Poll: Should they legalize pot?

[VanityGirl]

I think they should legalize it. It is not addictive. People say you can be mentally addicted, but I have a problem with that. You can think you are addicted to anything, I could think I was addicted to Wendy's cheeseburgers, but if I don't have a physical craving, then I'm not really an addict.
People have a misunderstanding that weed makes people depend on it, this is not true.


I think pot has many medical qualities and if legalized it might be helpful tot he community.

 

[chris89300]

Alzheimer's basically dementia, and yes, dementia can make you hallucinate or whatever. Good one, Vanity

 

[Red Right Hand]

Of course they should legalise it. Just because you feel it's dangerous doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to take it. If I understand the risks associated with it then what reason do you have against me taking this drug. This goes for every drug by the way, not just pot. What pisses me off the most about drug legislation is the stupid amount of propaganda and misinformation that is pumped out by the government. It's ridiculous and just promotes this bad image that drugs have got. For example on the news, you always hear about heroin and cocaine killing many people, but what they don't tell you is that there are far more people taking these drugs and so the problem is completely over-blown by the fucking self-righteous media.

Granted Heroin and Cocaine addictions are terrible yes, but if the person understands the risks involved then why prevent them? The fact that LSD is banned puts the cherry on the cake, despite the fact that it is proven that it not physically harmful denotes that it should be legalised, to me the government is just scared and is not listening to what a large proportion of the population actually wants. Whether drugs are legalised or not bears no difference on your life if you are not going to take them, so why should you have a say in the matter, that is what I do not understand.

 

[Cherizard]

My problem with legalising pot is that people can just grow it in their own homes if it's made legal.There would be no way to regulate or tax that. If it were possible to tax it you could make it so expensive that people are unable to afford lots of it, like alcohol and cigarettes which, in theory, would probably help.

The main reason I don't do it is because it's illegal and I can imagine many people being the same

 

[TankCopter]

If by legalising marijuana they removed the huge waste of police time and money that is attempting to stamp it out, I'd say go for it. The major problem with the stuff is it can be terrible for your mental health, but at least it doesn't seem to give people emphysema and cancer. Plus, you'd think governments would want the additional revenue they'd get from taxing it.

 

[crazyfoxdemon]

Yeah... And no I've never done it >_>

 

[Nounverber]

So, wow... nearly 30% voting "no".

That government propaganda still having some effect at least.

Here's the rub - cannabis is neither dangerous, nor particularly addictive. Studies have been being funded for decades trying to prove otherwise, and the best they've come up with is "marijuana makes schizophrenics slightly crazier, and smoking two dozen joints a day may increase your risk of getting lung cancer". Well.... duh.

I have not heard a single argument for the continued prohibition of cannabis that does not apply equally or more so to alcohol or tobacco (which are the *real* gateway drugs, by the way). We're facing the same situation now with Mexican drug gangs that we did with the Mafia and Prohibition in the 1920s and 30s. The drugs themselves are not the problem - the profitable black market caused by their illegality is. And let's be realistic, anyone who wants to smoke pot, snort coke, or shoot heroin into their eyeballs already is. The War on Drugs is a farce.

(Apologies if this has already been said - I only skimmed over all the posts in this thread)

 

[chris89300]

Well, you're right. There's a lot of gang problems here because of it. And when the cops finally get some of them, others step up to take their place, it's just the the way gangs work, one's downfall is the opportunity of another, and they always take that opportunity.
I mean, I've been out of the game for a few years now, but I've still got my sources, they all tell me it's getting worse every day, this is one of the reasons it should be legalized. I mean come on, we don't even have enough room in our prisons for all of them, and OUR tax money is used to keep them all in there.

Meanwhile, thieves, rapists, pedos, murderers and every imaginable criminal is running loose.
Let's just admit it already, no drug is as bad as rapists, pedos and murderers.

Look at the Netherlands. There are so very few weed smokers there that one could wonder if they really have any weed. On the other hand, we've got more weed smokers than cig smokers in France, and it's illegal.
Statistically, of all the European countries, France is the one with the most weed smokers, and the Netherlands is the very last.
Doesn't that say anything?

 

[regallmighty]

Once pot is legal, the only people who would want to smoke it are the people who are addicted to it, the people who are not smokeing it are not because they know its bad for you. Not becasue it is not legal. Personaly i think they should legalize all drugs. This way we can regulated things like clean needals and safe places to inject, so we can stop the spred of things like ads

 

[Dags90]

I don't get why everyone keeps pushing down on smoking weed as if that's the only method of its consumption. It's be like saying nicotine should be illegal because smoking causes cancer. There are numerous ways of consuming nicotine, and there are numerous ways of consuming marijuana, from simply using fats and oils as solvents to prescription products like Marinol.

I also think marijuana screening by employers is unfair. It invades into the person's personal life because of the way marijuana is metabolized. You can be sober as Bill W. and still test positive. It's reasonable for employers to expect their employees to come in with a clear state of mind, but the current tests aren't nearly robust enough for that exclusive purpose.

 

[oppp7]

If it could be legally sold and the US government taxed it, we'd be out of debt in a year.

Doesn't California have it legalized and they're in large amounts of debt?

OT: I guess? I'm not too big on this issue, so I don't have much of an opinion either way. Also, this thread has been done to death.

 

[cerebus23]

Read the IOM report that was done years back on mj, it is probably the most even handed, when taken in full context, report ever done on the benefits and drawbacks of marijuana. Course politicians and anti drug people take 2 or 3 lines out of the entire 30 or 40 page report to justify the war on drugs.

