Should marijuana be legal? Why or why not?

**MJC** · 06-26-2004, 02:27 PM

I've always thought it should be, that way marijuana use could be regulated. Opinions?

**DarthGonzo** · 06-26-2004, 02:29 PM

YES!!! Legalize it!!!!

**Evil Dr. Reef** · 06-26-2004, 03:51 PM

I read through a poll on a drug forum once, about what drugs the users did/do now, what they started off on, etc. EVERY SINGLE PERSON that either did or was still doing hard drugs like cocaine or heroin started off on pot, and just kept going. So hey, smoke up kiddies. It's your life.

**The Landstander** · 06-26-2004, 04:00 PM

Yes. The negatives of keeping it illegal far outweigh the potential negatives of legalization.

**Mynd Hed** · 06-26-2004, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Evil Dr. Reef

I read through a poll on a drug forum once, about what drugs the users did/do now, what they started off on, etc. EVERY SINGLE PERSON that either did or was still doing hard drugs like cocaine or heroin started off on pot, and just kept going. So hey, smoke up kiddies. It's your life.

I'm willing to bet that every one of those people drank alcohol before smoking marijuana, smoked cigarettes before drinking alcohol, drank coffee or caffeinated soda before smoking cigarettes, and ate sugary cereal before drinking coffee or soda.

In rhetoric, what you just did is called post hoc ergo propter hoc. Look it up sometime.

**Frank White** · 06-26-2004, 05:13 PM

Might as well.

It clearly isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

**EinBebop** · 06-26-2004, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by MJC

I've always thought it should be, that way marijuana use could be regulated.

Regulate marijuana? Bwahahaha.

"Sir, I see you have a marijuana plant growing in your backyard. Do you have a license for that?"

It's already so readily available without regulation that all legalization will is create a second market that will likely be relatively small compared to the original, due to the exhorbitant taxing that it will be placed upon it similar to the tobacco industry.

The homegrown market, on the other hand, would thrive through a lack of interest on the part of law enforcement to deal with what would likely amount to petty fines.

I'm on the fence about legalizing marijuana, in all truth. But I think regulation is just something the pot-growers throw out there, knowing that regulation would never affect them.

**True Noir** · 06-26-2004, 05:38 PM

Only one word. No. Bad stuff turn the world bad.

**Mysteryinfoman** · 06-26-2004, 05:39 PM

We already have teens doing it, once legal, adults that do it might give it to their kids as well and it just alright, teens would be dropping out more of school more often if made legal. If it is made legal that would be a law I would protest it and I'm sure I not alone.

Yes. The negatives of keeping it illegal far outweigh the potential negatives of legalization.

Examples of a sort?

**Avery** · 06-26-2004, 06:25 PM

Personally, I think marijuana should be legal in the same way alcohol is legal: no driving while 'intoxicated', fines for being stoned in public, show ID to purchase and taxes on the marijuana itself. In my opinion, the only real reason marijuana is a gateway drug (which I will not deny it is) is because it is the most accessible and least harsh of all the illegal drugs. Take away the thrill of doing something illegal, and more likely than not, watch the popularity of the action drop like a stone.

**Psycho Fox** · 06-26-2004, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by Mysteryinfoman

We already have teens doing it, once legal, adults that do it might give it to their kids as well and it just alright, teens would be dropping out more of school more often if made legal. If it is made legal that would be a law I would protest it and I'm sure I not alone.

Before the US made pot illegal as part of a trade war with Mexico it was used everywhere and did not bring the down fall of civilization. It is still used in some religions. Also it is a powerful herb.

**Mysteryinfoman** · 06-26-2004, 07:16 PM

Before the US made pot illegal as part of a trade war with Mexico it was used everywhere and did not bring the down fall of civilization. It is still used in some religions. Also it is a powerful herb.

Sure, maybe the original herb might not be bad just like the original coke plant but you see what some dealers do is they add other chemcials that make it harmful like what dealers do to coke. As stated before Marijuana is a gateway drug, maybe one of the reason why Crack spread so fast and widly in the 80's was because the people who did crack were already pot users, that's not to say pot was the only reason why crack hit so hard in the 80's and crack still has not been stopped yet so if pot is made legal then the dealers will see this as a benefit for them to make more cash, like it'll lead to other problems down the road.

**Fone Bone** · 06-26-2004, 07:20 PM

Considering the taxes that would be levied and the predictability that you couldn't smoke it in public you potheads would be paying as much as cigarettes and still have to smoke it in your parent's basement.

**Psycho Fox** · 06-26-2004, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by Mysteryinfoman

Sure, maybe the original herb might not be bad just like the original coke plant but you see what some dealers do is they add other chemcials that make it harmful like what dealers do to coke. As stated before Marijuana is a gateway drug, maybe one of the reason why Crack spread so fast and widly in the 80's was because the people who did crack were already pot users, that's not to say pot was the only reason why crack hit so hard in the 80's and crack still has not been stopped yet so if pot is made legal then the dealers will see this as a benefit for them to make more cash, like it'll lead to other problems down the road.

But before the first WWI there was pot was sold in every major US city since shortly after settlement. This is just like the prohibition of alcohol just taking us alot longer to drop the prohibition.

**Chrono1995** · 06-26-2004, 07:57 PM

Out of all the illegal substances out there, marijuana is the least harmful and the most blissful, as opposed to cigarettes, which do absolutely nothing, and alcohol, which causes drunk driving deaths every single day. I've never heard of anyone killing something or overdosing on pot.

Plus, the government is missing out on a ton of money. By legalizing it, the federal government could sell it and put a tax on it. The stuff is everywhere, especially in suburbia. It's also true that the police force puts it back into circulation after it's confiscated. So why not go the extra mile and make it illegal?

So, pot is the so-called "gateway" drug. Great. People make the decisions to do cocaine and heroin. The marijuana doesn't make the decision for them. The media and DARE programs make it out to be a lot worse than it really is.

I say legalize it.

**RZetlin** · 06-26-2004, 08:01 PM

Not, if Mr. Bush has his way.

I have seen some of the anti-marijuana commericals in the states.

Some are just outrageous.

There's a commerical I saw where a driver was ordering fastfood for breakfast and he was smoking some week. He ended up hitting a boy as he pulled out from the restaurant. The commerical ended with a message that marijauana slows your driving reactions.

I guess the mesage is marijuana smokers are child killers.

There's another one where a young adult weed smoker is protrayed as a loser who lives in his parents basement.

Of course you can always come to Canada to get the weed.

**Mynd Hed** · 06-26-2004, 08:04 PM

Hey, kids, let's play the Sift Through the Misinformation Game!

Originally Posted by Mysteryinfoman

Sure, maybe the original herb might not be bad just like the original coke plant but you see what some dealers do is they add other chemcials that make it harmful like what dealers do to coke.

Wow, that sounds like a really good reason to legalize it, so that the FDA can force LEGAL dealers to inform the consumer of anything they add to the plant.

As stated before Marijuana is a gateway drug,

There has never been any conclusive empirical proof of this-- see my post hoc ergo propter hoc comment above. You could do a study showing that 90% of cancer victims played with hula hoops as children, but that doesn't mean that the hula hoops caused the cancer.

maybe one of the reason why Crack spread so fast and widly in the 80's was because the people who did crack were already pot users, that's not to say pot was the only reason why crack hit so hard in the 80's and crack still has not been stopped yet so if pot is made legal then the dealers will see this as a benefit for them to make more cash, like it'll lead to other problems down the road.

Umm... what? Run-ons bad, coherence good.

We already have teens doing it, once legal, adults that do it might give it to their kids as well and it just alright,

Just because it were made legal for adults doesn't mean it would be made legal for minors, and most serious legalization proponents agree that while legalization is the obvious course of action, it should be kept out of the hands of minors just as much as alcohol or tobacco.

teens would be dropping out more of school more often if made legal.

Do you have any evidence that this is the case, or are you just making stuff up now?

Originally Posted by EinBebop

It's already so readily available without regulation that all legalization will is create a second market that will likely be relatively small compared to the original, due to the exhorbitant taxing that it will be placed upon it similar to the tobacco industry.

You mean like how the mafia kept control of the alcohol market after Prohibition ended, and everybody kept drinking bathtub gin and bootleg rum? Oh, wait....
(Note to people who don't know their history: THEY DIDN'T.)

**TimTwoFace** · 06-26-2004, 08:37 PM

Whether it's legalized or not, I won't be touching the stuff. I just care not to.

I do think it should be made legal, though. You can't DIE from it like the other drugs, it's not nearly as harmful, and it actually has some noted medical benefits. What I say is that the government should legalize it (but criminalize the illegal sale thereof...leave that to the pros or at least make licenses necessary), and then TAX THE HELL OUT OF IT. That's what most of the Canadian parties platforms are suggesting for the upcoming election on Monday, and I fully agree with it.

-Tim

**Chrono1995** · 06-26-2004, 09:05 PM

Underage drinking and smoking is illegal in the whole country, but that doesn't stop kids from doing one or the other. It works the same way with pot. If it's legalized, it'll be only legal for people over 18/21 to use it.

Legalization isn't going to stop problems like bad parenting.