Should Marijuana be Decriminalized?

[MessiahRp]

With Quentin Hardy on C-SPAN making his case I figured it would be a good question to pose here amongst so many liberals..

I think if it were to be decriminalized similar laws that alcohol faces such as an age limit, driving restrictions, among others, should be in play and the government should set up official manufacturing plants that can employ thousands of Americans who need the jobs and there should be a decent amount of tax on each pack of Marijuana Cigarettes that could help support society.

I mean if we're going to decriminalize, we should do it in a way that helps everyone, non users included. Of course we should also weed through the illegal avenues of distribution to cut out foreign imports and possibly laced marijuana. If we can control the product in country, and use it as a prop financially tax wise and as a way for more work to be had by citizens.

Rp

[La_Serpiente]

1. Oh my goodness

is should totally be decriminalized. I know people who get YEARS just for smoking dope. You could be in jail for a longer period of time selling MJ than for committing manslaughter.

Plus, it only gives a flow of money to drug dealers who are violent in nature.

[HFishbine]

2. It would help

suffering tobacco farmers too.

[Cooley Hurd]

72. The great thing about hemp (pot) is that it grows anywhere...

It would not only help tobacco farmers, but ailing family farms in any of the 50 states. Hell, you can grow it in Canada! Between hemp products and medicinal/recreational marijuana, it could turn around the farm crisis in the US...

Put me down for full legalization...

[VermontDem2004]

75. Put me down too

There is much more positives to come out of legalized marijuana then negatives.

[sexybomber]

85. oh yeah

Tobacco is one of the worst crops you can possibly grow. It sucks more nutrients out of the soil than almost anything else... hell, it's practically a parasite. Weed, on the other hand, puts nutrients back into the soil. It's one of the best things you can grow.

Problem is, weed would probably run the tobacco industry out of business, and they have such a powerful lobby that I don't think we'll see it decriminalized or legalized anytime soon.

[mdmc]

3. yes

the black market is a part of capitalism. the drug war vs. capitalism = failure.
:dem:

[rjbcar27]

4. Yes

[DUreader]

5. The 'drug war' is unwinnable

[terrya]

6. You made the same points I would have made.

I wholeheartedly support marijuana decriminalization. Yes...make sure that the same restrictions apply to marijuana that are in place for alcohol. Strict enforcement of age limits and driving restrictions. This issue has been a source of contention for me. We can't even decriminalize marijuana for medical purposes. Why, in God's name, are people being arrested for marijuana possession...and yet alcohol is completely legal? Oh, right...I forgot. We learned our lessons about criminalizing alcohol during Prohibition. And yet...marijuana usage IS criminalized. A bit of hypocrisy, I'd say.

And, MessiahRp, you make a good point...marijuana purchases would be taxed. Another source of revenue (for social programs?)

[Champion Jack]

7. yes---Plus it would open up the farming

of commercial hemp which could help a lot of rural areas.

[MrPrax]

8. Yup...

Smoking pot takes the edge off the 'Nightmare' and makes you think great insights...LIKE

:bounce:
Is this guy a 'yogic flyer'?

[La_Serpiente]

9. All of these people are calling from the west

like California.

[bif]

10. All drugs should be.

n/t

[CheshireCat]

12. Totally agree, bif!

All drugs should be decriminalized. That should take a bite out of crime.

If only one drug could be decriminalized, mj should be the one. I don't even think of it as a drug. You can grown it, dry it, and smoke it yourself. Hey, come to think of it, this is probably why the will not decriminalize it - Where's the profit in people producing their own mj?

[bif]

23. Decriminalize them...

Regulate them and put a tax on them. The war on drugs is obviously not working. And over 50% of the people behind bars are there due to drugs. So make it all legal!

[roughsatori]

43. I agree 100%, all drugs should be decriminalized

Yes, even heroin, crack, cocaine and Rush's favorite illegal drug: Oxy-contin purchased without a prescription from your maid.

[liberalcapitalist]

55. i'm from michigan too,

where are you located?

[bif]

73. East side of Detroit

How 'bout you?

[Selwynn]

80. When you say all drugs should be, do you mean....

that the decriminalization of all drugs should be matched with a complete and totall policy shift that focuses on treatment drug addiction like a disease of addition with the goal of greatly reducing the number of hard drug users in this country?

Or do you mean that all drugs should be decriminalized becasue its ok and good for soceity to have a large percentage of its popuation addicted to drugs?

