Marijuana Legalization Debate

[DeletedUser]

I would like to start by saying I am pro-legalize, but I am myself NOT a stoner and have not smoked in over a year. I would really like to hear peoples' reasoning to keep the "drug" illegal. I can't really see one good reason to keep it illegal that doesn't have a better one to legalize it. I do not want to hear ONLY people's opinions, but facts, economical theories, health concerns, and then maybe peoples' opinions based on those. I had watched one of the best documentaries I have ever seen called "The Union: The Business of Getting High". It has very compelling arguments for legalization that I will be summarizing. I highly recommend it to anyone who is at all interested in the subject for or against.

A quick summary of facts forming the basis of my pro-legalize stance:

-Since it's first recorded history there has not been one reported death due to the direct use of marijuana; less than Advil, coffee, and peanuts.

-The U.S. government spends millions every year fighting the war on drugs and keeps more than 600,000 citizens in prison on marijuana related charges.

-Without government regulation, and distribution gone underground, it is far easier for children to get there hands on it. Most dealers do not discriminate against age, whoever has the $$ gets the product.

-It's illegal status causes its price to inflate, making it highly valuable; providing income for many violent street gangs.

-It is the only known cure for glaucoma and has many other medicinal uses such as relief for cancer victims going through radiation treatment; stimulating appetite and suppressing depression.

-On top of expending large sums of money to suppress it, the U.S. government forgoes large tax revenues that could be put into more meaningful pursuits such as health care and infrastructure.

 

[DeletedUser]

One reason, you act irrationally when stoned. If smoking marijuana was legal you'd have idiots with impaired driving crashing into stuff. You'd have people at work stoned or going on 'Mari-Breaks' and acting irrational at work. The economy as a whole would suffer due to the loss in productivity and the accidents from it.

Many of the people 'refining' the drug add random things into it and make it impure. Making the drug legal would also have huge consequences for the gangs as these would now need to have a license to sell their product and would have to show that it was being produced in sanitary conditions and grown properly. I doubt many would like to identify themselves, let alone prove this.

There has been no reported deaths from balancing a live chainsaw on your head but would you want to do that? (Maybe when stoned)

Surely if the drug was legalised it would be much easier for children to get their hands on it as the drug dealers now have a legal product to sell and would still offer it to children and some adults would even buy it for their or others' children.

 

[DeletedUser]

Eh, im in between. I dislike drugs but weed is far less harmful than alcohol. I hate alcohol.

 

[Swans1981]

Charmander, People supposively drive better after a small Marajuana usage.

 

[DeletedUser]

There's a correlation between driving better and smoking marijuana. There's also a correlation between going to bed and dying doesn't mean one causes the other does it? lol.

 

[DeletedUser47572]

We could look at it this way if you really wanted the driving part.

Drink driving causes 5% of all accidents a year on British roads driving tired causes 3%, driving whilst distracted i.e telephone 0.5%, and speeding 7%.

So technically if you are drunk, falling asleep while on the phone and doing a 120mph you have a 15.5% chance of an accident. If you are none of those things you have a 84.5% chance. Hell driving drunk is safer!!!

 

[DeletedUser]

One Thing:

Say No To Drugs.
======================
Also, It is illegal becasue, Drugs are very harmful to your body, and If we created it legal, People would do it on the street. In front of others, [Children, Etc].

Casue them to get 2nd hand smoke for the fumes of the illegal narcotic, or creating them to do it themselves.

Also, Your cloth will smell like shit. O.O

 

[DeletedUser]

I smoked it for nearly 20 years, as long as it is not misused it has excellent health benefits, such as non chemical pain relief. Also if it were legalised there would not be any need to visit drug dealers who use cannabis as a window drug as if they are selling you pot, there is a good chance they will offer you coke or crack at a knock down price to get you hooked... if it were legalised you would not have to deal with these people. it is possible now to give drug testing the same way as drink driving so there could be a limit to stop people from driving under the influence, but I have to say if i have smoked a spliff and drive it makes you so paranoid you are going to crash that you end up driving really carefully I have 16 years no claims... i rest my case.
Unlike alchohol it does not make you agressive and used in social circles enhances good will and love for all. In my opinion it is far safer then alcohol and far less addictive. Because it is illegal its stupidly expensive and so if it was legal it would be cheaper and so less crimes would be committed to pay for it. the only health problems you can get from it is the tobacco (legal|) you use to smoke it with. It does make you thick though, fuddles the brain and makes you paranoid. which while playing tribal wars a little bit of paranoia is actually good for you but not so good in real life.

