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$\"Gravatar\"$ Cool.
EDGE | Homepage | 05.11.08 - 8:38 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I would be interested to know if the ones publishing this research are bankrolled by those that benefit from the prohibition of marijuana and more to the point, hemp.

Young people are not allowed to drink nor should they be, and they should not be allowed by law to smoke marijuana, but to criminalize marijuana use in the adult population, in my opinion, is dumb.

Booze is far more dangerous to our little tykes and more readily available.

I may have lost whatever cool points I have here but its just my honest feelings.
Buffoon | Homepage | 05.11.08 - 10:27 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Every month there's a new batch of studies from the government claiming marijuana is bad for you, and a new batch of studies from independent scientific bodies saying that it poses little to no harm to you, and may be used to treat a variety of ailments (my friend with Crohn's disease and my brother-in-law who is a cancer survivor.)

This particular study employs the \"false causality\" trick the government is fond of using, as when they said that smoking pot makes you 85x more likely to try cocaine even though (and this is from their SAME study) 83% of marijuana users have never tried cocaine. http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/...rg/gateway.html

Really, the most important health risk here is not what it might do to your body. That should be YOUR choice, as alcohol and tobacco are - legalize it for people above 18, 21, just make it a choice.

The most important negative effect on society from these drugs is their prohibition, which creates a huge black market that organized crime THRIVES on. Marijuana is a huge source of money for organized crime - if we legalize it, we can take it out of their hands, and also save law enforcement COLOSSAL amounts of money and man hours, resources they can use to put an end to SERIOUS crimes that threaten EVERYONE. (see Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php)

And if you are afraid of the effects the TRULY hard and addictive drugs (meth, cocaine, crack, etc.) will have on society (as I am to some extent), we can fight these more effectively - the drug cartels will be unable to rely on marijuana income, children will start to believe anti-drug campaigns whose credibility is currently undermined by years of lying about pot, and space will be freed up in prison for real criminals.

Put an end to this ridiculous prohibition, the only winners are the alcohol/tobacco lobby and the drug companies pushing their addictive opiate painkillers, America has suffered long enough.
More of the Same | 05.12.08 - 2:52 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ This so-called \"study\" was done by another commission of \"scientists\" who are on the government payroll and who will roll over, play dead, beg for food just like any other well trained poodle. Their tactics are transparently clumsy but often, sadly enough, quite effective. It is clear that they launched this bit of imbecilic trash is because Sen. Barack Obama has freely admitted to inhaling a bit of hemp smoke. They are hoping that the supposed collection of bad science data will attach itself in the voters mind that if they vote for Obama they will be voting for a person who is certifiably mentally unstable. That tactic worked extremely well in the Eagleton scenario some years back. I am hoping it backfires this time because it's quite clear that McCain doesn't require any mind-altering substance to be a nut. He does naturally every time he opens his mouth.
shrdlu | 05.12.08 - 7:31 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Wake up America! \"More of the same is correct\"!This is Marijuanua \"Political BS.\" The inevetable corruption that runs through Politics, and Politicians and we`re suppose to \"TRUST\" their \"JUDGEMENT\"? Americans are not blind, and know the truth of \"Gods Herbs\".
\"DISABLED-VETERAN\" | 05.12.08 - 10:36 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ One words comes to mind when I read this article: propaganda.
8BALL | 05.12.08 - 10:55 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ amazing-for decades i've enjoyed laughing my ass off, then recently read an article by one of you \"experts\" who informed me that I was actually depressed! Thank God you geniuses are here to straighten us out!
BrianS | 05.12.08 - 12:02 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ 8ball, Brian... any studies conducted for 16 years, 14 years or 21 years to support your arguments?

People that wave away legitimate studies just because they don't \"like\" the conclusions are living in denial.

OH and Brian, if you actually read the links in the article, you would have seen the children themselves said they were depressed.

So much for your observant nature I guess.
Susan | Homepage | 05.12.08 - 12:06 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ shrdlu...WOW, I didn't know New Zealand was on our Government payroll.... again, start producing more than uninformed opinion and start showing me studies, linked and verifiable as I have supplied.
Susan | Homepage | 05.12.08 - 12:08 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ For the overly-enlightened susan, I have done 30 years of research and can speak only for my own findings and those of hundreds of friends and relatives, unlike the \"experts\" that always claim to know it all, and the sheep like you that line up to believe them. I do not support any type of drug/alcohol/herb use by teens, but unlike you and your flock I know what drives these \"studies\", and it has nothing to do with science.
BrianS | 05.12.08 - 12:22 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ These studies are stating the obvious here. Of course the article has been specially tailored to single out marijuana use as a factor for mental illness, but there's a plethora of substances that'll do the same. Alcohol is one that comes to mind. Hell, even SSRIs make people I know more loopy than they were to begin with. Anyone who tries to self-medicate usually ends up being worse off than if they were to get the help they need. This article is saying just that, but has the fun little US government spin on it that we've all come to expect. Too much of anything is a bad thing, and since this article sites teenagers who smoke every day it sounds a little unbalanced. People who lack moderation when it comes to perception-altering substances often have underlying mental issues to begin with. How about looking at all the factors involved in someone's propensity to abuse substances rather than just correlating a couple variables and calling it science?

Bottom line is: It's not just drugs that determine what develops in an individual. Look at some more factors before we start pointing fingers.
Bored | 05.12.08 - 2:04 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ I have been studying the effects of nightly gin and tonic toddies for decades. I guess that makes me a researcher too?
T.J. | Homepage | 05.12.08 - 6:35 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ Are they depressed because they smoke marijuana, or do they smoke marijuana because they're depressed?
Kenneth Burchfiel | Homepage | 05.12.08 - 7:43 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ New Zealand is on our government's payroll in that they, like many other countries receive large amounts of cash from our government if they demonstrate with large incarceration rates that they have fallen in line with the government dogma stigmatizing the herb. The reach of the US governments interference in other countries affairs is not limited to military action but bribing a country to do what they are told is just as effective dear Susan. You are probably shilling for the government and your mission is to visit commentary sites to do the Ann Coulter dance.
shrdlu | 05.12.08 - 7:58 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ HERE IS WHAT WE SMOKER SAY SEE OUR VIDEO
GETTING HIGH IS LIKE 10 YEARS OF MEMORIES IN ONE HOUR OF PURE FUN
TIMOTHY LIVERANCE | Homepage | 05.13.08 - 4:09 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ What a dork.
T.J. | Homepage | 05.13.08 - 9:49 pm | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ This will help me to think some thing about myself. Past, I don't think that these type of things. Really, thank you for those informations.
.....
Nishantha
Dual Diagnosis
Dual Diagnosis
Nishantha | Homepage | 06.20.08 - 8:49 am | #

$\"Gravatar\"$ There are so many people who have negative thoughts and are plagued by negative thinking. These negative thoughts create fear, suicidal thoughts, anger, and agitation and there is seemingly no apparent reason for these thoughts to occur. Everyone who has this habit must try to learn how to stop it and must try to bring on a more positive way of thinking. http://www.xanax-effects.com/
Mrs.Angela Foster | Homepage | 10.10.08 - 5:20 am | #

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