Smoking is... good?

[Laura]

I hear ya, Al. My thought is that it ought to be available for medical use but that use should be carefully evaluated by both the health-care adviser and the user. I think that there are a lot of people pushing the "medical use" angle just because they want to find a way to justify escaping from their problems. The same thing can happen with anything.

 

[Al Today]

Thanks for the support Laura. What I neglected to say was that one MUST do the research. One must apply knowledge gained in order to execute an informed decision.

 

[brandon]

Those are good points Al & Laura.. So I should say my own observations are limited - I never knew anyone who used cannabis for a medical reason, and very few people who were into any kind of moderation with it!

 

[abstract]

That's what they've done in the states, repackaged the argument.

They couldn't legalize it for recreational purposes so they were like:

"Dang, how we gonna do this?" -bubble bubble-

"Let's say that pot cures diseases!"

"Duuuude, that will totally work!"

"Pass me the bong."

"I thought you had it....oh, i'm still holding it."

It's true that the majority of people simply can't do it in moderation. One thing though, is that i think hemp is a quality material for clothes,

cosmetics, things like that.

 

[1peacelover]

Thanks for the support Laura. What I neglected to say was that one MUST do the research. One must apply knowledge gained in order to execute an informed decision.

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I have been hesitant to post on this topic because my experience has been different and do not want to break the rules of this valuable forum. [under moderation]

 

[Al Today]

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I have been hesitant to post on this topic because my experience has been different and do not want to break the rules of this valuable forum. [under moderation]

Well, the matter of the fact is the word illegal. There seems to be enough "people" coming onto this site with let's say, not with the best of intentions, or just plain ignorant of the spirit of this forum. Why give anyone any sort of excuse to start up negativity when all appears they don't need anymore angles of attack? They can think enough of their own without my help.
And...

I leave the legal issues alone and abide the law to avoid confrontation and keep personal freedom.

Methinks sometimes what happens in our personal life just ain't nobody's business... or sometimes people just don't wanna hear it, so I rely upon strategic enclosure.

 

[truth seeker]

My observation of the many people I grew up with who smoked pot is that basically none of them ever did anything significant with their lives. I do not know of a single one. And when I say "significant," I mean that in the sense of their lives making a difference to the Universe in a positive way. I noticed that they all used pot to buffer their emotions. None of them - NONE - ever made any progress in personal growth or development. The only ones who did were the ones who saw pot as the crutch it was and threw it away. Pot distorts your perception of reality in a significant way; it is an attempt to shut out the world.

It's been my observation (and past experience) also. I remember a person in particular who smoked pot regularly (that is, daily) and she had memory gaps, almost like a senile person - she would tell us something and then repeat the same thing 10 minutes later. Definitely no good for the mind :/

I agree completely, based on observations of lots of people I know, and myself... I smoked it for years..even now, 2 years after stopping, my emotions aren't working properly yet.

I've known people like that too, Luthien.. but even for people who don't smoke it heavily enough to suffer from that extreme memory loss, it still has this negative effect, only more subtle. It gives you massive blind spots in your perception. I know lots of people who smoke pot who are "productive members of society", intelligent, nice, pretty much normal people, but who somehow have certain areas where they simply can't see others' points of view AT ALL, or even that there could be another point of view.

I think these are excellent points and for me the crux of the matter. Everyone I have known who has used this and other substances regularly always seemed to be trying to avoid the pain in their lives. They also always thought they were able to handle it. What they weren't able to see unfortunately was the detrimental effects it had on their relationships with others as well as themselves. In each case, their lives seemed to just barely be held together by thin strings and they had no healthy coping mechanism in place. The substance was their only coping mechanism.

 

[Laura]

I think these are excellent points and for me the crux of the matter. Everyone I have known who has used this and other substances regularly always seemed to be trying to avoid the pain in their lives. They also always thought they were able to handle it. What they weren't able to see unfortunately was the detrimental effects it had on their relationships with others as well as themselves. In each case, their lives seemed to just barely be held together by thin strings and they had no healthy coping mechanism in place. The substance was their only coping mechanism.

Sometimes a substance is necessary, like when you suffer intractable pain and need to break the pain feedback cycle. But the goal is to heal because pain is just a warning signal.

Of course, it is possible that some individuals are either so broken or maybe just genetically defective and cannot heal, can never survive without the "medication" (as in quite a number of disorders of a more general nature) because they were born a certain way. If you are born without a thyroid gland, you will have to take thyroid forever. If you lose your thyroid to disease, you will have to take thyroid forever; if your leg is cut off, you will have to wear a prosthetic. Maybe there are people whose only possibility of surviving in this world is to smoke pot? Obviously, they will never be able to grow and develop in certain ways, but at least they have found some way to survive.

