Massachusetts Marijuana Law

[JFry]

I think the key thing is that marijuana is not physically addictive. Nicotine causes a physical addiction, THC or any other part of marijuana is not physically addictive. It certainly can be mentally addictive, just like sex, food, video games or just about anything else somebody finds joy in. However it is just as possible for someone to use it consistently and not be addicted to it. It is all about your state of mind.

There are plenty of people who can smoke habitually, find out they will need to take a drug test, and quit cold turkey. Once they pass the test they can start right back up again. Would this be a relapse, or simply a case of not letting the laws get in the way of their life? It is a sad state when the side effects of using the drug are more harmful than the drug itself.

 

[No Limit]

Ok, lets do our own research, obviously we have plenty of pot heads here. How many of you have known people that tried to quit smoking weed? How many of those stopped and never actually looked back? Obviously I'm not disputing that marijuana isn't physically addicting, in fact I think it's the least addicting drug out there. But it is still addicting, like most other drugs are.

 

[thefiznut]

Heh, you're addicted to video games? Bet you can't quit that without going back either.
How about masturbation? Shit, I used to spend (only once in a while, mind you) nights wanking rather than doing homework. Why did I try to escape being productive by doing something hedonistic? I think i'm addicted to jerking off.


You're saying anything you can't leave alone is addicting?

Truth is you're confusing a "habit" with an "addiction". It doesn't matter whether they don't WANT to quit, they absolutely ****ing CAN if they have the desire to. Crack, coke, pills, and meth are addictive substances, meaning an addict can't quit even if they desire to. If they could, they wouldn't be addicted now would they? I never can seem to stop biting my nails - does that make me addicted to the act? No, it means I have bad habits.


"The point I am making is that if you are buying ________ on a regular basis because you like to ____________ don't kid yourself, you are addicted."

Food/Eat Food?
Games/Play Games?
Hell even Beer/Drink beer wouldn't necessarily make me an addict. Just means I enjoy drinking often.

 

[No Limit]

You're saying anything you can't leave alone is addicting?

That's exactly what I'm saying. However, you are trying to relate addiction to video games and rubbing one out to a marijuana addiction. That's exactly the same as someone comparing a crack addiction to a marijuana addiction. I mentioned all the cons of a marijuana addiction above, they aren't anything like the cons of jacking off or playing left 4 dead a little too much.

 

[thefiznut]

No, it is not. Marijuana is not physically addicting, meaning it does not hinder the brain's ability to function normally without it, even after years of use. It's only habit forming and hard to quit for some users because it just so happens to be pleasurable. People use pleasure for an escape, whether it be video games, food, sexual pleasure, or marijuana - that is what we call poor decision making, not an addiction.


Speaking of the cons of playing video games... Back in school I my "addiction" (lol) to video games was so severe I would skip school and neglect homework entirely for months at a time just to play Team Fortress. I wasn't addicted though, I was just looking for a way out. I can't blame the games for that.

I've had a deeply personal experience recently with a homeless crack and pill addict, a 6 year crack user and had been abusing prescription drugs for even longer. She had two hippy girls who traveled with her without a home. My experiences trying to help her was absolutely terrifying. I would elaborate but don't have time at the moment, so i'll do that later. If you could only see what I saw, you'd never equate "addiction" with marijuana ever again.

 

[No Limit]

Again, video games do not damage your health (well not nearly as much as pot). They don't cost $300 a oz. They don't **** up your employment. And they don't slow down your brain function. I find someone that was offended at a comparission between crack and pot now comparing video game addiction to marijuana addiction a little strange.

Just because something is not physically addicting doesn't mean it's not addicting. Did you notice how nobody has answered my question yet? How many people do any of you actually know that successfully quit smoking weed? You just went through all this bullshit with our judicial system. Are you still smoking?

And everyone on the internet thinks they've had some amazing experiance with addiction recently. That has nothing to do with the point I am making. We are not comparing drugs, we are trying to define what addiction is.

