MARiJUANA, what do you say now?

Question

There is a misconception that marijuana kills brain cells but what actually happens is this: Neurons are made of two parts; the cell bodies and axons. The cell bodies contain fiberous extentions called dendrites which receive information from the axon terminals of the adjacent cell. That information is then channeled through the neuron to the axon terminal and again to the dendrite of another cell. Frequent marijuana use will cause the dendrites to shorten therefore widening the synapses between cells making information get lost in transmission. Heres the kicker... Even with regular use, dendrites grow back after a month or two of not smoking. Here is an essay I recently wrote about the subject.


A letter to the religious right involved in Reagan's war on marijuana

I am not a Christian nor am I a pothead, however, after speculating over the role of the Christian right in the criminalization of marijuana usage and possession, I found it necessary to make an argument using Christian methods against it. I feel that it is necessary to add that I was raised christian so I do not intend to use bible verses that I know nothing about. I know the bible just as well and better than many Christians. I am also a psychology student in college and the psychological information I will use in my argument came directly from textbooks and lectures on the subject. I have two arguments to discuss, the first using strictly biblical elements and the second with human physiological elements to enhance and accelerate the original.

The arguments involved are sophomorically simple.

Genesis 1:9-13 Says this: 9And God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered into one place so dry ground may appear." And so it was. 10God named the dry ground "land" and the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. The seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And so it was. 12The land was filled with seed-bearing plants and trees, and their seeds produced plants and trees of like kind. And God saw that it was good. 13This all happened on the third day.

27-31: 27
So God created people in his own image;
God patterned them after himself;
male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals." 29And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food." And so it was. 31Then God looked over all he had made and he saw that it was excellent in every way. This all happened on the sixth day.

The kicker... After God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden, he had this to say to them: 3 17And unto Adam He said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, `Thou shalt not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.


18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.



These three excerpts tell us two things: God created the plethora of plants that we have on Earth and gave them to humans and animals for their consumption. Now before the reader suggests that we were to eat the fruits and seeds were for the birds, the second part of my argument must be considered. Marijuana and tobacco are the only drugs that grow naturally and do not have to be processed and synthesized before consumption. Alcohol has to be processed and it is legal. Marijuana is not. The devil, serpent, satan, whatever you want to call the spirit of darkness has never and will never have the authority to change the godly composition of Gods creations. The devil did not put the active ingredients in the marijuana plant and it would be impossible for him to cause the second part of my argument involving the physiology of humans nervous systems. The only power he has is to deceive and deception cannot change the fact that God made plants and people the way we are physiologically.

The active ingredients in marijuana pass through the blood-brain barrier and enter the central nervous system where they bind to three different receptor sites on the neurons. These receptors are called Delta 9 THC, 2-AG, and Anamine receptors. These receptor sites are activated only by cannabinoids from the marijuana plant and nothing else. Nicotine works in much the same way though there is only one receptor. All other drugs work by manipulating natural receptors in the brain that neurotransmitters use normally. For example, PCP works as a glutamate antagonist, blocking the natural processes of glutamate which works in opposition to the neurotransmitter dopamine. When glutamate is blocked, dopamine takes over and too much dopamine in the brain causes hallucinations, odd behavior, and delusional thinking. Cocaine works as an agonist for dopamine and other neurotransmitters causing more to be in the system than normal. Unlike marijuana, drugs like PCP, cocaine, heroine, designer drugs, etc. work by taking over the natural processes in the brain and bastardizing them to work in ways that do not occur naturally.

Marijuana, unlike any other drug, does not affect the brainstem. The brainstem is a system of regions in the back of the brain at the base of the spinal cord that monitors vital statuses like breathing rate and heart rate. There are neurotransmitter receptor sites all over the brain including the brainstem but there are no cannabinoid receptors in the brainstem. Take alcohol just as an example: by opening the sites for Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, the nervous system slows down. Since alcohol affects the brainstem, breathing and heart rate slow down too. An overdose of alcohol can slow systems down to the point where they stop and the user can die. Because it does not affect the brainstems regulation of vital functioning, marijuana is the only drug that someone cannot die of an overdose from.

