Should Marijuana Be LEGAL In The US?

[James Weingart]

MY OPINION
*if it's legal it will bring up the economy and crime would go down

[Lee]

Of course crime would go down, you're making something legal that was illegal.

[Colamisu]

Yes, but it would also reduce other crimes related to marijuana, because you can do it in the open.

It would also lower prices, so there wouldn't be as much crime in order to afford it.

It would also make marijuana taxable.

There are all kinds of arguments for legalizing. The only valid one I've heard on the other side is "It's a gateway drug."

[Lee]

Yes, but it would also reduce other crimes related to marijuana, because you can do it in the open.

It would also lower prices, so there wouldn't be as much crime in order to afford it.

It would also make marijuana taxable.

There are all kinds of arguments for legalizing. The only valid one I've heard on the other side is "It's a gateway drug."

I was just being an asshole.

If anything, we should be banning alcohol, it's lots more dangerous than Marijuana.

[James Weingart]

thousands of people die from DWI every year

[SilentMagus0]

Legal or not the government will just make money off of it anyways.I find the idea stupid.

[Colamisu]

Hrn? How do they make money off it when it's illegal? The only possible argument you could make for that is that they tax us more on other stuff to get more for the budget to enforce the laws against it. And that's stretching it quite a bit.

And even if they are making money off it, it makes more sense to legalize it and pass savings on to consumers. Lower prices on marijuana would mean more free cash to be put into the economy elsewhere. Economics 101.

Anyways, let's hear your opinion on the matter. Why do you find the idea stupid?

[garrendesares]

if they made it legal then the cops would stop arresting the perps because they could then buy it themselves. oh and if you ever noticed, they wont arrest a guy if they are smoking it, just selling it lol

[VeganZombie]

MY OPINION
crime would go down

Yes, but it would also reduce other crimes related to marijuana, because you can do it in the open.

There are all kinds of arguments for legalizing. The only valid one I've heard on the other side is "It's a gateway drug."

Devil's advocate:
If we legalize murder, crime will go down.

But it's not as bad to smoking pot and no one dies.

Fine. Let's legalize rape then. It's lesser offense and no one dies.

But other people get hurt.

Second-hand smoke.

It would also lower prices, so there wouldn't be as much crime in order to afford it.

First, I SERIOUSLY doubt it would lower prices. The money it would take to control and regulate, plus the inevitable taxes, would most likely make it more expensive.
Also, it is not all that expensive NOW. "Dime bag"= 10 bucks worth of weed. Marijuana costs 80 bucks an ounce where I live. It's costs 80 bucks a gram for meth. People steal for harder drugs that satisfy harder addictions, not pot.

It would also make marijuana taxable.

Meh. Using tobacco as an example, we got would get roughly 40 billion dollars in tax revenue. But, depending on who you ask (what tobacco actually exacerbates, and how much so), it cost 100-250 billion dollars to our already inefficient (plus unfair and elitist, but that is for a different topic) Healthcare system last year.

If anything, we should be banning alcohol, it's lots more dangerous than Marijuana.

This is a misnomer.
I'm going to admit something: I have smoked weed before. I was 15 and stupid.
Anyways, although I was less likely to start a fight (compared to being drunk) I was just as impaired, and would not be fit to drive a car or any other vehicle, operate machinery, etc. Probably the only argument for you could make is that it makes people lazy, so they are less likely to try to do these things. But negligence can be just as (and perhaps even more) dangerous.

if they made it legal then the cops would stop arresting the perps because they could then buy it themselves. oh and if you ever noticed, they wont arrest a guy if they are smoking it, just selling it lol

I could be totally wrong here (and feel free to tell me as such) but depending on your state, county, and city, possession (usually under an ounce) and sometimes use can be legal. Whereas transportation and especially solicitation can be illegal at the same time.


________________My own stuff______________
The point that everyone seems to be overlooking, is that (for me at least) alcohol was A LOT harder to get as a young teenager than pot was. Ergo, Government Regulation would keep it out of the hands of the kiddies.


Anyways, my opinion:
They can do it as long as it is not in public. Only in their own homes or in specifically designated areas.

[Jazzmarazz]

No.
What a juvenile question to ask.
Two types of people smoke marijuana, those who have medical ailments, and punk-ass white trash. Glad to know where all your welfare monies go to.

[Colamisu]

Devil's advocate:
If we legalize murder, crime will go down.

Fine. Let's legalize rape then. It's lesser offense and no one dies.

Second-hand smoke.

Currently illegal to smoke inside public establishments, or within 25 feet of entrances/windows/vents. At least here.

First, I SERIOUSLY doubt it would lower prices. The money it would take to control and regulate, plus the inevitable taxes, would most likely make it more expensive.
Also, it is not all that expensive NOW. "Dime bag"= 10 bucks worth of weed. Marijuana costs 80 bucks an ounce where I live. It's costs 80 bucks a gram for meth. People steal for harder drugs that satisfy harder addictions, not pot.