 

[Krynn72]

Neither Video games nor marijuana have anything to do with it. People with addictive personalities can become addicted to anything. Neither one is inherently more addictive than the other. And neither one is hurtful in normal circumstances, but both are harmful when they become an addiction, as is the case with any addiction. Also, No Limit, I think you're exaggerating the effects of marijuana addiction and understating that of video games. Video game addiction costs a shit load of money (50 bucks a pop, plus probably monthly fees etc). They can easily screw up your employment, without a doubt. They may not slow down your brain function, but their effect on someone in the social aspect is much worse than that.

 

[Stigmata]

Again, video games do not damage your health (well not nearly as much as pot). They don't cost $300 a oz. They don't **** up your employment. And they don't slow down your brain function. I find someone that was offended at a comparission between crack and pot now comparing video game addiction to marijuana addiction a little strange.

Tell me, how exactly does weed damage your health? I can give you two examples that pretty much cover the range of its negative effects: temporary short-term memory loss, and the inhalation of combusted material. The memory loss caused by cannabis is temporary, and does not cause any lasting damage. And oddly, the high tar/carcinogen content of marijuana smoke hasn't seemed to cause lung cancer - it's only cigarette smokers who get that. In fact, cannabis seems to have anti-cancer properties.

Furthermore, cannabis consumption shouldn't **** up your employment. The fact that it does doesn't make the drug itself bad, it just makes the laws surrounding it bad. People were sent to jail and lost their jobs over alcohol consumption during Prohibition, but that didn't make it right.

And no, weed does NOT "slow your brain down". It changes the way you think. It only slows you down when you've wasted yourself on it, like when a drunkard starts losing coherence and passing out.

Just because something is not physically addicting doesn't mean it's not addicting. Did you notice how nobody has answered my question yet? How many people do any of you actually know that successfully quit smoking weed? You just went through all this bullshit with our judicial system. Are you still smoking?

How many people do you know that have successfully quit playing videogames, or watching TV? How many have quit eating fast food?

Before anyone answers your question of whether or not weed is addictive, you need to set a standard for addiction - or better yet, dangerous addiction. Crack, meth, nicotine, heroin, those drugs are bad for addiction. They cause harsh physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms, to the point where normal human function is not possible without the drug, which persist for weeks if not months. Does this describe weed in any way? Obviously, the answer is no (if you don't believe me, click here or here).

According to Erowid, these are the withdrawal effects of cannabis:

• mild to moderate, non life-threatening withdrawal symptoms occur after daily use in some users. These may last for 1-6 weeks after cessation of use and can include anxiety, anhedonia (reduced experience of pleasure), headaches, general unease/discomfort, difficulty sleeping, and a desire to smoke pot. Severity of symptoms is related to frequency of use and individual sensitivity.
• slight loss of appetite
• finding non-stoned life a bit dull, increased boredom

In order to even get these withdrawal symptoms, you have to smoke daily for months. And how bad are they? Headaches. Anhedonia. A desire to smoke pot.

Shit, I've got that last one right now. Guess I gotta go take care of the shakes before I start foaming at the mouth.

 

[No Limit]

Tell me, how exactly does weed damage your health?

I don't have the time or desire to get in to the different studies done on this, we've went down that road. But any idiot knows that burning something and inhailing the smoke (a lot of times caughing it back up) is not good for you. If that doesn't convince you go take a look at all the resin in your pipe that you probably had for only a few months. Now picture what your lungs look like. I don't think anyone in their right mind would claim smoking pot is healthy, don't kid yourself.

Before anyone answers your question of whether or not weed is addictive, you need to set a standard for addiction - or better yet, dangerous addiction.

I agree with you, we have to show that marijuana addicition has negative effects on you. I don't know if I'd take the leap of saying it's dangerous, but its absolutely negative. We already covered the following:

- its bad for your health
- it costs a lot of money
- it is bad for employment (I agree with your point on this, but your point doesn't change that this is still a fact in our society)

The other point I made is that it slows your brain down. Your rebuttal is that this is only the case when you get totally wasted on bud. I don't know how you get totally wasted on bud, there really aren't that many levels of stoned. You are either smoking shitty weed or you are smoking chronic. Those are the 2 levels I'm aware off, from my experiance you are just as stoned if you smoke one bowl of weed in one sitting or 4. And just by being high your brain does not respond as fast as it does sobber, it also tends to wonder off in different directions making concentration difficult. I can't believe anyone would try to dispute this, I mean this is the definition of what pot does to you.

