Todays Youth ..

I find it really funny that when someone says that weed is bad for you(which is true) the people who do it think that they have to defend it. It has been proven buy numerous studies that weed contains THC which is the mass chemical compound in it that gets you high, while stoners enjoy that they are blissfully unaware that they are doing severe damage to their brain and it can lead to serious mental diabilities later in life, while i am fully aware that it contains healing properties the negatives far outweigh the positives. I have a friend whose brother started smoking it when we were 15 and he committed suicide last year due to the fact that he had anxiety and had suffered depression for a few years his doctors told him to stop but he didn’t listen, that was only after 3 years of smoking it. Now i’m not saying it will happen to everyone who smokes it but it will happen to the majority it may not happen now but it will happen eventually. I also agree with the fact that alcohol and cigs are just as bad, weed harms the brain, alcohol harms the liver and cigs harm the heart and lungs so i’m not simply on here to rant about weed but when people like you AstroDuck call others elitist’s you may want to look in the mirror if you can see through the smoke. Just about everything these days is bad for us and not all but most of the people will suffer from bad choices later on in life and will wonder why no one warned them but the truth is the warnings are everywhere, you just got to be mature enough to know which path to take.

@Astroduck – its not really a one sided thread.  I have nothing against anyone who smokes weed,,, really this thread started as why cigs suck and people shouldnt suck them…. but I made a comparison about the legality of it to weed and alcohol, since generally they go hand in hand for a lot of people.  I also stated the reasons for weed being illegal, which I think is total bunk.  I have nothing against stoners, and in fact I prefer them to drunkards, since usually they're chill happy people rather then angry nonsensical slobs.  I used to be an active member of NORML, and have done my research .  I am of the view that legalization would provide a huge number of benifits to our country (just look at Canada, where its the #2 GNP, only topped by oil).  Letsee… if we tax it, we make a ton of money (like cigs! hah!).  We could let a ton of people out of jail who aren't really criminals, and stop paying tax money for them to be there (~$40,000 – 50,000 a year in the US).  We cut out a huge profit market for gangs and other violent groups.  We have a medicine to help cancer patients and other people in extreme pain.  While I support the legalization, it does not mean I use it, or encourage anyone else to use it, but I certainly won't frown upon anyone who does.  I do think its a smart choice to stay away from it, clear minded, on the right side of the law.  I am very against ciggerettes, as they serve no purpose other than to line peoples pockets with money or lungs with tar, depending on your end of the deal.  They flood our hospitals with patients that shouldn't have to be there, and its a huge detriment to our health care system.  Also : “People who smoke for peer pressure are doing it to be accepted by a group of their peers so they can feel a part of the pack.” – thats called trying to be cool.  dude.  Being cool is essentially the equivalent of being accepted by your peers, plain and simple. WAAAAAAAAAVE.

@Miiiiitch –  There is absolutely ZERO proof that THC causes any mental damage.  As Astroduck was saying, and I as I said earlier, there is tons of propaganda out there.  Much of it will present false truths, cleverly worded to bring you to a conclusion that is untrue.  There is one study I read where they hooked some monkeys up to a gas mask feeding them tons and tons of constant weed smoke.  They suffered brain damage.  It was very easy to the researchers to conclude there was a correlation between these things.  Its also just as easy to point out that the lack of oxygen they suffered would cause the same amount of brain damage seen… so… theres really nothing conclusive about that.  In fact, there are studies that have shown it may protect against brain damage caused by alcohol.  Really the point is, there is no CONCLUSIVE evidence.  I am sorry to hear about your friend… unfortunately its common for people with anxiety or other psychological issues to turn to drugs, whether prescribed or not, and this usually just messes the mind up more. 

@W4R – you could have posted that on any forum and it turns into a hot topic… I'm pretty sure this is a debate that started a few hundred years ago and has never been settled.

Responsibility!  Thats the key!

@BigWoopMagazine – Here are a couple of links to go and look at before reading the rest of my reply(I was in no way offended by anything you said nor do I intend offend you, I respect your opinion and your entitled to have one)

http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/sa/stories/s923596.htm

http://www.ama.com.au/node/887

Although there is no conclusive studies that prove THC causes mental damage (i stand corrected on that), marijuana does contain it and this effects the immune system which makes a person more vulnerable to many deadly viruses and diseases. Some people will be lucky enough to avoid the health problems associated with marijuana use but MOST people who use it will not be so lucky. The reason studies have shown that users show resistance to the effects of alcohol is because surveys conducted on users have shown that they drink far less alcohol then non-users so of course studies will detect the false positive to using it. Also about my mate earlier when he started using he was 17 and sadly took his own life at the age of 20. He was excellent at sports and held just about every record at my school for athletics and won pretty much every award there was to win, before he started using he never had depression nor did he suffer from anxiety but in just 2 years of smoking marijuana he was suffering from these as studies have shown that people who smoke marijuana are at an increased risk of central nervous system damage and will likely suffer from depression or anxiety and a list of others due to them using. Regardless of where you stand on the matter, marijuana is harmful and if you have friends who use it or know of somebody who does then simply pay a bit of attention to them, you’ll see the effects soon enough