U.S. should put an end to war on drugs, legalize pot?
Consider this editorial, written by the editorial board of The Denver Post: "President Barack Obama has requested more than $14 billion to fund the drug war at the federal level in 2009. State and local enforcement costs drive that figure far higher. Year after year, a few hundred thousand people end up in court and prison as a result of drug crimes. Our overcrowded prisons are just one reason to take another look at some of our drug laws. Granted, there are still many dangerous drugs out there. Highly addictive drugs like methamphetamine or crack cocaine swept through our nation's cities and suburbs and rural communities like epidemics. But legions of studies have shown that marijuana isn't addictive. And as recent U.S. presidents have shown, use of the drug, even when inhaled, doesn't in and of itself ruin a person's chance at achieving full and productive lives. Yes, pot users face risks as potentially as devastating as other drugs. So do drinkers of wine and beer."
End the war on drugs, legalize
Side Score: 402
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Continue the war on drugs
Side Score: 106
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19
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Yes, yes, yes, yes. I think we could save so much time and money just by treating Marijuana like a mixture of Cigarettes and Alcohol. You don't smoke in public places. You don't drive while under the influence. And we can tax it. I'd bet it would still be cheaper than today. It wouldn't be such a risk to transport and sell, and more people would be doing it. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Following your arguments: 1. Don't people still smoke cigarettes on the street? 2. Don't people still drive drunk? (Just because you set these rules doesn't mean people will follow them.) 3. Marijuana would not be cheaper than it is today. If the government had control over it they would make the price way higher than it is at street value. And this wouldn't stop drug lords, do they not have cigarettes on the black market at dirt cheap prices? Wouldn't you buy from someone growing themselves at a cheaper price to avoid a tax? How does that stimulate a business let alone the whole economy? 4. The last thing we need is more people doing it. More people making it a problem for themselves, more people ending up in rehab at the governments expense. In fact I hate being around people doing it. They're so slow and stupid with their dumb eyes all squinted. I want to slap them and give them a good shake to snap out of it. Your points have got to be the typical pothead's standpoint on this issue and it's not good enough, sorry. Legalizing is not the solution. Side: Continue the war on drugs
10
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Well, yes, people still do those things. Don't people still murder other people? Don't people still embezzle money? All this still happens, but because it is illegal, it takes place less often. Don't people still sell marijuana and don't people still smoke it? Yes, they do. It's just much more dangerous and expensive to do so because it's illegal. I believe the core of our disagreement here seems to be that we have opposing viewpoints on marijuana alone, whereas you seem to think of it as something bad; some kind of scourge of society. I don't see it that way. There has been endless debate over whether or not marijuana is harmful, and I choose to believe it's really not that bad. Either way, it should be a level-minded individual's choice to smoke marijuana, just like it's their choice if they wish to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, both very destructive substances, yet still legal. My core belief is that it should be the individual's choice whether to do something or not. Although there is some small chance that you are not calling me a pothead, let's get something straight; I've never smoked marijuana, I've never done any other drug, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke cigarettes, and to be honest, I really don't plan on doing any of the above. I've made it thus far without them, and I don't have any real reason to start now. So, because of this, I can say that I have reasoning beyond what is simply personally more convenient. The war on marijuana, not all drugs, but marijuana, sucks up so much federal, state, and local money. Couldn't this money be better spent enforcing the other laws, say, the ones that keep people under the influence off the roads? Or maybe we could put this money towards something we can all enjoy, like lowering taxes. There are just better ways to spend our money. You make good points, and I understand what you are getting at, I just wholeheartedly disagree. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
6
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Regarding your first two points, I agree, but your point is irrelevant. Yes people do break the rules, and if they do they will be punished. We have laws against playing music too loud, but because people do it anyway, should we make playing music illegal? Yes marijuana would be cheaper if legalized, you do not understand the way a black market works. Because the people growing, trafficking, and selling marijuana have to take huge risks, they make the price higher. Once legalized the price would lower. So your argument that there would be a blackmarket with cheaper prices is invalid. Really the last thing we need as a country is more people doing marijuana? I can think of far worse things. Assuming that legalizing it would significantly increase use long term, which you don't have evidence for, what is the big deal? People do not end up at rehab for marijuana. It is not addictive. If they go to rehab it is because they have addictive personalities and are using it too much because of that, not because it is addicting. People with addictive personalities can need help for anything. Out of curiosity would you have slapped Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak when they created apple while smoking marijuana. Very intelligent and successful people habitually smoke marijuana. Just because unsuccessful gravitate toward toward it, does not mean it makes you unsuccessful. As we say in statistics, correlation does not imply causation. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
3
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1. Tobacco is _the_ most addictive substance known to man. Comparing it to cannabis in this way is a joke. 2. The numbers for marijuana related auto deaths compared to alcohol are laughable. Keep in mind many people also drive while on vicoden, anti-depressents, etc. The lesson here is don't drive if your fucked up (on anything). 3. Pfffffff. Arguing that the government would regulate it in a way that would increase the price is ridiculous. If I could buy a 'pack' of marijuana cigarettes for the same price as tobacco, even while tobacco is heavily taxed, that would be awesome and very very cheap. Have you heard the numbers that the government has been considering? I've heard $50 a plant for growing - a single plant can procure about 6 grand worth of medicine. It's still going to be cheap. 4. Just because you don't like it or how it effects other people gives you no right to make choices for others. Just like just because I don't like drinking doesn't mean I think everyone should be banned from drinking. Even if you think Legalizing is not the solution - the war on drugs is also NOT the solution. A good solution might be to change the war on drugs to be the war on addiction, and then also legalize pot. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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16
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I will argue first from a practical position, then philosophical, then historical. Marijuana is not dangerous. There has been a death recorded due to marijuana. The LD50 or amount that it would take to kill half the population is incredibly high. Far higher. You can reasonably say it is so high, it is impossible to die from overdosing on marijuana. Also marijuana does not make you stupid. The reason people think this, is that there was a study done on monkey where they let them breathe only marijuana smoke and they died from hypoxia or lack of oxygen. When you die from a lack of oxygen, your brain cells die. The severe errors in the study, however, were released much later than the results so there is now a stigma that marijuana use makes you stupid. They have found that smoking marijuana does not cause cancer like cigarette smoke. A UCLA study found no link. The gateway drug theory is actually perpetuated by the prohibition of marijuana. Because marijuana users must get pot from drug dealers, they are exposed to harder, dangerous drugs. If marijuana was able to be sold in stores, this would not happen. Legalizing marijuana would not lead to an increase in use by children. According to many studies, it is vastly easier for teenagers to get marijuana than it is for them them to get alcohol. This is because alcohol must be purchased through legal channels where vendors check for IDs. However, because of the black market for marijuana drug dealers do not care how old someone is when they sell them pot. The legalization of marijuana will be very good for the economy. We spend billions of dollars each year to keep people in prison because they like to get high and relax. Additionally marijuana is a huge cash crop the government could make a lot of money off from taxation. It is the number one cash crop in California for example. ~60% of the money of Mexican drug cartels is earned by selling marijuana in the US. Severely compromising their funding would reduce crime in the United States as well as Mexico, which would help improve Mexico's living conditions and curb illegal immigration into the United States. The government should not have a right to prohibit you from doing something to yourself that does not harm anyone else. It is not illegal to go home and drink a gallon of paint thinner, but I guarantee that it's much better for both you and society that you smoke marijuana instead of drinking paint thinner. Here's a more reasonable example: Should the government make it illegal to consume significantly more calories than you expend? This is much more harmful than marijuana, and obesity related illnesses are one of the leading causes of death. The bottom line is that this type of reasoning that the government needs to be able to protect you from yourself is dangerously close to fascism. Where do you draw the line? Do we monitor people's jobs and make it illegal to not work hard to make sure people are productive and that they get promoted? Do we make it illegal to be late for job interviews because that is bad for you? Do we make it illegal to sleep in beds instead of on the floor because people have died this way and no one has ever died from marijuana? The answer is no. Adults are free to make their own decisions that only affect themselves. We do not live in a "nanny-state" as Ron Paul puts it. Many people assume that because marijuana is illegal serious research and thinking went into the decision to ban it. This simply isn't true. The first marijuana laws in the United States forced people to grow marijuana during colonial times. Marijuana became illegal for a few reasons. One was due to extreme anti-Latino and anti-black sentiment. People were fear mongered into believing that minorities were a danger to white society especially due to marijuana. The "reefer madness" campaign created undue hysteria. Yellow journalism and personal career advancement also played a role. In fact President Nixon commissioned a report on marijuana which concluded that marijuana should not be illegal. http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/ The next logical question is why is marijuana still illegal. Again