Legalized, it's just as easy to grow and sell as tobacco. Arguably easier. The price to produce wouldn't be that much higher. As is, more than half of the selling price is purely based on the risk. So if you cut out that half of the price and put a, say, $1 per ounce tax on it, you're still considerably cheaper.

If you want to talk about the cost of regulation, they already have to spend that. The only difference is that you would only be arrested for underage, while driving, or in public. So you're more likely reducing the cost of regulation.

And as for the "people don't steal for marijuana," you clearly don't pay much attention. Sure, someone's not likely to knock over a liquor store to afford pot, but no one mentions soft crimes like taking a twenty from your friend's wallet while he's not looking, or depositing 1/10 of a penny into a private account for every $30k that's transferred around at work. Or walking out of Kohl's with three thongs, two bras, and two shirts on underneath your sweatshirt so that you can spend your own money on pot. Furthermore, the "gateway drug" argument works for crime as well. People think "Oh, I've already smoked pot, and that's illegal. So stealing from Sears is no big deal."

Meh. Using tobacco as an example, we got would get roughly 40 billion dollars in tax revenue. But, depending on who you ask (what tobacco actually exacerbates, and how much so), it cost 100-250 billion dollars to our already inefficient (plus unfair and elitist, but that is for a different topic) Healthcare system last year.

People will smoke pot anyways. The government may as well make money off it.

This is a misnomer.
I'm going to admit something: I have smoked weed before. I was 15 and stupid.
Anyways, although I was less likely to start a fight (compared to being drunk) I was just as impaired, and would not be fit to drive a car or any other vehicle, operate machinery, etc. Probably the only argument for you could make is that it makes people lazy, so they are less likely to try to do these things. But negligence can be just as (and perhaps even more) dangerous.

And that's why you simply tack marijuana onto the list of things you can't do before/while driving. Like cold medicine.

I could be totally wrong here (and feel free to tell me as such) but depending on your state, county, and city, possession (usually under an ounce) and sometimes use can be legal. Whereas transportation and especially solicitation can be illegal at the same time.

Possession is a federal offense. You can always be prosecuted for that. However, states do have separate laws regulating it as well. There was actually a case where the state had a case against someone for possession in a school zone, and the feds were building their own case and asked the state to back down. But legally, they could both prosecute for the same crime since it's a federal vs. state offense.

[Lee]

This is a misnomer.
I'm going to admit something: I have smoked weed before. I was 15 and stupid.
Anyways, although I was less likely to start a fight (compared to being drunk) I was just as impaired, and would not be fit to drive a car or any other vehicle, operate machinery, etc. Probably the only argument for you could make is that it makes people lazy, so they are less likely to try to do these things. But negligence can be just as (and perhaps even more) dangerous.

I was speaking purely in the sense of "alcohol related deaths" versus "marijuana related deaths".

Alcohol is a much more devastating drug in terms of it's physical affect on your body.

[J03]

Legal or not the government will just make money off of it anyways.I find the idea stupid.

This is true, plenty of money circulates from giving people Citations & fines,
on top of that, those who are actually jailed are pretty much free labour.

Inmates are a large portion of the government & private industry for production & manufacturing of various goods from the cliche license plates to furniture to automotive parts & even cleaning solutions & other chemicals. Many of these individuals make anywhere from 30 cents to around $1/hr, one ex inmate I talked to years ago told me he was paid in cookies. Regardless of what their crime may have been, I consider this to be a travesty in dehumanization & a Capitalists wet dream. So there's plenty of money that's made from just incarcerating nonviolent offenders, believe you me.

Though I don't believe it's a stupid goal to strive for, I think alot of good would come from legalizing it imo.

Devil's advocate:
If we legalize murder, crime will go down.

Fine. Let's legalize rape then. It's lesser offense and no one dies.

I'm sorry but...

I smell a troll

Also, it is not all that expensive NOW. "Dime bag"= 10 bucks worth of weed. Marijuana costs 80 bucks an ounce where I live. It's costs 80 bucks a gram for meth. People steal for harder drugs that satisfy harder addictions, not pot.

I'm not sure what kinda pot you're getting or got (past tense), but it sounds like dirt weed, which is only good if you're making edibles

I'll agree to an extent to the second part of that argument, obviously people suffering withdrawals from a highly addictive substance tend to be more irrational & will more than likely act out much more destructive behavior out of desperation.

Meh. Using tobacco as an example, we got would get roughly 40 billion dollars in tax revenue. But, depending on who you ask (what tobacco actually exacerbates, and how much so), it cost 100-250 billion dollars to our already inefficient (plus unfair and elitist, but that is for a different topic) Healthcare system last year.

