Okay this is a pretty long post, if anyone takes the time to read it, I thank you.
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Originally Posted by whiteriot
i dont think people understand that marijuana and tobacco are different. Marijuana changes your mindstate and how you act/react to certain things. Therefore, if marijuana was legalized, they would smoke some pot, an when the high wears off, theyre gonna smoke some more. that means that the habitual users are going to be high ALL THE TIME. that is very unsafe, not only towards your healt, but towards other people, heavan forbid you decide to drive etc. if marijuana were to be legal, then there would have to be certain limitations on a limit to how legally high you can be. also, if marijuana gets legalized, it gonna be a lot less fun to smoke because everyone is going to be doing it, and its going to get boring. Im still saying nay to legalizing it, although i love smoking it.
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I'm glad to see that most people here are pretty intelligent when it comes to a topic like this. But I have a serious bone to pick with whiteriot. Your arguments really don't make much sense. You say "If marijuana was legalized, they would smoke some pot, and when the high wears off, theyre gonna smoke some more". When alcohol was legalized after prohibition, were a large amount of people drunk all the time? Of course there are alcoholics, and there are people that indulge in marijuana more than they should. And of course there would be limitations, like an age limit, driving restrictions etc., similiar to alcohol.
"Its gonna be a lot less fun to smoke because everyone is going to be doing it". Oh yea, so nobody goes to bars anymore. Drinking is not fun, because everybody does it.............. Need I say more?
"Im still saying nay to legalizing it, although i love smoking it."
No offense, but that truly sickens me. I hope that you one day get in legal trouble for it just to show you how it can really hurt your life and how wrong legalization truly is. As a legal adult, I have been in trouble for marijuana, and it was one of the most unpleasant situations in my life. I haven't let this affect my goals, and am still going to a pretty good college, getting good grades etc. But how dare you smoke it if you don't believe that legalization is wrong? So legal adults can drink them selves silly (with restrictions of course), and smoke cigarettes to their hearts content, but they can't smoke marijuana?
Marijuana is almost harmless when compared to alcohol. In my college and high school experiences, I have seen tons of situations where alcohol and weed are both present. Those who are drunk have fun, but often times get sick, violent, dont remember things, and do generally stupid things. While alcohol is a proven chemically addictive drug, weed is not. Alcohol has lead to automobile accidents, child/spouse abuse, and even murder.
I'm not saying alcohol should be made illegal, these are all terrible things that are obviously punished severely. There is just no legitimate reason as to why marijuana should be illegal and alcohol should be legal. What has a "pothead" ever done besides eat loads of food and sit on the couch? Although I can't account for all experiences, i've never encountered someone get violent when high. Its a good feeling, and a great way to relax after a week of work.
Besides these simple reasons, there are much more far reaching impacts.
Do you know how much money is spent on the oh-so-successful drug war every year? I believe the 2007 federal budget allocated about 12 billion dollars towards the cause, and that DOES NOT include the billions spent on local law enforcement, border control, and jailing thousands of non-violent drug offenders. And what has happened because of it? Well... Nothing good at least. More non-violent people are thrown into jail, and its still easy to get marijuana.
Then there is the entire issue of botched drug raids. Here are a few examples of pointless deaths caused directly by marijuana being illegal.
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84-year-old Annie Rae Dixon, a bedridden paraplegic, is shot and killed after police officers from the nearby town of Kilgore break into her Tyler, Texas home.
They have the wrong address.
Police later say one raiding officer's weapon "accidentally" discharged, firing the bullet that struck and killed Dixon. A jury would later acquit the raiding officers of any wrongdoing.
Sources:
Carol J. Castaneda, "Texas community again divided; Shooting ignites new racial tension," USA Today, August 21, 1992, p. A10.
Robert Suro, "Police Shooting Focuses Black Anger in Texas City," New York Times, August 10, 1992, p. 10.
"Jury refuses to indict officer in black woman's death," United Press International, July 11, 1992.
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In an early morning drug raid on October 2, 1992, 31 officers from five police agencies break down the door to the multimillion dollar home of Donald Scott.
Frightened, Scott's wife screams, "Don't shoot me. Don't kill me." Hearing his wife's screams, Scott emerges from his bedroom holding a handgun, still groggy from a recent cataract operation. When Scott raises the gun in the direction of the police intruders, the raiding officers shoot him dead.
Despite assurances from the L.A. Sheriff's Department that Scott was farming more than 4,000 marijuana plants on his property, thorough search of Scott's property fails to yield any contraband. In fact, Scott's friends would later say he was adamantly opposed to illicit drugs.
Daryl Kelley, "Ventura D.A. Says Fatal Raid Was Unjustified," Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1993, p. A
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Theres plenty more examples. When has marijuana ever killed a non-drug using person?
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Sorry to say, but drug related crimes weed out the reatrds and idiots who are immature enough to involve themselves with those kinds of situations.
Yes, inocent people sometimes get hurt, but sometimes inocent people get hurt driving to work because of heavy traffic, or because of drinking.
As far as I'm concerned, any mind altering substance is lame. Which is rather odd since I work in a liquor store, but shh!
