Alright... Cheese dude

You picked the worst time to post, im going to bed i'll be telling you whats wrong with your post in due time so don't worry.

And no i have never smoked pot and i never will.

Umm... Maybe thats why i seem to be the one with the common sense here.

I think Evan would be in for a major shock if he had any clue as to how widely distributed pot users are within US society, at all socioeconomic levels.

Marijuana is just a replay of America's failed experiment with alcohol prohibition. Morality legislation consuming abnormal enforcement resources in a supply and demand circumstance with no offsetting tax revenue.

Originally Posted by georged

I think Evan would be in for a major shock if he had any clue as to how widely distributed pot users are within US society, at all socioeconomic levels.

And as such any roadway mayhem approaching alcohol related accident statistics would have already materialized.

Originally Posted by sinjin

And as such any roadway mayhem approaching alcohol related accident statistics would have already materialized.

'Reefer Madness' mentality seems to dominate the opinions of those who support the very expensive continued prohibition of pot.

Originally Posted by Evan

you admitted that the drug slows reaction time and causes sedation. you may sit there on your couch and smoke up, but come on! that’s not going to be the case with allot of people. People will get in a car and will drive while under the influence of the drug.

Actually, I know a lot of people who smoke marijuana, and the majority of them do enjoy it in their homes, and are responsbile enough to not go out and drive when they get baked. It is simple common sense and maturity. Yes, some will get in their cars and drive, but this already occurs far more often than you realize. You seem to be oblivious as to how many people in this country smoke marijuana.

Also, if you legalize the drug this occurrence will happen much more often.

And you base this on what? Or are you just telling us what you think will happen? Marijuana is already so commonly available that it is simple to obtain. With it's common availability it is not hard to realize that if someone wants to get high that they can do so without difficulty. I doubt that we would see a significant increase in DUI of marijuana simply by legalizing it. Look to Amsterdam...decriminalization and government control of marijuana seems to have worked well. I have not heard of a significant increase of traffic accidents and fatalities there.

Also you stated that alcohol cause much more problems... umm... why is that? Could it be because its readily avaible.

And yes, prohibition seemed to stop people from obtaining alcohol. Sure you're right. Alcohol causes more problems for a variety of reasons.
1. It is far more harmful to the body than marijuana.
2. Alcohol causes changes in mood and affect not common to marijuana, namely violent and irrational behavior.
3. Alcohol is far more debilitating than marijuana in acute intoxication. We have all seen people drunk to the point where they cannot talk, walk, see straight, or even form a complete sentence. I have never seen someone high enough on marijuana to cause these problems. I do not advocate driving under the influence of marijuana any more than I would alcohol. But to say that someone who is high is as dangerous as someone who is drunk behind the wheel is irresponsible and simply wrong.

Marijuana is already readily available. We have not seen the problems with pot that we have seen with alcohol.

Now im not advocating prohibition because it will never work and it didn't work because the people had already had a taste of what it was like to have alcohol. Once you give the public something like that they will not give it up.

Then you are a hypocrite. You advocate continued prohibition of marijuana based on the fact that legalization will make our roads more dangerous due to an increase of people DUI of marijuana. So in your mind, less people smoke up and drive because we have a prohibition against marijuana. So following your logic, if alcohol was prohibited and "less available", fewer people would DUI of alcohol, making our roads vastly safer. Yet you do not advocate prohibition of alcohol, and even state that you do not believe prohibition works. Which is it? Sad news, people already have a taste for marijuna even though it is prohibited. I agree with the statement that prohibition does not work.

Now if we were to legalize marijuana you would most definitely see a rise in situations where marijuana was a contributing factor.

Again, based on what? Do you have any examples or research to back up this statement? Or are you guessing?

Also you say that it should only be given to adults... lol i don't know how long ago you were a kid but kids don't care whats only suppose to be for adult and whats not, they'll get it one way or another.

They already do. Legalize marijuana, remove more of the street dealers, and make it more difficult to obtain on the street. Don't see too many moonshiners around these days...

Originally Posted by Evan

Alright... Cheese dude

You picked the worst time to post, im going to bed i'll be telling you whats wrong with your post in due time so don't worry.

And no i have never smoked pot and i never will.

Umm... Maybe thats why i seem to be the one with the common sense here.

I know this was not addressed to me, but I feel like I should respond anyway.

1. Learn to use peoples names. It shows a little respect, and people might be a little more apt to return it in kind. Cheese Dude and Snake Dude are not screen names used on this forum. There are however Cheesejoff and Snakespit.

