Should Marijuana Be Legal?

[Boges]

Boges, one more thing on the 'character flaw' and the use of illegal drugs.

What about pushing prescription drugs on people to correct supposed character flaws?

I was referring to drugs like Meth, Heroine and Crack. Drugs that most people agree don't really have a safe dosage. Very addictive, very harmful to the human body.

Prescription drugs are a problem.

There was a debate about the federal government allowing generic versions of Oxy on the market. Oxy is effective as a multi-staged pain killer but drug addicts would grind the pill and shoot it, giving them all the effects of the drug at once.

Oxy unveiled a Gel Cap that was impossible to grind up but now the market is open to other makers that may not do that.

Ultimately there is a way to control prescription drugs but people cheat on the system. The same could be said for any drugs that are legalized. Look at the contraband cigarette problem at Ontario reserves.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Boges

[dre]

I was referring to drugs like Meth, Heroine and Crack. Drugs that most people agree don't really have a safe dosage. Very addictive, very harmful to the human body.

The problem is that criminalization results in MORE use of these drugs not less. What is PROVEN to work is to divert resources away from enforcement/criminalization in favor of treatment.

I dont like these drugs, and it would be great if people didnt use them... but if criminalization not only increases the ammount of use but causes a huge ammount of ancillary crime and costs a huge ammount of money then what the hell is the point? There isnt one...

[Boges]

The problem is that criminalization results in MORE use of these drugs not less. What is PROVEN to work is to divert resources away from enforcement/criminalization in favor of treatment.

I dont like these drugs, and it would be great if people didnt use them... but if criminalization not only increases the ammount of use but causes a huge ammount of ancillary crime and costs a huge ammount of money then what the hell is the point? There isnt one...

In Canada isn't it more a criminalization of pushing such hard drugs? You have places where people can use such hard drugs legally to "reduce harm".

[Newfoundlander]

I'm not opposed to legalizing marijuana.

But like others here, I see how government makes alcohol and tobacco use such an expensive vice to have that I don't really look forward to seeing sin taxes added to pot.

Also I don't really want to live in a society where Pot smoke is as common as cigarette smoke. It's something that's fine if done privately at home or in a backyard but I would oppose having people walking down the street smoking pot in the middle of the day or smoking pot on a patio.

It is a very potent drug and you can't do normal tasks under its influence.

I would still rather see government get the profits, and it would be a lot safer. Buying a joint now can be very dangerous.

You can't drink in public so there's no reason why we need to allow people to smoke pot in public. I doubt many would want to anyways.

[dre]

In Canada isn't it more a criminalization of pushing such hard drugs? You have places where people can use such hard drugs legally to "reduce harm".

We were headed in that direction, but we are reversing course, and doubling down on the failed war on drugs. The latest discharge of ideological filth from Ottawa will impose mandatory prison sentences for growing 5 or 6 plants for personal use.

We SHOULD be following the direction of the Portugese...

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.

The Cato paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8% (although there was a slight increase in marijuana use in that age group). New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half. In addition, the number of people on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for drug addiction rose to 14,877 from 6,040, after decriminalization, and money saved on enforcement allowed for increased funding of drug-free treatment as well.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz2VvoswykK

[guyser]

Buying a joint now can be very dangerous.

Not really.

You can't drink in public so there's no reason why we need to allow people to smoke pot in public.

What about permits to have a beer garden?

[DogOnPorch]

The whole marijuana = bad trend in NA can be culturally traced alongside the movement of Jazz/Blues from the South, up the Mississippi to St Louis and then beyond. I suspect we treat this plant the way we do because it's a 'black thang'.

[BubberMiley]

You going to carry a vaporizer around with you?

(Check my pocket)

Yes, definitely.

[segnosaur]

I would still rather see government get the profits, and it would be a lot safer. Buying a joint now can be very dangerous.

You can't drink in public so there's no reason why we need to allow people to smoke pot in public. I doubt many would want to anyways.

You don't get out much do you.

There is a movie theater in my neighborhood. Its parking lot is lined by a fence with a sidewalk running behind it. I estimate that more than 2/3s of the time I use that sidewalk on a Tuesday night, you will always find a group of teenagers/young adults, standing around and blocking the sidewalk while smoking pot.

[GostHacked]

The whole marijuana = bad trend in NA can be culturally traced alongside the movement of Jazz/Blues from the South, up the Mississippi to St Louis and then beyond. I suspect we treat this plant the way we do because it's a 'black thang'.

What is funny is that lately I have been liking this kind of stuff. Damn he was good.

[BubberMiley]

What is funny is that lately I have been liking this kind of stuff.

Why is that funny?

[segnosaur]

I myself would have no problem if Pot were decriminalized/made legal. (I would have no interest in using it myself... but then there are a lot of things I would never do that should be legal.)

