Nope smokers not allowed

[Rack Daniels]

Wonder if Mr Church is a safe firearms owner…
Or Mearle?
Or the Florida Georgia line guys?
Or Christ Stapleton
Or Toby Keith..? Those are just some of the country boys! Surely they love to hunt! Hell even Aaron Lewis said, “I rarely drink from the bottle but I’ll smoke a little weed” and “My idea of heaven’s chasin whitetail bucks”.

Like irrelevant said, this ain’t a fringe issue. Some of you pot haters’ longest standing or most respected friends, family, or colleagues may have a VERY different point of view and you’re none the wiser…

 

[mevertsen]

I wasn’t singling any one person out!
I “loved” your comment that I quoted haha! My bad!

All good

 

[Nick87]

Wonder if Mr Church is a safe firearms owner…
Or Mearle?
Or the Florida Georgia line guys?
Or Christ Stapleton
Or Toby Keith..? Those are just some of the country boys! Surely they love to hunt! Hell even Aaron Lewis said, “I rarely drink from the bottle but I’ll smoke a little weed” and “My idea of heaven’s chasin whitetail bucks”.

I dont think this was directed at me but wtf does being a country singer have to do with being a safe gun owner?

 

[Rack Daniels]

I dont think this was directed at me but wtf does being a country singer have to do with being a safe gun owner?

Every one of those people sing songs about smoking marijuana, sir. That’s wtf it has to do with it.

 

[Nick87]

Every one of those people sing songs about smoking marijuana, sir. That’s wtf it has to do with it.

Yah....I get that. I still dont know how that correlates to gun safety? Like being a country singer makes you somehow a safe gun owner? I'll probably be sorry I even asked.

 

[Blue Steel]

Fun fact: in the song Bubba Shot the Jukebox, no stanky weed present. Just heartbreak, a .45, and the offending juke box.

Since I live in an MJ friendly state, always funny when browsing in a gun shop, some baked looking dude rolls in after hotboxing in his car, and if you could see his smell, he’d look like Pigpen from Charlie Brown. They never seem to buy anything though. Probably forgot why they were there to begin with.

 

[Ben Lamb]

BUT ,...do they contribute to society ?

Yes. Just like drunks do.

also, drunk drivers are responsible for far fewer traffic fatalities than simply "bad" drivers. But I don't hear anyone preaching to have their wife's license revoked... (LOL, I kid, I kid).

You are conflating differnt things. "bad" drivers is an all encompassing category and if there are infractions then yes, they are getting their licenses revoked. Just like drunk drivers with multiple DUI's. Also, I've sent this to your wife. Enjoy the weekend!

No, but they contribute to the massive inflation of the US healthcare costs, which, IMO, causes much greater and broader impacts than drunk drivers do, even if each individual case is less acute.

I think this is an important point, but ultimately it's apples to oranges in the discussion of immediate harm/impacts versus long term economic woe. If you want to go down that route, then you're going to end up indicting the for-profit medical industry & entire insurance industry - which to be clear I'm okay with. Smokers, drinkers, fatties, etc all pay higher prices for their shortcomings than the healthy 25 year old who won't STFU about crossfit and endurance racing.

 

[idelkslayer]

How do you feel about caffeine?

Red Herring as it relates to this discussion. Does caffeine result in cognitive impairment and memory deficits?

Addiction to any substance should be viewed negatively. Whether it is hard drugs, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, or anything else. All can be unhealthy but if we are talking about how they affect cognitive behavior, they are not all equal.

It's strange how men who have quit drinking and speak of the positive effects they have experienced are praised and encouraged while men who learned from the mistakes of others and never imbibed are scorned.

 

[idelkslayer]

Wonder if Mr Church is a safe firearms owner…
Or Mearle?
Or the Florida Georgia line guys?
Or Christ Stapleton
Or Toby Keith..? Those are just some of the country boys! Surely they love to hunt! Hell even Aaron Lewis said, “I rarely drink from the bottle but I’ll smoke a little weed” and “My idea of heaven’s chasin whitetail bucks”.

Like irrelevant said, this ain’t a fringe issue. Some of you pot haters’ longest standing or most respected friends, family, or colleagues may have a VERY different point of view and you’re none the wiser…

Am I supposed to look up to those guys and model my life after their lyrics? Singing with a twang doesn't make immorality or substance abuse any more wholesome than singing about it in heavy metal or rap, nor does it make someone worthy of admiration. You're right though, sadly this isn't a fringe issue.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

So our government doesn’t get taken over by another country or a popular sect within our society.

We're already occupied and run by foreign/international interest. Guns are becoming less and less valuable by the day. Seen the OpenAI military deal news lately? They'll be using AI to kill the "bad guys" in no time if they aren't already. The Epstein political class that is supposed to represent us largely just uses us and folks who keep noticing aren't going to be saved by guns..

But still, hasn't been a time I can recall where gun ownership has been more important.

 

[Frequently Banned Troll]

Am I supposed to look up to those guys and model my life after their lyrics? Singing with a twang doesn't make immorality or substance abuse any more wholesome than singing about it in heavy metal or rap, nor does it make someone worthy of admiration. You're right though, sadly this isn't a fringe issue.

So rich that the guy crying “bigot” is pivoting to “immortality” and more wholesome ways to model his life.

