If Pot Was Legal . . .

[Texsox]

I'd believe that some people do drive better high than sober. I'd also believe that some people drive better drunk than sober.

 

I know when I smoke, I'm a worse driver than when sober. But I get from place to place safely, I obey all traffic rules, and everything's kosher other than the fact that I was high.

 

And you would be fine if your airline pilot or kid's school bus driver said the same thing?

[southsideirish71]

I messed up, I should of realized the marijuana makes you a better driver. Wow the innocent fools that I locked up before. I feel bad now.

 

The first poor innocent guy, I mean I should of taken his word for it. He was lost. Now I got suspicious when he got lost by driving his mothers car over the front of some elderly couples lawn, and kept backing up and slamming into the fence for 15 minutes at 2am. While his friend was yelling move maaaannnn. Now I got more suspicious when I came up to the car, smelled the marijuana, saw these billows of smoke coming out of the drivers seat with the two kids laughing their asses off. The of course when they recognized that the mars lights weren't some addition to their music the passenger yelled s*** man its the cops. Now he was also good natured and wanted to share, that is why he thought that if he offered me a hit we could let bygones be bygones. I must of misread the situation.

 

And the poor guy I caught that was doing 15 mph on street was driving safer as you say. He was being extra safe on that 55mph speed limit street. And with his lights turned off, and his windshield wipers going, no rain and at 4am he was probably trying to signal mars.

 

Now granted the marijuana users are probably better natured that some of the combative drunks who want to fist fight with you. But shockingly people can get impaired with marijuana as well.

[RockRaines]

But how does pot make people better drivers, yet somehow worst surgeons?

I never saw anyone say that. Stone cold sober is usually the best way to go through life, unless you need medication to function.

[Texsox]

2 up not the one above ^^ ^^

[Texsox]

I remember reading about an experiment done recently regarding this very situation. They set up all sorts of field tests with sober people, high people, liqoured up people , and people on other miscellaneous impairing drugs. The high people blew everyone else out of the water ( yes, the sober) for the better. They also set up people just on a cell phone... also eating something as simple as a bag of chips while listening to the radio... etc.

 

I will find it later and post it, because i have a feeling this will be an on going thread for awhile..

 

Btw, what was the purpose of this thread again?

 

 

I never saw anyone say that. Stone cold sober is usually the best way to go through life, unless you need medication to function.

 

Just for you. Now Santo has two of us to argue with.

[RockRaines]

I messed up, I should of realized the marijuana makes you a better driver. Wow the innocent fools that I locked up before. I feel bad now.

 

The first poor innocent guy, I mean I should of taken his word for it. He was lost. Now I got suspicious when he got lost by driving his mothers car over the front of some elderly couples lawn, and kept backing up and slamming into the fence for 15 minutes at 2am. While his friend was yelling move maaaannnn. Now I got more suspicious when I came up to the car, smelled the marijuana, saw these billows of smoke coming out of the drivers seat with the two kids laughing their asses off. The of course when they recognized that the mars lights weren't some addition to their music the passenger yelled s*** man its the cops. Now he was also good natured and wanted to share, that is why he thought that if he offered me a hit we could let bygones be bygones. I must of misread the situation.

 

And the poor guy I caught that was doing 15 mph on street was driving safer as you say. He was being extra safe on that 55mph speed limit street. And with his lights turned off, and his windshield wipers going, no rain and at 4am he was probably trying to signal mars.

 

Now granted the marijuana users are probably better natured that some of the combative drunks who want to fist fight with you. But shockingly people can get impaired with marijuana as well.

You can for sure get impaired as it slows your motor skills, but not nearly to the extent of alcohol. IN fact cell phones impair driving more than Marijuana. Thats something that causes an actual danger on the road.

[RockRaines]

Just for you. Now Santo has two of us to argue with.

Well, I think since it wasnt his opinion you can combat the study if he posts it.

[witesoxfan]

And you would be fine if your airline pilot or kid's school bus driver said the same thing?

 

Who has suggested anything close to that?

 

And a rebuttal...would you be fine with a cook at a restaurant - let's just say some bar and grill type place - being high as a kite, cooking your food?

[southsideirish71]

You can for sure get impaired as it slows your motor skills, but not nearly to the extent of alcohol. IN fact cell phones impair driving more than Marijuana. Thats something that causes an actual danger on the road.

 

Closing your eyes while driving also can impair your driving. Climbing into the back seat while the car is on cruise control can impair your driving. Those are stupid actions. There are always stupid people doing stupid things. The issue is when people take chemicals into their body that mimic stupidity for long periods of time.

 

Taking an drug or chemical ( alcohol included ) that has any affect on your motor skills is just a different matter. When you are high or drunk you dont exactly have the capability to make sound judgements on the status of your well being. How many times have people been drunk or high and had no clue on how impaired you were. Sure when you wake up and have blackouts you have an idea. But normally you dont have a clue and cannot make a sound judgement onto your sobriety status.

