Cannabis

I think that it should generally stay illegal but still be allowed for people who have medical conditions because it can greatly help people's pain and health. One of the conditions that it helps is cancer which it has been proven to help.

If I'm not mistaken, here in the U.S. it's legal for medical purposes but it's only a small dose and it must be obtained legally. So if you're having some health problems you can't go to a drug dealer and buy it as you'll get in trouble if caught..

I think it's fine for medical use, but it shouldn't be allowed for recreational use. Unfortunately even if it's illegal, people will still buy and sell it, so it's still going to be a problem but hopefully some of them will wise up and stop the bad habit before it's too late..

I really see no reason it should be illegal. It's no worse than alcohol. I'd never use it, because I value my mind and my control too much, but I don't see what we gain by making it illegal.

If it was just available behind a counter with restricted access, then people would buy some legally. It wouldn't be any different than someone buying a six pack and drinking it over the weekend. The government could make a pretty penny off of the tax, focus spending on the bigger issues of cocaine cartels, and free up the overpopulation in the jail.

It's just an old holdout from an older time.

The problem is that if it's legalized, then it will appear to the public as something that's "safe". And I guess that the organized crime behind it is so strong, that such corruption makes it hard for the government to step in as if they did make it legal, a lot of drug dealers would be out of business. Which would of course be a problem to those who massively profit off it, and that's who I was referring to when I said "drug dealers".

I'm pretty sure that they have a quick urine test that they can do (just don't eat poppy seed bagels and drive erratically). An old classmate was put under this quickie testing by parents who had caught on to him. The only way to get around it was to fast and drink water for a few hours to get it out of your system. There is also nothing wrong with being high and driving as long as you can still drive within legal limits. A standard sobriety test would cover this area. So driving while high wouldn't be any of a legal challenge different than drunk driving.

I'm also pretty sure that most of the current generation already thinks it is safe. The government making it illegal is just seen as rigid stubbornness to change. Making it legal would just mean that people wouldn't have to go to drug dealers and risk being marketed to more dangerous drugs (or having a spiked bag of weed...some mix in other drugs to stay "unique" ).

The only people that want to legalize marijuana are the hippies that want to use it. It is detrimental to one's health and it will only lead to a unhealthy and stupider society. Marijuana, like other drugs, should not be legalized.

McSwift said:

...It is detrimental to one's health and it will only lead to a unhealthy and stupider society....

Click to expand...

What doesn't these days? We could save an incredible amount of money, manpower and resources if we stopped and legalized marijuana. Think about the cost of jailing, percent of population in jail relating to drug charges and the cost of prosecuting those people.

Rick said:

I personally think that it should remain illegal however I have my issues with the subject as I think all medicine especially those that help with mental health issues can have a huge psychological impact on a person.

Therefore I would say that it makes Cannabis less of a concern to me.

However in the interest of public health we should eliminate anything that could be a risk to our health.

So I still stick with my personal opinion that the drug should remain illegal.

Click to expand...

Marijuana should without a doubt be legalized. Your argument is extremely weak as the only "point" you made can easily be refuted.

You say that in the interest of public health you should eliminate anything that could be a risk to your health.

Does that mean you think they should make all fattening foods illegal too? Because fattening foods are FAR more dangerous to the public health than is marijuana. Do you know how many people die of obesity related issues every year? I know you guys aren't quite as fat as we are in America, but I've also been reading that obesity is becoming more and more of an issue in the UK.

Does that mean you think they should make cigarettes illegal? They far far, FAR, FAR, FARRRRRRRRRRRR more dangerous to the public health than marijuana. It's not even close. It's like comparing the size of an elephant to the size of a pea. Yet no one ever says that you should make cigarettes illegal. Cigarettes actually KILL people. You get that right? The argument over marijuana is whether or not it's an effective pain killer (it is, by the way) not whether it kills anyone or not (because it doesn't ever kill anyone as it's completely safe.)

Does that mean you think they should make alcohol illegal? Again with the much more dangerous than marijuana. People get violent and stupid when they are drunk. They get into car accidents. They beat their wives. Etc and so forth. What's the worst thing someone does when they get high? Eat a bag of doritos?

I hope you understand how ludicrous your point is. I'm not trying to be rude, only to point out how absolutely obviously wrong the point is. That's what's so disturbing about the anti-legalizing crowd, their points are so absurd and they don't even seem to realize it. I consider that a form of brain washing. People have been brain washed into thinking marijuana is a dangerous drug that should be illegal.

Either you think that absolutely no things that are a danger to the public health are legal (and it would be a damn boring world with nothing but granola to eat and water to drink) or you have to come up with a more reasonable case that actually stands up to any sort of questioning.

---

After having read through the rest of these responses I have to add to my answer. Wow. This is some really truly ignorant stuff here. I'm shocked that people actually think stuff like this in 2009. Does no one value freedom? Do you only care about freedom when it's your own at stake? How would you feel if the government made something that you enjoy doing illegal? Do you enjoy drinking alcohol? If so, how do you feel about prohibition? You could make an argument that caffeine is a "drug" that should be avoided too. Maybe coffee and soda pop should be illegal? At what point does it start and where does it end? At this point we have a society where alcohol and cigarettes are legal. Since marijuana is without a doubt less dangerous than those 2 substances, it should obviously be legal as well. Either you want a puritan society or you want a free society (I want a free society.) By having it somewhere in between you come up with really illogical situations like marijuana being illegal and cigarettes (which KILL people, need I remind you) being legal.

