Why are pot smokers so vocal?

Because they are annoying?

WE ARE NOT!

jk, never touched the stuff

Other drug addicts are too lost in a drug haze to organize or be vocal.

Because pot used responsibily is NOT bad for you. I am a pot smoker. Smoking pot to me is the same thing as drinking a beer to you, just a different poision. If you get drunk too frequently and act like an ass, then drinking would be bad. Same thing with pot. Yes I know I am harming my lungs because I am inhailing combusted plant matter, but you are doing the same amount of harm to my body(or more in actuality) when you down a beer and make your liver process the alcohol. Use pot, like alcohol, responsibly and it will not be bad for you overall.

Why would a non-pot smoker be vocal about pot?

The gay people should shut up too. Kidding.

Booze and cigarettes are legal. And does anybody want to really talk about their cocaine addiction?

@Ownage: Because even though lots of people seem to think that pot is non-addictive and has zero negative effects, it is a motivation killer and yes, it is bad for your lungs and just your body in general. I’m vocal about it because I’m concerned.

Also, point of interest, I don’t drink alcohol or else I’d get off my soapbox.

@johnpowell: That sounds like the most logical reason I’ve heard as to why no one else speaks up. It also seems as if pot-smoking is glamorous whereas, say, snorting coke is not.

@KatawaGrey Ohhh and beer is never a motivation killer. Every bum I see on the streets of Otown (and believe me theres a lot) has one thing in common…. A 12 pack of keystone, natty, busch, mouthwash, etc.

Yes pot can be addictive, just like alcohol can be.

I think they’re probably devoted to their cause because they kind of have a point. Pot isn’t exactly good for you, but I think at this point we have sufficient data to say it’s stupid to make it illegal.

For the record, I don’t like marijuana, I do believe it has addictive potential, I do believe it’s a carcinogen, and I do believe it has plenty of other negative consequences. But I would be down with legalizing it anyway.

Because they want to justify why they’re still doing something illegal.

I’m a former pothead and I never cared that much to just go on and on about it.

Im of the opinion that lighting anything on fire and inhaling the fumes isnt good for you.

Although, it’s probably no worse than many of the other things we do to ourselves every day.

As far as why they are so vocal, I agree that its the glamorous thing to do right now.

When “norml” people do what they know is the wrong thing, they get very defensive and vocal. As we have seen on this site they can also get rude and obnoxious.

The format of the question is generally only going to elicit responses from non users. In a court of law it would be considered a leading question…The conclusion is apparently already implicit by the question that pot smokers are in fact vocal. With that said my opinion:

Addiction has one point and that is to justify its continued existence. It’s like if I had to have a cupcake every day, I may attempt to justify my continued eating of them despite all evidence to the contrary that it may be having a negative effect on my weight..They’re tasty, they satisfy me, they give me reason to live, other foods are just as bad, sugar is divine, sweetness and joy are my rights and so on.

@KatawaGrey do you mean more vocal under the influence or sober?

@galileogirl Yes but that raises a deeper question. What is the “wrong thing” and what makes it “wrong?”

Because our congress-buddys say it’s wrong, is it really wrong? What if a group of pot lobyists, armed with donations and gifts, came up to them and the next day pot became good in the eyes of our congress-buddys. Is pot still the “wrong thing” then?

Look into WHY things are illegal, not just the fact that they are and that will tell you if things are right or wrong. I think it’s just a votes\money thing keeping pot where it is. Congress-buddys do not care about our health!

@zerocarbon: I mean in general, either sober or under the influence, though (as far as I know) I don;t have many dealings with pot smokers who are high.

The fact that people are going on about the health issue involved in smoking pot just shows how little people actually know about the proven medical benefits of use of cannabis in specific instances. Both alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than marijuana… being a smoker myself (tobacco… NOT pot) as well as a Physician i’ve been asked often about how harmful it can be… surely if it’s illegal it’s bad for you right?

well NO…. it’ illegal because were it to be legalized.. pharmaceutical companies that all those analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications stand to lose BILLIONS of dollars.. so they spend a few million lobbying politicians in order to keep pot illegal. that’s the way it’s going to stay in the foreseeable future.

Pot is healthier than most medications that have similar properties (with less than stellar results)... but can be harmful if abused just like any medication.

And since i’m sure someone is going to mention a link between smokng pot and oral cancer… all studies conducted on the issue show that the incidence of cancer is caused by burning of the tissue due to the lack of a buffer between lips and the burning material… if there was a cigarette holder or a filter for example.. no burn… and that takes care of the problem.

@DrC
There have been studies that show marijuana contains 3–4 times the carcinogens in cigarettes.

@Dr_C: You’re answer is extremely well-crafted. It sounds to me as if you are saying that using pot for non-medical reasons is the same as taking a prescription drug if it has not been prescribed. Is that a correct interpretation?

