If there was a way to field test whether or not somebody was high then I'm convinced that it would be legal.

Right. That's the problem, right? Alcohol..test the blood. Weed? It stays there for weeks. There's no way to figure out how recently you've smoked.

Decriminalizing it sounds fine to me, but how are you going to tax a product that probably couldn't meet any kind of FDA safety standards for use or sale?

It may not be worse than cigarette smoking, but I actually have a hard time imagining that cigarettes would be approved for sale if they were an entirely new product, which I kind of think marijuana would have to be evaluated as.

I've got no philosophical or moral concerns about legalization or taxation, just practical ones.

They can in a lab... 90%+ of marijuana is out of your system within a couple hours, a small amount can be stored in fat cells for weeks. They can't test it on the side of the road though like they can with a breathalyzer.

Its definitely worse for you than cigarette smoking unless you use a vaporizer.

I understand other states are trying to legalize it for medicinal purposes, but it becomes harder to talk to kids about being drug free when they hear stuff like this. Kids aren't thinking about medicinal purposes, they are thinking that if they make it legal for some to use then it must be o.k.

Based on what?

Even if you account for the lack of the filter, how do you account for all of the carcinogenic additives in cigarettes, not to mention the fact that I doubt many people (and I could just be really ignorant here) have the equivelant of a pack-a-day marijunana habit.

Smoking one joint, blunt, whatever your name preference is, is equivalent to smoking at least half a pack of cigarettes ( some sources say a whole pack) and alot of people don't know that marijuana has cancer causing agents in it.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/marijuana.html

This site has some info. It varies depending on the source, but it is true that smoking one joint is like smoking a couple of cigarettes.

I stopped reading after "Marijuana is an addictive drug".

Marijuana, along with anything that makes you feel good can be addictive. Its not as addictive as cocaine or hard drugs but its addictive nonetheless.

...Really. You ARE a sheep, aren't you?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0417193338.htm

This was the first result that popped up on a google search for "marijuana cancer".

And...

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=18122

First sentence: Despite popular belief, a new study shows that people who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk of developing lung cancer.

So..how exactly is it the same as smoking cigarettes again?

First the David Geffen School of Medicine just made me laugh, and second, are we sure that there aren't other health risks with marijuana? Cancer is just one of many health problems associated with smoking. It would really amaze me if you could smoke anything at a heavy rate of use over your lifetime with no ill effects.

Ridiculous sample size but:http://www.scienceblog.com/community...200001082.html

and

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0212184119.htm

ETA: I'm fine with decriminalization. I'm just not one of the hemp will save the world folks. I think it's going to be hard to have it completely legalized because I don't think it's a particularly safe product.

Actually I work with kids talking to them about the effects of drugs. I also talk about how adults make up dumb ass excuses to use them.:) I have been doing it for years and I always back it up with research, not hearsay. I am sure if you search really, really, hard that you could find an article that states that marijauna makes you smarter. So to answer your question ( and I knew someone would say it) no I am not a sheep. Any other questions??

Its the same as smoking cigarettes because you are inhaling smoke and tar into your lungs... that is bad for you. I didn't say that marijuana itself contained carcinogens, just the smoke.