Please stop calling it "Medical Marijuana"

[GrandmaFunk]

it's nearly impossible to differentiate if you just smoke weed off work or are high when you're on the job.

From a blood or urine test, that's true. From observing and/or interacting with the person? pretty easy.

In fact, if no one on the job can spot it, then it obviously doesn't have much of an impact on their capacity to work effectively.

They fire people who show up to work drunk, don't they?

Sure, but what you suggested was to fire ppl for what they do on their own time. So it would be like firing everyone who had a beer over the weekend or a glass of wine with supper the night before.

 

[Frankster]

1. YES YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY GET FIRED FOR POPPING POSITIVE ON A DRUG TEST AT WORK. Even if marijuana is legal, this just makes sense. Sure, you can pop positive and not be high at the time, but it's nearly impossible to differentiate if you just smoke weed off work or are high when you're on the job. Better safe than sorry, ya know? They fire people who show up to work drunk, don't they?

Just a FYI, marijuana stays in your system for a week and remains detectable for something like 2 weeks if i recall. So if a guy smokes during the weekend and gets tested on a thursday, he would be fired according to your "better safe then sorry" doctrine.

Jus' saying.

As for it being impossible to tell if you smoke weed off work or are stoned when working... What?

It is very very possible and easy to tell if someone is stoned. If the eyes and general demeanor don't give you a clue, the psychological clues (which vary a bit depending on person, not everyone gets paranoid or gets giggle fits) surely will.

 

[PorkChopXpress]

People who have never smoked weed have zero frame of reference here and shouldn't maintain commenting negatively and spouting "facts" without first hand knowledge. I've smoked and gone to work a few times and nothing strange has happened, my behavior doesn't radically change, I don't get paranoid, most importantly my work itself doesn't suffer, and I've been working there for almost ten years. In short: smoking weed doesn't turn you into a cartoon character, most times where you are determines how you act. If you're with friends, you'll be silly. At work, not so much.

I'm all for legalization, and I'm for suggesting that it does have medicinal value. Read the comments on medical marijuana sites, it may change your opinion. Give it a chance, don't immediately think someone is a "burn out" because they smoke.

"I have Multiple Sclerosis, Trigeminal Neuralgia (which is classified as the worst pain known to human kind), and now possibly Sjogrens. If it werent for Marijuana smoking, there are days I would not be able to walk, or see, or be without such severe pain, that cannot be controlled. I am not a 16 year old playing around, I'm a 30 year old that got sick way too young, and I found ONE medicine that works... If you dont like it, dont use it, but when i cant feel my legs, and in two puffs can do jumping jacks, sorry, I want to actually LIVE my life, and who are you, or anyone else to tell me different???"

 

[Roobarb]

I've smoked and gone to work a few times and nothing strange has happened

I do this regularly. It has never impaired my work performance in any way. I fix and build computers and also do all the callouts. I've never had a problem with this job, or any other job. I've been toking for over 20 years, always been in work, always paid my bills, enjoyed a varied social life, loved some very beautiful (but completely fucked up) women and overall, enjoyed my lifestyle thoroughly.

Weed is a great way to unwind without messing your mind and body up too much, unlike beer, tobacco and the many "harder" drugs that are available, which only serve to destroy the way the body functions normally.

If I drank as much as I smoked, I wouldn't be able to work at all. True story bro.

 

[VondeVon]

Oh! Oh! Marijuana Speakeasies!

History has proven they lead to legalisation.

 

[Soviet Steve]

Seriously. Stop doing it. You're not helping. You're not accomplishing anything. It does not fix any problem the body has,

-I understand that many people legitimately get through difficult pains and ailments with the aid of marijuana

it does not fix any ailment,

-I understand that many people legitimately get through difficult pains and ailments with the aid of marijuana

http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/csaph/csaph-report3-i09.pdf

As someone who has tried walking on an ankle broken in three places I will venture that pain is serious.

it is not a cure for anything. The number of people who have had diseases cured by pot is zero.

That isn't its function so I'm curious as to what your surprise at this is.

"Medical Marijuana" is a trend. It's a catchphrase, a hotword that people who support legalization are trying to use to get it legalized. They use touching stories of cancer patients who rode out their chemotherapy by toking up. I get that. But that doesn't make it medicine. It makes it a painkiller. It's medicine the same way Vicodin is, which is to say, not at all.

It's used in a medical context rather than for recreation and in the context of medicine and laws governing its prescription by doctors this is an important distinguishing factor. The permission to have cannabis prescribed by a doctor does not make it legal to use for recreational purposes. You don't have over the counter recreational morphine just because it can be given to you by a doctor to relieve pain.

