Legalizing marijuana

If I thought you were interested in the facts, rather than a Conservative fantasy, I would discuss with you.

But I will just say you are wrong.

 

I drive to work each day, and everyone around me is driving above the speed limit.

Not a few, every single driver is driving above the speed limit.

Now you- the saint you are- never drive above the speed limit- because you value your family more than everyone else.

Frankly I think you are just trolling. Like many other subjects I don't think you really care, you just want to irritate people.

Apparently that is one of those Christian principles I missed when I read the New Testament....each time.

 

It is the gateway drug. I've witnessed people smoking marijuana, and people start smoking at a young age all my life. I am 100% convinced that the reason it is gateway, because it is illegal, and it forces one to do business with people selling other drugs.

 

You make a good point about pot being a gateway to illicit drugs... but times are a changing and 10 years from now it may not be illegal depending upon how the current legal pot experiment goes. I wounder what will be considered the gateway to illicit drugs then?

 

And what gives you the right to throw me in jail because you don't like what I'm ingesting? How is this reasonable?

You and your moralizing can just shove off and leave everyone alone. If people want to wreck themselves on crack or spend all day out of their minds on acid I say let 'em, I don't care and I don't see why they should be punished for it - if anything they'll punish themselves.

 

I would propose a simultaneous assault by our military, DEA, and police. The war on drugs continues, but in a new phase, on our terms. We cut their profits and streamline our assets to target cocaine and heroin. I would propose an all out assault on drug cartels, and that includes military action. These cartels run several countries south of the border, and I'm sick of it. We are the most powerful nation on Earth, and we have the capability to end them.

 

Oh ... so you know one person .. good for nothing in general, and because he also happens to smoke pot that is the reason for this persons problems.

I don't use the stuff myself by know doctors, lawyers and numerous other professionals who do.

You did not answer my question so I take it you do not want to discuss this topic further.

 

So basically what we have been doing all along.

 

Except drug prohibition is not a traditional American value. Drug prohibition in the US was nonexistent until the progressive movement came into power during the late 1800's and early 1900's. That makes you a Marxist, not a conservative.

 

republicans don't like hippies cause they are about love not war... and oh how the right loves war... now there is something that is really bad for ones health

 

But you are simply factually incorrect. Marijuana has an LD-50 so high it's literally impossible to overdose. It is not physiologically addictive. That is a statement of fact, that is beyond dispute. Your opinion on the matter would be like you saying the sky is actually orange. Simply, factually wrong.

 

the abuse is there legal or not, just one makes criminals of those that did not abuse

do you believe your God created pot?

 

I own my body. You do not. You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do it unless my doing so causes you harm. You have no such claim here.

I work for myself. I answer only to myself. I cannot be fired. And yes, it should be legal, because my use causes you no harm, at the risk of being repetitive. That you think you have that authority over a free human is very much you thinking YOUR rights trump mine, which you said was inconsiderate.

 

A restaurant is not a "public place". It may be open to the public, but unless it's owned by the government, it's a private business.

 

Really? Then point out what part of the Constitution gives the government the authority to ban it. Good luck finding it.

 

EXCELLENT point. Most people who go on and on about "potheads" think everyone who smokes pot is Jeff Spicoli. The reality is, they know people, probably lots of people, who smoke pot, and they not only do not know it, they wouldn't believe it if they were told so. Pretty much everyone I socialize with does, and that includes business owners, teachers, actors, hospital workers, doctors, even a minister. And I'm not randomly listing professions, those are all people with whom I have shared some herb with at one time or another.

 

Even if such a thing is successful, it's like whack a mole. Another one will pop up. Human beings desire drugs. This is called demand. It is an innate attribute to our species, and you cannot legislate it away. Where there is demand, there WILL be supply, even if that supply is evil (*)(*)(*)(*)s who use bullets in lieu of lawyers to settle disputes. Personally, I'd rather have legitimate business in charge. Call me crazy.

 

I never said second-hand smoke causes cancer, but it causes other health problems for non-smokers, or makes existing health problems worse; specifically asthma and other breathing issues.

Health issues or not, residual smoke of any kind is offensive. Second-hand marijuana smoke is not only an irritant to non-users, it has a very horrid smell, much like a dead skunk or burning manure. That makes it even more offensive to breathe than tobacco smoke.

 

A Marxist I am, huh? That's hilarious, and it would be about like calling you a member of a drug cartel because you favor legalization.

