Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

1) Yes

2) Because it was legal at some point and the reasoning behind prohibition of Cannabis was based on false and misleading information and lies. The Marijuana Stamp Act of 1937 was a farce because the government wouldn't issue any stamps in order to grow, use, and cultivate the plant. Medical research has proven over the years that Cannabis does in fact have many medicinal properties. Further, scientific research has shown over the years that all of the information against Cannabis that has been fed to the public regarding Cannabis was either baseless or over exaggerated or even fraudulent. Prohibition was lead and started by industries in which Cannabis based materials competed against (i.e. oil, pharmaceutical, clothing and fiber, building material, etc).

Regarding the comparison of the Cannabis industry to that of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Cannabis is the lesser of the three evils. Scientific studies have shown that Cannabis lacks the physical addictive qualities that are know regarding alcohol and tobacco. Cannabis has never, and yes, never been associated with the direct cause of death of an individual or thing.

The first Model T that was built by Ford ran on Hemp based fuels. Hemp based fuels burn cleaner and are cheaper to produce than petroleum based fuels. Hemp is easier and less costly to produce with less negative impact on the land as compared to other organic products such as cotton and corn. Hemp based building materials is cheaper and more efficient that our current standards regarding construction.

Currently Cannabis is the nations number 1 cash crop. Yes, the nation! The revenue generated in the Cannabis industry is an estimation because, well, it is still illegal. Just imagine what the real revenue amount is if it were legal. Currently financial experts claim that Cannabis is a multi-billion dollar industry of untaxed revenue. Currently a bill has been proposed in California claiming that the state could earn roughly $1.5 billion in tax revenue if Cannabis was made legal. That is just in the sale, and does include the cost savings from enforcement, our inmate population, and any fees that may be drawn from licensing of sales and cultivation.

2b) If the government cannot control, regulate, and tax the Cannabis industry then it is a moot point. But the government can and at some point will find the means to do so. There are health issues that users may face. For instance, smoking anything and allowing any foreign substance into your lungs can cause respiratory issues. Though the tobacco industry is still thriving so I'd assume that most people would over look this issue. Though Cannabis lacks the physical addictive properties of other drugs such as meth, coke, etc. it does create a mental dependency for some. However, as with any drug, prescribed legally or used illegal can lead to risk because each individual handles things differently.

3) Yes, daily. I am a medical user though I blazed in high school for the fun of it and still enjoy it today...responsibly. I tried prescribed drugs like Vicodin, Darvicete, and many other pain killers. Each had major side effects from sleeplessness, stomach pains, digestion issues, headaches, nausea, and some of them made me feel just plain out of touch and out of control. I have now been a user for nearly 5 years and the only side effect I have experienced sometimes is a serious case of the munchies which is of set by a decent diet and exercise along with time with my family.

I'm married with two wonderful teenage sons. I have a degree and run a successful company paying myself a decent salary. My sons both maintain excellent grades, one of which is a common straight A student while the other commonly is right behind a few GPA points but still maintaining a 3.5 GPA. My wife is also very successful and both our children attend a private Christian school. My wife is the only member of my family who knows that I am a medicinal user. However, my children know and understand my views on Cannabis.

The bottom line is that it really depends on the person and individual user. You may find many users such as myself who engage in Cannabis responsibly and you may find many users who do not. However, you can find as many if not more individuals who use nothing such as Cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs that will break into your home or hold you at gun point. Cannabis has simply been a crutch that people can point blame at. The epidemic we face now is not the illegal drug trade, but that of prescribed meds. More and more overdoses of prescribed meds are becoming common. The new thing for teens is that of the prescribed drugs used to treat and care for ADD or ADHD patients. In a since, these drugs are very similar if not exactly like street meth though legal. Hmm, it sounds as if our drug war in fact has failed. But the money is in the prescribed drug market. I'd also like to point out that the FDA generally does not tes

$113 billion is spent on marijuana every year in the U.S., and because of the federal prohibition *every* dollar of it goes straight into the hands of criminals. Far from preventing people from using marijuana, the prohibition instead creates zero legal supply amid massive and unrelenting demand. The scale of the harm this causes far exceeds any benefit obtained from keeping marijuana illegal. According to the ONDCP, at least sixty percent of Mexican drug cartel money comes from selling marijuana in the U.S., they protect this revenue by brutally torturing, murdering and dismembering countless innocent people. If we can STOP people using marijuana then we need to do so NOW, but if we can't then we must legalize the production and sale of marijuana to adults with after-tax prices set too low for the cartels to match. One way or the other, we have to force the cartels out of the marijuana market and eliminate their highly lucrative marijuana incomes - no business can withstand the loss of sixty percent of its revenue! To date, the cartels have amassed more than 100,000 "foot soldiers" and operate in 230 U.S. cities, and it's now believed that the cartels are "morphing into, or making common cause with, what would be considered an insurgency" (Secretary of State Clinton, 09/09/2010). The longer the cartels are allowed to exploit the prohibition the more powerful they'll get and the more our own personal security will be put in jeopardy.

