So what do you think about cannabis?

[Bucky01]

don't really care if it is or isn't.
so long as its done in restraint, legalizing with proper vendors stopping backyard deals with shady people, no doubt it would be heavily taxed by the Government, and its treated as any other perception altering medication/substance in conjunction with society, id say go nutz.

 

[Lenin211]

I've seen a few threads like this but If there are laws and regulations around it similar to the ones we have regulating alcohol and tobacco, then yes.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

All drugs should be legal. The government should have no say when it comes to what a person wants to do with their bodies.

Also this ^ ^ ^

The government should only get involved if people start putting other people at direct risk, and then only by incarcerating those individual people, not all people who've ever done it.

Shit though, think about that. That would not only solve the US's drug-crime problem, that would also solve the illegal immigration problem. With the drug cartels out of power in Mexico, suddenly Mexico would be a much better country and people would stop trying to come here. Legalizing all drugs would really be killing two birds with one stone.

Drug legalization would also pump billions into the economy and at the same time would create millions of jobs. Let's also not forget that by legalizing drugs we'd get rid of that pesky war on drugs. Once that's gone the money used for it would be put to better use. Drug based crime would collapse or at least shrink to the point of being irrelevant. Legalization would also make it easier for users who are addicted to hard drugs to get help.

 

[michiehoward]

There are worse things. And yes I think it should be made legal, due to the millions of dollars wasted in the "war on drugs" that get supplied to the "war on weed" specifically.

 

[shasqueebo]

Also there's the other reasonable arguements for legalised weed; Shops would make sure it's not laced with lsd or anything since it can come back to them

Weed laced with LSD is a myth. Acid's hallucinogenic effects are lost when it is burned. However, it can be laced with PCP but it is usually extremely noticeable as the weed would be wet.

 

[LoFr3Eq]

In New Zealand especially it would take quite a bit of power and income away from the gangs. To be honest it should be as legal as alcohol or cigarettes. I once had a debate with my old manager about why it should be legalised, after the 10 minute or so discussion the only valid point she could make to support the current illegality of marijuana is that a "sober driver" could become intoxicated from the smoke, if it was being smoked in their car while driving (on a cold night when you can't open the windows).

I think it is disgusting that we are potentially criminalising a huge section of society for a recreational non-habitual drug with less side effects than alcohol.

Also, guess which country in Europe has the least drug crime? The Netherlands...

So in conclusion, the following things should be lumped together and either banned or not banned:

Alcohol
Tobacco
Marijuana
KFC Double Down 'burgers' (OMG we just got these 3 days ago, I've had one every day.)

 

[Mcupobob]

I'm in favor of legalization for a lot of reasons, but the most pressing one is this:

In a free society, it is none of the government's business what individuals do to their bodies and minds in their free time.

a) no such thing as a free society.
b) it becomes the government's concern when what someone does to their own body and mind affects someone else. And I'd challenge any drug user (yes, I include alcohol and tobacco) to say truthfully that their using hasn't had an effect on others (smokers going through withdrawals, I'm particularly looking at you)

I made this the other day and I'm soooo glad I get to use it now(Just the cut out part didn't make the show).

Anyways I've smoked pot for about a year now, on and off as I travel in the summer so its not safe to bring across state lines(especially if you have California license plates and your heading down south) and I have never gone through withdraw. Maybe a little bummed out and have trouble sleeping(which was a problem before I started smoking) but other than that I never got agitated never stole anything to support my habit(if I didn't have the money then oh well just have to wait) or went off looking for a dealer to get a "Fix" as a have only one person I trust for that.

