Posts by Kyle Ross56

Senator, you used to be a pot Head -- Now you're Talking like a Narc by Norman Kent
By Norman Kent, AlterNet
AlterNet Printed on July 6
Editor's Note : The following is a letter addressed How about admitting that if The Rockefeller drug laws were applied to Norman Bruce Coleman on Long Island in 1968 , or to me... then we'd all be sitting in much different circumstances right now. It’s wild how the rules only seem to apply when it suits the people in power...

Editor's Note : The following is a letter addressed to Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman -- a guy who’s all about those brutal federal drug laws... just a little reminder that back in the day, he was actually a happy, chill, fun-loving pot smoker.

My buddy Norman,

Back in the day, in a whole different life, you weren't exactly campaigning against legalizing weed... Back when we were all just hanging out in those dorm rooms at Hofstra University, you, me, Billy, your future brother-in-law, Ivan, Jonathan, Peter, Janet, Nancy, and a massive crowd of other students were all smoking dope...

Yeah, we basically had to duct tape the doors shut, light up some incense, and keep every window wide open... Look, we all got high back in the day, and somehow we turned out just fine without needing a single bit of guidance from the Office of National Drug Control Policy...

Look at us now... all grown up and playing lawyer...And then there’s the rest of our crew, if you bother to scroll through the list... Doctors, academics, parents, political fixers, the whole professional elite... honestly, nobody’s ever walked away from a joint with a case of diabetes or lung cancer... We look back at those younger years with such nostalgia, man... times when we actually stood our ground, made some noise, and moved the needle, everything from Earth Day in 1970 to helping bring down a President and end a War in Southeast Asia just a few years after that. We were all high on pot when we stormed Weller Hall to fight back against the administration trashing student rights. You were out there smoking pot on the roof of the University senate, protesting how the faculty kept everything to themselves. And then, as The President of The student senat in 1969 , you condemned The RAID by Nassau County... when they went after our dorms and busted tons of us just for having a little weed...

Back then, you weren't even claiming weed was a danger. The real horror—both back in the day and right freaking now—is watching national leaders turn into absolute hypocrites, just mouthpieces for the status quo who’d rather protect their own seats than actually do something for the people... It’s pathetic, really. Welcome to the club of people who have officially become everything they used to hate. Welcome to The mindless myriad of legislators Who gather in cocktail lounges to manhandle their martinis while passing laws against drunk driving.

Last year, we saw way more people kicked the bucket from eating bad spinach than from using weed. We've spent generations watching addicts overdose on everything from heroin to meth... but you? As an attorney general, a mayor, and a U.S. Senator, you’ve always been right there at the front of the line, calling out the stuff that actually hurts people. You've been a class act and a truly honorable public servant... so how about not acting like such a total dope on dope?

How about finally owning up to the fact that if those Rockefeller drug laws had actually hit Norman Bruce Coleman on Long Island back in '68—or if they’d hit me, or any of our friends and classmates—you, me, and everyone else we cared about might still be rotting behind bars today? Seriously, can we just admit it... for way too long, far too many people have been slapped with wrongful arrests, rigged prosecutions, and thrown into prison for absolutely insane stretches of time...

Maybe it’s time to acknowledge that some of your own peers have been smoking weed for over 25 years and turned out just fine... we're talking successful record producers, big-time business owners, and decent parents...

Why don't you just stand up and finally admit you've heard—or even seen—all those endless stories from people using weed for medicine... like how I've had to rely on it just to survive the hell of chemo...

If you’ve actually been over to Africa and looked the AIDS crisis right in its eyes—seeing people literally wasting away from malnutrition and constant nausea because they can't get basic medicine—how could you possibly turn your back on medical marijuana for those folks...?

Can we please stop following the pathetic, outdated playbook from the Office of National Drug Control Policy? They actually had the nerve to suggest this week that people who smoke weed are somehow more prone to joining gangs than anyone else... what a joke.

Why not just step up and own it? Just say, "Look, I, Norm Coleman, was smoking weed back in '69." "I'm not some gang thug, a junkie, or a felon."

Just tell us the truth: "I grew up, moved past my old habits, and made it on my own damn merit."

Come on, man... stand up for the person you actually were, not just the image you've built...

What do you say, Norm?

Don't get me wrong, I still respect everything you've pulled off and all those big wins in your career. Your current success is pretty incredible to watch...

But how about looking in the rearview mirror and realizing: "Hey, what I did wasn't such a massive crime that entire generations of Americans should still be rotting in jail decades later—especially when we saw nearly a million possession arrests just last year."

Is it really too much for Norm Coleman to just come clean in 2007 and admit "These mass arrests are a mistake—there’s a better path forward, and we've got to find it."

You'd probably find a lot more actual honor in that than sticking to the pathetic, broken policies coming out of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

You might even find yourself again...

Norman Kent

Norman Kent is a Fort Lauderdale, FL attorney focusing on criminal defense, appeals, media law, and First Amendment rights. He sits on the Board of Directors for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

If I’m remembering right, you can't just go bringing seeds across the border like that...

Exactly. It’s just like how you can carry spores from hallucinogenic mushrooms without any issue, since they don't actually contain Psilocin or Psilocybin, which are basically the same deal as THC marijuana...

James Turner80 said:And then they have the nerve to tell me I'm just peddling demagoguery?

It’s pretty straightforward. You argued that we should look at whether something *can* have negative consequences, and those consequences are basically the formal excuse for prohibition. But if you use "is it harmful" as the benchmark for banning stuff instead of "how much harm does it actually cause," then prohibition becomes even more ridiculous... I mean, let's be real, THC marijuana is harmful. It definitely has some beneficial sides to using it, but yeah, it's harmful. That doesn't mean it needs to be illegal, though, because:

1. what an individual chooses to do is their business, not the government's
2. sure, it's harmful, but that damage is barely noticeable unless you're smoking it every single day like a habit
3. tons of way more dangerous things are perfectly legal, and if you follow the logic of just asking "is it harmful" rather than "to what degree," half the world would need to be criminalized
4. prohibiting anything is a bad move that just creates way more problems than it ever successfully solves, which is exactly what I was getting at in my first post here...

