Should Marajuana be Legal? How about for Medical Use?

[Tycho]

Should marajuana be legal?

For recreational use?

For medical use?


I say "No" on both counts.

I have a mother who is a very severe cancer patient and does not smoke pot, though if she did, she would be protected by California law (allowing it for medical use).

I never use drugs of any kind, and that includes marajuana. It's completely unnecessary and actually pretty sad that people in society - especially a lot of young people, can't find something better to do.

Legalizing marajuana for RECREATIONAL USE - in other words "just for getting high" - let alone medical use - is on the ballot in Nevada. Current polls say only 36% of the voters favor legalizing it, but nevertheless, that is probably a larger amount of supporters than any other time in history.

What do you think?

[Boba Rhett]

I say yes to both counts. And no, not because I want to smoke it.

But when I step back and weigh the negatives of keeping it illegal and the negatives of legalizing it, I come up with wanting it legalized. Now, by legalized I don't mean you can go buy a sack for a nickle at a candy store. Several things would also have to be changed if it did become legal.

1. SEVERE punishments if accidents are related to the use of it. "You play, you pay" Same way it is for alchohal only have harsher penalties.

2. Regulated even more than the legal drugs that people buy now. Probably sholdn't be over the counter either.

The only reason that tabacco and alchohal aren't illegal, just like Marijuana, is that they were already introduced into society and people didn't want to give them up when the laws were written. It doesn't mean that they aren't just as harmful as mary jane.

[2-1B]

Marijuana isn't legal because anyone can grow it and sell it for pure profit. How will the government get a cut of it ?
It's different with cigarettes . . .
Try gathering up all of the chemicals needed to make your own pack of Marlboros.

[Tycho]

I thought in the old days, all you needed was to grow tobacco to make cigarettes?

Why the heck can't you grow tobacco in your back yard and make your own cigarettes?

Of course, pot is not illegal ONLY because the government can't regulate and tax it.

[2-1B]

And in the old days all you needed to brew some cola was cocaine.

Tycho, I NEVER smoke weed and I drink quite infrequently, but when I look around and see the role of alcohol in so many tragedies and just downright poor behvior, I don't see how ANYONE can rationally argue that marijuana should be illegal in light of what IS allowed.

Unless someone is advocating the prohibition of alcohol while he or she lobbies for the continued control of marijuana, I just can't take the argument seriously.

[mabudonicus]

Yep, Caesar's right.
Okay, sorry, I'll elaborate on it. My STANSE on the issue is simple- the existing pot laws are there for the reasons that Caesar stated AND the fact that hemp would, if completely de-regulated again as it used to be, totally usurp the pulp and paper industries importance, leaving a lot of rich people poor.
It's all about economics, not harm reduction or anything else like that, so the laws are bunk. Did you know that one of (matbe THE, I'm not sure) major supporters to the "war on drugs" was........ (drum roll please) Anheuser Busch!!!! Fancy that!!!
I believe that several, in fact most of the "harder" substances, which have been proven dangerous in many ways , belong on the outlawed list, but pot's just silly, man, it doesn't really do much, especially if the user eats it (okay, it's still hard on the kidneys, but then I can think of at least 2 legal substances that are worse)
Add to that the stupid economic cost of processing pot convictions and imprisoning those so dealt with, and you've got a pretty large waste of time over basicaly nothing. (oh, and I don't think that it should be encouraged as an all-ages thing either, there's enough chemical activity in a developing mind as it is)
And I never inhaled.

[James Boba Fettfield]

I don't know about the whole issue. I can see why some people would want to legalize it, because not all of the people who smoke it are evil or anything. I worked with a kid last summer who did quite of bit of it, and he was a very responsible and intelligent individual. Then again, legalizing a substance like that won't help any drug problems we have now, perhaps it would only suit to increase them. I don't see any harm in a person smoking a few in their home, it's like someone smoking a cigarrette in their house. Big deal. Kill yourself how you must. Right now I'm killing myself with fatty fried foods. It may cause me to go into cardiac arrest while driving or in some other situation which could cause damage to someone else. Like I said, I can see both sides of the argument and I prefer not to take a stand on either side of it.

[Eternal Padawan]

I thinks its ridiculous that the two most addictive and dangerous substances (Nicotine and Alcohol) are already legal, and everybody gets in a tizzy about marijuana. Think of all the "felons" in prison because of weed. I don't drink or smoke, and I'd rather advocate prohibition of nicotine and alcohol, but if your going to make those legal...screw it. You might as well make them ALL legal.

[Patient Zero]

Originally posted by Eternal Padawan
I thinks its ridiculous that the two most addictive and dangerous substances (Nicotine and Alcohol) are already legal, and everybody gets in a tizzy about marijuana

Thank you!

They should just make the same laws (age requirements, DWI, etc.) for other drugs as the do for Nicotine and Alcohol. I personally don't like pot, but that is not to say that I should take that right away from someone else because of what I think.

[The 'Xir]

All drugs should be legalized! No Joke! Believe it or not, if this actually happened yes you would see an immediate increase in drug use on the short term; but after 5-10 years of people doing away with the fad we would probably see the same levels of use if not less over the long term then we're seeing nowadays! Think about it, when something is forbidden their is tempation and people will do anything to get it if they really want to! Look at the 20's and 30's during prohabition!! So if you take away that lure of illicit behavior by legalizing all drugs, who's gonna want to do it except for those that get a kick out doing drugs because they like to?