Thanks for your input.

When I wrote this I wasn’t so sure of the idea of legalizing all drugs, but over the last month I’ve been reading a lot about the subject. I think there would be a benefit to legalizing even “harsh” drugs, but not in the same capacity as marijuana. Addiction reasons aside, most other drugs have the ability to cause and overdose; some circumstantially with ease. So, sure, maybe there should be some sort of mass decriminalization, but done so with caution.

I appreciate your input on the way in which pot affects you. I find it interesting that I feel none of the things you do, but have a close friend that has an experience very similar to yours.

I think when we say “safe” in regards to marijuana, we use it as a relative term. Relative to tobacco, alcohol and Big Macs, marijuana is pretty damn safe.

On the other hand I think it can be stupid to knit pick or deny indications that drugs, legal or otherwise are harmful. Personally I smoked Cannabis habitually for around 7 years and it has permanently effected my short term memory and prevented me from being able to try and combat my social anxiety. I have smoked a joint here and there recently and it has become so much more apparant how negatively it effects me – I get a bout of lethargia/demotivation and paranoia that lasts several days.

The real point is people should have a right to choose and yes all drugs are harmful and I do agree that there are strong indications of correlation equalling cause in a number of studies despite this being a clear fallacy. However do not pretend Cannabis can be considered a safe drug as misleading people in this manner is no better than government funded studies that overexaggerate it’s negative effects.

@Eric,
Most often when I’ve experienced this or heard about it, it was actually due to the person’s demeanor as a whole. I’m not saying this was the case with your girlfriend as everyone is different; but let me share something about my wife.

She led a very innocent life. Unfortunately, I did not. I’ve had plenty of experiences that make a person a little…tougher. Being the fan of wine that I am, I scored a very expensive, very nice bottle or merlot from a friend. I wanted to celebrate, and thought it would be nice to share it with my then girlfriend. A few glasses into it, she starts to cry and is very upset. She’s really freaking out.

What wasn’t apparent to me was that she had never been drunk. I mean ever. It was a completely new experience to her (and wine drunk is certainly its own kind of strong) and she had no idea what to expect.

Most people would have called this a panic attack, as she was quite literally panicking. However, I think it was more due to the big surprise and uneasy nature of being drunk, and she simply didn’t like it.

Again, perhaps not the case with yours at all, but that has been my experience with newly high people as well.

On a pleasant note, my wife’s innocence is one of the qualities of love most about her. Hi honey!

@Sune,
I always find it interesting to hear stuff like that. “Yeah I know a guy that worked with drug abusers, and he is totally for legalizing pot.” It always speaks loudest to me that the people that see the real dangers of hard drugs are not the same as the effects of marijuana.

Unfortunately, I don’t foresee a real study being done on the matter simply because of its nature. There are too many factors when you discuss a person’s or people’s mental health.

I can buy the onset of a mental breakdown being induced by smoking marijuana, but I simply can’t go along with the actual induction do to smoking. I just know far too many people and have seen too little proof.

Thank you both again for sitting through my often incoherent ramblings.