Medical Marijuana Blog

An unbiased discussion on all aspects of Medical Marijuana.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Should Marijuana be Legalised?

Please express your views on legalisation of marijuana in general.

Do you think medical marijuana should be legalised or should all marijuana be legalised. Alternatively would it be best if marijuana was illegal in all circumstances.

Click here for our other popular legalization of marijuana post.

Click here for places in the world, where medical marijuana or marijuana are legalised.


posted by Mark Levins @ 6:18 PM  

93 Comments:

  • At 11:53 PM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    I do not think that marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes. If anyone would like to argue this statement, please post a comment.

     

  • At 6:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    why should it not be legalized? its has been proven less then half as harmfull as tobacco and tobacco is legal is it not?

     

  • At 2:13 PM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    Yes tabacco is legal, but that doesn't mean that marijuana should be too. It still is very harmful with not many positive effects. Why do you think it should be legal?

     

  • At 7:22 AM, Blogger Mr. E Man said…

    I am a freshman in college, and I have been smoking marijuana since the beginning of my freshman year in high school. I want to tell you what kind of student I was. I was brilliant. I got extremely well grades, and I scored a 27 on the ACT.

    Marijuana has never made me sick, upset, dependant, or has never caused me to lose one job. I also have consumed alcohol in certain stages in my teenage life. When I have consumed alcohol I have been sick, depressed, angry, emabarrased and hurt on countless occasions.

    What I don't see is the reasoning behind the legal drug choice. There hasn't been one recorded death by marijuana, EVER, but look how many alcohol and tobacco have. Like the legendary Bill Hicks said, "It's okay to drink your drugs, we meant those other untaxed drugs. Those are the ones that you can't do."

    How I see it is that whatever you want to do in your spare time, as long as you doesn't directly effect anyone else in a negative way, should be fine to do. It makes sense to me, and someone else would seem ignorant to me if they didn't see the logic behind it.

     

  • At 7:44 PM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    I agree, marijuana has never directly killed anyone, but, it does slow your motor skills. So therefore, marijuana has caused people to get into car accidents, even if you don't want to believe it. Also, marijuana does have negative effects on the body. First, smoking anything can cause cancer as well as many other diseases. Second, marijuana affects the reproductive system. According to Haibin Wang, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center states,
    “Exposure to THC causes retarded development and oviductal retention of embryos.”

    Also, marijuana has negative connotations attached to it. Kids today do not think marijuana as being that bad because they believe that it is medicine. This is not true. Marijuana only has one positive medical attribute, THC. So if THC is all that you're looking for to curb any illness, take Marinol. It is an FDA approved drug that has synthetic THC in it.

    All studies done with medical marijuana are inconclusive. People are just looking for a legal way to get high. I do not believe that your support justifies your claim.

     

  • At 8:11 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    People are just looking for a legal way to get high...

    People already have a legal way to get high. It's called alcohol, and the damaging effects of legal alcohol far outweigh those associated with marijuana.

    Tobacco is another legal way for people to get high. Need we say anything here about the dangers of tobacco?

    Caffine, another drug, is basically an "upper" and a highly addictive and unhealthy one at that.

    I'm willing to go out on a limb and make the assumption that most of those who support the prohibition of marijuana have probably tried alcohol, maybe even tobacco, but have never once tried marijuana. Prohibitionists should make a truly informed evaluation by understand for themselves (i.e., first-hand) why it should or should not be legalized.

    --R.C.

     

  • At 6:32 PM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    Ok, I agree with your claim that tobacco and alcohol have very negative effects on the body. Marijuana does as well though. And since the first two are legal, why should we legalize the third? Have you ever heard of the saying, two wrongs don't make a right? Just because tobacco and alcohol are legal does not mean that we should legalize marijuana. And to comment on your limb, it is a hasty generalization to say that all opposing the legalization of marijuana have never once tried it. Your opinion means much in an argument, but don't start to stereotype people. That just makes you look uneducated.

     

  • At 2:33 AM, Anonymous Santa said…

    With even the slightest bit of research one is able to see that there is no evidence proving marijuana is safe enough to be made a medicine. In fact according to Dr. Donald P. Tashkin, "not only does the tar in a cannabis cigarette contain many of the same known carcinogens as tobacco smoke but the concentrations of these are up to 50% higher in the smoke of a cannabis cigarette." So you must not think that smoking tobacco causes cancer? And there obviously are cells in the body that are receptive to THC, otherwise why would people smoke it? The THC is absorbed into the body and this is what gives the feeling of being "high". It may not necessarily be the THC that could cause the cancer but the other harmful chemicals that come with the act of smoking. I'm not saying that smoking does cause cancer, but the possiblity still exists and it is absurd to make the statement you did. Not only may it cause cancer but it can weaken the immune system, damage the brain and have reproductive side effects. For example, the National Institute on Drug Abuse research findings indicate some damage to the brain similar to those seen after long term use of other major drugs of abuse. Dr. Sheena Lewis of Queen's University did a study that showed that THC made sperm less likely to reach the egg to fertilise it and that smoking men have reduced semen volume and total sperm number. These few studies just show that cannabis is not necessarily as safe and you make it seem.

     

  • At 5:18 PM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    I agree with what the last blogger, Santa, has to say. Everyone else who has written on the blog lacks solid evidence to justify their claims. They are making the inference that if other drugs are legal, and possibly more harmful, then marijuana should be so as well.

     

  • At 4:10 AM, Anonymous Ali said…

    Marijuana should definitely be legalized for medical use. It has been shown in numerous cases to help those suffering with serious illnesses. Why should we continue to let those who are sick suffer when there is something out there to help them?

     

  • At 4:20 AM, Anonymous Brian27 said…

    Do people actually think it is reasonable to prosecute and fine americans for smoking a plant that is a lot less dangerous than a pack of cigs or a bottle of vodka? Where is the logic? Do people actually enjoy paying tax dollars towards the prohibition and arrests of users who enjoy a good joint from time to time? People need to look at the big picture instead of making laws that are pointless.

     

  • At 6:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    In response to jmgaertner about my hasty assumption (which arguably is based merely upon personal observation and not scholarly research), have you ever tried marijuana? If so, what was your experience with it that has helped lead you to your conclusions about it?

    Yes, however, I do agree it can be a dangerous substance from time to time, but not so harmful that its legalization for medicinal or recreational use would be as major a threat to the health or well-being of the general public as some assume. It would be regulated, just as alcohol and cigarettes are regulated, as dangerous as they are. I do not believe, however, it would be the unholy terror its being made out to be if its usage is controlled, as it is in parts of Europe.

     

  • At 3:25 AM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    Yes, answering your question, I have tried marijuana, it is hard to think of many people who havent. I'm not going to say it was a bad experience, but that does not mean it should be legalized. And yes, maybe the legalization of it wouldn't lead to a terrible outcome in society, but it would by no means lead to a more productive one. It is proven that marijuana has more negative effects on the body than it does positive. And for medicinal purposes, there are more effective drugs that have been approved by the FDA to curb illnesses. And whoever said that it has been proven in many research studies that marijuana is helpful for illnesses needs to do their research. Most of the testings done are either inconclusive or biased. I'm sure that you could find some doctor out there that says heroin has medical uses and it too should be legalized. And looking at the "big picture", have you ever thought what might happen ten years down the road if marijuana is legalized? You all think that it is going to have this wonderful effect, but nobody stops to think of the backlashes it could have. As we all know, marijuana is a gateway drug, please don't argue this, it has been proven, therefore, more people could start to use it and move to other drugs. Also, what kind of message is this sending to our kids? Smoke marijuana, its good for you? I'm sorry, I just have a hard time believing that smoking a plant, disregarding how far we have come in medical technology in the last hundred years, will solve our problems.

