Marijuana: should it be legalized?

[dimmufan]

I wanna hear people's opinions on the topic of the legalization of marijuana. I believe it should be legal. Give reasons why you feel the way you do. Remember that you don't have to be a smoker to wanna have it legalized. There are many pros, as well as cons, to having legal weed.

[Blitz King]

When we legalize marijuana, we will be reducing the crime that is associated with trying to get this here substance. I believe that the only reason for it to be legalized is for the people who use it for medical reasons and that they can only get it with a physicians consent! The positive effects on this would be it will limit the sale just to people who use it for medical purposes than that of personal purposes, and it will also bring in money for the government. On the other hand, Doctors themselves may enter the black market and also sale it to the people that do not use it for pain control, and the use of marijuana to those that it is issued to may cause them to rely only on this drug to control their medical problems!

[dimmufan]

You have to figure in all the old people who don't need prescriptions. Alot of them have been using marijauna pretty much all their lives. Coincidence? I think not. Lotsa people that use marijuana hardly ever get sick. I once had a girlfriend with asthma who claimed that marijuana helped to supress it. Maybe there is more to marijuana than you think.

[Sinister]

I've heard the various sides of this argument. And while I am, surprisingly, a well of indifference on the subject, I would like to point out one small point.


There are a great many people who do not use because it is illegal. If you legalize it, that percentage will be lit from dusk til dawn. And while I don't think Marijuana is the devil most have made it out to be, it does make you socially and motivationally inept. Think of the great scores of people who would lose jobs, wives, husbands, babies, houses, lives because they were smoking pot every day.


Now I know it wouldn't be quite as apocalyptic as all that, but on a small scale it would be bad enough.

[darkViVi]

And while I don't think Marijuana is the devil most have made it out to be, it does make you socially and motivationally inept. Think of the great scores of people who would lose jobs, wives, husbands, babies, houses, lives because they were smoking pot every day.

And all those who loose jobs, wives, husbands, babies, houses, lives because they drink everyday? Alcohol is more addictive and makes a worse mess of your life than weed. Cannabis isn't that bad actually, I know many people who smoke everyday and still lives a normal boring family life. So if a person ruins his life because of smoking, it is not because of the weed, it is because he's a total jackass.

People will smoke it anyway, making it legal would eliminate most of the negative things that surrounds it.

[Govinda]

Legalise it for people suffering from disease that can be alleviated by smoking it. And for them only.

Hash is a dangerous substance. I don't care what anyone says; it's addictive. I used to smoke far too much of it, and it still has my best friend in a deathlock. Nobody can get her away from it. She's lost 2 jobs and her boyfriend of two years over it.

In saying that, legalising it would bring in controls, which could prevent young people from getting to the drug...but people drink before they're old enough, what's to stop them getting hold of a joint or ten?

Cannabis is proven to alter the brain development of people who use it before they're 18 or 19. It affects the dopamine neurotransmitter, and that's a dangerous thing to do; imbalances in the dopamine transmitter are what's thought to be the main cause of schizophrenia.

And it doesn't clear your lungs out at all. Most joints contain tobacco; nicotine is more addictive than heroin, never mind alcohol.

And then there's emphysema. Please excuse my spelling. Anyway, there's research underway at the moment about consistent cannabis use leading to emphysema in people as young as 34. There's a stock of articles to be found at www.bbc.co.uk/news.

And while alochol is addictive and generally very bad, why add a whole new world of stoners to one filled with drunkards? It doesn't make sense. I feel very strongly that alcohol needs more attention than it's getting; people binge drink so much these days, start fights, crash cars, you name it...and then get sober and lecture me about the dangers of smoking. The government really needs to get its priorities right.

I do think that the fact that legalisation would remove the criminal element is very important, and probably the one reason that might lead me to support legalising the drug. The things that happen because of drug money...I don't even want to write it.

I would support it if I didn't think it posed such a threat to minors. And the people who would use it as a crutch, in the place of alcohol. I'd like to be able to get a wee bit every now and then, y'know, when Marley's on...but I just think of the harm it could, and does, do.

Anyway. Legalise for the sick.

[dimmufan]

And all those who loose jobs, wives, husbands, babies, houses, lives because they drink everyday? Alcohol is more addictive and makes a worse mess of your life than weed. Cannabis isn't that bad actually, I know many people who smoke everyday and still lives a normal boring family life. So if a person ruins his life because of smoking, it is not because of the weed, it is because he's a total jackass.

People will smoke it anyway, making it legal would eliminate most of the negative things that surrounds it.

Truer words have never been spoken. Those that regularly smoke can handle their shit. Marijuana is not even as bad as alcohol in any way. Has anyone ever heard of somebody overdosing on weed? It almost makes me laugh just to hear the question. I used to smoke so much back in the day, that nobody even could tell when I was high or not. The only way that it affected me was that it motivated me to get off my ass and go have some fun.

[Sir Kenneth]

Personally I don't really see the damage in making canabis legal to buy for anyone of legal age who might want to do so. The majority of marihuana users are normal thinking productive individuals who once in a while choose to enjoy a quiet night at home with a joint or 2 and a couple of friends. Of course there are sad cases of people abusing marihuana to the extent where they cannot function properly, but I do believe that even in the case of these people, it would be better if it could be legal.

