Medical Marijuana--

[Chernabog]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Oh, and by the way, yes I am calling for the legalization of crystal meth. I don't know that it has any medicinal properties ... and it may be more quickly destructive than legal alcohol or legal tobacco, but it's still, imo, a matter of individual choice if you want to kill yourself with drugs.

Well now I am going to jump in here, because you are off as to the nature of addiction.

Yes, you are right that meth is more quickly destructive, AND causes the disease of addiction, than many other drugs out there. Meth causes an incredible high which keeps you awake, makes you feel powerful, makes you horny as hell, but eventually gives you the "fvck-its" for your life, causes your body to destroy itself due to lack of sleep, permanent memory loss, permanent brain damage, paranoia and hallucinations.

I have heard hundreds upon hundreds of stories where people were people dabbled with alcohol and/or other drugs, but it was meth that finally brought them to their knees (or six feet under). I'm not waxing poetic here, I've known more people to die in the last three years than I've ever experienced in my 27 years prior, and it is heartbreaking. For those who think that using drugs is something that only affects them, next time there's a funeral I'll invite you along just for kicks.

Addiction is about having lost the power of choice. It is NOT a matter of "wanting to kill yourself with drugs"-- if there is any kind of "want", it's caused either by the drug itself, by the consequences of using, or by other issues like depression. Or many of those people don't WANT to die and overdose, which puts its own burden on society. But with meth you cross a line so quickly and you don't realize that you've "chosen" to have a disease or that you've "chosen" to die. Yes, you've made a mistake. Yes, you didn't think about the full consequences and now you'll have to live with them. But why make it so easy?

I do think that pot should be legalized but ONLY because a) the effects that pot has are relatively mild and/or b) it has medicinal purposes. Yes, you can get addicted to anything, but if alcohol is legal, pot should be too. It's a drug-by-drug basis, not a blanket.