This Fear Of Euphoria Confuses Me

Just a little more than a month later and the nerve got hit again. Last time I started a thread on when you started consuming cannabis. This month it's back to this discussion of how government authorities believe we need to protect our children from this drug - you know the one that doesnt have a single fatality in recorded history? - to such an extent that you're required to sign a paper saying you won't use your medication in front of your children in order to be a liscensed medical patient in Canada. I'm sure similar "agreements" must be met in the U.S.

What is this fear we have of euphoria? I'm not suggesting we get our little ones high, but let's be honest about how many of us found relief with cannabis in our teens. Now that we have a deeper understanding of the endocannabinoid system we're thankful we did start at that age, aren't we? How many of our grandchildren are on drugs to control their socially unacceptable behavior? Drugs with dangerous side effects that we accept as best we can because there aren't any other options. How many of us could have been spared the joys of Ritilin?

Cannabis is chock-full of beneficial cannabinoids, primary among them THC, a delightful molecule that will calm the emotional tone and allow more efficient signaling throughout the body once the tension is reduced. What's to be feared in that? Why this insistence that life be hard so you can be tough enough?

Our legislators, and a big swatch of our neighbors, friends, and family have no idea of the necessity of supporting the ECS. We're just learning of the system's importance ourselves, and the implications are profound that our children would benefit greatly to a daily dose of canna juice to start the day on the proper nutritional footing. Such a practice will likely go a long way towards eliminating a majority of the stress diseases we deal with. No euphoria be feared here, just a sense of wellbeing. Is wellbeing acceptable?

Our insistence that teens resist the pull of mind-altering drugs is about as effective as teen chastity requirements. Ask Oklahoma how well that chastity culture is working for them. I'd rather teens experiment with cannabis, and not have to hide in the bushes or in someone's basement to do so. Cannabis is in a class all its own. Why do we insist that our children can't benefit from it until some arbitrary age someone in political power decided on?

The more important question is how do we make the shift in vision from one of restricting children to one of including them in the healing and evolutionary potential offered by cannabis?

Yeah..... I know how radical this thought is. I still stand by it. We raised our children in full view of our consumption. It wasn't a practice we wanted to load down with secrecy and feed into the stereotype. This was before I knew about the existence of the ECS, and still I knew instinctively that this wasn't something to be ashamed of. Nothing that made us feel that normal could be something to be feared or hidden.

My daughter credits this practice with keeping her from attempting suicide until she moved from our home and was no longer subjected to the second-hand smoke. It kind of reinforces my position.

So now I've vented. Contribute what you will. This is simply a conversation I felt compelled to start.
 
Well Sue, are there any other threads you have started that don't have a dozen responses in the first hour? This must be a first!
OK, I'm game.

Fear of Euphoria ... my two cents ... come on folks, others must have thoughts about this subject?

Humans exhibit and possess the basic biological drives shared by most all animal life on earth, those instinctual needs that are required for survival of the species, water, food, reproduction. I don't think that Euphoria is a DNA hard coded instinct, and I doubt Euphoria is a requirement for the ultimate survival of a species. Euphoria, induced deliberately via ANY chemical compound, can become more important to a human than the basic life sustaining requirements, i.e. dependence. The various chemical compounds consumed by humans to induce Euphoria usually have an extreme range of possible negative effects upon the person. Obviously some compounds are more dangerous to the sustainment of life than others. Dependence can be a slippery downward slope, regardless of the chemical compound. I think our brains pleasure centers constant cry for attention, and the incumbent repetition "required" to attain the same or even higher level of Euphoria, often becomes dangerous to our basic instincts. Water, food and reproduction can become secondary in importance to chasing Euphoria. Compounding the problem is a chemical addiction, the need to ingest a chemical compound for the sole purpose of feeling normal, not Euphoric. Whether an addiction is psychological or physiological can and does vary, but the drive to survive and thrive can become muddled and secondary to chemically induced Euphoria.

All that said, Cannabis seems to be among the least, if not THE least dangerous of most any chemical compound that induce Euphoria.

Not many, if any, chemical compound I've experienced permits the dosage range that THC allows without chemically induced death. In that light, I have chosen Cannabis as my chemical of choice for over 50 years to induce my own Euphoria. Although I have been psychologically dependent upon THC, I have never a felt a physical addiction to THC. I survived and conquered my mental dependency, and managed to return "moderation" in the usage of our Euphoria plant. I try to do the same with most dangerous things on Earth, not always successfully!

I just thought that we should discuss this, as Euphoria the reason 99.9% of us ever took up toking!

Please ... discuss ... disagree ... agree ...

Peace!

Keith
 
Meanwhile its perfectly legal to have your kids grab your pack of cigs and lighter for you while you light up and let them inhale the second hand carcinogens.

Also legal, porn, killing yourself with government sold prescription drugs, drinking yourself to death in front of your kids...

And yet something as healing and restorative as cannabinoids is forbidden. So far the only reason I've been able to find to explain this madness is a fear that younger consumers will be more likely to develop a dependency to cannabis.

Imagine, that anyone would be allowed to develop a dependence on a substance that lets you feel good as it heals you without side effects. We can't have people feeling good now, can we? :laughtwo:

The convoluted view is based on reefer madness mentality. Another generation behind us and some of these restrictive thought patterns may fall away.
 