God designed our bodies. God designed our nervous systems. God pieced our brains together long before scientists figured out how they worked. God put these three receptors in our brains on purpose. There must be some significance there. He created these three receptor sites in our brains before the original sin was committed. Many religions have considered the marijuana plant holy in the past. Mind you, I do not advocate a world where everyone smokes pot all the time. Anything can be abused. Too much of anything is bad Too much food can cause obesity or heart problems, Too much sun will cause a sunburn, Too much water can kill you, too much vitamin A will cause blindness, Too much alcohol can cause liver damage. Im not advocating that everyone should participate in marijuana consumption either. The only argument I am making is that to criminalize a plant created by God that human bodies are designed to process is not only un-Christian but unethical, immoral, illogical, ignorant, and an infringement on our rights as Americans to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And here's a governmental idea: Why not make money on the stuff instead of spending millions os dollars in court fees and incarceration? Option 1: Keep the drug illegal but instead of putting people in jail or giving them jail time, write them a ticket! Make $85-150 on a possession offense (depending on the amount) and keep non-violent criminals out of the jail system. Option 2: Make it legal. Do you have any idea how much money is to be made in excise tax!? Lets say that an ounce of marijuana costs $5 to produce which is an overshot taking all factors into consideration. The tobacco company sells it at a base price of $50 (a 900% profit) and the government places a $50 excise tax on the product keeping store prices around the same as street value of roughly $100 per ounce. Specialty grades can still be sold at street value and companies and the government will make even more money. Sometime, I should do some research comparing the cost of incarceration/probation/court costs vs. the potential profit of taxes and fines.

Note: The citation idea would only apply to those who get caught. The tax idea applies to everyone.

I copy and pasted this information from another answer on Yahoo. I DID NOT WRIGHT THIS!

But I do agree 100%!

if SLEW did his homework, then he would know that alcohol is WAY worse for your brain than THC is! Theres a chemical in booze called Ethanol, which kills brain cells and neurons by the billions... NOTHING like marijuana... He would also know that Marijuana may block Alzheimer's!
go to this website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4286435.stm
it tells you all about it.

PLEASE! ~ spread this info to anti-pot christians!

Answer 1

Blaw Blaw Blaw. What a load of crapola!

Marijuana impairs thought. It impaires decision making.

You see two choices: The current path and a legalized path. I see the legalized path as a worse solution. More deaths. More mothers and children killed by legalized pot heads. Sure lets save some money on the war on drugs. Let's just kill a few more Americans instead.

PS: I think you talk too much...

Answer 2

A. Legalize, then tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. What we have now is similar to what happened during prohibition back in the 1920's. Despite the state and federal government spending billions annually to try and eradicate cannabis it's still easily obtainable and people still get high. Only real difference is not instead of Chicago based mobsters like Al Capone we have Mexican drug cartels calling the shots. As a matter of fact there is a bill pending in the California Legislature which if passed will tax, regulate and legalize marijuana for recreational use. It's expected to generate 1.2 billion dollars in tax revenue per year.

Answer 3

The Bible also states that all things are permissable but not all things are beneficial. (1 Cor. 6:12)

I used to smoke pot, so I know first-hand the psychotropic effects it has. Let's just say I wouldn't want people to get the idea that a joint is the same as a cigarette (tobacco), and can drive or operate heavy machinery under its influence without any potential negative consequences.

That's the main reason I have against legalization. If it were legalized, you'd have a heck of a time busting people who abused it and put others (as well as themselves) in harm's way. Having said that, however, I do agree with you that it shouldn't be punishable by incarceration. A hefty fine would do nicely, I should think.

Answer 4

A judge in Canada got it right (see the links). Why do the minority have such power over the majority?

It is the unbelievable waste of tax dollars that really angers me on this issue.

Keeping it legal helps support organized crime. Who do you think is currently running this multi-billion dollar a year cultivation and distribution business now? By making it legal you could be putting a lot of mobsters out of work and reducing politician payouts.

Answer 5

That sounds more like the study for Alcohol. Marijuana's main known problem is the lost of memory. New studies show that there is a reduction in blood flow in the brain. It is caused by plaque forming in the blood vessel in the brain. It sounds similar to Alzheimer. The damage to the brain from alcohol was found to be repairable, by the methodology you describe above. We have not found a way to repair the damage to a brain on marijuana. By the way THC your body forever and stop cherry picking studies.

Answer 6

"no one in the history of mankind has ever died directly from marijuana use, EVER. it is simply not toxic enough to kill you"

the only fault i have with the argument you posted is the use of scripture. you just cant have a logical debate when you bing god into the picture, it doesnt work.

Answer 7

I agree 110 percent!

Answer 8

Good Work!
I agree the bible was a bit much, but overall...
Again...Good work!

Answer 9

Why do you want your dendrites shortened in the first place? Do you not want your brain to process infomation properly or do you just enjoy the confusion?

Answer 10

How did you fit that much into your details?! Marijuana is really bad for your lungs, throat, mouth, and teeth! Hellooo.