I believe that marijuana should be legal (discussion)

[Frisco]

Good points, in my opinion. ^

In trying to envision some sort of best case scenario wrt marijuana, I look at what drugs are successfully regulated and I see only some ofthose that are available by prescription only. Criminal penalties are there for acquiring those drugs with no doctor's prescription, but efforts to get them for a high will always be there, so they end up on the streets for sale.

It's good that oxycodone is regulated, imagine the damage out there if it were over the counter.

But when marijuana is looked at as so dangerous that it cannot even be acquired via prescription, such as truly dangerous drugs are, it makes you wonder just what the motivation is to keep it criminalized altogether.

An interesting part of its history has to do with J. Randolph Hearst, a newspaper mogul, lobbying for its illegalization back when he felt his paper mills and logging companies being threatened by hemp growers who could produce paper far cheaper than the lumber industry could. The "evil weed" notion came about then, as a way to turn the voting public against any thought of allowing marijuana to be legal. That was about a hundred years ago.

 

[OutofDate1980]

I guess I'm somewhat optimistic with the wide use of the internet the Hearst scheme maybe harder to pull off. Go Google.

 

[ssick92]

• Problems with memory and learning
• Distorted perception
• Difficulty with thinking and problem solving
• Loss of coordination
• Increased heart rate
• Anxiety, paranoia and panic attacks

There are some of the MJ side-effects, the last two of which are the big hitters IMO, and all of which are more than hunger, happiness, and lethargy.

BTW I graduated from Cal Poly SLO in 2008. Animal Sciences. What are you studying?

I am studying Construction Management right now, Im just gettin started in my 2nd year though.

Anyway, the first 4 out of the 6 that you listed are all the same thing essentially. They are all basically saying, "Okay there is something different (aka being High)", but that doesn't mean it is overwhelming and I can't control anything.

The 5th is probably the only actual health concern, however it is only temporarily while you are high.

For the 6th, at least for me, it is the complete 100% polar opposite of that. It makes me much more relaxed, with not a worry in the world.

And actually, numbers 1 and 3 are also the complete opposite for me. I probably go to half my classes after smoking a little MJ. It helps me get interested in the topics and take better notes. If I get stuck on a problem, it helps me creatively find a solution.

I think the largest argument against MJ is driving. I know some people try to say that it doesn't affect driving, or that they drive better while high because they pay more attention. But that is just plain false, as being high contributed to me crashing my car last year...

PS: I realize this took me a long ass time to reply to haha

 

[Frisco]

I used pot and quit it at the same time I quit tobacco, in 1980.

Although I'm for its decriminalization, I do know one thing for sure: pot is not healthy at all, and the longer it is used the more of one's health is lost. That high is your brain fuzzing out. That relaxed feeling is artificial and has a rebound when the stuff is out of your system.

That's the same thing we can say about alcohol, which is regulated but not criminalized.

I don't like to see arguments in favor of drug decriminalization mixed in with any notions of health benefits for the simple reason that none of those supposed benefits have panned out in the long run, quite the opposite.

It needs to be regulated. But the idea of putting people in hard prison for growing or using it is an outrage in the modern world.

 

[ssick92]

Although I'm for its decriminalization, I do know one thing for sure: pot is not healthy at all, and the longer it is used the more of one's health is lost. That high is your brain fuzzing out. That relaxed feeling is artificial and has a rebound when the stuff is out of your system.

I dont think I can agree with that completely. Obviously, it is smoke entering the body, which is never good for ones lungs, but I don't feel ANY sort of rebound affect in my brain after using it for months/years at a time.

I can literally just stop, and everything will return to the way it was VERY quickly, usually starting the following day. My smoker's cough was mostly gone, I felt clear headed and sober. I didn't feel hungover from a rough night of smoking, I just simply returned to my state of health before I started smoking. I certainly do not feel like my brain is "fuzzing" out in any way, shape, or form. And science will tell you the same thing... no brain cell loss.

 

[Frisco]

Pot was easy to quit right away. Tobacco was easy to quit about 75 times in my life.

Kidding aside, the rebound is medically/biologically real. But one thing that is interesting about pot is that it has a wide range of psychological effects on different people.

