This is officially the last post I'll be making in this thread. Swear.

To everyone on both sides of this debate, I'd just like to say that I respect your choice to not use marijuana. I think it's fine that you don't use it, as it's not right for everyone. It's fine if you'd rather your kids not use it or the people you live with if you want to avoid second-hand exposure. That's your right. What I DON'T respect is the spreading of misinformation, propaganda, and myths regarding this issue.

First of all, George Bush obviously doesn't support the use of marijuana, as he's gone out of his way to further the War on Drugs, seeing to it that the DEA make numerous busts in states where medical marijuana has been decriminalized. These busts have involved compassion club workers and terminally ill patients who are now dying in jail with no family and no hope. They can't even die in peace because of these laws, so to say that GWB probably wants us to smoke to keep us docile is a glaring mistake.

Secondly, marijuana smoke, while an irritant capable of causing bronchitis and airway irritation, is by no means a carcinogen. Long-term studies of heavy pot smokers (5+ joints daily) have proven time and again that marijuana smoke does not cause cancer. A lot of people may not realize it, but the reason tobacco smoke is as detrimental to health as it is lies not in the fact that it's smoke, but in the fact that it's treated with multiple pesticides/fungicides/fertilizers/herbicides. These chemicals, when ingested and metabolized in the human body, break down to radioactive compounds, only a fraction of which include radium, polonium-210, and uranium. It's been postulated that a carton of cigarettes has radioactive effects equal to 200 chest x-rays! If it was truly the smoke that was responsible for causing cancer, why do smokeless tobacco products like snuff and chew also cause cancer at a rate equal to smokeable tobacco? True, it's not good to smoke ANYTHING, but marijuana smoke has an expanding effect, as opposed to the vein and airway-constricting effects of tobacco. Cannabis smoke is perfectly capable of irritating the lungs and leading to chronic coughing and mold-induced infections, but a carcinogen it's not. Bob Marley died of melanoma that started on his toe as the result of a soccer injury, not lung, oral, or esophageal cancer that would be expected from someone ingesting smoke.

For those claiming that marijuana makes people apathetic, docile, and detached from the world, I only have 2 words: The Sixties.

The 1960s saw the rise and popularization of marijuana and other drugs like LSD among middle class white youth. It also saw an era of GREAT public outcries against everything from women's rights to civil rights to protest of the Vietnam War. This country hadn't before experienced such unified, organized protests in all its history--marches on Washington, draft card burning, and many, many more rebellious acts were committed by this generation. That's not to say that drugs were the only factor in this uprising, but they definitely played a role and in no way served to make them numb to the goings-on in the world.

As for pot causing mental illnesses and mental deterioration, that's only partly correct. In people with a tendency or family history of schizophrenia, marijuana has played a part in triggering the disorder in a handful of people. For mentally stable individuals, (the only ones who have any business using pot in the first place), there is no risk of "causing" mental illness. The study that "proved" that pot kills brain cells consisted of a scientist placing masks over the faces of monkeys and bombarding them with amounts of smoke equal to 600 joints in 60 seconds. They not only experienced brain damage, but also died, not because of the toxic effects of pot, but because of oxygen deprivation. It would be physically impossible for a human being to ingest that much pot in any form in such a short amount of time.

Finally, I'd just like to close with this: I am not a heavy pot smoker. I am not addicted. I smoke when I want to meditate or when I have cramps that aren't responsive to OTC pills, which comes to about twice or three times a month. There are often stretches of time where I don't smoke and have no desire to do so. It makes me tired and headachy, which is why I cut back so much. I smoked an ounce a week all through college and still managed to make As and Bs in everything but math (learning disability), participate in theatre, and maintain an active social and spiritual life. I have matured since then and no longer smoke as often. Even if I DIDN'T smoke marijuana, I would still go out of my way to defend another person's choice to do so, knowing what I do about it's history, mental/physical effects, and the politics behind keeping it illegal. I don't think it's right for government officials to tell me what to put in my own body as long as I'm not hurting anyone else. I'm telling you these things about myself not to justify my position on the issue, but to let you know that I'm not just another pothead who defends pot solely because I smoke it. I am equally passionate about gay rights and am not gay, and about a woman's right to abortion, though I've never been pregnant. There are so many things I feel strongly about that haven't touched me personally, as I hope we ALL do. Our convictions are what keep us from stagnating and standing still in life; I offer no apologies for mine and expect none for yours. This has been a good discussion, but I'm forcing myself to bow out, as some of the comments have been stressing me out more than necessary. Good luck and God bless.