Marijuana - Legalise It

[GreatWyrm of Babylon]

I used to work in a profession that that had a lot of addicts working in my environment, it was not exactly difficult to tell which ones were long time users. No, it did not lower their IQ they just did not see much skill improvement. Really sad when you pass up someone in job skills after 6-12 months when they have been there for 10-20 years...

[indierockboy]

i didn't swallow any of it, i just got it on the side of my face. right as i was helping her out the door to her cab.

[Fallen Angel]

Oh well, better luck next time.

psh, my friends all smoke pot and now theyve become losers.

dunno is its BECAUSE of the marijuana or not, but...

[Fallen Angel]

It is.
Their whole existance now revolves mostly around pot.

[Jay]

It definately is your fault: you knew the laws and you knew it was illegal. At some age it is just necessary to take responsibility for your actions. 0_o

I agree that there is no necessity to punish someone that way for owning cannabis and I also think that it should be removed from drug tests. And actually I also believe a decriminalization or even a legalization would have positive effects for all sides.

-> lower crime rate
-> the user can chose where he gets his herb from instead of buying it from shabby dealers, which also means that the possibility is lower that you will get in contact with harder drugs (or the crime scene in general!)
-> natural competition
-> drug related crimes and robberies will decrease
-> prohibition never worked anyway, people who want to get the drug will get it
-> more scientific research could be done
-> people wouldn't have to fear legal actions if they admit to smoke dope to a doctor (e.g. if they got involved in an accident)

It is also not true that when a drug becomes legal more people will get addicted and use it. Like I said, the people who want to get it will get it may it be legal or not. I don't think it should be up the the authority of the government to deciede what is good for the population and what is not.

[indierockboy]

I don't think it should be up the the authority of the government to deciede what is good for the population and what is not.

so then would you repeal speeding laws as well? legalize harder drugs? remove the legislations surrounding cigarette advertising? eliminate the drinking age? the government has a certain responsibility to keep us safe from ourselves.

[fog]

prohibition never worked anyway, people who want to get the drug will get it

Let me state that I've never even tried marijuana, and have no intentions of doing so -- I really don't see the appeal of impairing my mental state any worse than it is naturally. ;) Short of medical applications, I see no legitimate purpose for using marijuana.

That said, I also see no legal reason for it to be a crime. Drugs themselves don't cause violence; people under the influence are obviously dangerous, but why not treat it like alcohol? You can drink all you want, but it's illegal to be drunk in public, and it's even worse to be driving while intoxicated.

Anyway, the reason I quoted you on the prohibition part is because, if my memory serves me correctly, the Prohibition was actually the peak of alcohol usage -- after they ended Prohibition, alcohol usage went _down_, not up. (I don't have the statistics with me, though.)

I think this would be even more accurate when applied to drugs. The people I know who've tried drugs did it because it was 'rebelious' and 'cool,' and a (really strange and ineffective, but I digress) way to vent their anger -- they're doing something illegal. If it was legalized, I really think fewer people would use it. Being under the influence of marijuana could be treated like alcohol, which really eliminates the only possibly valid reason for drug use being outlawed.

Furthermore, it could cut down on some of the other problems. According to the Bush administration, drug use funds terrorism. Well now drug use could fund our own economy, not a foreign one. ;) And as Jay said, you could buy it from a 'real' company as opposed to a criminal -- in theory cutting down a lot on violent crime.

Above all else, if the Prohibition was illegal, I don't see why prohibiting drug use isn't. I don't support drug use, but I fail to see why it's illegal. It doesn't harm anyone, and if it does, there are other laws that apply.

[G. Adams]

Originally posted by Jay@Sep 14 2003, 03:11 AM It definately is your fault: you knew the laws and you knew it was illegal. At some age it is just necessary to take responsibility for your actions. 0_o I agree that there is no necessity to punish someone that way for owning cannabis and I also think that it should be removed from drug tests. And actually I also believe a decriminalization or even a legalization would have positive effects for all sides. -> lower crime rate -> the user can chose where he gets his herb from instead of buying it from shabby dealers, which also means that the possibility is lower that you will get in contact with harder drugs (or the crime scene in general!) -> natural competition -> drug related crimes and robberies will decrease -> prohibition never worked anyway, people who want to get the drug will get it -> more scientific research could be done -> people wouldn't have to fear legal actions if they admit to smoke dope to a doctor (e.g. if they got involved in an accident) It is also not true that when a drug becomes legal more people will get addicted and use it. Like I said, the people who want to get it will get it may it be legal or not. I don't think it should be up the the authority of the government to deciede what is good for the population and what is not.

