› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 43 Total Comments Show All

• 

  CaptDingleheimer at 11:55 AM JST - 15th November

  I was talking about that silverwind feller.

• 

  YadotNapaj at 02:52 PM JST - 15th November

  60 Minutes did a special a few years back on Medical Marijuana. There actually are some people in the US who smoke government issued pot.

  The pot comes in a can which contains about 30 or so pot cigarettes.

  It would be nice if they would lower the threshold that one must meet to obtain a prescription for govt issued pot.

  There are so many people out there whose quality of life would vastly improve if they had access to pot when they felt like it.

  It stimulates the appetite, it can increase ones libido, it can also put you to sleep and different from overdrinking you wake up with no hangover.

  But, that would be the wise thing to do and as we all know that probably is not going to happen in our lifetime. Then again, maybe it will.

  It seems a lot of these Japanese kids are getting busted because they can't keep their mouths shut. If they would get high in private and not tell their friends about it they would be doing themselves a favor.

  I really feel sorry for that young woman from Doshisha because as a previous poster pointed out, her life is probably ruined, not to mention her relationship with her parents.

  How can a parent do that?

• 

  openyoureyes at 05:37 PM JST - 15th November

  Like Bill Hicks used to say, why don't we ever hear the good drug stories on the news? This media hysteria is neither surprising nor welcome.

  Maybe a little balance on the issue could help.

  I'm not sure whether to growl in frustration or laugh in pity at some of the opinions on this board and in the world. The logical statements from non-users I can at least respect (and comprehend), but some of the garbage coming from the horrendously uninformed non-smokers just boggles the mind.

  I don't think experience with marijuana is a prerequisite for discussion, but a little perspective might be helpful.

  Take my own story of how pot helped me.

  When I was a young university student, I caught mono and my immune system set out at full tilt to take it out. Unfortunately, right after my diagnosis, I also got salmonella poisoning from a bad restaurant. Anyone who has had either mono or salmonella can attest to their being very not fun. To have both at the same time is hellish. I'd never been so sick in my life and hope to never be so again.

  My ability to eat was annihilated. Now, when you are horribly sick and can't keep any food in your guts, your body starts to burn through its reserves (i.e. itself) to keep going. So I began to waste away.

  Thankfully, being on college campus, I had access to pot. Smoking made it possible to eat again, and I made it through my illness (which put me into the hospital at one point) without starving to death.

  Pot helped me. It can help people. And that perspective needs to be out there. The Japanese media (and most of the media in the world) are failing at the duty of all journalists: objective reporting.

  Can pot be a negative influence on someone's life? Absolutely. Most anything can, from television to chocolate. But it can also be an amazingly positive influence on someone's life.

  And when I see someone who can't string two logical sentences together write that using pot makes you stupid and dim-witted, all I can do is growl in frustration and laugh in pity.

  So put that in your pipe and smoke it.

• 

  isthistheend at 08:23 PM JST - 15th November

  To open your eyes...I'm delighted you were helped through a very terrible condition with the help of an herb from mother earth. And probably there are others who need or can be helped by MJ as you say IN THEIR PRIVATE LIVES. But there is another side to it that you are not accepting or in understanding about. Why is MJ illegal? What are its downsides? 1) Smoke is smoke is smoke is smoke. Whoever smokes in public affects not only him/herself but those around them. If you don't believe in 2nd hand smoke then you'll pooh-pooh this reason (as probably all smokers do. They believe smoking ITSELF is not bad, so how can 2nd hand smoke really cause harm?) I'm here to tell you, my lungs burn when I have to sit or stand next to someone whos smoking, period. I'm off like a light. Recently walking through Shibuya there was definitely odors of MJ in the streets on 2-3 different blocks. It affected me. I'm sure it affected others. (MJ advocates giggling with delight). O.K. but to me, its like an allergy, I don't like even the smell of the stuff.

  2) MJ induces a medical condition called hypoglycemia. It shoots your blood sugar level skyrockets for the initial high of 4-6 hours depending on the strength of the stuff. But "what comes up must come down", and as the high wares off, the blood sugar level starts to plummet. This is when "the munchies" kick in. The problem with the munchies is that one often desires sweet food, white sugar, another BIG YIN product, to make one feel a little better and take off the feeling or irritability with "coming down". Its a very physical relation. In open your eyes case, MJ positively stimulated his/her appetite, but in normal teenagers it can turn them into hogging down like a pig. I wonder if anyone will admit to it. Its not only MJ's fault that Americans are so obese, but I believe the drug culture in USA is one contributing factor to people having such poor ideas/sense of how to eat in moderation, and which whole foods to choose, rather than the convenience of junk foods. The point being, when you come down from MJ you need to eat something AND QUICK! And its usuallly, not very natural food thats chosen but junk food. I wonder if open your eyes is aware of this point?

