Watched a movie tonight that made me think....Should pot be legal?

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Angi

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So I am am pretty conservative person, but tonight I could not find anything to watch ( Netflicks kind of sucks) Anyway I watched a movie called THE UNION. It is about Marijuana and why it is not legal and should be. It really made me think maybe it should be legal. I don't smoke and have not done so in over 20+ years, but I do drink which is probably worse. Pot is less addictive than alcohal, cigarets or caffine. So why do you think it is illegal? Why should it be illegal? Why should it be legal? As I understand the ones that have the most to lose if it were legal are the criminals.

Thoughts?
 

jackrat

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One of the most stupid laws ever passed,in my opinion.
 

dmmj

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Aa a libertarian I believe that an adult should be able to put what ever chemicals into their body that they want to. I don't smoke, or do drugs and rarely drink but I don't think the government should be able to tell you what chemicals are ok to put into your body and which ones are not. Now with that being said I think most people want the freedom to do drugs without the responsibility. As for why it is illegal I plainly think that most people want it illegal because they think once the government oks something that will encourage people to do it, I don't like drug user myself, so I don't hang around them, and all of the sudden the government giving the ok to marijuana would not make me want to do it, but I am not a normal person either. Ok I will stop rambling now.
 

Angi

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I am quite conservative and don't have a problem with laws that keep people from using dangerous things or things that will cause them problems that MY tax $$$$ will have to pay for. That said I don't see any problems caused by marijuana other than those from it being illigal. I would like to hear feed back that are pro and con. I guess I didn't think much about this until I had a teenager. I am much more afraid of him drinking. I know how stupid alcohal can make me. I also know how addictive it is.
David~I bet you would be suprised at the people you know that just don't let anyone know they smoke. I recently found out a few parents I know from the ballfield smoke. They were not who you would look at and guess... Oh ya he is a stoner. They were professional, family types with good jobs and nice homes. Blew me away.
 

mctlong

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No, marijuana should not be illegal, IMHO. If a grown person wants to smoke, let them. However, it is a myth that marijuana is not addictive. It is. Whether legal or illegal to smoke, I think its very important to educate the public, teenagers specifically, on the long term consequences and health effects of marijuana use.

I am annoyed at how much of my tax dollars are wasted on maintaining the marijuana laws. I would much prefer that money be spent on public education. A report done by Dr. Jeffrey Miron, professor of economics at Harvard University estimates that legalizing marijuana would save $7.7 billion per year in government expenditure on enforcement of prohibition. I think we should legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, like we do with alcohol and cigarettes. We're in a recession and it would be nice to create jobs and collect tax dollars on marijuana rather than spending billions enforcing the illegalization of it. Just my humble opinion.
 

Laura

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Im on the fence with it... Legalise it tax it and make money off it... if it was legal , would more people be using? more DUI? less enforcement...money saved there..
Cocaine used to be legal...
Alchohol is one of the worst drugs... and it totally legal.. and abused by some...

heck what about prostitution... make it legal and clean it up? get it off the streets, a lot of money wasted there too.. on both sides!
 

Tom

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I don't think "Big Brother" should be telling any adult what they can or can't do with their own body. We have laws, and a system, already in place for people who abuse any substance or endanger others while doing so. I'm a grown up. I don't need a mommy and a daddy to tell me what to do anymore.

Same thing for helmet and seat belt laws. I think it is moronic to ride a motorcycle with out a helmet, but I still don't think the government should be telling me that I have to...

Pot should be legal. I don't smoke it. I don't have any interest in smoking it. But the government has NO business telling me I can't.
 

HLogic

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The problem as I see it. Legalizing marijuana would cause the price to plummet - if it is legal, you can grow your own, like wine, beer & tobacco. Keeping it illegal keeps prison systems full, enforcement busy and the seizure of personal property associated with arrests 'legit'. More taxes can be taken to justify the building, maintenance and staffing of prisons and funding the fed, state & local drug task forces than would be made on something that anyone can grow more than enough for their own use and thus generate very little, if any, tax revenue. Follow the money, not the logic...
 

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I support the legalization of marijuana.
It's funny going to concerts and seeing people smoke anyways, out in the open :p

A few years ago my uncle found out his son was smoking occasionally, and he was so upset with my family when we wouldn't participate in an intervention :p He was like, "this is serious you guys...he is on drugs!" :rolleyes:

My mom has a little joint paint, arthritis, etc. just associated with aging...I think a little weed is just what the doctor ordered :p
 

CtTortoiseMom

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I don't drink or smoke pot, but it has always been my stand that if alchohol is legal, why not pot? I agree with Tom that the government should not tell us what we can or cannot do to our own bodies. I don't think that pot should be legal because a few professionals smoke it and are fine. I think it should be legal so that people can decide weather or not to screw up their lives without the government thinking for them. When Rob and I were buying our house we had to find a new lawyer on our closing day. He did not show because he was in rehab for abusing drugs. It's nice to know what he was using his retainer for.

