Do you think marijuana should be legalized?

Washdcwhc

I asked for a poll here on Yahoo but nobody gave me any intelligent answers.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Avtrirco8h9H.6uYMRZKwsXsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090511154929AAhuonh

NightFlight

Pros: It would help prevent overcrowding and it would be a good source for medical treatment

Cons: more people would be out driving while stoned and mj can destroy your brain cells, I personally believe mj is worse than cigarettes and I wouldn't want to see it legalized other than for medical purposes.

Laura

Yes, there is no reason for people who smoke weed to go to jail, purely for that reason alone. Absolutely ridiculous.

Pros:
Maybe the unemployment rate wouldn't be so high. (I could pass a drug test)
It would create jobs.
It would keep good people out of jail.
It would be common sense.
It would take it out of the hands of Mexican cartel. People could grow it, without fear of sharing a jail cell with a murderer.
Convenient/gas stations could pay their employees more than minimum wage...more jobs, better wages, more tax revenue, income, property, pensions, sales...
Keep the wealth in Americans hands, not gangs and gangs from other countries.
Hard working people could relax at night.
Hard working people could have a little fun at night.
People would not resort to using alcohol.
It is safer than any drug on the market and it can be used for so many different reasons, there are too many to list.
I could concentrate better.
More people, would have less time to look at themselves in the mirror.

Cons:
MAM- Mothers Against Marijuana
The idiots on the roads, will be driving slower, not faster(this is really a pro)
More psychos calling for the end of the world, scamming people who should also be spending their money on antipsychotics or marijuana.
Comedians will do nothing but talk about it for a year.
Stigmas will increase,at first (but then drop off...)
Alcoholics will become more enraged, now that everyone is happy.
Mexican cartels will become pirates or try growing actually harmful substances.
Tie-die might become the number one fashion. :)

YellowTop

Government should end Prohibition all together but definitely marijuana it has no long term effects on the body

DOES NOT KILL HUMAN BRAIN CELLS THAT TEST WAS DONE ON MONKIES WHO HAVE A WAY MORE VULNERABLE BRAIN

All prohibition does is create a black market product and make the nation lose more and more money and makes them spend more and more money on enforcing the laws on Prohibition

All I can say is vote for it if gets on the ballot do whatever possible to get legal

Once it is legallized and regulated eventually people will use less and less of it and will become more like Alcohol use is now after it was casted out of the dark abyss of Prohibition

The problem is though is that the government officials are invested in companies such as big tobacco companies who spend millions of dollars keeping it illegal to make more money

ALSO it is said to be sustained as illegal so people don't use it and rebel but answer me this

WHAT IS THERE TO REBEL AGAINST

WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR THE ANSWER

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912

Rachael

sure.
how many people do you know that have died because of it?

10242

Violence in Mexico is getting worse by the day. Drug cartels have created an environment of fear that makes it impossible for Mexican officials to do their work. The country's very stability may be threatened.

It's time to put an end to U.S. policies that fuel these murderous drug gangs. Between 60% and 75% of the money funding Mexican drug cartels comes from marijuana sales in the U.S. Just as Congress did with alcohol in the 1930s, we can take these profits out of the criminal market by taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol.

For more than 70 years, marijuana prohibition has failed us. Despite having strict laws and spending billions of dollars on fighting marijuana use, America has the highest rates of marijuana use in the world. We had 872,720 marijuana-related arrests in 2007, more than any other year in American history. More than 775,000 of those arrests were for simple possession - not trafficking or production, just simple possession.

These arrests come at a significant cost to the American taxpayer. Ending marijuana prohibition would save between $10 and $41 billion annually.

syntax

Pro:
- We could regulate and remove a profitable crop from the drug lords in the US and Mexico.

- It will create more space in our already overcrowded prison system, as well as save the tax payers the cost of housing marijuana offenders.

- By regulation we could more easily reduce the number of marijuana related accidents, maybe expand our DUI laws and add a on site test for officers in the same vein as the breathalyzer.

- The drug is no worst then alcohol or cigarettes, you can not overdose on marijuana as you can with alcohol, & its arguable as to which is worst for the lungs cigarettes or marijuana.

- It can be taxed and licensed as we already do with alcohol.

- Free up police resources to refocus the failed war on drugs, that is to focus on actual hard drugs.

Con:
- Public use would increase.

- It is addictive, regardless of propaganda that says it isn't, it is psychologically.

