My personal opinion is that there is no legitimate reason why it should not be legalized. I think that it is in fact less harmful than alchohol.

In all my years no one has been able to demonstrate why marijuana remains an illegal drug. Not medically, not legally. The laws regarding marijuana are archaic, at best.

I think they should legalize it and then tax the bejeezus out of it. Less stoners in jail and more revenue.

Remove the cops, the border hassles, the risk of transporting, add as much tax as there is on tobacco & booze now, and it probably woulnd't cost any more than it does today. Let the American farmer really grow it, which would add consistency of quality, toss in a few advertising firms to ensure competiton among brands, and the next thing you know, Merrywanna Inc will sponsor NASCAR.

I think they should legalize it right along with prostitution, as long as some one is an adult then treat them like one. I agree that if a person see's fit to get a buss then leave them be, as long as they are not hurting anyone else.

I think they should legalize it and then tax the bejeezus out of it. Less stoners in jail and more revenue.

My thoughts exactly! It also would hurt some of the gang and organized crime that exists from the funding that drug dealing provides.

Decriminalize, but don't legalize.

The image of truckloads of finely processed, super high quality pot moving freely about the country, readily available at your local outlet of Dealer Mc Dope's Fine Weeds just brings a tear to these bloodshot eyes.
Legalization makes sense in that it would take multiple pages out of the criminal codes nation wide, and bring tax monies right along with it. Everybody is screaming about the deficit, when taking pot out of the criminal picture is virtually a license to print money for every burg coast to coast. Give the cops some other breed of bad guys to chase around - like the purveyors of really bad drugs.

Smoking pot is a private decision, it's not the goverment's business.

For once I agree with Leper. People who smoke weed and think they are so independent, and open minded are really not using their heads. Why, oh why bring the government into someting willingly? have you lost your minds!?!( i forgot, they are high most of the time) Have you forgotten what government involvement does to good things? last I remember when I used to smoke weed worry free (at home), and buy it worry free (small quantities). The price was manegable and debateable, and sometimes you dont even need money. You willingly bring the GOV into it and now you got regulations up the ying yang, high prices, you will probably go on some kind of list, its a disaster. legalizing is really a bad idea. Keep it between the dealer and user, keep uncle sam out of it.

I see legalization as being the carrot at the end of the stick. Legalization not only takes it out of the criminal's ballpark, it brings revenue. Either way, changing the old laws will be a tough sell, but WTF, the Supremes just legalized sodomy, didn't they?

Actually, Travh, you do disagree with me. What I meant by keeping the government out of it is that I think marijuana should be fully legalized. Tax it extra? Sure, if the tax can be justified by costs to our government caused by the usage of the stuff, which I'm sure it could be. Of course, if you tax it too much, there'd be nothing stopping people from growing the plant in their backyard to avoid the tax, so I think taxing the "bejeezus" out of it would only make people use homegrown marijuana. Basically, I favor legalization of marijuana accompanied by a small to moderate excise tax.

Originally posted by DaveTooner
Decriminalize, but don't legalize.

For once, Dave, you're the one I agree with.

In fact I agree with everyone here that weed is not a major threat for health and that it should not be banned. But in the other end, there is one reason why it can be good to keep it illegal (but in fact tolerated). Many teenagers smoke pot as a petty transgression, something they can do knowing it is not legal but in fact rather harmless. If it was totally legalised, would they not be tempted to try something prohibited but more dangerous ?
Most teenagers are looking for limits to transgress. If we set the limits too far, with only very dangerous drugs prohibited, it may encourage some of them to very self destructive addictions. If we keep a "grey area" were one can use rather harmess drugs with the little additional thrill of "breaking the law", it can be enough for many kids who won't go further.
Maybe this seems rather twisted, but what do you think about this theory ?

Originally posted by astrapol2
For once, Dave, you're the one I agree with.

In fact I agree with everyone here that weed is not a major threat for health and that it should not be banned. But in the other end, there is one reason why it can be good to keep it illegal (but in fact tolerated). Many teenagers smoke pot as a petty transgression, something they can do knowing it is not legal but in fact rather harmless. If it was totally legalised, would they not be tempted to try something prohibited but more dangerous ?
Most teenagers are looking for limits to transgress. If we set the limits too far, with only very dangerous drugs prohibited, it may encourage some of them to very self destructive addictions. If we keep a "grey area" were one can use rather harmess drugs with the little additional thrill of "breaking the law", it can be enough for many kids who won't go further.
Maybe this seems rather twisted, but what do you think about this theory ? Yes it seems a little twisted to me. These illicit drugs are just as accessible as marijuana now. What's stopping the teenagers from using them? They have made alchohol illegal for teenagers here in the States. It has not made them turn to harsher drugs because of the age limit. When you are a teenager, you are going to experiment. There is nothing that can be done about that. Teenagers are young adults who are testing their limits in this world. The overwhelming majority of these teens realize that the harsh drugs are not the way to go through life. But like everything in history, there are exceptions to the rule. There are going to be teens who tragically lose their life to drugs. So using them as examples make no sense to me. They are not going to be able to buy it legally anyway.

