oh yeah, and people aren't as likely to be driving while high. people are usually more idle in such a condition

I would take people driving high over people driving drunk. I would bet that the number of accidents would go down if people were high instead of drunk.

I'm willing to bet the very same people who are trying to make Marijuana Legal or also trying to make Cigarettes Illegal.

You can't say Marijuana can't kill someone but I can agree that it probably kills less people than Liquor.

However, the other side effects to Marijuana are far worst than Liquor. Lets take a look at the side effects:

1. Marijuana releases a chemical called THC which effects the organs and the brain in a not so good way. Marijuana is really bad for the heart and is 50% more harmful to your lunges than Cigarettes.

2. Marijuana causes many mental problems including Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, and possible thoughts of Suicide. I know a ton of pot heads and none of them are happy when they aren't high or stoned and they all got various mental issues.

3. Marijuana can make a person dumber if used to often. Ever met a smart pot head? Probably not and if you have, are they successful? Probably not, at least none of the ones I know are (and I know personally about 10 pot heads). Not only that, none of the pot heads I know went to college, all of them dropped out (except 2), and they have a very hard time learning or figuring things out.

4. Marijuana can cause an addiction and is expensive. It's always going to be expensive. Sure alcohol is expensive (and I'm against that btw too) but Marijuana is also expensive and addictive. People who do it are controlled by it and it controls there life so therefore gives their life no purpose. I have a friend (was a best friend for many years), when he's not working, he's stoned all day. From the time he gets off work until he goes to bed, he does Marijuana every single day and he's got a lot of depression issues and the poor kid doesn't have a lot going for him (and has no money because of it). My friend asked me the other day if we could do something and I asked him if we did, would you promise not to be stoned and he said he can't do that so he pretty much says that he cannot go a few hours (besides at work) without being high.

Sources:
http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html
http://www.detox-narconon.org/marijuana-effects.html
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/social.htm

well, I wouldn't say they are "far worse"... but they are bad for sure.

And now that you've brought up some of the points you have I can remember a similar effect on people I knew that smoked pot. Everything became about getting the next hit... nothing else really mattered. I think pot is like alcohol in a lot of ways.... for the person who does it socially, only on the weekend, or only on special occasions the effects are minimal and probably don't affect them very much. The problem is the person that has to drink (or smoke up) everyday in order to function at a normal level. After a while it's not about getting high but about just being able to function.

I've been so back and forth about this issue.... it's hard to argue against legalizing pot when alcohol and tobacco are also legal and are equally if not more harmful to the body. Yet, I feel like if both of those were also illegal that a lot of people would be better off in the long term. But then you would get the problems that were had during prohibition (or the current drug cartel/war problem). There just isn't a simple solution to the problem.

I think in the end I would favour the legalization of marijuana for medical use as pain relief for people who have no other alternatives but general legalization just doesn't seem like a overall social benefit.

Originally posted by Davideo7

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3. Marijuana can make a person dumber if used to often. Ever met a smart pot head? Probably not and if you have, are they successful? Probably not, at least none of the ones I know are (and I know personally about 10 pot heads). Not only that, none of the pot heads I know went to college, all of them dropped out (except 2), and they have a very hard time learning or figuring things out.

4. Marijuana can cause an addiction and is expensive. People who do it are controlled by it and it controls there life so therefore gives their life no purpose. I have a friend (was a best friend for many years), when he's not working, he's stoned all day. From the time he gets off work until he goes to bed, he does Marijuana every single day and he's got a lot of depression issues and the poor kid doesn't have a lot going for him (and has no money because of it). My friend asked me the other day if we could do something and I asked him if we did, would you promise not to be stoned and he said he can't do that so he pretty much says that he cannot go a few hours (besides at work) without being high.

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Yes, I've met quite a few highly intelligent "pot heads." Neither of them are depressed, anxious, addicted, schizophrenic, etc etc. One is transferring to a university for the fall, and I'm half way through my prerequisites for my own major. It's not about marijuana, it's about motivation. Your friend is lazy, not addicted. It's easier to be lazy and smoke than to get up and exercise.

Yes, marijuana can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be.

And last but not least: There is NO addictive agents in marijuana. You don't get addicted to it like you do nicotine and isopropyl alcohol (liquor). It is very easy to just stop. Just because I smoke it several times a month doesn't mean I'm addicted, stupid (I'm one of the few in my chemistry class who is actually passing), or depressed. As a matter of fact, I find that studying while stoned helps me concentrate on what I'm doing, and I actually study better, and do better on quizzes and exams.

there's a difference between physical and mental addiction. marijuana is mentally addictive but not physically addictive, as stopping doesn't cause withdrawal, but it is very difficult for people to stop. eventually, the your body makes less of or stops making the chemical that gives people that "good feeling" and they need the drug to feel normal. also, if you smoke it several times a month, that probably means that you can't stop. if you can go a month without it, then great but if you can't... I challenge you to prove me wrong

David, all the things you just stated are myths and there is a lot of data to disprove them. Do some research, I think you would be surprised.

