Legalization of Cannabis

Brandi - posted on 03/22/2010

I personally think pot is harmless. I'm biased though. I grew up with hippie parents. I've smoked pot in the past and I didn't get addicted or start trying new drugs after that. I didn't even much like it. Most of the people I know who smoke pot work, pay taxes, take care of their families, & are functional human beings. I know some alcoholics, however, who do none of the above and yet people don't bat an eye!

I don't know if I think it should be legalized. Probably decriminalized. Pot is just another beautiful thing the government could poison and ruin, right?!

Carly - posted on 03/22/2010

I'm a Canadian girl, enough said, haha. Besides, as my dad always said when I was growing up, "you're better off smoking a joint than getting hammered and ending up with alcohol poisoning."

LaCi - posted on 03/22/2010

Legalize it. People would be happier and its safer than pharmaceuticals.
Tax the hell out of it and pay for this godforsaken healthcare bill and tell everyone to quit their freakin' whining for a minute a smoke a freakin' joint. Simple. Relax.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with marijuana. Although I personally don't enjoy it, I'm a caffeine junkie myself, it balances people out.

Jenny - posted on 03/22/2010

I believe all drugs should be legalised. Keeping readily available substances illegal is causing more harm to society than good.



First off, whoever would shoot heroin tomorrow if it was legal raise your hand. People don't do hard drugs because they are bad for you, not because you are "not allowed". People who do take hard drugs have issues going on that cannot be addressed with laws.



Second, a pound of marijuana should cost the same as a pound of potatoes or tomatoes. The reason the prices for drugs are so high is DIRECTLY related to the legality of them. Marijuana specifically is very easy to grow and maintain. People should not be murdered over the cost of a plant.



Third, you could destroy the revenue for organised crime overnight. Why was prohibition overturned? Because it was way more dangerous to society to keep alcohol illegal than it was to have government control over distribution. Does any here support making alcohol illegal again? It is the EXACT same rational for drugs.



Fourth, if cocaine and amphetamines were never made illegal, crack and meth would have never been invented. Legalizing drugs would allow quality control. When is the last time we were warned about a bad batch of beer on the streets? We have created a system where uneducated people are brewing this stuff in bathtubs. We could also have recommended dosages with quality control to help combat OD's.



Fifth, we already have an extensive network of pharmacies to control the distribution of drugs. At the point of purchase we could also have an extensive variety of outlets for counselling and other forms of treatment available. Billions of dollars are being spent on drugs every year and we are choosing to give that money to underground networks instead of towards our citizens. We have been successful in reducing smoking rates through education campaigns funded through taxes and it is becoming more and more socially unacceptable. We did this without making the substance illegal.



Last, I don't believe in legislating morality. I do not recogine the government's authority to tell consenting adults what they can and can not do with their bodies. The side effects of the illegal drug trade such as theft and murder ar ealready illegal because there is a victim. There is no victim in adult drug use.



Check out LEAP. It is a network of former police officers and legal experts who have formed to get the word out. We have been fighting a losing "war against drugs" for generations. Why would we ever expect different results in the future? It is actually a war on our citizens and it needs to stop.

~Jennifer - posted on 03/22/2010

"maybe" laced?..........more like 'most definitely'.

Shannon - posted on 03/22/2010

I smoked pot on a daily basis for 14 yrs.. I think I have a little experience. I've smoked pot that DID make me hallucinate, maybe it was laced with PCP, I don't know. What I do know is I was "tripping".. I know other people who have had the same type of experiences. I also know people (young people, mostly) that HAS stolen money to buy pot. Whether your stealing from your mom's purse, or robbing a convenience store it's still stealing. True, it's not addictive like heroin or meth, but it still can become addictive.

I said it would cause more "crime", I never said "murder". & I agree people who commit these crimes are idiots. I also never said I thought someone could feel like they could die without it...

Shannon - posted on 03/22/2010

I have...

Jackie - posted on 03/22/2010

Shannon
You are obviously NOT speaking from experience. Pot is not a hallucinigen (sp?) and furthermore it is not an addictive substance.

I no loger smoke put but I am still an advocate.

Jackie - posted on 03/22/2010

Shannon
You are obviously NOT speaking from experience... Pot is not a hallucinigen (sp?) and furthermore pot is NOT an addictive substance. You're body does not crave it like it would heroin or even alcohol. So if you are robbing and killing people to support your habit, it's because you're an idiot not because you are not thinking clearly due to drug induced state. Or because you are experiencing withdrawls and you think you're going to die with out.
If you ask me, the crime rate would reduce just for hte simple fact that people wouldn't have their doors kicked in for a bowl pack.
I no longer smoke pot but I'm still an advocate and always will be.