Not to mention the many uses of hemp.

[dalin]

In reference to those that say marijuana makes you a loser (speaking from experience now)

I'm going to school at a top engineering college for a degree in computer engineering, and ultimately i plan to get a master's, if not a doctorate in the field. In high school, and now, recreational use wasn't/isn't uncommon for me, but I still have goals and a life. It doesn't necessarily take over your life, you have to let it do so.

[Anarchist Patriot]

That shits fucked up!

Manik, I know things look bad but if I were you I would get a good lawyer.

The sad thing is that anti drug laws are the basis for all kinds of abuses. There were actual cases in which perfectly innocent people had their homes, their cars and all their posessions seized because they paid for them in cash.

You see people, its not really about drugs that this is about, its about control. Uncle Sam wants to know what you are doing. The government wants to know where your money comes from and how you spend it. Big brother wants you to use credit cards and keep your money in a bank account.

This is why we have people like G W Bush and John Ashcroft sticking their noses into everything we do. This is why we have legislation like the Patriot Act which tells us that if we consort with "Terrorist Organizations" or any group which advocates violence it means we can be locked up.


In the meantime more and more prisons are being built. All the sheep like masses are walking in lockstep behind the New World Order and lining up to kiss Bush's ass!

[brushstroke]

everything needs moderation....

who seriously has time to smoke pot everyday?
or every other day?

why?

[Brighteyes]

if you smoke it, you should be ready for the consequences.

i've seen my fair share of pot. been arrested for it too. but i'm not for the legalization of it. ever see that one commercial.. it goes something like-

"my brother didn't die. he didn't go on to harder drugs. he didn't o/d. he didn't die. he didn't do much of anything"

that is exactly what pot does. it makes you lazy.

i'm young but i realize now that i don't want to live in a lazy world.

making it legal.. let's see..
a normal job, maybe a fast food worker for instance.. say that he hits his piece before clocking in at 9.

when he serves me in the morning for my breakfast, he won't be working harder because he's blazed. he'll be moving slow.. he will be a moron. i don't want that.

just imagine that on a larger scale if it was legalized. it would slowly break down.. in my eyes..

[dannyp]

greendeath: About driving high - holy shit i have driven a few times high.. horrible. The reaction times i experience are scary to say the least. No matter what, being high while driving has no positive effects.. thinking in depth about driving is probably the WORST thing you can do. With the combination of common mistakes made while you're even sober and the slower reaction time while high, its another risk. I agree that its not as high risk as driving drunk, but its still a risk.

uitmokum: to repeat what indyrockboy said and expand on a little: cannibis is a chemical, its a plant isn't it? and to whoever said herb doesn't cause addiction.. wtf? the chemical compound THC [ tetrahydrocannibol ] is definately psychologically addicting, just as any other substance addiction can be. There are no signs of THC being chemically addicting though through what I have read, however.


I also wanted to point this out to those of you who try to compare alcohol and pot: it is difficult to assert that alcohol is on the same level that marijuana is. Alcohol is technically a depressant, whereas marijuana is an antidepressant. Alcohol is an example of a chemical addiction, but also carries its psychological addiction.

Like a lot of the stories defined in previous posts I have seen my share of scary things that have happened because of pot. My uncle, for example, got addicted to marijuana. He attended a little bit of college, sounds promising? well he didn't keep going with that, he got heavily addicted. Now he has been in and out of work since college doing work at factories and what-not. He finally got into what he likes to, and knows how to do; mechanics. He now [at approximately 44 years old ] has begun his career. I forgot to mention that he still lives with my grandparents. He has trouble getting out what he has to say lately also. Its frustrating to say the least, it takes so long to get out simple things. and whoever said "it only effects unimportant things that short term memory provides" is utter bullshit. Short term memory is almost as important as long term. Have you ever spoke with someone with Emphasema? yeah they don't have much of a short-term memory and yes it is very detrimental to health. My great aunt on my other side of my family had this short term memory loss from smoking way too much. She died a few years back, but the point is she would forget who I was or that i was in the room with her. She would recognize me as her great nephew but it would be other things.


enough rambling.. pot in excess is horrible. I have no sympathy for the guy who got caught whose life is 'over' because of it. I think you just have reached the dramatic realization that you have to fess up for the laws you break. Yeah they might be wrong, but yeah you live in the country, so abide. If you are to take a stance against law however, you better come up with something good because a lot of it has been said and its not much factual evidence.

