A Complex Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia

Jobrny as a recently reformed smoker of tobacco products for over 50 years I can tell you that the response that you describe stems from a sense of 'personal attack' rather than a logical attack on the habit in question. Using tobacco or marijuana is and always will be a personal choice just as what kind of beer you chose to drink or what kind of vegetables that you chose to eat is a matter of choice. When someone else questions your choices you feel a sense of being personally attacked just as when someone questions your taste in clothing.

My point in my response to this article though is that if you want to make a case against something you are ill advised to try and do so with lies, enuendo, and assumptions. You really need to get your facts together and use solid and verifiable evidence. That is why the war against tobacco products has taken so long to have some effect. There was just too much 'phoney science' out there to confuse general opionion. Now they are having to resort to some really heavy handed tactics to further their discrimination against those who chose to smoke.

Simply outlawing it only creates the monster of crime and violence as we have seen with alcohol and now drugs. It makes it possible for the unscrupulous to make huge sums of money from the black market and eventually corrupt otherwise honest people such as sheriffs and judges. Prohibition has never worked and never will. People will insist upon having their right of self determination and outlawing something simply stiffens their will.

I know because that is how I felt when I was a heavy smoker. There were times when people would get in my face about my habit that I truly wanted to smash their heads like pumpkins the day after Halloween. I am not normally a violent person but when attacked I instinctively defend myself 'and my decisions.' I also became a 'habitual criminal' because I routinely went to clandestine places where I could buy tax free cigarettes, alcohol, and yes even marijuana along with my coffee, sugar, flour, beans, and other such staples.

It is always easy to take one side or the other in a given argument. The really tough part is finding the compromise in the middle. Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, peyote, cocoa, and all of the other products that are potential health hazards are unquestionably also health aids. Virtually every one of them have positive health aspects as well as dangers. The problems arise when we divy up like kids on a playground into teams and go at it each defending our own position and trying to score points against the others. We get so caught up in the competition that we forget that we were best buddies before the game began now we are at each others throats even after the game is over.

I will simply say this. I started smoking because I was addicted before I was born since my mother smoked 2 packs of unfiltered Lucky Strike per day while carrying me. I continued to smoke out of personal choice despite all of the warnings like "it will stunt your growth" or "it will make you impotent." I continued to smoke despite the taxes, the negative public attitudes, being treated like some sort of a third class citizen. In fact these situations actually steeled my determination not to quit because I resented someone else marching into my life and telling me what to do and how to behave. Given the right opportunity and circumstances I could not say for sure whether or not I could have become violent towards others but I do know what went through my mind at times and it was certainly not pretty.

Finally I chose to quit but only because I did so in my own mind. Since I have ready access to home grown tobacco products their piddly little laws and burdensome taxes were useless for me. The same is true for many of my acquaintences who grow their own 'bud' or cook their own poison. It is their choice and even if they have to become criminals to do it they will. Regulation is actually a stimulant in such cases because it brings the added luxury of great profits and personal wealth. As long as we remain stupidly naive and think that just because we say "you can't do that" people will actually listen to us then nothing is going to change.

Think about this the next time someone starts telling you what to do and how to do it and consider how you feel about being manipulated in such a manner. My guess is that you don't like it any more than those who have made poor decisions in their lives enjoy being manipulated. We have to make these choices ourselves willingly and of our own volition.