Good Morning Penny

To smoke or not to smke pot that is the question .I guess every person is different in the reaction to smking pot .That maybe it can help you ease pain or some people might have allergies to it too so that might explain the more severe cases ,I feel so bad for Susan Boyle she has endured all the attention from the show and it made her have anxiety poor woman i hope she will recover and get some rest .

Thanks for the buzz

Michelle D.

Actually, smoking is the worst method of ingestion for pain relief. Medibles using butter or oil, suppositories, tinctures, and topical oils are the best.

My Brother has a sever back problem, yet he can not take Marijuana because it is not legal to do so. INSTEAD they give him drugs that are 1000 times stronger, and very addictive, NOW what sense does that make? Marijuana is not addictive and would kill the pain better then the morphine that he is taking for his back and leg problems... What sense does this make? Is it the DRUG companies that are pushing the drugs that are and could hurt more or is it the Government that are the real drug dealers in the U.S. A.... I just know this My brother is in such pain and there is nothing I can do about it!

If nothing else , it does something for taking your mind off the pain., also
I really think it has something in it that blocks a certain element of pain in the body. It certainly stir up the juices of the stomach , to eat more !
I would rather smoke weed , than take a pill.
I would rather smoke weed, than drink liquer
I would rather fuss with my husband'

CORRECTION ! I would rather smoke weed , than fuss with my husband.

Medicinal use of marijuana makes up a VERY low number of who all smokes it. The reality is that most people who smoke it have nothing wrong with them and just do it for fun. The long term effects of it on the body are the same as smoking cigarettes and then some. Lung disease, cancer, chronic bronchitis, memory loss, loss of ability to learn, testicular cancer just to name a few. They are also at a five times more greater risk of having heart attacks because pot speeds up your heart rate.

It is also the gateway drug to harsher drugs because once their body gets used to smoking it so much they can't get that high anymore and have to move on to harsher drugs. 47% of pot smokers move on to using cocaine then move on to other drugs. So making it legal would be the stupidest thing we could do! Besides that it won't help our overall drug problem if it were legal.

I feel sorry for Susan Boyle for sure. It seems to me that she had a breakdown because she was so sure that she'd win because the press built her up so much and she believed the hype and it all came crashing down on her when she lost. I don't think she knew how to deal with that seeing what type of a person she was beforehand. I hope she gets better soon.

Cindy..Ga.

@Todd ~ the best pain relief without damaging the lungs is ingestion of the THC. Perfectly medicinal for most. A miracle drug for those who need it and it works for. Yes, it should be legal. I never heard of anyone who died from THC. It is a natural gift. Let's utiliize it and stop the fear. Alcohol is much worse.
Iran is a mess and who knows if the election is legal? Scary crazy leaders. I am anxious to see what happens. I hope fand pray for peace.
XO

yes i really do need marijuana for my scoliosis , the meds they give me at my doctors office have so many side effects , often times i dont take them cause the side effects is worse than the pain. when i was smoking cannabis i never took the meds at all.

Marijuana will lessen pain but at the same time is also addictive so not for people with addictive tendencies.

in response to cindy from georgia:
i feel sorry for you you have been mis-informed! alcohol is THE gateway drug and all the pot heads i know myself included are able to stay away from other drugs and alcohol because we smoke! secondly i have smoke for more than 20 years and am an intellegent productive SINGLE father of three boys! my mind is as sharp as a tack!! im not lazy or fat or stupid but you ma'am seem to be the latter!!

@ BettyAnn, Texas...you are wrong. The long term effects of THC on the body are great memory loss, motor skills deterioration IE the smoker having the same motor skills as a drunk person, etc.

Regardless of the THC content, the amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers. And someone who smokes 1 to 3 joints can produce the same lung damage and potential cancer risk as smoking five times as many cigarettes.

So THC does harm your body a lot! People need to look into this and stop saying stuff that they have no clue about. Smoking pot is more harmful than smoking cigarettes.

Cindy..Ga.

