It's a Prozac nation. It's as simple as that. If you haven't seen the movie, I'd definitely suggest that you do so. It will definitely open some doors and get you to ask some very important questions. I've been a user of weed for six years now and am just now twenty-one. They put me on too many different drugs to name and after a couple of years; I gave up and just started smoking. For three of those six years I had my parents convinced that I was no longer depressed or bi-polar and began enjoying quite a normal life. Though, I will say I tent to catch myself a lot just standing in the back just watching life pass by. Why is it that writers have such odd habits? I never could figure that out. Anyways, to be honest, I haven't gotten all of the numbers calculated yet, but I have a theory that if the government would legalize marijuana, the tobacco companies would have some real competition with marijuana cigarette companies, which the government will receive a very nice pay increase with the taxes they have on the cigarettes. Also, those who want to grow would also have to pay a tax and be registered as a grower just like they already have now. If the people on the hill would tax per plant, we wouldn't have such a monumental deficit that we do now. You know, while we are on this subject and I hate to get political, but my father told me not too long ago when the elections started getting going that it's just about choosing the lesser of two evils now. Since when did it become the Government of the People turn into hiding from older brother? I'm ranting now so I'll stop here for now.

It's a Prozac nation. It's as simple as that. If you haven't seen the movie, I'd definately suggest that you do so. It will definately open some doors and get you to ask some very important questions. I've been a user of weed for six years now and am just now tweny-one. They put me on too many different drugs to name and after a couple of years, I gave up and just started smoking. For three of those six years I had my parents convinced that I was no longer depressed or bi-polar and began enjoying quite a normal life. Though, I will say I tent to catch myself a lot just standing in the back just watching life pass by. Why is it that writers have such odd habits? I never could figure that out. Anyways, to be honest, I haven't gotten all of the numbers calculated yet, but I have a theory that if the government would legalize marijuana, the tobacco companies would have some real competition with marijuana cigarette companies, which the government will recieve a very nice pay increase with the taxes they have on the cigarettes. Also, those who want to grow would also have to pay a tax and be registered as a grower just like they already have now. If the people on the hill would tax per plant, we wouldn't have such a monumental deficit that we do now. You know, while we are on this subject and I hate to get political, but my father told me not too long ago when the elections started getting going that it's just about choosing the lesser of two evils now. Since when did it become the Government of the People turn into hiding from older brother? I'm ranting now so I'll stop here for now.

Since it's first incarnation as a niche drug among West Coast biker gangs, methamphetamine has reached every state in the nation, and its effect on families and communities has been devastating. There are now more than 1.4 million meth users in the United States, and rising.

In Congress, a bipartisan coalition has called for international controls on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, either of which is essential for making meth. Many states have forced cold medicines containing these ingredients off retail shelves and behind the pharmacy counter -- a move that may become a national requirement. see map:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/map/


Meth's destructive power comes from its impact on the user's brain.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline ... flash.html

"Dopamine is the brain's primary pleasure chemical," says UCLA professor and meth expert Dr. Richard Rawson. "If you take a hit on a pipe or an injection of methamphetamine, you get an increase from zero to about 1,250 units. … This produces an extreme peak of euphoria that people describe as something like they've never experienced."

Researchers have found that meth creates this high by destroying the very part of the brain that generates dopamine, which makes them unable to feel pleasure from anything except more meth. "It actually changes how the brain operates," Rawson continues. "It's a wonder anyone ever gets off meth." According to the World Health Organization, meth abuse worldwide is worse than that of cocaine and heroin combined.

Today, the number of meth addicts is skyrocketing: With 1.4 million users in the U.S. alone and millions more around the world, the United Nations calls meth the most abused hard drug on earth.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/view/

And please stop lying to the kids that all drugs are the same, all dangerous . When we start distorting facts, smart people quickly learn not to trust us!

cooking with pot:

http://www.bolt.com/jsweet/video/pot_butter/2164947

Help Reform Biased Drug Sentencing: Public Comment Period Opens

Since the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the law has punished crack cocaine offenders much more severely than other drug offenders, creating a 100:1 sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine offenses.

This means that a person convicted of possessing or dealing 5 grams of crack cocaine receives the same five-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person convicted of dealing 500 grams of powder cocaine. Many of the assumptions used in determining the 100:1 ratio have now been proven wrong, as numerous scientific and medical experts have determined that the pharmacological effects of cocaine are the same regardless of form.

The sentencing disparity is a key factor in the disproportionately high incarceration rates of African Americans, who constitute more than 80 percent of the defendants sentenced under the harsh federal crack cocaine laws, even though more than 66 percent of crack cocaine users in the United States are white or Hispanic.

The ACLU is working with Members of Congress to reexamine these unfair sentencing policies. And, the U.S. Sentencing Commission is currently accepting public comments on federal sentencing laws for crack and powder cocaine offenses.

You can help, by getting involved right now. Read the ACLU’s report on the gross disparities in drug sentences: Cracks in the System. And tell officials what you think today, during the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s public comment period. See below for instructions on sending comments and a link to the new report.

The racial impact of these unfair sentencing rules is compounded by the fact that whites are disproportionately less likely to be prosecuted for drug offenses in the first place; when prosecuted, they are more likely to be acquitted; and even if convicted, they are far less likely to be sent to prison.

