NationStates Jolt Archive

This thread is on legalizing drugs. This is a little political debate room on the subject.

*lights up bong*

Let me know when it starts.

And the debate is on!

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:
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OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.

I always think it's hilarious that its supporters can never spell "marijuana."

I'm not a supporter, but I don't think it should be banned.

*lights up bong*

Let me know when it starts.
*passes natchos and beer*

*puts feet up*


yup... *tokes*

I always think it's hilarious that its supporters can never spell "marijuana."

I'm not a supporter, but I don't think it should be banned.a lot of pot does tend to influence your spelling ability
:sniper:

Achohol is a FAR worse drug then marajuana.

Achohol is a FAR drug then marajuana.a FAR drug?

Achohol is a FAR drug then marajuana.

Being baked never leads to coherent posts.

Heh.. Just bout to light up a spliff now.

Legalize it all. Tax it and use the revenue to pay for anti-drug advertizing, like we do with tobacco products and for drug treatment centers for those who become addicted.

a FAR drug?
Fuckin' A Righteous

Ether people on NationStates are for a lot of personal fredom, or we have an overdose of drugies playing this game.

Legalize it all. Tax it and use the revenue to pay for anti-drug advertizing, like we do with tobacco products and for drug treatment centers for those who become addicted.
can't tax drug, crime too strong, drugs too easy to make/grow. If you legalise it you are infact trying to sell it at a lower cost than the criminals can along side your "better quality" or "safer ingredients" angle.

I got put on probation for smoking marijuana and driving. Now, for the next year and a half, I can't... drink?
For the past two months I've had to put up with Breathalyzers for alcohol and not one test for pot. I'm sure the urine test is in my future but it's pretty ridiculous that I get caught for one thing and I can't do something that is perfectly legal.

Fuckin' A Righteousok

"It's a gateway drug.'

No, it really isn't.

'One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit.
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OK, maybe I overstate the case."

So, you invented an example, and then proceeded to admit that it doesn't reflect reality.

There's no point insisting that people share a spliff in a college dorm room then end up as crack and smack junkies out on the street. A large number of the people on this forum either are now college students or have been college students. Many of whom have either shared a spliff in a college dorm room, or been in a college dorm room when a spliff has been shared. Honestly, most of those people have ended up ok. I'm not just making this up (like in the example above). I *have* been to university and guess what, I'm still lucid, I don't live on the streets, haven't robbed anyone, haven't sold myself for my next fix of crystal meth and nor have any of the people I knew at university. You're not going to convince us that we are villains and should all be criminals when our real life experience is so completely different from your example.

"But you can't just say it's OK."

Watch me. IT IS OK. Even if *I* didn't think it was ok, it is not the government's business to be interfering.


"You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished."

Why? PEOPLE WHO SMOKE A FEW JOINTS AT UNI DID NOTHING WRONG. THEY SHOULD NOT BE CRIMINALS.

And actually, when you insist on having laws that make people criminals just because you want to send a message, it sends a very clear message about you.

I got put on probation for smoking marijuana and driving. Now, for the next year and a half, I can't... drink?
For the past two months I've had to put up with Breathalyzers for alcohol and not one test for pot. I'm sure the urine test is in my future but it's pretty ridiculous that I get caught for one thing and I can't do something that is perfectly legal.
you know why? it's not the substance it's the fact you were dumb enough to drive while unaware. You can't be trusted, you could have killed anyone and the only good that could have come is if you had killed only yourself so the problems of you ends.

"It's a gateway drug.'

No, it really isn't.

'One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit.
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OK, maybe I overstate the case."

So, you invented an example, and then proceeded to admit that it doesn't reflect reality.

There's no point insisting that people share a spliff in a college dorm room then end up as crack and smack junkies out on the street. A large number of the people on this forum either are now college students or have been college students. Many of whom have either shared a spliff in a college dorm room, or been in a college dorm room when a spliff has been shared. Honestly, most of those people have ended up ok. I'm not just making this up (like in the example above). I *have* been to university and guess what, I'm still lucid, I don't live on the streets, haven't robbed anyone, haven't sold myself for my next fix of crystal meth and nor have any of the people I knew at university. You're not going to convince us that we are villains and should all be criminals when our real life experience is so completely different from your example.