James Turner80 said:If I were thinking like you, I wouldn't even touch those links you posted... I'd be too busy worrying that they're just paid-off studies funded by the drug scene itself...

It’s not just some random stuff either, we're talking independent studies from major universities and private research institutes... You honestly think there's some massive drug lobby powerful enough to rig research at the most prestigious universities and institutions in the world? That's just straight-up paranoia from Sasha Radovic...

They call it "government research"... Whatever... It’s pretty obvious they just want results that back up the policies they’ve already got in place... nothing more, nothing less.

At the end of the day, policy dictates everything... scientists don't have a say in how things actually go down.
I really hope you aren't getting too ahead of yourself regarding the whole marijuana myth over in the Netherlands...

The Netherlands actually has its act together, unlike here in the States where you can basically do whatever you want just because of where you happen to be standing, completely ignoring what the scientific community says... It’s not like all of Europe either, where marijuana is mostly decriminalized and a ton of other soft drugs like psilocybin and mescaline are legal in way more countries...

We aren't even talking about whether it's "way safer" or whatever... we're looking at whether it can actually cause some serious damage...

Everything has a downside, honestly. Even that cheap grocery store pudding is packed with carcinogenic preservatives that stick to your system way longer than any drug ever could...

You didn't put everything in quotes, take another look... but honestly, who cares...

James Turner80 said:If those examples could actually shut down the whole marijuana myth, I honestly have no clue why everyone stays so "blind" to the truth...

So you're telling me I can't? What's that even supposed to mean... what's actually wrong with them...

James Turner80 said:Why don't you just try sending those pages to someone in charge of the whole marijuana myth situation at the federal level... maybe they'll actually listen for once...

Kyle Ross56 said:Yeah, honestly, the only studies worth a damn are the independent ones that aren't being bankrolled by Big Pharma... you know, the ones coming from outside the major government agencies...

It’s because decisions around here are made by politicians instead of actual scientists... and honestly, half those politicians are about as open-minded as our buddy Tommy over here...

Government-funded studies from state institutes just can't be objective because they're run by the exact same people who benefit from keeping marijuana illegal... which in the US is basically the whole government. Especially given how draconian their drug policies are here. I'm telling you again, if you actually trust NIDA... Check this out... Check out this documentary...
Check this out... http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=0

So basically, I'm not even gonna bother clicking those links... I don't give a damn about government propaganda...

/www.whitehousedrugpolicy.I don't know, man... just feels like everything's a mess...Check out this link from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy regarding the whole marijuana myth thing... http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/marijuana/index.html
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy The policy situation is just... what even is that? Typical bureaucracy at its finest... White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/04-06-14-01.all.html

1. "Clearly, further work is needed to test this hypothesis." 2. Why do I always have to repeat myself, nobody actually reads anything and everyone just talks trash: Read it, it refers specifically to the type of research described in your link.

Although most young people use cannabis in adolescence without harm, a vulnerable minority experience harmful outcomes.

In other words, even though most people aren't allergic to peanuts, a tiny handful of people can die from that allergy (I know this because more people die from peanut allergies every year than from MDMA, but that's a whole different story...)

Our findings suggest that cannabis use among psychologically vulnerable should be strongly discouraged. Which I totally agree with. Like, let me say it again, I never said weed was harmless. But hitting it on the weekend is way safer than getting wasted on something else...

[URL]http://www.ukcia.org/research/COMTgene.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7374/1212.pdf

Although most young people use cannabis in adolescence without harm, a vulnerable minority experience harmful outcomes.

In other words, even though most people aren't allergic to peanuts, a tiny handful of people can die from that allergy (I know this because more people die from peanut allergies every year than from MDMA, but that's a whole different story...)

Our findings suggest that cannabis use among psychologically vulnerable should be strongly discouraged. Which I totally agree with. Like, let me say it again, I never said weed was harmless. But hitting it on the weekend is way safer than getting wasted on something else...

[URL]http://www.ukcia.org/research/COMTgene.pdf

🤣 Oh man, are you seriously telling me you understand more than 10% of what's written under that link?

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/con...act/15/10/1829

Are you trying to kill yourself? Did you even read that at all?

Conclusions: Our results may have been affected by selection bias or error in measuring lifetime exposure and confounder histories; but they suggest that the association of these cancers with marijuana, even long-term or heavy use, is not strong and may be below practically detectable limits

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=...rttext&tlng=en

Possible hepatotoxicity of chronic marijuana usage.
CONCLUSIONS: Chronic marijuana usage, on its own or in association with other drugs, was associated with hepatic morphologic and enzymatic alterations. This indicates that cannabinoids are possible hepatotoxic substances.

It's possible I'll drop dead tomorrow. But probably won't...

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/...urcetype=HWCIT

Participants: A statewide secondary school sample of 1601 students aged 14-15 followed for seven years

Oh, wow. Groundbreaking discovery... obviously using drugs while you're going through puberty isn't great for you. Now they've "proven" those kids end up more depressed. Big deal. Like I said, street dealers aren't exactly checking IDs, which is exactly why we need a legal, regulated system instead...[/URL]

Sam Green73 said:Look, we're talking about legalization here, not some endless debate over whether it's good or bad for your body...

You can't even bring up legalizing drugs without people immediately pivoting to health concerns, because that's basically the only card the prohibitionists have left to play to justify criminalization...

