Marijuana Legalization

**Eastwinn** · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 5:07 am Post subject: Marijuana Legalization

It's a hot topic nowadays. Prop 18 in California, I believe. There's been threads here about the topic before, but that was years ago. Let's see what ScoreHero thinks now.

Some questions to answer... Do you believe marijuana should be legal? If not, how do you feel about decriminalization of possession? Do you believe that marijuana use is dangerous or adverse? Do you believe that it has legitimate medicinal purposes?
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**Fugitive** · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 3035

Yes, it should be legalized. The list of reasons is endless:

It's no more dangerous than alcohol. In fact, it's much less dangerous. It doesn't even have close to the health risks of cigarettes. It would cut the drug war down significantly which would: free law enforcment to do useful shit, decriminalize people who do nothing wrong besides went to smoke weed, and save many lives. It could be taxed and help an economic recovery. I can't even think of an argument against legalizing it.

And yes, it does have legitimate medicinal effects. It's proven, even if most of the effect is just relaxing the patient.

I mean, it's not even a question in my mind. Everyone I've talked to that's against marijuana being legalized is misinformed on the matter. They either think it's harmful to your health, or they think it affects your motor skill on the same level as alcohol, or something else just blatantly untrue. Most of them haven't even tried it. Which is fine, I'm not saying they have to, but they should be making informed decisions. We just have to wait for the old people to die off, the younger generations were overwhelmingly for legalization. Old people are just stuck in their ways and want their ways imposed on everyone else because they're selfish assholes. It's not like it being legalized forces them to smoke or anything.

**Southparkhero** · Joined: 23 Aug 2008 Posts: 3251 Location: Some place in NJ.

Fugitive, don't act like it has no negative effects. Just like any other cigarette or cigar smoke you inhale, it has the same effects on your lungs.

Also, maybe they want us to you know.. not be high 24/7, not be sluggish/lazy, and be functioning members of society.
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**directshot999** · Joined: 16 Oct 2007 Posts: 3838 Location: Birmingham, AL

I definitely don't want marijuana legalized. It's illegal for a reason. It's harmful to your health, and I really don't want hundreds of millions of people high on marijuana all day. The roads would be even more dangerous...
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**Southparkhero** · Joined: 23 Aug 2008 Posts: 3251 Location: Some place in NJ.

**Eastwinn** · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 5:52 am Post subject:

That's assuming that there is a large amount of people who don't do it simply because it's illegal.
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As Ellie Draws - surreal sketches and characters.

John Cage wrote:

The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason.

**LethalFishEater** · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 5:55 am Post subject:

**Vampyromaniac** · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1216

This is a no-brainer.

I agree with Fugitive's post on this one. I really don't feel like debating this one AGAIN (I've done it a lot IRL), so I'll just say this:

Marijuana needs to be legalized, but illegal to sell without a permit like alcohol and taxed heavily in the same way as cigarettes are. It is MUCH MUCH less dangerous than alcohol, and while you wouldn't want a high person driving, you're 10x safer than with a severely drunk person on the road. Of course, drug tests are fairly easy to give, so you should still get DUI-ish charges for driving while high (duh). Also, make other laws pertaining to alcohol now include marijuana.

So basically:
1) U.S. decreases debt by taxing marijuana
2) U.S. decreases debt by not having to maintain so many prisoner's living conditions
3) People that would have gotten high before are now doing so with less risk to themselves and their family
4) There would be no more 'laced' marijuana, meaning it will be far safer
5) There won't be that many more people smoking it, as people seem to believe. It's already ridiculously easy to attain.
6) Huge influx of art and music

7) I won't have to deal with driving around cop cars when they raid houses in my neighborhood anymore.

By the way, I haven't smoked any in ~5 years, and wouldn't start back even if it was legalized. I just don't see why the U.S. doesn't just abuse the economic potential of it.
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**OpenYourEyes** · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 6:01 am Post subject:

I think it should be legalized, and they should slap the same laws on it as alcohol. Can't drive while high, etc. Except the smoking age could be lowered or something.
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Eastwinn wrote:

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Set all the tax rates to 9.

**cdylan13** · Joined: 14 Aug 2007 Posts: 5828 Location: Richmond, VA

**CTangent** · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 6:06 am Post subject:

THC is the most powerful antiemetic drug known to mankind. This can be both a good thing or a bad thing: if you're undergoing chemotherapy, it's great! It helps keep the vomiting at bay. However, if you're drinking a lot of alcohol (and I mean a LOT), THC will interfere with the natural reaction of the body to vomit, which can result in acute alcohol poisoning and possibly death.

I feel that this dichotomy illustrates the crux of this debate. Is marijuana bad? It can be, if you use it wrong. Can it be used reasonably for the benefit of mankind? Absolutely.

So perhaps the debate stems from a more political source: will America as a country be willing to disrupt their own status quo and induce some sort of change in their society? This kind of change is not without precedent, as the end of prohibition indicates, but Americans as a whole tend to be afraid of change and marijuana is seen as as bad thing.

Marijuana will always be used irresponsibly by some people, no matter what. People will always smoke pot while getting really drunk and die. People will always smoke pot while driving and get in car accidents. This will happen with ANY drug and I don't think that this should affect legislation at all.

I'm rather ambivalent to the whole issue and I'm looking to be convinced either way, so I'll be eagerly reading this thread

.

Do I smoke pot? Nope, and I never will.

EDIT:

**Vampyromaniac** · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1216

**ortiz1193** · Joined: 22 Sep 2007 Posts: 2227 Location: Shreveport, LA

Do they have a device that can test short term marijuana use? I remember reading (another message board, not a fact or anything) that there's no way to 'breathalyze' marijuana like you can alcohol and that they only have tests that tell you if you've used in the last month or so.

If that's true, they'd definitely need something that could tell if you've used it in the last x hours for DUI charges. That's one problem I haven't seen discussed much. (Possibly because its not a problem and I'm misinformed >_>)
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**ready2rock** · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 6:37 am Post subject:

Can someone link to a good scientific study on the effects of marijuana on people? I've seen a lot of claims in these debates that marijuana is or is not harmful, but almost never any citations.

Also, "there are more dangerous things that are legal" is not a good argument to legalize something that is also dangerous.
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**Vampyromaniac** · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 1216