Why do some hallucinate and others punish them?

[Moontanman]

Moon, if you want to convince yourself that it is a huge government conspiracy and there is no hope that is fine, go for it.

Many states have already legalized mj for medicinal purposes.

Others are working on hemp farming as compitition to cotton and other fibres.

Education is the key. Get off the conspiracy bandwagon and do your cause some good.

 

I don't believe in conspiracies I believe in what I have seen happening in the last 40 years. Many sates? Very few states and it is being fought by the federal government in those states. Even if it's legal in a state the feds can still arrest you and often do. The feds do harass doctors who prescribe it. There was a time when it was all but completly legal in Alaska but that was over turned. People have been working on hemp farming for my entire adult life time, I have yet to see a hemp farm. That wouldn't make any difference since hemp is not medical grade MJ. I want to believe, I really do, but reality won't allow it.

[Moontanman]

If DMT, mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, Salvia divinorum (Salvinorin A, the only non-nitrogeneous hallucinogen), harmine... is administered to a congenitally blind person, what is seen?

 

 

Good question, the only remotely related info I have is a show on the science channel several years ago that had a story about a guy who was blind from birth that had a near death experience and "saw" birds and trees swaying in the wind. If you find info on that I would like to read it.

[Zythryn]

It looks like the number is 12 that I can confirm (as of last year).

As for politicians, I found this after a short search:

bill introduced in the U.S. Congress by Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Ron Paul, R-Tex., last week would remove most of those penalties in states that have passed medical marijuana laws and another by Frank and Paul would reduce the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

 

"In my view, having federal law enforcement agents engaged in the prosecution of people who are personally using marijuana is a waste of scarce resources better used for serious crimes," Frank said in a press statement Thursday afternoon. "In fact, this type of prosecution often meets with public disapproval. The most frequent recent examples have been federal prosecutions of individuals using marijuana for medical purposes in states that have voted -- usually by public referenda -- to allow such use." Frank continued, "Because current federal law has been interpreted as superseding state law in this area, most states that have made medical use of marijuana legal have been unable to actually implement their laws."

From Minnesota Monitor

In addition, a bill was also put forth that would change mj from a schedule 1 to a schedule 2 drug which would allow doctors to perscribe it.

 

Education will win out. It isn't fast and there are certainly people that will oppose it either out of ignorance, or evidence contrary to what you are trying to teach, or personal gain.

Is your basis what you have SEEN or what you have HEARD? A recent report on the news in MN here spoke with a number of people taking mj for medicinal purposes.

[Moontanman]

It looks like the number is 12 that I can confirm (as of last year).

As for politicians, I found this after a short search:

 

From Minnesota Monitor

In addition, a bill was also put forth that would change mj from a schedule 1 to a schedule 2 drug which would allow doctors to perscribe it.

 

Education will win out. It isn't fast and there are certainly people that will oppose it either out of ignorance, or evidence contrary to what you are trying to teach, or personal gain.

Is your basis what you have SEEN or what you have HEARD? A recent report on the news in MN here spoke with a number of people taking mj for medicinal purposes.

 

Get caught using MJ here in the Great North State (NC) and see what happens to your medical. About time Texas came in from the cold, not too many years ago you could do hard time for simple possesion. I know some progress is being made but it has happened before and the feds managed to bully the states into going their way. Two politicians do not a revolution make. I hope it lasts but I won't hold my breath. I recently told my doctor I was smoking pot because it relieved many of my symtoms and allowed me to live a much better qulaity of life. He told me if I came back positve in his test he would ban me from the program and report me to the feds so I would loose my benefits. Even though he hasn't be able to help me hardly at all but is willing to give me huge doses of oxycontin and methadone for my pain even though these only treat a small part of my symtoms and are incredibly addictive. When th deep south starts to see the light I might believe. One thing is for sure if you test positive you will not get a job. Very few employeers will allow you to work with even a tiny amount of THC in your system, of course if you get caught at work drunk you can go to rehab, even a trace of THC will send you home for good. Might be different out west but the bible belt always knows best. Here in the South they seldom mix reality with their laws:hihi: To be honest some of my info might be a little bit out of date, this hasn't be exactly a priority in the last two or three years for me.

[Ganoderma]

so again i ask. WHY is something like marijuana illegal. What is it exactly that causes this one plant to be picked out?

 

is it because smoking it is bad for you? but smoking all plants are very unhealthy...smoking hay will probably give you cancer in teh future...its smoke...can't be that or haveing a fireplace would then be banned as well.

 

is it because its mind altering? cant be caus ethere are many stronger legal ones available that cause more health and society problems.

 

what exactly caused it to be illegal? it used to be sold legal in many places (a long time ago)...what happened....

 

cocaine too....what happened to all the coca wines of the past...even politicians swore it was good for you. I have yet to see any medical science say how bad coca is. purified chemical powder doesn't seen very good, but coca itself is actually very good for you.

 

i can understand the usefulness for laws, but when something like marijuana has all the benefits and its main health problems are the physical smoke, i cant see why it is still banned for anything other than "we don't like it".

 

i know the US is going through a change in their way of life now, but don't you guys still have a constitution? what about otehr countries? could one not simply walk up to the judge, give him/her a copy and say "i have the right"?

 

i dont know the US constitution, so i am actually asking if this could work....

[Ahmabeliever]

what exactly caused it to be illegal? it used to be sold legal in many places (a long time ago)...what happened...

 

This is an excellent read. Chapter 17 has the answers you seek. Scroll down for it.

 

Antique Cannabis Book / A Price Guide to Antiques

[Moontanman]

so again i ask. WHY is something like marijuana illegal. What is it exactly that causes this one plant to be picked out?

