Should Marijuana Be Legal?

[shelly]

YouTube - Should Marijuana Be Legal? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYLceKOaw_Y)

More here:
http://bytestyle.tv/node/180

[Bruno]

of course! :)

[Elwar]

No! Get them hippies!!!

[Matt Collins]

The proper question is "where does the government get the power to ban it"?

[Rekonn]

Previously I had watched vids on legalization by Milton Friedman and William F Buckley that take on the argument from an economic/society point of view. This is a great vid because it's on a much smaller scale, anyone can have a neighbor with this kind of experience. Of course I think marijuana should be legalized. I live in CA and have signed on to a statewide proposition that will hopefully make it legal in 2010.

http://www.taxcannabis.org/

[s35wf]

YES! it should have never been made "illegal" ; its a damn plant!

which i fully enjoy using to both relieve stress & lower blood sugar :D

[Brian4Liberty]

Should marijuana be legal? I guess that's a rhetorical question on this forum! ;)

I prefer the term "decriminalized". For some reason "legal/illegal" has a connotation of good/bad. "Legal" sounds like a recommendation or advocacy.

The war on drugs also results in criminals (often cross-border gang members) setting up small pot farms any place they can in the US. Maybe right in the wilderness park near your house. They pollute, leave garbage, and sometimes set-up booby traps or shoot at innocent people out on a hike. We need to take away their incentive and reward for doing that. (And of course fully prosecute them for all of the other laws they are violating).

[Bruno]

Should marijuana be legal? I guess that's a rhetorical question on this forum! ;)

I prefer the term "decriminalized". For some reason "legal/illegal" has a connotation of good/bad. "Legal" sounds like a recommendation or advocacy.

The war on drugs also results in criminals (often cross-border gang members) setting up small pot farms any place they can in the US. Maybe right in the wilderness park near your house. They pollute, leave garbage, and sometimes set-up booby traps or shoot at innocent people out on a hike. We need to take away their incentive and reward for doing that. (And of course fully prosecute them for all of the other laws they are violating).

+1 kind bud

[gls]

I prefer the term "decriminalized". For some reason "legal/illegal" has a connotation of good/bad. "Legal" sounds like a recommendation or advocacy.


The problem is the two terms have wildly different applications. Cannibas is "decriminalized" in Massachusettes yet someone growing, selling or even just possessing a certain amount of it is still risking jailtime. I don't agree that the term "legal" has any particular connotation. Just because Cigarettes are "legal" doesn't mean society thinks smoking them is a good idea, just that people should be allowed to make the choice for themselves.

[dannno]

Thanks Shelly. I have a similar story but with a much better ending.

A friend of mine is a medical marijuana patient and he lives in a house with his fiance, child and a couple friends. He does very well in the telecom industry, and his fiance will some day be a dentist.

They were renting out one of their rooms to a rather unsavory character. This guy was going to school while his parents helped to support him. I only met him a couple times, but I would venture to guess that he would have one day failed out of school. They didn't like this guy living around their child, so they ended up asking him to move out and gave him his 30 day notice. Next thing you know he was bleeding all over the place, claiming he'd accidentally cut himself with a knife. There was blood all over his room and the kitchen. He was taken to the hospital.

After that incident, my friend called this guy's father and told him to come pick up his grown son, he was giving him a 5 day notice, which is legal under the circumstances. When the guy got back from the hospital and found out he was being kicked out in 5 days, he called the cops to tell them about my friend's medical marijuana and that he had a child. The police came over on an "anonymous tip", asked a few questions. They found out that the child is going to one of the best preschools in town. They then took one look at his paperwork and told him to have a nice day.

The unsavory character is now gone, and everything is OK, thanks to laws that have been passed in my state to legalize cannabis consumption for individuals who have a recommendation from a doctor.

I can't imagine how that situation would have ended if those laws were not in place, but it very well could have ended up very similar story as John from your youtube video.