It has nothing to do with protecting you or your kids and everything to do with the government caring more about money and space than people. Its a kindof we made our beds and now we have to sleep in it kind if thing. There are branches of government dedicated to taking it away from people and imprisoning them. Jails judges towns cities and police departments make big $ from throwing people in cages and confiscating and selling all thier possesions for having it. If they legalized it now what would all the tax paying money making cage filling government employees do, grow cannabis?
 
Well Sue, are there any other threads you have started that don't have a dozen responses in the first hour? This must be a first!
OK, I'm game.

Fear of Euphoria ... my two cents ... come on folks, others must have thoughts about this subject?

Humans exhibit and possess the basic biological drives shared by most all animal life on earth, those instinctual needs that are required for survival of the species, water, food, reproduction. I don't think that Euphoria is a DNA hard coded instinct, and I doubt Euphoria is a requirement for the ultimate survival of a species. Euphoria, induced deliberately via ANY chemical compound, can become more important to a human than the basic life sustaining requirements, i.e. dependence. The various chemical compounds consumed by humans to induce Euphoria usually have an extreme range of possible negative effects upon the person. Obviously some compounds are more dangerous to the sustainment of life than others. Dependence can be a slippery downward slope, regardless of the chemical compound. I think our brains pleasure centers constant cry for attention, and the incumbent repetition "required" to attain the same or even higher level of Euphoria, often becomes dangerous to our basic instincts. Water, food and reproduction can become secondary in importance to chasing Euphoria. Compounding the problem is a chemical addiction, the need to ingest a chemical compound for the sole purpose of feeling normal, not Euphoric. Whether an addiction is psychological or physiological can and does vary, but the drive to survive and thrive can become muddled and secondary to chemically induced Euphoria.

All that said, Cannabis seems to be among the least, if not THE least dangerous of most any chemical compound that induce Euphoria.

Not many, if any, chemical compound I've experienced permits the dosage range that THC allows without chemically induced death. In that light, I have chosen Cannabis as my chemical of choice for over 50 years to induce my own Euphoria. Although I have been psychologically dependent upon THC, I have never a felt a physical addiction to THC. I survived and conquered my mental dependency, and managed to return "moderation" in the usage of our Euphoria plant. I try to do the same with most dangerous things on Earth, not always successfully!

I just thought that we should discuss this, as Euphoria the reason 99.9% of us ever took up toking!

Please ... discuss ... disagree ... agree ...

Peace!

Keith

Well, a response. :laughtwo: Thank you Keith. :hug:

Just a passing thought: euphoria is produced by anandamide. Obviously there's a biological need for the experience, or that component wouldn't produce that response. Maybe we are hard-wired. :battingeyelashes:

Also, I think no one wants to touch a subject so taboo. I personally would rather young experimenters chose cannabis rather than alcohol. The highways at graduation would be less bloody. Since so many of us started young, where does this social fear come from?

I'm headed to bed, but I'll be back with a more thoughtful response tomorrow.
 
Its much cheaper and easier and much more profitable for police to jail people for pot than to catch real criminals. Pot is easy to find, easy to spot somone selling or using and alot of people do it. Murderers and human trafficers are much harder to catch, shouldnt there be a government branch dedicated to serial killers?
Shouldnt those branches of government have more funding and publicity than the dea?
As they say, sh@! Rolls down hill. Most beat cops are just now realizing that the upper management has been lying to them about pot for years.
 
I like a ten minute mood lightener from strong cannabis as much as the next organism. And I'm hesitant to give offense where none is intended.

But euphoria, "happiness," whatever you want to call it... if it depends on consuming a substance, that's an artificial thing, IMHO. If someone requires the act of smoking/eating/drinking/snorting/shooting to feel a thing (and, hey, full disclosure: I do require it in order to do so - and have required it all my life), so be it. But it's not the same thing as what those lucky, lucky few feel when they're on their deathbed after having lived a long life, when they look back at what has made up their life - and then been blessed enough to experience happiness.

I won't turn down a buzz - it pushes the demons a few feet farther away for a little while. But that's all it does for me, head-wise.

Now... If it gives me a momentary break from pain, allows me to fall asleep within an hour or two of trying - and sleep longer before I awaken - and/or lessens a headache so that almost every waking moment doesn't feel like a punishment, well... I won't turn that down, either:thumb: .

I quit cannabis for a while, years ago. For much the same reason that I've <COUGH> quit most every other drug at one time or another: Only provided the briefest moment of relief from the tempest we call life. But... <SHRUGS> I can grow it myself, lol, and it does give that brief respite. So why not, right? Might as well, 'till they take ya away....
 
Its much cheaper and easier and much more profitable for police to jail people for pot than to catch real criminals. Pot is easy to find, easy to spot somone selling or using and alot of people do it. Murderers and human trafficers are much harder to catch, shouldnt there be a government branch dedicated to serial killers?
Shouldnt those branches of government have more funding and publicity than the dea?
As they say, sh@! Rolls down hill. Most beat cops are just now realizing that the upper management has been lying to them about pot for years.

