Should I vote yes or no on legalizing marijuana in my state?

Vote yes. IMO it needs to be federally legal.

Vote Yes. It’s simply another freedom to do something that you may want to do. And even better than alcohol, marijuana actually has some medical usage. Just in general I would say vote for freedom and let people make their own decisions and whether or not they want to use it.

Vote yes. I can’t think of a single reason not to.

@elbanditoroso It’s already legal for medical use. I voted yes on that several years ago. We have plenty of dispensaries where I live.

@canidmajor Like I said, several years ago some jellies who voted yes in their state regretted it, and I remember someone saying having it legal in Amsterdam also had some negative outcomes. That surprised me at the time so it stuck with me. I would assume when it becomes legal in one state and not others, the potheads start flocking to the place that it’s legal.

@JLeslie not in Georgia

Yes at a Federal level

@elbanditoroso I meant in my state. Medical use has been legal in Florida for a while.

@Forever_Free This is for Florida, not federal.

I would vote yes.
I also think anyone now in jail for possession of a small amount of MJ, as in for personal use, should be released immediately.

@JLeslie @Forever_Free Is saying that it should be legal at a Federal level, not just in Florida.

Most Americans (54%) now live in a state that has legalized the drug. 74% of Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical use.

Florida is an odd duck relative to this topic. Possession of small amounts is illegal: Possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment and a maximum fine of $1,000

Florida is moving a bit backwards on limiting the books in classrooms and a scary amendment to limit the number of books and classroom materials that can be challenged in school districts.

I do not see them moving forward on the Marijuana topic.

@JLeslie I guess I should have bolded and italicized. I can’t think of a single reason not to.

It’s legal here but I will say I don’t like the pollution it generates from the smoke and the smell in confined areas like public transportation. i wouldn’t vote it against it though even for that reason.

I don’t think it matters. The data is already out. People are slowly trying to push alcohol out of their lives and switch to low dose Marijuana for general health and wellness reasons.

People with good jobs will continue to drink and do pills because it’s totally OK because you’re not a loser weed smoker, and that’s OK too.

@Blackberry I think having the choice is important.

I just went to a meeting about all of the ballot items and I’m going to vote yes. What convinced me was so many people in the group were able to get a prescription with a 5 minute doctor appointment.

@Blackberry I would assuming smoking anything is bad for your lungs and can lead to COPD and cancer. I realize people can consume MJ in other ways.

@JLeslie They may have gotten a prescription, but FDOH is very rigid about who they allow to get medical cannabis cards. It’s probably easier in more elderly communities, but there are young adults with PTSD who can’t get approved. They don’t just auto-approve based on a prescription.

I’ll vote yes, but I think there should be restrictions on cannabis access in pregnancy and use while operating vehicles, in public spaces, around children, etc.

Yes

Some time ago I read about the citizens in Oregon and Washington complaining that they couldn’t even walk into a restaurant without walking through a cloud of pot smoke.

I’m with @Cupcake – yes, but there should be restrictions enforced.

I don’t think people should go to jail for it.

What i don’t like about it is going to public places and smelling it and also some tiwns here in NY and also in Maine, seeing Marijuana shops in so many places. I think it looks sleazy. I understand some may consider my views old fashioned.

@JLeslie I don’t think most cannabis users smoke it as much in legal states. It’s available as edibles in those areas.

@Cupcake It will be legal for 21 and up and supposedly laws like DUI. I don’t know the specifics yet on the driving.

@jca2 That’s a concern of mine.

Vote No.

There are several tests that law enforcement can use, to determine if a driver is “impaired.”
The DWI/driving aspect, has actually been very carefully considered, in most places where it is being legalized.

The methods for determining DWIs for Marijuana, will improve over time.

Yup.

I’d vote yes. The cost to Florida taxpayers to prosecute people for marijuana could be better spent on schoolbooks. It’s also a pretext for violations of the 4th amendment by cops who want to search a car but can’t find probably cause: “I smell weed”

100% yes.

To mix a metaphor, complaints about the smell in public places is a smoke screen. Where I live, one cannot smoke dope in any place you cannot smoke tobacco. Not in restaurants or theaters.

Even Richard Nixon said it’s “not particularly dangerous”; he just started the War on Drugs to be able to lock up minorities and liberals.

@zenvelo Actually not true here. I smell it on the train all the time and right outside bars. And in subway stations. It might not be coming from active smokers; it may be coming of people who have smoked. Or at outside concerts. I’m not saying it’s a reason not to vote for it but it is a problem for me.

Cannabis use in pregnancy is rising quickly. It is concerning. People are self-medicating. A huge concern I have about legalization (not that it is a reason to NOT legalize) is that cannabis use replaces inaccessible, unaffordable, stigmatizing mental health care.

^Most drugs, including alcohol, are used for self medicating.
That’s because nobody can afford Healthcare.
That is a “how the US government treats it’s people” problem.

@Cupcake what you wrote is certainly a valid concern – mental health care has been underfunded for decades. But ultimately, it is the user (marijuana or other addictive substance) and maybe his/her family that decides on health care.

As you wrote, that’s NOT a reason to delay legalization of marijuana.