there are a few reasons. What kept it illegal during the middle and late 1900s was again a fear mongering campaign linking marijuana use and communism. By this point in history there is so much social stigma against marijuana, that if you ask someone against legalization why it should be illegal, they will most likely cite things that simply aren't true. Additionally the alcohol and tobacco industries are absolutely huge. Companies in those industries make a so much money that they can spend vast amounts lobbying congress to keep marijuana illegal. They don't want competition. Why would you drink or smoke tobacco when they are incredibly dangerous and addictive when you can smoke marijuana which is harmless and not addictive? Many people underestimate the effect that a large lobby can have on national and state policy. The alcohol and tobacco companies also perpetuate the social stigma against marijuana by funding anti-drug and anti-marijuana advertisements and programs. The goal of these programs is not to make you not do drugs, its to stop you from doing drugs that they don't sell you. Also marijuana for medicinal purposes is a huge threat to the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry is the biggest industry in the United States. Just like the tobacco and alcohol companies, pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars lobbying congress. Marijuana has been some doctors as the single best drug for maintaining health. It combats an astonishing number of diseases and conditions, and has no side effects. Compare that to the multitude of side effects from prescription drugs. It has become a cliche how at the end of television commercials for prescription drugs they rattle off a long list of some pretty serious side effects. Thousands of people die from adverse reactions to prescription drugs. As I hope you can see, the prohibition of marijuana is completely wrong on many levels. Making marijuana legal will keep it away from kids, keep people away from dangerous hard drugs, and allow adults to make their own choices when it comes to their own lives. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
5
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2
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I know there is no point in complaining about down votes, but I just want to remind everyone especially the people who just down voted me that you are not supposed to do down vote arguments you disagree with. You are supposed to down vote arguments that are off topic or have shoddy logic. Whether not you agree with what I said, I don't think you can really say it is illogical or unsubstantiated by evidence. And if you do down vote, at least do me the courtesy of rebutting my argument. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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you are a fuckin genious, you should get a nobile prize for writing this, man oh man. especially i liked the part where you say marijuana is not dangerous, its like saying driving a tank in the middle of the street while you are drunk and there are little kinds around you, is not dangerous. man, you are a fuckin genius. NOT DAngerOus, rlmao, my ass is not dangerous, marijuana is. it is weapon, a drug, it is like a bullet, uncontrolable. Side: Continue the war on drugs
2
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Yeah it's exactly like driving a tank down the street while you are drunk and there are kids around you. Except for the fact that it doesn't harm yourself or anyone else. Instead of using inane analogies, how about you tell me specifically how marijuana is dangerous and I will explain to you why you are wrong. If you want to be taken seriously in a debate, don't say abstract and ridiculous things like marijuana is a weapon and like a bullet. If marijuana is so dangerous as you seem to think it is tell me how. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
10
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Ok, let me educate you peple, and set the facts straight on Cannabis. 1st, Cannabis is probably the safest drug known to man, we have a endocannabinoid system designed to handle the substance. - http://www.briancbennett.com/charts/death/cannabis.htm 2nd, medically speaking it is one of the safest and most effective medications for the widest variety diseases known. - http://scientificfactsofpot.com/studies.htm 3rd, more people die from the war on drugs than they die from the pot itself, i need no citation here if you believe that this plant has killed more than the cartels, (a result of this underground black market that formed to fill the demand for cannabis) and this war on drugs has, then then you're beyond help. 4th, the government understands that there are no negative effects of pot use, otherwise they'd be all over it parading the facts on their asinine antidrug commercials. 5th, as far as the commercials go they're run by the NIDA (national institute on drug abuse) which is able to run such a heavy ad campaign because of contributions from the alcohol and tobacco industry.. - http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/obstruction.htm 6th, In a recent study it was shown that cannabis actually DISCOURAGES harder drug use. - (simple version) http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/medicalmj08.htm#note1 - (for the scientifically inclined) http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/4/1/16 7th, cannabis prohibition was created as a way to arrest jazz musicians and mexican immigrants taking american jobs - even the history channel knows this, just look at their doc on it 8th, we're alienating our kids and workers, creating a network of fear through these ineffective drug tests - http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/drugtest.htm 9th, the tax revenue from legalization is estimated to be in the billions - http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/legalize_pot.htm 10th, through legalization we'd be restoring the fundamental RIGHT of people to do as they please with their bodies. The government has no say in what someone should do with their body as long as it's not infringing on anyone else's rights. as far as driving high goes - http://www.break.com/usercontent/2007/7/ Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Popular sovreignity is the cornerstone of democracy. Purely on the grounds of this, the overwhelming public support for the legalisation of marijuana, should it be legalised. A question of legality should be totally devoid of any of the the potential benefits or problems since our political system is not based upon paternal justifications. This aside, the overwhelming benefits to society is enough even for a clearly paternal government to legalise. Even though these have already been stated, I will reiterate: the economic savings of such legalisation alongside the proven fall in consumption (note statistics from Portugal's decriminalisation) provides a clear justification if this government did have our best interests at heart. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
yes it whould be legalized beacause ive grown up around people who have smoked pot or are smoking pot and it never made them hullucinate or slow down there motor functions in fact its actully help a few of them. besides why is it the hospitals can give it out to people with cancer when ever one else gets arrested just because they have a few tumors that gives them the right to bypass the law that every one has to obay. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
4
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Incorrect. Medical Marijuana can be prescribed for any number of things. Cancer patients are prescribed because it takes away the nausea that follow chemotherapy sessions which is extremely important to the recovery of the patient since if said patient can't eat from the chemo he'll stay weak and probably not survive. It's not because they are dying to ease the pain. Pot isn't that hardcore man. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
5
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Effectiveness of the War On Drugs: "Police arrested an estimated 872,720 persons for cannabis violations in 2007, the highest annual total ever recorded in the United States, according to statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of those charged with cannabis violations, approximately 89 percent, 775,137 Americans were charged with possession only. An American is now arrested for violating cannabis laws every 38 seconds. " -Obviously, from this you can see that it's completely failing: the American people want to smoke pot and there's nothing that can be done about it. Cost: "Since December 31, 1995, the U.S. prison population has grown an average of 43,266 inmates per year. About 25 per cent are sentenced for drug law violations. " -Many of these people's lives were completely ruined by incarceration. "The U.S. federal government spent over $19 billion dollars in 2003 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $600 per second. The budget has since been increased by over a billion dollars. " - All these tax dollars spent in attempt to prevent something that's never going away and millions of hard working American citizens enjoy. So the war on drugs is completely un-effective and also extremely costly in terms of human life, happiness, and finances. All quotes taken from http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm which has further references. Also, read the government's findings on marijuana here: http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/ Keep in mind most of everything that is said in this report uses words such as "may" and "could" because nothing, as of now, is conclusive. This is in spite of the fact that we as humans have been using it for thousands of years. My feeling on this is that if marijuana actually is dangerous....then not only would we know it from hearing about it, but these studies would have conclusive, definitive results. Not wishy-washy, half-assed results. Also: you won't find anything in that report that is worse than existing legal substances and pharmacueticals (think vicoden, lithium, valuum, morphein, wel butron, etc.). So...what the hell? Why are we having a war on pot? Results of ending the war on drugs: no more tax money being spent, millions of Americans' lives will be instantly better as they will not be incarcerated, etc. A new industry will be created that will provide tax revenue, jobs, etc. A small number (comparatively) of government workers would lose their jobs. Results of not ending the war on drugs: DEA agents, etc. and others will not lose their jobs. Politicians will continue to have something to be proud of and market themselves with. People will continue to use drugs anyway, as history has shown and nothing will change as it is now and has been since it was made illegal. An alternative to the war on drugs? We need to shift our thinking from drug addict, CRIMINALS to drug addict, PATIENTS. Meaning these people need help, not jail. There's a reason they are taking the drug - lets solve the problem with using therapy, clinics, raising awareness, and educating people so that they can make their own healthy decisions. No one is saying there isn't a problem, but there are many that say (and I agree) that we're going about this problem all wrong. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
LEGALIZING =/= DECRIMINALIZATION If you want to smoke weed, don't make the argument for decriminalization. Legalization and decriminalization are two different subjects. The arguments against "War on Drugs" usually has more to do with people wanting it legalized than it does decriminalizing it because it's an easy target with numbers and panders to everyone's fear of government. Typical Legalization Propaganda: "Look at all these poor non-violent people stuck in prison, all they wanted was to get high, and it costs us $20394 per second to chase one of these poor fellers down, and then another $79887987 a year to keep him in prison. How dare you government, shame on you, and shame on us for doing this to them, legalize now(1)! (1)If you pass this info along maybe someday you could smoke pot too(2) (2) Not right now though, but when it's legalized ;)..." Side: Continue the war on drugs