"But you can't just say it's OK."

Watch me. IT IS OK. Even if *I* didn't think it was ok, it is not the government's business to be interfering.


"You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished."

Why? PEOPLE WHO SMOKE A FEW JOINTS AT UNI DID NOTHING WRONG. THEY SHOULD NOT BE CRIMINALS.

And actually, when you insist on having laws that make people criminals just because you want to send a message, it sends a very clear message about you.
what was doing meths like?

you know why? it's not the substance it's the fact you were dumb enough to drive while unaware. You can't be trusted, you could have killed anyone and the only good that could have come is if you had killed only yourself so the problems of you ends.
Errr....
Marijuana isn't as debilitating as alcohol. It was an hour after I had smoked and I wasn't driving dangerously.
I'd really appreciate you not passing judgement on something you only know the general details about.

Errr....
Marijuana isn't as debilitating as alcohol. It was an hour after I had smoked and I wasn't driving dangerously.
I'd really appreciate you not passing judgement on something you only know the general details about.
you were tested and seen to be over a limit. They pulled you over, you did soemthing dangerous.
I'll do what I like around those who abuse others.

Think I'll get my 2 cents in before the thread gets bogged down in a crappy pointless debate on the (as yet entirely unproven) effects of cannabis.
Yeah, legalise it, why the hell not. Tax it. More money for the government, prices might actually come down. Make sure people have licences to grow/sell the stuff - you can charge for them as well.
But make it illegal to smoke in public places - tobacco is, so cannabis should be as well.
IMO, legislation should be the same for alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis.

i haven't smoked since i went to amsterdam :(

oh wait... i went to amsterdam, w00t! :p

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:
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OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.

actually, it is a scientifically accepted belief that marijuana is NOT a gateway drug. certainly, people who use hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin are likely to have used marijuana at some point, because someone who will use heroin or cocaine would probably be willing to try just about any drug, but smoking marijuana does not lead to the use of harder drugs. Of every 100 people who regularly use marijuana, about 28 of them ever even try cocaine. of those people, only 1 becomes a regular user of cocaine. There are some theories that marijuana could possibly be detrimental to your health, if overused, but it is a known fact that alcohol is bad for you. also, scientists are unable to find a lethal dose of marijuana. Scientists use the analogy that dying from too much marijuana is as likely as dying from drinking too much water. If there even is a lethal dose of marijuana, one would pass out and/or throwup far before they could come close to it. what message do we send by keeping marijuana illegal?

the only thing that would be difficult about legalizing weed would be to figure out a way to judge how much someone has had in cases of driving under the influence. with alcohol, a breathalyzer can determine the level of intoxication a person is under, but there is not a way to determine when someone last smoked weed or how much they smoked.

Who would have thoght so many people were into marijuana? Alchohol is MUCH worse then marijuana.

you were tested and seen to be over a limit. They pulled you over, you did soemthing dangerous.
I'll do what I like around those who abuse others.
I'm not going to argue with you over it. I know what happened and arguing with you is not going to change anything. Drop it.

Ya quit pick'n on him, and let it go. Get back to home on your argument for legalizing all drugs.

can't tax drug, crime too strong, drugs too easy to make/grow. If you legalise it you are infact trying to sell it at a lower cost than the criminals can along side your "better quality" or "safer ingredients" angle.

i actually was thinking the same thing as you, origninally. but now i think that legalizing weed would be like when prohibition of alcohol was ended. during the period of prohibition, people created, bought and sold alcohol just as people grow, buy, and sell weed today. after prohibition, companies began creating alcohol, and now you don't see any private dealers of alcohol. if weed was legalized, i would bet that companies would spring up who would be able to more efficiently produce better quality weed. competition would drive the price down for everybody, just as in every industry, and the government would be able to tax it. i imagine it would be just like alcohol, where you can buy different types and potencies. just like you have beer, everclear, and everything in between, companies selling marijuana would produce different levels of potencies. also, most people who smoke marijuana would rather buy it legally if that option was available, so i don't think there would be a problem.

