Legalize Marijuana?

[tetley]

Pretty much all the arguments for keeping weed criminalized are BS. one that might hold some credence is that it would be easier for minors to get a hold of it, but it's not even really true and if it were legalized they could regulate it properly. I think driving while high should probably still be criminal (depending on how high you are, although this raises the issue of how to test for it accurately) but smoking it itself is fairly certainly less harmful than a same-level consumption of cigarettes or alcohol.

The amount of wasted resources by the government on weed dealers is absurd.

At the very least, medical marijuana should be available everywhere.. it provides legitimate relief to a great number of people, and does so more adequately and with less downsides than do other medicines.

[khronosschoty]

Pretty much all the arguments for keeping weed criminalized are BS. one that might hold some credence is that it would be easier for minors to get a hold of it, but it's not even really true and if it were legalized they could regulate it properly. I think driving while high should probably still be criminal (depending on how high you are, although this raises the issue of how to test for it accurately) but smoking it itself is fairly certainly less harmful than a same-level consumption of cigarettes or alcohol.

The amount of wasted resources by the government on weed dealers is absurd.

At the very least, medical marijuana should be available everywhere.. it provides legitimate relief to a great number of people, and does so more adequately and with less downsides than do other medicines.

Totally agree.

[Tovarishch]

Being in law enforcement i have no more use for a drunk behind the wheel as i do for a pot head trying to drive.Both impair the ability to do what a person not under either influence can do.
Ive never seen someone smoking a real cigarette see things that are not there and swerve and hit someone head on.That isnt just weed but any drug.Once you legalize 1 you open the door to others.Leave Pandoras box closed.

Hear hear!

[TommyB]

That isnt just weed but any drug.Once you legalize 1 you open the door to others.Leave Pandoras box closed.

- If that box is indeed closed, where do all the potheads get their weed from?
- Who is more likely to possess and advertise hard drugs, a legal shop or a drug-dealer?

[tetley]

Being in law enforcement i have no more use for a drunk behind the wheel as i do for a pot head trying to drive.Both impair the ability to do what a person not under either influence can do.
Ive never seen someone smoking a real cigarette see things that are not there and swerve and hit someone head on.That isnt just weed but any drug.Once you legalize 1 you open the door to others.Leave Pandoras box closed.

Thunder TA - not sure what you have been reading, but have you ever gotten high? Lol, it's not a hallucinogen, at least not on the level of LSD or Mushrooms... you might get some visual effects at extremely high doses, but you don't really see things that aren't there. Not that I'm advocating driving while high but at least get your facts straight before you condemn something.

Also your slippery slope argument is a total fallacy..... just because two things are branded "drugs" doesn't mean legalizing one makes legalizing another more legitimate. Heroin, cocaine, etc. are all extremely harmful to your body and brain and are in no way comparable to Marijuana which has real medical benefits and is not even as bad for you as cigarettes. There is no reason to believe that legalization would lead to any other drugs being legalized.

[Elldallan]

Also your slippery slope argument is a total fallacy..... just because two things are branded "drugs" doesn't mean legalizing one makes legalizing another more legitimate. Heroin, cocaine, etc. are all extremely harmful to your body and brain and are in no way comparable to Marijuana which has real medical benefits and is not even as bad for you as cigarettes. There is no reason to believe that legalization would lead to any other drugs being legalized.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you but it would certainly muddy the waters concerning THC analogues some of which definitely aren't harmless and can have a potency several hundred times stronger than regular THC.

If you lower the effective retail price for naturally grown marijuana you might be able to make these synthetically produced analogues unprofitable but that would probably mean basically making it trivial to acquire regular marijuana and essentially making it unregulated.
So the slippery slope isn't completely irrelevant, alcohol is such a simple molecule that you can't really create analogues and expect them to have similar effects and nicotine is so unregulated that it's unprofitable to produce by artificial means. But for more complex organic molecules it's quite possible to create almost identical molecules that only differ in a minor way(this is currently done to circumvent legislation, change a single molecule and it's no longer on any list of restricted pharmaceuticals for several months to years). What effect these changes will have is extremely hard to predict because we know too little about the human body at the moment to model how it will react to one chemical or another, the only way is through extensive and expensive clinical trials which likely means that there will always be a black market for these things.

[khronosschoty]

Just make it legal all ready wtf its not worse then hard liquor ^_^;;

[blowitup_goose]

A LOT of people in my country never in their lives smoked anything except weed that's been altered by heroin, prescription/etc drougs, cleaning substances, pesticides, ...

