a girl i dated was killed by a drunk driver... the day he got out of prison, for previous drunk driving infractions.

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That's messed up that he was able to retain his license.

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Wheelhouse

I do take some issue with this. Just because a person SEEMS to be 'ok' doesn't mean that they are. The outward appearances of intoxication are not a reliable indicator of just how affected they really are.

Back in my EMS days, we played a little game when hanging out in the ER. I'll admit that this game was a little crass, but I'll still admit to having participated in it. When drunks would come stumbling in about 3-4 am, or when they'd come in by ambulance, we'd try to guess what their BAC was when it was tested. Some people would walk right in and seem perfectly normal, but blow over .2. Others would be almost crawling, but would be below .1 .

When I get hammered, there's a period of time where I'm not OK to drive, but you probably couldn't tell by talking to me. Each person is different, and that's why I think that just not driving at all is the way to do it. It's too much guesswork to try and figure out if a person is OK to drive or not.

he didnt have a license...

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The term "high" alone means that you're not suitable to drive. Just as the word "drunk" means that you're not suitable to drive.

If you haven't smoked enough to limit your judgment, you're not really 'high' are you? Similar to how if you haven't drunken enough to limit your abilities, you're not drunk.

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When I was a boy I spoke as a boy, I understood as a boy, and I thought as a boy; when I became a man I took that boy outside and shot him.

he never said that the guy was driving with a license. Sadly, a lot of drunks who have lost their licenses (due to their DWI convictions) still drive illegally.

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With great, heartfelt apologies for the tasteless insensitivity I'm about to show...

"I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison. And I went to pick her up in the rain. But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck, she got runned over by a damned old train."

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Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man. Oh lord, it's hard to be humble, but I'm doin' the best that I can.

I'm not really sure what there is to take issue with.

I'm saying that if someone is with someone that they believe shouldn't be driving, they have a right to prevent them from doing it.

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Wheelhouse

I'm against driving after taking any substance that impairs your driving ability, not just alcohol or cannabis.

This includes folks with uncontrolled diabetes who can have bouts of ketoacidosis causing them to react in a similar fashion as an intoxicated person, all the way to those on pain killers.

I don't mean to be picking on your points, don't take it that way.

My issue is that if you and I are out drinking, and I'm supposed to be driving, there shouldn't be an arbitrary decision process if I am 'ok' to drive or not. If I ask you 'Do you think I'm ok?' , you can't reliably answer that question. You may THINK you know how I am, but you don't really know how it's affected me.

As I mentioned above, I just think that if you've been drinking/smoking/snorting/whatever, you just shouldn't be driving.

Oh I agree with you.

All I was saying was that if you're with someone who is attempting to drive, and you've been with them and you believe that they aren't capable, that's a situation that you have the right to chime in.

For example. You go out to the bars with your friends, and everyone drinks. You know that no one is capable of driving.

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Wheelhouse

last year, we all got shit faced at the bar, so we took a taxi home. i thought i was on taxi cab confessions... something else happened too. long story short, we took a cab.

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Pants, it's fine of how you think, while high with friends who wants to go out and drive around, I only ever drove home from the event because everyone was already leaving, or I had to be home and such.

I don't just go get high and drive, because I'm always with others to be social. But I know I was fine to drive because you pop that window open for fresh air, you concentrate very clear and you do fine, your head isn't thinking your high or as high as you really are until you stop, even though it still seems like you are taking forever to get somewhere.

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I've never smoked or consumed marijuana in any way and I never will. There's nothing to be gained by it - sure, some people may find it enjoyable or whatever, but all I see are negative health effects. Not something I want or need. Plus it would be a complete waste of money.

I don't really have any problem with people using it though under most circumstances - it's their life, they can do whatever they want to a reasonable extent. However, I am against the use of it in public, schools, etc, and especially by minors.

I am against the use of all "hard" drugs, however - they are too highly addictive and the effects are extremely dangerous.

Now, I do take large issue with driving under the influence of ANY substance. Heck, fatigue can be dangerous as well. If you're not in a condition to drive - don't - although you may not necessarily realize it.

There are going to be effects of marijuana use that impair response time or the overall ability to drive. Obviously there are going to be increased effects as the consumption increases. You may think you're fine - that doesn't mean you are.

Alcohol is going to be more dangerous in most situations - the effects of marijuana aren't that bad - but to drive while high is utterly irresponsible. There are numerous studies that show it significantly increases the likelihood of a fatal crash.

And Pants isn't making any "smartass" comments in my mind - he has a point. I don't mind if someone gets high. That's not affecting me. But once they go on the road, that's making it more dangerous for me as well.

I started smoking weed when I was around 15, but I have asthma which really impeded upon the good time aspect of it. I had my throat close up a few times, and had one really scary situation with it, but peer pressure prevailed because all of my friends were pot heads. I know there is a common stereotype of stoners automatically being giggly free love people, but for everyone of those, I knew just as many people who turned into giant assbags.

I digress. I stopped indulging in drinking and drugs this year because I found elation in something matchless. Pot really was rather bleh, and made everyone I was around seem extremely uninteresting. Again, this is not to say that everyone is like that, but I found the conversations that prevailed after smoking boring. I also saw first hand in someone close to me what drugs, of all types, do to an addictive personality, and that's a market I choose not to buy into.

I think, going into the topic of these substances, you need to really know yourself. What can be harmless to one person, can be devastating to another. In my case, the risks outweigh the benefits, so I don't do it.

we should change this to "whats your vice?" thread so i can talk stogies.



DROOLLLL

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Why would someone want to fry their brain cells? If you use it enough you can pretty much become VERY dumb or die from a brain issue. Bad for your lungs too.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Everything in moderation.

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there really are no health effects to smoking marijuana...anything really reasonable anyways. unless you smoke like a chimney, of course. thc has no lasting hold on our systems and for some reason we have thc receptors in our brains, so sometime down the line, we did something with thc besides smoke it.

that being said, i do not smoke it, and never have. it is illegal, so i don't do it. if it was illegal, say, under 21, i probably would have tried it once. but since it's a blanket ban, i don't use it. i don't care if people do use it though- as far as recreational drugs go, it is the most mild version- other than social drinking. i do prefer that those who smoke do not drive and do not smoke around me so i have to smell it (i'm the same way with cigarettes). there's nothing worse than leaving a building and walking through a cloud of smoke, and it's worse if it is pot, because i never know if i inhaled enough of it inadvertently to fail a drug test for a job.

smoking is dumb because you still are affected by it even if you don't smoke. your health isn't compromised by other people boozing.

Once a year, on our anniversary, my husband and I go to the casino, get a room, get loaded and remind ourselves that we're married and not just roomates. I can't drink alcohol because wine makes my feet swell and I REALLY HATE hangovers. So, yeah, once a year...that is all.

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Its NNYFAN, but you can just call me Kris.