- Questionable as to whether more people would take up smoking marijuana, I don't think it will be a radical increase, education works as it already has with legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine.

Myth:
- Marijuana leads to hard drugs, this is absolutely untrue. A possible explanation is since its illegal, some of those partaking in smoking weed figure -F*&k it and try other things. But the drug itself doesn't lead to hard drugs.

Opinion:
Yes, it should be legalized.

Rachel Rulez D00d

personally its a tough call. There are just soooooo many good uses for the drug. It also is very natural. I don't agree with using it for smoking a getting high, but maybe when they do legalize it, people will stop using it less...although that's like a 1 in a million chance.

Big Daddy

Yes. If you analyze the data, weed has almost the same effect on a person as alcohol. Neither one is good for you if done in over abundance, but the government could curtail it's usage just like drinking, with stiff penalties if caught driving while under the influence. You already have folks smoking it, so why not make it legal and collect tax revenue from it?

endgame1915

yes a congressmen from texas thinks so.

docie555@yahoo.com

Yes it should be. If people want to eat and sit around all day - let them - after all....................alcohol is legal and it kills! Kind of makes the Feds look stupid doesn't it?

SF kid

A lot of people are implying that the government should keep it illegal because they think it's bad for you. Alcohol is bad for you but we legalized it because it was putting large amounts of money in the pockets of smugglers, and dealers, and taking money from the tax payers to pay for cop time, special task forces to catch speak easy's.

People obviously have learned nothing from the past, just because something is legal doesn't mean the government says go out and do it, just like alcohol, we teach in classrooms not to drink.

Mitch

yes. first off there is a huge number of people in jail for possesion of weed, and guess who pays for them, the tax payers. Second, anyone who has smoked weed knows that alcohal is far more disorienting and addicting, but alcohols legal which makes no sense. Also the way the economy is right now we need the money, if weed were legalized and taxed we would make a huge amount of money on the tax alone. then with the prisoners out of jail for the "herb" (not drug) called marajuana that would also save this country alot of work and money as well.

MAD

Yes!!!
It's a choice that one could do without affecting the rights or life of another.
Which is why we created a Constitution to begin with.

Harry C

Well the pro's are limited. The best argument to make for legalization is that it is less harmful than beer and alchoholic drinks that are sold legally in the U.S. Drunk people are more violent, uncontrollable, and more dangerous on the road than pot heads. Pot calms you down, makes you hungry, and makes you sleepy. Beer makes you stupid and brave enough to try dangerous things you wouldn't normally do. I wouldnt reccoment either, but in a world where beer is legal, it only seems fair to legalize pot also.

Plus in this economy the tax money raise from the legal selling of pot would really boost the economy.

Doichin

TOTALLY!!!!

Three_Dark_Horses

I do feel marijuana should be legalized and sold in stores and treat marijuana like alcohol and cigarettes but you're only allowed to purchase up to 100 grams, I do feel that selling marijuana on the street should be illegal

Pros: Marijuana legalization would help the poor economy, it would also prevent prison overcrowding, marijuana isn't as harmful as tobacco or alcohol and marijuana is the kind of drug that helps you relax

Cons: It can mess up your brain depending on how much you smoke it

funky_bubblegum

yeah!

Nicole

alcohol is legal, there isn't a nation of alcoholics.
it being legal takes a lot of the fun out of it for a lot of people

Sarah.

yes it should. things like tobacco and alcohol are a lot worse for you than marijuana. if you abuse anything it will have negative effects. some are worse than others. if you abuse alcohol or tobacco and you stop or do not have enough in one day you will suffer physical immediate side effects, even seizures. all you will have from marijuana immediate side effects is craving. long term abuse of these products are cancers relating to the organs they harm. Marijuana lung cancer, drinking liver cancer, etc.. if used recreationally none of these would be terribly bad. also if legalized marijuana would be taxed, just like everything else. generating much needed revenue for the nation.

Jeremy

hells yeah... if im stressed, i wanna go pick up a joint and be happy...

Ryan B

Uh, yes. It's ridiculous that it's not legalized already. Once it is people will see there was no reason why it should have been illegal in the first place.

Multiple Hustle

Yes... It's less harmful than alcohol.

halsca

As far as I see things our current anti marijuana laws are similar to what was going on with prohibition during the roaring 20's. Despite the law and billions spent on trying to eradicate marijuana weed is everywhere and people continue to get high...Only difference is now instead of mobsters like Al Capone getting rich off of providing the American public with bootleg liquor we've got we've got Mexican drug cartels raking in huge profits from the cultivation and smuggling of illegal cannabis.