I've personally experienced this. Well maybe not the H but certainly speed and ultimately I believe it strengthens the case for legalization. In the states in my country where we are allowed to grow our own weed it is cleaner, safer and generally of much better quality. As for scientific evidence -- have a look around. Find scientific journals that are unbiased and peer reviewed and develop your own opinion. I'm not here to convince you. But if you're interested in the scientific argument, how about an economic one? Can anyone substantiate the points I've read about the cotton industry and it's role in the criminalization of marijuana? I would love to know more about it, even if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Also, if there were ever a gateway drug, would it not be alcohol?

[blowitup_goose]

So if the guy down the street starts selling it to say your 10 year old daughter or your neighbors kids you have no problem ?

Most people dont have issues with things that havent effected them yet. If someone high on weed runs head on into their wife or family they normally will be the first ones screaming why didnt someone do something to keep it from happening.

I understand what you mean, and let me say I agree smoking + driving = no, no (this should be common sense), but would you agree then that the sleaze down the street is just as likely to sell kids ice or buy alcohol for them? Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying because I do agree this is wrong but I think this same case can be made to criminalize alcohol... really. People will scream "Why didn't someone do something?" when a drunk hits a kid out the front of a school. Or if someone takes one too many Valium before driving to the airport and t-bones someone at an intersection. These drugs are legal, one is prescribed. Hypothetically, if weed were legalized would it make your job easier? Cut out the profit for the cartels etc. because after all it is a billion dollar industry -- and I think that's just in Canada. When you get a call to break up a fight (domestic violence call?) what are the odds that the perps are drunk compared to stoned? Probably both right? How often are they ONLY stoned? I appreciate the job that you guys do, its a tough gig and I'm not here to jump up and down screaming oppression. I just think legalization makes sense. Pandora's box will stay closed -- you cannot make the same argument for H or other hard drugs that you can for marijuana, they are simply to dangerous. I think marijuana needs to have it's drug rating (or whatever its called) brought down to at least the same level as alcohol because in my humble opinion it's not any worse.

[goodz]

most of the people i know who smoke pot regularly are really bad at life. It is hard to prove any kind of cause and effect though.

[TommyB]

Anyone who regularly takes drugs to escape from life is obviously "bad at it". That's not an argument for anything.

Drinking alcohol everyday is just as bad, the problem is with advertisements making people believe that they'll be one of the cool guys with all the sexy chicks if they just drink enough Bacardi.

That's what should be banned IMO. They can legalize Marijuana but ads for any kind of drug should be restricted (much like porn). Including alcohol and cigarettes.

Btw, anyone from Colorado here? How is Amendment 64 working out for you guys?

[goodz]

Anyone who regularly takes drugs to escape from life is obviously "bad at it". That's not an argument for anything.

Drinking alcohol everyday is just as bad, the problem is with advertisements making people believe that they'll be one of the cool guys with all the sexy chicks if they just drink enough Bacardi.

That's what should be banned IMO. They can legalize Marijuana but ads for any kind of drug should be restricted (much like porn). Including alcohol and cigarettes.

Btw, anyone from Colorado here? How is Amendment 64 working out for you guys?

What if you banned the practice of removing booze/drugs from an establishment. So you could drink/smoke but say only within a bar, and only on Friday/Saturday.

That would prevent people drinking/smoking all the time!

[chandler]

Anyone who regularly takes drugs to escape from life is obviously "bad at it". That's not an argument for anything.

Drinking alcohol everyday is just as bad, the problem is with advertisements making people believe that they'll be one of the cool guys with all the sexy chicks if they just drink enough Bacardi.

That's what should be banned IMO. They can legalize Marijuana but ads for any kind of drug should be restricted (much like porn). Including alcohol and cigarettes.

Btw, anyone from Colorado here? How is Amendment 64 working out for you guys?

Not from the Us or colorado, but from forbes

"Just ask Colorado. Perhaps not so awkwardly labeled the “Highest State,” Colorado pulled in $2 million in taxes related to the sale of recreational marijuana…in January 2014 alone. Combined with taxes on sales from medicinal marijuana, the state pulled in nearly $3.5 million in pot-related tax revenue."

I'd say its treating them pretty well thanks.

[chandler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3IMfIQ_K6U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAFu-Ihwyzg

to the uneducated weed critics. CNN documentaries on weed.

[Nidez]

i think that there's medical properties that we could obtain from marijuana, so why is it something people cant do legally when it is similar to smoking?