And herein lies the crux of our problem. We've allowed our "peace officers" to have a vested interest in perpetuating prohibition and allowed an industry to grow up around "cannabis rehabilitation." One wonders how much of the bluff and bluster from our Attorney General is financially motivated by kickbacks we have yet to discover.

I agree with you about the rank and file. As they begin to realize the magnitude of the lies and how they've been used as pawns in this bizarre game the attitudes are changing. We have no idea the effect cannabis legalization in California will have on the country at large, but even in California the lies spread by prohibition are so entrenched that they fight the advancement of freeing the plant too.

So much misinformation, delivered through the magic of television for decades. The propaganda machine was effective until people realized how medicinally valuable cannabis can be. Change may be frustratingly slow at times, but it's inevitable, IMHO.

I like a ten minute mood lightener from strong cannabis as much as the next organism. And I'm hesitant to give offense where none is intended.

But euphoria, "happiness," whatever you want to call it... if it depends on consuming a substance, that's an artificial thing, IMHO. If someone requires the act of smoking/eating/drinking/snorting/shooting to feel a thing (and, hey, full disclosure: I do require it in order to do so - and have required it all my life), so be it. But it's not the same thing as what those lucky, lucky few feel when they're on their deathbed after having lived a long life, when they look back at what has made up their life - and then been blessed enough to experience happiness.

I won't turn down a buzz - it pushes the demons a few feet farther away for a little while. But that's all it does for me, head-wise.

Now... If it gives me a momentary break from pain, allows me to fall asleep within an hour or two of trying - and sleep longer before I awaken - and/or lessens a headache so that almost every waking moment doesn't feel like a punishment, well... I won't turn that down, either:thumb: .

I quit cannabis for a while, years ago. For much the same reason that I've <COUGH> quit most every other drug at one time or another: Only provided the briefest moment of relief from the tempest we call life. But... <SHRUGS> I can grow it myself, lol, and it does give that brief respite. So why not, right? Might as well, 'till they take ya away....

Happiness is within the reach of each of us. It take a deliberate effort to cultivate and nurture it, but it's attainable for each and every one of us. :battingeyelashes: You know I couldn't pass that up TS. :love:

The biggest difference between cannabis and anything else you might consume to attain that state of euphoria are cannabinoids. We can't discount the fact that they bring euphoria, but they heal at the same time. And there's nothing inherently wrong with euphoric response. In the vast majority of cases the intensity of the experience won't interfere with your ability to function as a human being in our convoluted societies. The "high" has been vilified as something dangerous and to be avoided at all cost. By God, they can arrest you and toss you in a cage for smoking your vape on the street.

But it's all been a lie. "No real danger here folks. Move along." Cannabis will not turn your teenagers into low-life nothings, lacking motivation and failing all their subjects in high school as they "chase the next high." :laughtwo: No one is going to be stealing from the neighbors to support the weed habit. Well.... I can't say that across the board, but I've yet to meet anyone who got high and robbed someone, or got high and went home to beat up the little woman.

It's time to view cannabis through clear lenses, to wash off the grime of our governments' lies and begin to approach this plant from a more rational perspective, devoid of the unnecessary fear that it'll turn our young into some form of social problem. It's all lies. We deserve truth. Our children deserve truth too.

Let's make the effort to stop letting ourselves be influenced by the decades of cannabis shame we all endured. It left its mark on all of us. TS, I forced Dale and I to stop for 8 years. And then he died, in part I'm certain to the sudden disappearance of his daily dose of cannabinoids that I'd determined we needed to give up because we were probably addicted, and that wasn't a good thing. :thedoubletake:

I honestly believed I was helping him, but I was really helping his body deteriorate. That'll still take a few moments to feel good about. The lies perpetuated about cannabis have been much more serious than inconvenient. They've been deadly for far too many citizens of this planet.

Time for that to stop.
 
Great discussions, I think we all vehemently agree about Cannabis being wrongly demonized for the past century in the US. You see Sue, you have me posting on a forum, a year ago I had been quietly lurking for several years on 420Magazine!

:thanks:

:circle-of-love:

When looking through Sues thread list, I just couldn't believe a discussion thread existed with zero responses for months! Sue is a good, solid loving person and a joyful soul to share her life and experiences on these pages, and I just felt the need to not let this thread discussion languish without engagement.

In my kickoff response to Sues question about the Fear of Euphoria, I certainly wasn't trying to diss Cannabis as a chemical compound, I hope my concerns about chasing Euphoria weren't misunderstood, I wholeheartedly endorse MJ as just about the ONLY safe chemical compound I know of to chemically induce Euphoria. Safe in that it cannot cause death from over-dosage, safe in that it doesn't compel folks to kill to obtain it if not readily available, safe in that it actually benefits the biological machine called our body while also producing Euphoria. Again, I don't want my expression of concern about the possible negative consequences of chasing Euphoria to be misconstrued, I do endorse responsible production, possession and use MJ, I always have and I always will. There are a dozens reasons why it has been socially marginalized, legally criminalized, and falsely categorized as an evil drug. I seldom disagree with any peoples viewpoints on why it's not bad and why that the masses have been hoodwinked for about a century. It's truly criminal what our government and leaders have done to their own people in the name of this wonderful plant. The latest War on Drugs is just more of the same old BS, both sad and criminal in my opinion.

