Marijuana legalization

Nancy

Well-Known Member
Ohio is in the process of putting the legalization of pot on the ballot in November. I am so against this for obvious reasons but wondered how others feel. I have heard the arguments for legalization and I've tried to make myself believe them because this seems to be inevitable. But how do we convince our kids that using pot is not OK when all around them they see it is becoming acceptable? I listen to the reports that say pot is not a gateway drug and yet every addict I have heard speak says the opposite. I get that many people can use pot responsibly but I have seen so many young people who have gone on to harder drugs. None of the kids my daughter hung with in high school who used pot only used pot. They all used other drugs too.

I am really torn by this and running out of arguments.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Truthfully, I was always pro-legalization. I've smoked pot a time or two in my youth. It was offered to me at someone's home. I didn't buy it, I didn't grow it, I didn't have it in my home, it was in his...because it wasn't legal I would never have bought it , possessed it on my own or had it in my home. I haven't done it since because it's illegal. My ex tried to grow a plant once. I dutifully watered it - daily - with Diet Coke - until it died. Why did I do that? Because it's illegal.

But then again, I would never become hooked. I drink, rarely. At times I over-indulge, and in my youth frequently, but I did not become an alcoholic.

Now, my son is another matter. He says he has not smoked pot in more than two months...but there was a time when he was your basic stoner. We called him Towelie (like from South Park). But there was nothing funny about it.

Anyone who'd going to be like this does it with it illegal. I don't see how it will be any worse legalized. If it were legalized, regulated, taxed and made mainstream...at least there would be some good coming from the taxes.

Who knows, maybe our kids would be more inclined to get jobs so they can pay for it if it's legal? Maybe...if it's legal, they'll be less likely to use other, still illegal, drugs? I'm rather certain that they'd be less likely to smoke synthetics, if the real thing were legal and less expensive. Our son smoked synthetic mostly because it is readily available.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Nancy...I've already wrestled with this one. I am going to handle it like I handled alcohol and cigarettes. I told my kids that even though both are legal, cigarettes are nasty, smell bad, are not allowed in my space or house and that they can and probably will end your life one day. None of my kids smoke. Princess did, but she quit when she quit everything else. As for weed, I do think that just like alcohol some people can use it recreationally and not every day and handle it. However, my two kids who are still young enough and haven't tried it yet are at risk for any sort of addiction because both have addiction in their DNA. I am pretty sure Sonic would run from it. So far Jumper still thinks it's "dumb" but I'm sure she has friends who smoke it. In the end, it will not be our decision once it is legal, and I believe it will be legal everywhere. Alcohol leads to other addictions too. I have never been a big alcohol fan nor do I think it's ok for parents to drink and get tipsy and then tell their kids that using substances is a bad thing. It's hypocritical and won't fly with our young adults.

Many LEGAL medications are actually dangerous and if our kids want to get high, well, we all know they will.

Legal or not not everyone will smoke weed. Bart won't even date a woman who smokes weed. It's a dealbreaker. He's not the only one who is not enamored by weed.

This is out of our hands. It is going to be legal everywhere soon and we just sort of have to treat it like alcohol. As far as causing addiction, it is no worse. Heck, I've read that cigarette smoking kids are more likely to try getting high...the risktakers will take risks. Those who desire peaceful, sane lives will not. And we will not be able to stop them. All we can do is warn them of the dangers and myabe not drink in front of them. I have heard soooooooooooo many kids call their parents in on that. "So you can get drunk, but I can't use weed and it's not as disgusting as alcohol!" And they have a good point.

Some kids won't like how pot makes them feel. We are all different. Pot made me paranoid and so spacy I ever could have driven (driven whle high is a big concern of mine) and gave me headaches and the munchies my pot career ended early. But I never have been drunk either, which is rare. It will be very individual.

Lil, pot kills motivation. They can legalize it until the cows come home (and I don't have a farm for them to come home to) but one effect is causing lethargy and a lack of motivation. I've talked to many kids when I was one who did admit to that. If you over-indulge in anything it will not be good for you. I can't see an up side to pot other than less cops arresting people for it.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
For the record, I am not a pro-legalization person - but not exactly anti, either.

All the arguments being made about pot, can be made about alcohol, cigarettes and gambling. All four can and are regularly abused, at a high cost to the individuals, those around them, and society at large.

In my area, alcohol is a gateway to pot. Except for those with a medicinal pot license, my kids know of nobody using pot who didn't start with alcohol and/or cigarettes.

Prohibition didn't work for alcohol, either. But legal alcohol ... still has all the problems alcohol brings.

There is no right answer, just the need to choose between different lesser options.
 

PatriotsGirl

Well-Known Member
My daughter's gateway drug was the legal Adderall prescribed to her from her doctor.

I feel pot is FAR less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol.

Now with that being said, I do feel that pot makes people LAZY. It also fogs up their brains. Most don't even realize that until after they have stopped smoking it.

