We know it is bad for your health and all that which is probably why most of us quit or trying to.

 

But, as Tobacco is getting taxed and criminalized to death, here comes vape. Well at least it isn't AS bad as tobacco. Surely it is safe, the companies told us so. Just like how big tobacco told us cigarettes were not harmful.

And in some states they are trying to legalize marijuana. Maybe it is less toxic than cigarettes but soon it will contain nicotine and other additives to get people hooked.

 

So as a nation, we are back to rung one on the quit ladder. To smoke a cigarette is almost to commit a crime socially and legally. But that is OK, you can still vape and do 420. Come on, kids, it will be fun!

 

And in a proud move on Indiana's part, they are likely going to lift the ban of alcohol sales on Sunday. Not sure how every state operates but here you cannot buy it in a store. I think restaurants can still serve though. I do not drink so I do not know when it can be bought or sold etc.

 

Obviously the tobacco bans are not about people's health. If it were, vape and weed would not even be a question. And alcohol? Well... all three are gaining traction while tobacco loses it.

 

So what is really going on with all this?

1 hour ago, Jetblack said:

Obviously the tobacco bans are not about people's health. If it were, vape and weed would not even be a question. And alcohol? Well... all three are gaining traction while tobacco loses it.

 

So what is really going on with all this?

 

Follow the money and you'll find your answer.  Smoking has fallen out of favor in developed nations, so big tobacco has shifted its resources to developing nations with lax laws.  With tax revenues declining and the tobacco lobby taking its show on the road, cigarettes are now in the crosshairs.

 

The alcohol lobby on the other hand is spending money hand over fist in America right now.  In states that have legalized marijuana, people are drinking less.  The alcohol producers have taken note and are none too pleased.  It's booze versus weed in the battle for who will be the go-to perception altering drug of Joe and Jane America.  Big pharma is balls deep in the debate as well, but that's another story for another day.

 

And as for me, not that anyone asked.  I quit cigarettes 22 months ago.  I haven't smoked weed on any regular basis since around 2002 or thereabouts.  And, I'm teetotal sober since January 1 of 2018.  The no booze thing is a recent development.

 

And as for me, not that anyone asked.  I quit cigarettes 22 months ago.  I haven't smoked weed on any regular basis since around 2002 or thereabouts.  And, I'm teetotal sober since January 1 of 2018.  The no booze thing is a recent development.

 

Boo...you and me can enjoy a nice cup of rosy Lee...man..im impressed ..even I enjoy the odd glass of white.

I have never smoked weed in my life...lol...even being in Liverpool in the 60s...music was my drug then ..we'll that and tobacco..

And a strict father ..

But I was smoking at 11...I couldn't afford anything else...plus if dad found out...wow!!!

I quite enjoy not parting with my money to greedy companies ,who don't care for anything or anyone ..to line thier pockets...

11 minutes ago, Doreensfree said:

Boo...you and me can enjoy a nice cup of rosy Lee...man..im impressed ..even I enjoy the odd glass of white.

 

Sounds good.

 

My decision to quit drinking was a spur of the moment kind of deal.  I cutback on the booze when I quit smoking.  I don't enjoy getting drunk anymore, when I felt a buzz coming on I would stop drinking.  Plus, twenty-years ago I could get drunk as a five-eyed owl on Friday night and be good to go again on Saturday morning.  The last couple of times I got really drunk, it beat the hell out of me.

 

I tell you what...I don't smoke.  I don't drink.  I don't do any drugs.  I've been with the same woman for over a year now, so my skirt chasing days are behind me.  I try to get in bed at a reasonable hour.  I exercise daily and try to eat healthy.  Somewhere along the way, I turned into Ned Flanders.

I cannot do the Ned Flanders thing because where I am going after I die happens to be a smoking section in it's entirety.

 

It just blows me away how they run off tobacco but let in weed, vape, and booze. Vape is already under attack from what I understand though.

 

I no longer smoke. Damn near did a few days ago but resisted. thing is, it STILL annoys me how they treat smokers like they are the low life of the totem.

 

Say you need a ride. Maybe you drive a Ford and it broke down AGAIN. would you rather catch a ride with -

 

The cigarette smoker

The stoner

The drunk

 

Ain't no one ever said, "hey you better not drive, you have had too many cigarettes".

After the day I had today, I'm just glad I didn't give up drinking yet. I may have a wee rant on the Curse thread later on?

 

They are legalizing weed here this summer sometime. I figure just another cash grab for various levels of government plus, it was a major part of the Federal Government's recent election bid. They won't be seeing anything from my wallet. My drug hazed days are long over thanks very much. The thing I worry about is the driving and workplace issues once weed is legal. As far as I know, they can't properly measure the impairment factor from weed like they can with booze. It's bad enough these days with everyone distracted on their phones while driving. Adding weed to that is not something I'm in favor of.