 

[brandon]

Today I found a tobacconist which has American Spirit tobacco on the shelf, the first time I've seen it here in Melbourne. This little shop was way better than any of the big fancy ones I've been to. They only had the original blend. It smells nice, I like it. It's very dry but still fine to smoke, for me.. The included rolling papers are huge!

The guy at the shop told me they'd just got in another additive free tobacco, "Bali Nature" brand.

This stuff: _http://www.tobacco.net.au/bali-shag-american-blend-30-grams-10-pack.html

It's made by that big Scandinavian Tobacco Group corporation, and has 100% natural preservatives (?) rather than none, so I guess it's not as good as American Spirit. (It's silly of me, but I find it so cool to have tobacco made in New Mexico!)

The shop was the tiny tobacconist/lotto shop under the escalator at the "Eastland" shopping centre in Ringwood, if anyone else is looking for American Spirit in Melbourne.

 

[truth seeker]

Sometimes a substance is necessary, like when you suffer intractable pain and need to break the pain feedback cycle. But the goal is to heal because pain is just a warning signal.

Of course, it is possible that some individuals are either so broken or maybe just genetically defective and cannot heal, can never survive without the "medication" (as in quite a number of disorders of a more general nature) because they were born a certain way. If you are born without a thyroid gland, you will have to take thyroid forever. If you lose your thyroid to disease, you will have to take thyroid forever; if your leg is cut off, you will have to wear a prosthetic. Maybe there are people whose only possibility of surviving in this world is to smoke pot? Obviously, they will never be able to grow and develop in certain ways, but at least they have found some way to survive.

Thanks for making this point, I never thought of it that way. Much food for thought.

 

[Al Today]

Maybe there are people whose only possibility of surviving in this world is to smoke pot?

I do not think anyone will physically die from not smoking. I have not heard of that happening. Then again, there was a thread lately titled: " illnesses caused by obsessions with false beliefs?" In there I did mention how I think I watched my parents give up on life and "willed" themselves to death. The human mind is beyond my understandings and who knows, pretty much all is possible...

 

[Nathan]

The shop was the tiny tobacconist/lotto shop under the escalator at the "Eastland" shopping centre in Ringwood, if anyone else is looking for American Spirit in Melbourne.

Hey brandon, thanks for the tip. I went to school near Eastland, so I'll check it out.

I was told elsewhere that American Spirit were no longer selling in Australia at all.

A question for anyone who might know: can we use rolling tobacco for pipes? I was wondering because I'm thinking of going Sherlock Holmes on y'all and getting a pipe.

 

[brandon]

I was told elsewhere that American Spirit were no longer selling in Australia at all.

A question for anyone who might know: can we use rolling tobacco for pipes? I was wondering because I'm thinking of going Sherlock Holmes on y'all and getting a pipe.

Hmm, perhaps it was just leftover stock.. I could see 5 pouches of it on the shelf. The guy running the shop was pretty friendly and we had a bit of a chat, but he didn't say anything about not being able to get more.. not that he would necessarily have mentioned that.

As for smoking rolly tobacco in pipes, for sure you can! As far as I can tell the main difference is in the cut. Most pipe tobacco is cut quite thick so it'll burn slower. You just have to experiment with packing it, not too loose, not too tight. I've found smoking cigarette tobacco in pipes works fine so long as you smoke slowly and gently.. takes some getting used to. If you smoke faster, it burns hotter and can burn your tongue a bit. I haven't tried the American Spirit in my pipe yet, will soon :)

 

[abstract]

I was told elsewhere that American Spirit were no longer selling in Australia at all.

Would that possibly be because they may have refused to change their label like all the other brands sold there which must put

some kind of absurd picture of a diseased lung or someone who no longer has a mouth?

I don't really know anything about this so i'm just speculating...

 

[brandon]

I decided the American Spirit tobacco was too dry for me after all, so I put it in a tin with a thin slice of apple, left it for about 7 hours and now it's perfect! (I'd read about doing this with potato, but didn't fancy potato smell in my baccy). I'd definitely recommend doing something like this if you're going to smoke it in a pipe. I've read you can even just spray a fine mist of distilled water on it.

I was told elsewhere that American Spirit were no longer selling in Australia at all.

Would that possibly be because they may have refused to change their label like all the other brands sold there which must put

some kind of absurd picture of a diseased lung or someone who no longer has a mouth?

I don't really know anything about this so i'm just speculating...

I dunno, could be.. Although the pouch I got has one (wait, no, TWO!) of those pictures on it, on stickers. I've seen other imported tobacccos which also have these added stickers, so I guess it's standard. For some reason tobacco which comes in tins doesn't have the pictures.