[johnrocks]

I think drug laws violate the 9th Amendment.
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people".

[dannno]

I think drug laws violate the 9th Amendment.
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people".

Back in the early 1900s they knew that it was unconstitutional to make substances illegal, so they had to be really tricky..

Well alcohol they went straight for the jugular and made a constitutional amendment.. but for cannabis, they had to say that in order to possess you needed a tax stamp. They didn't give out any tax stamps, so anybody who possessed it was breaking the law.

[Matt Collins]

We just need the high court to weigh the scales of justice by planting the seed of doubt in the minds of jury. To be blunt we don't want people to get burned or face a public stoning for just hanging with their buds.

:p:p:p

[Bruno]

Back in the early 1900s they knew that it was unconstitutional to make substances illegal, so they had to be really tricky..

Well alcohol they went straight for the jugular and made a constitutional amendment.. but for cannabis, they had to say that in order to possess you needed a tax stamp. They didn't give out any tax stamps, so anybody who possessed it was breaking the law.

They got that idea from a similiar law regarding machine guns, but I bet you already knew that. :)

[Brian4Liberty]

The problem is the two terms have wildly different applications. Cannibas is "decriminalized" in Massachusettes yet someone growing, selling or even just possessing a certain amount of it is still risking jailtime. I don't agree that the term "legal" has any particular connotation. Just because Cigarettes are "legal" doesn't mean society thinks smoking them is a good idea, just that people should be allowed to make the choice for themselves.

Whether you legalize or decriminalize, it only makes sense to have it completely apply to growing, possessing, using, etc... as for selling, you would still have some standard commerce/zoning/business laws that apply.

[gls]

Whether you legalize or decriminalize, it only makes sense to have it completely apply to growing, possessing, using, etc... as for selling, you would still have some standard commerce/zoning/business laws that apply.

All I'm saying is that you can't use "legalize" and "decriminalize" interchangeably because there are substantial differences in the definitions of the two terms.

[Bucjason]

Back in the early 1900s they knew that it was unconstitutional to make substances illegal, so they had to be really tricky..

Well alcohol they went straight for the jugular and made a constitutional amendment.. but for cannabis, they had to say that in order to possess you needed a tax stamp. They didn't give out any tax stamps, so anybody who possessed it was breaking the law.

It's unconstitutional for the feds , but the states can make all the drug laws they want.

Personally, I say legalize it of course.

[LittleLightShining]

I'm having a conversation on facebook about this video. The responses are really sad :(



I don't think people should use it because we need clear-minded people to help us stay free. If someone is a user I just can't trust them next to me to be making life or death decisions. I saw enough people high in the 70s to still be impatient with them -- the image of someone sitting on the couch like a bowl of jello still makes me tap my toes, ... Read Morewaiting for sense to return!! We need fast thinkers and movers!!
I think God intended the PLANT to be used for something, but not for His people to alter their minds. He says not to be drunk so it would be the same for this. When our minds are altered, we're certainly not thinking of Him and He also said He didn't give us a confused mind, so obviously the plant was intended for non-human use. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
I do believe dealers should be punished more harshly than a user. I agree with Dr. Ron Paul that we should help drug addicts, just as we help alcoholics recover.
Then, there is the whole area of WHO is actually bringing illegal drugs into this nation. If the govt is truly in the business, it's just one more reason to clean up.


Prohibition is unconstitutional. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter what you think or how you feel about it.


When you say prohibition is unconstitutional, it seems to me that you would say any law is unconstitutional. Not trying to be controversial. We have to have order in society or we will have chaos.


That doesn't make any sense. You're saying that the Constitution provides for anarchy? No laws are Constitutional? I'm confused.


No, I'm saying that chaos - no laws, prohibiting certain things -- would be a disorganized society. Surely, we can and should make laws prohibiting certain actions. Specifically those that would bring harm to others.
I personally don't want drivers who are stoned and/or drunk driving on the same roads that my family drives. I don't want my ... Read Moreairline pilot stoned or drunk. I don't want my pastors stoned or drunk and counseling. I don't want the store clerk stoned or drunk when (s)he is counting my change.


