Legalize it
- Thread starter JadecloudAlchemist
- Start date
Over my dead body.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/fashion/19pot.html?hp
Pot is not harmless. It destroys lives and health. It is illegal in most locations of the US because the majority of citizens want it to be illegal, which is reason enough right there.
Medical marijuana, which I would otherwise be in favor of, has become nothing more than backdoor legalization for the recreational use of pot in California.
I remain against it. Nothing will ever change my mind on this subject.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/fashion/19pot.html?hp
Pot is not harmless. It destroys lives and health. It is illegal in most locations of the US because the majority of citizens want it to be illegal, which is reason enough right there.
Medical marijuana, which I would otherwise be in favor of, has become nothing more than backdoor legalization for the recreational use of pot in California.
I remain against it. Nothing will ever change my mind on this subject.
JadecloudAlchemist
Master of Arts
http://www.drugscience.org/sfu/sfu_gateway.html
It is not a gateway drug:
http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/gateway.html
Not much proof that Marijuana is a gateway drug. The same could be said of Alcohol and Cigarettes as "gateway drugs" to Marijuana. Even WebMd admits no proof that it is a gateway drug.
It is not a gateway drug:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/marijuana-use-and-its-effects
http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/gateway.html
Not much proof that Marijuana is a gateway drug. The same could be said of Alcohol and Cigarettes as "gateway drugs" to Marijuana. Even WebMd admits no proof that it is a gateway drug.
celtic_crippler
Senior Master
Let's make everything that could possibly cause harm or endanger us illegal and completely do away with personal choice and responsibility. Would that make you happy, Bill?
No more going outside. You can get cancer from too much exposure to the sun.
No more socializing. Meeting other people is too dangerous because they could influence you to do bad things.
No more watching TV, using the PC, or reading books. It cuases too much wear and tear on the eyes.
No more driving a vehicle. You could crash it and die!
No more cheeseburgers for you buddy! It could lead to eating other fatty foods and we know that obesity causes more health problems than smoking and drinking alcohol combined!
No more sex! God forbid you get an STD...or worse...it could lead to more kinky and immoral sex acts...like french ticklers and stuff...
No more pet ownership. Dogs can turn on you and have been known to kill small children. Besides, dogs are a gateway to owning bigger..more dangerous animals like tigers!
Why don't we oulaw breathing while we're at it. There's so much harmful stuff in the air it just ain't worth the risk.
Sound ridiculous? No more so than the argument for not decriminalizing something that grows naturally on its own with no help from man.
Just because you don't like something doesn't give you the right to dictate to others whether they can or can not do something when whether they do it or not has no direct impact on your life and/or well-being. That's a freedom and a right we've lost sight of in the US. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."
No more going outside. You can get cancer from too much exposure to the sun.
No more socializing. Meeting other people is too dangerous because they could influence you to do bad things.
No more watching TV, using the PC, or reading books. It cuases too much wear and tear on the eyes.
No more driving a vehicle. You could crash it and die!
No more cheeseburgers for you buddy! It could lead to eating other fatty foods and we know that obesity causes more health problems than smoking and drinking alcohol combined!
No more sex! God forbid you get an STD...or worse...it could lead to more kinky and immoral sex acts...like french ticklers and stuff...
No more pet ownership. Dogs can turn on you and have been known to kill small children. Besides, dogs are a gateway to owning bigger..more dangerous animals like tigers!
Why don't we oulaw breathing while we're at it. There's so much harmful stuff in the air it just ain't worth the risk.
Sound ridiculous? No more so than the argument for not decriminalizing something that grows naturally on its own with no help from man.
Just because you don't like something doesn't give you the right to dictate to others whether they can or can not do something when whether they do it or not has no direct impact on your life and/or well-being. That's a freedom and a right we've lost sight of in the US. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."
Over your dead body is a very strong statement. If it were legal, would you push for its prohibition?
If so, are you doing the same for alcohol and tobacco?