But, I don't believe making it legal will change anything about usage - the country could stand to make a LOT of money from it and I think that could be a good thing...so my opinion is if alcohol and cancer sticks are legal, pot should be, too.
 

PatriotsGirl

Well-Known Member
There was a study about cigarettes being linked to addiction and relapse which is why smoking is NOT allowed at my daughter's rehab and I agree with that a million percent!! NOW my daughter gets just how disgusting and nasty those things are after not being anywhere near it for all these months...I can't stand the smell. Worst smell in the world in my opinion...
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
All we can do is warn them of the dangers and myabe not drink in front of them. I have heard soooooooooooo many kids call their parents in on that. "So you can get drunk, but I can't use weed and it's not as disgusting as alcohol!"

Very true. I have nothing against the occasional glass of beer or wine or something in front of the kids, but over-indulging, NO. My party days were in my youth and once my son came along, those days were over if he were around and usually when he wasn't. I can't actually remember the last time I was tipsy...though I have had a glass just because it relaxed me after dealing with him. But over-indulging? I'd say years.

Lil, pot kills motivation. They can legalize it until the cows come home (and I don't have a farm for them to come home to) but one effect is causing lethargy and a lack of motivation. I've talked to many kids when I was one who did admit to that. If you over-indulge in anything it will not be good for you. I can't see an up side to pot other than less cops arresting people for it.

The remark about getting a job was actually sarcasm, lol. It really doesn't come across in type. :)

But I do think mine wouldn't smoke synthetic if weed were legal and I, frankly, would rather he have weed. At least you know what it is.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
There was a study about cigarettes being linked to addiction and relapse which is why smoking is NOT allowed at my daughter's rehab and I agree with that a million percent!! NOW my daughter gets just how disgusting and nasty those things are after not being anywhere near it for all these months...I can't stand the smell. Worst smell in the world in my opinion...
My daughter is more anti-smoking than me and she used to smoke. Of course she also did drugs at the time too. They tend to go together.
 

Calamity Jane

Well-Known Member
Hi Nancy,

Do you know if it's up for recreational legalization or medicinal?

If it's recreational, and it passes, what would companies do that currently drug test? If a prospective employee tests positive for pot, they would no longer have to exclude them? That just seems so odd. I can think of so many issues for businesses. I'm sure even if the bill passes, it's still against the law to drive while on pot. But if I own a trucking company and I drug test potential employees, if pot is legal, and they come up positive on the pre-employment test, they can say, "It's legal, and I'm not driving now. Of course I wouldn't use if I were driving a truck." That is going to be so dicey for employers.

The thing is, even if heroin were made legal today I wouldn't be stupid enough to do it. We have to police ourselves. It's such a slippery slope because people want to do what they want to do, and our politicians don't want to stand in the way of the voters. Whenever I used to waste my breath telling my son that daily pot smokers are generally lazy, unmotivated, unsuccessful adults, he'd throw in my face the fact that Paul McCartney has been a regular pot smoker for 40 yrs, and he wrote and co-wrote the fantastic, world-changing Beatles catalog and all the songs he's done since the Beatles broke up. He's worked steadily and is still working. Of course, my son, his friends, and many other regular pot smokers are NOT Paul McCartney. I don't even know what to say anymore, I'm tired of talking to him.
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
You bring up so many good point CJ. Ohio is going for recreational. It's a real sore spot for many because they want to allow only ResponsibleOhio to grow and sell it. So it becomes a monopoly for only the few who stand to make millions. They are flooding the state with campaign material trying to convince everyone of the merits of legal pot.

The employer part is very dicey. My daughter works for a company that does drug test. I am sure she thinks that if it becomes legal they can't say anything about her using it. And yes it will still be illegal to drive under the influence. But that is not easily determined either.

We were in California last month and pot was on every corner. Of course she made friends with a bartender at a comedy show we went to and stayed after smoking and drinking with him. I was so angry I wanted to leave her there the next day when we came home. It reminded me that she is still an addict and pot could become a big problem in her life very easily. Alcohol already is so this is just one more vice to spend her money on.

SWOT I completely agree with you, it is out of our hands. It will be legal everywhere soon. But I will never believe it is not harmful. Any mind altering substance is addictive to my daughter. I saw her on pot plenty of times and would never ever think she was capable of driving or working or any other thing that required concentration. It made her nasty and lazy and depressed.
 

toughlovin

Well-Known Member
I am discouraged by the trend towards legalization. Philosophically I am pro legalization... maybe even of all drugs. Practically I have become totally against it. I definitely think pot is a gateway drug, along with cigarettes and alcohol. I also know that like alcohol, many people can use it socially without it becoming a problem. I dont have a moral issue with people smoking pot.

My big concern about legalization is that I think it will bring pot smoking to younger and younger kids. And it will be that much easier for kids to get. That worries me. And I think if we look at Colorado, they now have pot shops with edibles... At halloween I heard some concern of parents that their kids might get pot candy in their halloween treats!! So it is very available there and it is the availability to young kids as well as other teens that concerns me the most. I agree addicts will get addicted to it if it is legal or illegal.... but I think the pure availability, plus the attitude tat comes with legalization that it is not harmful adds a lot of risk for kids trying it younger... and for kids who might stay away from it because it is illegal trying it as well.

