Should weed be legalized?

[grandpa]

Quote by: Halofan48 O, for the legalization of harder drugs, people high on acid or the like have killed people, children (including their own) and have done illegal things. Heck, a guy in my Website Design class was chased by his high cousin on a 4 wheeler trying to kill him.

Still, for such cases you should first consider "punishing the deed, not the weed" (if you are going to punish at all-- my argument here is only argumentative and conditional, not necessarily my personal view).

Now, here's a problem. At the risk of going off-topic, it should be considered how we should generally regard after-effects of certain substances and procedures. For example, people in general produce things. Many of the things they use to produce their goods cause pollution. Are punishments really going to solve the issue of pollution? I personally doubt it. The same thing seems to apply to negative behavior related to drugs. People in a bad enough mental state may need some type of assistance rather than punishment. I've heard that about one in 100 people in America are now in prison. Is this trend really solving our problems related to crime (or, rather, anti-social behavior)? I doubt it. The problem is cultural and economic, two domains which are hardly separate from politics. An obvious example is people stealing things (including wallets) for drugs, or stealing things which they desire to own. That's largely a cultural problem. Our "dog eat dog" system actually encourages such behavior. That should hardly be a secret. It's a ruthless society in many ways. When people are only supposed to care about money and getting the upper hand over everyone else, well, that's already an explanation for why people turn to illegal drugs or start abusing legal stuff (especially alcohol). With this in mind, the drug war is really like a doctor looking at a cut hand and prescribing that it be cut off. It's only making the problem worse. Prison inherently deprives people of opportunities of self-betterment, and it's really a simpleminded approach to a very complex problem which doesn't work very well (unless you're a politician or own stock in a private prison system -- then you're probably well-off). American culture is quite morbid, and I'm not claiming I'm not sick at all. But it's so gotten so bad that people not only like the death penalty, but they object to methods where it is a quick and painless death. They think legal crackdowns and cruelty and death will solve problems. Again, it undoubtedly makes some want to turn to drugs.

Grandpa h.

[another day]

Quote by: Neferiel ....No, i didn't "Make her up". Ashley Johnson really did get raped. i DID use her case as an emotional appeal. When did i ever say or even allude to the fact that i made her up? Marijuana reduces inhibitions, and makes you care less about things. Things you would normally never do. Though, i'm going to stop responding to your "Rebuttals" unless you are going to debate in a manner in which you can refrain from insulting me. I don't think it's too much to ask.

See this is the problem. You are trying to speak about a drug with which you have absolutly zero experience.

Marijuana does NOT reduce inhibitions. Alcohol does that. Marijuana increases inhibitions, and generally makes users quiet and passive. As for it "makes you care less about things and do things you never would normally do"... evidence? Have you ever smoked it? How would you know? I don't know anyone who reacts that way to marijuana. I've never seen anyone become violent or aggressive while high on marijuana. I've never seen anyone do much on anything while high. Usually people sit around and listen to music or talk, or play video games/watch tv. And I've been around many high people, and smoked weed many many times.

This is the problem; you made this all up. It's not true. The symptoms you describe are simply not what marijuana does.

[MariKine]

Quote by: another day See this is the problem. You are trying to speak about a drug with which you have absolutly zero experience. Marijuana does NOT reduce inhibitions. Alcohol does that. Marijuana increases inhibitions, and generally makes users quiet and passive. As for it "makes you care less about things and do things you never would normally do"... evidence? Have you ever smoked it? How would you know? I don't know anyone who reacts that way to marijuana. I've never seen anyone become violent or aggressive while high on marijuana. I've never seen anyone do much on anything while high. Usually people sit around and listen to music or talk, or play video games/watch tv. And I've been around many high people, and smoked weed many many times. This is the problem; you made this all up. It's not true. The symptoms you describe are simply not what marijuana does.

Not sure about quiet, but definitely passive. I can't remember a time something small pissed me off, while high, when I can remember something tiny pissing off a drunk person beyond control. o_O

[grandpa]

Quote by: MariKine Not sure about quiet, but definitely passive. I can't remember a time something small pissed me off, while high, when I can remember something tiny pissing off a drunk person beyond control.

It is safe to say that your average drunkard hurts others more than your average stoner, though it is a rather broad generalization.

Grandpa h.

[Piscean]

Gee I don't know lets outlaw more of the plants growing out of the earth so we can put people in prison wreck lives and make money! Sounds like good leadership to me. Hey that guy has some poppeys lock him up for life he's a dirt bag and evil because the propaganda says so;-)

[another day]

Quote by: grandpa It is safe to say that your average drunkard hurts others more than your average stoner, though it is a rather broad generalization. Grandpa h.

