So Prop. 19 didnt go through (the one about Legalizing Marijuana)
- Thread starter Azaraxzealot
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The issue isn't so much that it can make the world a better place, anyone who thinks that the laid-back apathy that marijuana induces can make the world better is a fool. The problem is it's state as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. The punishment should fit the crime. More deaths and violence occur over the use of alcohol then has ever been recorded with cannabis use. You CANNOT overdose on weed, the quantity needed to body weight ratio is so high you would pass out from lack of oxygen long before you would reach lethal levels. Allergic reactions don't count as anyone with a gluten or barley allergy can suffer anaphylactic shock from drinking, say, beer. Same goes with peanut allergies or most other lethal allergies. If you're allergic you should obviously steer clear of it.
Smoking weed and then getting into a car accident is as sound an argument as saying that liquor should be banned because of drunk driving statistics. It's just plain silly. If your going to get inebriated somehow, you shouldn't place yourself in a situation where impaired judgment puts you or others at risk, that's just plain common sense. Same goes with smoking on the job. You wouldn't tolerate someone being drunk at work, why would you tolerate someone being high?
At the end of the day, the problem is that pot simply isn't harmful enough to justify it's current legislation. By legalizing it, but restricting it in the same way as alcohol (ie: only purchasable by adults, no smoking in public spaces, taxing it etc...), you would remove it as a source of funding from criminal organizations, free up a lot of prison space, save billions on enforcement and in fact generate billions of dollars through taxation. The fact remains that getting caught with weed in the US gets one slapped with possession charges. Being convicted of drug possession will prevent you from getting loans, jobs and generally fuck up your life as your automatically lumped in with coke dealers and the like. That simply unfair. It's not chemically addictive, you can't overdose from it and it's medicinal properties are well document. It safer than any over the counter pharmaceutical (which is often made from artificial compounds we don't fully understand that have laundry lists of side effects), it's cheap and easy to grow and at the end of the day, is generally harmless (or at least less harmful than much of what is already legal).
I'm not saying it's a miracle cure for everything, nor that it will change the world for the better, but it's current state within the legal system is oppressive for no good reason. Anything can be abused to the point of life altering effect. Food, booze, drugs, hell shopping addictions exist. It's not infallible, but it's not so harmful that I should be classified as a criminal and drug pusher for owning some and smoking it within the confines of my own home.
Smoking weed and then getting into a car accident is as sound an argument as saying that liquor should be banned because of drunk driving statistics. It's just plain silly. If your going to get inebriated somehow, you shouldn't place yourself in a situation where impaired judgment puts you or others at risk, that's just plain common sense. Same goes with smoking on the job. You wouldn't tolerate someone being drunk at work, why would you tolerate someone being high?
At the end of the day, the problem is that pot simply isn't harmful enough to justify it's current legislation. By legalizing it, but restricting it in the same way as alcohol (ie: only purchasable by adults, no smoking in public spaces, taxing it etc...), you would remove it as a source of funding from criminal organizations, free up a lot of prison space, save billions on enforcement and in fact generate billions of dollars through taxation. The fact remains that getting caught with weed in the US gets one slapped with possession charges. Being convicted of drug possession will prevent you from getting loans, jobs and generally fuck up your life as your automatically lumped in with coke dealers and the like. That simply unfair. It's not chemically addictive, you can't overdose from it and it's medicinal properties are well document. It safer than any over the counter pharmaceutical (which is often made from artificial compounds we don't fully understand that have laundry lists of side effects), it's cheap and easy to grow and at the end of the day, is generally harmless (or at least less harmful than much of what is already legal).
I'm not saying it's a miracle cure for everything, nor that it will change the world for the better, but it's current state within the legal system is oppressive for no good reason. Anything can be abused to the point of life altering effect. Food, booze, drugs, hell shopping addictions exist. It's not infallible, but it's not so harmful that I should be classified as a criminal and drug pusher for owning some and smoking it within the confines of my own home.
The reason why logical propositions like prop 19 keep bombing is because there are too many damn Baby Boomers still plaguing the polls. They're still stuck in that 1950s indoctrinated mindset.
This is insulting. The implication that I smoke weed because I have a weak moral code and give into to every temptation is backwards, regressive bigotry. So I unwind in a way different from you? Big deal. Your not effected. I'm not strapping you to a rack and blowing you shotguns because you refuse to smoke the "evil weed". Keep to your moral high horse asshole, I'm going to be over here, with my friends, having a good time smoking a bowl and harming no one.Legion IV said:
Well...if you're statement keeps getting rebutted in a way you weren't expecting, maybe you shouldn't phrase it like an attack on people trying to make sound arguments to stop legislation. I'm not attacking you, just reading your post REALLY sounds like your making an argument to the contrary of your intent. I apologize if I misunderstood.
Damn, that is bad. It really just makes our case for legalization worse. My apologies. People need to be informed on the facts, not bullshit spin from people who can't put down the bong for ten minutes. Damn. I'm suddenly really glad I live in Canada where nobody really cares as long as it's not being sold to minors or around schools.Ultratwinkie said:
To it's credit though, cannabis is a bit of a miracle substance. Hemp is a better material for paper and textile than wood or cotton, hemp seeds are incredibly nutritious and contain all the amino acids needed for ones diet. And this is just industrial hemp. You can't get high off of it. The stuff that can get you high has it's own properties, but those properties need more study on the potential drawbacks as well as it's benefits.
Pretty much. It DOES sound like a lot of hippie bullshit, but that fact remains that industrial hemp is one the most useful plants in the world. We can grow it nearly anywhere, use it as building materials and fibers, as well as food and biodiesel. Even if it was kept illegal as a drug, it's industrial worth is still MASSIVE. So massive it would ruin the country's economy in the process. Go figure, a bunch of uptight cotton farmers a hundred years ago fucked it for the rest of us.Xzi said:
