Marijuana: 0

[LittleGrizzly]

I'd be more comfortable behind the wheel with a few beers then a few smokes.

I have quite a few friends who have drove both, i can tell you drunk drivers seem to have an air of confidence about them (created by the drink) and then whenever i have watched my friends drive stoned they are almost always slower because they have alot less confidence, also because thier stoned there is an extra worry about the cops, so they try to drive normal.

but I really, truly don't understand why we spend money and man-hours keeping marijuana illegal. And why do we spend money locking citizens up for smoking the stuff? Can anyone formulate a rationale for this policy?

Im just assuming its somewhat similar in America but over here we have a majority of people (im mainly thinking the middle classes) who assume its a terrible thing just because of the name drugs, i can't tell you how many people i have had to explain that tobacco and alcohol are also drugs (and far worse ones at that) anyway back to the name, drugs, the other thing that really doesn't help over here is articles in the daily mail like, man kills man after 6 hour drug binge.... the man had been smoking marijuana several hours previously... the daily mail seems to make an effort to find anything crazy done by anyone on marijuana and then link to two repeatedly until it becomes like a mantra, if we could just convince rupert murdoch to have a go at weed and he decided he didn't mind it then we would only have 50 odd years of propaganda to reverse..... plan!

I think the other part of the problem outside of the daily mail and papers like it is all the propagnada the govermnet put out itself, alot of the dodgy old anti-marijuana productions the goverment made are in the minds of older people and have spread to younger people through word of mouth, the goverment havng been saying its bad and wrong for so long they have alot of people convinced

Lastly the problem is politicians, outside of holland i think it would be political suicide or at least here in the UK it would be, if the labour party did it definetly, if the conservatives did it probably, the storm over here created by a mix of the moralising middle classes and the rupert murdoch papers, needless to say a majority in the country would be left in no doubt that legalising marijuana would cause the downfall of society

[Fragony]

You are a smoker as well LittleGrizly you know it dulls the senses and that you cannot react as fast in an emergency it can be up to a full second delay, it doesn't have to be the stoned driver causing the situation but having to react to one can be deadly. That is the same for medicine of course, that is why I kinda doubt the numbers in the NYT link Lemur posted, sounds like they are basing a story on a lack of particular data.

[Lemur]

I kinda doubt the numbers in the NYT link Lemur posted, sounds like they are basing a story on a lack of particular data.

Well, looking back over it, no, they do not appear to be counting deaths due to operation of heavy machinery, but rather toxicity-related deaths. They're also not counting any deaths from ill-advised fights that got started after too many brews, either.

I don't think stoned driving is a sufficiently compelling reason to keep marijuana smoking illegal in this country. Remember, when we put someone in jail it costs a minimum of $20k per year to keep the fed and locked down. You need a pretty good justification to cost me and mine that much money.

[drone]

I don't think stoned driving is a sufficiently compelling reason to keep marijuana smoking illegal in this country. Remember, when we put someone in jail it costs a minimum of $20k per year to keep the fed and locked down. You need a pretty good justification to cost me and mine that much money.

OK, how about "Marijuana makes the illegals and blacks want to rape your daughters!" Isn't that the original reason for it's ban?

Edit-> Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Think of the children!

[Fragony]

Well I don't care if it is legal or not, there is always such a thing as turning a blind eye. Works here in the netherlands, but the USA, how.

[Ice]

For about the 1000th time the benefits of legalization far outweigh the costs. It should be legal and I should be able to purchase it like I do alcohol.

[Xiahou]

I think the "counter-culture" mystique about marijuana only serves to increase it's popularity. As such, I'm in favor of making it boring. I'd like to see casual usage and possession treated more like a speeding ticket that a serious criminal offense. Keep individual possession and use outlawed, but allow certain establishments to be setup for the purpose buying weed and smoking it on the premises only.

I don't ever see this happening, but I think it could work out nicely. I'd still never use the crap, but people that choose to could do so- hopefully without bothering anyone else.

[Ice]

I don't ever see this happening, but I think it could work out nicely. I'd still never use the crap, but people that choose to could do so- hopefully without bothering anyone else.

Bad experiences, Xiahou? I've never seen marijuana use bother anyone else. Usually the people smoking it are careful not to due to the fact it is illegal and they could get busted,fine, and/or sent to jail.

[PBI]

if we could just convince rupert murdoch to have a go at weed and he decided he didn't mind it then we would only have 50 odd years of propaganda to reverse..... plan!

Umm, last I checked Murdoch owns the Times and the Sun, but not the Mail. I think I would`agree that the world would be a better place if he spent more time stoned and less time running his empire, though.