Guest Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Ok, I know this is a strange topic of discussion. Its just that I know a wide age group of very smart people use brainden and I wanted to see peoples thoughts on marijuana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalia Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Personally, I don't approve of smoking or non medically related drug use but I think marijuana should be legalized. Some drugs can make people do crazy things which could make them a threat to the public but as far as I know, marijuana doesn't do that. I don't remember the numbers but I remember reading about the large amount of people in jail for marijuana use and the tax money that pays to keep them there. While I don't appreciate people using it in the dorms at my school, it's their choice what they put in their bodies as long as it's not threatening others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quag Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) Pretty much agree with you Thalia, Would only like to add that for now there is no quick and easy roadside test for marijuana like there is for alcohol. Impaired driving is impaired driving. My fear is that legalizing it would increase the number of morons driving under the influence. Course maybe no,t but it should be considered. Having said that I think its silly that alcohol is legal and marijuana isnt, legalize and tax it. Edited December 31, 2011 by Quag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thalia Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Right after I posted here, I went downstairs and the radio happened to be on. Guess what they were talking about. This is a website that I found in a Google search: http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/files/Marijuana-Facts-from-Drug-War-Facts.pdf I haven't looked too closely but it seems to be saying that there isn't a huge connection between accidents and marijuana use. One of the links in there suggests that people under the influence are aware of it and adjust accordingly. Of course I'd prefer that they didn't drive at all under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Several of my friends lost someone very important to them as a result of someone driving under the influence (of alcohol, not marijuana). The website also says that legalizing and taxing it would save about $41.3 billion per year in expenses on enforcing prohibition. Eh. The government would probably find another way to spend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKitten Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 I don't think so. Regardless of the fact that marijuana doesn't make people go crazy, it's a gateway drug that opens the path towards other drugs that do just that. By legalizing marijuana, you are basically giving today's children the A-OK to go ahead and do drugs of all sorts, not just marijuana. Now, if it's legalized as a medicinal drug, that people can use only with a prescription, I think that would be somewhat okay, because you would have to have proof that you are legally allowed to use it. I still think it's wrong, because people could get addicted, but that happens anyways, so it isn't really any different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvg Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Personally, I would rather we end this stupid and failed War on Drugs altogether. It's been called a failure by several sources (http://www.npr.org/b...rld-leaders-say), and really, it criminalizes those who do no harm to anyone but themselves, fills prison unnecessarily, and costs money where money could be made. Prohibition of an unwanted substance doesn't work. Heck, the prohibition era of US history is a big example of that. It completely failed (http://www.cato.org/...php?pub_id=1017). And MissKitten, I think you are fearing something that doesn't need to be feared. Cigarettes are legal, with an age limit. Legally, I am a child (less than 18). Cigarettes being legal doesn't make me think, "well then cigarettes must be ok." Actually, i find them to be disgusting. Why? Well, from personal experience (I have an uncle who smokes, and I know kids my age who smoke), and from health class. Making drugs legal wouldn't make me think its OK. Why would it do that? Would making murder legal make people think its OK? Because if it honestly would, well then society is scary. (I'm about to do something that I don't do often, and that is quote Ron Paul: ) People who plan to do drugs would do it regardless of laws. Will a few on the borderline go ahead and do it? Well, maybe. That sucks for them. I don't care; I don't see a need to tell people what they can or cannot do to their own bodies. Smoking is horrible; I would never do it, and when I have kids, I will do everything I can to convince them of the same. But I will fight fervently against any law that plans on banning cigarettes or other smoking products. Why? Because I don't think it's the government's job to limit freedom of choice in such a way. If people want to waste away doing drugs, that's their problem. I'd gladly allow them to, it's their body; I see no reason to have to spend money and fill up prisons (which ruins the lives of those arrested btw, since they don't do enough to separate the murderers and such from those who do minor crimes like drugs in overcrowded prisons; and that doesn't end well) to stop them from doing that. So, basically, I say marijuana, and all other drugs, should be legal. It's not the government's place to stop people from doing things to their own bodies, as long as it doesn't harm others (and in fact, I think there should be a prize given to the first one to come up with a breathalyzer-like test for other drugs, like weed, because while I don't care if people do things to their own bodies, once they threaten others by driving under the influence, I now have a problem with them). Plus, if the goal is to stop people from doing drugs, think about human nature: making it against the rules for people to do things really doesn't work well. Otherwise, why would there be such a problem as teenage drinking in the US? I hope that made sense. Doing a stupid paper for school the past hour or so has really tired me out. SO, if that didn't make sense, I'll gladly clarify. Edited January 1, 2012 by gvg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvg Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html This is worth reading. it's about what happened after Portugal decriminalized drug use (but not dealing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itachi-san Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as it doesnt impact the lives of others. When you get down to it, who is one person to dictate what another person does as long as they are only effecting themselves? Do I have the right to limit the amount of food a fat person eats? I say no. It doesnt matter if youre on alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs or just over tired or distracted by your kids in the back seat, reckless driving is the same thing. it always is and should have the same penalty no matter what the cause. same thing with public disturbances. If you are drunk or just a jerk it amounts to the same crime so the cause doesn't matter. Marijuana definitely should be prohibited from being used by minors and sold to them though just like any other adult substance. As for addiction, people can