 

What should I call someone who advocates for totalitarian social engineering that is totally at odds with the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution?

 

I know the facts from my own personal experiences from knowing marijuana users personally, marijuana is easily abused and is addictive. People's lives are ruined from it. They use it for so-called medicial purposes even though they have no medical issues that warrant its usage; however, it has caused medical issues that they never had before before they started in on the weed.

The "get the government out of my life" crowd makes valid points, but they don't realize that many pot smokers are dependent on the government because of what they did to their lives. Their habit, addiction, abuse - whatever you call it - has caused them to miss work and become unhealthy. Some have even gone to worse drugs, became unemployed and are living on public assistance. So much for getting government off our backs, huh?

 

Where in the Constitution and/or the Declaration of Independence is the right to use marijuana?

Totalitarianism is unAmerican and not what I'm about. I clearly stated I have no problem with decriminalizing the possession of marijuana because it's ridiculous to put them in prison along with cold-blooded murderers. I'm simply not in favor of full-blown legalization and I gave good sound reasons why I'm against it.

 

You are a sheep. You have bought the lies of the drug warriors hook, line, and sinker. You can't think for yourself, rather you let others to tell you what to think. You are beyond help. And you are wrong, about everything that you've said.

 

Baaaaaaa, baaaaaa. Thanks for the accusations, the name-calling, and the unwillingness to be open-minded about the other side's point of view. Funny how libs like to accuse people of being closed-minded, wrong, and so many other things, but they are guilty of the same things they accuse.

 

Where in the Constitution does it specifically say you have the right to get married? Where does it specifically say you have the right to have kids? Where does it specifically say you have the right to walk down the sidewalk? Where does it specifically say you have the right to collect Social Security? Where does it specifically say you have the right to eat?

We walk dangerous ground when we start limiting our freedoms only to those specifically written in the Constitution. The way of thinking that we can criminalize anything that isn't specifically guaranteed in the Constitution leads people to try to criminalize any other person they don't like. Other people then try to stop them by passing laws that do guarantee specific freedoms to specific people. Now we have to specifically say that a gay person has the right to buy a cake. Now we have to specifically say that a black person has the right to go to college. Sadly, we have to write many laws like these just because someone thought he could use law to hurt people he didn't like just because what he was doing wasn't specifically banned by the Constitution.

We have forgotten that the basic premise of the Constitution was to protect freedom. Yes, a lot of the Constitution creates the system we use to govern our nation. A Constitution has to do such things. But the Constitution would never have been ratified if it had not included the Bill of Rights. And it is the Bill of Rights that shows us the basic premise of our Constitution. These rights were created, and made law in the United States, because people wanted to list some things that could help limit the powers of government and guarantee freedom the people of this country. These rights were laid down as law in an effort to start the freedom ball rolling in our nation. These rights were never intended to be the only rights to exist in a nation dedicated to freedom. These rights were simply a starting point for a nation that would have laws to protect our freedom, laws to protect our basic rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The problem with the drug/drinking war isn't just that it is perpetrated by a group of people who simply want to control the actions of other people. The problem is also in the methods they use to do so. We have a law that says you are not supposed to search someone without a warrant and you can't issue a warrant unless you already have a credible reason to believe that person has committed a crime. We also have DUI checkpoints. We also have students lockers randomly searched. We also have to have our urine searched if we do something horrible like apply for a job. (What kind of sick, twisted freak looks through everyone's urine!?!?)

And the search laws are just one example of how the drug/drinking warrior will completely trample freedom and the rule of law in an effort to control other people.

When such things are done it has a profound effect on the people who are on the receiving end of these atrocities. They begin to lose all respect for the law in general. When we started the big crackdown on drugs we instantly made a large group of people into criminals. And never have so many people had so much fun breaking the law. Now the law isn't something that protects us, and therefore can be respected. Now the law is something that simply tries to control us, and therefore cannot be respected. Now the law is something that bans what seems to be a completely harmless activity, and therefore cannot be respected. Now the law does not even follow the law in it's effort to control those that it has deemed lawless, and therefore cannot be respected.

If we want to live with freedom then we must constantly look to freedom when we are passing our laws. Sadly, we no longer do this. We would rather try to control each than live in freedom. We would rather only have a few specifically guaranteed freedoms than live with freedom in general. As long as our country is like this then decriminalization is not enough to stop the drug/drinking warriors. The only way to stop these maniacs is through legalization.