Legalize the stuff then tax it to the tune of 50 dollars an ounce. Regulate marijuana just like alcohol. In my book weed and alcohol have pretty much the same potential for abuse. Both are mind altering substances and as such aren't for everybody. We have alcoholics, we also have chronic stoners.

Remember at one time our federal government tried to outlaw alcoholic beverages because they thought alcohol abuse caused too much damage to society.

First state to pass any sort of anti marijuana legislation was California back in 1913. They did so not because of the perceived damage marijuana could have on society but because doing so made it easier to deport migrant Mexican farm laborers during lean economic times.

Gracie

yes i do think it should be legalized because it would honestly solve all of our economies problems.

Sassy S

We are a nation with the highest levels of drug use per capita in the world. (Fact) Yes we should legalize pot. (no I don't smoke it) The pro's are it would save us millions of dollars in legal services and jail/prison housing expenses from prosecuting them. Then we would have significantly more room to house more serious criminals. Then comes an additional financial reason, we could tax it like alcohol. The amount of money running through the sale of pot is huge. Taxing it would go into each states economy helping remove some of the burden we feel from tax hikes and the threat of diminished services such as health, education, police protection.

GBS

The pros:
- Increased tourism
- The government puts on more profit
- People are more relaxed in a good way.

Cons:
- Weed may lead to hard drugs although not likely
- Massive protest by 'concerned parents' etc.

Golden

absolutely.

@ coley, marijuana does not cause schizophrenia. if you do have a relative with schizophrenia you should know that, and what the true causes are.

Professor Smith

I could go on for days about the pros for ingesting marijuana for its health benefits from pain relief to appetite stimulants to depression and any other number of ailments we could diagnose if it was legalized for medical studies. SMOKING IS BAD. Vaporize your bud or just eat it. Any way enough of the stoner babble Im going to keep it strictly to hemp itself from now on and the effect it will have on the economy. Sorry Im going to limit myself to five for the readers sake and so you can better retain the information
1.Rudolf Diesel originally designed his engine to run on hemp seed oil. Hemp grows quicker than corn.Oil crisis solved after first crop.
2.Hemp is renewable and can be used for paper and rope without the need for deforestation. Hemp also produces more O2 than trees. With co2 levels on the rise we cannot afford not to grow hemp.
3. Hemp is high in fiber which is a great way of getting rid of all that bull **** the news has been feeding us for years.
4. The DEA and prison systems waste over 9 billion dollars every year catching and incarcerating individuals for possession. That money can be used for serious criminals. Not my grandma with glaucoma who had three ounces in separate containers for the whole months dosage and got charged with distributing and was sentenced to two years in county jail. Our prisons are crowded the last example was a little closer to home for me but don't you want to pay less taxes for criminals.
5. There hasn't been an accurate assessment for the amount of jobs that would be created. Farmers, store owners, store workers, delivery boys, truck drivers, oil refineries, paper mills HUGE job sites for the side of the economy that needs jobs now that we don't have an oil tycoon puppet in the white house these jobs might come around sooner than you think.

Genny

It would probably be better if it was legalized because then our jails wouldn't be so unnecessarily crowded and we could make room for real crims, not just those charged with possession. The numbers of people selling marijuana after it was legalized would be reduced, and then people who are obviously not going to change their ways are not going to jump through hoops to consume it.

I am not a smoker myself, and really am not fond of pot in the least, but I think there are worse substances, and maybe it's time its just legalized.

El Guapo

For a list of pros and cons, go to http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm.

I think the pro-legalization arguments are much stronger.

I donâ€™t smoke, but I definitely think it should be legal, provided that it is regulated like alcohol (no minors, and no driving).

It makes absolutely no sense that cannabis is illegal while alcohol and tobacco (both of which are MORE harmful and MORE addictive) are legal.

Legalization would:

- Create thousands of jobs
- Deal a massive blow to drug cartels, which would suddenly be without 75% of their income
- Provide an enormous windfall for the government, which would bring in billions in taxes and SAVE billions more on law enforcement (ending Prohibition played a big part in getting the U.S. out of the Great Depression)
- Allow police, courts and prisons to focus their resources on DANGEROUS criminals, rather than potheads

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