 

OK .... I'll quit being the old curmudgeon yelling at the kids to GET OFF MY LAWN!

Edited January 12, 20188 yr by reciprocity

From what I understand, weed it treated legally the same as alcohol. Have to be 21, cannot be at work or driving stoned, etc.

 

Plus here is another problem -

Weed is supposedly not as dangerous as tobacco. But by the time they get done adding things, it will be worse.

 

I ain't about to smoke that crap, giving up smoking for me means - giving up smoking.

follow the dosh

4 hours ago, reciprocity said:

It's bad enough these days with everyone distracted on their phones while driving. Adding weed to that is not something I'm in favor of.

 

My neighbors have a son who is a State Trooper.  He said we've already reached the point where cellphone distractions are causing more accidents than drugs and alcohol combined.

 

4 hours ago, Jetblack said:

Plus here is another problem -

Weed is supposedly not as dangerous as tobacco. But by the time they get done adding things, it will be worse.

 

That's a real issue.  There are already strains of marijuana available with ten-times the normal THC levels.  The race to the extremes in the marijuana industry is going at light speed right now.

Agreed, distracted driving is the #1 danger these days in terms of driving issues. This, I believe, has also increased the motorcycle fatalities quite dramatically in the past two years as well. There have been a lot more vehicle crosses center line type fatalities in the past year or so around here. Crossing center line is usually distraction or falling asleep. Even with doubled fines and demerit points, it has made little difference in people using their devices while driving. I stopped riding on pubic highways earlier this year. Too many people I know have had life altering issues recently.

 

Off-road, track days or trials riding is where you have best control over your riding safety these days.

Edited January 13, 20188 yr by reciprocity

12 hours ago, Boo said:

 

Sounds good.

 

My decision to quit drinking was a spur of the moment kind of deal.  I cutback on the booze when I quit smoking.  I don't enjoy getting drunk anymore, when I felt a buzz coming on I would stop drinking.  Plus, twenty-years ago I could get drunk as a five-eyed owl on Friday night and be good to go again on Saturday morning.  The last couple of times I got really drunk, it beat the hell out of me.

 

I tell you what...I don't smoke.  I don't drink.  I don't do any drugs.  I've been with the same woman for over a year now, so my skirt chasing days are behind me.  I try to get in bed at a reasonable hour.  I exercise daily and try to eat healthy.  Somewhere along the way, I turned into Ned Flanders.

Wow !!!!...you've been re born..

 

Reminded me of this !!!

On 1/12/2018 at 1:37 PM, Jetblack said:

 

 

So what is really going on with all this?

 

Simply put, people don’t like cigarettes. The smell is annoying. They like weed and alcohol.

 

If you grow your own weed like many are doing no one can add anything to it. Not to mention, you don’t have to smoke weed to get stoned.

As for the driving while stoned, people are doing it now. Won’t be any different when it’s legal. The only difference is law-enforcement will  be better trained to detect it. The more training, the more arrests.

 

What we really need to be focusing our attention on is the  opioid epidemic. 91 people a day die from some type of  overdose. My guess is, it’s mostly heroin. You are correct Joel. More deaths in this country from overdose than auto accidents. Astounding.

 

Mexico is the number two deadliest country in the world.

I don’t know the exact number but somewhere around 85 to 90% of all heroin consumed in the United States comes from Mexico.

It’s literally a war zone. But because it’s not a political war, no one seems to care. 

 

Edited January 19, 20188 yr by Octain

22 United States veterans die every day  from suicide. That's 8000 people a year. Pharmaceuticals don't help my PTSD for shit, they give me something I might kill myself with though. 

Cannabis (Marijuana is a racist, outdated, politically incorrect term) helps my PTSD symptoms more effectively than any medication I have ever tried. 

No one is going to put anything into the Cannabis to make it addictive. Logistically it isn't practical or realistic. If you did find a way to make Cannabis physically addictive you would create entirely too much competition and strain for the opiate pharmaceutical market. Big Pharma is never going to let anyone pull that shit. I promise. Here in Washington, where we have legal cannabis, the concept of nicotine or ssri drugs bred or synthesized or processed into Cannabis has been proposed several times. Companies like Mylan would crush you.

 

On 1/12/2018 at 7:42 PM, Boo said:

 

That's a real issue.  There are already strains of marijuana available with ten-times the normal THC levels.  The race to the extremes in the marijuana industry is going at light speed right now.

