o.k. I get it.
I don't want to talk about it anymore.

All tobacco products should be smoked in a basement in the middle of nowhere.

I feel the same way about alcoholic products.

People have to be responsible...

They have the right to drink but they have to be responsible for any actions incurred by their drinking.

If marijuana becomes legal I am sure that axiom will stand as well.

And, there are a lot of places where you cannot have an open alcohol container. Many parks, etc. ban alcohol. Just because it's legal doesn't mean people are going to be smoking it everywhere and anywhere.

I think the strongest arguments for legalizing it are:
1) Being able to regulate what people are actually getting. When you buy from someone on the street, you really don't know what you're getting.
2) It's another "sin" that would be taxed and therefore would be a revenue maker for government.
3) Our penal system is busting at the seams and it seems like a better use of resources to focus on those committing violent crimes or crimes against society.

I've said before that I pretty much ascribe to the idea that if it doesn't infringe other people's rights, it should be legal.

Those who say that marijuana is not harmful to your body though are fooling themselves. There is plenty of research that shows that it's harmful to the lungs, brain and liver. My next door neighbor died of liver failure related to his marijuana use. The liver has to filter those toxins, just like it does with alcohol. He wasn't a drinker, but his liver was overtaxed because he smoked a lot of marijuana. We're talking a few joints every day.

A medical marijuana proposal did pass on the November ballot in Michigan. Some folks with Crohn's Disease feel it helps their symptoms a lot. I think if I got really really sick again and a doctor suggested it, I would try it for that. I'd rather not get that sick again though :)

Here's what the National Institute on Drug Abuse has to say about marijuana: http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html
Looks like there's still no positive evidence that smoking pot leads to lung cancer, and the effects on the brain and heart appear to be only acute so far. I've never read anything linking pot to liver damage, and I think it would be difficult to prove...not saying it didn't happen in your neighbor's case, AGDee, I've just never heard or read that before.

It goes right back to what she was saying...

It depends on what was in the weed he was smoking!

HEH!

There's also plenty of research out there showing that it's not all that harmful. Obviously breathing in smoke into your lungs isn't the healthiest thing....I understand that. I researched this topic extensively in college and pretty much every major analysis that I drew from stated that, while pot can pose some health risks....the risks are nowhere near those associated with cigarette smoking and drinking alcohol.

As far as liver problems.....my research indicated that even in subjects that had Hep C or cirrhosis of the liver....marijuana was not found to facilitate the liver's deterioration. I'm not calling you a liar by any means....but that is honestly the first instances I have read/seen/heard of where a death was solely blamed on marijuana use.....and as far as I know, there are still zero documented cases of an overdose. You'd basically have to smoke 1000+ joints at once, and even that is a debatable number. Some say it's higher.


.......This is why vaporizers are good to own, especially high quality ones like a Volcano. No smoke, no carcinogens...only THC filled air vapor.

I don't know if this was ever mentioned, but another reason to legalize it (which is actually decriminalizing it, I don't think it can be completely legalized...you can still get a ticket in the Netherlands, I believe), is that it eliminates that connection to drug dealers. Now kids can buy pot from drug dealers and then say....so what else do you got? Buying hard drugs from a guy you don't know much about pushes people away.

I myself don't smoke pot but I use to like other drugs.

People on both sides need to realize that there are benefits to both legalization and prohibition.

Economically: I feel that in a time of economic downturn it would beneficial to begin to regulate, tax, and commercially grow marijuana here. It is the number one cash crop in America and our government is receiving zero revenue as well as spending a lot of money to imprison marijuana drug offenders (I believe that this makes up 40% of all prisoners in jail for drug-related offenses.)

Crime rates: As previously mentioned, the number of prisoners would be drastically reduced and there would be a decrease in gang activity because they would not receive funding from marijuana sales.

Effect on youth: As the law stands today, it is just as easy for a 16 year old to purchase marijuana as it is for a 21 year old or a 40 year old- and sometimes easier due to the networking opportunities provided by high schools. Many young people die in dealing with drug dealers and street gangs, I personally knew two people who were viciously murdered over a drug deal. http://drugreport.wordpress.com/2006/08/02/98/ If Marijuana were legalized, high school students and other underage groups would most likely go through an older sibling or use a fake id to purchase it- much like alcohol today.

Effect on public health: Assuming that marijuana usage would drastically fall with legalization, (a disputed topic) there would be public health risks associated with smoking such as increases in lung cancer and DUI deaths. I feel that the tax revenue received from taxation would cover the public health care burden and that revenue would also be used to train police officers to identify when people are under the influence of marijuana while driving. I feel that most public places would ban the smoking of marijuana because of the health risk (especially to children.)

[hijack]

So my folks visited Maui and all we got were these lousy T-shirts, one with a marijuana leaf on it. My brother and I asked my dad if he knew what that was, and he didn't... Then, my brother said it was marijuana!!! Shocked, my dad said he liked the leaf and they were kind of put off by the fact they didn't know what the "kids" know these days...

[/end hijack]

It's easier to jail them and use them for cheap labor than it is to send them to school. Jail is big business. ;)

Plus if it were legal to commercially grow it here it could cut down on some of the trafficking behaviors over borders, although it wouldn't stop it completely, considering they still have other drugs AND trafficking people is big business.

Weed farming.....hmmm...and what's to stop them from smoking up all the profits?

LOL

Tee hee

I am just worried that I get splashed by the nasty bong water...

Really, it will wreck havoc on our public health system because we are on the brink... You think that peanut issue was bad... Let a bunch of pot growers grow their crops and not manage it public health wise properly... It won't just be a some bug issue, but a fungal or insecticide issue...

That doesn't mean that we cannot do it, because weed tends to grow anywhere in a greenhouse with UVB lighting and monitored by hydroponics. There is some new plastic recycled netting product that helps these plants grow.

People who smoke the weed still have to be monitored because THC narcotic is just a different beast. The pleasure centers in the brain are initially heightened, then wane over increase "smokage". People with chronic diseases, have a differing effect that is not understood other than it alleviates pain. That still does not mean you can be like "Uncle Joe" smoking it while on oxygen!