Answering the Libertarian argument for drug legalization

[Flatfishfreak]

Free the weed and raise the limit on flounder and I will vote yes!!!

10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish

[MissSmallAimsSmall]

"Despite general misconceptions that cannabis is unique from other drugs of abuse, cannabis exerts identical effects on the mesolimbic dopamine system." -A Brain on Cannabinoids: The Role of Dopamine Release in Reward Seeking

The mesolimbic dopamine system is a pathway in the brain in which dopamine is carried from one area of the brain to another.

[MathGeek]

If I loved my mother (and I do), and after reviewing her health status and the best available science, I was really convinced her only option for effective treatment, I would move her to a state or country where she could receive that treatment.

This debate isn't really about medical use of cannabis. That is a different rabbit trail, with many subtleties related to everything from the wisdom of self-medicating with addictive substances and how careful government entities should be when approving medical uses of drugs.

One great benefit of Federalism is that state laws are not all the same, and you should be aware that medical applications of cannabis are common and legal in many states.

I am no fan of the FDA's slow approval process or (in many cases) the Federal overreach into matters that are not necessarily interstate commerce. However, the current regime seems to be giving some states room on medical uses of cannabis.

[MissSmallAimsSmall]

"As joints smoked per week increased, performance decreased on tests measuring memory, executive functioning, psychomotor speed, and manual dexterity."- Dose-related neurocognitive effects of marijuana use

[eman]

When my mom was dying from cancer i met w/ her oncologist. I asked him point blank, Would cannabis help w/ the effects of the Chemo and help w/ her appetite?
His reply was ,speaking as a medical professional, i don't know. Speaking as a friend, by all means.
At that time she was on a morphine patch , Demerol and anti anxiety meds.
When i sat down to discuss the use of THC w/ her . The first words out of her mouth were. I DO NOT WANT TO BECOME A DRUG ADDICT!
Another victim of the" Reefer Madness" generation.
RIP Mom.

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by MissSmallAimsSmall

"Despite general misconceptions that cannabis is unique from other drugs of abuse, cannabis exerts identical effects on the mesolimbic dopamine system." -A Brain on Cannabinoids: The Role of Dopamine Release in Reward Seeking

The mesolimbic dopamine system is a pathway in the brain in which dopamine is carried from one area of the brain to another.

Where's you Come from? Welcome to SC, glad to see you've never smoked pot before and believe it is evil too.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1376773430.382503.jpg

[MissSmallAimsSmall]

"Very heavy use of marijuana is associated with persistent decrements in neurocognitive performance even after 28 days of abstinence." -Dose-related neurocognitive effects of marijuana use

[Clampy]

Math geek recruit. He needed some back up.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

What are neutral observers to make of a debate when one side resorts to personal attacks?

When I am asking for reasoned evidence and folks to back up their claims, and instead I receive insults, I tend to start thinking that the cupboard might be bare.

Definitely didn't mean any of that to come off as a personal attack and if you perceived it that way I apologize. It was more of an observation of paranoia about a few issues

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by MissSmallAimsSmall

"Very heavy use of marijuana is associated with persistent decrements in neurocognitive performance even after 28 days of abstinence." -Dose-related neurocognitive effects of marijuana use

Very heavy use of marijuana is assoctiated with huge increase in Doritos sales

What is 'heavy use'? and welcome aboard

[Goooh]

Originally Posted by MissSmallAimsSmall

"Very heavy use of marijuana is associated with persistent decrements in neurocognitive performance even after 28 days of abstinence." -Dose-related neurocognitive effects of marijuana use

"Researchers have found that long-term consumption of low dose caffeine slowed hippocampus-dependent learning and impaired long-term memory in mice. Caffeine consumption for 4 weeks also significantly reduced hippocampal neurogenesis compared to controls during the experiment. The conclusion was that long-term consumption of caffeine could inhibit hippocampus-dependent learning and memory partially through inhibition of hippocampal neurogenesis."

Google.com

We can go back and forth all day by picking the most extreme circumstances and posting then as though they are the rule for every person that touches the substances.

Your points do nothing to quantify your argument.

[Clampy]

My father in law just got back from a cross country motorcycle trip where he went to Colorado and Washington and assured me the sky had not fallen.

[MissSmallAimsSmall]

"The authors studied the effects of marijuana intoxication on the ability of 10 certified airplane pilots to operate a flight simulator. They used a randomized double-blind crossover design to compare the effect of active versus placebo marijuana. They found that all 10 pilots showed a significant decrease in measurements of flying performance 30 minutes after smoking active marijuana. For a group of 6 pilots tested sequentially for 6 hours, a nonsignificant decrease in flying performance continued for 2 hours after smoking the active drug." - Marijuana effects on simulated flying ability

[Clampy]

Wow. Really. Hey guys. This just in if you get intoxicated it makes it harder to fly a plane. Really. Come on with this trash.

