Is marijuana actually a drug?

What’s your take on marijuana? Should it stay illegal or just be fully legalized?
My buddies and I end up getting completely wasted every single day. Honestly, we smoke so much we practically lose our ability to think straight, which is why we figured it was time to weigh in on whether this relaxation tool should actually be legal.
Stay high, brightrider6🙂 🙂

Man, seriously...

What actually constitutes a drug?

Caffeine, nicotine, chocolate... you name it. So, if you want a straight answer to your question: yeah, it's a drug.

But honestly, legalization is a whole different beast entirely.

It isn't even remotely a drug.

By any legitimate definition, a drug is an intoxicant that causes permanent, irreversible changes to the brain architecture, and marijuana simply does not function in that manner.🙂

Furthermore, all this nonsense regarding male impotence or female infertility is utter garbage. Back when I was a college student—my first time using it—I was practically drowning in smoke, yet I managed to father children without a single issue. The real culprit is the seeds; if you don't clean them out properly, they cause impotence.
Marijuana addiction is non-existent. If anything, the dependency is significantly lower than what one experiences with cigarettes or alcohol.

The true downside is that weed induces paranoia, leaving you perpetually focused on nothing but the worst-case scenarios...

As for everything else, I maintain my stance that alcohol is a far more devastating and dangerous substance than cannabis.
An intoxicated person poses a genuine threat to everyone around them, whereas have you ever actually heard of someone having a violent outburst specifically because they were high? Never.

halucinogen

Eric Wells3 said:The definition of a drug is an intoxicant that permanently and irreversibly alters the brain. Marijuana doesn't do that.🙂

I guess we were just talking about this the other day. There was some stuff on the news and in the papers showing how ecstasy leaves "holes in the brain"—you know, those scans where large sections of the brain look dark. It seems pretty clear that ecstasy affects the brain that way. So, you're saying marijuana doesn't even come close to having consequences like that?

Wait, what does any of that even have to do with psychology?

placidotter15 said:So, you're telling me ecstasy is scientifically proven to impact the brain in this specific way, yet weed doesn't even come close to having similar consequences?

What kind of logic is that, honestly? Do you actually believe the tortoise is faster than the hare?

Eric Wells3 says:

A drug is defined as any substance that permanently and irreversibly alters your brain chemistry.

That’s not what a drug actually is.

And yeah, marijuana counts as a drug.

Since Eric Wells3 asked for a bit more detail on what I said earlier, here’s the breakdown:

Drug addiction is essentially the pattern of constant or frequent substance abuse. An addict is someone driven by such an intense craving that they feel an uncontrollable urge to use drugs—they simply can't fight the impulse or hold themselves back.
Drugs are pharmaceutical products that can lead to this kind of dependency, whether they are found in nature or created synthetically. They generally fall into four main categories:

1. Opioids (like opium, morphine, or heroin)
2. halucinogen (including marijuana, hashish, mescaline, or LSD)
3. Stimulants (such as cocaine and amphetamines)
4. Sedatives (like barbiturates, tranquilizers, or sleeping pills)

So, bottom line: marijuana IS a drug.

And look, I’m not just quoting some textbook here. This is coming from my own perspective. I come from a family of generations of DEA agents.

Anyway.

I mean, if you really think about it, alcohol is basically just another drug...🙂

Well, honestly, it’s just exhausting when you realize how much trouble we can get into just for possessing the very things they're constantly breathing down our necks about.

Marijuana is often categorized as a soft drug, but I honestly feel it’s been unfairly lumped in with the hard stuff. In my view, it doesn't trigger addiction... there hasn't been a single recorded instance of someone becoming truly dependent on it, and you certainly don't read news stories about people committing heinous crimes, murdering anyone, or beating their spouses while under its influence.

Alcohol is a much nastier substance altogether.
As are cigarettes.

Eric Wells3 said:It’s not even close.
As for everything else, I’d argue alcohol is a far worse beast than weed.
A drunk can be a menace to everyone around them, but have you ever heard of someone having an aggressive meltdown just because they were high? Never.

I’m not quite sure where you’re going with this, or how you're trying to justify marijuana...
We aren't going to get anywhere if we start playing the comparison game.
The fact remains that we still haven't settled whether both are harmful.

Eric Wells3, marijuana is a drug—period.
If we want to talk about legalization, that’s a whole different conversation. But let’s stay on track and face reality.
Alcohol is undoubtedly more destructive than weed, and we’ll always agree on that, but that doesn't make marijuana "desirable."

mellowhound8 said:By that logic, alcohol counts as a drug too.

Isn't it?

All of this brings relativity to mind—it actually reminds me of Siddhartha..

I recall a specific chapter discussing how a drunk is simply someone fleeing from reality. But then it made a fascinating parallel: isn't a person who meditates essentially doing the exact same thing?

Laura Roberts61 said:...and there hasn't been a single recorded case of addiction to that substance to date...

khmmm...
I wouldn't say I'm 100% certain, but I am quite sure it triggers a milder form of psychological dependency (much like plenty of other things if you take a look at the discussions on this forum, for instance 😁 )..

ezra said:in the second category of halucinogen

Halucinogen 😕 😕 😕

Just go home already... 🙂

Alexander Watson said:Alcohol is undeniably a far greater evil than marijuana, and on that specific point, the two of us will always find common ground, though I am certainly not suggesting that marijuana should be classified as something "desirable."

And when exactly did I assert that everyone ought to be smoking weed because it is somehow beneficial? Marijuana undoubtedly causes harm, and it offers no true utility whatsoever. However, the damage simply isn't severe enough for me to label it a drug in the traditional sense.

Mickey Mouse said:So, what’s your take? Is he actually faster than a rabbit?

Who's faster? 🙄 (You clearly have no clue... 😁 )