Ok.. so that was a biased way to ask that. Do you think all drugs should be decrminialized because people should be free to make their own decisions, even over addictive narcotics, without interference and/or assistance by the state?

[bif]

81. Decriminalized.

I feel they should be able to make their own decisions. But it still should be regulated by the state, much in the way booze is.

[Zero Gravitas]

11. yes

at a minimum people should be alowed to grow their own for personal consumption.

[benburch]

13. Legalize it YESTERDAY

Folks;

When 1/3 of the American People use it (myself sometimes included) then it is morally corrupt to allow it to remain any sort of crime.

Put the exact same taxes on it that are put on cigarettes and not only will we have a new revenue source, but we will same BILLIONS on law enforcement and jails.

-Ben

[LuminousX]

14. Decriminalize, yes. Make legal, no.

Throwing a person in jail from growing a small amount of pot, or having a small amount of pot, or smoking pot is stupid. The person is not a criminal and is doing nothing to harm the fabric of society. Yet, I don't want to live in a country where I have to not only request the non-smoking section in the restaurant but the non-contact high section as well.

[mainegreen]

16. Come to Maine

Come january 1rst, there will be no smoking anywhere. Not even in bars!

[benburch]

19. Jail This!

Well, my friend, then you will have to throw me in jail, because in my lifetime I have at time been in posession of non-small amounts of weed. You see; It is impossible for anybody to even grow marijuana without having several ounces of the stuff on their hands. Does that make me a dangerous Felon just because YOU don't want to inhale smoke?

No, the right answer is to have ordinances about public smoking as they do in most places now.

I am offended that you want to keep me as a criminal.

[mitchtv]

79. I'll back you up ben

what BS. who in F does anyone think they are to try to maintain illegality? contact high? a red herring. Time to plant your excess seeds every where.

[VermontDem2004]

70. There is an easy solution for your problem

Due to many people who don't want contact high allow people to create restuarants or shops for people who do want to smoke and of course many people don't want to have contact high that it pot smoking will likely not be allowed in restuarants. There is so much we can learn from the Dutch.

[Silverhair]

15. Yes, and all other drugs too.

I have never used MJ in my life, nor any other illegal drug. I have used prescription drugs only in accordance with the doctor's orders and quite them as soon as I could. I have no personal direct interest in drugs.

Drugs should be legalized. The gov't has no business trying to impose a moral standard that effects only that person. Some years ago I was watching an episode of "COPS" and some Texas police were chasing down this guy for the crime of sniffing paint. Egad. Don't we have genuine crooks to chase? Of course I don't fault the indiviual officers in the show. They don't make the laws. I fault that element that seeks to impose their view of private moral behavior on the rest of us.

[0007]

17. In the early 50's .....

I thought for sure marijuana would be legal by 1960. In the 60's I thought it was a matter of days.

Drugs = money and money brings out greed in even our honest government. (joke) I don't think I'll ever see legalization of any drug in my life time. I could go on non-stop for five straight hours about this subject. Americans are narrow minded un-in-formed fools ruled by the Christian right. (And that is the front the money lords love)

We are so screwed!!

[Fleshdancer]

18. Question....

My mother (of all people) told me the largest lobby against the decriminalization of marijuana were the prison systems. This sounds odd to me, but how would I find out if this were true or not??

[benburch]

20. She's right...

Remember all of the new "private" prisons that have sprung up to handle drug offender overflow? They are a multi-billion dollar industry, all controlled by REPUBLICANS.

[rman]

30. that's not odd, makes perfect business sense

though it is upsetting that the prison system has become 'just business'.
in the war on drugs, the main offender usually gets reduction of prison time by implicating others; ie the girlfriend under who's couch the drugs were found. often she ends up doing more time then the main offender; he gets to get out soon to implicate yet more people (looking at it that way he's an important business asset to those who run the prisons)

have a look at the online documentary
realvideo (Dutch subtitles, English spoken)
'War on drugs' part 1, the winners
http://www.vpro.nl/info/tegenlicht/index.shtml?7738514+7738518+7738520+12490764
'War on drugs' part 2, the losers
http://www.vpro.nl/info/tegenlicht/index.shtml?7738514+7738518+7738520+12493841

[MadHound]

34. Your mom is exactly right

Remember back in the late eighties-early ninties when prisons went from being part of "correctional services" to being the "prison industry"? This comes with the sudden explosion of private prisons, the surge in inmates engaging in lucrative contract work(telemarketers, order takers, techies, etc). Big money is now to be made when you have a captive work pool. If you legalize drugs, a large part of that work pool disappears.

