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Legalization of Marijuana
Is it right or wrong?

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Legalization of Marijuana

fruiteatsself1
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Posted 08/12/09 - 06:59 AM: Subject: Legalization of Marijuana	#1
I've smoked pot a few times, and my experiences are not good. I get very bad panic attacks and depersonalize. I have not smoked more than one or two hits at a time since then and have been fine. A little buzz, and then in a half hour, it's gone: Something that's enjoyable to me. I have seen on the news, online...well, everywhere, the heated debate on whether marijuana should be legal. Well, what you were taught in school is mainly a lie. Marijuana is illegal for no good reason. If it was legal the government could tax it immensely and make money from it. It does not kill brain cells, nor does it destroy nerve endings. You cannot overdose on it, nor does it make you stupid. The "burn out" types of people, were probably like that before. I classify three types of people who smoke Pot. 1. Casual: A person who smokes every now and then when the opportunity arises, but doesn't spend any money or time into it themselves. 2. Smoker: The person who controls the pot. They function normally, and can lead very successful lives. They just like pot. 3. Stoner: The person that pot controls. Everything revolves around pot with them. Usually become burn-outs, or sober up and admit their mistake. The same can be said with Alcohol, and Tobacco, which areboth worse for you, and more deadly than marijuana. It can also be said for other recreational drugs, which are far worse, and much more deadly than marijuana, which is often ranked with the likes of heroine, one of the most deadly street drugs. So, is attempting legalization right or wrong?

oag
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Posted 08/12/09 - 07:15 AM:	#2
I see absolutely no good reason for the ban on marijuana. I don't even think people's ability to drive is all that impaired by it, unless they are baked out of their gourd perhaps. The arguments that more people would use it are not necessarily true but even if they are so what? It actually has medicinal value. The criminal behaviors, insanity and violence associated with other mind altering substances is not there with pot. The users are more mellow. It is a cash crop. The government could tax it. It would leave the enforcement agencies more time to go after real poisons like coke and smack. It simply does not make any sense to spend billions of dollars a year trying to keep people from smoking a little ganja.

ciceronianus
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Posted 08/12/09 - 07:17 AM:	#3
The question is not primarily a moral one, I think. We are addressing a possible change in the law. What is "good" for eveyone shouldn't be the primary concern. What should be addressed are the consequences of such a change. How we view those consequences may be impacted by what we think is "right" or "wrong", but we shouldn't let that be the only basis for a decision. Prohibition was adopted because it was believed it would be "good" for everyone and it was a fiasco, as is well known. For me, the so-called "war on drugs" was lost long ago. People get the drugs they want, regardless of the billions we spend trying to stop them from doing so. People are killed regularly due to this "war." I would regulate similar to the regulation of alcohol and tobacco (and, tax!). Unfortunately, legalization would mean a lot of people in law enforcement would lose their jobs.
"Let us not pretend to doubt in philosophy what we do not doubt in our hearts."--C.S. Peirce "There is nothing so absurd but some philosopher has said it."--Marcus Tullius Cicero "Philosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men."--John Dewey

fruiteatsself1
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Posted 08/12/09 - 07:29 AM:	#4
I see what you mean Ciceronianus. We can't just address this issue with the general public, but with the political aspect too. Many cops would lose their jobs, which is bad, but there's always something to replace that crime.

Manny740
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Posted 08/12/09 - 09:04 AM:	#5
Prohibition on marijuana has been nothing but an utter failure, a failure further ignited by the ignorant lies which our government passes down to its society concerning the subject. If anyone is interested in learning more about marijuana and why it is truthfully illegal, and why it should not be, one should follow the following link which is an online version of the book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer, a book filled with history and science-based facts on marijuana, as well as countless sources to back these statements up. Here you are: http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html And for more recent statistics/information, here are more reasons why marijuana should not be prohibited, from NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3381

mway
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Posted 08/12/09 - 04:22 PM:	#6
I would hold personal freedoms over anyones job (including my own). Legalise. The weird thing is that every discussion I see or take part in regarding the legalisation of weed, there is always an overwhelming amount of support. Where are all the people against it? Are we seeing the effects of a system that cannot accomodate change, even though the people want it? Does anyone have any good ideas how we can help make this a reality?
Lame is to Wav, as the Brain is to Reality.

