Should marijuana be legalized?

[Massacre.]

I actually agree, as the violence associated with it is the result of it being illegal, but I also disagree. Due to it's awful abuse, it is generally avoided by other people besides criminals. It is less addictive than legalized drugs, however.

 

[poopnoodle]

I actually agree, as the violence associated with it is the result of it being illegal, but I also disagree. Due to it's awful abuse, it is generally avoided by other people besides criminals. It is less addictive than legalized drugs, however.

underground crime has actually increased since the illegalization of pot, correct me if i'm wrong. and i'm going to disagree with you on that last sentence-- i wouldn't be surprised if there were more average teenagers smoking pot than serious criminals xD kids are drawn to what they don't have access to, getting their hands on things like illegal drugs makes them feel empowered and rebellious. in places like amsterdam where weed is so common, people are used to its presence and there's no fuss over it, and there's an extremely low percentage of people who consume it. anyway, think about this- where weed isn't legal, the act of consuming it makes one a criminal. about 1/9 of US prisoners are locked up just for smoking pot, whereas more serious criminals are out and about doing their thing. not only would marijuana trafficking and the violence involved be put to an end by its legalization, the crime rate would decrease just by removing that "criminal" label from people who only smoke pot.

 

[Guillermo]

It really doesn't matter if marijuana is legalised, because if someone wants to smoke it then they're going to somehow get their hands on it, regardless of if you can walk into a store and buy it or if you have to buy it from some stranger on the street.

There are a few things you need to take into account when you think of marijuana. It costs money to keep it illegal, and people should have the freedom to smoke it if they so wish. It's their body, and their choice. Another reason is religion. Much like Christianity ask their followers to drink wine, some religions like Buddhism ask their followers to use marijuana.

Instead of asking if it should be legal, ask why it should be illegal.

 

[Stratos99]

It really doesn't matter if marijuana is legalised, because if someone wants to smoke it then they're going to somehow get their hands on it, regardless of if you can walk into a store and buy it or if you have to buy it from some stranger on the street.

..well actually, it does matter. You're right when you say people are going to smoke weed whether or not it's legal or illegal, if that's what they want to do. However, this doesn't mean it's current illegal state does not matter. Illegal implies that you have to get it through indirect means, ie drug dealers. Drug dealers are dealing on the opposite side of the law, so what's to say they wouldn't do something else illegal? They could easily mug you. It's not like you can go to the police and say 'Hey, I was trying to buy weed off of this drug dealer and he stole my money.'. On top of that, let's say he doesn't do this. which is what happens in many cases, I won't deny that. drug dealers have been known to coat weed in tiny shards of glass, to emulate thc crystals. This happens moreso in the UK. If it were legal people wouldn't have to obtain it through these means, and it eliminates most if not all risks related to marijuana, the only other being exacerbation of an underlying illness such as schizophrenia.

There are a few things you need to take into account when you think of marijuana. It costs money to keep it illegal, and people should have the freedom to smoke it if they so wish. It's their body, and their choice. Another reason is religion. Much like Christianity ask their followers to drink wine, some religions like Buddhism ask their followers to use marijuana.

I agree with you here, though I've never heard of Buddhists smoking marijuana. Could be ignorance on my part, but can you cite a source? I'm interested to know, actually. Sounds like a good read.

Instead of asking if it should be legal, ask why it should be illegal.

They are one in the same, to prove why it shouldn't be illegal you need to support why it should be legal, and vice versa on the opposite side of the argument.

 

[Zemu]

underground crime has actually increased since the illegalization of pot, correct me if i'm wrong. and i'm going to disagree with you on that last sentence-- i wouldn't be surprised if there were more average teenagers smoking pot than serious criminals xD kids are drawn to what they don't have access to, getting their hands on things like illegal drugs makes them feel empowered and rebellious. in places like amsterdam where weed is so common, people are used to its presence and there's no fuss over it, and there's an extremely low percentage of people who consume it. anyway, think about this- where weed isn't legal, the act of consuming it makes one a criminal. about 1/9 of US prisoners are locked up just for smoking pot, whereas more serious criminals are out and about doing their thing. not only would marijuana trafficking and the violence involved be put to an end by its legalization, the crime rate would decrease just by removing that "criminal" label from people who only smoke pot.