The second largest lobby is law enforcement. With the upsurge and broadening of asset forfeiture laws, there's big money to be made in busting dopers. Like that new Mini-Cooper? Oops, damn son, you've got a few seeds in the ashtray. Well, you're going to jail, I'm buying the MC at police aution for a song, and my department is getting the money. And this goes along with and on top of all of the other ways money is made off the war on drugs, you know, graft, kickbacks, extortions, and on and on and endlessly on. As Malcom X succinctly put it "Criminals, cops and politicians all walk hand in hand in hand." My wife, an economist, told me of studies regarding police pay and police corruption. The studies found that there was no police salary large enough to stop police corruption, that whatever a cop made, he would still engage in graft, etc. This is why police salaries are kept relatively low, why pay a cop good money when he is going to be stealing from you anyway.

I think that all drugs should be made legal. We as a society were entrusted with this notion for 150+ years, and our society didn't fall apart, I don't think that it would fall apart if we were once again entrusted. Yes, there should be sensible laws concerning minors and operating machinery and automobiles. But all in all, I think if an adult person wishes to go out and blow their brains out with meth, crack or whatever, it is their body, they can do with it what they wish. I do think that as part of a universal health care system we should offer rehab services, that drugs should be taxed(even with a hefty tax, legal drugs would still be cheaper than black market drugs), education services should be mandatory for kids, and that the personal manufacturing of drugs such as meth should remain illegal(I've seen the enviromental damage of home meth labs). If you wish to grow plants such as marijuana, coca plants, or 'shrooms, by all means grow them. But chemical processing should be left in the hands of professionals who can do it efficiently and cleanly.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

21. Yes, of course it should be decriminalized

And that should be the first step toward legalization.

[quinnox]

22. Yes, but with restrictions

It should be treated like alcohol, with age restrictions. And only pot legalized, no other drug like the junkie ones.

[Paschall]

36. For risk reduction, I also favor the Dutch approach

No sale or consumption of cannabis on premises where alcohol is sold. Keep the two drugs apart for sales and public use. It's quite enough having alcohol and tobacco flowing in a single establishment.

[mainegreen]

24. Once Canada goes...

and legalizes it, what are the odds we'll be far behind?

Thoughts, anyone?

[elfwitch]

29. odds...

Years and years and years, if ever. The United States was one of the last industrialized countries to give women the right to vote. This society is choked by its Puritanical underpinings. If something feels good like sex or getting high, it is evil and God hates you for it. that is why sex on TV every other place in the world is fine and in the US people have a cow if you see a boobie. The reverse of that is that every other country in the world limits violence on TV, but in the US you can blow up 50 people and no one cares. Puritanism, plain and simple. I dispise prudes and zealots. But that is what we are stuck with here.

[ima_sinnic]

25. ABSOLUTELY--but "official manufacturing plants"??? NO!!!

Just as the government has no business telling me what I may or may not smoke or otherwise ingest, so it would also not be appropriate for it to be engaged in or supporting any "official manufacturing" of mj joints. Just let people grow it and enjoy, and develop their own modes of commerce, as with most other commodities.

edited to add: must also be LEGALIZED!!!

[elfwitch]

26. My take on this

People are perfectly within their right to choose to not smoke pot, or whatever. But any law that makes about 1/3 of the population criminals is not a good law. It also boils down to personal responsibility, as with all things. If you don't like pot, porn, hard rock, Barney, etc. , then don't do that thing. You are an adult and you should be responsible for YOURSELF. But don't go around trying to be responsible for me too. I, and most everyone else, don't want you or anyone else making personal decisions for me.

The decriminalization of "drugs" issue could be handled fairly easy. Take whatever gets you high, but as with alcohol, if you are high and it has the potential to effect other people (on the road, in a store, whathaveyou) then you are breaking the law. If you take more drugs than are healthy for you (you can OD on booze) then you are making yourself sick and should have to pay for your own rehabilitation.

Just my dos pesos.

