Legalizing Marijuana

[Akio123]

I'll start by saying this.

Yes, I smoke pot.

That said, my opinion is a little...more subjective.
As a science major, I can say it doesn't have the negative affects that say Alcohol and Cigarettes do. Marijauana is completely natural; you smoke what's grown. Yes, there are active chemicals, but it's not like cigarettes which have things like ammonia in them.

Also, Salvia, a hallucigniogen (sp) is legal but Weed isn't...really? Especially given the medicinal properties...I really on't get why it hasn't been legalized.

 

[Mr. X]

The supposed medical benefits are not reliably confirmed. You have some saying it has benefits for everyone, some saying it only has benefits for certian groups of people, some saying it has no benefits and some saying it has no benefits and is harmful.

Would I support complete legalization of it? Right now, no.
Would I support re-categorization so we could actually get some heavily funded and accurate research as to its benefits and risks? Yes.
Would I support complete legalization of it in the future? Depends on the results of the research.

 

[-ty-]

The supposed medical benefits are not reliably confirmed. You have some saying it has benefits for everyone, some saying it only has benefits for certian groups of people, some saying it has no benefits and some saying it has no benefits and is harmful.

Would I support complete legalization of it? Right now, no.
Would I support re-categorization so we could actually get some heavily funded and accurate research as to its benefits and risks? Yes.
Would I support complete legalization of it in the future? Depends on the results of the research.

Yeah, but isn't alcohol proven to be harmful?
Do you think it was wrong to legalize it?

Again, I am a non-smoker, so I don't want to smoke it, but it doesn't give me the right to tell others that they cannot smoke.

 

[Broken_Arrow]

Pfff,Marijuana and drug abuse..why would people like to try those i mean does it really make you feel better?it only make you live in a lie doesn't exist for sometime ..i wish if people be more concerned about themselves not life and all people around will be against you and also yourself against yourself too..it's pain.

 

[Shanghai Alice]

See, the thing is, I'm perfectly fine with marijuana users who are only interested in smoking marijuana. It's not the brightest thing, but neither is drinking, and I have a lot more against alcohol than I do marijuana.

However, it's the crowd of idiots that wants to "rebel", the crowd that thinks they're being edgy by wearing leaves on everything, by doing drugs... that's the crowd that worries me.

Some people use marijuana as a stepping stone to harder drugs, and harder drugs are Bad Very Bad.

Doing something mildly damaging to your brain, but not that bad? Yeah, sure, whatever.

Taking something that'll actually permanently alter your brain for a hellalotta worse? Aww hell no.

 

[Akio123]

Yeah, but isn't alcohol proven to be harmful?
Do you think it was wrong to legalize it?

Again, I am a non-smoker, so I don't want to smoke it, but it doesn't give me the right to tell others that they cannot smoke.

Though, I agree with you I thought about this last night.
Alcohol is more ingrained in the culture globally. I mean it's harder to outlaw because it's as much as part of many cultures as religion, or other miscellaneous tradition. I mean the use of fermentation dates back thousands of years. Drug use is a bit of a foreign concept in most cultures and has to be introduced (Think about Japan in which Drug use equates to something as horrible as rape). I mean consider instances of drug use seen in history: it's always associated with deadbeats, murderers, rapists, oracles, priests (I mean the Oracle of Dephi did use volcanic fumes to see visions so...). Of that list only 2 are actually something you'd associate with.

It's more of a western concept that only now is becoming more mainstream. Most people still sort of believe that Weed is the same thing as Cocaine or Heroin (I find this really funny).

 

[Gamzee]

Pfff,Marijuana and drug abuse..why would people like to try those i mean does it really make you feel better?it only make you live in a lie doesn't exist for sometime ..i wish if people be more concerned about themselves not life and all people around will be against you and also yourself against yourself too..it's pain.

Well first of all, drug use and drug abuse are two separate things.

What... are you even talking about? How is smoking marijuana "making you live a lie"?

 

[Akio123]

Pfff,Marijuana and drug abuse..why would people like to try those i mean does it really make you feel better?it only make you live in a lie doesn't exist for sometime ..i wish if people be more concerned about themselves not life and all people around will be against you and also yourself against yourself too..it's pain.

Yeah, I just wanted to say the same thing as Gamzee said above:
Drug use=/= Drug Abuse. Drug Abuse is when you have someone who does whatever recreational drug many times a week and can't live without it. Drug use is just someone who casually uses a recreational drug. Not saying the latter is better, but it's a heck of a lot more controlled.