This is exactly what I wanted to say. By legalizing of marijuana use, crime rate does decrease a lot, and no more fraudulent drug dealers to benefit from the "profit", the government can save/gain money [by maybe imposing taxes on users]...

 

[Zet]

If it's legalized crime rate will go down, dealers will lose a bit of profit but they have other stuff. The only problem is that other things might happen like traffic accidents from people being too high.

 

[Ramzi]

I agree with Zet on this one. Crime rates would definitely decrease, no more dealers to profit from marijuana, but if it were to be legalized, people would become hasty went it comes to smoking the product, which will cause problems, like accidents.

And I am pretty sure I read somewhere that more than 50% of the California population support the idea of legalizing marijuana, and also taxing them; I don't support the latter, though.

 

[Garouga! Bare Your Fangs!]

I don't support anything that has to do with that crap because I despise it and what it does to people. Usually I'm down for a sensible argument, but this is the only thing that I feel passionate about. I hate, loathe, abhor it, and I have no respect for people who have even experimented with it.

Should it be legalized? No.

Why not? Because anyone stupid enough to use it deserves any violent crime that comes with it. That's my two cents. Case closed, I'm out.

 

[Sinnoh_Freak]

I live in the UK and Cannabis is being legalized and taxed in 2011. It will definately be better. Im 14 and when I was smoking I was introduced into the world of drugs. Between 3 local villages of mine, the teen drug rate is shocking, somehow, the adults have no idea... I definately think that Marijuana should be legalised.

 

[Trap-Eds]

We really need more official research on this stuff. On one hand, I hear that marijuana is one of the worse drugs out there, and on the other hand I hear that it really isn't all that horrible, it can be used for medicine, etc. Which one is right, for pete's sake? Has there ever been any conclusive evidence on how bad or good this drug is?

 

[poopnoodle]

I don't support anything that has to do with that crap because I despise it and what it does to people. Usually I'm down for a sensible argument, but this is the only thing that I feel passionate about. I hate, loathe, abhor it, and I have no respect for people who have even experimented with it.

Should it be legalized? No.

Why not? Because anyone stupid enough to use it deserves any violent crime that comes with it. That's my two cents. Case closed, I'm out.

well...whether or not moderate usage of marijuna is a "bad" thing is debatable, but think about it this way- if it was legalized, overall consumption would probably decrease over time. compare statistics on drug usage between america and the netherlands:

Spoiler:

(1997-1999) "The figures for cannabis use among the general population reveal the same pictures. The Netherlands does not differ greatly from other European countries. In contrast, a comparison with the US shows a striking difference in this area: 32.9% of Americans aged 12 and above have experience with cannabis and 5.1% have used in the past month. These figures are twice as high as those in the Netherlands."

courtesy of drugwarfacts.org

looking into the psychology of drug consumers, i'm not alarmed by these statistics.

as for that last segment, each individual's situation probably goes a little deeper than simply being "stupid enough" to partake in a drug. think about the families of drug dealers and impressionable young people who are subject to the violence that comes with drug dealing, people who originally had no intent to involve themselves in an inescapable industry but were somehow brought into it. i say sparing innocent people is a more practical idea than naively assuming that drug-users are all bad people who deserve the turbulence that accompanies their habits.

 

[Stratos99]

I don't support anything that has to do with that crap because I despise it and what it does to people.

