Legalization? An Insult-Free Discussion

"Thousands" of "useless" arrests of people smoking joints in their homes? I've never heard of ONE arrest based on your scenario.

 

He could mean people who get caught with it, but who don't plan on smoking it until they get home, but I'll let him speak for himself.

 

Is this a case of TV reflecting society or TV trying to influence it? Dunno.

 

MYTH: MARIJUANA INTERFERES WITH MALE AND FEMALE SEX HORMONES. In both men and women, marijuana can cause infertility. Marijuana retards sexual development in adolescents. It produces feminine characteristics in males and masculine characteristics in females.

FACT: There is no evidence that marijuana causes infertility in men or women. In animal studies, high doses of THC diminish the production of some sex hormones and can impair reproduction. However, most studies of humans have found that marijuana has no impact of sex hormones. In those studies showing an impact, it is modest, temporary, and of no apparent consequence for reproduction. There is no scientific evidence that marijuana delays adolescent sexual development, has feminizing effect on males, or a masculinizing effect on females.

MYTH: MARIJUANA USE DURING PREGNANCY DAMAGES THE FETUS. Prenatal marijuana exposure causes birth defects in babies, and, as they grow older, developmental problems. The health and well being of the next generation is threatened by marijuana use by pregnant women.

FACT: Studies of newborns, infants, and children show no consistent physical, developmental, or cognitive deficits related to prenatal marijuana exposure. Marijuana had no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation, neurological development, or the occurrence of physical abnormalities. The administration of hundreds of tests to older children has revealed only minor differences between offspring of marijuana users and nonusers, and some are positive rather than negative. Two unconfirmed case-control studies identified prenatal marijuana exposure as one of many factors statistically associated with childhood cancer. Given other available evidence, it is highly unlikely that marijuana causes cancer in children.

MYTH: MARIJUANA USE IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS. Like alcohol, marijuana impairs psychomotor function and decreases driving ability. If marijuana use increases, an increase in of traffic fatalities is inevitable.

FACT: There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities. At some doses, marijuana affects perception and psychomotor performances- changes which could impair driving ability. However, in driving studies, marijuana produces little or no car-handling impairment- consistently less than produced by low moderate doses of alcohol and many legal medications. In contrast to alcohol, which tends to increase risky driving practices, marijuana tends to make subjects more cautious. Surveys of fatally injured drivers show that when THC is detected in the blood, alcohol is almost always detected as well. For some individuals, marijuana may play a role in bad driving. The overall rate of highway accidents appears not to be significantly affected by marijuana's widespread use in society.

source: http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/

 

Lyman --
If there is any ulterior motive -- and I don't think that there really is, especially in the HBO and Showtime shows -- I think it would be a patina of realism.

Rather than showing the classic network sitcom scenario -- think "A Very Special Blossom", or worse, the government-funded PSA's that tell kids blatantly obvious lies about weed — they aim to show what people actually do.

Some people have problems with it. Some people use it instead of zoloft or paxil. Some use it before they fuck. The world's complicated.

I'm not saying that's necessarily real -- though I think it's much closer than the previous depictions — but it's interesting that all those shows might have thought so. Or they just might have thought it would be "hip" and "edgy". Lord knows with TV production.

 

This guy walks into a talent agency and says to the guy, "Have I got an act for you."
The talent agent says, "Well, I don't really need anything new right now."
The guy looks him in the eyes and says, "This one is different, it's a family act."
The guy then brings in his wife, his two kids one a girl age nine and the other a boy age 13 and the family dog, a giant poodle...

If you know the joke, fill in the rest.

 

yes...thats what I meant, thank you Overrated.

 

No prob. I'm off to watch some more video of The Hoff.

 

AL, thanks for the clarification.

Zeke: Perhaps the TV focus is a reflection of the times; I'm a little older than you are, and nobody in my circle of friends smokes on a regular basis (although a few did, back in the day). Or perhaps some suit in Hollywood does think it's hip and edgy. Or maybe a bit of both. Regardless, I don't see any pro-legalization efforts on the radar screen anytime soon, unless you know something differently.

Wheel Gunner: Your information doesn't exactly come from an unbiased source. Is there anything from something a bit more non-partisan (i.e., JAMA) to back up those claims?

 

Lyman....I haven't heard of any true legalization movement either, but I imagine there will be a true push to legalize it in about 20 years.

 

As I've said, baby steps.

How about a common-sense approach to decriminilization? Then, when the sky doesn't fall in in 10-12 years, we can talk about legalization.

 

www.NORML.com

Ex-Cowboys lineman Mark Stepnoski is the president of the Texas chapter.
Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson (a longtime supporter, no surprise), Bill Maher are all on NORML's national advisory board.

The social stigma prevents NORML from being more mainstream. But it is a "true legalization movement," and a legit, educated one. Hopefully, it will be a powerful one soon, too.