James Turner80 said:Seriously, what else are you guys gonna try to talk me into...
Since I'm basically wasting my time reading this anyway, I might as well contribute something...
Since everyone here seems obsessed with talking about how great marijuana is, I figured I’d jump in and actually mention some of the downsides...
So, apparently marijuana actually packs over 426 different compounds, including more than 70 distinct cannabinoids... and each one hits your system differently to mess with various bodily functions...
Once those cannabinoids hit the fat cells, they start messing with cell division, which basically chokes out the production of DNA, RNA, and proteins... eventually just killing the cell's ability to function. How much damage actually gets done to the organs really just boils down to how long they hang around and how much stuff is actually in there...
Let's be real, everyone knows marijuana definitely messes with your brain chemistry these days... but honestly, nobody even tries to whine about it, not even the experts out there fighting tooth and nail for legalization...
Plus, get this—the smoke from marijuana actually contains 50% more carcinogens than something like tobacco... turns out that whole marijuana myth is even wilder than people think...

It’s pretty wild how much you know about the marijuana myth... took you forever to Google all that up, didn't it?
I can't believe people actually fall for this stuff... some "expert" column claiming that certain behaviors are linked to specific substances when it's really just basic psychology at work... honestly, it's all just a bunch of noise to keep everyone panicking...

And this is what you're calling a source? Just some unsigned piece written by any random prohibitionist after a quick Google search through sponsored studies that were rigged from the jump... Does he even cite his sources?

And this too...
Check out this breakdown on the marijuana myth over at Erowid... it’s pretty wild how much misinformation is still floating around out there...

And yeah, the only research actually worth a damn is the independent, non-sponsored stuff—you know, away from all that pseudo-science backed by big pharma... I linked a documentary about MDMA a couple of pages back in one of my posts, check it out if you want to see how those government-funded "studies" basically just gaslight concerned parents...

Look, here are the sources:
The whole marijuana myth regarding mental health... it's honestly such a mess...Check this out—it’s from one of the founders of Erowid, which is basically the gold standard for everything psychoactive online. Just look at how many references they packed in at the end...

Honestly, cigarettes are way more destructive than marijuana...UC Berkeley...

And of course... The marijuana myth...Just hit "Footnotes" at the bottom and you'll see all the actual sources they're basing this on...

I just tore your entire post to shreds...

James Turner80 said:1. You're talking nonsense.
The way you're twisting my words and my logic is honestly hilarious... I think anyone can see what's happening here.
My point was this: if we try to ban things like tobacco (which is totally legal) just because they're harmful, then why wouldn't we legalize one specific drug (which is currently illegal)? It feels like everything is heading toward banning anything that negatively impacts people, and marijuana definitely fits that description.

2. Can't you guys see that you can't just generalize about everything, including marijuana?
Some people just insist on doing it.
Using examples like "I use it and still pass all my exams" isn't a solid argument.

1. Look, if you actually believe the government should decide for you by banning everything that's bad for you, then there’s something seriously wrong with your head. Like I said, if we follow that logic where everything harmful gets banned, eventually you won't even be allowed to drink water or eat bread. Just because the world is following a shitty trend doesn't mean we have to jump on board. My first post in this thread, and that second link I sent Tommy, explains exactly why prohibiting any substance is a terrible idea... it's morally wrong, it fails, and it's totally counterproductive.

2. And those stories like "I smoked every day and ruined my life, so don't smoke, it's pure evil" aren't generalizations? That's basically saying, "I messed up, so you guys will too"... how is that not a generalization?

Joseph Kern11 said:Check out this deep dive on drug policy... it’s a wild ride through how we handle everything from cocaine to meth... definitely worth a look if you want to see how the whole system actually functions.

You seriously didn't even glance at this part of the page, did you...?
Check out this link to Schaffer's plan... http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/...plan/index.htm

James Turner80 said:At the end of the day, it’s all on you... whether you decide to follow the rules or just go rogue...
Let's not kid ourselves here, weed is just as addictive as nicotine...
It’s wild how big tobacco manages to stay legal just by flooding the world with high-end propaganda... especially when you look at those "scientific studies" they use to claim nicotine isn't actually harmful, which feels pretty similar to the way people are trying to spin the whole marijuana thing right now...
Let’s be real, we all know nicotine is a drug too, which is exactly why the government keeps trying to tighten the screws and cut down on everyone using it legally...
We're talking about stuff like banning smoking in public places or making it illegal to let minors light up... I'm not even questioning whether people actually follow those rules or anything...
So, since they’re basically trying to ban nicotine—and honestly, it looks like they might actually pull it off eventually... why on earth would they go ahead and legalize marijuana?

Because all that nonsense you just spewed here doesn't have a shred of truth to it... You're seriously claiming marijuana is as addictive as nicotine? Please, nicotine is easily one of the most addictive substances known to man...

So I was looking at this chart ranking how addictive different substances actually are, and honestly, seeing Nicotine sitting there at a 99 with Meth at 98 and Crack at 97 just hits different... then you see Alcohol trailing at 81 and Heroin right behind it at 80... even snorted Cocaine is up at 71 while Caffeine is hovering around 70... meanwhile, Marijuana is down at 22, MDMA is at 20, Psilocybin is at 19, LSD is at 16, and Mescaline is chilling at 15... kind of wild if you think about it...

Source is from:
Perrine, Daniel M. 1996. The Chemistry of Mind-Altering Drugs: History, Pharmacology, and Cultural ContextWashington, DC: American Chemical Society

Before you go calling this total bullshit just because it bruised your ego regarding Heroin being the most addictive drug out there, maybe take a look at who actually published it... It’s the American Chemical Society, meaning actual scientists, not some political agency like the DEA...

Not to mention there aren't even recorded deaths from marijuana, whereas nicotine hits you at around 50-60 mg/kg... which makes it more toxic than arsenic and like twenty times more lethal than cocaine... turns out that's a pretty wild reality check.

So, you're saying because they're cracking down on smoking, we should go after weed too? Honestly, why stop there? Let's just ban everything that carries even a hint of risk—driving, hiking, swimming, the whole nine yards... Then we can all live these perfectly safe, mindless, beige little lives where nothing ever happens...

Whether big tobacco propaganda actually exists or not is pretty much irrelevant at this point, because people are dropping dead from smoking every single day right in front of our eyes... People don't die from marijuana. Ever. Unless there's some specific case I'm totally unaware of, in which case feel free to drop a link so I can see it for myself...

