Legalize It?

marijuana is decriminalized here....
the government can make so much money off of it in forms of taxes

 

I use marijuana and find it wondrously beneficial. I'm not here to advocate it, but as Ben Harper said, "before you knock it try it first".

 

Actually, now that I think of it I don't really know anyone who is dead set on it being illegal, but that might be because I live in a town full of hippies.

 

I say no no no no no it will just give people a "legal" excuse to use it

 

^Pretty much exactly what he said.

 

In my opinion, alcohol is a lot more damaging and dangerous than marijuana.
But, that doesn't mean it it's okay to legalize.

But yeah, I do smoke it on occasion so I shouldn't be talking

I was watching a documentary that said the UK's use of hard drugs has gone up about 80% since the 1970s.... Amsterdam's hard drug use, however, has been more or less the same since the 70s. This is because their government emphasizes hard drugs vs. soft drugs. Marijuana and alcohol are both soft drugs in Amsterdam. Although pot isn't technically legal in Amsterdam, it's only tolerated in private residents and coffee shops. Because of this, it's not found on the streets. They interviewed a Dutch cop on the subject.

 

Actually,I used to smoke it,now I don't. I know it messes up your lungs and is a lot worse than cigarettes. I think it should be legal,but mostly for medicinal purposes.
I know it helps with chronic pain. It also helps cancer & aids patients.
My friends sister had aids and the only way she could eat was to smoke pot first.
It was the only way she could tolerate food.
I also know it helps cancer patients with the side effects of chemo.
As for recreational use,I don't care one way or the other.

 

I don't need to try it. People that i've seen on it is proof enough that it isn't a beneficial drug


So hypothetically, a drunk driver slams into your families car killing them all, but you not having drank alcohol can't knock said drunk driver because you havn't tried it? Thats not how that saying works unfortunately.

 

Well, of course it would bring down illegal activity - why don't we make everything legal? Then we could claim to be the only society in history in which absolutely no one breaks the law xD

 

That was in The Simpsons wasn't it?

The first politician to completely wipe out crime, by legalizing everything!

 

Probably... sounds like something they would do.

(L) the simpsons

 

it's not meth. i have never known anyone to live in squalor over dope, it just does not happen like that.

medicinal qualities of marijuana are sworn by by sufferers of cancer and the like. it increases appetite and reduces nausea of chemo. plus you laugh your arse off in the process, which produces endorphins for overall well-being.

I know it is harmful in the long run, but then again what isn't? Mobile phones, additives in food (the many hundreds), pollution, alcohol, terrorism, natural disasters will still kill you first!

 

I've used weed before - and personally - I think that if you have a little in moderation it's fine. Weed makes me happy and giggly and then hungry and then sleepy - pretty much as janvier said.

Alcohol makes me very very sick. I avoid alcohol.
I say legalise it so you can control it.

 

I do not think they should legalize it, I've heard waaayyy too many stories about how it was hazardous to people lives, an old friend of mine's mother use's marijuana and she (my old friend) is miserable because of it, it broke up their family

AND

I've met many people who do use it, and they ALL were lazy and, for lack of a more polite word, stupid, I've have tutored many of them in class, I teach them how to do something i show them every step and go over it with them but then when they try and do it on their own they say what? and then I show them again and they say ohh yeah, I only met one boy who uses it and I could actually teach and he retain the knowledge, he was rather cute too and bi but I wasn't about to date someone who uses that stuff, from what I've observed it has a horrible effect, especially on teenagers, Laziness, forgetfulness and stupidity and for those who might say "well how did you know they were doing it?" I smelt it on them plenty of times and they have admitted it

 

I dunno. I like to be open-minded about that sort of thing, but...all the pot-smokers I know are morons.

In other words, from what I've seen it seems to have negative effects on people.

 

Teenage years aren't a good time to be using *any* substances - even alcohol, nicotine or excessive caffeine, the brain has too much developing to do during that time. However, for adults, the onus should be on the person to make the decision on whether to take something.

 

I don't do any drugs or drink because my family has a history of alcoholism and questionable mental health. Why push it, you know?

As for the legalization of marijuana, I have mixed feelings. It's a gateway drug that would lead to the consumption of other drugs like cocaine and heroin! Plus it's detrimental to the brain, and really, if there's one thing people should conserve...

One the other hand, since drugs are illegal there are marginalized communities who make a living by drug dealing because society is constructed in such a way that makes it impossible to integrate such groups into the legal system of working. While legalizing drugs would theoretically limit the both desire for drugs and the payoff of selling them, doing so would only be an optimum choice if it were coupled with additional plans to reshape society so that minorities aren't forced into manipulating the system because it's so hard to join it.

I took a class on Social Problems, I hope it counts for something here.

 

I'm Dutch, and I may be a bit biassed, but I say legalize it, both production and sale. That way it's taken out of the criminal sector. Then again, I don't use it (kinda makes me sick) although I can legally buy it like half a block from where I live. Any person over 18 may buy like a fifth of an ounce for personal consumption or grow 5 plants for the same purpose. Selling it (besides from shops licenced to do so) growing more than 5 plants, in- or exporting it is still a crime here, and dealt with quite harshly too. I would say to anyone who looks to the Dutch system as an example to look further, it aint perfect.

 

I've been going through some of the responses and many of the people saying that it is a teribble, harmful drug are clearly uninformed about marijuana. Marijuana got a bad image in the 1930s and it remained illegal, and now there are facts about it which are completely false. There has NEVER been even 1 account of a death due to the use of marijuana. NOR has there been evidence that it causes cancer. There was recently a study done by Harvard, that stated they found that the chemicals within marijuana protect the user from its own carcinogins (smoke), hence the absence of lung cancer in marijuana users. There has also been studies that have showed marijuana actually REDUCES the size of tumors in the body. Marijuana is ALSO not addictive. It has no addictive chemicals in it. There are sites that say it is addictive but name one addictive substance in it... The reason why they say that is because... when people get caught with marijuana, they are given an option, either go to jail, or go to rehab. Obviously, they choose to go to rehab which is then sent to various polls, and people conclude from that, that it is addictive. People all have this common way of thinking because it was pretty much passed down by generations that it is terrible. Tobacco, alcohol, and even caffiene have many deaths each year, yet marijuana has no account of anyone dieing or receiving other illnesses.

May 8, 2000 (Boston) -- Marijuana, unlike tobacco and alcohol, does not appear to cause head, neck, or lung cancer, says a researcher from Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore who presented findings from a study here recently at a meeting of internal medicine physicians.

May 23, 2006 -- People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancerlung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancercancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2007) — The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

**There are countless other facts about it on google, and even documentaries on marijuana. They should definately consider legalizing it because it would cause less crime, the US would gain 7 billion each year from taxing it, and because it is clearly not anymore harmful that alcohol or cigarettes. :icon_wink

 

California is trying to legalize it right now to tax it and help out their economy, I hope it passes! If it did it might spread to other states too if it all goes well.
With our economy and our president now, its a possibility.