People! Now is the time to take a stand and say no more of these draconian laws that turn non-violent peaceful citizens into criminals and felons for possession of marijuana. Marijuana was on this planet long before humans and probably will be long after. How can something that is natural be made illegal? Doesn’t that seem very un-natural? Has history taught us nothing?
Facts from prohibition of alcohol in the 20’s
Barely five percent of smuggled liquor was hindered from coming into the country in the 1920s. Furthermore, the illegal liquor business fell under the control of organized gangs, which overpowered most of the authorities (Wenburn, 234). Many bootleggers secured their business by bribing the authorities, namely federal agents and persons of high political status (Bowen, 160). “No one who is intellectually honest will deny that there has not yet been effective nationwide enforcement” (Behr, 161).
“The results of the experiment [prohibition] are clear: …organized crime grew into an empire; …disrespect for the law grew; and the per capita consumption of the prohibited substance — alcohol — increased dramatically” (McWilliams). It is obvious that this “noble experiment” was not so noble but rather a miserable failure on all accounts. Reasonable measures were not taken to enforce the laws and so they were practically ignored. People flagrantly violated the law, drinking more of the substance that was originally prohibited.
The problems prohibition intended to solve, such as crime, grew worse and they never returned to their pre-prohibition levels. Not only was prohibition ineffective, it was also damaging to the people and society it was meant to help. Prohibition should not have gone on for the thirteen years it was allowed to damage society. Prohibition in itself created a realm of corruption, gangs, crime, violence and murder because it was not regulated at all……much like marijuana.
Did prohibition teach us nothing? They realized THIS DOESN’T WORK. There are over 700,000 marijuana arrests a year for several years now. Yet we still have these archaic laws on the books because of dupont and other textile companies who were afraid of the potential that cannabis could have on their companies monetary value.

I think there needs to be some very in depth study into the subject of marijuana use. I know that in places it has been legalised, the crime rate e.g. burglaries, robberies, muggings, has decreased significantly. If Governments can work out a way of monitoring and distributing and of course taxing it, a solution can be found that is beneficial to all. But I don't think Governments can figure out how to tax & control it. But until they do I think it should definitely at least be decriminalised

If you want to say that its the "gateway" drug how many of these people tried alcohol before they tried weed?

Also not sure where you are getting your stats must be a "Government" sponsored or backed website or poll. If legal you could just mix it in with food and end any chance of "lung cancer". Also there is a big difference in the amount of cigarettes one smokes and the amount of weed one smokes. I don't think I could or do I know anyone who could sit and smoke 20 cigarette sized joints a day or more.

Weed is naturally cured and dried without any additives to it, unlike cigarettes which are drowned in a whole host of chemicals over its drying and curing time.

On the other hand why should we fill our prisons with non-violent offenders? In doing so we have to keep letting questionable and violent offenders back into the streets. Why should we support someone who is perfectly capable of working and functioning in society by putting them in a lock down situation?

I love smoking pot. Have lived the high-life for over 30 years. Pain relief, you bet! Mentally and physically. I don't drink or do heavy drugs or perscription drugs. It's just a sweet place to be in this chaotic world we have. Takes the edge off and puts a glow on everyday living. You can bet that if everyone smoked pot, there would be no wars, no snotty haters, no hungry children or ignored elderly. Your priorities change where kindness and humor rule. Power to the People!

Excellent source of a pain reliever. Kush is the best, seems to be more potent.
Before people start to post about how marijuana use causes longterm affects such as bronchitis and cancer, one needs to supply a study that was done independent of government funding and you will see they ALL say the same things. The laws which govern marijuana are based on false studies. The amount of taxation that could be made by the sale of it is astronomical. Let alone the violence that is associated with all the cartels and gangs vying to have their "product" sold. Regulate it with oversight like alcohol sales. After all it is a weed that grows naturally with very little care. On the ending note can one person tell everyone else how or why alcohol is still sold and manufactured when it causes addiction, health issues, cancer, organ failure, and violent tendicies among its users that some claim marijuana causes.Marijuana use has been around since the beginning of man.

Alcohol is a man-made product, where as Ganja was placed by GOD.

I was once a 'dead against' marijuana use until I became ill with severe fibromyalgia 6 years ago I can say with experience that its use DEFINITELY helps relieve the severe pain I have had to live with 24/7 for the last 6 years. It also helps me sleep because of one of the fibro side effects is the inability to fall into the delta sleep or rem stage of sleep and insomnia. Sleep definitely makes it easier to cope day to day and gives me that little bit extra energy to do what I have to do as I am raising a family of four boys on my own. A lot of the drugs that have proven to successfully help treat fibromyalgia in the USA are not available in Australia and the ones that are available are not on the PBS pharmaceutical scheme, and therefore cost hundreds of dollars and because I have been retired on disability pension is just so far financially out of my reach its depressing.