 

[DeletedUser]

Because it is illegal its stupidly expensive and so if it was legal it would be cheaper and so less crimes would be committed to pay for it. the only health problems you can get from it is the tobacco (legal|) you use to smoke it with. It does make you thick though, fuddles the brain and makes you paranoid. which while playing tribal wars a little bit of paranoia is actually good for you but not so good in real life.

if it was legal gov would tax it and increase prices, im fine now paying 10 for a dime bag :lol:

 

[DeletedUser]

Imagine paying $10 for a pack of 20 joints? The prices are so inflated making it legalized and even taxed heavily would not even come close to the price most people pay for now.

Making it legal would not make it easier for kids to get a hold on. Growing up it was far easier to get a bag of marijuana than it was to get alcohol. TO get alcohol you had to have someone over 21 (in the US) buy alcohol for you and risk giving it to you. Again a lot of risk involved for the adult. To buy a bag of weed all you had to do was call any number of kids who were selling it. Even people who would grow their own marijuana, it wouldn't really be profitable to grow it yourself to sell to underage users because the price would be so low. You don't see too many people growing their own tobacco to sell in the black market.

It is reported that over 50 million American's currently use marijuana. Making it legal wouldn't really cause a ton of people to start using it. Sure there would be some increase in consumption, but most people who would use it already do. That being said it's not perfect product for society but we are already dealing with risk (such as bad driving, which is arguable) whether it remains illegal or not. Cheeseburgers are terrible for your health and are contributing to the number one cause of preventable death in the US, yet it is still legal and so it should be. It is popularly accepted and the health risks involved should be up to the individual to decide what they are willing risk, such as with tobacco and alcohol users.

Marijuana use isn't some random circus act that is extremely dangerous and not done by well anyone really. 50 million users in the US alone is a big deal. It is a widely used substance across the globe and its use dates back thousands of years. That is something where at some point in time if some one died directly from it's use it would be recorded somewhere. Especially it being an illegal drug, the governments of the world would love nothing better than to throw statistics of how bad it is, but they can't because their isn't any. The fact that it is not even on the list for causes of preventable deaths, is huge when other illegal drugs are, along with caffeine and Advil.

 

[DeletedUser]

Imagine paying $10 for a pack of 20 joints? The prices are so inflated making it legalized and even taxed heavily would not even come close to the price most people pay for now.

well, other parts of the world it may be more, but here in b.c , everything is still normal priced (maybe cuz we grow a ton of it )
but 20 joints for $10, that would be a great day :icon_biggrin:
but it should be decriminalized not legalized imo

 

[DeletedUser]

We could look at it this way if you really wanted the driving part.

Drink driving causes 5% of all accidents a year on British roads driving tired causes 3%, driving whilst distracted i.e telephone 0.5%, and speeding 7%.

So technically if you are drunk, falling asleep while on the phone and doing a 120mph you have a 15.5% chance of an accident. If you are none of those things you have a 84.5% chance. Hell driving drunk is safer!!!

Flippin lol'd hard

 

[DeletedUser97474]

Think of it this way, drinking is a much worse problem in America then Europe because of the laws against it, it's been proven.

Do you not think marijuana would act the same way?

 

[DeletedUser]

I can say I'm mostly pro-legalizing it, but I'll definitely give some Cons too.

-Since it's first recorded history there has not been one reported death due to the direct use of marijuana; less than Advil, coffee, and peanuts.

That's very true sadly. Here's a chart I wanted to show you:
[spoil]

[/spoil]
Marijuana is less dangerous than tabaco and alcohol which are legal.

-It is the only known cure for glaucoma and has many other medicinal uses such as relief for cancer victims going through radiation treatment; stimulating appetite and suppressing depression.

Another true fact.

If smoking marijuana was legal you'd have idiots with impaired driving crashing into stuff.

