Macmimir:
Perhaps I was not clear enough in my statement above, so here goes.
Pot is indeed a stimulant; it is somewhat unique in that it is also a depressant. Your point about how it affects different users is well taken, though. As to its classification as a hallucigen, my thought on that is that it is a little off base. Your point on the driving study illustrates that perfectly and gets to what I was trying to say-we are more in agreement than disagreement here. Would you rather get in a car with a pot smoker or an LSD (a true hallucigen) user?
As to your point on concentration of THC, your analogy of good and bad may be correct, but there was a lot of "bad" pot in the 70's. I was there too. I think we're splitting hairs on this one if we agree that there is uniformly better (or worse depending on which side of the argument you're on) pot out there. And there is no doubt in my mind that growers in the past 20-30 years have worked on improving the product-hence the consistent availability of "better" pot.
As to legalization-taxation, the Netherlands is clearly reaping some economic reward with its system. And although I've never been there, I found it interesting when an acquaintance told me of the strong popularity and esteem in which Canadian marijuana is held in the Netherlands. So there are obviously differences based on growing techniques, breeding, etc. My feeling is that's not much different than the respect that certain single malt scotches deserve, but that's a matter open to debate I suppose.
Perhaps I was not clear enough in my statement above, so here goes.
Pot is indeed a stimulant; it is somewhat unique in that it is also a depressant. Your point about how it affects different users is well taken, though. As to its classification as a hallucigen, my thought on that is that it is a little off base. Your point on the driving study illustrates that perfectly and gets to what I was trying to say-we are more in agreement than disagreement here. Would you rather get in a car with a pot smoker or an LSD (a true hallucigen) user?
As to your point on concentration of THC, your analogy of good and bad may be correct, but there was a lot of "bad" pot in the 70's. I was there too. I think we're splitting hairs on this one if we agree that there is uniformly better (or worse depending on which side of the argument you're on) pot out there. And there is no doubt in my mind that growers in the past 20-30 years have worked on improving the product-hence the consistent availability of "better" pot.
As to legalization-taxation, the Netherlands is clearly reaping some economic reward with its system. And although I've never been there, I found it interesting when an acquaintance told me of the strong popularity and esteem in which Canadian marijuana is held in the Netherlands. So there are obviously differences based on growing techniques, breeding, etc. My feeling is that's not much different than the respect that certain single malt scotches deserve, but that's a matter open to debate I suppose.