I don't even smoke, but when it comes to these public smoking bans... look, I get it if you want to ban it in government buildings, schools, or hospitals—that’s fine. And workplace bans make sense if you're stuck in an office with non-smokers. But banning it in coffee shops? No way. Get real. You just inhaled eighteen times more toxic exhaust from your own car and everyone else's on the drive over, soaked up a massive dose of UV rays and radio waves from cell towers, and then you walk into a place where people are basically pouring poison down their throats for fun, only to start whining about a little smoke? Give me a break. It's exactly like those drug prohibition zealots... just hypocritical, self-righteous wannabes who can only see one side of the story. If there's any reason I feel embarrassed about being a non-smoker, it's because I'm terrified people might actually mistake me for one of you...

I mean, more than half the people I see in coffee shops on a Saturday night are smoking anyway... so what? It’s democracy. If a tiny minority can't handle it, they can just go somewhere else. A business should be allowed to decide its own damn rules regarding smoking...

Joseph Kern11 said:Sakoman is a total fraud, and using drug cartel propaganda as actual arguments is a joke. Just walk into any hospital with a psych ward and ask a doctor to point out one single person for whom weed was actually harmless.

Oh sure, typical... apparently every legitimate argument is just some lie from the narco lobby trying to move more product, god, what stereotypical nonsense... You want a psychiatrist? Well, if you’d actually watched the film I linked, you’d have found one. There’s a psychiatrist in there, but not some local guy from some tiny town, he's from Harvard. So maybe give it a watch.

As for the Netherlands, nice job, you didn't even provide a biased link since it came from the DEA.
We have a saying on this forum for those of us who actually follow drug news: "The DEA's biggest enemies are science and facts."

Looks like that applies to you too.

Man, I really thought I proved my point in this thread. We'll see how long it takes before I cave and grab a smoke once every three weeks... catch ya in ten years, I guess.
Exactly, just go ahead and retreat under the excuse that you're "over it" because you're actually just hiding in a corner...

Here's a little something for the road:
http://anonym.to?http://www.tv-links...27/45567/67104

Since actual arguments and movies don't seem to work on you, maybe this will... though the message stays the same.

Look, I’m totally against organized "religion," but I'm all about personal spirituality—which, by the way, has zero connection to any mainstream church in my book. And no, I don't touch weed for that... I save the psychedelics for when I actually want to travel... and honestly, after everything I've experienced, I wouldn't trade those trips for anything in the world.

But that's not even the point here, the point is you just hunt for tiny little things, some random detail in a post, just so you can spit on it and conveniently ignore the massive mountain of arguments being thrown at you in this thread. And then you have the nerve to tell us we're wrong. You haven't proven a single damn thing except to show everyone what a textbook prohibitionist looks like—just an ignorant, baseless demagogue who sticks to his guns despite hills and valleys of evidence, all because of some outdated, societal brainwashing that says any shift in consciousness is inherently bad.

Tupac keeps digging his heels in just to protect his fragile little sense of moral superiority from people who aren't just more educated than him, but also seem way smarter and wiser too...

You claim you know everything about drugs, yet you call anyone who smokes weed a junkie.

You say "we're right and psychiatrists are wrong," but independent scientific research tells a completely different story.

After a whole post packed with actual arguments, your big response is just calling it "stupid junkie rambling."

You act like none of us have a clue, but you've got nothing behind you except your own questionable, and probably totally made-up, personal experiences.

The truth is, you can't make a single credible argument on a topic you clearly know nothing about, because you know that "argument" will be torn apart under a microscope by people who actually know their stuff, like Captain Crunch.

You're just a "keyboard warrior," someone who wants to change the world and mess with people's lives without even bothering to learn anything about the things they want to influence. You're arrogant, acting like you're the smartest guy in the room despite everything. You're also a coward, because you can't man up enough to admit when you're wrong even though you know deep down that you are. You just think you're always right, so you desperately dodge everyone else's points just to prove yourself. Instead, you choose to snipe at people's claims from a distance based on some tiny, irrelevant side note, then pivot to new questions without ever answering the ones asked of you. Maybe that makes you feel better or more "right," but all anyone sees is what kind of man you really are...

*And by man, I mean in the broadest possible sense.

slypuma17 said:Can you actually say that out loud? Like, you’re really gonna trade in your own free will just to follow some guide...

I have zero clue what you're getting at here, man... care to elaborate?

I guess I'm just waiting around to see what happens next... maybe if I stare at the screen long enough, something actually interesting will occur... says:
I'm with you on that one...

Maybe you should try fixing your sarcasm detector...

I mean, I get what they’re saying in that article, but banning cars because of it would be pure idiocy... First it's drugs, then smoking in public, then cars, then fast food, and before you know it, being overweight will be illegal, and eventually, they'll probably ban aging too since getting old is bad for your heart...

I don't even know where to start with this one... just total nonsense if you ask me. says:
So, how do you explain the fact that nobody actually smoking weed ever claims it's bad for them, yet every single person who decided to quit swears up and down that it was pure poison and only caused them trouble...

It’s pretty simple. People who quit and start preaching about how harmful it is are usually just people who overdid it way too much, just like I said before... Recreational, spiritual, or mindful use isn't the same thing as being an addict. If I had been smoking every single day and let my whole life revolve around it, I’d probably be standing here right now acting like it's pure poison too. It's just stupid, warped logic based on their own screw-ups rather than actual science. Eat some Doritos once or twice a week and you'll be fine... But go and crush two packs a day, and once you've packed on the weight, you'll suddenly act all high and mighty about how "dangerous" it is, when really you're just proving you have zero self-control and can't handle your business.

