What do y'all think about legalizing marijuana?

I am all for legalizing marijuana – I believe far more dangerous substances are legal in this country for marijuana to not be as well

I think that if ou loook over there>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
you will see that this subject has been discussed.

Heck yeah!

We just did this

Drugs Are Bad, Mkay

@shared3 We have a nifty little search feature at the top of the page that we use to find subjects before posting about them. It’s always a good idea to double check, just in case. We jellies get a little riled up about repeats :)

It’s only illegal because it was the drug of black people during the 20’s and a politician ran on a platform of eliminating it in the south.

We spend billions of dollars a year trying to get rid of it, and if I wanted I could probably have pot within the hour (your tax dollars at work).

We should legalize it, tax it, stop crowding our prisons and justice system with drug offenders, and drop even half of the money we spend on the war against pot on just educating people to smoke it responsibly (Which not to change topic but is what we should be doing with underage drinking rather than trying to enforce laws no one believes in).

when most people want weed to be ” legalized ” I dot think they really understand what it means, legalization of mj means you could buy it in stores lime cigarettes I personally don’t see that happening in our society. Decriminilization if mj means that you could smoke and not get arrested I am for decriminilization.

What? Pot’s not legal?

all for it. however, I believe the u.s. should also take the next step and make Rastafarianism the official state religion.

I can gamble anytime in any casino and never do. I could drink myself silly every night and don’t. I could visit a prostitute any time but love my wife. I can smoke cigarettes any time and never have. If pot were legal I would not smoke it. But I will defend the right to do so till my dying days. If the government controlled it, organized crime would suffer a huge blow and those who like to smoke pot will be happy, most of whom are responsible, law abiding friends and fellow citizens. It is time to legalize pot!!!

I honestly don’t know anyone who has used pot, then didn’t move on to harder drugs. Therefore, I believe it is a gateway drug. Yes, alcohol is worse than mj, but alcohol leads to more alcohol. MJ leads to heroin, cocaine, crack, meth, and a whole lot more kinds of drugs that are much worse than whiskey or vodka. I haven’t seen anyone rob or steal to afford more whiskey (though I suppose it probably does happen occasionally). If we legalize mj, we will be inviting a much more dangerous world.

I’ve never used drugs in my life so I’m on the outside looking in on this topic but as prevalent as the use of marijuana seemingly is, you might as well legalize it and hopefully in a responsible way if that is even possible.

Additionally, why not tax it and use that money for benevolent purposes such as health care or rehabilitation/treatment programs or whatever else might benefit the public at large?

@filmfann “MJ leads to heroin, cocaine, crack, meth, and a whole lot more kinds of drugs that are much worse than whiskey or vodka”
LOL Oh god thats the funniest thing ive read in a while. Get out more filmfann, most pot heads look pretty negatively on heroin, cocaine, crack and meth.

I really dont see how legalizing it will change much either, i mean if it was legalized tomorrow, would you go out and smoke pot? I doubt it. You either do or dont because of your views, not because of legality.

Legalize and tax it.

@uberbatman do you know anyone who used mj and didn’t go harder? Try to avoid using new users as an example.

I agree with Russell_D_SpacePoet – legalize it so it can be sold & taxed – would make a very good tax revenue that did not have to come out of everyone’s pocket & it would cut down on the numbers of people being held in our prisons.

Filmfann
Most all of the people I know who smoke pot have never done anything harder.
However, every beer drinker I know also drinks hard liquor.

@filmfann uhhh your talking to someone whos been smoking marijuana for over 5 years now and would never in a million years think of doing any of those drugs you listed. Same goes for most people I know. So again im going to have to say you dont know what your talking about.

@uberbatman While I may disagree with you, I do know what I am saying. I said I don’t know anyone who didn’t go harder. I am glad you stopped there. You mention the drugs I listed. Did you try other drugs I didn’t list?

@filmfann I have, but that has nothing to do with my choice to use marijuana as i used some prior to marijuana. I wouldn’t consider the ones i did use to be “hard” drugs though.

