Protestantism

» paper_turtle - What I Mean

Marijuana is not a dangerous drug in comparison to alcohol or most other substances. It can be seen as being a good thing. It is not addictive in the physical sense are most other substances. Yet, the media goes along with the hype that makes it the so-called gateway to all other substance abuse.
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I'll probably get scolded for this by someone here, but I think marijuana should be legalized--at least for medicinal purposes. If I had glaucoma or a terminal illness you can bet I'd take it. Marijuana didn't have a bad rap until some time around 1920 (or maybe a bit earlier). Shortly after that the movie Reefer Madness came out--and the public really latched on to that. My take is marijana got a bad rap because of cultural/racial associations--jazz musicians and artists used it (and, she says with a wink, we all know what a bad influence *those* people are).
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Alcohol is a very dangerous substance and especially that is true in certain bodily functions such as the one that processes sugar. Maybe you know about the Krebs Cycle?
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I remember studying that way back in 1967 or so when I took anatomy and physiology, but I haven't used that knowledge since. A cousin of mine died from liver damage related to alcoholism and the son of an acquaintance of mine died from alcohol poisoning as a result of fraternity hazing.
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Other drugs to which individuals can be addicted such as Crack Cocaine induce highly recognizable personality characteristics that can be profiled; yet, the media spends almost no time or effort exposing those characteristics.
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My sense is that the media will keep ignoring crack until it realizes that the problem is not just confined to the ghettoes. The media didn't do much about covering AIDS until it was glaringly obvious that it was not just confined to gays and prostitutes.
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I have heard that vicodin is the most addictive drug available next to cigarettes. The word is that poor and homeless veterans take public transportation to pick up prescriptions for vicodin and other narcotics at VA pharmacies. Later, they sell the drugs to users that have already givent hem standing orders for purchase.
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Are you familiar with any of this?
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There are no veteran's hospitals in this part of Vermont. We are slightly behind the rest of the country with regard to the pervasiveness of drug addiction. Its still a problem, but on a much smaller scale than elsewhere.
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There are also no facilities for homeless people where I live. I know there are homeless people, but they are not out on the streets during the day time. (Its a samll enough town so I'd know who was homeless and who wasn't.)
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle