How many people think Marijuana should be legalized? And Why?

Question

I'm sure just about half the usa has done Marijuana and yet it's still illegal. They say that doing Marijuana has a greater death pol, I believe that if alcohol is legalized then why not Marijuana. Alcohol has caused many deaths yeah but people still do it everyday and the same with Marijuana. People are just gonna keep doing what they have been with Marijuana and other drugs for a long time. Also how many people have bongs and pipes?........You go to a smoke shop and see all these things for Marijuana...man you might as well sell it at the store why not?.....................................................If anyone has something to say please be my guest I'd love to hear no matter what. Even the people that don't like the idea spit it all out thank you.

Answer 1

me
several reasons:
it's a plant
it's not addictive
legalisation allows the govt to control it
it could then be taxed
it is great for cancer sufferers
it would free thousands of "criminals" from our prisons

it would take it out of the hands of illegal drug dealers, and place it in the hands of private growers and retail stores that could be watched and controlled

all this would help keep it out of the hands of kids

Answer 2

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. How typical. Marijuana is NOT physically addictive. However, it can be mentally addictive. So can gambling, video games, and the internet. So should we outlaw all of those, too? I'm sorry if you're friends can't quit, but I had no problem stopping AT ALL; they probably should not be introduced to the hundreds of other potentially mentally addictive activities either.

If you think Switzerland or Sweden has huge social/economic problems, you must not live in the U.S.!

I would LOVE to see a link to the published scientific article that PROVES marijuana increases mental illness. Believe me, scientists are very tentative about throwing that word around. I think that you're confused with the idea that a disproportionate amount of people with mental illness also smoke marijuana. However, this does not show that marijuana causes mental illness; after all it is equally possible if not more so that people who are mentally unstable seek mood-altering substances. Correlation does not mean causation.

As far as it making people lazy... so what? Getting drunk makes people absolutely STUPID. Besides, that's not even the point of marijuana. I smoked to get high, not to get lazy. I can make myself feel lazy on my own. I don't think I've ever done anything on weed that I later regretted... whereas there are SO many things I did while drunk that I regret.

Ecstasy would be one of the worst substances to legalize, because there is very strong evidence that it damages the nervous system -- there is little to no evidence of that in marijuana (for every study that says there is some affect, there is basically another study that says there isn't). It's hard to get unbiased studies on drugs because most are funded by the NIH, which is a part of the government that wants to keep marijuana illegal.

I'm afraid you're terribly misinformed on this subject.

P.S. My hair is fairly short.

P.S.S. To address the asker's question, remember that they tried to ban alcohol during the Prohibition, but people were widely against it because alcohol has always been so well engrained into our social culture and so many people enjoy it. So they repealed the ban, which turned out for the better because the ban had only made organized crime more powerful (they supplied a lot of illegal alcohol and made lots of money doing it). Furthermore, alcohol is a big, big business that has many lobbyists for the government, and at the same time the industry helps the economy and the government probably gets a good amount of tax money off of it. So you won't see alcohol made illegal anytime soon, despite the fact that it is responsible for the deaths of so many people.

Answer 3

I just want to say, praise be to R.S. for that awsome rebuke. Please take a look at erowid.org , as it has lots of information on many drugs, and is the most accurate that I have seen. Also, am I a hippy too? I probably could have even quoted statistics to go with what R.S. said, though I likely would have sounded a lot less interesting. Personally, I think that you shouldn't smoke. Well, anything, really, but cannabis is obviously wrong. If it is illegal, however, the more harmful, yet still wrong, chemicals should be outlawed as well. Alcohol, since it can be benificial, should be mandatorally sold in 3-oz containers, and bars should be closed. But, since human nature makes that impossible to achieve, cannabis and LSD (which has long-lasting positive side affects) should be legal.
So am I a hippy? I'm a 15 year old female tenth grader in an advanced program who will be going to community collage next year, and I've never done any drug but amphetamine, which is like crystal methamphetamine, except that it's less dangerous and is currently prescribed to treat my ADD. I read drug information for fun, and continually find ways to make my drug-using friends safer, while discouraging them from using until their brains stop developing at about age 25. Holding off from smoking weed until even age 18 will reduce the demotivational effects substantially.
Rachel, please don't believe everything you hear, especially from people with a motive. Mine is to tell the truth. The DARE officers' motive is to stop you from doing 'drugs', which is a very broad category.

Answer 4

First of all, yes I think it should be legalized. There is no death toll from marijuana because it's virtually impossible to overdose on. The main reason marijuana is illegal actually has to do with the paper and cotton industries. Hemp can produce as much paper as 4 acres of trees and as much clothing as 7 acres of cotton. These industries are huge and always have been so government lobbyists paid off politicians to make it illegal. Another thing, they say that marijuana is a gate way drug, yet in Amsterdam (where marijuana is legal) they have the lowest number of people who use harder drugs (ie Heroin, Cocaine). The reason why people who use marijuana in illegal countries get into other drugs is because, since it is illegal they have to get in contact with the shady types to purchase it in the first place. If it was legal they would never be in contact with those people and therefore would be less likely to use harder stuff.

