Legalize pot?

[pullups]

should we (being america) legalize pot? and why? lol i dont even smoke up and i think we should leglize it...

 

[xxxyamzxxx]

lots of people die from alcohol poisoning and drunk drivers...ive never heard of anyone overdosing on pot and drivin under the influence of marijuana is arguably much safer than while drunk. of course there are all the economic issues but im not gettin into alla that...but i say sure legalize it

 

[stillwantmore]

I think it would be better if it were legal. There is no solid proof that it is a "gateway drug" that the bleeding heart liberal types would have you believe it to be. It could be taxed just like tobacco is. It's chemically more pure more often than the tobacco in cigs is. It's just as if not less un-healthy as tobacco or alcohol. There'd be less time and MONEY wasted on "the war on drugs". There'd be more space in the jails and prisons for the REAL criminals instead of locking up people for petty crimes associated with pot. States such as Nevada for example have a zero tolerance law concerning pot...which is fuckin rediculous....ONE JOINT will land you time in jail and a FELONY CONVICTION. Current laws around pot are just rediculous. The economy would get a BIG boost for sure.

 

[pullups]

yea man good points. just imagine all of the money the us can make and all the room freed up in jail for real criminals like ppl pushing coke and heroine and shit

 

[philadelph]

It will not happen, at least not in our lifetimes in the US. It would present some problems, especially for DUIs if it was legalized.

 

[stillwantmore]

Well, some people never thought alcohol would be legal again either. Pot used to be legal in the states. Again, it could be regulated, and taxed similar to alcohol and tobacco. DUI laws could also apply to pot in similar ways.

 

[TomdW]

I think it should be legalized but strictly governed. I think that it needs to be smoked with serious caution. I personally know two people that have cannabis induced psychosis that will never leave them. I had a lifelong friend that lived in China, he ate a space cake then had a psychotic episode and jumped out of a 12th floor apartment window.

I personally smoked the waky baky for 4 years then as a direct result developed an anxiety disorder along with depression. My social group was very cannabis orientated, out of about ten of us that smoked it for years, 1 became schizophrenic, 3 became depressed and one died. All as a direct result of puffing the dragon. At the time I believed that there was no harm in it but now I understand that it is very dangerous as is alcohol.

My point is that it is very easy to say 'It's a safe drug, no one causes any harm whilst stoned, all they do is eat cookies.' but in reality it causes a lot of heart ache for the families of those that develop cannabis induced psychosis. It has now been proven that the chance of developing psychosis goes up 4 fold when you smoke 20 joints or more in your life. So it needs to be smoked in moderation and the risks need to be understood by those that choose to smoke it.

If you look at the places that it is most accepted in society, the two highest are Amsterdam and Zurich, the effects become quite obvious. Amsterdam has the highest rate of suicide in the world followed by Zurich. When you understand that cannabis is a depressant it becomes quite obvious why these places stand where they do. You can argue that alcohol is also a depressant but it is not accompanied by the closing down of the logical side of the brain and therefore it does not provide the same loss of character that opens people to do things that are not rational.

Smoke with care

 

[pullups]

thats right smoke responsible one more question if we do legalize it what should the legal age be? 18 or 21?

 

[badbal]

Legalize it. The so called "War On Drugs" is a joke, I see cops pulling in 1 million - 2million dollars worth of crop every day and they still arent making a dent. I cant believe cops are even optimistic about controlling the problem. Legalize weed and concentrate on the Hard Drugs that make criminals out of the users.

 

[aares]

There are too many people smoking it who are dumb and lazy. I think it definitely shouldnt be legalized. Reefer can make criminals out of people...people desperate enough to steal money/items to sell for weed.

I really hope that one test that began in Australia for weed and other drugs comes to the USA...the one where cops can pull you over and swipe your tongue to see if you have it in your system. Kausion made the post about it.

 

[pullups]

There are too many people smoking it who are dumb and lazy. I think it definitely shouldnt be legalized. Reefer can make criminals out of people...people desperate enough to steal money/items to sell for weed.

I really hope that one test that began in Australia for weed and other drugs comes to the USA...the one where cops can pull you over and swipe your tongue to see if you have it in your system. Kausion made the post about it.

lol yea cuz that would be constitutional....I havent really seen or heard of anyone doing anything for pot, for shit like coke yes

 

[philadelph]

I cant believe cops are even optimistic about controlling the problem.

They really aren't even optimistic. I live near the Kensington section of Philadelphia, and this section of town is known for some of the purest heroin in the US. Loads of cops move into the area every once and a while and set up posts on the corners, and the dealers just move to the next corner. The cops know they are fighting a losing battle.

 

[Texan]

No reason, IMO, to have pot illegal. How can people justify the legality of alcohol, tobacco, or even McDonald's food and still argue with a straight face that pot is too harmful.

Pot is more harmful being illegal than if it were legal. What I mean by that is people often call pot a "gateway" drug. Well it is. Because it's easy to get, cheap (relatively), people use it and once they've taken that step across the line and see that pot is not so bad, they are more open to trying other things. Plus they have now dealt with persons dealing that might deal other stuff or at least have connections.

