Legal Weed In The USA?

[Strike For The South]

Should we take a page outta Canadas book and legalize pot? Im not entirely sure howI feel about this but as of now Im leaning towards yes becuase Im not sure if it would make that much of a diffrence. Im sort of talking about smaller amounts

[Adrian II]

Should we take a page outta Canadas book and legalize pot? Im not entirely sure how I feel about this but as of now Im leaning towards yes becuase Im not sure if it would make that much of a diffrence. Im sort of talking about smaller amounts.

Strike, are you running a temperature? Do you hear voices? Have you eaten anything new or funny with your squirrels today? Are you sure you wanne be a liberal?

I mean, legalizing pot is far out where y'all live, right?...

[Tachikaze]

I've never touched the stuff, but I wholeheartedly support legalizing it here. If alcohol is legal, than marijuana should be as well.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

Uh...


HOW BOUT NO?

[Alexanderofmacedon]

For one thing, it is legal...with a prescription...

I think it would kind of encourage that kind of thing, but it might save some lives. Nowadays pot is turning into a war, and legalizing it would change that. I'm not saying I'm for it or against it...I don't smoke so I really don't care too much...

[Xiahou]

I've never touched the stuff, but I wholeheartedly support legalizing it here. If alcohol is legal, than marijuana should be as well.

There are some important distinctions between the two. Believe it or not, people can and do (myself included) drink without getting drunk- yes many abuse alchohol, but it's intended purpose is not to get trashed and throw up on yourself. With pot, the whole point is to get high/inebriated.

Second, you can sit in a room full of people and have a drink without making everyone else drunk. It's alot tougher to sit in a room full of people and toke up without giving them a buzz as well. Im not certain an outright ban is appropriate, but until someone comes up with a feasible idea, that's still where I stand.

[JAG]

I've never touched the stuff, but I wholeheartedly support legalizing it here. If alcohol is legal, than marijuana should be as well.

Ditto.

[Reverend Joe]

There are some important distinctions between the two. Believe it or not, people can and do (myself included) drink without getting drunk- yes many abuse alchohol, but it's intended purpose is not to get trashed and throw up on yourself. With pot, the whole point is to get high/inebriated.

Second, you can sit in a room full of people and have a drink without making everyone else drunk. It's alot tougher to sit in a room full of people and toke up without giving them a buzz as well. Im not certain an outright ban is appropriate, but until someone comes up with a feasible idea, that's still where I stand.

Clearly you have never had grass. All you have to do is crack a window and the other people will not get a buzz (unless they want to.) And I know people drink without getting piss drunk- the majority of the time I drink, I do not get full-on drunk.

And I do not understand your first argument... what is the purpose of drinking alcohol, if not to experience the effects of the alcohol itself? That is like saying that the primary reason for smoking pot is for the taste. The taste is definitely a good reason to smoke it, but the primary reason it getting high- and speaking of getting high, it is possible to smoke pot without getting blitzed and eating a whole subway sandwich. When consumed in small amounts, it is quite a different experience, and is mainly just relaxing.

Just to add to all of this- one of the stronger reasons for legalisation is the Prohibition effect. What I mean by this is that, because grass is illegal, it has the same effects as Prohibition did on alcohol. It inflates the price severely, but more importantly, it is totally unregulated. Purchasing grass these days is much like purchasing alcohol was in the 20's- every time you buy some, it is like a game of Russian Roulette, because you do not know what might be in it. One of the people I hang around with was actually slipped a joint with opium in it- it was very fortunate for him that he already consumed the stuff upon occasion, because he might have had some serious complication from this, and at the very least he would have freaked out. If pot was legal, this problem would be easily avoided.

[Beirut]

Uh...


HOW BOUT NO?

********************************************************

From Kaiser in the Frontroom Food Thread: Baked Ziti in a good Siclian meat sauce, with large meatballs (made of Veal, Beef, Pork, and liberal amounts of Garlic) and Hot Italian Sausage (with some Mild and Sweet mixed in, of course). Garlic knots/garlic bread with mozzerella, and then you put a generous amount of Parmesan and oregano over everything.

God help you if you ever get into the whacky-tabaky Kaiser, you'll be loading all of that onto a bowl of Rocky Road, garnishing it with BBQ Ruffles, and melding into a marathon session of Three's Company. We'll lose you to the Dark Side for sure.

[Kanamori]

Second, you can sit in a room full of people and have a drink without making everyone else drunk. It's alot tougher to sit in a room full of people and toke up without giving them a buzz as well. Im not certain an outright ban is appropriate, but until someone comes up with a feasible idea, that's still where I stand.

I've never seen second-hand pot smoke get any person high, my friends cat once but that's it.

And Zorba's right, smoking up isn't about getting blazed and falling over high. Smoking a bowl is just relaxing. Honestly, there are no harms of pot, if you use a bubbler, the smoke is far better for you than cigarette smoke too, and unlike cigarettes or alcohol, it's not addictive.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

When you say "not addictive" I don't think you know some of my friends! Yeah, I would have to disagree...It's pretty addictive to my friends...

