Marijuana legalization???

[quagmire]

Yeah, I completely agree that the whole Gateway drug thing is BS.  It all depends on someones self control and will power.  People will do things they like, but we have the power to control ourselves too.  It all boils down to that persons self control, and their will always be those that just don't have the willpower of most others.  To say it just naturally leads to another thing is crazy.  If that's the case then sex, tylenol, fast cars, steak, and just about anything else a person could potentially like could be called a gateway drug since they can lead to other things. 

I am friends with tons of stoners that I met in college.  None of them are melted into couches, drowning children, or out commiting crimes.  In fact, they are all completely normal people with completely normal jobs that did great in school.  I have yet to see or hear of someone getting violent or dangerous when high either.  When's the last time someone heard about a stoner getting really stoned and beating there wife, getting into a bar fight, or running from the cops.  Everyone I know mellows out more than normal if anything, the only thing in danger near them would be the local White Castle or pantry. 

I'm completely up for it being legalized, and until the early 1900's it was.  It was even a mainstay of our and many other countries economies!  Couple that with the fact it is impossible to OD on it and I do not understand how alcohol (I do drink BTW) which is FAR more dangerous to everyone, is legal but pot is not.  I think if pot should be illegal, so should alcohol. 

[340Challman]

I think you nailed it JH27, a person's propensity to abuse or get addicted to anything has to do with them. I think it is not just genetics but a combination of genetics, personality and life experiences that determine whether you will abuse or get addicted to something. I have met many people that get addicted to anything. Not necessarily drugs or alcohol. I know guys addicted to football. Their whole life revolves around football. If you are responsible for them not being able to partake in the game, you will see a junkie that didn't get their fix. It has less to do with the substance and more to do with the person. This of course within reason, some drugs are extremely physically and psychologically addictive.

Case and point, I can go on a stretch where I will drink one or two beers a night for a couple of weeks and then nothing for over a year. I have never had the combination of the right conditions or circumstances to get addicted to anything.

I am therefore in favor of legalizing it and controlling it, just as alcohol and tobacco. As was stated earlier by I think Priderocks, the war on marijuana is a complete failure just as prohibition was a failure. Marijuana is more prevalent now than 30 or 40 years ago. I do however believe that it will never be legalized just as I don't think prostitution will ever be legalized. It is big business even for our Gov.

To finish I'd just like to say that I'd rather be dealing with my Daughter smoking a little pot than meth and the other sh!t out there that will really mess her up.

[hebeegbz]

so far my favorite is ragtop challys amsterdam having no ill effect  what a bunch of underachievers not a good case point . no one can argue that weed causes  cancer from its components . also it slows reaction time at about the same rate as alcohol and prescription drugs ,even though alcohol can be much worse when way over the limits so lets legalize weed and get behind the wheel everyone. legalizing weed based on the merits of other unhealthy habits is a bit childish in my opinion . in one other post it was mentioned that dopers sit around and eat cupcakes ,but sooner or later they need to go to the store stoned and thats never good .before i close think about this several years ago i had a friend he was my best man when i was married . just a few weeks would go by when he would be the first customs agent to by dumb luck stop a woman steping from a plane and found she had a 12 month old baby that was gutted and loaded with heroin and a heater .he killed himself a few days later it still seems like yesterday to me . nothing is simple or without consequence . weed profits subsidize bigger deals like border town kids used as vessels for our addictions but what the heck its not you alls problem or kids so light up .

[bb71challenger]

so far my favorite is ragtop challys amsterdam having no ill effect  what a bunch of underachievers not a good case point . no one can argue that weed causes  cancer from its components . also it slows reaction time at about the same rate as alcohol and prescription drugs ,even though alcohol can be much worse when way over the limits so lets legalize weed and get behind the wheel everyone. legalizing weed based on the merits of other unhealthy habits is a bit childish in my opinion . in one other post it was mentioned that dopers sit around and eat cupcakes ,but sooner or later they need to go to the store stoned and thats never good .before i close think about this several years ago i had a friend he was my best man when i was married . just a few weeks would go by when he would be the first customs agent to by dumb luck stop a woman steping from a plane and found she had a 12 month old baby that was gutted and loaded with heroin and a heater .he killed himself a few days later it still seems like yesterday to me . nothing is simple or without consequence . weed profits subsidize bigger deals like border town kids used as vessels for our addictions but what the heck its not you alls problem or kids so light up .

No one is saying that legalizing it is morally right or even the perfect solution. What we are saying is that it is no worse than a bunch of legal drugs like prescription drugs or alcohol or spray paint. Look, if someone wants to abuse their body they are going to find a way to do it. By legalizing and having control over distribution and use of pot it will end up being much less of a problem than it is now. By taxing it you create another revenue source for the government which god knows we need since they keep giving our money away. Yes its horrible to hear of a person murdering a child to hide drugs in its body cavity but do you really think that relates in any computable way to marajuana? Do you really see any corellation between the two? I dont. If I had my choice I would much rather be driving towards and oncoming driver who just blazed a fatty compared to a guy who just shotgunned a six pack. 