Now, I'm not ranting against legalization. I genuinely believe it should be legalized, regulated, and taxed. I'm ranting against the pretense on which people are trying to get it legalized. You want pot to be legal so that you can come home from work, kick back, and have a toke or two the same way you can come home from work, kick back, and have a beer or three right now. And there's nothing wrong with that.

This is also completely irrelevant to whether or not this should be allowed to be used in a medical context however.

But if we're going to get anywhere with the argument, we have to first acknowledge that. We have to be mature, upfront, honest, and genuine with our case. Yes, pot is recreational. Yes, we want it legalized so that we can recreationally use it without having to deal with some shady scumbag, or be afraid of losing our jobs to drug tests or incarceration.

Legalized medicinal use of cannabis does not mean legalized use of recreational cannabis. It may be easier to obtain for the latter purpose but that does not make it legal in that sense, and any debate regarding its medicinal value is completely irrelevant to the majority of users.

Prohibition of alcohol wasn't defeated by shouting it's medicinal value. Nobody used sob stories or half-truths. People just said they wanted to be able to have a fucking beer without getting it from the mob. If marijuana is going to be legalized, that's how it's going to happen. People are going to say that we, as free human beings, have the right to use it if we so choose.

The legalization of alcohol came about as a result in a shift of priorities. The 1920s had seen prosperity and a religious revival plus significant influence from conservative populace in trying to force the public to behave morally in line with the temperance movement. The economic crisis meant that people were less concerned with moral behaviour, and the opposition democrats noted it would raise revenues while also reducing the crime rate. It was purely political expediency to the patricians that brought about the change, and given the level to which this class is invested in keeping cannabis illegal in all forms I doubt this will change soon unless Obama finds he needs a few extra votes to win the next election.

 

[razer17]

Medicinal marijuana is a thing. Some people do use it for pain or whatever. Glaucoma patients use it, cancer patients, general pain relief. It's like saying there's no such thing as a medical opiate. Should we stop using morphine just because people use it recreationally?

 

[unoleian]

Yes, there are quite a few people who use medicinal marijuana as an excuse for what amounts to back-door legalization for themselves. I know a few myself, it's where I started when I first got the idea to approach a doctor about it, and know from experience that a lot of dispensaries I've been to perform their "patient services" with a wink and a nod.

The card in my wallet did ultimately end up there as a result of legitimate medical grievances, not just a case of "back pain," but I would be lying if I said it was the condition itself that made me exercise my rights under my state's constitution. What got me in that doctor's office started as an attempt to dodge the threat of a newly-instituted drug policy at my job of three years.

One thing the experience HAS taught me as an unexpected consequence, though, is that ingested cannabinoids are some of the most astonishingly effective pain relief I've found. I'm 100% a convert about its effectiveness at controlling certain types of pain caused by traumas to the neuromuscular system. A sublingual dose of THC/CBD completely halts the painful feelings that are normally so intense, I can't even pick up a glass. It's a minor miracle.

Being able to obtain a little something to puff on the side once I get off work turned into a small bonus. I'm able to obtain top-shelf product at prices that under-cut street value, at my own discretion, without needing to deal with dubious underground entities or middle-men. I also contribute to the tax base of my state and my local community as well.

Not to mention that my state's MMJ industry is demonstrating quite completely that a regulated system can be put into place that serves the state as much as it does the people, a system that can actually MAKE money on what was formerly a purely black-market industry the state spent money combating. It brings a little sense and sanity into an insane system. Actually, take the "medical" aspect out, and what's left is the proven framework for a regulatory system that serves the people, serves the government, and serves law enforcement almost equally across the board with their grievances of a legal, unregulated market, and their grievances as well about a black market system that works for no one except the criminals themselves.

 

[bdcjacko]

Yeah...i am opposed to marijuana, but medical marijuana is a real thing. If you take it for pain relief, get back your appettite or whatever and it was prescribed to you by a doctor, it is medical as opposed to just being recertational. That said I hear the system for medical marijuana is highly abused.

 

[Spence Thompson]

"Smoke weed every day." ~ Doctor Dre (1965- )

 

[esperandote]

Medicines are drugs you know, that's why the FDA regulates them.

On a related note:

 

[Sandytimeman]

I understand that many people legitimately get through difficult pains and ailments with the aid of marijuana, and while I totally support that, it is NOT the majority of use, and it is NOT why the majority of people want it legalized. That is my point.

Yeah I agree but the problem is multi-prong. You have alot of established industries and lobbyists against the legalization for so long.

• Cotton Industry(to stop hemp from being grown locally)
  
• Lobbyists for Prison Guard Unions which are pushing for longer sentences for minor crimes like possession. (btw yes Prisons make money and are privately owned in the US..its a business to keep people locked up. In 07' we locked up 750 people per 100,000. Where as say Japan only does 38 per 100,000)
  
• Politicians that have remained ignorant of modern marijuana studies or know of the studies and just straight up lied to their constituents. So the first politician that comes out for it, will have to either be a liar or a moron and commit basically political suicide.
  
