With the talk of marijuana on the rise, I just wanted to get a general idea of how many people support the legalization of it on TA forums. Express your opinions by replying! Ha. Not sure if I am allowed to post this thread... but I don't see why not?
there is no reason it should not be legal, except the drug companies and paper companies that will lose tons of money
Besides the fact that it only takes one good hit for it to impair your judgement, and when you buy pot as a consumer, even though your intentions are good, the money eventually goes to someone who doesn't care about you, the safety of your community, and their only interest is making as much money off you as they can while not paying any taxes or contributing back to the community. I'm all for the decriminalization for possesion under an Ounce, but still feel it should be illegal.
Half the complaints you have would disappear with legalization. They WOULD be taxed, THEY would contribute, It WOULD be regulated by the government, in the same sense that alcohol is. I buy big macs all the time, with no assumptions that McDonalds actually cares for me!!
Yes, it should be legalised. People have and will always use it at their leisure. The Police can't enforce it, so what's the point in wasting taxpayer's money on something the police can't enforce. They should be spending their time trying to prevent other drug use and more serious offences such as murder, rape etc. Cannabis is probably nearly as common as tobacco, loads of people smoke it. And besides, it has medical uses. When I get old and grey, give me some weed to take the pain away The healthier alternative to McDonalds!
You think all the people selling pot would quit if it was legalized? Pots already the biggest cash crop in over half of the states, and it's illegal. It's not like the government would go and drop the price from it's current going price. They aren't going to make it cheaper because it's legal, if anything they would make it more expensive because you won't get in trouble. All the while, my drug dealing friends will keep getting their pot from home grown sources under cutting the government prices. The government wouldn't be able to dictate between government taxed weed and weed grown by a local gang. It's not like buying weed at a dispensiary is any cheaper than buying from a dealer, plus your name goes on a government list of patients with doctors recommendation to medical Mary Jane. And it isn't hard to get a recommendation, a simple search of the Internet and you'll find a doctor's office that has a preference to distributing their doctors' recommendations.
I dunno I guess I am probably not very informed on the issue and shouldn't really go around touting my opinion. I'll leave this debate to HardcoreEric.
See a lot of "no's" and no rationals!! Come on people, I'm convinced that your only voting "no" out of ignorance, So please allow some friendly debate and voice why you think it's so bad..
The people who grow and transport the majority of marijuana in the US do not ever want to cooperate with the government. If the government made marijuana legal, they do not want you to smoke it, you'd be crazy to think that after a hundred years of enforcing marijuana law our government is going simply say "because it's legal, smoke it and make us money!" While the prices from the growers will be driven down and it'll be cheaper for your local marijuana stop-in, the government is gonna tax the hell out of it until it's fair market value, not to mention all the lobbying from beer companies to increase taxes on marijuana. The government isn't going to let us pot for $40 a quarter if your already willing to pay $50. I admit, it might have the potential to kill off the large illegal marijuana distributers, it would only encourage entrepenueral people like me to plant 50 plants in my backyard that are danker than the govt. plants and sell them to druggies like you for the same price you'd pay at your legal distributor. Think about all the jobs that require that you don't smoke marijuana, if you had to be on a list, these jobs would know when you purchased marijuana and if you are a regular purchaser. While you might not be able to get a possesion charge, I imagine they'd be a lot less lenient for being high and probably won't hesitate to give you a DUI if you were registered marijuana purchaser, which is probably a little more profitable for the government than arresting non-violent first time criminals.
I voted no because if it becomes legal, which it never will, it will encourage more than just those who use it now to start abusing it. I know many people who have gone on from smoking weed to then snorting coke and taking ecstacy, it's a stepping stone drug, and if it's made legal, then so many more will be taking those next steps on to properly dangerous drugs. Not that marijuana isn't dangerous, but the mental effects it has upon a person can be devastating, and I'm not just getting this from a book or fact sheet, I know firsthand what it can do to someone. There is no point making something legal when most of the world is too stupid or careless to respect the drug properly, just like most binge drink and eat. We all know alcohol is ok if you are careful with the amounts that you drink, but with marijuana it's very hard to know if you've had more than you should have, because of it's stronger intoxicating effects. So far in this thread, all those who want it to be legalized are just putting down those who want it to remain illegal with generic statements and have no real rebuttal or fresh points as to why it should be legalized. The idea that those who are against the legalization are the ignorant ones is incredible. Also, what's with this whole conspiracy idea about marijuana being exaggerated by the 'government' or whoever? It's not swine flu..
If it is legal, why couldn't you plant 50 plants and sell them. Nobodies saying the government will have complete control. Just like you have budweiser you would have new companies springing up creating jobs, and if you yourself would like to do that, apply for the same permits that brewery's need. I think the problem here is that many people have it ingrained in them that weed is bad, but really it's not. At least not Schedule 1 on the feds prohibited substance lists, bad. Give me a break, I get in WAYYY more trouble when I drink and yet I don't hear the same contempt being piled onto alcohol because..."well the government says it's okay,...so it must be".
People are going to smoke whether its legal or not. If someone wants weed, it is very easy to find even though it is currently illegal If the government would legalize it, they would be able to better control what crops come into the country and they would be able to tax it - the government is insane for not trying to cash in on this market. It's absurd to me that the government allows cigarettes but outlaws marijuana - really, which one do you think is doing more harm to your body?
plus it would help the government considering the large amount of people who use weed. The government gets tons of money from taxing alcohol and tobacco. They would probably get more than that from weed. I personally would rather use weed than drink or smoke tobacco since it is healthier.