I grew up in a large family, in a large city, comprised of MANY chemically dependent members, controlled or addicted to the full range of available substances, from A to Z. My thoughts and feeling are probably skewed by growing up in this environment, but I'm sure that's the case for most people. Personal views are formed by the sum of their life experiences. Alcoholism was rampant in my family, and it ruined several lives that otherwise might have been fulfilling and productive.

In my late teens, I made a conscious decision to not become an alcoholic or drug addict, especially since it seemed most likely with my combo of heredity and the permissive environment of my world (New Orleans). After trying every substance I could get my hands on (and it was the full gamut of substances), I consciously and intentionally chose weed and only weed as my recreational drug of choice, not knowing that it would eventually prove to be one of the most important 100% natural medicines on our planet. Not to bad for a 19 year old in hindsight.

Make no mistake, alcohol is just another drug, albeit legal, and my Dad often beat into my head that it wasn't a drug. Drinkers were normal, and potheads, muggle-heads, and pot smokers were among the hardcore drug addicts. There was not grey area, and he was 100% right in his mind. He swallowed the classic propaganda and insisted we do the same. Refer Madness was 100% true, endorsed directly from the head honcho of my world (Dad), all the way up to the head honchos on TV, from local officials to the triangle of power in DC. I nodded and absorbed the words, not wanting more ass whooping, but I was always a kid that needed to see for himself what was true and what was false, I knew grownups lied and didn't tell me truth all the time. I found out that the Santa was bullshit at 5 years old, and that fostered my mind into becoming the proverbial doubting Thomas for life. If they lie about good things, they surely lie about bad things were my thoughts. The nuns had a handfull with me, questioning everything, starting in 1st grade. Nuns and priests don't like when kid question everything that is taught, believe me! At 6 years old, I sat on Santa's lap and shook his hand, with a gag windup buzzer in my little hand. When he lost it, he jumped up, cussed me with his beer laden breath, and wanted to whoop my ass ... I knew I was right and they were lying on an epic scale. "Question everything" became my standard thought process ... quietly, not verbally ... let them think you accept their words as truth, but in reality do not accept it.

BS filtering, ... that became became my internal mantra throughout my entire school years (Catholic schools from K - 12). Adults intended to control my mind, but they achieved the opposite, forced me verify everything, more than once, from many sources and viewpoints, make your own conclusions, do not swallow whole without chewing, tasting and evaluating for yourself.

Back to "Fear Of Euphoria" ...
In the 1990s, I was a counselor for a group of troubled teens. I performed many hundreds of hours of both group and individual counseling sessions, for lots of little troubled adult humans that needed a real adult to help them recognize responsibility for their actions, and walk a better path with better influences in life. It was rewarding but also the hardest work I've ever done in life, and it wasn't a paid job. What I said or did directly influenced life or death choices among these young people, I constantly looked for ways to get through to their mindset and viewpoint, trying to put myself in their shoes was important. These were 14 to 18 year old folks, many dealing with chemical addiction problems, legal problems, but not yet a prison system causality. I share that to offer my perspective, I desire for a developing mind to be free of ANY chemical dependency. BUT, since humans do as they will always do, I guided those young souls away from legal alcohol, and without direct words toward Cannabis if recreational Euphoria was an inevitable choice in their life. . I never crossed the line and said, you should smoke pot instead ingest alcohol, and only didn't do so because of the legal ramifications to their lives. If the laws of Cannabis were identical to alcohol, as they should be, I would have have been very direct in my viewpoint and guidance to these young adults, choose Cannabis over Alcohol recreationally.

These experiences probably helped form my view of Euphoria as a good thing when it occurs naturally, without chemical inducement, and not necessarily a good thing (long term) when Euphoria is chemically induced. I'm not of the view that it can't be a good thing when chemically induced, but in my world, I keep in mind that chemically induced Euphoria can be accompanied with the possibility of heavy baggage and life threatening consequences when compulsion overrules reason and our basic life sustainment requirements.

Thank you Sue allowing me to break out of my Internet forum shell on your threads, it's not an easy thing for me yet, but it's becoming less painful with each post!

Hugs and Love

Keith
 
And herein lies the crux of our problem. We've allowed our "peace officers" to have a vested interest in perpetuating prohibition and allowed an industry to grow up around "cannabis rehabilitation."

In my more rational moments, I find myself having trouble to blame the average LEO for his part in things. Both because, let's face it, I've been given more breaks than I've deserved :rolleyes3 , and because this artificial subset of our economy... It sucks to worry every single day about whether or not there are going to be funds available to continue employing you on the next day. Boss says, "Hey, every time one of you makes a nice bust, it raises our position on the dole I mean handout I mean distribution of the limited amount of available federal monies list." Probably helps their chances when it's time to pass out promotions, too.

So... Yes, it's difficult to have feelings of ill-will for someone who is just trying to do the job that he is ordered to do. On the other hand, this kind of thinking also causes me to hold those (relatively) few LEO who go against both the grain and official policy, and speak their minds/hearts about these issues... in very high regard. Assuming at least average intelligence, they know that they're spiking their own wheels, career-wise.

One wonders how much of the bluff and bluster from our Attorney General is financially motivated by kickbacks we have yet to discover.