Use a VAPORIZER and you will not inhale the carcinogens found by smoking marijuana. The chemistry of the plant matter and the active ingredients will show you that it is possible to vaporize the THC and Cannabinoids at a lower temperature than it would take to burn the plant material..... NO COMBUSTION = NO CARCINOGENS

Cindy, Marijuana is a gateway drug BECAUSE OF PROHIBITION.

There is no scientific evidence that proves there is anything inherent in THC that makes you want to move on to other harder drugs.

But marijuana users cannot obtain their drug through a legal means, and thus, their only choice is to obtain it from a DRUG DEALER.

So what happens when your 15 year olds go buy marijuana from a drug dealer? The drug dealer, a salesman, will offer the marijuana user other drugs. He'll tell the youngin how much better these other drugs are, and he'll beleive everything the drug dealer tells him.

Instead of getting his marijuana from a liscensed dealer, he gets it from a STREET DRUG DEALER.

Do not be mistaken here. You, the PROHIBITIONISTS, cause the gateway effect. YOU are the reason so many kids get hooked on hard drugs like heroin.

Sleep well tonight.

PROHIBITION CAUSES THE GATEWAY EFFECT.

False. Alcohol is the gateway drug to harsher drugs. Alcohol is far worse for the human body than marijuana usage. Cindy, where did you find this "47% of pot smokers move on to using cocaine"?

THC is already authorized by the FDA and sold legally through U.S. pharmacies .... it is a drug called "dronabinol". So there is absolutely no reason that we need to legalize marijuana cigarettes for medical use.

Good Morning Penny!

Another Monday let's go us. Sounds stranger, but I love Mondays!

Despite its toxic effects and illegality of consumption, there are reports of old therapeutic effects of marijuana. Marijuana can be recognized as a medicine in at least 3 clinical conditions: abolishes or reduces the nausea and vomiting produced by anticancer drugs, has beneficial effects in some cases of epilepsy, and can improve the general status of patients with AIDS (but not cure the disease).

Like any drug, the marijuana like any medicine that should be used carefully, and parsimony.

If marijuana can help treat or assist in treatment of diseases, why not use it within prescribed limits?

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to make available the marijuana under a prescription for the treatment of chronic pain, nausea and loss of appetite in cases of cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis, right? In those countries that the marijuana was legalized, how things are? How people deal with that?

Thanks!

The great thing about using marijuana for pain is that it potentiates the effect of other pain medication the patient is taking. This means that it reduces the dose of doctor prescribed pain medicine needed. Most of the drugs used have far more side effects and danger – marijuana doesn't come close. It is also easy to titrate the dose of marijuana. You don't have to get high for it to work. If regulated, it could be a lot cheaper than pharmaceuticals, which the insurance companies have to pay for. More chronic pain patients could have less suffering with fewer drugs for less money.

I as so for the public health plan but on the other hand can understand the doctor's view on it ( less money for them). I also think many doctors perscribe medicine without cause sometimes to get benifits from drug companies. This is a big problem we face.

No one needs marijuana for their pain. Not a single person. There are drugs out there that have THC in it already and give the same effect but don't subject everyone else to the smoke from the marijuana cigarette. People just want it legal to get high so they won't face jail time.

In time:

I read that one of the greatest challenges of the laboratories is to separate the effect of the medicinal of the effect of psychoactive drugs – ie, create a marijuana that doesn't leave the person "crazy."

This is fact?

@Cindy I would love to see where you get all your facts from. Marijuana causes cancer, lung cancer? Provide some facts from credible sources. Please, no Gov. sources, they're the ones that spew propaganda such as reefer madness, and the gateway effect.

I have a friend who has cnacer. Know what helps with her nausea? That's right, it's marijuana. She gets the added bonus of not worrying about getting addicted to it either like the thousands of prescription drugs out there that are far more powerful and addictive. She used to use sleeping pills to fall asleep at night, she never got addicted, but they caused her nausea a lot, half of the time they didn't even work. She started using marijuana to help her sleep and it works great for her with no nausea side effect.

There's plenty of other applications for medical marijuana, she's only used marijuana for her nausea/sleeping problems. Government needs to decriminilize, and states need to legalize. There's absolutely no reason to have marijuana illegal.

I am in no way or form indicating that all doctors are false. If we didn't have them, where would we be.

Ok, did anyone else read this title as: "Do You Need Marijuana For your Palin?"
Hey, if it helps someone who is in pain, stricken with a terminal condition, etc..., I am all for it.
What about kids and adults addicted to so called legal drugs?

