Making Marijuana Legal

[redneck diaper boy]

Grow it. Tax it. Enjoy it. Save billions on law enforcement.

It is a win-win situation!

[toddler tyler]

hell yes, that's what i'm talking about.

[BBB]

no sir, I don't like it.

[ArtemisEnterri]

Grow it. Tax it. Enjoy it. Save billions on law enforcement.

It is a win-win situation!

No it isn't.

What about when a stoned pot-head decides to go out for a drive or to use machinery (like maybe mowing his lawn, or using a chainsaw on some trees he wants to get out of his yard)? What if he causes injuries to himself or to others, or causes damage to the property of himself or others? Is it still a "win-win" then?

It is a "controlled substance" for a reason: it is dangerous if over-used, just like alcohol (drunk driving kills MANY people each year, mainly innocent bystanders or people in OTHER vehicles).

I can understand PRESCRIBED use for alleviation of the pain of terminal illness victims, but I will fight against a "free-for-all" mentality.

Which is more important? The money spent on law enforcement, or the money spent to compensate the victims of a stoner's stupidity while high?

[PArms]

If it ever does become legal, then it should be controlled similar to alcohol (if that's even possible).

[babygore]

should be legal already, even if it don't pass arnold signed a bill where it is only a infraction, like a speeding ticket. so all of you who drink, now its our turn

[Jackiewope]

I'm not sure how I feel about the situation. I don't smoke anything, and never will, so it doesn't concern me all that much. On one hand, it'd solve a lot of the problems with drug lords trying to smuggle the stuff in from Mexico. But on the other hand, as Artemis mentioned, it'd be no good to have a bunch of stoners wandering the streets, effing things up, and generally pissing people off. Hmm, I dunno.

[sarah_ab]

What about when a stoned pot-head decides to go out for a drive or to use machinery (like maybe mowing his lawn, or using a chainsaw on some trees he wants to get out of his yard)? What if he causes injuries to himself or to others, or causes damage to the property of himself or others? Is it still a "win-win" then?

so why isn't alcohol illegal then? can you tell me of one instance when someone who was ONLY stoned on marijuana killed someone witha motor vehicle? every time pot is involved, so is alcohol or other drugs... prescription medication can cause much more disorientation than pot , and can also be considered controlled substances...

besides the fact that i know lots of morons who drive when they are so tired, they may as well be drunk, but we don't put them in jail if they drive, fall asleep and cause injury we say "ohhh gosh thats awful" and let them go home... so shouldn't sleep deprivation also be illegal then?

pot is illegal because in the 1920's the govt' caught on that the use of hemp in paper and clothing products was going to kill the paper business in the usa, so made it illegal, and spread all this great propaganda about it... funny, we can readily accept that nazi propaganda was absurd, be so many people still believe that pot is this awful drug... yet have no problem taking vicodin, percocet, oxycotin etc......

[babygore]

Well said sarah!

[Dougie]

I don't support smoking anything. That being said, the only reason it's not legal is because the government knows it is so easy to grow in many area of the US it would be almost impossible to control and tax it.

People that smoke pot usually do have one trait in common. They become economically stuck in the same bracket most of their life. I know many pot smokers that are my age and struggle to make 1/3rd of what I do. The main difference is that I was working hard in a full time job and going to school full time while they were enjoying their most recent score. Yes I know there are exceptions, but the pot smokers I know are not them.

[sarah_ab]

most of hte pot smokers i know have at least a bachelors degree, it not higher than that, make at least 50-60 k a year, and that is on the low end, own their own home, car, have low debt, etc....

maybe its just who you surround yourself with.

funny most of my moron friends who drink all the time... don't smoke pot at all.... and the friends who smoke pot, don't drink much except maybe a glass of wine etc...

it is impossible to categorize all pot smokers, just as it is impossible to categorize all ab/dl's .... so why people try i will never understand...

at any rate... we allow people to drink alcohol, which by the way certain types are extremely easy to make, just ask any college kid who kept a container of apple cider under their bed for a month.... we allow people to have vicodin, percocet, ativan etc.... we allow people to grow mushrooms... but we dont let people have a toke now and then... awwwww hypocracy...

oh well...

[Dougie]

Maybe most of the pot smokers I know didn't get very far because they also drink a lot of alcohol. I'm not sure, but most of them have limited drinking and quite smoking pot in the past couple years. Some of them are beginning to move forward on their own.

I have a few friends that have said I'm a good influence on the people around me. I guess I do have some redeeming qualities about me.

[Guest little_jonny]

the way i see it is marijuana is safer the a cigarette. a cigarette has over thousand chemicals that cause cancer. while pot (I.M.O) calms one better. i have smoked cigarettes before but for a few months and could feel the damnge it was causing me. i have also smoked pot and it calmed me more. but if we make it legal, most people who smoke pot a good bit will start to smoke it less.

[curiositykilledthecat]

Driving drunk is illegal and people still do it

Driving stoned is illegal and people still do it

Laws only affect the law abiding. Billions of gun laws and all they affect are the law abiding citizens and make their lives more difficult, not the criminals. Banning a substance does not fix the problem.

[DL88]

Not really gonna get in on this thread lol but I will say this:

Laws only affect the law abiding. Billions of gun laws and all they affect are the law abiding citizens and make their lives more difficult, not the criminals.

Weather or not a ban is on automatic weapons in the U.S.(and frankly any where) criminals who want them, will get them. The ones who won't are the law abiding. Your statement is true however while people who have no desire to obey the law won't, they can still be arrested and will be subject to punishment designated by breaking said law.

[acemanner]

No it isn't.

