Decriminalize Marijuana?

[smeagol]

for an in-class debate in my health class, i was selected to represent the 'pro' side of legalizing marijuana.

what do you guys think of this issue ? especially the comparison to the failure of prohibition in the 1920s; the research that claims that marijuana is not nearly as harmful as the legal drugs of alcohol and tobacco; and that jails are crowding and other police resources are being drained; or that recreation use harms no one. your thoughts?

[foundsheep]

Thats what we need, add mure intoxicated driving deaths along with alcohol. If its not medicanol stop smokin and get in the confessional.

[M.SIGGA]

I'm not for legalizing it, but the mandatory penalties in narcotics convictions are way too severe, like greater than rape and even murder in some cases. Personally I think alcohol is way more dangerous when abused. The Canadian alternative might be a suggestion you want to use for your paper.

[smeagol]

what is the Can alt ? is that just to decriminalize a small amount of possession ?

[Richard]

Although I don’t smoke hash any more, I have to take up the pro stand point:

1. It’s no more intoxicating than alcohol – although I agree it does impair driving ability. However, the US tried banning alcohol once and it didn’t work, you’ve probably got as many high drivers out there now as there would be if it were legal.

2. Pretty much anyone who want’s to smoke hash now does anyway (at least that’s the case in the UK). Authorities should just decriminalise it and get on with solving the bigger drug problem. I don’t agree with this rationale extending to harder drugs or other crimes. The decision has to be a balance between the cost of policing now versus the physical and social effects of the crime.

3. We hear it commonly said that “It leads to harder drugs”. Well, yes, it can but only if you want it to. In my opinion, someone who wants to smoke crack will anyway, not just because they got into hash first. I think it actually works the other way around – you’ve got hash smoker that smoke it recreationally and hash smokers that use it when they can’t get the harder drug they’re used to.

4. People drunk on alcohol get noisy and aggressive (just look at any major city centre on a weekend night). People stoned on hash giggle, eat mars bars then fall asleep (if they’re unlucky, they’ll get a bit paranoid too!)

5. In the book of Genesis it says something like “I give to you all of the seed bearing plants to use”. Hash in its pure form is a dried herb so who are we to argue?

[smeagol]

thanks for your input. and Richard, your last point made me think of a bumper sticker slogan:

Man made beer. God made weed. Whom do you trust?

(well, it said "who" instead of "whom" but still )

[Aloysius]

God made weed. Man made weed-smoking. :cool:

[cathgirl]

I don't think we should, b/c if we do, it could never really become illegal again. (like you could never make alcohol illegal). We have enought legal substances that aren't good for your body, remember our bodies are Temples of God.

[Carrie]

Although I don’t smoke hash any more, I have to take up the pro stand point:

1. It’s no more intoxicating than alcohol – although I agree it does impair driving ability. However, the US tried banning alcohol once and it didn’t work, you’ve probably got as many high drivers out there now as there would be if it were legal.

2. Pretty much anyone who want’s to smoke hash now does anyway (at least that’s the case in the UK). Authorities should just decriminalise it and get on with solving the bigger drug problem. I don’t agree with this rationale extending to harder drugs or other crimes. The decision has to be a balance between the cost of policing now versus the physical and social effects of the crime.

3. We hear it commonly said that “It leads to harder drugs”. Well, yes, it can but only if you want it to. In my opinion, someone who wants to smoke crack will anyway, not just because they got into hash first. I think it actually works the other way around – you’ve got hash smoker that smoke it recreationally and hash smokers that use it when they can’t get the harder drug they’re used to.

4. People drunk on alcohol get noisy and aggressive (just look at any major city centre on a weekend night). People stoned on hash giggle, eat mars bars then fall asleep (if they’re unlucky, they’ll get a bit paranoid too!)

5. In the book of Genesis it says something like “I give to you all of the seed bearing plants to use”. Hash in its pure form is a dried herb so who are we to argue?

I've got to agree with Richard. Those points are excellent.

If we're worried about driving high, make laws, just like drunk driving laws. But lots of people use it for medicine or recreationally and are safe about it.

[PedroX]

Marijuana is worse for your body that Alcohol or tobacco. The physical effect on the body is 20 times that of smoking tobacco. In other words, smoking one joint is physically the same as smoking a whole pack of cigarettes.

Thats all, carry on.

peace...

[Seatbelt Blue]

To which I reply, it's the rare user who smokes an entire joint alone. It's puff-puff-pass, puff-puff-pass, puff-puff-pass.