If pot were legal, the first step over the line would have to be much bigger (substance wise and money wise), and I think fewer people would cross over as easily. Just my opinion.

Besides, I have seen several studies to show that pot is LESS harmful than tobacco. The whole reason pot was outlawed in the first place was to target the Mexicans in the early 20th century. Just think on how much tax dollars could be raised by legalizing it.

 

[REDZULU2003]

I'll make this quick because I do not want to get involved in a debate on this because I'm going against the grain. Also as this is a US poll I aint too arsed, its only cos I'm a cop here in the UK that I will reply to this. It should stay banned, there is proof it leads to addiction to harder drugs in time. I have found that from my own experiences in life knowing freinds and also from the force dealing with lay abouts on the shit. It does lead to harder shit, no questions asked. Makeing it legal would be insane. I talk for the UK however, cos I aint arsed what goes on in the USA aslong it doesnt affect us.

 

[aares]

I love you red! I have sooooooo many friends that started on nicotine, then to alcohol, then to weed, then to either ecstasy, cocaine, or LSD, or DXM. It just keeps going down the list because its like, "oooh this feels so good, I want to get more fucked up so I will shoot some heroin then smoke some crack then smoke some weed then take three hits of acid while drinking vodka". I agree with red totally because I have seen it first hand.

Same with prescription drugs, but they are abused when that happens.

 

[TomdW]

I have to say that I don't believe that it is the drug that is in the wrong when people move on to harder stuff, I think it is the person. I also think (probably controversialy) that all drugs should be legal. I just think that people need to be educated towards the dangers of things better. If someone wants to take heroin their whole life then who are we to stop them? It's their life and they may only get one.

We need to be careful of becoming nanny states, which in my opinion we already are. I think it is important for the freedom of every human being to be able to live their life however they want as long as they don't hurt anyone else. Maybe then people would take more responsibility for their own lives and stop relying on their governments. The reason that things will never turn out this way though is that too many people are making too much money keeping society scared. e.g. 'Be afraid, a heroin addict might kill you!'.

 

[Texan]

I'll make this quick because I do not want to get involved in a debate on this because I'm going against the grain. Also as this is a US poll I aint too arsed, its only cos I'm a cop here in the UK that I will reply to this. It should stay banned, there is proof it leads to addiction to harder drugs in time. I have found that from my own experiences in life knowing freinds and also from the force dealing with lay abouts on the shit. It does lead to harder shit, no questions asked. Makeing it legal would be insane. I talk for the UK however, cos I aint arsed what goes on in the USA aslong it doesnt affect us.

I agree, but like I said, I think it being illegal is one of the main reasons people find it easy to step up to other illegal drugs. Only a small portion of people who use legal drugs (alcohol, cigs, prescription meds) cross over to illegal stuff, but of those who cross over to pot, a much larger % go on to try other stuff.

 

[Shithead]

all drugs should be legal, education of drugs should increase ten fold, and average intelligence should be raised.

that drug system would work but its all but impossible to achieve.

 

[Ulcasterdropout]

Legalize it....

 

[goodbutnotgreat]

I'm for legalization; I doubt the numbers of people that smoke would actually change drastically. The driving while high issue is a stumbling block. One thing that I think might help with that is the government regulation of THC concentration. Most of the weed crops popularly circulated in the US at present are dozens of times more potent than the marijuana smoked in the 60s and 70s (at least on the west coast, it tends to be weaker back east, or uh, so I've heard). It's like comparing wild turkey and beer in terms of speed and severity of intoxication. Government control could get a handle on that, helping reduce the risk of people being so high they're a threat to others or themselves. Nobody can get around the fact that it's lunancy that alcohol is legal and pot isn't. In terms of health effects and behavioral problems, alcohol is about the worst thing there is. Though this issue is a whole other can of worms, many would claim that for some there are definate therepuetic benefits derived from smoking pot including pain relief, appetite stimulation, aleviation of nausea, and more. Texan and others hit it right on the head - if pot is any kind of 'gateway 'drug' or fosters criminal behavior, that's because it's an illicit substance in the first place.

 

[AcesHigh]

Fuck yeah, People should be free to consume whatever the fuck they want. If it be bleach or cocaine they should have the right to do should they not? I mean, who are they harming? Driving is one thing, however I am all for breathalizers in all vehicles. No one should drive drunk and breathalizers would take care of all cases nearly except cheaters who have thier friend blow for them or some shit.

I smoke weed, I once was against it because I got sick of what it could do to you. It was my fault I let it get out of hand. I am stoned at the moment, heavily yet I do not feel inebriated as much as I feel slighty medicated. If people can take vicodin, and alcohol which can kill you, they should be able to smoke a plant that has never killed anyone, containts no cancer causing agents(benzoniatine) etc.

Just because some people go insane from weed doesnt mean that the 1000's of others that wont should be starved of their right to smoke a god given plant. Saying weed is wrong is like saying god screwed up. And I dont think he did.

 

[VladtheImpaler]

IT may surprise you, But I say keep it illegal....
But for different reasons....

