I really don't think that making marijuana legal is going to cause this huge shift to harder drugs. Most people don't need the other drugs because they get what they want from the marijuana. They get that high and they get this horrible urge to attack the kitchen and eat everything in sight. So, the way I see it, if we do make marijuana legal, all we are really doing is taking money away from the drug dealers and putting money into a company.

Who would make it? I hope a big tobacco company that has experience with growing things of that nature. Sell it wherever you want to sell it. If it's legal, then you can sell it. Would taxes be worth anything? If tons of people are buying the marijuana, chances are, the taxes are going to have some effect. The way I see it, the government gets no money from those dealers that sell drugs. "Yes, I'd like to pay me 25% income tax on the drugs I sold..." Not likely. So, if it was taxed, the government would be making more money.

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We The People Politics

I actually would hope not. If a big tobacco company started growing pot, they would probably add chemicals to make it addictive, just like they put extra nicotine into cigs to addict their customers. Why do we need all of our resources (of any sort) under the control of legal "persons" who don't literally exist and can't go to prison(corporations)? I would have much more confidence in small family farms, and I would want to see them succeed. Since corporate farming has all but destoyed the traditional homestead farm, it would be nice to put something back into the hands of the people.

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War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.

It's a post 9/11 world.

I agree fifth, no other things should be added to it.
But just for the record, anyone who thinks pot is harmful is ignorant and a hipocrite. IT is far less destructive than alcohol.
Lastly, The ONLY reason that it is not legal is tradition, it couldn't be taxed in its early days in America so it is illegal. IT has nothing to do with the drug itself, simply the financial aspect.

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"Your old road is Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'."

"There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

-Bob Dylan, greatest singer/songwriter ever to live.

im not in favor of pot being legalized because it might open a door for other drugs to be legalized and it would fund the drug cartels. although, i do agree that it is less destructive than alcohol and less addictive than cigaretes. the smoke would probably cause lung cance in some but so do cigaretes. i do think it should be open to studies for medical purposes though. who knows what pot can cure..

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There are only two things wrong with this great nation of ours, democrats and republicans!

Not necessarily in that order.

Um. Buck. Your reply has nothing to do with the question in this thread. Which is whether there would be a drug shift after marijuana legalization.

While I agree that use of heavy drugs that trash you fast wouldn't go up there could be competition in the form of drugs like ecstasy.

Ecstasy does have worse side effects. However marijuana users already have that "go to jail" side effect that doesn't seem to stop them so I'm not sure if the effects o ecstasy would hold them off either.

And they also feel the need to do an illegal drug instead of simply using a legal one.

Driving the switch would be that it could become "cool" to do the other drugs as marijuana may not be seen as rebelius when your grandmother does it during Sunday dinner and the fact that all pushers/dealers will be actively trying as hard as they can to make other, profitable, drugs cool and appealing.

There would also probably be "research" done in the drug community to make drugs that have similar effects to marijuana but moreso.

The argument against. Which was mentioned earlier. Is that people get exactly what they want from pot and would not be interested in anything else. I don't know how much that is true or not true.

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There are only two things wrong with this great nation of ours, democrats and republicans!

Not necessarily in that order.

That's sort of what I'm talking about though. Once pot is legalized they'd have to change in order to keep their regular clientele. They would certainly be trying to push other drugs, make some other drug seem "cooler" than marijuana, and would probably experiment with new drugs or drug blends in order to try and regain market share.

The question is how effective they will be at this.

More importantly though - people use it to achieve a temporary escape. The rebellion issue isn't related to the actual drug itself - or to drug use in general.

Another factor you didn't consider is why do most people refuse to do drugs. They refuse to do so because they will risk losing their jobs and being unable to provide for their families. That is the prime motivation - not fear of arrest and temporary imprisonment.

What you're not factoring in is that the harder drugs like Meth have become popular because they're easier to conceal. Much easier to hide a Meth lab than it is to hide marijuana growing out in the open. That is the reason for the use of these other drugs. If people had access to legal marijuana, they simply wouldn't risk dealing with other drugs, because why should they go through the hassle when they can legally get high?

Also - something else you fail to consider is the successful legalization in other countries. Their societies are not collapsing. Drug addicts are not running wild in the streets. They're doing just fine and have easily managed the issue of legal marijuana.

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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Schopenhauer

Unlike the government, drug dealers don't have propaganda campaigns to popularize particular drugs. As a matter of fact, with exception of huge inner city areas, there are not many drug "pushers" at all (and they don't "push" pot). The customer seeks out the dealer.

Moreover, the premise of the thread seems to be that we need to keep at least one harmless drug on the illegal side, so people will stop at that. That is absolutely ridiculous. People are more likely to say, "well, I'm breaking the law anyway, I might as well try the other illegal drugs, too. They're probably also harmless."

__________________
War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.

It's a post 9/11 world.