2
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"If you want to smoke weed, don't make the argument for decriminalization." -WHAT? WHY? Any step towards legal weed is a good one. Both decriminalization and legalization both have many numbers that show it's beneficial effects on society. Oh, and if you didn't notice, legalization DOES decriminalize it. They are not mutually exclusive. And yes, many people want to get high on cannabis. That's why we're here. If you can come up with a good reason why that should be illegal, I'm all ears. So far, I haven't heard anything. People using drugs is not bad, we do it all the time (caffeine, Tylenol, Vicoden). People using dangerous drugs is bad. If you can prove that pot is dangerous to society, I'm all ears. No one has been able to do so. Ever. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
3
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1
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You cannot legislate morality. This has been proved on many issues through the millenia. Cannabis is a plant, which has hundreds of uses, from industrial lubricants to clothing. As to the recreational uses, there is no overdose level, as there is with alcohol and other drugs. No anecdotal evidence exists about anyone ever getting violent after smoking cannabis. It increases creativity in many individuals, including this one. The medicinal benefits are being discovered weekly, it seems. It may increase brain cell production. It is an analgesic, eases anxiety, and we all have heard about the benefits for cancer patients. The "War on Drugs" (how one wages a war on an inanimate object has always puzzled me) has cost billions, put millions of people (mostly people of color) in jail needlessly (because it is a victimless crime) to the point where we now incarcerate more people than any other nation on earth. China and India both have 1 billion+ people and do not have as many prisoners as we do. The price tag for this "war" is in the tens of billions of dollars, and demand is higher than ever. Even people who would not partake of cannabis see the logic in abolishing the draconian drug laws that benefit only law enforcement, the prison industry, and the legal profession, while putting a lifelong stigma on many otherwise law-abiding citizens, whose only "crime" was smoking a joint, and having a few more grams of cannabis in their pocket. Are we a free country or not? Do we have the right to put into our adult bodies the substances that give us pleasure, or not? Prohibition has led to the same thing it did in Chicago in the 1920's. Powerful dangerous, murderous gangs, looking to increase their profit while prohibition is in effect. End the prohibition, end the gangs, end the violence, end the profit to the gangs. The Federal government could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, new "green" industries would spring up, backed by venture capital, and the police can get back to doing their real job, catching violent and dangerous criminals. Side: Many reasons to end cannabis prohibition
Annual causes of death in USA: Tobacco 435,000 Poor Diet and Physical Inactivity 365,000 (enjoy those burgers, hey maybe we should ban apply pie??) Alcohol 85,000 Microbial Agents 75,000 Toxic Agents 55,000 Motor Vehicle Crashes 26,347 Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs 32,000 Suicide 30,622 Incidents Involving Firearms 29,000 Homicide 20,308 Sexual Behaviors 20,000 All Illicit Drug Use, Direct and Indirect 17,000 Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Such As Aspirin 7,600 Caffeine 1,000-10,000 (includes coffee, tea and soda drinks like pepsi or coke) Marijuana 0 I would sooner agree to ban tea as a deadly gateway drug than agree to the war on cannabis... because the war on cannabis makes no sense to a rational person... Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
3
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Many people have been victims in the War on Drugs. The cost of the war clearly outweighs the cost of drugs on society. ('Cost' as in every way - financial and moral). Read the page I'm linking to. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
I really fail to see how you can debate Marijuana prohibition... The evidence in favor of abolishing prohibition is OVERWHELMING! The only way you can say marijuana should be illegal is if you are uneducated or just plain ignorant. All the Facts listed below are found on the website I tagged to this submission. All Facts listed are backed up by well respected sources. 1. There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. 2.Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild. 3. Marijuana arrests in the United States doubled between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, more than one-half-million people were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana possession. Tens of thousands of people are now in prison or marijuana offenses. An even greater number are punished with probation, fines, and civil sanctions, including having their property seized, their driver's license revoked, and their employment terminated. Despite these civil and criminal sanctions, marijuana continues to be readily available and widely used. 5. Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. 6. Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. 7. Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug. This next one is my favorite.... 8.In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health." 9. The Netherlands' drug policy is the most nonpunitive in Europe. For more than twenty years, Dutch citizens over age eighteen have been permitted to buy and use cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in government-regulated coffee shops. This policy has not resulted in dramatically escalating cannabis use. For most age groups, rates of marijuana use in the Netherlands are similar to those in the United States. However, for young adolescents, rates of marijuana use are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States. The Dutch people overwhelmingly approve of current cannabis policy which seeks to normalize rather than dramatize cannabis use. The Dutch government occasionally revises existing policy, but it remains committed to decriminalization. 10. None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. 11. Marijuana produces immediate, temporary changes in thoughts, perceptions, and information processing. The cognitive process most clearly affected by marijuana is short-term memory. In laboratory studies, subjects under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display diminished capacity to learn and recall new information. This diminishment only lasts for the duration of the intoxication. There is no convincing evidence that heavy long-term marijuana use permanently impairs memory or other cognitive functions. 12. There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities (although I do not advocate smoking and driving) 13. MARIJUANA DOES NOT AND CANNOT CAUSE OVERDOSE DEATHS 14. There is no evidence that anti-drug messages diminish young people's interest in drugs. Anti-drug campaigns in the schools and the media may even make drugs more attractive. Marijuana use among youth declined throughout the 1980s, and began increasing in the 1990s. This increase occurred despite young people's exposure to the most massive anti-marijuana campaign in American history. In a number of other countries, drug education programs are based on a "harm reduction" model, which seeks to reduce the drug-related harm among those young people who do experiment with drugs. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." - George Washington "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." - The 10th Amendment God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth.…To you it will be for meat." … And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:29-31) "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall … speak lies in hypocrisy … commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (Paul: 1 Timothy 4:1-3) "When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana." - Jimmy Carter Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
I don't like drugs, and I'd rather they didn't exist, period. But that's not the case. On the argument of prison overcrowding due to illegal drug users, they may as well legalize it and reduce the crowding. However, legalizing it will give too much leeway for people to get their hands on it even more. It's overall bad for society, but whether it's legal or illegal, it has its upsides and downsides alike. On the other hand, I'm absolutely not looking forward to smelling marijuana everywhere I go, that is, if it was legalized. It is so awful and obvious smelling. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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Check out this reference. From the Time Article: "Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does." Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Its amazing we didn't learn our lesson after repealing prohibition, yet cannabis is far less harmful than alcohol, it even has medicinal properties. But the greatest benefit would be an end to mandatory sentencing practices, which have ruined so many young peoples lives. Side: Be wise Legalize
Hooraaah. But seriously, it don't harm no one but the smoker, and that is really debatable too. It even has medicinal benefit. Its way safer than alcohol, which we still have legal after repealing prohibition. And ending the ban would mean ending cruel mandatory sentencing that ruins so many young peoples lives. Be wise. Legalize. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Yes. Smoking pot may not be a good idea, but it's no more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes, and does not harm anyone who doesn't choose to take it up. Especially with our current budget restrictions, we can't afford to save people from their own stupid decisions. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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Exactly, it costs so much, but accomplishes so little. Really all making it illegal does it raises the black market price. So the beneficiaries are drug dealers and money laundering bankers. Its tragic because mandatory sentences are so excessive they ruin young peoples lives with long jail times. This is inexcusable. It should never have been made illegal in the first place. Side: Be wise Legalize
2
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So many lives have been lost and so much money has been wasted on a completely unnecessary war on drugs. Speaking as someone who doesn't smoke cannabis (anymore), I know, through research, that the drug is not harmful. It's known to treat over 200 ailments, and not once has a person died from cannabis use. If cannabis is illegal, cigarettes and alcohol should also be illegal, as they do much more damage and take many more lives. Side: Many reasons to end cannabis prohibition
Agree completely, the way the law is it has ruined so many peoples lives with jail time and criminal records with overly harsh and excessive mandatory sentences. Its just insane. It doesn't really hurt anyone, alcohol is far worse, yet when people tried to stop that with prohibition, it didn't work at all. It seems we haven't learned our lesson from our own recent history. So sad and tragic, because it was completely preventable. Be wise Legalize. Side: Be wise Legalize
