As many of you know, I was in love with drugs and had a passionate affair with Mary Jane. I loved everything about this wonderful plant, the look, texture, smell, colors, taste, and best of all the sensation she gave me when I smoked her. Mary Jane by herself was trouble for me because she would always bring her friends Allison and Candy. Then they run my life like bad women do. Anyways, this blog is not about my romances with these ladies but I feel the need to write about my old friend Mary. I havent smoked her in almost 5 years, but I smell her once in awhile and see her once in awhile too. Shes with alot of other people now and all they all say the same thing, shes not that bad.
I agree with this statement. Since the arguement is always if alcohol is legal so should marijuana and since that is the most frequented arguement I'll put my two cents in. As someone who abused them both aggressively for about a decade I would have to say that I would prefer marijuana to be legal as to alcohol. Since I have started counseling clients and attending further education courses I have seen and heard many issues associated with alcohol that are not associated with even heroin. The main one being that more people die when they stop using alcohol then when they stop using heroin. This is true and it is scary. "Normal" people dont see this or think this. The body of a long term heroin user would be a great improvement to a body of a long time alcohol user. The statistics for cirrhosis of the liver is as impressive as those for cigarettes and cancer but people dont see that. Every time a person drinks cells are destroyed in the liver, your bodies main organ for cleaning itself and keeping poison out. Alcohol also is banned by more religions then marijuana which is encouraged among, hindus, natives, muslims, some sects of buddhism and of course the rastafari'.
Think about it...who would you get in a car with? (1)a person who never smoked pot before and just did, (2) a pot smoker who had never driven while high and was just about to, (3) a pot smoker who drives high all the time, (4) a person with any amount of alcohol in them. I would hope for your sake and the sake of those who care about you, that you wouldnt pick #4. As we all know the dangers of drinking and driving there are virtually no dangers to smoking weed and driving, yes that is what I am saying. Any tests that have been done to show that people on marijuana are impaired are false becuase they ask people to smoke marijuana who dont smoke marijuana and then have them drive cars when they have never driven before, in that case pot would affect driving, but thats not reality. People who are stoned generally focus more on what they are doing because they are aware of the effects of marijuana. To be stoned and aware that one is forgetful you would compensate and follow what is going on so that even if you forget you are aware, whereas with alcohol you dont know what is going on and if you do you arent drinking enough or you may have a problem.
I would much rather be around 100 stoned on pot people than 100 drunks any day of the week, it makes for a happier society. I am not saying to make alcohol illegal but I hope that people are truely aware that alcohol and cigarettes are the two leading killers in this country. Think about what a hangover feels like and how painful it can be. There is no hangover from pot.
thats all for now....check you later man!!!
4 comments:
Dear Proudest Junkie:
I am an alcoholic. I dabbled in marijuana in the college days, along with hashish during a high school "trip" to Amsterdam and mushrooms offered to me at a Dead concert. They were pleasant, but they never took. My real love was alcohol. Not only did I love its effects, but I grew quickly to love the taste. Straight brown liquor, no chaser, no mixer: bourbon, whiskey, cold or warm, from the bottle (preferrably a plastic "traveler's fifth," so I could squeeze the bottle to force the flow). As a "functional alcoholic," I drank all the time; therefore, I seldomly drove sober. But I was immune. The two DUI's I had in 1994 and 1995 were unfortunate, bad luck occurrences. The third DUI in
2006, resulting in a car crash, only proved I was a great driver when drunk because I strategically, narrowly averted oncoming traffic and planted the two ton vehicle perfectly between two oak trees. Damn cell phone went off. That was the problem there. My 4th DUI, a mere six weeks later and which resulted in a four-year revocation of my license, was blamed on the sunny day. Who wouldn't speed with such beautiful weather? I write this today with sound knowledge of both the dangers of alcohol and its effects on the mind and judgement when it comes to driving. Bad, bad stuff. I am blessed to be a free man. I was a candidate for several life sentences for potential manslaughter. My three boys were in jeopardy daily, as were other motorists. Additionally, I am blessed to be alive. I cannot speak to your posit regarding drugs v. alcohol when driving, but as a sober individual I would opt for Door Number 3: to not get in a car with anyone who is impaired by any substance. I value life more today than ever. I love my children, and have respect for the common man. It chills me to think that our roads are frequently traveled by alcoholics AND drug addicts alike, for, regardless of respective reaction times, those abusers are not of "sound mind."
Jeremy Stevens
Wilson, NC
i don't think the problem is legality, more than abuse. the only people who have problems with alcohol are generally the people who abuse it. and its a fair argument that other people are easily affected by someone whos drinks also. but the people who would abuse pot would be the people who would have the same problem as if they were abusing alcohol. marijuana is an open door to other drugs, i don't care what anybody says because it is. i had a problem with pot for a little while but i don't have a problem with alcohol. it would probably be better to say that since pot is illegal then alcohol should be illegal as well. but, a lot of the people who don't have a problem with alcohol would have a problem with it being illegal. and i don't want pot legal. true thwere might be less problems and people would try so hard with getting it but what would happen after that? the nest argument would be then acid should be legal or coke. people need some form of alteration. and for most that alteration is alcohol. so we have to have faith that people won't abuse it, it would be the same if pot was leagal. we would have to have faith that people won't abuse it. so then why shouldnt it be legal then? i just think it would lead to be the one more thing we don't need. we already ahve enough things we don't need, why add another? but ive been wrong before.