i actually was thinking the same thing as you, origninally. but now i think that legalizing weed would be like when prohibition of alcohol was ended. during the period of prohibition, people created, bought and sold alcohol just as people grow, buy, and sell weed today. after prohibition, companies began creating alcohol, and now you don't see any private dealers of alcohol. if weed was legalized, i would bet that companies would spring up who would be able to more efficiently produce better quality weed. competition would drive the price down for everybody, just as in every industry, and the government would be able to tax it. i imagine it would be just like alcohol, where you can buy different types and potencies. just like you have beer, everclear, and everything in between, companies selling marijuana would produce different levels of potencies. also, most people who smoke marijuana would rather buy it legally if that option was available, so i don't think there would be a problem. Intresting observation. I think you are quite right.

OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.
What is it a gateway to? Other illegal drugs? Yes, for a few people it is. I think that if marijuana was legalised it would cease to be a gateway drug. Why isn't alcohol a gateway drug? It's effects are more extreme than marijuana, but it is not a gateway drug because it is not illegal.

can't tax drug, crime too strong, drugs too easy to make/grow. If you legalise it you are infact trying to sell it at a lower cost than the criminals can along side your "better quality" or "safer ingredients" angle.
Why is this not a problem with alcohol and cigarettes? Well, there is a black market in them, but it's very small compared to the legitimate market.

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:
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OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.

The first time I smoked weed I was drunk. Therefore Alcohol is a gateway drug and it should be banned. Right?

For the record; while i've used marijuana casually (about once every month) for about 3 years now. I don't use any other drugs.

I always think it's hilarious that its supporters can never spell "marijuana."

I can.

There are different amounts of the bad stuff (Can you tell that I didn't pay one whit of attention in health and DARE?) in the plant. There are some parts that are a helluva lot worse that what we call weed and pot.

Keep it banned.

My uncle is brainwashing me. Mwuahahah! Yay, cops!

Criminalising alcohol is a daft idea, and I speak as someone who rarely drinks it. It would only force it into the criminal realm, like Prohibition, like drugs. Besides, what about the tax revenue shortfall? It would be massive. :rolleyes:

(Yeah, the irony above is intentional)

Criminalising alcohol is a daft idea, and I speak as someone who rarely drinks it. It would only force it into the criminal realm, like Prohibition, like drugs. Besides, what about the tax revenue shortfall? It would be massive. :rolleyes:

(Yeah, the irony above is intentional)

Forgive my slowness (The sun is rising...*hiss*...I think it's time for me to retreat back to my coffin)....but isn't criminalising marijuana just as daft an idea? I already gave you an example of how alcohol can be construed as a gateway drug too.

you know why? it's not the substance it's the fact you were dumb enough to drive while unaware. You can't be trusted, you could have killed anyone and the only good that could have come is if you had killed only yourself so the problems of you ends.


If you are honestly saying that you can kill somebody while driving under the influence of marijuana, then you are either ignorant or have been brainwashed by those anti marijuana commerials. :rolleyes:

EDIT: Well technically you can. It just depends on how much alcohol you drank before you start to drive. :rolleyes:

I just want marijuana to be legal, so I can see others suffer.

Marijuana should still be banned and add a alcohol ban too.

Drug dealers and others should be shot at public executions with mandatory attendance, wathc drug use rates go down then.

I don't really care either way but I dislike being around people who smoke too much pot because it totally zaps the life and energy out of them...they can't keep up with me!

I just want marijuana to be legal, so I can see others suffer.

* high five! * :p

I'm not a supporter of pot per se but if alcohol is legal so pot shall be, one day.

[Think of all the people driving 'round stoned AND drunk, well haha they already do but now it'll be legal! bwhahahahah :p

* high five! * :p

I'm not a supporter of pot per se but if alcohol is legal so pot shall be, one day.

[Think of all the people driving 'round stoned AND drunk, well haha they already do but now it'll be legal! bwhahahahah :p

It would be like being in high school again.

Regards,

JMayo

Legalize it all. Tax it and use the revenue to pay for anti-drug advertizing, like we do with tobacco products and for drug treatment centers for those who become addicted.

