[X] My Assistant

[chariot]

so the government lied to us for decades and now that we realize marijuana's illegal status is based on falsities and is actually far less dangerous that other substances we have legalized (such as alcohol, tobaco, and lesser known hallucinogenic plants such as salvia), why is it still illegal? why do we spend so many hundreds of millions of dollars on the war on drugs that could be used instead to fuel the economyt ake on poverty, etc?

[Bradleysan]

There are many reasons for this, but I'll list a few. One is that nobody in the government likes to admit they were wrong about something. It just looks bad for them, they end up looking like morons. Another reason is that they can tax alcohol and cigarettes, but marijuana is so wide spread that anybody could grow it if they wanted to. Taxing it would be pointless.

Aside from the government blocking it there are also many people who don't want it legalized. Mostly because of the illogical fears and untruths they were told when they were young that brainwashed them into thinking it was this horrible drug that it's not.

It should be legal, and should have never been outlawed. Our government is kinda dumb that way...

[Kaname Madoka]

I will state that I do not condone drug use. At all. However, the fact that marijuana is illegal is causing far more problems than people initially thought. If you watch TV, you surely know of the horrific things going on down on the Mexico/US border, all for what? Weed? It's disgusting.

I wonder whether legalizing marijuana would stop the senseless drug war violence, though because marijuana obviously isn't the only drug that they're attempting to transport to and from the US. Marijuana may not be that bad, but heroin and cocaine certainly are. But hey, if the legalization of marijuana will put a dent in the violence, then sure, go for it. I won't have any part in smoking it, but at least people aren't being murdered because of drugs and greed.

[Naegi Makoto]

It's practically legal where I live, or might as well be at least. Really, it's less hazardous than alcohol and cigarettes, so it should be legal. I've smoked it a few times and it's nowhere near as bad as the government tries to make it look with anti-drug ads. Everything in moderation.

Legalization would likely put a dent in violence, and it would also put a dent in people who try it illegitimately as well. It's only a gateway drug when it's illegal; saying it would encourage people to try cocaine and more dangerous drugs is like saying that alcohol encourages people to try drugs. And yes, marijuana is much better for you than alcohol--it even has medicinal uses.

[chariot]

the main reason it's considered a "gateway drug" is because of its illegal status- i mean, once you've done one illegal drug, why not do another? the difference is, most illegal drugs are illegal because they actually ARE dangerous, and you actually CAN die (there has never been one reported death from marijuana in all of history btw). i think classifying marijuana in the same legal category as cocaine and heroin (as is done in the united states currently) is really dangerous and STUPID. let's see, a drug that can kill you the first time you take it, or a drug that is essentially harmless and has strong medicinal value? GEE, I DON'T KNOW!

[individuo]

Another reason is that they can tax alcohol and cigarettes, but marijuana is so wide spread that anybody could grow it if they wanted to.

Which is they main reason it's not legalised. The reason the government is happy to pump alcohol and tobacco is because it's that heavily taxed that huge government profits are being made from it (hence why alot of alcohol and cigarettes are bough over duty free), not only that but the import and production of the stuff is heavily watched over by them. Marijuana on the other hand, there's that many people growing it/importing it that it's almost impossible for it to be regulated.

Still marijuana isn't without it's health risks, it has been known to cause mental health problems such as paranoia and schizophrenia among heavy users. I'd still rather have mass paranoia than lung cancer any day (On a side note, smoking 20 cigarettes a day only ups your chance of getting cancer on average by 25%, 10 units of alcohol a day ups your chance of getting liver problems on average by 10%).

[Lord Raven]

so the government lied to us for decades and now that we realize marijuana's illegal status is based on falsities and is actually far less dangerous that other substances we have legalized (such as alcohol, tobaco, and lesser known hallucinogenic plants such as salvia), why is it still illegal? why do we spend so many hundreds of millions of dollars on the war on drugs that could be used instead to fuel the economyt ake on poverty, etc?

More or less says it all.
I'd probably try it once if it were legalized to be honest, but I'm already the kind of person who seems like he's constantly high (IRL) so I probably shouldn't do it.

Alcohol has always seemed a lot more dangerous than marijuana even considering what they've told us for the past while.

[GregariousGengar]

You know, when I was underage, all of my friends wanted it to be legalized, but I didn;t, and I'll tell you why. If it became legalized, it would have to be government regulated which means, that it was not only going to be more difficult for me to obtain as a minor, but also much much more expensive.