     

  • At 8:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think that marijuana should be legalized. I am a freshamn in college and have been using marijuana since high school. Never once have a missed a day of work or school because of this drug. If anything it helps me relax from a stressful day.

    Think of the economy..the legalization of mary jane would reduce the black market crimes and violence connected to the sale of marijuana.

    Think of health..you hear in the news how some kids "freak out" from the use of marijuana. This is normally because the drug is laced with some other drug, which is a very bad thing to do because you can actually die from this. If we made it legalized there would be no chance for it to get laced and they would probably have a set amount of THC allowed to be sold.

    And lets just face it many people smoke it anyways and I don't see what the harm would be if we made it legalized. The same people who like the drug will be able to get it legally and the people who don't like the drug just shouldn't purchase it then.

     

  • At 4:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Firstly i'd like to say that the debate on this page is well thought out and healthy. However no one has mentioned the impact the legalization of marijuana will make on the surrounding world. For instance, how would it's legalization impact the illegal drug trafficing industry, the mob and gang industy, the financial hole our country has dug inself trying to prevent its use, and the extra money now being spend on beefing up the boarders.

    It is tru that marijuana can be quite harmful to the subject and the people around the user. However i doubt its legalization will be conducted without a detailed set of new laws regarding its use. For instance a breathalizer, or some other type of device to test a induced driver.

    regarding the medical aspect, it is a proven fact that all medicines have different effects on everyone, that is why there are a hundred different medicines for headaces, acne, insomnia, etc. In order to find the most productive "match" for a person medically i think that marijuana should be considered into the pool of prescriptions.

     

  • At 6:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    jmgaertner, I find your thoughts on the matter to be educated and well thought out. However, I disagree with them. For the same reasons of course. I have done the research and taken the time to thoroughly look into this cause. I support it. I currently have a ten page research paper that I put together citing many sources INCLUDING government run facilities, countless doctors and researchers. So let me say, marijuana is not a gateway drug. The source of that comment comes from a study done by the National Academy of Sciences. It states that "There is no evidence to support the belief that the use of one drug will inevitably lead to use of any other drug. In other words, persons at the top rung of the ladder of drug use will have used all substances at lower levels, including marijuana. However, those at lower rungs may stay there and not move to higher rungs of the ladder".

    To say that it causes deaths is also a little premature in my opinion. The National Institute of Drug Abuse, or NIDA, states, “Marijuana is rarely mentioned in death reports, and when it is, it is almost always cited with alcohol or another drug.”

    Do I support the use of marijuan for recreational purposes? I tend to be on the fence on that. Like alcohol, if used responsibly, then I see no problem. So I believe the use of it recreationaly should be left up to the user. However, marijuana and industrial grown hemp can benefit the public in many ways outside of smoking it to get high. Perhaps ALL aspects of marijuana should be looked at before automatically saying NO.

    I have a full report on marijuana from many sources. I would be happy to share it with anyone who wishes. Simply let me know how to get it to you.

     

  • At 2:52 AM, Blogger jmgaertner said…

    Well guys, its been fun arguing with you over this two week period. A lot of good claims have been issued on both sides. On the other hand, a lot of people who submitted comments are uneducated and irrational. To those people I say, learn the facts before you try to sound like you know what you're talking about. I thank you all for the reason I got into this long argument was for a college class. You have all aided me in my final project and I thank you. I hope that you all go out and educate yourselves on the facts at hand and further argue intellegently. For my stance on the issue, I could really care less if marijuana was legalized for any purpose. I honestly don't think it ever will be legalized, but like I said, I'm impartial to the issue. Thanks again, its been fun.

     

  • At 12:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    well im a 16 year old and let me tell u grass has been the best thing that happend to me i love it. it helps me think and feel things i never felt before i love it and i think that marijuana should be legalized for the good of man kind


    thank you for readin my message

     

  • At 5:01 AM, Anonymous Dana said…

    actually, i happen to have my research paper on the legalization of marijuana due tomorrow. before i did it, i didnt really care if it was legal or not. i smoke, and i thought it would be cool to not have to hide it all the time and actually be able to buy it in a store, but i wasnt really on any side of the issue. now that i did research on the whole topic (thats how i found this website), i completely and passionately believe that it should be legalized. i dont think i could do anything about it really, but if i could id do everything i could. i dont know why i feel so strongly about the issue, but its just happening, and i just read all of these posts, and i decided id share something too. i have to finish my works cited for the research paper. thanks if you took the time to read all of this. i might stop by again sometime. you guys seem really cool and i love a good debate to than you for that "argument" that went on. =]i hope everyone got to see the best in it like i got to.

     

  • At 12:10 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Marajuana shouldbe legalized because people are going to be using it regardless of whether or not it is legal, and those who do use it should be protected by the food and drug admisistration, who would make sure that it was safe and not laced with another harmful substance. Most people who smoke marajuana do not know what is in until it is already in their system.

     

  • At 10:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    well jmgaertner u have sum very well educated comments but im afraid i disagree wit u on most of em:

    1. a marijuana joint does leave more tar in ur lungs than a cig but did u ever think dat ppl arent goin 2 smoke as much bud as they do cigs? plus tha thc in tha buds also acts as an inhibitor dat stops cancer from developin. it kills old cells quicker so there is actuallu less chance of gettin lung cancer smokin buds than there is smoking cigs. n u cant 4get vaporizers.

    2. there is no concrete proof that maryjane makes u steril because it doesnt. it might lower ur sperm count but the loss is so minimal dat it doesnt even make a difference.

    regardin the claims made by santa:

    3. marijuana does not damage the brain even after long term heavy use. in fact it takes 200 times the amount of smoke needed 2 get u high 2 actually start damaging the brain n i shouldnt even need 2 tell u dat it is physically impossible 2 smoke dat much.

    on another note:

    4. think about the stupidity of it all. a PLANT is a crime. a completely NATURAL plant. how can a plant b a crime? y not criminalize trees? i bet if u smoked enough of anything ud get a buzz of some sort. it's stupid and useless 2 make ppl serve sentence because of smokin a plant seriously. especially wen most of em r more educated about life than the rest of the population thats caught up in their material world. its a gift that was put on this planet 4 a reason. tha ppl dat truly understand it n smoke it appreciate life in a completely different way. they understand just how precious a gift life is and kno not 2 waste it all on the trivial matters of materialism. thank u 4 readin my thoughts

     

  • At 11:01 AM, Blogger seraphimbelial said…

    its more of a personal freedom issue.go read the constitution,the deceleration of independence and the 1937 marijuana tax stamp act and the 1967 i believe controlled substance act. you own your body what you do with it is nobody else's buisness especially the federal goverments.i think i fore fathers would be appalled at the socialist/fascist/totalitarian state America has deteriorated into.Another point income tax.why did they come over to the americas in the first place?!?1......

