As the subject says, what is your opinion on marijuana? Legalize? Keep it banned? Just legalize hemp? Shut the hell up about it? What's your opinion? If you're uncomfortable sharing whether you smoke or not that's fine, I'm not asking who does or doesn't, just your opinion on it.
But why do i care?
Since I was a small child, I have had allergic reactions to something i still haven't identified, as well as a few issues due to getting RSV as an infant. They usually consist of some trouble breathing, like someone has taken a rope and slowly tightened it around my neck, hives and all the other symptoms of a pretty bad reaction. Well, about two months ago, I had one of these reactions; there was a near whistling sound every time I inhaled and wheezing every time I exhaled. Now take from this what you will, but within a few seconds hitting my vaporizer, I could nearly instantly feel what ever tightness and constraint on my lungs slowly ease off. I could actually breathe again!
So let's get started. Here are just a couple uses for hemp alone:
"FIBER - the durable natural fiber from the stalks can be used for textiles, clothing, canvas, rope, cordage, for archival grade paper, & composite fibers replacing heavier toxic fibers (e.g. fiberglass), and building materials made with recycled plastic and fiber." - (thanks to AZhemp.org)
"FOOD - Hemp oil is mostly valued for its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). At 80%, the hempseed oil contains the highest concentration of total PUFAs in the plant kingdom, the majority of which are the two essential fatty acids (EFA) linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3). Its balanced EFA ratio, which closely matches human nutritional requirements, makes hemp oil a suitable ingredient in a variety of food, supplement and personal care products. Added to the value of hemp oil is the presence of a rare fatty acid, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is used to treat ailments such as neurodermatitis, arthritis and premenstrual syndrome." - (thanks to AZhemp.org)
So lets learn about Cannabis now...
"According to which US Government authority you want to believe, the lethal dose of marijuana is either about one-third your body weight, or about 1,500 pounds, consumed all at once." (thanks to Druglibrary.org)
"Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications. These include pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity (twitching), glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia. Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors and are neuroprotective." (a big thanks to NORML.org)
Like all smoke, Marijuana smoke contains carcinogens. "However, an extensive study, published in 2006 by Donald Tashkin of the University of California, Los Angeles found that there is no significant link between smoking cannabis and lung cancer" (thanks to Wikipedia.org)
As for the "gateway" theory on Marijuana, sorry to tell you, that's false.
"Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug." (thanks to Drugpolicy.org)
I hope that i have helped you learn something today, Marijuana is NOT a bad thing! The fact that we don't utilize this amazing plant more should be a crime! Now please don't misunderstand; I am by no means saying that everyone should go smoke marijuana no matter what their age, and no matter what their state's laws say. I am fully supportive of the use of marijuana in RESPONSIBLE DOSES, and am by no means saying to go smoke until you fall unconscious. My purpose in posting this information is to inform you about hemp and marijuana and to clear up a few misunderstandings.
If you wish to get involved in the reforming of marijuana prohibition laws, or simply learn more about them, go to NORML.org (The National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) From that site, you can keep up with current events involving legalization and read up on stuff i haven't covered here.
Please, stay serious. and I hope this topic will be an exciting one.
All of my information has come from the following sources, all of which are organizations (except for washington post) if that matters to you at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporizer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_res piratory_syncytial_virus
http://www.onlinepot.org/medical/posit ivepot.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana _Effects#History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_o f_cannabis#Cancer_risk
http://www.azhemp.org/Archive/Package/
Uses/uses.html
http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/librar y/mj_overdose.htm
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=54 41#evidence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinoge n
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/c ontent/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501 729_pf.html
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/fa ctsmyths/#gateway