Marihuana is only a psychologically addictive substance, which means that compared to other illegal substances it is relatively easy to quit with a coordinated help effort. A help effort it would be a lot easier to give and which I believe more people would seek if it wasn't illegal. Criminalizing a weak group of people with an addiction to a substance not any more dangerous than many legal substances really isn't doing anyone any good.

[Sinister]

And all those who loose jobs, wives, husbands, babies, houses, lives because they drink everyday? Alcohol is more addictive and makes a worse mess of your life than weed. Cannabis isn't that bad actually, I know many people who smoke everyday and still lives a normal boring family life. So if a person ruins his life because of smoking, it is not because of the weed, it is because he's a total jackass.

Exactly and Jackasses don't need help being jackasses. Legalizing Marijuana would make our labor-force problems quadruple. The USA doesn't need to loose millions of unmarried unemployed drug-addled men in their 40s to litter the streets and snatch up welfare.

The way it is now is Ideal. Only a select few in the know can get it and usually that select few are the exact ones who know how to handle it. Legalize like Pablo said, for patients or those in need.

[dimmufan]

Marijuana should be legalized. If everybody smoked weed then this world would be a much nicer place. The government could even make some money by taxing it at the local bo-de-gas. (Half Baked referrence) It helps alot of people who also have medical issues. It's a great pain reliever. The only real drawback that I can see is that you kinda lose your short-term memory. Nothing major. It would also lower the crime rate. Making it legal would also lower the prices. There is NOTHING wrong with marijuana. It is certainly alot better than alcohol.

[YojimboVincent]

Have you ever tried to talk to someone on weed they keep on thinking that you are going to kill them or some other paranoid statements and you can't get anything out of them, and think if they where on the road. Paranoid drivers are some of the worst things you can have when most people drive their best driving is at the substandard level of a monkey with a blind fold it is something that you don't want.

[Walter Sobchak]

Have you ever tried to talk to someone on weed they keep on thinking that you are going to kill them or some other paranoid statements and you can't get anything out of them, and think if they where on the road. Paranoid drivers are some of the worst things you can have when most people drive their best driving is at the substandard level of a monkey with a blind fold it is something that you don't want.

I think the people you are talking to are doing something else. Maybe cocaine. But marijuana isn't like that for most.

In terms of should or should not, marijuana should be legal. It doesn't have the health effects or the addictiveness of its peers. Despite the media portrayal, many successful people smoke pot.

I would imagine that legalizing marijuana for adults would make it harder for children to get. I can find a pot dealer anywhere, but stores that don't check ID's are harder to come by.

However, it isn't profitable enough. The profit margins that companies make with other substances don't compare to the street rates of marijuana. It is so easily grown that causes the relatively low street pricing. Pot dealers have very low profit margins, and if companies try and sell a dime's worth for fifteen dollars, people aren't going to have it.

[Furore]

Well this is coming from a guy who don't smoke anymore, but did up til about a fortnight on a more than regular basis.

Firstly I gave it up for some people I care about, and I really, really, really didn't want too. I miss it all to tell the truth. And I'm really not half as much insane fun as I was. I can no longer talk in limerick.

So my thoughts here? Legalise it. Then people won't get worried just because they see it as bad only becuase it's banned.
Yeah it can cause problems for a few people, but it should be them banned from it. Not everyone else. They can stick to booze.

Pot was great, it was inspiration, entertainment, a good social device...
And yeah, I realised that the first times I'd been sick in years were getting the flu and then a cold a few days after I quit.

And so you can make even better an opinion on this issue, look at it's effects compared to alcohol and several other drugs which are STRONGER.
Weed's AOK. And should be perfectly legal.

[em:]

well this is my opinion.
i do think i can "understand" Why some people take drugs.
i have never in my life take Anything like that, even if it has been easy manny times. one of my best friends took some really heavy stuff and it scared me cuz i did notis that my friends brain wasent working allright after a while. its very sad to see a childhood friend go down so mutch.

Belive me i tried to stop it. Dunno what my friend is doing now, we dont have any contact anymore.

[FF Ace Cid]

I believe that marijuana should be legal. The reason being simply being that it is that bad, there are much worse things out there. Drinking is worst, and it's legal. People are sitting in prison right now, just because they wanted to smoke a little, that's not fair. As it stands, it really isn't that addicting, and it is a purely psychological addiction, and can be overcome. I know people who have stopped, and never touched it again in their entire life. Marijuana also has its medical purposes, like glycouma (spelled wrong). As for being paranoid, nothing as to the extent mentioned above, that sounds like a coke addict, which is much worse. I know plenty of normal families who smoke, and there is nothing with doing it. Once it is legalized, there will be less crime on the streets and more room in the jails for the real criminals.

[AtLossForWords]

I think marijiuana should definately be legal. Potheads are the ones who go driving and risk the lives of an entire family on the road. Potheads aren't the ones beating their wives out of drunken anger. In fact, potheads are quite careful people. They have to be responsible just because weed is illegal. We don't get hurt at work, we keep our habits somewhat hidden from the public mainstream.