[SiobhanClancy]

27. Not just decriminalized,but legalized...

This is just such a no-brainer to me. My father was killed by a drunk driver,I know countless people who have had their lives messed up by alcohol,and it is legal and weed is not? The medical marijuana initiatives don't go nearly far enough...the stuff needs to be legalized and taxed...either that,or get rid of the booze(and we know how well that worked the last time).

[Monte Carlo]

28. Let's start by abolishing mandatory minimum sentences.

That goes for all drugs, not just marijuana. You don't help addicts break their cycle by putting them in prison cells, where they can arguably get their fix just as easy as on the outside.

The sooner we lose our hysteria over certain chemical substances, the better. As FZ put it, the drug is not bad, it is when someone treats it like a licence to be an asshole.

[rman]

32. and re-enstate the 4th amendment

..the one that protected people from unreasonable search and seizure.

[Terwilliger]

31. no, legalized

totally and completely

[slackmaster]

33. Wow, I agree with Terwilliger

100% legalized. Anything less is a step in the right direction.

[Terwilliger]

38. I think this is it

:hi:

[in_cog_ni_to]

35. YES! n/t

[grannylib]

37. This bears repeating...please read!!

Some excerpts and a link to an excellent article:
"As the drug war escalated in the 1980s, mandatory minimum sentencing and other Draconian penalties boosted our prison population to unprecedented levels. With more than 2 million people behind bars (there are only 8 million prisoners in the entire world), the United States—with one-twenty-second of the world's population—has one-quarter of the planet's prisoners. We operate the largest penal system in the world, and approximately one quarter of all our prisoners (nearly half a million people) are there for nonviolent drug offenses—that's more drug prisoners than the entire European Union incarcerates for all offenses combined, and the EU has over 90 million more citizens than the United States. Put another way, the United States now has more nonviolent drug prisoners alone than we had in our entire prison population in 1980."
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.contents&issue=soj0305
Links to several articles on this issue.

[liberalcapitalist]

39. all drugs should be made legal

n/t

[morningglory]

40. Here in economically depressed area people are out of work,

burglaries are increasing. Our Republican sheriff was appointed to top state job by the repub governor, and we got a new hotshot sheriff who has commenced with huge meth lab busts and big headline drug busts every day. I am of the opinion that if someone commits a crime to get drugs or causes suffering to others due to drugs, put them under the jail, but this drug war is like the Inspector Clousseau scene: "This minkey has broken the law!" while bank robbers are firing guns behind his back.

[barbaraann]

41. I really wish everyone would stop and think about teenagers.

I have a teenager, I talk to teenagers, and I am deeply saddened by how difficult life is for many of them today. First of all, drug and alcohol use is rampant among suburban Seattle teens and not uncommon in the upper elementary grades. One local high school has a drug search lockdown on a weekly basis with drug dogs and kids are ARRESTED almost every week--all types of kids. The cops don't even give the sports stars a break now.

And do you know what the binge drinking is all about? It's about getting the girls drunk so the boys can have sex with them.

The worst aspect of the teen drug/alcohol problem is that teenagers' brains have not fully formed yet and drugs and alcohol cause permanent damage to them which does not happen with adults. In addition, I have seen numerous teens destroyed by drug or alcohol use because they just can't handle it. The lucky ones get into rehab but my son tells me that for teenagers that doesn't work for most of the kids he knows who are supposed to be "clean and sober."

If drugs were to be decriminalized/legalized, it might help in some ways but most teens where I live have so much time and money that many would probably just veg out on drugs. Some of the kids I know say that the schools make life so stressful that many kids use marijuana or other drugs just to cope with the pressure of dealing with the prison-like atmosphere at school, completing homework, getting good grades and getting into a good college. I believe that many things such as lessening the stress at school need to be done before legalizing drugs should be considered.

And to repeat myself for the zillionth time, I believe it is crucial that teenagers (especially) have wholesome, interesting, appropriately supervised things to do so that they don't turn to drugs, alcohol, and sex. Where I live, teenagers are DESPERATE for good things to do and they will tell you that. In the middle school years, transportation to activities is also a problem.

I talk to a lot of teenagers and I have worked with organizations that deal with teenagers. This society treats them like dirt and I just hate it, especially when I hear about a suicide; and not far from me is an area where the suicide rate among teenagers is one of the highest in the nation and I know exactly why and it breaks my heart.

