Shotgun

Oh, and I should add that a lot of those artists and writers who made absinthe famous, may have been smoking hash or something else along with it. So they may have been hallucinating from the combination of the drugs.

I think that the cool factor comes from the famous artists and writers who made it popular in the 1800's-1900's. And probably the legal status in the US has given it a more taboo feel than other types of alcohol. I don't know about it being a hallucinogen. I read a book of letters written by Arthur Rimbaud, and he describes being in a state of madness and hallucinating after drinking it, but I think that he had been drinking all day long for several days before he got into that state, so I got the impression it was the excessive alcohol causing him to hallucinate rather than the type of alcohol he was drinking. But who knows... I can't drink the stuff, no matter how it's prepared. It just turns my stomach.

And since Jan bumped this thread, I thought I'd tell you that I did read "Dry" and liked it quite a bit. I love his style of writing. He sort of jumps around from one thing to another, but I like it because it's similar to the way my chaotic brain works. "Magical Thinking" sounds good too, but I've found that I have to continuously switch authors and genres to keep interested in reading , so it'll probably be at least a few more books before I'll want to read another of his.

I looked it up, and it sounds like a movie I'd like. Thanks... I haven't rented a movie in a while, but maybe soon. I saw "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" while in Texas with my family. A very funny movie, but somewhat embarrassing to watch with my parents and my nephew. I guess I'm not bright enough to notice the dirty joke in the title of the movie, so I didn't realize how "adult" the movie would be when I suggested that the whole family go see it. Not exactly destined to be a classic, but it was entertaining. Oh, and I like your avatar, Jan.

http://www.howdesign.com/blog/Dude+Those+Brownies+Look+Good.aspx And brownies are bad for you, ya know? Oh wait, recent studies have shown that chocolate may actually have health benefits, so nevermind, munch away!

Probably not. As already mentioned, I doubt that the health issue has much to do with it being illegal anyway. Hmm... And that would be similar to keeping alcohol legal but making it illegal to drink more than what is considered healthy. As it stands right now, it's perfectly legal to drink a fifth of whiskey every day, as long as you're not driving or otherwise interfering with others, and that's probably worse for one's health than smoking pot 24/7. I think that most of the objections to the laws against marijuana have to do with the fact that one drug (alcohol) is being treated differently than another drug (marijuana), when they are both potentially dangerous to our health (or both potentially beneficial to our health, though we know less about marijuana in that area, partially due to its illegal status). I think the point is that if we are going to be allowed to make our own decisions about one, then we should be allowed to make our own decisions about the other.

And that's exactly what I was saying. People do use THC without smoking marijuana.

Probably put it in the bank and not spend any more money than I would otherwise. Probably nothing... just the same products I would buy anyway (mostly "necessities"), so I guess I won't be helping to make the plan work.

So I guess then that "alcohol is good for you in small amounts, but marijuana is not" is not really a legitimate reason for marijuana to be illegal, since we don't actually know that?

I'd be curious to see any studies that show whether small amounts of THC are good for you, harmful, or neither. I assume that smoking pretty much anything would not be good for you, but THC can be used in other ways, though it's illegal no matter how you use it. And to my knowledge, it hasn't been studied very extensively. (And by "small amount," it would likely be an amount that you would not get overly-intoxicated from, similar to the "small amount" which is usually quoted about alcohol being good for you.)

Yeah, I know what it means... But it still sounds like a football team.

I don't know about that. It seems that the majority of people who demonstrate self-destructive behaviors are still able to breed.

Is that a football team?

My guess is a combination of genetics and learned behaviors, not necessarily equal parts of both, and different amounts of each for different people. And of course "self-destructive behavior" is a subjective term.

That's a funny clip. Thanks for posting it. I watch Colbert a lot, but I guess I missed that one.

That's what I'm thinking, but I guess it's a pretty cynical thought. And I also find it interesting that when a person commits suicide without ever asking for help or showing "signs," everyone wonders why the person never said anything about it. But when someone mentions being suicidal and asks for help (in whatever way), they are usually accused of just wanting attention. So it's no wonder to me that a lot of people just don't mention it. Anyhow, as you said, I have my doubts about how much someone with a chronic mental problem can be helped anyway, but it's at least worth a try. We have a long way to go in understanding and treating mental illness, but we do seem to have made a little progress over the years.

Ditto.

That always makes me hot.

I like this one: And actually, I speak monkey pretty well.

I don't think that having restrictions on alcohol is treating adults like children. It would still be pretty easily available even if it wasn't in grocery stores. Wow, I have to disagree 100% with you there. I think that alcohol is one of the hardest addictions to treat, partially because of the availability and social acceptance of it. I doubt you'll find many alcoholics who will say that their recovery was easy. I don't see how not selling alcohol in grocery stores is "casting aside our rights." It would still be available elsewhere. Anyhow, I know we disagree, so I'll leave it at that. I've said everything I want to say on this subject, and it's a little too personal for me, so I really shouldn't be discussing it on here. So I think I will bow out of this thread now.

That's a bit of a different subject, since the cocaine dealer is probably looking at a prison sentence for selling his/her drug. (And I don't exactly agree with the law on that.) But it's similar to alcohol being restricted to liquor stores, since you at least have to go out of your way to purchase it, rather than just throwing it into your basket at the grocery store (a place that is pretty much necessary for most people to go to). I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I'd really like to see alcohol go the way of tobacco - not made illegal, but reduced in visibility, availability, and social perception. Removing it from grocery stores would be one small step in that direction. Anyhow, my main point for posting my opinion in this thread was to show that it's not just people from the church that have this opinion. I am an atheist (and a drinker), and while I believe that alcoholic beverages and other drugs should be legal, I think that they should be sold at a designated place and not at grocery stores. Having been around alcoholism all of my life, and having studied it extensively, I do believe that this is one of the things that could make a tiny dent in the problem. And it's a problem that is not restricted to the "weak-minded" person who gives in to his/her temptations; this "weak-minded" person will be out on the streets driving drunk or at home affecting other people, etc., etc.

I don't know about that... It seems that the changes that have been made in the way tobacco is sold (including advertising) have helped to decrease the percentage of smokers in our society. (And thereby reducing the harm that smokers cause to other people.) It's hard to say for sure though, since the anti-smoking laws that have emerged have probably played a larger role in that decrease. Do you think that we should make heroin and cocaine legal and available in grocery stores? (Yeah, I know that those are not common purchases like alcohol is, but that's probably mostly because alcohol is legal and they're not.) I know that's an extreme example, but I'm just curious where you think the line should be drawn regarding legislation that tries to reduce the problems caused by addiction.

As I said in one of my other posts: Anyhow, I don't expect you guys to agree with me. And I really don't think it would make a huge difference anyway.

For the part that's not a joke, I've probably already answered that in my other posts in this thread.