Alcohol vs marijuana

[3930dave]

Trucking trade magazines have had some good articles on MJ. There are lots of issues that impact trucking.

Areas like Colorado have seen marked increase in road accidents (all, not just truck related) since general legalization happened. I don't smoke, but did/do know enough people that do to call BS on "it doesn't affect your driving".

The crux of the matter - there is no roadside impairment test. Yet, Canada is racing ahead with this legalization/tax-grab next year.

Some people will say - I smoke all the time, and can drive fine. There is a relativism here, that is not legally allowed with alcohol. If I knocked back 6 drinks, I'd have trouble walking. After 6 drinks, some alcoholics may appear to drive fine, and possibly better than some sober drivers and definitely better than many people texting.

So, why should MJ get a free pass for driving ? It's not like we are short of carnage at the moment on the roads. Sorry, govts being desperate for more tax revenue to blow doesn't cut it with me....

I can't see where we need to be adding more legal impairment options, given the number of horrendous road accidents already happening.

Recent one, in this province:

One person dead after vehicle collides with construction equipment on QEW | CP24.com

Rgds, D.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I'm having coffee with dark chocolate instant cocoa mix in it. I'm a firm believer in drug cocktails like that. Caffeine and theobromine go well together. The Irish have already established that caffeine and alcohol go well together, and Venezuelans showed us that caffeine, theobromine and alcohol go well together. I see no reason why it has to be alcohol vs. thc. Share the glory. THC and caffeine would seem to show promise, and chocolate, of course.

 

[motownbrowne]

Both can be completely abused and people who can't control themselves can waste their lives using either one. Either can also be used totally responsibly and are enjoyed that way by millions in America every day. I personally know people who you'd never guess smoke pot daily. It doesn't negatively affect their lives at all, on my estimation anyway. For some it makes their quality of life better.

I used to live in southern Humboldt county in CA. Big illegal growing area. I knew lots of pot growers. It has negative and positive affects on the community, and I certainly don't miss living there, but I will say that having been around both people who wake up and start drinking, and those who wake and bake, it's a no brainer who is a more productive member of society. I'm not saying anyone should do either, but I've met damned hard working guys who smoke pot all day every day. I'm talking wildland firefighters, arborists, and such. Can't really say that about drunks.

 

[MossRoad]

If you want to talk about alcohol vs pot in a recreational sense... both get you altered. From personal experience, being both drunk and/or stoned pretty much every day for about 9 years (age 15-24), I'd say alcohol was MUCH harder on my body than pot.

Now if you want to talk about alcohol vs pot in a medicinal sense... well, you can't pour pot on a cut to disinfect it.... :laughing: I know several folks with medicinal pot cards in Michigan. They say it really helps with pain, nausea from chemo, anxiety... a good number of issues. So go for it if it helps your quality of life.

I've known plenty of people that have died from alcohol abuse. Died. Drank themselves to death. I know several stoners that have the short term memory of a potato. Nice folks, but can't remember squat. They can't hold jobs that require any form of complex thinking. But they can do simple, repetitive tasks, if speed is not required.

And working the night shift for the past 3 years, I had front row seats to a train wreck. Night shift in a factory setting is a whole nuther animal. Drunks, stoners, and generally no supervisors. Man, you don't want to be operating a machine next to a drunk or stoner. You just don't. Stoners just work slower. No ifs, ands, or buts. They just drag production down, forget to load machines, cause delays, come back from break late (cause their getting high in their cars again), leave early, come in late, you name it. Drunks tend to get in a lot of arguments. I just don't want to work with either of them, and, given the chance, I'd send them home and start the documentation process to get them fired if it becomes a pattern. They're gonna hurt themselves, someone else, damage equipment, reduce product quality, and generally cause you a loss in revenue in one form or another. Get rid of them.

Look, some folks can drink and smoke dope responsibly. Some can't. Some folks (like me) recognize their limitations before it kills them and make some changes. Some don't. We're all adults here (mostly). Behave responsibly and don't put other people in jeopardy by making poor decisions. If you're going to party, you budget for drinks or pot. So budget for a ride home, too.

 

[444Powerstroke]

The healthier choice would be neither.
I had no idea democrats owned tractors.

 

[Piston]

Every employer I’ve work for has dispensed performance enhancing drugs (for free) in order to stimulate their employees to work faster.
The harmful effects are usually ignored for the sake of production. Effects include:
insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, an upset stomach, a fast heartbeat and even muscle tremors.
Most of the employees consume these stimulates at work because they’re free versus paying the dealer on the corner (Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc..)
Personally I stay away from the stuff as much as possible. “It’s a gateway drug!” ( 98% of all cocaine addicts tried coffee first).

Ha! Convenient statistics always make me laugh.
98% of all cocaine addicts tried coffee first?

That doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that 99.9999% of the human race has tried coffee does it?

 

[Looking4new]

30 years ago I stopped smoking pot. (I did a lot of other 'stuff', too and stopped it all.) When pot becomes legal here I will consider it again, but only when at home or the start of my 36 hour reset, keeping 24 hours for stimulant free time. It will also depend on price. I remember paying out $10.oo/oz for it, and am a cheap b*gger.