 

 

 

[Texsox]

You can for sure get impaired as it slows your motor skills, but not nearly to the extent of alcohol. IN fact cell phones impair driving more than Marijuana. Thats something that causes an actual danger on the road.

 

You can put down the cell phone when traffic situations change, you can't suddenly pick sober.

 

In fact, sober without distractions is the best way to drive.

[RockRaines]

Closing your eyes while driving also can impair your driving. Climbing into the back seat while the car is on cruise control can impair your driving. Those are stupid actions. There are always stupid people doing stupid things. The issue is when people take chemicals into their body that mimic stupidity for long periods of time.

 

Taking an drug or chemical ( alcohol included ) that has any affect on your motor skills is just a different matter. When you are high or drunk you dont exactly have the capability to make sound judgements on the status of your well being. How many times have people been drunk or high and had no clue on how impaired you were. Sure when you wake up and have blackouts you have an idea. But normally you dont have a clue and cannot make a sound judgement onto your sobriety status.

Which is why if it was legal it should be regulated like other impairing drugs such as alcohol, vicodin, xanax, etc. Its in the same realm as those as far as regulation, but it doesnt have the side effects nor the threat of overdose.

[Texsox]

Who has suggested anything close to that?

 

And a rebuttal...would you be fine with a cook at a restaurant - let's just say some bar and grill type place - being high as a kite, cooking your food?

 

qwerty reported that people drive better high then sober.

 

And no, I'd prefer the cook not be high.

 

It's funny that around here it isn't enough to believe pot is about as bad as alcohol, you must believe it is a miracle drug and has no negatives. It improves driving, makes life worth living for cancer patients, solves all the world's problems and argue with anyone who doesn't agree.

[CWSGuy406]

Can anyone actually put up a strong case as to why pot should stay illegal? As was mentioned earlier in the thread, it seems like the burden of proof is always on the pro-legalization people. Steve sort of did this with the 'no sobriety test for it' defense -- which has, quite obviously, spurred a lot of conversation -- but in any case, that doesn't seem like a great reason to keep it illegal. As has been mentioned, there's a ton of other things that impair driving. Is there anything else the anti-legalization people can really point to? It certainly can't be a medical issue, as I can think of -- you can't OD on pot, and there's an argument to be made that even things like trans-fats (these are the oils/fats used in fast-food restaurants, correct?) are worse, yet those aren't illegal. There's also the fact (or I'm pretty sure it's a fact) that pot has no physical addiction and isn't a gateway drug (although that may be more subjective).

 

And Tex... do you have an opinion on this one way or another? On here (Soxtalk), it seems like you like to play devil's advocate a lot (maybe that's not true?), and it seems like you may be doing that here. Do you lean one way or another? It's a serious question with no 'snark' intended.

[witesoxfan]

qwerty reported that people drive better high then sober.

 

And no, I'd prefer the cook not be high.

 

It's funny that around here it isn't enough to believe pot is about as bad as alcohol, you must believe it is a miracle drug and has no negatives. It improves driving, makes life worth living for cancer patients, solves all the world's problems and argue with anyone who doesn't agree.

 

For the record, I would not want someone smoking pot when performing surgery or driving my kids or flying my plane; there's also a difference between smoking when you are working and smoking casually. Just like there's a difference between drinking when working and drinking casually.

 

As for marijuana's medical properties -- I don't think they've been tapped yet, and there's obviously qualities there. But with those qualities come other side effects, such as the lack of sobriety and an empty pantry.

[Texsox]

I believe pot has negatives, similar to alcohol, but overall is less harmful. I think we have wasted a lot of money on enforcement and prosecution of marijuana laws. I also think that the full legalization and manufacturing is probably not a good idea. I do not have a bunch of facts and figures to back it up, but I would think that if there was not problems, and it was this clear cut, that at least a few first world countries would have made it legal by now.

 

I don't think it improves driving. There are skills involved, and most decline when high, not improve. If there were no negatives, people could have pointed out why a surgeon being high would be better then sober. Like most drugs, judgment is impaired, and we need drivers to be in full control.

 

Finally, I laugh at the pot lovers who claim it is the most amazing drug ever discovered. So far the only thing it hasn't done is cure male pattern baldness.

[santo=dorf]

Just for you. Now Santo has two of us to argue with.

...and where did I say I pot makes you a better driver? Only one post by qwerty implied that. The only link I gave said there is no correlation(i.e. not better or worse) between smoking pot and being a bad driver. This is all in response to a post that specifically said the reason it won't be legal was because there is no breathlyzer test for it. Just when does a surgeon take a breathalyzer before doing his or her job?

 

 

Go stir s*** with someone else as you are badly confused.

[santo=dorf]

Since Tex obviously missed it, here's the post that set off the driving debate....

