re: NM

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Are there no studies of note that make a case against the use of marijuana?

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What exactly are you referring to?

If you're talking about addiction, I can't take it seriously. I have used cannabis intermittently since I was 15, and I've never felt anything close to addiction. Over the years, none of my friends have shown addictive-type behavior. I think soft drinks are WAAAY more addictive (and harmful) than cannabis.

Generally, when I've heard someone talk about marijuana addiction, it's associated with something bad happening in their (or someone else's) life. I think it's mostly a cop-out. Where should the blame be placed? On the person? Or on a popularly-propagandized plant?

Harvard: Marijuana Doesn't Cause Schizophrenia

Marijuana Study Tying Teens' Pot Use To I.Q. Drop Is Flawed, New Paper Suggests

It's hard to respond to you without knowing what you have in mind as the "case against the use of marijuana," but ultimately, I think it depends on the individual.

Also, keep in mind that there are different types of cannabis that affect people in different ways. A legal store that people can visit comfortably, where they can learn about the different types and different effects is a far better option than sneaking around buying from drug dealers that may or may not be able to tell you anything about the product.

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However, when people have referenced marijuana's positives with linked studies or linked stories, they seem to revolve around the medical benefits of it. There are a lot of drugs that are beneficial but are regulated by prescription and illegal if in possession otherwise.

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The benefits aren't just medicinal. I know lots of people that get mental and physical benefits from the use of cannabis.

Essays

Silicon Valley Is High on Innovation. And Pot

Speaking of Silicon Valley, have you heard of Bob Wallace?

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Bob Wallace was the ninth Microsoft employee, first popular user of the term shareware, creator of the word processing program PC-Write, founder of the software company Quicksoft, activist, philanthropist and an "online drug guru" who devoted much time and money into the research of psychedelic drugs.

" I think the success is Silicon Valley in the early personal computer industry had a lot to do with the people using psychedelic stand. The Humber computer club was the real core of the start of the personal computer industry outside of Microsoft and many of the people there were involved in psychedelics. I think it was opening up their minds. The big quandary for software companies was getting into the marketplace, finding shelf-space, but there was a new way of doing that I thought of called shareware, and I think the concept was very unusual and I think the concept came, to some extent, from my psychedelic experience. In shareware you give away the software and then you encourage people to pay for it and even though a low percentage of people might pay for it, so many people use it that the percentage return back is normally pretty good, so that worked, that worked pretty well."

"I think psychedelics help you in general go beyond the normal way of doing things and to really open up your mind to more possibilities that maybe seem obvious in retrospect but you'd never think of if you were going along in the regular way of doing things." from BBC's documentary "Psychedelic Science"

"At that time, Bob became interested in helping fund the scientific investigation of psychedelic plants and chemicals. He had first experiened cannabis and various psychedelics in college and believed they had potential as a method of mind expansion." https://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/wallace_bob/wallace_bob.shtml

"I think most people take psychedelics as a way to get an extreme change in perspective, comparable to (say) a trip to India (or even the moon), but with (overall) less cost in time, money, and risk. Many people really like novelty, and will risk discomfort or even possible terror to avoid boredom. A smaller but significant number find a psychedelic, taken in an appropriate setting, really helps them "connect" to some kind of spiritual center, and/or shows them aspects of themself they could not otherwise (practically) find out."

"Another perspective, one more motivating for me, is the idea that the mind/brain is the most important yet least well understood thing on the planet; that we're in the "information age" but we don't understand the new basis of our civilization, the mind/brain. The psychedelics have easily the most profound effects on many "higher" mind areas (cognition, creativity, spirituality, empathy, etc.) and yet the "drug war" has supressed much research."

"I almost never discuss my own experiences, partly to avoid legal risks, partly because one individual's personal experiences are not the best basis for helping people with questions..." https://groups.google.com/group/alt.drugs.psychedelics/msg/c1d6148f482b1204

"Partly the psychedelics tend to "loosen the boundaries" between conscious and subconscious thoughts. A lot of "bad trips" are when (say) previously surpressed memories, say of child abuse, surface during the experience. Partly any new and challenging experience helps people learn about their ability to cope, their courage, etc. (much like, say, mountain climbing)." https://groups.google.com/group/alt.drugs.psychedelics/msg/5f58697e9686c75a

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Also, Steve Jobs said that taking LSD was one of the two or three most important things that he did in his life.

I could continue to link stuff on the benefits of psychedelics, but I don't know how open to it you're going to be if you need all this convincing that we don't need government protection from cannabis.