Should US Legalize Marijuana?

blastingas10 · 02-04-2012, 03:27 AM

Answer the question.

blastingas10 · 02-04-2012, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tore

When discussing cannabis legality, it doesn't matter. Alcohol is already embraced by society and even though you could argue that alcohol should be illegal for the same reason cannabis should, that doesn't mean that one would have to accept that illegality for alcohol would be best for society right now. As I mentioned, it's a lot easier to legalize a recreational drug than it is to make it illegal. Making alcohol illegal will put every pub and many breweries, distilleries and wineries out of business and will make a ****load of people very unhappy. Those are negative consequences on society. The continued illegality of cannabis has different consequences than a sudden illegality of alcohol, so why do you feel everyone who argues against legalization of cannabis has to be for illegality of alcohol and all related negative consequences like every pub going out of business?

edit :

Are you taking this discussion seriously or are you just pulling my leg? Or is it a third alternative?

I understand that. But continuing the illegality of cannabis IS hurting the US economy.

Guybrush · 02-04-2012, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blastingas10

I understand that. But continuing the illegality of cannabis IS hurting the US economy.

Finally, a valid pro-legalization argument that I can respect. It's the first one I can remember seeing from you, so congratulations.

blastingas10 · 02-04-2012, 03:32 AM

It's so damn obvious, it doesn't need to be said. You can continue rambling on about the cons of legalization, but the fact is, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Engine · 02-04-2012, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tore

Pot makes a predictable amount of people sick when the numbers of people are very large because you can then use it in statistics. You can then say something like 6 in every 100 people who use cannabis will become schizophrenic compared to 1 in 100 who don't use it. Still, that doesn't mean the effect of cannabis is predictable to every user.

Of course the effects are not predictable for every user but, for what my observations are worth, I think your hypotheticals (6 out of 100 users sick vs. 1 out of 100 non-users sick) are pretty drastic. But, like I said, I haven't studied all the research so I'm just making an educated guess about this.

Quote:

Getting high is generally pleasurable, but can be a deeply traumatic experience to some. That's not uncommon in psychoactive drugs like LSD and shrooms. The same is not true for alcohol, hence people have to take other things in consideration when looking at the different drugs.

True but you only mentioned LSD, psilocybin, and alcohol here. Not marijuana which is the main topic, right?

Quote:

As for the rest of your post, I see little in it that I feel justifies the argument that the same scenario will play/is playing out for cannabis prohibition as it did for alcohol prohibition. Sure, cannabis could become infused in american society to the extent alcohol is in the future, but then those points will be valid in the future - not now. For the record, I don't believe cannabis ever will become as socially embraced as alcohol as long as it's prohibited, so (imo) the difference between long history of legality and sudden illegality versus the cannabis legal situation today is quite significant.

My argument is hypothetical and the legality of marijuana wouldn't be a sudden decision. The laws surrounding it have been controversial for nearly one century already.

And of course the embrace of marijuana's legalization is inhibited by its prohibition. Any relevant points that will be valid in the future are relevant now. Realization of this is how change begins.

edit: I think I addressed the economic problems that pot prohibition causes when I talked about how non-violent criminals who don't pose a significant threat to society are imprisoned with public funds.

blastingas10 · 02-04-2012, 03:47 AM

Tore, have you ever smoked marijuana?

Guybrush · 02-04-2012, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blastingas10

It's so damn obvious, it doesn't need to be said. You can continue rambling on about the cons of legalization, but the fact is, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Is that fact? Why are we at all discussing it then?

I accept that the pros of legalization may outweigh the cons of the current situation, but the best solution overall could be decriminalization.

.. And on a side note, perhaps fixing the american prison system so that it's not one huge boot camp for criminals. From here commenting a bit crudely, it looks like every time you put someone in jail, that person comes out a worse menace to society than when he or she went in. Of course any law that puts a lot of people in prison under those circumstances will tax society tremendously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blastingas10

Tore, have you ever smoked marijuana?

Yes, like so many, I experimented in my youth, but never did it much because I'm another one of those who do get paranoid on cannabis (which was a surprise to me). My friends today are generally not cannabis users.

blastingas10 · 02-04-2012, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tore

Is that fact? Why are we at all discussing it then?

I accept that the pros of legalization may outweigh the cons of the current situation, but the best solution overall could be decriminalization.

.. And on a side note, perhaps fixing the american prison system so that it's not one huge boot camp for criminals. From here commenting a bit crudely, it looks like every time you put someone in jail, that person comes out a worse menace to society than when he or she went in. Of course any law that puts a lot of people in prison under those circumstances will tax society tremendously.

Yes, like so many, I experimented in my youth, but never did it much because I'm another one of those who do get paranoid on cannabis (which was a surprise to me). My friends today are generally not cannabis users.

Most definitely.

From an economic standpoint, legalization would do great things. It would generate so much money into the economy and It would create many jobs (it already has in states that have legalized medicinal use). And when your country is in as much debt as America, and unemployment rates are at all Time highs, those things are very important.

Guybrush · 02-04-2012, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blastingas10

Most definitely.

From an economic standpoint, legalization would do great things. It would generate so much money into the economy and It would create many jobs (it already has in states that have legalized medicinal use). And when your country is in as much debt as America, and unemployment rates are at all Time highs, those things are very important.

I fully accept the validity of that point and it's the argument which first made me reconsider my stance on this issue many pages ago (or was it in a different thread?).

Urban Hat€monger ? · 02-04-2012, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blastingas10

Most definitely.

From an economic standpoint, legalization would do great things. It would generate so much money into the economy and It would create many jobs

That nobody will want to do because they're all stoned

02-04-2012, 03:27 AM	#581 (permalink)
blastingas10 Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,126	Answer the question.

02-04-2012, 03:32 AM	#584 (permalink)
blastingas10 Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,126	It's so damn obvious, it doesn't need to be said. You can continue rambling on about the cons of legalization, but the fact is, the pros far outweigh the cons.

02-04-2012, 03:47 AM	#586 (permalink)
blastingas10 Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,126	Tore, have you ever smoked marijuana?