The Legalization of Marijuana

[kid]

Preach on gray. I don't want to be told what to do, and neither does anyone else. Big brother could be very real someday if people keep conforming to his every twist and bend of the law. Its not for anyone to say what can be done or not done to themself besides their selves.

 

[Melissa426]

Why the personal attack against "Kid?"


Steve

This is nothing personal against "Kid."

But, a cop who is doing his job stops four people and confiscates their pot.
The four people get off with "a slap on the wrist."
What did Kid expect to happen, that the cops are gonna give the pot back?
No, instead he says the "cops stole our stash and smoked it."
Twice, he said the cops "stole" it.

I think that is a ridiculous statement.
It's insulting to all LEO's that I know.
If he seriously believes that, then the pot did more brain damage than he realizes.
If it was meant to be a joke, it went straight over my head.

Peace,
Melissa

 

[Ray]

Do I, or do I not have the right to eat, drink, smoke, inject whatever I want in the privacy of my own home?

Apparently not. There are more things than just weed that are illegal and that people can debate about.

... but what I do in my home is NONE OF ANYONES BUSINESS. Not shouting, just emphasizing. If I feel like shooting hot glue down my femoral artery, I should feel free to follow it up with Draino, or LSD.

Draino is not designed for this purpose. And society may lock you up for hurting yourself. How far should society go in "protecting" us is an awfully good question and one that we'll probably never all agree on.

 

[Ray]

Go ahead, call me heartless, but if....

I would never call you heartless.

 

[Rynocerous]

Well I've been out of the loop for a while and it looks as though everyone is having a good time(slight sarcasm). I notice that there is a lot of "Pot is OK", rebuted with "No pot is the Devil" type arguments. To be honest this can go back and forth til we are all blue in the face and nothing will be solved. As sung in an "Alice and Chains" song, "You can't understand a users mind...You can try with your books and degrees" is bang on. Those who have never smoked weed just don't get it. I am going to put myself on the chopping block here and say YES! I SMOKE WEED! I am a very competent, intellegent person, who has a 149 IQ score. I smoked weed religiously before I joined the Army, and quit cold turkey in order to join. I am now out of the military, and I smoke weed again. Does this make me an addict? Does this make me the devil? Does this mean I am a stupid human being? I don't think so!!! I feel that if you don't believe in smoking weed, hey good for you! If you chose to smoke, hey good for you! That is what I love about this country, you are entitled to believe what you want. That is no reason to have snarly remarks back and forth between each other. This is supposed to be a debate on the legalization of marijuana, not a venue for personal attacks. Why can't we all just get along and have a nice fun debate.


Cheers,

Rynocerous

 

[MissTwisties]

Against it 100%. That would be like saying to our kids "It is ok to smoke mari because it is legal". I am against drugs and I will never tolerate them. Specially not under my roof, ever. My dad started off with pot, then coke, then worse...mixed with being alcoholic. Drugs destroy people, families, children, etc. and should never be legalized. PERIOD. And for your info, I tried smoking hash once with knifes, this was one of the day in my life where I felt I was doing the stupidiest thing ever, and walked away from those "friends" I was with.

 

[Tgace]

Rhino...

Thats actually OK with me. Im sure your an "OK Guy". However do you, in the event some cop pulls you over and sees a joint in your ashtray, think you should be exempt from the law as it stands right now?

Thats pretty much my "problem" with the discussion. Go ahead and, debate, write letters, protest, be an activist for marijuana law reform...I believe the laws should be reviewed, if your state is handing out jail time for simple possession (fine them...If they can afford the pot they can afford the fine when they are dumb enough to get caught IMO). However dont be shocked, suprised and outraged if you get arrested for "blowing smoke in a cops face" (Cheech and Chong refrence there).

