Marijuana laws- O/T

[packs]

Not to mention there are plenty of parents who don't want their kids smoking marijuana but have no problem having them take prescribed amphetamines (adderall) and don't mind taking synthetic heroin (oxycontin) when their back is bothering them. But these things have been prescribed by a doctor!

[barrysloate]

Legalizing marijuana is not likely to cause more people to smoke it, or for the people who do smoke it now to do so more frequently. It's currently available to anybody who wants to buy some. But it will take the criminal element out of owning a small amount of it. The prisons are filled with people who were caught with a small stash of pot. Making it legal has benefits and getting people out of prison is a humane act.

Anyone who doesn't smoke now won't start if it becomes legal. And it is not necessarily a gateway to harder drugs. There is a tremendous amount of misinformation out there and that is adding fuel to the controversy.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I would treat it exactly as alcohol -- legal, no sales to minors, illegal to drive under the influence, no TV ads. I am far more concerned about what I view as the extreme overprescription of certain medications.

[packs]

In 2011 the Huffington Post reported that the state of New York (1 of 50 states for those of you counting) spends 75 MILLION DOLLARS on marijuana arrests per year. That is paid directly by the state's residents. None of that money went to hospitals, healthcare, or education.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I would treat it exactly as alcohol -- legal, no sales to minors, illegal to drive under the influence, no TV ads. I am far more concerned about what I view as the extreme overprescription of certain medications.

Which is precisely why I posed the poll question the way I did. Great minds think alike, now if I just had one .

[glchen]

Originally Posted by packs

Not to mention there are plenty of parents who don't want their kids smoking marijuana but have no problem having them take prescribed amphetamines (adderall) and don't mind taking synthetic heroin (oxycontin) when their back is bothering them. But these things have been prescribed by a doctor!

The difference is that these are medically prescribed. I think most people are fine with medical marijuana also.

[packs]

My point was that both of those commonly accepted medications are far worse for your health than marijuana but they are accepted as being beneficial because a doctor said so. They are also illegal drugs in every other form. You are sort of being a hypocrite if you tell your kid not to smoke marijuana and then hand them amphetamine and pop your pain killer.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by packs

My point was that both of those commonly accepted medications are far worse for your health than marijuana but they are accepted as being beneficial because a doctor said so. They are also illegal drugs in every other form. You are sort of being a hypocrite if you tell your kid not to smoke marijuana and then hand them amphetamine and pop your pain killer.

There is no hypocrisy there if a licensed doctor prescribes it. I've been given morphine in the hospital because I needed the pain relief. That doesn't make me a hypocrite in thinking it should not be legal.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by glchen

The difference is that these are medically prescribed. I think most people are fine with medical marijuana also.

I think the main reason that they have to be prescribed is because of the side effects and damage to the body that can be caused if over-used or mixed with the wrong other prescriptions. Those need to be controlled and/or monitored. However, Marijuana aside from the general symptoms of use, really only have the same side effects/damages of smoking cig's(which is legal). I said it before, the pharmaceutical companies would be in a world of shit if pot were legalized, because people would much rather smoke pot than keep themselves hopped up on these more dangerous chemical creations..

[Fred]

I don't care if they legalize it.

I believe that the states need to have laws on the books prior to the legalization of pot that regulate the sale of it and also laws that provide stiff penalties to those that are caught driving while under the influence. The last thing I want is for some stoned idiot to kill me, my family or friends.

I believe that the laws for being under the influence (while driving) should be stiffer than those for alcohol. While on that topic, I think the laws for driving under the influence of alcohol should be stiffer than they are now.

If the laws are known well in advance of the legalization of pot then anybody caught driving stoned will know of the penalties well in advance of the legalization of pot.

[toledo_mudhen]

Having been a long time marijuana user back in the 70s - 80s I have the following observations :

1.) Smoking pot takes an inordinate amount of time and, while under the influence, promotes unproductivity (not sure thats a real word).

2.) Smoking pot is not necessarily a "gateway" drug - although it was in my case.

3.) Marijuana possession laws are, currently and previously, ridiculous and waste way too many resources for prosecution and incarceration.

4.) It is a sad commentary that the country has come to this - where marijuana taxation is becoming almost a necessity in order to salvage struggling state revenues and economies.

5.) Pot smoking is not addictive nor does it destroy brain functionality. However, the time I spent messing with it would have been better spent promoting my career - which was put on the back burner.

6.) Pot smokers, in my experience, do not want their younger children to know that they do it. They will, however, drink a beer in front of them.

7.) Legalization will do nothing to stop the constant stream of drugs coming across the border. Colorado has an approximately 33% tax on the product. Black market will always be more economical.

