Why is marijuana seen as a bad drug?

PFC Alexander Oliveira — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 11:37:03 -0500

Can anybody tell me why marijuana is looked down upon so heavily while, alcohol, caffeine, Xanax, Vicodin, Percocet, along with other prescription drugs are so openly welcome? What about federal recognition, legalization and taxation? We can look at the profit from taxes made in states like Colorado and see the positivity made from legalization, lower crime rates and such.
What are your thought?

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 11:39 AM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 11:39:36 -0500

Drugs are bad, mmkay. It leads to other drugs and sex with men in rest stop bathrooms, mmkay.

Response by SSgt Robert Marx made Mar 3 at 2016 11:49 AM

SSgt Robert Marx — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 11:49:12 -0500

Marijuana, when inhaled, does extensive damage to the cardiovascular system & the endocrine glandular system. When ingested through food, marijuana damages the endocrine glandular system; however, perhaps further testing is warranted to see if there are benefits for use of marijuana that outweigh the consequences. I do not think that any scientist can definitely state that marijuana has been tested enough for its strengths to be known. Alcohol & opioid drugs are terrible for the system. They both destroy the body's main systems while causing a depressing of the overall system. Caffeine, while technically a drug, has temporary effects that are hardly worth mentioning except for when massive amounts are taken and cause heart issues. People have died from taking too much caffeine; however, when taken moderately, daily or occasional use is not harmful.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 3 at 2016 11:56 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 11:56:05 -0500

Because it's Illegal.

It's an item on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. It's against the law.

When you make something illegal, those who violate the law are criminals, and criminals are looked down upon.

The other items you mentioned are either Legal or Restricted, but not ILLEGAL, which is the difference.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 12:39 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 12:39:14 -0500

The main reason why it's viewed as a non-acceptable drug is that it stays in your system for a relatively long time. And you believe that Percocet and Vicodin is welcome? They aren't, not in any jobs where you need some kind of direct responsibility.

To compare with caffeine... is a bit bizarre.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Mar 3 at 2016 1:02 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 13:02:56 -0500

Ancient History, Propaganda, Movies like Reefer Madness. "Marijuana will make those Black Men Crazy and Rape White Women". Just pure unadulterated ignorance.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Mar 3 at 2016 1:03 PM

CSM Richard StCyr — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 13:03:07 -0500

Xanax, vicodin, and Percocet are all prescription drugs and are controlled. They are not "openly welcome" In fact its funny you mention these as they are the three drugs that were mentioned by a CID agent I was talking to the other day as being abused by minor dependents and being skimmed from medicine cabinets. Marijuana is a depressant and causes reduced reaction times. So even though it's legal in some states you still can't smoke dope and work in the construction industry any more than you can drink on the job. As for the lower crime rates I'm pretty sure that is a false narrative, or at least it's too early to have good data to compare since it's not been legal long enough to get good sample statistics. The other thing is that in study after study marijuana has been identified as a stepping stone to use of harder more addictive drugs. While Chech and Chong made a case for this 40 years ago citing the tax profit to be gained by legalization , it's as faulty now as ever.

Response by SGT Edward Wilcox made Mar 3 at 2016 1:29 PM

SGT Edward Wilcox — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 13:29:36 -0500

Marijuana is looked down on because of over 60 years of propaganda. You should do some research into the history of marijuana. The cannabis plant was grown legally all over the country for the fibers, up until shortly after WWII. The fibers were used to make hemp rope. After the war, many suggested using the plant for paper production and clothing fibers. This would have decimated the lumber and cotton industries. Many credit Randolph Hurst, a lumber and paper tycoon, with getting the hemp plant falsely equated with plants grown for recreational use, and getting them all outlawed.

Legalization carries some definite problems with it. Just like alcohol. Colorado is enjoying a windfall in new revenue, but it is also seeing new costs associated with legalization. The black market for marijuana has simply shifted it's focus to those who can't legally buy it, such as minors. It has not gone away. While I support legalization, it is not the magic cure all some think it is.

Alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are all far worse on the body than THC, especially when combined with the other chemicals found in the most common delivery methods. Which is not to say that marijuana is 100% safe, it isn't.

Response by SPC Chelsea Fernandez made Mar 3 at 2016 1:38 PM

SPC Chelsea Fernandez — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 13:38:21 -0500

It only becomes bad when it is sold on the streets

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Mar 3 at 2016 2:15 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 14:15:29 -0500

I am opposed to prohibition, but not because I think drugs are good. Personally, I have no desire to use them. I was given an opioid for the pain of sciatica and all it did was make me constipated (Sorry, I know WTMI) My opposition to prohibition is that the unintended consequences of it far outweigh the consequences of drug use.

That being said, please don't smoke your marijuana around me. It smells really foul. No other drug comes close. Coffee (caffeine) is quite pleasant smelling. But burning marijuana smells like a rotting cadaver.

Response by SGT Kristin Wiley made Mar 3 at 2016 3:19 PM

SGT Kristin Wiley — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 15:19:02 -0500

I'm concerned more about how smoking (marijuana, cigarettes, cigars) affects the environment. Pills, caffeine, and alcohol only effect your body, excluding actions done while under the influence. There have been studies that show second and third-hand smoke can cause respiratory dysfunction to include lung cancer. As someone who suffers from asthma, I find it extremely rude that I'm forced to use my inhaler when walking in a public area because someone was too inconsiderate to smoke in a designated smoking area.