I cant believe I am saying "legalize", cause every time the pothead in the flat below mine starts smoking it, the whole block of flats starts stinking of skunk. Part of me thinks that it should remain illegal so people can call the police and arrest the inconsiderate idiot... but after a bit of thought, I have changed my mind. If it was legalized, then pot would probably be of better quality, and closely monitored for its ingredients. If it was legalized, and you could only get it from your doctor, then it would be easy to detect addiction and the doctor could refuse to give you any. If it was legalized, then there would be no dodgy characters entering my block of flats to sell not only pot but the whole array of harder drugs. If it was legalized, some of the money that pothead is paying could be used to benefit the rest of us in taxes, and not only a small group of criminal barons. But, alas, it is illegal... so now I have to put up with skunk smell and shadows creeping in the night to sell it. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
2
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weed should be legal. it's the safest "drug" there is and it's ridiculous that alcohol and cigarettes are legal and killing people while marijuana is illegal and hasn't killed anyone. plus it doesn't have any serious side effects, just makes you more relaxed and sometimes you think about things that never cross your mind while sober. i think the government has no right to dictate the way we live our life and what we do in our spare time as long as we're not hurting others or vandalizing property. there's many other reasons why i think it should be legal, this is just a few of them. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Amen brother, plus it could be used for medical purposes. And hemp could be used for so many things, even to make clothes. There is no need to import for hemp production. USA used to be a producer of it for ropes and stuff. It should never have been made illegal. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
2
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The government could make so much money if they just make it legal. First, they won't have to spend a lot of money trying to stop it. Trying to stop it this way is obviously not working. Second, the U.S. could make marijuana just another commodity. They could tax the use or the purchase of marijuana and actually make money. However, it's probably in the best interest for the whole country if smoking pot in public is banned. Doing it at home is still the same as doing it outside. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
I generally support the legalization of marijuana, which is really just another plant so whats the big deal. But I probably wouldn't want to tax it. At least not much. Cuz then how are people gonna afford snacks for the munchies right? But seriously, taxation is good to convince govt to legalize it, although its actually onerous to add more taxes, so if it is done, it should be done as little as possible. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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even though i am not a user i still believe that pot should be leagalized. not only will it help bring it us out of our major debt but will stop violence over drugs. we shouldnt put people in jail for smokin pot when we have murderers all over the country. We have to pay with our tax dollars to house those so called criminals. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
I know so many successful people that have smoked or still smoke pot on occasion and have never used anything else. If you look at the history on how it got classified as a hardcore substance it all politically motivated and a bunch of BS. Marijuana has so many benefits for sick people and also it's building material which is grows in only a few months. I'm tired of hearing about nice people who are doing 10 years to life just for weed. You know me I don't smoke it but I think that it's all about personal freedoms who's right is it to tell you what you put in your body. The other drugs such as cocaine and heroin those need to stay as such. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
i think it would be a perfect thing for the Gov't if legel. Pot heads would still buy it for any price and it would help lower our debt. But if it were leaglized it would need to be controlled and stuff. its still dangroud and adictive like beer and cigrattes Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
2
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Although i am not a pot smoker I do believe that pot should be legalized for many reasons. For one pot was never a direct cause of death to anyone unlike tobacco and beer. Pot is also one of the most high priced exports of Central American Countries and the Carribean. Legalizing pot can help save our economy if we make it one of the major exports of America. Also a lot of comedians like to take their ideas from pot too haha Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
2
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2
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The War on Drugs is not only a moral problem but a economic problem. First, it is morally wrong because the government restricts the free choice of individuals to participate in such substances, and the number of people people killed every year with selling or buying drugs is simply unnecessary and unjust. When someone engages in the use of drugs, it is the decision of that person and they are only hurting themselves nor the government. Second, economically, instead of enforcing drug prohibition with $10 billion of spending, the government could control the supply of drugs by legally selling the product and taxing where estimates range in $10 billion dollars as well. The government would have 10 billion dollars to spend elsewhere. It would eliminate drug cartels. Not only is the enforcement costly, but by criminalizing these people, taxpayers have to pay for them in live in prisons throughout America. The only negative aspect is that it may lead to a increase in drug addicts. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
2
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2
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Yes. Pot is much safer than alcohol and tobacco, and far less addictive than many legal drugs (including coffee!) Pot is also a better substance to take in a social context: alcohol can make people aggressive and even violent, whereas pot relaxes you. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
2
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Here's what the war on drugs has failed to accomplish: it has failed to actually reduce the use of illegal drugs. Most drugs have gone up in consumption since the W.O.D. was fully implemented. Here's what it has accomplished: Spending millions in tax payer money for a program that has repeatedly failed to provide results. Pack our prison system to nearly beyond capacity. It has made the remaining drug dealers far wealthier than they would be without it by making them the only supplier for highly addictive substances. Increased violence and drugs unnecessary association with other crimes. Implemented de facto public sponsored racism by incarcerating far more minorities than whites for drug violation despite drug use being essentially equal between blacks and whites. Made clinical research on long term effects harder to obtain, as well as effective treatment programs. Made it easier to obtain fully illegal drugs than legal but controlled substances (like alcohol and tobacco) in many urban and some suburban areas. It doesn't matter whether you are talking pot or heroin, the war on drugs is an abject failure. It needs to be ended ASAP. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1. why does each side have hundreds of points, but there are not arguements? 2. I'm glad you brought up this subject. In the history of mankind, prohibition of any substance that one puts into their own body has never worked. Alcohol was no more or less popular during prohibition, than now. The only difference was that instead of States and the feds recieving tons of tax dollars, and the money from alcohol purchase going into the hands of legitimate businesses that employed citizens who contributed to society and paid taxes, all the money was going to gangsters and thugs. Well, the same thing is going on now. Marijuana was not made illegal until 1937. Before then the plant was taxed. It employed people. Now it is not taxed, and those who sell it are usually criminals of some sort (though many are harmless) Still, the amount of marijuana consumed has not diminished one bit. Cannabis has been used all through recorded history. What makes us think that now, in the last 72 years something about the plant has changed. Marijuana's illegal status is a historical farce. It's laughable, pointless, and counter productive. 1. Marijuana is a better pain killer, with less harmful side effects than any perscription drug. It costs less (0 if you have dirt and water already) and it's less addictive. Are there harmful side effects of marijuana? Yes, but no more so than any other drug including alcohol, tobacco, or caffiene. 2. Taxes collected from the sale of marijuana would be in the hundreds of millions, it would give our economy an enourmous boost and employ potentially hundreds of thousands of people. 3. It would take the money from illegal drugs out of the hands of criminals. 4. It would be a huge relief on our overcrowded prisons, saving States hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, even millions in States with large prison populations like CA. Also, it would save the 18 year old A student and college hopeful from losing all his scholarships and having to check YES on every application that asks if they've ever been arrested, for the rest of his or her life, just because they had a tiny amount of a plant that is far safer than alcohol. and by all means, come visit my blog sometime, www.crazydrugnews.blogspot.com. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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Debaters debate the two wars as if Nixon’s civil war on Woodstock Nation did not yet run amok. The persecution of the half-a-million strong hippies assembled in August 1969 can’t be good for America, the world-leader in percentile behind bars. Madam Secretary Clinton need not travel to Tibet to find a minority subculture stripped of human rights. If we are all about spreading liberty abroad, then why mix the message at home? Peace on the home front would enhance credibility. Stop throwing good money after bad. The witch-hunt doctor’s Rx is for every bust to numerate a bigger tax-load over a smaller denominator of payers. Spend more on prisons than on schools. My shaman’s second opinion is homegrown herbal remedy. Consumer dollars can stimulate the economy better if they aren’t depleted by prohibition’s black market. Only a clause about interstate commerce provides a shred of constitutionality. The commerce policy on the number-one cash crop in the land is no taxation; yes eradication. But money to frustrate enforcement grows on trees. Did the authors of the Constitution intend to divert the Treasury’s natural revenue to Mexican cartels? America rejected prohibition, but its back. Swat teams don’t seem to need no stinking amendment. The demonized substances never had their day in court. Nixon promised to supply supporting evidence later. Later, the Commission evidence didn’t support, but no matter. The witch-hunt was on. No amendments can assure due-process under an anti-science law that never had any due-process itself. Science hailed LSD as a drug with breakthrough potential, until the CSA (Controlled Substances Act of 1970) halted all research. Marijuana has no medical use, period. Lives are flushed down expensive tubes. The RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993) allows Native American Church members to eat peyote. A specific church membership should not be prerequisite for Americans to obtain their birthright freedom of religion. Denial of entheogen sacrament to any American, for mediation of communion twixt the soul and the source of souls, violates the First Amendment. Freedom of speech presupposes freedom of thought. The Constitution doesn’t enumerate any governmental power to embargo diverse states of mind. How and when did government usurp this power to coerce conformity? Legislators who would limit cognitive liberty lack jurisdiction. Common Law must hold that the people are the legal owners of their own bodies. Socrates says, know your self. Mortal law should not presume to thwart the intelligent design that molecular keys unlock spiritual doors. Those who appreciate their own free choice of personal path in life should not deny self-exploration to seekers. The right to the pursuit of happiness is supposed to be inalienable by government. Simple majorities in each house could put repeal of the CSA on the president’s desk. The books have ample law on them without the CSA. Americans are already liable for damages when they screw-up. The usual caveats remain in effect. Strong medicine requires prescription. Employees can be fired for poor job performance. No harm, no foul; and no excuse, either. Replace the war on drugs with a frugal, constitutional, science-based drugs policy. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Yeah, I think the reason it's gone on so long is dealers and laundering banks make their money under the black market system. But it could change again. Look at prohibition. The biggest effect would be an end to brutal mandatory sentencing of long jail times that has ruined so many young peoples lives. Side: Be wise Legalize
1
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We should stop trying to stop the pot heads. I hate drugs too because they are unhealthy & deadly but I don't think the government should be arresting people for doing them. I think drugs including tobacco & alcohol should be banned from public stores. It shouldn't be illegal. If it is illegal where you arrest anybody who does pot then that just causes more problems. So here is the answer: legalize pot & other illegal drugs but ban them, tobacco & alcohol from public stores. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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Well, I would almost agree with that, but then that creates a huge black market all over again that is completely unregulated. People will be harming themselves with dirty alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs because of lack of regulation on these substances. It's currently a problem with cannabis because it's illegal. You are on the right track though, making them illegal is definately the wrong way to go about it. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Ya, legalizing will solve those problems. But I don't think there is a big black market in alcohol, so I would not be too fussy over how it was legalized exactly. But it would be better to have less hassles over it. But the main benefit would be ending mandatory sentencing, which has ruined so many young peoples lives. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Ya i agree with the sentiment, legalize. I can understand why you would want to have some control over distribution, keep it away from kids. But i don't know what a public store is. Where would you buy it then, a private store? I don't know what that means. But anyway, the greatest benefit would be an end to mandatory sentencing that has destroyed so many young peoples lives. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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okay. so the only reason weed is illegal is because the freaking usa cant put a tax on it, it being to easy to grow. well tell me how that makes any since.. many people have vegetable gardens... yet vegies arent illegal and there easy grown as well. so that makes no since not to be able to tax weed. its a plant for crying out loud!!. it was out on earth for a reason to keep peace!. so smoke it up and spread the peace!. obama should legalize it! for one.. they need more money in the economy.. they would make a shit load if stores started selling weed and we would be out of recession, only everyone would be a pot head. so what if everyone was it would be normal right?. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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ALL DRUGS should be controlled and legalized. From Cocaine to Marijuana. Primarily for safety & health reasons, but mainly to eliminate the cash flows going to dangerous groups and factions. Legalizing ALL DRUGS would be the best solution for homeland security debilitating international drug lords ability to finance terrorism while giving the government more financial maneuverability to adequately finance education, health care, and effective crime prevention. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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1
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There is absolutly nothing wrong with smoking marijuana! in fact there are many more fatality or deaths using alchool every year. Make pot legal, tax it, and put rules and regulations along with it just as they did with alchool! Years ago alchool was illegal and bootleggers were dealing all over the world and if caught you would spend time in jail! Nowdays this is true with pot and we are filiing up the jails with drugdealers petty pot charges and theres no room for the real criminals such as the rappist and murderers! Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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The question's not 'will the US ...' because we all know such a turnaround in policy won't happen so easily. Also, out of interest, considering that that weed prices would be determined by Supply/Demand, if demand stays the same, and the cost of supply goes down, then wouldn't the optimum price be at most the same, or less? Supply/Demand does apply to dealers, there's way different costs around the world, so I don't really see any basis for the 'gunna cost so much' argument. Side: Continue the war on drugs
The war on drugs is as useless and money-consuming as the war on terror, simply because you will NEVER eliminate either of the two. There will always be drugs and there will always be terrorists. I'm all for legalizing weed. Not only would it be better for the economy, but look at Amsterdam - weed is legal over there and you never hear anything out of them. They've been onto something for a long time now. :) Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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Legalizing pot alone would not end the war on drugs. It would help, but it would do very little to the biggest of our problems on the war, and that is, our organized crime. Our big time criminals, the Mafia's, none of this small time dealers we've got going on with pot (and when I say small time, I'm more referring to the type of criminal activity that goes on with in these drug organizations), my personal opinion would be the only way to completely end the war on drugs would be to legalize everything. This sounds absurd, I know, but think of the lives saved by doing this. Underground sex trades, the biggest Mafia's in the world, petty cold criminals- they're all run by drugs. In other words, its the law thats allowing these criminals to be what they are. If there were no law against drugs, if all drugs were run through a license, and sold legally, there would be a whole hell of a lot less murders, theft, prostitution, spreading of disease, deaths, and for most, it would shut down the worlds biggest criminal operations which thrive on selling illegal drugs. I'm aware this will never, ever happen... but it's worth a thought. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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Why are there no arguments, unless this a trap? Oh well, the war on drugs is a stupid thing, its basically prohibition again, and that didn't turn out well. There are some bad drugs out there but drugs are a tool. Non-ordinary conciousness is still conciousness, albeit not clarity in most cases. But it is still the experience to learn from, I'm not saying go do meth and have an experience, no, soft drugs and hard drugs are two different things. Entheogens are great for spiritual experience, but they are like a stepping stone, and should be replaced by meditation, because meditation is the ultimate drug. (psychedelicmeditation.com) The link is worth checking out and if you dont trust the link you can google it. Edit oh now i see the arguments Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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I agree it should be legal, I will never do it and I will never smoke or drink but I think it should be legal because alcohol is more harmful to the body so if drinking is legal then it should be. Just make a rule like you can only smoke in your house so then people have no reason to complain. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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1
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The war on drugs is far too expensive to maintain, and the results that are yielded at the end of the day are almost fruitless. In the 1980s, the US policy was to wage their "war on drugs" to try and rid the world of people like Pablo Escobar. The only problem is that once one kingpin is gone, another simply rises to take their place, as the drug trade is simply too lucrative and profitable. An example more specific to cannabis itself could include any number of people from George Jung to Carlos Lehder. The war on drugs will not be resolved by the US winning. The year that Escobar was killed, the amount of cocaine imported into the US actually rose by over 50 tons, according to some estimates. The US will not be able to stop being from doing something that they want to do - and nor should they try. As a country, their obligation should be to allow individuals to have their own freedom and sovereignty over their own selves to do as they please with substances such as marijuana. The US could never win a war on drugs, and nor would it be in the interests of American citizens for them to try and do so. Pot doesn't kill anyone - it is complete nonsense to have such double standards as for alcohol to be legal and for something like marijuana not to be legal. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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If the U.S were to legalize marijuana for recreational use it would resolve a lot. Considering its prescribed to people with serious medical problems of all ages, I don't really see the harm in it. Also research has shown that weed has never killed anybody and a human has to consume an obnoxious amount of it to over dose. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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As a former moderate drug user, I must come out in favor of continuing the WAR on drugs. MJ may be a bit of a different story but it is an hallucinogen and must be smoked with all due caution and knowledge. We knew NOTHING in the 70's about the drugs we took...nor did we care. We felt good, had great fun and woke up none the worse for wear, or so it seemed. The war on drugs is a serious one and one that should be fought on all fronts. Let's face it...we don't know what we are smoking! If you think THC is the only ingredient in MJ that makes you happy, think again. Along with built in chemical agents there can be others unbeknown to you. Lacing MJ with other drugs such as Angel Dust and cutting it with junk is just as popular now as it was then. MJ is NOT safe unless you grow it yourself. Too mild? Oh well, now you know why. Lacing brings back customers and quantity is always THE moneymaker because it makes you believe it's quality. Go ahead, smoke and toke your brains out for a bit of fun now and then...BUT never kid yourself into thinking it's totally harmless. Pass it on! Side: Continue the war on drugs