[roughsatori]

44. I think enough about teens that I do not approve of throwing them in Jail

for drugs. I know a teen who did hard time for being caught with 9 (ten dollar each) caps of crack. He was poor, it was a first offense--but the laws are racially biased in that being arrested with that much crack in Philly is enough for an "intent to sell" charge. Since, whites (many of them upper-middle class) prefer statistically "powdered cocaine" they do not get jail time for the first offense of 90 Dollars worth of that substance.

I have a brother who was arrested and jailed for marijuana years ago, he has been off drugs for years and gotten an eduction. He can not get jobs many times due to a "felony" conviction. I don't see jailing anyone as a way to help them.

I resent parents who can't raise there children properly wanting to make things illegal for everyone else. I don't mind that I pay school taxes for them, and hope to one day pay taxes that will provide their children with universal health-care (including substance abuse treatment), but I refuse to condone having my liberties encroached on because they can't get a handle on their child's destructive behavior.

[barbaraann]

50. You missed my point.

First of all, I don't have a problem with my son. Secondly, I am not talking about taking away adult liberties but about preventing drug and alcohol abuse by children and teenagers. Thirdly, I firmly believe that if we straighten out our society and our schools, the criminality of drugs will be virtually irrelevant. I realize that the last statement sounds insanely idealistic but I HAVE SEEN THIS AND DONE THIS AND I AM NOT CRAZY.

A few weeks ago one teenager that I helped out by driving him to activities, etc. came by to say hi and told me how much I had helped him to not go wild. I could go on a lot more about this but if you don't believe that giving kids something to say "yes" to will help them say "no" to destructive things then I would be wasting my breath.

I am very sorry about your brother and the teen who did hard time for possession and I do agree that jail is not the answer. However, allowing teens unlimited access to drugs and alcohol is not the answer either.

[roughsatori]

53. I did not miss your point, I disagree with it

I was not referring at all to your son. I was referring to all American children. You missed my point, I never said that teens should have unlimited access to drugs and alcohol. (I believe in the age limit for ALL substances, but even then, no jail time for breaking that law).

When people talk about keeping the laws against legalization they are promoting throwing them in jail--that is what our system does to people who don't have the money when arrested for substances. The class of people who can afford to keep their kids out of jail for the crime want to keep it in effect. There are others who do not have that luxury.

You also imply that I don't believe in "giving kids something to say "yes" to ..." No where did I write such a thing. I was a Certified Addiction therapist for 8 years. I specialized in working with "forensic clients with mental-health disorders," mostly all of my clients were Inner-City African-Americans.

To simplify: I believe all drugs should be legal for anyone over 21. Maybe you do too. You seem not to be addressing what I thought was the point. Do you think that marijuana or any other drug should be decriminalized?

I find racist laws that help to ruin lives to be much more then unfortunate: it is a CRIME.

[barbaraann]

65. I'm back from the dentist and ready to post....

I absolutely agree with you about the War on Drugs but I am especially aware that ending it might adversely impact teenagers while positively affecting adults.

Regarding inner-city African-Americans, I think that the situation with that group of people makes my case for giving individuals something wholesome to do so they don't have to use drugs. Poor inner-city residents need jobs, good schools, recreational facilities, the basic necessities of life, etc. more than they need legal drugs. I have posted on DU more than once that I am upset by Presidential candidates who talk about the middle class and never mention the poor. It makes my blood boil. I have also worked indirectly with drug programs and directly with poverty programs and what is near and dear to my heart is prevention of drug abuse.

I suppose the central belief that colors my view of legalization/decriminalization of drugs is that we need a healthy society as a prerequisite for this or it will only backfire. For one thing, I believe we need universal health care with coverage for mental illness first. Would you agree with this?

You know, it just might be that right now suburban kids with a lot of money to spend and nothing to do have worse problems with drugs than inner city kids. The media doesn't tell you how bad the situation is.

[VermontDem2004]

66. I disagree it will hurt teenagers

Getting alcohol is harder to get then other drugs simply because alcohol is legal and you have to go through an adult. Plus why should I have to pay a silly fine for having marijuana? I had a resonated pipe and paid over 200 hundred dollars in court fees and probation fees, that is insane! I just think legalizing it is a step in the right direction and there has not been a single death by a marijuana user but yet we have millions of deaths each year from legal drugs such as Alcohol, Tobacco, and drugs you can buy from OSCO.

[Virgil]

54. Controlled substances is an oxymoron

Judge Gray is a conservative Republican judge that has authored on the drug war. He says that the phrase controlled substance is an oxymoron since it is not controlled at all. If it regulated like tobacco it would be controlled. All of these problems you have with drugs are happening under prohibition. Prohibition is far worse than the substances it proclaims to restrict.