Originally posted by astrapol2
If it was totally legalised, would they not be tempted to try something prohibited but more dangerous ?

All of the studies I've seen (or rather heard about on the radio) indicate that marijuana is not a gateway drug that leads to bigger and more powerful drugs. And FWIW, the potheads I've known never moved on to anything more dangerous.

Originally posted by LionelHutz
All of the studies I've seen (or rather heard about on the radio) indicate that marijuana is not a gateway drug that leads to bigger and more powerful drugs. And FWIW, the potheads I've known never moved on to anything more dangerous.


Yes, that's precisely my point. If some kids are attracted by pot because it is a transgression, let them transgress with that harmless product.

Originally posted by Leper
Actually, Travh, you do disagree with me. What I meant by keeping the government out of it is that I think marijuana should be fully legalized. Tax it extra? Sure, if the tax can be justified by costs to our government caused by the usage of the stuff, which I'm sure it could be. Of course, if you tax it too much, there'd be nothing stopping people from growing the plant in their backyard to avoid the tax, so I think taxing the "bejeezus" out of it would only make people use homegrown marijuana. Basically, I favor legalization of marijuana accompanied by a small to moderate excise tax.

ya, the government never over taxes anything :rolleyes:

you legalize weed, in 5 years you got mucho tax after all the ciggarette nazis see ther next cash cow, and states start basing their spending budgets on weed tax revenue. Leave it how it is!

LOS ANGELES (June 27) - Smoking marijuana will certainly affect perception, but it does not cause permanent brain damage, researchers from the University of California at San Diego said Friday in a study.

"The findings were kind of a surprise. One might have expected to see more impairment of higher mental function," said Dr. Igor Grant, a UCSD professor of psychiatry and the study's lead author. Other illegal drugs, or even alcohol, can cause brain damage.

His team analyzed data from 15 previously published, controlled studies into the impact of long-term, recreational cannabis use on the neurocognitive ability of adults.

The studies tested the mental functions of routine pot smokers, but not while they were actually high, Grant said.

The results, published in the July issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, show that marijuana has only a marginally harmful long-term effect on learning and memory.

No effect at all was seen on other functions, including reaction time, attention, language, reasoning ability, and perceptual and motor skills.

Grant said the findings are particularly significant amid questions about marijuana's long-term toxicity now that several states are considering whether to make it available as a medicinal drug.

In California, growing marijuana for medical purposes is legal under a voter-approved law.

The UCSD analysis of studies involving 704 long-term cannabis users and 484 nonusers was sponsored by a state-supported program that oversees research into the use of cannabis to treat certain diseases.

Anecdotal evidence has shown that marijuana can help ease pain in patients with diseases like multiple sclerosis or prevent severe nausea in cancer patients, but the effects have yet to be proven in controlled studies, Grant said.

The UCSD research team said the problems observed in learning and forgetting suggest that long-term marijuana use results in selective memory defects, but said the impact was of a very small magnitude.

"If we barely find this tiny effect in long-term heavy users of cannabis, then we are unlikely to see deleterious side effects in individuals who receive cannabis for a short time in a medical setting," Grant said.

In addition, he noted that heavy marijuana users often abuse other drugs, such as alcohol and amphetamines, which also might have long-term neurological effects.

Some of the research studies used in the analysis were limited by the numbers of subjects or insufficient information about factors like exposure to other drugs or whether participants suffered from conditions like depression or personality disorders.

"If it turned out that new studies find that cannabis is helpful in treating some medical conditions, this enables us to see a marginal level of safety," Grant said.

Originally posted by Travh20
ya, the government never over taxes anything :rolleyes:

you legalize weed, in 5 years you got mucho tax after all the ciggarette nazis see ther next cash cow, and states start basing their spending budgets on weed tax revenue. Leave it how it is! What's wrong with overtaxing marijuana? Or cigarettes for that matter? It's not like either of them are neccessities, so if you want to indulge you should expect to spend a little money. And maybe if the pot taxes are a cash cow, maybe personal property taxes will lower. Who knows, it could happen.

Well if they do legalize it, I'm going to go get me some, and then I'm going to have health problems and get into an accident. Then I'm going to sue the heck out of the pot makers. :D

Originally posted by HaVoK

What's wrong with overtaxing marijuana? Or cigarettes for that matter? It's not like either of them are neccessities, so if you want to indulge you should expect to spend a little money. And maybe if the pot taxes are a cash cow, maybe personal property taxes will lower. Who knows, it could happen.


OVERtaxing products is almost as bad and can be worse than calling them illegal; It's like the government saying that the rich may participate but the poor may not.

Some of us will still delight in being closet farmers, regardless of the legalization process. If you don't want to pay the taxes, then invest in some lights & a hydro system.