Should Pot be legalized?

[dejr_8]

I think all drugs should be legalized. We spend too much tax money fighting drug use.

 

[shortbun]

Exactly. We could be making money instead of spending it. That said, I probably could not afford it just like I can't afford concert tickets. sigh

 

[polineedyan]

I think all drugs should be legalized. We spend too much tax money fighting drug use.

Sure..then, instead of using tax dollars to fight drug use, we could use tax dollars to subsidize health care (i.e. rehab units)..

 

[MushyMushy]

Yes, I absolutely believe they should be legalized -- or at the very least decriminalized.

 

[alldiz]

Sure..then, instead of using tax dollars to fight drug use, we could use tax dollars to subsidize health care (i.e. rehab units)..

At least that would be productive

I think Alcohol is WAY MORE DANGEROUS than POT could EVER be. Anyone who disagrees has obviously never smoked POT....
Kerri

 

[dcentity2000]

From a psychiatric point of view, I believe that cannabis should remain illegal.

However, since in the last cannabis thread I blew a fuse, I shall bow out and leave y'all to debate it amongst yourselves



Rich::

 

[Charade]

Exactly. We could be making money instead of spending it. That said, I probably could not afford it just like I can't afford concert tickets. sigh

I disagree. I don't think we should tax peoples vices anymore than their non vices. If we tax it too much, we'll just have an underground black market like we do with cigarettes and booze.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Pot should most definitely be legalized. It won't, but it should be.
All drugs? NO WAY! If Crank was legalized, I would have to move out of my small town in Iowa because I am sure it would blow up on itself. Meth lab blow outs galore!

 

[Charade]

I think all drugs should be legalized. We spend too much tax money fighting drug use.

Maybe we could adopt the same approach with poverty. We've been fighting that longer and have spent more money on "fighting" that than we have with illegal drugs and we're still no better than when we started.

 

[Lazarus]

As long as tobacco (a highly addictive drug with zero medicinal benefits and an established health hazard to not only it's users but those around the users) remains legal, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to take other drug laws, especially marijuana, seriously.

Prohibition has never worked in this country, and it isn't working now.

 

[Tanuki]

There's a big difference between legalizing cannibis and legalizing all drugs of illicit use.

I haven't exactly seen how the Netherlands has gone to the dogs since they made cannibis legal all these years ago.

A recent study on NPR that I heard broadcast last week said that cannibis use is actually less common in the Netherlands than it is in the United States.

I suspect it is because legal cannibis is probably not adulterated with other substances like PCP and foisted off on the consumer to get them hooked on worse things. Drug pushers will frequently use cannibis as a means to get their buyers started on other drugs. There really isn't an incentive to do this when cannibis is legal.

Although I haven't been there personally I suspect that when the consumer knows the strength of the product they are consuming and exactly what is supposed to be in it the consumer will titrate the level of consumption to what suits their needs - similar to the difference between someone consuming a glass of wine vs the same size glass of grain alcohol.

Which is not to say that SOME people won't abuse it. Plenty of people are able to drink without becoming alcoholics. Some people aren't able to do this. But we saw with prohibition that completely banning liquor doesn't stop people from drinking and only makes it better for organized crime.

If doing so can divert some funds being used for drug enforcement to more productive use against more dangerous substances it seems logical.

 

[luvsJack]

From a psychiatric point of view, I believe that cannabis should remain illegal.

However, since in the last cannabis thread I blew a fuse, I shall bow out and leave y'all to debate it amongst yourselves



Rich::

I would love to hear your complete point of view on this. No arguments, no debates, I am trully interested. The different views on this subject have always interested me. I guess being a child of the 70's when it seemed that everyone smoked pot and seeing so many different directions that the "pot heads" went as adults (or didn't go as the case may be) just made me wonder why.

 

[MushyMushy]

Sure..then, instead of using tax dollars to fight drug use, we could use tax dollars to subsidize health care (i.e. rehab units)..

Right, because spending money on health care is such a bad thing.