So you have all these negative effects. The positive effect is you get to feel good. I would think most people tha took an honest look at this would say that the risks are not worth it. Yet most people don't quit, because the mental addiction is too powerful.

I've seen many people go through thefiznut went through because they got pulled over with a roach in their car or some other dumb bullshit. After all the crap they had to be put through some would still smoke while on probation (and facing a piss test every month) while others would not touch the stuff throughout their probation and go back to it the day they got off. If that's not an addicition I have no clue what is. And it's very convenient to blame this on the user and not the drug, I just have a hard time buying it.

 

[No Limit]

Neither Video games nor marijuana have anything to do with it. People with addictive personalities can become addicted to anything. Neither one is inherently more addictive than the other. And neither one is hurtful in normal circumstances, but both are harmful when they become an addiction, as is the case with any addiction. Also, No Limit, I think you're exaggerating the effects of marijuana addiction and understating that of video games. Video game addiction costs a shit load of money (50 bucks a pop, plus probably monthly fees etc). They can easily screw up your employment, without a doubt. They may not slow down your brain function, but their effect on someone in the social aspect is much worse than that.

Although I've never met anyone that was having their employment or personal finances affected by video games I'm sure it happens. This tends to happen a lot more with drugs such as marijuana. But when it does happen with video games then yes, it's just as bad as a marijuana addiction, that's kind of my point.

 

[Glirk Dient]

The fact is that marijuana is less harmful than current legal drugs. It is not harmless and anyone who says so is a fool. It has dangers and like legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol it can be used responsibly. While tobacco and alcohol are legal there exists no reason why marijuana should remain illegal. It's a real injustice when the side effects of a drug being illegal are worse than the side effects of the drug itself.

Marijuana is addicting only as a habit forming drug. It is as addicting and life consuming as video games. You can spend all day smoking weed like you can playing video games. Both can degrade your life if you let them.

 

[No Limit]

Marijuana is addicting only as a habit forming drug. It is as addicting and life consuming as video games. You can spend all day smoking weed like you can playing video games. Both can degrade your life if you let them.

I agree with you. But my question is which do you think happens more often and which is more extreme? The video game addiction or the marijuana addiction? it is my opinon that relitively speaking here a video game addiction would be like a marijuana addiction while a marijuana addicition would be like a crack addicition, if you were to compare the 2.

 

[Glirk Dient]

I agree with you. But my question is which do you think happens more often and which is more extreme? The video game addiction or the marijuana addiction?

Honestly it's hard to say. You can smoke marijuana and still take part in life. Not everyone who is addicted to marijuana(in that they smoke pretty much every day) suffers from it. Many people who smoke every day simply do so with friends or at home. It's really hard to say the number of people who are addicted and have their lives degraded. In any case I am not trying to say that video games are bad, I am trying to point out that marijuana is not as harmful as many people believe it to be. Alcohol and tobacco can destroy families and take lives away. Look at how many people are alcoholics, or are physically addicted to tobacco and are slowly killing themselves? Both of those drugs are a poison whereas our brains have canibanoid receptors to handle marijuana.

Another thing to note is look at pharmaceutical drugs. So many of those are way worse than marijuana. I mean we give kids all sorts of drugs to fix their problems and many of these drugs are worse than some hard drugs you find on the streets. Too many people are under the impression that because a drug is legal it's safe. This is a fallacy and the main reason people are so afraid of marijuana. They are used to the idea that it's illegal and because it's illegal it must be bad for you.

 

[Krynn72]

And also south park. Drugs are bad M'kay?

 

[thefiznut]

I agree with you. But my question is which do you think happens more often and which is more extreme? The video game addiction or the marijuana addiction? it is my opinon that relitively speaking here a video game addiction would be like a marijuana addiction while a marijuana addicition would be like a crack addicition, if you were to compare the 2.

List of things my friend in the midst of a crack/pill addiction:

- Enganged (and/or seduced) in a distant facade of a relationship with someone who is neither financially stable nor sane. Took his money at times. Practically moved in on her own accord and stayed at his apartment for many months. Got kicked out many times, only to move back in, sometimes without even asking.

