OT Debate: Legalize or Prohibit MJ?

[Miklo]

I don't smoke so this doesn't effect me.

I haven't smoked marrijuana in 30 years - just never liked it. But I support it's legalization on grounds that it's a benign intoxicant and hardly needs to be outlawed.
In BC, my province, it's the largest industry and completely underground - stupid, stupid. All that taxable profit going uncollected

The documentary I watched is from BC actually..so they touched on the industry there as well.

[Reddevil42]

like someone said eariler...i dont smoke so doesnt effect me really but a few ideas behind my choice...i say legalize and fully regulate... a few things i think good come from it....1 you regulate and keep the crap out of it which is only a plus...2 you tax it so it will raise revenue and maybe we can pay down our national debt and maybe help create more jobs...and 3 hopefullly it will trim down the violence it contributes to...of course this wont stop the ilegal stuff..and the altered stuff (bootleg smoke) but it does generate another revenue stream which i think will help...hell everyone does it already anyway...so why not...tax that and maybe lessen tax on us little people..charge the pot heads

[aIvin adams]

I guess what I'm saying is you can't knock out self-medicators. More of them use alcohol than pot anyway.

totally agree. i bring up this danger as an argument for decriminalization/legalization, not an argument against. the issues that habitual self-medicators face usually are not caused by marijuana (altho there is some evidence that regular marijuana use exacerbates some mental health issues, ie various manifestations of "schizophrenia").

if marijuana were decriminalized, it would be easier to identify habitual self-medicators and encourage them to seek the help they need.

[grumpysaddle]

again... look at the fine job our government does with regulating pharmaceuticals. give them the marijuana industry with full regulation and things will get worse, especially regarding violence.

[aIvin adams]

So far we are at 8 people pro MJ, 3 people anti MJ, and 2 that dont care.

Honestly, im a toker. I really dont think its as bad for your health as cigarettes, and doesnt leave you as impaired as alcohol.

The reason it will never be legalized (federally) is because the big pharmaceutical companys have bought too many people in the government and want to put a halt to it. MJ can help out people in so many different ways, and people would stop paying the outrageous prices that they currently are paying per month for their meds. Have problems sleeping?? Smoke a joint! stressed out???? Smoke a joint! migraine headaches???? Smoke a joint! MJ can aliveate so many of the problems that you see the pharmaceutical companys trying to do the same on all their commercials at 1/10 of the price.

Cali has the right idea and is now looking at ways for the state to tax MJ sales and if legalized, selling it only in Liquor stores unless you have a medical card then you can visit the dispensaries.

Our nation was built on MJ/Hemp. Where are the republicans that always bring up our forefathers when it comes to rights (bear arms/press/etc.)?? Many many MANY of our forefathers (including presidents) grew and smoked it.

i think there's evidence that habitual marijuana use has all sorts of deleterious consequences. poor quality of sleep, degraded memory function, lung-oxygen intake capacity, etc.. ? im not too hip about this but ive heard this kind of stuff.


once again-- even if these negative consequences were scientifically established, i think it supports an argument for decriminalization/regulation. bc ultimately, the concern ought to be the welfare of the people in general. i would have to be convinced that, if legalized, significantly more people would be smoking marijuana. im not convinced of this. i would also have to be convinced that significantly more people would be doing harmful drugs in general (that is, if 5 million more people smoked marijuana after it's legalized, how many of those -used- to drink alcohol [which is more harmful])

[aIvin adams]

again... look at the fine job our government does with regulating pharmaceuticals. give them the marijuana industry with full regulation and things will get worse, especially regarding violence.

violence related to marijuana cultivation/commerce will get worse? what do you mean?

i always thought that the connection between smoking marijuana and junta/gang activity was the most significant ethical argument against smoking marijuana.

[grumpysaddle]

The reason it will never be legalized (federally) is because the big pharmaceutical companys have bought too many people in the government and want to put a halt to it. MJ can help out people in so many different ways, and people would stop paying the outrageous prices that they currently are paying per month for their meds. Have problems sleeping?? Smoke a joint! stressed out???? Smoke a joint! migraine headaches???? Smoke a joint! MJ can aliveate so many of the problems that you see the pharmaceutical companys trying to do the same on all their commercials at 1/10 of the price.

See... if marijuana were to be federally regulated, it would most likely end up being for pharmaceutical uses. In such, pharmaceutical companies would own all rights to growing and selling marijuana. Laws would be stricter as far as growing your own was concerned, because the pharmaceutical companies would want sole control of the industry. Growing your own plants takes away from the money in their giant, effed up pockets and they have the politicians balls on a string. The product would also suffer. No competition for quality between many different distributors would lead to sub-par product everywhere. There's no way MJ becomes completely legal in the US. The only way I see any legalization on a cross country basis going down is under strict prescription based (meaning patients that have doctor diagnosed illnesses) means. Again, the recreational user suffers. This makes the recreational user a "criminal" versus the person with a prescription ("the patient"). I don't really smoke MJ (maybe once or twice a year), but being an MJ smoker, Kerrsed, do you really trust the government to be the ones having full control over your pot-smokage? Just look at everything else government has been given complete control over and the messes it creates.

