The Pot Problem

Marijuana is a drug.

...so is ibuprofen, baby aspirin, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

I understand the 420 folks wanting the freedom to light up - to get high.  They don't perceive a danger in it - mainly due to the mellow side it invokes whenever one inhales.  Additionally - folks often cite marijuana as safer than alcohol because folks don't get violent .  It can quiet their minds, get them to loosen up, etc. in a state of mind that they perceive as not being a threat to anyone.

okaaaaaaay.....

Then there's those where medical marijuana actually improves their quality of life with very little if any side effects.  Anything we can do as a society to help improve one's condition - I'm strongly in favor of.

Again, I understand the arguments and I believe in a narrow sense medical marijuana is a very beneficial thing.  However we're still talking about impairment and this is the argument that goes largely ignored.  It's where the 420 folks equate marijuana smoking to the likes of cigarettes ... which is a flawed argument on many levels considering that cigarettes are far cheaper than MJ and obviously more legal to possess and use than MJ.

Again - if smoking MJ was comparable to smoking cigarettes - then - folks would be smoking cigarettes.

Studying the effects of MJ and attempting to devise an acceptable standard of consumption is still widely ineffective.  The medical marijuana patient will naturally have a higher concentration of the drug in their system because their body forms a resistance to the point where the person can still yield positive effects from smoking it ... but the level of their impairment diminishes the longer they continue smoking.

The medical marijuana patient is not going to show signs of impairment while the recreational users will have their cognitive and decision making centers compromised when they light up.  They often slip into a relaxed state, sometimes euphoric, and make it difficult to concentrate.  This is the underlying reason why laws are in place for using marijuana in the first place.  I understand it's just like alcohol in this regard and yes, we do need laws against drinking and driving.  That's why law enforcement agencies have used blood and breath testing throughout the years to determine if someone is under the influence of alcohol.

With marijuana - it's different.  At this time there's no reliable scientific test that can be administered that can determine whether or not someone's ability is impaired.  Law enforcement folks rely on their observations and their experience with other folks who have been under the influence - as measured guide to determine if someone has their faculties in place.

I'm not trying to suggest that we should be keeping MJ users at bay ... but the MJ people also have to realize that their ability does get impaired just as it does for alcohol ... and until science catches up that can prove whether your tolerance to the drug is impairing you, then accept the laws as they are.  I'm with you that it should work the same way with alcohol ... but then the tradeoff is that anyone with THC in their system is always going to be considered under the influence....

Which way do you want it?