Man, if you’re out here questioning marijuana and paranoia while posting stuff like this... 😁
You clearly know your stuff, just like you've so eloquently demonstrated. (ugh, this sarcasm is actually killing me)

And hey, thanks for taking the time to nitpick a hundred other tiny details in my posts just to argue back. You're basically acting like Maddox: "I'm right, you're wrong, end of story." Bravo, you win, I guess... I just can't compete with that logic of yours.

Oh, and while we're on the subject, maybe we should just make Coca-Cola illegal too:
http://www.healthbolt.net/2006/12/08...oke-right-now/

Joseph Kern11 said:When it comes to kids... cigarettes are supposed to be strictly for adults, yet you see them lighting up everywhere you look. So why on earth would anyone think things would be any different with weed...

Why would it get any worse than it already is? Weed is illegal, yet everyone can score some within an hour...

Joseph Kern11 said:The thing is, we aren't just talking about people who are easily swayed... most people just get sucked in, and you're one of those rare ones who doesn't, so I totally buy what you're saying since I know that's possible, but looking at the big picture—way more people are gonna end up ruined than actually enjoying themselves...

Man, who even cares? Honestly, I know so many people who smoke weed, and I can name at least two who’d probably have a hard time ever quitting... My buddy smokes like a hundred times more than I do—literally spent his entire tuition on it since freshman year—so you tell me... Pretty much everyone I talk to at college is hitting the THC... Every once in a while....

Joseph Kern11 said:Exactly! Psychiatrists and their little studies are total bullshit, you're the one who actually gets it. Who cares if they spend their entire lives studying this crap when they're just idiots... You're the only one with the real answers...

I'm the one who actually knows which psychiatrists and studies to trust... you're just the guy who doesn't even know what a narcotic is...

If you’d actually bothered to read the text I sent you, maybe you’d get where I’m coming from... but you didn't. So here you are, just talking absolute nonsense into the void like some horse with blinders on, only staring straight ahead...
Thank God I’ve been following this stuff for almost a year and a half now, because I know exactly what kind of garbage gets shoved down everyone's throats under the guise of "scientific research"... Take that tired old claim about marijuana leading to heroin, for example. It's been debunked a million times, but they just keep recycling it. All those studies that claimed it was true only looked at what drugs current heroin addicts started with—and yeah, most of them started with weed. So suddenly, according to the news, weed leads to heroin, and it hits the headlines just so parents can go into a total frenzy and vote for those politicians who promise to save innocent kids from... a plant... by launching some massive war they were destined to lose from day one...

Of course those studies reached that conclusion by looking at how many heroin addicts started out using weed, but what they completely ignored is the fact that an incredibly tiny fraction of people who smoke marijuana ever end up picking up a needle... It’s so easy to just frame things a certain way to push a narrative, and boom, there you go, instant fake news...

Take another look at this as an example, seriously—grab some time to watch this documentary just so you can get a real sense of how much hysteria state-sponsored pseudo-research can actually stir up... It's about Ecstasi...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=0

It’s just so lovely chatting with a whole crowd of people whose entire understanding of drugs comes straight from propaganda, myths, and pure misinformation...

Regarding that schizophrenia bullshit:

The whole marijuana-schizophrenia myth is officially busted, though honestly, nobody’s actually shocked...

Marijuana Duck, Duck, Goose—Same Old Story Today

Right now, thirteen states have active medical marijuana programs running. Places like Illinois, Texas, and Connecticut are totally itching to get started (Connecticut just went through those civil union changes—watch out). Even Grandma in The Bronx (dealing with colorectal cancer) isn't getting blamed for lighting up. Heck, even famous people's families are jumping into the cultivation business. As for good news? Sure thing: research shows marijuana can actually shrink lung tumors in mice, and some marijuana-like compounds might even slow down Alzheimer's...

So what's the big takeaway from the mainstream narrative? "Marijuana makes you lose your mind and fries your brain." Yeah, okay, that’s just Fox News talking. Why not try looking at a more legit source, like Reuters through Scientific American?

Quick Psych 101: Psychology is basically only good for making massive, sweeping generalizations because we still don't truly wrap our heads around every single nuance of how the brain functions, much less how various substances mess with it (and look, I'm not just pulling this out of thin air; I actually have a psych degree and just had a killer chat with a neuroscientist about this exact thing)...

According to the article, the two heavy hitters in marijuana are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD is the chill one. THC is what brings the paranoia and the euphoria...

There are over 300 active compounds in weed. This specific study just grabbed the two biggest ones (THC and CBD) to see which parts of the brain got hit. Because of all the anti-drug stigma out there, these studies almost always use synthetic THC. An MRI is just going to show you where things are active or inactive, but—like I said—we don't actually understand the full complexity of what's happening in specific brain regions...

To wrap it up: Doctors gave patients a synthetic version of a compound known to trigger mild paranoia. They then put their patients in this Machin : no , Mommy
No, Mommy, don't put me in there!
and then acted surprised when the brain scans showed activity in areas linked to paranoia. No kidding, Sherlock...

I’m not trying to trash the study itself. It’s the media and their frantic hype that can seriously go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut on this one. Reuters Has this article titled " Brain scans pinpoint cannabis health risk", but they missed the mark entirely. Those brain scans show activity or inactivity of The brain , and and The implications affect mental health Outlook, whereas "health" usually points toward physical wellness or actual brain damage. Look at the first sentence: "Brain scans showing how cannabis affects brain function...." Hang on a second. You can't measure "function" just by watching behavior. Refer back to my point about what's actually being measured...

"It's no longer a contentious issue. The expert community, by and large, accepts that cannabis contributes to the onset of psychotic symptoms in general and the severe form of psychosis, schizophrenia," [Professor Robin Murray, conference organizer] stated.

Total nonsense. That’s just the classic "weed makes you crazy" line. Dr. Zerrin Atakan, who actually wrote the study, turned out to be a totally sharp, reasonable person who isn't interested in the kind of sensationalism this story attracts. Back in 2004, he told the Telegraph:

Cannabis psychosis is such a fuzzy concept. If we even bother using the term, it's strictly to describe short-lived effects right after someone smokes, and it definitely doesn't mean users develop a chronic psychotic disorder. People might feel spooked or paranoid, but those vibes fade in hours or maybe a few days, and they almost never need medical intervention...

