Excellent point. If it is legalized, or at the very least decriminalized, I do think there should be an 18 age requirement on it (unless prescribed by a doctor for a younger person).

For the record, I think the drinking age should be lowered as well. You wouldn't have near as much binge drinking and hiding.

When people are engaged in illegal behavior they monitor their actions.

"When people are engaged in illegal behavior they monitor their actions.:"

Who is "they"? The ones engaged in the illegal behavior? Like the repeated drunk drivers? They monitor themselves REALLY well.

The repeated drunk drivers are alcoholics. Pot smokers are monitoring their behavior because they know that it is illegal.

Brenda, are you drunk or high? Cause you are making no sense!

Grow it, produce it, and sell it in liqour stores to those over 21 y/o under government regulation and taxation. A great way to pay down the deficit and stop the wasted "war on pot" billions of taxpayer dollars.

As we've seen for decades, only the traffickers and kingpins make billions while our governments spends tens-of-billions to stop what will, eventually, reach the market anyway. Regulating pot like alchohol makes financial, and common sense. Besides, the video gaming world will EXPLODE with new members (think . . .private investments!!).

Brenda, I got you...it's the illegal part...lol...can't believe anyone would miss that!

Kov68, I wouldn't make any sense to a dope-head. You are comparing pot smokers to alcoholics. I believe that it is true that fewer people are addicted to pot than to alcohol. However, I believe that is largely true because alcohol has a larger foothold in society, because it is legal. It is more acceptable in various social situations. Legalize pot and you will see more addiction and many more problems in general, such as lung cancer, which the US is trying to stamp out.

Nope, Brenda. We would be able to smoke some pot in the evenings just like countless millions drink alcohol. AND we wouldn't smoke nearly as much pot as the drinkers do consuming their drink of choice.

I have never seen a marijuana "wreck". However, I sure have seen lots of deadly accidents where alcohol is involved. I used to drive I-40 constantly and the worst wrecks were usually alcohol related.

We don't have ROOM in the prisons for the small drug offenders. I guess you want the private prisons, like Geo, to get more contracts with your state and siphon more money off of you as a taxpayer. Google GEO and see how they are robbing us blind in the states where they have prisons. Google CCA. You'll be taken much more serious if you educate yourself about this subject.

...and how do you know those things? There is more evidence pointing toward pot smoking leading to an increase in addictive behaviors than there is that pot is harmless. I know some real pot heads, who just put a wet towels under their doors at night and get zonked. They're fire risks. I've also been in Al-Anon (the program for families and friends of alcoholics/addicts) for twenty-three years. I know the havoc that both alcohol and drugs wreck on societies and families. There is no way I'd ever vote to legalize pot. To children and spouses, whose significant others tend to be impaired an emotional vacant, it doesn't matter which drug is responsible. Yes, there are people in recovery who are trying to figure out how to deal with the pot heads in their lives. One of my friends divorced her husband after he told her he had to smoke his pot, because that was the only pleasure he got in life. (The baby that was on the way wasn't enough to lift his mood.) Many pot smokers have the same emotional problems and addictive personalities as other substance abusers.

Wow Brenda, we need to sit down a share a bowl... If you don't want to partake, don't, but please drop all the 'talking points' listed above.

But... You really should try it... This granny says yes...

Lol Lyn - I was thinking the same. Brenda seriously you are WAY over the top in your thinking on all this. I am a very successful businessman in Manhattan. Have many high level executive type friends. Pot use is prevalent. Just doing a one hitter before going out to a dinner or event is common. When doing that, most would drink less cocktails as well. Far more level headed. But Brenda, you are speaking of the few major pot heads.. like back in the college day for many of us. The wet towel to prevent the 50 bong hits of smoke seeping out. Are u crazy to think that legalization will cause social pot heads to "turn on, tune in, and drop out" and basically go get baked and play WII all day and forget life? Stop imposing YOUR beliefs on ALL others. There always may be a 5% or so that overdue ANY drug or video game or WHATEVER. But you cannot stop that by outlawing every thing YOU see as a threat to society.