Answer 5

Okay I 100% agree with you. Before I state my opinion I would like to state some facts. Alcohol has killed more people than marijuana...considering the fact that marijuana has never by itself killed a soul...NEVER. It's only when marijuana is mixed with pills, alcohol, or more hardcore drugs. This is a fact, in order for it to be potentionally fatal you would have to smoke over three pounds of it within 15 minutes. That is physically impossible. It takes me 15 minutes to finish two joints. Two joints is hardly a percentage compared to an ounce...let alone 3 pounds. Marijuana also helps you breathe better (because you have to inhale deeply while smoking it). A lot of people don't realize that our bodies produce THC (the main ingredient in marijuana). Have you ever woke up one day and just was in a happy mood for no reason? That's because your body has randomly produced more THC than usual. Your body reacts to marijuana as it does because it's not used to having so much THC. I believe it should be legalized...but for the safety of others it should go under the same rules as alcohol. The only risk to smoking marijuana is just like cigarettes...cancer. I hear a lot of people saying that people get violent while under the influence. Okay, I know for a fact I have never felt like beating up someone while high. I am always happy. All I do is listen to music, eat, etc...basically normal things. Now I've also heard, well people react to it differently. Well in that case, so does alcohol, but it's legal. I've never heard of a man beating his wife after smoking weed...it's alcohol. Marijuana is to Cigarette as Moonshine is to Beer.

PS: Another fact this often misunderstood. Marijuana does not kill brain cells. It simply puts them to sleep, that's why you feel tired after the peak of your high. A teacher told me that marijuana kills brain cells, but they can be recovered if you are dedicated to quit. Okay how can something recover if it's dead. That's like a docter saying, "Mam, Sir, we were unable to save your son, but in due time he will recover." Think about it.

-brad

Answer 6

I think it's not legal because the at the local level (state) a huge amount of revenue is generated by arresting, bonding, trying, incarcerating people is greater than any concern about any other issue.
THIS IS BIG BUSINESS!!! Why would the state's give up all that free money to give a hoot about its citizenry?
The old cronies at the state level and in Washington, like their booze and tobacco, so it's legal! Not to mention, that the Mob basically runs booze and no one's going to make it illegal and go against organised crime.
When alcohol was illegal, people still drank, and fought to legalise it during prohibition.
NO ONE"S FIGHTING to legalise pot? Not even pot smokers. Until pot smokers are willing to go to jail and be arrested,and march for their rights to legalise pot, it'll never succeed on a ballet. And if you think lawmakers and district attorneys, and defense lawyers, and cops want to legalise or decriminalise pot, you're dreaming.
**It's the ONE collar they can count on. 'cause it's easy to put pot people in jail when you know you can't catch real criminals who are doing harm to people, like murderers, rapists, pedophiles? Heck, the judge for Anna Nicole was smoking a joint in the park. Just imagine how many people smoke pot in America?? Any guesses.

Answer 7

Oh geez. Typical stuff coming from long-haired hippies! =P

First, if you think marijuana is not addictive, tell that to my 2 friends who have smoked it for 10 years and come crying to me because they can't quit. They go through terrible withdrawals, headaches, and cannot sleep. It IS purely and simply an addictive drug. You say it's a plant. So is Kaat/Quat/Khat (a leaf that Arabs and Africans chew and get high on, qualities similiar to speed and LSD). That is also completely addictive. Just because it's a plant doesn't make it harmless!

Second, they've tried it in many countries and most have de-legalized it as it led to harder drugs and huge social and economic problems. Switzerland or Sweden (I forget which) is a perfect example of this trial.

Third, it is SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN that pot enhances and worsens mental illness, even after smoking it just once in some people.

Fourth, it makes people lazy and saps their energy (that's the whole point of it).

Legalising it is an irresponsible thing to do to a society.

If you want to legalise something, make it ecstasy! Then everyone will run around hugging each other, instead of killing/raping/assaulting each other! hahah

Answer 8

I think Marijuana should be legalized. It doesn't cause the deaths that alcohol does.

Answer 9

i totally think it should be legalized. it is actually healthier that alchohol and cigaretts. it is the healthiest drug. i do not know where u heard it has a high death toll because nobody has ever died from marijuana. it is actually used for medical reasons too.

Answer 10

Marijauna is a class A drug. It should not be!!!!!
I think it should be legal to use as a medicinal drug. I suffer severely from Fibromyalgia and the use of pot would ease allot of pain that I suffer from but I cannot use it because it's not legal and lets face it...it WAY too expensive.
Think of how much revenue this country could make if it was legal...and it's less harmful that tobacco!!!