Legalize Marijuana?

[noobium]

**** the stoners, tell them to do morphine instead.

[StratOcastle]

Morality is at the core of freedom. While we can legalize drugs that most of us view as harmless we haven't cleaned up the problems associated with criminalization or a criminal culture. Consider my beloved USA: we have in essence made capitalism a venue to name money our god. I'll spare you the sausage making but praying to money creates widespread apathy.

We have children growing up in well bred affluent communities that turn to heroine. I've seen this abroad also. I'm no bible thumper buy I read wisdom. You want to smoke weed then be a good citizen; not to capitulate but by desire. This isn't the corporate ideal of citizenship I'm talking about. You have to earn freedom and this is how you do it peaceably. It's just weed. I know. It's also just a fatherless kid with a mother who can't stop partying. It's the acceptance of spousal abuse. It's standing around while others are victimized. It's watching my country go to Hell while we offer whiskey to the Indians. Do you understand?

As long as you live in a palatable community weed is fine. I live where a pizza delivery driver was just shot to death...for his money. How do you reason with crime that is the predominant culture in most US major cities? We have deep rooted problems that the legalization of weed will neither solve or necessarily make worse. The point is that it's not the weed, it's giving permission to apathetic culture to continue to disregard the tenants of civilization. You won't understand if you've never considered stewardship as our reason for being.

But yeah, legalize it. I can only stand for eternal hope. It's about tough love not that I think weed is bad.

[Attero]

I say yes to legalize... That or drastically reduce the charges depending on amount. Save jails and prisons for true criminals.

[Thunder TA]

You do realize that normally it takes a lot of weed to go to prison. In most cases a little weed is just a fine which most would rather sit out in jail than pay .

[Attero]

That I do but I also realize in my state generally anything less than 2 lbs carries up to 6 months in prison. Not to mention court cost, fines, probation, loss of family time etc. If they somehow don't go to jail then it's suspension of their DL for generally 6 months but no more than a year.

[Thunder TA]

Thats up to 6 months yes,99% of those cases are plea bargained out for time served and court cost same as here and / or probation.Very few see prison.The ones who do see prison time get it for whatever felony they had to go along with the pot charge,the pot charge is then ran CC with the felony .Most tho will say they are in jail for pot but forget the unlawful weapons by a felon or evading arrest or Burglary that is actually why they are there. That doesnt get attention as much.

[Korp]

Either way, a country wide legalization would save both time and money and increase income for the state. There is a lot of benefits for legalizing light drugs.

[Thunder TA]

Colorado's governor was saying that also.mow after a year he is starting to disagree because as was forewarned,the business owners they are finding running the pot shops are in alot of case south american drug cartels and they are selling more than pot.

[Korp]

Sounds like your typical anti-drug bull**** to be frank. :P


Besides, a legalization cripples the criminals as well. If you have a choice between legally obtained weed or illegal the choice seems quite simple.

[tetley]

I think a lot of people make the slippery slope argument about legalizing weed. Sure weed might not be terrible for you but there are obvious harms to your health resulting from inhaling any sort of smoke. If that level of self-harm is none of the government's business, then why is cocaine? Why is heroine? Etc. The point being that if they legalize weed then where does it end, and what are the justifications for legalizing "harder" drugs? Where's the arbitrary line where paternalism becomes okay?

This isn't my argument, just devil's advocate.

[Korp]

If we follow that trail Tetley then everything would be banned basically

[Palem]

I think a lot of people make the slippery slope argument about legalizing weed. Sure weed might not be terrible for you but there are obvious harms to your health resulting from inhaling any sort of smoke. If that level of self-harm is none of the government's business, then why is cocaine? Why is heroine? Etc. The point being that if they legalize weed then where does it end, and what are the justifications for legalizing "harder" drugs? Where's the arbitrary line where paternalism becomes okay?

This isn't my argument, just devil's advocate.

Tobacco is way more harmful than weed is, as is alcohol. Legalizing weed would in no way toe the line of legalizing things that are harmful to you.

[Blow]

The Food and Drug Administration, in cahoots with the American Medical Association, have been systematically removing from us our ability to take care of our own well being and trying to create a dependence upon expensive doctors for our health and removing our ability to provide for our own food.

1. Untreated poppy seeds, illegal in this country, are the source of most painkillers. We can't grow it but they can use it on us.
2. The coca plant, illegal in the US, is a source of many local anasthetics. Why is it ok for the dentists?
3. Marijuana, while not medicine in the traditional sense, works by relaxing the body and mind to encourage rest, stimulating appetite, and elevating mood (laughter is the best medicine). These conditions are optimal for the body to heal itself, even against nasty cancers
4. People in cities, living on plots less than 2 acres, do not have enough arable land to provide for themselves. Instead we are left to trust to what the FDA deems worthy for people to sell

Keep fighting the good fight. It's been a while but our constitution gives us the power to break the political dynasties trying to rule us. Exercise your freedom and vote.

[Elldallan]

Sounds like your typical anti-drug bull**** to be frank. :P


Besides, a legalization cripples the criminals as well. If you have a choice between legally obtained weed or illegal the choice seems quite simple.

You're a Swede so you should know it's not quite that easy, "bolaget" sells alcohol but there's still a whooole lot of people who buy beer/hard liquor from the back of the smuggler van because it's so much cheaper. Same things for tobacco. Despite everybody knowing that one venue is illegal and the other is not.