be addicted to not just cigarettes and alcohol among legal substances, but caffeine, food, sex, etc... it's a slippery slope to limit what people can do and consume that leads to a big brother level society. also, notice that most people who favor prohibitions are all for it until it's something that they like or do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unreality Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 This shouldn't even be debated anymore: Legalize it. Get thousands of innocent people out of jail. End the insanity that is the War on Drugs. Billions of taxpayer dollars are yearly thrown into COMPLETELY FAILED attempts to stop peaceful hippie kids from smoking herbs; meanwhile the CIA sells guns and drugs in third world countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unreality Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I don't think so. Regardless of the fact that marijuana doesn't make people go crazy, it's a gateway drug that opens the path towards other drugs that do just that. By legalizing marijuana, you are basically giving today's children the A-OK to go ahead and do drugs of all sorts, not just marijuana. Now, if it's legalized as a medicinal drug, that people can use only with a prescription, I think that would be somewhat okay, because you would have to have proof that you are legally allowed to use it. I still think it's wrong, because people could get addicted, but that happens anyways, so it isn't really any different. All valid points... you are very smart... thank you for admitting it doesn't make people go crazy (quite the opposite). However, I do have a couple bones to pick. About the medical thing, the system is nearly a joke. At least where I live in Ann Arbor, pretty much anyone can get a card if they shell out like 200 bucks to a corrupt doctor. I know it's even easier in Cali. But that's more a reflection on our bloated health care system. Now, about addiction, also valid - it irks me when super pro-weed people say it's "not addictive" and "it's totally safe". Well, no: it's not safe for your lungs if you smoke it. Otherwise it is safe. So if you ingest it orally or vaporize it, it is indeed 'totally safe' as far as we know, and there is extensive research. And it's true that it's not chemically addictive like cocaine, alcohol or tobacco - however it does make you feel good and anything that makes you feel good can be psychologically addictive and harmful to your life if you let it take over from other well-rounded activities. People can be addicted in this manner to all kinds of things, from Food to TV to video games to Brainden for that matter. Including weed. It is not a chemically fueled addiction like coke, but more of a socially fueled addiction - "all my friends smoke so I do" sort of thing. It's about how you spend your time, & what you think really matters in life. So addiction is a complex topic. There is a small minority of marijuana users who smoke constantly and let it consume their life and may stop them from doing other things - this I would call addiction, however it is psychological, not chemical. They have other problems and if not for weed they would find something else to fill some void in their life. Now the majority of users only use in certain occasions and for certain mentally-healthy reasons. Weed is very safe if used properly and believe it or not, most people do. it's a gateway drug that opens the path towards other drugs that do just that. By legalizing marijuana, you are basically giving today's children the A-OK to go ahead and do drugs of all sorts, not just marijuana Ohh the gateway drug argument. This is complex too but generally not true, for the following reasons: (1) people who want to do drugs are going to do them. Usually the first one they get their hands on, is the easiest one to find: marijuana. Hence the gateway illusion. But soon enough if they want to hard drugs they go there. But the vast rest of users stay with marijuana and occasional psychedelic use. That is the lifestyle they choose to live and it doesn't affect you. (2) it is no "A-OK". If you're a parent do you drink alcohol in front of your kid? This is a thousand times worse (for body, mind). Yet it is socially acceptable. Ultimately it just depends on the type of person. There is a rare case where someone is goaded, through acceptance of weed, into taking harder drugs and becoming addicted to them. I've actually seen this happen, more than once. But a hundred times more often than that I know those who never moved past weed because they don't want to. It's all about who you are and what you want to do.... saying "if you try weed it opens up all other drugs" is ignorant of the fact that most people trying it really aren't so stupid that they don't realize there's a difference between, say, weed and heroin. Because the difference from caffeine to weed is incredibly smaller than the difference from weed to heroin. It's a similar situation. After trying a cup of coffee you're not about to magically 'gateway' into rolling up a spliff, and rolling up a spliff you're not about to magically 'gateway' into shooting meth into your eyeballs. Also, regarding the whole gateway thing, the whole point of legalizing it, is to separate weed from the rest of drugs. Nowadays, your teenage kids will go to their drug dealer to buy their weed (Don't be naive, your kid probably has smoked). Their dealer is likely to have other drugs or be connected to other dealers who have other, harder drugs. This is the source of gateway-fearmongering. If weed were legal, your kids would buy it at your local head shop or gas station. And never meet dealers and gang criminals in the first place, never even have the chance of coming into contact with harder drugs. Legalization SOLVES the gateway problem don't you see? I could go on about other reasons to legalize but I don't want to drift away from addressing the points you brought up Anyway have a happy 2012! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKitten Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 @unreality Haven't seen you in a while, you went inactive pretty soon after I joined, so it's nice to see you around. Those are all also valid points, and I see your position. I'm afraid I'm still firmly against marijuana being legalized, but that's probably a product of personal bias, as well as childish naïveté (I'm only 13. ). But this really is a good argument, and I'm sure that if I wasn't so stubborn, I would easily have been swayed to your side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unreality Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 @unreality Haven't seen you in a while, you went inactive pretty soon after I joined, so it's nice to see you around. Those are all also valid points, and I see your position. I'm afraid I'm still firmly against marijuana being legalized, but that's probably a product of personal bias, as well as childish naïveté (I'm only 13. ). But this really is a good argument, and I'm sure that if I wasn't so stubborn, I would easily have been swayed to your side. Yes at your age I had somewhat similar views and thought they would never change; this is characteristic of views held out of ignorance of the reality, instead of actual experience with an issue. Just keep an open mind and an open heart and you'll find your own path Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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