But still, just because i have tried marijuana prior to some of the other drugs i have done doesnt mean marijuana led me to doing so. That would be like saying alcohol is a gateway drug. What hard drug user hasnt tried alcohol first?

What I am saying is that I know drinkers who have never used pot, or any other drug. I don’t know anyone who used mj, and didn’t use other drugs. I am over 50, so I knew quite a few people who smoked (you know, the 60’s and all…).
Maybe you should try rereading these posts when you’re cool.

And i am saying i know people who smoked marijuana and havent moved onto other things. I dont really get your point. Im just saying its not a gateway drug, some people use multiple drugs, some people just the one, but thats the persons choice, not the drug that makes them choice to consume more.

I also dont see the point of your last sentence. Bit of an asshole comment IMO.

Ya, that was in response to your saying that I don’t know what I am talking about. I am talking about my experience. I know what that is.

I support it, but we have to be clear that THC is not a harmless drug. Like alcohol. Moderation and discipline are key. See also

http://www.fluther.com/disc/44577/why-is-there-still-the-rumor-that-tetrahydrocannabinol-cannabis-marijuana-hashish/

@filmfann You said alcohol leads to more alcohol, but it also leads to driving drunk, maybe sleeping with someone you really shouldn’t. It also has a tendency to make people aggressive. I know a few alcoholics that started with drinking and ended up doing heroin and speed and things they wouldn’t have even tried if they weren’t first drunk. Also think about this. You can’t die from smoking a bunch of pot all in one sitting. However, you can die from alcohol poisoning if you drink too much in one sitting. The money that could be raised from a cannabis tax in conjunction with the money saved from not loading down the judicial system and jails would be enough to warrant legalization. In some ways it would free up the judicial system to deal with more pertinent issues.

I don’t understand the tax argument people have made. If it was legal, most people would probably grow their own.

@filmfann Most people don’t make their own beer or alcohol. just like most who smoke marijuana don’t or wouldn’t grow their own. Not enough to make a dent in the revenue of a cannabis tax.

I have no idea what weed costs as I’ve never been a consumer, but I once asked someone in college about what a joint cost and they said 6 or 7 bucks. Don’t know how indicative of the overall market a small town 20 years ago is, but let’s say you get 50 million people spending $5 a day on something it costs $1 to manufacture, the other $4 is taxes and you’re still undercutting the black market at that price. Viola, you save tons of money on prison space you don’t need when you don’t lock up all he users, you can dictate that education programs must be undertaken before you can buy weed (unlike what we do with alcohol and tobacco but maybe should), you can force people to register as users so they can’t get certain jobs which would be unsafe for them to hold, and you get $200M a day in tax revenue, plus you reduce gang activity as there will be no profit in the black market, and you can direct police forces to making sure drugs don’t end up in the hands of kids/people who don’t have a “license” to buy it, plus you have all this revenue you can direct to treatment programs. Done properly (and admittedly that’s a big IF), you could reduce the number of users in the long run, make the streets ultimately safer and you’d have money to address the unintended consequences.

Filmfann
I’m guessing those who grow their own will have to pay a fee or some sort of tax. Where I live it cost $141.00 to grow your own for medical purposes. Those who receive state health care pay slightly less.

@dalepetrie 50 million people. Did you calculate that number, or pull it out of a previously unknown source? (No, that wasn’t what I was gonna say).

@Russell_D_SpacePoet I have seen a lot of friends growing their own. I don’t know anyone who makes their own beer. I have friends who make their own wine, tho.

@filmfann – you can say it…pulled it out of my ass. But I based my guesstimate on the fact that the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) estimates that 40% of Ameicans over age 12 (94 million Americans) have tried marijuana, and I suspect that number, being a self reported number, is if anything low. I’ve heard estimates as high as 60%. I figured let’s guess that the number is slightly over that 40% have tried it, so if 100 million people tried it even though it was illegal, I think 50 million is a reasonable, probably far too conservative estimate of how many would use it on a regular basis IF it were made legal. But even if you want to really assume the best case scenario, let’s be REALLY conservative and say that of the 100 million people who have ever tried it, only 10% continue to use on a regular basis (on average), or 1/5th of my estimate. So, we’re talking $40 million a day in revenue, or about $15 billion a year in tax revenues, and I think the number would be MUCH higher, but let’s say it wasn’t, that’s a pretty huge chunk of change. But like I said, I’m pulling these #‘s about the pricing and # out of thin air, but I AM basing my guesstimates on known data.

