Poll: Should they legalize pot?
- Thread starter Safe in the Dark
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Im not even interested in smoking it and I say yes because I have no problem with others smoking it. It could be a source of tax money, render illegal trafficking useless, save money with lower prison population, and getting it would be easier for people who need it medically. Plus, alcohol is more dangerous, so why not?
My best advice ever: Show them that post, and tell them you had no intention of showing it to them until someone asked you to...Miumaru said:
Plurralbles said:
JakeTheSnakeMan said:
These three fine posters have every angle of this argument covered. Good on ya, mates!LilGherkin said:
People will smoke it whether it's legal or not so you might as well legalize it so that you can tax it and so that it can be regulated by the FDA and the government. Meaning you could control the quality and put an age limit on it etc etc.
As for health consequences I agree it may have some if you use it a lot but joints aren't nearly as dangerous as cancer sticks (cigarettes) so if that's the reason you want to keep it illegal then ban those too.
Lastly who is the government to tell me what I can and can't put into my body? As long as I don't cause harm to anyone else they should let me smoke all the pot I can lay my hands on. Plus if this industry suddenly became legal it would jump start the economy because of all the new businesses and give the government extra funding since you could tax it.
As for health consequences I agree it may have some if you use it a lot but joints aren't nearly as dangerous as cancer sticks (cigarettes) so if that's the reason you want to keep it illegal then ban those too.
Lastly who is the government to tell me what I can and can't put into my body? As long as I don't cause harm to anyone else they should let me smoke all the pot I can lay my hands on. Plus if this industry suddenly became legal it would jump start the economy because of all the new businesses and give the government extra funding since you could tax it.
Weed is natural, making it illegal is like saying god made a mistake. We all know god is perfect in every way, shape, form, color, and all that nonsense so he could never make a mistake. So it us humans who are making the mistake by not using it.
The overly religious US government will legalize it if you tell them that.
The overly religious US government will legalize it if you tell them that.
My thoughts on the subject are mixed. I know many people who are pro-cannibis are going to disagree with me whatever I think, but I figured I'd express my opinion despite the way the poll turned out.
While the mighty ganja might not be worse than alcohol, I pretty much feel that the more intoxicating substances that we can limit, the better things are. Whatever stats might be quoted, the bottom line is that putting pot out there is going to create more intoxication and accidents. Not just motor vehicle related, but in general.
Pretty much all the reasons why people want to get stoned, and all the crazy stuff they do under the influance are good reasons why it shouldn't be allowed. We're not talking about violence, so much as general idiocy. Generally speaking pro-pot proponents will be very quick to point out how harmless weed is when making a case, but at the same token when you look at the stoner sub-culture they themselves present it as being anything but. If you look at things like old "Cheech and Chong" movies, they are quite funny, but the problem is that in real life a lot of the stuff in that movie would get people killed. The idea of the two of them driving a car while so stoned that they crash, and don't even realize they're not driving anymore for hours... well that's not quite so amusing when things like that happen for real (and they CAN happen, which is why it's funny). Pretty much all the "this one time when I was stoned out of my mind..." stories pretty much form a solid counterpoint to most claims of the drug being harmless.
On top of this, while not quite on the level of a movie, weed can get people intoxicated through secondhand smoke, especially if a lot of it is being consumed in one area. What's more it's also very fragrant and sticks to clothes, being far worse in this respect than cigarettes. It infringes on the rights of people who just happen to be present when someone else happens to be enjoying a fatty.
Simply put I feel the cons greatly outweigh the pros, and it's also one of those things that can heavily infringe on others. You aren't going to get drunk by simply being around a lot of people drinking, nor is some dude downing a bottle of rum going to make your clothes stink. Although arguably the behavioral aspects are just as bad.