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1. It's no longer the 70's. We know plenty about pot. It's not bad for us. 2. Getting any substance off the street is dangerous. If it were legal, then safe marijuana could be easily attained. The laws keep marijuana use dangerous, marijuana use doesn't make marijuana use dangerous, however. 3. It is harmless in moderation. No study or research ever done has suggested anything otherwise. Please prove me wrong with references. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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I'm your personal reference and no matter who studies it it doesn't get any better or worse by having personal experience. It's what I KNOW and what I witnessed. The 70's have come and gone but that means nothing. Where do you get your pot from? Who broke it down? Who laced and cut it? Year in year out it's the same killswitch. I agree with your 2nd portion absolutely but not the 1st or 3rd. Did you not read the link I gave?. Side: Continue the war on drugs
except that everything on that website you linked... #1 looked like the page was designed by a 5th grader... #2 Iver never even heard of the "ACDE" for all i know that could be your mother and your local PTA members that came up with a fancy name... and #3 Most of facts listed there are myths and lies... where are is the scientific data/evidence to back up thier false claims???? Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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Actually buddy if you look at the statistics and scientific evidence, Marijuana while not completely harmless, is MUCH MUCH MUCH less harmful than any other substance used for similar effects... whether it be to get high or for medicinal uses. Also there is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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What you said is totally false, have you done any research before you posted what you just posted? Go and do some research into Cannabis consumption and mental disorders, there actually is evidence that Cannabis use does increase your chances of getting a mental disorder. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
That's why weed should be legalized so we can control what goes into it and what it is cut with. Weed on its own isn't too bad (apart from obviously the effects of smoking it on your lungs), it is the shit that dealers put into it to bulk it up to make more money that effects people. I have to agree with your last comment though. You should never think weed, cigarettes or alcohol are totally harmless. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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Marijuana i grew myself came out fine. Many people make enough mistakes along the way they end up with a mild product, but good strains, proper fertilizer, and good curing go way more towards making a quality product than "cutting it with junk." Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
1
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Weed is only laced when a joint is rolled and the user wishes to combine the drugs. It is not combined with other drugs while still on the bud (as it is sold) because this would cost the dealer extra. Weed may be sprayed with silicone or other substances to cause it to weigh more. However, this practice would surely be eliminated if it were legalised and properly regulated. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
0
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I don't think that it should be legalized but at the same time I think that it should be decriminalized. The drug, or all drugs for that matter, have an effect on society. It's not just about the individuals safety. We already have tobacco and alcohol, if we make either illegal there will be a riot, jobs will be lost and so on. If we add another drug to the legal market, that's just another way to waste time. People in this country act like everyone owes them something, like their 8 hour shift at work is all that is expected of them and that's all that they have to do. Anything more is a waste of their time because they could be spending it doing something that they want to do. Sure, that's the American dream. Work, go home and plan your next vacation, maybe sit back and relax with a beer. Watch television and talk about the "good ol times" with your buddy... That's a societal waste though. Anytime you sit back you're wasting time, like I am right now, and you, reading this (I'm using cognitive processes to contribute to an idea that other people can read, appreciate, or better, disagree with, so technically neither you nor I are really wasting time, but you and I could be doing better). Basically society is constantly rotting under our feet, and all these people want to do while it's happening is get high, drunk, or take a cigarette break! There is work to be done, quite your bitching and get to it. Side: Continue the war on drugs
3
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Dude, I dunno about other shit, but I'm productive as hell on pot. In fact, it's often the difference between me being able to function or not. This is how medicines, function, though, so it's only natural. I know many, many other people that fit this criteria as well. There are people that handle large amounts of money (stock brokers, bankers, etc.) who smoke pot on a regular basis. There are a number of extremely successful celebrities who smoke pot. Just because our society associates laziness with stoner's doesn't mean pot makes you lazy. Thinking pot makes you lazy when you smoke it will make you lazy when you smoke it, though. Read that last sentence again, it's a bit confusing, but is very true. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
It's always easier to medicate yourself to increase preferred performance... What does that mean about your natural state though, your worth as a human without it? There are ways, maybe too primitive for this generation of "successful actors" and counters to accept, but it's far more effective in the long run and you have a better understanding shit while you're doing it and afterwords too... it's called "discipline". A trick that seems to be all but forgotten, today... I wonder if it's because anyone can just go grab some form of "medication" to make themselves appreciate their own work and the world around them. --------------------------------------- Honestly, I find it both morally and ethically corrupt to even desire a substance for pleasure, let alone demand it come easier. The ultimate weakness and surest sign of gluttony, bitching about your unnecessary substances. "I know many, many, many other people that fit this criteria as well." So what? Many, many, many other people strive to define humanity as something other than a waste of billions of years of evolution and suffering for burnt plant fumes that create a careless and happy go lucky floaty feeling. I'm one of those people that know the meaning and worth of discipline. There's something sacred about reality and the way that the earth is when it's "dull" and quiet that no one seems to get... everything needs to be brilliantly colorful, exciting, relaxing, whatever, some form of artificial stimulation needs to be administered to get any good experience out of anything. It can't just be left alone and truly appreciated the way it is. I don't have a problem with the drug, I have a problem with people. I don't have a problem with people, but that they still act like animals. I feel like I'm the only real human left, like the only person I'm fighting for is myself, to show myself that I'm not a monster like the rest of you. That I'm actually worth the effort put forth by my bloodline a million fold because I am different. I won't lay down because it feels good, I won't lay down because "I need a break" in my finite life of only 23 years, I won't lay down because I deserve it! Laying down is for the weak. That's what you fools are doing. You just want you weed because the alcohol, cigarettes, caffein, television, shopping malls aren't good enough. You just want your plant. Now, I bit good riddance to you and your damned marijuana, I have work to do. Side: Continue the war on drugs
For twenty-five years, researchers have searched for a marijuana-induced amotivational syndrome and have failed to find it. People who are intoxicated constantly, regardless of the drug, are unlikely to be productive members of society. There is nothing about marijuana specifically that causes people to lose their drive and ambition. In laboratory studies, subjects given high doses of marijuana for several days or even several weeks exhibit no decrease in work motivation or productivity. Among working adults, marijuana users tend to earn higher wages than non-users. College students who use marijuana have the same grades as nonusers. Among high school students, heavy use is associated with school failure, but school failure usually comes first. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
"That's a societal waste though. Anytime you sit back you're wasting time, like I am right now, and you, reading this." I completely disagree with this statement and it goes against any scientific proof. Studies have been done that prove if you take breaks and have more leisure time you are a much more effective worker. Now obviously if you are neglecting your responsibilities leisure is bad. But that in no way implies that you have to be always working. In your next response you talk about how you morally think doing things that are unproductive or enjoyable are wrong. I have several problems with this. First off, honestly I'm not you and neither is anyone else why should we have to be held accountable to your unreasonable and arbitrary morals. Second off if we never did stop working productivity would fall because everyone would be unhappy. Unhappy people are not productive. Society would not operate like this so it is unreasonable to expect people to operate without leisure time. If you are going to tell people whether they can or cannot use substances such as Cannabis; than at least have a better reason than your supposed morals that almost half the country disagrees with. You admit to being hypocritical about your no-leisure rule by being on the internet rather than doing something productive and who is to say that is all your hypocritical about. So even you don't follow your own ethics/morals. But that is besides the point, as a completely productive citizen who works full time and goes to school full time, why do I have to go through illegal channels to enjoy a healthier substance (Cannabis) than a legal substance (Alcohol) in my spare time. Decriminalization is not enough. The game is over, we know that Cannabis is no worse and possibly better than Alcohol and denying people the right to a trustworthy and accountable Cannabis industry is authoritarian at best. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
