I know that people will survive but.... (a whine)

[homestead holdout]

I actually like hearing your opinion and all opinion, helps me to understand where people are coming from and to make best decisions I can if I understand all perspectives. I wouldnt even try to change other people opinions. I heard more issues than just legallizing pot though.... And in fact, I'm not 100% sure where I stand on that one.... I just know where I stand on what makes people the way they are, you cant blame anything that you "take" for that, is what my point is. You just cant blame pot if you are a wife beater, legal or not.... It does confuse me though why it's okay to relax with a glass of wine or a scotch but not a joint. I would like to say I dont find them any different but the honest truth is, I find that alchohol makes people way wierder than pot. Just my experience.

 

[sylvie]

Hopefully some people that drink will switch to pot and eliminate some of the DUI accidents, wife beating, fights and the generally bad things that people do while intoxicated.

_______
Big Daddy
I can only assume this came out wrong..LOL
Cause everything you said will happen when STONED and HIGH on pot.
Just another mind altering situation.
A DUI will be a DUS (driving under stoned)

and wife beating and fights and general bad things will happen with more frequency under the influence of pot because it is legal. more people will be apt to try it and we all know, usually many people become bad drunks and worse, bad potheads.

I disagree with you on the wife beating. I have seen this come out when the person quit smoking pot and switched to alcohol for drug testing at work reasons, numerous times. If you have ever experienced pot, hostility or aggression is pretty much the last urge you will have. The exception would be if it were laced with something else.
I agree that I have seen very stoned drivers with very little reaction timing coming to a stop at a sign in the middle of an intersection.

 

[FarmerChick]

1 glass of wine or scotch does not equal 1 joint to me
getting a bit tipsy and feeling the effect of 1 drink is not equal to 1 joint which is way more mind altering very fast and a hallucigenic type drug.
(I think it is under hallucigenic...lol...I have to check that one to be sure)

but to me they are not equal and I guess that is my opinion on why a drink wtih a meal is not the same as a joint with a meal, or 2 meals, or 3 meals and then the munchies.

 

[Big Daddy]

I don't think I've ever seen a person that was stoned on just pot become violent. I have seen them veg out. I have seen them eat so much they get sick.I agree that people should not drive stoned. You should also not talk to your boss when your stoned. Or talk to cops. Of course if my teeth were freshly brushed and I didn't smell like pot the cop would be very hard pressed to tell I was stoned. I couldn't say the same after 3 drinks.

 

[sylvie]

Mind you I live next to a man who's a 60 year pot head who lets his two horses live almost 24-7 in a denuded 3/4 acre paddock with manure everywhere because he will not spend the 15 minutes to pick it up as it's behind some tree so he can't see it- of course it creates real problems for me as it runs the length of my fence line. He has 6 acres but doesn't "like the looks" fo fencing- so he occasionaly lets the horse out with no fencing to hold them in. He drives his children around while high, etc etc. He contributes nothing to maintaining the water system of course.

Then there is the pot grower just 1 house over- he has introduced himself to me about 5 times because he is so high each time he can't remember. Or the guys camping on their ten acres next to him who are doing a commercial grow right on the creek where we all get our water. Can you say poisoning from the fertilizer excess?
Driving too fast down the private road past the little kids playing? taking too much water?

Anyone can be a poor steward of the land and of their animals.
I see from your post that both are contributing to poor water quality.
We are currently in a watermeal and algae crisis with our area ponds due to over stabling horses on too small of acreages for profit. The manure runoff is not contained because the pasture is not rotated and the weeds have been eaten that would have filtered, slowed, processed the manure.
I'm fairly certain our prominent stable owners are not burnouts on pot, but interested in making money and won't care about the water or neighbor's property until someone takes them to court.

I live next to a moron who drinks. He's a goof on or off the stuff. I wish he would smoke pot, stay in the house and watch cartoons with the munchies.

 

[sylvie]

FC, very few people sit down and smoke an entire joint. It isn't needed and not cost efficient.

 

[2dream]

As a former pot smoker and a fomer heavy drinker married to a man who spent years in Alaska when pot was legal.

I am almost 60 so I don't do much of anything in excess except work.