What exactly does it do to people? Besides helping aids, hiv and chemotherapy patients get through the day that much easier I can only assume you're talking about the fraudulent case study back in the mid 20th century? You know, that one where they strapped gas masks on to monkeys, because that's a really cool thing to do, and pumped marijuana smoke into it for 15+ minutes? Finally concluding that heavy marijuana use kills brain cells, when in reality the only thing they'd done was deprived them of oxygen which of course will kill brain cells. Notice how all the abovetheinfluence commercials never have any scientific data to display? Instead portraying what could possibly, maybe be the outcome of somebody using marijuana? Of course I know plenty of people who toke up on the daily and aren't mindless meat puppets who do whatever their friends say.

Usually I'm down for a sensible argument, but this is the only thing that I feel passionate about.

You shouldn't have come into what was obviously a debate thread if you weren't looking to be sensible. All you're doing is flaunting your naive disposition without backing anything up, you'd have been better off not replying.

Should it be legalized? No.

Yes. There's no reason for it to be illegal in the first place when we have things like alcohol and tobacco legalized for consumption. Both are largely more volatile than marijuana, having documented deaths in the thousands annually. tylenol kills more people than marijuana does, even considering external causes such as car crashes or doing something extremely stupid while intoxicated. Which are extremely rare in the case of marijuana as opposed to alcohol, which is way more impairing as you would know if you've had experienced the two. On top of that the reasons behind it's illegalization are convoluted and profit based. Not profit based for the people like it would be if kept legalized, but profitable for large industry such as lumber, the largest producer of paper. Because as anybody educated on the topic at hand would know, hemp is a perfectly viable option and would stop deforestation, as the rate at which it grows is vastly superior to that of trees.

Why not? Because anyone stupid enough to use it deserves any violent crime that comes with it. That's my two cents. Case closed, I'm out.

There's nothing stupid about using it, you're just ill informed. Though I can respect this as your opinion provided it isn't highly hypocritical, meaning it's only be acceptable if you also oppose pharmaceuticals, alcohol and tobacco. Which are much worse and stupider to take than marijuana.

 

[Amai]

Oh no, more money being put into the economy by a drug that isn't even as bad as tobacco or alcohol, both of which are legal. What ever will we do?

 

[Kitty!]

This shouldn't even be an issue anymore.
It's weed, holy crap.

Best stuff out there IMO, lol.

And yes, it should be legal. But it doesn't really matter, we're all still going to do it just as much.

 

[0m3GA ARS3NAL]

moke weed, and I don't have any problem with crime, I'm not a criminalistic or violent person, I just CHOOSE to smoke it.

You choose your poison I'll choose mine.

Legalized or not it wont stop me.
Besides, the US could use the tax dollars, and their would obviously be laws against driving while high. (WHICH there arlready is... and consuption of it isn't illegal here, so as long as I'm not caught with it in my possetion I'm good.)

 

[Livewire]

Oh no, more money being put into the economy by a drug that isn't even as bad as tobacco or alcohol, both of which are legal. What ever will we do?

xD Continue to ignore the obvious benefits simply because of our archaic stances on drugs/alcohol. People, you can take of the 1880's nostalgia glasses, you won't get mugged for using weed.

The potential tax benefit would be enormous. It could really fix California's debt problem, if the legislation to legalize it goes through.

I don't smoke it, but It isn't the worst thing out there, by far. I would like to see it legalized.

 

[BrandonE]

One of the problems with this discussion is that people who claim to be rational yet oppose legalization never address any of the points the people who want to legalize it say. I wrote a gigantic post breaking down every part of this discussion, and people are merely ignoring it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to respond to you all individually.

If it's legalized crime rate will go down, dealers will lose a bit of profit but they have other stuff. The only problem is that other things might happen like traffic accidents from people being too high.

Again, it is a logical conclusion to say that prohibition actually has increased the amount of accidents. Think about it; if you want to use it, and don't have a safe place to do it in private, you have to do it in a isolated public place. How do you get there? Drive. What do you do right after consumption? Drive home. If people could do it outside of their house without fearing prosecution, this case is eliminated. That said, unlike alcohol, driving high is not a death sentence.

