Rolo, I am not sure much would change in those areas. I don't know many people that don't smoke because it's illegal. Either you like to smoke and
you do, or you don't like to smoke so you don't. I don't think much would change on those areas of society. Just my 2 cents on it.
 The Politics and Opinions Forum is re-opened and closed at random among the MVF forums for the purpose of redirecting those interested in having their political, opinionated, or severely off topic concerns known. By posting here or on any MVF forum you accept sole responsibility for your views. |
Legalization of Marijuana
| Author | Comment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 derek317 |
||||
|
Posts: 134 (10/08/09 06:06:42) |
|
|||
|
Rolo |
||||
|
Posts: 593 (10/08/09 07:27:33) |
Ironically so, here is a quote from today's local paper: At least one poll shows voters would support lifting the pot prohibition, which would make the state of 40 million the first in the nation to legalize marijuana. This is in San Francisco, California. They say if marijuana becomes legal in California, that it would be likely that you can walk into a liquor store and purchased marijuana. Do you think it is likely that teenage experimentation on the use of marijuana would increase because marijuana would become readily available in liquor stores? Try to think not in only in present time, but 10-20 years from now.
Last Edited By: Rolo
10/08/09 08:08:26.
Edited 1 times.
|
|||
|
Mike Rico |
||||
|
Posts: 2085 (10/08/09 08:25:29)
|
Ben I whole heartidly agree with your point to goverment control. And Bart I know the goverment isnt the true bad guy here, its the vested interest in keeping
the drug Illegal that keeps it that way. I never meant to imply that the CJ system would come crashing down if MJ were legalized. and yes the bad guys would
find a new avenue for profit.
I have one MAJOR disagreement here, and it sounded condescending in a way (and if it wasnt pardon me for thinking it was) "Next time you are sitting around the bong tokin it up, ask everyone who would want marijuana legalized and ask how many of them are registered voters" ------- maybe you can ask that of 18-20 yr old smoking voters but then again I dont know many 18-20 who dont smoke and vote anyhow. Most of the people I have known to smoke have been registered voters and you might be shocked to know how many parents at back to school night are "tokin the bong" although I dont know many crack, heroin, coke extacy addicts I do know MJ user encompass a very braod spectrum of social and economic paths. I've seen VP's, nurses, lawyers, dealership owners, teachers, college kids, factory workers.....call me corny but it is a great equalizer. The people that piss me off are the ones who state......arent you too old to still be smoking? these are usually the ones who smoked in High School, those are the people who try things to be "cool" ..... smoking pot doesnt make you cool. Keep snakes doesnt make you cool, driving a fast car doesnt make you cool..... people need to just do things that they love. and rolo think of where we would be in 10-20 yrs if they outlawed alcohol today, how many less drunk drivers would kill, how many less people would be victims of domestic violence because of drinking, how many less young adults would die on college campuses from alcohol poisoning, divorces etc etc drinking is far more of an evil drug than MJ |
|||
|
Cathy Maynard |
||||
|
Posts: 2134 (10/08/09 12:19:37) |
"One of the ironies of the drug war is that where it was been waged most loudly and enthusiastically is precisely the place where teen drug use is now
most entrenched. Conversely where drug war rhetoric is comparatively mute, teen usage of illicit drugs is much lower. In the Netherlands, for example, which
has the most liberal drug policy in Europe and where marijuana is effectively legal, marijuana use among teens is actually lower than in the United States. The
survey found 28% of Dutch teens smoked marijuana as compared with 41% of American teens, and 23% of American teens had experimented with other illicit drugs as
compared with only 6% of European teens. " from http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/176/eurostudy.shtml
This is just a quick cut/snip but research has shown in the Netherlands where Marijuana is virtually legal ( there are still some prohibitions on growing/quantities.. rightfully so) the teen use is actually lower than where it's illegal. I truly believe education, not prohibition is the wisest way to combat the problems from ALL drug use, both legal and illegal. |
|||
|
sleestack |
||||
|
Posts: 2099 (10/09/09 05:38:13)
|
|
|||
|
Rolo |
||||
|
Posts: 595 (10/09/09 05:59:04) |
Cathy Maynard wrote: Cathy...if you had the chance to educate kids about marijuana, what would you tell them? |
|||
|
John Romano |
||||
|
Posts: 3435 (10/12/09 06:49:38)
|
Marijuana is being decriminalized. Massachusetts only gives a fine for anything less than an ounce, no criminal charges.