The strength of the flowers no longer matters much, concentrates are regularly in the 60 to 90 percent THC range. For perspective, the most powerful flowers on the market at "ten times THC" are around 20 to 30 percent THC. I use concentrates regularly. My Doctor says its fine. My therapist says its fine. The VA says its fine. 

My Med Provider, the dispensary that sells me meds says its fairly harmless.

Most people I know use concentrates not flowers. 

3 hours ago, Berkshiredrifter said:

 

Cannabis (Marijuana is a racist, outdated, politically incorrect term) 

 

Note to self: never speak of the plants again.

 

 

When they start to figure out that smoking weed MIGHT cause health problems, they will attack that too. The stuff they put in cigarettes could be dumped in ANY plant and would probably be just as bad to smoke it.

Of course cigarette smokers are under the gun right now. However, the attention seems to be migrating to vapesters.

So basically the stoners are safe for now.

One must wonder though - if someone quits cigs but smokes weed, are they still considered a "non-smoker"?

 

Oh hey here is a fun video...

 

Edited January 19, 20188 yr by Jetblack

10 hours ago, Berkshiredrifter said:

The strength of the flowers no longer matters much, concentrates are regularly in the 60 to 90 percent THC range. For perspective, the most powerful flowers on the market at "ten times THC" are around 20 to 30 percent THC. I use concentrates regularly. My Doctor says its fine. My therapist says its fine. The VA says its fine. 

My Med Provider, the dispensary that sells me meds says its fairly harmless.

Most people I know use concentrates not flowers. 

I'm not up to speed on anything weed related as I just don't care to use it any longer - did when I was younger but it lost it's appeal to me personally.

 

I thought that I have heard that medical weed is different from street weed in that there's not the same THC content in the medical grade stuff? Therefore, you're not getting impaired from it. Is this true? Just curious to know from someone who would know first hand. Also, I didn't know there was a "concentrate" vs flower option. What form does the concentrate come in? Liquid, paste ...? And, how do you ingest it? Again, just curious.

Edited January 19, 20188 yr by reciprocity

4 hours ago, Jetblack said:

.

Funny..

 

 

 

 Thanks Joel. Very enlightening.

 There is tons of information on the pros and cons of cannabis.

  Some good, some not so good. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Joel Spitzer said:

As far as for the name "marijuana" being racially charged, up until seeing this discussion I was not personally aware of the issue. It is basically the name that was used in all media around back as far back as I can remember. 

 

 

Well these days, EVERYthing is somehow offensive or racist. Some are even bothered because we are suppose to stand, as we are able, for the National Anthem. Let that sink in for a few.

Anyways...

Even if everyone started calling is cannabis or whatever, sooner or later THAT would be wrong. Do not walk on eggshells for anyone. The journey to be P.C. would never end.

 

Kind of like how they blame all the world's problems on smoking cigarettes. Like this morning the gutters fell off this house. It is old, gutters were filled with snow and ice, downspouts were even frozen solid, and someone, somehow would say it is because i used to smoke cigarettes. Or the reason it snowed in the first place is because of chemicals from burning cigarettes.

 

 

 

 

I couldv'e been a lot more sensitive, lol. 

Its only racist if you work in the 502 (Washington Cannabis Industry) and you use the term marijuana.

I didn't mean to imply that anyone here is racist by using the term marijuana. 

I also don't recommend anyone use the  stuff. 

It may seem ridiculous to some people but cigarettes have racist associations and that WAS one of the reasons I quit. Not a huge one. But a reason. 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Berkshiredrifter said:

I couldv'e been a lot more sensitive, lol. 

Its only racist if you work in the 502 (Washington Cannabis Industry) and you use the term marijuana.

I didn't mean to imply that anyone here is racist by using the term marijuana. 

I also don't recommend anyone use the  stuff. 

It may seem ridiculous to some people but cigarettes have racist associations and that WAS one of the reasons I quit. Not a huge one. But a reason. 

 

 

No worries Berk. I actually had heard something on the news recently along the same lines that the name marijuana had some sort of racial overtones but I can't for the life of me remember what connection they were trying to make. It was pretty obscure in any case.

^^^ Probably dating myself somewhat but I can remember smoking on airplanes! It was quite a common thing in fact, you would book your seat in "smoking" or "non-smoking" section of the plane. That was the crazy thing. Like it actually mattered what section of the plane you were in? I'm sure the smoke knew to stop at row 20

 

That honestly doesn't seem that long ago to me, yet I know it is. I remember what it was like when they used to allow smoking in most areas of hospitals-

 

Oh yes ..when I had my daughter ..the ash tray was right there on the bedside cabinet...

Well I mean after all that pushing out ....a perfect little 6 pound little person..I needed my reward...

So what better way to reward myself...fill me and  my little dumplings lungs with poisons....perfect !!!!!