Smoking Pot.

[N/A]

That's an odd viewpoint of what goes on in temples.

Mostly a bunch of sandal wearing tourists with suspiciously high socks .

[Born Yesterday]

It was fun... :leaving:

Yay! :cheers:

Is the whole, "it's a gateway drug" bullshit?

Medically speaking, it's complete and utter bullshit. The consumption of cannabis doesn't magically make you crave for opiates. Just for food.

That said, recreational drugs typically begin as social activities, and often stay that way. So it largely depends on the company you keep. In some social circles, all kinds of drugs float around. That's no guarantee that you'll try them, obviously, but they're there, which may or may not be tempting. In other social circles, it's weed only. Occasionally on principle, because cannabis is NATURAL , while the rest are "artificial". Sometimes it's merely a matter of tradition and accessibility. And I can't possibly know what's more likely to be the case with the hypothetical friends of your son in the future. :)

So I don't want to lull you, because for all I know, teenagers in your neighborhood may be prone to extreme experimenting. But also I don't want to scare you, because it's no big deal. Really. I mean, it's definitely a big deal if we're talking about possible trouble with the law. But if your concern is the effect of the substance itself, don't worry. It's harmless compared to pretty much anything else an adolescent might try. [Drugs, booze, tobacco, WoW, philosophy...]

[Swordfish]

I don't have any student loan debt. I pay less for my mortgage on a 3 bedroom house than I would pay in rent for a one bedroom apartment in a similar area. It's less than 10% of my take home income, and it will be paid for in 5 years.

My job does restrict some choices that I could make that aren't appealing to me anyways...if much rather be in a position to fly to Europe at the drop of a hat for a weekend rather than sit around and get high,

These two things are in absolutely no way mutually exclusive. Trust me on this one......

It's likely that a lot of people in your office, and a lot of people beside you in line buying those plane tickets are or have been marijuana users.

I have no idea why your mortgage is relevant to the discussion... But.. Congrats? i guess?

[The Mance]

It was fun... :leaving:

Oh noes! Now he's addicted!

[Shryke]

Medically speaking, it's complete and utter bullshit. The consumption of cannabis doesn't magically make you crave for opiates. Just for food.

That said, recreational drugs typically begin as social activities, and often stay that way. So it largely depends on the company you keep. In some social circles, all kinds of drugs float around. That's no guarantee that you'll try them, obviously, but they're there, which may or may not be tempting. In other social circles, it's weed only. Occasionally on principle, because cannabis is NATURAL , while the rest are "artificial". Sometimes it's merely a matter of tradition and accessibility. And I can't possibly know what's more likely to be the case with the hypothetical friends of your son in the future. :)

So I don't want to lull you, because for all I know, teenagers in your neighborhood may be prone to extreme experimenting. But also I don't want to scare you, because it's no big deal. Really. I mean, it's definitely a big deal if we're talking about possible trouble with the law. But if your concern is the effect of the substance itself, don't worry. It's harmless compared to pretty much anything else an adolescent might try. [Drugs, booze, tobacco, WoW, philosophy...]

I've generally thought that the only way pot acts as a gateway drug is because of it's illegality. Basically by doing pot you've got a connection to a dealer who could get you harder stuff.

I mean, if pot was legal, would most people even know a dealer?

[Xray the Enforcer]

That is not a strong argument. I can easily get harder drugs through my local bartender. So, yeah, I am pretty sure that people may use pot and then move on, no matter what the legality. Basically, everything can be a gateway drug if one is into mood-altering substances (which includes alcohol, I'll add for the benefit of the anti-pot individuals who drink alcohol in the thread).

[Larry of the Lawn]

I don't think I've ever bought hard drugs and weed from the same person. Unless you count hallucinogenics.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

I've generally thought that the only way pot acts as a gateway drug is because of it's illegality. Basically by doing pot you've got a connection to a dealer who could get you harder stuff.

I mean, if pot was legal, would most people even know a dealer?