     

  • At 2:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Marijuana ruined my life. I am a 16 year old girl who had a nice family in Floria and a bright future to dream about. My mother's marijuana use put her In a Texas prision and myself in foster home. You say marijuana never "hurt" anyone? I am a 16 year old girl who saw her dreams fall apart after she was torn from her school and placed in a foster home without a loving gaurdian. Marijuana does hurt. I promise.

     

  • At 12:55 PM, Blogger sean said…

    here's my opinion.

    if the government told you that there's a flying spaghetti monster flying, i bet hundreds of thousands of people would believe it.

    if you filtered 1 Oz of marijuana, and 1 Oz of tobacco through a paper, or cotton filter, you would see that tobacco has far more tar than marijuana.

    you can use any drug irresponsibly, anyone anywhere can abuse almost any drug that they want. whether it's asprine, alcohol, caffeine, ANYTHING.

    why should the government be able to decide what you do with your body?

    the government tried to ban alcohol, so people just made their own, well the government has banned marijuana, and no matter how hard they try people are always going to be making their own.

    i believe that tobacco and alcohol are far worse than marijuana.

    some people say that marijuana is "very harmful" and that's why it is illegal. Too much of ANYTHING can be very harmful

    i think that a lot of people that absolutely hate marijuana have never tried it.

    why judge a book by it's cover?

    i'm tired of people saying that marijuana kills. tons of things kill people. like land mines, guns, alcohol, tobacco, sting rays, and cars.

    I believe that marijuana should be a drug that can be used by responsible adults.

     

  • At 11:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wow, both peoples' arguments on both sides are blotched. The people that say that it will have no good effects on society are wrong; the other side that says it is not harmful are also a little wrong.

    If marijuana were legalized and regulated it would most likely lead to lower hard drug rates, as well as lower prison incarceration rates related to drug offenses. This would allow law enforcement to concentrate more on violent crimes. Both those would lead to lower tax rates as well, because there would be a.) less inmates that need to be paid for (to be in prison that is) and b.) not having to pay for anti-drug services; not limited to anti-drug propaganda (which is financed by tax money), drug enforcement, and drug related bills. Those changed would lead to a country that would be able to spend more money on issues that people really need to be brought up in the public eye.

    Marijuana as well as many other psychoactive drugs are, in fact, not overly harmful to any person, there are exceptions however. Marijuana contains no carcinogens that can lead to cancer related illnesses; some marijuana paraphernalia even help out to reduce harmful effects caused by smoke to the lungs. I refer to water-pipes, or bongs if you will, that use water filtration systems to make smoke cleaner and smoother (and that is in fact better for the lungs). Right there we can rule out that marijuana leads to respiratory impairments.

    Weed does not have any overly negative effects on the brain as well. It does in younger, prepubecant children around the ages 14 and younger. That is when some marijuana experimentation is begun by some users, and in that case, yes it will lead to some off balance chemicals in the brain. As for older users about 15 and up, the brain is more developed and imbalances and impairments are more easily avoided. Around these ages, the ages most begin high school, is when most experimentation is done by users. People that use cannabis recreationally that also have chemical imbalances (such as depression) are more likely to gain some more serious form of mental illness; that is once again not likely to happen with many people.

    Several other psychoactive drugs such as LSD, psilocybin or psilocin containing mushrooms, salvia, mecaline and mescal containing cacti, ectasy, and etc. do not have harmful effects on people. Bad reactions do occur. Bad reactions can happen from any drug (alcohol and tobacco included); these bad reactions come from both chemical make up and the mentality of the person using.

    Methamphetimine, cocaine, crack cocaine, adderall, caffine, opiates, and a whole assortment of stimulants and prescription pills are more likely to cause dangerous bodily harm. It is these types of drugs that are more likely to lead to addiction and dependence. These are the drugs that need to be focused on more because many of them are more easily available to teenagers as a large number of them are prescribed to them. This allows for easier access to them because kids are able to sell them. Many people who have easy access to these can easily trick a doctor into giving them more.

    Marijuana does have medical purposes, whether you would like to like to believe them or not. Marijuana can be used to treat glaucoma, nausea, appetite control (to increase or surpress), it can greatly relieve pain in many people suffering from AIDS, children with ADD/ADHD can eat cannabis to increase their performance at school (albeit the dose has to be very carefully recommended), and there are several breakthroughs that are being worked on that cannabis can help. I'd say that those are some positive effects of marijuana if ever there were any. You're more than welcome to debate them if you'd like. You're going to be wrong as those have been announced by universities, hospitals, doctors, and even government officials.

    The priorities of this country are backwards. Prohibition does not work, that was proven 80 years ago. As long as there is a demand there will be a supply. If America is really a free country they should not be allowed to say what goes into each and every of its "free" citizens. People are allowed to drink even though it causes brain damage and liver damage, yet they are not able to ingest psychoactive substances that a group of politicians do not like. That goes against the very principle of freedom.

    The War on Drugs is a joke. Its main target is urban minorities who smoke a small amount of pot every once in a while. Most of its efforts are wasted on marijuana, while meth usage and harder drug rates are skyrocketing.

    America should worry more about violent crimes instead of people who get high and don't do anything.

    I'm 16 and a regular marijuana user.

     

  • At 11:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    alcohol vs marijuana


    When you smoke marijuana and get "high", you are much more capable of controlling yourself then you are being drunk. When people have a few drinks and get "tipsy" it seems as if you have no to little control of your body. When you smoke marijuana you can easily control yourself. Marijuana is more of a relaxer which at the same time takes stress away. Also i have noticed that when there is parties you usually do not see much marijuana at these parties, but you see a large amount of alcohol which causes people to drink and drive when they return home. I can honestly say that drinking alcohol is much worse than smoking marijuana. Marijuana is a natural substance which has non-deadly chemicals, whereas alcohol is man made with deadly chemicals. Another thing that i have noticed is that when people smoke marijuana they do not tend to go in rage, and when people consume alcohol some of people do tend to go in rage. I do not see why marijuana is illegal and alcohol is not. When we compare all these different facts it seems as if alcohol is worse for you opposed to marijuana.

     

  • At 8:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Marijuana should definitely NOT be legalized. It is harmful to many parts of the body, and is a foolish thing to smoke! U cud get cancer from smoking ANYTHING, really.

     

  • At 7:10 PM, Anonymous iknowright said…

    If people think marijuana is bad, what about the drugs that are prescriped and over the counter drugs. I have seen peple get addicted to that kind of "Legal" drugs really bad. like sleeping pills, side affect dependency. If marijuana was legalized, then would it still be considered a drug?
    I have been smoking marijuana for a while and i am a senior in high school. It hasent affected my learning ability. hell my grades are better then they ever have been. Also if there is no proof of any harm from weed then what is the problem, if people want to role a joint let them and if any thing ever bad happens from just weed tell me, it will be new to me. Hell is something wrong would happen its probably the HUMAN ERROR. because we are all idiots

     

  • At 6:50 PM, Anonymous Jake said…

    both sides have very good points. maybe it is a morality issue that we should be working out, not consumption of cannabis. im 16 and a regular user, and im am doing extremely well in school, family, and all aspects of lifew including health. im a downhill mountainbike racer, and i would have noticed health imparities immediatly. so far, i have noticed none.