Whatevs.

i wish it was legal thier are alot of people i know in my 30 years of smoking who do! from the rich and famous to the homless. people you would never want to belive who does. yes judges, police,and the politically connected. nurses, doctors, teachers AND PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY DON'T but i bet sombody in thier family does.i am in good health. i don't drink or smoke cigarette's. i have the leisure work as i want.(and no i do not sell i do have a ligit job when i work. filled with drug testing and randoms and i have never failed.) i am tired of being considered a criminal to society. i would love to pay my taxes on my weed. the u.s. gov would make all kinds of money so much they could pay for thier spending. GO CALIFORNIA MAKE IT LEGAL!!! I BET YOUR MONEY MADE OFF TAXES WILL BE 3 TIMES YOUR ESTIMATES!!!

I think the focus here exists far too much on the recreational and medical uses of marijuana. Marijuana is only the flowery budding plant on the hemp plant.

The argument for the hemp plant extends far beyond human ingestion; for thousands of years, the hemp plant has been used to make paper, textiles, clothing, and even homes. When compressed, hemp fiber can be used instead of wood to build houses. Because it grows so quickly and in such abundance, it could easily replace trees as the main source of paper product in the world. The hemp seed (which is not part of the marijuana plant and has none of the active THC drug found in marijuana) is used internationally as food.

Keeping a natural resource illegal that has so many practical uses is preposterous in this economy. Beyond its marketability as a medicine and recreational substance, hemp could stimulate the United States' interest in making their own products. And, from what I hear from the economists lately, that's a pretty good idea; the days of the U.S. consuming while producing nothing are coming to a close.

Can you build houses out of tobacco? Do cancer patients get prescribed vodka? Can you extract something out of Prozac to feed a child? Can you make clothing out of Vicodin? No, no, no and no.

Legalize.

I smoke, but not in the morning. I dont drink alcohol in the morning either...

Just on a casual Friday night like enjoying a glass of wine with my wife.

Pot has always been a good pain reliever as well as an antiemetic (for nausea and vomiting) from chemo, etc. I personally love the way it makes me feel. I have fibromyaglia chronic pain, wide spread all over the body. You never know where it will strike. My family does not want me to take RX drugs (vicodin etc) that is prescribed. They don't want me to become addicted. If I have chronic pain and the RX drug help, why wouldn't I take them. I think I would prefer the pot. They would prob prefer the pot as well. go figure. Pot it still illegal and I would go crazy in jail or prison.
I also believe that if pot in legalized, the drug cartels would dry up, the farmers would have a great cash crop, so farming could benefit. As far as the health risks, they make this neat little contraption that you only get vapors without the impurities. Mostly THC. I tried it, it was great, smooth.
Prohibition did not work with alcohol, and it will never work with pot. Ask any cop, had they rather go into a house with a bunch of people smoking pot or a bunch of people drinking alcohol. Mellow is nice.

my mother had passed away from cancer. she would trade prescription pain killers for weed. the pain killers would knock her for a loup but the weed would let her maintain but i remember her hiding in shame to smoke to get over the chemo treatments.no one who is dying should ever be made an outcast because of the treatment they chose.

i have been dionosed with rsd in my right foot from an accident 4 yrs ago broke both heels i currently recive two nerve blocks in my back per week and have for a yr 1/2 could be up to ten years am perscribedloracet for pain to which makes me sick to my stomach ands puts me to sleep for 3hrs i feel like a zombie from it ican hit my mj and it seems to work a lot better for my pain than the pills i live in a state that does not have mmj laws so georgia please let me get my meds legal so i can come out of the closet

If you look at this issue with no hysteria or demonization, and merely stick to the facts, then there is no doubt that marijuana should be at the very least decriminalized if not completely legal. Marijuana is no more addictive than Vicodin, Lortab, Oxycontin or Methadone. All of which are actually many times more addictive and all of which are legal. It makes no sense to pick and choose which plants and chemicals are illegal, based on societal paranoia. There is no doubt that marijuana helps cancer patients with nausea and pain management. In fact marijuana has been used as a pain management supplement for at least 1000 years. Why is it that Nixon and Hoovers "war on drugs" is still accepted as a factually based decision based designed to protect the public. Especially when both men have been exposed as at the very least bigoted liars and at worst as deviant racists who wanted to hold on to power by any means necessary!!

