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Heh, I see you bought into those commercials too.
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Im confused...are you saying this never happens? A friend of mine was killed in a marijuana-related automobile accident, and I find it a tad disrespectful to question the validity of it ever happening. Yes, significantly more accidents happen because of alcohol. Why this strikes some people as an excuse to legalize it boggles the mind, because if, for example, alcohol related accidents caused 100,000 deaths a year, and pot related accidents claimed the lives of 4, why would anyone want to compound those figures. Does pot make anyone into a violent criminal? No way to be 100% certain, but Id actually lean towards no. It does make people careless, and that can be just as dangerous as violence.
When it comes to the decriminalization or legalization of a mind-altering substance, the argument becomes much more universal. It really depends on how much you trust other people to do the responsible thing. Id trust myself to smoke, (as I do to drink) because I know I wouldnt put myself in a compromising position (behind the wheel of a car, with a nonconsenting female). Im certain that there are people much more responsible than I am, but I just dont know for sure if theyre the ones that are going to be on the road, potentially endangering someone I love. If drugs (especially hard ones) affected just the people who use them, as stated before, then it would be a personal choice. However, many times it does not, and when you threaten someone elses livelihood, thats where our 'father figure' comes in. Regretfully, some people are 'too stupid to make their own decisions', and when left to their own devices, could cause harm to others.
My stance: Ive said a lot of ambiguous things, and I can say that I support decriminalization, because there are bigger problems for the government to be worried about. For me to vote for it, there would have to be the equivalent of a breathalyzer, or other instant test. Drivers under the influence should have the book thrown at them, as in alcohol related cases. I should add, that besides the medical uses (and there are other painkillers), I have not seen one persons life improved or maintained by pot smoking.
DeltaSigStan, Im not sure how you meant what you said above, but to me, you trivialized the legitimacy of the injuries, rapes, and deaths caused by marijuana use. Not every smoker (in fact, an extremely small few) has done those things, but it does happen, and I think everyone deserves to know the potential consequences without having them laughed at.