Originally posted by ziggy

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there's a difference between physical and mental addiction. marijuana is mentally addictive but not physically addictive, as stopping doesn't cause withdrawal, but it is very difficult for people to stop. eventually, the your body makes less of or stops making the chemical that gives people that "good feeling" and they need the drug to feel normal. also, if you smoke it several times a month, that probably means that you can't stop. if you can go a month without it, then great but if you can't... I challenge you to prove me wrong

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The body doesn't produce THC. O_o

You're thinking of methamphetamines or cocaine. Those produce the dopamine ("feel good" chemicals) which artificially stimulate the brain for a rush of euphoria. This effect is short lived because the brain assumes it doesn't have to produce this chemical anymore. This is the crash heavy drug users experience. The addiction comes from the lack of a "pleasurable" feeling. They crave those drugs to get their dopamine levels up to feel good again.

Source: Human Anatomy & Physiology by Elaine N. Marieb and Katja Hoen; Seventh Edition (ISBN: 9780805359107)

Just so you know, I can and do go a month or two without it.

I thought I did do my research. I guess it's one of them situations where no one knows who's right because I'm sure people can disprove the disproof of those side-effects also.

Belial, don't get me wrong here, when I said "Pot-Heads" I was more referring to people who do it daily, I guess what I view as a pot head is someone whose life completely revolves around pot.

Myths and Facts About Marijuana

I have found the above website to be very reliable, and I do like that it cites its sources for each thing.

I mean this is the nicest way possible....

but it seems like you can find very "official" sites to argue both sides of nearly any argument on the internet.

I personally find it very hard to believe that heavy use of any drug has no side-effects.

I'm sure the casual use that many of you have mentioned would have very few side-effects and you're probably not addicted. It's not those people that are the problem in any argument. It's the people that over-use and ruin their lives that I worry about.

While you are right that many "official" sites make claims on both ends, I tend to believe ones that can actually back it up with case studies, research papers, and other such actual evidence, which the site I linked to has done. Again, research and reputable sources is a big thing for me, I know both sides try to skew fact so I can only put my trust in what the researchers say.

There are side-effects, no one says that there are none... they are just nowhere near what people think they are. There is no addiction, no retardation or anything like that. A lot of that comes from the early part of the last century when propaganda machines churned out bulls*** like that. Much independent research by reputable sources have debunked such myths but they still persist in common society. I mean, come one... have you ever seen Reefer Madness? It's so horribly exaggerated that it's bulls***, but the people that put it out believed it as fact.

Anything can be addictive.
There is 2 different kinds, if not more, of addiction.
One is caused by specific chemicals in drugs.
One is just normal.

Marijuana can be addictive, for people get "addicted" to the feeling of being stoned.
And Belial, sometimes it isn't easy to stop. You want to. You know you can. But you just don't.

Ziggy, smoking it several times a month proves you're addicted?
I'm sorry, but this is absolute, and complete bulls*** in my book.
Stuff like this is not, and cannot, be set in stone.
The drug itself doesn't last long enough.
Hell, I know a friend who smokes a cigarette a day. Is he addicted? Nope. He once lost his lighter and hasn't bothered to buy a new one so he could smoke from pure laziness.
Anyone can stop at any time, it just depends on the person whether or not he/she WILL stop.

I, myself, am addicted to Sunflower seeds and the internet; I pray a cure is soon found. ;P

I agree with Neyro, most addictions are in the head.

I think addictions come from weak wills more than anything. A physical addiction is a bit stronger of course because your body has a reaction to its absence (withdrawals), but that is really all there is to it. When they say that pot is not addictive it is because there have been no cases of someone being addicted to THC, meaning no withdrawals... whereas people have had addictions to nicotine in cigarettes. However not everyone gets addicted to nicotine, or at least they have strong enough wills to ignore the cravings and the mood swings and break the addiction before it becomes a problem.

Scientists, when discussing if a substance is addictive or not, speak solely in terms of physical addiction to the substance. To the scientific mind, you are not addicted to being stoned, just like you are not addicted to sunflower seeds... you just like it/them. If you want to go down that route then people can claim addiction to damn near everything that they enjoy.

first of all i just want to throw it out there it depends on how you define addiction the way i see it an addiction is a chemical dependancy in ones body for a substance since marijuana does not produce this chemical need i do not believe it can be addictive although it can become habitual and make it hard to stop. also i believe that with the taxation benefits and lower crimes statistics legalizing it would in the end be the most logical aproach

( and an interesting fact the active substance in marijuana, delta 9 tetra hydra cannabinoids has been proven to inhibit cancer growth in lab animals.... I read it in time magazine)