You make some valid points there, but, simple facts being more people die from alcohol then all other drugs together, alcohol impairs and damages your body more than any other substance. The general surgeon recommends one glass of red whine a day and has added to include one beer per day, they also added that excess beyond that can be harmful to health and cause the opposite of the intended effect of one glass of red whine which is reducing the incidence of heart disease which more than one drink a day causes liver and kidney damage. Marijuana doesnt help your heart, but it doesnt kill you. There are also much higher crime rates, drinking and driving and killing people, and domestic violence that are associated with alcohol that are not associated with pot. I am not saying that pot is the answer but pot is a much less harmful drug than alcohol or any of the others. Pot doesnt impair you like alcohol does and there are many people who just smoke pot, hence rastafaris. All my life people have tried to tell me that pot is a gateway drug and I have never felt that way, yes I used pot then used acid, then used coke and so on and so on, but, I used alcohol way before I used pot and I would think most other people do too, Seeing how alcohol is on tv every commercial break, in the hands of your parents as something only adults can do which adds interest. Alcohol is legal so it is more readily available. To get into pot which is illegal there would have been interest in alcohol already making alcohol a gateway drug. 30% of all hospital admissions are due to alcohol , half of murder victims and half of murderers were drinking when murder took place. I am not saying that alcohol is this terribly bad thing and noone should do it, what I am saying is that people look very lightly on alcohol compared to other substances when in fact in the field of substance abuse alcohol is considered the worst of all the drugs out there. 12% of the 140 million adult drinkers in the United States are alcoholic, and 20% of drinkers consumer 80% of all the alcohol in this country. Those numbers suggest that there is a fair amount of abuse going on and people are not taking into consideration what those drinks are doing to there body. Tolerance is more easily built in alcohol then it is in every drug except heroin. So when someone is all of a sudden drinking 6 beers or 8 beers to get a buzz, their body is undergoing damage that they are not aware of. Its the same with smoking cigarettes in that you cant tell its killing you or doing damage to your organs, but there is medical evidence that proves it.
The general surgeon defines heavy alcoholic drinking as having five or more drinks at one sittings at least five times a month. This type of drinking causes depression, comas, cardiac failure, sleep disturbance, blackouts, liver disease, digestive issues, fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis, memory disorders, sexual dysfunction, breast cancer, and the list goes on. For pot at heavy use you might get lung cancer from smoking it but it is not as bad as cigarettes on your lungs, other than that there isnt any medically proven issues as there are with alcohol.
I could go on forever about how alcohol is worse than pot. It doesnt mean anything though. For me an alcoholic and a drug addict, alcohol is much worse for me than pot. I abused all types of drugs in aggressive ways but alcohol is the one that caused damage to my body. When I went in for treatment my liver enzymes screwed up from drinking and so was my stomach and insides. I was medicated for both and am much better now but it was pretty bad from a substance that I thought was nothing. Alcohol was a constant, I never saw anything wrong with alcohol and now that I am sober I can see why I thought that. Its because it is glorified by the media and it is socially acceptable. This is why booze are dangerous not just to the public with their misconceptions about it, but to alcoholics and addicts like myself. I watch a football game on a sunday and see 100 beer commercials where everyone is young, having fun, good looking, the beer is perspiring I can sometimes feel my mouth salivate. Imagine if that was cigarette commercials. Or pot commercials. For people who used to smoke pot or cigarettes. The only difference is alcohol is socially acceptable based on misconceptions. I believe that alcohol can be taken socially I get that, I also think so can pot, acid, cocaine, and heroin. People take painkillers all the time, same ingredients as heroin. Those commercials arent aimed at social drinking they are aimed at a party. As an addict if I was to relapse, I would choose alcohol over any other drug. Alcohol would hit me fast and hard and could get me to blackout the quickest. Also its right down the street and cheaper than anything else out there.
Whats scary to me is I realized I was an alcoholic because I got into trouble, I was young and crazy and had not a care in the world. I used to kill myself and avoid reality, aggressively. There are alot of people out there who have money, who are functioning, never get into trouble. If I was Robert Downey Jr. or Kelsey Grammar never in a million years would I have stopped using because they can live and get away with it. They have money so they wont be the homeless bum and can pay their way out of misery, but they got it just like I do, alcohol is just a symptom. A symptom of a miserable, painful, isolated existence. That is the problem, alcohol just medicates it like anti depression pills. The whole I need a drink to take the edge off, symptom...I am stressed, have a drink calm down...symptom, or like my good friend says about people at concerts who wont remember what happened..symptom of a sad life that needs elevation from alcohol to seem interesting...those people who hook up on first dates or date for awhile based around drinks...symptom, these things worry me about alcohol. I know of some people who have a few drinks and then drive because they have built a tolerance where they dont feel the effect but they certainly display them, what does it take for that person to smarten up, a DWI, an accident or killing someone. I had a couple I am alright....famous last words. Those are big games that people play that can change and ruin peoples lives, its a felony. I don't drink anymore and I don't mind those that do, but, if it comes into play in my life or someone else s I get pissed. Alcohol has taken some people out of my life permanently just as it could have taken me, for those that have a few and dont wait an hour without a drink, or take a cab, or have a DD, or walk, or ride a bike, I have no compassion for you, you know reality but you think you are bigger, different, or special. The driver always lives and I think there is a reason for that, to live with the fact that your decision killed someone. I drove drunk just like so many others do and I am lucky nothing happened. I get mad about that one.
Simply put, none of these things happens on pot, it is a much weaker substance than alcohol.
i will be reading your blogs starting tomorrow....hopefully you can find my page....i don't get this whole blogging thing yet....:)
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