You're doing drugs, kids

"Weed isn't a drug." The words burst proudly from her lips so matter-of-factually that I knew immediately how strongly she believed in them. "It can't be a drug because it's a plant."

Dumbfounded, I replied "If parts of plants can't be drugs than I guess opium isn't either. Do you even know what opium is?" I didn't need to wait for her response; her expression revealed her ignorance. At that time I simply opened Google Chrome on my phone and showed her the definition of a drug. "A medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body." Despite the presence of evidence that refuted her claims, she seemed unwilling to believe. This proved, in my own mind, that not only was this 15 year old girl lighting up in her free time, but she was being lied to about what she was really doing, or even worse, she was just lying to herself about it.

This is not a long blog post about marijuana. I'm not here to mindlessly spout my (relatively worthless) opinion concerning weed. I did not come here today to wax eloquent explaining various viewpoints on the topic of recreational drug use. Nope. Wrong-o. I just want you all to know that cannabis is indeed a drug, and the fact that it's a plant does nothing to change that. Just like some poisons, snakes, and death, it's completely natural. It is also a drug. Don't tell yourself it isn't a drug, because you're wrong. Don't tell other kids it's not a drug, because you'd be wrong. Don't let anyone else tell you that it's not a drug, because, yup, you guessed it, wrong again. Furthermore, and more importantly, little kids shouldn't be doing drugs. In my mind, you're a bunch of babies sucking on bongs when you should still be begging your mommy in the cereal isle as Wal-Mart for chocolate pebbles instead of rice crispies.

So, everybody, this has been my PSA to all the youth of America: if you smoke weed, you're doing drugs. Also, as a side note, I'd really appreciate it if whoever is telling kids that weed isn't a drug would stop doing so immediately. This young girl, as dumb as she may be, was only 15 years old, and I can guarantee you with every ounce of confidence th.at I have that she would better benefit from doing her homework and having a reasonable bed time than from getting stupid on the weekends with her stupid pothead friends. Honestly, to me, it's pretty depressing to know that a bunch of young kids are out making terrible life decisions right now when I know deep down in my heart that they should be at home, not making their parents ashamed of them, or wondering when they last time they fed their Neopet was.


So yeah, the end. Don't do drugs, kids

My Thoughts on Marijuana

I had to write a short speech concerning a debatable topic recently, and I wanted to share it with you guys. So there.

Inscribed on the stone of the temple of Apollo in the city of Delphi are the words “nothing in excess” and “know thyself.” While being applicable to pretty much anyone in any situation, I think in the modern world, with currently 15 states having legalized marijuana, it is suited perfectly for the growing availability of addictive drugs.

Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders calls for it's legilazation on CNN, saying "It's not a toxic substance." She wasn't necessarily saying that it has no side-effects, but that the ones that do exist aren't typically life threatening. It's nearly impossible to overdose on marijuana. It would take over 8000 joints (marijuana cigarettes) to overdose on marijuana, and even if someone was trying, they would pass out before they got there. According to a study done by the U.S. Government, a grand total of zero people died from marijuana in 2007. The CDC has reported that marijuana, as an underlying cause, caused 26 deaths between 1999 and 2007.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, approximately 400,000 people die annualy from their own smoking, with another 50,000 from second hand smoke. That's over 1000 deaths daily, related directly to smoking tobacco.

The reason there is such a drastic difference between the death toll for tobacco and marijuana is actually due to chemicals used to grow the plants. Both are natural substances, but while tobacco is typically grown with pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals to help with crop production, high quality marijuana is typically grown chemical free. After harvesting, tobacco is mixed with even more harmful substances such as tar and other fillers that cause cancer when burned and inhaled. Marijuana is left in it's natural state after being picked and smoked as is.

Marijuana is also known to have medicinal properties. It is used to treat chronic illnesses, arthritis, headaches and migraines, etc. throughout the United States and many countries world wide.

I believe that due to the aforementioned reasons and statistics, marijuana should be legalized in all States for medicinal purposes.