I always associated that with weed being the most likely jumping off point for newbie drug use, outside of alcohol. Also, once you cross that particular Rubicon and realize that much of the negative hype surrounding it is overblown, you might wonder whether or not the same might be true of harder drugs.

[Lord of Oop North]

Drug testing rules are very different in other countries. In Canada pre-employment testing is not allowed, with one exception. A court in Alberta agreed pre-employment testing could occur when applying for some very sensitive/dangerous jobs in the oil sands.

Random drug testing is also not allowed in Canada, even in a dangerous work environment. Not long ago the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the indignity of subjecting employees to random drug and alcohol testing violated an employee's human rights. The only situation where random drug testing is allowed is when an employer can demonstrate alcohol or drug abuse is a problem in the workplace.

Indeed. I was recently involved in a Toronto Pan-Am games project and they tried to implement pre-screening for drugs for the construction management/workers. It was shot down.

Alcohol/drug testing is allowed after a workplace accident where the employer has reasonable grounds to believe alcohol or drugs may be involved. Employees cannot be summarily dismissed. Most of the case law has been developed arising out of how badly employers have treated employees. If the employer offers the employee a rehab program, the employer is allowed to do post-rehab drug testing for a reasonable amount of time to make the employee has not gone back to the alcohol/drug use.

Years ago, I was on a project were an accident occurred. Ministry of Labour forced the workers involved to do drug & alcohol testing through Toronto Police Services. One of the workers tested positive and was laid off nearly immediately. He filled a grievance with the union, but they didn't back him. I don't know what happened to him exactly, but I don't believe he lost union membership or anything like that, so likely he found work again. I also caught a worker earlier this year smoking marijuana on the job, and fired him on the spot. The Union rep called me, but I told him the story, and it never went any further.

I am strongly against pre-screening for drugs. Post-screening after an accident is fine with me. But I have also seen a lot of crazy shit happen, and sometimes I waver. The wavering I know is just an emotional response, and not logical. People don't need drugs & alcohol to do stupid shit that puts people in harms way, and I have a hard time believing that even a small percentage of the many accidents that I've witnessed or heard of has been caused by one or the other, and not simply by stupidity, ignorance, or carelessness. Every statistic that I've ever seen has indicated that most accidents on dangerous jobs fall into 1 of 2 categories; either A) happen to new, inexperienced workers ... due to their inexperience or B ) are due to carelessness, ie. you do something 1,000 times wrong, and nothing happened, but on the 1001th time, something happens.

So, I don't think that drug & alcohol screening is desirable, or an effective use of resources at all. It's an invasion of privacy, simple as that.

[wolverine]

I always associated that with weed being the most likely jumping off point for newbie drug use, outside of alcohol. Also, once you cross that particular Rubicon and realize that much of the negative hype surrounding it is overblown, you might wonder whether or not the same might be true of harder drugs.

That is kinda what I was thinking. But I have no experience there. Especially with it becoming legal probably everywhere before too long. Kids may think,"this shit used to be illegal and now my grandma does it. This other harder shit will probably be legal some day too and probably isn't so bad."

By the way, if you missed it, I am for the legalization of marijuana, even though I have never used it.

[TerraPrime]

Sadly, with pot being more mainstreamed and more accepted, saying things like "No, I don't use pot" is going to sound more and more like a hispter douchbag line, like, yeah, that band used to be cool but I have stopped listening to them since their last tour.

[MercenaryChef]

Terra, that is how I feel about smoking cigarettes. I have never done it once. I have never tried it even for a moment. It is my hipster element. My coolness somehow and without irony puts me in a minority of modern humanity.

[wolverine]

Terra, that is how I feel about smoking cigarettes. I have never done it once. I have never tried it even for a moment. It is my hipster element. My coolness somehow and without irony puts me in a minority of modern humanity.

You can join my wife there. She really really hates them and has never had a single puff. I have had like half a dozen total. MC, that must be your only hipster element.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

Terra, that is how I feel about smoking cigarettes. I have never done it once. I have never tried it even for a moment. It is my hipster element. My coolness somehow and without irony puts me in a minority of modern humanity.