 

Until they come up with a breathalyzer for pot, it won't happen. Need to be able to gauge the amount of high for driving just like we can gauge the amount of drunk for driving.

 

So Steve feels it won't become legal because of this one thing, which has absolutely nothing to do with being a surgeon or cook.

[Texsox]

I remember reading about an experiment done recently regarding this very situation. They set up all sorts of field tests with sober people, high people, liqoured up people , and people on other miscellaneous impairing drugs. The high people blew everyone else out of the water ( yes, the sober) for the better. They also set up people just on a cell phone... also eating something as simple as a bag of chips while listening to the radio... etc.

 

I will find it later and post it, because i have a feeling this will be an on going thread for awhile..

 

Btw, what was the purpose of this thread again?

 

 

^^^

How many would want their surgeon smoking a joint right before operating?

 

 

What the hell does that have to do what he was talking about? Doesn't the surgeon has his own morals? No, I don't really want my surgeon smoking pot before operating on me (it could calm him and make him better,) and I don't want him masturbating before the surgery either. I don't care if he washes his hands. Should we ban masturbation in the US to prevent a possible case of a surgeon contaminating the patient?

 

 

...and where did I say I pot makes you a better driver? Only one post by qwerty implied that. The only link I gave said there is no correlation(i.e. not better or worse) between smoking pot and being a bad driver. This is all in response to a post that specifically said the reason it won't be legal was because there is no breathlyzer test for it. Just when does a surgeon take a breathalyzer before doing his or her job?

 

 

Go stir s*** with someone else as you are badly confused.

 

Here is the sequence. I guess that short term memory loss isn't a myth.

If there are no negatives for being high while driving, are there any negatives for a surgeon, and what would they be? I cannot think of a skill that a driver needs that would not also help a surgeon, so it would seem that being high would help the surgeon as well. And so far no one can think of a reason why it would be bad for the surgeon without also hurting a driver.

 

As far as masterbating, I'll leave that in your hands. eww.

[SoxAce]

Well.. this year they made salvia illegal. (which is basically a 15-20 min high, only better tweakness) I was a MJ smoker (still do occasionally) and I don't see it as a drop dead problem (RockRaines basically said the other waaay worse stuff) and its better than the cuttin and yay you see now a days (which I was talkin about to a friend yest.) X, MJ, shrooms, etc.. cool. Cuttin, yay, acc (or basically most pills) etc.. (imo)... bad. Drinking is another issue... but good also.

[Leonard Zelig]

qwerty reported that people drive better high then sober.

 

And no, I'd prefer the cook not be high.

 

It's funny that around here it isn't enough to believe pot is about as bad as alcohol, you must believe it is a miracle drug and has no negatives. It improves driving, makes life worth living for cancer patients, solves all the world's problems and argue with anyone who doesn't agree.

 

Maybe you should ask Qwerty to defend his statement, not everybody else involved in the discussion.

[santo=dorf]

Here is the sequence. I guess that short term memory loss isn't a myth.

If there are no negatives for being high while driving, are there any negatives for a surgeon, and what would they be? I cannot think of a skill that a driver needs that would not also help a surgeon, so it would seem that being high would help the surgeon as well. And so far no one can think of a reason why it would be bad for the surgeon without also hurting a driver.

 

As far as masterbating, I'll leave that in your hands. eww.

Qwerty said nothing about performing a surgery and curiously enough you leave out the post he was responding to which was about driving high.

 

If you honestly don't know how the skill sets compare for a driver and a surgeon you are high on something else (which also explain the extrememe overuse of ,) or just baiting for an arugment (nothing new there either.) It takes one semester of driving school and a short test to be a driver. It take more than 7 years of higher education to become a surgeon. Don't want surgeons performing on you intoxicated on something? Fine, have the hospital put it in the rulebook or even further make it illegal to perform surgery while on drugs.

 

I wouldn't want a surgeon to perform on me drunk. Let's ban alcohol. I guess we can't trust people to make the correct moral decisions so we'll just have to make a law against it.

 

Playing on cell phones and Ipods leads to car accidents. Let's ban those too.

Edited March 13, 2008 by santo=dorf

[Texsox]

A. What does pot do to make you a better driver?

B. Why doesn't that also make you a better surgeon?

C. Is there something that makes you a worse surgeon, but a better driver?

 

Everyone keeps talking about all the wonderful things that pot does, yet almost no one wishes to mention any negatives.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Everyone keeps talking about all the wonderful things that pot does, yet almost no one wishes to mention any negatives.

 

Certainly there are serious negatives to consider. Chief among them, in my own apartment back in college, pot was the number one cause of chronic shortages of Doritos AND Funions.

 

[Texsox]

Maybe you should ask Qwerty to defend his statement, not everybody else involved in the discussion.

I cannot control who responds. Well, I could delete them, but that would be wrong. I'm guessing that study was sponsored by norml and printed in High Times.

[iWiN4PreP]

pot is healthy