    The US war on drugs places great emphasis on arresting people for smoking marijuana. Since 1990, nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. In 2000, state and local law enforcement arrested 734,498 people for marijuana violations. This is an increase of 800 percent since 1980, and is the highest ever recorded by the FBI.

    ANNUAL AMERICAN DEATHS CAUSED BY DRUGS

    TOBACCO ....................400,000
    ALCOHOL ....................100,000
    ALL LEGAL DRUGS ............ 20,000
    ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS .........15,000
    CAFFEINE .................... 2,000
    ASPIRIN ...................... 500
    MARIJUANA ...................... 0

    thank you for your time and dont discriminate based on beliefs or actions.

    2007 http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/index.html

     

  • At 4:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    i would love to see the research report im kind of working on the same thing for my grade 12 class and it might help me a bit

     

  • At 7:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    People focus on many of the wrong issues when they argue for or against the legalization of marijuana. I do not believe it should have anything to do with how harmful tobacco is or alcohol is, because we are not trying to prove it just isn't as bad as currently legal drugs. The point that should be made is the fact that marijuana is a substance that has very few, and even these few are argueable considering the lack of any conclusive evidence, harmful side effects. Sure it could impair driving, but no greater than sleep deprivation. Yes it is possible that heavy smoking can cause cancer, but no conclusive studies have even come close to proving a link to marijuana and lung damage. The effects are so long standing and mild that you would have to smoke constantly for your entire life to be harmed. I do not know about any of you out there but I tend to not worry what 100 years of smoking marijuana will do to me considering I will not live that long to begin with.

    You can sit and argue that there MIGHT be negative effects and that there is always the possibility you are harming yourself, but why does everyone waste time, energy, and money just to fabricate arguements to support an ideal that was created under false pretenses nearly 70 years ago. The law itself was passed based on lies and subversion by a politician. Citing fake studies and claiming support of groups that later denounced they had ever offered their support.


    Today's society has labeled anything that makes you feel good is obviously sinful and evil. You can sit here all day and rattle off harmful effects of foods and chemicals we use every day. Chocolate, Cheese, Meat, Milk, Caffiene. Everything has negative effects. In fact I would dare someone to list 5 things on this Earth that you can put into your body in any amount and not see harmful effects. Even water in large amounts will kill you... someone died the otherday locally in a water chugging contest because they overhydrated.... come on. Illegal marijuana is punishing people who choose to relieve stress using a plant that someone else has deemed unsafe. You think you are protecting anyone? How many lives are you saving per year by ruining 800,000 American's lives? At what point do those people's rights come into play? You argue the if's and the maybe's of harmful effects, but if you added all of the if's and all of the maybe's and all of the could be's together do they equal to even a fraction of the amount of people who's lives get ruined every year by unfair marijuana laws? Why do those people not deserve to be protected from vindictive self-righteousness and unconstitutional laws?

    I really fail to see the reasoning why people feel so strongly about moderating and controlling other people's actions in these regards. If you are truely worried about our children and the safety of our fellow citizens, you would focus on all the things that are wrong without even introducing an outside catalyst.

    I want to leave you with this to think about for anyone who feels so strongly against the legalization of marijuana.

    Over 30 million American's smoke marijuana according to recent survey. Your children and your neighbors are already smoking it, legal or not. What do you hope to accomplish by keeping it illegal? Do you think your children will make their choice to not smoke it because the government tells them so? Children get raised into people by their parents, not by the government and its laws. Otherwise we wouldn't have criminals. The only accomplishment of illegal marijuana is jailing otherwise model citizens and ruining lives of their families and their children. All because of some citizen's moral self-rightiousness, and because they believe they should be able to tell everyone what to do with their own bodies and their own children and their own lives. My children aren't your concern any more than your's are mine. If you really want to protect your own children... try teaching them what you feel is right, because they do belong to you, at least for a while. Maybe you should take a good hard look at your personal reasons for wanting marijuana to be illegal, and see if any of those reasons are even related to you at all.

     

  • At 5:49 PM, Anonymous Mason said…

    Marijuana is a natural plant that grows in the dirt! We have soo many other drugs that are worst! Marijuana isnt a gateway drug 70 percent of people that treid marijuana stay with it....that is really fucked up that its not leagalized! many poeple smoke weed, if the government would leagalize marijuana more than half of the county jails would be set free. More people are in jail for smoking this herb than rapists are! Some poeple spend more time in jail for a substance that makes you feel good, than rapisist! now plz tell me that that isnt fucked up...wouold you rater have a rapist in jail...or a pot head?

     

  • At 11:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Holy christ , im 16. me and my buddies have been blazin for a long time , we are all in school, and i have a job, license..all that stuff a teenager should be tryin to get. marijuana doesnt make me lose memory. when im high i cant focus my attention as much in certain areas like numeric equations and stuff. anyhting els , instrument playin or whatever seems to work out well.
    i've drank and done alot of other substances , ,alchohole,mush,lsd,oxycotton,yayo,dxm , and so on.
    marijuana seems to me like it cant be related to all those things..it just simply doesn't impair you enough to change your personality. theres alot of bad stories with alchohol that ive heard,witnessed and experienced. most of the people who dont want it legal , dont touch it. If you dont prefer it..then dont use it.Dont hate what you dont know!... but for the large % of people who would like to use it, should be able to. wheres the freedom at? id rather buy marijuana from a store aswell with quality control rather then a local neighbourhood dealer.
    we're just pointing out all this dumb shit about it that isn't true half the time such as marijuana causing teenagers to vandalize and damage property.......?????!??? dumbest shit ive ever heard. i've never heard someone wanted to smoke weed and wreck stuff... why??!
    tobacco is just not appealing to me, ive smoked marijuana enough to have my good taste standards. and cigarettes are filthy shit, they kill small cities.
    aswell there is no marijuana-cancer link. i looked it all up. numerous sources. simply a case of the law vs millions. theres no addiction to marijuana, even tho i smoke every day. i take days off without any withdrawl or any moody behavior because of not having marijuana. whenever i feel sick , first thing i do is go and blaze a fat j or a massive bowl. makes me eat some food, makes me rest. sleep. wake up ready to do something(unless im still sick). Caffine is probably worse, yet its never look down on. most of the legal stuff is always more harmful and harder to get anyways...its easier to buy some marijuana over a lighter. but yeah in conclusion...legalize it. i dunno if you guys are from the states or whatever but in canada alota ppl toke and we all love it, and were all successful people. legalize it. keep illegal "narcotics" and all that garbage illegal.sorry for writing such a long paragraph everyone. it's just my view.
    lets live a little.
    (unedited)

     

  • At 11:28 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    oh and to that 16 yr old girl who had marijuana ruin her life cuz her parents are in a texas prison and shes in a foster home..yeah maybey if it was legal people wouldnt be locked up for such as smokin marijuana. keepin people in jail costs money every year. open your eyes. The law doesnt stop people from using it. must suck to know that your own country is against you. ALOT of you.
    in amsterdam people smoke it less often then we do... thats because they know something bout having structured drug laws that actually work. thats because marijuana is normalized over there rather then dramatized like it is in Canada and the United States.
    -16 yrl old guy from ontario

     

  • At 5:30 PM, Blogger EvilPoet said…

    The wheels of the propaganda bus go round and round... Sheesh - talk about moldy oldie propaganda! Truth be told - it should never have been made illegal in the first place. It's all about what it's always been about - politics. Nothing more.