 

[psi_radar]

Against it 100%. That would be like saying to our kids "It is ok to smoke mari because it is legal". I am against drugs and I will never tolerate them. Specially not under my roof, ever. My dad started off with pot, then coke, then worse...mixed with being alcoholic. Drugs destroy people, families, children, etc. and should never be legalized. PERIOD. And for your info, I tried smoking hash once with knifes, this was one of the day in my life where I felt I was doing the stupidiest thing ever, and walked away from those "friends" I was with.

You obviously don't like drugs, but a lot of people do and maintain regular lifestyles. Do you get to mandate their behavior? You're "against" drugs, but does your stance on maintaining their illegality keep it from your kids? One thing that's been discussed way back on this thread is the effectiveness of the drug war and legalization vs. use. I've stated a number of times that it was easier for me to access and buy marijuana as a teenager than alcohol because the black market doesn't check IDs, and liquor stores do. Well, most of them. If drugs were legalized, they could be more properly regulated as long as they were just cheaper than what the black market could offer, and revenue from taxes and all the returned revenue from non-violent pot (or drug)-related incarceration could be used for treatment--though I've heard of very few people needing treatment for marijuana use.

I agree, drugs can be destructive to society--as are anti-drug wars. But it is the land of the free. What we do with our bodies and brains should be up to us, no?

 

[Tgace]

The problem then is why do we all have to pay to pick up the pieces (i.e. social programs for drug rehab, medical expenses, etc.) for those people when their "doing what they want with their bodies" lands them in physical trouble??

Perhaps the solution isnt jail, but there should be some type of penalty when your "freedom" places a burden on the rest of society who isnt taking the drug....

 

[MissTwisties]

Exactly. People who don't do drugs still have to pay for those who do. When I see my insurance rates go up like a rocket, and I see on my policy that I'm covered for "drug abuse/detox/outpatient substance abuse" it makes me sick to think that part of the premiums we pay every month is because of that bullsh**. There shouldn't be any coverage for substance abuse on health insurance policies, it should be paid by the drug addict if he want to go in detox. You "willfully" (emphasis on the word willfully here) abuse your body and your health? Well other insured people shouldn't have to be forced to pay part of their monthly premiums for substance abuse when they don't even use drugs.

 

[Rynocerous]

Against it 100% .

Which you are entitled to believe.

That would be like saying to our kids "It is ok to smoke mari because it is legal".

As stated in early arguments there should be an age restriction if it is legalized.

I am against drugs and I will never tolerate them. Specially not under my roof, ever.

Hey I don't blame you, when I have kids there will be no illegal substaces in my house. Now if marijuana were legal and my son or daughter were of age, that would be a different story.

Drugs destroy people, families, children, etc. and should never be legalized. PERIOD.

Like in the gun control issue, guns don't kill people, people kill people.
Drugs don't destroy people, families, children. People do these things.

And for your info, I tried smoking hash once with knifes, this was one of the day in my life where I felt I was doing the stupidiest thing ever, and walked away from those "friends" I was with.

You don't have to explain for my information either. What you do, and what you believe is your RIGHT! Nothing that I say or do can take that from you. You don't have to prove anything to anyone, just remember that.

Cheers,

Rynocerous

 

[Rynocerous]

The problem then is why do we all have to pay to pick up the pieces (i.e. social programs for drug rehab, medical expenses, etc.) for those people when their "doing what they want with their bodies" lands them in physical trouble??

Perhaps the solution isnt jail, but there should be some type of penalty when your "freedom" places a burden on the rest of society who isnt taking the drug....

Maybe we should imply a health tax on all legal marijuana purchases that goes into a fun which only used for people that are suffering from something directly related to marijuana. Heck we could even do this with cigarettes, and booze.

Ryno,

 

[Tgace]

Not a bad idea......although taxes never seem to be able to be kept in specific funds. They always seem to wind up paying for something else...an idea though.

Where do "sin taxes" on tobacco and alcohol go now? Anybody know?