He even provided some incredibly clear-headed guidance in a message to the 2005 Cannabis Education March & Rally, basically telling people to think for themselves, while pointing out common sense stuff like avoiding smoking before your brain is fully developed, staying away if you already have mental illness, or not smoking every single day. It was super reasonable and easy to get...

So why all the noise? Just two words:

Reefer Madness

The news cycle lives for a juicy weed scandal; basically, 25% to 33% of Americans have messed with marijuana, and probably double that number just grew up around it... but hey, fear-mongering pays the bills. If you can spin some research into a terrifying headline, why wouldn't you? Especially when it involves something "dangerous" like cannabis. The feds absolutely eat that stuff up; they’re practically head over heels for it...

And regarding Robin Murray and his whole "marijuana triggers schizophrenia" hype train, maybe someone should tell him to chill out... though I guess it's hard to stay objective when you're checking in with the big pharma sponsors lurking behind the scenes, like Janssen-Cilag and Sanofi-Aventis. But sure, let's just pretend their massive stake in schizophrenia meds is totally unrelated to this whole thing... what a coincidence, right?

Anyway, I'm stepping off my soapbox before I drag you guys down a rabbit hole of legalization debates, legal hypocrisy, and green energy... so I'll just leave you with this gem:

"Casual drug users should be taken out and shot"
Darryl Gates
Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (1990)

If you actually want the truth about marijuana, check out NORML.

1. So you're seriously trying to use some random anonymous blog post as actual evidence... how cute
2. If you keep leaving food out for Deer in the exact same spot, they’re gonna get used to it and just keep coming back for more, it's basically the same thing with grass
3. Turns out they were eating Marijuana Duck. I don't know how much you actually know about this stuff, but you can eat marijuana all day, but if there isn't enough heat to activate the THC, you aren't going to feel a damn thing...
4. A deer's behavior has zero to do with where the plant comes from or its chemical makeup, and it definitely doesn't change the fact that it isn't a narcotic...

I've read so much absolute garbage on here that I don't think I'll ever be able to wash the stench out of my eyes...

Joseph Kern11 said:Just a bunch of nonsense from some high addict... Marijuana is straight up wrecking both your mental and physical health...

You’re such an ignorant idiot. You don't even know what a junkie is, yet here you are trying to fight proven research with your pathetic "personal experience"... Look, I've been smoking for four years and I still graduated high school and got into a top-tier university here in the States. My life is perfectly stable. The whole thing is about moderation; drink every day and you'll end up an alcoholic, eat fast food every day and you'll drop dead from a heart attack by fifty... Compared to all the legal vices out there and how much damage they actually do, banning marijuana is just complete and total absurdity...

It’s honestly so easy to just try and shut someone down by attacking their character when you realize you don't actually have a real argument... but all that does is prove you aren't even ready for a conversation about legalization, let alone an actual debate...

If we're talking about heading over to Europe, soft drugs really ought to be legal. I mean, the Netherlands works more than well enough, but our moralistic totalitarians who are completely brainwashed by propaganda just can't seem to wrap their heads around it...

I'm not even gonna get into the whole stability vs. instability debate regarding marijuana because, honestly, everyone’s already beaten that drum to death... I'm not one of those people who's gonna sit here and claim it's 100% harmless, 'cause let's be real, that would be a total lie. But compared to booze? It's way less damaging and nowhere near as addictive. And alcohol is... Most people... Look, guys, there’s really no big deal...

Whether it’s actually harmful or not doesn't even matter when you're talking about legalization... I'd much rather dive into how ridiculous drug prohibition is in general and why everything—even the absolute worst crap out there—needs to be legal...

Someone please tell me: is there actually any realistic reason why you guys think making drugs illegal does any good at all...?

It basically treats every single drug like they’re all the same, from practically harmless LSD to nasty stuff like meth and heroin... You rarely ever hear anyone actually talk about Stability or how addictive something is when the conversation shifts to whether it's legal or not. Honestly, you'd be shocked at how many people out there actually think LSD is more dangerous or habit-forming than amphetamines? It's just not true...

It’s honestly wild how we’ve got kids getting thrown behind bars just for growing a plant that literally grows like a weed in the backyard... Over 60% of inmates in the US are stuck in there because of drugs, which is just such a massive drain on our money and resources... Seriously, the US spends way more on prisons than it does on schools...

Lifting drug prohibition would basically gut the entire economic foundation that keeps the world's biggest criminal syndicates running... um... maybe even the biggest crime bosses on the planet...

The whole illegal drug thing basically means production and distribution are totally unregulated, so you end up with substances laced with God knows what that shouldn't even be there... all those impurities just add an extra layer of hell to whatever damage the original substance was already doing. Because of prohibition—which is supposed to protect people, right?—users end up taking random, unknown chemicals thinking they're getting one thing, only to end up seriously sick or dead. Plus, since prices aren't regulated, people turn to crime just to fund their habits, and dealers aren't exactly checking IDs like you'd see in a legal, regulated system...

By backing prohibition, you're basically cheering on environmental destruction caused by those sketchy, unregulated labs pumping out chemicals for drug production all over the globe... You're essentially helping groups like the Taliban secure a foothold in the opium market, and you're siding with the execution of people smuggling stuff like Marijuana Duck in Asian countries. It’s just supporting the romanticization of drugs because they've become "forbidden fruit," while backing a broken system that causes all this damage yet still fails at its one actual goal—drug use is actually climbing every single year... People have been using substances to alter their consciousness since the beginning of time, and they always will, so no law is ever gonna change that reality...

You guys are basically planting the seeds for your own destruction... Every single year, legal stuff like tobacco, booze, and prescription meds take more lives than all the illegal drugs combined. The laws that are supposed to provide Stability actually trick people into thinking things like alcohol and cigarettes are fine just because, uh, they’re legal, even though they're right at the top of the danger list. Meanwhile, totally safe psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT are branded as brain-melting hallucinogens, which is total nonsense. Just freaking read a book and get with the program...

