Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?

[shmike]

Originally Posted by Avatard

http://www.seattlepi.com/health/271359_marijuana24.html

The study was commissioned by the government, so there's a lot of tap-dancing as they try to keep up a good facade on the official statements, in order to "toe the line" on the desired official stance...but if you're paying attention, the study is rather clear.

The government has studied cannabis extensively, with at least three major studies...and each time, the answer comes back "officially undesirable", in that it has repeatedly been proven to be not only completely safe, but in many ways even therapeutic, offering a number of health benefits.

It helps nerve regeneration, helps prevent the onset of Alzheimers, and fights a number of cancers, even attacking brain tumors.

Some of the many medicinal applications are listed here:

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

This pretty well sums it up:

"You can't give marijuana a completely clean bill of health," said Tashkin, who is to present the study to a conference of the American Thoracic Society. "I wouldn't give any smoke substance a clean bill of health. All you can say is we haven't been able to confirm our suspicions that marijuana might be a risk factor for lung and head and neck cancer."

I don't care if you roll the healthiest plant in the world, once you burn it and inhale the smoke, said smoke it becomes a health risk.

Ingest it another way and find a more reputable test than asking 1200 cancer patients if they smoke dope, then we'll talk.

[Avatard]

Originally Posted by shmike

This pretty well sums it up:



I don't care if you roll the healthiest plant in the world, once you burn it and inhale the smoke, said smoke it becomes a health risk.

Ingest it another way and find a more reputable test than asking 1200 cancer patients if they smoke dope, then we'll talk.

The technology of an improved [no smoke] delivery method already exists.

Vaporizing.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by Avatard

The technology of an improved [no smoke] delivery method already exists.

Vaporizing.

True.

The study and discussion were based on the smoking of the herb.


Tangent: I haven't ever used a vaporizor but I bought an old roomate one as a gift.

He tried it a few times and didn't seem to get the same effect.

He was back to the bong within a few days and my investment was wasted.

[Avatard]

I have one that hits nice, and even those who are "partaking" for non-medicinal uses would probably be pleased (of course, YMMV).

[the chi]

Theres always the brownie method tho right?!

[Avatard]

Sure...heat is the key, as it converts Tetrahydrocannabinol Delta 3 to Delta 9, which you can assimilate.

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

Interesting point contained in that article:

Perhaps the reason there is no effective lethal dose for pot, and no one in recorded history has ever died from it, lies in the fact that you would (hypothetically) need to smoke 1500 Lbs. in 15 minutes.

Suffice to say you would die of oxygen deprivation first.

In short, it's one of the safest substances known to man...and you can still go to jail for it (millions have) simply because some logging robber barons wanted to make more money, and lied...and stupid people repeat these lies.

[thunderex]

Originally Posted by Tsunami

I could be hugely mistaken but I thought their medical marijuana was legal and all you have to do is pay a doctor to get a medical card, and bam, you can buy all the pot you want. Whats the point of legalizing it when everyone is getting it at the corner med marijuana store anyway?

The med Marijuana laws here are very lax. A friend of mine just went through the "process" to pick up weed at the local dispensary. He went into a Doctor's office (a guy who specializes in this) and the Doc asked him "Are you experiencing any anxiety?" My friend said "Yes." The Doc said "Okay, you might need a prescription for medical Marijuana." My brother is a Doctor and he basically just needs to suggest that it would be helpful and then - viola - it's legal to buy. I personally don't smoke very much so it doesn't affect me. But I do think that consumption would go up if it were legalized. While it's easy enough to skirt the system, it's still more effort than picking up a pack of smokes at the gas station.

[Avatard]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31981559/ns/us_news-life/

California sprouts marijuana ‘green rush’
Debate rages on whether to legalize and tax state’s hottest commodity