8.) When it is all said and done - there will be 49 states (or 57 in Mr Obama's case) that have legalized marijuana. Texas will not.

[clydepepper]

I have read several of the post on this thread and it is, indeed, a complicated issue. I do not have a clear enough opinion to offer it, though I could make an argument for both sides.

Many times, my fallback position is simply put:

No right is worth having if not accompanied by an equal amount of responsibility.

[glynparson]

I have not heard one person complaining about people driving on prescription drugs which actually impair a driver considerably more than cannabis does. I hear lots of opinion, see very little facts from the contingent that is advocating the continued prohibition. Pharmaceutical Drugs prescribed by doctors legally kill many americans daily just through accidental overdose. Cannabis has killed 0 people due to overdose. Violence due to its illegal status is more likely to impact an innocent person than getting stoned from second hand smoke outside when it is illegal to smoke it in public. Not seeing the big call for making the world a Grateful Dead concert. Like I said previously, and my friends in Denver have confirmed, these homeless were homeless prior to the legalization .They just came to Denver, many are nomadic Rainbow gathering style people. They are not homeless because of weed but they are in Colorado because of legal weed. When it starts getting cold they will migrate somewhere else and some will be back when the weather changes. As for the gateway argument again studies have debunked this myth, alcohol and prescription drugs have in fact been proven to be true gateway drugs. As I stated above I was prescribed cannabis and it helped me greatly. I am thankful to the doctor that prescribed it and do not really care if those that do not like it think less of me. I think others should be afforded the same opportunity I was. Lets let doctors prescribe medicine as they see fit. I have no medical degree nor do I pretend to have one. Let's get science from scientists, medical opinions from doctors and nurses, and education from teachers, seems logical to me.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by glynparson

I have not heard one person complaining about people driving on prescription drugs which actually impair a driver considerably more than cannabis does. I hear lots of opinion, see very little facts from the contingent that is advocating the continued prohibition. Pharmaceutical Drugs prescribed by doctors legally kill many americans daily just through accidental overdose. Cannabis has killed 0 people due to overdose. Violence due to its illegal status is more likely to impact an innocent person than getting stoned from second hand smoke outside when it is illegal to smoke it in public. Not seeing the big call for making the world a Grateful Dead concert. Like I said previously, and my friends in Denver have confirmed, these homeless were homeless prior to the legalization .They just came to Denver, many are nomadic Rainbow gathering style people. They are not homeless because of weed but they are in Colorado because of legal weed. When it starts getting cold they will migrate somewhere else and some will be back when the weather changes. As for the gateway argument again studies have debunked this myth, alcohol and prescription drugs have in fact been proven to be true gateway drugs. As I stated above I was prescribed cannabis and it helped me greatly. I am thankful to the doctor that prescribed it and do not really care if those that do not like it think less of me. I think others should be afforded the same opportunity I was. Lets let doctors prescribe medicine as they see fit. I have no medical degree nor do I pretend to have one. Let's get science from scientists, medical opinions from doctors and nurses, and education from teachers, seems logical to me.

+1

[packs]

There is just so much misinformation in this thread. From the guy who thinks cannabis has more carcinogens than tobacco (which is processed in poison), to the guy who thinks you'll get unwittingly high from standing next to people theoretically smoking outside.

It seems as though the people who are against legalization really have no idea what legalization means, much less a real understanding of marijuana in the first place.

Legalization would mean greater access to medically prescribed marijuana, the ability to carry and purchase medical marijuana, and the ability to medicate yourself at home.

Your visions of some kind of free for all where the country is now free to smoke wherever and whenever they want are way off base. The same regulations would apply as they do for alcohol: you must be a certain age to purchase, you will get fired for reporting to work on drugs, it will be illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence, it will be illegal to smoke in public, just like it's illegal to carry an open container.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by packs

Not to mention there are plenty of parents who don't want their kids smoking marijuana but have no problem having them take prescribed amphetamines (adderall) and don't mind taking synthetic heroin (oxycontin) when their back is bothering them. But these things have been prescribed by a doctor!

As a person who takes prescribed "amphetamines" (Ritalin) I can say that you're way off base with that statement.

Without it I'm forgetful and very cranky. Like find a T206 in the couch forgetful. Ok, maybe just a few modern inserts but you get the idea.

And cranky like yelling at someone for a minor screwup or telling a grocery bagger that if the retarded guy does the job better than he does he should just hang it up because there won't be much he can do. (I was a bit more harsh than that)

Yeah, if you need it you need it. I don't take anything medical lightly, hardly any painkillers at all, over the counter stuff included. Hey, that pain is telling me I've done something I shouldn't. If I mask it with tylenol I'll be likely to do some real damage to myself.

Steve B