- Jumped out a second story window onto a platform far below after going berserk on the people inside the apartment. Screamed then cried for a long time, all of which happened across the street from our local police station, jail, courthouse, and sheriff's office at 2-4 AM.

- Lived in an empty "office space for rent" building after breaking in for nearly a week.

- Stole practically everything she could. Tables, chairs, pumpkins, a ****ing GIANT plant straight out of a waiting room somewhere.. Social services office, I think. Money out of my ATM. Lawnchairs and rockers from people's front porch. Clothes from Goodwill. Pills from an alcoholic mechanic living in an apartment downstairs.

- Drank beer a LOT, typically with pills. Drove with her two little girls, while drinking.

- Speaking of the girls, one was 6 and had a father who kidnapped her post divorce only to abuse her in the process. The other is 3 or 4, and her father was a crack/coke kingpin of the local region. Currently he's in prison until he's 70. He's probably going to kill me once he's released. I've read his letters.

- Got a restraining order from her ex-husband's entire family. He was a woodsman who made her a log house by hand in the rural countryside nearby. They lived a hippy dream, but hard drugs destroyed them.

- Had a crack episode in my apartment. She walked around hitting a crackpipe, phasing between a crushing suicidal depression and a cracked out daze. Hallucinations, paranoia, turning on lights and closing doors... her behavior was so robotic and blank. She ran away from the apartment, I later found her and ensured she made it to her court date the next morning. Told me the next day she thought I was going to kill her the entire night. If you know anything about crack, you'll know I wasn't the problem.

- Her kids were taken by child protective services, and legally kidnapped by one of the girl's aunt. She assaulted and tried to run over the aunt, only to have the kids undertaken the other child's grandparents who live in an entirely different part of the country. Went to jail because of the ordeal, eventually.

- Nearly kicked the aforementioned boyfriend out of his own apartment after convincing a cokehead puerto rican who worked with the guy to sign their names into his lease with the landlord's permission. This all occurred after she called the cops on him while staying at his apartment. He didn't even know they were doing any of it.

- She assaulted me, tried to throw me down a flight of steps, slashed two of my truck's tires, then ran away from the scene of cop's at his apartment.

- Quite a few months passed before she seduced the same guy into letting her come back to his place. Ended up fighting again, and attacking him with a huge ****ing knife. After the knife was taken, she slammed her body against his walls (naked mind you), screaming "STOP HITTING ME, _______ !" trying to get him arrested again. Once the two people trying to stop her ran out of the apartment for safety she destroyed the entire apartment and not a SINGLE thing left untouched - all with a microwave swung by it's power cord.







So don't ever let me hear you compare hard drugs with marijuana ever again. They're two different world's apart.

 

[No Limit]

Who said I was comparing hard drugs to marijuana. I find it interesting you didn't answer my question. Are you still smoking or did you quit?

 

[Krynn72]

Who said I was comparing hard drugs to marijuana.

a marijuana addicition would be like a crack addicition, if you were to compare the 2.

*dusts off hands*

 

[No Limit]

*dusts off hands*

Context ftw

But my question is which do you think happens more often and which is more extreme? The video game addiction or the marijuana addiction? it is my opinon that relitively speaking here a video game addiction would be like a marijuana addiction while a marijuana addicition would be like a crack addicition, if you were to compare the 2.

 

[Stigmata]

Context ftw

it is my opinon that

There goes your argument. The problem is that you're trying to have an objective debate about marijuana law/addiction while simultaneously bringing in anecdotal/no evidence to support your views. It can be shown, and in this thread pretty much has been shown, that marijuana is quite nearly the least harmful of all well-known drugs, including pharmaceuticals. It helps ease depression, reduces nausea from chemotherapy, reduces stress, and has anti-cancer properties. It's a bronchiodilator, which means it helps open up, rather than close up, the bronchial tubes in people who have asthma. It's an analgesic/pain reliever, and does so through a different and non-potentially-life-threatening metabolic pathway than common painkillers like Tylenol or ibuprofen, some of which cause organ damage at high doses. The LD50 of marijuana is so high that if you were to try to smoke enough to kill you, you would suffocate long before you consumed enough THC to die of toxicity.