Doesn't really work methinks, as at this point cigarette smoking has been villianized for some pretty sound reasons. It's not hipster to be a non-smoker, it's just common sense.

[TerraPrime]

eh?

I thought the hipster aspect is not that I don't smoke, but that I was not smoking even when everyone else thought it was cool to smoke, i.e., I was cool before you all knew it was cool to be like me, ergo, hipster.

Or maybe my logic is flawed? Maybe I need to also wear a fedora when I say this?

[wolverine]

eh?

I thought the hipster aspect is not that I don't smoke, but that I was not smoking even when everyone else thought it was cool to smoke, i.e., I was cool before you all knew it was cool to be like me, ergo, hipster.

Or maybe my logic is flawed? Maybe I need to also wear a fedora when I say this?

If you were in Iowa, drinking warm PABST at the bar would help.

[Suttree]

Aren't fedoras more aligned with the "40 yo Dads listening to John Mayer" crowd?

[Shryke]

eh?

I thought the hipster aspect is not that I don't smoke, but that I was not smoking even when everyone else thought it was cool to smoke, i.e., I was cool before you all knew it was cool to be like me, ergo, hipster.

Or maybe my logic is flawed? Maybe I need to also wear a fedora when I say this?

Smoking hasn't been cool for a long time imo.

Aren't fedoras more aligned with the "40 yo Dads listening to John Mayer" crowd?

No, fedoras are now for the "I'm a badly groomed badly socialized weirdo trying to look cool" crowd.

[Ulthosian Stark]

I don't think I've ever bought hard drugs and weed from the same person. Unless you count hallucinogenics.

This. Hallucinogens don't count as hard drugs, you don't hear about people tripping every day for a year or some shit. A few days at a festival? Sure I've done it, not a wink o sleep and lots of fungi. Nobody loses there house or car to a hallucinogen addiction haha that sounds so dumb just typing it

Why does it matter if its "cool"? That's an opinion, and most people would think getting baked with some friends around a campfire vs getting heavily intoxicated at a bar is " cooler", if not at least more enjoyable.

I grew up like 50 feet away from the Buffalo Bills stadium. I've been parking cars for it for as long as I can remember and about 5 years ago started working at a pretty legendary bar down the street.

The shit I've seen that alcohol has caused is insane. People passed out on the side of the road getting snowed on, funneling whiskey, some mom got belligerent with her kids and got arrested for disorderly conduct. Before being put into the car she needed to use the bathroom. At my bar. She then takes her clothes off and starts screaming the cop touched her, even though I was standing there talking to him the whole time.

I've mopped up pools of blood from bad fights (ironically the worst was between a state trooper from NY and one from VT), seen puke with an ample amount of blood, had a knife pulled on me for "looking at him funny", met a dude who died later by passing out IN A CREEK. The list goes on and on.

And what's the worst thing anyone's heard of pot consumption causing? That 911 call when a cop thought he was dying because he stole weed from the evidence locker and made pot brownies for him and his wife? That's the worst I've heard.

If anything its starting to be thought of as a " smart" drug. Its all natural, non physically addictive, has little negative effect, etc. Its safe as fuck compared to some drugs that could be cut with any number of random chemicals/household supply. Also it doesn't get you in a lot of trouble with the law as its decriminalized in a lot of places (small amounts).

Its also been shown to promote brain cell GROWTH instead of DEATH (like with alcohol).

I've been surrounded by shitty things caused by alcohol from family and from bills games. I've never thought drinking was cool, I equate drinking with cutting (as in yourself). I've watched 5 miserable 40 somethings drink themselves to death at my work.

Its absolutely insane to me that some people are pro-alcohol and anti-pot. There are just so many sadly misinformed people out there whose stance on cannabis as a whole is purely Draconian because they just won't put in the time to understand it.

[all swedes are racist]

Yeah, (going back a bit) and maybe it's a city thing, but there is a guy for this, a guy for that, and a guy with this, that, and the other. And those first guys probably knew that last guy, or someone like him.