You're in the smoking section at the diner, someone lights up a joint...

[Philosoraptor]

Do you:

Run in terror?

Call the cops?

Hide the children?

Complain to the manager?

Cover your face so you don't get totally ripped?

Join the person's entourage?

Is second hand marijuana smoke dangerous? Should bars let customers fire up a joint? Do marijuana and tequila go together well? Do you enjoy a nice joint after a good meal? Are you tired of being a criminal cause you enjoy a good smoke?

Which is more dangerous in a restaurant, a guy firing up a joint or a lady lighting a cigarette?

Are you a cigarette smoker who feels his/her rights are being infringed upon, and are you tired of having to go out into the freezing winter to take a smoke break, like some leper? What about us poor put-upon pot smokers?

I would probably object to someone sitting next to me in a restaurant smoking crack, or a cigarette, or a cigar, but not weed.

Are marijuana smokers making your life miserable? Are terrorist pot heads destroying your neighborhood with crime? Are people stealing to get a joint, are the hospitals filled with dying pot heads dragging down our health care system?

Are America's priorities totally fucked up beyond belief?

Roooooooooooll another one----just like the other one.....

[Clark2008]

1. There's no smoking section at the diner anymore, anyway.

[shadowknows69]

2. Wow man piss on my wheaties

I had a nice little fantasy going where we all could smoke anything anywhere. Buzz kill.

Oh, and I'd break out some of my own and fire up another.

[Philosoraptor]

3. Yeah, diners are too small to smoke in.

I should have said McDonalds, or Applebee's.

[allthingsimportant]

7. diners too small?

I am guessing you are not from NY or NJ :)

[lapfog_1]

4. Fortunately, there are no smoking sections in restaurants or

bars where I live.

And if someone was smoking a joint outside with the other smokers, it's not my business. However, I wouldn't think highly of the individual doing so... because of the risk of being arrested, when said individual can take a much smaller risk by smoking in the privacy of their home. Doesn't show a lot of smarts. But then, I feel the same way about people drinking too much, even though that is legal.

[Philosoraptor]

5. People love to smoke while they drink.

It's hard for me to adjust to the no smoking bars, I don't smoke cigarettes, I enjoy an occassional cigar or tobacco pipe, but if a person can't smoke in a bar, it just don't seem right.

Restaurants I can understand, but not bars.

[Kolesar]

9. All of Ohio

If a patron wants a smoke, the patron has to stand outside or on a "patio". It's 24 degrees right now. Some bar owners are saying their business has dropped off as a result.

The sequel to "Bowling Alone" is "Smoking Alone" .

Presumably, the law is to protect the wait staff from second hand smoke. I am sure that there are some employees who don't have the transportation or job skills to "find a job somewhere else". For that matter, waiting may be their best skill and they "should be" a waiter for a vocation.

[Jersey Devil]

16. Same in NJ, not a problem

In fact, it has brought back to the bars many of the patrons who stopped coming because they couldn't stand the second hand smoke. Smokers also don't seem to mind going outside if it means not offending other customers.

[MissMillie]

19. I love being in the bars now

I don't come home smelling like an ashtray... and singing karaoke is easier when you're not inhaling smoke.

[lapfog_1]

11. Been that way for what a decade in California

and people seem to have adjusted just fine.

I'm part owner of a bar, and it hasn't affected sales at all. If anything, people who didn't go to bars because of the smoke, now come to enjoy our live bands and dancing... And the smokers still come, but must go outside to light up.

[Le Taz Hot]

30. You have live bands?

As in people who play actual instruments and stuff? And sing too? As a 40-year musician who has never sang to a pre-recorded "accompaniment" in my life, may I just say: :applause: Thank you for supporting MUSICIANS as opposed to some guy playing CD's or some amateur getting up and caterwalling to a pre-recorded CD (goddess help me).

[donsu]

35. if you came to Key West you would feint - live bands everywhere

nt

[Le Taz Hot]

39. One of my "Places I MUST go to before I die"

spots. Key West. It's one of the reasons I love New Orleans and San Diego so much. As an aside, didn't Key West, like, declare war on the U.S. at one point? Iirc, it was a raciously funny story in that Key West declared war on the U.S. then surrendered 24 hours later. THEN asked for foreign aid! I can't remember all the details I just remember it was a FUNNY story.

[Dukkha]

50. I was against it at first

when I lived in CA then quickly just used to it there. When I quit smoking soon after I really noticed the impact of second hand smoke in bars in Ohio. Now it's banned here and everyone got used to it again.

So that said I'd like to see a Federal ban on indoor smoking in public.

[Uben]

6. I'll bet if you lit up a doobie....

....in a restaurant, you would feel like you had leprosy! People would bail faster than if a fire broke out!

[Philosoraptor]

8. I've seen it happen in some nightclubs I've been in.

Some of the seedier bars I've been in are totally oblivious when someone fires up a doobie, but it's not a common occurrence.

[alfredo]

41. I've seen people do hash under glass in a bar in Detroit. I

did smoke a joint in a night club in Addis Abeba. It was full of diplomats and other government types. Nobody noticed. They were busy with their high priced hookers.