If pot & alchohol why not all drugs? Population control at it's finest.
 

Jacob

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Marijuana Is Legal For Medical Patients, and a Couple Years Should Get Passed For Everyone Either 18 and over or 21 and over!

For The Past ten Years i Have Seen It Get Popular Going Threw School, Many Kids Smoked, I Never Did
But anyways I Have Seen Many People Use It In Public and Talk About It Like Nothing

I Do Believe That Drinking is worst, it causes many health problems, its worst and more addictive Then Marijuana!
If You Think About it If You Drink too Much you Can Kill Brain-cells and or Get Alcohol Poising and death


if You Smoke To Much Marijuana, The Worst Thing That Can Happen Is It Will Kill Braincells But a lot Less, You Might get Hungry, and Then Take A Nap!

I Personally Think That Marijuana is better is Some Cases then Drinking :)

But Everyone Has Thier Own Opinion And Argument
 

Angi

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Unfortunatly drug use does not steralize people and there are innocent victims, so that would not work for population control. I know a lot of people who have fosterd or adopted children of parents that used alcohol or hard drugs. They say alcohol is the worse for an unborn baby. The pain these kids go through is unforgivable:(. The cost to the tax payers is large and could last the life of the child .

The fall out from these things cost tax payers money. I pay a lot of taxes and would like a say in things that will cost me money. There for I am all for things that can really cause harm being illegal.

I still wonder, is pot bad or is that just what I have been told for 40+ years?
 

dmmj

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I can't imagine inhaling a burning substance into your lungs is a good thing
 

CtTortoiseMom

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I have known a lot of people that smoked pot when I was in highschool. The ones that are still smoking pot now 12 years later, have not changed much at all. They never finished college or even attended. They have rap sheets and are not financially successful. They are the ones who are in their early 30's with pot bellies and receding hairlines trying to pick up highschoolers and perpetually looking to "party". To me that is bad.
 

Angi

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That is very interesting Erin. I did not keep in contact with any drug users from high school. Meth was the new and popular drug where I lived and the kids that stuck with that were a real mess by 25.
I guess what I really wonder is, is it safe as a recreational drug. I am learning that many things about it I was taught when younger are not true. I worry and wonder about these things because I have a teenager.

LOL David I don't even like camp fires or fire places because I hate smoke. I have candles in my fire place and it has never been used.

Jacob your oppinion is interesting because you are close in age to my son.
 

ChiKat

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I have several friends that smoke pot. Most of them have college degrees and good jobs.
My oldest friend that still smokes is 27 and he lives on his own and has a great job. Movies seem to portray people who smoke in a negative light- dead beat potheads that sit around and get high all day. Hell, my friend is a nurse and she smokes on occasion :p
I wouldn't consider it harmless, but I don't see a problem with the occasional joint :p
I dated someone who smoked pot, cigarettes, and would binge drink. I preferred when he smoked pot over the cigarettes and binge drinking. :p (And yes, I re-evaluated my standards since ending our relationship :p)
 

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Every night my husband would tell my boys to pull the "weeds" growing in back of the pool. This went on for half the Summer. Most of the time we didn't see my husband, as he was climbing the ladder of success....out drinking with the boss every night. One Saturday, he was home and the "weeds" by this time were about 6 feet high. I heard the usual speech...."Can't you do anything with these kids?" I was abiding my time waiting to see how big "the weeds" would get and what was going to be done with them when they finished growing. They were really beautiful plants, and if you know me, you know how I love plants. Finally he couldn't take it any more and he pulled out all the weeds and chopped them up and put them in a big garbage pail in front of the house. I had to move fast, before we all got arrested, so I called my oldest son and told him to find his brothers and get home and get the "weeds" out of here fast. Don't hate me......I was a cool Mom. Just a fun story.
My sons are extremely successful and have a family owned business that does very well. I've never seen them smoke the stuff, but ..................
I too hate when the Government tells me what to put in my body....or anything else.
 

ChiKat

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Ha Terry!! Great story :D How did it get there in the first place?
 

terryo

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ChiKat said:
Ha Terry!! Great story :D How did it get there in the first place?

Little seeds were planted in back of the pool, (by my kids) thinking my husband wouldn't notice them as they were mixed in with the shrubs. I have a million stories like this one, and my grand kids always beg me to tell stories like this about their Dads.
 
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