Legalized Marijuana

[Idaho]

It's like trying to have a serious discussion with your kid brother when he's just od'd on Halloween candy.

[rvg]

It's like trying to have a serious discussion with your kid brother when he's just od'd on Halloween candy.

Says the drug addict...

[Idaho]

Says the drug addict...

Nice!

You're just trolling

Shame as it is an interesting topic.

[ajaxfetish]

Says the drug addict...

Well, when the drug addict makes more sense than the teetotaler ...

[Lemur]

rvg, given the clear, demonstrated, real-world dangers of prohibition, would you at least agree that a nation needs to have a serious think before going down that road?

As it stands, we tolerate caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, largely because they have a long history in our society. We don't tolerate them for public health or safety reasons (all three have strong negatives), we do it because they're so embedded in our society that prohibition is an absurdity, as demonstrated in the 1920s.

Marijuana, much like alcohol, has a large following in all classes of society. Unlike meth, it is not insanely toxic in production and consumption. Unlike cocaine, it falls into the lowest echelon of effective-to-toxic dose. Unlike heroin, it can be produced with minimal agricultural impact, and can easily be grown in all 50 states.

If you can make an argument against ending marijuana prohibition that does not rest on the slippery slope fallacy, I'd like to hear it.

[rvg]

rvg, given the clear, demonstrated, real-world dangers of prohibition, would you at least agree that a nation needs to have a serious think before going down that road?

We're not talking about prohibition. We're talking about maintaining status quo vs introducing new legal drugs into the society. I do not have a problem with status quo.

[Lemur]

We're not talking about prohibition.

Prohibition is precisely what we are discussing. A long, failed campaign of prohibition and incarceration that has cost the government and the people of the United States too much money and time.

We're talking about maintaining status quo vs introducing new legal drugs into the society. I do not have a problem with status quo.

Prohibition is a failure. The status quo is changing, as the recent ballot initiatives have shown. The USA has passed the tipping point at which more that 50% of the population sees the madness of criminalizing a popular and comparatively safe recreational drug.

And you can't put it on the hippies and pot-heads. Last estimate was that only 3.9 million Americans smoke pot regularly. That means there are a lot of people like me, who see a stupid, failed, obstinate, counter-factual policy for what it is.

[rvg]

Prohibition is a failure. The status quo is changing, as the recent ballot initiatives have shown. The USA has passed the tipping point at which more that 50% of the population sees the madness of criminalizing a popular and comparatively safe recreational drug.
And you can't put it on the hippies and pot-heads. Last estimate was that only 3.9 million Americans smoke pot regularly. That means there are a lot of people like me, who see a stupid, failed, obstinate, counter-factual policy for what it is.

Why would I support something from which I don't stand to gain anything and potentially lose something? Why in the world would I do that? It makes no sense to me.

[Lemur]

Why would I support something from which I don't stand to gain anything and potentially lose something?

Could you please be more specific? What do you "potentially lose" by allowing a few of your friends and neighbors to purchase and consume marijuana legally? And what do you "stand to gain" by continuing a massively expensive, failed policy of prohibition?

Note that the average cost for incarcerating a marijuana smoker is $23,000 per year. And because our jails are full of these non-violent perps, states are forced to either expand their prison budgets and facilities or release violent criminals to make room for all of the pot heads. Where is your benefit?

[rvg]

Could you please be more specific? What do you "potentially lose" by allowing a few of your friends and neighbors to purchase and consume marijuana legally?

By having a marijuana dispensery in my town for instance. 18 year olds (or 21 or whatever) smoking it openly. Recreational use of it does not make my state a better place for me.

And what do you "stand to gain" by continuing a massively expensive, failed policy of prohibition? Note that the average cost for incarcerating a marijuana smoker is $23,000 per year. And because our jails are full of these non-violent perps, states are forced to either expand their prison budgets and facilities or release violent criminals to make room for all of the pot heads. Where is your benefit?

The current policy can certainly use some work. However, the substandard policy doesn't mean that legalization is needed. It just means that the policy needs to be retooled by punishing the dealers more and punishing the users less. Users can be dealt with by high fines and no jail time, while the dealers should be looking at life w/o parole.

[Idaho]

Why would I support something from which I don't stand to gain anything and potentially lose something? Why in the world would I do that? It makes no sense to me.

What would you lose?

There are many potential gains.