In addition to that, we've made some of the best music ever recorded, and have a lower risk of glaucoma.

[Govinda]

My friend and I were discussing this last night, so it's bumped.

We tried to think of the best way to allow those who want dope for recreation and/or pain relief whilst keeping it away from minors. I know a lot of people smoke it young, but really, they shouldn't; while the brain is still growing it is not clever to mess around with your chemical transmitters/receptors, especially not the dopamine and, to a lesser extent, the serotonin ones. Anyway.

We came up with a plan whereby cannabis is legalised in certain premises, but the second that any of it leaves said premises it would be classed as a Class A drug (currently it's Class C (read: slap on the wrist) in the UK; heroin, meth, etc are Class A). We came up with this as the best way of supplying those old enough to smoke it, and those who like it for pain relief, whilst keeping it out of the hands of young people and minimising the black market in it.

So. Cannabis is legal in certain liscensed premises for people over the age of, say, 21, but outwith those premises is classed as a Class A substance. Any premises caught selling to underage people face an extremely hefty (as in, bankrupty-enducing) fine. The added risk of being caught with a Class A, jailtime drug would surely just make people want to smoke it in the cannabis shops, no? It would also stop, for the most part, dealers selling to people too young; it's one thing selling a tenners bit of weed in a skatepark, but it's another entirely to pawn a Class A.

The government would make money from it; it would be controlled, so that nobody has to smoke shoe polish and vinyl resin; the gang element would be, for the most part, removed or scared off by the Class A rating; people too young to be near it would be safe; the ganglords who make all the money from the smuggled hash would suddenly find their income slashed, and thus their powers in human trafficking, extortion etc. limited.

There are problems; for instance, the gangmen run the shops, and nothing much changes on that front. They sell it out the back door, and even less changes.

But still. The policing required would be far less than now, saving Joe Public's money; on top of that, taxation would make money from the shops adn the substance.

Opinions?

[Jikuu]

I don't know how much the classification of a drug would deter drug dealers, but I would agree that legalization would deter black market sales of the drug.

I generally agree with legalization as a method of controlling the substance better and helping to regulate its use. There should definitely be an age restriction on it. I don't know if I agree with its medical use, as I'm generally a fellow that believes that breathing anything outside of air can't be good for you (although today's air is horrid anyway). In general, I think substances and behaviors lose their taboo nature when they are allowed. Drinking appeals to teenagers more than young adults, probably in part because they're not allowed to.
And, if nothing else, the idiots who can't govern themselves when it comes to drug use will remove themselves forcefully from society. As long as they can avoid taking innocents with them.

[Sean]

Medical Marijuana is all I'm for.

If it were legalized it has too many ramifications. It'd be impossible to control, while we'd stop spending money to FIGHT the drugs, we'd start spending money to ENFORCE CONTROL of the drugs. DUI would still be DUI, only now you're under the influence of something that's legal to use but not drive with.

People would be baked out of their heads day in and day out.

I also fail to believe alcohol is nearly as addictive as marijuana. Alcohol consumption in mass quantities has negative effects on the body in ways that make you actually think twice about getting hammered the next time. Marijuana does not.

It's also MUCH easier to test for drunkenness than it is to test whether someone is driving while under the influence of marijuana.

Public safety and even more money in tax dollars are at stake just to legalize something that isn't necessary, and how many people do YOU know that smoke it on a regular basis and get severe punishments for it while just doing it in their own homes?

[Che]

While I'm not so sure it should be legalized myself, people are going to smoke marijuana whether its legal or not. Some more liberal cities are even lessening the offense of being caught in possession.

I know plenty of people who smoke, even though its legal. I also have known plenty of kids who have drank before they were 21. It's easy to get, even some kid's parents buy it for them.

The real issue is how to control it.

[Casanova[OCAU]]

Allow me to quote Bill Hicks on this one. 'If you're at a ball game or a concert and someone is being loud, rude and obnoxious, are they A) drunk or B) High'

[Phoenix]

Marijuana is an interesting drug, because in certain circumstances it can be used for medicinal purposes. Personally, I don't smoke it, but considering its ability to help treat people, I think it perhaps should be legalized.

[ChloChloAriadne]

I don't get the stuff about people saying how marijuana is addictive..

It's bullshit. It's been proven that unless some ****'s gone and put extra shit in there, it's not physically addictive. It doesn't do anything to your system to make your body crave more.

Socially addictive? Yes. But in no way physically so. Chocolate and cola are more physically addictive.

[Che]

Actually you can get pretty addicted to marijuana - to the point where you think you need to smoke every hour. Your body doesn't need it, but you get mentally addicted to it.

[Walter Sobchak]

Chocolate and cola are more physically addictive.

So true.

When I quit marijuana, I just stopped smoking. Once in a while, I will do it again, and then think nothing of it. But soda, oh man. I had headaches and was constantly craving it. I cannot enjoy one socially anymore.

Soda = heroin.