Marijuana Legalization

It's far far safer than booze.

We made a mistake by not regulating booze legally, then realizing how bad it is, we tried to take it back during prohibition, but it was too late.  Do we want to make the same mistake with a psychedelic drug?  What is next?  This will just cause the divorce rate to rise even more.

While I don't think it should be legalized I don't want people to go to jail for it either.  Just like you can't go to work drunk or if you get hurt at work and they find alcohol in your system, marijuana can also be treated the same way.  many employers do pre hire drug screens as well.  The amount of controls and regulation I would want really isn't possible.  Anyone who is supported by my tax money should not be allowed to use alcohol, drugs etc, no luxuries on my dime, you want it go earn it.

People need to have agency to take care of themselves. Would you ban all tide pods because some stupid people ate them?

You go down this road, and everything is bannable on the basis that stupid people will hurt themselves.

It changes a persons personality, causes hallucinations (if you have the really good stuff), makes some people dumb... like yours truly.  Then it also leads to other things... it will be bad on people's lungs, some people can't handle marijuana and freak out, checking themselves into hospitals because they think they are going to die, but ultimately don't.  Do you know of any legal (or over the counter) drug that sometimes freaks you out, or gives you a panic attack?  I don't unless you take extreme amounts of it.  

With Marijuana, you don't need that much to freak someone out if it does not settle with them.

Alcohol has more permanent effects on the brain and body than weed.

The only problem I can see for legalization of marijuana is accurately detecting impairment while driving. There isn't to my knowledge a perfect solution for testing recent use that officers can administer on the side of the road yet.

No matter what, classifying it as a schedule 1 drug federally right now which means there is no medicinal use is silly since states are legalizing "medicinal marijuana". 

Tax it just like cigarettes and alcohol and we will have more positives than negatives in regards to it. And less side effects as you won't have people lacing it if it's federally regulated. 

It's not difficult to know who is high, you just need to check whether the person's pupils are dilated or not. With that clue the officer can order a deeper examination in a lab.

I'm for the legalization too. If americans can use a gun, why not smoke a weed. Lol, this country is unbeilevable!!!

we should be cautious due to mental illness and how pot can cause that. schizophrenia and such. i think using pot doubles the risk a person will experience that illness. so in a sense it's a lot cause it's double the risk, but on the other hand, i think it's only like one percent of people who will get that doubled risk and happen to them. 

i mean if you dont care about stopping people from hurting themselves that's one thing. but i dont support legalizing all drugs and feel that sometimes people need to be saved from themselves. 

i would probably legalize it because of how few people are badly affected. but it should be done with caution, and if we need more time to verifty the things i'm saying, then we can wait to make it nationally legal until the states are used as labs. 

Are you American?

Lol no need for evidence just say your BS. Correlation doesn't mean causation, but as weed becomes more legal and widespread, divorce rates are also dropping. http://time.com/4575495/divorce-rate-nearly-40-year-low/

Ok.  That is like saying alcohol is not a factor when it comes to break-ups or divorces.  Do I really need to site that position or is that BS as well?

Weed would be the same way.  It changes your personality, some people it makes more agreeable, some people it makes them less agreeable, some people get lazy, others get happy, some go crazy, some get dumber.  The point is it changes who you are normally.... So when someone that did not smoke before decides to take it up because it is now legalized, then smokes all the time, the spouse will probably think "this is not the person I married", which will ensue arguments, then an ultimatum.  

I don't need stats to come to that determination.

Correction "cite that position"

By the logic you're using we should make the video game Fortnite illegal because it too has contributed to divorce. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/18/divorce-online-survey-couples-now-blaming-fortnite-for-divorce.html

The reason that is a news article is because it is so ridiculous, it's almost satire, and further proves how quickly people of the new generations give up on their relationships.  I'm talking about mind altering drugs, not morons who can't get away from video games long enough to spend time with their families.  (and the moron doctors who call it a disorder giving them an excuse..... but, but, but, it's been recognized by the World Health Organization as a disorder!)  Give me a break, get off your butt and do something different.

What are we, all identifying as 12 year olds now?

