Legalize Marijuana?

[indra]

Are you in favor or opposed to legalizing marijuana for adults? (I'm trying to keep the question simple and very clear cut by specifing only marijuana and only for adults.)

I'm in favor of legalizing it, as I believe that adults should have the right to make that decision for themselves.

(Oh, and I know this subject has probably come up before, but I scanned something like 13 or 14 pages back and didn't find anything, so I posted a new thread. Also hope it is in the correct forum -- if not, I'm sure someone will move it.)

 

[Angela Harlem]

Tis in the correct forum, and this topic comes up every now and then so feel free to start a new one

That said, no. I dont think it should be legalised. If it ever happens that the majority of the free world does allow it, it wont bother me that much, but until then, I am opposed.
/short answer

 

[fah]

Short answer - no

Smoking in any form is bad for you

 

[najeena]

I think we should legalize it and tax it, just like we do tobacco and alcohol, which are just as bad or worse for you.

 

[AvsGirl41]

I think we should legalize it. The people who are doing it for recreational purposes will do it whether it's legal or illegal. I can't really see it increasing or decreasing.

It's more important to me to have it legalized so people could obtain it for medical purposes--without going through all the red tape.

 

[OzAurora]

I say legalize it...

marijuana should be in the same class as alcohol and of the two I believe that alcohol is the bigger evil.

marijuana is not evil, the only thing that makes it appear evil in my opinion is that it is considered bad and is illegal.....anyway this thread will turn into some big battle, those for and against...........

 

[BluRmGrl]

(Let me preface this by saying: "I am a 33 yr old adult female who has NEVER smoked pot in her life!" OK, now that that's out of the way.....)
Legalize it. Yes, it impairs one's capabilities, but so do wine, beer & liquor, and they're all legal if you're old enough. But it'll never happen (at least here in the States) for one simple reason, IMHO: the government can't figure out how to keep all the ganja (sp?) lovers from growing the stuff in their coat closets! Uncle Sam could/would tax it and subsidize the growth of it on large farms, but they can't stop everybody with a dark room & a black light from running their own little "farm" and lighting up tax-free pot. In other words (and again, this is all speculation from my simple brain!), if the government could find a way to funnel ALL growth of marijuana through its system, so it could control costs, taxes, etc, pot would probably be legal in five years, not withstanding a serious fight by the religious sector of society. (Geez, do I sound like a conspriracy theorist to everyone else???)
There's a really good book I read a couple of years ago that addressed this (and other so-called "consentual laws")in depth. I don't remember the author's name, but it was called: Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do! The guy made some really good points about legalizing not only marijuana, but also some of the more addictive substances out there. I'm not entirely convinced by his arguments, but it sure made for interesting reading.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Agree with the majority. I have no intention of ever doing it, personally, but if somebody else wants to.... That's their business.

Angela

 

[A_Wanderer]

But the extra costs on the public health system will be paid out of all our pockets, I for one do not like subsidising the stupidity of others.

 

[beli]

I would like to see it legalised so the hemp industry can replace the environmentally distructive cotton industry.

I have just had a mental blank as to which drug comes from the hemp plant. Apologies if its not marijuana.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I think we should legalize it and tax it, just like we do tobacco and alcohol, which are just as bad or worse for you.

 

[BostonAnne]

I don't think it should become legal. I also think tobacco should become illegal because it's so unhealthy and addicting. (It took me many tries to finally quit).

 

[nbcrusader]

It is bad enough that we have people addicted to or centering their lives around alcohol. We don't need to make another destructive option easier to obtain.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

people are gonna do it anyway wether it's legal or illegal... but then again, people are gonna murder people wether it's legal or illegal, also... so that's not really a good reason to make something legal or not.

frankly i don't care either way...

make it legal in vegas on a ten year trial basis and see what happens.

 

[U2Kitten]

I took a few puffs as a teenager, didn't like it, haven't touched it in many years, and hope I don't ever have to smell it again. But I say legalize it.