For starters, that 40 billion would be out of the direct tax revenue, that doesn't even compare to the long term revenue generated within the economy from the private sector alone. More jobs would be created from the cultivation to the transportation, not to mention the opportunity for other businesses to grow & market this would-be new commodity.

This is a misnomer.
I'm going to admit something: I have smoked weed before. I was 15 and stupid.
Anyways, although I was less likely to start a fight (compared to being drunk) I was just as impaired, and would not be fit to drive a car or any other vehicle, operate machinery, etc. Probably the only argument for you could make is that it makes people lazy, so they are less likely to try to do these things. But negligence can be just as (and perhaps even more) dangerous.

I'm gonna disagree, though certain chemicals do effect some people differently, but the degree to which Alcohol impairs a person is by leaps & bounds more significant than Marijuana. Though I'm not saying that alcohol should be illegal, the argument is & always has been that if Alcohol can be sold @ your local market & consumed @ (certain) public places & on one's own property, then it is complete hypocrisy to say that marijuana should not be treated equally.
Also, Marijuana is not drug that can be abused, unlike alcohol, there is virtually no long term physical ailments that are attributed to it from long term use, also unlike alcohol, & it's not addictive like alcohol or caffeine can be. Though there are exceptions to every rule, but these are quite few & even further between.

The point that everyone seems to be overlooking, is that (for me at least) alcohol was A LOT harder to get as a young teenager than pot was. Ergo, Government Regulation would keep it out of the hands of the kiddies.

When there's a will, there's a way, as much as I hate to say it, but there's not really anything we can do to completely ensure such controlled substances are kept away from minors. For me, alcohol was never any harder to get than weed, but then again, I had money & money talks, especially when you know people.

No.
What a juvenile question to ask.
Two types of people smoke marijuana, those who have medical ailments, and punk-ass white trash. Glad to know where all your welfare monies go to.

I'm sorry, but I resent that statement.
I'm not sure what sorts of people you've come to know, but I'd like to think humans beings have the ability to transcend their background.
I don't doubt the existence of such people who abuse the system, crack addicts with 4 starving children living off the government w/ no validity of character & no willingness to support for their family or provide a stable home for their children. It's completely abominable
In fact, I have known people like that, & I've lived some of that to a mild extent, but those are undoubtedly terrible people. Nothing to contribute to the world whatsoever except a cesspool to society.

But my argument is that it's not fair to categorize those who smoke marijuana for nonmedicinal purposes, regardless if it's frequently or occasionally, under the Punk-ass white trash/trailer trash/what-have-you. Break down the umbrella a bit, not everyone who smokes weed recreationally is a piece of shit. & to my experiences, I know of very few people who use any portion of their government assistance (unemployment) that goes towards marijuana. The majority of them actually work for a living & have their little party or unwinding period on the weekend either consuming alcohol or smoking weed (sometimes both).

~just my stance, No hate, only love.

And as for the "people don't steal for marijuana," you clearly don't pay much attention. Sure, someone's not likely to knock over a liquor store to afford pot, but no one mentions soft crimes like taking a twenty from your friend's wallet while he's not looking, or depositing 1/10 of a penny into a private account for every $30k that's transferred around at work. Or walking out of Kohl's with three thongs, two bras, and two shirts on underneath your sweatshirt so that you can spend your own money on pot. Furthermore, the "gateway drug" argument works for crime as well. People think "Oh, I've already smoked pot, and that's illegal. So stealing from Sears is no big deal."

I wouldn't go so far as to say there's a direct correlation between smoking weed & petty theft.
If someone wants something bad enough & hasn't the money/intention to pay for it, chances are that person may try to steal. There's plenty of (sober) people I'm sure who steal stuff for reasons that have nothing to do with drugs.

/rant

[skullpoker]

Law = PEER PRESSURE. Don't give in!

Cigarettes Alcohol Pot
Which one only kills people who are severely allergic to it?

How many people are in jail for pot crimes? How much money would be saved simply by not incarcerating and housing these people who don't hurt or kill people?
The problem with marijuana is that it makes people THINK! Sure it makes stupid people think stupid things, but it also made Carl Sagan a household name. The reason thinking is a problem is that millions of people are more concerned with their iPhone than with man-made climate change, government corruption, and the fact that what is right and wrong is determined solely by some words on a document that really mean nothing. Which leads us right back to marijuana being illegal. It's illegal because some impotent jerk off wrote on a piece of paper that you go to jail for possessing, using, or distributing marijuana. Is it wrong to do those things? Hell no. It is wrong to sell it because capitalism is shit.

[Andy_Jerk]

I agree with what some tribal South American Shamans have to say about psychedelics in general: that they are a learning tool, and when used correctly should not be needed past a certain point. A good acid test for weed is this: If you've ever been stoned all day in front of your TV and you can't stop thinking about how weird it is that people go to the bathroom, then you don't need to be smoking it anymore. That actually used to happen to me when I was 20.