You have to wonder? Unless you pick some random chump from Podunk, USA and appoint him/her to office, you can count on them having played the game, and of having made plenty of contacts along their way. You actually can hide money - but most folks aren't really very good at it "long-term," lol. Pick 25 politicos who've made decisions (in general) that caused you to ask, "WtF?" and who've since left office... and take a look at where they're at now, where they've been, what kinds of toys they own, where they live, HOW they travel, the money they spend on "little things" when on vacation (little things, in this case, meaning all of those goods and services that are small enough to not raise a single eyebrow - but, when added up, might cause one to wonder where the money to pay for them came from).

The only difference between the US and just about any random p!ssant country is that they're pretty open about how things work, lol. There's even a term for it: baksheesh. Which, in MY mind, means that WE are the more corrupt nation - because we do hide the behavior. "Nothing to see here, folks, move along now - hey, there's a new handout line over there" (and the crowd stampedes :icon_roll) .

I've read a little bit of modern history. We seem to have quite a knack for p!ssing in other nations' Cheerios. This isn't the thread for discussing our history of pushing out leaders who've worked to improve their citizens' situations and replacing them with "friendly" ones - who then cause no end of suffering to their own people. But when we point the finger at "THEM" and talk about how corrupt "THEY" are... You might not have to be a money-grubbing, power-grabbing hypocritical pr!ck to become a politician in this country. But my, oh my, how it surely does help.

Sorry, I got a little fired up there. Forgot where I was even going with it, lol.

I agree with you about the rank and file.

Do you mean WE, the People?

As they begin to realize the magnitude of the lies and how they've been used as pawns in this bizarre game the attitudes are changing.

Yeah, the thing is... a pawn is just a piece on a chessboard :icon_roll. It has no other purpose than being a pawn. It was made for the job. It IS a pawn.

We're not pawns. No. We are - and I'm not pointing at individuals here, I'm talking about the population as a whole - lazy, self-interested, PEOPLE. We've CHOSEN this situation - by our very own deeds.

I sit here, basically without a pot to p!ss in, lol. I seem to have had a life-long habit of doing things that I felt were the "right" things to do, even while some small part of my brain stood back and said, "This isn't going to end well. You've been like this before, and it never ends well. Don't you have enough scars by now? Aren't you getting tired of losing a little bit more every SINGLE time you open your mouth or try to do the 'right' thing?"

I didn't make that statement to toot my own horn, pat myself on the back as if it actually means anything, or even to beg for sympathy. No, merely as a preface to this one:

I have still had opportunities to make a difference that I've passed up. I'm no knight in shining armor, lofl. I'm just one of "WE, the People." I'm part of the problem. As are you, and you, and you, and...

I don't really do the "activism" thing any more. I hardly ever participate in public stuff - and I've long since stopped helping to organize them. But I should still be doing it, and far more than I ever did. I wasn't... I wasn't blessed with a family of my own. I have far less to lose than many. So, everything that I'm NOT doing... I should be doing. But you folks who are lucky enough to have children of your own... Something to lose, in other words? YOU should be doing more, too. The fear of losing what you have should not be your restraint. No, when you look at your kids, they ought to be your MOTIVATION for doing more. What gift will you leave your children? What will we all give to the future?

IDK, I'm just rambling. Ranting, too.

We have no idea the effect cannabis legalization in California will have on the country at large, but even in California the lies spread by prohibition are so entrenched that they fight the advancement of freeing the plant too.

I get the feeling - and I mean no offense to the good folks in California - that someone decided to stand back and see if they didn't end up crashing and burning, lol. Hopefully, that doesn't happen. But as things are still unfolding, who knows? I know it's a tough thing to do and all, but I would caution you to be very, very careful when considering whether or not to accept help/money/etc. from entities unless you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt who is pulling those entities' strings (and what their motivations are). We all know the saying "don't look a gift horse in the mouth." I'd counter that with one that was mistakenly attributed to P.T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every minute." Question motivations. Question EVERYTHING. Especially in todays "connected and networked" world. Be prepared to turn down that which appears to be a boon.

So much misinformation, delivered through the magic of television for decades. The propaganda machine was effective until people realized how medicinally valuable cannabis can be. Change may be frustratingly slow at times, but it's inevitable, IMHO.

Change might be inevitable. But experience has shown me that "change" is neither positive nor negative. You can set it in motion, give it a little nudge in the direction you want... BUT, unless you pay close attention and continually direct that change, well... Anyone ever see a pre-digital pachinko machine, lol? You never really know where the ball is going to end up - until it does.

Do not assume that this ball will fall where you want it to. Do not allow your eyes to become clouded by excitement, or even hope. Be excited, yes, and hopeful, too - but keep your eyes, ears, and BRAIN open and functioning at all times! We, as a species, have made the mistake of doing otherwise more times than I could count, throughout history.

Happiness is within the reach of each of us. It take a deliberate effort to cultivate and nurture it, but it's attainable for each and every one of us.

Well, you know me... Some days, I feel... bad. Then, it's hard to look at such things without at least a little derision (apologies!!!). Very occasionally, I am in a better state - and then it is actually able to help. Regardless of whichever state I happen to be in at the time, though, I'll always appreciate the effort, the feelings, and the intentions behind your words/etc. I'd be in a much worse state without you ;) .