[G. Adams]

Originally posted by @-- if you smoke it, you should be ready for the consequences. i've seen my fair share of pot. been arrested for it too. but i'm not for the legalization of it. ever see that one commercial.. it goes something like- "my brother didn't die. he didn't go on to harder drugs. he didn't o/d. he didn't die. he didn't do much of anything" that is exactly what pot does. it makes you lazy. i'm young but i realize now that i don't want to live in a lazy world. making it legal.. let's see.. a normal job, maybe a fast food worker for instance.. say that he hits his piece before clocking in at 9. when he serves me in the morning for my breakfast, he won't be working harder because he's blazed. he'll be moving slow.. he will be a moron. i don't want that. just imagine that on a larger scale if it was legalized. it would slowly break down.. in my eyes..

Its no different to drinking. If some guys wasted on booze before work he'd get fired, rightly so. And if he's stoned at work, out he goes too. But if people are stoned at home at the weekend, eating cold pizza and playing Gran Tourismo 3 till 5 in the morning, I really couldn't care.

Actually, I'd much rather see a world of pot heads than alcoholics. There'd be a lot fewer wars if our leaders would swap the bottle for a joint.

[Spozguy]

Imagine if the U.N was all hemped up, or George W Bush was always hemped up?
Make for interesting conversations, maybe he could start talking coherently

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
"I have a foreign handed foreign policy
<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'> "I belive that man and fish can coexist peacefully
we'd get some great quotes like this "[quote] "Oh man, I would invade North Korea, But I love you guys all so much, I don't want anyone to die"



HEy, You guys already had a president who smoked but didn't inhale

[RebelWithanAK]

Yeah, that was his mistake. He shoulda taken a biiig puff. He probably did. It would explain why he's so cool. =p

That said, crack is simply terrible, and we all know that Bush's "I took NO drugs from birth till this month in 1973, and from this month in 1973 to now I was drug FREE!" ain't foolin' anybody.

[castille]

The reason why any drug causes problems is because the illegality of it drives prices up. People are desperate for illegal goods, and you can mark the price up over 4000% and they will buy it! I remember flickknives selling highly in some private schools, same with bombs and firecrackers (a new business idea!).

That creates people who spend most of their income buying the illegal goods. Thus bums filling up streets with needles.

Some drugs need to remain banned, as their effects are far too severe.


If we legalise drugs, the price simply goes down, and it becomes another beer can. People buy it at Safeway for a cheap price ($0.10/gram could become realistic if we remove the costs of smuggling it across customs, etc).

That way, anyone can afford a quick high! Although I disagree with the basic premise of using drugs (escape from reality), its practical to ensure widespread use. Could be a quick fix for all those depressed maniacs.

The positive effect is that Third World countries can start growing real food instead of opium (assuming their dictators don't steal all of it!).

[G. Adams]

Actually many dictators or warlords would fall, as the wealth they gained from drugs would be gone. The market is simply too competitive and overly full for them to survive as agricultural warlords.

[rlwinton]

I believe that an addict is one that lets his/her drug of choice interfere with his/her daily life in any way--that could include alot of people. obviously it has interfered with your daily life--if you cannot keep your hair out of the law while smoking illegal substance, apparently you are not ready for it to be legal. to me, if you are going to get high or drink or anything like that, do it responsibly and that proves to be hard--drugs make you feel like a different person. i did my fair share of drugs in my past and finally walked away after being in rehab--i learned that my life might could work while using drugs, but it worked way better without. should they legalise pot? i don't think so--people would take it too out of hand. and i have yet to see a responsible non-reefer junkie ask for the legalisation of marijuana.