Marijuana

[dug]

Most people who drink a little too much alcohol become loud, clumsy, stupid, and potential dangerous.

Pot on the other hand is about as debilitating as a cup of coffee, yet millions of folks are "criminals" because they enjoy it.

Anyone who unwinds at the end of the day with a nice single malt (or whatever) while demonizing all the evil pot smokers is a hypocrite.

[rick91351]

 

Most people who drink a little too much alcohol become loud, clumsy, stupid, and potential dangerous.

Pot on the other hand is about as debilitating as a cup of coffee, yet millions of folks are "criminals" because they enjoy it.

Anyone who unwinds at the end of the day with a nice single malt (or whatever) while demonizing all the evil pot smokers is a hypocrite.

Dug I can not agree with you more!  There in is my problem and many others.  The single nice single malt or a single joint.  I went clean and sober in 1990.  I can not just have one.  Before that the nice docs had me addicted to downers and pain meds.  Most of my friends were addicted to prescription meth.  Good old docs anyway.  Today they are a lot better in most cases getting you down and level after an injury or operation and discharge.  They no longer hand out uppers around here like candy.  Do not know about other areas.       

That said, I can not agree that pot does not effect certain decision making abilities and desires and life time goals in STONERS.  I am not talking to you once in a while smokers but the STONERS.  Nor will I ever agree that alcohol is relativity harmless to people like me.  Some of us are just messed up.  We can not do it.  Hey I have been to the meetings, Hi my name is Rick and I am an alcoholic and addict.  I was lucky I came to terms before I killed someone, destroyed my family worse than I did.

Legal or not legal it stops nothing.  It is up to the person.  I could go out - or start drinking or using right now.  I have control and choose not to.  Will I?  I do one day at a time.  I do know my sobriety is certainly not as fragile as it once was.  And right now I love life and people.  I care for my mental health without alcohol or herb.  I do not carry my addictions on my sleeve.  The 12 Steps helped save me but now is not my crutch.  I got on with life.  By the way, there is life after addiction.    Now help me down off this damned soap box and give me my coffee cup.  Sorry for the out burst man.               

[peternap]

Most people who drink a little too much alcohol become loud, clumsy, stupid, and potential dangerous.

Not me! It's been a while but as I recall...I became taller, stronger, faster, wittier, better looking, more charming and invincible!

Much like I am in real life, just more so Hmmmm Just going over today's game camera pictures..... I was right

[Ernest T. Bass]

If Marijuana was legal, than growing Hemp would/should be as well.. That's a push for it in my book. I do agree on all of the negatives, but like many have pointed out, making it illegal doesn't do much to slow it down, much like gun laws. Only the law-abiding citizens suffer as they sink into the grasp of the government's control.. Those who don't care still get what they want, and sometimes making it illegal only makes it more enticing for those types.. Dunno, tricky subject..

[sparks]

Thought I'd chime in since I started this thread.

I began my chemical romance in July 1969, right around the time Apollo 11 took off.

Many years later, odd things happened.........my son was born naked and my hair started falling out.

Damn.

Got my poisons down to two now.

Thanks for being civil and having a good debate......


And being honest..........

Oh, btw, I gave it a thumbs up.


sparks

[Tickhill]

It has been my observation that if a person is prone to over indulgence, it would not matter whether a particular substance was legal to purchase or not, they would procure the object of their fancy and have at it. Weed-pills-meth-alcohol-twinkies-heroin- it doesn't matter.

There will always be the ones that ruin it for the others. Natural selection will eventually weed themselves out, pun intended.

This is my opinion only, if marijuana were legal, there would actually be fewer people addicted to narcotic painkillers. I feel there would be fewer people dr shopping to get the meds (wait, if we could take care of some of our own needs, we wouldn't need the dr's as much).

Decriminalize it, let the people grow it/use it. The marketplace will adjust and rules will be put in place as well as legitmate use testing at the job site.

[Squirl]

What I find interesting is this experiment of decriminalization has been going on at the local jurisdiction level and state level for the past few years without a noticeable shift in negative effects.  I have seen prosecutors happy that they can devote more of their time to violent offenders.

[OlJarhead]

I believe that it is not the role of the Federal Government to tell us what to ingest or not to ingest, and the Constitution sitting on my desk doesn't seem to give them that power but does say that if it did not give them that power then they don't have it.

So, for me it's easy:  It's none of their damn business.

On the other hand I do not believe the same applies for the states and that they may, should they choose, make drugs legal.

Frankly, if we truly are "the land of the FREE" then why should we not be FREE to smoke dope?  Shoot Heroine?  Snort Crack (or whatever you do with it).  I think it's dumb to do any of those things though, but I don't beleive I have the right to stop you from doing it.

On the other hand, I believe I do have the right to cause your death via high speed lead poisoning should you choose to rob of of my hard earned fiat dollars so you can buy more drugs (or booze or whatever).

Problem today, I think, is that people want to control others too much -- the right wants to prevent the left from smoking dope and the left wants to prevent the right from preaching gospel (I'm simplifying things here so back off), meanwhile the Libertarians are stuck in the middle 

James Madison, the 'Father of the constitution' once said: "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." 

Which demonstrates that the 'General Welfare' clause does not mean provide welfare to the public in any way shape or form and I'd like to add my own version:

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of directing the behavoir, drinking habits or entertainment of their constituents."

[firefox]

How do we handle the dealers handing out free samples to 9 and 10 year olds?

I am just as adament that government not push us around, but I do not have a solution for the above typical problem. It is easy to say that it is the parents responsability, but how many parents can supervise their kids 24/7 and still bring in enough money to feed them.

This of course doesn't address all the issues of overly supervising kids and the results from that.

These are just questions. I have no idea what the right answers are.

Bruce

[muldoon]

How do we handle the dealers handing out free samples to 9 and 10 year olds?

oak tree + rope?  then again .22 bullets are really cheap...  solve it however society wishes to solve it. 

While that is a valid point, if you remove the money, the dealers wont be exactly pushing anymore.  It is far easier for a middle schooler or high schooler to get pot than beer.  There is a reason for that.  Remove that reason and you wont have cartels pushing drugs on 10 year olds. 

[OlJarhead]

oak tree + rope?  then again .22 bullets are really cheap...  solve it however society wishes to solve it. 

While that is a valid point, if you remove the money, the dealers wont be exactly pushing anymore.  It is far easier for a middle schooler or high schooler to get pot than beer.  There is a reason for that.  Remove that reason and you wont have cartels pushing drugs on 10 year olds.

Amen

I'd also like to add that we handle it the same way we handle the drug dealers who hand out crack and heroine samples to 9 and 10 years olds today....


Seriously, how naive are we?  Making something not-illegal doesn't change what those in the criminal element will do anymore then making it legal.

I'm always amazed at the naivete of American's today -- what, you think because it's illegal for a drug dealer to carry a gun in DC that he won't?  Ever checked the murder rates there?  What?  You think because it's illegal to carry a concealed gun into the liquor store that those wishing to rob it will comply?  Seriously?

Restricting law abiding citizens only takes away their freedom, their liberty, it does nothing to deter the criminal.