 

[diznygirl]

Can we get out of the war in Iraq because we spend too much money on that??

I'm sure the soldiers would appreciate coming home to legalized pot. A win-win situation.

 

[alldiz]

Pot should most definitely be legalized. It won't, but it should be.
All drugs? NO WAY! If Crank was legalized, I would have to move out of my small town in Iowa because I am sure it would blow up on itself. Meth lab blow outs galore!

Absolutely.....Not all drugs...Marijuana truly is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco for that sake.

As long as tobacco (a highly addictive drug with zero medicinal benefits and an established health hazard to not only it's users but those around the users) remains legal, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to take other drug laws, especially marijuana, seriously.

Prohibition has never worked in this country, and it isn't working now.

There's a big difference between legalizing cannibis and legalizing all drugs of illicit use.

I haven't exactly seen how the Netherlands has gone to the dogs since they made cannibis legal all these years ago. A recent study on NPR that I heard broadcast last week said that cannibis use is actually less common in the Netherlands than it is in the United States.

I suspect it is because legal cannibis is probably not adulterated with other substances like PCP and foisted off on the consumer to get them hooked on worse things. Drug pushers will frequently use cannibis as a means to get their buyers started on other drugs. There really isn't an incentive to do this when cannibis is legal.

Although I haven't been there personally I suspect that when the consumer knows the strength of the product they are consuming and exactly what is supposed to be in it the consumer will titrate the level of consumption to what suits their needs - similar to the difference between someone consuming a glass of wine vs the same size glass of grain alcohol.

Which is not to say that SOME people won't abuse it. Plenty of people are able to drink without becoming alcoholics. Some people aren't able to do this. But we saw with prohibition that completely banning liquor doesn't stop people from drinking and only makes it better for organized crime.

If doing so can divert some funds being used for drug enforcement to more productive use against more dangerous substances it seems logical.

I was amazed while in Amsterdam....I figured people would be doing stuff in the streets and I would be accosted to buy some. My preconceptions couldn't have been farther from the truth.....

Right, because spending money on health care is such a bad thing.

Yes...people who can't afford healthcare....should "rot on the side of the road"

Can we get out of the war in Iraq because we spend too much money on that??

I'm sure the soldiers would appreciate coming home to legalized pot. A win-win situation.

Kerri

 

[DawnCt1]

From a psychiatric point of view, I believe that cannabis should remain illegal.

However, since in the last cannabis thread I blew a fuse, I shall bow out and leave y'all to debate it amongst yourselves



Rich::

I agree with you. I think that there is evidence out there that is very condemning and for some reason, gets consistently ignored. It becomes an argument that "alcohol is worse". Well, alcohol is legal and the opportunity of making it illegal failed and is long gone. Furthermore, when I have a glass of wine, I know exactly the dose of alcohol I am getting. It is metabolized and leaves my system within 24 hours. A drug that lingers and is stored in body fat for 28 days, should concern anyone. Perhaps that is why there is no dramatic withdrawal for pot smokers; they continue to leach THC to the brain for an additional 28 days.

 

[DawnCt1]

Report Reveals
ScienceDaily (May 10, 2008) — Millions of American teens report experiencing weeks of hopelessness and loss of interest in normal daily activities and many of these depressed teens are using marijuana and other drugs, making their situation worse, according to a new White House report released today. The report, from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), reveals that marijuana use can worsen depression and lead to more serious mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and even suicide.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

My thoughts on the alcohol/ pot debate: Who would I rather meet on the road? A drunk driver or a stoned driver? I'll take the illegal pothead anytime!

 

[suzimar57]

yes, it should be legalized - i don't smoke, but still think it should be legal

 

[DawnCt1]

My thoughts on the alcohol/ pot debate: Who would I rather meet on the road? A drunk driver or a stoned driver? I'll take the illegal pothead anytime!

I don't think we should have to chose between which DUI we would want. You have just made an excellent point. Legalizing marijuana would easily double the risk of encountering another impaired driver.