Quote:
Originally Posted by
philomom 
And I don't.
Interesting that a pro-drug thread is here in family safety. Altering one's brain chemistry on a regular basis is a bad idea.
How does pro-legalization equal pro-drug?
I hate pot. It's irrational, and I used it myself for several years with no ill effects (actually, I suspect that, without it, I'd have committed suicide), but I hate it. It was my ex's scapegoat for a lot of his behaviour, and it was my scapegoat for a lot of his behaviour, as well. While I know the pot wasn't the problem, I still have an irrational emotional reaction to the stuff.
But, I'm pro-legalization. Prohibition of pot is a joke. It doesn't work. The stuff is as easily accessible as any legal substance. in fact, when I did partake, it was easier to get my hands on than alcohol. Every single person I've ever met who wants it to be illegal uses the same argument. The argument basically boils down to "I know so many people who are ruining their lives with this stuff - it should be illegal". This argument overlooks the fact that it is illegal...and those people are still getting it, and some of them are ruining their lives with it. What do the anti-drug (marijuana, in particular) laws actually accomplish? Is pot use rare? is it really hard to get hold of? No - it's tremendously widespread and has been for a long time, and it's very, very easy to get hold of. (I haven't smoked it regularly in well over two decades. I haven't smoked it at all in almost as long. I could, if I wanted to, walk out my door, and be home, with a gram or two in my purse, within 15 minutes...probably less. Pot is everywhere.)
As to altering one's brain chemistry on a regular basis being a bad idea, there are two problems with that statement. The first is that it assumes that everyone who uses pot does so on a regular basis. I've known plenty of regular users (ie. people who use it on a regular, but not heavy, basis - a bit every evening, or just on the weekends, or whatever). I've known a fair number of heavy users (I was one myself). I've also known people who use it very sporadically...as rarely as one week per year (she smoked at an annual music festival, and not any other time). Pot use is not the same thing as regular pot use. The second problem with the statement is that altering one's brain chemistry on a regular basis is not, in fact, always a bad thing. While I didn't fully realize it at the time, my own pot habit was an attempt to self-medicate for depression. Once I started my smoking (several times a day for a couple of years in high school), I no longer thought about suicde every day. My heavy pot smoking days were the only part of my teens that weren't marked by severe depressoin and constant suicidal thinking. Altering my brain chemistry regularly was great for me.
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