     

  • At 10:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    yeah i definetly think it should be legalized. if marijuana is illegal, then why isn't alchohol or tobacco? Plus marijuana is the least harmful out of the three. Its even less addicting than caffeine! WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THE GOVERNMENT

     

  • At 3:04 AM, Anonymous smiley said…

    I am an advocate marijuana smoker i think marijuana should be legalized not just for the average stoner but for medicinal use. In that it helps cancer patients, Glaucoma, Nausea, pain, Multiple sclerosis, Arthritis, and muscle spasm. As a user of marijuana I know it does not make me crazy or want to hurt anyone only makes me calm and relaxed lets me forget about all the bad things. If any thing makes me want to eat allot n break out in laughter. Marijuana should be the only substance legal because the amount you need to overdose is way more than alcohol and anything else. Smoking cigarettes is more dangerous than smoking pot the only reason why it's not legal is because the politicianer's are afraid of what will happen to the country, I think they need to try it and they will say "hey this ain't that bad I feel really good...where's the chips at man". Anybody who thinks different post a comment and argue my statment.

     

  • At 3:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    this page has yielded some very interesting opinions on both sides. i personally believe that cannabis should be legalized. marijuana use affects the user only so who are conservative politicians to say that they shouldn't have that right? I advocate marijuana legalization, not because I myself use it from time to time, but because of the reasons for which it is illegal are illegitimate. I have read many political arguments and watched many television shows on this subject and many prohibitionists are blinding themselves to the truth. some of them say that legalizing it will send the message that the government condones the use of marijuana and even other psychadelic and addicting drugs.
    To me that is a lame excuse since all the government would have to do is ban advertisement of marijuana on the television and radio and put a health risk label on the packages that are sold by local cannabis clubs and ban it on school property. The government is very hypocritical about prohibition anyways, since they relegalized alcohol simply for the fact that it's criminalization led to an enormously profitable bootlegging industry. But now legalization for a proven less harmful substance is suddenly out of the question in modern times?? No one has ever died from smoking pot so I don't see how that is justified. One thing the DEA doesn't understand is that marijuana is much easier to obtain for most minors than cigarettes and alcohol. Take it from someone who has friends who try to get people to buy those things for them, there is always someone to sell pot to them. Some prohibitionists say that legalizing marijuana will lead to increased use in minors. I believe the opposite and will explain why. Street drug dealers don't ask for I.D. when selling marijuana so any kid can buy it no matter what age. Okay now think about this.....if it was legal, those street drug dealers would go out of business simply because marijuana would be much cheaper if controlled by the government, since otherwise everyone would keep buying from the illegal dealers who would sell cheaper. Then ONLY 18 year olds and up (assuming that would be the legal age to buy) would be able to buy marijuana. Of course while some argue that kids could still ask adults to buy it for them, there is obviously no solution for that just like the government can't stop adults from buying kids tobacco and alcohol. But not every kid who smokes weed is going to know an adult who smokes it also...so the chances of them getting access to it would actually be smaller. Another benefit to legalization is that street gangs in ghettos and large cities would no longer be able to rely on dope as a means for profit to purchase guns, ammunition, and even harder drugs. Even the most adamant opposer of legalization can't argue with that. Of course if it was legalized I'm sure there would be laws on driving high...
    Marijuana is no more addicting than any other type of fun and withdrawal symptoms, while rarely heard of, are very mild, but it would take heavy, prolonged, and frequent use of cannabis to get withdrawals. It has PROVEN health benefits in cancer patients and many people are helped by it who struggle with depression, insomnea, glucoma, ADHD, and many other illnesses. There are more subtle benefits to legalization besides the smoking of the plants buds. Hemp............
    simply put
    http://www.sustainablespirit.org/why_hemp.html
    in your browser and you'll see why

    Marijuana legalization will lead to a greater hemp industry which would benefit our economy immensely not to mention the extra money the government will make from the tax on marijuana. I urge you to read up on this topic before voting on any major proposition that may come out in the future because knowledge is power and ignorance is weakness.

     

  • At 8:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    everyone always says the bad side affect of marijuana is lung cancer and what not... they now have a device called a vaporizer which cannot damage your lungs b/c it only takes the thc out of the bud and into ur system... no smoke involved just heat... ITS GENIUS i love vaping.... drinking is way more damaging than thc... esp in the long run you just have to use ur weed in the right way

     

  • At 8:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    do people know how many perscription drugs are out there in the states that are sooo harmful they can damage ur organs for life... yet marijuana has no link to cancer or anything so what the fuck? LEGALIZE IT ALREADY... and replace it witha ll the perscription drugs that are killing our nation... we all know that perscription drugs is a HUGEEEE business...



    ahh this country is so corrupt... thanx bush!

     

  • At 8:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    if only cops would focus on the more important things they should worry about... aka crime, hard drugs, etc etc marijuana is a peaceful substance that would only bring more peace to the world... something we honestly need

     

  • At 9:16 PM, Blogger madmom said…

    My Son was diagnosed with marajuana induced phycosis just three months ago. He is expected to recover no sooner than a year. Before he was hooked on pot, He would light up a room with his smile and outgoing personality. Everyone wanted to be around him. Now the only people who call are the ones trying to sell to him. His freinds completely abadoned him. His heart is broken. And it breaks my heart to watch this wonderful person deteriorate. Be a good friend and don't get your freinds involved in your habit.

     

  • At 3:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I'm a freshman in high school and i think marijuana should be legal because people with anorexia do not eat and everytime that i smoked marijuana in my life it has always relaxed my brain and maybe the people with anorexia it would relax there brain and they would forget about not eating a eat something

     

  • At 2:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    It sucks that your son was hangin witht he wrong crowd, i once sold pot to but i would never call people to sell it, they knew i would just have it. If some one did not wont to smoke i would keep them away from it because it does have a mental addiction to it. I wish i could smoke right now but the legal system say's no, PEE TEST. So i am four months clean and hate it. I have my depression back, i go through really bad emotoinal swing's from being happy to sad. I have started smoking even a cig just to calm my nerves when i get my anxity attacks. Some times a get so frustrated and can't calm down. I seem to not be able to find it right now but some one in this blog claimed it lowers your immunity system bull shit ever since i started smoking pot in 9th grade now being a freshman in college i have not once been able to be sick. If i get nusiated i smoke a joint and i feel fine, no stomach pain just not a steady eating habit. Have you ever really notice to that all the poeple that do smoke pot, well in my group of friends they are all healthy not over wieght at all. This is true from young stoners to old hippies, they are all pretty much in shape, not 150 to 300 hundred over the limit. Maybe it's becuase that the stoners spend a little more of there funds on grass, not the soda and donuts.

