<p>I actually think very, very few people are thinking of pot when they think of “dangerous urban druggie”. </p>
<p>If they are, they really aren’t worth arguing with.</p>
<p>
That wouldn’t be a gateway then since it would mean that caffeine is the gateway drug to…caffeine - which defies the definition of a ‘gateway drug’.</p>
<p>Besides, I don’t think it’s even generally true that drinking some caffeine generally leads one to these ridiculous ‘energy drinks’ since I doubt the vast majority of coffee, tea, soda drinkers, and chocolate eaters end up drinking these ‘energy drinks’. These ultra-caffeinated drinks seem to be popular among a younger crowd including male teens who want to stay up all night playing video games.</p>
<p>I agree though that too much caffeine in any form is not a good idea.</p>
<p>aquamarinesea - I read your post about that the other day. What a weird thing about your mother’s habit in this area. I hope she can manage to get it under control. It’s actually dangerous - probably even more so in the elderly who are more likely to take various prescription drugs that the caffeine might interact with.</p>
<p>I drink mountain dew every day. A LOT of it. Desperately trying to kick it. </p>
<p>I’ve never even been tempted to try those energy drinks. They smell like pure cough syrup. YICK!</p>
<p>^^
I drink Diet Mt Dew as well but limit myself to 2 of them due to the caffeine. I drink it for the taste - not the caffeine. If it wasn’t for the caffeine I’d probably drink more of them. I actually called Pepsico once to see if they offered a caffeine free version and they said they did but in only a few states of which mine wasn’t one.</p>
<p>Contrary to what some people think, Mt Dew has much less caffeine than a generic cup of coffee but it still warrants paying attention to.</p>
<p>I’ve never been tempted by an ultra-caffeinated drink either.</p>
<p>it’s the sugar in those drinks that’s more of a concern than the caffeine–sugar is a toxin (the kind that doesn’t occur in food naturally). if you’re interested, this is a short link that helps to explain why: </p>
<p>[Is</a> sugar toxic? - 60 Minutes - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n]Is”>http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n)</p>
<p>anyway, sort of back to the topic: mass incarceration is a HUGE issue in this country. many people are dealing with draconian consequences for non-violent drug offenses. it’s destroyed communities (especially for black and brown people).</p>
<p>Emeraldkitty4, I’m coming over for dessert. ;)</p>
<p>To say that pot has any meaningful value or worth is the most idiotic act of wishful thinking. People use the mild hallucinogen primarily to get stoned. Period. Stop trying to justify it. </p>
<p>As far as having any medicinal value, the states that allow it even know that’s a stupid joke. Every legal pharmaceutical goes through almost a billion dollars of research and development to establish its safety and efficacy. Then it’s submitted to the FDA for approval. Proponents of medicinal pot don’t want to go that route because the truth would hurt. It’s a good high but sucky medicine.</p>
<p>Pot and all drugs should be legal on the basis of individual liberty given by our Creator and enshrined in the Constitution. It should be regulated for public safety reasons and taxed to pay for the enforcement of those regs. I wish young people would read the Constitution and understand the limits on federal power. You cant allow your freedom to be stolen just a little bit. And stop lying to yourself and everybody trying to make pot sound like a medicinal herb or harmless high. It should be allowed because no politician has a right to tell you what you can or cannot put in your body - whether it’s pot, a soda more than 16 ounces, a cigarette, a double quarter pounder and extra large French fries or painkillers and crack. None of that means you’re not a stupid idiot if you do it, it just means no govt should have that power over you.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Really, I was mostly joking. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>madaboutx, I agree with you on the basic principle of personal freedom and that it doesn’t have to be justified. But I do think that there is ample evidence that pot has medicinal value for some conditions, and I do think that it is a “harmless high” in most cases. (I also disagree about the existence of a Creator, but that’s another discussion. 
)</p>
<p>If pot has medicinal value than it should go through the same route as all other pharmaceuticals</p>
<p>8-10 years of clinical trials, determination of dosage and optimal delivery method, prescribed by a licensed physician and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist for the clinically indicated condition. It will cost hundreds for a monthly supply under those conditions and still be illegal to share or sell on the street.</p>
<p>Is that what you really want?</p>
<p>A medicine or freedom?</p>
<p>As far as a Creator, your belief or unbelief is a freedom endowed by your Creator, enshrined in the Constitution.</p>
<p>emeraldkity4 –</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Has it provided good pain relief for you?</p>
<p>
I think King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail sums up my attitude:</p>
<p>“I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.”</p>
<p>I our college town we have about six liquor stores, about six pharmacies, and about twenty-six medical marijuana facilities. Surprisingly, most of the need for medical marijuana must arise from college students because a substantial number of the facilities are in the college area. Most of the facilities have a “doctor” available to prescribe marijuana for whatever ails you (kind of like the resident optomitrist). If they don’t have a doctor, they will coach you on what to say to get a presciption.</p>
<p>Yes the marijuana has helped a lot.
Originally I began using it to supplement the other prescription pain relievers , like Tramadol, my Dr was prescribing, because side effects increase with increased dosages.( & believe me, this was as a last resort because I was not a pot fan)
Now I just take aspirin & a canna cookie before bed & another when I need it- usually in the middle of the day.
Marijuana with low THC but high CBD is what I take during the day. It doesnt make me tired like the indica I take in the evening, but it relaxes me which alleviates pain.