The problem with the "war on drugs" or any war is what is the exit strategy? when do we win the war exactly? There has never ever been a clear cut goal or strategy to the war on drugs other than arrest, prosecute and fill up jails with non violent drug offenders.

Murder in this country carries a 5 year jail sentence on average. Some of the mandatory minimum sentences on drugs make murder sentences look like a good deal.

Are we every to believe that we can get a 0 use policy out of the war on drugs? In any free or semi free society that is impossible period. You ban anything in a "free" society you just create a black market where people can make money tax free as long as they can avoid getting caught. And the fact that there are plenty people willing to line up to get whatever you ban guarantees there will be people will fill that role.

Humans have been ingesting psycotropic drugs: mj, mushrooms, cactus, soma etc since nearly the dawn of human time, and many religious meditations and visions have come from those things.

The fact that we have specific receptors in the human brain geared to absorb thc specifically, shows just how long ago humans and mj started their long relationship together.

Far as people going psychotic and trying to kill people, out of the millions of people that have smoked weed over the decades if this was at all a common and not some silly reefer madness bs that people make up to sound like omg is this stuff evil. Then why isnt there mass homicides with the countless people that experiment with weed and other drugs.

Not that there cant be some exceedingly rare brain defect that causes people to go absolutely insane at the inhaling of a joint. After all the evidence that weed was physically addictive came from researchers taking severely inbread lab rats with extreme mental retardation and pumping them full of massive quantities of thc, they just leave the details out when they make that claim. Some of these same lab rats also became violent when cut off, tho i dunno what was going on the rats heads and neither does anyone else being they inbread retarded rats n all.

Goverments have told so many lies concerning marijuana going back to the early days of prohibition against it, it is hard to take anything they say seriously on the matter. They also have had a famous history of fudging numbers and reports and taking things out of context and outright making things up that i would not put much stock on anything they claim.

Also you can make the argument that having it black market makes it easier for people to get it no dealer is going to ask for id, there is no guarantee that what your buying isnt laced with pcp or coke or meth or any number of extra goodies to try and get some extra customer loyality when buying off the street at random off less honest dealers. Its fairly rare but things like that do occur.

Sure was a hell of a lot easier to be to score a sack of green than it was to try and find someone to get us booze when i was a teen, since i knew at lest 5 people i could score weed off of with a phone call and walk down the hall or across the street. As opposed to trying to find someone 21 and talking them into going somewhere to buy us licquor. Or trying to get a fake id that would pass muster.

 

[TheTim]

Legalize it then tax the hell out of it just like with alcohol and cigarettes. It'll create more jobs and give the economy a shot in the arm. It will also limit gang activity to an extent as they will be forced to sell harder drugs

edit: I don't smoke, smoke or, drink. I just think it would be a good source of income and a good way to make bring about new jobs

if the government makes marijuana so expensive, what would stop the people from going back to cheaper better versions of non-taxed weed from drug dealers?

 

[Queen Michael]

Nope. Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Legalize it then tax the hell out of it just like with alcohol and cigarettes. It'll create more jobs and give the economy a shot in the arm. It will also limit gang activity to an extent as they will be forced to sell harder drugs

edit: I don't smoke, smoke or, drink. I just think it would be a good source of income and a good way to make bring about new jobs

if the government makes marijuana so expensive, what would stop the people from going back to cheaper better versions of non-taxed weed from drug dealers?

Probably for the same reason you can't find inexpensive tobacco from a drug dealer

 

[maxben]

It seems like on every five youtube videos I watch I see a comment like this "Legalize Marijuana!!! thumbs up for THC!! and RHCP!! Hey oh lets go smoke a bong!" and quite frankly it disturbs me,while there is no severe short term medical consequences(There are a few long term though.)It does in my honest opinion from experience make people stupider,so I was wondering what do you all think?

Its the other way around. There are massive short-term problems, particularly memory loss. However, most of these problems are merely temporary and if you quit for 3 months-6 months you are back to almost new.
The only article I read that said otherwise claimed it change something in your genes, but our understanding of genetics is so small and its the only one I've seen to make that claim so I doubt it.
As a smart guy, its important to me to know the consequences of my hobbies (even if I generally don't care and would do it anyhow).

 

[zHellas]

Legalize it then tax the hell out of it just like with alcohol and cigarettes. It'll create more jobs and give the economy a shot in the arm. It will also limit gang activity to an extent as they will be forced to sell harder drugs

Got any Oregano?!

"*coughs* I'm allergic to Oregano!"

(Are you, by chance, a Venture Brothers fan?)

OT: Tax and regulate it, we'll get a huge wave of income.

 

[A Defecating Dog]

Honestly, I view alcohol on a lower level on pot. Pot won't kill you, after all.

Legalize it.

 

[theironbat46]

Legalize it then tax the hell out of it just like with alcohol and cigarettes. It'll create more jobs and give the economy a shot in the arm. It will also limit gang activity to an extent as they will be forced to sell harder drugs

Got any Oregano?!

"*coughs* I'm allergic to Oregano!"

(Are you, by chance, a Venture Brothers fan?)

OT: Tax and regulate it, we'll get a huge wave of income.

Yeah I am, but I forgot about that episode. It is defiantly one of my favorites.

 

[chris89300]

Cerberus, I literally LoLed at your retarded rats thingy.
You make a very good point tho, and besides, rats are still pretty far from being a human.
Next time they'll try it on retarded in-bred monkeys for all we know lol.
I sure wish they'd test it on me, that way PETA won't complain and I'll get total satisfaction