Why? Because doing so would not hurt anyone but the lawyers and the courts who make so much money off of people charged with petty drug possession. I had to sit through traffic court with someone I know who was charged with reckless driving. Since this was a criminal offense, we got put in the criminal court instead of traffic court. Sitting there for hours, I noticed that more than 75% of the people there were charged with pot violations in some way, small possession, small distrubution, pulled for other auto violation and roaches found in the ashtray, pot plant growing in the backyard garden, etc. I hate to think how much faster the court system could work through their cases and how much more room there would be in jails for real criminals if it were legalized. But then the lawyers would lose money defending them, and the localities would lose their fine money and court costs. I am starting to believe that is the only reason it remains illegal.

I was reading just recently a story about the history of pot in America. It was not made illegal until the 1930's, but it was always around, even smoked by the founding fathers and Native Americans. It was a very interesting story, I'll type it up if anyone is interested but there is no link or copy and paste for it

No, I am not a radical, or a leftist. I think it's gotten to the point where it is ridiculous to keep making criminals out of people who are really no worse off high than drunk. I've been around enough of both, and really, drunks are usually worse. High people are giggly and funny and layed back on the couch listening to music, where most drunks are rowdy, dangerous and mean. So if getting drunk is okay might as well let them get high.

 

[BluberryPoptart]

Might as well. As a matter of fact why not legalize coke and herion too. Yes they are terrible things, much more dangerous than pot and I don't think anyone should ever take them. But they ARE going to take them. The war on drugs is a multi billion dollar failure.

Has anybody ever noticed the similarities in the gang violence and drive bys in the inner cities of today, and the 1920's mobs and tommy gun shootings? Same thing. If something is illegal, and enough people want it, an underground market will develop, complete with crime and killings. Also, the drugs, like the booze, could be lethal if made wrong. If it were legal, it would be a controlled substance, regulated and inspected. We'd know who got it and how much. Though I do NOT condone drug use, since time has proven people are not going to stop it how about making if safer, and cutting down on the illegal part? If it were legal, think about all the jobs it could create! No, I'm serious. Think about impoverished nations in the world whose ecomomies could profit from this. Marijuana could be grown by poor country folk in the US and get them off welfare. Herion and cocaine grow in many poor countries in central and south American, southeast Asia, and Afghanistan, and a legal trade market for them could boost their gross nation product and help eliminate poverty! The only people hurt by that would be the cartels and the gangs who run it now. Yes, it hurts people's health and productivity. But you are not going to stop people from doing it. So do it right.

 

[najeena]

Alcohol, tobacco... physically addictive and hard as hell to kick. Pot addiction is psychological, and keeping it illegal while profiting from the first two (which are much more dangerous in my opinion) is a stand that makes no sense.

 

[BVS]

Legalize it. What's the worse that can happen the world is full of calm and relaxed people and the late night delivery businesses make a fortune? I see no harm. It's less physically addictive than caffine and less destructive than tobacco and alcohol. The reasons for it being illegal now are ridiculous.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

But the extra costs on the public health system will be paid out of all our pockets, I for one do not like subsidising the stupidity of others.

What extra costs are you thinking of exactly? In any case, there are so many other examples of the NHS (or any other public healthcare system) paying to treat people who acquired illnesses or injuries through stupidity. Should we ban alcohol because some people who consume too much alcohol end up needing treatment for liver failure? Should we ban dangerous sports because it's expensive to treat people who get injured while participating in them? Should we force people whose illnesses are caused by obesity to pay for their own treatment since it's their own fault they're overweight? Where do you draw the line?

That aside, I think it should be legalized. It's no more harmful than smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol and nobody's about to criminalize drinkers or smokers, or at least I hope they're not. I agree with what BVS said also. Maybe the late night delivery places should start lobbying for a change in the law. They could join up with store here that sells THE best choc-chip cookies in the world and is even open at 3am to sell them to people who have the munchies. Not that I am in any way speaking from personal experience, you understand, just...rumours I've heard.