I watched in amazement one time as a lady about 25 years old literally freaked out after taking a big hit off a fat joint of home grown. Her behavior had the appearance of an LSD trip gone bad. And this person was a stable, working, married lady who didn't even drink much.

At the same time, I knew people who smoked the stuff heavily every singe day of their adult lives and never had a psychological change that I could ever detect. Coughing was present, of course.

 

[OutofDate1980]

I used pot and quit it at the same time I quit tobacco, in 1980.

Although I'm for its decriminalization, I do know one thing for sure: pot is not healthy at all, and the longer it is used the more of one's health is lost. That high is your brain fuzzing out. That relaxed feeling is artificial and has a rebound when the stuff is out of your system.

That's the same thing we can say about alcohol, which is regulated but not criminalized.

I don't like to see arguments in favor of drug decriminalization mixed in with any notions of health benefits for the simple reason that none of those supposed benefits have panned out in the long run, quite the opposite.

It needs to be regulated. But the idea of putting people in hard prison for growing or using it is an outrage in the modern world.

I think drug decriminalization is inevitable, but it should be treated as a health issue. Perhaps a discussion on why people use drugs and discuss methods to at least diminish negative health consequences.

 

[Frisco]

Well, humans have been self-medicating for a long time, and it seems to be world-wide and across all nationalities, ethnicities, races and tribes.

Part of that has often been people in power wanting to control things.. the people and the drugs of choice, in varying degrees.

Individual use comes and goes in some people, and comes and never goes in others (they tend to not live as long as others, generally) and never comes to a few. Those few are often the ones who want to control everything, and that's not necessarily a totally bad thing, as they are the most sober.

I don't think there's much to figure out about drugs any more than there's much to figure out about any other aspect of social beings.

 

[AndroidFanKyle]

National Geographic - Drugged Marijuana - YouTube

I watched this show the other day. I found it perfectly biased. It shoots down the marijuana smokers naive perception that weed harms nothing... ever. Also, it shuts down the devil drug proponents as well. I do smoke marijuana, but I have never thought of it as a drug with no harm.

However, it still harms you less than alcohol. (We all knew it had to be said. or else it wouldn't be a pro-marijuana post.)

 

[jamor]

But when marijuana is looked at as so dangerous that it cannot even be acquired via prescription, such as truly dangerous drugs are, it makes you wonder just what the motivation is to keep it criminalized altogether.

Great quote so true. Very suspicious and a bad sign for our political motives.

 

[Frisco]

Very suspicious and a bad sign for our political motives.

Oooo... better watch out...

 

[TxGoat]

Pat Robertson speaks out for marijuana legalization – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

(CNN) – Televangelist Pat Robertson is raising eyebrows, and cheers from activists who are usually his opponents on political issues, by calling for the legalization of marijuana.

“I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Robertson told The New York Times on Wednesday. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”

The comments came after Robertson affirmed his support for marijuana decriminalization – which he had voiced in 2010 – on his TV show, “The 700 Club,” last week.

“I became sort of a hero of the hippie culture, I guess, when I said I think we ought to decriminalize the possession of marijuana,” Robertson, 81, said on his Christian Broadcasting Network show.

“I just think it's shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hard-core criminals because they had a possession of a very small amount of controlled substance,” he said on his show. “The whole thing is crazy.”

CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories

Robertson told the Times that he “absolutely” supports pro-marijuana legalization ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington, though he said he would not actively campaign for them.

Many marijuana legalization advocates, who tend to be liberal or libertarian and who often see Robertson as a boogeyman for his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion rights, have welcomed Robertson’s support while also noting their surprise.

“Pat Robertson's clearly stated and well-reasoned comments throw a curve ball into the growing debate over legalizing marijuana,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the pro-marijuana legalization Drug Policy Alliance, in a statement Thursday.

“The millions of people who listen to and respect him are mostly conservatives, Republicans and older Americans (who) … have been the least likely to support legalizing marijuana,” Nadelmann said.

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A spokesman for Robertson said Thursday that the televangelist was inundated with interview requests and that he was unavailable for immediate comment.

Robertson said on his show last week that he opposed incarceration for marijuana offenses on humanitarian grounds and because of the costs involved.

