how do you guys feel about legalizing marijuana?

Question

If marijuana was legalized, what ups and downs would YOU most care about?

Answer 1

well, I'm very anti drug, but I think alcohol is far worse than marijuana, I think it should be legal, taxed and sold just like alcohol is, what a person does in his or her own home is their own business as long as it hurts noone

Answer 2

Absolutely. I don't drink or do any drugs. Despite its legal status, alcohol is a hardcore narcotic, whereas, marijuana is not. How many times have you heard of stoners beating their families? Alcoholics are far more destructive, e.g. - Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Josef Stalin, well, you get the idea. Pot has some pretty deleterious effects, but it does not destroy and ruin lives to the degree that alcohol does.

I don't think it should be taxed. Either you own your body or you do not. If you do own your body, then you shouldn't have to grovel before the government for permission. If you don't own your body, then you are a slave.

Frankly, I don't think any drug should be illegal. What I would propose is swift, certain and medievally Draconian punishments for the consequences of intoxicated behaviors. If you smoke pot at home - no problem. If you smoke pot and wreck you vehicle - automatic jail sentence, confiscation of the vehicle and a $10,000 fine. If you are violent or disorderly while intoxicated on any substance, you should receive a similar penalty.

This would lower the cost of law enforcement. Right now we are craking down on the supply for what is clearly a demand-side problem. When the supply becomes restricted, the price goes up, ensuring that only the scumiest elements of society will be in the drug-vending business (hence, turf violence, drive-by shootings, etc.).

Answer 3

I smoke pot daily....and have for years...it helps me keep weight on...I am 5'3 and 113lbs...when I was pregnant with both my kids it was the only thing that stopped my SEVERE nausea...I am suffering MS like symptoms and did before I ever smoked pot and it helps with the symptoms....the crap that is legal is EVIL>>>Heroin addicts getting methadone..and free needles(diabetics pay)...the chemo drugs people take are drug company and scientific cocktails that we have no idea what they are on any level but they are legal?...a crock...Marijuana is a plant...the gov't could make bazillions off of it...Alcohol should be criticized for way more destruction and violence than pot will or will ever do...it is not a gateway drug...if you are going to be an alcoholic , a crack head, heroin user...you may smoke pot a few times at the beginningand go onto harder stuff later...but most pot smokers never go on to theharder stuff...if you are going to be a hard core addict you will be one whether you smoked pot or banana peels....it is a different drug and it is ludicrous the medical profession is scared of it....it is illegal because Dupont Plastics made polyurethane "rope" and wanted the corner of the market during WW2...Duponts friend Hearst owned THE newspapers at the time and propoganda from the eilite of the time took over the headlines and it was prohibitted...the same way alcohol was....thats my story and I am sticking to it...haha

Answer 4

"More occurrences of crimes if marijuana is legalized. Since smoking marijuana influences a person to do an act without knowing its bad effects, then there will be more crimes in the streets. "

I think that this is funny - marijuana is not as mind altering as you might think. There might be an association between crime and hard drugs but most likely not marijuana. If anything it will lessen crime because it will eliminate the illegal trafficking that is everywhere.

Answer 5

Of course it should be legal, and i don't even smoke it, cuz I hate that buzz. But everyone I know who smokes does anyway. they've NEVER hurt anyone, it's harmless, it dosen't mess you up as much as alcohol. other countries where it is legal have WAY less crime. It's time to come out of the dark ages.
People who are against it are extremely ignorant. The Government can tax it and make billions to help this country. Wake up.

Answer 6

More occurrences of crimes if marijuana is legalized. Since smoking marijuana influences a person to do an act without knowing its bad effects, then there will be more crimes in the streets.

Answer 7

I think drugs should not be made "legal", I think they should just not be federally regulated, other than impairment of driving. I think a person should have a choice to either do it, or not to do it.

I also think the drug problem can be better controlled in the private sector vs government. If you smoke weed, your fired. Hold the companies liable for employee mishaps who screw up while under chemical influence. Punish the effects of drug abuse when it affects other people, but let the people choose to participate.

Answer 8

i think it's a good idea. sell it like cigarettes. if alcohol is legal then it's a joke not to legalize marijuana. i've seen the benefits in hospitalized patients

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

The only thing I'm worried about is that once pot is legal, are we gonna push for the next drug? Meth, cocaine, heroin, etc. I know it sounds crazy now, but seriously, years ago we thought it would be crazy to legalize weed, but now we can't find a problem with it. 30 years from now they might argue that in a "controlled environment" meth may not be that bad. Then again, I could be full of crap.