Author Topic: Should marijuana be legal?  (Read 8857 times)

Offline serious crayons

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Should marijuana be legal?
« on: April 03, 2009, 01:41:28 pm »
I just read an op-ed piece by conservative San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra J. Saunders arguing in favor of decriminalizing marijuana that I thought made some excellent points:

Quote
It seems pretty obvious that the last three presidents -- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- once smoked marijuana. OK, Clinton claimed he didn't inhale. Bush refused to say whether he ever used drugs; instead, he coyly alluded to mistakes in his youth. Obama didn't play games in his memoir, "Dreams from My Father" -- he wrote about using marijuana and cocaine as a kid.

The big question: If all three men nonetheless managed to become president, why can't Washington decriminalize marijuana?

Or better yet, legalize, regulate and tax it.
At what the White House billed last week as an "experimental" town hall meeting with questions submitted online, the most popular questions were about marijuana. President Obama chose not to answer any such question directly. Instead, the president volunteered that "there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation." Then he quipped to laughter, "And I don't know what this says about the online audience."

His answer to his question: "No, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy." Fair enough, legalizing marijuana isn't a strategy to improve the economy. But there are reasons to legalize marijuana, such as the 872,720 marijuana arrests made in America in 2007 -- more than 775,000 were for possession, not sale or manufacture. Those individuals who are convicted may have criminal records and may have trouble obtaining financial aid for college -- even if some day they could grow up to be president.

And what can America show for its drug laws? The World Health Organization found that 42.4 percent of Americans had tried marijuana -- the highest ratio of any of 17 countries surveyed. WHO researchers concluded that drug use "does not appear to be related to drug policy, as countries with more stringent policies (e.g., the United States) did not have lower levels of illegal drug use than countries with more liberal policies (e.g. the Netherlands)."

In short, drug laws don't work, but they cost the federal government alone some $3.7 billion annually, according to Harvard economist Jeffrey A. Miron.

column continues here:

http://townhall.com/columnists/DebraJSaunders/2009/03/31/obama_just_say_no



Meanwhile, Louise posted an article about new research suggesting that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, can kill brain cancer cells.

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,35137.0.html


So I'm interested in hearing people's opinions on whether marijuana should be legal in the U.S. and elsewhere. If you'd like to expound on your opinions about legalizing other drugs, feel free to do so.


Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2009, 01:50:18 pm »


Interesting poll Bud!  I voted for "I've never smoked it, but think it should be legal." 


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Offline southendmd

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2009, 01:53:40 pm »
Just a thought, Katherine: is it important to ask people whether they do/did smoke, rather than just their opinion on the legalization issue?  The way the poll is worded might scare away some folks.

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2009, 02:15:46 pm »
I used to smoke it years ago, although I was never a big fan of it. It tended to make me feel a bit paranoid and nervous and I didn't like that feeling. Also, I would get incredibly thirsty and then hungry. :P

Many of my friends still smoke it though and I really don't see anything wrong with it. The effects of marijuana are no different than the effects of alcohol. In fact, marijuana is probably better because it tends to calm people down and makes them relax. Alcohol often makes people very violent and do foolish things while drunk.

I think they should legalize it. Our prisons are overflowing and locking someone up because they were found smoking pot/purchasing it seems very stupid to me. Since alcohol is legal, marijuana should be legal too.

In my opinion.
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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2009, 02:26:49 pm »
Just a thought, Katherine: is it important to ask people whether they do/did smoke, rather than just their opinion on the legalization issue?  The way the poll is worded might scare away some folks.

Good point, Paul. I'm interested in the use issue, too, and figured people might not mind answering, because the poll responses themselves are anonymous. I don't think anyone can see who voted what, except maybe Phillip and/or John.

However, on the chance that some people still might be uncomfortable with that, I added some options that don't require confessing use or non-use.


Many of my friends still smoke it though and I really don't see anything wrong with it. The effects of marijuana are no different than the effects of alcohol. In fact, marijuana is probably better because it tends to calm people down and makes them relax. Alcohol often makes people very violent and do foolish things while drunk.

I agree, David. I once reviewed a book about the history of recreational drugs, including marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, narcotics, caffeine, kaht, etc. One theme that emerged very clearly was that drug laws in all cultures have much more to do with societal power structures than with the health effects of the drugs themselves. In other words, alcohol is legal because it's produced and consumed by people with economic and political power, whereas marijuana is produced and consumed by relatively powerless or marginalized people.