“We've just got to change the laws,” he said. “We cannot allow this to continue. It is sapping our vitality. Think of this great land of freedom. We have the highest rate of incarceration of any nation on the face of the Earth. That's a shocking statistic.”

In 2010, Robertson spoke on “The 700 Club” about decriminalizing marijuana but didn’t go so far as to advocate legalizing it.

“We’re locking up people that have taken a couple puffs of marijuana, and next thing you know they’ve got 10 years with mandatory sentences,” Robertson said at the time. “…We’ve got to take a look at what we’re considering crimes and that’s one of ’em.”

I'm wondering if he got a hold of someone's magic brownies by mistake....

 

[AntimonyER]

I think you know from our other conversations I am firmly on the conservative side of the aisle, but I agree with your position on this. I hate the stuff, but if you make it legal, you take pressure off the judicial and prison system, kill off the black market, increase tax receipts, AND eliminate it as a gateway drug. The only reason today its a gateway drug is because its illegal like the other harder drugs are. If you make it legal, now people would have to still make that step to breaking the law and buying and using an illegal drug, and I bet a lot more people would stop and not use the other stuff. The stuff is no more dangerous than alcohol in impairing the body in the short term, and no worse than cigarettes in the long term.

 

[9to5cynic]

I heard on the history channel, that something like 90% of the Mexican Mafia's income comes from selling drugs in the US, now we can't assume that that is all marijuana, but I believe that same show said that nearly all of the marijuana sold illegally in the US comes from either Mexico of Columbia.

I don't see the harm in legalization.... and (tin-foil hat warning), I was told by several professors that originally it was made illegal due to the impact hemp was having on the paper industry....

Now, one of the professors I heard that from was a bit quacky.... so...




EDIT: At ANTI - Just say your comment about the dangers of marijuana. I actually read that it is far less dangerous than cigarettes in the long term, especially when consumed from a water pipe or vaporizer.

 

[AntimonyER]

I heard on the history channel, that something like 90% of the Mexican Mafia's income comes from selling drugs in the US, now we can't assume that that is all marijuana, but I believe that same show said that nearly all of the marijuana sold illegally in the US comes from either Mexico of Columbia.

I don't see the harm in legalization.... and (tin-foil hat warning), I was told by several professors that originally it was made illegal due to the impact hemp was having on the paper industry....

Now, one of the professors I heard that from was a bit quacky.... so...




EDIT: At ANTI - Just say your comment about the dangers of marijuana. I actually read that it is far less dangerous than cigarettes in the long term, especially when consumed from a water pipe or vaporizer.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply equivalence, just that it's not WORSE than something already legal.

 

[B2L]

I heard on the history channel, that something like 90% of the Mexican Mafia's income comes from selling drugs in the US, now we can't assume that that is all marijuana, but I believe that same show said that nearly all of the marijuana sold illegally in the US comes from either Mexico of Columbia.

I don't see the harm in legalization.... and (tin-foil hat warning), I was told by several professors that originally it was made illegal due to the impact hemp was having on the paper industry....

Now, one of the professors I heard that from was a bit quacky.... so...




EDIT: At ANTI - Just say your comment about the dangers of marijuana. I actually read that it is far less dangerous than cigarettes in the long term, especially when consumed from a water pipe or vaporizer.

I see Anti decided to bring this thread back again.

Most of the high quality stuff is grown in the US, specifically California. The stuff that comes from Mexico is typically the low quality brick weed that no one wants. You are partially correct 9to5cynic, marijuana was originally made illegal due to the impact on the paper industry. Although, one of the main reasons were due to racist leaders running this country. Many Mexicans immigrating to this country enjoyed smoking it, so our leaders thought if they were able to make it illegal, the immigrants would leave the country.

 

[TxGoat]

I see Anti decided to bring this thread back again.

Most of the high quality stuff is grown in the US, specifically California. The stuff that comes from Mexico is typically the low quality brick weed that no one wants. You are partially correct 9to5cynic, marijuana was originally made illegal due to the impact on the paper industry. Although, one of the main reasons were due to racist leaders running this country. Many Mexicans immigrating to this country enjoyed smoking it, so our leaders thought if they were able to make it illegal, the immigrants would leave the country.