@SeventhSense: Whenever I mention that to a pot-smoker, I usually get yelled at, talked down to and called a liar.

KatawaGrey
I was very addicted to pot as a kid and so I can see why people say these things. And here’s another myth that they try to propogate-the THC is no more than it used to be. That is simply hogwash. The pot I had access to as a kid in the early 1980’s was nowhere near the potency of the strains that became popularized as the decade progressed.
And as a result of this BS we have kids doing heroin, ketamine and oxycotin in the suburbs. When I was a kid these were relegated to the ghetto. But kids who are told that self medication is OK don’t make clear distinctions. The nature of a minor is that they are incapable of making many decisions regarding their health. They are growing and maturing, a mishmosh of hormones and irrational behavior and our job as adults is to protect them.

I doubt very much that they are any more vocal than anyone else. It just seems that way here. I suspect a case of perceptual vigilance. Once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere (it being conversations about pot).

Not only is there a movement for medical marijuana, but there is a movement to legalize the farming of hemp, which has a lot of uses. In addition, there is some consideration of using ihemp as a biofuel, I think. I could be wrong about that one.

The only controversial part of pot is the impact of smoking it, whether occasionally, regularly, or constantly. Personally, I find the conversations a little bit interesting, but I think I’ve heard pretty much all the arguments, and I’m getting bored of it.

@KatawaGrey you are right on the money.. that is exactly the point i was making!

@seventhsense… as in all things scientific… the validity of the findings of any studies have a direct correlation to the validity of the source. Most respected medical journals have at one point or another published studies on the subject… so if oyu have info that says there’s carcinogens… i’d love to read it!

Secondly… there may be some carcinogens in marijuana depending on what kind you buy and from who… as in all things Quality is always better than quantity… and if you can find a study that shows a higher level of carcinogens in medical marijuana than tobacco… then by all means distribute that info so that the medical comunity can open our eyes.

@Ownage
The wrong thing is going to work high or hung over.
The wrong thing is driving or doing anything that could put others in danger high or hung over
The wrong thing is spreading the gospel of NORML to young people, ie pot is OK
The wrong thing is parents smoking.
The wrong thing is the attitude that pot is better than _____ for kids or the attitude that they are going to do it anyway so let them.

The wrong thing is pissing one’s life away because this is a “free” country. Waste is always wrong.

I stand corerected 50 -70 % more carcinogens
Effects on the Lungs
Numerous studies have shown marijuana smoke to contain carcinogens and to be an irritant to the lungs. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which further increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke. Marijuana smokers show dysregulated growth of epithelial cells in their lung tissue, which could lead to cancer;8 however, a recent case-controlled study found no positive associations between marijuana use and lung, upper respiratory, or upper digestive tract cancers.9 Thus, the link between marijuana smoking and these cancers remains unsubstantiated at this time.

Nonetheless, marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers.10 Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

8 Tashkin DP. Smoked marijuana as a cause of lung injury. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis 63(2):92–100, 2005.

9 Hashibe M, Morgenstern H, Cui Y, et al. Marijuana use and the risk of lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers: Results of a population-based case-control study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 15(10):1829–1834, 2006.

10 Polen MR, Sidney S, Tekawa IS, Sadler M, Friedman GD. Health care use by frequent marijuana smokers who do not smoke tobacco. West J Med 158(6):596–601, 1993.

Great research… and the sources speak for themselves…. take that as you will.

Discount the information, discount the source…take that as you will.

THAT was an great answer. You are 100% correct. By the way… there was no offense meant in my tone (just had a feeling it was taken that way). And i truly enjoyed your answer. Some people preffer a more prestigious source.. say. NEJM…. JAMA…. things like that… that doesn’t mean there aren’t other valid sources of information. But again… believing them and considering them over others is a question of personal choice.

Still… i like the way your mind works!

Honestly, I have no problems with using marijuana responsibly, but I don’t have much to say about it. I smoke from time to time, but I don’t drive under the influence, I don’t do it around children, etc. I think one of the reasons so many younger pot smokers are so vocal is because the current legislation can really hurt them for something that should really just be a slap on the wrist (such as de-criminalizing, not legalizing would do). If cigarettes and alcohol can be legal, I see no reason why pot can’t be. If I get caught (well not me personally, my state de-criminalized), but if I get caught with ONE JOINT, I lose all my federal funding for college, but if an 18 year old kid gets caught drinking he/she gets a stern talking to? It just doesn’t make sense. I don’t usually have much to say about mine or anyone else’s pot smoking habits. I just think lots of people are vocal because they are agitating for what they believe is a reasonable cause just as any other group who believe in their cause would do.

@adreamofautumn Of course cigarettes and alcohol ARE illegal for minors. A large % of people who engage in all 3 activities begin as minors.

@galileogirl agreed. I don’t think minors should be engaging in any of the above, i’m just saying that the repercussions for all 3 should be equal. Not one harsher than the other.