The only downsides are the relatively high ammonia and tar content in the smoke when compared to cigarettes (yet it causes no increase in cancer risk), the possibility of psychological addiction, and temporary short-term memory loss. There's no real or conclusive evidence for marijuana being a gateway drug, physically addicting, functionally carcinogenic, or permanently debilitating in any way.

 

[No Limit]

Is it my opinion that a pipe resinates like crazy after only a few weeks of use? You don't think there is absolutely any possibility that this probably isn't good for your lungs, throat, and whatever else inside your body comes in contact with the smoke? Is it my opinion that good pot is at least $300 an oz ($400-$460 if you don't have the right connections)? Is it my opinon that the punishment for getting caught with weed is fairly severe? If none of those things are my opinions but are facts then I think I proved my case that marijuana addiction is in fact pretty damn harmful.

You can keep spewing up talking points (thats exactly what they are) about pot. But notice how I am still unable to get an answer to my question. Do any of you know people that were able to completely quit smoking pot and never look back? I'm dying to find out what fiznut has to say. He just went through all kinds of bullshit, is probably on probation facing random piss tests, and odds are that he's probably still smoking since he won't answer this question. It might not be a physical addiction, but its a pretty ****ing strong mental one. I bet that if you got arrested for playing too many video games and were told you couldn't play any more you would break that "addiction" instantly.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Is it my opinion that a pipe resinates like crazy after only a few weeks of use? You don't think there is absolutely any possibility that this probably isn't good for your lungs, throat, and whatever else inside your body comes in contact with the smoke?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDmOIlJL5QM

 

[No Limit]

...

I would assume 99.99% of pot smokers don't use a vaporizer. Have you ever actually used one (assuming you smoke)?

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

I would assume 99.99% of pot smokers don't use a vaporizer. Have you ever actually used one (assuming you smoke)?

That's their problem for ingesting tar then. Vapes have been far cheaper lately and more common. I know a supermajority dont use vapes, but the % is nothing as bleak as you make it sound. And yes.

That vape I posted is only a little over $100. Many people buy glass pieces more expensive than that all the time

 

[No Limit]

That vape I posted is only a little over $100. Many people buy glass pieces more expensive than that all the time

we call those people insane.

 

[JFry]

we call those people insane.

haha, agreed.

No Limit my hat's off to you for standing your ground but I'm curious as to what point you're trying to prove? Most of the points you are arguing are merely side effects of the drug and the laws governing it. Most can also be essentially side-stepped if one is so inclined.

The health effects can be minimized with vaporizers, eating it, etc. For those that do chose to smoke it the extra tar can be arguably offset by the fact most people smoke far less pot in quantity than tobacco smokers. I'm not a doctor and I don't know how much tho so I'll give ya that one.

The price varies so much that I don't see how it is relevant. Sure the good stuff is pricey but that is the law of economics. If you want better quality you pay more. If you're poor you smoke shwag. There are plenty of situations where even relatively poor people can afford it. Not to mention you can grow it which is very cheap after an initial investment.

Getting busted depends on the individual but tbh it doesn't take a genius to get away with smoking pot. Depending on your location and the factors involved getting caught can equate to basically a slap on the wrists. Repeat offenders and high profile offenders are the ones who really get screwed but I guess it is all relative to what you consider a severe punishment.

Do you know anyone who has quit and never looked back? I personally don't know anyone who has died that smoked pot (that I knew of) and given the average age of this forum I'd imagine alot of people are in the same boat. So how long does someone have to be clean before you can consider it never looking back? My sister smoked and she hasn't in years. I have gone months myself. Maybe if I got a cash prize or something I would be inclined to go longer but as it is I have no incentive or desire to do so.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I have never actually quit WoW forever. I always come back to it after a while. Does this mean I am addicted, or does it mean that I like to play WoW and I usually end up having long periods of time where I can afford to play it, I have time to play it, and I want to play it?

I'm also pretty sure my dad, and many friends' parents, used to smoke pot - and don't anymore. One mate of mine's dad used to take acid all the time, and stopped when he had kids.

 

[Absinthe]

I have never actually quit WoW forever. I always come back to it after a while. Does this mean I am addicted, or does it mean that I like to play WoW and I usually end up having long periods of time where I can afford to play it, I have time to play it, and I want to play it?