Pot vs Alcohol. Pot wins in my mind everytime. Alcoholics are abusive and crazy. Pot is non addictive unless someone has proven different in the last few years and I never heard about it.
Contrary to popular belief pot does not lead to use of strong drugs any more than alcohol does. That is propoganda used to keep it illegal. If someone is going to try stong drugs they are just gonna do it. Pot is not the blame.

I have never heard of a pot related violent crime. Drug related crimes are by people trying to get money to buy addictive drugs such as cocaine, meth, heroin, etc. I have heard of major drug bust involving pot. But not crimes actually related to the product itself.

I have never known a pot head to beat anyone. He/she is to laid back and relaxed as opposed to a lot of alcoholics who are downright mean. And I have known quite a few pot smokers in my day, along with several alcoholics. I would much rather deal with the pot smoker.

Pot has medicinal qualities. Alcohol (except red wine) does not.

Why is pot illegal. Has nothing to do with any ill effects. Has all to do with the industrial cloth industry. Hemp was used for years as a fiber to make long lasting clothing and sails for boats. Along comes cotton which is not as durable. Its just that the folks wanting to sell these other fabrics had more money than the folks in the hemp industry. And we all know what happend. It is now illegal. Due to pot being a product that can be smoked and it can produce about the same effect as alcohol as far as the feeling goes these people decided to get laws passed to make it illegal.

Any abuser of any product is a problem. People who abuse food are obese and create problems, people who abuse alcohol create problems and people who abuse pot are a problem.

Hemp is a fantastic resource and clothes made from hemp last much longer than clothing made from cotton.

People who smoke pot responsibly are no different than people who drink responsibly. I think the number of pot smokers would probably surprise most folks. Making it legal will not change much of anything. Sure maybe in the beginning when lots of people go yippee. But in the long run I don't think it will make much difference except in taxes.

To my knowledge my next door neighbor does not drink or use drugs of any type. He is lazy and nasty. His dogs are eat up with fleas and ticks. His wife is lazier than he is. The two boys are crazy as loons. None of them know how to drive worth a crap. They are constantly backing into the house, the porch, each others cars, trees, etc. He does get up and go to work everyday. Has a very high paying job. His yard has been cut once this year. The weeds are head high. No drugs involved. Just sorry people.

My former neighbor is what some would consider a pot head. They kept their yard immaculate, their dog was always brushed and clean. They were both hard workers but enjoyed their occasional drink and puffed more often than not. Neither ever had an automobile accident, and were wonderful neighbors.

 

[delia_peterson]

2dream

 

[unclejoe]

I was going to skip this debate buuut.....
I grew up with a group of aunts and uncles that would have to be considered lifetime alcoholics. This includes my dad. I couldn't tell you how many times he had to be brought home by someone else, including the cops, or drove home without remembering how he got there. To be fair, he did all the things that dad's do with their kids but once the kid thing was done he was off to the bar. At adult gatherings with that side of the family, there would be fights over the smallest disagreements, not just arguments but lots of pushing, shoving, and hitting. This type of behavior took place in front of all of their children. Some of these kids took it to heart as the way life worked and lived their lives as their parents did, with booze as the focal point in everything they did. Somehow only one of my 5 siblings still live this way.
I've done both in my life and now do neither. I don't look down on anyone who smokes or drinks. Both can be destructive, each in their own way. Heavy drinkers can be, but aren't always, loud, obnoxious, and abusive. I know, I've been there. Heavy pot smokers lose the initiative to do anything except melt into the couch. I know, I've been there too.
I've always held a job even during the entire decade of the 80's which I spent following the Grateful Dead up and down the east coast. There was a lot more pot smoking than drinking at this time but fights and general unruliness where pretty much non-existent. So if I were told to make a choice between the two, pot would win hands down.
From my perspective, pot is more likely to just ruin your own life. Alcohol can destroy you and everyone in the immediate circle of your life.

 

[TanksHill]

uncle Joe it sounds like you had some fun in the 80's.

I agree and disagree with many points made. The one thing that I feel like saying is that I have 12 brothers and sisters. I know some of the older ones smoked pot. They grew up, have good jobs, great families, own homes and are very good people. Who contribute in many positive ways to society.

Then I have some siblings who experimented in other things, like crystal and speed. I am sure more but I don't know the names or types. These people are worthless. They have literally cooked their brains until they are incapable of completing a sentence. They are unemployed and really good for nothing. They are violent and I do not expose my children to them. Ever.

I guess it's just my opinion.