New guy!

[abaris]

Marijuana is mostly bad. It may have some medical benefit, but it certainly has no place in society.

You drink alcohol?

[goodvibesonly]

Marijuana is mostly bad. It may have some medical benefit, but it certainly has no place in society. If you sit next to someone who smokes a joint, you will begin to get high from their second-hand smoke. Breathing in particulates is not good for you long-term, no matter what they are. Cannabis contains most (but maybe not all) of the carcinogens found in tobacco leaves. THC is said to be somewhat less addictive than nicotine, however thc is a depressant whereas nicotine is a stimulus.

Medicinally speaking, smoking it is a very ineffective way of administering the dosage. Only 10-25% of thc entering the lungs is transfused into the bloodstream, thus making it highly imprecise and inaccurate when trying to administer the correct therapeutic dosage. I strongly feel that if it is to be used medicinally it needs a mechanism to ensure the patient gets the correct therapeutic dosage - e.g. drink it in tea or take it as a pill. The idea that people can patients can give themselves the right therapeutic dosage by smoking it is pure nonsense, and makes a mockery of everything pharmacotherapy is supposed to be.

The purpose of THC in the plant is to invoke indigestion when consumed by animals, this is clear because if ingested, THC will appear both in human faeces and human urine.

On the other hand take alcohol - it is a source of energy. All alcohol ingested will enter the blood stream, none will pass through to the faeces, and all will be used for energy by the body, and none will be diffused from the blood into the urine (just as glucose and proteins are typically never found in the urine). The fact that THC can be found in urine suggests that the body considers it either toxic or a waste product.

You make some very good points.
As a cigarette smoker as well (socially), I can say that despite the carcinogens found in marijuana, the amount of actual substance smoked over a given amount of time is significantly less. In one day, I might take 2 or 3 bong hits. The amount of smoke is probably equivalent to half a cigarette. Smoking it is more of a cultural thing. However, I do prefer to consume it orally (foods) or vaporizer.
In my experience, THC itself is not physically addictive like nicotine. I would like to quit smoking cigarettes, but I have an addiction. Over the course of my life, I have quit ganja to keep jobs several times for lengths of time over a year. I never developed any adverse side effects other than wishing I could smoke lol.
THC being a depressant doesn't mean it causes depression. It generally has made me cheerful and energetic. This can and usually is dependent on my mood prior to smoking since THC stimulates brain cells and is a hallucinogenic. I don't take it to 'cure' anything as if its a prescription narcotic, but as a choice because of its pleasant effects; similar to alcohol. Alcohol or cigarettes are never prescribed really. As far as THC showing up in feces and/or urine. Well, water is a necessity to life, yet they both appear in feces and water. Not sure what your point was on that if you'd care to elaborate. Nobody has ever died from a THC overdose, so if it's a toxin, it's awfully weak toxin. Alcohol providing energy...not sure how that makes it good in terms of why marijuana is bad.
I would have to also say, from experience, that I have had MANY days claiming "I'll never drink again!" while suffering a terrible hangover. Again, never with ganja.

Having said all that, I still can't understand based on the reasons you've mentioned why you say it 'has no place in society' and that 'it's mostly bad'. Bad how?

As an adult recreational drug, I don't see how it can be deemed bad. It's widespread use and legalization in several states would support that idea.

[PerfectRecall17]

Welcome fellow NC-er!

[goodvibesonly]

Thank ya sir!

[Thumpalumpacus]

I stopped smoking out years ago -- I have enough trouble remembering shit when not lit-up, and it seemed that bud wasn't helping the issue, so I stopped. I do think that the laws against it are intrusive and that the government has no business regulating mental states so long as they don't impact others (operating machinery, treating medical patients, etc).

The list of things you're into is cool -- I too am a musician, and an outdoors sort of guy. I work at a nature preserve in Central Texas, and I'm into the sciences as well -- astronomy being my favorite, geology being pretty goddamned interesting, evolutionary biology being de rigeur from dealing with Internet dumbfuckery, and I always have open ears for disciplines I haven't explored if the salesman has a little talent.

What kind of music do you play? Do you compose?

[Minimalist]

[goodvibesonly]