Reply #28: That's not a surprise, but it isn't necessarily positive [View All]

Most "patients" would tell you that taking an Ambien with a few beers is more effective than taking an Ambien. It's also more fun.

Marijuana is a drug with some pretty pleasant side effects. If it's only effect was to eliminate the nausea associated with chemotherapy, there'd be no wide support for legalizing it (though there would also be no reason for it to be illegal to begin with).

I've always felt that medicinal marijuana was a step in the wrong direction. If you are willing to lie a bit, there is nobody in California who is not capable of getting a medical marijuana card. Given that recreational users are already willing to break the law to get high, it's not a stretch that they might be willing to exaggerate some imaginary symptoms to a doctor. Since anyone can get a prescription, there's a de facto legalization that doesn't actually support the underlying issue: you should have a reasonable freedom of choice about what you do with your body. We've set some standards as a society about what "reasonable" means: tobacco and alcohol. Any arguments in favor/opposition for any substance should simply be less/more harmful than what we have legal today.