This is pretty much the perfect analogy, and conveniently relevant considering the rabble over video game addictions not long ago.

I stopped playing WoW for close to a year and, outside of the occasional fond memory, not had the urge to play it again. But I later picked up the expansion any way because my brother had started playing and I figured it would be fun to jump into again. Likewise, I went cold turkey and stopped smoking marijuana for over half a year. But despite thinking "This would be more fun if I was high" every once in a while (which was probably objective truth any way), I didn't give it a second thought.

I smoke again now, but why? I found I had the time and the money to afford it. And it's fun. Is that really addiction?

 

[No Limit]

I think we have all seen horror stories of a wow addiction. I don't think comparing WoW to marijuana is fair to marijuana, it should be compared to crack. Thankfully I never got peer pressured in to playing WoW so I wouldn't know much about it.

I smoke again now, but why? I found I had the time and the money to afford it. And it's fun. Is that really addiction?

Are you smoking it normally and not side stepping the tar issue? Does it cost you a lot of money? Do you think you'd probably be better off in the long run not smoking it? Are you worried about the legal ramifications of getting busted? Does it have any effect on you in regards to work or school?

If the answer is yes to most of those questions then it is not only an addiction but it's probably a harmful one at that.

If you are smoking a bowl once in a blue moon to relax then obviously you are not addicated. I just haven't met very many pot smokers in my life that smoke once in a blue moon.

I can't dispute that there are people that can quit when they need to and then come back when they can smoke. But again, you guys act as if we live in some kind of fairy tale world where everyone is perfect; I think you would agree this isn't the case for many people. I personally know a number of people that tried to quit smoking weed for important reasons (school, employment, probation) and couldn't do it. I would think most of you have had a similar experiance, if not yourself you at least knew someone that did. That has to tell you something about how addicting this drug is. If you don't mind sharing with the class I'd be interested to know how often you actually smoke. Is it a few times a week, a few times a day, or is it on the hour every hour?

 

[xombine]

I think it all depends on the mindset of the user. It seems like some people I know can't seem to go a day without smoking, and to me that's just stupid. I smoke every now and then, but I know when to stop. After doing it a couple nights and a row I get tired of waking up with a foggy memory and unclear thoughts, so it's simple enough I just stop for a little while. It's a recreational drug that should be used as such imho, not abused by being high all day. Shit, usually I'm just sitting playing a video game or out hanging with friends, it's not something that needs to be a significant part of your life. I know when to stop and I can do just that easily, it's not something that has a total hold on me. Hell, I had more trouble trying to stop playing CoD4 at 2 in the morning when I had to wake up early and go to work.

 

[Kinslayer]

Read most of the thread, interesting debate. I currently live in Virginia, which has some of the harshest anti-cannabis laws in the nation.

I was pulled over illegally by a police officer who crept behind my vehicle in the dead of night with absolutely no lights on, headlights included. He then followed my vehicle despite having no evidence nor reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (as required by Virginia law to make the stop and seizure). I wasn't informed of why I was pulled over at any point. I allowed them to search my vehicle not knowing I had two pipes I had left beneath my seat. Because the pipes contained resin, I was charged with possession of marijuana and written a court summons.

I obtained a lawyer and disputed the charge in court by motion of suppression of evidence. It was an attempt to bring forth evidence that the stop was not made according to protocol, and without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. The officers lied on three accounts in court to incriminate me:

1. The second officer to arrive on the scene some 15 minutes later after I was stopped impersonated the first, presenting evidence of criminal activity as if he were the officer who pulled me over to begin with. He told the judge I was obstructing a public roadway and was "clearly traveling well over 35 MPH as I pulled away from him".

2. The district attorney, with the officers, printed a Google maps aerial photo of the street I was parked at, and used it to suggest to the judge that the street would have been completely empty at night, and I had no reason to be there. I happen to work some 150 feet away from where I was parked, in an empty cul de sac watching the cars go by to relax after work.


End result?