Marijuana helped my mom with bipolar manic episodes, anxiety and thru cancer. A lot of people with mental illnesses have found mj beneficial. It’s not for everyone, some people are allergic or get paranoid, but generally those are more rare.
As far as ptegnancy, a friend just had a healthy baby boy and smoked lightly, no issues with the hospital or childs healh. Not saying I condone it, but its not like a crack baby going thru withdrawals.

“Crack baby” is an antiquated and vulgar term. We are becoming increasingly aware of adverse effects and poor outcomes for moms and babies who were exposed during pregnancy. The fact of the matter is that we don’t know the full effects, but they exist. I believe in harm reduction, and if using cannabis is a better alternative for some than more harmful substances, then great. But the vast majority of people using cannabis in pregnancy have not used other substances and are not aware of the effects (because no dispensary will tell them and physicians are not having the conversations). It’s irrelevant if you know one person who thinks their baby turned out fine. I’ve conducted research and published on it.

^With due respect, for someone who has “conducted research and published on it,” you don’t seem to understand the Marijuana community AT ALL.
At this point, a LOT of it’s users, are more health conscious, and don’t stray into harder drugs, even alcohol.

I would agree, that I don’t support a pregnant woman, using Marijuana.

But. It IS the pregnant woman’s right, to do as they please.
Even if that is abortion.

However. I have some life experience, as well. I know, and have known a LOT of people who are “pot heads,” or “daily users.”
As soon as they find out they are pregnant, most stop ALL types of drugs, while pregnant.

As deplorable, as smoking whilst pregnant may be, ot will probably be far lesser of an evil, than pollutants, toxins, and carcinogens, they will naturally encounter in their infancy.

There ARE rules/laws, in states that have dispensaries.
The biggest problem with mj products, is that the marketing and packaging, can be interpreted as children’s products. Resulting in a lot of accidental ingestion incidents, and “poisonings.”

EVERYTHING has an effect on a child, in the womb.

@Cupcake I’d read that if you have a link.

^If they are indeed the author, of published content, the material would ”de-cloak” the jelly by mentioning names….
Unless this jelly has a pseudonym, or pen name…

@MrGrim888 it’s really not a pregnant woman’s right to do what she pleases. I can tell you that if her baby is born addicted, the baby is taken right out of the hospital by CPS, at least in the county i worked in.

^We can’t chain pregnant women down, until they give birth.
I’m NOT condoning pregnant women using illicit drugs. Not ar all.
I know that the women I’ve known in my life, have handled pregnancy in many different ways. But mostly, they try to do right by the unborn child, if they plan on “keeping” the child.

I have a LOT of behaviors, that I would like pregnant women to adhere to. But. I’m not the woman.

Some of my friends who had kids, smoked cigarettes (unquestionably worse,) before they found out they were pregnant.
According to a few of those girls, their doctors told them that flat quitting smoking, was worse than an “occasional” cigarette.
Something to do, with withdrawal potentially being bad for the pregnancy. So. Some of them quit entirely. Others, did “occasionally” smoke while pregnant.
As a former LEO, I’ve seen far worse.
I even know some horror stories, about women I used to know, and this subject.

I never personally dealt with CPS, or any other government agencies that are designed to protect children. I roughly assume there is some type of law, that could get a pregnant woman placed in an institution, or somewhere, under certain circumstances. However. By and large, most women can essentially do anything they want while pregnant. Society may frown very heavily on it, but thar won’t stop the women from doing things we object to.

For the most part, the baby is at the mercy of its mother, and whatever conditions she is exposed to. Or exposes herself (and by extension her unborn child,) to…

At any rate. I believe that legalization and federal oversight of Marijuana, would be beneficial for the country.
By oversight, I mean some government quality assurances, mainly regarding the product’s safety for consumers.
That would keep fentanyl, out of the weed, and/or any toxic filler(s.)
We already know, the country WILL benefit from the taxation of the sale of legal Marijuana.

We do need to look harder at packaging, how people store it, and what is pushing things too far. They need to figure out how to let banks work with Marijuana based industries legally, and without risk, as well.

There will likely be a need, for continued evaluation of the effects of it in the communities where it is most prevalent. A need for constantly evolving laws. Especially concerning, how to determine if someone is so intoxicated they can’t drive, or be in public.

When it comes to the smoking in public places, I think that if it’s not too disruptive, it should be allowed where tobacco/vapes can be used.

The smell, from most of the vapes, is WAY different than the smoke from weed. Again, as a former LEO, I used to be able to barely smell it, at big events. It was very hard, catching people doing it. There are so many tobacco vape devices, it’s impossible to tell what is what without inspection.

I think, it could be a sort if peace offering, to mj users. We legalize weed, but you have to keep it really out of most public places, or we criminalize it again.

We have similar laws already, for alcohol. You can’t drink alcohol in public, in most places.
In counties in my area, it’s a $1,000 fine, for being caught with alcohol in the streets.

There is not, currently, any real reason for keeping it illegal.
The government doesn’t care, as long as they can tax it.
It will take de-stigmatizing it, to a point.
It’s been deep in American culture, for decade’s. It just doesn’t need to become more than something that is an adult thing.