h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

postings 96-100 have more to do with the subject than the entire thread so far


IMHO FWIW

I'm a bit surprised after reading all 101 previous posts that no word has been said about the situation in the Netherlands. I defenitely think the government has done a good thing to legalize canabis over here. The only thing a bit wierd is that it is legal to use (18+) but not to produce. But taking the step away from the criminal scene is the way to go. Otherwise rules like 'you can't sell canabis within a certain distance of a school' couldn't be made, and dealers would be on every corner.
I definitely agree with the opinion that canabis is no more harming than alcohol or tobacco. Canabis is in itself NOT an addictive drug. The depence is only in the mind. I know after been stoned every day for months. I didn't have any trouble whatsoever getting the monkey off my back. Allright, maybe it helped that I stopped seeïng the 'friends' that got me started in the first place. But what I mean is that for me there aren't any really harmfull things about it, provided you know what you are doing.

Unfortunately that is a myth; there are observable long term physical effects on the brain. Basically cannabis attacks the physical neurological networks in the brain.

As you can see from what I have posted elsewhere, I have used it in the past, and in the appropriate country, time and place I expect I will use it again.

But it *can* have a permanent effect on the function of the brain, and this is something every user should know.

My retirement plan, incidentally, to be implemented when I am 90 or thereabouts, is to live in a nursing home in a country with a liberal legal system, and to experiment with hard drugs.

But that is a while away yet.

B

Ben's right *waves to Ben*, blow basically changes the shape of your brain. in much the same way alcohol changes your liver and smoking your lungs. just a matter of choosing your chemical of choice.

ach... who needs a short term memory anyway? its much more fun trying to remember what you did yesterday

"I'd just like to say that I had the misfortune to be doing my ironing last night while my flat-mate was watching '28 Days' with Sandra Bullock on the goggle-box.

I take back everything I have said on this thread. If non-drug using non-alcoholics are as sanctimonious, pompous and stupid as the people in this film then I want no part of them."

It's interesting, if people are anti-"drugs" (ie illegal drugs) they are seen as hugely responsible and/or good-hearted. If they are anti-drinking or smoking they are usually seen as authoritarian nannying monsters. Both mentalities have the same roots (the United States anti-drug laws have the same origins as alcohol prohibition) but, thanks to being washed through separate parts of society, these similar mentalities are often found on opposite sides of the so-called "ideological divide".

I think hardline prohibitionists of an type are more a threat to liberty than protectors of society. Funnily enough, "anti-socialists" for want of a better expression are often the biggest supporters of the drug laws, which are based on socialist ideology (ie personal freedom should be curtailed for the good of society).

Nice one, BS!

Cannabis may not technically be physically addictive (I can take it or leave it, for example) but it can certainly be psychologically addictive and because it is so widespread, the peer pressure to carry on using it can be immense.

I know people who have been stoners for years - some of them have a joint for breakfast. I think the most dangerous thing about cannabis is that people understate its harmful effects - it is medically recognised to be somewhat less harmful than tobacco, but, whereas a punch in the face with a bare hand is better than one with an iron glove, it's still a punch in the face.

"Ben's right *waves to Ben*, blow basically changes the shape of your brain. in much the same way alcohol changes your liver and smoking your lungs. just a matter of choosing your chemical of choice."

alcohol also damages the brain. It kills the frontal lobes, responsible for reasoning. This is why some alcoholics are bad-tempered and impulsive. Boris Yeltsin, anyone?

Hi W****E - long time no see, honey.

Can I come visit in August?

B

"Cannabis may not technically be physically addictive (I can take it or leave it, for example) but it can certainly be psychologically addictive and because it is so widespread, the peer pressure to carry on using it can be immense."

playing tennis can be "psychologically addictive". As for peer-pressure, that's more weak-will and stupefying conformity than genuine addiction.

Zagreb, are you merely nit-picking or do you have a genuine point to make?

All drugs - by definition - change your mood.

Putting it crudely they change it by altering the chemical wash that flows through the brain.

They all have short-term and long-term physiological side effects.

Sugar, which is the most under-rated mood altering substance in our culture, rots your teeth and makes you fat.

W****E is right - you pays your money and takes your choice.

Ben
off to get a carb hit off some high quality cheesecake, sod my teeth and my waistline...

I'm making a genuine point by nit-picking. I've also made some genuine points if you look a little higher in the thread.

Actually, of course, tennis can by physically addictive.

Pure Grade A Endorphins.

B

h2g2 is a pretty good craic.

you start off with just an e-mail account, then it's a bit of innocent(ish) surfing and then you find H2G2!!!!! the "gateway" to some real hard on-lineness and before you know it you're hooked.

I know ain't it grand :D

Allright who did that!? which crack head sniffed up my -

it's been an absolute age, Ben ... of course you can come and vist any time, look forward to it

i find blow more habitually addictive than actually physically addicitive... i've had something to eat ... i think i'll roll a joint ... i've just had sex ... think i'll roll a joint (okay, so that one doesn't happen too often) ... oh cornation street's on .... think i'll roll a joint...

tennis i don't find addictive at all...

>Sugar, which is the most under-rated mood altering substance in our culture, rots your teeth and makes you fat.<

And judging by the erratic output of self-confessed sugar junkie David Lynch, leaves you with little or no ability to tell the difference between s**t and shinola.