Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana?

[LetTimmySmoke]

I'm talking full legalization, regulated, taxed, decriminalized, etc. Just like alcohol now.

[MrSlayer]

1. Absolutely positively.

It should been legalized years ago. All keeping it illegal does is make criminals out of otherwise law abiding citizens. Legalize now!

[Progress_LocalGlobal]

2. Yes

However I think its just gonna go state by state, I don't see some of the southern states going for it

[Taverner]

3. Legalize. Sell. Tax. Promote. Encourage.

We would have less headaches if instead of Tylenol, we took a minute amount of THC

Not enough to get high, but enough to increase bloodflow

[FiveGoodMen]

4. "Not only should pot be legal, it should be mandatory" -- Bill Hicks

[panader0]

5. And when it is legalized

I want my two misdemeanor convictions erased.

[Dreamer Tatum]

6. I am in favor of legalization of the doobage, yes, without doubt. nt

[dionysus]

7. only if it's not schwagg.

:P

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

8. I have no problem with the legalization and taxation of MJ per se

I have to wonder why so many people feel they have to have an extra 'something' to experience certain feelings (of course, I exclude people who use MJ for medical reasons)... I never understood that about any drug, legal or otherwise: the appeal of the 'experience' or the need for the 'experience.'

I mean, are we really so in need to 'feel' stuff that we have to alter our personalities and senses or otherwise our lives have no meaning?

Again, this is just my opinion,. I like the life I live... it does suck at times - I have cried my share. But I've also experienced great joy. I don't feel I have to ingest something to make it feel better, worse, different, altered, etc. I guess I just don't understand the whole drug culture thing. Looking at a few posts here, smoking weed is a cool thing and if you don't you're either a corporate whore or a geezer (neither of which I am). I just don't see the need for it.

With this being said, however, I don't feel I have the right to preclude any willing adult to cloud his/her brain with pot as much as s/he wishes as long as that person's usage does not affect me or others.

Other drugs, however, I wouldn't want to see legalized... meth, in particular. That is poison - physical, mental, financial, psychological, medical, etc.

[pscot]

11. What some of us get to feel is relief from pain

Imagine that.

[dmallind]

14. That would be one of the medical reasons the poster mentioned.

Imagine that.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

15. I explicitly excluded those who use MJ for medical reasons n/t

[Uncle Joe]

29. I don't know the reason but apparently humanity has felt the need to alter

its' consciousness for thousands of years.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3620778

2,700-year-old marijuana stash found

People seek their euphoria in different ways, food, drink, drug, religious/spiritual experience, sex, exercise, sports and/or a combination of those and probably some more that I missed.

What I do know is that just expecting the people to say no, waging war against and criminalizing them, raping the Bill of Rights while passing out draconian punishment like it was candy and throwing the American People in prison isn't the answer by a long shot. That strategy is far more corruptive and destructive to society than any drug could be.

[smiley]

45. do you like coffee?

caffeine is one hell of a drug that gets a lot of people going every morning.

[Uben]

9. Damn hippies!

It should only be legal if you are alone or with somebody. At no other time should it be legal. See, I'm willing to compromise!

[El Supremo]

10. Whoa!

[dmallind]

12. As long as it's regulated like tobacco use sure

I don't want to sit in a bar or restaurant or other public place with either kind of smoker, and both kinds should at least know the active ingredients they are smoking. Other than that, none of my concern what someone else smokes. Tax it too of course.

[Capitalocracy]

34. I totally agree

I mean, I wouldn't mind being in a bar full of pot smoke, but I can't stand cigarette smoke, and I would never expose an unwilling person to the smoke that I do like.

And not only should people know the ingredients, I don't think they need to add any extra ingredients to marijuana. I would support making it illegal to add other stuff to it.

[bowens43]

13. You betcha!! nt

[Philippine expat]

16. I agree with legalization of weed

however I am also in favor of harsher penalties for other drugs

[TheKentuckian]

38. What would these harsher penalties achieve? What would be the net benefit to society?

All prohibition is stupid and counter-productive, at best.

It never works.

[provis99]

17. No. Marijuana is immoral.

just kidding. But really, that's why most opponents are opposed to marijuana.

[meow mix]

20. yes, we must force our primitive religious beliefs upon a "free" nation

[provis99]

21. it's the same thing with dry counties.

Plenty of places in America where prohibition is still in force.

[meow mix]

22. yeah.. im sure theres 1000's of people serving 10 year prison terms for 1 beer

if not more.

what part of "war" do you not understand... they seek to destroy your life permanently, over little pot. that's what is "immoral" here

[provis99]

24. I think you need to smoke a joint.

You sound a little anxious.

[closeupready]

18. I don't know. Not really.

When I look at many of those who smoke it, I'm not very impressed, to be honest.

[meow mix]

26. when you look at them? are some on display somewhere?

:spray:

most of them are just regular people who want to be left alone and not treated like criminals and have thier lives destroyed over
what they determine is a human right of choice. or at least an american one.

[closeupready]

28. I don't think consumption or possession should be a felony, or even

a crime, so I guess legalization would be okay with me, in theory, but I see people in my neighborhood smoking marijuana, as if they are in Canada or somewhere where open smoking is not a crime. I don't know. I just don't like drug culture, or at least, what I've seen of it in my lifetime. Seems like recreational intoxicants lead directly to all kinds of social problems.

[Capitalocracy]

31. You're allowed to feel that way

although I would argue that you might have a little bit of prejudice going on there because you don't have good personal relationships with people who do drugs (or who you know do drugs...)

but I'm glad you recognize that "I don't like that very much" is not the same as "those people should be hunted down mercilessly and punished to the full extent of the law, and perhaps beaten in the process". Some people don't seem to understand that distinction.

