Marijuana?

How safe something is is not a valid argument for it's illegality, unless you want a nanny state.

 

I'm surprised at the lack of education, the large amount of misinformation, and the majority of you having a right wing out look on this. This is an lgbt forum after all, very odd to me. Just saying I'm not insulting anyone, just expressing my surprise.

 

People here are pretty puritan on most issues like this, so I'm hardly surprised.

 

And that's why the assumption that all LGBT people = left wing/liberals is incorrect.

 

I support legalization. I've never tried it personally, and I have no desire to do so. I'm not really big into the mind altering stuff. I've smoked one cigarette as I was mocking someone who was smoking at the time. (Worst mistake ever - I got a horrific migraine afterward.) I don't even drink alcohol, the extent of my drinking has been a bit of wine.

So, that's like the extent of my personal drug use. I point it out because I'm not going to get any personal benefit from it. My reason for supporting legalization is because I don't believe criminalization is the best way to combat drug use. Prohibition does not work and has never worked, it creates a black market that is ultimately controlled by criminals.

It's for the same reason I support the legalization of even really hard drugs, like Heroin and Meth. I'm not saying that you should be able to pick them up as easy as you can a pack of smokes, but they should be available at the local drug store along with everything else.

I don't feel that drug users should be turned into criminals and thrown into jail. They have a substance abuse problem and should be treated by medical professionals. I believe the taxation on potentially harmful substances (and I would include alcohol in this) should reflect the cost it has on individuals as well as society as a whole. In effect, the users of these substances should be willing to pay the cost of dealing with those who become addicted, the health care costs associated with using the various substances, and the police action required to hunt down illegal manufacturers and sellers who attempt to circumvent the law. The financial burden should be carried by them.

No matter how dangerous something is, no matter how illegal it is made, if someone wants it they're going to get it. So long as there is demand there will be a market. If a black market exists criminals will feed off it, bringing violence and devastation to communities. By criminalizing substance abusers we cut them off from the resources they need to recover, and we create a culture of shame around addiction rather than a culture of healing. This obviously isn't good for communities or for those who use and abuse such substances.

 

Pot should definitely be legalized. I'm an avid smoker and I find it can help you focus and just gives you an all around good feeling. I don't smoke cigarettes and I rarely ever drink alcohol but I usually toke up several times during the week. I toke before I go on a bike ride or longboarding. He'll when I was in college I would smoke up before writing my essays & I passed all my classes with great marks. Pot will only affect you in a negative way if you let it. enjoy

 

it should be legal under the same laws as alcohol. you have to be 21 to buy it & if you smoke an amount that the law considers "over the limit" you can be punished with a DWI or whatever the case may be.

personally i smoke weed everyday, i actually just smoked a bowl like 20 minutes ago. i drive high all the time too and it's not even comparable to alcohol. if i'm high, i can drive just fine. if i'm drunk - hell no. for those of you out there that think it's the same kind of "head-change" it's really not. now i'm not saying that people should drive when they're high, i'm just admitting that i'm 100% capable of doing it.

i don't smoke because i have depression or to make life seem better, my life is good. i just smoke because it's fun? i love getting ripped with friends and just sitting there laughing at stupid shit. everything looks better, tastes better and is way more funny when you're high. (at least, i think so.)

 

this^
lol i thought that was something i wrote. Im smoking a bowl as im typing this. and i got class in an hour haha. yea It should definitely be legalized. Im a casual smoker.and even though I mostly do it for recreation, i actually have noticed a change in my mood. I dont feel irritated or upset about things i used to. And also im finally able to sleep early because of it. I used to go to sleep at like 3 am because i wouldnt be able to go to sleep. Then in the morning i would be falling asleep in class. Now i can go to sleep soon and i sleep like a baby. when i go to school i feel well rested lol.

 

Hey Danny19 & HeyAshley. Yes & Yes

 

I've never touched it and I never will, but I do think it should be legalized.

 

Legalize it tax the hell out of it like alcohol.

Tried it for a summer in my 20's... Eh. I can have way too much fun sober.

I will take a gin&tonic any day.

 

Personally, I don't see the problem with a 'nanny state'. I feel that a good government tries to take care of its people, and that includes trying to prevent harm.

Besides, where I live we have public healthcare. So if you go and cause harm to yourself, the government pays to fix you up. Which gives them a stake in trying to prevent such harm.

And drinking alcohol to excess not only harms you - it can also harm others as well. If you drive drunk, you could kill someone by crashing into them. If you drink while pregnant, you can cause birth defects, and if you drink while caring for a child you could end up neglecting or abusing them. Alcohol also increases the risk of getting into a physical fight due to poorer impulse control, and if you have an addiction this can motivate criminal behavior to pay for the addiction.

Most of that harm is associated with alcohol but not marijuana. There is no documented 'fetal marijuana syndrome', people high on dope tend to be fairly unaggressive, and marijuana is a lot less addictive. And even though it's unsafe to drive while high on marijuana, it's safer than driving drunk because they tend to drive slower instead of speeding. The child care issue is still present, and second-hand marijuana smoke can also set off asthma attacks the same way tobacco does, but overall it's still less dangerous than alcohol.

I'm not sure if I support alcohol being legal. All depends on whether prohibiting it would actually discourage its' use, or just put in back in the hands of the mob. But it makes no sense to have alcohol legal and marijuana not. If we are going to legalize some drugs and not others, at least have it bear some relationship to how dangerous they are, for the user and for other people.

 

I'll take a society where people have the freedom to do as they like over a society where people's liberties are excessively curbed in the name of protecting them any day.

That's not 'the government' paying for this, it's the money the same people have put into the healthcare system through taxes.

 

Considering the current economic state of the UK i'd be all for legalizing, taxing and regulating it as it is in the Netherlands. You're guaranteed pure weed and the UK government benefits by not having to waste it's time processing and locking up those in possession or dealing and then they make lots of tax revenue.

 

it should be legalized. people have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies as long as it's not hurting anybody else. i don't understand how marijuana is a schedule 1 drug but yet all these prescription pills with 101 side effects including death are legal to use and pushed onto the public.

personally, i think the government doesn't want people to become too smart. marijuana makes you think. they probably fear that everybody getting weeded out would make everyone become happy, get together and overthrow the government. nowadays, we do need a revolution.

 

That's all well and good until the government abuses your trust. What if they suddenly decide that public displays of affection are harmful to the country's youth? Now kissing is punishable by fine. If they decide that any exercise not done on a brand-name elliptical (from the company that donated a handsome sum to the legislating body) is bad for you? Cops can stop you from jogging in the park, and give you a deadline to register your exercise machine.

Maybe it's only an American thing, but even well-intentioned governments need to be kept in check. SOMEBODY will figure out how to get the better of you.

 

You Americans are paranoid. I could see that happening in China or the Soviet Union, but in Canada or US? No way.