     

  • At 5:31 PM, Blogger killa said…

    I think it should be legalized because it is a proven fact it does not kill brain cells people just think that...but thats all i gotta say cause it makes me mad when people say marijuana is bad for u ...tobacco is bad marijuana is not wat does it do that is so bad...answer that..

     

  • At 1:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    While Congress, the president, Liberals, Conservatives, and the media are arguing about the War on Terror, they're neglecting another war that has been raging since the Nixon administration, America's War on Drugs.

    We're not losing the fight against drugs, nor are we winning. Instead, we're sitting in a 21st century trench warfare in drug policy. The drug war needs revitalization, a strong commitment to success and new, unconventional ideas to achieve a long overdue victory.

    Starting off, America should legalize marijuana. I know, I know. I'm a right wing, gun-toting, anti-abortion, racist, woman hatin' ultra-conservative, what am I doing endorsing the legalization of an illicit drug?

    Quite frankly, it makes perfect sense, and you can't win the War on Drugs without first decriminalizing marijuana possession in America. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't smoke marijuana, never have and never will. I think it's wrong, but that shouldn't keep Joe somebody who sits next to me in history from doing so, especially when it's so economically advantageous for the United States.

    According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 96.7 million Americans (40.2 percent) have tried marijuana; an estimated 25.4 million (10.6 percent of the population) smoked marijuana last year alone. If there's one area of which the United States government is an expert, it's taxation. Let's suppose that all 25.4 million of those people smoked an average of five grams of marijuana throughout the year.

    If we estimate each gram of marijuana costs $20, of which the government enforced a 25 percent per gram tax, the U.S. government would have received an additional $635 million in revenue last year.

    Legalization would not only increase the U.S. pocketbook, but save money as well. Last year, there were 1.7 million drug-related arrests in America. Of that 1.7 million, 771,605 were marijuana-related and 684,319 of those were for possession.

    Enforcement of laws prohibiting marijuana cost American taxpayers an estimated $4 billion in 2004. Yet, frequently conducted studies from numerous sources indicate that marijuana is nowhere near as dangerous to health or property as tobacco, alcohol or "hard" drugs.

    Tobacco, alcohol, hard drugs and anti-inflammatory medication such as Aspirin directly accounted for a half-million American deaths last year. Direct deaths from marijuana totaled zero. In fact, the average marijuana user would have to consume 5,000 times the normal amount to die directly from its use.

    Marijuana also is less addictive than caffeine (interesting side note: Nicotine is more addictive than heroin, cocaine and alcohol). Legalization would have to come at a cost, however.

    Entry of marijuana into the United States and its production in America would need strict regulation to ensure consumer safety. So count out maybe $1 billion of our generated surplus, and we still would have $3 billion left over to continue to fight the truly evil drugs.

    The additional $3 billion generated could be used instead to combat the remaining hard drugs, which do have pronounced physical and social effects on Americans. Prosecution simply is not enough anymore. I wish our citizens were smart enough to know that drugs are not healthy, and imprisonment is an effective deterrent to drug use, yet, neither of those are true.

    That's why treatment also must play a key role in eliminating drugs in America. A simple solution I've heard for a while now is for every dollar spent on drug enforcement the government should spend a dollar on treatment and prevention programs. Most of you reading this went though D.A.R.E. during elementary school. D.A.R.E. is an outstanding program that demonstrates to children the dangers of drug use.

    These types of programs should be extended in our schools and at home. More money cannot be the only answer. Simply throwing more money at a problem doesn't make it go away. Parental involvement is needed to help curb drug use. Parents should be involved in their children's drug education and if they chose not to, should be held accountable.

    It would take a decade or two, but once you've inoculated a whole generation against drug use, you really can begin to stamp out drugs in America.

    While you continue various programs in America, work has to be done abroad to curb the amount of drugs available in the United States. Currently, cartel leaders essentially control Central and South American countries through money. They pay off political leaders, the military and even local citizens to ensure their autonomy and safety.

    You see, fighting drugs is much different from fighting terrorism and radical Islam.

    Radical fundamentalists appeal to a shared ideology, drug cartels appeal to people's wallets. That's how we can appeal to those citizens. If money can buy their support, then it's our place to out bid them.

    Drugs can be fought in much the same way as the Cold War, by outspending those who sell them. Cartel leaders are essentially businessmen. Their tactics are harsher than your typical Fortune-500 CEO, yet, at the end of the day, their goal is the same, to make a buck.

    With the economic resources of the United States government, we can make cocaine and heroin production unprofitable. Political pressure and economic sanctions can be put on countries that allow cartels free reign.

    The United States has the clout, the economic power and the will to win. It'll take time, effort, money and forward thinking by Americans, but it's not that hard.

    Legalize marijuana, start education against drug use earlier and use the power of the dollar to destroy drugs at their source. Thirty years is much too long to still be dealing with this problem. It's time to end it, now.

     

  • At 4:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    People who smoke cigs and drink alchol know they are harming themselves. so do the people that smoke pot. well im not hurting anybody. why cant i just sit at my house and smoke a fucking joint and not worry about the cops knocking on my door. I made the decision to smoke knowing all the shit it does to me. and i dont care. its a "free" country. yeah fucking right. the government has taken all our rights away. i was arrested with possesion and now i have mandatory rehab. they diagnosed with some bullshit depression and anxiety and acute marijuana withdrawl. so they gave me some habit forming anti depressants. no one can fucking tell me thats better than just smoking weed. i have to meet with a therepist who is trained to help people stop drugs. he feeds me all this bullshit about how weed is wrong and bad blah blah blah. theres people out there suffering from real addictions such as heroin or crack and hes wasting his time on me who has never done another drug other than weed. so fuck the government and fuck the police. just fucking legalize it.

     

  • At 2:40 AM, Anonymous 4/20 everyday! said…

    Positive Effects of Cannabis Sativa(Weed):

    1) Marijuana has been known to treat asthma. More than 15 million people are affected by asthma in the US. Smoking cannabis or marijuana would be benficial to 80% of these people. "Taking a hit of marijuana has beenn known to stop a full blown asthma attack"-Dr. Donald Tashkin

    2)Glaucoma(Loss of Vision)- Smoking cannabis would benefit 90% of the 2.5 million glaucoma victims.

    3)Tumors- Successful studies show that smoking cannabis can reduce tumor size.

    4)Nausa Relief-"Cannbis is the best agent for control of nausea in cancer chemotherapy"-Dr. Thomas Ungerleider

    5) Muscle Spasms-Cannabis is benefical for 60% of all epileptics. It is denfinitely the best treatment for many, but not all types of epilepsy and for victims of post-seizure mental traumas.

    6)Herpes.
    A direct contact with THC killed herpes virus in a University of South Florida 1990 researcg study by Dr.Gerald Lancz. "Smoking marijuana will not cure herpes"

    7)Lung CLEANER and Expectorant.
    Cannabis is the best natural expectorant to clear the human lungs of smog, dust, and the phlegm associated with tobacco use. Marijuana smoke effectively dialates the airways of the lungs, the bronchi, opening them to allow more oxygen into the lungs.

