Do Marijuana Laws Actually Keep Americans From Toking Up?

[Dictator]

It must be Thursday. Time for another MJ thread.

[Clutch03]

woooo hooo my favorite subject

PS - yes i have do and will smoke a joint walking down the street..... its my life and i dont care what others think ..... and i have no fear of the cops and i have smoked for 22 years while smoking at least 2 joints worth a day for the last 7 -8 years. yes i can and have quit when i have wanted to or needed to.... however it is a part of my life .... and i have been observed in public by the cops smoking and never have i had a word said to me about it.....

Let me guess ... your white? Call me Ms. Cleo ... "Call me now!!!" :laugh:

I for one wouldn't be able to get away with that. I envision if I was in a situation like that that nightsticks and/or tasers would somehow be involved. :laugh:

I give you one try to guess my race? All I got to say is "Must be nice!!"

[stoney26]

woooo hooo my favorite subject

anyone got questions send them here lol

NO laws do NOT affect marijuana usage...... they do however affect supply because after a big bust the scene goes dry.

i just walked in sat down loaded the bong with some NYC DIESEL and logged on .... he he he

i dont care who knows i never have and yes i smoke ANYWHERE i want..... with respect to others anyway.....

i would never smoke say ..... at a game.....however if a good band is playing...... im going in high and im gettin high while im there..... i dont drink or do anything else.... a joint to me is like a glass of wine to you.....

the simple fact of the matter is that this drug has been demonized and made illegal for the profiteers of the early 20th century and has only succeeded in incarcerating non violoent offenders of victimless crimes!!!

PS - yes i have do and will smoke a joint walking down the street..... its my life and i dont care what others think ..... and i have no fear of the cops and i have smoked for 22 years while smoking at least 2 joints worth a day for the last 7 -8 years. yes i can and have quit when i have wanted to or needed to.... however it is a part of my life .... and i have been observed in public by the cops smoking and never have i had a word said to me about it.....

Pothead.

[smokinskinsfan]

Absolutely. If it was legal usage would be much higher. Since they approved medical marijuana here in California the people I personally know that use it, have increased their usage significantly. Once you are out of school, it is not difficult to obtain, but is more of a hassle. Walking into a store on your lunch hour, makes it way more convenient.

You have to look at the actual facts from a place were it is legal...I bring you holland. When they frist legalized it in the 70's the up tick is useage was right away...However once that 'this is new wow' aspect of it wore off, useage was actually down. And they have lower drug and weed usage then any other 1st world country. If you youtube the 420 special that Attack of the show did a few years ago the head drug czar explains it. Basically since kids grow up knowing what it is, with no stigma on it, they just don't care and don't have the intrest we have here, since 'its bad'. They do have a major drinking problem amoung the youth...they love the booze..just like here.

[Fifty Gut]

:laugh: Of course not. Do speed limit laws keep people from driving 5, 10, 15 miles above the posted speed limit? The black market is strong, especially for weak drugs like weed. You can find any drug you want here in NOVA. The harder the drug, the harder it is to find (for good reason).

[roger waters]

It will be legal in our lifetimes, the tax revenue is too great and the propaganda and stigma will wear off. I cant wait for a trip to an ABC store to pick your favorite. It just cant be argued that it is worse for you than Liquor.

[skinsfan07]

woooo hooo my favorite subject

anyone got questions send them here lol

NO laws do NOT affect marijuana usage...... they do however affect supply because after a big bust the scene goes dry.

i just walked in sat down loaded the bong with some NYC DIESEL and logged on .... he he he

i dont care who knows i never have and yes i smoke ANYWHERE i want..... with respect to others anyway.....

i would never smoke say ..... at a game.....however if a good band is playing...... im going in high and im gettin high while im there..... i dont drink or do anything else.... a joint to me is like a glass of wine to you.....

the simple fact of the matter is that this drug has been demonized and made illegal for the profiteers of the early 20th century and has only succeeded in incarcerating non violoent offenders of victimless crimes!!!

PS - yes i have do and will smoke a joint walking down the street..... its my life and i dont care what others think ..... and i have no fear of the cops and i have smoked for 22 years while smoking at least 2 joints worth a day for the last 7 -8 years. yes i can and have quit when i have wanted to or needed to.... however it is a part of my life .... and i have been observed in public by the cops smoking and never have i had a word said to me about it.....

spoken like a true stoner. Nice man. NYC diesel, ship me some! Just put it in the bottom of a coffee can. Put the coffee over it, and bam ship it to me.

