Marijuana and its use

Uzima Moto wrote: People being stupid isn't a reason to control them.. we must be very careful with things like that..

Stupidity is often a reason there are rules. Like some gas stations in the lower states saying "Do not siphon gas with your mouth." Someone, someone not so bright, had to have done it first before the rule was made. Does it control them? No. But it does make doing dumb things like that punishable because the rules have been stated clearly.

After revisiting the previous posts in this thread, I think it is important to stress one point that was only barely touched on a few times.

Marijuana and hemp are in fact, plants. They grow naturally and this is often used as an argument for legalizing it. Hippies love to say that "we shouldn't regulate a plant, man!" This may have been a compelling argument at one point, but as a cancer patient and regular user of medicinal cannabis for pain management, appetite stimulation, and insomnia, I can tell you that the medication I use is not marijuana or hemp as is commonly referred to in conversations like this. I'm not rolling joints or smoking bowls on my back porch like I did in college. I use compounds specifically engineered to address certain symptoms and they are far from anything that has ever come from the ground of Mother Earth. Some are in the form of edibles and some is wax that is vaporized and inhaled. Either way, I'm not a stoner from Fast Times At Ridgemont High. I can use it and nobody would ever know.

As previously mentioned, the two active cannabinoids found in marijuana and hemp are THC and CBD. CBD acts as a mild sedative and helps reduce inflammation in the body (thus relieving pain) while also promoting relaxation and lessening anxiety. It comes from hemp and has no psychoactive properties, so it is legal almost everywhere. It can be taken as a pill, as a syrup, in edible form, or topically as oil or soap. They even make suppositories. Some clinics now offer CBD products for pets too.

THC, on the other hand, is highly psychoactive and creates the feeling of being "high". It is found in the buds of the marijuana plant and can be ingested or smoked. The most common variants are Indica and Sativa, with Indica producing a more full bodied effect and Sativa more of a head change. If we had left nature to her own devices, this marijuana would not be dangerous because it wouldn't be addictive and would take large amounts of usage over a short time to become truly impaired to the point that it could be compared to alcohol or opiods. But we being the humans we are, we have cross-bred and engineered strains so potent that even a small amount can get an individual extremely high and the effects can last much longer. I can testify that I have access to strains of medicinal cannabis that are far more powerful than the opiods I am also prescribed and the effects last much longer. I don't drive under the influence of either, but I'd choose to pop a Percocet and get behind the wheel before I would ever take a hit of the Skywalker Indica I have at home. It's that strong.

I guess what I'm saying is this isn't your dad's dirt weed anymore. Today's cannabis is extremely powerful and it should be respected. Especially the edibles with high THC content. While I am for legalizing it everywhere, it still needs to be used responsibly and regulated. Do your homework and be safe.

Thank you senan for pointing out the nuances that often are overlooked in discussions regarding marijuana. Making broad oversimplified statements rarely encompasses the whole issue enough to make a convincing point.

People can argue the history of its criminality or berate the DEA/ATF et al. but if you want to actually argue the legality of marijuana, you need to break down the different components of the issue and address the fact patterns as they are and could become.

When it comes to making laws, there's no such thing as an unmotivated statute. So while we might disagree with some law, clause, or language, it doesn't mean that material is irrational. Luckily, in the US, we have multiple ways of changing how we see laws enacted, so go push for those.

The OP was just looking for a marijuana and spirituality discussion; so to that, if grand theft auto is a method of communing with the force, weed does wonders. So do really any drugs though imo

Adder wrote:

Uzima Moto wrote: People being stupid isn't a reason to control them.. we must be very careful with things like that..

Stupidity often impacts beyond oneself, more often then not I'd guess.

True enough, and we should deal with those things if they come up. Education would go miles in reducing that.. but we shouldn't run with an "incompetent until proven competent" mindset. That's a presumption of superiority from a certain point of view..

I find it sad when we can't learn from the past. We had Prohibition where Alcohol was illegal and crime sprung up around it. We legalized it and the crime went away. I say we legalize All drugs and subject them to the same restrictions prescription medications are under. Study them in a scientific manner and find out the Real effects, both positive & negative that they cause. Seems like just common sense to me.

Prohibition did contribute to an increase in activity from organized crime syndicates in the form of illegal manufacture and bootlegging, but the crime certainly did not go away once alcohol became legal again. The syndicates simply moved on to other rackets including gambling, heroine, loan sharking and cocaine. (see the history of Las Vegas and Mickey Cohen's attempt to run L.A.)