You know I couldn't pass that up TS.

Hey, it's your thread, darlin'.

The biggest difference between cannabis and anything else you might consume to attain that state of euphoria are cannabinoids.

Well... certain other unnamed substances do seem to have their receptors, too. For that matter, our brains use alcohol, lol (and we even manufacture it).

I agree that cannabis is - by far - the most notable example in this regard. I used to look at it as... I hate to use the term "buzz," but like that. Then, I started thinking of it as "buzz" that, incidentally, had some medicinal value. However...

...Recently, I have begun thinking of cannabis as a medicinal substance that, incidentally, has some "buzz" value. Again, that's just ME. Others can and will feel/think how they do. But I wonder... lol... If the "hippies" of the '60s had, instead, been slightly glazed-looking doctors - would we even be needing to have these kinds of discussions by this point in time? :hmmmm: What if cannabis had been looked at as "just another medicine" that, oh by the way, has been known to take you for a ride? We seemed to actually be headed that way... Once.

We can't discount the fact that they bring euphoria, but they heal at the same time. And there's nothing inherently wrong with euphoric response.

Well, there is that whole conditioned response thing. In some cases, being able to smoke/eat(/snort/shoot/drink) a substance in able to ring the old bell... It can interfere with the brain's mechanism for rewarding the act of doing a good thing (and, thus, feeling good because of having done so). This doesn't seem to get talked about overmuch. Maybe because cannabis can run the "happy" meter up to seven, maybe even a nine on the ten-scale, while other things can push it to 32,768, lmao. So, in absolute terms, the associated dangers are obviously far less.

But we should still be aware of it, IMHO. I know people who like to spend their days doing rewarding, necessary, "good" things - and who then feel good about having accomplished them, or even of merely having attempted to accomplish same - and who also like to enjoy cannabis. However, I've also known people who'd rather spend their days/nights just enjoying cannabis. There's knowing and then there's feeling, lol. A person can know the right thing - but if smoking a joint can make him/her feel better than doing the thing can... And thus a "lazy stoner" is "born." Or something like that.

I suppose I could turn the above into an argument for allowing consumption of cannabis in the workplace, LMFAO.

In the vast majority of cases the intensity of the experience won't interfere with your ability to function as a human being in our convoluted societies.

I'd tend to agree with that. But the "vast majority" of a population of over 7,500,000,000 people... still leaves a sizable number of people. In relative terms, then, it might be considered an insignificance. But it's still there.

The "high" has been vilified as something dangerous and to be avoided at all cost. By God, they can arrest you and toss you in a cage for smoking your vape on the street.

It's been years, but I once walked down the street smoking a joint and a cop sitting at a stoplight yelled, "Put that out!" I replied, "I'm getting rid of it as fast as I can, officer." He was still laughing when the light turned green and he drove away. <SHRUGS> LEO are just people. Sometimes, when they're not on a call... They even act like it.

Cannabis will not turn your teenagers into low-life nothings, lacking motivation and failing all their subjects in high school as they "chase the next high." :laughtwo: No one is going to be stealing from the neighbors to support the weed habit. Well.... I can't say that across the board, but I've yet to meet anyone who got high and robbed someone, or got high and went home to beat up the little woman.

Ah, well, I've seen some of these things. But I have since enough to separate the people in question from the cannabis that they just happen to have. IOW, it's almost always merely an incidental fact. Some people are lazy, "drop-outs," @ssholes, wife- (or husband-)beaters, thieves, et cetera. And some of them... happen to consume cannabis. A firearm isn't "evil" just because some people use them to commit crimes. Same thing, IMHO. Another term for "statistics" is... "bullsh!t" ;) .

It's time to view cannabis through clear lenses

Random recollection: When my brother was high in err... I mean in high school, it was common to see people literally walking around with "rose-tinted glasses" - it hid the red eyes :rofl: . By the time I was in HS, the fad had passed. Half my teachers must have known that <COUGH>guidelines<COUGH>. Looking back, the ones that hassled me the most... had plenty of other reasons to hassle me, and would have done so regardless of my activities. Others would... Not so much hassle me as, you know, try to f*ck with me, lol (and this was very much a two-way street ;) ). They wanted me to do better in school. And we might possibly have helped each other maintain the appearance of sanity, heh. Others, those rare few, well... I might have met a kindred spirit or two among the faculty. People are... people, no matter what hat they choose to wear. It was just a thing. That guy won't tuck his shirt in, and you won't believe what that shirt's logo states. That girl's shorts are so short, the bottoms of her cheeks are visible. And that sarcastic guy over there trying to get the crowd to stop following him (LOL), well... They were all students, and teachers were there trying to help them hit adulthood somewhat educated, somewhat prepared, and with the ability to think (insofar as each of us were capable of doing). I had Drivers' Ed immediately following lunch! That meant I got into a little car with two other students and an instructor. That instructor might have been (but wasn't, of course) blind, deaf, and dumb - but I guarantee he had a functioning NOSE (FFS!). Yep... Me, a kid who thought he was NASCAR Willie, and a girl that was prone to starting across an intersection and then stomping on the brake pedal just as she reached the middle of it. Guess which one the instructor didn't worry about, lofl? When it was my turn to drive, we often went through a drive-thru for coffee. And, once or twice, I talked him into letting me drive to my house so I could run in and grab something that I might have forgotten (forgotten, ran out of, what's the difference?).