 

[Deuce]

I would like to see the numbers of how many people are in drug programs or detox because of marijuana vs. alcohol. Alcohol is legal and IMO ruins many more lives, is more addictive, and is worse for your body than marijuana. I'm not saying that either are good or should be acceptable, but should be classified into the same category.

I think the big issue is, if booze is legal than why not pot?

 

[MissTwisties]

I was not specifically giving an explanation to you, or anyone else in particular in here. It was just a general statement because of a sentence I readed stating "if you haven't tried it don't speak" or something like that.

You don't have to explain for my information either. What you do, and what you believe is your RIGHT! Nothing that I say or do can take that from you. You don't have to prove anything to anyone, just remember that.

Cheers,

Rynocerous

 

[MissTwisties]

You are right about that. Alcohol destroy life too. I know. And I can see the point here saying that if most people can have only one or a few drinks one evening without abusing it, once in a while...why can't people use pot once in a while too if they don't abuse it either..this is a rough debate.

My guess is I would be upset if one of my kids smoked pot. But I could survive that a lot more than if they did hard drugs such as coke and what not. I would be as upset if they were getting drunk in parties every weekend.

I would like to see the numbers of how many people are in drug programs or detox because of marijuana vs. alcohol. Alcohol is legal and IMO ruins many more lives, is more addictive, and is worse for your body than marijuana. I'm not saying that either are good or should be acceptable, but should be classified into the same category.

I think the big issue is, if booze is legal than why not pot?

 

[Rynocerous]

Not a bad idea......although taxes never seem to be able to be kept in specific funds. They always seem to wind up paying for something else...an idea though.

Where do "sin taxes" on tobacco and alcohol go now? Anybody know?

You know what, that is a very good question!!! Especially up here in Canada where a 12 pack of beer will cost you $21.50, and a pack of smokes will run you a whopping 10-12 dollars.

Cheers,

Rynocerous

 

[psi_radar]

The problem then is why do we all have to pay to pick up the pieces (i.e. social programs for drug rehab, medical expenses, etc.) for those people when their "doing what they want with their bodies" lands them in physical trouble??

Perhaps the solution isnt jail, but there should be some type of penalty when your "freedom" places a burden on the rest of society who isnt taking the drug....

I agree, when someone commits a crime on drugs they should be charged with that crime. If the drugs were definitely a factor toward committing that crime, then they should be treated accordingly. Remove the costs of prosecuting, interdicting smuggling and incarcerating drug crimes, tack on the taxes produced form legal intoxicant sales, and there's a hell of a lot of money for treatment programs. Hell, we could go to Mars on that. And by the way, we're already paying for those programs one way or another.

 

[psi_radar]

Exactly. People who don't do drugs still have to pay for those who do. When I see my insurance rates go up like a rocket, and I see on my policy that I'm covered for "drug abuse/detox/outpatient substance abuse" it makes me sick to think that part of the premiums we pay every month is because of that bullsh**. There shouldn't be any coverage for substance abuse on health insurance policies, it should be paid by the drug addict if he want to go in detox. You "willfully" (emphasis on the word willfully here) abuse your body and your health? Well other insured people shouldn't have to be forced to pay part of their monthly premiums for substance abuse when they don't even use drugs.

You're a motorcycle rider, as am I. Everyone pays a little more on their auto insurance to cover our demographic's high levels of medical costs. You take an extra risk by traveling on two wheels, and others get to offset that cost. Living in a society, we all share costs. My son with Asperger's gets more of a slice of the school budget, you might get a small business loan courtesy of my taxes.

I look at addiction as a medical and societal issue. Not a criminal one. Criminalizing only compounds the problem by adding a layer of expense and violence.

 

[psi_radar]

Not a bad idea......although taxes never seem to be able to be kept in specific funds. They always seem to wind up paying for something else...an idea though.

Where do "sin taxes" on tobacco and alcohol go now? Anybody know?

Tobacco taxes in CO go to anti-smoking advertisement, though with the increased revenue they're talking about it going to cessation and treatment.

Don't know where the alcohol taxes go...