Hessian
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Posted 08/13/09 - 12:40 AM:	#7
The "War on Drugs" is an absolute success as hiring as many law enforcement officials as possible to maintain the economy and keep the people quite about a few things. Drugs are never a problem though, it's as easy to get drugs as it would be to go buy a sandwich from 7/11. One conspicuous thing about the hiring program was why don't they use internal law enforcements on an individual scale? Where one could act as a dealer of some sort. In Holland however, drug decriminalization has resulted in increased crime and addiction. I do believe that once people adapt to marjuana, and don't have to spend as much money on it since it is now sold everywhere, people will be looking for more to spend their money and time on. The good thing out of this would be that dysfunctional people will be ruled out and hopefully kill themselves with their addiction - although this is not entirely moral.

nawitus
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Posted 08/13/09 - 01:51 AM:	#8
In fact, all drugs should be legalized. There should no crime without a victim. It is absurd that the Big Brother tries to control which substances can be legally injected into one's own body. The right to the ownership of each own body is a pretty fundamental one in a free. Sadly we are brainwashed that "drugs" are things that automatically destroy the brain or turn you into a murderer or something. Alcohol and tobacco are pretty dangerous drugs too. Btw, DMT drug is created in your brain while you're on RAM sleep. Also, runner's high is explained by endocannabinoids being created by the body. They work just like THC. http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=229
"In a place like this, words fail. In the end, there can only be a dread silence, a silence which is a heartfelt cry to God -- Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?" - Pope Benedict

kNoctis
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Posted 08/13/09 - 02:29 AM:	#9
1. The federal ban on marijuana in the U.S. is a large contributing factor to the violence between Mexican drug cartels. 2. It is virtually impossible to overdose on marijuana. 3. Marijuana is less physically harmful in heavy usage than alcohol. 4. Marijuana is not as conducive to causing cancer as tobacco. 5. Marijuana does not have physical withdrawal symptoms, or at least physical withdrawal symptoms approaching the intensity of those associated with tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar. 6. Marijuana produces hemp, which can be used to make food, textiles, building materials, and environmentally friendly fuel and paper. 7. The evidence supporting cognitive decline from heavy marijuana use is sketchy, and the evidence is relatively strong that any negative cognitive effects at all are reversible after 28 days without using. 8. The THC percentage of modern marijuana is much higher than it was 40 years ago, but if it were legalized, the government could more effectively regulate its potency. 8. I think if it were legalized, considerably more people would use it. However, if even 1/6 of the money saved and earned went to treatment programs, societal dependency issues would be minor. Edited by kNoctis on 08/13/09 - 02:41 AM

Benkei
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Posted 08/13/09 - 03:06 AM:	#10
Hessian wrote: In Holland however, drug decriminalization has resulted in increased crime and addiction. I do believe that once people adapt to marjuana, and don't have to spend as much money on it since it is now sold everywhere, people will be looking for more to spend their money and time on. I really wonder where you get your "facts" from every time. First off, according to the Dutch Centre for Drug Research of the University of Amsterdam only 28% of our total population has used drugs at some point in time. That's far below other countries, which are 35% to 40%. That means that statistically it is already incredibly unlikely that it increased addiction. Use of drugs has gone up but this is true for every Western country and not to be found in our specific regulations. The use of illegal drugs is far lower in the Netherlands than in other countries as well and - more importantly - the starting age for those drugs averages out far above 20 years of age. Even in our cities such as Amsterdam. In any case, every report since 1999 underlines how criminality is lower because of the legalisation in the Netherlands and how drug use is lower than most other countries. Especially the lower statistics for illegal hard drugs are impressive when compared to other countries. Based on the Dutch experience I would say: legalise. Based on my own liberal political convictions I would say: legalise.
Obama is humping the pump in an effort to re-inflate an economy that looks more like a balloon with a 55 caliber bullet hole in it. - Joe Bageant

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