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Legalization of Marijuana: Yea or Nay?

I am split on the subject and would like to hear others' opinions.

My biggest fears are that the homicide rate would increase significantly and Big Business would add to it to make it physically addictive, just as they did with tobacco.

What are your thoughts?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Patrice on February 24, 2009 at 8:51pm: I think the drug business already manipulated the Marijuana plant to make it more effective. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to legalize any kind of drugs.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly on February 24, 2009 at 11:25pm: I've heard it said from scholars only that todays marijuana is more potent than before. However, the hippies of the 60's & 70's debate that heatedly. Unfortunately I can't test either theory and i'm not real sure I'd want to.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mimi on February 25, 2009 at 7:36pm: i would legalize it in case people are so ill that they could never be cured, maybe ill with cancer.
that should be the exeption to the rule....
but this thread is a really great idea!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly on February 27, 2009 at 4:43pm: What about for recreational use? I believe the reason people turn to drugs and alcohol is to escape their own personal realities, whatever that may be. To date, alcohol is the only legal means of doing so. Shouldn't people have options? And isn't it strange that while the price of all our nation's necessities is increasing alcohol isn't getting more expensive or taxed any higher (a recreational drug, mind you).
All the while, the government is mandating (ha ha) a healthier nation.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly on February 27, 2009 at 4:47pm: How can we be 100% sure it isn't a gift from God?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew Craven on February 26, 2009 at 2:56am: Nay, nay and thrice nay. There are 'free of charge' ways for governments to subdue their nations - like MySpace & Facebook &.....for example. Or am I cynical ? Yes on the corps but why would the suicide rate go up ?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly on February 27, 2009 at 4:56pm: You'll need to elaborate a bit. How would it subdue us, other than through addiction, which they would have to create.
I fear the homicide rate would increase, not suicide. There's no doubt the crime rate numbers (on paper) would increase, but the actual crime being reported, will remain the same. If they possess marijuana legally, they won't hesitate to report it if it's stolen from them. But if people could had public access to it, would others more readily to kill over it?

Does that make sense?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Matthew Craven on March 1, 2009 at 12:34pm: Well I'm not convinced any addiction would have to be created (from the point of view of the UK at least). I've always felt that anything that can become habit forming has a touch of addiction to it......like smoking a joint; mucking around on the more trivial social networking sites; drinking tea......what do you think ?

The government here dropped the classification of cannabis to class C for a few years but have now restored it to class B. I suspect as much to win the youth vote previously as much as a social experiment.

Ha - sorry for my suicide confusion !! I doubt people would start killing each other over a little legal drug here in Blighty but you may very well be right. People here tend not to report petty crime (unless there's an insurance claim to be made) because we are all too aware that the cops do bugger all about it. When you say 'no doubt the crime rate numbers.....would increase' are you speaking of projections in contrast to reported crime ? There is a culture of binge drinking alcohol in the UK - I can't help but feel that if all these sheep were sat at home legally stoned instead; specific crime figures would fall. Certainly it would save the taxpayer a fortune at the weekends so far as the police service and NHS are concerned.

And yet I don't think it would be a good idea to legalise the stuff. (The tincture was readily available at your local chemist 100 years ago). It would be a slippery slope to legalising everything perhaps ?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Simey on February 28, 2009 at 1:52am: I'm happy for it just to be decriminalized to the extent where people can have a plant or two for their own person use. I feel it should still be illegal to sell and make money off though (despite the govt. already doing this with alcohol and tobacco).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by marc on March 5, 2009 at 5:29am: Marijuana should only be use as a medical substance and not as a recreational thing. The impact will be far and great. It will affect not only the current generation but also the next current generation of young people. Look at places like Holland etc, how has the use of recreational drugs created a whole lot of social problems? Smokers often underestimated marijuana's harm.

Short-term marijuana use carries a lot of risks, especially involving the way your brain works. When you use a mind-altering substance such as marijuana, you are much more likely to make bad decisions. These bad decisions can involve driving a car while under the influence of the drug, making sexual choices that are unsafe or out of character for you, or saying things that you regret to other people, including the use of violence and abuses.

A study by the Canadian government found cannabis smoke contained more toxic substances than tobacco smoke. The study determined that marijuana smoke contained 20 times more ammonia, and five times more hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides than tobacco smoke. What this translate is that the health care cost will start to raise and it will be the common people that doesn't touch drugs paying to feed those drugs abusers.

Lets just stay away from drugs that will harm the very pillar of our society and let the next generation grow up in a place rid of harmful drugs.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly on March 5, 2009 at 6:26pm: You make some good points, Marc. However, I'm going to play devil's advocate a little bit.
I've read the research that marijuana is more chemically toxic than tobacco, but other research suggests that that's a farce; that there is no significant difference. Which is most accurate? Government will choose the research that states the worst information, even if it's in the minority, for whatever reason. Most researchers do agree that marijuana is not physically addictive, which is a plus over all other drug use.

I've never heard of anyone becoming violent under the influence of marijuana, but I'm not yet willing to rule it out. Most people explain that marijuana is calming to their systems (with the exception of pot being laced with another, more powerful drug), clarifies their thoughts and making their five senses more powerful.

As for the average taxpayer being responsible for those whose health fails while being a smoker of marijuana, would you be for legalization if any and all lifestyle health problems were ineligible for indigent medical care?

Thanks for your response!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by LordHenry on March 5, 2009 at 6:40am: Sorry for my bad English in advance, I'll try to do my best.

Cannabis should be legalized. Repression doesn't work and only has a negative impact on this problem. The number of users is constantly increasing. The statistics vary very much, but sure is, that we have more than 2 millions steady users here in Germany. Some sources state up to 4 millions, which would be around 5% of our population. Some statistics say, that Germany even has a bigger percentage of users than the Netherlands have. How can this be? More and more younger ones are using this drug. Nowadays here in Germany it seems that it's almost easier for a subadult to buy Marijuana, than to buy alcohol. That is in fact a result of the criminalization. Youth protection can't be enforced, because criminals are selling the stuff, in most cases they are also offering much more dangerous drugs. And they have an interest to get as many people addicted to those drugs as they can, because they're earning much more money with these substances.

Repression only costs much, much money, has proven that it doesn't work, circumvents maybe better solutions to the problem, and makes it worse. It also has an ambivalent message. An even more dangerous drug like alcohol is legal. Many subadults can't understand that.

I could write novels about that topic, and I would if writing in English wasn't that exhausting to me.; ▶ Reply to This