Let me hear you, I'm dying to know how anyone can seriously believe that making drugs widely available alongside actual facts and education would send society into a tailspin. Prohibition isn't even a hundred years old, and drugs were floating around freely for thousands of years before that and we’re all still standing. Out of all the substances in history, up until synthetics showed up, it was really just alcohol and opium that caused any real mess...

It’s easy for you lot to stand there without an ounce of an argument, playing the part of some archaic moral crusader and projecting your personal values onto everyone else, but who gave you the right? What if someone comes along and bans the internet because it "socially isolates" people or makes them addicts? More people have died from playing MMORPGs than from marijuana... Drinking bleach is perfectly legal, sure, but that doesn't mean some idiot is going to chug a bottle and die, because most people know better. Why? Because we’re educated enough to know bleach is great for cleaning toilets, not for a refreshing cocktail...

Prohibition is just an obnoxious, absurd invasion of my personal sovereignty. I am not giving up my right to consume substances that are otherwise completely safe and actually enhance my cognitive and spiritual life, just because some moron decides to kill themselves using those same substances the wrong way. That logic applies to EVERYTHING IN LIFE, but when it comes to drugs, suddenly it's treated differently. I wouldn't even give up my right to use heroin just because most people who do end up hitting rock bottom. I don't *want* to use heroin, but if I did, it's my right. There are plenty of examples of doctors who used medical narcotics for years while living perfectly respectable lives...

EVERY single drug ban happens because of politics first, and science second. It's all to win over the mindless masses who form their opinions based on whatever they hear on the nightly news or what their moral arbiters tell them. Facts don't matter to them. Their biggest arguments are always just "he said, she said" or "my personal experience," where they abuse a basically safe substance until they pass out and then claim it's toxic for everyone. Honestly, just get lost, you backwards Neanderthals... You don't want to consume something? Fine, you don't have to, but that's where your rights end...

If you actually value freedom and common sense, and if you believe that you—not the government—own your own body, then I honestly cannot wrap my head around how any sane person could support prohibition. Banning drugs because individuals might get hooked or die is like banning cars because people crash, or banning windows because of suicides. With the right information, anyone can decide for themselves. If someone still chooses to stick a needle in their arm, that's on them—natural selection at work. Any adult who is mentally sound has the right to choose, and that is their choice alone; meddling in that under the guise of fake morality is perverse by default. It's an insult to anyone with an ounce of intelligence or sanity...

Our wonderful society lets us own weapons, but not a plant. How does that make sense to anyone?...

Please, if anyone has a problem with what I wrote, feel free to provide actual, real counterarguments for every specific point you disagree with...

Edit: and yeah, marijuana isn't a narcotic, and the people who smoke it aren't junkies. Get that stupid crap out of your heads already. A narcotic is a derivative of the opium poppy, which means someone smoking a joint isn't any bigger of a junkie than someone grabbing a beer at a pub...

wanderingmaker8 said:I’d also add that we really need to keep an eye on this and start building some actual awareness about the difference between... just some more bullshit abuse... i... Usage...In America, they treat any kind of illegal drug use as "abuse," which is just total bullshit... especially when you consider how hypocritical they are about legal stuff like booze and nicotine, where that distinction actually exists...

I totally get where you're coming from, but this isn't just an issue here in America. Aside from places like Peru and Brazil, and maybe one outlier in the States, any kind of "spiritual" use of psychoactives is legally lumped in with abuse... basically, if it isn't strictly medical, they call it abuse. Cheers to intelligence, I guess...

briskranger2 said:If we could actually explain some things to this total sheep... man, this country would be a goddamn paradise... but honestly, I’m pretty sure she’s just a textbook case of dementia... 😢
Check out this article about how some big bank is tightening the screws on loans again... honestly, just when you think they'll give us a break, they find a new way to squeeze every last cent out of us... typical...

So. What's there left to say? Words are pretty much useless at this point...



So, weed is basically legal in half of Europe now, yet here we are with them tightening the screws like nothing happened... give me a break. The last time they treated marijuana use like it was a straight-up homicide was back in the 60s over in the UK. Looks like she’s just trailing about forty years behind the rest of the civilized world...

vividmaker532 said:If "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" doesn't give you the right to mess around with your own headspace, then the Declaration of Independence is basically just overpriced scrap paper...
Terrence McKenna (R. I. P.) 🙏

Terrence McKenna... 🙏 I constantly find myself scrolling through Google Video just to hunt down his old speeches...

Here's another one... 🤣
Honestly, if the government actually did its job right, they’d basically just work themselves straight into bankruptcy and disappear... wouldn't that be something?
Timothy Leary

Just some car bullshit... 🙏

redhawk76 said:What kind of ethics are you people even operating on with these posts... honestly, if my friend read them, he’d have some choice words to say, especially after spending years living through a hell created by his own son—a kid who refused to ever admit he had an addiction and insisted he was just doing "smart" drug use. And now, he's stuck in an even deeper hell, going on four years now, ever since that "genius" overdosed...

Man, please tell me... you think he actually kicked it from some mushrooms? Or maybe an LSD trip gone wrong? Could've been cactus, DMT... who even knows at this point...
Or maybe it’s just heroin, cocaine, or meth? Look, please just realize that if someone crashes a car because of a manufacturing defect, you don't ban every single vehicle on the road—you just pull that specific model... And if some idiot tries to climb a mountain without any gear or experience and ends up falling to their death, are you really going to go around blaming the damn mountain?
I haven't seen anyone on this forum pushing that addictive garbage that just fries your brain... Honestly, I haven't seen a single person here promoting any of that shit. This place is about trading info so maybe someone actually learns something, so if they eventually decide to go down that road, they pick something that isn't a total death trap—something that actually opens your mind and lets you find yourself instead of just clouding your head, making you stupid, and leaving you stuck in a massive depression the next day...