Yup. Tax it, regulate it, and educate about it.

It would be like being in high school again.

Regards,

JMayo

:D Drove the nail home brah.

<insert evil laugh>

Legalize it all. Tax it and use the revenue to pay for anti-drug advertizing, like we do with tobacco products and for drug treatment centers for those who become addicted.

Yep.

Prohibition of alcohol was a disaster, and criminalisation of weed does no better. Legalise, tax, and ensure better pay for growers.

And theres the good spin-offs of more police/court time, hemp for various materials, provides employment and best of all, makes the world's most profitable industry out the hands of warlords and gangs.

I got put on probation for smoking marijuana and driving. Now, for the next year and a half, I can't... drink?
what did he pull you over for?

For the past two months I've had to put up with Breathalyzers for alcohol and not one test for pot. I'm sure the urine test is in my future but it's pretty ridiculous that I get caught for one thing and I can't do something that is perfectly legal.
drinking and driving is not legal.

* high five! * :p

I'm not a supporter of pot per se but if alcohol is legal so pot shall be, one day.

[Think of all the people driving 'round stoned AND drunk, well haha they already do but now it'll be legal! bwhahahahah :p

why are people insisiting that drinking and driving are legal activities to do together?

now back to on topic land. I believe it should be legalized. Smoking it however, should be illegal in public places. And finally, i think the tax revenue would be a great boon to society.

Marijuana should still be banned and add a alcohol ban too.

Drug dealers and others should be shot at public executions with mandatory attendance, watch drug use rates go down then.
I feel compelled to ask, why?

and i agree. If you're going to advocate for something, learn how to spell it.

I am fully supportive of the legalisation of cannabis. I am a regular pot smoker, but I am also a top grade student. I know people who smoke more weed than me, but still get higher grades than I do. Weed doesnt neccesarily make people slower and less aware, but i can, in some cases, make them work more efficiently. I for one, study better when under the influence. I play sorts better because I am alot more aware of my surroundings. I think alot of the negative actions caused by drug use (being slow, less aware etc.) is caused because of low quality drugs. Legalising cannabis would provide a way to have quality control on it. Therefore, only top-quality weed would be smoked, and hence have less negative affects. Of course there is going to be an initial period of black-marketing and high use, but that comes as norm when changing hte law on somethng so politically powerful.

Not that it matters...said the turtle in Neverending Story...but, assuming that most live in at least a partly civilized nation that protects the innate and inalienable rights of each to 'life', liberty, and the pursuit of 'any' enjoyable substance, then please justify how you think it is moral to prohibit, restrict, ban, forbid, outlaw or tax anything I enhale or imbibe or consume?

and...leave your guns (the use of force) outside, please.

amicus...

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:
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OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.

Why? What's the message? We have stupid laws? If something is bad the government will make it worse? If we can't get rich from it you can't get happy from it?

You don't overstate the case, you don't state the case at all.

what did he pull you over for?

drinking and driving is not legal.



why are people insisiting that drinking and driving are legal activities to do together?

It was on a road notorious for speed traps... one small town between two larger ones. Many things went into it.

Who said I want to drink while driving???

What is it a gateway to? Other illegal drugs? Yes, for a few people it is. I think that if marijuana was legalised it would cease to be a gateway drug. Why isn't alcohol a gateway drug? It's effects are more extreme than marijuana, but it is not a gateway drug because it is not illegal.

They whole "Gateway Drug" thing is a load of crap. It's a statistical tautology. Alcohol and cigarettes are everybit as much a gateway drug as anything else.

Taking alcohol or marijuana doesn't "make you" more likely to take harder drugs. It's a matter of an individuals willingness to take what's offered. Someone who takes crack probably has nothing against taking tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, or Windex. A crackhead with rarified tastes is something of a rarity himself. Someone who takes ecstacy probably also has nothing against marijuana or alcohol, but might very well have something against heroine or crack, but there's a chance he won't.

Someone who only takes alcohol and marijuana is more likely to have nothing against ecstacy than someone who doesn't even drink alcohol, but if that person is in their 30's and still only takes alcohol and marijuana then that's probably all their ever going to take outside of perscribed drugs.

