I-502: A Discussion for Rational Human Beings

[kootchman]

Was he gracious enough to leave the grow intact so they had a cash crop to tide them over? Most WA state pot is from little home grown enterprises that subsidize family income. Maybe a couple hundred plants per year.

Share This

[cwit]

If by ‘a discussion for rational human beings’ you meant ‘suppositions based on anecdotal evidence’ then we’ve hit the nail on the head!

Share This

[DBP]

cwit, I don’t know if you’re referring to me when you say “anecdotal evidence,” but I’ll own up to it. Except that I would characterize most of what’s been reported here as “observed evidence” rather than anecdotal evidence.

Anecdotal evidence would be more like when someone tells you a story they heard about somebody’s girlfriend’s cousin smoking a joint and then going out of their mind and jumping off a building.

Observed evidence is when you say, “Here’s what I’ve seen . . .”

Of course, you’re still free to question my observations, or to report your own observations, which could be very different from mine.

Share This

[DBP]

Now then. Please recall that I voted FOR I-502.

I’m actually looking forward to the day when pot goes retail, because when that happens we may start seeing a shift in the whole culture around pot, just as we’ve seen a shift in the culture around tobacco and booze in recent decades.

Please remember that all three (tobacco/booze/pot) are addictive substances that have been shown in numerous studies to cause long-term health problems for users.

Not anecdote here, folks. Just well-established fact.

Bueno.

So all three of these drugs can be bad for you and yet . . .

    AND YET !

–and yet while we are fairly bombarded with messages about how DANGEROUS tobacco and alcohol are, marijuana has essentially been given a pass.

Because?

Because it was illegal of course!

Wha . . . ?

–Yes. Think about it. The government can’t exactly require dealers to put warning labels on their products, can they?

And since it’s already illegal, the government thinks it’s a waste of time doing major campaigns against it in the schools and in the media, the way we do with booze and cigs. They must figure: Hey, it’s illegal, right? Why do we need to waste money telling people it’s bad for them, too? If it wasn’t bad, it wouldn’t be illegal, right?

But now it IS legal. And with legality comes government responsibility for it. And that means government has to tell people the whole truth about it. And that seems to be especially necessary with pot just now, because for all these years that it’s been in the shadows, people seem to have gotten the idea that it’s somehow good for you, like carrot juice or something.

Which it’s not.

So when you go into a legal pot shop, expect to see posters advising you of the fact that marijuana is an addictive drug with the potential to harm you.

Expect to see special labels on each package you buy:

SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Marijuana smoke contains 37 carcinogens!

You should not consume this if you are pregnant.

Do not drive or operate heavy machinery while under the influence of this drug.

Long-term memory loss.

Etc.

Expect to see more billboards and ads on TV and in the papers, too:

Smoking pot can HURT you.

 

*****************************************************************************************

 

Bummer, huh? And you thought it was just gonna be one never-ending par-tay.

Ah-hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Wrong!

 

 

Share This

[miws]

I really hate to so cruelly insult a kitteh, but that guy’s (girl’s?) got those John Boehner sad eyes…

Mike

Share This

[cwit]

DBP – I’ll own up to making a flippant remark that didn’t add to the discussion. I’ll blame it on being worn down by the various arguments (fact or fiction – mostly fiction, probably) for or against it – along with everything else election-related.

I’m still on the fence about the initiative myself, even though I voted yes. In the end, I hope this really will decrease the amount of money & time being spent on putting people, a disproportionate amount of which are minorities, in jail for it.

As to the increased use of it – in private or public – that remains to be seen.

I don’t question your personal observations at all – I just question the use of it in coming to some of your conclusions. As many have pointed out, we can’t reliably say pot is more harmful than alcohol from your personal anecdote, as it doesn’t take into account many other factors (the legality & social acceptability of one vs the other, etc.).

I’m also hoping that most rational beings don’t really think pot is as healthy as carrot juice and thought that just because the initiative has passed, it’s party time. I’m sure there are people that may really think that but we’re trying to be rational here, right?

I’m fine with a warning that pot has health risks and who knows, maybe there will be more scientific studies on it as it becomes more accepted.

In the end, I probably agree more with you them disagree.

Lastly, sorry to pull the online dictionary card on you but observed evidence can still be anecdotal. From Merriam-Webster:

2 : based on or consisting of reports or observations of usually unscientific observers <anecdotal evidence>

But you could be a scientist, in which case, I’ll owe you a beer – if that’s your drug of choice. ;)

Share This

[Author]

Posts