I met a Martian

[woodsmoke]

I met a Martian today.

I entered a watering hole that I sometimes frequent and there was a Martian sitting at the bar watching a couple of television screens.

So, since I like to visit with people, I settled onto a stool and offered to buy a round.

The Martian averred, indicating that Martians only drink water and did not partake of any other stimulants.

So, with nothing else to discuss I asked about his interest in the television screens and following is a rough transcript of the conversation.

“I see from the screen on the left that significant parts of the United States are saying that they want to have “medical marijuana”.

I replied: “Yes”.

The Martian continued: “From watching your television broadcasts we, ( Martians ) have come to believe that it is possible that the term “medical marijuana” is really, in fact, a cover for people who want to have free access to the stimulant and to get, in fact, continuing throughout their lives,...access to that stimulant.”

I replied: “That is at least one view of the situation”.

The Martian continued: “ From watching your popular films and etc. of which Cheech and Chong can be hazarded as a normative for the people who want “medical marijuana” that the people who want it will want it throughout their lifetimes and will pay for said useage.”

I replied: “That is one view”.

The Martian opined: “We, observing from afar, would say that the situation is a dictionary statement of “addiction” since the people want it, have to have it, and will pay for it, to the exclusion of other things.”

I replied: “That is one view”.

The Martian continued: “On the screen to the right I see an constant repitition, in what you call "prime time"...of a very nice advertsement, paid for by the tobacco companies, at the will of the government; that the tobacco companies have genetically engineered tobacco to be an addictive substance”.

I replied: “hmmm”…

The Martian then said: “Apparently, then, to we Martians; the people of the United States are being swayed by…. shall I say “unseen forces” within and without the government, and within and without the business world, who are conspiring to foist on the people of the United States...

... the trading of one addictive substance for another addictive substance…...both of which have to be PAID FOR by the people ….to fill the bank accounts of...…. Who?

I replied, "What do you mean "fill the bank accounts"...

And he replied: "Just WHO is it...that is financing all of those thousands of supposed "startup" companies which ARE REQUIRED to be approved by "the government", indeed, for financing and for safety etc... Just HOW WAS IT...that this "unseen money" appeared... and by "unseen" we have noticed that there is NO questioning of this by your putative "non-biased" media.

And I replied:..."hmmmm..."...

And, I might mention, to defray the predictable questions... no...he did not have green skin... or grey skin, and no he did not have almond shaped eyes or a bulbous head and rather pointy jaw..

woodremembersthefellowwhowasbeingPAIDto"protest"at thehandsupdon'tshootralleys...he bought a LOT of booze for the bar... got bus fare also...smoke

[TWPonKubuntu]

hmmm... indeed...

[Bings]

So, with nothing else to discuss

Really?

[TWPonKubuntu]

Upon taking a night to "think" about this, I conclude that Mars, or more properly the Martian society, seem kind of dull and pedantic.

WoodSmoke, should you happen to meet this Martian again, please do invite him/her/it to join some of the many Windows(r) forums on our internet. I think it would be perfect fit.

[jlittle]

For me, the story is rather spoiled by the characterization of alcohol and cannibinoids as stimulants. I suppose "stimulant" should be read as "psychoactive substance", but they are less addictive than stimulants like nicotine and cocaine, and making them equivalent is the point of the story, which becomes a colourfully embellished straw man argument.

(Heavy stuff self-censored.)

Regards, John Little

[GreyGeek]

One of the arguments against using tobacco was that smoking caused lung cancer, which is true. That fact seems to have been forgotten by the same folks who are now pushing to make pot smoking legal. Inhaling the smoke from smoldering vegetation for a prolonged period of time, regardless which weed is smoldering, will cause lung cancer. Smoking pot will cause lung cancer.

Smoking in public is a disgusting, stinky habit and the product of all that smoking, smoke, saturates the hair and clothing of anyone who is down wind from the smoker. My addition of choice is drinking tea. The product of that habit is urine. Would smokers appreciate it if I stood near them and urinated all over their head and clothes?

[Qqmike]

I was in undergrad college 1967-1971. The astute reader will be able to intuit what I know about pot. For just a few months, anyway. I know that it can produce anxiety and paranoia, among other things. I also smoked cigs about that time--started so I could learn to inhale ... quit that after a couple years. Tea, anyone? My daily routine includes a few cups of green tea, or more. Safe, except it is associated with kidney stones (along with a long list of other things, like chocolate, nuts, and you can google the rest). I think about Martians a lot.

