Should Marijuana Be Legal?

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Should marijuana use be legal?

  • Yes, even for recreational use

    Votes: 218 80.4%

  • Yes, but only for medicinal purposes

    Votes: 25 9.2%

  • No

    Votes: 28 10.3%
  • Total voters
    271
For an upcoming group of healthcare professionals of whom are all scientists, it is amazing to me that most of your opinions are based off of what you learned in D.A.R.E. instead of independent research. Your patients will appreciate a scientific, evidenced based treatment instead of a treatment developed simply upon hearsay and emotion.
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bob1234 said:
For an upcoming group of healthcare professionals of whom are all scientists, it is amazing to me that most of your opinions are based off of what you learned in D.A.R.E. instead of independent research. Your patients will appreciate a scientific, evidenced based treatment instead of a treatment developed simply upon hearsay and emotion.
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U MADD bro?
 
peteB said:
How about we legalize marijuana and ban alcohol? Then people can have something to use recreationally but at the same time prevent all those nasty effects you mentioned.
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I'm pretty sure you would have to amend the Constitution for a third time in order to ban alcohol again.

It's pretty funny though that they thought they needed a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol, but there's nothing in the Constitution that enables them to ban marijuana.
 
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bob1234 said:
For an upcoming group of healthcare professionals of whom are all scientists, it is amazing to me that most of your opinions are based off of what you learned in D.A.R.E. instead of independent research. Your patients will appreciate a scientific, evidenced based treatment instead of a treatment developed simply upon hearsay and emotion.
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You haven't provided any evidence to support your idea of "legalize everything" either, as I've already pointed out. If you try mentioning portugal again my response is going to be :laugh:
 
calvnandhobbs68 said:
You haven't provided any evidence to support your idea of "legalize everything" either, as I've already pointed out. If you try mentioning portugal again my response is going to be :laugh:
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I would have gone after the statement that patients will appreciate a scientific approach. Wishful thinking

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legal or not mj users should not further burden the healthcare system asking for antipsychotic medications and stimulants that they feel are needed due to their mj use
 
calvnandhobbs68 said:
You haven't provided any evidence to support your idea of "legalize everything" either, as I've already pointed out. If you try mentioning portugal again my response is going to be :laugh:
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I didn't go over any data you may have presented, however the data I found on Portugal showed a decrease in drug use. The numbers are not relevant, it is about freedom of choice to improve or destroy your own body. Sometimes I forget people in the medical field aren't necessary more enlightened than the general public on all things. I think my position follows natural law and is more fair than where your views line up.
 
bob1234 said:
I didn't go over any data you may have presented, however the data I found on Portugal showed a decrease in drug use. The numbers are not relevant, it is about freedom of choice to improve or destroy your own body. Sometimes I forget people in the medical field aren't necessary more enlightened than the general public on all things. I think my position follows natural law and is more fair than where your views line up.
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right, in america people can improve or destroy their body..but then they take up healthcare expenses to fix problems that were supposedly only affecting them...which is also not true...look at many of the psychotic patients in the county mental health systems
 
GroverPsychMD said:
right, in america people can improve or destroy their body..but then they take up healthcare expenses to fix problems that were supposedly only affecting them...which is also not true...look at many of the psychotic patients in the county mental health systems
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Yes, I have dealt with some of them, but not on the level you probably have. I think people in the psych field do a very good job with these extremely challenging cases, but others shouldn't be forced to pay for their treatment, not to say these patients would not get care anyways. It's certainly a tough topic. Do we allow county to turn away patients who can't pay so they can get out of the red or do you accept the status quo? If my tax dollars we to go to something though, it would be for medical care before military spending and drug law enforcement.
 
bob1234 said:
I didn't go over any data you may have presented, however the data I found on Portugal showed a decrease in drug use. The numbers are not relevant, it is about freedom of choice to improve or destroy your own body. Sometimes I forget people in the medical field aren't necessary more enlightened than the general public on all things. I think my position follows natural law and is more fair than where your views line up.
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Presenting data on something that is not relevant to what you are proposing is the same thing as presenting no data at all. So no, as far as I'm concerned you have presented no data. Go back to my post a page or so ago responding to your portugal post to see why I think so. I'm not repeating myself just because you cant take the time to read back a page.

In regards to this paragraph, your argument is so all over the place at this point that I just think you're trollin.
 
bob1234 said:
Yes, I have dealt with some of them, but not on the level you probably have. I think people in the psych field do a very good job with these extremely challenging cases, but others shouldn't be forced to pay for their treatment, not to say these patients would not get care anyways. It's certainly a tough topic. Do we allow county to turn away patients who can't pay so they can get out of the red or do you accept the status quo? If my tax dollars we to go to something though, it would be for medical care before military spending and drug law enforcement.
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I dont know if it is the mj strain in america different from other countries, but viewing violent psychosis on the synthetic cannibis is horrifying. and the cases i saw were at the mental health clinic fo the county, inpatient mostly. but i did see a few cases at the not for profit hospit as well.
 
calvnandhobbs68 said:
Presenting data on something that is not relevant to what you are proposing is the same thing as presenting no data at all. So no, as far as I'm concerned you have presented no data. Go back to my post a page or so ago responding to your portugal post to see why I think so. I'm not repeating myself just because you cant take the time to read back a page.