You cannot decriminalize it today, it must be slowly decriminalized so people aren't serving the last 5 years of a 10 years sentence on a charge that no longer exists. Marijuana is the least harmful of all the drugs both legal and illegal. Yet it was decided to be illegal so there is a huge stigma against it. Here is my favorite scenario..... Cop busts a teenager for smoking pot, kid is being knelt on and handcuffed, the cop then spends the ride to jail telling the kid how bad drugs are, and he is going down a dangerous path and will end up pimping himself out for his next meth fix in a few short years. That night the cop gets off work, goes to the bar with his buddies to watch the game, smoking, throwing back bears, getting rowdy as he gets drunk, gets angry because he is drunk and someone talked trash about his team, gets in a fight. The owners know he is a cop so they just throw him out, no police are called. They guy staggers home, wife is pissed he came home drunk again, they yell and scream in front of their 3 year old who now has to bear witness to all this. Cop hates his stupid marriage and kid, drinks more to deal with it, has a reputation in the precinct for drinking a little too much, but no one says anything because they need to protect their own.....until drunk cop kills someone driving home from the bar when he shouldn't have. Even then he may not get jail time. Meanwhile the kid who got busted for smoking pot, really feels no need to experiment with cocaine or crack because one leading to the other is like saying eating pizza is a gateway food for ice cream abuse. He goes to college, smokes marijuana all the time, graduates with a 3.0, gets a job. The job drug tests, so the kid stops smoking marijuana with no side effects at all, does a great job at work and continues a successful career. I am just incredibly shocked that people still even question this. It is pretty much the one "drug" that can picked straight from the plant and used. ALl the others need to processed.....yes you can do the same with tobacco, but most (not all) buy the prepackaged with all the fancy additive cigarettes. I am even more shocked that people who drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes could even argue this point. What I want to know is, if Marijuana was legalized and alcohol was illegal where would our country be health wise? How many people wouldn't be dead or in jail for DUI's? |
|||
|
derek317 |
||||
|
Posts: 141 (10/12/09 07:13:44) |
|
|||
|
Mike Rico |
||||
|
Posts: 2091 (10/12/09 10:49:18)
|
my wife cruises her own forum which consists of wives discussing all sorts of ideas and topics.... (the nest dot com)
and in the NJ board she stumbled across this link which is a link to a fancy parenting magazine called the "Cookie" (never heard of it) but it discuss MJ and a part of its life in suburbia, was interesting and seems so true from my life experiences. http://www.cookiemag.com/homefront/firstperson/2009/10/pot-smoking-parents |
|||
|
Ben Team |
||||
|
Posts: 1759 (10/12/09 13:40:50)
|
Rolo, the drinking age here is 21.
Teenagers can get Marijuana more easily than alcohol because it is illegal. Were it legal, 'dealers' would be unable to compete with the legitimate businesses, and thus go out of business. The legitimate businesses would in turn, be unlikely to want to loose their license by selling to underage citizens. While some are arguing that Marijuana in and of itself should be decriminalized (John, I would disagree- you are seeing a regional shift), I am arguing that all of these substances should be legalized, the same principle will hold true. Prohibition creates a criminal environment. You cannot stop suffering, ergo you cannot stop substance abuse (of any variety). The trick is to regulate rather than criminalize these substances, and educate people on the consequences of their actions. Eugene Westbrook II wrote: |
|||
|
Mike Rico |
||||
|
Posts: 2092 (10/12/09 14:17:05)
|
well said Benny-Blanco
|
|||
|
bsharrah |
||||
|
Posts: 587 (10/12/09 14:46:57)
|
Ben, what is your definition of "legalized"? Opiates have been legalized but are regulated (need prescription), yet they still create a significant
criminal environment. The street market for prescription meds is just as strong as it is for heroin and cocaine, and the prison terms are just as severe. Even
alcohol and tobacco create a criminal environment to some degree when attempts are made to obtain it by violating the regulations. Legalization is not going to
remove the criminal factor.
I am not following you in respect to what you would like to see regarding "all of these substances". If it is just legalization with regulation you are hoping for, you may one day see that, but that does not mean you and I are going to be free (legally) to use these substances for recreational purposes. You are probably more likely to see them regulated to the same degree as prescription meds as opposed to alcohol and tobacco; however, I don't think that is what many people pushing for legalization had in mind. In fact, even if the day came when the general consensus agreed to legalize these substances, good luck on getting them to agree on regulation. If you are hoping to see the day when everyone has the right to use these substances any way they like, I don't ever see that happening, and hope it never does. Bart |
|||
|
Rolo |
||||
|
Posts: 598 (10/12/09 14:53:18) |
I would think the social acceptance
part of MJ will be very difficult.