[grumpysaddle]

again... look at the fine job our government does with regulating pharmaceuticals. give them the marijuana industry with full regulation and things will get worse, especially regarding violence.

violence related to marijuana cultivation/commerce will get worse? what do you mean?

i always thought that the connection between smoking marijuana and junta/gang activity was the most significant ethical argument against smoking marijuana.

its not the marijuana that makes gangs do what they do. smoking MJ doesn't make you do stupid $#!@. but then i also don't really see the people that are growing the majority of MJ around right now being all too happy with their product becoming "legalized" and thus, less lucrative. i don't know exactly where i was going with the violence being worse thing. maybe it was just hyperbole. my brain's a little tired right now.

[Sun Scorched]

Cali has the right idea and is now looking at ways for the state to tax MJ sales and if legalized, selling it only in Liquor stores unless you have a medical card then you can visit the dispensaries.

Wrong. California does not have the right idea. The state is, in fact, bankrupt. Every social program that has been instituted because of the liberal nature of the state and its lobbying efforts has eroded the foundation that California once stood on.

If you're going to make an arguement legitimizing the legal use of marijuana, don't use CA as an example.

Our nation was built on MJ/Hemp. Where are the republicans that always bring up our forefathers when it comes to rights (bear arms/press/etc.)?? Many many MANY of our forefathers (including presidents) grew and smoked it.

Our nation was also built on rebellion, slavery, no taxation without representation, the right to bear arms, the right to free speech, the seperation of church and state, the increased power of the states, the reduced power of the federal government, etc.

I could argue that none of those things exists today the way in which they were intended. Trust me when I say that the resurrection of the aforementioned would much sooner benefit us all than the legalization of marijuana... though again, I'm not opposed to it, just to the above arguement.

[Traxxe]

I am all for complete legalization of marijuana. I don't believe in 'sin' tax. I hate judgemental people who say smoking marijuana is wrong. Sure, maybe it is wrong for them but it is my life and I should be able to proceed with my choices as I desire so long as they don't harm others.

I smoke marijuana and have no problem with admitting such. I do not smoke cigarettes. I feel the government should never regulate personal choice. Marijuana is a personal choice issue. I also hate how the government withholds medicine from people. Anti-biotics should be over the counter medicine as should many others. In the Philippines I can buy anti-biotics when I'm ill and spend a dollar or two in the process. The government in America makes you spend a hundred dollars on a doctor and then fifty dollars for pills that cost pennies and it is ridiculous.

I like to relax at times and smoke marijuana. What is wrong with that? I'm not hurting you or anyone else. What right does anyone (government included) have to stop me from toking up in my own home?

[Miklo]

no taxation without representation

Watch it buddy, I live in DC

[Biff]

I read a good speech by a law professor named Charles Whitebread that said that most things become prohibited because of class. For instance, gin was once illegal in England while whisky was not. Gin was a favorite of the poor, while whisky was a favorite of the rich. He claims that marijuana is eventually going to become legalized because it's becoming more popular amongst the middle and upper class, and that cigarettes are going to be prohibited because the opposite is occurring. It was an interesting read; I'll have to see if I can find it. And so I did: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm

[Mr. Sun]

The thing is Congress has no authority to ban pot any more then they do liquor. It took an amendment to the constitution to abolish liquor, but congress abolishes pot by just passing a law.

If you think the commerce clause gives them the power then it would had given the power to abolish liquor. For a great understanding of the original meaning of regulating commerce see here:

http://federalistblog.us/2006/08/bustin ... _myth.html

[Biff]

Some more goodies, this one from a California Judge: http://www.judgejimgray.com/grayarticles2.php

[arizonatribe]

Michael Jordan should not be legally allowed to own a team.

[WTFsunsFTW]

Cali is gonna have it on the ballot this year!!!

[jensa]

+1 for legalized with regulations such as min. age, people allowed to grow/own upto a certain amount and places that sell need to have a license. I think this is pretty much what they have in the netherlands. Although I heard they were talking about changing their laws so as not to allow foreigners to smoke at the coffeshops Not sure if that was serious or not.

[aIvin adams]

Wrong. California does not have the right idea. The state is, in fact, bankrupt. Every social program that has been instituted because of the liberal nature of the state and its lobbying efforts has eroded the foundation that California once stood on.

If you're going to make an arguement legitimizing the legal use of marijuana, don't use CA as an example.

[teamsteven01]

anyone who says that marijuana should remain illegal is most likely a republican. who cares if you smoke it or not, what difference does it make to your body? its a lot like gay marriage, you vote against it because you are close minded.

not only should marijuana be legal, but every single drug should be. think about it, would you do heroin, ex, meth or crack if they were legal? i wouldnt. would i smoke weed? ya i would probably do it occasionally, no more then i drink.

the prisons would free so much space for real criminals. the economy would get back far quicker then any other plan. guess what?? the dumb people would kill themeselves from OD's and who really cares. let it happen.

but just about marijuana, tax the **** out of it. make it only slightly cheaper then it currently is "on the streets"

go to the store, buy a pack of Marlboro Greens for 20$ for 20 joints. make it cheaper, make it more, it wont matter. growing marijuana is so incredibly cheap. i just dont get people who hate it. it will be on the next ballot in arizona for medical purposes, please get out on vote yes for it.