But you can define this "gateway drug" nonsense as far back as you want. There are people who, for religious reasons, don't take anesthesia at the dentist. They could, with just as much justification as the Partnership for a Drug-free America, use the "gateway drug" line by saying that novocaine leads inexorably to heroine use, and if you don't believe it then just take a look at how heroine was invented. It was supposed to be a surgical anasthetic.

Marijuana should still be banned and add a alcohol ban too.

Drug dealers and others should be shot at public executions with mandatory attendance, wathc drug use rates go down then.

No, the murder of police officers would go up as drug dealers do the personal mathematics of resistence and capture. Years measured in single digits make it easier to get caught and learn from the pros on the inside what you did wrong. If they're going to execute you when they catch you then you may as well go down with your guns blazing. Who knows? You might survive and escape.

Read up on a little guy named Al Capone if you think that it's just a matter of putting them in prison and shooting them.

Where I live, Alaska, Marajuana is already defacto legal. We are allowed to keep a very small amount in our houses without penalty. It's all due to our State Supreme Court and it's resentment of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Alaska Supreme Court decided to define a greater degree of privacy for Alaskans then had been defined on the Federal level.

Anyway I support the full legalization of Marajuana (with common sense restrictions/a vice tax) and believe there should be debate on the legalization of other naturally occuring drugs.

However industrial toxins like met (made from pesticides and cold medicine) should never be legal (and the government should start cracking down on them more instead of worrying about weed).

Marie Jane should be kept illegal because once we release it there is no chance of banning it (much like drinking)

i haven't smoked since i went to amsterdam :(

oh wait... i went to amsterdam, w00t! :p

Brussels > Amsterdam :D

what was doing meths like?
:gundge:
:gundge:
:headbang:
:mp5:
:sniper:
:headbang:
:fluffle:
:eek:

But at a lot faster pace. Meth is a very fucked up drug and a very addicting one. It is more addicting then tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and kills you faster than anything else will. I got lucky and got out of it. Not many people are.

Smoking pot would become victimless if it was legal and you could buy it at a smokeshop. End of story.

I don't like marijuana... I don't think it should be legalised, but then again, I guess I can't make all the decisions can I? that'd be a tad arrogant :D

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:
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OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.

Pot is no more a gateway drug than beer is and it kills less people .
Its a joke and a disgrace that its not legal .

If you are honestly saying that you can kill somebody while driving under the influence of marijuana, then you are either ignorant or have been brainwashed by those anti marijuana commerials. :rolleyes:

EDIT: Well technically you can. It just depends on how much alcohol you drank before you start to drive. :rolleyes:

You might kill them by giving them the giggles and laughing them to death ..

even tho i smoke weed i dont think it should be legal. it's already easy to get. if it was legal more people would be doing it and since i do feel weed can be a gateway drug, it would be very very bad.

why was alcohol in the poll? it has nothing to do with weed.

I happen to "like me spinach", If ya know what I mean, but personally, anyone who drives under the influence of any substance, be it weed, or alchohol, is performing the actions of a douchebag.

I happen to "like me spinach", If ya know what I mean, but personally, anyone who drives under the influence of any substance, be it weed, or alchohol, is performing the actions of a douchebag.
I'd go so far as to include people driving while on most prescription drugs, or over-the-counter flu & allergy pills. That is to say, included in douchebaggery.

I'd go so far as to include people driving while on most prescription drugs, or over-the-counter flu & allergy pills. That is to say, included in douchebaggery.


I guess if someone is driving a car while using flu and allergy pills taht make them woozy, thats not a good diea either.

But as far as weed is concerned, I dont think the arguement that it impairs driving is worth any merit in terms of illegalization.
Having a sinus infection can impair your ability to drive.
Not getting enough sleep can do the same.

Wether its alchohol or weed, you shouldnt use it while driving.
Wait till you get home.

I have never had Marijuana but would like to, but thats the only illegal drug.