Lets face it I doubt if anyone really cares if marijuanna is legal or not.Those who want it will get it,simple as that.Making things illegal has no impact on usage.

@ Cindy,

Madam you are very inaccurate. 1st off you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot consume. If I want to drink Diet Coke until I vomit, I will. If I am not harming anyone, what right does the government have to tell me what to do? That is not freedom.

2nd there is no scientific evidence that smoking marijuana has led directly to the death of a human being, EVER.

3rd the gateway theory is bull. As a child I drank soda and got a sugar buzz, a lot of kids still do. Children with diabetes has skyrocketed, perhaps we should make it illegal?

4th marijuana does impair people, it has for thousands of years. Yet it was made illegal in America in the 30's because of racism. But the laws which protect the public from this "dangerous" drug are a million times worse than the effects of the drug. Look at the state of Arizona, one joint could land you with a felony! No student loans, no right to vote. But he broke the law, why is it illegal in the first place?

Above the Ignorance.

I consumed marijuana illegally for my chronic back pain up until I was caught. Now I can't and I am in agony. Just to stand the pain I have to go to a chiropractor once a week minimum. They tried to give me vicodine but I refused because I don't like to be all drugged out on opiates, I wouldn't be able to do my job. But I am a criminal for seeking the one thing that makes my life livable because the big pharma companies can't make money off it...

The gateway drug theory is a myth and is so vague that it can be applied to almost anything. Instead of parroting the anti drug adds maybe people should do some research themselves.

as a massage therapist i say why not try a swedish instead!

For the person who said The Gov already has pot availible in pill form and to not legalize pot because of that.I am a chronic pain patient on 480mg of oxycontin daily which is equal to a gram of pure heroin.I vomit daily and have lost over 160lbs.Can you swallow a pill whilest vomiting or in severe nausea?? I dont think so.Pot is the most benign substance you can use for a variety of health problems.A recent indepedant study found that THC kills pre-cancerous cells.It has also found to help regenerate brain cells instead of the lie that it kills them.The US Gov has lied about pot for years.Special interest groups keep funneling in the $$ to keep the reps from finally legalizing once and for all.Its the "Tree of Life" depicted in Biblical times.I would have died without it.Its time to take a fresh approach to this issue.Nobody should ever be in jail for using pot.Its nonsense and folks are tired of it.Its sucks to be so ill but it sucks even worse being scared to death to use a plant for medicine for a diagnosed illness.Its time folks..BigD

Marijuana was used in ancient china as medicine and is still effective. The sooner people drop the stereotypes on it and treat it the same as alcohol and cigarettes the better off we will be. If somebody wants to use marijuana over morephene they should be able to especially when its safer. Its even safer than alcohol and cigarettes and yet its still illegal. If you want it out of the hands of kids put it in a doctors hands and behind a counter like we do all the far dangerous drugs in America.

It's laughable that you're going to actually air a teacher saying pot nearly killed her. Fact: pot hasn't killed anyone. Pot is way less harmful than alcohol. America you're so far behind the times. You have worse problems than pot to worry about and yet you jail people for years over pot. I'll give CNN credit for finally doing stories on it all week.

Mike

Canada

I really think this country has gone crazy! Legalize pot? Have you heard what pot does to people and their minds? Why are you wasting your time on this topic?
I think it is time for this country to get back to the basics of life. Get over the liberal agendas that are taking this country the wrong way, get over the belief that Obama is something that he is not. And people of this nation need to get on their knees and pray to God, our creator!
CNN why don't you start reporting the truth about what is going on in this country? I am no longer a regular viewer of CNN because your reporting is so bias to the liberals, can't stand it. Get fair and balanced the way you say you are.

If anything medical marijuana should be leagal. I have MS and it helps me .

Having smoked marijuana off and on for over 38 years, I can speak to what others here have referred to as a "Gateway Drug", and "addictive drug". It is totally false and misleading on both counts. I have quit smoking marijuana many times over these years, (the longest period was for 5 years.) There were never any periods of anxiety, and normally each time I "quit", it was rather uneventful. Why? In my opinon, it is not addictive. On the other hand, I have smoked cigarettes for over 40 years. I have tried to quit numerous times, each time very painfull, and of course humiliating when I realize I had failed. (I have now quit cigarettes with the help of another drug!! Clean now for over 1 year") So how can pot be that addictive??? Trust me, it's not!.

