Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?

Man busted for sending pot via UPS

Federal drug agents have accused a 25-year-old man of using UPS to send a happy birthday box containing seven pounds of marijuana.

Drug Enforcement Administration officers arrested McKindle Rondae Beler on Wednesday when he arrived at an Albuquerque UPS Store from which the package was sent. Authorities said they believe he was seeking a refund for the $87 paid to get the package to Illinois overnight, DEA spokeswoman Lou Kilgas said.

It wasn't delivered because DEA officers intercepted it after UPS employees alerted them to a man behaving oddly, she said.

First, war on a plant is stupid and wasteful.

Second, he lives in a country that is waging war on a plant.

Third, his buddy calls and says, "Dude, that special package didn't show up. You had better to get a refund."

If this was me, I would not be thinking that I should go to UPS and get a refund. Anyone who has access to seven pounds of weed can afford to eat $87. I would be packing my shit and moving to Mexico , or at least getting rid of my stash and keeping to myself for a bit.

This guy deserved to get caught.

hahaha, yeah... That was monumentaly stupid. He must have smoked about seven pounds himself... that morning

You think after smoking 7lb of weed, he'd care about the money?

Some people have fucked-up ideas about drugs. I spent three years pretty much constantly on some drug or other, and look how I turned out.

Oh.

I would. Smoking 7 lbs of weed is gonna give you some *serious* munchies, I'd say about $87 worth of munchies.

Lol

What a Schmack

Actually based on experiments I am currently conducting the actual dollar amount is much higher. Let me explain my fuzzy math. Seven lbs. is roughly 2400 grams. I can smoke roughly 3-4 grams a day. Mind you I smoke all day every day so that number is pretty much a constant. So assuming I continue to smoke daily as I have for the last 21 yrs. (with a few months of clean time here and there) it would take me roughly 600 days (1 yr 6 months) to smoke 7 lbs of weed. Now assuming I only spend $10 usd a day on food (that is way conservative) than it would cost AT LEAST $6000 usd just to satisfy the most basic THC induced case of the munchies. Or something like that!

Darko, you lost me at "Actually".

Dude seriously? I thought it made sense!

LOL Darko. That made perfect sense to me Then again, I'm high

Btw I got really excited while doing the math on that much kind bud! YAY!

Skeevy stoner fuck.

I was totally kidding.

Oh, I feel like getting into trouble...

Why isn't there more emphasis in the pro-marijuana debate about the *reponsibile* use of it? I mean, I hear a lot of jokes about munchies 'n stoner references when people discuss this...but when people defend their right to get high, why don't they talk about the needs of being careful with it?

I will admit to being rather ignorant of what marijuana does and does not do...but even in it's best light...it *is* a drug. I can't imagine you want someone who's totally stoned behind the wheel of a car any more than you want someone who's staggering drunk. It can be misused; and the misuse of this drug is what needs to be combatted if it's ever going to have a chance at legality, isn't it?

If supporters of the right to buy alcohol can say "Please Drink Responsibly", why don't we hear supporters of the right to use marijuana say "Please Smoke Responsibly"?

And, my first sentence notwithstanding, I'm really *not* wanting to stir up trouble. I'm honestly curious about this. I don't smoke myself; and I have seen that casual use by my friends still let them lead perfectly normal lives. I've also seen overuse lead other friends to become out of touch and into a downward spiral.

Can anyone give me the straight, uh, dope on the honest dangers of marijuana?

Very few, given that most of the time you're too fucking high to be bothered doing anything at all, let alone anything that could be considered dangerous

Liona though I joke I am very active opposing marijuana prohibition. I am an active member of the group NORML. The group represent the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly and believe the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana should no longer be a crime and is a great source for information on the drug. Allow me to share some information with you directly from the NORML website.