[shadowknows69]

14. And I'd be sitting there laughing my ass off

[WillParkinson]

10. I vote for...

Fart in their faces and then call the cops.

[LostInAnomie]

12. I'd sit there stunned at how cool they are.

Because, to do that the person has to be either REALLY cool, really stupid, or really love weed (or maybe all three).

[Swamp Rat]

13. Offer 'em big bowl of cereal in exchange for a joint.

:9 :smoke:

[MonkeyFunk]

18. Your art never ceases to amaze me

[cgrindley]

15. Pot smoke smells worse than cigar smoke... I'd leave without paying (nt)

[LeftishBrit]

17. I wouldn't choose the smoking section at all; but if I did, I'd expect people to be smoking...

and I wouldn't much care what they smoked.

I've never understood the obsession (in the UK too) with marijuana; I daresay it's not a very good health habit to smoke anything regularly, but there are lots of things we do that aren't good health habits, and we don't make them all illegal.

[Echo In Light]

20. Warn them to split before a rule-crazy dick calls the cops

[KharmaTrain]

21. Smoking Sections? There Are Such Things?

I can't recall the last time I went into a restaurant that had a smoking section. I'm so used to them being smoke free now, and even as a smoker, I don't mind it one bit...hasn't bothered me...my nasty habit can wait.

Now if I smelled that sweet smell of herb superb rolling through the restaurant...I'd probably buy the guy his dinner and hope he doesn't bogart.

[guitar man]

22. To borrow some lyrics from Little Feat

I'd just have to break out in a chorus of "Don't Bogart That Joint, my friend, pass it over to me...." :evilgrin:

[kentuck]

23. I thought that was "The Fraternity of Man"...?

:-)

[Philosoraptor]

25. Both actually.

The Little Feat live double album, my fave, has a reprise of the song.

[guitar man]

33. that's the version I'm used to

Waiting For Columbus...one of my all time favorite albums :thumbsup:

[electron_blue]

24. Well, latest studies show that marijuana contains far more toxic chemicals than cigaret

smoke. So... I assume that if someone did a study on second hand smoke from the two, marijuana would come out the loser by comparison, but I doubt that study has been done yet.

Link to article:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/drugs-alcohol/mg19626354.200-inhaled-cannabis-is-more-toxic-than-tobacco-smoke.html

[dysfunctional press]

26. and yet- there has never been a single case of lung cancer from pot smoking...

and in fact, it actually shrinks tumors.

[electron_blue]

27. not a single case? got link?

[electron_blue]

29. NM, found my own link. Very interesting. So far, so good on the cancer front.

"Marijuana users face the same respiratory problems as regular smokers, such as bronchitis, wheezing, and general difficulty in breathing.

Plus, the resecrchers of the study do say that a lung cancer risk associated wsith smoking marijuana may be revealed as the baby boomers age."

[Le Taz Hot]

31. And yet . . .

as a lifelong chronic asthmatic, smoking pot actually opens my bronchial tubes. So much for "studies," heh? :shrug:

[Echo In Light]

32. It's one of those subjects where people stand by deeply ingrained perceptions

Those who, for whatever reason or psychological impetus, view pot smoking unfavorably {which has to do with those who smoke it, not the substance itself} will naturally stand close to any research that casts it in a negative light, and vice versa. Pot smoking/pot culture is one of those topics where people adhere to info that suits them personally. Having said that, it seems fairly clear that, aside from inhaling smoke, the substance itself is rather benign compared with alcohol or tobacco, not to mention a host of poisonous prescription drugs that are fast-tracked onto the market. One example of this is that I can cite people and families I know and have known who suffered terribly on many levels due to alcoholism, as where those I know who smoke pot don't have those same problems. I'm a musician and have smoked pot for most of my life ... not so much now that I'm a parent, but I def used to run in circles where I saw all sorts of good and bad examples of recreational drug use, and alcohol always wrought worse results ... unless you're talking serious addiction to smack, coke/crack or meth. That shit kills. Pot won't poison your spirit.

[dysfunctional press]

38. pot is a bronchial/vascular dilator- tobacco has the opposite effect...

tobacco smokers generally have higher blood pressure, and for centuries pot was prescribed to asthmatics to help them breathe easier.

[electron_blue]

44. Good that it gives you relief, but of course scientific studies address what is likely

to happen to most people. Perhaps you have mitigating factors?

[dysfunctional press]

46. pot has given relief to asthmatics for CENTURIES...

the "mitigating factor" that changed was the u.s. government's demonization of the herb to protect the chemical and paper industries, and to keep money flowing to police departments after the end of prohibition.

[Le Taz Hot]

49. Marijuana is a Lung Cleaner and Expectorant

Here's the link (there were many)

http://www.geocities.com/medicalmarijuana2003/fact20.htm

[EOTE]

53. Same here.

If I smoke a cigarette or two at a bar, the next day it hurts to inhale and I'd get winded by even the easiest tasks. I can smoke a decent sized blunt by myself, and while immediately after, I might be a little short of breath, the next day I feel absolutely fine. I'm an asthmatic as well, smoking a little bud definitely helps me breathe a little better. It also cures my bronchitis within a day.