I wonder how they see the tangible wealth of the planet concentrated in so few hands. To the point that large numbers of people are slammed up against the wall without adequate supplies of clean water to drink or basic food to eat, daily. And, finally, about pot smokers, to each his own, quietly at home. Not for me, though. I'm very practical on this: I worry about them being careless drivers, endangering everyone, just like drunk drivers, along with distracted drivers, driving auto insurance rates up even higher than they are now (for those of us who don't get killed and survive to pay another six months' premium).

[Qqmike]

(Again, posting issues: there should be no paragraph break following the word lot.)

[GreyGeek]

Pot smoking cost 14 Amtrak passengers their lives:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_M...rain_collision

Fatal car crashes doubled since pot approved in Washington State
https://www.livescience.com/54693-hi...alization.html

and it goes on and on.

[Bings]

Inhaling anything other than fresh air is not good for you in the long term. I don't know why these people try to bull**** that what they are smoking is somehow not going to cause them lung cancer. Avid pot smokers are so in denial a lot of the time.

In the UK, there is a ban on smoking indoors in public place. Smokers have to go outside. Government was quite clever by implementing it in the summer, although it was weird going into venues and instead of smelling tobacco, you were hit by blast of sweaty B.O. I have never smoked but I kind of miss the atmosphere of smoky bars and I'd prefer it come back than have these e-cigarettes that people have now. They're legal to smoke indoors and smell like a crappy air freshener, yet smokers blow out the smoke like they are the cool guy in a 1950's movie.

[Qqmike]

Bings: I kind of miss the atmosphere of smoky bars and I'd prefer it come back

So, you've got a bit of the barfly in you? I did for a few years following a divorce circa 1990. It was fun, a nice excuse for throwing darts in the evenings. And, as the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Speaking of this, you might like the (Bukowski-cult) movie Barfly.

smell like a crappy air freshener, yet smokers blow out the smoke like they are the cool guy in a 1950's movie.

Yeah, I've noticed that, too. They blow more smoke out of one puff than you would blow out with half a pack of regular cigarettes. I see young people doing this while driving with a window open and blowing smoke out like an old train would. They look like idiots.

[Snowhog]

Inhaling the smoke from smoldering vegetation for a prolonged period of time, regardless which weed is smoldering, will cause lung cancer. Smoking pot will cause lung cancer.

In some people, not all people.

In any statement, absolutes should almost always be suspect. There are very few absolutes. What is more accurately stated is that inhaling any type of smoke has a detrimental effect on lung tissue, and that prolonged exposure to inhaled smoke (of any kind) increases the chances of health issues, up to and including cancers and death.

[Bings]

QQmike, I like loud rock music, traditional beer and public houses. I've never smoked bar the odd cigarette here and there. I've always been too tight to buy them (they are taxed up to the hilt here) and as I get older, I realise that being physically compelled by addiction to buy something is actually quite sinister. Let alone the health implications. I think now it's banned, it's just associated with my youth. Things like coming home in the early hours of the morning, tired, hungover, stinking of cigarettes and really appreciating the fresh morning air because I'd spent hours in a smoke filled night club.

I'll have a look at that film if I see it on TV.

[Qqmike]

Bings: Things like coming home in the early hours of the morning, tired, hungover, stinking of cigarettes and really appreciating the fresh morning air because I'd spent hours in a smoke filled night club.

Oh Jeez, I'm getting PTSD flashbacks here! Not to pick on details, but (1) Coming home way past 5 am, if at all; (2) Not to mention all the strange people one meets (not all of whom have your best interests in mind); (3) Hoping you came home alone! and not with some thing that you later decide you really can't handle ...
;-)

[GreyGeek]

In some people, not all people.

In any statement, absolutes should almost always be suspect. There are very few absolutes. What is more accurately stated is that inhaling any type of smoke has a detrimental effect on lung tissue, and that prolonged exposure to inhaled smoke (of any kind) increases the chances of health issues, up to and including cancers and death.

Most people who smoke, if something else doesn’t kill them first. A week from this Saturday I am giving the eulogy at the funeral of one of my friends who just retired less than a year ago. Smoked all his life, three packs a day until the doctor said he was beyond 4th stage small cell lung cancer. He died a month later, the night before last.

Most people who smoke always think that that they will be in that small group of people who smoke (a/o drink) all their life but will die at 95, in their sleep, from something sudden, quick and painless. Buck did. He laughed off any suggestions by his wife, my wife or me that his smoking would come back to bite him hard.

The carcinogens that are in tobacco smoke are in pot smoke as well.