• Lets not forget that according to some studies (info via The Union Documentary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Union:_The_Business_Behind_Getting_High]) Marijuana is a safe mild substitute for almost 200+ Prescription medications. So you have the lobbyists and money from the Pharmaceuticals Industry also to contend with.

The term medical marijuana is an easy out for most politicians a way to legalize marijuana without having to admit that they were stupid or lied. They also don't have to fight as hard against all the money in their pocket to keep it relatively illegal.

 

[RJ 17]

-Snip-

I don't have a problem with your argument, simply the wording of it. There are countless cases of people who actually do have medical issues which actually can be helped by partaking of the herb. I fully agree with the notion that the current system is ripe for exploitation and that in most cases all you have to do is go to a doctor and say "My back hurts" and you get your "pot is legal for me" card.

But that doesn't take away from the fact that marijuana DOES have numerous medicinal purposes. Do you consider cough medicine to not be medicine just because some people choose to chug it down and go robitrippin'? Or are prescription drugs not medicine either just because there's plenty of people who abuse those as well?

Again, I agree with your point that the notion of Medical Marijuana is, as a whole on average, just an excuse card for people who want to smoke pot. However that doesn't take away from the fact that there ARE plenty of medicinal uses for marijuana, so I do take exception with you for asserting that marijuana is nothing but a drug and has absolutely no medical purpose whatsoever. You say it never cured any disease, it's not supposed to, it's an anesthetic + appetite increaser. So yeah, you try telling my younger brother who went through chemotherapy that pot did absolutely nothing to help him make it through all the pain and nearly starving himself to death.

 

[spartan231490]

snip
-I understand that many people legitimately get through difficult pains and ailments with the aid of marijuana, and while I totally support that, it is NOT the majority of use, and it is NOT why the majority of people want it legalized. That is my point.

You kinda defeat your own argument right here. It's not like medicine is only medicine if it cures something. Tell that to all the people with HIV/AIDS. Tell that to the millions of people who get migraine headaches twice a week who live on painkillers. Medical Marijuana is a good fucking idea. It's almost as effective as narcotics, with far fewer side effects, and less risk of addiction, so I protest your assertion that medical marijuana doesn't exist.

That said, I'm all for legalization in general, I don't smoke, and I wouldn't, but neither I nor anyone in government has any right to tell people what they can and can't put in their bodies.

 

[Something Amyss]

Seriously. Stop doing it. You're not helping. You're not accomplishing anything. It does not fix any problem the body has, it does not fix any ailment, it is not a cure for anything. The number of people who have had diseases cured by pot is zero.

But you said...

-I understand that many people legitimately get through difficult pains and ailments with the aid of marijuana, and while I totally support that, it is NOT the majority of use, and it is NOT why the majority of people want it legalized. That is my point.

That's a legitimate medical use. That's why people say "medical marijuana." We're not talking about the majority of use, even if people will abuse the system and get prescriptions from dodgy sources.

There is a strong, legitimate argument for medical marijuana. The arguments for legalization and medical use are separate ones that can both be pursued.

 

[iseko]

Marijuana can induce psychosis. Several studies have been performed around this topic.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22213786

The link goes to one of these studies. Alcohol can do the same in a sense but only if you abuse it a long time (alcoholic -> korsakov syndrome). Some people can get psychosis from 1 puff of marijuana. The percentage of people in the population is larger then you think. So no I don't think they should legalise it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Tell that to the millions of people who get migraine headaches twice a week who live on painkillers.

As someone who suffers migraines and takes a regular medication that at best suppresses the symptoms, I can certainly agree here.

Not curing something is not a reason for invalidating something as medicine.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

It does not fix any problem the body has, it does not fix any ailment, it is not a cure for anything. The number of people who have had diseases cured by pot is zero.

You could say exactly the same about Lemsip. Alleviating suffering is something else medicines do apart from curing - even if it's only the Placebo effect.

Medical Viagra could also be prescribed, for instance.

Marijuana can induce psychosis. Several studies have been performed around this topic.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22213786

15 men who might have used it before might get psychosis. Here, let me grab the Conclusion for you.

These effects may contribute to the effects of cannabis on psychotic symptoms and on the risk of psychotic disorders.

So, no, discredited.

And if you're suffering from the last stages of Cancer et. al. I think your days of worrying about possible psychosis are way behind getting one good night's sleep.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I didn't think people actually used that as an argument to legalize pot. There are plenty of drugs that you cannot get over the counter but can help treat symptoms. Pot is one of them.

 

[Something Amyss]

Medical Viagra could also be prescribed, for instance.

Well, it might cure your depression.

Sorry...Had to.

(Also, "your" in the general sense, not you specifically)