@Dr C
It was one of those crafted responses on both sides of course that us overly thinking types are so good at.
Thank you for the regards though. Like most things of course research is politically motivated as is the funding available. I don’t have access to all medical journals being that they are paid sites for the most part and I am not a doctor so have little reason other than these discussions. I am always open to new information and would be more than willing to consider that my experience has been an exception. My personal experience is purely subjective of course but very clear to me. I would love to be able to smoke succesfully, but that has not been my experience. It does need to be regulated though and so if it is to be legalized, it should be available by prescription and only available to adults.
Note- adreamofautumns reponse is a very good reason for this. Can we agree that kids shouldn’t be drinking or self medicating? They should be relaxed and focused on growing up in a safe environment. At what point are very young children 6–10 getting high? The greater question is why do our children feel so compelled to tune out and medicate?

@SeventhSense i think everyone can agree to that.. but let’s not limit self medication to kids. NO ONE should be self medicating. There is a direct correlation between self-medication and the rise of drug-resistant infections as well as cases of overdosing among other problems. The effects of certain drugs should be consulted with your physician. Please people… if you don’t have a specific diagnosis and don’t know what your medication can or will do… please consult a doctor.

The abuse of antibiotics for example…the resistant strains seem to be increasing as a result. Sometimes it’s just a cold/virus…
‹(•¿•)›

Are you implying that people who abuse antibiotics are equivalent to marijuana users?

Someone who overuses antibiotics puts their own systems at risk but the far greater danger is someone who doesn’t use their entire course of antibiotics…only partially using is far more dangerous to the general public tha using too many.

wow… that was taken a bit out of context… in condemning self medication we made no mention of people abusing medication being the same as people abusing illicit substances… that was quite a leap!

There are other kinds of vocal addicts. Certain brands of spirituality come to mind. That is not the focus of this question and we should probably not discuss the merits of spirituality here, but I do believe they qualify as vocal addicts.

@SeventhSense
I understand your concern for the carcinogens in marijuana. I would then like you to defend the way I use marijuana. I vaporize my mary jane. I set my Volcano to the point where nothing is combusting but the THC. There is no smoke involved, only vapor.
I would also like to add that from my research, the main reason for cancer from tobacco, which may or may not happen in cannabis depending on fertilizer used, is the fertilizer breaks down into radioactive polonium and lead, which attach to the trichomes of the tobacco, which then build up a radioactive spot on the lungs, which leads to cancer.

@ownage

You took my answer. Right and wrong is all about perception. What might be wrong to one person, might not be wrong to another. In my eyes, as long as I am not harming anyone else, I have the right to do what I want. With rights, come responsibilities.

@fluther
I’m only 26, so maybe I’m a little naive, but it’s about time pot smokers have become more vocal. The reason why it is still illegal is because of closet smokers. I think we have become much more vocal since the Michael Phelps incident. It was great publicity about pot not turning you into lazy, couch potato, who does nothing with his/her life. I wish he used the chance to bring the ridiculousness of the war on drugs to light.
I think people need to start being more vocal about things that they care about and affect their lives. People in countries throughout the world constantly protest unfair things their government is doing. When’s the last time you have really seen a big group of people being vocal, fighting for their rights in America?

I go to work every day, pay my taxes, help out in my community. If I get pulled over with a little pot on me, I am a “criminal” and a lot of bad things will come of something so minute compared to what goes on in this world. I’m not gonna sit back and accept it. I will be vocal on fluther, with my family, my peers, and will continue to call my elected representatives to let them know how I feel.

I think the reason that other “addicts” are not so open about it is because there are a lot of pot smokers, so it seems to be a little more publicly accepted than some other drugs. And like @johnpowell said, alcohol and tobacco are legal, though they kill more than all other drugs combined, people seem to not talk about it because it is socially acceptable.

@galileo girl
No I wasn’t implying that. I was simply following Dr.C’s response above mine and was directed at the topic he raised as to self medication.

@chris6137
Whatever floats your boat.

I wouldn’t say all pot smokers are more verbal. Rather, pot seems to draw out the tendencies of peoples personalities. I mean, I’m a talkative person in general, and pot definitely makes me more apt to babble about mostly unimportant nonsense. But I have a friend who is a very reserved and quite person, and he only gets more so when stoned.

@Foolaholic – I think the asker means “verbal” in the sense of “politically active” or “evangelistic” about the potsmoking, even when not actually hitting the bong at that moment. I could be wrong, though.

@laureth: That is an excellent way of putting it.

@KatawaGrey

Well then please excuse my babbling. It was late….

@Foolaholic: It’s all right. I know you were up late playing magic anyway. ;)

@KatawaGrey

Hey, my new black deck kicks arse!

In my experiences, drunks cause more issues. Stoners are chilled. Yea I’m a stoner