Marijuana IS far safer than alcohol or tobacco.

New Mexico Activist 505 wrote:

I am sick of trying to convince people like you.

nmweatherman wrote:

The short-term effects of marijuana include:
-Distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch)
-Problems with memory and learning
-Loss of coordination
-Trouble with thinking and problem-solving
-Increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure.
-Sometimes marijuana use can also produce anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.
Effects on the Brain:
The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors, but other areas of the brain have few or none at all. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.
When high doses of marijuana are used, usually when eaten in food rather than smoked, users can experience the following symptoms:
-Hallucinations
-Delusions
-Impaired memory
-Disorientation
Effects on the Heart:
Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart begins beating more rapidly and the blood pressure drops. Marijuana can cause the heart beat to increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute, and can increase even more if other drugs are used at the same time.
Because of the lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that users' risk for a heart attack is four times higher within the first hour after smoking marijuana.
Effects on the Lungs:
Smoking marijuana, even infrequently, can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, and cause heavy coughing. Scientists have found that regular marijuana smokers can experience the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers do, including:
-Daily cough and phlegm production
-More frequent acute chest illnesses
-Increased risk of lung infections
-Obstructed airways
Marijuana contains more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke and because marijuana smokers usually inhale deeper and hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers, their lungs are exposed to those carcinogenic properties longer.
One study found that marijuana smokers were three times more likely to develop cancer of the head or neck than non-smokers. Many researchers believe than smoking marijuana is overall more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco.
Other Health Effects:
Research indicates that THC impairs the body's immune system from fighting disease, which can cause a wide variety of health problems. One study found that marijuana actually inhibited the disease-preventing actions of key immune cells. Another study found that THC increased the risk of developing bacterial infections and tumors.
Effects of Exposure During Pregnancy:
Several studies have found that children born to mothers who used marijuana during pregnancy exhibit some problems with neurological development. According to those studies, prenatal marijuana exposure can cause:
-Altered responses to visual stimuli
-Increased tremulousness
-Problems with sustained attention and memory
-Poor problem-solving skills
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/effects....

davy wrote:

but whiskey is good for ya...the govt. says so so it must be true<quoted text>

nmweatherman wrote:

<quoted text>
In fact, moderate amounts of alcohol have been shown to be good for you, especially moderate use of red wine. But it's very easy to get into trouble by going over the line with drinking too much.
I know.
Like Glenn Beck, I've been there too. Ummmm...please don't tell anybody,'kay?

New Mexico Activist 505 wrote:

<quoted text>
Am I wrong, or are you being patronized watherman?
Glenn Beck is a loon, so I'm too worried about his "struggles".

Judged:

1

1

1

nmweatherman wrote:

<quoted text>
....huh?
You're "high" again, huh. Read your post tomorrow. Then, try, try again.

conrad wrote:

As the tobacco nazis have acceeded to the slaughter of 40 million aborted children, they also must need to project their guilty self-righteousness onto tobacco.

New Mexico Activist 505 wrote:

<quoted text>
Friend tobacco kills more people than alcohol.
It is not any self-righteousness that motivates this poll.
The point is to educate others about the relative harms associated
with marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco.
It IS scientific fact that marijuana is a far safer substance and yet people like yourself are allowed to consume blatantly destructive poisons in the open air and Marijuana consumers are vilified and arrested.
That is wrong. I stress the need for regulation. I can accept a tax on marijuana if it will legitimize it in the public eye.
I can not accept the lies told about Marijuana. I can not accept my government pushing citizens towards alcohol consumption instead towards a safer substance such as Marijuana.And you can accept a government tax on American citizens to force them to pay for abortions.

INFIDEL wrote:

The whole point of the discussion (whether cannabis is safer than tobacco and alcohol) is a waste of time. Americans no longer value personal freedoms. If you prove beyond any doubt that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than cannabis the holier than thou set will just start pushing to get rid of those things too. Within fifty years smoking tobacco and being overweight will be illegal. Americans learned NOTHING from prohibition.

merle wrote:

<quoted text>And you can accept a government tax on American citizens to force them to pay for abortions?

merle wrote:

<quoted text>And you can accept a government tax on American citizens to force them to pay for abortions?

nmweatherman wrote:

And just what kind of slant is NORML going to put out?
Why are you inhaling and putting poisons into your body? Have you no self-respect?

NM Cannabism wrote:

<quoted text>
It is the duty of patriots to fight for what is just and true.
I am glad that you can concede that alochol and tobacco represent a real and present danger to humanity as a species.
We can't just keep destroying our bodies and justify that destruction with legislation.
I do no advocate for ANY prohibition, no matter what the substance may be.
I feel it is the personal choice of liberty that should be exercised by reasonable beings.
It is one thing to outlaw a thing, it's another to try and enforce that said law.
Prohibition didn't work with alcohol and it's a dangerous carcinogen which kills countless millions of people annualy.
Marijuana is the safer substance. If people will choose to unwind, why not do so in a positive way, without destroying your body to do so?

nmweatherman wrote:

The short-term effects of marijuana include:
-Distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch)
-Problems with memory and learning
-Loss of coordination
-Trouble with thinking and problem-solving
-Increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure.
-Sometimes marijuana use can also produce anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.
Effects on the Brain:
The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, acts on cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors, but other areas of the brain have few or none at all. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.
When high doses of marijuana are used, usually when eaten in food rather than smoked, users can experience the following symptoms:
-Hallucinations
-Delusions
-Impaired memory
-Disorientation
Effects on the Heart:
Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart begins beating more rapidly and the blood pressure drops. Marijuana can cause the heart beat to increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute, and can increase even more if other drugs are used at the same time.
Because of the lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that users' risk for a heart attack is four times higher within the first hour after smoking marijuana.
Effects on the Lungs:
Smoking marijuana, even infrequently, can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, and cause heavy coughing. Scientists have found that regular marijuana smokers can experience the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers do, including:
-Daily cough and phlegm production
-More frequent acute chest illnesses
-Increased risk of lung infections
-Obstructed airways
Marijuana contains more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke and because marijuana smokers usually inhale deeper and hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers, their lungs are exposed to those carcinogenic properties longer.
One study found that marijuana smokers were three times more likely to develop cancer of the head or neck than non-smokers. Many researchers believe than smoking marijuana is overall more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco.
Other Health Effects:
Research indicates that THC impairs the body's immune system from fighting disease, which can cause a wide variety of health problems. One study found that marijuana actually inhibited the disease-preventing actions of key immune cells. Another study found that THC increased the risk of developing bacterial infections and tumors.
Effects of Exposure During Pregnancy:
Several studies have found that children born to mothers who used marijuana during pregnancy exhibit some problems with neurological development. According to those studies, prenatal marijuana exposure can cause:
-Altered responses to visual stimuli
-Increased tremulousness
-Problems with sustained attention and memory
-Poor problem-solving skills
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/effects....