What we actually learned was that the government can make a lot more money legalizing and then taxing these products. Local and state governments have seen the benefits of taxing legal marijuana already and that's why they are allowing it. It is the federal government and clowns like Jeff Sessions who are way behind the curve and don't see the financial benefits of getting out of the way and letting states control the marijuana market.

The same can be said for some other illegal drugs as well, but not all. Even some currently legal drugs need to be regulated better. I can see why opiods need to be treated differently than marijuana or alcohol. We're talking a whole different measure of benefits versus consequences there.

You really cannot prohibit it as much as people like to think you can. Drug Lords will make their money more so because it is illegal. Same with gambling and prostitution. No ones business what one does with their money or what people do in the bedroom.

Kind of strange since you also see a lot of people get hurt by the legal drugs that push out more than the illegal drugs. They don't tell you that though. We had families friends, churches ect. to help those who had a problem but didn't depend on a government to hold our hand and tell us no.

I agree with you that people will always do what they want to do and that making something illegal simply makes it more profitable for criminals, but we still need to understand that there are real world consequences to breaking the law, even if the law is wrong. Thousands of lives have been ruined by simple marijuana convictions that have kept people in jail who could not afford bail or cost people jobs and families. This needs to change.

I also agree that legal drugs are just as dangerous. I am currently prescribed Percoset (opiate in the form of oxycodone mixed with acetaminophen) for pain and they give me 90 pills at a time. It's enough to easily kill someone three times over and this medication can be highly addictive. As long as there is money in it for the pharmaceutical companies, they will remain legal and over prescribed. We've got a lot of work to do.

I strongly believe that included in our mission to humanity and the Force is to see the governmental structures of civilization respect the inherent freedom of all individuals..

Included in that is the right to ones body and what goes in it. We cannot repress that right for the sake of the few who abuse it. It's the idea that protect your liberty under the law protects mine.

Morality is proactive and preventative. Law is remedial and based in reason and equity.. Mercy and Justice, the right and left hands.. lately we've been confusing the two.. Using law to enforce one set of morals or another. Morality can inform law but not prescribe it. Since it can be VERY subjective..

Very good discussion.

Marijuana is one of those cases that is not black and white. Because there's a federal law against it people judge it and anyone who does it as being wrong. The concept of right and wrong are often relative to those who are in power. If you're in power you can not only get away with breaking the laws but you can make laws that benefit you that actually take power away from your opponents. Laws are often constructs for the manipulation of power.

When alcohol was illegal there was a whole illicit industry to supply the demand. In cases like this the dark side is a shadow created by the light. In trying to stop something sometimes we make things worse. Think back to what Anakin did that actually led him down the path to become Vader. He wasn't trying to do evil. He was trying to do good by gaining more power so that he could "control". What would have actually saved Padme? Had he simply trusted in the Force she may have survived childbirth. Instead he weakened her to the point that it made childbirth more difficult.

It is a part of our arrogance that thinks we can stop something by making it illegal. All this does is criminalize people who we don't agree with and whose demand will still be supplied. And who is it in society that has the most reason to drink and utilize other forms of what are essentially escape mechanisms? It is the poor. Rich people drink. But rich people drink expenisve versions in expensive places and VIP places where cops can't or wont go. Rich people do cocaine. But rich people do cocaine in expensive places and exclusive VIP places where cops can't or wont go. People smoke crack in alleys and abandoned buildings. People snort cocaine in limos and private parties. Not only will enforcement be dramatically skewed but even the penalties are too. The law isn't what we might want to believe it is because it isn't applied equally. Some laws were created as weapons against the poor. But why? What is there to gain?

If we start looking too hard we'll find the financial motivations. We'll find that the rich make even more money investing in prisons, taking our tax dollars to lock up the poor and defenseless. They allow drugs to overtake society because it make them money. One of the companies involved in the opioid epidemic also has a treatment that costs money. Marijuana is not only used by a lot of people they love to lock up. It is used by people they don't want to lock up. Their sons and daughters are doing it too. So most people want the law to change but... the question is, have enough big pharma companies figured out how to profit from marijuana? Because that's why it was illegal in the first place. Marijuana is a lot less dangerous than alcohol, but if people start taking it as an alternative to traditional drugs, then the big drug makers will lose money. That's what it's about. Money and power; not morality or justice. As Jedi we cannot blindly follow the law but rather the principles on which help humanity prosper, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.