<p>yes xanatos, them too.</p>
<p>nomir_dva, the drinking age will come back down as soon as 18-20 year olds show up in the largest percentage to the polls.</p>
<p>in other words, never it seems</p>
<p><em>sigh</em></p>
<p>all i have to say is once i ********ted the medicann people and got my medicinal marijuana liscense its been nonstop shannanagans.</p>
<p>The US is very different from the Netherlands, but you will be able to find plenty of alcohol and drugs if you're into that. When I was in Amsterdam a few years ago, I was surprised to find pretty much EVERYTHING was legalized (weed, prostitution, absinthe). Amsterdam by the way is one of the coolest cities I've ever been to and I hope to return in the next few years. </p>
<p>In the US everything is much more regulated by it doesnt mean that people dont party just as hard. My experience has been Americans abuse alcohol much more than Europeans just because of the different cultures. Two summers ago when I was in a foreign exchange program in Spain, my friends and I were getting sloppy drunk while our Spanish friends drank in moderation.</p>
<p>Because not everyone drinks. Your assumption is wrong.</p>
<p>"Don't worry...in college everyone is an alcoholic."</p>
<p>Also revise that statement.</p>
<p>the whole issue about MADD may **** you off, but wait until someone close to you dies because of it... it kinda sucks. really. also, i go to spain every year and sure, you can get drunk as hell when you're 15/16... but then you look around and see the 11 year olds getting ****ed up as well. now, think like 15 years into the future: would you want your 6th grader falling into a comatose state because he can't control his drinking?</p>
<p>Man, I feel ya. America's draconian drinking laws sure sucketh, but you can get a mug of beer anywhere there's a keg, and that's everywhere in college. When I lived in China, teens and even little kids would drink some beer (legally) on holidays, and the same thing happens here, even though it's illegal. Drinking is a part of human nature, and if you try hard enough you can get drunk no matter what the laws are.</p>
<p><em>revision</em> the overwhelming majority of American college students consume alcohol <em>revision</em></p>
<p>fuzzywuzzy, drinking is not a part of human nature. commonors of europe made their own very weak alcohol using breads, wheats, but the effect was a small buzz</p>
<p>but then arab alchemists around 700-800 ad invented the process of distillation which made alcohol's effects 100 times more potent. the uses of the alcohol were solely utilitarian (it was like drinking mercury to them!) however were never intended for drinking, and its use was perverted when europeans brought it over in italy and started drinking it. </p>
<p>anyways, marijuana has been greatly extremely overstated as a gateway drug, and messes you up. but its actualyl a lot safer than alcohol (which can kill you shortterm, cause liver damage, and so many more health risk)</p>
<p>marijuana on the other hand does not cause cancer, cannot kill you from overdose (its impossible to overdose), you need to smoke a lot more to be driving impaired, while alcohol takes a few drinks.</p>
<p>its mostly due to u.s. arrogance and denial that marijuana is a safe drug that stemmed from hispanics and african americans using it and thus banning it in the late 1800s/early 1900s.</p>
<p>do some research on it and learn the truth yourself.</p>
<p>The idea that you can be 18 and fight in war but not drink was brought up in this discussion. During the vietnam war because of the draft drinking age was lowered to 18 for the reason that if you are old enough to be forced to die for your country, then you should be able to drown your sorrows as well. But there is no draft now so we can choose to go into the military rather than be placed in to the military. Because of this, the idea that you can be 18 and die in a war but must be 21 to drink no longer seems hypocritical. Maybe if the draft is brought back the drinking age will lower but its not like the law matters. If you're underaged and you want to drink you're probably going to drink anyway because the law isn't usually enforced as the letter says it should be. In most places law enforcement will just give you a slap on the wrist and take the drinks away rather than actually file a report.</p>
<p>"The US is very different from the Netherlands"</p>
<p>You can say that again - in amsterdam there are porn shops next to McDonalds - lol</p>
<p>crypto, great, so we can go through two drive-throughs one after another lol</p>
<p>MMood87 check your sources again. It has been found that smoking pot is just as bad as cigarettes. It has all sorts of harmful chemicals that do cause cancer, etc. Also a fair small amount will impair your driving. You wont realize it, but it will.</p>
<p>don't hate MADD for trying to stop you from doing something that is already illegal. You shouldnt expect to get away with breaking a law. I might speed in my car, but if I get pulled over, I'm not going to complain about the injustice of it.</p>
<p>" I also find it funny that troops on active duty can get their heads blown off but cannot drink an ice cold beer."</p>
<p>Actually, on military bases the drinking age is 18.</p>
<p>"You can say that again - in amsterdam there are porn shops next to McDonalds - lol"</p>
<p>Cmon, weve got those here too :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Actually, on military bases the drinking age is 18.
[/quote]
Where did you get that information? That is a total falsehood. Some bases might be lax in enforcement, but the drinking age is 21 on all military installations.</p>
<p>Bigndude, yes pot is harmful. However no one has ever over dosed on marijuana, this is not the case with alcohol people die from alcohol poisoning everyday. As for marijuana vs. tobacco, both marijuana and tobacco contain carcinogens. Marijuana supposedly is more cancerous than tobacco but I'm not an expert so don't take too much stock in this. When people smoke really good marijuana such as Northern lights or ak47 KB they can get high off of only one bowl. A lot of people who smoke cigarettes might smoke a pack a day. And there are many other arguments for the case that marijuana is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco but we can save that for another thread.</p>
<p>dmdne87: Your last post reads like the liner notes to a 'Cypress Hill' CD.</p>