R & S section?....your opinions please?

Question

I know this Q doesn't belong here, but I want to have this crowds answers on this.


Should marijuana be legalized? For just medical use or for personal use too? Or should it stay illegal? Please give me a better answer then "because it is bad" (What is sooo bad about it? please elaborate) or "because it is a gateway drug", (alcohol is a gateway drug)

I want to see how well informed you are on marijuana, whether you are stuck in the fifties on "reefer madness", or if you have actually taken a look at it and how it affects the mind and body, and the side effects of it, both long term and short.


I personally agree with Milton Friedman, may he rest in peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se_TJzB9-z0

Stumpy: I have a strong history of glaucoma, I will get it in my mid twenties if I follow suit. but don't forget the cancer patients, and those with multiple sclerosis and other painful diseases. they need it too.

dze I agree with you

Danksprite420, (nice name BTW) the clip is Milton Friedman's interview on his view on drug legalization, many of the points he made have been written on this forum

moiraes, please tell me these vast negative effects that outnumber the good, because many people here who have answered have given many positive effects, and no negative effects, if it are more negative then it should be no problem telling me a couple.

Oh, you think that cigarettes should be illegal? Wow tobacco is the most addictive substance known to man, you would see a bunch of tabaccy heads doing anything to get their cig, as the prices would most definitely rise. No marijuana isn't like that. nothing like cigarettes except that it is smoked

Answer 1

I am for full radical legalisation of all drugs. ALL of them. Not just decriminalisation.

- it will put organised crime almost out of business
- it will allow quality control
- it will decrease criminality because normalised prices will prevent people from having to resort to crime to pay for their habits
- it can be taxed, and you only have to look at the organised crime lifestyle to realise how lucrative this can be, even if everything is sold at a 100th of current market prices.
- I don't believe a significant greater number of people will suddenly decide to go nuts on drugs.
- and even if they do, they will be safer, more accepted, less likely to come into contact with organised crime and thus eventually fall into a pattern of crime themselves.
- but again, I find it highly unlikely that suddenly everyone goes on a drugs binge. As far as I know, drugs are available in nearly every country no matter the punishment and alcohol (one of the most destructive drugs imho if only because it is so accepted) is available everywhere.

Answer 2

Absolutely marijuana should be legalized, across the board, for purely pragmatic reasons.

The "War on Drugs" so-called is an obscenely expensive, stunningly ineffective, self-defeating fiasco. It stops NOBODY from smoking marijuana except the veriest lemmings, who would do anything you told them anyway. All our progressively more draconian penalties for non-violent drug offenses have done is pack our prisons with people who shouldn't be there. And conversely, if we legalized it tomorrow, does anybody actually believe that it would lead to MORE people smoking weed? Sorry, the legality of marijuana has nothing to do with whether people smoke it, or how many smoke it. So there goes the "we're protecting you" excuse - not that anybody buys that anyway.

Next, if we objectively compare the effects of marijuana with those of alcohol, it's hard to conceive of any rational reason why the one is illegal and the other is legal. It would make much more sense the other way around. People are combative under the influence of alcohol; it's associated with domestic violence, traffic fatalities, and a host of other problems - none of which has apparently been considered severe enough to warrant yanking it off the shelves (and rightly so). Meanwhile the weed smoker sits at home and orders pizza.

Third, we can discuss the "real reasons" why weed is illegal, which obviously have nothing to do with the reasons politicians give. It has a lot to do with vested interests. The liquor and prescription drug industries have plenty of incentive to keep marijuana prosecutable. Paper and textiles don't want to go up against hemp. These interests have a lot of pull in Washington; hence our laws. As an aside, the marijuana "issue" is also great for political grandstanding every time there's an election. And if Candidate A promises to ramp up the drug war to win the votes of scared old ladies who are completely ignorant of the issue, but vote their gut when they hear the "D" word, then Candidate B has to promise to get even crazier; so we have a sort of arms race of hostility to street drugs that results - unfortunately! - in people with terminal illnesses being persecuted by our government for engaging in the one activity that provides them with some relief from their pain.

And finally, there's the bedrock fact that prohibition doesn't work. Forbid something, and you merely generate an interest. It's the "forbidden fruit" syndrome. And in the case of drugs, it's a fundamental aspect of human nature that we like to "get high." You will never, ever kill that out of the human race. Much like sex, therefore, if you try to restrict it, you merely obligate people to criminality. If we are really concerned with ensuring that its destructive potential is minimized, the best thing we can do is drag it out in the sunlight and look at it openly and honestly, and stop pretending to "moralize" on it according to the standards of the Ladies' Auxillary.

Answer 3

I agree with pretty much everything that Milton Friedman had to say regarding the war on drugs. His ending comments on socialism is where the two of us must part. Being Canadian, I see the great benefit of socialized medicine and government support of public schools and universities. In this area, government intervention is a positive in exactly the same way as supporting your local fire department and police force. In other words, it is a POSITIVE for individual choice and freedom, and it benefits the greater good.

Drugs, on the other hand, is where I agree. Again, being Canadian, I've seen the positive benefits of decriminalizing possession of marijuana let alone the positive benefits of legalizing gay marriage. The greater harm is the impact on innocent victims, not with the individual's choice about whether or not they will smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol or smoke the occasional joint.

