[Humble_Opinion]

I mean I could be grasping at straws here... but seriously - 5 deaths... That's it?

You mean to tell me that out of all of these people who die in alcohol related accidents, there wasn't a few of them who weren't also high as well? I mean I'm just saying, if you're going to make a claim like that you have to substantiate it somehow.

[jbock13]

Well think about it, when's the last time you heard in the news that a driver under the influence of marijuana killed another driver?

[jmdickens]

I mean I could be grasping at straws here... but seriously - 5 deaths... That's it?

You mean to tell me that out of all of these people who die in alcohol related accidents, there wasn't a few of them who weren't also high as well? I mean I'm just saying, if you're going to make a claim like that you have to substantiate it somehow.

Yes, 5 deaths is a liberal estimation.

If someone is high and not drunk, they are more than likely to drive around 5 mph than swerving all over the place.

It is just reality my friend. We have been lied to about the supposed dangers of Pot

[jbock13]

I remember one time in Vinton I was stuck behind a guy who was obviously high on pot. As jmdickens said, he didn't even crack 10mph for the 10 minutes I was stuck behind him. Never swerved into the other lane. Just drove very slowly.

Not that I'm saying it's okay to drive under the influence.

[ATrain]

Wouldn't driving significantly below the speed limit/flow of traffic cause more accidents?

[jmdickens]

Wouldn't driving significantly below the speed limit/flow of traffic cause more accidents?

More than a drunk driver swerving or speeding? Doubt it...however, the original argument is to treat pot like alcohol so driving and smoking pot would be illegal.

[ATrain]

Wouldn't driving significantly below the speed limit/flow of traffic cause more accidents?

More than a drunk driver swerving or speeding? Doubt it...however, the original argument is to treat pot like alcohol so driving and smoking pot would be illegal.

Just b/c its illegal doesn't mean they wouldn't do it

[ALUmnus]

Society will collapse if marijuana is legalized.

Crime will go down if marijuana is legalized.

Self-fulfilled prophecy. Also, see "straw man".

[LUconn]

Can you imagine how far crime would go down if everything were legalized? We'd be at like 0%. What a utopia.

[ALUmnus]

Yes, it's been mentioned. But we're not Portugal, Portugal is a unique case, what people want on here isn't what Portugal has done, and drug use itself (the "have you used drugs in the past year?" type) is actually increasing in Portugal. Also, Portugal didn't do this with just marijuana, but all drugs. Like I mentioned before, it's a real interesting study, but personally I don't think it applies to the US.

[jbock13]

Yeh but dem youf out dare is ate up wit dat dope!

Marijuana harms no one. They sit around smoking while eating Cheetos and watching TV. They're just like you and I. Leave them alone, they're bothering no one. And it makes no sense to charge those who aren't bothering you or your family with a felony simply on the basis that they do something you don't like.

[RubberMallet]

while i don't care about the recreational use of marijuana, encouraging its use has the potential to do harm to society from a construct perspective. the whole, "its not harming you" argument is flawed.

look at obesity...why should i care that bob is getting his 5th plate of pizza at the buffet? (he also got a diet coke which is a whole nother rant)? *opens up letter from united healthcare alerting me my rates have once again gone up*

the downside is more worthless people and more government intervention into our lives, the upside is its makes awful music much more tolerable and if you haven't noticed there is alot of awful music out there.

[LUconn]

Man you two are brilliant.

I'm not even against legalization. You just said something stupid. No need to catch feelings because I made fun of it.

[R i]

Depends on what article you read , marijuana might not be a gateway drug.

But as a human being around US society for 26 years , My guess is that most that smoke pot look for stronger highs at some point in their life.

I am sure there are cases , "well he only smokes pot ,and always has, and its not a gateway to harder drugs"

But from my estimation, those that smoke pot often end up participating in use of harder drugs.

[ATrain]

Depends on what article you read , marijuana might not be a gateway drug.

But as a human being around US society for 26 years , My guess is that most that smoke pot look for stronger highs at some point in their life.

I am sure there are cases , "well he only smokes pot ,and always has, and its not a gateway to harder drugs"

But from my estimation, those that smoke pot often end up participating in use of harder drugs.