[Carrie]

To which I reply, it's the rare user who smokes an entire joint alone. It's puff-puff-pass, puff-puff-pass, puff-puff-pass.

Also on top on sharing it, most recreational users don't smoke everyday. Maybe once a week or once every two weeks, where the average smoker smokes at least a half pack (if not more) a day.

[M.SIGGA]

what is the Can alt ? is that just to decriminalize a small amount of possession ?

yeah, that's the idea. a misdemeanor carries the same weight as a traffic ticket, but repeated offenses lead to bigger punishments. Convictions don't carry the life sentences anymore either. it has also decreased the number of violent deaths/offenses associated with marijauna drug traffic but that's according to "TrueLife" on MTV. This makes sense because since the law passed more people just grow their own hash now, but this is becoming a big problem for people in America who are buying and selling Canadian weed.

[jmjtina]

you know, I associate marijuana not with "recreational, puff puff pass, smoke less than a pack a day" illusion, but with rage, murder, obsessive, addicted, sinful horrific things. Yeah, and I'm from the barrio, so most of these people don't worry about getting caught and put in jail......only when it leads to murder. Pray for all those who are slaves to this sin as well as others. And don't give me the "that's not everybody" statement, because I've got my youth group pressured to take drugs and this argument is shot.

I wouldn't base any judgement on what MTV shows as "true". MTV is

[Lil Red]

i think the gov't should legalize it, then tax it so much (kinda like they're doing with cigarettes) and make money off of it. Look, if they're using gambling as a way of funding gov't programs, why shouldn't they do the same with pot and alcohol?

[Iacobus]

A study was released about a year ago in the UK that found that weed has a much larger cancer causing effect. The particles were like 20 times more likly to casue cancer. Also, your body is a temple a gift from God, we shouldn't abuse it with drugs.

[M.SIGGA]

I wasn't condoning it, just helping a pal out with his pro-legalization of weed argument! When I lived in my dorm there was a big problem with weed, not so much with just smoking it by itself, but mixing it with cocaine, household chemicals, and even rat poison. The problem is a little "high" leads to a bigger "high" - but I do believe the penalties should involve effective treatment plans and all cases should not be equal and greater to people convicted of murder, rape, and other violent crimes ;)

[Carrie]

you know, I associate marijuana not with "recreational, puff puff pass, smoke less than a pack a day" illusion, but with rage, murder, obsessive, addicted, sinful horrific things.  Yeah, and I'm from the barrio, so most of these people don't worry about getting caught and put in jail......only when it leads to murder. Pray for all those who are slaves to this sin as well as others.  And don't give me the "that's not everybody" statement, because I've got my youth group pressured to take drugs and this argument is shot.

I wouldn't base any judgement on what MTV shows as "true". MTV is

Although you said not to use the "that's not everyone" argument, I'm going to use it. What you described is NOT everyone. I'm also from the barrio, so I see what goes on and weed is not the biggest issue nor is it the cause of the big issues. If anything, drinking is a much larger issue than smoking weed.

Also, think about it logically. If it was legal and easier to obtain (like Lil Red said, maybe with a high tax) then alot of the crime that occurs over it wouldn't happen. How many people do you hear getting killed over trying to get cigarettes? Not many, if at all. If weed was legalized, it would most likely be the same scenario.

If it causes more cancer and people still want to smoke it, then that's on them, not anyone else. The same with cigarettes. People are warned about the consequences...once they choose to smoke, then the consequences are on them.

Why should it be illegal just because it can cause a great deal of cancer? So does certain chemicals and fertilizers that are used on our foods, so are growth hormones used in our meats, so does too much sun. I don't see anyone having a fit to make chemicals, fertilizers, growth hormones, or sun exposure illegal. We can all make choices.

And as Lil Red pointed out, if the government can make money off gambling (which is also considered an addiction by the way), I don't see why we can't do the same thing with weed.

[Ash Wednesday]

What concerns me -- isn't the recreational pot smoked now a lot stronger than, say those "innocent" days of the 60s? Does the body not build up a tolerance and want more to get that "high"?

With that being said -- pot makes people stupid.

Why encourage more stupidity than there already is?

[M.SIGGA]

The only prob with legalizing it in the US is that it is intergrated with cocaine traffic from Mexico, Central, and South America. I think Canada's method would be ideal for the USA, but Canada doesn't have all the problems Americans have with weed, cocaine, crack, opium, etc. traffic coming into it's port cities. A lot of those other drugs can never be legalized.