Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Question

It's almost 4:20 here in California so I was just wondering if people think dope should be legal?

Answer 1

prohibition didn't work with alcohol, and it's not working with anything else. it only feeds organized crime which makes the politicians richer who are on the take.

Answer 2

It's illegal because people are afraid to look at the situation objectively. Years of conditioning have polarized the issue and taken all common sense out of the situation. Instead of realizing how much middle ground there really is on this issue, the loudest people on the issue fall into one of two categories:

1) Screw your authority! Pot should be legal! It's just a plant and it makes you feel good, so what's the problem man?

or

2) The last thing we need on this planet is more worthless druggies. If you smoke weed, you're either a lazy, dirty hippie with nothing better to do than sit around and get high, or you're an unstable nutjob who's probably going to kill someone some day.

I don't think it takes a genius to realize that neither of these points of view are good, well-rounded opinions based on an open discussion about an issue that deserves attention. The fact of the matter is that some people are perfectly capable of smoking a joint on a Friday night just like having a beer or two without any real adverse effect on themselves or on society. Other people abuse it and feel like they have to be high to do anything -- just like alcoholics try to have their first drink earlier and earlier in the day.

The facts are relatively clear as to the health effects... marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol or tobacco. While this by itself does not constitute an argument for legality, it does beg the question: "Why are two of these legal and the other one isn't? Shouldn't we be consistent in applying our laws?"

I appreciate the comment from the psychologist, but I have to ask -- this is a growing problem without it being legal, so what makes you think legalization would make it significantly worse? Legalization would at least do away with the propagandistic ads that currently dominate the issue and pave the way for actual, objectively-motivated education on the harms of marijuana use. Look at cigarettes, they've been legal for decades, and now with the educational campaigns stepping away from propaganda and more toward fact, cigarette use is significantly down. Why is a problem with something that's legal decreasing in prominence and a problem with something that's not increasing in prominence?

Answer 3

Absolutely NOT. I work in conjunction with the mental health field and the biggest social lie that has ever been told its that marijuana is harmless. The number of people coming through the system with dual diagnosis (drug dependancy and mental illness) is rapidly on the increase and the main drug in question is pot.

It is a well know medical fact that marijuana and psycotic episodes/schitzophrenia are highly correlated - whether the marijuana is the cause or whether people predisposed to these forms of mental illness are more likely to use dope is not clear but it is clear that the substance abuse is playing a major role in the increase of these illnesses.

It is not a safe drug and it is not as effective as many claim in pain reduction so i don't even think it should be medically available.

Answer 4

Decriminalization would be better The correlation of marijuana to mental illness is ridiculous. Those unfortunate people were impaired due to other reasons. There is a prescription medication that contains THC for terminal patients.(Dronabinol) and is prescribed in all 50 states. Legalization would give the government access to regulate, distribute,tax and meddle with it's contents. Decriminalization would make it legal for personal use and take the power and control away from the drug king pins which would decrease the violence of execution style killings associated with its distribution. Canada is laughing at us. I believe that hard core criminals should be in jail not small time marijuana dealers. There are many many studies that point out its benefits.Have a great day.

Answer 5

Yes, I believe they make way too big a deal, and spend too much money on arrests. I don't smoke it either and I do not know if I would if it were legal, but so many people do it, it doesn't smell as bad as cigarettes, (which I do think should be illegal), and there doesn't seem to any proof that it causes damage.
If it were legal, people wouldn't have to sneak around and sell it, they could have a store. It would actually make a profit, and cut down on prison populations and arrests; and create new jobs.
If you ask me the government just keeps it illegal because they will loose too much control over people. We actually voted for it to be legal in CA, but the federal government stopped it, which proves they do not care what the general population thinks. I don't believe it has anything to do with health and violence either; it is control, control, control, which is very sad.