Maybe all this info is here because being informed is just plain safer than being clueless. Or maybe it’s here to help closed-minded types like you—people who can't see past their own damn noses—actually learn something for once... to start questioning the garbage society and the media shove down your throat and finally use that brain God gave you. One day, when you actually put in the work to research every possible angle before forming an opinion, maybe you'll finally see things for what they really are...

You really want to know what drug prohibition—the kind pushed by people like you—has actually done for the world? Fine, let me break it down for you... it’s just fueled higher usage year after year by making everything feel like "forbidden fruit," creating a massive backfire effect. It’s birthed the most powerful criminal syndicates on the planet, lumped all substances into one messy category, and put kids at risk because they can't tell the difference between mushrooms and speed... and guess which one is easier to find? Since everything is illegal, there's zero quality control, so these profit-driven dealers just lace everything with whatever trash helps them skim more money, leaving people hooked on stuff way more toxic than what they actually paid for. Plus, it’s filled our prisons with non-violent "criminals" who were just following that same primal curiosity that's driven every single great human achievement in history... pure, raw wonder...

And yet, cigarettes and booze are perfectly legal, mostly because they rake in massive amounts of cash... It’s wild when you realize more people die every year from smoking than from any other drug on the planet. Nicotine itself is lethal at just around 50mg/kg, which actually makes it more toxic than arsenic... For perspective, the LD50 of cocaine is 1000mg/kg...
Alcohol has absolutely wrecked more families and taken more lives than all the illegal drugs combined... It just rips through your entire system and slowly but surely leaves you permanently broken. But hey, they’re legal just because people have been drinking it "forever" and it brings in massive tax revenue...

And get this... you probably don't even realize that those allergy pills and cough syrups sitting in your medicine cabinet are psychoactive too, and honestly, they're way more dangerous than any psychedelic out there... You even have drugs sitting right there in your kitchen pantry that you could pick up at a Walmart for... $2.25You can hallucinate your brains out and literally die if you take too much, yet there isn't a single word about that on the packaging... and honestly, are you even aware that kids might be walking past those beautiful white flowers and black berries every single day on their way to school... It's fucking insane how some of the most dangerous stuff out there is totally legal and just grows like weeds all over our cities and suburbs. Is the law actually here to protect us? Because if it is, why are LSD and Psilocybin illegal when they’re practically harmless and have massive medical potential for treating THIS? What exactly is so terrifying about Psilocybin, what's the big danger here:

In 2006, a group of researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine led by Roland R Griffiths conducted an experiment assessing the degree of mystical experience and attitudinal effects of the psilocybin experience; this report was published in the journal Psychopharmacology. Thirty-six volunteers without prior experience with hallucinogens were given psilocybin and methylphenidate (Ritalin) in separate sessions, the methylphenidate sessions serving as a control and active placebo; the tests were double-blind, with neither the subject nor the administrator knowing which drug was being administered. The degree of mystical experience was measured using a questionnaire on mystical experience developed by Ralph W Hood; 61% of subjects reported a "complete mystical experience" after their psilocybin session, while only 13% reported such an outcome after their experience with methylphenidate. Two months after taking psilocybin, 79% of the participants reported moderately to greatly increased life satisfaction and sense of well-being. About 36% of participants also had a strong to extreme “experience of fear” or dysphoria (eg, a “bad trip”) at some point during the psilocybin session (which was not reported by any subject during the methylphenidate session), with about one-third of these (13% of the total) reporting that this dysphoria dominated the entire session. These negative effects were reported to be easily managed by the researchers and did not have a lasting negative effect on the subject’s sense of well-being.

Does that sound like a drug that ruins lives to you? Does that even sound like a drug?
And think about it—if the law is supposed to keep us safe, why is that stuff illegal while Datura is just growing wild in the neighborhood? What happens when some kid hears they can get high on Datura? "Oh, it's not illegal, so it must be safe!" Datura is a Deliriant and a literal poison; people die from overdosing on it every single year. The law is fucking useless, honestly... Nobody has ever died from an overdose of THC or LSD—you'd need like 100,000 times a normal dose to kick the bucket—nor from mushrooms, where you'd basically have to eat as much as you weigh to overdose on Psilocybin. And before you bring up indirect deaths, just look at alcohol.

Natural psychedelics are a gift; they've been used all over the world throughout history, for thousands of years, as a way to connect with everything, a tool for self-discovery, a path to wisdom, enlightenment, and just getting a more open perspective on life. Anyone who thinks they can ban self-exploration, mind-opening, and NATURE—part of the planet we're all part of—without any actual valid arguments, can go fuck themselves. People think the more you hallucinate, the more your brain dies. Hey! HEY!? You think dreaming isn't a hallucination? Does sleeping destroy your brain? And what about the connection between DMT, which is naturally present in the brain, dreams, and those indescribable things people experience under its influence?

The key is information, plus freedom of thought and choice. Because lying to people about these substances to stop them from using them backfires completely; once people realize they've been lied to the whole time, they're just gonna be like, "Oh, so none of that was true, let's go get high." But the real question is... what are they going to get high on?....
On the flip side, if you actually give people the real facts, they can make their own damn choices instead of having the government decide for them. Because banning self-discovery and opening your mind is basically just banning thought itself...

Don't forget that most doctors are essentially just salesmen first and healers second. You really think the massive profits from drugs that aren't nearly as effective as certain banned substances don't line someone's pockets? And you honestly believe psychiatrists love the idea of "self-treatment"? Do you really swallow everything "society" and the mainstream media feed you? Think again.

The sheer fact that in the US you can catch a heavier sentence for mushrooms than for cocaine is fucking disgusting.

The day they start distinguishing "good" drugs from "bad" ones is the day I might actually believe the people in power have any clue what they're doing. But once they ban Sage, I'm losing that hope forever. Honestly, you can probably guess which one is coming first...