[Hubbs]

You have to look at the actual facts from a place were it is legal...I bring you holland. When they frist legalized it in the 70's the up tick is useage was right away...However once that 'this is new wow' aspect of it wore off, useage was actually down. And they have lower drug and weed usage then any other 1st world country. If you youtube the 420 special that Attack of the show did a few years ago the head drug czar explains it. Basically since kids grow up knowing what it is, with no stigma on it, they just don't care and don't have the intrest we have here, since 'its bad'. They do have a major drinking problem amoung the youth...they love the booze..just like here.

Ding ding ding, we have a winner.

[Baculus]

It deters some folks, but many people do, in spite of such laws.

Such laws aren't necessarily to deter citizens, but to punish them if they are caught using the plant in some manner.

[Hubbs]

Such laws aren't necessarily to deter citizens, but to punish them if they are caught using the plant in some manner.

Deterrence would be the point of punishment.

[Baculus]

Deterrence would be the point of punishment.

You are correct to a degree, but there would be other methods that would provide a direct deterrence, as opposed to punishment after the fact of usage.

[Hubbs]

You are correct to a degree, but there would be other methods that would provide a direct deterrence, as opposed to punishment after the fact of usage.

You act as if I'm in support of the laws.

[NavyDave]

Its good to know none of my workers smoke (drug Tests)

[Bliz]

I've often wondered what other peoples' opinions are on this subject. To be clear, the exact question is thus:

Do the marijuana laws currently in place in the US actually reduce the overall availability of marijuana? In other words, if marijuana were legalized tomorrow, would there be a significant number of people who couldn't get their hands on any wacky tobacky before, but could with the legalization (assuming the same age limit as alcohol)?

My own experiences lead me to answer no. I grew up going to a very, very small private school, and even before I started shaving, I could have bought some weed at any time that I wanted to. I can only assume that it's even easier at much larger schools, especially those in inner cities. And college is, well, college. It's literally a matter of yelling into a hallway, "Hey, anyone got some pot?"

I can't name a single person from any part of my conscious memory who would be unable to have a bag of marijuana in his/her hands within hours of wanting some. If you throw out the possibility of marijuana being available to all ages if legalized (which would never happen), then I don't even believe that underage smoking would change, because alcohol and pot were both equally available throughout my minor years.

Apologies if I'm repeating someone else...really need to get back to work instead of reading this whole thread (damned addictive Tailgate), but I would say yes and here's why.

You're 21.

When I was 21, I would have said the same thing. Easy as hell to get, almost always the same day. As you get older and graduate, most people give it up for one reason or another (work, spouse, kids, just got tired of it...) or they move. Do I still know people that are holding, occasionally? Yeah. But if I wanted to actually purchase some myself it would take a good bit of effort, going through a chain of 2-3 people to get to "a guy" or some extremely sketchy conduct (like trying to buy from a stranger or asking someone I *think* probably smokes). I'm not confident it would work (or work in under 1-2 weeks) so I vote yes, lots of people who can't reasonably get their hands on it now would be able to if it were legalized.

[Kosher Ham]

Its good to know none of my workers smoke (drug Tests)

False sense of security.

[Baculus]

You act as if I'm in support of the laws.

Not at all: I just provided a response to your statement.

[Chachie]

For example, I'd have to find the research, but I think the number of MJ related health emergencies are significantly larger then any other recreational drugs.

For me to believe you, Mook- you'd have to find that research and then we'd have to determine the source of it.

[Mooka]

For me to believe you, Mook- you'd have to find that research and then we'd have to determine the source of it.

Yea actually I'm wrong, today Cocaine use is #1, MJ is #2. The study I had was from 1997.

Data on Drug-related Emergency Room Visits Released by SAMHSA

The 2004 DAWN estimates that cocaine was involved in 383,350 visits to emergency rooms; marijuana was involved in 215,665 visits; heroin was involved in 162,137 visits; stimulants, including amphetamines and methamphetamine, were involved in 102,843; and other illicit drugs such as PCP, Ecstasy, and GHB were involved with much less frequency.