Will start with 4: Do not know if it would be done if legal for medical reasons coming from conflicting stuff read.

Very strongly feel it should be legalized but under very tight controls. Many years ago saw pusher do his act while smoking it, and want parents to have ability to demonstrate with group smoke that it's effects are generally mild, and not pusher saying here you need this to get all those flying colors. Take drug culture mystic from it and it's biggest selling point will weaken. It maybe healthier choice than alcohol for getting relaxed effect. You could start new industry creating many good paying jobs. Use jail space for much more dangerous offenders. 40 years ago tried it twice, but honestly did not inhale.

YES...

SAGE YOU ARE A PROPAGANDIST LIAR.

Do not believe half of the things you hear about marijuana...why do you think humans have cannabinoid receptors in the first place? Because MJ has been used for millenia as a medicine, religious ritual, recreational and divinistic purposes. We have developed them over time. MJ is our human right!

Anyway...Cannabis is the ONLY recreational and medicinal herb that offers a non-addictive, natural, organic solution to common problems. It is only outlawed because of the timber, oil, cotton and paper industries, since it can be used more effectively for many of those purposes.

Marijuana only affects learning and short term memory while UNDER THE INFLUENCE which only effectively lasts for a couple hours. Long term use has no effect on these.

There is no "laser" that can test for drugs.

Over 100,000 deaths each year by alcohol...not cannabis

Satistics are misleading. When an accident occurs and the reports are done...ALL substances are sent in for the books and many people who drink use MJ or tobacco or whatever and MJ gets lumped into these stats unfairly. MJ doesn't cause car accidents.

You can't OD on it...it is physically imossible!

Cannabis is not completely safe and has most of the same properties and hazards as tobacco smoke, but since MJ is smoked infrequently the risks are negligible.

All i know is that people can get addicted to anything...including sex. Should we outlaw sex because people get addicted to it? There are even specific support groups for sex addicts it's called SA (sex addicts anonymous) You can die from sex, have a heart attack, stroke, embolism, diseases you name it. To me sex is F(*&king dangerous...and we've all experimented and use it. Should we vote for a sex prohibition? 18 -24 million people are addicted!! Oviously not. Thats ludacris right?

Well it's the same godamn thing and until people get their head out of their *** and let people make their own godamn decisions we are moving one step closer to losing everything.

There is no reason for it not to be legalized except for the tobacco contradiction...whatever...I am an avid smoker (about 3-4 times per week) and I can take it or leave it, but it is enjoyable to me as it is enjoyable to anyone who unwinds with a few beers after work.

Oh and did I mention that I am an EM Engineer and smoked pot all through college and obviously now. I travel all over the world. I am no genius, but is doesn't take one to realize that prohibition is wrong.

Good luck in your search for the truth.

1. Yes it should! (or at least decriminalized)

2. The main reason is because Tabacco, and Alcohol...which are far more worse than marijuana, according to many studies and the simple use of common sense...are both legal and yet marjuana seems to be the only drug taking the blame, I do not think it should be advertised or considered for the use of minors, It should be taxed and regulated...No one, I repeat NO ONE has EVER died from a disease caused strictly by the use of marijuana, yet we have hundreds of thousands of people dying every year from the use of tabacco and alcohol...There are many other reasons it should be legalized, if you want more info I'll give an informative link in the source. But more importantly than being legalized I think that it should be able to be used for medicinal purposes, Their are thousands sicks and dying from disease and marijuana helps them get through the pains and enjoy their everyday lives.

3. Yes I have done marijuana before, So has Michael Phelps along with many other of the worlds healthiest atheletes, and George Washington/Thomas Jefferson/James Maddison/James Monroe/Adrew Jackson/Zachary Taylor/Franklin Pierce/Abraham Lincoln/JFK/Bill Clinton/Gerorge W. Bush/Barack Obama (Presidents)...Many Harvard graduates smoke or have smoked weed...Thus telling you that it's not just a bunch of bums that smoke weed, It's a natural earth-made herb and we should all enjoy it!