As for pot being the "Gateway" drug? Please? That just does not work. As long as pot is illegal, people are forced to deal with drug dealers. Their goal is making money, and most of them hate dealing with pot. They would much rather, (and do), try to get to to buy their other wares such as coke and H. Much easier to move, and more profitable. Yes folks, making marijuana illegal, does cause the "Gateway" effect.

people with bi-polar disorder OFTEN KILL themselves after taking prescription painkillers.

NOBODY has ever died from consuming cannabis. EVER.

Isabel, Brazil – marijuana never leaves users crazy and it is not toxic, that sounds like something out of refer madness propaganda

I've been reading all the comments posted on AC360 on this topic. I firmly support marijuana for medical purposes, but let's face it....most of us are lucky in this world to be happy & healthy and don't require it to cure an ailment. That being said, let's be honest people...getting high is a great extra-curricular activity...just like having a cocktail after work or smoking a cigarette for stress. Either way, if it's treated like any one of these "vices", so what's the harm? Since almost everything in this world comes down to money...wake up America. Think about all the tax revenue to be collected and the jobs that will be created. Not to mention the enormously positive effect it will have on our justice system and the war on harsher drugs. What's the fear in doing all of this? Forget all the B.S. associated with gateway drugs...people could argue that tobacco is a gateway drug. Forget all the antiquated thinking about Reefer Madness...doesn't exist. If you're looking to criminalize something...make it something that truly harms us....like High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is found in almost every consumer packaged good out there). Now excuse me while i go dream about a world that makes common sense.

As advice to everyone before you pick a side on the issue I would do some research. I have read opinions on BOTH sides that seem to call upon ludicrous 'facts' to support their view. You should never assume to try to convince others of your views without considerable knowledge on the issue.
I believe that legalizing weed would indeed help the economy and create jobs. It would boost entrepreneurial which is desperately needed at these times.

What about the physical and mental health of the person who goes to jail? Why is the health outcome from incarseration not looked at as well? ...and the cost associated.

Like every successful business, it needs to be all about the dollar earned....either a bad investment and learn from it, or something to captailize and gain from it.

Why is this directed towards its effectiveness on pain? If you have ever gotten stoned, hands down it had an affect on your nervous system while you were influenced. This "medical" debate is just an excuse. The real reason that it should be legal is the economic burden it creates with programs aimed to combat it and thus taking away from other programs in need, i.e. education. Living in southern California, there are constant examples of the crime influenced from Mexico specifically because it is illegal. Tunnels, boats, trucks, by person, it gets here. The big misconception about the entire thing is that out of the hundres of strands of marijuana, there are two basic types...."good weed", aka chronic, skunk, indica,....and "bad weed", aka mex, mec, stress. The "good weed" comes from down the street in someon's guest bedroom or maybe northern California, while the "bad weed" comes from Mexico. "Good weed" is a lot harder to get because of the house raids, local authority, and in retrospect the quantity being produced is smaller than the alternative "bad weed." "Bad weed" comes from Mexico attached to it are the hazards of International trafficking, so they bring in tons for shipments. By allowing shops to sell "good weed,"
a) they pay tax from revenue and it is accounted for by the government
b) it eleminates the need to buy the more abundant Mexican weed, because the consumer has an option
c) it eliminates the money that is being thrown away on fighting a losing war

For pain OK, but there is nothing natural or pain free about putting hot smoke in your lungs, I hack everyday and know. I do use, but responsibly just like drinking and I am very aware of the consequences that are derrived from it. Just the same as when I decide to drink a couple beers or glass of wine. A post before mentioned a vaporizer which is very valid.

Legalizing weed will not lead to legalizing cocaine, or heroin. The assumption of gateway drugs is a joke also. The individual had the intent of experimenting weed, they don't inherit the intent to experience something from trying weed, it's always there...genetic. By legalizing it you draw the line between marijuana and hard drugs, by keeping it illegal it keeps them in the same genere, which by my experience and many others are not even comparable.

Be proactive, not reactive.

Cindy,

Please check out Dr. Donald Tashkin on YouTube. He is/was Professor of Oncology at Geffin Medical Center and has done studies on cancer rates with nicotine and cannabis.

His findings? People who smoke both have extremely high cancer rates; those who use nicotine are well below those; then come those who smoke nothing; and below them are the cannabis smokers.

The gateway for everything is mother's milk. The so-called "Gateway Theory" was disproven 15-20 years ago.