Gun control, drug control...no matter what people try to control, if you're bound and determined to get it, you will. People can try to get guns off the street, yet somehow, some way, the badguys will get them. Don't want your kids to have sex....sorry, turn on any soap opera or night time tv show, and you're bound to see someone in bed, kissing, touching, whatever.
Some will say that by using weed, it'll effect others around you. In other words, smoke it, get high, get behind the wheel of a car, and now you're risking the lives of everyone else on the road. Thats true, but in reality, its no different than someone stopping off at happy hour after work, tossing down more than you should, and now you're risking killing everyone else on the road, because you're drunk. Yet alcohol is perfectly legal, if you're over 21.
As CC said, getting up in the AM and starting your day is dangerous. So, make it legal, keep it illegal, either way, I really don't care, due to the fact that I don't smoke it, never have smoked it, and never will smoke it.
Some will say that by using weed, it'll effect others around you. In other words, smoke it, get high, get behind the wheel of a car, and now you're risking the lives of everyone else on the road. Thats true, but in reality, its no different than someone stopping off at happy hour after work, tossing down more than you should, and now you're risking killing everyone else on the road, because you're drunk. Yet alcohol is perfectly legal, if you're over 21.
As CC said, getting up in the AM and starting your day is dangerous. So, make it legal, keep it illegal, either way, I really don't care, due to the fact that I don't smoke it, never have smoked it, and never will smoke it.
celtic_crippler
Senior Master
Top 7 Reasons Why it's Illegal
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/drugpolicy/tp/Why-is-Marijuana-Illegal.htm
My favorite, of course, is #5
[/quote]
5. It was once associated with oppressed ethnic groups.
The intense anti-marijuana movement of the 1930s dovetailed nicely with the intense anti-Chicano movement of the 1930s. Marijuana was associated with Mexican Americans, and a ban on marijuana was seen as a way of discouraging Mexican-American subcultures from developing.
Today, thanks in large part to the very public popularity of marijuana among whites during the 1960s and 1970s, marijuana is no longer seen as what one might call an ethnic drug--but the groundwork for the anti-marijuana movement was laid down at a time when marijuana was seen as an encroachment on the U.S. majority-white culture. [/quote]
What would the US be like if us WASPs weren't so fond of our whiskey?
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/drugpolicy/tp/Why-is-Marijuana-Illegal.htm
My favorite, of course, is #5
[/quote]
5. It was once associated with oppressed ethnic groups.
The intense anti-marijuana movement of the 1930s dovetailed nicely with the intense anti-Chicano movement of the 1930s. Marijuana was associated with Mexican Americans, and a ban on marijuana was seen as a way of discouraging Mexican-American subcultures from developing.
Today, thanks in large part to the very public popularity of marijuana among whites during the 1960s and 1970s, marijuana is no longer seen as what one might call an ethnic drug--but the groundwork for the anti-marijuana movement was laid down at a time when marijuana was seen as an encroachment on the U.S. majority-white culture. [/quote]
What would the US be like if us WASPs weren't so fond of our whiskey?
Satt
Black Belt
I don't smoke and I probably never will, but I support people's right to smoke. The government needs to get back in their place and out of our personal lives. (I know this will never be the case though) I don't care what people choose to do even if it does destroy their lives as long as they don't affect anyone else's lives.
Satt
Black Belt
-I used to be pretty hardcore set againt the use of any illegal drug. Then I got older, got to know more people, exposed to different lifestyles, (going to a goth club for 10 years WILL expose you), and have discovered that the majority of pot users are pretty laid back individuals. I consider more than a few potheads to be my friends, and it has nothing to do with their 'smoking' habits; they're good people who happen to use a recreational drug. Now I know some who blatantly smoke out in the open or in public; that I consider a little tacky. Most people, however, who do smoke pot, seem to do it quietly, at home, no risk to anyone. Hell, even at parties, most of them will ask if anyone minds if they light up, they know not everyone approves.
-It's not for me, much prefer my caffeine. The gov't could legalize it, tax it, and put that money towards rehab for harder controlled substances and other things. Sounds like a winning situation to me.