No one is saying sell pot to children but you are off on some tangent talking suicide and crap.

[VermontDem2004]

63. keep it illegal all you want

Drugs are fairly easy to obtain for anyone and I am not suggesting to make it legal for teenagers, I am talking about make it legal for adults. In all honesty marijuana is much easier to obtain then alcohol because I have to go through an adult to obtain alcohol. I haven't drank in 2 years mostly because I was unable to get it, but alcohol is somewhat easy to obtain but keeping it illegal is not the answer.

[barbaraann]

74. Teenagers nowadays have easy access to alcohol, drugs,

and tobacco--I know that. I'm not arguing for keeping drugs illegal. I'm arguing for a society that nurtures its children, provides opportunity for everyone to survive and thrive, respects human rights, and offers wholesome recreational outlets. I'm arguing for a society in which drug use is not needed.

I've brought up my son according to this philosophy and tried to provide him with a life that is so interesting and fun that he doesn't have to turn to drugs. That is how I have kept him off drugs and that is how I think we can fight drug abuse as a society.

Yes, I know many people think I'm insane, but if you could talk to my son and his friends that I have helped you would see that what I am saying has a lot of value. Actually, a local policeman who works with teenagers told me once that I had kept a lot of kids off drugs through one of the things I had done. That's the truth. I don't just get on DU and spout things I haven't lived my life by. :-)

[VermontDem2004]

76. What are you arguing then?

My point is this and it is a very simple one, tobacco and alcohol are more harmful and deadly then marijuana, yet the T&A is legal but the mary jane isn't. It sounds a little :crazy: to me.

[barbaraann]

82. I will try to explain.

Alcohol: Most people do not become alcoholics but some do, and every alcoholic negatively impacts an average of five other people. Drunkenness and alcoholism cost our society many lives and billions of dollars every year. I have personally seen what alcoholism can do to people and I have been employed in the field of alcohol recovery and seen how hard the damage is to repair.

Tobacco: Smoking (more often than occasionally) always causes harm and sometimes causes death. I have watched several people die agonizing deaths from smoking.

Marijuana: A very small number of people become marijuana abusers, probably less than 1%. I saw a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in the seventies which studied the impact of smoking marijuana on some Jamaicans. They took two groups of Jamaicans, one which smoked marijuana and one which didn't, and put them on two different floors of a hospital. Then they ran all sorts of tests on them. The results were that there were no differences at all BUT the staff like the marijuana smokers better.

My own experience has been that people who smoke pot become losers and don't achieve as much as people who don't, but the people who don't are often greedy jerks. For example, I don't think Bill Gates smoked pot but I know people who could have done what he did but wasted the opportunity because they were stoned.

However, based on a lifetime of observations and experiences, I can tell you that it is not good for teenagers to smoke marijuana. Teenagers need to be building a foundation of personal development and learning in preparation for life, not getting wasted. And if a teenager is so stressed by school or some other thing that they need marijuana, they should solve that problem instead of putting a bandaid on it.

Alcohol and tobacco may be legal but they are not purely postive substances. Marijuana may indeed be better but it is not a pure positive either. All of these substances are drugs and what really matters in life is people and human relationships. That is what Rush Limbaugh, among others, is going to have to learn to recover from his addiction. What really matters is your relationship with yourself and your relationships with others; getting high in the end is simply empty.

p.s. I smoked for several years, I drink, and I lived through the sixties. :-)

[VermontDem2004]

83. Not true

Believe it or not I actually smoke on a regular basis and I am getting shit done, I got my homework done, etc. There are people out there who are not doing shit with their lifes and don't smoke, make it legal and quit using an argument about those who are irresponsible because I know lots of people who smoke and are responsible. I know a married couple they both work, they have a house, they have two kids who are well off and YES! they happen to smoke weed. I was in school about 6 months ago and they did not smoke because they had problems or whatever, they smoked because they liked it! It is possible to smoke and prepare for life which is what I am doing believe it or not, :argh: my point is this, if you want Marijuana to be illegal then make alcohol and tobacco illegal.

[kimchi]

49. I'm sorry but teens will be teens.

Making something illegal only makes them want it more. Do you remember being a teen? I remember getting drunk only because I wasn't legal. After I turned 18 the thrill diminished. After I turned 21 the thrill was almost gone.