I'm all for if you want to do it in the privacy of your own home, but that doesn't mean others should be subjected to your actions and the negative health effects they cause. I grew up in Oregon, where recreational marijuana is huge (illegal or not), and marijuana in particular leaves a disgusting stench on the user. So marijuana users such as these, are not people I would enjoy working with in a professional environment.

Response by LCpl Cody Collins made Mar 3 at 2016 3:47 PM

LCpl Cody Collins — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 15:47:00 -0500

Because very bad people grow and sell it by the tons.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 3:47 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 15:47:38 -0500

I have seen marijuana users in Vietnam where they have highs and lows, paranoia, slowed reflexes. etc. I do not want to trust my life to someone that is high.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Mar 3 at 2016 3:49 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 15:49:27 -0500

We don't like how gangs of people who are high rampage through the streets, malls, and movie theaters starting fights.

Response by Cpl James Waycasie made Mar 3 at 2016 5:16 PM

Cpl James Waycasie — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 17:16:08 -0500

I am no expert but I did try it when I was younger. I smoked cigarettes for years. I personally found that smoking Marijuana affected my breathing more so than the cigs did. It also made me feel disorientated and paranoid. I didn't do it because I didn't like it. I m now 55 yrs old and I have friends from my teen days who did and still do smoke it. I have to admit that some of them were very intelligent 35 to 40 years ago. Most of them now seem like dimwits who can't remember anything, can't carry on an audible conversation and can do only simple jobs. I figure God has a purpose for it. I have heard it can relieve and cure many diseases but like any drug, it can have bad side effects. I don't reckon God planned on beer, wine, whiskey, Vicodin, valium, pot or anything to be used in a recreational lets get stoned category, lol.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Mar 3 at 2016 5:25 PM

SGT Richard H. — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 17:25:43 -0500

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 7:15 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 19:15:35 -0500

I'd bet the majority of "marijuana bad" studies were funded by the tobacco and alcohol lobby. And no, I'm not a toker of a midnight smoker.

Response by PO2 Peter Klein made Mar 3 at 2016 9:55 PM

PO2 Peter Klein — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 21:55:31 -0500

Marijuana was outlawed because of the lumber industry. Marijuana grows fast and can be made into paper easily. Lumber industry didn't like the competition so they lobbied Congress. end of story until the sixties.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Mar 4 at 2016 2:07 AM

SrA Matthew Knight — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 02:07:31 -0500

I don't personally advocate the usage/consumption of any mind altering substances (yes that includes alcohol) mainly because people start to get stupid when using them. Now used in moderation when you know your limits, whatever, however I still don't think it (MJ) should be allowed in the military for anything other than approved medical purposes.

Another reason I look down on MJ is for the same reason I look down on smoking and that is because regardless of the source if you are inhaling smoke you are going to be damaging your lungs. It's just unhealthy.

The final reason is simply because all too often the culture itself is obnoxious. It's kind of along the lines as the running joke with vegans or crossfitters. You'll never have to ask if someone smokes pot because they're almost guaranteed to bring it up in conversation for attention. I see it on sites like Imgur a lot. If you want to smoke then go for it but you don't need to announce to the internet that you do.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2016 4:55 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 04:55:15 -0500

Plant vs a chemical made in a lab ; I still get this question aswell

Response by SSgt Jim Gilmore made Mar 4 at 2016 10:17 AM

SSgt Jim Gilmore — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 10:17:53 -0500

One thing you have failed to consider in this equation is the problems it creates in neighboring states where pot is not legal. Legal or not, as a service member you are in violation if caught with, using or under the influence of pot. Next neighboring states where pot is illegal are having issues with its residents going to the neighboring states, getting legally stoned and then driving back home. A legal high in Colorado is arrest time in Kansas.

To your original question, the other drugs you mention are legal where under federal law, pot is not. As for the positive effects of legalization and taxation, the numbers don't add up in my book.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Mar 6 at 2016 10:09 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 10:09:38 -0500

PFC Alexander Oliveira Looks like you have a lot of good responses and debate around your question. Right now there are a ton of employers that won't higher veterans that have Marijuana in their system, so there is a really long road ahead of legalization of the drug and changing drug testing by employers that has to be changed. It won't happen overnight. Unfortunately, as a kid of 17 back in the early 70's I did smoke it and I smoked cigarettes too, but the Army saved and me and Health and Welfare checks kept heading me in the right direction. Now I'm older and wiser (at least I feel that way) and I don't really know if legalizing it will solve all the issues presented by others in this discussion or if will cause 2nd and 3rd order affect yet to be heard of or documented. I'm not for or against it and really don't understand all the medical uses for it that I've heard about, nor have I researched enough to pass judgment on whether it's good or bad. I did enjoy reading all the debate, the good, the bad, and the ugly! That's all I'll say on this discussion!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 6 at 2016 10:28 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 22:28:14 -0500

Because it is illegal, and that is pretty much it.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Apr 22 at 2016 1:15 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 13:15:44 -0400

Actually, possession and use of Xanax, Vicodin, Percocet, and others is just as illegal as possession and use of marijuana under the same conditions; that is, without a prescription. Alcohol and caffeine do not require prescriptions because they are not "controlled". Why? That's a complex subject.