Of course you can't morally ban any drug. It's impossible. As long as drugs exist people will use them for one purpose or another. The desire to ban certain drugs is merely a matter of opinon and it's philosphically dangerous to allow opinion to dictate law. In a democracy the majority of people might not like to smoke marijuana, but the majority might like to use a more dangerous drug, alcohol. That their opinion, their choice. If you allow the retarded majority who prefer to abuse the more dangerous drug have their opinon wriiten in law that creates a grossly corrupt and dysfunctinal situation. The minority become criminals and thus stigmatised, persecuted and harrassed. The majority of problems related to marijuana(but a minority of users): psychological addiction, psychosis, having to smoke dirty hash because theres no good shit available, coming accross more dangerous drugs like crack; are all due to the legal situation rather than the drug itself. The same applied for other drugs. The problems are worsened by making them illegal, infact the problems might be barely noticeable in society the drugs were legal. Smackheads only steal because it's so expensive on the blackmarket, but heroin is a very cheap drug to make if its legal. Let's face it hardly anyone who supports prohibition gives a fuck about the user, only their back pocket, or the mugged old lady. So logically the best way to deal with drug addiction is to give them cheap drugs legally rather than lock them up in a prison laden with class A's and let them out again still addicted.

as for diving, some tests conducted by indepentant sources (i think Subaru but don't quote me on it) claim the have shown that marijuana to an extent improves a drivers performance. Anyone who has driven stoned will know that as opposed to driving drunk when you are overconfident and dangerous with your senses severly impaired, you drive like an over-cautious granny in a volvo after a spliff.

Anyone who does their research will know that the only reason marijuana was made illegal to begin with was because of racist propaganda in the early 1900's by Hearst's newspapers in america and the desire by certain powerful individuals and companies (DuPont for example) to profit from oil and timber at the expense of industrial hemp. Even though today it has been proven that hemp don't get you high and has been legalised to an extent in some western countries, the DEA still insist on destroying hemp crops grown for things like chipboard, insulation and fuel and claim its marijuana. It's also been admitted by Harry Anslinger, the man who fought for marijuana to be made illegal in america and made claims as fucked up as 'Smoking marijuana combined with voodoo jazz music makes white women seek sexual relations with negroes'!!, that this comments were utter bollocks, but were sadly forgotten to be mentioned in the media.
So considering that the grounds in which marijuna was banned to begin with (lies) and that the current arguments being squeezed out of fascists today for continuing to ban it are either lies or just wrong, then surely there is no question it shouyld be re-legalized. My 81yr old grandad who remembers the days before it was banned agree's. Some people seem to forget its relatively recent in history that we decided to ban drugs and since then guess what? the problems associated with them havent just gotten worse, they've gotten noticeable! Nobody knew what a recreational drug was until they became illegal.
If you don't agree with me, KILL YOURSELF DUMB ****! from a utilitarian point of you, all those who support prohibition are better off dead cos the only want to destroy the lives of innocent, open minded people who like to percieve things differently sometimes!

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:
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OK, maybe I overstate the case. But you can't just say it's OK. You have to keep it criminalised, to send a message, even if in practice no-one gets punished.

"Sending a message" is great... but if that's your aim, you must recognize that there are plenty of other, clearer ways to send that message. Indeed, you have to realize that, to date, ALL available research shows that treatment and aggressive education programs are far more effective than legal sanctions in preventing drug use and minimizing drug abuse.

Errr....
Marijuana isn't as debilitating as alcohol.

Doesn't matter. You're damn stupid and irresponsible to be driving on any intoxicating substance.

(For the record, I have spent more time than I can remember -- hehehe -- as stoned as I could get myself... but driving? That's just stupid.)

It was an hour after I had smoked and I wasn't driving dangerously.

If you were high, you were driving dangerously.

I'd really appreciate you not passing judgement on something you only know the general details about.

From experience, I do know what I'm talking about. I support legalization... but I don't think it's okay to endanger other people, under any circumstances. I fully support criminal penalties for anyone driving while intoxicated on any drug.

It was on a road notorious for speed traps...

It was notorious for speed traps, yet you managed to get caught?