A broad generalization maybe, but a very accurate one.. If a stoner hurts anyone it's only himself.

[Piscean]

Weed has stopped me from doing a good deal of reckless things while in a state of stress brought on by the injustices of day to day life. Without it I'd have a lot more regrets about past decisions. It would cut down on violent crime and ugly confrontations in general. But the real reason the govt. doesn't want everybody to ingest pot is because the economy would crash when sails went down drastically on everything from cars to prescription drugs. Pot makes you start to realize just how many ridiculous things you buy to keep up with the neighbors. You become less materialistic by a long shot and our economy runs on unnecessary purchases!

[grandpa]

Quote by: Piscean Weed has stopped me from doing a good deal of reckless things while in a state of stress brought on by the injustices of day to day life. Without it I'd have a lot more regrets about past decisions.

I've heard lots of positive things about pot, and I think many of them are true for the users.

And you bring up a good point by mentioning "the injustices of day to day life." Without so many of those, would people be so quick to abuse legal and illegal substances? I don't think so. I also think people would generally make better decisions with less stress.

Grandpa h.

[Piscean]

I've heard lots of positive things about pot, and I think many of them are true for the users.

And you bring up a good point by mentioning "the injustices of day to day life." Without so many of those, would people be so quick to abuse legal and illegal substances? I don't think so. I also think people would generally make better decisions with less stress.

Grandpa h.

Absolutely!

[grandpa]

Quote by: Piscean Absolutely!

But why is that so hard for so many to understand?

Grandpa h.

[Piscean]

I think they only see whats tight in front of their nose and totally miss the bigger picture.

[Piscean]

sorry i mean RIGHT in front or their nose lol

[ionofunwin]

With pot being illegal you create an underworld of criminals that profit from the fact that it is illegal.Just like Al conpone did way back when.Now we have these gangsters running around shooting each other in broad day light.If you were to make it legal you would be able to get rid of these gangsters.The way it is at the moment the gangsters will always be here and just get more violent.

[Piscean]

With pot being illegal you create an underworld of criminals that profit from the fact that it is illegal.Just like Al conpone did way back when.Now we have these gangsters running around shooting each other in broad day light.If you were to make it legal you would be able to get rid of these gangsters.The way it is at the moment the gangsters will always be here and just get more violent.


Yep and the govt. can keep taking countless amounts of money from us to fund the rediculous "war on drugs" then the prisons can be full of more people and the rest of us can pay for that also. It's a conspiracy just like everything else.

[Piscean]

Weed was outlawed because tobacco companies paid the govt. to outlaw their competition.Then the propaganda was put out to brainwash the sheep, which works surprisingly well! How in the hell could there ever be justification to outlaw a plant that grown on earth naturally? I know, I want to outlaw trees because they can be made into wooden weapons that kill people duhhhhhhh!!!

[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: pis Weed was outlawed because tobacco companies paid the govt. to outlaw their competition.

It's not just the tobacco companies. Half the anti-weed propaganda advertisments are funded by alcohol companies who are afraid of a safe, cheap and easily cultivated alternative to their product becoming available. Things like this are almost always driven by commercial interest.

Quote by: pis I know, I want to outlaw trees because they can be made into wooden weapons that kill people duhhhhhhh!!!

When you think about it, trees are even more dangerous than weed, since weed can't kill you.

[Piscean]

Yeah exactly!

[grandpa]

Quote by: The Bacon Guy When you think about it, trees are even more dangerous than weed, since weed can't kill you.

I've never heard of a case, though I imagine it's possible to choke to death on a pot brownie. Of course, you could ban mashed potatos on similar grounds.

Grandpa h.

[Technosoul]

One of the methods used in the anti pot crusade is to get kids to rebel from their pot smoking parents.

http://www.mediacampaign.org/newslet...3/winter03.pdf

Neat trick eh?

[Kizzume]

Quote by: Piscean Weed has stopped me from doing a good deal of reckless things while in a state of stress brought on by the injustices of day to day life. Without it I'd have a lot more regrets about past decisions. It would cut down on violent crime and ugly confrontations in general. But the real reason the govt. doesn't want everybody to ingest pot is because the economy would crash when sails went down drastically on everything from cars to prescription drugs. Pot makes you start to realize just how many ridiculous things you buy to keep up with the neighbors. You become less materialistic by a long shot and our economy runs on unnecessary purchases!

As much as what you're saying sounds like a conspiracy theory, I agree.