 

is it because smoking it is bad for you? but smoking all plants are very unhealthy...smoking hay will probably give you cancer in teh future...its smoke...can't be that or haveing a fireplace would then be banned as well.

 

is it because its mind altering? cant be caus ethere are many stronger legal ones available that cause more health and society problems.

 

what exactly caused it to be illegal? it used to be sold legal in many places (a long time ago)...what happened....

 

cocaine too....what happened to all the coca wines of the past...even politicians swore it was good for you. I have yet to see any medical science say how bad coca is. purified chemical powder doesn't seen very good, but coca itself is actually very good for you.

 

i can understand the usefulness for laws, but when something like marijuana has all the benefits and its main health problems are the physical smoke, i cant see why it is still banned for anything other than "we don't like it".

 

i know the US is going through a change in their way of life now, but don't you guys still have a constitution? what about otehr countries? could one not simply walk up to the judge, give him/her a copy and say "i have the right"?

 

i dont know the US constitution, so i am actually asking if this could work....

 

Of course you could and after they took you to jail you could refuse to go in but I'm betting they would convince you to cooperate.

Racial predudice was at the begining of most of it.

[Ganoderma]

leaning o the US Constitution (lets us USA for example, others feel free to give input about other areas)....is it legal? there should be no grey area. With our freedoms and rights, do we have a right to have this?

 

if so then why can't you just say no. They can "convince" you, and you can sue them. have tape recording everything. i know i am a little idealistic but why cant this work? legally speaking.

[Zythryn]

The constitution gives you no explicit right to smoke mj.

Our society, via our representatives, have deemed the possession, selling and smoking mj illegal. There have been a number of posts linking to the history of this decision.

Personally, the people I have been with while they smoked mj were acting like idiots and were prone to very dangerous behaviors.

PLEASE NOTE, I am not saying that everyone is like this or that it wasn't because they were idiots to start with. I am just saying if others in decision making positions had similar experiences I can understand why mj would continue to be deemed dangerous and illegal.

[Moontanman]

leaning o the US Constitution (lets us USA for example, others feel free to give input about other areas)....is it legal? there should be no grey area. With our freedoms and rights, do we have a right to have this?

 

if so then why can't you just say no. They can "convince" you, and you can sue them. have tape recording everything. i know i am a little idealistic but why cant this work? legally speaking.

 

. MJ was first made illegal by what was for the most part simply getting around any conflict withe constitution by creating the MJ Stamp tax law. It worked like this, At the time there was a question of whether or not the government had the right to keep anyone from doing anything (personal freedoms) So to get around any challenge on this level they created the MJ tax law. MJ would be taxed at a certain rate (just for an example say 2$ an ounce) To legally sell or posses MJ you had to buy a tax stamp and put the tax stamp on your container of pot. To fail to do so meant you were in violation of the tax law (a felony) and you would be arrested. Sound reasonable? But here is the kicker, no tax stamps would be issued under any circumstances. This made it impossible to pay the taxes and thereby made every bag of pot illegal.

 

This law was passed strictly due to racism. The whole idea behind the law was that Mexicans were the only significant group that used MJ. Making it illegal could be used as a reason to harass and deport Mexicans. At first even what would later grow into the DEA refused to enforce laws on MJ, they thought it was ridiculous to make a weed illegal. Later on laws were passed that simply ignored any right to do what you wanted with your own body or in your own house. The state of Alaska, much later on, passed laws that allowed you to posses and use MJ if it was in your own home. These were later repealed.

 

Virtually all the reasons for making MJ illegal are propaganda, very little if any factual information about MJ comes from the government. See the movie "reefer madness". Is MJ bad for you probably, but not as bad as tobacco or alcohol. Does it cause unsafe or outrageous behaviors? No, even much of the law enforcement community admits that MJ users are little or no danger to society. The people I know who smoke pot (adults) do so in a very responsible manner seldom smoking anywhere but home or someplace in private they feel they can enjoy being high without having to drive or other wise cause problems. All night surf fishing parties are a favorite.

 

I really don't blame the current government for this. They are caught up in their own propaganda. They cannot allow themselves to back off what they have been demonizing for the last 100 years. The propaganda has taken on a life of it's own.

 

It would be a very dangerous situation if it was about anything really important. Fortunately even though emotions around this issue run high, prohibition of MJ will probably not result in the fall of world civilization, but ruining lives and putting people in jail for smoking or growing pot is the real criminal act. Two things Drug prohibition does do is give a government an excuse to control and harass their population if they are looking for one and it creates a black market that allows people with no real moral issues to sell drugs to anyone of any age and make huge amounts of money that can be used to undermine law enforcement, the economy, and the government.

 

I admit I am quick to believe the government is making money off pot but such things are probably not true for most politicians and almost certainly not true for the government in general. In a strange way the government is just as stuck in it's own paradigm as the general population is. Most people believe at least some of what the government says as does the government. Like a positive feed back loop!

 

I used to carry around a newspaper clipping about a government supported study that found that MJ was relatively harmless and posed no real danger for adults. (teens are another matter entirely) the study actually cited reports by law enforcement officials that stated that MJ was even much less of threat for driving while high. What the report basically said about someone who was driving high was they drove along slowly and very straight, often even slowing down to look both ways at green light due the inherent nature of being high (mild paranoia) but that drunks would often blast along at high speeds, really speeding up for yellow lights and often doing crazy dangerous things like trying to play chicken with on coming drivers. This was a very small part of the report but the government dropped their support of this study and fired the researchers and hired more researchers that were more PC. In the end the government took a real black eye for this. Of course I would never advocate driving a car in any way but completely stone cold sober (some people shouldn't even be driving then) Until there is a real phase change in the way people think of personal freedoms and responsibilities none of these things will change.