Legalizing marijuana

I'm not making anything up. I speak from experience, not because I have used marijuana, but I know people who do and their lives are messed up from it.

 

You bet it's a personal choice, but what happens when people abuse their personal choice, become addicted to drugs and have to go through rehab? Who gets involved then? Yep, it's the government. All of us end up paying for other people's choices when they screw up, and it's through our taxes.

I want the government out of our business as much as any libertarian or social liberal does, but not when it creates a society of stoners, and when it creates more government intervention by having to set up rehab clinics for people who make idiotic personal choices. Marijuana possession should be decriminalized but not fully legal. Too many risks to legalizing this substance.

 

No but I bet there are a lot more stoners in Colorado as a result of it becoming legal for recreational purposes. In the states where it's legal for medicinal purposes, it has spawned a lot more addicts. In those states - 2 of them in which I have residences - people are using pot for recreational purposes and getting their highs, but under the guise of medical reasons.

 

No I don't know anyone who uses pot for cancer treatment, but I know people who are marijuana addicts and have gotten cancer as a result. I also have known people who claim to smoke pot for the medical benefits but are clearly using it recreationally for that quick high.

 

Conservatives are for small government, except when they're not.

 

Big government republicans !! Key-yaaaa !

- - - Updated - - -

Prove that someone has gotten cancer from only marijuana use please .

- - - Updated - - -

Prove it has spawned more addicts ...

 

True conservatives are for traditional American values and morals. In most cases we want the government out of people's business; however, when people abuse their freedoms and create more problems for others, that's when some government intervention is necessary. Too many libertarians claim to be conservative but aren't because they go overboard in that they want the government out of everything - no laws, no police, no military. American society is traditionally a balance of personal freedom and law & order. We don't need too much of one or the other.

 

I love watching potheads rage over the pot issue.... Inconsiderate bunch, all of them.... I lose no sleep when a pothead fails a drug test and doesn't get a job, or gets denied workman's comp because they pee hot.....or loses a career over such a selfish habit.


apparently, smoking pot is more important than the welfare of your family that relies on you having a job to support them.

pure selfishness

 

I am sorry- frankly that is just ignorant. There is never any mitigating circumstance to driving while impaired- whether you are drunk, smoking marijuana with a pot card, or driving intoxicated while under a legal opiate perscription- it is all illegal.

Again- I point out Viagra and Cialis. The number of 'Viagraheads" who use it recreationally greatly outnumber people who use it for a medical benefit. Should we outlaw Viagra because of that?

habit does not equal addiction. Alcohol and cigaretttes are physically addictive. Marijuana can be habitating- like a 'gambling addiction' but it is not physically addicted. I know one guy who quit cold turkey 2 years ago and had no withdrawals- that is just a single example but scientifically it is very clear Pot is not addictive.

So treat pot the same as alcohol and cigarettes. Most people I know over 40 who smoke pot are none of the things you post, and use it the same way most people have a glass of wine after work.

 

As a child of the 1960's- not a single person I know has died from smoking pot. Most people went onto successful careers. There are a couple of alcoholics, one person who eventually got addicted to cocaine and then quit(it was easier for her to quit cocaine than cigarettes).

Virtually no one I grew up with- and probably 40% of the people I knew of from that time was at any time addicted to pot- some still smoke it, most don't.

- - - Updated - - -

No it hasn't.

You are just making that up.

 

same with alcohol if abused excessively..... or ever prescription\OTC drugs if abused excessively

http://eazysmoke.com/marijuana-quotes.htm

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this."
- Albert Einstein quote on Hemp"

looking in a mirror wondering if he would be able to see his reflection if he was going the speed of light..... hmmmm

 

Yep- the trick is that someone has to be the one to decide who 'abuse their freedoms'.

In 1919 everyone decided that it was those drinkers who abused their freedom.

That worked out so well for the United States.

Pot Prohibition has been a bigger failure than alcohol Prohibition and for the exact same reasons.

- - - Updated - - -

If you feel the exact same way about the person who picks up a six pack of Coors on a Friday night- then your rage against 'potheads' would be consistent.

 

Not from what I have seen here in Denver. They are just slightly more public about it. The impact has been surprisingly minimal. Stoners in general are not violent. If anything crime has probably gone down because there is no longer a reason to buy from illegal sources.

Mostly it is annoying because the stores are everywhere and the smell that goes with it. Thats the only real problem I have with it. We have legislation in process that will start restricting that.

Maybe they should follow our example then. Nicotine is far more addictive....are you advocating outlawing cigarettes as well?

The people advocating the illegalization of pot do not appear to be consistent. Lots of things are addictive that are legal, and will remain legal. I have not seen a compelling argument yet to single out pot.

So what? It should be completely legal for adults. The state is not their parent. You are not their parent. Unless they are harming someone, you both need to mind your own business.

 

I love it when self righteous people try to tell others they need the government to decide for them, wonder if they approved of alcohol prohibition too

you may want a nanny government, not every one does - how about we let the people decide, you can sign up for the nanny government to watch over you if you want...

.

 

I love when inconsiderate people think their rights trump mine... I also enjoy them having to risk ruining their lives over their inconsiderate habit because they have no self control.


is smoking a joint worth lsoing your house because you got fired for it. Your kids can't live in weed.... but apparently, you rank weed above your children's welfare. So becaue you rank weed above your own family, I'm supposed to now just appease you and make it legal?


lol


pass....


smokers inconsiderateness is how I decide my position on weed legality....