I'd much rather have my teenage daughter smoke a little pot on weekends than huff glue or snort Ritalin or smoke crack.

Teens that have abuse problems should be given the BEST drug treatment available, put them in line ahead of the adults. Also, as conservative as this may sound, make the parents accountable.

Finally, drug abuse is NOT the fault of the drug. Legalized or not, people are responsible for their own handling of whatever substance they put in their bodies. For those under 18, the parents should be paying very close attention to their children's activities.

I realize that we don't always have control and it can be frustrating, and that is where tough love comes in. My sister had problems with her son and she let him stay in jail overnight. Didn't work. Military school. Didn't work. Rehab. Didn't work. After he turned 18 she told him to get a job and stop smoking pot. Didn't work. So she kicked him out of the house. He will learn on his own, and now she has no control. She tried; 40k dollars worth of military school she is still paying although he got kicked out. She was there for him; that is so much more than many parents ever do.

on edit: LEGALIZE IT! I'm sure Ashcroft is watching me toke right now. As a (mostly) law abiding citizen, what I do in my home to relax is none of his business, as I'm harming nothing but my own lungs.

[barbaraann]

52. Drat--I can't reply right now because I have to go to the dentist.

Just got a call....might have to get a root canal. :-(

[kimchi]

57. No fun atoll, Barbaraann, I've had three.

GET THE PAINKILLERS!

heehee

[barbaraann]

58. Thanks for the support!

Luckily, there was just enough tooth between the roots and the decay to hopefully avoid a root canal. It looks like I just have to have a new crown and it is going to cost about $1,000.00 WITHOUT the root canal.

Maybe I should go apply for a home equiity line of credit.....:-(

[VermontDem2004]

60. I am a teenager and think Marijuana should be legal

Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs you can purchase at OSCO are much more harmful and deadly then Marijuana. I use it and was able to finish my homework on time, pull in good grades, etc so I don't have a problem with it, you can disagree with me all you want but know many who use and are a able to get work done and I know who people who use and are lazy but I also know people who don't use and are lazy. Plus Marijuana doesn't kill brain cells or make the brain smaller or whatever.

[barbaraann]

77. Hi, it's good to see a teenager on DU!

You know, I have seen studies that show that kids' grades go down when they use drugs and I hope you believe me so that I don't have to go searching for the studies on the internet. :-)

However, as I have posted before, some teenagers smoke pot as a way to deal with stress at school. That is tragic and makes me very angry but the answer is to fix the schools, not give the kids pot. It is especially tragic when the kids who are struggling to cope are arrested.

Yes, marijuana does have a different impact on a child's brain than on an adult's brain. When I child enters puberty their brain becomes "unwired" to allow for a learning spurt and drugs can cause permanent damage during this period.

[VermontDem2004]

84. Not necessarily true

I seen studies where marijuana in no way effects the brain as in killing brain cells, shrinkage, etc. Other drugs, yes. The first sentance maybe true but that means they can't handle it, when I was in school I had good grades, I got my work done etc, how was this study conducted? They sure as hell didn't study me and how many kids allowed this study to be done on them or whatever, hard to explain what I am asking. Most teenagers smoke pot because they enjoy it believe it or not, has nothing to do with stress. but the answer is to fix the schools, not give the kids pot. Who is suggesting this? Not one DUer is and not one person who wants marijuana to be legal either is suggesting this. You keep directing this with kids but the solution is to make it where only adults to get it but then sure as hell is not a bulletproof plan, my point is this, alcohol and tobacco are legal drugs only available legally to adults yet Marijuana isn't. Look at the Dutch, they don't have social problems, they don't have high crime rates, or whatever, it is basically a nice place to live.

[Beaker]

61. Most teens find it much easier to get pot than alcohol-

If anything, decriminalized pot would make it harder for kids to obtain it.
You don't see too many guys standing on the street corner selling beer & cigarettes.

[VermontDem2004]

64. I absolutely agree

Getting alcohol is 10x harder then getting Marijuana for me.

[ozone_man]

42. Definitely.

Canada is way ahead of us as usual.

[noonwitch]

45. Legalize, tax and fund social programs with the revenue

It'd be good for the economy.

[HootieMcBoob]

46. I vote for Legalize it!

cool baby

[Hep]

47. hard to say

lots of hard working pot growers and distributors would be put out of a lucrative job.