    8)Sleep Stress and Relaxation-
    Cannabis lowers blood pressure, dilates the arteries and reduces body temperature an average of one-half degreem thereby relieving stress.Evening cannabis smokers in general report more restful sleep.

    9)Increase Appetite-Users of Marijuana ofeten experience "the munchies" a stimualted appetite for food, which, at this time, makes cannabis the very best medicine on the plant for anorexia.

    10)Bio Mass Energy- Cannabis can be made into energy or fuel. It can replace many of the fossil fuels used today. This can be accomplished if cannavis is grown for biomass and then converted through pyrolysis(Charcoalizing) or biochemical composting into fuels to replace fossil fuel enerygy products.

    11)Art Canvas- The paintings of Van Gogh, etc. were primarily painted on cannabis canvas, as were practically all canvas paintings.

    There are many other postive effects of Cannabis, but in order to list all of these effects it would take me forever!

    World War II was the most recent time america(gov.) asked our farmers to grow Marijuana, even though it was outlawed 5 years b4.

    Drugs---Deaths
    Tabacco----340,000-350,000
    Alcohol----150,000
    Aspirin--180-1,000+
    Caffeine---1,000-10,000+
    "Leagal" Drugs---100,000+
    Illicit Drugs---3,800---5,200
    MARIJUANA----00000000000000

     

  • At 6:49 PM, Blogger mary jane said…

    i think smoking makes you happy... and if it makes you happy then y the hell not smoke the refer!! like serioulsy lighten up..literally... -mary jane

     

  • At 5:11 AM, Blogger 33/6 JoelGaddis 14 said…

    Marijuana psychosis is total BS. hate to tell you madmom, but if your son says thats all he was on, hes lying. or, also very possible, he was getting laced weed. people who have low quality product will often spray it with Raid or some other pesticide, which ultimately gives the same result as huffing. although most people will beat the living tar out of someone caught "raiding" because it is basically poisoning people, and just plain mean. ive smoked marijuana for years with zero side effects. Marijuana isnt a drug, its only a plant. a drug, by definition, "is any substance that alters normal bodily function". This would make a laxative a drug. give me a break people. The ONLY reason its illegal, is because its hard to track, therefore hard to TAX. if people gave marijuana away, it wouldnt be illegal. yet the prescription drugs that totally ravage our bodies and do more harm than good, are given out like candy. i have a back disorder, i can go to the doctor and get hundreds of narcotics monthly. yet, weed, which works more effectively, and has NO dependency, can get me in trouble. narcotics are habit forming (this keeps the $$$ pouring in to the drug companies, who are in bed with the government. do your research people) and can easily alter your mind and control of your body. take a couple of zanex, your lightheaded, dizzy, your WHOLE body is effected. smoke a joint, back pain gone. maybe a relaxed feeling. nothing more. same for anxiety. i have nerve problems. what is the only thing that relaxes me? weed. i will not take any medicine now, at all, period. because it does more harm than good, regardless of what big business tells you. if it cured you, they wouldnt sell it. they fix one problem temporarily, yet causing 3 more, and whalla, thats more medicines your buying. cholesterol medicine, for example, destroys your liver. i can veryify 100& what 4/20 everyday! said about asthma, because IT CURED MINE. i was diagnosed with asthma very young, took 5 medicines a day for it for years. didnt help a bit, i couldnt run, i couldnt play sports, anything. the doctors said it would only get worse with age. about a year after i started smoking weed, my asthma was gone completely! not to mention it cured my depression, and is the only thing that helps my insomnia and anxiety. every myth about weed harming you has been proven false. it does not kill brain cells, it doesn't contain more tar than cigarettes, etc... and to the guy who said weed costs $20 a gram, i would love to get ahold of that stuff, lol. try 5. 10 for the REALLY REALLY REALLY strong stuff. Marijuana is not psychedelic, it is not addicting, it doesnt alter your judgement, the only side effect would be the munchies, and sleep . and carpentry, according to george carlin =). alcohol and cigarettes are far more harmful than weed, and thousands of people die each year from alcohol related incidents each year, rather it be drunk driving, liver disease, or stupidity. why is it legal when weed is not? TAX $$$. moonshine is the perfect example. when people started making it themselves in the '20s, they outlawed it, because it bypassed taxes! when they passed a law making it illegal for home brew (under 5 gallons a year for personal consumption ((not sold, therefore no money involved, therefore no taxes)) IS legal though, FYI) and therefore guaranteeing taxes, bingo! its legal again. it does not effect your thinking OR motor skills either, and I can also prove this personally. i am in college, got a 27 on my ACT, and could tell you more historical/political/religious information than anyone on this blog, guaranteed. now im not insulting anyone on this blog, or calling you unintelligent, i just spend hours a day discussing, researching, and TEACHING this information. as for motor skills, i study mixed martial arts, practice, and teach them to friends and family. my motor skills aka reflexes are beyond superb. it also has greatly influenced and improved my music, as i play drums (also showing motor skills. if you play drums, or have even seen drums played, you know this takes serious motor skills and coordination). it is also inspirational. not one of you can deny, without weed, we wouldnt have HALF of the music we have today that is considered "classic" and "great". everyone wants physical evidence, there is no greater physical evidence than the body, and mine is the perfect example. i am not dependent, and never have been. i can smoke nightly, and i have also gone months without smoking just fine. around where i live, weed is not even taken seriously by employers or police. if you apply for a job and take a piss test, and weed shows up, they could care less. police? if its not in great quantity, most dont care, some will simply take it (btw, many police smoke weed. when they "confiscate" a joint or 2, it seldom makes it to the evidence room. and im not making this up, i have many friends in police). if you have less than 4 ounces on you, (which is a LOT for the average user. here, 1/4 ounce of decent bud goes for $60. that makes 4 ounces $960, unless you are good friends with the seller, which usually gets you a quantity discount, making it about $800. still some serious dough.) its a minor misdemeanor. your weed is confiscated, a ticket given, AND THATS ALL. the majority of people who are so anti-weed, have NEVER TRIED IT. thats like a 5 yr old saying he hates broccoli when hes never had it. those of you with kids know what i mean. reading other peoples opinions on the internet doesnt mean a damn thing. i can tell you the moons made of blue cheese, and put it on 100 different blog sites, but that wouldnt make it true. if you havent smoked weed, and personally experienced all these so called negative consequences, SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK OF WHAT YOU DONT KNOW! Have you ever heard the expression "Its better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"? case in point. if you go around waving all these "facts" about weed, but have never so much as had one hit, then to all the users who can testify to the TRUTH, you look like an ignorant jackass, and are laughed at. if you want to participate in a discussion about weed, go light up a joint, then come talk to me. until then, dont bother speaking, because you are un-educated on the subject and therefore your opinion doesnt matter in the slightest. it would be like me arguing about if childbirth hurts. i could say it doesnt all i wanted, but my opinion would never be given a second look because im a man therefore I DONT KNOW! exact same situation.

     

  • At 8:10 PM, Anonymous shmoiger said…

    hey anonymous, can u email that report to dairyfarmer11@yahoo.com?
    i would love to see that. i agree with you and the rest of the clear thinkers in this world.

     

  • At 7:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    no law should incriminate 20 million americans...