Me and Sarah went to a narcotics anonymous meeting Saturday night as part of an educational experience and assignment. It was pretty amazing how open these people were!
|
|||
|
Ben Team |
||||
|
Posts: 1760 (10/12/09 15:36:45)
|
Exactly like you said Bart, opiates are controlled (I don't know what schedule...) and they therefore have a black market. Why is it the government's
business if a citizen wants to utilize a personally dangerous substance? Of course, I would recommend against using Heroin for recreational purposes, but it
isn't the governments place to stop you from doing so. It is the governments place to protect citizens from others, not oneself. There is an argument to be
made regarding compulsory education/warning labels/etc. but ultimately, it is the citizens decision.
If one could buy Oxy off the shelf, then there wouldn't be a black market for it. I would agree that Cigarettes and Alcohol have black markets, but they are much smaller than the markets for completely banned substances, no? Doesn't that suggest exactly what I am arguing? I understand that my viewpoint is a bit extreme, I don't expect it to actually happen. Sorry Rolo, I may have made this drift a little OT, so I will zip it. Eugene Westbrook II wrote: |
|||
|
Ben Team |
||||
|
Posts: 1761 (10/12/09 15:39:27)
|
Sorry Bart, forgot to add, that by 'regulate' I mean only as much as to verify adult age (Just like Tobacco, Alcohol, and Nyquil).
Eugene Westbrook II wrote: |
|||
|
sourdeisel17 |
||||
|
Posts: 52 (10/17/09 20:33:04) |
ive been smoking since i was 13 years old, i dont care i love it, ive never been to a party where i diddnt whind up smoking with a few other people and ive
never had a night out to a bar/club that diddnt end with a nice fat blunt between friends. i may have been a dick and a wise ass when i was younger but all
throughout highschool and college ive never received lower than a B grade average i even got my RN and im a 21 year old that smokes frequently. although you
run into the occassional "burn out" ill be one to argue that it doesnt effect everyones knowledge. it actually enhances my creativity, it makes every
movie better, and when it comes to smokin chillin out and watching my chondros caudal luring and cruisin around at night, nothing beats it haha. to be
completely honest i know more ppl that do smoke than dont. i see nothing wrong with it. just my opinion.
|
|||
|
sourdeisel17 |
||||
|
Posts: 53 (10/17/09 20:35:31) |
i know sleestack would kick back and smoke a fatty with me hahaha
|
|||
|
sleestack |
||||
|
Posts: 2136 (10/19/09 06:34:04)
|
sourdeisel17 wrote: lets do this |
|||
|
Rapture |
||||
|
Posts: 317 (11/19/09 20:24:43)
|
I agree with Ben.
I've never smoked pot or done any illegal drugs. This is not because they are illegal, it's because of the type of person I am. I drink very seldomly and I've tried smoking cigarettes but they weren't for me. I've been in the position to try many different illegal drugs ever since I was a kid - under the age of 10. I've had mind altering habit forming drugs prescribed to me by my doctor that I thought about abusing, taking them just for fun but not when needed for pain, but I always just ended up with a bottle of extras years after they were prescribed to me that I never did take. It's my feeling that even if illegal drugs were legalized, the junkheads will remain as junkheads, and the people who drugs don't appeal to will remain sober. I also agree that education is much more effective than trying to control people by making things illegal. Coincidentially enough, I was supposed to take a random drug test today at work but forgot to. So now I have to worry about whether my employers think I intentionally tried to miss the test to do a detox, or if everything will be fine and I can just take it tomorrow. Personally, I don't like urinating in a cup. It's really just not a fun thing to do if you're a chick, haha.
-Diana
Support captive breeders http://www.lunarboids.com |
|||
|
gfx |
||||
|
Posts: 67 (11/19/09 20:46:51) |
The current regulations are idiotic. I have to show my ID to buy allergy medicine because its an ingredient in bathtub speed.
Legalize it all, those personalities who intend to start using various black market drugs will do so whether its illegal or not. Its not like anything is hard to get regardless of age. Maybe the idiots with the gold face paint would pick a better buzz if they had more available options. I tell you, there are days I could use a handful of xanax and a Snapped marathon...
Julie
www.iherp.com/gfx |
|||