Judgiest cult on earth..

 

[TOGIE]

I'm a much better father, esp right after work, after a beer.
I'm also a better husband, especially on vacation, after a glass or two of wine.

but that's fundamentally addiction right?

i'm 1000% a better husband, father, friend, employee, etc when i have a steady flow of nicotine.

i'm fundamentally a verbally abusive dick to everyone who crosses my path without it.

addiction.

but that doesn't mean nicotine use is wholesale better for my mental and physical health and those around me than no nicotine. just because you've rewired your brain to a status quo with a substance doesn't mean that status quo is a net benefit. which is why i'm again off it. 3 months. i intend to keep it that way this time.

 

[Exhausted]

but that's fundamentally addiction right?

i'm 1000% a better husband, father, friend, employee, etc when i have a steady flow of nicotine.

i'm fundamentally a verbally abusive dick to everyone who crosses my path without it.

addiction.

but that doesn't mean nicotine use is wholesale better for my mental and physical health and those around me than no nicotine. just because you've rewired your brain to a status quo with a substance doesn't mean that status quo is a net benefit. which is why i'm again off it. 3 months. i intend to keep it that way this time.

I think, if we're honest with ourselves, the reason we are "better" is because we're using the addiction to numb or mute a flawed part of our personality. That is basically what you're saying with 2nd bolded sentence.

And there is zero reason we can't fix (not saying easily or quickly) that flawed part with something other than an addiction. There are a number of resources out there that can help us to be better husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, friends, etc. That is something we all should be working on regularly.

If alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, weed, etc. makes it easier to be the person you should be in the first place, that is a symptom of a problem that needs addressing, not merely a benefit of your drug of choice.

I've been trying to think of the right way to say all of that without insulting anyone and I hope that comes across.

 

[idelkslayer]

So rich that the guy crying “bigot” is pivoting to “immortality” and more wholesome ways to model his life.

Judgiest cult on earth..

I think my mistake in that post was bringing morality into it instead of keeping the discussion directly tied to substance use.

But, you can call the shots how you see it, I'll do the same. We don't have to agree, but a poster making implications that only "mormons" could possibly object to alcohol and marijuana comes with the connotation (judgement) that only weirdos and cultists could possibly be opposed to the "fun" of drug use, and their opinion can therefore be devalued. Judging a person based on their religion is bigotry, whether the poster intended it that way or not and he clarified that he didn't and that's enough for me. Alcohol consumption with its rituals and social pressures appears cultish from the outside looking in.

I'm really not trying to get into a pissing match with you or anyone else here. It seems one side of this discussion can boldly state their opinion but if someone who is religious gives a counter they are labelled as judgmental. I didn't bring religion into this discussion, I responded to it. I don't think I'm better than anyone else in this discussion, I have my faults, and you or anyone else may be a better person than me in many ways that I would admire.

As for morality, we can disagree on what is moral, that's fine. I was mostly trying to make a point that just because a celebrity espouses something it doesn't make it good, exemplary, or authoritative. I have already stated that I'm not trying to judge anyone else for their choices or take away their ability to make those choices, just stating my opinion on the topic.

You're free to do what you want if it's legal. I'm free to have my opinion about it; and you're free to not care about my opinion. But this is a discussion where we are sharing our opinions so I have offered mine. Now tell me I'm a prudish-judgmental-something-or-other, or don't, it's up to you.

As a society we do have to draw the line somewhere. We drew the line at alcohol and tobacco for a long time. Now we are moving the line to include cannabis. I don't like any of it, but people can choose for themselves.

There have been some good points on both sides of this discussion, it's hard to draw a line. Where I would draw the line based on my life experience, standard of morality, and my religious beliefs is not where I would want the line to be drawn according to the law. So I have to be comfortable with leaving it to personal choice instead of legislating my morality because I wouldn't want someone else's morality legislating my behavior either. But maybe that's my judgmental cult mind speaking...

 

[Ben Lamb]

I think, if we're honest with ourselves, the reason we are "better" is because we're using the addiction to numb or mute a flawed part of our personality. That is basically what you're saying with 2nd bolded sentence.

And there is zero reason we can't fix (not saying easily or quickly) that flawed part with something other than an addiction. There are a number of resources out there that can help us to be better husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, friends, etc. That is something we all should be working on regularly.

If alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sugar, weed, etc. makes it easier to be the person you should be in the first place, that is a symptom of a problem that needs addressing, not merely a benefit of your drug of choice.

I've been trying to think of the right way to say all of that without insulting anyone and I hope that comes across.

It's a touchy subjet regardless. but I do think this is an important perspective. I get why the beer after work, etc is helpful, and if there is no problem then great. Obviously, when it becomes a problem then it has to go, but is a crutch still a crutch when it's meditation?

Mental Health is a strange thing. What works for @Irrelevant was what made me stop drinking: Just a few drinks after work to unwind and not bring my problems into the familial setting. Folks who have had a lot of negative experiences with booze will see things a lot more like you & I do in terms of finding something else that works.

100 agree that we should all be working on ourselves regularly. Introspection and self-evolvement are corner-stones of a well-rounded individual. I can't do that with a drink in my hand. Others can.

6 years w/o liquor and I still struggle daily to be the person I should.