Sorry, it's just your post comes off as super judgmental and kind of blind.

 

[Alex]

Though, I agree with you I thought about this last night.
Alcohol is more ingrained in the culture globally. I mean it's harder to outlaw because it's as much as part of many cultures as religion, or other miscellaneous tradition. I mean the use of fermentation dates back thousands of years. Drug use is a bit of a foreign concept in most cultures and has to be introduced (Think about Japan in which Drug use equates to something as horrible as rape). I mean consider instances of drug use seen in history: it's always associated with deadbeats, murderers, rapists, oracles, priests (I mean the Oracle of Dephi did use volcanic fumes to see visions so...). Of that list only 2 are actually something you'd associate with.

It's more of a western concept that only now is becoming more mainstream. Most people still sort of believe that Weed is the same thing as Cocaine or Heroin (I find this really funny).

You're right, fermentation and alcohol itself has been a vibrant part of human culture for a very long time, and that drug abuse is generally linked to horrible types of people and incidents. The problem here is that we consider marijuana to be much worse than it actually is. The US classifies it as a drug as bad as methamphetamine or heroin. It's not at all in that league. What we need to do is break the conception that marijuana is a horrible, life ruining, stepping stone drug. I've always seen it as a reward; something to do at the end of the day to relax and unwind. When I first started smoking weed and was all jittery about it and thought I was a super cool badass, I would smoke it during the day. But I hate doing that. It's a waste of time. I barely did anything. Nowadays, I don't smoke it everyday and I make sure to get my work done. Going to class and doing my homework is a priority over getting high and watching movies.

Unforunately, I wish I could speak for everybody. Some people really don't know how to use marijuana. But that doesn't mean it should be outright illegal. I still think it should be a controlled, regulated, and above all else, accepted herb.

Pfff,Marijuana and drug abuse..why would people like to try those i mean does it really make you feel better?it only make you live in a lie doesn't exist for sometime ..i wish if people be more concerned about themselves not life and all people around will be against you and also yourself against yourself too..it's pain.

Okay if you're gonna make an argument, please make it legible. From what I understand, you ask yourself why people would try drug abuse. Clearly you haven't smoked weed, it kind of answers itself. Well, if you're into that sort of thing, that is. But there's a major difference between drug use and abuse. I use marijuana to unwind and relax. I don't abuse it. I don't feel the need to constantly be high. I don't feel at my maximum when I am high. You're not having confidence in the people who actually can manage their lives and keep priorities. I know plenty of people who smoke weed but get their work done above all else. I go to an art school, after all.

 

[-ty-]

Though, I agree with you I thought about this last night.
Alcohol is more ingrained in the culture globally. I mean it's harder to outlaw because it's as much as part of many cultures as religion, or other miscellaneous tradition. I mean the use of fermentation dates back thousands of years. Drug use is a bit of a foreign concept in most cultures and has to be introduced (Think about Japan in which Drug use equates to something as horrible as rape). I mean consider instances of drug use seen in history: it's always associated with deadbeats, murderers, rapists, oracles, priests (I mean the Oracle of Dephi did use volcanic fumes to see visions so...). Of that list only 2 are actually something you'd associate with.

It's more of a western concept that only now is becoming more mainstream. Most people still sort of believe that Weed is the same thing as Cocaine or Heroin (I find this really funny).

Alcohol is a drug though. The question is, why is alcohol not considered a drug to some, while weed is?

 

[Alex]

Alcohol is a drug though. The question is, why is alcohol not considered a drug to some, while weed is?

Because they've successfully been fooled by the government. It has waged a war on drugs, and they hope that one would think that any substance that is legal is accepted by the government and is therefore not a drug. But they are quite wrong.

 

[Charlie Kelly]

I'm not getting into a debate, but my feeling are pretty much as follows:

For the love of god please just legalize it and let it be done with. Only the most ridiculous think it has health consequences worse than tobacco or alcohol, you can't overdose on it, prosecuting the possession of it is wasting time and resources that could be used to do something actually useful, people are always going to do it whether it's legal or not, it's a freaking plant, and pot heads are incredibly annoying to listen to about how it shouldn't be illegal when just about anyone who can think logically already knows there's no good reason for it to be.

 

[InfiniteZyklon]

I am for weed, Because of my bad knees. I don't smoke everyday but i don't prefer to smoke it. I just make cookies. But We honestly put to many people in jail and spend to much money fighting....a.....plant.......If you punch someone and knock them out thats assault you most likely wont get jail time...have some pot plants....10-20 years...Why? lol

I think its just silly how people treat it. It's a plant...if someone wants to smoke it thats their business. Seems people didn't learn from Al Capone?

