Mannequin Harpsichord
Taikyoku
I'm not entirely sure whether or not they'd have to take you down to the station to test you, but if your driving has been horrible, then I'd say that's probably a good idea whether or not you're stoned. The bottom line is that if you're endangering others, you're endangering others.
It's true that there's not (usually, anwyays) a label on marijuana saying "hey, you're getting X amount of THC in your system per hit," but like with alcohol, it's up to the user to keep alive some little voice in their head from the very first time they take a hit, a little voice that will at some point say "Okay, now it's time to stop, you're high/drunk (same thing, drunk = high on alcohol) enough." Different dosages can do different things to different people, but that's true of alcohol, as well as pretty much any intoxicant. And we probably
would be able to put "numbers" and things like nutritional information on marijuana, but only if we legalize it. Otherwise, it depends on strain, user, tolerance, etc, like with alcohol.
If you're a medical patient, sure, go ahead and take cannabinoids in pill form. It IS sensible to actually know the dosage, if you're using it as a medicine. There's really no medical sense in asking a patient to smoke any substance which can be administered in a safer manner, because the act of smoking isn't very fun for your respiratory system. That said, your lungs aren't going to suddenly explode all over the place, or shrivel up and fall off the instant you smoke. The reason everyone wants to smoke it is because that's simply one of the main ways it's been taken, for thousands of years, and for some people, smoking itself can be pleasurable. It certainly makes the effects come on pretty much instantly, although the downside is that it can also mean a shorter duration. When it's ingested, it can take a while to actually feel the high, but it lasts longer. That's what I've heard, anyways, since my one experience with edibles turned out to be a dud, it was made with incorrectly-prepared pot butter, which led to pretty much no effects. On the other hand, on the basis of taste alone, it tasted pretty good! But I digress.
The thing it that it doesn't take a horrible driver to cause an accident. When the police pull over a lucid person, the person can just pay more attention, but if the person has impaired judgement more attention may not be possible. The only culture I know off the top of my head that uses it traditionally is native americans, and they have their own reservation laws anyway, though I admit I know nothing about them. Otherwise, when people smoked pot in the school restroom it smelled like someone was burning a backhoe, I couldn't imagine anyone enjoys it for the smell.
TBH, I almost want to make all this s**t legal just to stick it to the gangs (and by "this s**t" I mean all drugs). It reminds me of prohibition with the alcohol smuggling business making mafia lords. I think the government would have a much better fundraiser if they were in charge of the drugs, instead of just fining and imprisoning people for "victimless crimes."
Cannabis originated in Asia, not North America. I don't know where you heard that Native Americans traditionally smoke cannabis. They don't, although my guess is that they probably
would have if it had been around. Native Americans would smoke tobacco ritually, though, which is an entirely different game from the tobacco you're familiar with. Uncured tobacco is very potent, and there's actually a definite risk of overdose. It's entheogenic, and is definitely not to be smoked habitually.
But that's beside the point.
I'm unsure as to whether or not we're even opposing one another regarding driving. EDIT: Now I remember, you're apparently worried that weed smokers will randomly ******** up behind the wheel. Listen, I don't want people stoned behind the wheel any more than you do, but I'm afraid I have to see some hard numbers regarding weed and driving, I'm not convinced that latent THC in your system
days after smoking could cause impaired judgement behind the wheel,
especially not spontaneously, that would be a very un-weed-like phenomenon. I understand your argument is something along the lines of "You can feel fine, but your judgement is still ******** up," which is a valid argument a few hours after pretty much sobering up, but doesn't necessarily pan out to the scale of a couple days. After a couple days, I'm pretty sure your driving would be much more affected by your current circumstances.
I'm glad we agree on drug legality, at least!
As for smell, that depends on the product in question. I admit, I enjoy the smell of marijuana itself, not the smoke from burning it but the actual plant material. It usually smells pleasant and strongly minty. I personally don't like the smell/taste of joints or blunts, and I don't enjoy the experience of smoking them due to how harsh it can be, I much prefer to use bongs or ideally a vaporizer, since that actually has a somewhat pleasant taste to it and it's not harsh at all since it's not smoking, but rather vaporizing. The worst smell of all, however, is bong water. It smells like... well, gosh, I don't actually know WHAT it smells like, other than it's smoky, sharp, and absolutely disgusting. Seriously, it's awful. That said, marijuana alone does not smell unpleasant, and I know plenty of people who apparently enjoy the taste of smoking weed. I guess it's just personal preference.
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