Sunday, August 30, 2009
Haiku: Drugs - Pot
I've been v. concerned for a long time now that there a lot of good kids sticking their heads in the sand w/ their endorsement of marijuana use - for phony medical problems and plain vegging out - citing studies after studies promoted by norml, et al. showing that it is not dangerous. It is.
I ran into the latest example of this on DIGG recently where someone posted a study supposedly showing that: "the consumption of cannabis, even long-term, has a 'minimal' impact on brain function...." and it got 2K+ diggs. See norml's blog for July 2009
It seems to me that a lot of the impetus behind norml and its supporters is an "us against the man" mentality. If its illegal, its big government taking over our lives. Its a Second Amendment kind of argument without any recognition of the real danger of a marijuana life style and where it can easily lead.
Why anyone who is super health conscious, almost a purist, who respects their body and what they put into it, would rationalize using drugs or allow themselves to be tempted or get hooked. The dangers are definitely there.
There is definitely a psychological component as to why a kid starts up on marijuana, etc. - anger, low self esteem, unhappiness with home life, parental discord, being pushed academically beyond one's capabilities.....and a concerned parent should absolutely try to get to the bottom of it by serious talks with or without a therapist.
That said, in the following, I offer my own take on pot and other "recreational" drugs.
~ tried it - scared the sh't out of me. put me in another place - foggy, syrupy, out of control - lost that intensity and clarity of experiencing the world while fully alert and awake.
~ don't need any substance to mediate between me and the world in all its complexity and beauty
~ damn'd if i'm going to let drug cartels and purely profit making organizations manipulate me to buy their goods in the guise of..... it's "good" for you, it doesn't harm you, etc., etc.
~ drug cartels who i don't ever want to support - an underground industry run by murderers, thieves, rapists, thugs ---- every manner of decrepit low-lifes.
~ i'll be damn'd if i'm going to jump on this bandwagon where the m.o. is doing anything just to "stick it to the man" -------- if it is illegal (at the federal level) - NO MATTER WHAT THE POSSIBLE HEALTH/JOB/FAMILY CONSEQUENCES ARE - we're just going to do it. THAT IS SO MUCH B.S. - succumbing to an inviduous profit making merchandising campaign in the name of individual feedom.
~ i don't follow the crowd just because it is chic.
~ drugs are addictive, can be a gateway to even more potent ones.
~ oodles of testimony from rehabilitated users, parents who have lost their kids, users still hooked as to their dangers:
1. Nic Sheff talks about how he got started using drugs and the pain it brought his family.
2 Nic's Dad's own story about their journey through the addiction and the campaign he has mounted. An eye-opener and absolutely heartbreaking.
3. An interview with Nic and his Dad
4. Sanjay Gupta: Why I Would Vote No On Pot - TIME
5. Marijuana Is Gateway Drug - a Debate
6. Reefer Madness - Julie Myerson, a novelist living in London and the mother of three children, was finally forced to throw her eldest son out of the house — and change the locks — when his cannabis habit so deranged him that he became physically violent. He was 17 years old, smoking skunk, she learned, a strain of cannabis whose THC content is much more potent than garden-variety pot — except that it has become garden variety....
7. This Is Your Brain on Drugs -- New studies show that the effects of marijuana on young people may be greater than we thought.
~ most high functioning and highly productive individuals in all manner of fields - professional and otherwise - would never espouse a recreational drug habit and most probably do not have one.
~ because it is available (and even legal in certain areas) does not make it good, acceptable or smart. text messaging while driving and operating public transports, i.e., trains, trolleys, buses - though found to be extremely dangerous and the cause already of lethal accidents nationwide is still not banned in most jurisdictions in the country.
~ even if pot were legalized federally i would never succumb to it - just as i don't succumb to excessive alcohol, high sugar diets, high carb diets, high animal fat diets, etc.....
~ it's just too dam'n dangerous to fool around with.
~ It seems to me that a lot of the impetus behind norml and its supporters is an "us against the man" kind of mentality. If its illegal, if its big government taking over our lives, then its a Second Amendment kind of argument and its our right - a stupid headstrong line of rationalization without any recognition of what pot use can really do to you.