DAWN estimates 495,732 visits to emergency rooms in 2004 related to nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Over half of these visits involved more than one drug (57 percent). Opiates and Opioid analgesics (prescription pain relievers) were the most frequent pharmaceuticals, involved in nearly a third (32 percent) of nonmedical use visits.

Hydrocodone products, involved in 42,491 emergency room visits, oxycodone products, in 36,559 emergency department visits, and methadone in 31,874 visits, were the most frequently used of the prescription pain relievers. DAWN cannot distinguish between methadone in pill form that is prescribed for pain, and methadone in liquid form used for treatment of opiate addiction. Benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety drugs) were involved in numbers of visits (144,385) similar to opiates and opioids.

DAWN measures alcohol in combination with illicit drugs for all ages, and alcohol alone in a patient under the age of 21, but not alcohol alone for those of legal drinking age. DAWN estimates 96,809 emergency room visits involving alcohol for patients under age 21. There were 363,641 emergency department visits by persons of all ages involving the use of alcohol in combination with another substance.

[DCsportsfan53]

Mooka, in that study, what's the definition of "was involved" when referring to emergency room visits? That's a big key. If someone smoked and then got his foot ran over by a drunk driver while standing on the sidewalk, does that count? He had used that day, by the way it's worded there, it certainly could count. I'd really like to know just where the line is drawn determining when smoking "was involved" in an emergency room visit.

In other words does it mean they went to the emergency room BECAUSE they smoked or did they happen to smoke on the same day an unrelated incident sent them to the emergency room. Something tells me, as far as this study is concerned, it's the former. Causation and coincidence, big differences there.

[Mooka]

Mooka, in that study, what's the definition of "was involved" when referring to emergency room visits? That's a big key. If someone smoked and then got his foot ran over by a drunk driver while standing on the sidewalk, does that count? He had used that day, by the way it's worded there, it certainly could count. I'd really like to know just where the line is drawn determining when smoking "was involved" in an emergency room visit.

If its in your system. That is all.

These are the studies done that show the potential dangers of marijuana, that pot is a gateway drug.

These are the same studies on kids with problems with MJ in their system.

[DCsportsfan53]

If its in your system. That is all.

These are the studies done that show the potential dangers of marijuana, that pot is a gateway drug.

These are the same studies on kids with problems with MJ in their system.

That's very misleading then. So if I was in a car accident and had smoked a week earlier, even assuming I wasn't driving, I would've been part of this statistic. I don't see how this study shows anything at all except that a good number of people use it. :2cents:

Edit: Something tells me the fact that the stats for coke and heroin or so high, despite their relative lack of use in comparison, says a lot. I'll bet an infinitely higher percentage of those people were actually at the ER because of the substance they took rather than coincidence when compared to pot.

[Hubbs]

Erm... if the only criterion is whether or not it's in your system, shouldn't MJ be expected to be far and away the #1 drug, seeing as it's used by the most people?

Or put another way - if I were to randomly test 1,000 people, marijuana would come out as the #1 drug in their systems. So why exactly is the fact that the same holds true for 1,000 people in emergency rooms news? Any study that has any other drug at #1, such as the one you posted, should be evidence for how safe marijuana actually is.

[WVUforREDSKINS]

Yes.

There would be many more people smoking if it was legal. Some people will not do anything if it is against the law.

[Chachie]

If its in your system. That is all.

These are the studies done that show the potential dangers of marijuana, that pot is a gateway drug.

These are the same studies on kids with problems with MJ in their system.

Well you did come thru with the study. Kudos on that. I agree (and I get that you're aware also, so I'm not arguing "against" you) with the replies that call these stats diluted. There are a huge number of marijuana users in this nation and IMHO marijuana is going to be present in a lot more bloodstreams regardless of it's involvement in the ER visits.

I was unaware though, that cocaine had made such a comeback.

[IbleedBnG83]

Anything that is illegal acts as a deterrent. Someone for instance in a high position may not want to attempt to purchase a drug. But if legalized, it encourages people in a sense. Many folks have the mentality that if it is legal, it is ok. So to answer the question that if marijuana laws keep Americans from toking up, then yes. That would be it could appear on drug tests and people would be more likely to smoke. Availability is not the issue.