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I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

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Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> by making a majority of people lethargic and unmotivated to do anything in real life. Almost all of the drug users I know are highly motivated and very successful people. Even if you include illegal drugs. Perhaps this is just selection bias at work, but that knife cuts both ways.

"Almost all of the drug users I know are highly motivated and very successful people. " It's definitely selection bias. I too lived in an urban/cool area with 'pro' drug users and (mostly) never saw a problem, though there was one accidental OD in my circle. But get out into the real world, working class areas where meth and crack in particular have laid waste - it's another story. Rural areas, working class areas, g…

> It's definitely selection bias.

As I stated in another thread, the "all drug users are lazy" mythos is also a form of selection bias. The only difference is that my selection bias isn't being used as a justification for jailing people. I think that's an important difference.

> Rural areas, working class areas, ghettos - another story - and I think they represent the 'majority' of users by far.

We see similar harms from excessive tobacco and alcohol abuse in those communities, but we don't outlaw those drugs.

So, why do we draw the arbitrary line where we do?

And how, exactly, does jailing these people actually help anything?

Basically, I don't take this argument seriously unless the person advocating it is in favor of marijuana legalization or else supports alcohol prohibition.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#172
post #74

The war on drugs is probably one of the biggest crime against humanity since WW2 with millions of deaths, millions in prisons, and trillions of dollars and human resources wasted, mostly affecting the poor and minorities everywhere. This needs to stop. Sadly, it looks like it will go on for a few more decades.

The United States always needs an enemy. Hitler, communism, Russia, Viet Cong, acid rain, drugs, them... The war on drugs might subside because of the perfect enemy they have now: terrorists. A faceless, ever-present threat that can keep the war drums beating. What I'd like to see is the military-industrial complex shift their battle to a War on Extinction: space exploration.

This is not unique to the US and not even unique to the modern era. The "common enemy" is the glue of every civilization. Build a case against a scapegoat and rally public opinion to wage a war - this is essentially the job of every form of government. Let's wage war on poverty, corporations, the 1%, unions, drugs, immigrants, corruption, terrorism... the list goes on and on. You can go back to the Bhagwad Gita, the Bible, the ancient myths... and the story doesn't change very much.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#173
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then add people whose life was ruined by addiction, as producers refined their wares to maximize that side-effect, and by getting caught in the prison system - then died of the effects of poverty, homelessness and emargination that result from those conditions. It's hard to keep stats on that, but you'd easily run in the millions.

Are we still talking about drugs? Or obesity? Or internet addiction? We're talking billions by now. An no war was ever waged on those things. The 'war on drugs' has not been shown responsible for addiction, addiction-related crime and related social ills.

What the fuck are you actually arguing about? Pedantic, derailing cunt.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#174
If you're ok with this, ask yourself if you'd be ok wih a parent giving a kid bourbon to put it asleep. This used to be a common household trick before people decided it was probably not a good idea.

Granted I think the war on drugs is stupid but I also think a failed parent shouldn't be the one championing the anti-war-on-drugs movement as that's only going to give the opposition ammunition.

I'm also not a developmental psychologist or a medical professional but I don't think this is the best thing for a young developing mind. I'm probably wrong because I've done limited reading on it but giving a young kid any drugs that haven't been exceedingly studied by the medical community doesn't sound like a smart idea.

Edit: I read the article a little further and I don't think the parent is "failed" anymore. It's sad that the kid had such an already tramatic upbringing and I understand why you'd do this but I don't think that it's the best of ideas for most people alive.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#175
post #38

The war on drugs is probably one of the biggest crime against humanity since WW2 with millions of deaths, millions in prisons, and trillions of dollars and human resources wasted, mostly affecting the poor and minorities everywhere. This needs to stop. Sadly, it looks like it will go on for a few more decades.

Really? I have a very deep suspicion that drugs destroy society by making a majority of people lethargic and unmotivated to do anything in real life. A case could be made for exceptions here and there (like the child in this article) but I don't think it works so well in society.

Your religion is way more harmful than drugs, I suggest we ban it.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The war on drugs is probably one of the biggest crime against humanity since WW2 " Spoken by someone who has never known an opioid or cocaine addict, and watched lives crumble, sometimes into death. Most drugs are quite dangerous and have seriously adverse affects upon populations at large. Cocaine, Meth, and Opioids create massive social health problems far beyond anything dope or alcohol ever could. I have no doub…

>A family member who is point-blank prescription opioid addict - and it's complicated because she gets debilitating migraines that few drugs can help her with, but the 'solution' is poison. Paracetamol (is this tylenol in the US) is a pretty effective poison too. Many drugs are poisonous either in large doses or sustained use. It appears cannabis is not one of them btw. What is your solution?

We call it acetaminophen; Tylenol is the primary brand name under which it's sold.

I don't think GP advances a blanket solution, which is good, because there isn't one. I do think he's a bit arguing against a blanket legalization policy that no one here is advancing, and that's good too, because that way lies madness.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#177
post #13

I'm for the legalization of marijuana, but I really hate the arguments these articles present in favor of it; I'm sure your raging 9-year-old kid would chill out on a strong dose of heroin, too. We should not falsely elevate marijuana as some wonder drug. Surely, there's a better argument that can be presented for legalization?

I prefer the moral argument that the government shouldn't tell you what you can do to your own body. I also prefer the ideology that states you shouldn't force your own opinions on others.

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#179
I can't believe no-one in the comments here or the original article suggest growing their own. It takes 10 square feet of space, about $500 one-time investment, a day or two to build and about an hour per week of maintenance. It can be done safely, discreetly and odor-free.

Sure, it would be illegal, but the chances of getting caught are pretty miniscule. Although I don't know how severe penalties are in place where the author lives or are there any secondary repercussions that make it not feasible (such as children taken into custody if caught).

Re: I made my son cannabis cookies. They changed his life

#180

Is the opposition to cannabis as a therapy at least part rooted in the fact it is not patentable? Large Pharma can't make enough money from something people could grow themselves? A parallel story is the guy in the UK researching treating depression with 'magic mushrooms' in small doses (too little to be psychoactive). As I recall it took him 10 years to get a license to do the study! These things grow in your lawn i…

I have no oposition to people doing whatever they want but I wouldn't give my kid THC until the following happened:

   * I could obtain it from a trustworthy source
   * It's studies to understand it's effects on children (medical)
   * Understand any long-term effects it has on children's memory/behavior (psychological)
I don't know if it not being patentable is accurate. You can patent your specificly mutated gene in the plant (like monsanto) to get exclusive rights. The plant is also presumably easy to cultivate as many untrained "farmers" do it. If you gave profesional botanists and farmers a crack at it I'm pretty sure they could come up with large scale and extremely cheap growth plans that are paralleled to the cost of tabaco. Lucky for them pot isn't as regulated as tabaco so they'd make out like kids in a candy store.
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