When stoned, you're a bit paranoid and you're more careful when driving. You don't loose your senses or anything, you're just extra careful.
As Enyo said, there are close to 0% chances of you ever getting a ticket while stoned. Imagine driving stoned and being pulled by a police car and having your ash tray filled with finished spliffs/joints. Cops in most countries aren't trained to recognize the smell of marijuana or the symptoms of marijuana smokers.

Think of it this way, drinking is a much worse problem in America then Europe because of the laws against it, it's been proven.

Do you not think marijuana would act the same way?

I don't think I really get your point. I don't think it's necessarily because of the laws. I think it's more because the USA has some very stupid laws and foolish people (sorry folks). Giving a drivers license to a 16 year old and telling him he can't drink before he's 21 is idiotic. He'll definitely drink before he's 21 and having a driver's license just makes things worse. Also, too many people get drunk and consider being drunk fun. Seriously? What's fun in puking your brains out?

Learn how to drink. That's a thing that Europeans can definitely teach you. We can drink the same amount or more than you and still be fine. Why? We know how to drink.

As long as it's not misused, it's good for health (more or less in some aspects). But as with any good thing, exaggeration makes it bad.

Anyway... Why not to legalize?

Charmander is partially right. 'Mary-breaks' would be ridiculous things. As far as I'm aware off, alcohol is not allowed during work hours (except for something like a bottle of champagne celebrating something), so marijuana at work would be a 'No No'. Problem solved Charmander.

A second point, refining of marijuana and adding stuff to it would make it impure. Does any 'real' marijuana smoker actually want cherry flavored spliffs?

It would probably be harder to get for children (at least in the US), but 2nd hand smoke would still affect the children. "Coffee Shops" like in Amsterdam are the most practical solution for this problem.

@Deep Winter- Marijuana is less harmful than tabaco or alcohol. People may or may not do it on the streets. Best solution is the one I said earlier with the "Coffe Shops". Use the word narcotic properly. Narcotics are usually drugs that cause chemical dependence such cocaine, heroine, morphine and others. The only real addiction marijuana causes is a psychological one like when you smoke tabaco. By "your cloth" I presume you mean "your clothes". That's more or less true. After you've smoked marijuana, it will probably smell "pleasant" and of marijuana. You'll probably recognize every marijuana smoker you meet even without them telling you. Clothes might smell unpleasant for the people who've actually never smoked or never stayed in the same room as people that have smoked.

 

[DeletedUser]

should be decriminalized not legalized imo

Spoken like a true dealer

 

[DeletedUser]

One reason, you act irrationally when stoned. If smoking marijuana was legal you'd have idiots with impaired driving crashing into stuff. You'd have people at work stoned or going on 'Mari-Breaks' and acting irrational at work. The economy as a whole would suffer due to the loss in productivity and the accidents from it.

Are you talking about alchohol or pot? Sounds more like booze that you're talking about.

I worked in construction for 10+ years, I'd rather have a stoner than an alchoholic on the crew any day. I myself smoked for 6 years, while doing roofing(one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs for many years running), and so did most of my crew. Shockingly the only person that needed to go to the hospital in that time was one of the non-pot smokers when they shot themselves through the toe with a nail gun. A hangover may have been involved

Oh.. and as for people missing work? Not the pot smokers.. had lots of hangover related call ins though... Maybe you should get a first hand look from personal experience. Where are you getting this data from anyways? The same people that originally outlawed marijuana to protect their cotton fields from the hemp competition?

Surely if the drug was legalised it would be much easier for children to get their hands on it as the drug dealers now have a legal product to sell and would still offer it to children and some adults would even buy it for their or others' children.

Actually drug dealers would at that point have as much to do with selling pot as they do now with selling alchohol.. none.

I could see some of the stuff you're talking about happening if people were smoking bong after bong after bong at work.. but the reality is.. people don't do that as a general rule. They smoke a 'one-hitter' or two over lunch and it's back to work.

Several things you won't see caused by marijuana legalization:

1. A rise in domestic violence
2. A rise in violent crime
3. A rise in vehicular accidents(check with your local cab drivers, you'll find a good % of them smoke too.. and w/o causing lots of accidents in the process, however they may drive slightly slower and be a bit more laid back.. oh no!).
4. The continued production of synthetic versions which can be far more dangerous to certain people than either alchohol or marijuana.