In order for judges to exercise appropriate discretion in sentencing, mandatory minimum sentences for crack and powder offenses must be eliminated, including the mandatory minimum for simple possession. And the quantities of crack cocaine that trigger federal prosecution and sentencing must be equalized with and increased to the current levels of powder cocaine.

Help us make the case to lawmakers, as Congress considers reexamining these unfair policies. The U.S. Sentencing Commission is currently accepting public comments on federal sentencing laws for crack and powder cocaine offenses. The public comments should be sent to: United States Sentencing Commission, One Columbus Circle, NE, Suite 2-500, Washington, DC 20002-8002, Attention: Public Affairs. Comments may also be emailed to pubaffairs@ussc.gov. Comments should be in letter format and provide recommendations to the sentencing commission on what action it should take with regard to the current crack/powder sentencing disparities. Comments must be received no later than March 30, 2007.


For more about the ACLU report “Cracks in the System,” go to:

http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/2719 ... 61026.html

The least toxic drug known to humans is now illegal. The most toxic is available at Safeway. None of this makes any sense at all. And yet we continue to imprison people for ingesting substances far less harmful than others freely available. One has to wonder what the prohibitionists are smoking. Maybe nutmeg.

http://ridgelawrence.com/2007/03/26/dru ... formation/

posting here now just so I can go delete all the old ad posts (and not lose this)...

Wanted to put this up just cuz I know it won't show up in any mainstream media...






More than 400,000 Americans die from diseases related to cigarette smoking each year.
More than 150,000 Americans die of alcohol abuse each year.
But in more than 10,000 years of usage, no one has ever died from marijuana.



Study shows marijuana increases brain cell growth

ST. JOHN’S, Nfld — Supporters of marijuana may finally have an excuse to smoke weed every day. A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests that smoking pot can make the brain grow.

Though most drugs inhibit the growth of new brain cells, injections of a synthetic cannibinoid have had the opposite effect in mice in a study performed at the University of Saskatchewan. Research on how drugs affect the brain has been critical to addiction treatment, particularly research on the hippocampus.

The hippocampus is an area of the brain essential to memory formation. It is unusual because it grows new neurons over a person’s lifetime. Researchers believe these new cells help to improve memory and fight depression and mood disorders.

Many drugs -— heroin, cocaine, and the more common alcohol and nicotine — inhibit the growth of these new cells. It was thought that marijuana did the same thing, but this new research suggests otherwise.

Neuropsychiatrist Xia Zhang and a team of researchers study how marijuana-like drugs — known collectively as cannabinoids — act on the brain.

The team tested the effects of HU-210, a potent synthetic cannabinoid similar to a group of compounds found in marijuana. The synthetic version is about 100 times as powerful as THC, the high-inducing compound loved by recreational users.

The researchers found that rats treated with HU-210 on a regular basis showed neurogenesis — the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus. A current hypothesis suggests depression may be triggered when the hippocampus grows insufficient numbers of new brain cells. If true, HU-210 could offer a treatment for such mood disorders by stimulating this growth.

Whether this is true for all cannabinoids remains unclear, as HU-210 is only one of many and the HU-210 in the study is highly purified.

“That does not mean that general use in healthy people is beneficial,” said Memorial psychology professor William McKim. “We need to learn if this happens in humans, whether this is useful in healthy people, and whether THC causes it as well.”

McKim warns that marijuana disrupts memory and cognition. “These effects can be long-lasting after heavy use,” he said. “This makes it difficult to succeed academically if you use it excessively.”

“Occasional light use probably does not have very serious consequences. [But] there is some evidence that marijuana smoke might cause cancer.”

Still, the positive aspects of marijuana are becoming more plentiful as further research is done. McKim says it’s not surprising that THC and compounds like it could have medicinal effects.

“Many have been identified,” he said. “It stimulates appetite in people with AIDS, it is an analgesic, and blocks nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. And it treats the symptoms of glaucoma.”

The research group’s next studies will examine the more unpleasant side of the drug.

http://peety-passion.com/relax/content/view/54/1/


Compare that to the costly new pharmaceutical pills :

Just thought i`d jump in on this discussion. There was a UK tv programme/research that was done the other week. It involved scientists re-thinking the order & the legal status of drugs...re-looking at the way we catergorise drugs.
In order of danger starting at the top:

1. heroin (nothing new)
2. Cocaine (ditto)
3. Barbituates (still top, but higher than usual)
4. Street methadone (295 deaths p.a. now looking different)
5. Alcohol (the change is starting)
6. ketamine
7. benzodiazepam (valiun/temezapam)
8. Amphetemines
9.Tobacco (new addition)
10. buprenorphine (sibbies/temmies) -(again new catagory)
11. Cannabis (higher than I would of thought)
12. Solvents
13. 4MTA (golden eagle, flat-liner)- (overdose easy)
14. LSD
15. Methylpheninate (vitamin R-Ritalin)
16. Steroids
17. GHB (can be fatal with alcohol)
18. Ecsatasy
19. Popppers
20. Khat


Any comments?
Do you have a legal/danger list anywhere else? How does it compare?

more later on this one. Yeah, I agree that alcohol, legal or not, is one of the worst ones we've got. Certainly far worse than pot, as all the science sez!

Feb-13-2009 01:03
Marijuana Vs. Anti-Depressants for PTSD
Marijuana Wins Hands Down
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/febr ... -13-09.php