It isn't like it's hard to score.

[Beaker]

62. It's EXACTLY like it's hard to score.

Maybe not where you are, but for a middle-aged guy in Chicago- It's a drag trying to get connected.

[Virgil]

48. It should be legalized

I have read almost every article and almost every comment at http://www.cannabisnews.com/ for over two years now. I am the same Virgil there and I am glad I have a chance to voice opposition to the insanity of cannabis prohibition here at this time.

I will leave it at that as my reasons are the same as everyone else’s. I would ask people to read this thread from yesterday talking about how cannabis research has proven that cannabinoids play a part in preventing cancer- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread17719.shtml It is a miracle plant for goodness sake and is unjustly and cruelly painted as some demon weed by those that are supposed to serve us instead of subjugate us as well as the better way. Please read this thread and note that Dr. Russo is an author and respected authority that regularly comments at cannabisnews and is employed now by GW Pharmaceuticals that will be introducing cannabis extracts to the UK probably next month with the EU acceptance expected in 6 months and Canada and Australia in one year.

If you follow the cannabis saga you would know that the lie is just considered a tool to the politician. Cannabis Prohibition is a hoax defended by lies, bullshit, and obfuscation. I have said it so much at Cnews, I reduced it to LB&O for short. The big thing to note is that the WOD was eliminated from any debate in the last presidential cycle by agreement of both parties. I hope everyone will not let that happen again this time.

I will give credit to Richard Cowan, the past director of NORML that now resides in Canada, for saying this at http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=716 - “Cannabis prohibition is a counterproductive fraud, but then, so are the appalling people who govern us.”

[The White Rose]

51. Tobacco deaths 600,000+. Marijuana deaths 0.

'Nuff said.

[VermontDem2004]

68. The best point

It's insane, we have much more harmful legal drugs but a drug like marijuana is EVIL! :evilgrin:

[ronzo]

56. Absolutely. n/t

[VermontDem2004]

59. Should've been legalized years ago

[MadMan]

67. I for one am tired of being branded a criminal!

So what if I choose at the end of the day to suck on a bong as opposed to a bottle? To each his own, right? Should that make me a criminal? Hell no. Legalize it, tax the shit out of it, empty the prisons so others less fortunate than myself (I've managed to stay clear of the law on this) can go back to providing for their families and leave us the f--k alone.

Anybody catch the latest anti-MJ commericial on TV? (I'm in CA - not sure where else it's airing). It's basically a guy bringing flowers to a spot on the road where a loved one died with the narrator proceeding to tell us it was the guy himself that killed his own loved one because he was driving under the influence of MJ. What utter nonsense!!!!! MJ alone does not cause traffic accidents! Alcohol was undoubtedly involved in such accidents yet they don't tell you that!

And don't get me started on the medical MJ issue! It sickens me that there are people so lacking in compassion that they wouldn't support relief in any form for those among us who suffer daily from illness.

[VermontDem2004]

69. I agree! I agree!

I seen that commercial, yet I see no commercial like that asking people to make alcohol illegal. But that is what I don't understand much more harmful drugs are easy to obtain and are legal but yet millions are spent on propaganda to incourage people that Marijuana is bad.

[youngred]

71. Decriminilize, Legalize, Regulate and Tax it

take it away from the drug dealers and make some money off it too. It doesn't harm anyone

[elperromagico]

78. Can you imagine how much money the US could make

if it were decriminalized, regulated, and taxed the same as alcohol and cigarettes?

The government claims that buying drugs helps the terrorists. Okay, let's throw the gov a bone. Let's say that some profits from drugs do go to terrorists. Very well then; the obvious solution would be to cut off the source of income. Who benefitted the least from the repeal of Prohibition? The rum-runners, of course. As soon as booze was being sold legally again, the rum-runners lost their profits.

Regulate it the same way alcohol is regulated, and make it available legally. Imagine being able to go down to the store and say, "I'd like a pack of marijuana cigarettes."

Tommy Chong was sent up the river for selling marijuana pipes. Pipes, fer chrissake! We're putting people in prison for something that is relatively harmless; it's a misuse of taxpayer money and of law enforcement.

Alcohol destroys lives, but it is legal. Cigarettes destroy lives, but they are legal. As I've said before, the only thing a marijuana user is going to destroy is a plate of pancakes at the IHOP. Why then is it illegal?