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Oh yea, so all drug users are "reatrds" and idiots. Did you know that Freud (i'm assuming you know him, im not sure that you finished high school) was a user of cocaine? I have used drugs, and continue to in a safe manner, and hardly find myself "immature".
Don't worry, I feel bad for you. We need poor, uneducated people, closed-minded people like you to work in the service industry. Now go fetch me a bottle of Jack Daniels.
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You guys are making me want to test marijuana so bad.
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Don't let stuff like this affect your desire to try it. How old are you? Wait to make the decision when you are (if not already) outside of your parents home, and if you can do it in moderation.
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Damn the rest of the people that are smoking it for fun. Damn them because they ruining things for people that really could use marijuana not because it is a great high but because maybe just maybe for a few hours a day they can live their life pain free. I say if people want to break the law then put them in jail with murders and rapist and see if they learn their lesson. My tax money already is going to waste so put their little asses in jail for a two or three years I just hope the high was worth it.
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I definitely feel for your mother, that is a pretty sad story. But what you need to see is that BOTH can happen. Marijuana legalization is making decent headway both as a recreational drug and for medical use. Numerous communities have legalized it for one or the other, or both purposes. There is simply NO reason to advocate one and curse the other. I doubt many marijuana users are against medical marijuana.
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My point is that Marijuana would just continue to poison the community, especially if it was legalized. The damage it would do to future generations is not worth the crime deduction rate. Legalizing it now would only put give future generations of people the idea that it's alright to kill your body and brain in a slow, irresponsible way.
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I think I've answered previously in many ways that the advantages outweigh the negative effects. And how dare you claim that marijuana use is "irresponsible". How is somebody enjoying a bowl after a hard days work different than somebody enjoying a few glasses of wine? Are you also in favor of alcohol prohibition? According to your analysis, future generations are ALREADY doomed because they think its alright to kill yourself drinking alcohol.
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Have you ever seen a person high? They get really, really, really stupid. They also make you very irresponsible. I had a friend who scheduled to box another guy at least 2 weeks in advance. However, when the time actually came for them to box, the other guy got so high he cancelled on my friend cuz he's too busy being stoned.
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How does one instance of stupidity justify all the horrible things caused by it being illegal. Just as alcohol can be used in moderation, SO CAN MARIJUANA! This person obviously has some issues with drug use, and has his priorities severely mixed up. Its all about moderation.
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Drugs are especially harmful to teens-early adults. Studies have shown that the younger you are when you're exposed to drugs, the more likely its negative effects are going to damage your brain and other body parts.
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Well DUH! Reading these arguments make me feel stupid. EVERY SINGLE initiative ever DRAFTED includes provisions to establish (ussually) a 21 year old minimum age. JUST LIKE ALCOHOL.
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Negative effects of drugs does not only affect one's physical health, but also other dimensions of a person's life. In my school, we've learned that health is composed of 5 elemts: physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual health. Causing a dent in any one of those dimensions and other dimensions are bound to be affected.
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Are. You. Kidding. Me....
So we should make fast food illegal, because it damages physical health?
We should make sports illegal, because losing makes people sad and that hurts emotional health?
We should make cartoons illegal because they are stupid and mindless, hurting mental health?
etc. etc. etc.
Repeat after me. Moderation. Again... Moderation. JUST as alcohol can be safely used in moderation, so can marijuana.
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I would like to see marijuana legal but only for medical benefits. If it can help people that are suffering then I am all for it. Yes I know that it can will be abused by some but the good it can do out weights the bad for me. As for everyday use I say no we do not need another substance out there that impairs the judgement of people just so they can have a good time.
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So alcohol is fine, but weed isn't? Where do you draw the line? How about we just make alcohol illegal to, that impairs judgement. And what about the medicinal, relaxing, or creative qualities of marijuana?
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The abuse will probably outweigh the good it will do. I say keep it illegal. Potheads can go to hell.
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Well, Mr. Closed Minded... I'm not even going to respond to this.
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And you think leagalizing it will solve that problem? A harsher punishment system needs to be implemented so that people think twice before breaking the law. Prison time just doesn't seem too intimidating. Perhaps a heavy fine would do.
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First of all, its LEAGALIZING. Bad spellers should go to hell... And yes, LEGALIZING it would solve the problem of crime related to marijuana. Do you see tobacco dealers competing for dealing grounds in urban areas, using gangs of young teens to do so? Legalization = No need for dealers.
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Prohibition doesn't work because the government refuses to. Alcohol and cigs aren't illegal because the people in the position of power to prohibit, use these drugs themselves. They may not be addicts, but prohibition would restrict their own "fun" as well. I would guess more government officials smoke cigars than they do pot. Maybe nothing should be done at all. Just personally, I'm not fond of smokers of any kind. I'll put it that way.
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Okay... And where is any form of reasoning? I dont really understand your point, but at the point where billions of dollars are spent on the war on drugs every year, and its still easy as ever to get some weed, the prohibition of marijuana does NOT work.
Okay sorry for the VERY long post, but as you can see this is a topic that gets me VERY fired up on. And I can't believe I typed all this up immediately after typing a 15 page final paper for a class XD.
12-07-2006, 04:50 AM
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