2. Second, instead of telling people what is wrong with their posts, try telling them why you dissagree with their post. Arrogance is not a favorable quality in this setting.

3. If you never smoked pot, and have no first hand experience with it, where do you get your information from? I am just curious as to what sources you are looking at, and how objective the information presented by these sources is.

4. Suggesting that you are the only one here with common sense is rather myopic. What leads you to believe that the rest of us do not speak with common sense?

Originally Posted by Cheesejoff

It should be legalised as it's no more harmful than alcohol or tobacco.

Not only that but many marijuana users end up going onto harder drugs through contact with their marijuana dealer. Lesgalising it would break that link and actually reduce the level of drug addicts overall.

Furthermore you could tax it and put the money into more police to clamp down on hard drugs, which would be a good thing.

ah I see. So we take away the right of someone to do with their own body what they want to, unless they pay the government more money? Sound a little too much like bribery to you too?

And how would clamping down on hard drugs be a good thing? How about we concentrate on the real crimes in our society, and let people kill themselves/ruin their lives if they want to. Why should I be spending tax dollars (ok, well hypothetically, pretend I pay taxes) to force someone else to not hurt themselves? Sound a little counter-productive? And then we complain about a defecit? (Obviously that's not the main culprit of spending, but you get the point).

Originally Posted by zachvac

ah I see. So we take away the right of someone to do with their own body what they want to, unless they pay the government more money? Sound a little too much like bribery to you too?

And how would clamping down on hard drugs be a good thing? How about we concentrate on the real crimes in our society, and let people kill themselves/ruin their lives if they want to. Why should I be spending tax dollars (ok, well hypothetically, pretend I pay taxes) to force someone else to not hurt themselves? Sound a little counter-productive? And then we complain about a defecit? (Obviously that's not the main culprit of spending, but you get the point).

I believe that the taxation being spoken of here is simply for the people who would buy and partake of marijuana. By legalizing marijuana, our tax dollars used to prosecute and jail marijuana offenders could be put to better use. I think that is the point everyone is getting at. Marijuana is a soft drug, in my opinion less harmful to our bodies and society as a whole than alcohol. Users of marijuana are not people that typically make life difficult for others. Crackheads, heroin addicts, alcoholics, meth users, coke heads etc... generally are the people causing the biggest problems, and often people who commit many of the real crimes in our society. We could refocus our efforts at these people, and leave the harmless pot smokers alone.

I for one would pay a little extra in the way of sales taxes to buy marijuana legally rather than buy it on the street illegally.

Originally Posted by georged

That's the driving force behind most US legislation with a morality position.

What I was saying was, there are a lot of people who oppose legalization for other than moral reasons.

Originally Posted by Master_Shake

What I was saying was, there are a lot of people who oppose legalization for other than moral reasons.

Agreed, but morality is a tangible public force easily manipulated by political interests.

Originally Posted by Master_Shake

What I was saying was, there are a lot of people who oppose legalization for other than moral reasons.

Reasons such as what?

Originally Posted by snakespit

Reasons such as what?

Why would drug dealers want it legalized?

Originally Posted by sinjin

Why would drug dealers want it legalized?

As well, why would lawyers and officers of the court want it legalized? The drug system is a money machine not only for the bad guys but for the "good" guys too. Marijuana will likely NEVER be legalized simply because of the economic impact on the legal system....just as the Fair Tax will never happen because accountants and lawyers would have to find other teats to suck on.

Originally Posted by jim's trucking

As well, why would lawyers and officers of the court want it legalized? The drug system is a money machine not only for the bad guys but for the "good" guys too. Marijuana will likely NEVER be legalized simply because of the economic impact on the legal system....just as the Fair Tax will never happen because accountants and lawyers would have to find other teats to suck on.

Lawyers don't much care as possession busts for user amounts are now citations in most states with a shred of common sense, like a traffic ticket. Quantity, dealer and wholesale amounts, have gained the same level of distribution sophistication as alcohol did during that prohibition. With the exception of federal publicity busts, virtually anyone who wants pot can buy it from a very well-oiled and condoned system.

LE is a different story. A large portion of their war on drugs federal funding is still tied to marijuana while meth creates their real problems, crimes against property and people. As usual, the feds are a day late and dollar short.

As to the legalization of marijuana, I think its taxation potential will eventually override the morality and ignorance aspects. Most groups advocating legalization of pot have stayed with the civil liberty side of the argument. At the right time, as our economy continues its downward spiral, somebody will put numbers forth that look good to desperate politicians. With 34% of all Americans over the age of 12 and under 50 having tried marijuana, it's only a matter of time until common sense overcomes knee-jerk emotion and dogma.