"I completely disagree with this statement and it goes against any scientific proof. Studies have been done that prove if you take breaks and have more leisure time you are a much more effective worker. Now obviously if you are neglecting your responsibilities leisure is bad." I want to see these studies. There are a lot of jobs that require people to stay active for long periods of time, I don't see them handing out weed and duritos and telling people to take an enjoyable break. Look at book camp as an example. Sure it's tough, but what isn't that you're trying to do well. "In your next response you talk about how you morally think doing things that are unproductive or enjoyable are wrong. I have several problems with this. First off, honestly I'm not you and neither is anyone else why should we have to be held accountable to your unreasonable and arbitrary morals. I said also said ethics. "Second off if we never did stop working productivity would fall because everyone would be unhappy. Unhappy people are not productive. Society would not operate like this so it is unreasonable to expect people to operate without leisure time." This is hilarious. You decline to recognize any validity in my morals or even that I mentioned ethics as well, but holy shit, it's so important to me that you're unhappy without your substance... "If you are going to tell people whether they can or cannot use substances such as Cannabis; than at least have a better reason than your supposed morals that almost half the country disagrees with. You admit to being hypocritical about your no-leisure rule by being on the internet rather than doing something productive and who is to say that is all your hypocritical about. So even you don't follow your own ethics/morals." I am being hypocritical, but that's not the point. Leisure doesn't require marijuana, or any other drug. Contributing an argument is anything but leisure. "But that is besides the point, as a completely productive citizen who works full time and goes to school full time, why do I have to go through illegal channels to enjoy a healthier substance (Cannabis) than a legal substance (Alcohol) in my spare time. Decriminalization is not enough. The game is over, we know that Cannabis is no worse and possibly better than Alcohol and denying people the right to a trustworthy and accountable Cannabis industry is authoritarian at best."* You have this idea, that by doing what is expected of you by todays society, that you're doing good. Side: Continue the war on drugs
You are correct, Breaks do improve productivity. Here is one site that says so. http://www.stopblocking.org/?p=35 I should add that legalizing marijuana would mean an end to destructive mandatory sentencing of long jail times, which has ruined so many young peoples lives. So it would be worth it to legalize just for this reason alone. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
You may be right...but that's your belief, and you don't have the right to FORCE your belief on someone else. I have the right to go to work, put in my 8 hours, then go home and smoke it up, play with my kids, watch tv, or whatever else I wanna do that doesn't infringe on anyone elses rights. If I'm happy doing that, then who are you (or anyone else) to tell me I'm wrong? That is not just the "american dream"; that is the freedom that we fought for. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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nah, if they legalize pot, there would be no fun in smoking it. its fun because (???) IT IS Freaking ILLEGAL, which is frikin cool. Plus government would have to find another way to put black people in jail, and also they would have to release those black people that are curently in jail for pot posession offense and such... white men will never allow it... it is a way of control, man. make it illegal, then make somehow black people sell it, then catch those black people put 'em in jail. once you been in jail there is lesser chance you will find decent job, thus leaving job market all to white men, going back to pot sellin, then all going round and round. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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This doesn't make much sense, people enjoy doing legal things and illegal things but the black comment isn't completely true. If it was legal then imagine the police couldn't plant drugs on someone and claim they were carrying...if this makes any sense Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
if we legalize pot there wil be a sharp increase in demand and consumption over a period of time then............it will start to decline....slowly at first until smoking pot becomes drinking wine.......only on special occasions...........that's why we should continue the war it's not like weed is damn near impossible to obtain......in my opinion there is no war.......there never was... Side: Continue the war on drugs
How could you be so ignorant to do drugs anyways? The one thing that a drug targets is the brain, it alters and cripples every thought, it kills people, it depresses them, and marijuana fits in all of those positions. And drug users do this for social mobility? Comfort? And isolation? It seems very pointless to me, and it will affect everyone around you because anyone can be a victim. I support to end drugs. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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I agree with you until your getting high poses a threat to others. For instance, I think it's okay to take drugs in the privacy in your own home without an intent to hurt anyone else. However, if you were home with your family, got high, and began to do dangerous things or hurt your family because of your getting high - that's not okay. As long as the only 'victim' - if there even is one - is yourself, I don't think anyone should really have a say in what you do. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Yes, we would take away the war between us and mexico. but if we have to chose between that and the cartel shooting in our streets I know which one I would chose. There is always a double effect. One thing happens causing another. If we legalize then the cartel will move here to make a larger profit. That would cause an effect that makes america fall. We would have shootings in our streets and detectives being forced to shut up. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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i agree. Cannabis isn't 100% legal in any country in the whole world(for anyone who doesn't believe this, look it up(yes, it isn't legal in Amsterdam or Jamaica like people believe)). Since it isn't legal in any country in the whole world, then if we legalize it, all the gangs who sell cannabis will move to the United States, because they can do their operation without getting in trouble. We would be taken over by the Mexican Cartel, plus the cartel would most likely rob every Marijuanna store their is. Side: Continue the war on drugs
Even In Mexico, The cartel only has scared the law enforcment into not doing anything. If someone investigates a murder there head is choped off and sent to there office. Why, would we want that here in America. That would destroy our inalibe right to life and liberty . We could get killed in gang fights or worse if we partake in buying Cannabis then we can get killed for going to the the wrong person. I dont know about yall but I want to live. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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At the end of your "essay" you act as though it was good to legalize alcohol in the first place. Just because something is legal now doesn't mean that it should have been in the first place, and second, i think that marijuanna shouldn't be legalized is because(no matter what potheads say) their has been research done on the effects of smoking Cannabis, and the results were not good. Just go on google and type in something like "Cannabis and mental disorders" or something like that, and you'll find a ton of sites that show the research that Cannabis is bad for your brain. Have you ever noticed that the only people who want to legalize pot are people who smoke it themselves, or are related to someone who does. All i have to say is that science(research) will have the final say into whether or not it's bad for you. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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Obviously the war on drugs is not working. But that doesn't mean we need to legalize potheads and accept things like that when there are horrid consdequences such as lung disease, and the public despises second-hand smoke. We do need to make a change, though. The punishment should be putting people on probation rather than jail time, as they are only harming themselves. Probation will get people to stop using the drug and make them better people. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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Hard drugs should always be illegal unless you want more & more people dying like Robbin Williams. It's funny how the Left wing media wants to only speak of depression as the reason for Williams death when in fact drugs or alcohol could have been the trigger to commit suicide. Most suicides have some sort of drug or alcohol addiction. Have you ever noticed how the Liberal media uses most tragedies to further their agendas? Liberals are trying to legalize hard drugs so of course they hardly mentioned drugs as a possible culprit for William's death. The media coverage was all about his depression, & little to do with his addictions, much like other celebrity deaths. Now when it came to school shootings by depressed individuals, what did the Left wing media constantly talk about? Was it the shooters mental state or was it the GUN? It was the Gun of course because the Left has an agenda of gun control. Maybe you miss the obvious media slant put forth on every tragedy to shape your opinions. Talk about the thought police! This debate question included an end to the war on drugs, not just marijuana. Drugs quite often lead to suicidal tendencies. I guess Liberals want to legalize hard drugs so all can afford their addictions, not just the rich Hollywood types. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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The only party that likes banning things are the Democrat party(Guns, cigarettes, 20 ounce soda's, fatty foods, hunting, gas guzzling cars, spanking our kids, smoking in Central park, etc. etc. etc. etc to infinity) . The only thing they refuse to ban is the killing of late term babies for any reason. They are total lunatics when it comes to priorities & humanity. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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First of all, those pot smokers that want it legalized are total idiots. All that will mean is that it will be heavily taxed. And this is why the war should continue, because there are plenty of other drugs far worse than marijuana, which will become much more desirable and widespread when the demand for pot decreases because of the increased cost. Basically, the legalization of one drug will help to advance the cause of other drugs, making them more acceptable to society. I personally don't want to live in a world where meth is a legal drug. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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First of all, making blanket statements about an entire group of people (that includes our President) makes YOU an idiot. Secondly, if it were completely legal, priced and taxed similar to tobacco (which is HEAVILY taxed), it would be a drop in the bucket. I would love to pay for pot what tobacco smokers pay for tobacco. Currently, obviously, cannabis is illegal. Currently, also, cannabis is a gateway drug because the same people that end up handling it, handle other hard core drugs. If it were legal, those people would have no desire to traffic marijuana because there would be no underground market (like there is no underground market for tobacco and alcohol). Therefore, marijuana would no longer be a gateway drug. Making the argument that marijuana legalization would lead to Meth legalization, and THATS why we shouldn't legalize is pretty poor. Especially considering you have no references or evidence. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
