Bruno123

When I first visited Thailand, perhaps thirty years ago; I went to a beach resort and one of the first interactions I remember is a local Thai passing me a 'spliff'. I refused, politely. On another island, they would give bags away from free if you spent a certain amount at their restaurant. The point being that it was freely available then and the world did not collapse. In fact it was just a pleasant place to be. Most did not want to leave to go back to miserable lives in their respective countries.

In fact that whole island 'vibe' is what made Thailand famous, outside of drug smugglers and prostitution.

Before that parents would be afraid for their children to visit Thailand, afraid that they would be framed for smuggling drugs or some such; but it was the relaxed backpackers whom spread the word that there was more to Thailand than cheap prostitutes and being framed.

So all of this nonsense about pot heads and legalisation....it's been around ever since I arrived on Thailand's shores. The only change was that people had to be more circumspect as it became a big money spinner for 'law enforcement'. 

So all they succeeded in doing with making the people a little more nervous. Availability is/was likely exactly the same. Widely.

All of these people who think there is suddenly going to be an explosion of users are wide of the mark. People are likely already using it. People you know who won't even tell you.

I prefer to be less judgemental. Peopl do these things for a reason. They might not understand the reason initially. They only know they feel better than they did before. The reason they feel better, is that they are no longer as 'stressed out' as they were before.

The issues that some people have is that they don't learn any lessons from it. In other words, if you are taking a medicine because you are stressed out, also look at what is making you stressed, during the calm period, and try to fix that.

If you don't, then you will continue to depend on the medicine. That is why some people become 'addicted'. Because they don't tackle the underlying reasons for them wanting to drink or take cannabis.

Of course if you are less stressed out, you are less likely to feel the need to drink or take a medicine.

Ignorant people name calling are just that...ignorant(of the facts) people who call others bad names in order to make themselves feel superior...when we know they really are not.

People are people. Trying to force people to drink alcohol when they need cannabis is just sick and selfish.

On 1/21/2022 at 2:17 PM, Don Chance said:

Basically, people who smoke weed all day, every day, are a-holes. They are high all the time and could care less about other people.  They are not good students or workers. They are not good friends or family. How could they be? They are high all day!  They are even in denial that that they are addicted, even though they need to smoke from morning to night.

The reality is that 20%+ or more people who try marijuana or alcohol will become addicted. To say that it leads to harder drugs is not untrue either. We have a government for a reason. We need someone in charge to protect people from dangers, to educate and guide. Libertarian is anarchy and only childish people think this is an answer to society.

You're a judgemental one, aren't you? ????

Now change the word weed for alcohol or even food. In other words, people who do anything to excess all day every day can be a.holes.

Even the guy going to the gym twice a day every day could be exerting a negative effect on someone else's life.

You are writing about extremes and then applying that extreme to weeds smokers; extreme weed smokers.. How could an office worker smoke all day? But what if it helps him to relax after a stressful day; like some might relax with some wine with their meal? Why are you not writing about this kind of person? You know...an everyday kind of person, rather than utilising hyperbole and exaggeration to try to force your point of view.

My friends who smoked are still my friends. Who are you to say that they are not? They seem to look after their families too. So that's your theory out of the window. Normal people doing normal things; not like your picture or mad reefer smoking misfits.

The other 'statement' that you make about some cannabis users moving on to other drugs.....just think about what you write for a moment...........

Do alcohol users stray on to other kinds of drugs? Do people who use other drugs use other kinds of drugs? In other words...is it only cannabis users who are sometimes moving on to other drugs?

Once you have pondered that for a moment, then think about this: I know for sure that many people take cannabis because they are self medicating. They suffer from over-anxiety etc and because of that they can barely function on a personal level. They can do their jobs alright, but can barely deal with the human race at all.

Cannabis helps to release some of that tension. I sense it in simply conversing with them. Before they  might have been objectional and uncooperative; afterwards they were more reasonable and you could actually discuss concepts with them. That would make them BETTER at their jobs.

The point being 'self medicating'. They aren't taking it to be fun and happy. They are managing a condition. It stands to reason that some will feel their condition is not being managed or they may have a expectation that another drug can better manage their issues.

You think people drink alcohol for fun?? It's nasty stuff! They are taking it because of the initial effect that it has on them. To relax them from the everyday barriers they put up. Unfortunately alcohol is also a depressant and has unpleasant side effects.