[A</a> New Marijuana Plant Without the High? It Could Be Good Medicine | TIME.com](<a href=“http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/04/a-new-marijuana-plant-without-the-high-it-could-be-good-medicine/]A”>A New Marijuana Plant Without the High? It Could Be Good Medicine | TIME.com)</p>
<p>Ive also been able to reduce my use of both over the counter medications & prescribed pain relievers by very slowing increasing my exercise level.
Two months ago I couldn’t easily walk very far, but since I began water exercise 4 or 5 times a week, Ive already extended walking on level surface to two miles and short hikes!
( Ive also been using creams with marijuana & msm on my joints. Its hard to say how much it helps, but it doesn’t hurt)</p>
<p>Since our local high school, a top ranked one (not the one my children attend, but the one we are zoned for, for those of you who already know me and where my children attend), had over 60 drug busts the year before my oldest was supposed to go to high school, (top drug of choice seemed to be Ecstasy at the time), an article like this would not concern me. It was over 60 because only 60 were suspended (not expelled) and there were others who were not even suspended. And this was just for drugs in class or around the actual high school campus during the school day. </p>
<p>And entire huge university with only 61 drug busts would be a pleasant change.</p>
<p>I think what high school students do & what adults in college do, is a huge difference.</p>
<p>My oldest attended a school that had a reputation as being permissive re drugs.
There may still be rumors of Renn Fayre blotter acid pinatas, but that has never been substantiated.
She did live in substance free dorms, but the decision was guided by a gut feeling that it would be quieter over all for studying than the “quiet” dorms, which only had to be quiet after ten pm.
At her school the security officers were there to help the students stay safe. They weren’t looking for trouble where it didn’t exist.
I was comfortable enough with the campus atmosphere that I let her sister who was 8 yrs younger, visit her several times a year & stay in her dorm.</p>
<p>However, her college had just about 1,300 students, & just as her high school which was probably less than 200 students had an easier time encouraging healthy behavior than her sisters high school of 1,600, a school with 30,000 or 40,000 students is going to have a much harder time.</p>
<p>The way I see it, the first college wanted to keep the doors open. They wanted students to ask for help when they needed it, instead of making the decision not to go for help for fear of repercussions. If a student was at risk, his friends could contact security staff without fear that they would be expelled. ( they also were next door to a private hospital- although I don’t know if that was a coincidence)
Every school has drug/ alcohol use. Many young adults if they havent tried substances in high school or middle school are likely to try them in college.
Depending on their motivation and decision making skills, they may overdo it.
Aside from making decisions that result in physical harm, like in the case of driving under the influence or otherwise putting yourself and others at risk, I think use of substances by adults can be managed by logical consequences without having to engage in " drug busts".</p>
<p>Have a minimum number of credits that need to be taken every term as well as a minimum GPA. If they can’t make progress, then they need to make a plan with a counselor/advisor to see why that is and what is needed to improve.
I believe this is already in place at most if not all schools. (?)</p>
<p>Im assuming the students expelled were not in danger of being expelled for academic reasons.
Has this big drug bust made a difference in the long run over how many students smoke pot?
Not likely.
The biggest difference it has made, is in the lives of the students arrested. Students who perhaps were on their way to make a real difference in their community.</p>
<p>Its moderately interesting to me that my daughter attended a school with " blotter acid pinatas", and everyone in her sig others family ( except for him) attended U of A.
I think what the people in Alabama should be concerned about is the consumption level of soda pop.</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> School of Public Health » The Nutrition Source » Sugary Drinks or Diet Drinks: What?s the Best Choice?](<a href=“http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-vs-diet-drinks/]Harvard”>Low-Calorie and Artificial Sweeteners | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)
If another country forced us to eat this way, we would be at war.</p>
<p>One of the reasons you don;t see all that research on cannabis is that the U.S. government in fact owns the patent for most medicinal uses:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cannabisinternational.org/info/cbd-patent.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cannabisinternational.org/info/cbd-patent.pdf</a></p>
<p>Read the abstract (from the U.S. Government patent):</p>
<p>““Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NDMA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of a wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”</p>
<p>Note that the patent doesn’t see cannabinoids “may” be useful, or “may” have particular application" or “may” be found to be useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disesaes. No, the government says they are useful and do have particular applications, etc/</p>
<p>there is no way in hell that dr. king would’ve been okay with mass incarceration. seeing as how it impacts black men disproportionately, using a king quote to justify its consequences is insulting to his legacy.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity4 --</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing the Time article about CBD. I also find it interesting that medical marijuana has helped with your pain. To be honest, I know absolutely nothing about this. We live in a state were medical marijuana is illegal. Just out of curiosity, when you eat a canna cookie, are you considered to be impaired or under the influence of a drug? Or would you have to ingest large quantities to be considered impaired? Does it In any way affect your ability to drive?</p>
<p>I make my own cookies and every batch is a little different.
I don’t use medicine with high thc for daytime use, just as I wouldn’t take something that made me groggy if I had to drive.</p>
<p>Usually a cookie</p>
<p>
Accepting legal consequences is part of civil disobedience. Are you disagreeing with that?</p>
<p>Nowhere have I advocated for the dreadful level of racial bias present in the enforcement of our drug laws. See:
[Race</a>, the War on Drugs, and the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction by Gabriel Chin :: SSRN](<a href=“http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=390109]Race”>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=390109)
[Beyond</a> Profiling: Race, Policing, and the Drug War by R. Banks :: SSRN](<a href=“http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=478481]Beyond”>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=478481)</p>
<p>I haven’t seen a racial breakdown of the Alabama students arrested. Based on the photo in the news stories, minorities don’t appear to be overrepresented…but that’s no better than a guess.</p>