 

[Wintermoot]

I don,t use it but I think we should legalize it it,s not killing anybody (atleast not directly) and legalizing it would clear up the prisons and would give the police time to stop real crimes (like murder)

 

[jaketheripper]

im tired of all this "hurr durr pot is bad" (not from op, from the replies lol) pot doesnt ruin your life, i work perfectly fine and im similar to op's girlfriend, i have at least bs in almost all ap and honors classes.

honestly op, talk to her and see if you guys can chill sometimes without pot(if its really as serious as you say, she will respect you), or just deal with it. Hell, go on and smoke every once in a while, does your mind some good. Assuming you have some self control(unlike half of the posters in this thread), it wont "ruin" your life. thats also assuming you wanna. Im not sure i agree with the whole 'growing out of it' thing though. feels like you are implying that its immature. oh well. She honestly shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Now, on the whole gateway drug topic, assuming that its a worry, is bullshit. People us pot as a scapegoat to cover up their mistakes. thats all it is.

i apologize for all of the assumptions. I have quite a few thoughts racing in my head at the moment, im just throwing things out and hoping that they are somewhat relevant.

pulled from me, yesterday. its not the most well thought out response, but oh well.

 

[ashrossy]

Not a fan of it. Messes with your head (never tried it, but seen the effect on many people). I know it's got no "negative" side-effects apparently, and smoking is more harmful for your body. The thing is, Alcohol is bad enough for people doing stupid things. Imagine someone causing a massive pileup because they were high. I know that happens already. I personally think smoking should be banned, but I don't mind too much and don't go preaching it.
It'll be a sad day when Pot becomes legal in the UK at least, I know people that have neglected their dogs because they've been permanently high. Where would it stop? We see people abandoning babies to play on Facebook games or WoW, but what about when people are too high to bother getting a job (seen that too), what'll it do to the economy? Maybe it's just the area I used to live in, but I know there would be a significant impact on the productivity of the town I used to live in if Pot became legal.

But I suppose it's peoples choice. If they think it's worth possibly getting arrested for and still do it, it must be REALLY good.
Like Heroin.
I suppose the ban on Alcohol didn't go too well, but then again that's all we had then. I drink sometimes. I used to get drunk every Saturday with friends. I've since moved away to Blackpool. had 2 cans of lager at the house warming, not drank now in over a Month and to be honest I don't care. I'm far more addicted to caffeine.

But Pot? We've got too many addictions. I'd rather money be put into education or the NHS than into battling whether it should be legal in the UK. Thank god we're not considering it yet I suppose.

I do think it's odd that we can buy as much alcohol or smokes as we want but more than 2 packets of paracetamol or goddamn flu tablets!?

2nd edit:


I realise I rambled on a bit. Basically in short; I like it the way it is (besides the prison overcrowding thing). If you think it's worth getting punished, do it.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Every human beeing has the right to take whatever poison they want. Drink, smoke, whatever. It's your life and your choice what to do with it. If you can handle it well. Have fun. If you fuck up, don't expect pity.People do other dumb things to have fun that aren't drugs. But somehow no one starts campaigns against parachuting or free climbing.

 

[Sikratua]

As been said so many times on this subject: Legalize it and tax the ever living hell out of it. Also to quote Daniel Tosh, as I always do with this subject: "Legalize pot, so potheads never have anything to talk about anymore and move on to big boy drugs like heroine."

Note: I don't condone drug use. I think it's pretty damn stupid. I'm just really tired of hearing all the "legalize" it crap because potheads really don't shut up.

So, you think that people should start shooting up female superheroes? There's no "e" at the end of the word "Heroin."

But, on topic: Weed smells like a combination of unwashed gym socks and expired asparagus. I don't give a damn, one way or the other, what people do to their own bodies, provided that they don't inflict that choice on others. If someone wants to try to "shotgun" weed smoke into my face... Well, I've got a pretty good right cross for that.

 

[Little Duck]

If it were grown ethically, should be more legal than tobacco.

 

[Kenami]

Not a fan of it. Messes with your head (never tried it, but seen the effect on many people). I know it's got no "negative" side-effects apparently, and smoking is more harmful for your body. The thing is, Alcohol is bad enough for people doing stupid things. Imagine someone causing a massive pileup because they were high. I know that happens already. I personally think smoking should be banned, but I don't mind too much and don't go preaching it.
It'll be a sad day when Pot becomes legal in the UK at least, I know people that have neglected their dogs because they've been permanently high. Where would it stop? We see people abandoning babies to play on Facebook games or WoW, but what about when people are too high to bother getting a job (seen that too), what'll it do to the economy? Maybe it's just the area I used to live in, but I know there would be a significant impact on the productivity of the town I used to live in if Pot became legal.

