As far as marijuana use goes and the idea that no one loses friends to the stuff, I have to disagree. There are people I know from highschool that I was once good friends with that I have had to distance myself from because all they do these days is work and rush home to smoke a joint. They scrounge for money to buy some more, rush to cash their paycheck so they can stock up and beg their landlord for an extension on rent because they have no money. The majority of these people make twice as much money as myself. I know all the money isn’t going towards pot, some of it goes to all the fast food they buy once they get the munchies. So there they are, sitting on the couch, staring at the tv, giggling and waiting to fall asleep so they can get up, go to work, and do it all over again. I’m not saying this is unappropriate behavior, just sort of seems like a waste of life to me. They have lost all their energy and ambition in life, and it doesn’t matter to them, because all they want to do is get high and chill. And they have infact made more friends, people who share this lifestyle. I am not saying this is true with every person that smokes marijuana, just pointing out that it can infact have negative impacts on peoples lives. I know a couple who become so aggitated when they run out of marijuana that they beat their children with belts and hockey sticks for unjustified reasons, if there even is a reason for that sort of punishment.
I have a beer every now and then, maybe a couple, maybe a few too many, but not regularly enough to give it much of a second thought, and I know that some people smoke a joint every now and then and go about leading a decent life the majority of the time, and I see no issues with that. If alcohol became prohibited, I would be ok with never being able to have a beer again, because I know that it can have a powerful affect on peoples lives and we would be better off as a society. I like to think that marijuana users think the same, but as alcohol has its alcoholics, marijuana definitly has its chronics.
I like to think that the problem with substance abuse comes from somewhere deeper. As a society, we’re very depentant people. We know if we don’t make enough money, the tax payers will cover us. Some of us have parents who will bail us out of any situation instead of letting us learn our lessons. We know that if we become a single parent, we can have guaranteed child support for 18 years. We know that if we complain long enough, someone will feel sorry for us and bail us out. I find alot of substance abusers always complaining but never taking action, just taking what they can from the people who put in the effort. Again, I am talking about those who have lost control, not the occasional participant.
Ban alcohol, it is terrible. That doesn’t make marijuana any better.
And as for politics, I’m all for the cuts in medical, the cuts in education, cut all the damn expenses. People get drunk, fall down stairs, hurt themselves, go to the emergency room and use up tax dollars. Kids go to school and get high behind the dumpster because they’re mad that they are being forced to learn things that do not interest them or that have no relavance to real life. We need hospitals that can provide the essentials. We don’t need them so people can have peace of mind about doing stupid, irrational things. The emergency room is open, they’ll save me if drink too much, if I decide to drive like an idiot, if I pick a fight with a guy who is obviously going to rearrange my face. I’m not interested in paying taxes to support that, so that these people can have high-paid sympathy and support. How many old people stay for months on end in hospitals, hooked on some sort of life support? I’m sure we would all like to live forever, but the truth is that you are going to die, you should accept that and die when you are supposed to, not when your family gets sick of visiting your mindless, barely functioning body and decides to pull the plug. I do not mean to sound harsh or coldhearted, but lets try our best to stay in touch with reality. Lets tough it out, live with out our safety nets for awhile. If we can survive for a few years (and we can) without all our luxuries, the worst that can happen is our taxes will be lowered and we will all get to keep what we work for and live on our own terms. Hell, maybe the government will even give us MORE money. I encourage you all to look at the past 15 years of Albertas political history. They have more money than they can spend. And it just may be because they tolerated a few expense cuts so that they can now have that much more control over their own lives.
Incase anyone is curious, I do not vote. I believe we all have what it takes to make proper decisions in our own lives. The idea of a government is great as far as having someone to organize development, but do we really need them to tell us if we can smoke dope? If we can drink beer? How fast we can drive? How old we need to be before we can have sex? How hard you’re allowed to hit a child? What we need to learn, when we need to learn it? How much money we can earn before we have to give some of it to someone whos too lazy to work for what they want? How long grandma can stay plugged-in before she over-stays her welcome? I’m not going to vote in a parent to lead my adult life for me, I’m comfortable making my own decisions, living my life the way I want it to be.
gavitron