This is based solely on what I've seen from my job, but when we get in mental health and medical records, I don't see a progression from marijuana to other drugs. However, the records I get in only typically cover a 3-5 year period, though some of the older claimants report a history of 10-20 years using/abusing cannabis. I should also note I don't track what happens after someone gets approved or denied, so they could end up progressing to harder drugs. I'm just sharing what I've seen.

That said, I am not against legalization, but I don't want to have to be on the lookout for someone doing 10 mph on the freeway either.

[NotAJerry]

Depends on what article you read , marijuana might not be a gateway drug.

But as a human being around US society for 26 years , My guess is that most that smoke pot look for stronger highs at some point in their life.

I am sure there are cases , "well he only smokes pot ,and always has, and its not a gateway to harder drugs"

But from my estimation, those that smoke pot often end up participating in use of harder drugs.

Alcohol is the gateway drug, binge drinking particularly.

[RubberMallet]

based off my experience, marijuana hasn't been much of a gateway drug. most people i grew up with that became fiends, didn't even smoke pot. my neighbor also works for a drug recovery place and she said that there is some evidence of it but not enough for any definitive answer.

phelps really screwed the pooch with the dope is for losers campaign.

[R i]

I think its funny that your Avatar photo is very against smoking weed.

[ALUmnus]

Marijuana harms no one. They sit around smoking while eating Cheetos and watching TV. They're just like you and I. Leave them alone, they're bothering no one. And it makes no sense to charge those who aren't bothering you or your family with a felony simply on the basis that they do something you don't like.

I'll disagree with the first half of that, it definitly harms a lot of people. And they're not "just like you and I", they're knowingly committing a felony.

Now, I may agree that it makes no sense to charge them with a felony. That may be the part of the "nefarious drug war" that does need to change. How about looking at a change in the charging & sentencing of the crime before you outright legalize it and take any law enforcement out of the picture? Why not take a reasonable approach instead of mischaracterizing stats about prison populations and going on about the munchies to try and get the whole thing thrown out the window?

Relaxed drug laws and legalization were tried in the 70's. Didn't work.

[jbock13]

But see here we are with the logical fallacy of, "It's illegal!". Why is it illegal? Why should it be illegal? You really think people should get a felony for smoking a little weed (I'm aware in some states "a little" is only a citation or misdemeanor).

Also, the myth that marijuana is a gateway drug is another myth that has been debunked, but the majority of people believe it to be true because they were told that 10-30 years ago.

I love these debates with you guys, so don't take it too personally. But I don't look to government to tell me what to think. I use logic to understand why things should be that way. For example, murder is illegal, and I think to us all that makes logical sense. Criminalizing marijuana makes no logical sense to me, especially if they are in no way harming you and your family.

[RubberMallet]

ahhhh logic.... logical thinking only allows you to take into account the direct effect of drug use and how it affects "your family"? logic must not worry about the socioeconomic effect the legalization of marijuana probably will have on society, which eventually in some way shape or form will affect your family.

you do understand since you are so logically minded that right now the gvt has less involvement in what we can do with marijuana currently than it will if it legalized it? they just can't wait to get their hands all over it.

[jbock13]

They shouldn't. But you're probably right. The people who go "imagine how much government could tax it!", should not be speaking on the issue at all.

[RubberMallet]

They shouldn't. But you're probably right. The people who go "imagine how much government could tax it!", should not be speaking on the issue at all.

its not even taxes. the regulations imposed on oil/cigarettes/alcohol is amazingly complex and convoluted.

[jbock13]

True. And those are harmful as well. But I'd argue that's just government getting in the way of free commerce of any kind.

[ALUmnus]

Weed doesn't harm me or my family. This is not a universal statement.

You and I will never agree on this because I don't buy into the whole "victimless crime" premise, though I don't even think that applies to this.. And just because we disagree, doesn't mean I'm not thinking for myself or gleaning all my insight from the government. So yeah, let's not make anything personal, but you may also want to take that into consideration for yourself before making broad statements like that. Sorry, that's just one of my pet peeves.