I stopped drinking Coke because I hear it makes black men sterile.

Perhaps they were dangerous and violent people to begin with and pot helped them keep their emotions in check.

That's the only thing I can figure because I've known dozens of people who have quit pot cold turkey and I have never seen anything remotely like you describe.

As for mood swings, pot makes me incredibly paranoid. It has a VERY negative effect on me.

I certainly have known people it can have a negative effect on. My mom tried it once when I was very little and hated it. Made her very paranoid as well. So, obviously it isn't for everyone.

But the effects that Morrigoon describes happened when the person wasn't smoking. That's the part that is news to me.

So you're afraid you will turn black and sterile?!






Hey wait a minute, you're the guy who doesn't want kids, I say drink up Shriner!!

I didn't know Kevy smoked pot. :cool:

I sense a little bit of silliness in this thread. I'm all for legalization of drugs, but to argue that there are no real adverse effects of pot is plain stupid. I wouldn't knowingly get into a car driven by someone under the influence. I've experienced several friends disappear into a lethargy brought on by their incessant pot use. I've terminated business relationships with stoners because of their unreliability.

The argument that these people probably had those traits (or a tendency toward them) is as valid as saying that someone who drinks alcohol and acts inappropriately "had it in them anyway". Altered thinking can and often does lead to dumb decisions.

This is true and I don't think anyone would argue that there is zero chance of negative side effects. It's a matter of likelihood and root cause. Pot COULD lead to serious permanent alteration of mental state, but most evidence suggests that it does so in the small segment of people who happen to be wired in a way that pot triggers it.

To me, it's like wanting to outlaw rollercoasters because of the aneurysms people have had. Sure, if those people hadn't gotten on a rollercoaster they probably wouldn't have died. And the rollercoaster definitely had a direct contributing role in their death. But does that mean that rollercoasters are inherently dangerous?

I'm on the same page as you, GD, which is one reason why I'm for legalization. I'm just calling shenanigans on the "no adverse effect" argument that some people in this thread seem to want to embrace.

I'll echo MP - I've definitely seen friends become so mentally-addicted to pot that they let their productive, happy lives float away. Lost jobs, lost friends, lost opportunities, lost drive... no, I don't think it should be illegal, but I think it definitely can be misused. As anything can. Food, sex, work... yeah, we can't make those illegal. But we can try to encourage people to use them well.