I suppose if it's legal in the country you live in then sure.  Where I'm from, there is a chance the authorities will take away your kids if you have a drug problem.

In my liberal view, I consider it similar to those two lunchtime glasses of reisling. But,  do you think your kids will respect you if they found out you smoke dope? It sort of conflicts with what schools teach.... and smoking is bad for your breathers...

hope this helps!

I find it funny that this is posted two days before 420 day.

Sadly, this sounds like a cry for help as well; 'I can't deal with the stress of the day and I have to escape into a joint / drink / drug-of-choice to hide from it'.  I'd suggest that the guy goes back to work and let his (suffering?) wife give it a shot, but he can't pass the drug test!

The dorky argument is always something to the effect of 'You drink in front of your kids, right?'.  Yes I do.  A Corona after mowing on a hot summers day, a Guinness on St Patrick Day, an occasional Sprechers when they release a seasonal beer, a glass of wine with my wife...  Adult 'treats', LEGAL, moderate and done for taste / celebration.  I want my daughter to see how moderation and responsibility works in real life.

If you can't do it in your front yard, with a cop parked 10 feet away, then what you are doing is sending a VERY BAD MESSAGE to your kids.  Trust me, the oldest one knows what you are doing.  If he knows, they all know.  But then again, if your kids get taken away because you are a drug user, then you have even MORE free time to smoke pot!  Wow, the rewards just keep coming in on that one, eh?

I'm done.  My daughter is taking her nap.  Time to shut off the PC and get that basement remodel done.  Having a task completed for my family gives me quite the rush.

Ooops!  Now I'm done.

Great replies by SAHpops and Bob!

What a coincidence that this post came up in conjunction with recent articles in USA Today and Roadrunner News Websites about Colorado’s support to legalize medical marijuana. Now Denver has another distinct honor for being the “Highest City” in America! And I’m not talking altitude.

It's possible that this is not a joke.  Lot of irrational people out there who want to justify legalizing marijuana via the new medical marijuana initiative that several states (California where I live) have passed. My oldest, son (22), sadly is one of them.  He has none of the diagnosis listed in the legal penal code regarding use of medical marijuana but was issued a marijuana card.  It's very easy to get one and now he claims it is legal for him to smoke it.  Ethically and legally what he is doing is wrong but he doesn't get that part because he is so consumed with the drug.  Unfortunately, as my son demonstrated, this current medical marijuana initiative is being abused just like the handicap placard.

Aside from the dispute over the legal and illegal issues, what about the second hand smoke? A person/child is more likely to get high from the second hand smoke of a joint than they are cancer from a cigarette. I have to laugh at the supporters who banned smoking cigarettes and who now think it is okay to smoke pot. 

Quick story from an interview I watched years ago:   A teenager, who was abandoned by his alcoholic/drug addict father when he was a toddler, was asked the following question:

“If your dad was here today sitting in the chair next to you right now, what would you say to him?”

“Why were alcohol and drugs more important than me?”

Another thing STLDaddy, not all drugs are equal.  Marijuna is practially legal in california and you can basically compair the effects to alcohol.

Brad

I just wanted to let all of you know: You're not hidden in here. Everyone on the internet can see the stupidity flowing out of your fingers.

If you oppose something (laws, viewpoints, opinions, etc...) you should at the VERY least educate yourself on the subject. Most of you OBVIOUSLY have no idea about the actual physical affects of this substance, let alone the psychological or emotional affects it may or may not have on children who live with a marijuana user. You only care about forcing your own ignorant opinion on those who have chosen a different path than you. Get a fricking life. Or maybe a JOB if you are going to waste your time here telling people they are wrong on a subject you yourself know little to nothing about.

a. Education is key. You want to tell your kids education is important, SHOW them. If you don't like marijuana then at least do a little research so you know WHY you hate it. And make sure they're even VALID reasons. I'm sure you'll learn a lot more than you anticipated.

b. If you're going to pass judgement on a substance, then you better have at least tried it yourself. Otherwise you're just another ignorant person telling others what to do. What exactly qualifies you to tell someone what is right or wrong for THEIR life? Do we tell you not to have that beer after you mow the lawn? No. Would we choose it for ourselves? NO. We choose not to drink for various reasons. One being that when you drink and even get "buzzed" you are already more impared than I would be after several "doses" of medically-used marijuana.

Lawmakers are allowing the medical-use-system to be abused, because they themselves haven't tried the substance (although I'll bet you'd be hard-pressed to find a lawmaker who has fully abstained from alcohol.) Doctors are "recommending" purely for the money involved with the recommendation. Not for health reasons. This is why there's a problem. Complete ignorance. If they didn't add a paycheck to the recommendations I'm sure there would be far fewer, and the recommendations made would come from more reputable sources. 

Do any of you realize that you can't even overdose from THC? That's more than I can say for nearly every bottle in your medicine cabinet right now. Would you rather have your kids experiment with those? (while you may argue that you can overdose from THC, you can not prove this, because NOBODY has died from a THC overdose!! Some people ARE allergic to THC, but this is the same as being allergic to Acetaminophen (generic for Tylenol). A commonly used pain reliever which some people ARE allergic to. Like I said- Do some research. Here's a good place to start: http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30#marijuana.) 

Consider how many alcoholic parents there are in the US alone. Nobody makes them sign up for a statewide registry, yet they are home all day everyday "caring" for their children while also being intoxicated. Nobody makes them register how much alcohol they buy and consume each week. Nobody regulates how many alcohol purchases you can make per day, and as long as you're over 21 (or have a friend over 21 willing to buy for you) alcohol continues to be the most easily acquired drug. Yes. Alcohol impares your judgment and reactions. It's a drug. When you consider this, Alcohol as a drug has ruined far more lives, and killed far more people than marijuana (physically speaking... to be fair- we didn't take into consideration people who were killed during prohibition of alcohol, either. ie: moonshiners and bootleggers. Really, home-cultivators and recreational users are the new moonshiners and bootleggers. They are working to end prohibition just like with alcohol... but for a less harmful substance.) and if you also smoke cigarettes, you've just negated any argument you have, because tobacco smoke combined with alcohol is FAR more harmful to your health than marijuana is in any form.