I'd say that's evidence of "impaired judgment", wouldn't you?

even tho i smoke weed i dont think it should be legal. it's already easy to get. if it was legal more people would be doing it and since i do feel weed can be a gateway drug, it would be very very bad.

why was alcohol in the poll? it has nothing to do with weed.


theres nothing more ridiculous than a weed smoker who wants it to be illegal. so what other drugs has it led you onto? if you do your research, or just think logically, the gateway theory is utterly wrong. The circumstances in which illegal drugs are acquired is the gateway. I've not been offered crack much myself but when i have i wasn't fucking stupid enough to accept it.
why do you smoke weed if its bad? if you dont thin its bad why dont you want more people smoking it?
it may be easy for you to get hold of, but thats a kind of selfish argument cos its not easily available for everyone and i have had friends persecuted by police just for growing some herb (4 plants for himself not to sell thus taking him away from the oft dangerous blackmarket). why does a person who smokes deserve to go to prison?
if you hoestly belive that it should remain illegal then you should be locked up you crazy motherfucker

Of course it should not be illegal. In the context of a free society where people are free to choose to act in their own interests or not, and where there are laws that directly prohibit acts that unnecessarily and to an unacceptable degree, infringe on the interests of others, there is no good reason why it should be illegal.

'Smoking marijuana combined with voodoo jazz music makes white women seek sexual relations with negroes'!!,

wow that finally explains the explosive growth in miscegenation in the last third of the 20th century... as an aryan warrior i am outraged that this drug hasn't been total irradicated... then again i'm stoned right now, so maybe not.

All drugs should be legalized, or at least marijuana, LSD, "shrooms", and ecstasy -none of which are chemically addictive.

Society has not collapsed in on itself with the presence of legal alcohol and tobacco, so why not decriminalize a drug such as marijuana or LSD that actually has a tendency to make its users peaceful and mellow, rather than loud, reckless, and belligerant.

Legalizing drugs is a good idea. It will boom for a bit, perhaps kill a few people to over-doses etc, and then the novelty will wear off. Sure, people will get addicted and will have some serious issues, but hey. Nothings perfect!

Doesn't matter. You're damn stupid and irresponsible to be driving on any intoxicating substance.

(For the record, I have spent more time than I can remember -- hehehe -- as stoned as I could get myself... but driving? That's just stupid.)



If you were high, you were driving dangerously.



From experience, I do know what I'm talking about. I support legalization... but I don't think it's okay to endanger other people, under any circumstances. I fully support criminal penalties for anyone driving while intoxicated on any drug.


That is total bullshit about driving dangerously when high. Like I said before it depends on how much alcohol you also drank.

I always think it's hilarious that its supporters can never spell "marijuana."

I'm not a supporter, but I don't think it should be banned.

Along similar lines, I want to know what this "alchohol" stuff is that people keep talking about. I never seem to be able to find "alchohol (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=alchohol)" in the dictionary...

Well nobody really knows. Its a huge mystery. :p

I think, because people cannot handle witz legal drugs like alcohol or cigarettes , why should we legalize another ?

I think, because people cannot handle witz legal drugs like alcohol or cigarettes , why should we legalize another ?


Well for one it shouldn't have been made illegal in the first place. You notice its basically like prohibition. Alcohol may have been illegal but that didn't stop people from drinking. Many people smoke weed which is not as bad as alcohol but its still illegal. There are many drunk drivers who kill people but you never hear about people who was high on weed killing somebody while driving. (I guess you would call them "high drivers.")

However the real argument behind legalizing it is the fact that the cops jail stoners even though they should be focusing on jailing drug dealers who sell heroin, cocaine, meth which can actually cause real harm to a user and people around them.

I still want to know two things:

Number one, where is it scientifically proven that alcohol is worse than marijuana? Naturally, if you consume alcohol in very large quantities it's worse for you I would assume, but I thought that they proved that small amounts of alcohol can actually be helpful to one's health.