Short-term memory loss occurs only while under the influence. (I am 61 and have a better memory than most of my peers who don't use.) And the only other negative health side effect is susceptibility to upper bronchial infections which goes away when use is stopped.

Please study the real science instead of grabbing onto the political and emotional rhetoric.

Clark - your right... there's also Marinol which is available for prescription. BUT let me ask you this: What do you do when your symptom is nausea? Your supposed to swallow a pill (and keep it in your stomach so it can be processed) to help relieve nausea?

Also: So your saying that a chemical produced in a laboratory is better for me than a natural substance not altered by man in any way? One that has never induced overdose in 5000 Years of recorded history?

Here are a few other reasons to end prohibition besides medical and recreational use of Marijuana/hemp. I got these facts from the book The Emperor Wears No Clothes By Jack Herer. You can read this book online.

Paper: one acre of hemp produces as much cellulose fiber pulp as 4.1 acres of trees. Rag paper, containing hemp fiber, is the highest quality and longest lasting paper ever made.

Clothing: hemp is softer than cotton, warmer than cotton, more water absorbent than cotton, has three times the tensile strength of cotton and is many times more durable than cotton.
Fifty percent of all chemicals used in American agriculture today are used in cotton growing. Hemp needs no chemicals and has few weed or insect enemies—except for the U. S. government and the DEA.

Food: Hempseed is the most complete single food source for human nutrition. Hempseed can be pressed for its highly nutritious vegetable oil, which contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids in the plant kingdom. Marijuana seed protein is one of mankind’s finest, most complete and available-to-the-body vegetable proteins. It does not contain THC and doesn't get you high.

Fuel:On a global scale, the plant that produces the most net biomass is hemp. Hempseed contains 30% (by volume) oil. This oil has been used to make high-grade diesel fuel oil and aircraft engine and precision machine oil. It’s the only annually renewable plant on Earth able to replace all fossil fuels.

Prohibition causes violence. Without prohibition of drugs, gangs would not exist. According to most estimates that I have read, cartels get 60 percent of their profits from MJ alone. Legalizing would cause a serious blow to their wallets. This is not to mention the tax revenues created as well as the releasing of a large burden upon law enforcement and scarce judicial resources. MJ has never killed anyone and this has been stated by Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI when he was just recently giving testimony to Congress. Thank you CNN for taking on this topic.

My husband and I were major Alcoholics for many years. We met in a bar!!!!! So, we know about the affects it has, it almost caused us to Divorce. People say Marijuana is a gateway drug. Yes it is !!! A gateway to a happier and healthier life. We both have been free of the drug called Alcohol, ( We call it the Devil) for more than a year. With the help of the Medicin, Marijuana.

Nobody in our society has to suffer from serious diseases.There are Lortab and Oxycontin.they help people,to have no pain.
Why do we legalize alcohol or smoking cigarettes?Why not marijuana? I dont know.Maybe the reason is,they have a big lobby.
At least,i think everbody has to make his own decision.

1 million people in jail for some type of marijuana offense. It cost about 30k a year to imprison these people. Do the math! It is time to legalize.

Marijuana should be legalized because it has been used by humans for thousands of years to treat many types of ailments. Recent research shows nausea and pain relief for cancer patients and the THC in marijuana reduces inflammation in the brain and body. A recent Ohio State University study found a compound that mimics the effect of marijuana on the brains receptors spurred new brain cell growth and reduced inflammation. Smoking anything is unheathy but vaporizing pot or making butter to cook with is a great way to avoid the unhealthy effects of the herb. If pot is so bad why do pharmacies across America sell Marinol which is synthesized THC in pill form? States that have passed medicinal marijuana laws have seen a decrease not an increase in the use pot by kids. Beer is more of a gateway drug than pot will ever be. Mexican cartels earn 60% of their profits from pot sales.

Clark,
THC is NOT the ONLY
beneficial component of medicinal-cannabis.

- Cannabidiol and and cannabinol,
(present in whole-cannabis, but not dronabinol),
function synergistically to relieve pain and nausea
MUCH MORE effectively than THC alone.
(As well as limiting / moderating the 'high' from THC).

- And as some have already mentioned here,
there are other ways to administer medical-cannabis
besides smoking. Low-temperature-vaporization provides
the immediacy of relief, controllable-dosing of smoking,
but without carcinogens nor carbon-monoxide.

- Also, It is immoral that
dronabinol is on a less-restrictive
'drug-schedule' than the plant from which it's based upon.
(Unjust-favoritism of synthetics over natural-botanical sources).