Andrew
-It's not for me, much prefer my caffeine. The gov't could legalize it, tax it, and put that money towards rehab for harder controlled substances and other things. Sounds like a winning situation to me.
Andrew
At the snail's pace the movement to legalize pot is moving forward, it may well come to that... unless you plan to live a very long time.
Pot is not harmless, and it can mess up people's lives. And, I agree that historically speaking, a majority of people have supported the laws making it illegal. However, I don't know how much longer that will remain the case.
"Nothing more"? For many, that may be true. But don't deny that there are others who support "medical marijuana" laws for what they were intended. Along with the majority of voters in my state, I've twice supported propositions to allow for "medical marijuana". I'm less certain about movements toward "de-criminalization" and still oppose outright legalization.
I can't fault you for your honesty, Bill. But you never know. You've changed my mind on a few particulars. For example, after thinking about it, I've come to accept that marijuana can be a gateway drug. But it doesn't necessarily lead to using harder drugs or a messed up life. Just because you pass through one gate doesn't mean you have to go through the next.
For example, most of my friends and I illegally smoked our first cigarettes in junior high (gateway # 1). We moved on to drinking beer, then hard liquor. I came within a hair's breadth of dying from alcohol poisoning at age 15. Also damned near killed myself driving drunk at 16... and lost a total of three acquaintances to drunk driving (gateway #2). Later, I started "socially" smoking weed off and on (gateway #3) and finally, about the time I was finishing college, tried psilocybin mushrooms a couple of times, and peyote tea once (gateway #4).
Then, I got serious, stopped using tobacco, weed, alcohol and anything else. I will enjoy an occasional beer or glass of wine with dinner, but never more than about twice a month, and never more than two. Most of my friends who I still keep in touch with have gone pretty much the same route. Interestingly, none died from drug use, but I've lost several adult friends to alcohol. Two were long-time alcoholics and died from the effects of their alcohol addiction. A third was another of my friends who died in a car wreck, driving drunk. Incidentally, I've also been hit by drunk drivers, twice.
OK Bill, I believe that we each ultimately take the most stock in our own experiences. You once related yours in relation to marijuana use. Well my experiences have shown me that marijuana abuse can be destructive to one's person and family, and that it can be a gateway drug to harder stuff. But so can tobacco and alcohol. In fact both of those legal addictive drugs (yes, nicotine is a drug) have killed people I know. Alcohol damned near killed me on several occassions. Marijuana has not killed anyone I'm aware of... although the laws against it have messed up more than a few lives. And made a lot of criminals rich.
So based on my experiences, I don't have a problem if people choose to smoke pot, responsibly, moderately, and preferably at home. It's not my business. I'm too busy taking care of my family, my job, and my martial arts addiction.
I think we was talking about brownies, yeah that's it....mmmmm brownies...
celtic_crippler
Senior Master
Huh?
Nope. The fact that marijuana is harmful is just my rebuttal to those who insist that it isn't. They're wrong, that's all.
Actually, the fact that I - and a whole bunch of fellow citizens - don't like marijuana and want it to remain illegal is a perfectly good reason for it to be illegal.
We do have the right to dictate to others what you can or cannot do, as long as it does not conflict with your basic constitutional rights. Life. Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness can take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut - they're not part of the Bill of Rights, and as such, the government can indeed infringe on your right to smoke a doobie. And it does. And the majority of citizens in the USA think that's a very good thing.
Too bad, so sad. Majority rules when it comes to plebiscites. We've been through all this before.
Yep.
Nope. I don't have a problem with the legality of alcohol or tobacco. This is not a discussion about alcohol or tobacco.
Wait until it destroys your family and tell me that. I've been to hell with a family member who became an addict. I can tell you haven't. Like atheists in fox-holes, once you've seen a family member turning tricks on a street corner for drugs, you will change your tune.
It is not about being hypocritical. It's about what the citizens want. Citizens want legal tobacco and alcohol. They do not want legal marijuana. That's that.