    If marijuana was fully legalized then independent drug dealers would be gone, gangs would have to resort to selling harder drugs which in turn would mean less gangs because of supply and demand.

    Would this lead to less crime because a highly used drug becomes similar to cigarettes?

    In turn would this lead to a higher rate of abuse which is NOT the goal of legalization?

    The question is whether the positives of legalization out weigh the negatives. I believe less crime and more money from taxing the drug and not prosecuting offenders out weighs the possibility of increased abuse. But can the last issue be solved by using the tax dollars to increase funding for education on all drugs and alcohol beginning at a younger age.

    Finally, it is my belief that this issue is often segregated by two sides. One is the side who have personal stock in marijuana (i.e. use) and the other is against it for a personal reason (i.e. family abuse, death by car accident, decreased motivation). I believe that this hampers the ability to look at the issue the right way; that is to leave personal beliefs behind and make the decision that betters the community (or country) as a whole.

    I guess legalize... but i still go back and forth

     

  • At 3:12 PM, Anonymous redfroblueiz@aol.com said…

    For all of you that think marijuana should stay illegal, I ask you why? You cannot give me a even a halfway descent reason. You view marijuana the way you do because of its illegal status. Does any of you know why marijuana was added to the narcotic list as a schedule 1? Because it was commonly seen in the era of the hippie being used. The negative views of marijuana came from added use from LSD, Cocaine, Heroin, and etc. Marijuana has been proven to be less harmful than anything legal now. Even less harmful then most medicine prescribed by your doctor. Its all good though, the day of legalization of marijuana is coming, the hippies in the day are now the ones that judge our laws are coming into office.

     

  • At 3:13 PM, Anonymous redfroblueiz@aol.com said…

    LEGALIZE MARIJUANA!

    Write a letter to the govenor, to the president, and the supreme courts, put your voice out there. Let's end this prohibition against marijuana, and persecution!

     

  • At 10:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yes... I do think that cannabis should be legal. Marijuana is a natural pain killer. And has 0 deaths in the world. If you asked me tabacoo is a drug compare to marijuana.

     

  • At 11:16 AM, Blogger Dankster said…

    The only reason its not legal is because the greedy goverment cant put there tax on it. Its harmless i have been smokein for years n i mean i have fucked up in my life alot but that is because of boose n thats legal because they put there tax on it. You never hear about people dieing from blowin some blunts but u hear all the time about alchol related deaths its bull shit n we goin to the same jails as actual criminals its all bull shit

     

  • At 7:42 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Marijuana is physically harmless and not, for most people, a psychologically overpowering drug. In practical terms of it itself, there's not really much of a reason for it being illegal, especially in any country that allows the sale of alcohol.

    Notice, though, that although alcohol is much worse for you, it's not considered a "gateway drug". Why? Because it's legal. It doesn't get grouped together with the other recreational drugs. Drinking alcohol is already ok, society accepts it. Smoking marijuana is not.

    So when you smoke pot and find out that it really is harmless and enjoyable, you question, to some degree, other similar restrictions. Hopefully, you'll do your research before getting into anything deeper, and a lot of people do. Unfortunately, many do not.

    I really don't think marijuana itself is inherently a gateway drug. Society's thoughtless imposition of negative labels is the culprit. The solution is to be more honest.

     

  • At 4:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    if im a cancer patient and i need marijunan to keep my food down ...who the fuck are you tell me i cant smoke it ..if it helps to lessen my pain who the fuck is the government to tell me not use it ?

     

  • At 1:22 AM, OpenID emerica41289 said…

    first of all- Im 18 years old, almost 19. If you guys want pot to be legal than vote for RON PAUL. but anywho- you guys keep talking about alcohol and tobacco...the government wants us to use their over taxed products to get us f-ed up. why would the government want us to take marijuana when we could get their shitty pills that ALL have bad side effects. every pill that is advertised says.."it may cause stomach cramps diareah, vomating..etc." lets see what pot does...it takes the edge off of everything. makes you happier (oh wait, the government doesnt want us to be happy), it makes us FEEL GOOD, you eat better and the only side effects that it gives you is that you are tired (so it will help you sleep if you can't) and you may be tired in the morning. I know a lot of kids that say "oh man, i came high to school and did BETTER on my test then when i would come sober. POT INDEED helps you. don't lie to yourself and say it doesn't. VOTE RON PAUL.

     

  • At 3:23 AM, Blogger Britney said…

    MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED! Jmgaertner says that legalisation of marijuana would make society less productive. However, many people find this to be untrue. When I smoke, I use it for inspiration on my artistry, meditation, and general relaxation. Also, if you do your research there are many strains of marijuana which are specifically grown for social interaction. Not everbody gets lazy and goes to sleep. Many people with insomnia also use an indica strain of marijuana as an alternative to FDA "approved" drugs. These FDA drugs may cause the immediate relief of your ailment, but only cause negative side effects in the long run. By the way, FDA drugs are chemically made. These chemicals have toxins in them which slow down and clog our bodies. Marijuana, (when grown organically) should have no toxins in it, unlike our "friendly" FDA drugs. The same goes for any organic herbal remedy. Walk into a health food store and try it.

    And also, jmgaertner, I would like to see the proof of marijuana being a gateway drug. I also find this to be the opposite. I had two friends who were addicted to cocain. As we all know, this is a highly addictive drug. We used marijuana to kick their previous addiction. Now, they are no longer addicted! Marijuana is not addicting, and it is NOT a gateway drug.

    Medical technology is most of the reason why we have so many health problems. FDA drugs cause more side effects. People take medicine to relieve side effects from other medicine! It's a terrible cycle. Herbal remedies do not cause these problems and neither does marijuana.

    In short, marijuana grows naturally in the ground, beer and other drugs are made by man. Which one do you trust? Not the man made!

     

  • At 1:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    first off i'd like to say that jmgaertner is way outnumbered here. second i am a high school student i started smoking marijuana in 6th grade. i am a straight a student i had straight a's last year and finished with a 3.8 gpa. this year i am a sophmore in all honors classes with a 4.0 gpa currently. this is a statement directed at jmgaertner. the day before mid term i smoked a blunt and a half of highly potent marijuana. i made a perfect score on my chemistry exam a 97 on my spanish exam and 90 on my english exam. the 90 was my lowest score. so how can u prove that marijuana would create a less productive society. if u honestly think about it america isnt that productive.

    we have police dedicated to finding drugs. dont you think there are bigger things to worry about other than marijuana? shouldnt we be out persecuting rapists, murderers, and theives instead?

    if u ask me our priorities are wrong here. marijuana should be legalized but it should still have laws. put the laws for marijuana use the same as those of alcohol. dont drive while u are impaired. the statement that it impairs judgement is used in repetition as a safety blanket just as something to fall back on. alcohol impairs you by far worse than marijuana will. look at it this way: what constitutes alcohol for legalization but not marijuana?

    basically what im saying is that marijuana should be legalized with the same laws and penalties as alcohol. its a mood lifter, it makes you happy, it makes you more comfortable with yourself, its an anti-depressant, okay if marijuana was legal we would probably have a happier society that is more likely to accept others for who they are.

     

  • At 1:55 PM, Anonymous