25 Comments

• At 2009.06.17 08:01, mustardcat said:

  It makes me sad hearing people diregard the medicinal purposes of marijuana. Most of the people I’ve spoken with that are against it, don’t even think about how much it helps other people.I have never been able to understand the logic behind trying to make some illegal that has no use to you, nor is anyone shoving it in your face. Some people are willing to let people suffer with the pain they have, because they ‘dont like the smell’ or because some idiot in their family did something incredibly stupid while smoking pot.
  What ever happened to “to each his own?” I mean, the gentleman that you spoke about kindly offered some, but did not shove it in your face after you declined.
  I understand parents not wanting it around their kids, but regardless they are going to be introduced at some point, wether its illegal or not. &If they aren’t, they’ll be exposed to something worse. All you can do as a parent is tell your kids the truth and hope they make the best of it.
  I really like this post, and I am very glad there are non-pot smokers like you out there that still support it because you know the truth! Thanks for this.

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• At 2009.06.17 08:03, December said:

  Thank you for weighing in. To each his own.

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• At 2009.06.17 08:11, hbdt2081 said:

  A very relevant, yet underplayed component to the issue of marijuana legalization is generational, which might well be a gamechanger. Obama, and many of his key appointees, are members of Generation Jones-—born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X. Many top national commentators (from Newsweek, NBC, CNN, etc.) have spoken about the importance and relevance of GenJones as the new generation of leadership; this could be a gamechanger re. the drug issue for at least two reasons:

  1) Jonesers are by far the biggest pot smokers compared to the other generations. While Boomers are associated with pot, it was only a small, albeit very visible, segment of Boomers who actually smoked pot back in the day. Govt. and independent studies show that Jonesers as teens (in the 1970s) smoked 15 to 20 times more pot than Boomers did as teens. And not only did Jonesers smoke much more grass than any other generation of teens in US history, but still today–in middle-age–smoke it a remarkable amount. The data is really striking.

  2) One of the key collective personality traits consistently attributed to Jonesers is their pragmatism; they are far likelier to put aside ideology and deal with drugs in a realistic and practical way.

  Here’s a page with a good recent overview about GenJones:
  http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html

  If ever there was a generation of leadership open to legalizing pot, it probably is Generation Jones. And if there ever was a time that the country might be open to this change in drug laws, perhaps it’s now…

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• At 2009.06.17 08:16, December said:

  That is very interesting, I am going to dive deeper into the generation Jones idea. Thank you, thank you thank you!

  I hope that time is now.

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• At 2009.06.17 11:01, ultra_bright said:

  Although I’m not generally a proponent for medical marijuana (for my own reasons), I’m not opposed to it being used. The issue is regulation. Medical marijuana needs to be held to the same standards as any other prescription drug, and suppliers need to have the same types of regulations in place that pharmacists do. Abuse of medical marijuana should be held in the same regard as abuse of a prescription drug. A drug is a drug is a drug, and even if it helps a person, it should still be taken very seriously.

  Not to stoke the fire, but even if I were in a backyard barbecue, I would never offer up my asthma medication for anyone who wanted it, even if my fellow attendees also had asthma. Or likewise, if I was with a friend who wanted to avoid pregnancy I would not offer my birth control to them.

  I appreciate that you mentioned than no one took up the man’s offer. Whether he was using it medicinally or not, he demonstrated one of the biggest issues in the marijuana legalization battle – recreational use of the drug. As long as there is not a clearly defined difference, then medicinalizing advocates will struggle. There are too many legalization advocates who are not in need of the drug’s medicinal properties.

  No matter what you think of doctors, they are the ones who should be making prescription decisions. If we regulate some prescriptions, we must regulate all of them.

  And just to clarify, I think the argument that marijuana is “safer” than alcohol is just silly. Let’s then focus on creating tougher laws for alcohol rather than legalizing more substances.

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• At 2009.06.17 11:11, December said:

  Marijuana is safer than alcohol, but that doesn’t make it safe altogether. I would never take a pain pill and get behind the wheel of a car, and Id never take a hit, or a shot or a snort of anything before doing so either. Comparing one evil to another just doesn’t make sense. I agree.

  Drug abuse (and you know my stance on this) needs to be treated as drug abuse, no matter if the substance is illegal or not. Its important to set open and realistic expectations for all medications but the DEA’s stance of OUR DRUGS OVER YOUR DRUGS just doesn’t work in my book. I think it should be regulated similar to alcohol, with age limitations and a strict set of consequences in the event of abuse. And that is coming from someone with legal right to it.

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• At 2009.06.17 12:41, Derek J. A. said:

  I’m so glad to see articles about the importance of medical marijuana.
  I have suffered over six years with crippling migraines due to a head injury I sustained at work. The accident was random and I had lost a lot of brain activity immediately following the experience. Doctors proved to be non caring in the fact that they wanted to give me narcotic after narcotic, painkillers, and even anti depressants that altered the mind even more from how badly rearranged it already had become due to the head injury. My body knowing these pills were bad for me had quickly built up an allergic reaction that ended up hurting many other areas of my body, and rather than relieving pain, they actually started causing me more pain. Once I knew that marijuana had helped me to cope with the medical problems I have without any bad side effects, I knew that I would never have to take anything else, especially man made pills or any drug that doctors are testing on humans like their rats in a lab. More money for the doctors when pills are concerned. But I’d rather trust what comes from the earth naturally.
  I am alive today thanks to marijuana.
  Anything can be good or bad depending on how everyone has the choice to abuse or respect a specific power or privilege. I’ve seen good men turned into beasts due to the consumption of liquor, which is legal. The only negatives I’ve seen concerning marijuana has been from the the fact that it is illegal. Why is something that can aid in healing medical problems illegal when alcohol, a substance that does nothing but cause medical problems is legal.
  Something has to change in this country for the better. Hopefully it will be soon.