In regards to this paragraph, your argument is so all over the place at this point that I just think you're trollin.
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I think the same about you LOL, so :sleep:
 
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GroverPsychMD said:
I dont know if it is the mj strain in america different from other countries, but viewing violent psychosis on the synthetic cannibis is horrifying. and the cases i saw were at the mental health clinic fo the county, inpatient mostly. but i did see a few cases at the not for profit hospit as well.
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A lot of people in my area who have been incarcerated for petty things like MJ have to submit to random drug tests. Some of those people turned to the synthetics because the drug tests were not screening for synthetics yet. The synthetic is an inferior drug and only exists because MJ is illegal. Very few are going to be asking for K2, bath salts, or poppers if alcohol, MJ, and cocaine are available.

Are people smoking marijuana and becoming crazy, or do we have a case of crazy people smoking marijuana (or consuming other drugs)? I think you could agree that some unbalanced people self medicate and damage their situation worse to what it was previously. If you screen high school/college students who smoke MJ, most are probably just normal people using recreationally. I think you would be hard pressed to find a "normal" kid who took a hit of reefer and was thrown into complete a psychosis.
 
there is evidence that these young people have a predisposition to schizophrenia..but why hasten these people's psychosis the mj?

i am unsure if a psychotic person has less psychosis on mj.

check the psych thread on that kind of stuff if you care.
 
GroverPsychMD said:
there is evidence that these young people have a predisposition to schizophrenia..but why hasten these people's psychosis the mj?

i am unsure if a psychotic person has less psychosis on mj.

check the psych thread on that kind of stuff if you care.
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It is a very interesting topic, indeed. I will check into it, thanks for the heads up
 
bob1234 said:
It is a very interesting topic, indeed. I will check into it, thanks for the heads up
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The psych people are who we would go to see experience and/or research familiarity with the physiologic effects of MJ and the potential for induction of psychosis. But the epidemiology or the social discussion around legality is very much the public domain. If any science or epidemiology was brought to bear on the matter then clearly, alcohol and cigarettes would be illegal far quicker with MJ way down on the list. If one's presumption of the role of government is suitable for this purpose. The research is still unclear whether pot induced psychosis is not an exacerbation of underlying potential for psychotic disorders.

If you're in charge of managing new onset psychosis in a teenager your opinion on whether the price of law enforcement's involvement in the drug game is worth it in social and monetary costs is going to be altered far in the direction of prevention.

I say this as budding psychiatrist very much interested in the nature and characteristics of all psychotropic substances. But not having the burden of seeing this in practice.

For now I see the social price as outright calamity. The cases of early onset psychosis paling in comparison. But I suspect the next few decades we will answer these questions as pot moves from hippy stereotype to widely accepted use. Then the big research money will crank up.

Addiction and human behavior might be trickier. We still don't know why some people drink to die and others to socialize. But we're getting there. I'll bet we will answer in what types of people is pot a risk for. Maybe even on a genetic level, while most of us are still practicing.
 
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NightSwim said:
No. Legalization would lead to increased use, and thus more lung disease. Also, smoking and driving would lead to more MVC deaths/injuries.

I think either you keep marijuana illegal or you legalize all drugs.
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Dharma said:
In the JAMA study they were using joint years as a standard (that's 1 joint per day/yr) and at that level they did not find any evidence that increased exposure to SMOKED cannabis adversely affects pulmonary function. According to the statistics the average user will be using much less than this (around 2-3 times per month). Sounds like they found their comparison in this study though.

My concern will be a lack of education regarding possible adverse effects and folks abusing cannabis, similar to how many abuse alcohol. Instead of having a drink or two, a lot of the younger crowd pushes it to the limit, as I'm sure will happen with MJ. That said, it already happens. But still, the possible negative ramifications do not equate with the weight of the plant's current legal status. It's that simple.

Anyhow, the study for those interested: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104848
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For those still worried about the potential for lung disease regardless of the JAMA article cited by Dharma, one word: edibles. It seems logical that those that smoke cigarettes will tend to also smoke marijuana, while those that don't smoke will utilize the edible version, hopefully resulting in a static incidence of lung dz. I'd be interested to compare prior incidence of lung dz before legalization to that post-legalization if it happens. That'd be an awesome read.
 
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today a 10 yo was arrested for bringing her father's medical mj to school..colorado (he had the mj for chronic pain, ADHD, and restless legs)
 
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