Cannabis is a THING. A thing... is not the person who uses it. A lot of folks just know this, probably in much the same way that they know if they drop something, it won't fall up :icon_roll . IMHO, everyone ought to have sense enough to. But there are people who think - and people who have decided to allow others to do their thinking for them. I see the latter as being the root of our little cannabis issue. But then I see it as being the root of most issues...

Our children deserve truth too.

I'd say that they deserve everything that we can give them - regardless of the cost. In terms of they who will follow, the cost to US shouldn't even be a thing we think about at all.

To those who've bothered to read this far: Agree with me if you like. Or disagree. But, FFS, don't do either unthinkingly. Your God (or, for those who believe something different - or even nothing at all - random chance, I suppose...) gave you a brain. USE IT. Think for yourself. Question EVERYTHING! Don't agree - or disagree - with me because I "said" it. Do so because you've thought about things, and what you've figured out agrees (again, or disagrees) with it. Otherwise, you might as well just check out early, IMHO.

I consciously and intentionally chose weed and only weed as my recreational drug of choice

I did some weed once. Got sicker than you imagine. Now I only smoke cannabis. Okay, and menthol cigarettes.

In the 1990s, I was a counselor for a group of troubled teens. I performed many hundreds of hours of both group and individual counseling sessions, for lots of little troubled adult humans that needed a real adult to help them recognize responsibility for their actions, and walk a better path with better influences in life. It was rewarding but also the hardest work I've ever done in life, and it wasn't a paid job. What I said or did directly influenced life or death choices among these young people, I constantly looked for ways to get through to their mindset and viewpoint, trying to put myself in their shoes was important.

No doubt. I sincerely hope that you first made sure to experience all the substances that you were counseling them about. Maybe it's just me, but I stopped screwing off in shop class when we got a new teacher and HE told us to make sure we checked to see that the blade guard was functioning - whilst waving his mutilated hand in our faces. That man wasn't just getting his lines out of a book, lol, or parroting what someone else told him to say. No, he spoke with the voice of experience. In that particular class, we all listened to his advice.

IMHO, when a person goes to "counseling school," there ought to be a class where the materials list is... somewhat non-standard.

Thank you Sue allowing me to break out of my Internet forum shell on your threads, it's not an easy thing for me yet, but it's becoming less painful with each post!

Do some reading/learning about online privacy and security, and go to town, lol.
 
:laughtwo: TS.... I love the way you make me think deeply about my beliefs and assumptions, and then have me rolling on the floor in laughter. I find the toggling between emotions invigorating. :hug: :hug: :hug:
 
What is this fear we have of euphoria?
It's not euphoria those in power are afraid of, it's the various beneficial effects those in power are afraid of, such as the many health benefits, not to mention all the many things it can be used to make (hemp here, but many people still classify hemp with cannabis), which would reduce the profits for other industries. Let's take a look at the health benefits. Weed can be used for many conditions, such as nausea, anxiety, pain, and so forth. For the people weed is extremely beneficial. But when you look at it from the point of view of the health system, which isn't a system of health but a system of sickness, although it benefits the people it's harmful to those who run, control, and profit from the current system where sick people are profitable but healthy people aren't. The current system wants people sick. Sick people buy pharmaceutical drugs and ask for expensive medical tests and such, which is extremely profitable for the 'health' system and pharmaceutical industry. Big Pharma doesn't get paid if people are healthy. That's partly why our environments are so toxic with so much bad food (high sugar/salt with low nutrition), bad drink (sugary fizzy drinks), bad air (pollution and chemtrails), and so on, because all this stuff makes people sick, and sick people are cash cows for the pharmaceutical industry (not to mention cash cows for the industries selling the toxins we consume). Look at how many different types of pills for different conditions there are. Weed would reduce the need for a shitload of those different pills, which would reduce the profits for industry. Also when people are sick and/or poor (from spending so much on the health system) they don't have the energy or funds to fight back against the corrupt system. So by demonizing weed you demonize a substance that can help humanity and can therefor continue to rake in massive profits from all that stuff that harms humanity. It's nothing to do with a fear of euphoria, it's a fear those in power have that they will lose their power, control, and massive profits. And that's not to mention all the profit and control those in power gain by locking up massive amounts of people in jail who simply possess or smoke a harmless plant.
There's another reason why those in power fear weed, because it can open people up to a greater reality and allows people to see the lies and corruption which they may not have noticed being stuck in their 9-5 life. It's why LSD, and more importantly DMT and ayahuasca are illegal, because these substances open up peoples minds to the greater reality, that we are all connected through Spirit and we are all equal. Those in power fear those sorts of views because if everyone had a spiritual experience and realized we are all One and are all connected and we are all Spirit, then people would realize we don't need egomaniacal psychopaths in power (government) to rule over us and tell us what we can and cannot do and punish us for doing something the government tells us we can't do (like grow, posses, or smoke a plant). It's why hundreds of years ago when mostly white peoples invaded other countries they destroyed shamans and shamanic cultures, because those peoples could see the greater reality and the egomaniacal invaders wanted to control the minds of the peoples they invaded. You can't say "My God is the only God" or "You must obey my authoritah" if the people have a knowledge of the greater reality and Spirit and will tell you to stick your authoritah up your authoritass or laugh at your puny 'god'.

