In North America, the last few years, smoking is again on the rise after a long decline. I personally only smoke occasionally, and in the privacy of my own home (pipe, cigar, and
the green). Many cities in my province (Ontario, Canada) are now going smoke free. Including Ottawa, Kingston, London, Toronto?...
There were huge fights about it at first from bar and club owners, but the last year has been SUPER sweet, as you no longer have to quarantine and launder all clothing after coming back from a night out on the town. While in general I respect peoples wishes, especially with what they want to do in their own homes, I still haven\'t completely formulated an opinion on whether they should completely ban smoking. After all, I enjoy it on occasion, and I don\'t want to infringe on people\'s rights, but it also costs our society in medical bills, and can cause family hardship.
EDIT:
Originally posted by luckee
And you got this info where? Weed hasnt been proven to give ppl lung cancer. I have heard something along the lines of one joint is like 10 cigs though. I forget what it was in reference to though.
Weed is unfiltered, so it means your lungs get the smoke more directly;
HOWEVER, cannibus whether home grown or bought is usually \'clean\'. That means that even though the smoke isn\'t good for you, it is missing many of the by-products and
carcinogens that are added to mass-produced cigarettes (Tar, arsenic, cyanide, rubber, iodine, etc).
I also have never met anyone who smoked 3 or more joints EVERY DAY, but I\'ve met a great many smokers who smoke 1 1/2 or 2 packs a day (what\'s that? 24 cigs? 36?), every day, for years.
The benefits of marijuana are the high, apetite, reduction in nausea, pain killing (A young boy in chemo last year in Ottawa made the paper because his parents gave him weed before and after the treatments, it meant that instead of vomiting and being in a wheelchair, he would walk to the car and ask to go to McDonalds!). Cigarettes can reduce apetite, and generally mellow you out.
It should also be noted that cannibus is a stimulant rather than a depressant (unlike alchohol), so it doesn\'t adversly affect the autoimmune system.
As for gateway drug... well, I don\'t belive that, I belive that certain people (for a variety of reasons) will end up on harsh drugs, whether they get there through cannibus or not, and others will never get there. I for one won\'t ever do any mind-altering, hallucigenic, or instant-habit drugs (until I\'m 80 and on my death bed that is... boy what a night that\'s gonna be!!).