 

[Akio123]

Alcohol is a drug though. The question is, why is alcohol not considered a drug to some, while weed is?

I don't think you red my entire post.
Yes, alcohol is a drug. But, which is more ingrained in culture; wine drinking or smoking pot? I love both, but I can freely admit one is more mainstream. I mean it's not better by any means (hell it's more lethal), BUT it still is more mainstream then use than other drugs.

 

[Kura]

How tobacco can be legal, yet weed can't, I will never understand.

All the main points have been covered, but to add what's been said, marijuana acting as a gateway drug would be far less significant if it were to be legalised. You might as well make the same argument to say all drinkers could eventually drink drive, or all smokers could eventually become a dealer of illegal drugs.

Once you decriminalise it, the way it becomes a 'gateway drug' will be decreased simultaneously. If you're getting it from the store, rather than a shady dealer, you're far less likely to end up moving on to worse things. That's the way a lot of dealers (read: not all) operate; they start you off on weed, then try to work you onto other, harder drugs, because it's their source of income. It's all about money, and if the government intervene then it's the most effective way to prevent people from obtaining harder drugs and to regulate those who do use weed.

I agree with this.. plus government would be able to tax it and use that money for.. let's say.. student education. Because why not?

 

[Haguri]

I do not use it, nor do I know many that do. Though I have seen multiple times that money is wasted on drug tests and colleges and high schools. Normally the only drug they seemed to be looking for IS marijuana. I feel like this is a waste of money to begin with, I don't know why, but I do.

For this reason I believe making it legal to where it could be bought would not only make profit, but it could also cut our spending on controlling it and making arrests for it go down. (I'm saying this from an American perspective.)

It sometimes worries me on how it can alter the mind and if too much is taken in (Like alcohol) it could end up being something bad, so of course it would have to be monitored I would suppose, but it's actually surprising to know that there is nothing that states a death being 100% linked to marijuana, but yet there's plenty with regular tobacco cigarettes and alcohol.

As you can tell I'm pretty swayed, but if I had to pick, then in the end I think legalization would help.

 

[Team_Rocket_Sympathiser]

People who want to harm their own health by smoking weed should be left alone. However, they should not influence or entice others to do the same. If weed is legalised, more kids and narrow-minded people will be encouraged to think that smoking weed is perfectly normal and will take up the bad habit, just like smoking, alcohol, and gambling, not thinking twice about potential side effects on their health or finances.

If weed was legally sold and then highly taxed, there would likely be an increase in crime rates across the country due to more people being hooked on the drug and not able to sufficiently fund their constant drug habit. There would also be more potential family breakups due to a family member's incessant drug use.

Oh and btw, I think that enforcement action should not be directed at drug users, but at drug dealers. In some countries such as China, anyone convicted of trafficking or smuggling drugs will be executed after a summary trial. This is the main reason why illegal drug usage per capita is lower in China, even though the country is larger than America and has the potential to be a lucrative market for all sorts of illegal activities.

As for drug users, some countries have special rehabilitation facilities that drug users get sent to, rather than normal prisons. This prevents them from mixing with other types of convicts, and provides a distraction free environment for drug users to get weaned off the drug and reflect on their lives.

Believe me, repressive and cruel measures do work, and the reason why the War on Drugs seems not to be working, is because the govt either does not see it as a priority, or is held back due to humanitarian reasons.

 

[Livewire]

I think we're trending towards it becoming more accepted, and towards eventual legality. Change in this regard is exceptionally slow. It had valid, medical uses, and I think those who need it for those reasons should be able to have access to it.

a legal marijuana trade would be a gold mine for state and federal governments. That sort of cash flow would do a lot to prop up economies, and it would put illegal cartels and drug traders out of business.

 

[CrypticTerror]

War on drugs NEVER worked, Chinese culture is different than western culture less chinese are willing to use drugs. and it being legal will not make people want to do it more, if someone doesn't want to smoke it they won't regardless if its against the law or not, weed is not for everyone. Plus weed helps A LOT of people who actually need it.

Hooked on weed you say.................Hmmm.........Right.......I smoke weed here and there and i have no compulsion to smoke it. .......wait i got to go smoke it!!!! BRB!!!!... -.-

 

[idi0ts]

No it shouldn't and if people get harmed it's their own fault. Smoking marijuana is their own responsibility