Now, as an adult, I DO want weed legalized. I will gladly pay extra so that my theoretical future kids will have a harder time getting it, and I do want people that need it to have access to it's medicinal purposes.

The tax issue can easily be dealt with, after all, it's easier to grow tobacco and distill alcohol than it is to grow weed, I think the same methods that were used to ultimately control alcohol and tobacco could be employed with weed, and eventually it could have the same standards.

My biggest concern with the legalization of marijuana is that it will become a corporation, much like big tobacco, or worse, it will be controlled by big tobacco. There is good and bad involved with legalization, all depending on the way it is done.

Ultimately, I hope it becomes legalized, and my fears about the possibilities of how it is legalized are just that, but I have nagging feeling about it.

[chariot]

surfinbuizel, if marijuana were legalized, its price would drop significantly. the hemp plant can (and does) grow in the wild; it's relatively easy to grow and harvest. the major cost involved is the risk- that's why marijuana is significantly cheaper in canada than in the states (my american pothead friend who is now living in canada tells me it's about double the coast back in the states). it's legalization would make it virtually impossible for the government to regulate because it would be readily available everywhere.

[individuo]

(there has never been one reported death from marijuana in all of history btw)

Actually there was 1 a few years ago, but that was dis-proven. Turns out she did meth on the side which is what killed her.

[GregariousGengar]

surfinbuizel, if marijuana were legalized, its price would drop significantly. the hemp plant can (and does) grow in the wild; it's relatively easy to grow and harvest. the major cost involved is the risk- that's why marijuana is significantly cheaper in canada than in the states (my american pothead friend who is now living in canada tells me it's about double the coast back in the states). it's legalization would make it virtually impossible for the government to regulate because it would be readily available everywhere.

No no, you misunderstand, the kind of legalization you are talking about I honestly don't think would happen in the states. I think if the american government were to legalize it it would be conditional. They would only allow it if they could regulate it to the standards that tobacco and alcohol are. I wish they would make it free like canada, but I don't think it's something that would happen in reality. Americans are pretty easily controlled and believe everything their told so... :/

[Ogre]

There are two reasons why marijuana, or any other illegal drug, is exactly that: illegal.

1.) Decades of moralist propaganda (some of it exagerrated, some of it completely falsified), have left the minds of the voting public too muddled with fear to think clearly. Consider the reaction to the Free Love movement of the 60's, on the part of the State and the in-groups. The illegalization of drugs is one of many weapons in an ongoing culture war.

2.) The state is the source of all law and legal action in the United States. It is the government's decision that marijuana, and other illegal drugs, should be so because they are "bad for you". The state feels that it knows what is best for you, even when you do not. Think of the doting parent/fawning child relationship, as it correlates to the state's relationship with the masses. That relationship is, of course, idealized and based upon half-truthes and out-right lies. The state does not know what is best for you, as an individual, but cannot admit it. To admit that it was wrong, the government would be damaging its own air of legitimacy in the eyes of the ruled.

Therefore, marijuana is illegal because the state says so. Due to the state's unflinching position in this regard, the citizens of the United States have come to feel the same way. The state cannot admit its mistake, lest it lose legitimacy in the eyes of the public. In the end, its air of legitimacy is the only power that a government holds over its people, assuming they are armed and free-thinking.

The result is the ongoing war on drugs, which has claimed countless lives and will continue to do so as long as the illegal sale of drugs remains profitable. The drug trade fuels the illegal arms trade, as a great deal of those illegal arms go to enforcing the will of drug cartels around the world. The war on drugs puts thousands of individuals in our already over-crowded prsons for petty posession, while the cartels continue to do business in their multi-billion dollar trade untouched by the government. We, the taxpayers, pay for the amenities given to these petty criminals while they are incarcerated. We also pay to have these individuals arrested, in the first place. The war on drugs propagates itself by creating criminals with the resources that were meant to stop them in the first place.

It creates a never-ending cycle of criminals and victims in this manner. The drug trade is so risky, so profitable, because it is illegal. It is illegal because the government says so. The government says so because, by engaging in the drug war, it maintains its air of legitimacy, as though it is constantly holding off the barbarians at the gate. However, we all know that these barbarians, these cartels, wouldn't exist in the first place had the state not created them.

