Should cannabis be legalized?

Bri

I am glad you are asking this question. But remember, if you tell the truth (which is that it should be legalized) you will have to back up what you say with sources. Luckily, one of the world's most respected charitable organizations just put out a report which says that:

1. cannabis is less harmful than drinking and smoking
2. the war on drugs has backfired
3. the answer to the problems of cannabis consumption lie in legalization and regulation

Good luck on your course work!

I will give you some links to this report, and to other articles which talk about the report.

emilykyns

i think so, it does wonders medically, with cancer patients and epileptics not to mention people who get migraines really bad, thats why my bf started smoking it. besides i freaking love it!!!!

Blackburner

it depends if it can be properly regulated and the health risks explained.

but when i look at ruthless power of the tobacco industry and the way it exploits children and people into early graves for mere profit (together with the power it has to lobby governments and thereby sidestep democracy itself), i'm not sure that our society is ready for it.

We can't even regulate or control the tobacco industry, how can we say we are mature enough to enjoy cannabis?

Qdawg2070.

well i cant say yes or no cannibis helps out so many people in there hard times but it can mess you up bad so i dont know its up to everybody else

Nikke

NO! we have enough legal drugs. No need to add another one. Isn't alcohol and tobacco enough? I hate that I always run in to people who like to defend their habit. The fact of the matter is that users make unreliable people in the workforce and in other instances, the carefree feeling that cannabis induces, impares peoples ability to make quick on the ball decisions. Every "Pot head" I have had the pleasure to talk to while on cannabis, talks very slow, almost as if dumb. Either they laugh at completely dumb stuff or look like they are getting an attack of cataplexy. Most would argue that cannabis, makes you more creative, because it makes you less stressed and a whole bunch of other reasons why its so great; but none of the reasons I have heard are reason enough to legalize. I once sat in a lecture at Radio Broadcasting school, the guest speaker had been in radio for over 30 years, he openly admitted to the class that he used cannabis for years and that he's "just fine". This man had trouble keeping his saliva in his mouth, all during the lecture he had to spit in a trash bucket. He had cotton mouth and was also licking his lips constantly, they were all slimy looking and would stick together as he spoke. 'Nuff said. To me, anyways, I consider cannabis to be the stupid drug, but that's just my point of view.

Mark

It should be lethalized.

eldormilon

Yes. Apart from its numerous industrial uses and medicinal potential, it seems stupid to me to criminalize something that grows naturally.

Dr. Hotdog

they want you to say no but i say yes! i don't smoke anymore but they should sell it, tax it and it will be great for the economy!

KIDHASAN

Heck ya!!
Later...I gotta get some food...

it should be legalized but growing it should be illegal. that way, the trafficking of the drug would be more moniitored and it can be controlled.

Bobby 12"

ofc it should. everywhere. why have the dutch never been involved in any sort of global crysis? BECAUSE DEY WERE 2 HIGH 2 GIVE A SH*T!
smoke weed and the world will be a better place. ya'rly

lozzer

er no!

Silly-Me

Already is in many places, people already eat each other...OUT! :)~~~

NONAME

its a matter of opinion. my opinion is that it should not be legalized because it is a harmful substance that needs to be controlled.

other people will have other opinions, obviously.

