Jesus "healed using cannabis"

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Have you ever met someone who said "Damn, I wish I had some pot now, but I can't get any because it's illegal and so difficult to get!"?

[Alcon]

True enough it is a physical addiction.  Do you have any studies that back you up on food addiction?

I don't really need a study; it's part of the clinical description.  But if you want a study that includes the clinical description:

Weiner, Sydell (1998). "The Addiction of Overeating: Self-Help Groups as Treatment Models". Journal of Clinical Psychology 54: 163-167.

The National Institutes of Health, and some excerpts:

I'm assuming you posted the wrong section, because that's just a list of side-effects, and doesn't have anything to do with proving it has no positive medicinal effects.  And that study was included in the IOM, so again, I don't get your point.  Medical marijuana has side effects, like causing "highness," and can rarely spurn dependency.  Yes.  That's not new information, and is recognized by me, the IOM, and every source to which I have referred.

From the DEA:

...

Whenever I bring up a counterpoint, you seem to respond to it by listing reasons why pot is bad, not really addressing the point in itself.

So, you are OK with a double standard, because laws against tobacco and alcohol are too hard to enforce because people are too dependent on them?

Also, prohibition on alcohol has been tried, and it doesn't work.

And prohibition of pot does?  Heh.

[Alcon]

Really I just wanted to make sure you weren't bsing.   Which is the same reason I'm sure you asked for some on my part.

Nah, I'm just much better when academic information is involved than just general news articles and such...I trust you've researched this.

You really shouldn't assume, because your assumption was incorrectly placed.  Alright Alcon, I'll concede this point to you that marijuana can have some good side effects that could invariably lead to a medicinal use.  However, I'm not convinced that those good portions outweigh the bad.

That's a good starting point.  Now, what leads you to believe this?  How do you feel that the IOM study was flawed?

Yes, I know that sounds bad, but yes.

I guess there's an element of pragmatism to that.  It's a double-standard and that makes me very queasy, but I don't see it as necessarily hypocritical.  I will ask, though, why you feel that we should invest in another failing prohibition against marijuana (failing in that it crowds jails, failing in that I could still get pot really easily if I wanted to) in light of this all.  What is the level of failure that you're willing to tolerate before it's not worth it, though?

You have to admit that the DEA does a better job with marijuana than how the government handled alcohol.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs10/10402/marijuan.htm

Well, there's a high standard.

We spend $3.67 billion dollars on anti-marijuana programs per year.  That doesn't even include extra costs for housing marijuana offenders, and anything not related to programs explicitly relating to anti-marijuana efforts.  Use and perception of marijuana remains fairly unchanged, despite all of this spending.  Jails and courts have become crowded with offenders.  Police across the nation have de-emphasized marijuana to the level of jaywalking because it gets in the way of enforcing against actually dangerous crimes.

"Better" is not good enough to me.

[Alcon]

I think I've stated pretty clearly my feelings on marijuana uses and its side affects.  The IOM study only provided that nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety could be helped by marijuana use.  It stated though that especially the smoked version of marijuana should be avoided.

Yes, and that the risks were negligent...exactly to my point.

Are you speaking of just through the medicinal uses of marijuana or the drug being legalized altogether?  To be honest I'm really not opposed to decriminalizing the actual use of marijuana.  I do; however, object to the selling of the drug for addiction and abusive reasons. 

Oh!  Interesting.  Well, that's an assumption I shouldn't have made -- that's an uncommon pair of political views.  Mea culpa.

Alcon, I can tell this issue seems to be an important one for you.

Haha!  It's not, honestly.  I don't smoke it, never will, and beyond a few recreational users as friends, I don't care at all.  I guess it happens to cross over into medicine and medical ethics, another area of interest for me, so I knew where to look....

I really do not have too much interest in the subject that warrants a deep study.  I focus on other aspects of politics today that I feel are more need pressed at the moment.  I actually applaud you for your arguments because you amazingly got me to retreat on a few of my statements (and let me tell you I hate losing).

Thanks...and, if I haven't said this elsewhere, it's great to have you back.  Every reasonable, friendly debater (especially come Hack Season) is a godsend.