Consider also though that I am also a supporter of "The War On Drugs", and I also think that the probition was not a bad idea. I also think that one of the big problems with the alcohol ban was that we didn't stick with it. You aren't going to see results even in a few decades, for something like that to really work you need a few generations to pass in illegality. The generation that was a problem to begin with is not going to ever be entirely clean due to the cravings and such no matter what laws you happen to pass. This means that before anyone can weigh results, you need to wait over 200 years given the fact that people today can easily live to 80 or more, and when dealing with social engineering you need to look at the results on people that had no real contact with the generation where the problem existed. This is in part why I also feel that people who complain about the "failure" of the war on drugs in general are wrong, because I don't consider it to have started in earnest until Reagan was in power in the 1980s. Around 2180 we can start looking at results, assuming of course we get serious about it, which has always been a big part of the problem. Domestic policing is fine, but the issue is international cartels, which need to be targeted more directly irregardless of national sovreignty I feel. I'm one of those guys who basically feels that if the police in another country aren't meeting results due to widescale corruption, and groups like the CIA and intelligences services with satellites can see some of these operations making the junk, which gets packed up and sent to the US... well that's the time you fly in a bunch of jets and just bomb the living bejeebus out of them. If Civilians die, well... that's war, it's no worse than when we bombed civilians, and even our own people (forced to work as PoWs) during World War II to destroy Germany's infrastructure... and not all of those factories were building weapons and bombs. Some feel I'm crazy, others not so much, it largely comes down to your take on morality, and whether you support the issue or not. I see it mostly as declaring war against international drug cartels, as opposed to on a nation. I do not believe (personally) that nations are the only viable grouping of people to declare war on.
At any rate, apologies about the rambling, I'm pretty tired but can't sleep. The bottom line is that I'm very much against "drugs", even alcohol for that matter. Truthfully I'm a bit more sympathetic towards things like Heroin (coming from poppies) because at least that has some legitimate uses as a painkiller, even though there are nowadays better ways of acheiving the same result. I don't approve of it for recreational use, but I can see why it might be manufactured in places as outdated as it might be. All studies aside, I am not sold on any practical use for smoking weed other than it's fun, and feels good. What's more even with studies claiming medical benefits, I feel there are usually other ways of acheiving the same, or similar effects. Much like how there are alternatives to Heroin, which I also agree with being illegal (my sympathy only being because of it's backround and uses, it probably helped save a lot of lives through the years).
While the mighty ganja might not be worse than alcohol, I pretty much feel that the more intoxicating substances that we can limit, the better things are. Whatever stats might be quoted, the bottom line is that putting pot out there is going to create more intoxication and accidents. Not just motor vehicle related, but in general.
Pretty much all the reasons why people want to get stoned, and all the crazy stuff they do under the influance are good reasons why it shouldn't be allowed. We're not talking about violence, so much as general idiocy. Generally speaking pro-pot proponents will be very quick to point out how harmless weed is when making a case, but at the same token when you look at the stoner sub-culture they themselves present it as being anything but. If you look at things like old "Cheech and Chong" movies, they are quite funny, but the problem is that in real life a lot of the stuff in that movie would get people killed. The idea of the two of them driving a car while so stoned that they crash, and don't even realize they're not driving anymore for hours... well that's not quite so amusing when things like that happen for real (and they CAN happen, which is why it's funny). Pretty much all the "this one time when I was stoned out of my mind..." stories pretty much form a solid counterpoint to most claims of the drug being harmless.
On top of this, while not quite on the level of a movie, weed can get people intoxicated through secondhand smoke, especially if a lot of it is being consumed in one area. What's more it's also very fragrant and sticks to clothes, being far worse in this respect than cigarettes. It infringes on the rights of people who just happen to be present when someone else happens to be enjoying a fatty.
Simply put I feel the cons greatly outweigh the pros, and it's also one of those things that can heavily infringe on others. You aren't going to get drunk by simply being around a lot of people drinking, nor is some dude downing a bottle of rum going to make your clothes stink. Although arguably the behavioral aspects are just as bad.