We're not gonna see eye to eye on this, but I personally do not do drugs but I have no problem wit responsible adults using marijuana. There's no crime if there's no victim.

There were more ridiculous comments :(

[MichelleHeart]

I agree with most of the sentiments here. The federal government should have no involvement in drug laws. It should be a states' rights issue.

[OrigSEOH]

Yes...schedule I classification needs to go away (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681626/?tool=pmcentrez) in order to promote more research in the plant and stop criminalizing the citizens.


YouTube - RUN FROM THE CURE - The Rick Simpson Story (Part 1 of 7) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhT9282-Tw)

http://www.phoenixtears.ca/

A collection of information:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=95659

[idirtify]

If you want to argue against saying certain things in public in order to best bring about complete pot legalization, that’s one thing. But if you want to argue against complete legalization as a personal position, that’s quite another – and you will have ME to contend with.

As readers will see here, often a poster will intentionally comingle the two in order to covertly advocate a personal agenda against complete legalization.

Now who wants to step up? You know who you are, and I’m calling you out!

[idirtify]

Whether you legalize or decriminalize, it only makes sense to have it completely apply to growing, possessing, using, etc... as for selling, you would still have some standard commerce/zoning/business laws that apply.

You advocate zooming laws?? Don’t you think a person should be allowed to have a home-based business?

[OrigSEOH]

Maybe ask that person if they know what the endocannabinoid system is. But, some people you just can't reach, no matter how much info you put in front of them.


I'm having a conversation on facebook about this video. The responses are really sad :(

" Originally Posted by someone else
I don't think people should use it because we need clear-minded people to help us stay free. If someone is a user I just can't trust them next to me to be making life or death decisions. I saw enough people high in the 70s to still be impatient with them -- the image of someone sitting on the couch like a bowl of jello still makes me tap my toes, ... Read Morewaiting for sense to return!! We need fast thinkers and movers!!
I think God intended the PLANT to be used for something, but not for His people to alter their minds. He says not to be drunk so it would be the same for this. When our minds are altered, we're certainly not thinking of Him and He also said He didn't give us a confused mind, so obviously the plant was intended for non-human use. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it."

There were more ridiculous comments :(

This video is a bit long but I found it informative.
YouTube - Cannabis Forgetting and the Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeCra-sn0dI)

[LittleLightShining]

Maybe ask that person if they know what the endocannabinoid system is. But, some people you just can't reach, no matter how much info you put in front of them.



This video is a bit long but I found it informative.
YouTube - Cannabis Forgetting and the Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeCra-sn0dI)
I have no idea what the endocannabinoid system is :o I guess I have some studying to do.

I know it's pointless to argue with some people. I think some people get to these very irrational positions on subjects like this because they've had really bad experiences personally or vicariously with drug addicts. It sucks but I think it's a reality we have to be willing to accept to some degree. I pointed out earlier in that discussion that there are a lot more pot smokers out there that are productive members of society (trumpeting Shelly's points) but folks don't realize it because those people have to hide. People like the lady I was talking to before assume that if marijuana is legalized all of a sudden everyone and their grandmother will be stoned all day long.

Anyway, I know I'm preaching to the choir :)

[cheapseats]

The capricious criminalization of marijuana -- which no intelligent person can argue has greater toxicity or consequences than alcohol -- is hypocritical, unjust and mercenary.

It should be de-criminalized with all the haste with which our august Senate spuriously convened to try to spare the life of vegetable Terri Schaivo.

The savings and revenue are NEON LOW HANGING FRUIT WHEN THE COUNTRY TEETERS ON DEPRESSION.

We are IMBECILES not to de-criminalize marijuana. And the Resistance are PANSIES not to press our advantage.