I've never smoked weed in my life, and I strongly believe it should be legalized. Marijuana is safer than some other legal substances, so you can't ban it for that reason. Also you must realize that a prohibition simply does not work. Pot smoking is still a very common phenomena despite it being illegal. legalization, sales, and taxation of marijuana would be hugely beneficial to the economy. Also there is not a single bit of scientific evidence that can link marijuana usage to other drug usage. Your entire argument rests entirely on speculation. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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<<<<----------------------- WRONG SIDE * <<<<----------------------- Oh yes, because you don't want to live in a world like that, no one else should! How dare anyone else want to do something that you disagree with! What a terrible crime! And did you know that if it was legalized, it could be easily grown in any house that has electricity and water?!!?! Good thing we don't have to tax things we make ourselves. I love pot, but think meth is a terrible thing. But I'm not gonna tell anyone they can't smoke pot or do meth because I don't like it. That's what an ignorant person as yourself would want. And also, maybe if we legalized weed which has less health problems as opposed to cigs and alcohol, we wouldn't have to legalize meth, because it has shown it's devastating to your health. If we legalize weed, you don't HAVE to legalize other drugs moron. Your argument has failed my friend. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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The reasons for why pot should be legalized are all legitamite but people are only looking at the big picture. Sure it can benifet society in many ways but their are so many down sides to legalizing pot. If everyone were to become pot attics they would become more and more addicting up to the point that all they want to do is smoke pot. Allot of people are probably reading this and thinking that i am completly wrong, but the fact of the matter is that if you smoke pot long enough your mind will strictly be wrapped around trying to get high. With that said, how will our society progress if every has their minds on obtaining pot. Our world will not become more advanced because everyone who was one smart is now a pot head! Who will be the guy to cure cancer if everyone is on pot?? Side: Continue the war on drugs
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Why do you assume if marijuana is legalized that everyone will start doing it habitually? You have nothing to back this view up and the history of prohibition would actually disagree with your statement. "the fact of the matter is that if you smoke pot long enough your mind will strictly be wrapped around trying to get high." Marijuana is not physically addictive. Yet one of the most addictive substances known, nicotine, is perfectly legal to have in cigarettes. Alcohol is also very illegal. There are thousands of deaths every year from tobacco and alcohol, yet there has never been a recorded death due to marijuana. Unless you support making cigarettes and alcohol illegal, your position is not logically consistent. Furthermore your assumption that people who smoke pot are not productive members of society is simply not the case. 50% of the population has smoked marijuana at least one time. And the past three presidents have admitted to smoking pot. You can very easily be a very successful habitual smoker, but it is far more difficult to be a fully functional alcoholic. Yet once again I doubt you support prohibition of alcohol. Your argument is based upon incorrect assumptions and contradictions. Try again. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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LOL you think people who smoke weed aren't smart? do you have any idea how many smart people there are that smoke weed? one of my good friends, hardcore pot smoker for years and uses many other drugs like acid, shrooms, alcohol ect., took a IQ test from his shrink the other day. guess what his outcome was? 143 that's borderline genius. your arguement is fail, please try again. Side: FAIL
Actually, I've smoked marijuana before and I never wanted to do it again. Sure, that's just me but come on. Are you really telling me that people who don't do it NOW are going to do it if it's legalized? If someone wants to do it, they're going to do it whether or not it's legal (proof is everyone smoking pot today). Anyways, how many people do you know to smoke pot? From the sound of it, everyone must, because you're saying that EVERYONE will be hooked on the stuff if it becomes legalized. I don't think that many people (including the person or people that will, 'cure cancer') want to waste their time smoking it. This is strictly from my point of view, and I'm only pointing out that there is a vast majority of people who do not smoke now. What does that mean? There will be (HOPEFULLY!) a vast majority of people who don't smoke, if and when marijuana becomes legalized. Just because a lot of people drink doesn't mean everyone does. Just because a lot of people smoke cigarettes doesn't mean every person does. And just because a lot of people overeat certainly does not mean that everyone does. Consider athletes, for example. I'm not so sure that if it actually is legalized everything will be perfect, but then again nothing is, really. If one looks at alcohol there is still a giant reoccuring problem with drinking and driving. Despite educational tools used in schools, teens still do it; even adults do. There will always be people who think they are capable of doing something they are clearly not. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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Lol dude one of my good friends smokes pot everyday and has been for a year, he is currently the valedictorian of our high school... He also goes to work everyday while high as does exactly the same as everyone else!?!? Do you still think pot makes you stupid? Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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First off, the only people that want to legalize pot are the liberals that sit around all day, living off wellfare and smoke drugs. They do this because they are to uneducated to get a job, and figure the liberal government will whipe their behind for the rest of their lives. Damn socialist, all pot smoking hippies. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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Geez, you're a true idiot. For one thing, I have a college degree, two professional licenses, make over $80,000/year, and I enjoy MJ. I have many friends that are the same. Oh yeah, and some of them are Republicans. So next time, try some facts, not just what you learn from your ma and pa in the trailer park. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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Technically speaking, the war on drugs does employ people. So that's a plus to it, right? Besides, marijuana is illegal for a reason. People abuse the drug as it is. If they legalize it, the abuse will grow exponentially. This applies for any illegal substance. If alcohol is made legal, for example, underaged drinkers would drink so much more than they did when it was legal. Of course, this could slow down over time, but do we really want that initial boom of drug abuse which we don't know when it will end? Side: Continue the war on drugs
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"If alcohol is made legal, for example, underaged drinkers would drink so much more than they did when it was legal" What?? Alcohol IS legal. That's why you can buy it in a store after proving your age. Oh and your "it makes jobs argument" is completely dwarfed by the fact that the economy would get billions of dollars in a new industry if it were legalized making way more jobs than the war on drugs has ever made and no longer would this revenue go directly into the black market. You just made my point for me. Thanks. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
That's why I said "...underaged drinkers..." I know for a fact that most of my friends, myself included, would surely go out and buy liquor if we could. But we can't, so we can't exactly drink, now can we? That would require an irresponsible adult. :) I highly doubt marijuana would spark a billion dollar industry. There would still be a lot of private growers to circumvent the taxes on it and to make it cheaper. I'd say the same for cigarettes, but tobacco is not the only thing in there. It's a precise mixture of dozens of substances and chemicals, so people can't exactly manufacture that on their own. Side: Continue the war on drugs
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The drug use in Amsterdam is lower than it is here. Given your argument, how do you explain this? References: http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/67 Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
It employs people. But it also takes countless other people sitting at a desk, an incarceration system, a trial, and payment for all of the law enforcements equipment. The flagrant waste of tax dollars outweighs a handful of jobs. A handful of jobs paid for by YOU so you can be slammed against the hood of a car for a victimless crime. And legalizing may spring the use forward a bit, however during the Prohibition era of America, the restriction of alcohol brought innumerable amounts of new people to drink regardless, and its inevitable sale was instead left to booming gangs. Don't tell me restriction is an effective/ethical practice Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
Our prisions are overcrowded... and there are pleanty of other crimes that police officers could be investigating... The current "anti-drug industry" would not lose any money... it would just be allocated elsewhere. Also if you look at other countries that have legalized drugs, they seem to have FAR less problems with abuse and dependancies than we do by criminalizing it... Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
I don't think legalizing pot would be an end to the war and damn the day I see the war on drugs end. Drug abuse kills people all the time, screws them up, messes with their faces, gets people killed, infests the country with greed. Why the hell should we let that run rampant? I have my dictator's hat on tonight. :D! Side: Continue the war on drugs
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Actualy Drugs dont do this... Prohibition creats a black market for drugs... If they were legal and the government focused on harm reduction, there would be less of a problem. Look at the netherlands... Drugs have been legal for a quite a while now and results have been nothing but successful. Oh and if you want a more American example... look at alcohol prohibition... Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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This is not the first time that drugs have been illegal, and it will not be the first time that the have been legalized. Consider the 18th and 21st amendments, which prohibited and legalized alcohol, respectively. The 18th amendment caused the rise of organized crime, and thousands of people died from drinking wood alcohol. With the 21st amendment, much of that went away. Something similar will probably happen with Cannabis and other drugs. Once they can be regulated by the FDA and sold in reputable stores, the amount of crime will go down and quality will go up. Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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Again, the drug use in Amsterdam is lower than it is here. Given your argument, how do you explain this? References: http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/67 Side: End the war on drugs, legalize
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