I don't support anything that has to do with that crap because I despise it and what it does to people. Usually I'm down for a sensible argument, but this is the only thing that I feel passionate about. I hate, loathe, abhor it, and I have no respect for people who have even experimented with it.

Should it be legalized? No.

Why not? Because anyone stupid enough to use it deserves any violent crime that comes with it. That's my two cents. Case closed, I'm out.

There's nothing right about this post. Firstly, if you hate cannabis, then you're going against yourself by promoting criminalization. Instead of allowing people to use it responsibly, you've pushed it underground and gave all the profits to drug dealers. Next, your statement that people deserve to be killed over a personal choice is inhuman, and you should feel horrendously for ever even thinking it. Anyone stupid enough to say such a horrible thing deserves any violent crime that goes with it. Lastly, you are not open to a sensible argument, as you're shunning any logical point in an attempt to feed your delusion. You're dead wrong, and you can't accept this, so you decide not to argue it at all. I can tell you're a wonderful person.

We really need more official research on this stuff. On one hand, I hear that marijuana is one of the worse drugs out there, and on the other hand I hear that it really isn't all that horrible, it can be used for medicine, etc. Which one is right, for pete's sake? Has there ever been any conclusive evidence on how bad or good this drug is?

I support research, but you used the word "official." Why is the opinion of the government more valid than an independent research group? They have a CLEAR conflict of interest in this discussion, and they have no incentive on telling the truth. That said, they are still unable to provide any real evidence of cannabis's harms, and that is how you can know it is safe. To say it's one of the worst drugs out there when tobacco and alcohol are legal is ridiculous. Tobacco is more addictive than heroin, alcohol causes drunk driving, and both cause various types of cancers, while no one has ever died directly from cannabis usage in the history of the world. That can't even be said about caffeine.

 

[o0PinkSquid0o]

Awesome, you didn't even pretend to read the other posts. Way to prove my point.

As if i am going to read through like 9 pages :S I'm giving my opinion
I don't want drunks and stoners walking around the streets. If it becomes legal there WILL be stoners freely walking around the streets... there pretty much is now anyway and its still illegal here.

 

[BrandonE]

As if i am going to read through like 9 pages :S I'm giving my opinion
I don't want drunks and stoners walking around the streets. If it becomes legal there WILL be stoners freely walking around the streets... there pretty much is now anyway and its still illegal here.

And your opinion is misinformed, nor have you attempted to inform yourself at all on the matter. Your logic is flawed on so many levels: "People are already doing x, I don't like this, so don't make it legal." You've just said that prohibition isn't working, and what price do you pay for it? $17.7 billion annually in enforcement, not counting prosecution or drug tests, a nanny state in which government bureaucrats tell us what we can and cannot do to our own bodies, all over a drug that is safer than caffeine.

If you want to make an audacious claim, I suggest you do your research first.

 

[o0PinkSquid0o]

And your opinion is misinformed, nor have you attempted to inform yourself at all on the matter. Your logic is flawed on so many levels: "People are already doing x, I don't like this, so don't make it legal." You've just said that prohibition isn't working, and what price do you pay for it? $17.7 billion annually in enforcement, not counting prosecution or drug tests, a nanny state in which government bureaucrats tell us what we can and cannot do to our own bodies, all over a drug that is safer than caffeine.

If you want to make an audacious claim, I suggest you do your research first.

wtf?? the fact that you're getting this upset over other people's opinion of the drug is quite sad.
Yeah, i don't like the drug, it stinks, it makes people turn into idiots, people somehow think they're cooler for smoking it. I really don't want the world full of more idiots.
I hate alcohol and I hate cigarettes, I think they should be banned too. I don't have to agree with you or your ridiculous amounts of 'research' to form my opinion!
So what if its not as bad as people say, keep it illegal, why bother changing it at all. Just make the other stuff illegal too if people are going to whinge.