The active ingredient in marijuana is THC, right? As far as I know, there is a pill form of that available. Why don't people take that instead of smoking marijuana?
Here's the thing. You are thinking of Marinol, which is actually synthetic THC. The problem with Marinol (and I think there's another one out there too) is that smoking Cannabis actually is more efficient, as well as the fact that the THC is not synthetic. Marinol's synthetic THC actually can CAUSE nausia and anxiety, and paranoia. Real THC actually can counter those effects. Yes, Cannabis Sativa (as opposed to Cannabis Indica) can actually cause paranoia to unexperienced users (it gives a cerebral head high, sometimes a bit trippy). Rule said that Cannabis causes paranoia to users... this is not always true, and it's only during the time that THC is active in one's bloodstream (1-4 hours, depending on the user's tolerance). Also, the paranoia that is caused isn't ever the kind of paranoia that would cause people to think that there is a government conspiracy. It's actually more of a "shit, my heart is pounding too fast, am I going to have a heart attack? Is there somebody looking at me through the window?" kind of stuff. I've experienced the paranoia before, and it's actually nothing to be worried about, since Cannabis plays a lot of mind games while one is under the influence. Cannabis Indica strains are very good for medicinal usage, as it produces a body stone that dulls pain. Cannabis plays a great role for cancer patients because THC (with good levels of CBD, since CBD (cannabidiol) regulates the levels of THC (CBD is not psychoactive)) can counter-act the nausia caused by chemo therapy. There are many medicinal uses for Cannabis, not just to help cancer patients. There is a huge medicinal marijuana movement, and there is still research going on for other things that Cannabis can do. Currently there's a study going on that says that Cannabis can possibly help prevent Alzheimer's as well.. this has not been proven yet, but given time, we will see.
Rule, I'm surprised that you still think Cannabis is a bad drug that is dangerous. I gave you many links that show all the common myths of Cannabis, all of which have been proven wrong by scientific studies. And yes, it is true that the government is trying to cover up the research that has been/is being done. Read the "Why Marijuana is Illegal" link that I posted.
Cannabis is not a bad drug, and recreational use has little to no bad effects on its users.
1. It's not physically addictive.
2. It has no bad physiological effects (except if you smoke it, you could get a cough).
3. Has no potential for overdose.
So why should it be illegal? Prohibition only causes:
1. No quality control, thus things can be laced with other drugs.
2. No quality control of Cannabis means that people could get bad Cannabis, with mold on it, that can actually be detrimental to one's physical health.
3. Causes organized crime to rise.
What happened with Alcohol prohibition? I think we all know the story.
Marijuana is a VERY safe drug. It's more safe that A LOT of legal prescription drugs.
Adderral? You can OD. It's addictive, too!
Oxycodone/Oxycontin/Morphine/etc? Very high OD risk, and it's highly addictive. And yet it's being abused by so many people. I don't think it should be illegal, because many people need chronic pain killers. But Cannabis can also kill chronic pain, with NONE of those risk factors.
I'm getting tired of typing now. I don't see what else I need to say to get you non-believers to understand that Cannabis is a drug that needs to be freed.
About Tobacco...
Tobacco alone, without any of the additives, is not nearly as harmful as people think. Tobacco companies add extra nicotine (which is actually a poison), and many other chemicals which are supposed to help smooth the smoke out (and keep people addicted). Many of those can be carcinogenic. Tobacco alone is still bad, though.
Hopefully now you know that just because something is illegal, does not mean it is bad. Later.
P.S. Rule, I think it's funny how you say it's impossible to prove anything in the real world, and then you list many things that smoke in one's lungs can cause. All of those problems were found out by scientific studies, and yet since it was included in your argument, it did not apply to your idea that you cannot prove anything in science. But I guess it doesn't matter, since you're right about smoke causing those problems. Also, the study of medicine is a very scientific thing. But I guess that doesn't matter, since it's part of your argument, and not someone else's, right?