[Kanamori]

It is not physically addictive. It can be mentally addictive, just like anything else in the world, but it is not a physical addiction like alcohol and cigarettes.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Zorba, I find the "legalize to regulate" argument you put forth rediculous.

People choose to break the law and it's the government's fault they get more than they bargained for from the local dealer?

Sheesh.

[Strike For The South]

Strike, are you running a temperature? Do you hear voices? Have you eaten anything new or funny with your squirrels today? Are you sure you wanne be a liberal?

I mean, legalizing pot is far out where y'all live, right?...

It would be just like it is now except legal. and like Zorba said regulated

[Reverend Joe]

Zorba, I find the "legalize to regulate" argument you put forth rediculous.

People choose to break the law and it's the government's fault they get more than they bargained for from the local dealer?

Sheesh.

Nooooooo... but it would help. I mean, do you want to be drinking bathtub Gin and illegaly imported liquor, liquor that is probably cut half-and-half with wood alcohol?

It is not the government's fault, but it is helpful to the people at large.

[Kanamori]

I'm just wondering, what is the argument for banning it?

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I just don't agree with what you're saying. It sounds like you're saying that if enough people break a law, the government should change the law to help out those breaking the law. In general that isn't very wise, though I think in cases of alcohol and marijuana, it isn't so awful...

[Aside]Personally, I don't see the appeal of alcohol nor weed.[/Aside]

[Reverend Joe]

[Aside]Personally, I don't see the appeal of alcohol nor weed.[/Aside]

Well, see, that's your problem with what I was saying... but do you think that there is a real reason why grass should be illegal?

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Meh.

I guess I don't care too much either way. Arguing for the sake of arguing, you know.

Aside: I read somewhere that Prohibition, while being generally castigated, reduced drinking (or some drinking-related statistic) by 30 to 50% (or something like that). I'll have to see if I can find it...

[yesdachi]

I've never seen second-hand pot smoke get any person high, my friends cat once but that's it.

Have you been to an indoor Black Sabbath concert and tried to not get high?


As to the topic, I swear we have covered this a few times before but… oh well.
Legalizing it has merit but in general I thinks drugs are bad, especially perception altering ones. I say let America vote on it, democracy rules.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Even better, let the states decide (via democracry).

[Reverend Joe]

Meh.

I guess I don't care too much either way. Arguing for the sake of arguing, you know.

Aside: I read somewhere that Prohibition, while being generally castigated, reduced drinking (or some drinking-related statistic) by 30 to 50% (or something like that). I'll have to see if I can find it...

...And it provided a massive feeding ground for crime, organised and otherwise, and allowed people to sell huge quantities of lethal alcohol. That was my point.

[Reverend Joe]

Have you been to an indoor Black Sabbath concert and tried to not get high?


As to the topic, I swear we have covered this a few times before but? oh well.
Legalizing it has merit but in general I thinks drugs are bad, especially perception altering ones.

Man, grass is is the diet coke of drugs. We have legal drugs that are a lot more dangerous than grass- mainly, alcohol. Going overboard with alcohol is a hell of a lot worse than going overboard with pot.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Curiousity: what's the number of (I guess estimated) users of marijuana versus users of alcohol (users being regular but not excessive or something like that).

And what was the number before Prohibition for alcohol users?

[Crazed Rabbit]

I'm personally not sure on this one. In theory, I support banning it, but the great excesses of the drug war-siezing property, diverted resources, etc., etc. make me feel that the incroachments on our rights are not worth it for stopping pot smoking. Plus the fact that our ability to enforce it is a joke.

On general libertarian principals, since it doesn't really harm anybody else when its smoked, I wouldn't mind it in theory. In practice, it seems that some are driven to criminality to support their drug addiction. So while it doesn't seem greatly harmful in small amounts, it does seem to drive people (not all, but people who abuse it) into 'anti-social behavior'.

Crazed Rabbit

[Reverend Joe]

Curiousity: what's the number of (I guess estimated) users of marijuana versus users of alcohol (users being regular but not excessive or something like that).

And what was the number before Prohibition for alcohol users?

No idea. I do know, from significant study of Prohibition, that there is really no way of knowing how much effect prohibition had on numbers. There are statistics that say they went down, and others taht say that the numbers were flat, or even went up.

But honestly, would you rather have more people drinking/smoking, or have more crime? By crime, I am not referring to the users, but rather to the organised criminals that make a hefty profit off of illicit substances.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I guess drinking over the mafia.

"It's just business."

[yesdachi]

It sounds like you're saying that if enough people break a law, the government should change the law to help out those breaking the law. In general that isn't very wise, though I think in cases of alcohol and marijuana, it isn't so awful...

Observing that a law is being broken by more and more is an excellent opportunity to review if the law is just. Doesn’t mean it should be legalized it might mean that the ones breaking the law should be pursued with more aggressiveness. Drug usage is a good example but so is speeding, should we raise the limit in areas that more and more people speed in? Or go after the speeders? How about illegal immigration, lots of people do that, should it be legalized? Or should we go after the ones breaking that law?

[Devastatin Dave]

I support legalizing it because it gets rid of competition in the job market and keeps me employed. Toke away you freakin stoners!!!

[solypsist]

no.