Hehehehe! Fire it up!! :pirate

Exactly. Dropouts are dropouts because they want to be dropouts.

MJ is a narcotic and should be treated as such. It SHOULD be available for Cancer patients and for those in chronic pain because of its effeiveness and its lack of addiction.

that doesnt mean we should not regulate it.

It shouldn't be any different than alcohol. Set a legal age for its use and tax it.

I am all for regulation. You could even have a "recreation" form of the drug that is regulated kind of like tobaco. You can't buy moonshine legally because it is very dangerous and no one could afford the liability insurance. :pirate

Just regulate and tax it.

Marijuana is not a narcotic. Although California law calls it a narcotic, it is pharmacologically distinct from the family of opium derivatives and synthetic narcotics.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/...eral/bruin.htm

The term narcotic (ναρκωτικός) is believed to have been coined by Galen to refer to agents that benumb or deaden, causing loss of feeling or paralysis. The term is based on the Greek word ναρκωσις (narcosis), the term used by Hippocrates for the process of benumbing or the benumbed state. Galen listed mandrake root, altercus (eclata)[1] seeds, and poppy juice (i.e. opium) as the chief examples.[2][3]

In U.S. legal context, narcotic refers to opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic or fully synthetic substitutes "as well as cocaine and coca leaves," which although classified as "narcotics" in the U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA), are chemically not narcotics. Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is not a narcotic. Neither are LSD and other psychedelic drugs.[4]

Many law enforcement officials in the United States inaccurately use the word "narcotic" to refer to any illegal drug or any unlawfully possessed drug. An example is referring to cannabis as a narcotic. Because the term is often used broadly, inaccurately or pejoratively outside medical contexts, most medical professionals prefer the more precise term opioid, which refers to natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic substances that behave pharmacologically like morphine, the primary active constituent of natural opium poppy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotics

D4T, i use the term "narcotic" in the broad sense. It is not truely a narcotic however it does have properties that lend it to the same class of drug as true narcotics fall into.

I do not believe that MJ is like alcohol and should thus be legal in the same way that Alcohol is. it should be treated as a medication.

It would seem to be prudent that, when speaking of what one should or should not regulate legally, that one would stick to the true definitions rather than speaking in broad generalities.

But... since you brought it up. What are the properties that you see in Marijuana that cause you to feel that it should be regulated in a manner similar to opioids and their derivatives?

well, there are a number of things.

the first set being in the medical purpose that MJ can be used for. Both as a pain reliever as well as for cancer sufferers.

unlike opiates, MJ isnt near as addictive so it is less dangerous.

second, while it IS less dangerous for addiction, there remain numerous side effects. it is still a drug that should be regulated.

third, MJ is a mind altering substance much more potent than a can of beer, or a glass of wine. One joint is enough to cause mental imparement and you cant enjoy a hit of pot for the pot itself as many drinkers do a glass of wine.

thus on these 3 levels, I believe that MJ is an extremely useful drug that can benifit many hurting individuals, but it should be regulated in the same way we regulate most powerful medications.

Digging, if you have a better term for what MJ is, I will be happy to use that one.