The more important question is how do we make the shift in vision from one of restricting children to one of including them in the healing and evolutionary potential offered by cannabis?
This is a tricky one, and one I've only loosely looked into. While cannabis is extremely beneficial, it's less so in children. Cannabis may work on the endocannabinoid system, but it can damage the still developing child brain. The brain is only fully developed around 25, so it's a good idea to prevent children, atleast under 18's/21's, from smoking weed. This may however be more related to the effects of THC on a developing brain. I'm not sure what difference there would be if kids were limited to high CBD and low THC strains, or even consume it via juicing or edibles or something. This stuff of course would require a heck of a lot of research to find out, but I have seen research saying smoking recreational weed (mid-high THC and low CBD) can be harmful to the still developing brain. I do know that children have taken CBD oil for seizures and such and this appears to be extremely beneficial, but again, I'm not sure if it's because they use a high CBD and low THC strain, or if it's because it's an oil and not smoked, or what other variables might be at play.

One wonders how much of the bluff and bluster from our Attorney General is financially motivated by kickbacks we have yet to discover.
This is just typical corruption from the American government, no matter who sits on the throne. The private for-profit prison industry gave a lot of money to back Trump's presidency, so this is just them returning the favour. "Some of the biggest backers of Donald Trump's presidency were for-profit prison operators." Those in power do not care about the people, all they care about is the status quo of power, profit, and control. Sessions is a deluded angry little troll that seems to hate human rights and freedoms. He's said that "good people don't smoke marijuana" and that marijuana is "only slightly less awful" than heroin. He's also called for an increase in civil asset forfeiture (legalized government theft). These are remarks made by someone that is extremely out of touch with reality and who is forcing his own out-dated and extremely flawed views on to other people. I still wonder why so many people blindly obey these power tripping egomaniacal delusional control freaks.

It's time to view cannabis through clear lenses, to wash off the grime of our governments' lies and begin to approach this plant from a more rational perspective, devoid of the unnecessary fear that it'll turn our young into some form of social problem. It's all lies. We deserve truth. Our children deserve truth too.
Agreed, we deserve the truth and should not be lied to by our own governments. But lies and truth are not so black and white when it comes to government. How many people in government, be they the singular ruler (King/Queen, President, Prime Minster) or members of congress, are opposed to cannabis because they think it's some dangerous harmful substance? Yet the evidence suggests cannabis is beneficial and not a dangerous substance, so why do they believe it's so bad? The only 'evidence' of cannabis being harmful and 'the devils weed' is government propaganda. People in power started these lies and those in power continue to believe these lies, even in the face of the truth. They believe their own propaganda. And when people fully believe something when there is no evidence to support it except for propaganda and lies, those people aren't easy to convince to change their views because they already wholeheartedly believe lies and refuse to accept the truth. That's on an individual level, but the wider problem is worse. The government has been telling massive lies to millions of people for decades, so they can't exactly suddenly turn around and say "yeah sorry peeps, we been lying to you all for decades and locking up people, stealing your stuff, and destroying your lives, all based on lies and propaganda we made up" because if they admit to lying so much about one thing people might start to think the government might be lying about other things, and those in power don't want people to question them, they want people to obey them.
 
A belief is simply a thought you keep repeating. Beliefs can be changed, but it's a delicate dance to do so with respect and dignity being expressed on both sides. It may be a while, but there are thoughts that could be perpetuated that would offset the decades of propaganda. In time we'll find them. I truely believe that as more of the general population begin to understand the function of the ECS this conversation will change dramatically.

As to the men in power that created the shit show..... that's a different matter altogether.

My contention from the beginning was that cannabis isn't the danger to the developing brain of the teenager that we all accept it is, and I base that contention on the truth that we simply don't have the studies that back up this belief, but what we do have are masses of citizens that started consuming cannabis at the tender age of 13, or thereabouts, and it apparently didn't stunt the development of all of our brains. So, where are all these damaged brains now?

We accepted a lot of the propaganda. The most enlightened of us still deal with twinges of cannabis shame. Propaganda works, and they laid it on hard and heavy through many generations. Those stereotypes are going to take some gentle counterbalance as we create a more balanced conversation about cannabis and the truth of its effects.

The story you share of the money stream, and how our "health industry" is sadly misnamed rings true. We've created a planetary mindset that forgot we were evolved to heal spontaneously. The fundemental job of those shaman and medicine men was to remind us of this basic, life-affirming function of the human body. If we all start spontaneously healing what will the "health industry" do? :straightface:

I have great faith in our ability to eventually shift things to a more positive future. Not that I expect overnight change, but the power of knowledge can change the world, and here we are having this conversation across a digital field. The Internet was something no one took into consideration. It'd be extremely difficult for the men who profit from this deception to shove that kitten back into the sealed box. They'll try, but the scales have already begun to tip away from their influence.
 
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