Should the US legalize marijuana?

[Winifred]

Do you think the US should legalize (and control and tax) pot? If so, how? If not, explain.

I'm of two minds. I do think pot is different from cocaine, heroin, prescription pills, etc., and more like alcohol - able to support addictive behavior (yes, I know it's not supposed to be addictive, but continued excessive use has a clear mental price - as does alcohol - I've seen it in my years of social work), and also with some really legitimate social and medical uses.

I think the time may have come to legalize it nationally, and control and tax it - thus removing revenue from crime, and helping the country counter the deficit.

I'm especially curious how the Netherlands manages. All sorts of stuff is legal there, and they manage (or do they?).

What do others think?

[margaine]

I haven't been following these issues much, but I don't have anything against it being legal. I think alcohol can be so destructive to families and society as a whole, and it is legal. What is the difference, really?

I do think it would be great to decriminalize marijuana use. So many who smoke pot are not bad or dangerous people. They are just regular people going about their lives. Some people come home and have a beer, and others come home and smoke (don't get me wrong, I do neither!). Technically they are breaking the law, but that law does perhaps need to be rethought.

[Herr Klaus]

I concur. I think marijuana should be legalised. One can't seriously OD on it, and it's a stress remover. I don't smoke marijuana, but cigarettes are like that for me. If I'm ever really worried about something or just can't chill out and relax, I light up a fag. Other people just take a drink. It's like a vice. For pleasure, for fun, etc.

It's ultimately harmless. I don't think I've ever seen an angry stoner. They're usually just chill. I think the only reason people are so against legalising is because marijuana's always been illegal. Tobacco hasn't, and alcohol was only for a short time, off and on.

[intellectualammo]

I don't touch the stuff myself, but I am absolutely for laissez-faire capitalist society, where Mary Jane is freed. There would be no "black market" but a free market. You can possess, sell, grow, smoke all you want to, but the moment you do something to violate another persons individual rights - you can be held accountable and tried, have charges broguht against you. Get behind the wheel, I'm sure there would be objective laws for that, just like with alcohol. I'm not looking at any of the effect of the drugs, which drugs, the reasons why they are used or abused either, all of which interests me none, for I'm looking at the individuals rights. Shoot up, smoke up, drink up whatever you want, you are well within your rights. I think drugs should be legalized and it's immoral to make them illegal. On top of all that is the amount of taxation taken from my earnings to go to imprisoning people, whose rights are the ones being violated. I am getting upset, and I want to have a nice night tonight after working, so I don't know if I'll come back to this thread or not. The laws are what creates the black market. Let the dealers open up shop, be legit, and left alone. It'd create many jobs, free people unjustly jailed, prevent others from going in, possibly reduce taxes on income as well. Wonder what % of people in jail, prison, are in there for drug offenses? Anyways, I'm done.

Long Live Lady Liberty!

[neilgee]

I always think of the example of the football championships [I think it was Euro 2004 but don't quote me] that held half in Belgium [where they pride themselves on their strong beer] and half in Amsterdam where, well we all know that Holland is famous for legalising marijuana.

Before the football games Dutch Police were told to turn a blind eye to anybody smoking marijuana on the street [although that's not strictly legal, even in Holland] but come down heavy on anybody drinking alcohol outdoors.

I'll give you one guess where all the trouble was in that football tournament, and I'll give you a clue, none of it was in Holland.

[Phantom Paragrapher]

Im not sure what the effects of Marijuana is in the US , but I know in NZ that they have been trying to legalise it for a while now , specially the Green Party ( they are like hippie people). Though , I guess in some cases if nessecary and is really needed like for medicinal purposes and if it is prescribed through someone of high standing , then their should be allowances but if it is legalised and people abuse it , which there is a high risk of it in NZ then they should stand firm and be like no legilisation of Marijuana. In NZ though , marijuana is not really a big deal as you go to each corner or talk to a room of teens and their's probably maybe 1-3 who haven't tried it. The Problem we have in NZ at the mo , is P which is the common name here for Methamephetamine.( bound to be spelt incorrectly)

[Jez]

If we were to actually follow the Constitution, the US government does not have the power to ban marijuana, so, yes, it should not be a crime to possess, sell, or use.