  Then if one doesn't smoke again, (just like tobacco, but as immediately addicting) one starts to feel like your "missing" something. That's when the user takes another toke, and the cycle becomes a habit.

  I'll admit there is alot of seemingly psychological benefit to smoking MJ, like seeing things from a wider perspective, hearing music with different ears, and observing movies, writing, pursuing artistic activities with a lot more perception etc. If your lucky and you can control it to once a month, or 6-8 times a year, I'd say its no problem. But I've never heard of such a person. Its like the person who only smokes 3 cigarettes a day. Maybe for the first week or two of smoking. But that easily escalates to 10 and then a pack. And with MJ, if you smoke more than once a month, or once a week, your going to see noticeable declines in many of your "normal" vitality signs.

  This is just my opinion. As are all of the above. But don't get fooled into thinking its all green an jolly. The Bigger the Front, the Bigger the Back, as Ohsawa of Macrobiotic teachings said in the 1960's. If only it were wonderful and good with no backside, but it isn't. That's why it should be banned. Especially in Japan, with all the already smoking public that we face. On the other hand, I'm all for making it O.K. to do in the privacy of your home, for those who care to pursue their freedom of right. But in public, I think it should at least draw a substantial fine (20,000 yen for first time offenders. 50,000 for 2nd, 100,000 for 3rd and then to the clinic for some kind of rehabilitation. That would create jobs for people too!

• 

  openyoureyes at 10:17 PM JST - 15th November

  I agree with many of your points, but I don’t necessarily think they’re relevant.

  As the topic at hand is about media portrayal, my main point is that there needs to be reportage of positive aspects of marijuana. You are not wrong in saying there are detrimental aspects of marijuana, but the media focuses solely on detrimental aspects (many of them suspect in credibility) without portraying that other side. As you said, ‘the bigger the front, the bigger the back,’ so where is the other side in the media onslaught?

  Referring more specifically to your statement, even your idea of ‘banned’ is more akin to what I would call regulated. You say that it should be fined for public use but ok for private consumption. Great. I think many pro-marijuana reform activists would be pleased with that scenario. The problem is that the current situation isn’t nearly that cheery. It’s NOT ok for private use or even medical use, and if you pursue it anyway, the police boots will be marching to your door. All because of a useful little ‘herb from mother earth.’

  Again, you aren’t wrong when you say there are negative aspects of marijuana, but those have no relationship to its legal status. It is illegal because of racism, corporate interests, and military strategy. Not because it’s harmful to your lungs.

  Yes, smoke is bad for you. I cannot argue that point. But that alone is not sufficient grounds for criminality. We are allowed to choose to permit some level of harm in our lives. Non-ergonomic keyboards are still legal, right? Sports cars made of plastic still cruise the roads. I breathe the dioxin-filled air of Tokyo on a daily basis, ne? I strain a muscle now and again on the Footsal court. And, yeah, maybe even drink alcohol or smoke some plant matter. And when that happens, it is with other smokers, so there won’t be any second-hand smoke to affect you.

  And when the munchies come along, someone can whip up some snacks of fruit and nuts, because not everyone can eat (or wants) junk food. Healthy eating doesn’t come from not smoking pot, it comes from education and positive role models. And responsible drug use comes from education as well. OBJECTIVE education. That’s where responsible research and journalism comes in. This demonizing of marijuana must stop. As you said, there are two sides to it.

  The media has plenty of negative stories about marijuana. Where is the good stuff?

• 

  Triumvere at 12:41 AM JST - 16th November

  "Again, you aren’t wrong when you say there are negative aspects of marijuana, but those have no relationship to its legal status. It is illegal because of racism, corporate interests, and military strategy. Not because it’s harmful to your lungs."

  Now that is a weird idea. How do you figure this?

  Isn't the obvious reason for marijuana being banned the fact that society at large is horrified by the thought of drug use? I may not beleive in the "gateway drug" hype, but I'm sure a lot of people (including, I'm sure, those who make and enforce the laws) do; its hard to distinguish this particular drug from all the others when your gut is telling you that using is an immoral act (along with your gov't, your church, and everyone else...).