[dysfunctional press]

36. here are a couple links you might want to check out...

and i'll actually provide the links for you, which you didn't include with yours- so who knows when & where those statements come from...? :shrug:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection

The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.

"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect..."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm

Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2007) — The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

hey say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy.

THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.

"The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine....


another thing to keep in mind is the different, even opposite effects that tobacco and marijuana smoke have on the metabolism- tobacco acts as a vascular/bronchial constrictor- raising blood pressure and making breathing more laboured. pot, on the other hand is a bronchial/vascular dilator- lowering blood pressure, and making breathing easier- which is one of the reasons that for centuries it used to be prescribed to asthmatics to help with their condition.

[Echo In Light]

37. Thanky for the linkies

:hippie:

[electron_blue]

45. sorry, I thought I included the link. Anyways, here it is:

http://cancer.about.com/od/smokingandcancer/f/marijuana.htm

[immoderate]

28. I remember a time in the 70s in NYC where you could light up a joint...

just about anywhere.

We smoked pot in restaurants and clubs, and nobody said anything. The golden age. :smoke:

--IMM

[Seedersandleechers]

40. Yeah

I remember visiting NYC in the early 70's. The smoking cars in the ride to Penn Station was half pot smoke.

[lazyriver]

43. 1996 - after an Allman Brothers show at the Beacon Theatre

let out around midnight or so, I ended up in a late night club way downtown (don't remember the name but it had the word, "Lion" in it) with four friends to see a band called Jazz is Dead. The bouncer behind the rope asked the first guy in our group "Do you have any weed on you"? My friend said, "Yeah, a few joints". I'm thinking, "Smooth move dumbass. Now we'll never get in or even wind up getting arrested". The bouncer waves us in and says, "Then all I ask is you sit up there (gesturing to an elevated section of tables and chairs along the back wall) and keep it low key". We burned 'em all night long up in the little balconey along with a few dozen new found friends, most of whom walked up from the "non-smoking" section below during the show. It was one of the coolest nights ever. I think I would have liked NYC in the 70's.

[alcibiades_mystery]

34. People smoke in restaurants?

Yuck.

[sakabatou]

42. I would...

ponder, "Why the fuck am I in the smoking section?"

[Zookeeper]

47. The smell of pot would interfere with the enjoyment of my meal...

just as much as tobacco smoke. I do my best to avoid being in any restaurant that allows smoking.

[Pathwalker]

48. Was this at the Fleetwood Diner? Where the No Hippies Allowed

signs hang in the smoking section? That's the name of a diner here, and it's fill of anti-hippie signs from the sixties - you should see the clientele! :smoke: :rofl:

[zorahopkins]

51. There's No Smoking Section In My Area

In the area where I live, it is illegal to smoke in any restaurant or diner.

However, if I were in a diner somewhere that had a smoking section, and if someone were to light up a joint near me, I would politely ask them to put it out.

I'd do the same thing if I were in a place that served only beer and wine, and I saw someone take out a flask and mix a cocktail for him/herself.

[Jack Sprat]

52. I would be jealous

It would be refreshing to see someone blatantly ignoring a stupid law against smoking weed.

On smoking in general in diners, restaurants, etc: More and more of us live in states that prohibit smoking inside any establishment. I think it's a shame and a disgrace that smokers cannot go to a Smoker's Waffle House or Smoker's Applebees, or a Smoker's Saloon. There should be a few restaurants designated for those who wish to smoke. Tobacco products are meant for enjoyment, satisfaction, and relaxation. They are certainly addictive. But, as long as people want to indulge in areas that don't harm others, why not? I hate the judgmental, health nuts who want to deprive others of their recreation. In the same vein, cannabis is just a plant like tobacco plants. If someone wants to grow it, smoke it, or eat it for breakfast, I think it is A-OK and it is a real crime that there is a law against it. The people who want to keep other folks from doing it should be put in prison and not the other way around.

[Philosoraptor]

54. Heroin, crack, meth, marijuana, opium, its all the same thing...(cough cough)

The illegality of pot is preposterous, I only assume there's more money in it being illegal. Prisons are big biz these days.

[dysfunctional press]

56. the money it keeping it illegal is in chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

the chemical end is more about hemp, than pot.
cotton uses as many agricultural (petro)chemicals as the rest of american crops COMBINED.
hemp grows very well without ANY.
it also makes better paper than wood pulp that's been treated with a lot of chemicals- but then there wouldn't be a market for the chemicals.

as for pharmaceuticals- if pot were legal, there are plenty of prescriptions that plenty of people would no longer need.

[pleah]

55. I would join them in a heartbeat. And, I haven't smoked a joint in YEARS!

[AlCzervik]

57. the only time i've smoked indoors in the past 10 years was Las Vegas at a bar

and in London at the hotel lounge. I can't for the life of me remember the last time i was actually in an eating establishment where someone at another table was smoking. If the place had a smoking section then no i wouldn't say anything, i knew that going in and it's my choice as to whether or not i wish to eat there.

[annabanana]

58. quiety move downwind.. . . . n/t