I'm actually guilty of reviving it, but I'm going to blame it on Pat Robertson, that damn debil!


I also saw a history channel documentary but I can't remember if it was on Cocaine or Coca-Cola and I recall them also mentioning that Cocaine was outlawed because it was used by black men when doing physical labor. They thought that Cocaine thus contributed to a black man's propensity for violence. If the documentary's claims were true, I find it funny and a little ridiculous the type of rhetoric that made it easy to help push government legislation through.

 

[OutofDate1980]

Well, humans have been self-medicating for a long time, and it seems to be world-wide and across all nationalities, ethnicities, races and tribes. ...

And Flies So girls, have a heart.

"... when female fruit flies reject their sexual advances, the males are driven to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking far more than comparable, sexually satisfied male flies. ..."

Deprived of sex, jilted flies drink more alcohol

 

[argedion]

Havent and don't have time to read the entire thread here but here is my take.

Marijuana should be legal. Its a natural plant. Given to us by nature to help us relieve stress.

However it will probably not see legalization in my time. The biggest reason for this is the Government doesn't know how to tax it. It's not that they can't put an amount on it. Its more of the fact that I can grow a lot more than I need to report (For Tax Purposes) Now with me being an individual this in itself is not that bad but imagine if Ford motor company did it. The lost revenue for the Government could range in the billions. The Government isn't willing to loose that much.

Besides that How would Senator's and Lobbiest be able to support the Terrorist Organizations they do with all that illegal blood money. I mean seriously imagine what it would be like if Terrorist Groups couldn't bomb buildings? You know what kind of economic impact that would have on the Construction world, the Casket Makers, and Funeral Homes.

The "War on Drugs" has had more casualties than any other war America has declared. We've Spent Trillions of Dollars on this cause and have not decreased the amount of illegal drugs imported or exported from this country. During the time when we didn't allow alcohol in this country the Government of that day saw that it was a battle in which we cannot win so they made a decision to not fight it and save the tax money for better issues. The Government we have today does not care about the tax money that is spent on this lost cause. As long as we are focused on the War on Drugs then we won't be focused on more important issues like putting in a President who's Citizenship is questionable. But I'm just an uneducated southern man so what do I know?

 

[OutofDate1980]

...then we won't be focused on more important issues like putting in a President who's Citizenship is questionable. But I'm just an uneducated southern man so what do I know?

As there is no question as to the fact the current President is a U.S. citizen, you have proved your claim that you are uneducated.

 

[argedion]

As there is no question as to the fact the current President is a U.S. citizen, you have proved your claim that you are uneducated.

Don't believe what is always said or everything you see. I believe there are many other causes out there that deserve the attention we have given to the "War on Drugs" I do believe that was my point.

you have proved your claim that you are uneducated.

and yet I still have more intelligence than the average bear

 

[OutofDate1980]

...and yet I still have more intelligence than the average bear

Everybody is uneducated in some areas. Believe the last person to read everything published was a Belgian monk in the 1400's.

btw ... spend a lot of time in South Georgia, i.e., Florida Panhandle

 

[omr11a]

If cannabis became legal the government could make so much money and could tax the crap out of it because people will buy it off them. They could make the 'drug' easily and use high tech machinery which will save labour costs etc. Also if it became legal they could drop major crime fiqures since their wont be any drug wars between gangs etc. Also since they won't need to pay for labour they can sell the products fairly cheap which will affect the crime figures since people won't have to steal to pay for it. This could be a major contributor in getting United Kingdom and any other country out of the recession. Also cannabis is proven that it's a lot safer than Alcohol and any cigarettes.

 

[OutofDate1980]

...This could be a major contributor in getting United Kingdom and any other country out of the recession. ....

Oh my Gosh, it would cause a recession. Just think of all the high paying jobs (lawyers, judges, police, lab technicians, drug kingpins, etc) that would be lost if it became legal.

 

[ElasticNinja]

This could be a major contributor in getting United Kingdom and any other country out of the recession.

Hyperbole wont win this argument! Looking at my states budget, Excise accounts for about 2.5% of GDP. You can get an idea of the stuff taxed here: Excise Duty Rates.
There's fule taxes, carbon taxes, travel taxes, alcohol taxes, gambling taxes, cigarette taxes there. So about