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Who smokes marijuana?
According to recent statistics provided by the federal government, nearly 80 million Americans admit having smoked marijuana. Of these, twenty million Americans smoked marijuana during the past year. The vast majority of marijuana smokers, like most other Americans, are good citizens who work hard, raise families, pay taxes and contribute in a positive way to their communities. They are certainly not part of the crime problem in this country, and it is terribly unfair to continue to treat them as criminals.
Many successful business and professional leaders, including many state and elected federal officials, admit they have smoked marijuana. We must reflect this reality in our state and federal laws, and put to rest the myth that marijuana smoking is a fringe or deviant activity engaged in only by those on the margins of American society. Marijuana smokers are no different from their non-smoking peers, except for their marijuana use.

Why should we decriminalize or legalize marijuana?
As President Jimmy Carter acknowledged: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."
Marijuana prohibition needlessly destroys the lives and careers of literally hundreds of thousands of good, hard-working, productive citizens each year in this country. More than 700,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges last year, and more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the past decade. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication of the criminal sanction that invites government into areas of our private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement resources that should be focused on serious and violent crime.

What about kids and marijuana?
Marijuana, like other drugs, is not for kids. There are many activities in our society that we permit adults to do, but forbid children, such as motorcycle riding, skydiving, signing contracts, getting married and drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco. However, we do not condone arresting adults who responsibly engage in these activities in order to dissuade our children from doing so. Nor can we justify arresting adult marijuana smokers on the grounds of sending a message to children. Our expectation and hope for young people is that they grow up to be responsible adults, and our obligation to them is to demonstrate what that means.
The NORML Board of Directors has adopted a set of principles called the "Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use," and the first principle is "Cannabis consumption is for adults only; it is irresponsible to provide cannabis to children."

Critics claim that marijuana is a "gateway drug." How do you respond to this charge?
There is no conclusive evidence that the effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit drugs. Preliminary animal studies alleging that marijuana "primed" the brain for other drug-taking behavior have not been replicated, nor are they supported by epidemiological human data. Statistically, for every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine, and less than one user of heroin. Marijuana is clearly a "terminus" rather than a gateway for the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers.
For those minority of marijuana smokers who do graduate to harder substances, it is marijuana prohibition -- which forces users to associate with the illicit drug black market -- rather than the use of marijuana itself, that often serves as a doorway to the world of hard drugs. The more users become integrated in an environment where, apart from cannabis, hard drugs can also be obtained, the greater the chances they will experiment with harder drugs.
In Holland, where politicians decided over 25 years ago to separate marijuana from the illicit drug market by permitting coffee shops all over the country to sell small amounts of marijuana to adults, individuals use marijuana and other drugs at rates less than half of their American counterparts.

But isn't marijuana addictive?
Substantial research exists regarding marijuana and addiction. While the scientific community has yet to achieve full consensus on this matter, the majority of epidemiological and animal data demonstrate that the reinforcing properties of marijuana in humans is low in comparison to other drugs of abuse, including alcohol and nicotine. According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM), fewer than one in 10 marijuana smokers become regular users of the drug, and most voluntary cease their use after 34 years of age. By comparison, 15 percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco smokers exhibit symptoms of drug dependence.
According to the IOM, observable cannabis withdrawal symptoms are rare and have only been identified under unique patient settings. These remain limited to adolescents in treatment facilities for substance abuse problems, and in a research setting where subjects were given marijuana or THC daily. Compared with the profound physical syndrome of alcohol or heroin withdrawal, marijuana-related withdrawal symptoms are mild and subtle. Symptoms may include restlessness, irritability, mild agitation and sleep disruption. However, for the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers, these symptoms are not severe enough to re-initiate their use of cannabis.

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Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use

When marijuana is enjoyed responsibly, subjecting users to harsh criminal and civil penalties provides no public benefit and causes terrible injustices. For reasons of public safety, public health, economics and justice, the prohibition laws should be repealed to the extent that they criminalize responsible marijuana use.
By adoption of this statement, the NORML Board of Directors has attempted to define "responsible cannabis use."