On top the fact that it should be legalized for reasons of civil liberty (basic freedom) and that it is not a significant risk to the public health (far less so than the currently legal alcohol & cigarettes) there are other solid reasons it should be legalized as well. It would free up a ton of money by freeing the many productive citizens who are incarcerated every year for simple marijuana possession. I know people myself who have had this happen. Just people who have jobs and families and are put in jail for doing nothing but smoking pot. Something that millions of Americans do. Something that our last few Presidents have all done. Something almost all of the Presidential candidates this year have done. Think about that. Please start using your minds people, please. I beg of you, people's lives are at stakes, including your own. Don't you understand that by giving up basic freedom you are destroying everything that America stands for?

I'm going to have to agree with Ziggy and omeythehomie here. The simple fact is that as long as people want it, they'll get it. Legalizing marijuana would take an enormous strain off of our resources.

my opinion

My opinion on the matter is that marijuana should be legal. What you do with your own body is your own business, no anyone elses... Especially the government! Or at the very least, if alcohol and cigarettes are legal then marijuana should be. If it's banned, them more people will try to acquire it then if it's not banned.

Cannabis should not be illegal at all. It is the most powerful plant in the planet, well at least its brother hemp. Hemp could solve all the global warming problems and you need to smoke a lightpole size amount of hemp before you get anywhere near the effects of cannabis.

It grows in the ground and therefore shouldn't be illegal. The only side effect is happiness and it doesn't make you violent unlike alcohol. It is ridiculous today's kids are being taught throughout their education system that cannabis is bad. Do you know if we made clothes with it we'd be able to hand them down to our grandchildrens children......

That's a bit of a myth from the legalize movement. Hemp isn't a miracle plant. Hemp is terrible for farm machinery. There's a reason that it's not grown often in the areas where it is legal. There are far better plants around for almost anything that hemp could theoretically do.

That said, it's pretty dumb for it to be illegal. It was just banned in the frenzy.

The Parakeet said:

There are far better plants around for almost anything that hemp could theoretically do.

That said, it's pretty dumb for it to be illegal. It was just banned in the frenzy.

Click to expand...

Do you know that hemp is the number one source of ethanol in all plants, this means it is a complete alternative to all fuels currently used in vehicles. It grows faster than the canola and really quickly. Hemp is like a miracle plant and there is evidence it does not originate on Earth as there is simply far too many things the plant can do and be used for. Like the seeds are the best cource of protein, thi means now more cholestrol, no more fatty greasy burgers etc. A great dvd is called Earthlings. Shows what really happens to the meat we eat. It is sick and disgusting. Do you know pigs are cannibals?

Anyway I agree that there is no reason it should be illegal.

No. I'm pretty sure that's not right. Do you have a real source? If I remember correctly, the best source of ethanol would probably be rapeseed oil. Palm trees have the highest concentration, but it's a bit of a pain to grow palm trees.

Sugar is also a good option. There's a new home-distillation kit that might revolutionize the market in a few years. That should be cool to see.

Yes I know pigs are cannibals. They eat the remains of other pigs. We eat pigs too. How is that wrong?

Most of the non-hippies I've talked to say hemp oil tastes pretty bad. Anecdotal, I know, but it's the best I got.

Marijuana

Well this has been true since the real reason weed was made illegal. The real reason was financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go.

Now the bigger threat we are facing is that although the armed forces could stop any violation of law in a revolt type way, that would be counterproductive to human life itself. The wiser alternative, during this chaotic day and age, is overall complacency and happiness with quality of life. If you have issues that are weighing down the country, and everything is being affected by it, the smartest chess move would be to deregulate any herbs or plants non destructive to intestinal flora.

Safety, happiness, complacency, and quality of life. Herbs and knowledge of such matters is the only thing to left to keep a human fixed on such a mindset. Curiosity killed the cat. To follow instincts, and follow human nature, in terms of being happy with minding ones own surroundings and nobody elses allows for greater power of government and more acceptance of less intrusive things. "The powers that be", are here to keep us safe, govern us, and allow us to procure a better life.

These thoughts would not be questioned if marijuana was legal, because people have something to allow a harmless escape into complacency and higher rule by government. More power to that, legalize dope or god help us all!

I don't get the reasoning of those who think it shouldn't be legal.

It's harmful for one's healh: what about alcohol and tobacco? they should be illegal too?

The truth is that, if it's legal, i can have a plant on my own house, everyone could, that would destroy dealers and would help to keep it away from kids. I don't know how someone could say that i shouldn't smoke marijuana, it's just like if I go and say that someone shouldn't have a beer. I think arguments against marijuana get weaker and weaker as the time passes by.

I think it must remain illegal because cannabis makes you addicted and more addicted, you will do anything to get canabis, just like other drugs, the level of addiction is higher than cigarettes. Canabis makes us fly when we smoke it, while cigarettes not.

dodot said:

I think it must remain illegal because cannabis makes you addicted and more addicted, you will do anything to get canabis, just like other drugs, the level of addiction is higher than cigarettes. Canabis makes us fly when we smoke it, while cigarettes not.

Click to expand...

well, that depends on how do you see it. I'm addicted to cigarettes and not to cannabis. "Addictiveness" is not a property of the substance, it's a property of the person. Some people are addicted to alcohol, others to cigarettes and other to cannabis. And any individual of those 3 groups can have a lot of the other 2 and not get addicted to them.