• 

  isthistheend at 12:43 AM JST - 16th November

  Openyoureyes. Thanks for the level headed response. Well put. Concerning a balanced approach by the media etc., I'm afraid its a case of what then US President Richard Nixon said 40 years ago. "If you think __________(people (media included) who live on this archepelago) are going to change, you must be smoking MJ". I laughed about his comment at the time, but now after many years of direct experience realize just how insightful his words were/are.

• 

  RakishGadfly at 01:24 AM JST - 16th November

  CaptDingleheimer;

  Japan generally follows American social movements with some delay.

  ...meaning Japan generally follows Canadian or European social movements with more than some delay.

• 

  openyoureyes at 07:47 AM JST - 16th November

  Isn't the obvious reason for marijuana being banned the fact that society at large is horrified by the thought of drug use? its hard to distinguish this particular drug from all the others when your gut is telling you that using is an immoral act

  Triumvere, you’re right. It is hard to distinguish marijuana from harder drugs, and many people are terrified by the thought of drug use. Only 36% of people in America (which, like it or not, leads the way on world drug policy) favor legalization of marijuana.

  But why? Mainly because of a widespread and well-funded (dis)information campaign that the U.S. government began in 1937, perpetrated by the suddenly jobless alcohol prohibition establishment. That group, combined with industrial interests - because hemp had the potential to radically alter our production landscape (meaning there were large textile fortunes at stake) - began an aggressive anti-marijuana campaign harnessing prevalent fears of Mexican immigrants to demonize the plant.

  So there are the racist and corporate interests I spoke of. As for military strategy, in 1945 a country could not wage war without hemp. As much as MacArthur probably didn’t want his troops toking up, the prime motivation in criminalizing hemp in Japan (and by default marijuana) was a tactical one to prevent by default any future military campaigns by the country.

  Why are these things not common knowledge as they should be? Because of the topic of this thread: there is a serious lack of responsible objective journalism and education regarding marijuana.

  isthistheend, it is ironic that you mention Nixon, as he is precisely the president who halted marijuana reform in its tracks when it was finally gaining some legitimacy. The American Medical Association, at Nixon’s request, put their minds to the marijuana issue. Their findings? They could find no plausible reason for marijuana to be criminalized as a hard drug. Nixon’s response? He threw the report in the trash and appointed a drug czar. But… as he said… if I expect politicians to change, I must be smoking something. ;)

• 

  FineDiner at 12:28 PM JST - 16th November

  Pot will continue to gain popularity in Japan especially among university students in the future and not because of any cool image portrayal, because of university students growing up and smelling the flowers. That is, they are discovering not only is it a relatively harmless drug when consumed in small to moderate amounts, it also has less side effects than alcohol, and makes one more relaxed in today's stressful world and of course does less social damage than alcohol and tobacco. You would all be surprised by the amount of Japanese aged in their 20s and 30s who consume pot these days.

  The X and Y generations are basically catching up on the West's 60s and 70s university drug use and experimentaton. As Japan is behind the West in most social norms by 20 to 40 years (take smoking in cafes, the use of technology in education, making people wear seatbelts in back seats of cars, the number of women in top managerial posts or parliament among many other things) it is just Japanese society growing up.

• 

  gogogo at 12:35 PM JST - 16th November

  I'm hoping it is individualism and not just the trendy thing to do.

• 

  30061015 at 05:11 PM JST - 16th November

  A chicken in every smoking pot, smoking pot for every chicken. smkpt,smkpt everybuddie smkpt

• 

  ptolemy at 05:51 PM JST - 16th November

  Inside every high person, there is a disappointed prude. All this publicity amounts to a PR campaign by the police to show "Hey look, we do more things than just chase foreigners on bikes." Next month it will be something different: smokers in nonsmoking, teeth sucking and spitting oyaji taking photos of girls' backsides, or flower bashing school boys.

• 

  boboh at 06:27 PM JST - 16th November

  30061015,

  Rock on, son. Skin up, pack a cone, have a toke, bong on, Japan :)

  ptolemy,

  too true.

• 

  isthistheend at 07:21 AM JST - 17th November

  FineDiner:You would all be surprised by the amount of Japanese aged in their 20s and 30s who consume pot these days....

  What's your estimate in numbers or percentage, and how do you come about your opinion?

Register or Login to leave a comment