 

some idiots thought they same thing about alcohol once - guess what, the abuse is there legal or not, just one makes it a crime not to abuse

.

 

Um...doesn't that also apply to Cigarettes and Alcohol?

As do people who smoke and drink? Why are you giving them a pass?

You are supposed to mind your own business, yeah. You're not everyone else's parent. Stop trying to act like it.

 

when society thinks illegal equals bad and then finds that illegal doesn't always equal bad, it sends a mixed message to our youth, one that says it's ok to break the law because the law is just trying to prevent you from having a good time - same problem with prohibition of Alcohol that is happening with with young adults now, take away the right to go to bars and they went to houses to party and if your gonna break the law to drink, why not break it to do any drug, making it illegal for young adults to drink made alcohol a gateway drug - prohibition makes criminals of non-criminals

 

I know someone who was diagnosed with cancer as a result of smoking marijuana, that's all the proof I need.
What am I supposed to do to prove it to you - present a doctor's diagnosis on an internet forum?

Addiction, that's another story. The ones we know who use marijuana are addicted to it and can't quit. They frequently get stoned, have no energy, often miss work, and go on eating binges. Marijuana may be classified as a soft drug compared to heroin, meth, cocaine, or whatever else, but it's still a very addicting drug, and people who are hooked on it are not living healthy lifestyles.

 

Wow! I it a rare day when I see someone get Everything they posted so completly wrong, especially with no evidence to prove a thing you claim. You will never change your mind, but you might want to wrap your brain around the idea of it being legal in the majority of states in the next ten years, otherwise reality is really gonna really bite.
Have a Great Day

 

This is probably because you live amongst a puritanical fundamentalist Bible thumping crowd who would never use non traditional methods to treat illness.

Do some research... please.

There is no such thing as a marijuana "addict" in the traditional sense of the word and you do not know anyone who has gotten cancer as a result of pot smoking. Determining the "cause" for cancer is a guess.

Regardless, there is a larger point here.

Both Democrats and Republicans have sought to abridge constitutionally protected rights and freedoms through the use of fallacious utilitarian arguments.

Utilitarianism is basically a justification for law on the basis of the collective good and places almost zero emphasis in individual rights and freedoms.

The problem with this justification is "who determines what is for the collective good".

So ... Question for you. Do you think that laws should be made on the basis of simple arguments such as " If it reduces the potential for harm" or "if it saves one life" ?

 

I have my own opinions about Viagra, but it's not an intoxicant like alcohol or marijuana are; plus, people who are on Viagra don't annoy people with any second-hand residuals. Potheads are downright annoying because the residual smoke from their habit is offensive to other people. You know about second-hand smoke, don't you? In that respect, that puts them on the same level as cigarette smokers. I'll go a step further and say that marijuana smokers are even more annoying than tobacco smokers because marijuana smoke smells like dead skunks.

 

Not at all. I'm not a Bible thumper and I don't live among a greatly religious crowd. The research I have done is my own personal experience with marijuana users - they are generally annoying, lazy, unhealthy, and hooked on this substance. One such person I know is perfectly able to work but is unemployed and on welfare. Nobody can convince me this stuff isn't addictive or dangerous.

 

Legalization of this substance is just a easy way out of enforcing the drug laws that have been on the books for years. The problem is not so much that the drug laws aren't working, but they aren't being enforced properly. Pot smokers may not be violent people but they are generally unproductive citizens, and fall among the lazy, uninspired, unmotivated, unhealthy crowd.

So you have legislation in process that restricts the smell from dispensaries? See, that's another point I've been trying to make. The pro-legalization crows screams about getting government out of their business, but then the government ends up getting involved anyway in the form of more legislation. America is all about personal liberty, but many people end up abusing their freedoms. That's why we need a certain amount of law and order.

 

When I asked do you speak from experience I meant have you smoked pot and quit... and if so was it hard for you to quit... were you addicted? If you have not smoked pot then you are akin to a virgin trying to educate people on sex... no one is going to take you seriously other than the other pot virgins with visions of the movie reefer madness in their head. If pot is so addictive then why was I able to quit pot after years of smoking it with absolutely no problem?

Did they tell you they are addicted to pot... or are you just assuming that they are addicted? Addiction is two fold, physical and psychological and pot is not physically addictive... but the human mind can become addicted to about anything. Some pot smokers use the drug to forget their problems momentarily... and millions of people do this every year is bars across America with alcohol which IMO is a far more dangerous drug because at frequent high doses it is physically addictive. The mind can quickly become addicted the the high one gets from alcohol which can then lead to the hook of physical addiction, thus making alcohol much more dangerous than pot. So why do you not herald the dangers of alcohol as fervently as you do pot?

When it comes to addiction physical addiction is the bear. This is why I was able to quit pot easily but quitting cigarettes took a Herculean effort. Pot is not addictive... you can scream that it is but that does not make it so.

You completely ignored my links that say tobacco and alcohol are the gateway before pot. Why is that? Closed mind? I know people who smoke/d pot who never went onto heavier drugs.

And nice stereotype of the Hippies... it really revealed your bias and complete lack of objectivity in this whole debate.