What about when a stoned pot-head decides to go out for a drive or to use machinery (like maybe mowing his lawn, or using a chainsaw on some trees he wants to get out of his yard)? What if he causes injuries to himself or to others, or causes damage to the property of himself or others? Is it still a "win-win" then?

It is a "controlled substance" for a reason: it is dangerous if over-used, just like alcohol (drunk driving kills MANY people each year, mainly innocent bystanders or people in OTHER vehicles).

I can understand PRESCRIBED use for alleviation of the pain of terminal illness victims, but I will fight against a "free-for-all" mentality.

Which is more important? The money spent on law enforcement, or the money spent to compensate the victims of a stoner's stupidity while high?

treat it just like alcohol, dont do it under the influence. its not like making pot legal is going to cause all the junkies to lie down on railway tracks, we will have the same amount of problems with pot as alcohol, the groups themselves will probbaly be the same people anyways.

[toddmdl]

Grow it. Tax it. Enjoy it. Save billions on law enforcement.

It is a win-win situation!

Yes California has the right idea and so do you. This is a wonderful example in our great country of the idea of Federalism and true conservative libertarianism taking place. The idea that the government can prohibit you from putting a type of food or substance into your own body to me sounds incredibly intrusive and immoral. Not only that but it's impossible to enforce and it's a drain on the budget of the country or state. That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it lol. Legalize Marijuana!

[babyvr6]

www.norml.com/faq

All I really hope for right now is the rescheduling and decriminalization of it.

The all out legalization won't happen for a very, very, long time.

Small steps, folks. Small steps.

[Yvhuce]

Better idea: genetically engineer a super-virus that targets pot and disperse it worldwide.

Alcohol is legal and people abuse the crap out of it. So the "If it's legal, it won't be a problem" argument doesn't really have a leg to stand on.

The real problem is that it's not PC to go around killing drug dealers. Those who grow, process, and distribute drugs and alcohol need to be put in the ground. Cut the effing snake's head off, not the tip of its tail...

[Little Faerie]

Better idea: genetically engineer a super-virus that targets pot and disperse it worldwide.

Alcohol is legal and people abuse the crap out of it. So the "If it's legal, it won't be a problem" argument doesn't really have a leg to stand on.

The real problem is that it's not PC to go around killing drug dealers. Those who grow, process, and distribute drugs and alcohol need to be put in the ground. Cut the effing snake's head off, not the tip of its tail...

Yeah, because NOBODY knows how to use self control and moderation. We're all a bunch of idiots who regularly drink ourselves to death.

I have a glass or two of wine once a week. Sometimes I have two quality beers instead. Three if I feel real froggy. It tastes good, it helps thin my blood, I don't drive or operate machinery afterward either. When a certain kind of pain flares up (that no doctor wants to bother with fixing because I'm "too young" for the curative procedure) I have a special brownie. Not every day, every week, or even every month, but when all else fails, yes, I eat A single pot brownie. This all or nothing attitude is BS.

One dose of Tylenol cures a headache. One bottle of Tylenol kills you.

One dose of Donnatal (Belladonna and Phenobarbital) stops stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. Again, a whole bottle kills you unpleasantly.

Get the idea?

Would you make it so that one could only obtain Tylenol or Tums from a doctor? Cheap, simple, effective remedies to ailments that people would suffer from because they couldn't afford a doctor.

Marijuana is the same. It offers vast relief for many conditions, yet because many doctors can't or won't prescribe it, or people can't afford a doctor, these people are forced to either buy illegally, get addicted and dependent on narcotic painkillers, or suffer with no help.

Make it legal. End the murderous Mexican drug cartels, improve quality of life for thousands of sick people, and free up hundreds of thousands of prison cells, and thereby trillions of tax dollars which can be put for other things, like education.

Fight the real problem: IGNORANCE

[Guest lilme]

This clip from Family Guy is pretty funny. The quality of the vid isn't the greatest but it's the only one on all of youtube that seems to actually show the vid instead of still images

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBFScGicAp4

~lilme

[anondl]

Sorry, if pot were legalized I would still buy it underground. Remember our legislators are the ones who haven't had the stones to stand up and say that the pot laws do more damage than they prevent. Now there's a budget crunch and these clowns are looking for any source of revenue they can find. I swear these whores would pimp their mothers for the right price.

Anondl

[Little Faerie]

anondl, so long as your underground marijuana is grown in the USA or Canada, I'm ok with that. It's the cartels throughout Mexico, Central and South America that I am against being supplied by. You could even grow your own for personal use and save the trouble of buying if it were legal People can choose to grow tobacco... if they can grow that, why not pot?

[anondl]

anondl, so long as your underground marijuana is grown in the USA or Canada, I'm ok with that. It's the cartels throughout Mexico, Central and South America that I am against being supplied by. You could even grow your own for personal use and save the trouble of buying if it were legal People can choose to grow tobacco... if they can grow that, why not pot?

I agree with the buy local philosophy. The pot is grown right here in NC. It ain't cheap but it taste so good and it will knock your socks off. Growing one's own pot is called cultivation in most states. It is a felony. I know from experience! Just like moonshine the issue is the govt. wants its tax money.

Anondl

[Little Faerie]

Part of the reason moonshine is illegal to make is because it is pretty dangerous and needs to be done by experienced distillers, preferably in a controlled environment. It is not only flammable, but potentially explosive in the right conditions. I kind of agree with that one on the safety part... The taxation part is total crap though.

You can make wine, mead, and beer for personal consumption however. Again, if you can do that, why not pot? Finding out about the felony from personal experience really sucks... These puritanical morons in government have priorities way wrong.