Answer 6

as soon as they can test a driver to see if they are under the influence, I think it will be. Now they can only tell if you have blazed in the past 30 days. The Police can't tell by smell unless you just put one out. Until they come up with a WEEDalizer, it won't be legal. It would bring in alot of funds for the Government, if it ain't already.

Answer 7

Yeah , it is legal in Canada and for god sake everybody smoke dope in states ..
There are all kind of pain killers in the drug store and believe me those harm you more than a little joint

Answer 8

Yes. Why?

Countless studies have shown it's value for health. But, unfortunately, it will never be legal as long as the pharmaceutical companies are in charge. Why?

Because we wouldn't need them. We could grow it ourselves. Thus there is no profit motive to make it legal.

Answer 9

marijuana is the most commonly uses illegal substance in the United States. it is used by many people, most of which aren't your stereotypical "druggie", with no life agead of them. Many of them hapen to be very successful, good people. Think about it almost if not every person who reads this paper will know (even if they don't realize it) at least one if not several regular users of marijuana. Its often made out to be much more harmful htan it really is, unfortunatly not every one realizes this.

What many people don't realize is marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Yet it's the one of the three that gets a bad rap and is illegal. Marijuana isn't even physicaly addicting. You certanly don't see meetings for marijuana like you do with alcohol and AA. Unfortunatly due to American culture the less harmful of the three is illegal.

The most common reason why marijuana can be harmful is that people can often come across laced marijuana without realizing it. Marijuana can easily be mixed with other more harmful drugs with out the buyer realizing it, until they have already used it. This is a dangerous thing that causes many people to do more harmful, hard core drugs without realizing it. If it were to be legalized the government could provide guide lines, like it does with alchol to insure that people knew what they were putting into their bodies.

Marijuana actually has many helpful benefits toward diseases / sicknesses. Marijuana can reduce nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by AIDS. It can Reduce interlobular pressure, which alleviates the pain and slowing and sometimes even stopping the progress of glaucoma. Common side effects of chemotherapy are nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting, all of which marijuana would help. It can limit muscle pain and relieve tremor nad unsteadiness of gait for multiple sclerosis patients. Marijuana can help prevent epileptic seizures in some patients. It can also alleviate chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries. Each one of these applications have been deemed legitimate by at least one United States court, legislature, and/or government agency.

Due to these reasons and many others many people are going to jail/prison on a daily basis due to simply smoking a little pot These aren't dangerous criminals that would kill or rape someone. Many of them are teachers, lawyers and respected members of their communities. But yet we still pay thousands of dollars of tax payers money to lock up non dangerous "criminals" yearly even though most aren't going to stop after they get out of jail. Don't you think the money spent here is a waste? Couldn't it be going to more useful things such as hospitals, disease research, or better schools? These are the things that would benifit the people of this country. Certanily you would rather benefit the people more than throwing a non violent pot head in jail who was only trying to smoke a joint and relax after a long days work in jail. There is up to forty million regular (note thats just the regular not occasional users) drug users in the United states. If we were to throw all of them in jail it would cost $500,000 per million people, plus the cost and space of building many more prisons. Couldm't that money be spent on building hospitals? There's already about 1.5 million people tax payers are paying to keep in jail over drugs. From 1990 to 2003, nearly 5.9 million people had been arrested for smoking marijuana. Thats a greater number than the entire population of Alaska, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Montania, North and South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. This country simply can't afford to put 40 million more in jail.

Marijuana should be legalized. It has many uses such as helping sick patients. People are going to smoke it no matter what the government sais, and with out govenment guidelines this can be dangerous. Not to mention the fact that we have no way we can afford to throw all those people in jail. Its much less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal, so doesn't it make sense that it would be also?

Answer 10

It is not dope, it is an herb, and YES, it should be legal. It grows naturally and has many medical benefits!

Answer 11

No.

would you want to be operated on by a Dr. who just took a hit?
Or be on a plane where the pilots are jacked up?
The bored taxi driver driving your kids home stoned out of his mind?