I agree with the Constitution. It is not and should not be the government's responsibility or within the government's power to ban a substance simply because it may have negative effects. The role of the government is not to play nanny. Adults are capable of free will and choice. If they choose to do drugs and suffer the negative consequences, then that is their decision to make. Children are the custody of their adult guardians. Their decision may negatively affect others, but it is impossible for a government to try to ban every substance or object that may be used to negatively affect another person. Where does it end? Marijuana? Meth? Guns? Knives? Video games? Baseball bats?

It is also immoral for a government to attempt to do so. Need we be reminded that a government is made up of people. What right do those people who happen to be politicians have to choose which substances and objects should be banned and allowed? On what whim of the moment? On what lobbyist's payoff? And on the other side of that coin, what justification, then, is there for removing the right of the people who are not politicians from making such a choice?

And if none of those greater issues matter, though those should be the only ones that do matter, then there is the simple fact that the war on drugs is not working. Drug use is not curbed. More criminals are simply created through legislation. Fighting the war on drugs is more costly than curbing government activity where government activity does not belong. The war on drugs has also allowed for ridiculously unconstitutional encroachments into the rights and liberties of the people. Some of the grossest violations include violations of the fourth amendment. That's a pretty important right. In every way, the war on drugs is a failure and an unconstitutional breach of the limits on the government's powers.

So, yes, marijuana should be legalized. Not because the government should let us use it, but because the government should have never banned it in the first place.

[Jez]

The Problem we have in NZ at the mo , is P which is the common name here for Methamephetamine.( bound to be spelt incorrectly)

Methamphetamine. You were damn close though :) That one seems to be catching on all over the place.

[intellectualammo]

So, yes, marijuana should be legalized. Not because the government should let us use it, but because the government should have never banned it in the first place.

Yes, right. But to me not only upon Constitutional grounds, but also upon moral grounds that it should be legalized.

[Jez]

Yes, right. But to me not only upon Constitutional grounds, but also upon moral grounds that it should be legalized.

I mentioned morality. :)

[intellectualammo]

I mentioned morality. :)

Oh, you did! Sorry didn't see that.

[Jez]

Oh, you did! Sorry didn't see that.

:D

[Puglover]

And if none of those greater issues matter, though those should be the only ones that do matter, then there is the simple fact that the war on drugs is not working. Drug use is not curbed. More criminals are simply created through legislation. Fighting the war on drugs is more costly than curbing government activity where government activity does not belong.

I agree that the war on drugs is not working. It's always been interesting to me that a drug like alcohol is legal and considered socially acceptable, but marijuana has such a negative view from the mainstream. While I enjoy my finer alcoholic beverages, I also know that it has the potential to be much more dangerous than marijuana.

The fact is that our prisons are overcrowded, and some of those people simply have drug addiction. If they have not committed a violent act against another, I am not sure why we are wasting prison space and tax dollars on the situation.

[intellectualammo]

If they have not committed a violent act against another, I am not sure why we are wasting prison space and tax dollars on the situation.

Right. That's also practical considering the space. I think that when the prison in my area needed space, due to G-20 Summit, someone said to me at the hospital, that some people might have been let go, ones on like drug possession charges. Might not be true, but...

I also think this same way about prostitution as I do with drugs.

[ReallyasypE]

I agree that it should be legalized. Alcohol can do alot more damage than marijuana, but still it is legal while the "drug" is not.

Also.. In the Netherlands it is legal. They sell it in coffeshops, but the land has had no problems with it. They just introduced a new law where they illegalize tobacco inside public places like restaurants, cafes and stuff like that. Marijuana and maybe hash too? was not included in this law, because its not proven to be harmful. So they can still smoke, but only cannabis, and not tobacco.

Seems fair enough to me. We should follow.