On 12 nov, 11:54, Dave J.  wrote:
> In MsgID on Thu, 08
> Nov 2007 07:25:04 -0800, in uk.politics.drugs, 'sobriquet' wrote:
>
> >Compare it to the hypothetical scenario that certain relatively less
> >dangerous means for transportation like riding a bicycle would be
> >illegal and the argument would be that we allow cars and they cause
> >traffic accidents so the advocates of bicycle prohibition would claim
> >legalizing the use of bicycles would only add to the current problems
> >of traffic accidents with cars, given that bicycles are not completely
> >safe.
> >Your claim regarding the substitution of pot for alcohol is like
> >claiming there is scant evidence to suggest people would switch means
> >for transportation if usage of bicycles would be legalized, given that
> >cars are legal.
>
> Nah, this doesn't hold water. Cars versus bikes is a clearly mutually
> exclusive choice (for any given journey) whereas although

You can take the bicycle on the car and go a part of the journey by
car
and a part by bicycle. Though indeed alcohol and cannabis can be
combined directly and this would be hard with a car (theoretically,
you can ride a bike on the roof of a driving truck).

> I personally
> dislike mixing alcohol and cannabis (I'm just generally not too keen on
> alcohol and it certainly spoils cannabis, although cannabis can partially
> rescue a mild alcohol high) there is little evidence to suggest that
> cannabis use would generally *substitute for* rather than add to alcohol.

The point of the analogy is that riding a bicycle is less risky
compared to driving a car, just like using cannabis is less risky
compared to using alcohol. If people want to go somewhere, they often
have a choice to go by bicycle or by car and if people like to get
intoxicated, they also have a choice of alcohol or pot regardless of
the fact that alcohol and pot can be combined in various ways, just
like riding bicycles and driving cars.
If people have a choice between smoking pot, tobacco or both, I think
people might have a motivation to switch from tobacco to pot because
then it would be easier to avoid an addiction to smoking. If people
have a choice between getting drunk or getting stoned, people might
dislike the hangover associated with being drunk and prefer to get
stoned instead. I sometimes like to get stoned while having a mild
alcohol buzz, but on most occasions I tend to avoid getting any
effects from alcohol and I prefer to be stoned.
But perhaps you have a point though and maybe it should be
investigated scientifically if cannabis provides a likely substitution
for alcohol as far as usage for recreational intoxication is
concerned.
Potentially cannabis and alcohol could go together like coffee and
cigarettes or alcohol and cigarettes.


>
> There is a whole side argument that cannabis, as an addition, reduces the
> damage done by medium term alcohol abuse but that's too deep for most
> prohibitionists to follow.
>
> Make no mistake, I know that the anti pleasure laws are all bunkum, and
> I'm totally certain that general cannabis use (whether in addition to or
> in partial replacement for alcohol) would have an overall positive effect
> on our mindset, but I don't recommend relying on the above argument as
> ammunition.
>
> Dave J.
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