For the Record- I work full time in software development. My husband is an honorably discharged Navy Vet who struggles with constant pain from an injury he received while serving, and is also a full time stay at home dad. He is allergic to NSAIDs (Acetaminophen, Ibuproffen, etc...) and would literally bleed to death via his stomach if he were to even attempt that pain-management route again. While our son is down for naps and before he's up in the morning my husband does medicate with Dr. Recommended marijuana. Without medicating at all my husband can't function. He can only focus on the pain. After medicating the pain is "still there, you just can't feel it anymore" and he can focus on other things than constant pain, and the depression associated with constant pain... Instead, he can focus on things like playing educational games with our son. His clarity of mind is actually greatly improved (this statement has been evaluated and verified by a Dr.) when he has medicated, due to the distraction caused by constant severe pain preventing him from ever reaching a point where he can think clearly.

You can't pass judgment on ALL marijuana smokers until you've "walked a mile in their shoes" so to speak. When you do try to pass that kind of judgment you only come across sounding like an uneducated judgmental ass... like the lawmakers who have fudged up the medical marijuana process completely. There was a much better way to do this, and if you'd asked the people who are affected most by these laws you'd have found out what that better way was. Instead everyone is suffering from a lack of relevant and factual information, and inappropriately administered processes (Which really isn't anything new from the government if we're being honest with ourselves, here.)

Anyway- I just wanted you all to know what fools you look like so you can adjust your online behavior accordingly. If you're going to bash something, know what the F you're talking about.

Instead of preaching to a choir who is far more studied in this subject, try teaching your children compassion, understanding, and the REAL difference between right and wrong. You now live in the 21st century. Progress is the name of the game. Jump in when you're ready... we're all waiting for you.

I don't judge, nor do I look down on use of marijuana. I know plenty of people who use it, and many are very successful. I personally don't use it, far too much to do and my kids are with me all day long (4 and 1 y.o.'s). I'm also interested in returning to work when something that meets my criteria comes along, so using illegal substances would be detrimental to that.

The reason why cannabis was even criminalized was because a few powerful, greedy men's empires were threatened by the hemp plant. marijuana conspiracy <-- this article does a good job of explaining how that happened. One of the government's most successful tricks up its sleeves are taxing things that they deem morally reprehensible. The people always subscribe to this because they're afraid of being judged by others that are also subscribing to these, i guess "misinformed ideologies," and give the gov more and more control over our personal lives. We live in an age of gov induced hypersensitivity, and now any little annoyance that is able to be stigmatized w/ propaganda is indulged as a legitimate problem. Pretty soon they're going to start persecuting ppl for wearing white, since it reflects light the best and technically would put the ppl around them at a greater risk for skin cancer (bad example, I know, because at least cancer has been proven to harm your health, unlike weed). Yea, it's ridiculous sounding, but the logic is exactly the same as ppl that can't stand being around smokers. The government is the one instilling a sense of corporeality and attachment to our bodies, which is just another exercise in using fear (the only thing that governments are good at) as well as an attempt at preserving our bodies to increase productivity to the state (what other governments were health nuts for this same reason? oh yea, the nationalist socialist party).The same goes for the way the gov targets certain items to hike up the taxes on, such as "sin taxes." Like almost all laws passed in this country, there's always some corporate bullshit behind it. I took a free smoking cessation class back when I was in college, and it seemed like they legitimately wanted to help me until they started throwing expensive teeth whitening products at us at the end. (I remember one of the brands was malibu bright, which is by no means a cheap complimentary toothbrush if that's what you were picturing). They should just call it "the government needs an excuse to take more of our money" tax

Take all the arguments and replace "marijuana" with "antidepressant" and see what happens.  Almost half of the US adult population is on or has been on them, and they have far worse side effects.  Alcohol consumption is different - longer duration of action - someone who has a "few drinks" would be in no shape to go pick up their kids from school for a "few" hours.  The "bringing a kid to the hospital" bit - if it can't wait for the effects of your relaxer of choice to wear off, an ambulance ride is probably in order anyways - that's always been a conservatives' BS argument.  THC is relatively short duration, at least compared to alcohol.  I refuse to use alcohol, or antidepressants.  THC use seems of minor concern when compared to either.  Regardless, I wouldn't do it in front of my child (nor would I drink in front of her), and it's always kept under lock and key - locked in the glove box of a locked car in my back yard, with the key locked in another box in my home office.  Responsibility is the most important issue here.

I was a heavy drinker before my daughter was born.  Soon after, I detoxed, and was prescribed antidepressant after antidepressant (7 in total), plus some other psych meds.  They all zombified me.  Had problems sleeping, doc's gave me Ambien.  I woke up one night in the parking lot of the store next door with a six pack in the car, with no memory of waking up, going to the store, or drinking.  No thanks.

I'll stick with what works, legal or not.  And in NY, the largest amount of marijuana I would ever be in possession of is not a criminal amount, only a violation - essentially a parking ticket.  If it's that or being a zombie who has no feeling about anything, and does things while in a sleepwalking semi aware state, which would you choose?

Just some food for thought.

P.S. - there are a few "research chemicals" available that have the exact effect THC does, but are not yet illegal to possess (in most US states anyways, NY included).  I can verify that the zero-one-eight variety is an excellent replacement for the green stuff, and cheaper to boot.  I hope this info might help some of you who were reading this thread.