All drugs should be legalized, including marijuana. This would reduce violent crime, and cut back on the prison population. Pot is no worse than nicotine or alcohol. Most drugs were legal in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The debate over legalization for recreation, while certainly ripe for discussion, has clouded a much more urgent issue, that of medical use. Countless sick, disabled, and dying people in 37 out of 50 states are needlessly suffering because our laws forbid them access to a proven medicine.

Barack Obama, while campaigning for the Presidency, said he did not see the difference between marijuana and morphine, if recommended by a physician, yet has remained silent on the issue since taking office.

Is there any doubt, whatsoever, that the majority of Americans are in favor of legalization of medical marijuana? We see polls on both side of the fence for legalization for recreational use, but have we ever seen a poll indicating a majority oppose medical marijuana?

Is it the "high" that makes marijuana an inappropriate medicine? How many currently available pharmaceutical drugs have side-effects which could be called a "high"?

Please devote significant time on your program to differentiate between medical cannabis and recreational use.

It's a wonderful argument, but let's think about priorities.

A teacher with bi-polar disorder? whats wrong with this picture?
I certainly hope she is not a spokesperson for the US Government!
She shouldn't even be "teaching" with the mood swings and all, her opinion is null. You guys can do better than that for a story than choosing someone w/manic depressive disorder, come on!!

A bi-polar person. C'mon CNN you can do better than that. I knew a bi-polar person once, they thought the whole world was trying to kill them and then the next day thought the whole world loved them. You can't trust the opinion of someone bi-polar especially on an important issue like this. The teacher probably loved pot one day and then hated it the next.

The problem is that CNN is hard pressed to find a marijuana user with a negative story of marijuana use. They'll claim every bad thing about marijuana that they can without addressing their own mental issues or any other issues they may have.

I have a friend who claims he's addicted to marijuana. He also smokes cigarettes, drinks alcohol, and is diagnosed with depression and bi-polar. He takes pills for his problems. A prohibitionist would say it's the marijuana. But, they won't ever ask to find out that his mental problems started before he ever took a puff of marijuana or tobacco or sip of alcohol. If he worked in finance on Wall Street, he'd probably be using cocaine as well.

Marijuana has nothing to do with his problems and I would highly doubt that marijuana had anything to do with that woman's problems.

97% of the people in "treatment" for marijuana are there because they opted for treatment over jail time. The other 3% are kids forced in by their parents who don't know any better or the mentally ill who believe that these doctors know about marijuana.

At the end of it all, marijuana is no more dangerous than a glass of water. And even then, you can still die from water toxicity (look up Jennifer Strange, Wee for a Wii contest). No one, not one person, has ever died from marijuana use. It's non-toxic and non-addictive.While you may be able to find one person, probably not even a whole group, willing to "admit" to marijuana's negative effects, you can surely find millions of marijuana users with OUR only danger is in dealing with those who would jail us to bump up their Byrne Grant funding.

I have been smoking pot for forty plus years and still think straight. It has never lead to other drugs. My doctor wanted me to take lortabs but after seeing some what happened to a few of my friends taking them I told him no way I would take those drug additive things.

I don't have any strong objections to legalizing marijuana. I *don't* believe it's highly addictive. I smoked lots of it in college, but never had any problem stopping. It's been many, many years since I've indulged – it's just not worth losing a job over.

I doubt I'd smoke it if it were legal. I remember that it tended to make me paranoid which is something I definitely don't need. Well, I don't need the munchies, either.

Anderson,

I suffered from Fibromyalgia for many years. It wasn't until I started smoking marijuana that the pain went away. I agree with Melissa. I don't get a high out of it. It just helps me to function day to day.

the bi-poloar or whatever the diagnosis girl was all they could come up with for why cannabis is ILLEGAL?

she was admittedly suicidal before being happy 4 quite a while consuming cannabis. and then decided to quit one day, no doubt she's using other meds to keep her from killing herself. some people are weak, does the rest of society have to forgo cannabis because of these microsopic few who become 'addicted'?

comical she was smoking 8 j's a day and spending 1000bux/month 4 weed? she clearly wasn't buying in bulk or growning her own which would have enabled her to afford this habit. she was still functional at her job. she just preferred to be stoned while doing it. there are quite a few vocations where this would be easily accomplished. and people, please vaporize or eat ur edibles!

but respect your cannabis enjoy in moderation.