Consider also though that I am also a supporter of "The War On Drugs", and I also think that the probition was not a bad idea. I also think that one of the big problems with the alcohol ban was that we didn't stick with it. You aren't going to see results even in a few decades, for something like that to really work you need a few generations to pass in illegality. The generation that was a problem to begin with is not going to ever be entirely clean due to the cravings and such no matter what laws you happen to pass. This means that before anyone can weigh results, you need to wait over 200 years given the fact that people today can easily live to 80 or more, and when dealing with social engineering you need to look at the results on people that had no real contact with the generation where the problem existed. This is in part why I also feel that people who complain about the "failure" of the war on drugs in general are wrong, because I don't consider it to have started in earnest until Reagan was in power in the 1980s. Around 2180 we can start looking at results, assuming of course we get serious about it, which has always been a big part of the problem. Domestic policing is fine, but the issue is international cartels, which need to be targeted more directly irregardless of national sovreignty I feel. I'm one of those guys who basically feels that if the police in another country aren't meeting results due to widescale corruption, and groups like the CIA and intelligences services with satellites can see some of these operations making the junk, which gets packed up and sent to the US... well that's the time you fly in a bunch of jets and just bomb the living bejeebus out of them. If Civilians die, well... that's war, it's no worse than when we bombed civilians, and even our own people (forced to work as PoWs) during World War II to destroy Germany's infrastructure... and not all of those factories were building weapons and bombs. Some feel I'm crazy, others not so much, it largely comes down to your take on morality, and whether you support the issue or not. I see it mostly as declaring war against international drug cartels, as opposed to on a nation. I do not believe (personally) that nations are the only viable grouping of people to declare war on.
At any rate, apologies about the rambling, I'm pretty tired but can't sleep. The bottom line is that I'm very much against "drugs", even alcohol for that matter. Truthfully I'm a bit more sympathetic towards things like Heroin (coming from poppies) because at least that has some legitimate uses as a painkiller, even though there are nowadays better ways of acheiving the same result. I don't approve of it for recreational use, but I can see why it might be manufactured in places as outdated as it might be. All studies aside, I am not sold on any practical use for smoking weed other than it's fun, and feels good. What's more even with studies claiming medical benefits, I feel there are usually other ways of acheiving the same, or similar effects. Much like how there are alternatives to Heroin, which I also agree with being illegal (my sympathy only being because of it's backround and uses, it probably helped save a lot of lives through the years).
I think dope should be legal on the grounds that 1 it does no harm to anyone but the people who smoke it(I know I am gonna get someone saying PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDERN or what ever) and 2 it does do great medical good in terminal patients like cancer patients who not only overcome the nausea with the munchies but also frankly they deserve it feel good before they go belly up.
Nothing gets taxed and becomes cheaper.Littlee300 said:
People will want their drugs cheap, and un-taxed. Where will they get it? Dealers. People will still be running to their dealers to get it cheaper and without taxes. No one is going to spend more on something they can get cheaper, and from the same person they've always gotten it from. They'll know its quality. They'll know its price. They won't want to be taxed.
Does anyone think prohibition was a good idea?
Decriminalize marijuana, already. Free up tax dollars and man hours in the justice system, create new jobs and revenue, let people choose what they put in their own bodies.
'Course, that's not happening any time soon. I mean, try and imagine news segments; "layoffs in the US marijuana industry today..." Naw. That world and the one we live in now are still pretty far apart.
Decriminalize marijuana, already. Free up tax dollars and man hours in the justice system, create new jobs and revenue, let people choose what they put in their own bodies.
'Course, that's not happening any time soon. I mean, try and imagine news segments; "layoffs in the US marijuana industry today..." Naw. That world and the one we live in now are still pretty far apart.
I'm suppreised more guys don't do that anyway. Apart from buying weed, you can also move around a lot faster then walking and you can sit anywhere you want.pwnzerstick said:
Oh... and chicks love 'em.
Anyway... back to the OT.
I say absolutely legalize it. I could go listing a bunch of reasons but they have all pretty much already been said in this thread. So I'm just going to point soothing out that most non-pot smokers don't know.
Now, I don't do the stuff personally, but I know a LOT of people who do and I can tell you one thing. The classic Cheech and Chong stoner is a HUGE minority. The vast majority of pot smokers are just normal people. They work hard, they raise families, and are responsible individuals. All they do is come home after a hard days work, take care of anything that needs to be taken care of around the house (cooking dinner, cleaning up, helping kids with homework, etc.) and then after all that is done, they sit back and unwind with a beer and a joint. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it and the idea that the government should prevent people from being allowed to do that is absurd.
whoa. never realized the stench of weed could upset some that much...Therumancer said:
seriously though, how can you approve prohibiting anything? I mean people who wanna do it are still gonna do it, and some will always profit from it... besides "not being allowed" to do something always leads to frustration, whether people admit it or not.
and responsible drug use never leads to accidents, really. I said "responsible".
Therumancer said:
yeah, I'm all for legalizing it. I'd rather be stressed about the junkie zombies getting me on my way from work at the Weed-Mart than about where the fuck I'll find a job.