~ it really isn't sexy. it's just plain sticking one's head in the sand.
I ran into the latest example of this on DIGG recently where someone posted a study supposedly showing that: "the consumption of cannabis, even long-term, has a 'minimal' impact on brain function...." and it got 2K+ diggs. See norml's blog for July 2009
It seems to me that a lot of the impetus behind norml and its supporters is an "us against the man" mentality. If its illegal, its big government taking over our lives. Its a Second Amendment kind of argument without any recognition of the real danger of a marijuana life style and where it can easily lead.
Why anyone who is super health conscious, almost a purist, who respects their body and what they put into it, would rationalize using drugs or allow themselves to be tempted or get hooked. The dangers are definitely there.
There is definitely a psychological component as to why a kid starts up on marijuana, etc. - anger, low self esteem, unhappiness with home life, parental discord, being pushed academically beyond one's capabilities.....and a concerned parent should absolutely try to get to the bottom of it by serious talks with or without a therapist.
That said, in the following, I offer my own take on pot and other "recreational" drugs.
~ tried it - scared the sh't out of me. put me in another place - foggy, syrupy, out of control - lost that intensity and clarity of experiencing the world while fully alert and awake.
~ don't need any substance to mediate between me and the world in all its complexity and beauty
~ damn'd if i'm going to let drug cartels and purely profit making organizations manipulate me to buy their goods in the guise of..... it's "good" for you, it doesn't harm you, etc., etc.
~ drug cartels who i don't ever want to support - an underground industry run by murderers, thieves, rapists, thugs ---- every manner of decrepit low-lifes.
~ i'll be damn'd if i'm going to jump on this bandwagon where the m.o. is doing anything just to "stick it to the man" -------- if it is illegal (at the federal level) - NO MATTER WHAT THE POSSIBLE HEALTH/JOB/FAMILY CONSEQUENCES ARE - we're just going to do it. THAT IS SO MUCH B.S. - succumbing to an inviduous profit making merchandising campaign in the name of individual feedom.
~ i don't follow the crowd just because it is chic.
~ drugs are addictive, can be a gateway to even more potent ones.
~ oodles of testimony from rehabilitated users, parents who have lost their kids, users still hooked as to their dangers:
1. Nic Sheff talks about how he got started using drugs and the pain it brought his family.
2 Nic's Dad's own story about their journey through the addiction and the campaign he has mounted. An eye-opener and absolutely heartbreaking.
3. An interview with Nic and his Dad
4. Sanjay Gupta: Why I Would Vote No On Pot - TIME
5. Marijuana Is Gateway Drug - a Debate
6. Reefer Madness - Julie Myerson, a novelist living in London and the mother of three children, was finally forced to throw her eldest son out of the house — and change the locks — when his cannabis habit so deranged him that he became physically violent. He was 17 years old, smoking skunk, she learned, a strain of cannabis whose THC content is much more potent than garden-variety pot — except that it has become garden variety....
7. This Is Your Brain on Drugs -- New studies show that the effects of marijuana on young people may be greater than we thought.
~ most high functioning and highly productive individuals in all manner of fields - professional and otherwise - would never espouse a recreational drug habit and most probably do not have one.
~ because it is available (and even legal in certain areas) does not make it good, acceptable or smart. text messaging while driving and operating public transports, i.e., trains, trolleys, buses - though found to be extremely dangerous and the cause already of lethal accidents nationwide is still not banned in most jurisdictions in the country.
~ even if pot were legalized federally i would never succumb to it - just as i don't succumb to excessive alcohol, high sugar diets, high carb diets, high animal fat diets, etc.....
~ it's just too dam'n dangerous to fool around with.
~ It seems to me that a lot of the impetus behind norml and its supporters is an "us against the man" kind of mentality. If its illegal, if its big government taking over our lives, then its a Second Amendment kind of argument and its our right - a stupid headstrong line of rationalization without any recognition of what pot use can really do to you.
~ it really isn't sexy. it's just plain sticking one's head in the sand.