4. Yes, It wouldn't change anything, It would just tell me that what I'm doing is not wrong and I should not have criminal charges for doing what I like to do in my free time! I'm not hurting anyone doing what I feel helps me relax and have a good time.

1. Yes.

2.

a. If alcohol and nicotine are legal, there is no reason marijuana shouldn't be.

Its actually safer to use than either of the aforementioned. You can die from withdrawal from alcohol abuse, and getting nicotine daily actually causes cancer.

Marijuana cannibinoids have been proven to actually help kill cancer cells.

Its asinine that the government is trying to legislate what you can put in your body.

b. All drugs have a capacity for abuse. Even though marijuana is not physically addicting, it still can be abused no matter what pro-pot users claim. I have seen it first hand. This being so, it could be argued that the government should outlaw all drugs including alcohol and nicotine.

3. I have used marijuana before, but I don't use it. How does this determine if its a biased answer or not?

4. I probably would not use marijuana if it was legalized, because I don't like what it does to my brain.

IMO our government (USA) never had the just authority to make marijuana illegal in the first place. If my neigbor smokes marijuana it doesn't violate my right to be secure in my person and property, it doesn't violate any of the my rights outlined in our Constitution, and it doesn't create a clear and present danger to national security. Unless the government has some compelling interest in interfering with my neighbor, then government should not be interfering in his private decision to take the risks involved in smoking marijuana.

Yes, I am a child of the 1950s and very familiar with marijuana use and its effects.

I wouldn't do anything differently from what I am doing now. If Home Depot were giving away free shovels, do you think that people who had no interest in digging hole would suddenly have a desire to go dig holes simply because those free shovels were available?

1. Yes

2. Prohibition is a failure

3. A long time ago in a life far far away.

4. I, like the rest of American society would surely do if marijuana were legalized, would descend into a life of insane depravity, crime, and horrific chronic illness just like the government (and by government I mean officials on the pay of tobacco/alcohol) tells us.

1. Yes. Legalize marijuana then tax and regulate the stuff like alcohol.

2a. The way I see things our current anti-marijuana laws are creating a similar situation that we had during prohibition. Despite our federal, state and local governments spending billions to eradicate marijuana it's still fairly easy to find and people continue to get high. Worse yet because marijuana is illegal and there's still a huge demand for it we've created a lucrative black market that's making the people who specialize in growing and distributing cannabis rich. Only now instead of American mobsters like Al Capone we have Mexican drug cartels calling the shots.

2b. The only reason I see that marijuana hasn't been legalized is it's perceived cost to society. Nation wide taxes on alcoholic beverages generate roughly 18 billion dollars a year. Unfortunately the system pays out 220 billion dollars per year in social services do to the abuse of alcohol. They figure if marijuana is legalized any tax revenues generated will be outweighed by increased demand on the system because if it's high potential for abuse.

I sort of disagree. I can recall many occasions when parties and family gatherings have been ruined by a couple fools that couldn't handle their liquor. I've never heard of a pothead that gets stoned then proceeds to beat on his wife or girlfriend on a regular basis, yet drunks do it all the time.

3. Yes, I smoke weed and in the past dealt and knew people who grew the stuff, some even cultivated their crops on public lands hidden deep in our national forests... And the most of the growers I knew weren't the type of folk you'd want to run across. Think about it, you've got armed growers looking to protect their million dollar crops from armed ripoff artists pretending to be hikers. As I stated earlier not much difference from the days of prohibition when bootleggers took to the hills to tend their illegal distilleries.

4. If marijuana is legalized I might look into trying to become a licensed grower. At the very least me and a lot of people would stop contributing to the marijuana underground economy because we'd start buying weed from licensed distributors who are taxed and regulated by the government.

I don’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

I hope that helps. Good luck on your projects!

Yes. Due to the damage and chaos that drugs have caused the US, I think it is time for a change in the way that we deal with drug use. Putting users in jail is clogging the jail system and doing nothing to solve the problem of drug use. Marijuana has been labeled a gateway drug, and this may be true. It is also used for medical purposes. Jailing people for using marijuana does nothing except create more criminals and causing chaos in the family. We need to find a different way to deal with drug use. I don't know what exactly we should do, but a first start might be decriminalizing marijuana.