Several things you will see:

1. Less drug dealers(after all, you just stole their market and put a bunch of them out of work).
2. More tax revenue(that's right folks, the countries that legalize will actually make billions from this rather than spending billions to fight a drug that was only made illegal due to cotton plantation owners pushing it through by using their monetary clout).
3. Less things to barter stolen goods for(after all, the only thing that makes pot barterable for a stolen stereo is that they are both illegal).
3. More law enforcement used for things that really matter like cocaine, heroin, violent crime, and drunk drivers.

 

[DeletedUser]

Dazrield, very good points!! I would though like to extend upon the the point: "more law enforcement used for things that really matter like cocaine and heroin...."

While I don't want to get off topic, think of the affect it would have to legalize all drugs. Yes, drugs like meth, heroine, and cocaine certainly have much dire consequences when used regularly, are more addictive, and make the user more prone to violence. But look at the prohibition of alcohol. Alcohol is one of the worst drugs out there for you, and is one of the only drugs that you can die from withdrawals. It is also abused heavily and is part of many a domestic abuse. Still why did we decide to make it legal? Because the consequences of making it illegal were far worse than those with it being legal. Prohibiting alcohol gave rise to crime lords like Al Capone. (where some estimates say around 500 people were killed by him directly and indirectly). And he wasn't the only gangster to rise; and guess what people still got their alcohol.

"There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007". Also,

"According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) 7,225,800 people at year end 2009 were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole — about 3.1% of adults in the U.S. resident population.[7][8] 2,297,400 were incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails.[1][9] The U.S. incarceration rate was 748 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, or 0.75%.[9] The USA has the highest total documented prison and jail population in the world" The US has 3% of the worlds population and 25% of it's prisoners.

"Perhaps the single greatest force behind the growth of the prison population has been the national "war on drugs." The number of incarcerated drug offenders has increased twelvefold since 1980. In 2000, 22 percent of those in federal and state prisons were convicted on drug charges."

Now I may be rambling on now, but let me bring it down. Lets looks at how the drug trade works. Drug cartels from outside the country produce tons of drugs for sale in the U.S. Who distributes those drugs? Gangs. Drugs provide gangs a HUGE source of income and allow them to arm themselves to control territory for drug distribution. Without the inflow of drugs gangs would have no power and would not have the means o heavily arm themselves, nor would they have a reason to. It is estimated that there are 15,000 gang related death in the US every year. Now if an umbrella of all or most drugs were De-criminalized and made legal in the US not only do you bring down the huge drug cartels in South America, but you take away the income and power of 800,000 gangmembers, and relatively give them nothing to fight about.

I am not saying that drugs are good and there won't be bad consequences of such a thing, but I feel the payoffs would be far greater than the costs.

 

[DeletedUser]

Take dealers of the streets and have the government oversee the buyers and the sold quality of hash and marijuana. Brings them a good tax income.
Stop this useless hide-and-seek bullshit between consumers and the police.

I do not smoke at all but I am definitely pro legalization of hash and marijuana.

 

[DeletedUser41659]

Greetings to the W52 community.

Hugs, not drugs!

Marajuana use kills brain cells. Brain cells do not grow back. Once they are dead ... that is it. They are not Jesus.

Legalizing Mary Jane is silly. The person who started this thread with the silly arguments of economic and judicial upliftment is just plain silly. You need a hug. Not leagalization of a drug. The same argument could be applied to rape. Let's legalize rape so our prisons will be less teeming with rapists and send them back into society to rape and pillage in front of our children. Don't be silly.

This is the first time that the Magnus has seen this silly topic in TW. Hopefully t'will be last.

Fight for your mind.

That is all.

_____________
~The Magnus~
Hugging, not drugging!

 

[DeletedUser]

Marajuana use kills brain cells. Brain cells do not grow back. Once they are dead ... that is it.

Vehicle exhaust kills brain cells and so does alchohol. Being a painter isn't exactly safe for the brain, heck.. whens the last time you saw those flooring guys come into your house wearing respirators before putting that glue down? We'd better start arresting all drivers, drinkers, painters and anyone that works with a glue, epoxy, or resign w/o a proper breathing apparatus.