Rahul Shukla

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. . . . Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. — FRANCIS YOUNG, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION”
― Steve Elliott, The Little Black Book of Marijuana: The Essential Guide to the World of Cannabis

“Nietzsche, who called alcohol and Christianity “the two great European narcotics,” was not averse to the therapeutic use of cannabis. “To escape from unbearable pressure you need hashish,” Nietzsche wrote.”
― Martin A. Lee, Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational and Scientific

“My personal view (and not the view of the LAS by any means) would be to prohibit alcohol, but legalise cannabis. Not only would it cut our workload by, at my estimate, 60-70%, but I’ve never had anyone high on cannabis try to hit me. Cannabis users are very rarely violent, tend to be generally easier to handle and seldom get loud and annoying. It’s true that there are long-term health consequences, and that heavy ‘stoners’ can waste their life away, but the same holds true of alcohol and alcoholics.”
― Tom Reynolds, Blood, Sweat and Tea

“Cannabis affects the brain because brain cells themselves produce cannabis-like neurotransmitters. The first such compound to be identified was christened anandamide, ananda being Sanskrit for “bliss.” The proteins that transmit anandamide’s message to the brain, the receptors, are mainly located in the striatum (hence the blissful feeling) and in the cerebellum (hence the unsteady gait after taking marijuana), in the cerebral cortex (hence the problems with association, the fragmented thoughts and confusion), and in the hippocampus (hence the memory impairment). But there are no receptors in the brain stem areas that regulate blood pressure and breathing. That’s why it’s impossible to take an overdose of cannabis, as opposed to opiates.”
― D.F. Swaab, We Are Our Brains: A Neurobiography of the Brain, from the Womb to Alzheimer's