On The Legalization of Cannabis

[DarkHalo003]

I don't know if cannibis is exactly in league with the difficulty to regulate and stick a price on as Pot is for the gov't, but I honestly wish it would stay illegal, simply because I'm not pro-smoking and think that legalizing something like Pot can cause issues in society. Now the issues are up to you to think about. I really just think adding another type of smoke into my air space makes things too complicate and unhealthy.

[Bodzilla]

but it's not in your airspace though?

Thats the thing i dont get about the entire affair. It's a personal thing that effects people on an individual basis.
I'll never understand why so many people care about what other people are doing in their own bedroom and the reason why we think we should legislate it.

[SnaFuBAR]

I don't know if cannibis is exactly in league with the difficulty to regulate and stick a price on as Pot is for the gov't, but I honestly wish it would stay illegal, simply because I'm not pro-smoking and think that legalizing something like Pot can cause issues in society. Now the issues are up to you to think about. I really just think adding another type of smoke into my air space makes things too complicate and unhealthy.

So, just because you're not pro-smoking it should stay illegal? Because your idea that weed legalization can cause issues in society has no evidence in supportive it should stay illegal? What are the issues to think about? I do not nor have ever known violent consumers of weed. None of them rob or steal to support a habit. It is not a gateway drug. So please, enlighten me what the "issues" are?

Making it illegal is what causes the issues. It gives power to cartels, it drains resources for state governments to fight, it keeps people jailed for possession and overcrowds jails for a non-violent "crime" with non-addictive substance! It is entirely wasteful to combat a social habit that has no real ill effects on society.

You think weed smoke is going to pollute your air? That's entirely laughable. Don't sit in a room with a smoker of any kind and you won't have problems. the air outside isn't going to be thick with weed smoke if it's legalized. If that's your train of thought, you should tell people to stop industrialization, stop driving cars, stop raising cows, but you won't.

[sleepy1212]

You think weed smoke is going to pollute your air? That's entirely laughable. Don't sit in a room with a smoker of any kind and you won't have problems. the air outside isn't going to be thick with weed smoke if it's legalized. If that's your train of thought, you should tell people to stop industrialization, stop driving cars, stop raising cows, but you won't.

Agreed. It's mentalities like these that lead people on tirades about cigarettes, and pretty much anything they think should be regulated/criminalized because it simply "gets on their nerves."

[Choking Victim]

It is not a gateway drug. So please, enlighten me what the "issues" are?

The reason it's considered a gateway drug is because it's illegal. If it was legal, our opinions towards it would be no different than that of alcohol and cigarettes. That said, I wholeheartedly agree with you.

[Cojafoji]

The reason it's considered a gateway drug is because it's illegal. If it was legal, our opinions towards it would be no different than that of alcohol and cigarettes. That said, I wholeheartedly agree with you.

But then again, if you look at people who have addictive personalities, and are actively seeking help for problems with say, meth, coke, or heroin, and you asked them what the first drug they did was, they'll probably tell you it was marijuana.

This is from personal experience. I've known and dealt with a couple of addicts, as I'm sure all of us have.

edit: This was a devils advocate statement, as I'm pro legalization.

[Choking Victim]

But then again, if you look at people who have addictive personalities, and are actively seeking help for problems with say, meth, coke, or heroin, and you asked them what the first drug they did was, they'll probably tell you it was marijuana.

This is from personal experience. I've known and dealt with a couple of addicts, as I'm sure all of us have.

edit: This was a devils advocate statement, as I'm pro legalization.

My roommate could have been the poster boy for the whole "Marijuana is a gateway drug" campaign, but he's no longer like that. I agree that most hard core addicts will say marijuana is the first drug they've tried, but I'm arguing that it wouldn't be that way if the drug was legalized in the first place. It would simply be regarded as just another social norm like cigarettes and alcohol, not something that leads to shooting up heroine and other hard drugs.

[SnaFuBAR]

There's no way you could ever label marijuana as a gateway drug. THC is a non-addictive substance and does not create dependence. People who use hard drugs and started with marijuana may have used it first because of the cost and ease of getting it. They also have addictive personalities. There is no physiological dependence with THC. Psychological dependence is the issue with people who have addictive personalities. The same can be said of alcohol and cigarettes.

[DarkHalo003]

So, just because you're not pro-smoking it should stay illegal? Because your idea that weed legalization can cause issues in society has no evidence in supportive it should stay illegal? What are the issues to think about? I do not nor have ever known violent consumers of weed. None of them rob or steal to support a habit. It is not a gateway drug. So please, enlighten me what the "issues" are?

Making it illegal is what causes the issues. It gives power to cartels, it drains resources for state governments to fight, it keeps people jailed for possession and overcrowds jails for a non-violent "crime" with non-addictive substance! It is entirely wasteful to combat a social habit that has no real ill effects on society.

You think weed smoke is going to pollute your air? That's entirely laughable. Don't sit in a room with a smoker of any kind and you won't have problems. the air outside isn't going to be thick with weed smoke if it's legalized. If that's your train of thought, you should tell people to stop industrialization, stop driving cars, stop raising cows, but you won't.

Issues? Abuse. Simple over-smoking and the habits that form from it. It DRAINS money like a mosquito drains blood. I know people who spend their entire account on Pot and they regret it because they have no money. "BUT WAIT THAT WON'T HAPPEN!!!!" Yeah, it will. Just like a cigarette smoker pays a shit ton for all of the cigarettes they smoke, a Cannabis smoker would pay near the same for "recreation." And people imprisoned for having Pot usually are the trafficers, the ones who sell it, which is the more illegal side to things. The reason why it's illegal is because the gov't can't slap a sticker on it and name it theirs entirely.

This is what I generally mean by issues:

But then again, if you look at people who have addictive personalities, and are actively seeking help for problems with say, meth, coke, or heroin, and you asked them what the first drug they did was, they'll probably tell you it was marijuana.

This is from personal experience. I've known and dealt with a couple of addicts, as I'm sure all of us have.

edit: This was a devils advocate statement, as I'm pro legalization.

I know addicts, especially one who does meth and is in prison, drained his parents of their money through attorneys, and is basically a shell right now through all of his addictions. He was a brilliant kid too. I think that simple things lead onto to more dangerous habits. STUFF GETS ABUSED Snaf and the last thing we need is a next generation of kids who smoke even more so to where their lungs look no different then cigarette smoke; and I'm not just saying they've smoked it once or twice neither. You catch what I mean? My argument is about Health. I know our lungs take in a lot of crap daily, but like I said, shit gets abused.

Also, Pot wreaks. I honestly don't want to be smelling it everyday like I smell cigarette smoke.

[ICEE]

I don't understand why people seem to think that morally reprehensible = must be outlawed.

Alcohol is not moral. It is not, and should not be illegal.

Prostitution is not moral. It is not (IN NEVADA) illegal, though whether or not it should be legal is for another thread.

To be honest, I don't think its the government's place to force morals on us. Marijuna may very well be immoral, and for people like dwood who believe it is wrong, MORE POWER TO YOU. However, in my opinion it is not your right, nor the right of the government to keep another man from doing it. (exceptions to this philosophy include things that hurt others... etc. Not a bulletproof maxim but applicable to this discussion)

It is not the role of government to tell us not to be stupid. It is not the role of government to force us to be moral. It is not the role of government to keep us from hurting ourselves. It is the role of government to keep us safe from forces outside of our personal control, to maintain peace. Marijuana is FAR from dangerous to peace. In fact, if the whole world was high, we'd be too busy making cookies and watching cheech and chong to do anyone any harm. (or any good)