So my having a son as an addict totally changed my view on legalization.

TL
 

Marcie Mac

Just Plain Ole Tired
TL, edibles have been available since the 60's. I can't recall reading one story about kids getting pot treats.

To me, there is no difference in a state legalizing it for medical use or recreational use. California is medical use only - I have a card. I don't know why I even bothered to take in my medical records and medications - I probably could have told him I had a bad hangnail and still gotten it. I did tell my doctor I was getting one as I wanted to get OFF all of the Schedule 2 drugs I have to take - talk about someone loopy - me - when I have to take them. Am 95% off the Norco and Soma. SO is in the process of getting a morphine pump, and they are dropping down all of his pain medications to base line - which now he suffers from delibating migraines from withdrawals. Only thing that helps him is an edible at bedtime so he can at least sleep - a third of a lollypop or ONE gummy bear.

If you have an addictive personality, pot will always probably be a gateway drug for those people. I smoked in the 60's - when I had kids that was the end of that. Kids intent on smoking a joint will always find it - somewhere - somehow.

Marcie
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
It made her nasty and lazy and depressed.

Yep. My kid was the same. Not that he's not still lazy...smoking or not, he's always been lazy, but I'm convinced he is worse when he's smoking regularly. He would say it was the only thing that made him happy...and maybe he was while high, but once he came down, he would be more depressed than before, a vicious cycle.

I have a hard time with the concept of a gateway drug. I began drinking at 15. I have been a smoker on and off since I was about 22. I've smoked pot a grand total of 3 times. Liked it. Never did anything else. I think that for someone who is prone to being an addict, you don't need a gateway.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I would like to see the actual herb legalized. The edibles made with concentrated THC scare me because they are so much stronger than the natural herb.

When a cookie is 12 doses, and the first time user is not bloody likely to read the directions because who ever heard of cutting a cookie into 12 pieces and only eating one piece, and what recreational SMOKER ever heard of waiting up to 2 hours for the rush to hit, well, you are going to run into problems.

I used the herb. I preferred hashish. or hashish oil. Easier on the lungs, stronger high, easier to carry and more bang for the buck. Really preferred "Thai Stick", which was marijuana buds marinated in opium. Used extremely carefully due to addictive potential.

The opium cut the paranoia that straight weed tended to cause me.

husband was a serious pothead up until he joined the military. Neither of us had any difficulty quitting. I was a social, "party smoker". husband was more than once daily user.

I never used again. husband never used again until after he became ill with the disease that eventually killed him. A nurse recommended it for pain, nausea and loss of appetite and put him in touch with a supplier who grew his own for personal use.

The individual grew a potent hybrid that was uncut with any foreign substances. husband's lungs at that time were severely damaged from treatments for his bone marrow disease. He didn't smoke the herb. He drank it in teas, mixed it in food stuffs, or most frequently, ground it finely, and took it in the gelatine capsules one can get at health food stores for taking various herbal supplements.

The effects on his overall health were incredible. He was able to eat again, gained nearly 25 lbs of much needed weight, was able to cut way back on his use of strong narcotics, and was able to sleep comfortably and restfully for the first time in three years.

His haematologist/oncologist was stunned by the improvement in his overall physical condition and was very supportive when he found out the cause of it. That despite being an elderly, Austrian trained gentleman.

Were I to use MJ, it would be for medical reasons only because of the paranoia and because I fear it would exacerbate certain aspects of my mental illness. I would most likely vape it to avoid the tars as I found the smoke to be extremely irritating to my lungs, even as a heavy tobacco user, which I was in those days.

I would stay far away from the edibles as I have experienced edibles made with hashish oil and found the results to be too intense for my tastes.

I would like to see it legalized , taxed, and regulated.

I have also heard that in states were it has been legalized, RX drug ODs have dropped, but I have to take that evidence as anectdotal as I haven't seen cites.'
 
Nancy, I concur. Fl. narrowly defeated legal medical mj last Nov. My daughter now lives in Washington state where it is legal but you still have to pass drug screenings for employment,etc. It is being able to function optimally and mj and MI/SA do a lot of harm.
 

Childofmine

one day at a time
The whole movement toward legalization makes me sick.

Besides medical marijuana, I don't think we need yet another substance legalized that numbs our feelings, our minds, our hearts, our spirits and allows us to disengage from the world and each other.

We have enough legal and illegal substances and practices already that do that for us, including food, work, alcohol, gambling, shopping, etc.

I also believe pot is a gateway drug for people with the predisposition to addiction.

I also know that what I think about this doesn't matter.

Our quest for money knows no bounds. That is what it is all about, and that is doubly sad.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Without reading responses because I want to give my gut reaction...

As a fellow Ohioan...

I HOPE THEY DO NOT!
 
Top