Should marijuana be legal?
If you decide that marijuana shouldn't be legal, what about medical marijuana? How do you justify that? Just something to think about.
Yes
Side Score: 23
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No
Side Score: 9
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3
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Just say no just doesn't work! Prohibition is a failed policy, as proven in the 20's. People are going to get high, some for medical purposes, others for recreation. But the fact is people will get high!!! Several birds will be hit with one stone... 1.) Money that goes to fund dangerous drug cartels could be going to our national debt. 2.) Marijuana has killed no one! Alcohol accounts for thousands of deaths annually and is far worse for your body than is Mary J. 3.) Prisons are filled with people who do NOT deserved to be locked up, and we are wasting tax dollars on incarcerating them. Side: Yes
1
point
They aren't really locking people up for possession of a small amount anymore. Those people may go to jail if they are driving under the influence, but they aren't usually kept in jail. Most people get fines. They usually only incarcerate the dealers, and sometimes not even the small time dealers do much time. They're after the bigger guys. The prisons are full, and possession of marijuana ranks at the low end of the scale for jail time. Why add another drug to the list of legal ones that can screw you up? Why don't we just do like Mexico? You can get anything you want on a street-corner "pharmacia". Side: No
2
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I believe marijuana should be legal for many reasons. First of all it is proven that it helps with different things medically such as when going through chemo it gives you appetite, it helps with pain control etc. Also i feel personally that alcohol is more dangerous then marijuana. I have seen many people killed from drunk drivers and it is a shame that so many people drive drunk. But, i have never heard of anyone dying from smoking too much weed, killing someone from an accident because they smoked weed, or anything like that.. Marijuana is a natural herb and it is legal in many other places and could possible make some money for the country if legalized! Side: Yes
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So has numerous substances, for example LSD, is the fact or possibility of benefits really a sufficient argument in itself for legalization? http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/ Side: No
Way too many people are jailed for using the drug, which is something that some people need to escape from their own harsh realities. Marijuana should at least be decriminalized. Driving stoned, however, is something totally different and should definitely be a crime. Also, weed can't kill you, unlike cigarettes and alcohol. In my opinion cigarettes should definitely be completely illegal, but they're so ingrained into our culture that I highly doubt that is going to happen anytime soon. Side: Yes
Marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Studies have shown that marijuana increases concentration and creativity, probably because it stimulates both sides of the brain. Not to mention, were marijuana legal, it's estimated that the U.S. would save around $11 billion a year (I'm not sure if the money we would save by not arresting otherwise harmless marijuana users factors into this, but it's still quite a bit of money). It would create more job necessity and availability. And I've never heard of using marijuana making anyone aggressive, so they couldn't use that as an excuse for demonizing it. :) Side: Yes
1
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marijuance creates LACK of concentration, not an increase of concentration! Marijuana is addicting, no matter what you say. If made legal, it will become a competitive market just like any other thing. (At least for those who don't grow it). That would mean there would still be [illegal] sellers, as they would be breeding more powerful strains to get more powerful amount of THC levels. The more powerful it is the more addicting. Substance abuse is a health problem. We already have a huge health-care industry centered around alcohol/drug abuse. You want to add to the list? The Tobacco Companies wait in anticipation so they can start packaging and selling to more idiots. That's right--I'm talking marijuana. No doubt they pay for studies to try to prove that marijuana is "harmless". They see big dollar signs, just like with tobacco. The FDA would have to get involved to "put a limit" on "acceptable" drug levels. They would also have to enforce these rules, And just like with alcohol, they have to watch for "bootleg" sellers who try to sell dangerous products. Everyone will (still) want their piece of the pie. Once legal and commercilized, competition will be fierce so at first the price will be low, but just like with gas, they will slowly squeeze you dry. Side: No
Use facts to back up your argument, not useless speculation. "According to a federal Institute of Medicine study in 1999, fewer than 10 percent of those who try marijuana ever meet the clinical criteria for dependence, while 32% of tobacco users and 15% of alcohol users do" (http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/ Side: Yes
I think it should be legal, just like alcohol is. What's the difference anyway? At least pot is a natural plant and not a man made substance. Plus, since it is from nature, doesn't that say everything? Why did God put it here anyway? When do you ever here of fatalities on the road because of someone being high on pot? I think alcohol should be illegal if ANYTHING! Side: Yes
1
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All such things should be legal. Why? Because it gets more control. Nowadays people buy marijuana, although it's legal or not. If it will be legalized, it will be controlled. It will prevent kids to buy and consume it. Also, police would work with real criminal cases, not with drug deals. Side: Yes