I. Adults Only
Cannabis consumption is for adults only. It is irresponsible to provide cannabis to children.
Many things and activities are suitable for young people, but others absolutely are not. Children do not drive cars, enter into contracts, or marry, and they must not use drugs. As it is unrealistic to demand lifetime abstinence from cars, contracts and marriage, however, it is unrealistic to expect lifetime abstinence from all intoxicants, including alcohol. Rather, our expectation and hope for young people is that they grow up to be responsible adults. Our obligation to them is to demonstrate what that means.
II. No Driving
The responsible cannabis consumer does not operate a motor vehicle or other dangerous machinery while impaired by cannabis, nor (like other responsible citizens) while impaired by any other substance or condition, including some medicines and fatigue.
Although cannabis is said by most experts to be safer than alcohol and many prescription drugs with motorists, responsible cannabis consumers never operate motor vehicles in an impaired condition. Public safety demands not only that impaired drivers be taken off the road, but that objective measures of impairment be developed and used, rather than chemical testing.
III. Set and Setting
The responsible cannabis user will carefully consider his/her set and setting, regulating use accordingly.
"Set" refers to the consumer's values, attitudes, experience and personality, and "setting" means the consumer's physical and social circumstances. The responsible cannabis consumer will be vigilant as to conditions -- time, place, mood, etc. -- and does not hesitate to say "no" when those conditions are not conducive to a safe, pleasant and/or productive experience.
IV. Resist Abuse
Use of cannabis, to the extent that it impairs health, personal development or achievement, is abuse, to be resisted by responsible cannabis users.
Abuse means harm. Some cannabis use is harmful; most is not. That which is harmful should be discouraged; that which is not need not be.
Wars have been waged in the name of eradicating "drug abuse", but instead of focusing on abuse, enforcement measures have been diluted by targeting all drug use, whether abusive or not. If marijuana abuse is to be targeted, it is essential that clear standards be developed to identify it.
V. Respect Rights of Others
The responsible cannabis user does not violate the rights of others, observes accepted standards of courtesy and public propriety, and respects the preferences of those who wish to avoid cannabis entirely.
No one may violate the rights of others, and no substance use excuses any such violation. Regardless of the legal status of cannabis, responsible users will adhere to emerging tobacco smoking protocols in public and private places.

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Liona I would strongly suggest you visit the site yourself. I for one try very hard to abide by these principles. I do admit to driving while high. However most stoners drive very slow. I have been driving for 20 yrs and the only wreck I have had was when I was 19. I was sober and was hit by a cable truck that came into my lane. I would also suggest the documentary Grass. It is wonderfully informative and explains how scaremongering has influenced a generation of Americans, and how effective the power of hatred can be. It also explains how marijuana and marijuana user have been so wrongfully vilified. Anyway check it out and IM me if you have any specific questions as I would be happy to answer them.

ONE LOVE!

Good info Darko.

I'm sure you are also familiar with all the industrial uses of hemp that are suppressed by the "war on drugs", as well as the "pot"ential technologies that can't be researched here (such as hemp-based fuel).

The original criminalization of MJ in the 30s was pushed in part by textile manufacturers and lumber companies...

I don't smoke it myself, but most of my friends do, I am definitely pro-pot.


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As for the guy in the original post, what a dumbass.

Agatha indeed I am familiar with the various uses of hemp. Hemp clothing rocks too! It is brilliant that you are pro-pot and seem to be armed with the straight dope (no pun intended). If you have not already seen the documentary "Grass" please take the time to do so! Rock on Agatha!

Hee. We have a couple of shops here in Iowa City that sell Hemp clothing. for the record, I am pro-common sense and the more I listen to both sides of the issue, the less I think common sense has anything to do with how our government handles marijuana.

I am glad to see the info you posted, Darko, and I'll probably do a bit more reading on the website. It is nice to hear rational positions rather than the emotional "This is your brain on pot" rhetoric the government gives.

*sniffles* I try and be funny and you gotta bring science experiments into this...pfft!