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• At 2009.06.17 16:58, BohemianLamb said:

  I’m struggling with a balancing act between pain relief and opiate addiction. I take hydrocodone (vicodin for those that don’t know) all day every day to get pain relief but I hate being on them and the battle to get off them is a horrible one. Unfortunately where I live (Oklahoma) I know there is no chance of me being able to feel safe legally by using marijuana for that pain relief, despite that it is so much easier to deal with than hydrocodone. It is so much safer, there are no withdrawals, it works faster, and you can just take it only when you actually need it. To top it all off, for me there are almost no side effects whatsoever (as long as it’s decent quality), a far cry from the dry skin, teeth issues, and massive weight gain thanks to the hydrocodone. Did I mention the emotional havoc? Pot does the opposite, if anything. It just isn’t fair. I care more about keeping my ass out of jail than being comfortable because I am too sick to be in jail, so I don’t use what makes more sense for me. I wish people would realize that if pot were legal, the average pot user stereotype would change from those who usually abuse it to those who use it in moderation. It isn’t the pot, it’s the people who use the pot, and as with anything, the fact that it’s illegal brings out the worst and gives it a bad name.

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• At 2009.07.10 17:03, Samuel said:

  Legalize it.

  This is supposed to be the land of the free

  Obama is fucking his constituents (homies) that got him elected by not having the sense to remove the federal government’s laws on the matter, especially since they overstep the bounds and prerogative of the federal government’s mandate.

  The first Presidential candidate to support legalization (or removal of federal interference) is almost guaranteed to win. Who will it be…

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• At 2009.07.14 01:38, AnnaHopn said:

  http://www.antisoccermom.com – da best. Keep it going!

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• At 2009.07.23 08:37, Citizens to Criminals, How Prohibition Changes You. - AntiSoccermom said:

  [...] problem with Prohibition is the enforcement, still a point of tension in the current marijuana debate. In 1921 a book was written by one of our most forward thinkers, Albert Einstein where he stated [...]

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• At 2009.07.23 15:43, reelpdype said:

  It’s better to leave Windows XP and just upgrade your laptop. It’s much better. Besides, Windows XP is way better then Windows Me. Windows Me is obsolete and many programs that can run with XP, can’t run with Me.

  ——————-

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• At 2009.07.29 16:51, D said:

  I’d rather take any natural medicine over something that was designed in a lab.

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• At 2009.08.02 12:56, Anonymous said:

  null

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• At 2009.08.02 12:56, Anonymous said:

  Good article….as a person who suffers from pain due to degenerative disc disease, what kinds of marijuana are good for treating the pain that my condition creates?  Every time I have ever gone to the doctor to get help with the muscle spasms, shooting pains in my arms and inflammation in my neck……they send me home with about 60 vicodin, oxycontin or addictive drugs that stop working after a few days.  It’s certainly been my experience that marijuana does help with the pain because it relaxes my muscles and reduces the tension at the site of injury.  I have read that MJ has analgesic qualities and that some strains are better than others for pain…….how do I know which is which?

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• At 2009.08.02 12:57, Anonymous said:
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• At 2009.08.02 12:59, Louis Raritan said:

  null

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• At 2009.08.25 11:40, Joe Uehlein said:

  The bottom line is that marijuana is safer than alcohol in every way, and should be treated the same. It is straight up unfair that you can purchase alcohol practically on every corner, while marijuana remains illegal and stigmatized. This must change. I don’t drink alcohol, at all, but I do enjoy occasional marijuana use. I guess I’m an outlaw, but I am not a criminal! joe

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• At 2009.08.31 10:48, If Prohibition is your answer, You are asking some very stupid questions. said:

  [...] is the intelligent choice for pain control. The government has offered marijuana in pill form, so that they can profit from this [...]

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• At 2009.12.26 01:40, Tsakunov said:

  I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
  And you et an account on Twitter?

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• At 2010.04.30 01:02, Dougles said:

  Greatings, ЎUf, me gustу! Tan clara y positiva.
  Gracias

  Dougles

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• At 2010.05.15 00:15, Dauramupasype said:

  thanks!

  lets write them until the admit it, or stop doing it! i am writing them now!

  

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• At 2010.06.07 22:26, unapejeable said:

  Interesting and informative. But will you write about this one more?

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• At 2010.06.09 01:10, physical therapist said:

  What a great resource!

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• At 2010.09.01 17:45, THC Card Blog » Blog Archive » Why Medical Marijuana is MY Choice said:

  [...] The border, where medicinal marijuana seeps over the line. [...]

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