Should marijuana be decriminalized? Please logically support your reasoning.?

Answer 1

the legalization of marijuana would give the government complete and total control of its distribution

by removing the profitable value of marijuana you would eliminate it from our school yards

Answer 2

What will smoking dope do ...........what impact will it have on society in the short and long term?

It does not cause violent behaviour and isn't phisically addictive it has a very low toxicity level in that it takes a massive amount to kill and has little to no anti social short term impact on a criminal level.

It has long term side affects in that it can be pschologically addictive it may cause feminisation on less than 1/2 a percent of the somkers Pne joint os the eqivilant of half a pack of ciggerettes on the lungs. Long term use has withdrawl factors that may include depresion but on the whole withdrawl from the drug has less impact mentally and phisically the caffine withdrawl .

The argument has been it is a gate way drug and only a small amount of reasearch in the highly biased 70's and 80's shows that to be true. Nonetheless the studies were legitamate and scientifically recognoised . They state on the whole that once a person had broken the law over dope they were far more likely to break it again over a bigger offense. If it were made legal it would make the research out of date and unuseable.

Considering the impact of other legal drugs it is equal to or less than beer ciggeretes caffinne etc for health addiction and anti social/criminal behaviour.

Considering it has obvious and harmful side affects at all it should warrent caution on the users and society's part.

That is hw I see it. I would rather deal with a stoned person than a drunk any day of the week - I would leagalise it but if it isn't legalised I wouldn't cry about it either

Answer 3

What exactly is decriminalisation you will only be fined but not put in prison for your actions? Marijuana whether in long term use is harmful or not it does have serious short term side effects. In a society where smoking cigarettes is hardly permitted anywhere anymore I don't think marijuana should be openly done in public and should only be allowed in the use of your private residence. Possibly the government could regulate the industry and put an age limit to those who can purchase such substances. So if it is decriminalised or legalised I think the effects should be looked in too and be properly administered with regulations in place.

Answer 4

I think yes, because,
#1 so much people smoke it, we can,t deny that for eternity. In fact people smoke since it exist.
#2 Marijuana have been banned from Usa, because it was the favorite "drug" of mexicans", so Us government banned marijuana, to prevent more immigration, from Mexico...<
#3 Secret market, mean secret money. Where this money go?...You know..
#4 Most of drug dealer's often put chemical to fasten grownth, or make it more "powerful". A regulated marijuana, would be free from dangerous additive, that really cause long term damages...
#5 Marijuana, have been proven havin't no relation with cancer.
#6 marijuana make huge profits to underground criminal organisation, they grow in hidden place, and often, really, ofetn put fire, because of inadequate, eletric system, aeration, must steal electricity to be secret..a regulated marke would prevent any risks of fire, and other secrety related problems.
#7 Marijuana is worthy, and that cause the majority of social problem related to marijuana. A regulated market would lower price at a rate crminal organisations couldn't compete. So no more violence related to mari and crime...
#8 Can be use in a large range a medical uses, passing by anorexia help ( give hungry), to Glaucoma, to stress, insomnia, to headaches, and cancer, Aids, an dmuch more...
#9 Pot is taboo, the other's social problems related to mari are cause by ignorance, incapacity to ask help to parent or school, it's illegal, so you don't take, that's the only answer they will have now...especially in Usa...
#10 Each year's, goverments comits billions to criminalize marijuana smoker,s. And after jail, or local persecution, they are on their own...And we wonder why ours kids go in live street...

We deny them, by legalizing, the problem related to marijuana could be more efficently reduced, and managed. And prevented by education. I hope it help.

I also share with you my work, down here :

Answer 5

Marijuana should be completely legal. As should all other drugs.

The main reasoning for me personally is that it's part of being free. It's the principle of the matter that I should be able to put what ever chemicals I want into my own body.

Now more suited towards your question.

The logic is as follows.

The drug laws prohibiting drug possession creates a black market. The price can now skyrocket, profits are huge, and it is criminals who are making this profit.
If drugs were legal, they would be controlled much more efficiently.

The criminals who are making profit off of drugs are the same people who are killing people, because they are making enough money to not care about killing a few cops or people. Gangs also get a large chunk of their funding through drug dealing.

Legalizing drugs would virtually destroy the illegal drug trade, thus moving all the funds to people who aren't criminals, while simultaneously taxing the productions, increasing income for the government.

The jails are overcrowded with millions of drug possession offenders. Legalizing drugs wold remove this colossal strain on our prison systems, and even our court systems. As a huge drop in the number of cases would occur.

Legalizing drugs would open up jobs for production and distribution of the products.

if the economic and social effects aren't enough for you, let us go into some thought.

What are some things that make illegal drugs dangerous? Well first lets start with pot. Pot by itself is rather harmless. No confirmed deaths to date.

how could pot be dangerous? If pot is laced with PCP, heroin or crack, the chances of having a dangerous reaction increase. The problem with street drugs is their notorious impurity. Pot is not such a problem, but laced drugs are a problem. Legalizing drugs would all but make this impossible.

