Im America children are educated about drugs at a very early age, DARE, Multiple 'I forgot my little brother at school while I got high' commercials and countless other programs instituted into young lives. The legalization aspect has nothing to do with parents and siblings supplying it to younger children, it could be illegal and they can still do so. E and coke are irrelevant because we are speaking of the least harmful:amount of use of illegal drugs.Legalization would decrease such Peer pressure scenarios. They will control amount of maryj on the streets by change in taxes upon the product, and what is stopping everyone from becoming potheads anyways if they drink and smoke? There is no proof that price would increase, the proposed method would be to take the profit and turn that into tax, but no numbers involved.

Basically, a quick summary, legalization really doesnt affect any of your points stated above.

i'm all for the legalization. for the same reasons JJJ gives in the first reply to this thread.

just a few more comments about other stuff i've seen in this thread.

as for who would grow it and how would it be effectively taxed.... tobacco + commercial farms.

the schizophrenia, i believe is already there but not diagnosed or treated properly in a lot of drug users. the sufferers turn to self-medication and pot is the easiest to acquire and effective in the short term.

traffic accidents? maybe if you're trying to roll a J or taking a bong hit while steering otherwise, i'd MUCH rather get on a street with 100 stoners than a single drunk driver.

as for the homegrown criminals? WTF? yes it's a plant that can be grown relatively simply, but just tossing a few seeds in a pot and waiting a few weeks isn't going to provide you with anything anyone would actually pay money for. did homebrew beer and wine kits really destroy the legal alcohol trade?

in regards to foreign drug trade? why the hell would north america have to import weed? the west coast grows some of the best stuff on the planet, and the east coast (at least in canada) is pretty comparable. unfortunately, weed in ontario effing sucks.

i like the proposed legislation that was floating around the canadian parliament around 2003. it would have decriminalized the drug, and made it legal for people to grow it for personal use. there wouldn't have been some so-called war on homegrowers unless the homegrowers were trying to compete with commercial providers - which is no different than any other agricultural product. there's nothing stopping me from growing carrots in my yard and selling them to my neighbor, but if i want to sell them to a store to resell them to the public then i need licenses and certifications.

economically i can't see how we'd be in a deficit by decriminalizing. commercial farmers get to start growing a resilient crop and therefore need less government assistance to make ends meet during rough growing seasons. even a modicum of taxation is a profit since no drug dealer on the planet would declare their weed income on their tax forms. law enforcement budgets would be able to better disperse funding to handle more pressing issues besides a stoner with the munchies or trying to scare grade school kids with misguided anti-drug paranoia.

Isn't marijuana relatively harmless if used with a vaporizer? Like even the cancer risks are gone?

You know. Doug Stanhope had a point when he said:

"Start the argument where it starts. I have the right to do whatever I want to my own body. If it kills me slowly, happy for me, clack-clack, stop me."

Or is that too free?

He also illustrated another good point on the subject:
"They have to make the argument about medicine, because it boils down to 'old ****s vote and we don't'... Old people have nothing better to do than judge you and vote... But they have to make it like, 'Oh, we don't want to get high. This is about Jim with Glaucoma. Here, wheel out milky-eyed Jim.' Because when they see the milky eyes, they're all sympathy and heart strings."

Personally, I side with the first point whole-heartedly.

That, and I think it's pretty silly that the United States government is keeping it illegal under the guise of "keeping us safe", when we all know that they sell drugs out the back door.

it is when you expect the public coffers to foot your medical bills once your throat decides its had enough of your smoke and walks out of your neck.

Made your friends worse, or their problems? This statement confuses me.

Involving you how? Smoking it with you, or around you? Or being high around you? What about those of us who smoke it and MB it up? Does that bother you, too?

So, at this point, I just want to say I'm not trying to debate with you. I just wanted a clearer picture and explanation of your initial comment on this thread. I think a crucial part in not letting the drug consume you whole is knowing when to stop smoking it. For me, I take a few months of here and there. Sometimes, up to two years off from smoking it. I think a lot of people get into the mindset of the habitual use of marijuana, and no doubt I am one of them, but there's a difference between nightcaps and having to smoke a bowl to feel "normal". These kind of smokers irk me. Also, smoking (or consuming any drug) to solve problems is disastrous.

Thanks for the thoughts. Probably the most mellow discussion I've had about marijuana with someone who's views aren't similar to mine.

Right now as is it's easier to get pot than alcohol.

editz:
My point being is that the black market part of it with time is likely to fade away. Not being impossible for minors to get but who cares.

I can walk upstairs right now and get some beer...

You mean its easier for you or in general?

Likely to fade following legalization?

Im a pot head, and I dont talk like that. In fact im currently on the Deans List and on my way to getting my degree.