I've yet to see a headline of a cannabis fuelled person doing anyone any damage.

So I'm sure that some people who smoke all day can be useless. I had an annoying neighbour who smoked all day and wasn't impressed about it at all. 

Do what you want, but try to not inconvenience others with it. But I certainly would not ban such a useful medicine. I see the positive side of helping stressed out and over anxious people and others will have seen benefits beyond that. I believe people should have full access to natural medicine. It's nature and made for us.

Personally, if I were in the same position, I would not hesitate to try it; as opposed to Valium or whatever kind of man made 'legal' alternative were offered.

The fact is that I can comment on this as I actually tried it as a teenager and am here to tell the tale and I have seen the positive differences in friends and acquaintances.

Of course people who are already calm and relaxed don't need it. I get my kicks from my normal life. But then my normal life is good with relatively little stress. Easily controlled. But what about the people who lives are stressful, almost with no respite? Are they not allowed to know how it feels to be relaxed and without worry/anxiety?

Jump down from the high horse and soon you may understand that it is not 'one size fits all'.

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

That's what my friend in UK did for his brother with multiple sirosis.

It's smoking I am against.

Now that is strange. I am actually defending people like your friend's brother and you appeared to attack me for it!

Not once did I mention smoking in my posts. I wrote about people with ailments. Cannabis is good for more than just MS. In fact I mentioned an MS sufferer in one of the 'coffee shops' in Amsterdam.

I told you about acquaintance with other ailments. Mental health is not something to be ignored. In fact I notice that you get angry very quickly and almost for no reason. Cannabis can help with that in some circumstances. I know, as at least two acquaintances suffered similarly and I saw the difference in them.

No offence, but you are likely old and conditioned into certain ways of thinking. 

You decided to ignore all of the positive things with which you agree, in order to attack me for something that exists only in your mind. I don't smoke anything at all; but yet you tried to label me a 'druggy'. 

As you wrote earlier; it a waste of time writing to you at all. Because until you actually know and feel the benefits, you will always be in the dark. Lashing out, in your case.

Was recently chatting with one of my old friends. A musician who does up motorbikes on the side for a living. Has a big family, drives a Mercedes and has a nice motorhome. But likely he smokes sometimes. How is he any different from you? You are some great guy because you only drink alcohol and take man made drugs and he is a bad guy because he eschews man made chemicals?

Free yourself from your tyranny.

6 minutes ago, connda said:

Do you drink?  Alcohol is a drug so I assume that you do not.
 

The irony here; is that cannabis would almost certainly help him with his anger issue.

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

Got no time druggys like you trying to justify your filthy habit. 

Your wasting your time posting me.

I thought about reporting your spurious accusation....but then I thought it would be better to leave it up so people can read your posts and judge for them selves.

I neither smoke nor drink and I refuse to even take a paracetamol when in pain. There is little doubt that you ingest more drugs than I do. I don't even drink coffee.

But I know many who do take paracetamol, use cannabis, drink alcohol etc. Knowing them doesn't mean that I am them.

But it means that I can discuss what I know from my observations.

One thing that shines through all of this, is how erudite the supposed 'druggies' explanations here.

Whereas yourself....

Quote

Yeah in my life I've seen three sinario's in the use of it 2 that lead to bad things and one that was comfort for someone with multiple Seroses.

Shocking, frankly. 

I would happily have a two way conversation with an intelligent 'druggie', than to waste my time trying to converse with someone whose brain activity appears to have come to a dead end.

32 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

i worked in Amsterdam  years ago   booze bars and smoke café were kept apart couldn't mix ..late at night the bars got laud and the bouncer's at them kept busy ..never saw problems at the smoke café a few joints and people chilled...i didn't smoke it i preferred a beer but i saw why people did..also the point about cigarettes and weed many people have their fix without tobacco.. in the form of sweets good old granny cake  just sayin

 

 

 

 

Have to agree with you. I don't think I ever saw a bouncer at a 'coffee shop'. In fact the time when I was in Amsterdam and went into a coffee shop with a friend, there was a girl there with MS who was using one of the vaporisers with the plastic bag that gets filled. 

Some people imagine they are just places that people go to get stoned for no good reason.