[MissSmallAimsSmall]

"Decision-making deficits are a robust cognitive correlate of substance abuse, but few studies have addressed the long-term differential associations of cocaine use and marijuana (MJ) use on decision-making. This study utilized the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a widely used measure of decision-making, to investigate the relationship between cocaine and MJ use and IGT learning. We analyzed between and within group differences across two consecutive testing sessions in abstinent users of either MJ or cocaine. We assessed long-term correlates of the use of these drugs by evaluating users after 25 days of enforced abstinence. Results showed that both cocaine users and MJ users performed worse than controls on the total IGT net score. All groups showed learning between Session 1 and Session 2, but the cocaine users showed the smallest increase in performance. The pattern of learning from the beginning to the end (block × block) of the IGT (Session 2) was different for the drug groups, with the cocaine group showing more learning than the MJ group. Dose-related measures of cocaine use (grams/week) and MJ use (joints/week) predicted IGT performance (the heavier the drug use the lower the performance). Differential correlates of cocaine use and MJ use on decision-making learning may have important implications for the development of novel treatment interventions."- THE DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COCAINE USE AND MARIJUANA USE ON DECISION-MAKING PERFORMANCE OVER REPEAT TESTING WITH THE IOWA GAMBLING TASK

[Clampy]

Step one. Google Pot is bad mmmmkay

Step 2. Copy

Step 3. Paste.

[MathGeek]

I like your style, Miss Small. Welcome to the party. Having been criticized for too little science, I think I'll post some too.

The available studies using brain imaging techniques and neuropsychological tests show that acutely, all drugs create a disharmony in the neuropsychological network, causing a decrease of activity in areas responsible for short-term memory and attention, with the possible exception of heroin. Cannabis induces loss of internal control and cognitive impairment, especially of attention and memory, for the duration of intoxication.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15925403

[MissSmallAimsSmall]

"...To examine whether the association between early cannabis use and subsequent progression to use of other drugs and drug abuse/dependence persists after controlling for genetic and shared environmental influences.

Self-reported subsequent nonmedical use of prescription sedatives, hallucinogens, cocaine/other stimulants, and opioids; abuse or dependence on these drugs (including cannabis abuse/dependence); and alcohol dependence.

Individuals who used cannabis by age 17 years had odds of other drug use, alcohol dependence, and drug abuse/dependence that were 2.1 to 5.2 times higher than those of their co-twin, who did not use cannabis before age 17 years. Controlling for known risk factors (early-onset alcohol or tobacco use, parental conflict/separation, childhood sexual abuse, conduct disorder, major depression, and social anxiety) had only negligible effects on these results. These associations did not differ significantly between monozygotic and dizygotic twins."- Escalation of Drug Use in Early-Onset Cannabis Users vs Co-twin Controls

[MathGeek]

BACKGROUND:
Cognitive deficits that persist up to a month have been detected among adult marijuana users, but decrements and their pattern of recovery are less known in adolescent users. Previously, we reported cognitive deficits among adolescent marijuana users after one month of abstinence (Medina, Hanson, Schweinsburg, Cohen-Zion, Nagel, & Tapert, 2007). In this longitudinal study, we characterized neurocognitive changes among marijuana-using adolescents across the first three weeks of abstinence.
METHOD:
Participants were adolescent marijuana users with limited alcohol and other drug use (n=19) and demographically similar non-using controls (n=21) ages 15-19. Participants completed a brief neuropsychological battery on three occasions, after 3days, 2weeks, and 3weeks of stopping substance use. Abstinence was ascertained by decreasing tetrahydrocannabinol metabolite values on serial urine drug screens. Verbal learning, verbal working memory, attention and vigilance, and time estimation were evaluated.
RESULTS:
Marijuana users demonstrated poorer verbal learning (p<.01), verbal working memory (p<.05), and attention accuracy (p<.01) compared to controls. Improvements in users were seen on word list learning after 2weeks of abstinence and on verbal working memory after 3weeks. While attention processing speed was similar between groups, attention accuracy remained deficient in users throughout the 3-week abstinence period.
CONCLUSIONS:
This preliminary study detected poorer verbal learning and verbal working memory among adolescent marijuana users that improved during three weeks of abstinence, while attention deficits persisted. These results implicate possible hippocampal, subcortical, and prefrontal cortex abnormalities.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20621421

[Clampy]

100% of beer drinkers tried milk first.