It is in line with the logic you're using by pending drug legality by virtue of its potential effect on a marriage. Mind altering drugs can also enhance a marriage. Does that not give reason to legalize them then?

I'm sure Fortnite has also brought people together as well... so has spirits, but I still think that we would make spirits illegal if we could, but there is too much money in it and it would be prohibition all over again. 

But you're not really telling us why they ought to be illegal. I've already shown why basing it on how it may effect marriages makes no sense. Lots of things can destroy marriages, but that shouldn't be the criteria for banning things.

If you put it on a scale of pros and cons.... it is a con, it may not be actual criteria.  My point is it changes who you are, your personality, just like other drugs do.... I agree with a prescription, but not full scale legality.

Are you really giving it a fair account? Alcohol and other drugs have existed for millenia and civilization and marriage still persist.

The same could be said about Fortnite, or really any addictive habit. Should video games be by prescription only?

Alcohol is the only existing legal drug that has effect on your judgement.  Like I said, if we could go back in time, we would have made it illegal.  Tobacco has no effect on your judgement, caffeine has no affect on your judgement or your personality.  The rest are by prescription only, or completely illegal.

When it comes to video games, you could compare that to cats, or some people that are addicted to eating their foam mattresses, or hoarders.  You can't make that stuff illegal because it does not change your body chemistry.   

Well I mean uh .. functionally speaking pot is legal in a few states. Nullification has its place. Why should this fact matter?

I know the history of alcohol.... don't get me wrong, I love alcohol, but it is a huge problem in our society.  I know multiple people that have died of alcohol poisoning as well as liver failure, people very close to me.... but that is not the sole reason I think it should be outlawed.  It's the change in people's behavior, it's the ability to black out and not know what you are doing.  People fight, argue, fall, crash, make bad decisions.

I believe the war on drugs could have been better, but it is necessary.  You think we would be better off if we legalized everything? and you think these people would take them in moderation?  You think we would not have an opioid crisis if it were legal?  It would be much worse.

Progressives put too much faith in people.  I was addicted to opioids in the past, but kicked the habit, it started recreational then turned into something else.  I was then admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, and almost died, that is when I stopped.  I know more than you think about drugs and what they can do, and how they ruin lives and families.  They are a detriment to us, they should and always will be illegal, and there will always be a war on them because smart people make those decisions. 

The true drug dealers need to be addressed though... That would be the doctors and the pharmaceutical companies.

The War on Drugs has been a failure just like Prohibition was for many the same reason - you yourself begrudge the loss on alcohol prohibition, well people have been doing heavy mind altering drugs for millennia. More ritualistically, not like today's recreation.. Demand will always exist, especially under these stressful times. Teach moderation, not abolition. I'm sorry you've lost friends and family, but to pretend the the idea of personal choice to do drugs is simply "progressive" is pointlessly derogatory - it's also a position libertarians hold.

Weed should definitely be legalized and past criminal records expunged. If we look at Portugal as a model for legalization if all drugs where legalized we'd see a brief jump in use followed by a sharp drop off at a level lower than before. www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it

We should seek to help those that are addicted, the Nordic counties have a great rehabilitation model. Treating drug use like a criminal offense instead of a healthnoe simply criminalizes the citizen based on terrible argumentation.

There is a reason it is against the law.  You think people just arbitrarily make laws?  We are not dogs that understand reward training more than discipline, that is why we don't get rewarded for not doing anything wrong.  We understand the consequences of breaking the law.... if you don't want to go to jail, don't do it.  It's that simple. However, It is not that simple in the opioid crisis.  People are given too many painkillers at too high of a dose for pain after accidents, surgeries and the like, then they either become addicted, or they give them away for other people to become addicted.  When they have no more they must resort to the cheaper street drug Heroin because the withdrawal symptoms are unbearable.  That is when they overdose or commit more crime to procure it.  These people need a bit more sympathy and help to kick the habit.  Not the people that have no reason to take them in the first place.

Very interesting article though.  Good stuff.  I think some things may work in other countries that just won't work in ours.  I am not discounting this completely.