 

[Streetcar]

Like I said.....I don't smoke marijuana......however.....a few month ago my good knee started aching all the time.....I was popping Aleve like candy.....my knee really hurt.......a friend said try cannabis oil......went to our local legal marijuana store......girl sold me a product called Flow....CBD deep tissue and joint gel.....cost me $40........I gotta tell ya.......pain went away immediately.........the small jar lasts a long time.......I use it at night before going to bed if my knee hurts........the stuff works.

cbd gels are available in states that mj is still illegal.
On safety issue high driver killed family of five in car wreck so both are dangerous if behind the wheel
On cell phone ,hand free are just as distracting as hand held in the studies of the phones

 

[3930dave]

Behave responsibly and don't put other people in jeopardy by making poor decisions. If you're going to party, you budget for drinks or pot. So budget for a ride home, too.

Your whole post was well-said Moss, just wanted to zero in on the last line....

Young guy was killed by a drunk in a head-on accident earlier this week, on one of our regional roads. Imagine the roads, without any drunk-driving laws ?

That drunk (of course, he survived) will be prosecuted, and locked up, lose license.... based on established laws - victim is still dead, but there is some aspect of future prevention possible, based on the laws in place.

What our Vote and Tax gathering PM is ignoring re MJ impairment is that 1) The medical science has to be clinically established and reviewed - this takes TIME. 2) Once the med/sci is locked down, THEN, appropriate laws have to be drafted, reviewed, approved...... - more TIME. 3) Once the laws are passed, then initial cases tried, established..... in the courts - more TIME.

Human nature - with zero consequences in place, a % of the population will choose to drive around while seriously ****ed up. With MJ legal here next year, our road safety is going to deteriorate further, with a significant time period passing with effectively zero enforcement of this new tax-stream.

If I won a lottery, I'd just buy an armoured truck to drive and not waste time thinking about this.....

Rgds, D.

 

[polo1665]

I imbibe dihydrogen monoxide daily. It hasn't hurt me.... so far..

You'll be fine, as long as you don't inhale it.

 

[CobyRupert]

Ha! Convenient statistics always make me laugh.
98% of all cocaine addicts tried coffee first?

That doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that 99.9999% of the human race has tried coffee does it?

Ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner!
Yes, your fact exposes how ridiculous the "gateway drug" arguments is, doesn't it? Yet so many people believe in "gateway" theories when it suites their notions, prejudices and opinions.
"If you smoke pot, you will become a heroin addict because most heroin addicts have smoked pot!" You can see the ridiculousness if you start substituting other gateway "drugs" and the statement is still true. (It's called: Correlation without causation)
By these people's logic, mother's milk & baby formula must be the most dangerous substance on earth. (Fact: 100% of all heavy drug users started with mother's milk or baby formula!) Other's have noted the overwhelming evidence on the use of dihydrogen-monoxide by criminal types. Should ban it right?

Arguments like that are right up there with this one that you hear often: "It's bad!" Why? "Because it's illegal!" Why? "Because it's bad!" Why? .... Rinse & repeat

 

[RoyJackson]

Look, some folks can drink and smoke dope responsibly. Some can't. Some folks (like me) recognize their limitations before it kills them and make some changes. Some don't. We're all adults here (mostly). Behave responsibly and don't put other people in jeopardy by making poor decisions. If you're going to party, you budget for drinks or pot. So budget for a ride home, too.

Yep...I had to learn the hard way, so all my imbibing, with the exception of ONE drink (normally a shot) is done at home now...and it's a rare occasion I get more than a mild buzz from beer

 

[PJSprog]

I stopped smoking pot back in the mid '80s. Honestly, I just didn't like having to smoke it. Never was a smoker. It also started to get expensive.

I drank a lot for many years. More than I should. More than anyone should. Stopped that for the most part when I turned 30 (there's a story in that, of course). These days, I rarely drink at all. I can probably count on one hand the number of alcoholic drinks I have in any calendar year ... and can count on no hands the number of them I actually finish. Just not interested in that anymore. I enjoy life entirely too much to feel the need for an altered mental state.

 

[Dadnatron]

As a human... I know it is not my place to tell you what you can and cannot put into your body.

Nor is it your place to tell me what I can put in mine. Personally, I've never touched anything other than alcohol, but most of my family never touched even it. That is just by choice... not by law.

 

[nybirdman]

Any decent job that I had required drug testing;they don't test for alcohol.Tried pot in the 70's but wasn't my thing.I do have three beers a night at home;scared to death of driving under the influence.

 

[orezok]

You'll be fine, as long as you don't inhale it.

Yep, It痴 called drowning and you only get to try it once.

 

[k0ua]

You'll be fine, as long as you don't inhale it.

I tried inhaling some once. I about coughed my guts up...

 

[Thomas]

Drug is a drug, just comes down to what is illegal, what isn't, and who exactly is making the "approved" money on selling said drug.

It's neither alcohol or weed that I'm scared of (as long as it's done in moderation by those who use it for whatever their reason), it's the food we're being given that scares me.

..........................
You said it well...BINGO.

 

[k0ua]

I enjoy life entirely too much to feel the need for an altered mental state.

Exactly. I have been drunk several times as a youngster, I don't drink any more, or hardly ever. I haven't had a drink this year, some years I might drink a beer or two in the summer. Have never smoked any pot, but been around people who had, and I had an employee that was a "stoner" in Moss's description. And that description was spot on in my estimation. The guy could not remember any procedure from the time you told him or showed him how to do something to the time he would have to execute it. His brain was just fried. Interestingly he could remember song lyrics perfectly. But that was about all.

 

[CobyRupert]

Yeah, I don't drink anymore either.

....then again, I don't drink any less! :laughing: