Do you think Marijuana should be legal, and why?

Question

This is a topic that comes up a lot around here I just wanted to know what you all think about it.

Answer 1

Yes. Legalize it! In my opinion I think Alcohol is alot more damaging, I have never heard of a domestic dispute or a serious crime happening under the influence of pot....Maybe an argument over a Kit Kat or a pack of Twinkies would result.

I say tax it, sell it in Liquor stores and make the age to purchase and use it 21 like alcohol. I know as a parent, I would rather have my children smoke a little dope when they are older than drink in excess. Just look at the stats on deaths over alcohol and then look at the stats on deaths caused by marijuana... I have found that in 2001, excessive alcohol use was responsible for approximately 75,000 preventable deaths. Sad isn't it? Also here is this little tidbit: Nearly 100 million Americans admit to having used marijuana at least once in their lives, while some 25 million admit to having done so in the past year. With a death rate of 35 out of 100 million, it doesn't seem very dangerous.

Here they are:

Alcohol related death stats:: http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5337a2.htm

Marijuana related deaths::http://www.briancbennett.com/charts/death/cannabis.htm

Marijuana to me is not the "gateway" drug, if you are drinking at a kegger, chances are that you will stumble across more "serious" drugs. I believe alcohol to be the gateway drug........ what about all the drugs that parents and docs are putting their kids on at an early age? I think those may be the true gateway drugs. Self medicate with an antidepressant or a glass of brandy.... That's allowed, but not to smoke a joint when you have had a long day. HMMM. Seems a little unbalanced to me.

Answer 2

They keep saying that there is a chemical in marijuana that can relieve pain and help cancer eat. That is the statement!! What I want to know if this chemical is so great why are they not using it? I think the reason comes down to money, I don't think the drug companies can make enough. If they can not make a legal medicine then legalize marijuana.

Answer 3

Absolutely...it's been shown that the government spends twice as much prosecuting pot dealers as they do the more harmful drugs...more people are spending life sentences in prison for pot offenses than any other drug as well...what most people probably don't know is that back in the late 60s, president Nixon had a government scientific study done on marijuana and it was determined that it was no worse than alcohol...but nothing more was done because of the Christian right wing conservatives who lobbied to keep marijuana on the list of banned substances...

As of right now about 36 states have legalized it's use for "medicinal purposes"...

The laws governing alcohol and tobacco could be used to regulate the growth and sale of marijuana here in the U.S. with little modification...if they required strict licensing and regulation for potential growers...allowed its sale only in state run shops to people over the age of 21...then tax the hell out of it...the income generated could subsidize every public program in the country for generations...assuming the government didn't frig it up with the normal red tape bureaucratic nonsense in place now...

Answer 4

A number of people have said 'with a prescription', but that's not true, exactly. Doctors are not allowed to prescribe pot. They can only 'recommend' it. There's a form you can download and get your doctor to sign, and then if you are carrying this form you can possess up to 8 ounces of pot. Pot is sold in some coffee houses that are also registered with the state. And there are private agencies issuing photo ID cards to help identify you as someone who has the right to buy pot. There's a neighborhood in Oakland called 'Oaksterdam' that has the places where pot is sold, also training in growing, etc. My GF has been through this process. She has cancer and is having chemotherapy (actually she's doing very well, thank God). She got the form signed, got an ID card, and has bought pot a few times. It's good pot too, and very reasonably priced. I think it really helps her. Pot is still illegal on the federal level, and once in a while the DEA comes in and closes down the coffee houses. But the state will not prosecute us. In fact many cities in California have decided not to waste police and court time on minor marijuana offenses.

Answer 5

Legalese it ,Tax the crap out of it. We already have the system in place to con troll it (ATF, With the huge decline in tobacco use they should have plenty of time on their hands.) And our police are well equipped to con troll over users.
As a person that doesn't use I would love to see some tax burden lifted and I don.t believe that the user cost will go up.
ie.Product cost will go way down,tax will bring it back to where it was. Overall it will be a better product unless they get into a max THC level, but I think it would be more like alcohol where there is a (proof) marking on the package that helps corespond to a max legal blood tox limit

Answer 6

yes because it has a lot of medical benefits. There are people out there, mainly elders, who are on several different types of medications at one time. All the medication is having a bad effect on their overall health. Marijuana would be able to replace most of those medication without having as big a negative impact on their lives.

Plus, contrary to popular belief, it is a lot safer than alcohol and cigarettes

Answer 7

Yes, the US is economically shooting ourselves in the foot by keeping it illegal. It is a great textile material and grows in poor soil. It would be a great replacement industry for Tobacco. It would be a great replacement industry for the Appalachian region where the coal has run out.
The potential for pharmaceutical use is huge too. It is a great resource to exploit and we can't because it is illegal.
I can't imagine why anyone would want to smoke it. I tried it at 15, I hated it, but that shouldn't force us to stop using it.

Answer 8

Yes because of the costs of trying to police it. It is worse than alcohol. I learned that in Biology class in college. However, if you look at the damage alcoholics have caused then I can see why people would think the effects are the same. But biologically speaking, marijuana is worse.

Answer 9

YES! If we are allowed to serve our country at age 18, and drink endless amts of alcohol at 21, then there should be no reason to illegalize marjiuana.. with some age restriction and no DUI.. but yes, it should be.

Answer 10

yes, take the money away from drug dealers

anyways, why pay to import something we can grow right here

btw i dont smoke the stuff at all, im happy with a nice cold beer, LOL