Lady - posted on 03/22/2010

The first time I smoked pot with a pipe I had been drinking aswell and was so stoned I didn't know what was real and what was just a dream or me thinking it. It freaked me out so much I have never smoked it again.

Meghan - posted on 03/22/2010

me too...i have smoked pot in the past when I was a teenager but never once had a halucination lol...maybe I would have kept doing it had I had one lol...

~Jennifer - posted on 03/22/2010

I would like to know where you found "pot" that made you hallucinate......

Shannon - posted on 03/22/2010

Unlike alcohol and tobacco, cannabis has a hallucinatory effect on the mind. This is inherently dangerous in itself. Furthermore, just like other drugs, there are many individuals addicted to cannabis who will resort to crime in order to fund their addiction. The legalization of cannabis will lead to the drug becoming more readily available, which in turn will mean that many more people will gain access to it. This will subsequently lead to an increase in the crime rate. Initial statistics from the Netherlands shows that the decriminalization and eventual legalization of cannabis did led to an increase in crime in Dutch society.

The US and the UK governments have been at the forefront in supporting scientific researches into the utility of cannabis as a medical product. However, even though evidence may show that the legalization of cannabis will bring about relief for sufferers of, amongst others, MS, we should exercise caution against legalizing it because the use of cannabis itself also brings about harmful side-effects. More importantly, it is submitted that the legalization of cannabis will give rise to a host of social problems. The detriments of legalization far outweighs its benefits. We can thus safely say that the present approach represents the most proportionate response to the issue at hand.

Meghan - posted on 03/22/2010

IM ALL FOR IT!!!!



Legalizing marijuana has many positive aspects, including increased tax revenue through the legal sale of marijuana. There is also the matter of the medical benefits of marijuana to those with illnesses that limit range of motion or induce nausea and pain. The federal government's argument for criminalizing marijuana appears to be based on pressure from tobacco and pharmaceutical industries who find the non-patentable nature of marijuana harmful to profit margins.



Legalizing marijuana has many benefits, particularly health benefits for people who suffer from illnesses such as depression, cancer, glaucoma and even AIDS. Marijuana has been proven helpful for inducing appetite and combating nausea. Furthermore, marijuana has also proven beneficial for increasing the range of motion for those suffering from multiple sclerosis. As an illegal substance, many who suffer from debilitating illnesses would be arrested or imprisoned for simply seeking relief from their ailments.



Effects

Legalizing marijuana would significantly decrease the number of marijuana-related arrests and imprisonments in the United States. More than 200,000 individuals are incarcerated each year for marijuana possession, as part of the U.S. government's War on Drugs. Decriminalizing marijuana would also eliminate much of the crime associated with the illegal sale and trafficking of marijuana. Moreover, several states allow legal use of marijuana when prescribed by a physician, yet thousands of dispensary owners and patients are arrested every year by the federal government. Legalizing marijuana could bring in more revenue for states, as well as help individuals receive care who may be unable to receive it otherwise.



Misconceptions

The gateway drug theory is a common misconception about legalizing marijuana. The gateway theory alleges that marijuana users are more likely to engage in the use of other, more harmful substances. This theory has never been proven. In fact, smoking cigarettes is a much better predictor of an individual's likelihood to use harmful drugs.



Expert Insight

Some of the chemical components that make up marijuana have been isolated and made into pill form through government-sponsored research, which directly contradicts the current legal view of marijuana. In fact, the former Surgeon General of the United States Jocelyn Elders asserted that overwhelming evidence exists that marijuana can relieve certain symptoms of pain, nausea and vomiting.



Significance

Legalizing marijuana is an important legal battle for several reasons. First, decriminalizing marijuana would make it readily available to individuals that need it, in safe and healthy way. Cancer patients, AIDS sufferers and many other patients must now obtain marijuana illegally in most states. The objections of the federal government to legalizing marijuana have almost nothing to do with how much harm it may or may not cause--it is a matter of pharmaceutical companies resisting legalization because it will be difficult for them to profit from the legal use of marijuana.



IMO if there going to keep pot illegal then ciggretts should be too...and im a non-smoker of both substances...