And so, we're left with the users. The same users who'd be using the same drugs whether they were legal or not. Also, the same people who would abstain from drugs, whether they were legal or not. The war on drugs has done nothing to stem the flow of drug use in America - it simply illegalgizes it, and allocates precious resources to a war that will never be won.

And here we are!

[GregariousGengar]

^^^^^^^^^

AGREED!

[Airotia]

My Dad, growing up, was able to grow tons of marijuana in the apartment of the house he shared with his three friends, using only a plant light and watering them like normal. These plants are very easy to grow, and grow wild.

However, I don't think it should be legalized.

Now, it's not because I think there's anything wrong with marijuana. It is a much better vice to have than tobacco or alcohol.

This might be kind of a weird thing to bring up, but think about what companies do to tobacco to make it more addictive. The beauty of marijuana is that it isn't physically addictive, though it can be emotionally addictive (like every other drug). I think if companies started selling it, they'd tamper with the formula so that weed would become more and more addictive.

So, I'm pro-weed, but anti-legalization. ^_^;

Of course, weed should have never been illegal in the first place. =3

This post has been edited by Airotia: Apr 25 2009, 05:51 PM

[chariot]

Airotia, i don't think that would happen. the nicotiana plant family naturally contains nicotine, so it makes some sort of morbid sense that the companies profiting off of it would want to optimize that quality- actually, some have been publicized for breeding certain strains of the plant that have a higher nicotine percentage! evil evil. but to add some substance to marijuana that would make it more dangerous would be very counter-intuitive to the government's war against drugs, so i doubt it would be allowed to go through.

[Lord Raven]

^^^^^^^^^

AGREED!

please add more to your post instead of just posting something like this ~_~

[King Calamity]

ohohoho, im gona love this

marijuana shud definately be legalized
there are plenty of scientific studies that show marijuana is the absolute LEAST harmful, i guess if you want to call it, DRUG thats out there, and that includes all forms of alcohol and tobacco.
its not physically addictive PERIOD.
theres atleast a 3 times more chance of getting lung cancer with ciggarettes than marijuana.
it does SLOWLY kill brain cells, but i live in california in the valley and the area is so polluted around here that i kill more brain cells just breathing the air here than smoking marijuana. nevermind, chariot proved me wrong, it doesnt even kill brain cells
plus, its just so great lolz.
i actually plan on getting my canibus card here soon now that im living back here.

This post has been edited by The Enigmatic Trainer: Apr 30 2009, 10:30 AM

[chariot]

The Enigmatic Trainer, smoking pot does not kill brain cells! there was ONE study done on primates during the reefer madness movement in the 1930s that indicated changes in brain activity, which the government based all its claims off- but in the next seventy years the results of that experiment were never replicated. in fact, hundreds of modern experiments with hundreds of thousands of participants have shown no difference in the health histories between marijuana smokers and marijuana non-smokers: http://www.druglibrary.org/crl/aging/sidney-01.html

contraversely, studies have been done showing that smoking pot actually STIMULATES cell growth of the brain, since out bodies produce cannabinoids naturally: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/BRAIN.HTM

it really IS great!

[GregariousGengar]

^^^^^^^^^

AGREED!

please add more to your post instead of just posting something like this ~_~

If you scroll up you'll see that I had previously posted two very well thought out arguments for my position prior to this persons post. However, this person had stated more clearly and eloquently my thoughts on the matter and felt nohing more needed to be stated than that i agreed with the above statement.

Is that really a problem?

[PeachyMomo]

I will state that I do not condone drug use. At all. However, the fact that marijuana is illegal is causing far more problems than people initially thought. If you watch TV, you surely know of the horrific things going on down on the Mexico/US border, all for what? Weed? It's disgusting.

I wonder whether legalizing marijuana would stop the senseless drug war violence, though because marijuana obviously isn't the only drug that they're attempting to transport to and from the US. Marijuana may not be that bad, but heroin and cocaine certainly are. But hey, if the legalization of marijuana will put a dent in the violence, then sure, go for it. I won't have any part in smoking it, but at least people aren't being murdered because of drugs and greed.

I think it would lessen drug war violence - and I think some dealers wouldn't like it being legalized because they could no longer make as much money. But I agree it is less dangerous than common things like cigarettes and alcohol. I don't condone the abuse of any such substances though. Even addiction to coffee. But you can become addicted to anything, really - as long as you watch yourself it's fine.