That could change, of course, if marijuana comes to be seen as an important source of revenue.


Offline oilgun

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2009, 02:45:03 pm »
I voted for legalization.  I also think that possession and use of any drug should be, at least, decriminalised.  Turning drug users, who are otherwise law abiding citizens, into criminals is not very helpful IMO.

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2009, 02:45:30 pm »
It's less damaging to the health of a person than tobacco smoking (maybe only because of the amount of tobacco smoked) so the fact that marujuana is illegal is absurd.

Of course I'm in favour of legalizing it's use.

Like David I have used it when I was younger - and even tried it again a few years ago - but I just get paranoid. Not worth the trouble for me. My friends still use it.

Canada was ready to decriminalize it before the Conservatives came into power 4 years ago, but it wasn't a priority issue so it didn't get done. (I'm sure the U.S. government interfered in our national politics at the time, seeing as we have such a transparent border.)
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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2009, 02:49:55 pm »

I've been thinking about this a bit and want to elaborate on my earlier, quick answer.

I agree that marijuana is probably no more harmful than alcohol.  And, it seems very reasonable to me to expect that marijuana could be regulated in much the same way as alcohol or even tobacco products.  People consume potentially harmful/ unhealthy products all the time (including fast food, etc.).  In a way, the health factor as a reason for keeping pot illegal becomes difficult to sustain as an argument when you really start thinking about a lot of the legal products out there.  In fact if marijuana was legal and regulated... there may be less risk of contaminated pot that can be more dangerous than "pure" marijuana.

I also think that, currently, probably the most dangerous thing about pot is the very fact that it is illegal.  By this I mean, it creates a huge subculture of dangerous dealers and related crime.  If marijuana was removed as one element of the illegal drug trade.... just think of the amount of time and resources the police, courts, etc. could spend on more significant problems and issues.  Also, just think of the amount of money that could be saved in the prison system if people convicted solely of marijuana-related issues weren't there.




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Offline southendmd

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #8 on: April 03, 2009, 02:54:12 pm »
Massachusetts recently decriminalized possession of small amounts, by referendum.  It's still "illegal", but a civil, rather than criminal, offense, meaning it wouldn't affect one's ability to get a job, for instance.


Here's an article from The Boston Globe:

Mass. voters OK decriminalization of marijuana
November 4, 2008 09:34 PM


By David Abel, Globe Staff

Massachusetts voters today approved a ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making getting caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable by a civil fine of $100. The change in the law means someone found carrying as many as dozens of marijuana cigarettes will no longer be reported to the state’s criminal history board.

“The people were ahead of the politicians on this issue; they recognize and want a more sensible approach to our marijuana policy,” said Whitney Taylor, chairwoman of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which campaigned for the ballot initiative. “They want to focus our limited law enforcement resources on serious and violent crimes. They recognize under the new law that the punishment will fit the offense.”

The proposition will become law 30 days after it’s reported to the Governor’s Council, which usually meets in late November or early December. But the Legislature could amend or repeal the new law, as they've done with some prior laws passed by the voters, said Emily LaGrassa, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Martha Coakley. The Associated Press called the outcome at about 9:20 p.m.

The proposition will require those younger than age 18 to complete a drug awareness program and community service. The fine would increase to as much as $1,000 for those who fail to complete the program.

Proponents of the initiative, who spent about $1 million promoting it, argued the change in the law would maintain the state's existing penalties for growing, trafficking, or driving under the influence of marijuana, while ensuring that those caught with less than an ounce of pot would avoid the taint of a criminal record. They also argued it would save the state millions of law enforcement dollars and match similar marijuana possession laws in 12 states, all of which have adopted some form of decriminalization.

The opponents, who included the governor, attorney general, and district attorneys around the state, argued that decriminalizing marijuana possession would promote drug use and benefit drug dealers at a time when they say marijuana has become more potent. They warned it would increase violence on the streets and safety hazards in the workplace, and cause the number of car crashes to rise as more youths drive under the influence.

The opponents said that most of those charged with marijuana possession are arrested for other reasons, such as driving under the influence or possessing a more potent drug like crack cocaine. They also said most people arrested for marijuana possession have their records cleared within six months.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/11/question_2_setu.html

Offline Shakesthecoffecan

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Re: Should marijuana be legal?
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2009, 02:56:06 pm »
 ::)  I, uh, forgot what I was going to say.......
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