 

[U2Kitten]

What extra costs are you thinking of exactly? In any case, there are so many other examples of the NHS (or any other public healthcare system) paying to treat people who acquired illnesses or injuries through stupidity. Should we ban alcohol because some people who consume too much alcohol end up needing treatment for liver failure? Should we ban dangerous sports because it's expensive to treat people who get injured while participating in them? Should we force people whose illnesses are caused by obesity to pay for their own treatment since it's their own fault they're overweight? Where do you draw the line?

While you're on the subject, there would be those who said they didn't want to pay for AIDS treatment for people who acquired it because of unsafe sex or dirty drug needles. Or treatment for AIDS or crack babies. Or illegitimate babies even if they're healthy because the mother might have gotten pregnant in a stupid way? You can take that pretty far. Yeah, where do you draw the line?

And as many have pointed out, people are still going to do drugs whether they are legal or not, so it's not stopping anything.

 

[Kieran McConville]

On the line of thought being expressed repeatedly in this thread, we might as well ban every substance that is even vaguely 'harmful' on the grounds that it costs the health system. You know, you could live in a shiny happy police state where everything is super efficient. Let's see:

alcohol
tobacco
pot
sugar
any fatty foods whatsoever
salt
meat
unclean thoughts
cars and guns (haha only kidding.)

All banned, cause they're all bad for you, right?

This trend troubles me.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

On the line of thought being expressed repeatedly in this thread, we might as well ban every substance that is even vaguely 'harmful' on the grounds that it costs the health system. You know, you could live in a shiny happy police state where everything is super efficient. Let's see:

alcohol
tobacco
pot
sugar
any fatty foods whatsoever
salt
meat
unclean thoughts
cars and guns (haha only kidding.)

All banned, cause they're all bad for you, right?

This trend troubles me.

. Thank you.

FizzingWhizzbees and U2Kitten, good points from you as well. .

Angela

 

[A_Wanderer]

Quite good point's Kieran, in my perfect society only monk's would be allowed to have health insurancde. Still I have seen what dope does to a long term user (relative) and it is not pretty (mental health, capacity to work etc). I think that if it were legalised it would be in some way approving its use.

The additional costs that were on my mind were things like increased incidences of schitzophrenia tipping the allready fragile mental health services over the edge, lung cancer and heart diseases not to mention the fact harder drugs would invariably fill the void on the black market left when cannibis becomes legal. I would rather have a kid buying a joint than heroin, we have to have something there to fill the gap.

 

[AcrobatMan]

never have i had any form of drug...

i would say legalise everything !!

let the ones who want to have it freely

 

[Mullen-Girl]

I say make it legal. I've never tried a drug in my life (except for GHB but that wasn't my choosing but that's another story all together). Alcohol is harmful and so is smoking cigarettes. Pot wouldn't do any more harm than those two. Hell i'd like to try it once lol

 

[Kieran McConville]

Well I'm not advocating legalising heroin. Marijuana has some risks I'm sure, thought I know from first hand that NOT everyone who enjoys it occasionally is a pothead, not by any means.

As for lung cancer, tobacco contributes to that too, and it's legal.

And you know, I wouldn't be surprised if car exhaust fumes and the other crud of modern city life contribute a bit as well. We don't ban those things.

Look in the end, to me it's a matter of personal choice. Where do we get off telling people what they can do in their own home?

PS I have no problem at all with banning smoking in public venues and so forth. That's common courtesy to non-smokers. I can always go outside or stay home.

 

[Kieran McConville]

People have said many times on this forum that 'alcohol is harmful'. This is very simplistic.

Alcoholism is harmful. Bingeing is harmful. Moderate drinking is not only NOT harmful, but (with wine for example) can be actively good for you.

I just needed to say that.

 

[indra]

I was going to post a more thorough explanation of my view that marijuana should be legalised, but then I read this article, and it stated my views much better than I could. Actually, the article promotes the idea that all currently illegal drugs should be legalised, which does exceed the scope of my original question, but it is an idea with which I also agree.

In the interest of space I will just provide the link to the article.

We're Out of Control On Drugs

 

[beegee]

what the hell. we're a toxic wasteland anyway.

make it legal in vegas on a ten year trial basis and see what happens.

can we get it free from our cocktail waitresses too?