I have tried it (30 years ago), and didn’t continue because I didn’t like it. Walking through walls is unsettling.
Regarding of the tax profit, how much would you want for your soul?

If you believe in a soul, don’t smoke it. Do you realize that the real reason marijuana is illegal in the first place is that the powerful timber lobby, fearing competition from the hemp plant (under the direction of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst) used yellow journalism and his powerful influence to criminalize the plant? Marijuana and the hemp plant were first discovered in 7000–8000 B.C. and had not been criminalized throughout human history until the 1930s in America. In fact, hemp was one of the largest cash crops in the US colonies, George Washington himself not only grew hemp, but it was his main crop! Hearst used fear of Mexican and Chinese immigrants to drive public opinion against the plant.

If you want to see a well researched history of he criminalization of cannibis and its role in society throughout history leading to its current status, check out marijuana.drugwarrant.com and you’ll see why it’s really illegal. As I said, our prisons are overcrowded with people who’ve done what at least 40% of Americans have done…smoked a joint. Huge profits are made by drug gangs who kill each other for their territory. Personally, if there is such a thing as a soul, mine would be much cleaner if I’d let some people get high, reduce crime, raise tax dollars and spend money on treatment.

I was aware of the history of hemp when I made my reply.

@filmfann My wife and several other medical users don’t even think of the harder shit as in the same class. I used to smoke too and never went any farther. In fact I have put the word out in my area that if you bring the Meth or other shit on to my place and I find out about it I will call the cops, if violence starts due to me calling there is always 158 grains of lead in my home protection device made just to create a terminal case of lead poisoning. So much for your theory. Go to http://NORML.org for real info on pot. Don’t rely on our lying government, Obama included.

@filmfann Review this video posted 5/20/09 on CNN.com, That is the head of the FBI losing the debate on Marijuana. And the gateway theory has been proven wrong many of times. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/05/20/sot.mueller.legalize.drugs.cnn?iref=videosearch

If you are interested in seeing what the medical benefits are from Marijuana please search “Medical Marijuana” on Wikipedia.com, I believe you will see why so many people advocate the legalization of the drug specifically for medicinal use.

As for my feelings on legalization:
Yes Marijuana should be legalized, taxed and regulated. It is 100% impossible to die from an overdose of marijuana. It will also provide a new industry in this country that we can tax and make profit from. There were 870,000 marijuana arrests in 2007, 88% for simple marijuana possession, it’s time to end the fail “War on Drugs”. There are many more reasons why Marijuana should be legalized, and if you want to help the fight to end prohibition please visit, MPP.org and NORML.org for more information.

DO IT YESTERDAY!!! (Caps lock were certainly necessary)

@Kraken – Great to see you again! How are things in Florida?

I smoke and don’t do any other drugs ( maybe mushrooms like once every yr or two) but not anything else regularly or close to it. I also don’t drink. My fiance used to do meth, but people do other things for a different high, he quit that on his own before we met, and now he smokes pot and that is all he does, like me he doesn’t drink or do anything else.

I am part of quite a few Marijuana Legalization programs. If you look past the Stoner part of Marijuana and into the science, and Medical, even Economic benifits you would be surprised. Take a look at these sites: here here and here You will find out some things you probably didn’t even know about how Benificial Marijuana can be. In medical studies Marijuana has worked extremely well in Cancer patients and a few other serious diseases. Did you know that it would only take 6% of U.S. land to produce enough hemp for hemp fuel, Enough hemp fuel to make us energy independent from the rest of the world? The economical benifits are huge also…. Look into it – You’ll be surprised!

it is probably safer than alcohol. it would free space in the jails. It can be used medicinally as well. Hemp is a good crop with great uses.

do it.