- Community service
- 1 year of probation and assigned probationary officer
- 1 year restricted license (I can only go to work and home)
- Several hundred dollars in court fees
- Enrollment in the VASAP program, 10 weeks of anti-drug classes with scheduled and random drug tests.
- 400+ dollars in VASAP fees.
- And lastly, a misdemeanor with no possibility to expunge. I now have a drug charge on my record for the rest of my life in Virginia, and can no longer apply for many schools, jobs, etc without being denied.
- Oh, and it's only a matter of time before I am fired from my job, losing everything i've worked towards in the company. They do regular yearly record screenings.


All thanks to ignorant people like Kinslayer. Thanks, man. I so deserved this for enjoying a toke every once in a while, right?

I live in Virginia too. What part do you live in? I live in the not-really-Virginia Northern Virginia.

And, by my standards, yeah. You did deserve it. Boo hoo, you know the laws, don't bitch if you break them and get caught, even if you do think they're stupid and arbitrary.

Opinions are not ignorance. Laws built to protect are not built on ignorance. And you know what? I'm glad they lied out of their asses to get you convicted. I'm tired of stories where people have abused the living hell out of the American justice system, after they got caught doing something wrong, and got out clean. That's wrong in and of itself. Should the police officer be tried for doing something illegal himself? Sure. Should you get off the hook because he caught you by doing something illegal? Hell no.

I'll quote what I said earlier. Bolded type is what I edited in for clarity:

On the subject of morality, I think that using a drug to make you feel good is counter-productive. It removes the incentive to do something that you enjoy, and while you probably are doing it with some friends, you aren't really doing it socially either (from what I've heard of people who do it anyways). You're just sitting around; nothing happens, nothing gets done. It's the easy way out, instead of doing something you like which may require work, but you find it interesting or fun or whatever, you're at least DOING something, whether it's developing social relationships, engaging the mind, furthering your knowledge, or helping the community. I place TV into a similar category; most people just stare at it and vegetate, accomplishing nothing. Even videogames engage your brain, multiplayer games develop social relationships, though there are some games that accomplish next to nothing as well.

What I feel this description doesn't cover is things like meditation, reading, et cetera. I'm not sure how to accurately describe what I feel about it; it's difficult for me to put it into words.

To sum up my points:

"You must become the change you want to see in the world".

Now I must pose a question to you: Do you really think it's ignorant to create a law with the intention to protect, or do you think it's ignorant to defy these laws, therefore unwilling to accept the guidelines for protection, just to "feel good"?

My answer to this would be that I think it is slightly stupid to attempt to create a law in which to protect people from themselves. Not because it's a bad idea, but because they never work. You can't force people to stop being idiots; it's in our nature.

 

[Absinthe]

Now I must pose a question to you: Do you really think it's ignorant to create a law with the intention to protect, or do you think it's ignorant to defy these laws, therefore unwilling to accept the guidelines for protection, just to "feel good"?.

Tosh! We certainly can't be having any of that feeling trash! I might filthy my trousers.

 

[PvtRyan]

Opinions are not ignorance. Laws built to protect are not built on ignorance. And you know what? I'm glad they lied out of their asses to get you convicted. I'm tired of stories where people have abused the living hell out of the American justice system, after they got caught doing something wrong, and got out clean. That's wrong in and of itself. Should the police officer be tried for doing something illegal himself? Sure. Should you get off the hook because he caught you by doing something illegal? Hell no.

Ahahaha, the irony. You're glad the officers broke the law by lying to convict him of breaking the law? The lying of the officers is much more harmful than thefiznut's breaking of a law that shouldn't exist anyway. What if cops next decide to lie during a murder trial to convict the suspect? Is that justified?

Are you honestly telling me that smoking pot is a worse offense than perjury? My god man.

And no, there shouldn't be any laws that "protect" rational adults from themselves. It's hard to think of anything more condescending.

No Limit: your entire argument consists of anecdotal evidence and assumptions.

I can't dispute that there are people that can quit when they need to and then come back when they can smoke. But again, you guys act as if we live in some kind of fairy tale world where everyone is perfect; I think you would agree this isn't the case for many people. I personally know a number of people that tried to quit smoking weed for important reasons (school, employment, probation) and couldn't do it. I would think most of you have had a similar experiance, if not yourself you at least knew someone that did. That has to tell you something about how addicting this drug is.