ZACK NEEDS HELP, OR HERE TO HELP

Marijuana legalization offers an important advantage over decriminalization in that it allows for legal distribution and taxation of cannabis. In the absence of taxation, the free market price of legal marijuana would be extremely low, on the order of five to ten cents per joint. In terms of intoxicating potential, a joint is equivalent to at least $1 or $2 worth of alcohol, the price at which cannabis is currently sold in the Netherlands. The easiest way to hold the price at this level under legalization would be by an excise tax on commercial sales. An examination of the external costs imposed by cannabis users on the rest of society suggests that a "harmfulness tax" of $.50 - $1 per joint is appropriate. It can be estimated that excise taxes in this range would raise between $2.2 and $6.4 billion per year. Altogether, legalization would save the taxpayers around $8 - $16 billion, not counting the economic benefits of hemp agriculture and other spinoff industries. As drug war hysteria subsides it becomes increasingly certain that there must be a serious re-examination of the laws prohibiting marijuana. The decriminalization of soft drugs has now emerged as an active political issue in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France and Australia. The policies being considered range from "decriminalization," or repeal of criminal penalties for private use and cultivation of cannabis, to full "legalization," in which cannabis is commercially sold like alcohol, tobacco and other commodities.
Decriminalization has enjoyed impressive support from a succession of official panels, including the Presidential Commission on Marijuana (1973), the California Research Advisory Panel (1990), the National Academy of Sciences (1982), and the Canadian Le Dain Commission (1970). Decriminalization was also officially the policy of the state of Alaska from 1976 through 1990, when it was narrowly overturned in a referendum. The basic appeal of decriminalization is to reduce the harm of criminal punishment and respect personal freedom and privacy, while avoiding offensive commercialization. The basic flaw in decriminalization is that it does not make allowance for pot users who cannot or will not grow their own. The result is to create an illicit black market for cannabis that is neither regulated nor taxed, leaving many of the same basic enforcement problems as prohibition.
These problems can be avoided by legalization, under which cannabis could be legally sold, taxed and regulated like alcohol or tobacco. (It should be noted that legalization need not involve the evils of commercialization, given suitable restrictions on advertising.) The world presently has no example of a completely legalized cannabis market, since this is forbidden by the Single Convention Treaty on Narcotics. The nearest approximation may be seen in the Netherlands, which officially tolerates the possession and sale of up to 30 grams of hashish or marijuana in coffeehouses, although distribution and manufacture are technically illegal and large-scale traffickers are punished. The apparent success of the Dutch in controlling hard drug abuse without a major hashish abuse epidemic has led a league of 15 European cities to endorse the principle of legalized cannabis in the so-called Frankfurt Resolution. An important advantage of legalization is to open the door to taxation of marijuana - a potentially valuable source of public revenue - while eliminating the need for an illegal market.
In the following, we will examine more closely the economics of a legalized cannabis market.

Alfredo G

As an illegal drug it causes too many problems already. It'll cause many more if its legalized. NO, it should not be legalized. No form of drug should be legalized, and that includes alcohol, tobacco, and various other drugs sold in markets around the country. (USA)
.
(I classify tobacco and alcohol as a drug because a drug is defined as anything that changes your state of mind, or being... smoking "calms you down" [CHANGE OF STATE OF MIND] and drinking gets u "drunk"
[CHANGE OF BOTH MIND AND BODY])

james e

if it's good enough for aids patients its good enough for me pick up a fat j and support fighting aids and be a hero

dakis n

No!
http://hellas-fos.blogspot.com/

Robert S

No.

Simple.

One can use any excuse, but it all boils down to protecting those who cannot do it themselves... Children. We have a duty to protect. And not just them. It also helps to protect those teetering on the edge.

Sure, but what about alcohol? A pitiful excuse for legalizing weed, just because alcohol is, weed should be too? No.

Tax it. Then who will grow it legally? It may as well remail illegal.

How about health benefits? Again, far from reality. Any medical or medicinal use can be reproduced with modern medicines. And without the cancerous, lung damaging, or psychological disrupting side effects of the well over 600 harmful and toxic chemicals found in marijuana.

It does not take much work at all to find scholarly studies and research findings on the subject. Just a little time spent on this reveals a load of negative information. I suggest taking the time to look into the subject and sources.

My state, Michigan, has placed this on the ballot for November. For medical use. Simply unbelievable in this day and age. We are nearing the end of 2008! And yet there are still those who think of it as harmless, and that it can benefit so many! --- Yes, God created it, "for man to use". As I have heard it said so many times. He also created carcinogens, mold, fungus, viruses, and emphysema. He also created, oxygen, water, love, soil, flowers, and so much more. Yet, he also gave us a brain and the ability to tell the difference. No, for Michigan or any state for that matter. Having such a redilculouse proposal on the ballot is simple an attempt at a foot in the door. Alowing its legal use in any arena will open the flood gates for anyone willing to put fourth an effort. Everyone will grow it for medicinal purposes... And no one willl use it for recreational use... Right, common sense would prove otherwise.

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