Heroin and Cocaine are often laced with substances of questionable safety and sometimes known poisons. Legalizing these drugs would ensure people got what they wanted and that they knew the purity, making overdosing more difficult. The biggest cause of OD's on Heroin and coke are not knowing how pure it is.

Legalizing, once again, would fix this problem.

Children using drugs...Hmmm I never met a drug dealer once in my life who asked for ID. It's not kosher for his business to care how old his customers are. Thus legalizing drugs would actually make it harder for our kids to use drugs.

Lets look at some government history.

Vietnam, the CIA was actually (documented , true, reported fact, this isn't just speculation people, look it up.) bringing heroin back in body bags. Now why would a government agency be breaking the very laws it is sworn to uphold?

Money.

Now marijuana is illegal because of money, but not because it's nontaxable, but because of the whole paper conspiracy. Read up on it and you'll see what I mean.

Drugs being illegal makes the people who really make the laws a lot more untraceable, nontaxable money. This is exactly what they need to fund their illegal operations in an untraceable manner.

Of course the last two paragraphs are not proven fact, moving on.

Let us use some basic critical thinking skills.

Cocaine, heroin,meth,pot,pcp,lsd,mushrooms, and even Ecstasy are not THAT dangerous.

Think of it like this. If 100 people take a drug at a party your at, and 10 of them die from it, are you going to use that drug yourself? I wouldn't.

The basic fact is that the HUGE majority of people who use drugs do not die from them. You have the occasional death from drugs. Most of the time either from them being ignorant and taking to much, mixing it with other drugs or from the drug not being what they said. Rarely from a normal dosage of any drug does anyone die.

A lot of these deaths would be prevented with legalization and pro-responsible use campaigns to educate people.

The fact of the matter is that the drug wars are killing more people, costing more money and putting more people in jail than any other law campaign in history. And has actually surpassed the toll that drugs have cost society. Ever. In the history of the world.

Billions spent on the war on drugs. Illegal for over 50 years. The drugs are still around, and in higher numbers than they were 20 years ago. Explain that?

Drugs are not bad. The problem is drugs are great.

Overdosing is bad, becoming an addict is bad. Not the drugs.
The war on drugs is essentially punishing the whole class because someone was an idiot. That's not the American way.

Answer 6

i believe so for the following reasons:
-there are no credible studies to show that marijuana is addictive.
-the only long term effects of smoking marijuana (over normal cigarettes) is an increased incidence of emphysema.
-marijuana smokers do not have anywhere near the incidience of cancer that normal cigarettes do.
-it is not possible to overdose from marijuana.
-marijuana is a tranquilizer that does not lend itself to wild uncontrollable behavior (like crack, cocaine, ecstasy, lsd, etc.)
-marijuana has been proven to be a cheap, effective alternative pain medication for those suffering terminal cancer and aids.

all that being said, if it is legalized it should be in small amounts. i.e., person should only be allowed to possess 1-3 oz. at a time. and only licensed, gov't run stores should sell it to avoid black markets and price gouging. making marijuana legal is a way to make sure the product is un-tainted and price regulated.

Answer 7

"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use." --Jimmy Carter

More than 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the past decade. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication of the criminal sanction that invites government into areas of our private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement resources that should be focused on serious and violent crime.

Marijuana is already the third most popular recreational drug in America, despite harsh laws against its use. Millions of Americans smoke it responsibly. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it.

In addition, marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. It fails to inflict the types of serious health consequences these two legal drugs cause.

Answer 8

Yes.

The "war" against marijuana costs taxpayers billions of dollars, and results in far more deaths than the use of marijuana - which, by itself, kills no one. Ever.

Both alcohol and tobacco are far & away more dangerous than marijuana, yet they are legal to use - with certain logical restrictions. Both marijuana and alcohol have been proven to have some health benefits under some circumstances, tobacco has not.

The restrictions governing the use of alchohol & tobacco should be adapted for the use of marijuana by adults. It will save money, lives, and clear up space in our prisons for serious offenders.

Answer 9

I think so as it has my healing properties, for example people with extream muscular pain. although it can trigger some mental health, but only when the person had a under lying issue with this to begin with. people would be a lot more chilled out, and less agressive unlike with alcohol. people smoke it anyways so it would be a good sourse of tax, if it were legalised it could create a number of new jobs. it was only ever made illgal at first because years and years ago, the "cotton" family aposed it because hemp was a much more durable material and they didnt want there power to be treatened. i read about it in the cannibis musuim in Amsterdam. it would free up police to look for real criminals.

Answer 10

Marijuana should be decriminalized for the following reasons:

1)Essentially the banning of hemp was done for political reasons, not due to drug use. Herst needed to recoup his losses of making wood paper so he rented some Senators to make hemp illegal.

2)The government can't make money off something they can't tax- its called "weed" for a reason, it will grow wild almost anywhere.

3)If everyone is doing it- I believe the cutoff is 11%- within a few generations everyone will be doing it as their thinking patterns change.

Answer 11

Marijuana is a bad drug, but I think the penalties for possession, growing and selling are too hard. A large percentage of people now in prison are on drug charges. It does have medical indications despite the protests they are not proven. If smoken continually, it can lead to some dependence and altered social behavior. I think some form of legalization would be helpful.