It tells me something about the mental state of those people. Since pot isn't physically addictive, they were mentally addicted. You can become mentally addicted to nearly anything, as long as it provides pleasure or stimulation. Or you can become addicted to escaping reality (generally because reality sucks), an effect which drugs can provide.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Addiction is classified as being when you continue with a behaviour despite knowing that it is very harmful to you, but there's a fine yet distinct line between this, and rationally weighing the disidvantages and continuing anyway.

Should the police officer be tried for doing something illegal himself? Sure. Should you get off the hook because he caught you by doing something illegal? Hell no.

It's pretty well established in any civilised society that you should not be able to convict if the prosecutors' procedure is amiss. If you could convict somebody who the police have caught by acting illegally, then the police are able to act illegally as they want and still get convictions. There has to be an utter refusal on the part of the judicial system to countenance foul play.

 

[Eejit]

I was pulled over illegally by a police officer who crept behind my vehicle in the dead of night with absolutely no lights on, headlights included. He then followed my vehicle despite having no evidence nor reasonable suspicion of criminal activity (as required by Virginia law to make the stop and seizure).


2. The district attorney, with the officers, printed a Google maps aerial photo of the street I was parked at, and used it to suggest to the judge that the street would have been completely empty at night, and I had no reason to be there. I happen to work some 150 feet away from where I was parked, in an empty cul de sac watching the cars go by to relax after work.

What? Genuinely confused here, were you pulled over or were you parked when the cop searched your car?

 

[No Limit]

What? Genuinely confused here, were you pulled over or were you parked when the cop searched your car?

He was probably just "watching the cars go by" and I would assume a cop saw what he was doing. After he pulled away the cop then went to pull him over in hopes of geting a DUI charge on top of a possession charge. That's usually how these assholes do it.

 

[thefiznut]

Yeah, I was just watching the cars go by. And no, I was doing nothing illegal at the time. For ****s sake, is it really that hard to believe I enjoy watching cars travel through the gorgeous mountain scenery of where I live?

To clear up the confusion: I was parked, I saw a shadow of a car creeping some 15 feet behind me without any lights on whatsoever and it sent me into a panic. I had no idea it was a police officer because I could barely even see the car at all. I grabbed my kabar knife expecting to get attacked or something (who the **** creeps up behind people like that at 1 AM on a street with a couple small businesses on it?), but chose to drive away from the vehicle instead. Only once I pulled away did I see the light shine on the car following me, and I saw it was a cop. He threw his lights on, and I pulled over and proceeded to cooperate with the officer.

I repeat: I was doing ABSOLUTELY ****ING NOTHING illegal prior to once my vehicle was searched and pipes were found. They were just bored cops looking to **** with people.

 

[No Limit]

Ok pot head, chill out, nobody is claiming you were doing anything illegal.

 

[Tyguy]

I was informed via email that some universities are still not adhering to the new law and are, in fact, still charging individuals with criminal offenses when caught with marijuana....

w..t...f...

Also, my pot intake has severely slowed over the past two months. Although I get the urge to smoke a bunch after work, I've just been really busy lately and have not had the time. This is just my testimonial to the non-addictive properties of pot and the only dependency I can imagine is completely physiological...which is almost exactly like the WoW example.

 

[swan_song1973]

i love massachusetts. full of liberals, decriminalized pot, no dog racing...

 

[Solaris]

Yeah, I was just watching the cars go by. And no, I was doing nothing illegal at the time. For ****s sake, is it really that hard to believe I enjoy watching cars travel through the gorgeous mountain scenery of where I live?

To clear up the confusion: I was parked, I saw a shadow of a car creeping some 15 feet behind me without any lights on whatsoever and it sent me into a panic. I had no idea it was a police officer because I could barely even see the car at all. I grabbed my kabar knife expecting to get attacked or something (who the **** creeps up behind people like that at 1 AM on a street with a couple small businesses on it?), but chose to drive away from the vehicle instead. Only once I pulled away did I see the light shine on the car following me, and I saw it was a cop. He threw his lights on, and I pulled over and proceeded to cooperate with the officer.

I repeat: I was doing ABSOLUTELY ****ING NOTHING illegal prior to once my vehicle was searched and pipes were found. They were just bored cops looking to **** with people.

Why did you give them permission to search your car? Had you said no you'd be fine right now.