Even though I can honestly see no reason anyone would be AGAINST legalization of marijuana, I wanted to open up the forum for a civilized discussion about it.

In any case, here's an interesting story I dugg up earlier:


http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200406291207.asp

2/27/2008 6:07:17 PM

attn: users?

2/27/2008 6:16:59 PM

i'm against it cause the only reason its cool is cause its illegal...soon as its legal all the teeny boopers will do it and then it will be lame

2/27/2008 6:36:07 PM

^ That's some of the worst logic I've heard in awhile.

2/27/2008 7:03:22 PM

it might as well be legal as readily available as it is. obviously, the laws against it aren't keeping it under control.

2/27/2008 7:11:55 PM

i really dont care that much, but if i had to lean one way, id prefer it stay illegal. it's just one more thing that we have to regulate. for example, people driving under the influence, being that it is harder to test for than alcohol. the biggest reason really is that i hate the annoying retards that constantly call for legalization. they are zealots who get as uppity as the religious crazies.

proceed to whine about how my reasons arent good enough and that im killing your freedoms. i really dont give a shit.

2/27/2008 7:37:35 PM

If we legalize and regulate it, it should reduce much of the crime associated with it. Quality checks could ensure that people get stuff that isn't loaded with anything harmful. And finally, they can tax it and Uncle Sam will have another source of revenue. I would think that we would have learned our lessons from the Prohibition.

But the one reason I think we should legalize it is because it's hypocritical to outright ban it in the first place. We don't ban alcohol and we don't ban cigarettes (although we do place some restrictions on them), we don't ban caffeine, blah blah blah. Some bans are understandable, such as crack-cocaine, but there's a number of "drugs" that we don't do anything about. Why are some substances okay but not others? How do you make the distinction? People argue about how dangerous marajuana is and how you might do stupid things while under its influence, but the same thing applies to alcohol. There isn't much tolerance for people who get drunk and then go driving, but we still allow people to drink. What's different about alcohol that we will allow people to use it as long as they also exercise self-responsibility, but we won't do the same thing to marajuana? It's a double standard that I've never understood.

2/27/2008 7:41:41 PM

all comes down to this, who owns you?, If you own yourself and you are not a slave then you should be free to do what ever you want to your body. I don't do drugs but I also don't believe I have the rite to tell you can't do what you want with your own life. Its absurd that its illegal.
at the end of the day just don't come to me if you have health problems screaming you want me to pay for your social healthcare.

2/27/2008 8:30:25 PM

Well honestly... I find it hard to consider marijuana a "drug" in the connotation of the word as it's used to describe cocaine, ecstasy, etc. All of those are chemical compositions, while marijuana is just a natural growing plant. Aside from that, a stoned driver is much safer than a drunk driver. Marijuana is either equally as bad for you or not as bad as cigarettes and drinking. Like that article states, we could save nearly $15 Billion a year if we legalized marijuana, not to mention how much money the government could make if they sold it. Taxes, profit, etc. It'd be nothing but good for the economy. Less crime, less costs, more revenue.

2/27/2008 8:50:31 PM

let's not do what California's done. That's not legalization. That's chaos.

2/27/2008 9:02:37 PM

i can see the arguments for both sides, so im still on the fence

2/27/2008 9:18:34 PM

meh, legalize it... there really isn't a reason they shouldn't. alcohol is worse in basically every way I can think of. it's a natural plant, virtually no chance of OD'ing, blah blah blah

2/27/2008 9:40:15 PM

Regardless of the thoughts on recreational use, marijuana has been found to have strong scientific support as a treatment for the symptoms of some terminal illnesses, such as cancer and AIDS. It is unconscionable to deny people an effective treatment for their suffering because of ideological beliefs.

2/27/2008 9:40:45 PM

Keep it illegal, yet focus law enforcement operations on the smuggling of foreign grown dope. I don't have a problem with marijuana being a domestic cash cow, as long as the money stays domestic.

2/27/2008 9:43:41 PM

Ironic is the fact that the more weed that confiscate from smugglers the higher prices go and the more incentive there is for Joe Loser to try and enter the black market selling pot. You'd think our government would have learned from prohibition. OMG kids sitting in their living room eating Cheeto's!!!!

Ignoring the christian "hell and brim stone" shit if you want the real reason marijuana is outlawed blame Big Pharma. The sponser companies of lobbyists who hang out with our favorite congressmen would lose lots of $$$ if Joe Schmoe could smoke a bowl to help his

- anxiety
- nausea
- lack of appetitie
- etc

2/27/2008 10:04:38 PM

keep it illegal

as soon as the govt gets their hands in it (as though they dont already) they will just fuck it up

2/28/2008 12:24:17 AM

Keep it illegal. Teenagers smoke pot to rebel from their parents and break the law. If we legalize it they'll do something worse.

I'm all for medicinal pot.

2/28/2008 12:27:21 AM

Legalize it, mon.

2/28/2008 1:26:33 AM

Keep it illegal. Stuff is bad but so good.

2/28/2008 1:45:15 AM

aksnoopy is th coolest 19 yeqar old i know

2/28/2008 1:50:09 AM

Even though this is a legalize pot thread instead of a religious thread, I'm still trying really hard not to post the FroshKiller rant.