If marijuana were legal, all of the different strains of seeds would be bought up by big corporations, meaning a small seed entrepreneur could no longer make new strains and sell em....and you would have to buy your seed from Walmart seed corp.

also, if caught driving while stoned the penalty would be just like drunk driving...a bad thing, right now there isnt a real penalty for that, its only possession.

It is false that if it were legal it would end small time weed dealers because sure you could buy it from a heartless corporation, but you cannot mass produce top quality bud....Penis EnlargementRIOD

TOMDW >It has now been proven that the chance of developing psychosis goes up 4 fold when you smoke 20 joints or more in your life. <

Well, I smoke a low average of 30-35 joints a week.... So how many folds does my chance go up

And though I dont agree that Weed is addictive, I do know for fact that its addictive to grow, which is more of a blast than SHmokin' it...

 

[VladtheImpaler]

Also, any drug that a person tries first would make it a gateway drug, its just that tobaccy, weed and alcohol is the easiest to get, obviously....

But, its the message that the US government, and it wafts across the border, that weed IS the problem, and they are sorta sweeping the real problems like extacy, heroin and coke, under the carpet, so when the kids get done smoking the real problem find out it doesnt do shit, they are ready for the other stuff that the government doesnt educate about.....

I know people that wouldnt have smoked weed a year ago, like little hotties, that get passed a piping hot bowl of crack and think, yeah why the fuck not.....

ANd thats what scares the fuck outta me

 

[sasquatch]

Four days ago, four cops were killed by a mentally unstable, crimanally violent 47 year old man. This happened very close to where I live in Alberta, Canada. The community is blaming this tradgedy on a small scale marijuana grow op. This is an unfortunate situation as I believe that marijuana is a scapegoat in this situation. This man that killed these four R.C.M.P officers was also involved in other criminal activity, stolen vehicles, but society is blaming marijuana as the reason this "slaughter" took place. The blame is not being focused on stolen vehicles and that was the main reason the police were at the property from my understanding. This "reefer madness" idiocy is unfourtunately still imbrained in a large part of society. The cause of criminal activety surrounding illegal drug trafficking and cultivation is the monetary value placed upon a federally controlled substance. Prohibition of alcohol in the twenties caused the developement of organized crime and it flurished. Why can society not learn from the lessons of the past. Government control is evil.

 

[AcesHigh]

Ha, I once was told by a psychiatrist that I had "drug induced" psychosis. She prescribed me risperidal and remeron. Both of those drugs combined nearly killed me. I was in intensive care for three days because my tongue would keep swelling up among other problems like migraines.

However, I smoke 20 joints a day sometimes. Listen to my music I posted here, I recorded all of that high, and I suck at drums but that is because I am not a drummer. I simply know how to play them. I get good replys from it, not only from here but we play localy. And I am always high.

So here I am, some guy who has "drug induced" psychosis. For some reason I can play guitar like a motherfucker and hold a job and family/house/car down.

I am a little tweaked though, it runs in the family.

 

[Shithead]

Ha, I once was told by a psychiatrist that I had "drug induced" psychosis. She prescribed me risperidal and remeron. Both of those drugs combined nearly killed me. I was in intensive care for three days because my tongue would keep swelling up among other problems like migraines.

However, I smoke 20 joints a day sometimes. Listen to my music I posted here, I recorded all of that high, and I suck at drums but that is because I am not a drummer. I simply know how to play them. I get good replys from it, not only from here but we play localy. And I am always high.

So here I am, some guy who has "drug induced" psychosis. For some reason I can play guitar like a motherfucker and hold a job and family/house/car down.

I am a little tweaked though, it runs in the family.

weed is scientifically proven to hugely increase the changes of someone developing schizophrenia.

 

[ElGeorgio]

It will not happen, at least not in our lifetimes in the US. It would present some problems, especially for DUIs if it was legalized.

Your right philadelph, but they may legalize it in Canada.

 

[pupper]

I've used it(not like a head or nothing)since the age of 16 i'm 43 now andstill occasionally use it.I have done harder stuff but I feel that if you don't let it rule your life,no harm no foul.as far as it being cheaper than beer,Idon't drink but high grade stuff is much higher than beer.OC(ooxycontin)is legal(prescribed)I think OC is more dangerous or should I say addictive in the south we refer to OC as hillbilly heroin.If Pot was legal and taxed we could reduce income tax,matter of fact we ought to go to a national sales tax and eliminate income tax,then no one could evade taxes even laundered money would be taxed

 

[pupper]

I've used it(not like a head or nothing)since the age of 16 i'm 43 now andstill occasionally use it.I have done harder stuff but I feel that if you don't let it rule your life,no harm no foul.as far as it being cheaper than beer,Idon't drink but high grade stuff is much higher than beer.OC(ooxycontin)is legal(prescribed)I think OC is more dangerous or should I say addictive in the south we refer to OC as hillbilly heroin.If Pot was legal and taxed we could reduce income tax,matter of fact we ought to go to a national sales tax and eliminate income tax,then no one could evade taxes even laundered money would be taxed