Number two: how exactly is any other drug more harmful to people around the user than marijuana? On a comfort scale, i personally find marijuana users far more disgusting to be around than say ecstacy, speed or heroin users, because I cannot abide the smell of marijuana smoke. And unless you are an addict who starts beating up octogenarians in their homes to get a fix, the consumption of drugs such as ecstacy, alcohol etc. by users is harmless to non-users. However, drugs such as marijuana and tobacco can cause problems to non-users. One of my friends has chronic asthma and the slightest inhalation of smoke of any sort can cause her to spend long periods of time in hospital. It's one of the main reasons she doesn't go clubbing or to parties. People smoke (any substance) and she gets really, really sick. I have a similar problem, though my own asthma is much, much milder.
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On the subject of the question, i think Hullepup was right (though spelling and grammar leave a little to be desired). People cannot handle the few drugs that are actually legal. Why add more fuel to the fire?

You're damn right it should be legal, but it should be a government industry.

Think of the money saved in the Courts and on the Police force! We spend millions upon millions to arrest and convict tokers, when they're just committing a victimless crime, and embracing an age-old culture and custom that has been around in both European, South American, and Asian cultures for eons.

In Canada, legalizing marijuana would create a government run industry that would produce enough of a profit that we could give our health care system and defence massive boosts in funding. In the States, you guys could likely fund an entire public health care system on taxed revenues from marijuana.

It's a gateway drug. One moment you're sharing a spliff in a college dorm room, the next, you're sleeping in a park by day, selling yourself unprotected by night, to feed your crack habit. :mad:


Gateway drug?

The real problem is orange juice. 100% of marijuana users tried orange juice before they tried marijuana. Let's make orange juice illegal and the whole drug problem will go away.

I still want to know two things:

Number one, where is it scientifically proven that alcohol is worse than marijuana? Naturally, if you consume alcohol in very large quantities it's worse for you I would assume, but I thought that they proved that small amounts of alcohol can actually be helpful to one's health.

Number two: how exactly is any other drug more harmful to people around the user than marijuana? On a comfort scale, i personally find marijuana users far more disgusting to be around than say ecstacy, speed or heroin users, because I cannot abide the smell of marijuana smoke. And unless you are an addict who starts beating up octogenarians in their homes to get a fix, the consumption of drugs such as ecstacy, alcohol etc. by users is harmless to non-users. However, drugs such as marijuana and tobacco can cause problems to non-users. One of my friends has chronic asthma and the slightest inhalation of smoke of any sort can cause her to spend long periods of time in hospital. It's one of the main reasons she doesn't go clubbing or to parties. People smoke (any substance) and she gets really, really sick. I have a similar problem, though my own asthma is much, much milder.

1) Marijuana can be helpful to ones health, just as alcohol. The two drugs are really quite similar in nearly every respect. They provide mild intoxication (marijuana being the milder - proof? Sit down and smoke a blunt. Then, later, sit down and drink a twelve pack) and are also beneficial. For instance, a study concluded very recently in Canada shows that in rats marijuana promotes growth of cells vital for memory (shocking!) and help alleviate depression! It's also quite an efficient painkiller, especially in its pure form (THC, which can be produced individually. THC is also a natural biochemical and can be found in any persons body at any time). It can be However, Alcohol does not benefit much other than the heart and the circulatory system. Otherwise it produces stomach ulcers and kidney problems. Marijuana (when smoked) can affect the lungs - but when put in a vapourizor,or taken in pill-form via THC, all of it's negative side effects suddenly become non-existent.

2) Your reasoning for marijuana being harmful does not make sense - a person with severe asthma will have just as much trouble on a smoggy day in any major city than when they're near someone smoking pot. Pot also tends not to make you go nuts and, while lowering your inhibitions, keeps the user as the one in control - whereas, if you're on ecstacy, you have the potential to pour red dye in your eyes to top your friends who have cats eye contact lenses (a true story) or you can just fall flat on your face dead, just like a heroin user who could also eventually damage veins, causing over-injected limbs to become infected, and also run the risk of HIV. You don't get that with marijuana. As well, marijuana is not addictive substance (chemically at least - EVERYTHING can be addictive psychologically, including pot, and NationStates) - a marijuana user is far less likely to commit crime to fund their habit than a crack user. They won't adversly and directly harm others in order to continue their habit.

Statistics and facts are just against the illegalities of marijuana.