There is so much more to life than what goes on in the minds of small minded men.

There was even a programme in the UK a couple of years ago. Getting people to talk about their problems after using cannabis..

One man tried it with his daughter and they got to talk about things that they avoided in the past.

It calms people down enough to deal with the blockages in their lives.

I have seen it myself with close friends.

An even older programme showed 'grannies' allegedly trying it for the first time: https://mashable.com/article/british-grannies-try-weed

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Yes you could "obtain" it if you want, but still, who need more harmful substances adding to our everyday wows already? dose anyone want to see it sold like in 7/11 or your Bic C? what good will it do other than to get high? expect of course for medicinal purposes that i have said already...

Hmmm.... your post does not make any sense at all. If you can "obtain if you want" then how can you claim that more harmful stuff is being added?? It's always been there. Do you think that people who were taking it before suddenly stopped because someone decided it was illegal? 

Secondly, your writing is becoming progressively worse; I recommend...just joking ???? 

Getting back on topic; I am guess you meant "everyday woes". What everyday woes would those be? Stress, anxiety, hyperactivity disorder? I think you see where I am going.

The only problems are in your mind. People take it because it helps them. You appear to have no idea; so instead you just imagine up some problems and put it together with the propaganda produced by certain interests.

But what do you actually KNOW? It's just your fears talking; nothing to do with reality.

No; not in 7-11 and Big C. Do you want huge corporations controlling the market? 

It's a natural plant, for the people. If someone needs to de-stress; it means they are not functioning optimally in the first place. If taking cannabis helps them to calm down and think straight(I have seen the effects on very many occasions); then who are you to say that they have to go through rigorous and controlled experiments before they are allowed to do what is best for them?

With the stigma attached, a middle class family man totally under stress might be too embarrassed to go to a clinic and have his name tied to using this 50% 'illicit drug'. So instead, he gets it underground. Feeding all kinds of other illicit business.

Decriminalising it completely, removes some of the criminal element profiting from it. The criminals don't always look how you expect them to look ????

Don't be so naive; I am sure that you are not a young man anymore. Too old to have the wool pulled over your eyes like that.

You are supporting criminal elements with your stance. It's nature and should be free to use within reason. 

Anything can be harmful if abused; even water.

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

I can't see any good comes out of it at all, yes, for medicinal purposes yes by all means, but for recreation and other activities this is a step backwards...

Recreation and other activities? What other activities?

Oft repeated by those who don't have any idea is this phrase 'recreation'. 

People need to be able to relax ????  Some people seem to think we are just born to be worker bees; struggling every day to survive. Under stress, anxious about their futures with no relief in sight.

Some will take alcohol with it's resultant side effects; some will eat more and get fat and unhealthy, some will choose cannabis. 

You seem to imagine that they are moving around in some kind of hallucinogenic state and totally dangerous ????

No; I see people who were totally stressed out, calm. Able to hold a conversation whereas before there was simply no reasoning with them.

Yet you would accuse these people of recreational use because they don't go through a formal process of being scrutinised, diagnosed/mis-diagnosed etc. They are much the same people who need it for medical use. Because it IS a medical use. That is what you are missing. People mostly don't take it for fun; they take it to calm down. Once they are calm, they realise being calm is better than being over-anxious and stressed. 

But the over-anxious and stressed who haven't tried it continue to spread their anxiety and fear.

I tried it with my friends as a teenager and I am still here. Healthy hopefully. Live and let live.

Go to do what you like; as long as you don't harm anyone. Has anyone using cannabis ever harmed you?

15 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeah in my life I've seen three sinario's in the use of it 2 that lead to bad things and one that was comfort for someone with multiple Seroses.

Erm.... ????

You thanked ezzra in his post; but then backtrack admitting that is was helpful to someone.

Let's say that 10% of the population use it in one form or the other. You claim to have seen two undescribed bad scenarios. How many have you seen due to alcohol or Meth or prostitution or....

It's a bit ridiculous to condemn something because of two incidents that might be totally unrelated to cannabis(since you haven't described the circumstances).

I have not seen even a single negative issue amongst my friends who used to use it and possibly still do. 

Your peers don't agree with your point of view: https://news.yahoo.com/jim-belushi-growing-weed-series-cannabis-pot-farmer-tv-show-brother-john-160013065.html