But I suppose it's peoples choice. If they think it's worth possibly getting arrested for and still do it, it must be REALLY good.
Like Heroin.
I suppose the ban on Alcohol didn't go too well, but then again that's all we had then. I drink sometimes. I used to get drunk every Saturday with friends. I've since moved away to Blackpool. had 2 cans of lager at the house warming, not drank now in over a Month and to be honest I don't care. I'm far more addicted to caffeine.

But Pot? We've got too many addictions. I'd rather money be put into education or the NHS than into battling whether it should be legal in the UK. Thank god we're not considering it yet I suppose.

I do think it's odd that we can buy as much alcohol or smokes as we want but more than 2 packets of paracetamol or goddamn flu tablets!?

2nd edit:


I realise I rambled on a bit. Basically in short; I like it the way it is (besides the prison overcrowding thing). If you think it's worth getting punished, do it.

Ditto here for the states. A lot of my friends are pot heads and do it behind closed doors and such. To be honest I don't see why it can't just stay that way but meh we all have different opinions. I do agree with yours though mate.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

snip

Smoking is not the only way to get the THC in your body. There are less harmful ways.

Alcohol is in fact good for your health when drank with moderation. Making it illegal did jack shit to lower its usage, the same way making drugs illegal and spending billions on "fighting them" did jack shit to lower drug use.

Someone causing a massive pileup because they were high? I guess I'd understand where you'd be coming from but there'd be laws against being high and driving the same way there's laws for being drunk and driving. Either way, legalizing weed won't necesarely mean we'll see more high drivers.

What do you mean permanently high? Care to go into more detail regarding your story?

Your argument that people would be "permanently high" seems to leak into this one as well. Not getting a job is entirely dependent on the individual in question. Weed is already freely available. Hell, is there truly a neighbourhood where you can't get some weed? I won't bother going into detail because I've got the ultimate argument to counter yours: The Netherlands. Weed is not legal there, but it is tolerated. You can smoke it freely without the police intervening. Did we see a drop in jobs because of that? In fact, did society deteriorate? Last time I checked, the netherlands had the lowest crime rate in Europe. In fact, if your argument was true it would apply to all drugs, including alcohol. Do we see people being constantly drunk? Nope. You're arguing using misinformation. Don't do that.

Pot being legal does not mean every single individual on the planet will use weed regularly. Also, drug legalization would pump billions into the economy and would create millions of jobs. Let's also not forget drug based crime would almost completely disappear.

Pot is not physically addicting, it's mentally addicting which is the best kind of addicting. For hard users there are widhrawal symptoms similar to those of cigarettes. Either way, what people put into their bodies and what people want to get addicted to is their problem, not yours.


Also, what are you talking about? Do you know how much money goes into fighting drugs? BILLIONS. If you truly want to contribute to the NHS you should advocate drug legalization, since when those billions stop being spent on a useless war guess where they'll go. In fact, there's going to be absolutely no money spent on "debating" whether or not drugs should be legal or not.

 

[herts]

Hate it, it ruined the life of someone I care about for a long time. Yeh i'm glad it's illegal.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Decriminalised, not made legal.

And some proper research put into the long-term effects, rather than going with stupid phrases like paranoia and memory loss.

Could you explain the difference between decriminalized and made legal? I've always been shakey on that concept.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Could you explain the difference between decriminalized and made legal? I've always been shakey on that concept.

Decriminalized means that the use of it is allowed under legal restrictions. You can still be arrested for possession, supply and/or production in public places; but private places can apply for their own legislation.

Basically; doctors can then do tests on it, cancer sufferers can use it as anesthesia, and Amsterdam Coffee Shops can sell it within their premises; while dealers can still get arrested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decriminalization_of_non-medicinal_marijuana_in_the_United_States

 

[Crazy_Dude]

Its "legal" here in Holland and I am a frequent user. I dont see any good reasons to have it illegal so I am glad I live here.