[akwapez]

35. much of that 'drug culture' exists BECAUSE of the prohibition nt

[closeupready]

37. I'm not sure that I agree with that commonly-made argument.

Look at Afghanistan or Colombia. Both are countries where there is commercial production of plants from which some of these drugs are procured, and yet, both have huge problems with violent crime.

If you could provide an example where legal production and sale of recreational drugs exists in a civil, functioning, democratic society, not including alcohol, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[Bluenorthwest]

46. Drugs are illegal in Afghanistan and in Colombia...ya know that?

Up thread you say it is legal in Canada to openly smoke. Pot is illegal in Canada. You are wrong on many of the 'facts' you claim. Faulty information leads to shaky conclusions, don't you agree? I mean, Canada? Really?

[closeupready]

51. Technically, but not really.

Most rural Afghanis profit in some way from the poppy-growing there. Ditto South American states and coca production. It's a practical reality that leaders in those countries grapple with, while also trying to save face with authorities in the US and elsewhere who complain about it.

Anyway, I'm not arguing a dissertation here; I'm offering my opinion, perhaps worth what you paid for it. :)

[stevenleser]

42. I agree 100%. Zero appeal to me. That being said, I dont like the war on drugs either.

So I guess I am for legalization.

[JoeyT]

56. It looks that way, but only because the illegality of it skews who is willing to do it.

I'd probably smoke it from time to time if it were legal, but I've got too many irons in the fire to risk an arrest for possession.
I'm sure a lot of other professionals feel the same way. If it were legal it would be more along the lines of alcohol. Sure there are a lot of people that let it control their lives, but there are many more that can just have the occasional drink.

Edited to add: There's also that the people that are most willing to admit it are the ones with the least to lose. I know a doctor and a lawyer that smoke, and there's maybe 2 people on the entire planet that know they do it. They've got too much to lose if anyone finds out.

[Hosnon]

33. Some of the people who do impress you most likely smoke pot.

It's illegal, remember? Not the sort of thing you offer up.

[closeupready]

36. Yeah, I understand that.

nt

[jberryhill]

41. How about people who pick their noses at red lights?

[closeupready]

50. Picking your nose is a form of recreational drug abuse?

:wtf:

[jberryhill]

52. No, it is a behavior engaged in by unimpressive people

I just wondered if the criterion for legality is "whether I find people doing it to be impressive", then we might consider outlawing public nosepicking. I find that to be really, really disgusting, and moreso than folks with red eyes buying munchies at the convenience store late at night.

One qualification required to smoke marijuana is that one must be willing to break the law. This skews the sample space of marijuana smokers to over-represent antisocial types among whom the lawbreaking part is no big deal.

[Shagbark Hickory]

19. Other: I say it should be tried in california and that will give us an idea on how to proceed.

[Politicalboi]

23. Well we failed that last November

I couldn't believe it. Even Jerry Brown was against it.

[Shagbark Hickory]

47. Ok then try it somewhere else. Just try it.

Come on. Try it.
Don't be a wuss. Try it. Lets try it.

[Le Taz Hot]

57. It'll be back on the ballot

in 2012. We were only 7 percentage points away last time.

[rucky]

25. Where do you stand on the issue, LetTimmySmoke?

:smoke:

[MinneapolisMatt]

27. Yes.

My partner's father is in his last weeks of terminal cancer, and it has helped him immeasurably.

[JoePhilly]

30. Dude, I am so totally ready to ... to ... to ... umm ... yea ... umm ..

hey ... you going to eat those nachos??

[Hosnon]

32. So much so that I find the question absurd. nt.

[struggle4progress]

39. Yes, but it's pretty low on my legislative list. I don't think marijuana is very dangerous, but

I don't think drug use is productive either. I smoked lots and lots decades ago as a crazy adolescent, and while I don't think it really hurt me, I don't think it helped me either: I haven't seen any for decades, and I don't miss it

[ergot]

44. All (I think) the people in my circle back in the 60s smoked a fair amount of reefer, now they are

let me see how many I can remember: 2 pilots, 3 engineers, 2 or maybe 3 lawyers, one Methodist minister, a dentist and a cardiologist, and the chief medical equipment maintenance technician in a major metropolitan hospital. Oh, one runs a flower shop ;-)

I won't say which one is me except I don't care much for flowers. :D

[struggle4progress]

49. Yep, in a certain age bracket probably about 75% folk have tried it

[Cali_Democrat]

40. Absolutely. n/t

[Tommy_Carcetti]

43. I'm for decriminalization.

Treat it as a civil infraction, like a traffic ticket--if you get caught, you pay a small fine and that's it. No need to clog up the courts or prison system over it. Plus a decent revenue generator to boot.

I'm for it being fully legal for medicinal purposes so long as one has a doctor's prescription and a legitimate condition.

[Bluenorthwest]

48. That is the current state of things in CA. However, taxing it

would generate more revenue and do so without immorally citing people for something that should not be a crime in the first place. It also stops wasting expensive and needed law enforcement dollars on something that is not a threat to anyone and removes the current race based selective enforcement that any quick look at arrest records will show you.

[applegrove]

53. Yes. But only pot & hash.

[donheld]

54. Yes

[999998th word]

55. Most Expuvidently ; D

[Blue-Jay]

58. Emphatic YES from this non-user of weed.

Potheads aside, just thin of the economic gains from industrial hemp for paper and fabric.

[Le Taz Hot]

59. It's absurd that it's illegal at all.