to let you know what pot (and other drugs) are actually good for.

1.  Society uses pot to neutralize disruptive elements within itself.  Fact.  For most people, there's a can of beer or a shot of whiskey, but some have to think they're being bad or rebellious.  So The System made pot illegal, so these people can enjoy it more.  There's the added advantage that they can lock up a good percentage of these people...So you're either in jail or on the couch watching reruns of The Dukes of Hazard.  Either way, you aren't any trouble, in any way that counts.

2.  Getting fucked up for cheap physical gratification.  After all the excuses and rationalizations run out, this is why most potheads smoke pot, and why most pillheads take pills, etc.  WHY they make rationalizations is beyond me...I can respect a pot smoker who states that he does it for this reason, but not someone who feels they have to explain a higher meaning to their self-indulgences.

3.  Getting fucked up to forget your problems.  Yeah, see you under the bridge.

4.  Getting fucked up to identify with "the culture".  Kill yourself.

5.  Getting fucked up as a side effect of the use of a drug for legitimate medical reasons:  Bonus for you.

That's pretty much it.  If you smoke dope, etc, you fit into one or more of the above catagories, regardless of what excuses you may have for your actions, so please stop trying to evangelize or convince anyone of the PSYCHIC POWERZ you get when you fuck yourself up for an evening or a week.

Thank you for your time.

[the last yatto]

look at what the McPenguin is doing with FDA and diet supplements,
o man how classic was that debate between penguin and batman

why NOT allow E and weed to be sold in convenience stores, under the same restrictions as Tobacco

imagine the red tape with wanting all that

[Doktor Howl]

It's probably just slightly different chemistry, or knowing exactly how much to have without crossing the line into worthlessness. I know a lot of artists whose productivity and ability to assimilate new inspiration increase under the influence of a very small amount of pot, but decrease with a larger amount.

I thought for years that I hated pot, but it turns out that I am just an extreme lightweight and need a very, very small dose in order to find it enjoyable rather than debilitating. Literally, one puff, no more.

I wouldn't try to work under the influence, but that's because I work with very hot oxygen-accelerated pressurized fire.

Yeah, me too.  One hit of horrible ditchweed, and I'm pretty much out for the count.

Have you checked to see if it could help you sleep? I have a friend who is pretty high strung, and has a prescription for Xanax, and he uses pot to get more of an effect with a lower dose. He even talks to his doctor about it, and she supports him.

This state does not allow the devil weed, and my job piss tests.

[Doktor Howl]

imagine the red tape with wanting all that

This is Discordianism, dude.  Red tape is a sacrament.

[the last yatto]

only in three of the five seasons...

[Fuquad]

only in three of the five seasons...

3/5 of them deserve it.

[Telarus]