That said, there are a few things people should keep in mind:

- One of the regular arguments people make for pot is "Its safer/less addictive than cigarettes/booze/etc.". Maybe it is.... But that isn't necessarily an argument in favor of pot. Its really an argument against cigarettes and booze. If item X harms more than item Y, it doesn't make item X safe.

- Any arguments about the great tax revenue that would result must be taken with a grain of salt. If taxes are set too high, you will end up with illegal trafficking (much like people smuggle cigarettes across the border... an item that is legal, but is still obtained through illegal channels. And while it may cut down police costs, you also end up needing government oversight (e.g. are the growers following agricultural regulations? Are proper taxes being paid? etc.)

So, by all means, tell your politicians that you think that it should be made legal. Just make sure your arguments are based in rationality.

See: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-pro-marijuana-arguments-that-arent-helping/

[Boges]

People shouldn't say booze or tobacco are more harmful than pot.

You could say abuse is more harmful but as I said, tobacco and alcohol is consumed responsibly by many people without the need for a high.

I don't oppose pot but it's a quicker more efficient way to create a high level of impairment. I don't think it should be mainstreamed like alcohol, advertising and sponsorship. Treat it more like tobacco sales, except if I were an employer I'd fire someone who was taking a pot break at work as opposed to people to go smoking at work.

The 3 drugs are very, very different.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Boges

[GostHacked]

Why is that funny?

Funny used in place of 'odd'. You are familiar with this contextual use of the word?

I've simply been enjoying that kind of music more and more. Even for a person like me who loves modern electronic music, I've been enjoying this style quite a bit. Can't tell you names, but my ears love it.

Or maybe it was because I got high. Sorry a little off topic.

[BubberMiley]

BubberMiley digs

[guyser]

People shouldn't say booze or tobacco are more harmful than pot.

Why not ? Most figures suggest they are when used normally.

You could say abuse is more harmful but as I said, tobacco and alcohol is consumed responsibly by many people without the need for a high.

Quite true, but long term they are addictive , harmful to liver and lungs and societal costs are through the roof.

I don't oppose pot but it's a quicker more efficient way to create a high level of impairment. I'd fire someone who was taking a pot break at work as opposed to people to go smoking at work.

The 3 drugs are very, very different.

Yes they are different,and one should (if ya think so anyhow) be fired for smoke a doob at work (some jobs at least)but also one is drinking at work the same applies.

Its perhaps a quicker high than beer , but not booze in any measureable way.

The impairment is different , with one you wont be having fights w other people , just more mellow folk.

[DogOnPorch]

Funny used in place of 'odd'. You are familiar with this contextual use of the word?

I've simply been enjoying that kind of music more and more. Even for a person like me who loves modern electronic music, I've been enjoying this style quite a bit. Can't tell you names, but my ears love it.

Or maybe it was because I got high. Sorry a little off topic.

Marijuana and its prohibition drove much of the early 'blues scene'. The early Feds paid a silly amount of time tracking various artists like Ella Fitzgerald.

[Newfoundlander]

You don't get out much do you.

There is a movie theater in my neighborhood. Its parking lot is lined by a fence with a sidewalk running behind it. I estimate that more than 2/3s of the time I use that sidewalk on a Tuesday night, you will always find a group of teenagers/young adults, standing around and blocking the sidewalk while smoking pot.

OMG a sidewalk in the back of a movie theatre has teenagers smoking pot? That's exactly the same as someone standing outside their office building smoking a joint.

[ReeferMadness]

Pot is easier for kids to access than booze, exactly because pot is illegal and dealers don't check for ID.

Exactly so and there are studies that back this up. Not only is prohibition ineffective, it's counterproductive.

[cybercoma]

I've yet to hear a good reason for prohibition.

[G Huxley]

Yes, all 'drugs' should be legal. A person has a right to sovereignty over their own body and mind, so long as they aren't harming others. To deny others that right is to engage in tyranny and mind control.

Edited June 12, 2013 by G Huxley

[Boges]

Yes, all 'drugs' should be legal. A person has a right to sovereignty over their own body and mind, so long as they aren't harming others. To deny others that right is to engage in tyranny and mind control.

So I assume you oppose Seat belt and helmet legislation too.

[G Huxley]

When was the last time you put a seat belt or a helmet into your body?

[Sandy MacNab]

Yes, all 'drugs' should be legal. A person has a right to sovereignty over their own body and mind, so long as they aren't harming others. To deny others that right is to engage in tyranny and mind control.

What if it is virtually certain that they are going to harm someone?

[Boges]

When was the last time you put a seat belt or a helmet into your body?

That's not the point. You aren't harming anyone by not wearing a seat belt. Why is it illegal not to wear one?