2/28/2008 2:13:36 AM

I am completely shocked at the number of complete morons in this thread advocating marijuana illegality

I hope you die soon


and then

because the marijuana prohibition that you support doesn't just affect me, but my non-smoking family as well

I hope your entire family dies soon






[Edited on February 28, 2008 at 3:17 AM. Reason : i hope no one read what I just edited out]

2/28/2008 3:16:17 AM

For.

Keeping it illegal is just another way for the government to control you if it catches you when it shouldn't be able to.

2/28/2008 3:29:08 AM

For.

It's an individual rights and 10th Amendment issue.

2/28/2008 4:29:12 AM

I love the completely idiotic contrarianism of the "keep it illegal crowd."

"Even though marijuana is essentially harmless on its own and prohibition clearly does more harm than good, marijuana just won't be as cool anymore if it's legal, therefore we should continue to have all the social harms of the status quo because I want to be cool."

Brilliant logic, there.

2/28/2008 7:25:34 AM

decriminalization, but not legalization

2/28/2008 7:59:22 AM

legalize it, restrict it like alcohol/tobacco

2/28/2008 8:10:19 AM

Quote :

"decriminalization, but not legalization"

...why? And what do you even mean by "decriminalization, but not legalization"?

2/28/2008 8:17:21 AM

If you weigh the risks and the rewards in comparison to other legal drugs, you should come to realize that there is no legitmate or logical reason for it to be illegal. Society made it illegal, not any scientific rationale.

2/28/2008 8:58:56 AM

there are a bunch of whiny ass potheads in this thread.

2/28/2008 9:32:09 AM

legalize it, regulate it, tax it. Same as alcohol.

2/28/2008 10:10:48 AM

^^
legal pot = no more whining

2/28/2008 10:12:39 AM

Quote :

"Teenagers smoke pot to rebel from their parents and break the law"

how about that they just want to get high. your argument may fly with cigarettes (illegal if under 18)

2/28/2008 10:18:01 AM

also stoner culture is the worst fucking thing ever. So if it can be completely crushed through legalization, I'm all for it.

2/28/2008 10:21:45 AM

^ Yeah, it's way worse than white supremesists and Nazis and shit.

2/28/2008 10:36:38 AM

Completely for.

Read:

http://www.drugscience.org/bcr/

Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws
by Jon Gettman

2/28/2008 10:40:00 AM

^^Godwin's law

Quote :

"legalize it, regulate it, tax it. Same as alcohol."

Hopefully one day we'll be able to buy high-quality stuff without befriending a bunch of sketchy people.

2/28/2008 10:42:53 AM

Quote :

"Hopefully one day we'll be able to buy high-quality stuff without befriending a bunch of sketchy people."

This.

2/28/2008 12:31:51 PM

^^^^ I woulda said drunken redneck nascar culture

2/28/2008 12:37:55 PM

This thread has been home to some of the worst logic I've ever seen on TWW. Keep it illegal because if you don't it won't be cool? Never post again.

I can see no reason for it to stay illegal. Alcohol makes people do much worse things, yet it's legal. Sure, put an age limit on it, that's fine.

2/28/2008 12:52:06 PM

I say legalize it, tax it, and tightly regulate production. For starters, place the same regulations we use for liquor on it and then adjust from there.

2/28/2008 1:05:37 PM

^ People sound like they're speaking in tongues when they reply negatively to that...

2/28/2008 1:30:43 PM

^^^eleusis makes a good argument for keeping it illegal.

If we just decriminalize it, then we can all keep getting high and keep not paying taxes on it.

2/28/2008 8:46:05 PM

Quote :

"If we just decriminalize it, then we can all keep getting high and keep not paying taxes on it."

...because there's no markup on the black market...

2/28/2008 9:11:13 PM

there's markup in the free market too. the cost per gram for good weed in Amsterdam isn't much lower than it is here in the states.

2/28/2008 9:22:02 PM

The point is simply that we're not exactly living in the bargain basement discount land by keeping weed illegal, contrary to certain peoples' belief. I would think this point would be obvious.

2/28/2008 9:24:56 PM

The quality you can get in Amsterdam is a lot better than in America though, on average. If weed was legalized you could walk into the gas station and pick up a pack of Camel Fires or whatever that would be the best joints you've ever smoked in your life, and it would cost what cheap weed costs now, or not much more.

We're already taxed on weed. Every time someone gets caught and has to pay a fine or something, that's tax revenue being collected basically.

2/28/2008 11:37:21 PM

Hitler had it wrong; I think we need to take all the evangelical christians and throw them into the incinerator/gas chamber

2/28/2008 11:39:53 PM

^^Camel Fires from the gas station? They wouldn't sell weed in the gas station. It would be controlled like liquor. And it would be more expensive than it is now.

I love the Camel Fires idea, but it won't be like that.

I'm not passionately against legalization, but let's not pretend like once it's legal things are gonna be so much better, and it won't adversely affect users in any way.

[Edited on February 29, 2008 at 12:25 AM. Reason : ^Why do you say shit like that?]

2/29/2008 12:22:46 AM

Quote :

"Camel Fires from the gas station? They wouldn't sell weed in the gas station. It would be controlled like liquor."

You mean like how some convenience stores sell liquor behind the counter?

Quote :

"And it would be more expensive than it is now."

Because, once again for the people in the back:

There's totally no black-market markup as it stands right now.

2/29/2008 12:30:44 AM