[go-fish]

before i close think about this several years ago i had a friend he was my best man when i was married . just a few weeks would go by when he would be the first customs agent to by dumb luck stop a woman steping from a plane and found she had a 12 month old baby that was gutted and loaded with heroin and a heater .he killed himself a few days later it still seems like yesterday to me . nothing is simple or without consequence . weed profits subsidize bigger deals like border town kids used as vessels for our addictions but what the heck its not you alls problem or kids so light up .

??

This discussion wan't about heroin. I think the point is that if ou get profits of marijuana sales out of the grasp of the cartels, smugglers, and low level dealers and sold them biatches like cigarettes then they cartels, smugglers and dealers would start disappearing.
So your friend killed himself because he saw a dead body? Sorr for your loss but maybe he should have just quit and find other employment. I am certain the DEA briefs their folks on situations where they may encounter the deceased. Are you sure he didn't have issues elsewhere in his life before blaming his death on his job?

[Alaskan_TA]

Did I screw up & click on www.druggies.com instead of www.cuda-challenger.com ? 

[bb71challenger]

Did I screw up & click on www.druggies.com instead of www.cuda-challenger.com ? 

Yeah, you are right Barry, we dont want this thing to go to a bad place. I have voiced my opinion and will leave it at that.

[torredcuda]

I have had friends who have had substance abuse problems, and with each and every one of those friends, the problem was drinking.  A number of my friends have had accidents while impaired, always alcohol. One of my friends died 20 years ago riding his motorcycle while drunk.  Looking back I am surprised more of us didn't die, there were some pretty bad accidents involving alcohol with my friends "back in the day".
The fact is that a certain percentage of people are genetically inclined to have problems with intoxicants.  Making any of them illegal does not keep these people from abusing intoxicants.  It is a disease and should be treated as such.
And adults do not need a "mommy" preaching to us about what we should and shouldn't put in our bodies.  Having a drink, a smoke, some weed, even some LSD or other drugs, a double whopper with Cheese, etc. in the privacy of your own home should be a matter of personal choice and free will, not someone in government's!

 

[whitesatinmopar]

I didn't realize smoking pot makes ya want to benge (spelling ?) out on junk food  So..........does that mean that our society of obesse people are potheads too ? 

[moparmaniac59]

HUH,
Did somebody say something?? Hand me the donuts man!!!



                                                   Matt B.

[Red R/T]

It's amazing how many people say they don't and won't ever smoke it but don't have a problem with legalizing it.  Wow, this is why the country is in the shape it's in now.  People that won't take a stand on things as long as it doesn't affect them.  Hmmmmm, why not just allow everyone to do whatever they want.  Lets start with Green people regulating how often gas powered engines can be used in a month or limits on horsepower with no grandfather clause.  What does that have to do with the topic you ask.  Well the problem in this country is you have to stand for the platform that most closely matches your ethics and morals (terms not taught in school now).  Some may not understand the term platform since schools don't teach it anymore because it takes away from our new liberal attitude of "do as you please".  How many conservatives are left in this nation.  Have you ever heard of "toe in the door"?   
If my rant is too controversial the moderator can delete this response.  I won't apologize for my opinion. 

[priderocks]

"...blazed a fatty"?

[Ghost]

You do realize that if pot is legalized, then all the pot smuggling and marijuana dealing would stop, right?  People don't smuggle cigarettes and alcohol across the border and deal them in dark alleyways, do they?  Using arguments like "weed profits subsidize bigger deals like border town kids used as vessels for our addictions" are completely irrelevant in an argument about legalization, because such things would stop.  If marijuana was legalized, drug dealers would no longer be able to make a profit selling it.

Hell, the tobacco companies already have names registered and trademarked if/when weed gets legalized.

[Bullitt-]

It's amazing how many people say they don't and won't ever smoke it but don't have a problem with legalizing it.  Wow, this is why the country is in the shape it's in now.  People that won't take a stand on things as long as it doesn't affect them.  Hmmmmm, why not just allow everyone to do whatever they want.  Lets start with Green people regulating how often gas powered engines can be used in a month or limits on horsepower with no grandfather clause.  What does that have to do with the topic you ask.  Well the problem in this country is you have to stand for the platform that most closely matches your ethics and morals (terms not taught in school now).  Some may not understand the term platform since schools don't teach it anymore because it takes away from our new liberal attitude of "do as you please".  How many conservatives are left in this nation.  Have you ever heard of "toe in the door"?   
If my rant is too controversial the moderator can delete this response.  I won't apologize for my opinion. 

Give em Heck Red R/T          Nothing wrong with having an opinion...IMO 

[bb71challenger]

Is it just me or what? Voicing ones opinion=taking a stand where I come from. Here again, I am not saying it is right or wrong, just the lesser of two evils. Kind of like voting for a President. I have never had a candidate that I believed in 100%. I have voted my conscience from the options that were available to me. It is called compromise and sometimes you have to whether you like it or not.