Marijuana, specifically, has many great benefits. The latest research shows that it is far more effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease than anything currently manufactured by the pharmaceutical companies. It should be legal for both medical purposes and recreational purposes. Keeping it illegal, grouping it with much harder narcotics, is frankly insane.

Finally, unlike others in the R & S section, I think you are correct in putting this question here due to the moral implications of the question itself. Given that the U.S. government is responisible for 10 thousand innocent deaths each year due to this foolhearty, costly, and unwinable war on drugs, where is the moral imperative for the innocent victims of this war?

Answer 4

I can't really watch the clip, because I'm "suposed" to be working.


I think it should be legalized.
The harmfulness of alcohol, both long and short term, are much worse than weed,

For one there is no physical addiction to weed, it's all mental, an alcoholic needs medical attention because there body will convulse if there's no alcohol in the system.
and the man made over the counter drugs are much worse also. Vicodin, has much more addictive than marijuana.

have never harmed ANYONE while I was high,
but alcoholics, hold the highest suicide rate ( my friends dad did it while he was intoxicated)
alcohol causes more violence,
potheads aren't going to start a bar fight.
most rape cases and teen pregancy hapopens when intoxicated,
more car accidents,
PLUS enviromentally,
burning hepm oil is much safer for the ozone.


and so one.


The only thing is, the government isn't able to tax it. So they won't leagalize.


The layness factor isn't accurate enough.
I am a pot head, yet i am also the bread winner in teh household.
i save my bowl untill after work when all the CEO's are driving home after having 5 margarita's.
I made 10 credits ion one year,
6 of them in half of a quarter. I'm far from lazy. I can't even stop to take a breath.

And you don't get the spins and nausea when you smoke.


Oh and CANADA SEEMS TO BE DOING FINE.
WEED IS LEGAL THERE

Answer 5

I have never used and never will use marijuana. Just so you know it's not a drug its a substance. There is no manufacturing in the creation of it. I don't see the problem with it being legal as long as there are restrictions to it. I personally don't know the side effects. You probably shouldn't operate machinery, but that goes with Alcohol too, and that's not illegal, so why not marijuana be illegal. It is not a gateway drug, that is obvious. It's a stimulant, while alcohol is a depressant. I don't use drugs or substances, but I will fight for your right to use as long as it doens't endanger other people.

Answer 6

I think this drug should be legalized because it has many health benefits. It works as a muscle relaxer for me. I know it also works to prevent nausea. It helps some people relax. It is actually very mild in comparison to the anesthetic effects of alcohol and the stimulant high you get off of cigarettes. (I've done them all). I believe the only reason that so many young people do it is because its "naughty" or illegal. If the taboo is lifted, people will not be drawn to it as a recreational drug. I've done it a few times and I get higher on cigarettes or even expresso. The relaxation quality isn't as good or addictive as alcohol. However, it did relieve me of neck and back pain that I've had for years.

It should be legal.

Answer 7

I have been lobbying for the legalization of marijuana for a long time.

1. Yes, it should be available to those who need it for medical reasons and that goes far beyond those suffering the effects of chemotherapy.

2. Yes, it should be legal as that is a way to make sure of what is going into it and at least some control on who uses it.

3. Yes, it should be legal. All the legal system is currently using it for is a stepping stone to try and force individual users to give names of dealers in order to make punishment deals.

4. Yes, it should be legal. The cost of incarcerating users of even small amounts is horrendous. In addition it puts otherwise decent people in with serious criminals where they are influenced or harmed.

daBunny

Answer 8

I think it should be legalized and taxed like any other luxury item if used for recreational purposes and made available to those who need it medically tax-free.

Model ourselves after Amsterdam where it is legal in certain public buildings and in homes but not out on a public street. Amsterdam has a much lower crime rate than almost anywhere in the United States.

If you are against any kind of legalized drugs then perhaps you should lobby to have cigarettes illegal as they contain nicotine, and have coffee - tea - energy drinks - chocolate made illegal as it contains caffeine. Americans already have many legal drugs of choice, but most choose to ignore that.

Answer 9

As soon as Bush and his cronies realize the war on drugs is over and he lost, maybe it will be. Booze is much more dangerous and everyone knows it is but that's legal. There is something extremely wrong with the system that makes it legal to get drunk, stupid in public, fighting, spousal abuse and so on. But when it comes to relaxing at home with a nice joint and not hurting anyone, that is illegal?
Doesn't the government know that with the legalization of pot, they would free up the backlog in the courts, overcrowding in prison/jails, not to mention how much money they could put in their coffer's. They would save and make Billions. But, I said it before and I will say it again. You have an extrem right wing nutbar who believes god talks to him in power at the present time and he has to go away first before any legalization can even start.

Answer 10

Personally, I think it should be legalized. They can regulate it and tax it. And, given that the effects of marijuana are not any worse than smoking, I do not see what the big deal is.

I personally wouldn't use it. I am allergic to cigarette smoke, so I am sure the same hold true for marijuana smoke.

But, what do I know.