1
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it is better for you than cigarettes. not to mention anything you inhale through your lungs can be harmful so why not have it too? people are gonna do it either way why not have it? plus, weed is grown by the earth therefore by God, in god we trust(on every dollar bill). hmmm.. sounds to me our four fathers knew what they were talking about. Side: Yes
sorry how understand this "it is better for you than cigarettes.." It was not and will not be better than cigarettes and alcohol. it is enough that we breathe. Legalization is the easiest way to solve the problem, not the case. I assure you. I had long been prohibited and smoking and everything else that poisons our lives. And life is difficult without the marijuana. Can not we just enjoy life without all these... and about God ... God only wants us all check and, in general, he created and did not say for what .... Side: No
yes it should be legal. why should alcohol be legal at 21 when alcohol CHANGES the person one is and alters views. one cannot function to the full ability while drunk. on the other hand when a person is high, the only thing that changes is ones eyes and maybe the mood of a person. but NEVER negativitily. and if pot can become legal, it will be taxed, causing more profit to the economy. why should tobacco be legal when it is grown from the earth like weed, but is altered and has POISIONIOUS chemicals put in it. when marijuana is grown and is not altered at all and is smoked and ingested. End of story, the only negative to pot is the fact that you are inhaling it, and almost any inhalent does damage. so to wrap things up, any individual whom actually has negative things to say about marijuana are just UNINFORMED so look all this up because it is all correct. & within 5 years gaurenteed, it will be legal. Side: Yes
About uninformed I am not exactly agree. Around the world everybody knows about disaster. I think it was mistake to legalize an alcohol in the beginning. And what is the result? We can see only how young people are in disaster and how they lose their life potential. Just I am afraid to imagine if people will able to use marijuana. Maybe it will be better legolize everything ...We must think about future but with legalizing our future will be void....unfortunately Side: No
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if it's legal it means there will be more of it, more people smoking it, and more problems associated with it. It's been proven that marijuana affects short-term memory and motor skills, and gets stored in the fatty tissue for up to 10 days or longer. Children can already get it but if it's legal they will get even more of it. There will be no control of it because it can be grown. Therefore it can't be taxed. Using the "medicinal value" isn't a good excuse because they can isolate the medicinal value of the plant from the mind-altering part. Being illegal has been somewhat of a deterrant but if we take off the deterrant more people will be stoned more often. (take abortion for example). More of it around equals more children ggetting ahold of it. Is this what you want? More people getting stoned more often means the chance of them coming to work high. This creates a safety issue for EVERYONE, including the quality of any products that come from that company. Do you want to be driving a car put together by a stoner? If you own a business would you hire someone who is a daily pot smoker? Your insurance company would dump you quick if that's the case. That's why they implement drug screening at the work place. The insurance companies are behind it. If you want to smoke pot don't expect to keep your job. Even if it's legal. They can even take your kids away for it. Divorces can get messy ya know. Side: No
1
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If it's legal it means there will be more of it, more people smoking it No, it means it will be more available. Looking at Portugal, Holland, or the US alcohol prohibition, I think it's unwise to assume that more people would therefore use it. Children can already get it but if it's legal they will get even more of it. There will be no control of it because it can be grown. Therefore it can't be taxed. Same point as above, and there is no control of it now, it can be grown now. It would definitely be taxed highly if it were legal, people can grow their own vegetables but they still buy them + pay tax. Lots and lots of money would be made off of marijuana, billions. Using the "medicinal value" isn't a good excuse because they can isolate the medicinal value of the plant from the mind-altering part. Not effectively, it's expensive and it's still not as good. More people getting stoned more often means the chance of them coming to work high. I could use the same argument against alcohol, or coffee. Workplaces will put policies into place to stop it, if it becomes an issue. If you own a business would you hire someone who is a daily pot smoker? No one's forcing you too. But there are thousands of people who smoke weed everyday, and still work well on the job, I don't see it as becoming a major issue. Side: Yes
1. We can spend less taxpayer money on the War On Drugs, and gain revenue from taxation. 2. People would be much less likely to ingest marijuana that is laced with something dangerous if the product was regulated to standards. 3. Job growth by legalizing an already large industry (more taxation revenue). 4. To many, it seems hypocritical to keep marijuana illegal while tobacco and alcohol can be purchased legally. 5. It would be easier to get correct data on numbers and locations of users, to get better data for overall effects of heavy or long-term use, and people would be more likely to seek help if they use too heavily. Side: Yes
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