Now go roll a spliff and just RELAX.

If you can grow it in your garden, then you should be able to do so. Herbal remedies abound throughout history and now.....it's a simple plant, and possibly a gift from God. I have a problem with anyone having the right to tell me in a supposedly free country that I can't grow a simple plant, on my own property and use it. So, I am not only denied the use of it, but I can have my property confiscated, and I can be thrown in jail?? Does this make any kind of sense in a free society??? For God's sake, legalize it!! Do it for me for mothers Day!!!

Brenda:

What you are referring to is addictive personalities NOT a physical addiction. Marijuana has been proven to have no physically addictive qualities while it may be habit forming. There are two types of regular smokers:

1.) Pot Heads: People who smoke only at appropriate times and places.

2.) Stoners: People who operate their whole life high.

While I do not support the lifestyle of the 'Stoner' I have come to realize that with many of these people, they just want to be 'addicted' to something. If its not weed, its booze. If its not Booze, its a girl.

You referred to 'Al-Anon' as your source for your first hand information. Isn't that a group for severe alcoholism? Statistically speaking that is an extreme outlier and invalidates any information gathered. You yourself state: "Many pot smokers have the same emotional problems and addictive personalities as other substance abusers." While your sample was in no way relevant to the topic at hand.

Furthermore, are you suggesting that we remove everything that people with addictive personalities get hooked on? Are we to ban romantic relationships so that we don't have any stalkers? Ban religions so we don't have an zealots? Ration the nations diets so that compulsive eaters can't eat?

I would much prefer my friends who have addictive personalities (which is often coupled with bipolar or manic-depression) mellowed out on weed that taking up drinking, cigarettes, overeating or gambling.

So yes, I am all for the legalization and control of marijuana. And honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing alcohol and cigarettes go the way of the dodo bird.

Oh, and Brenda, before you try to discredit me; I have a BA in business and a minor in stats and I am working in management at a multinational ad agency with plans to go back for graduate degree. I smoke. I have grown a plant (they are surprisingly similar to tomatoes in the way you care for and raise them), I have read, studied, and done multiple reports on the topic before I came to my decided stance on the topic. What have you done?

The 60 year drug war has been a dismal failure. PERIOD! The fact is, pot is way less a problem than alcohol is. We should learn (but never do) from the moonshine & probabition era of the roaring twenties in which organized crime exploded. Even during that time, when the USA passed probabition, Canada quickly changed their laws to allow the mfg and export of whiskey.

This is no longer a few hippies coming across the border with a little pot. This is a well organized crime mob that has Mexico in a strangle hold. They bring the pot and cocaine here and transport guns and cash back to further their attempt to overthrow the Mexican government. The legalization of pot will wipe out HALF of the drug problem. Then, they can focus on the more serious hard drugs (cocaine & especially Meth) THIS IS NOW A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY! This is My opinion, Whats Yours??

"The repeated drunk drivers are alcoholics. Pot smokers are monitoring their behavior because they know that it is illegal."

Newsflash Brenda -- driving drunk is illegal too!

Your last sentence is exactly why legalizing it will not make a bit of difference. Once it's legalized, the government will tax it like crazy, whether out of a need to make a dollar or to discourage users.

But...nobody in their right mind is going to go to the 7-11 and buy a pack of herbal remedy when their dealer down the street already has some and has it for less. (Much like some people go to a reservation to buy cheaper cigarettes, which are legal but getting even more expensive by the day.)

While possession and use will be legal, you'll still be taking dealers to jail for tax evasion or people who buy them will be dinged for buying them on the black market.

You won't be eliminating crime; you'll just be changing its face.

(For my two cents, I'd say legalize it because there's no way a stoner's going to go driving or robbing banks. The most violence you'll see a stoner commit is using his teeth to rip open a bag of Funyuns, then it's back to watching Cartoon Network.)

Reality is we need more revenue and pot is a perfect example of where to get it...

You want pot? Fine, but you gotta pay up cuz US needs $$$...I'd be good with that.

I cant believe you folks collapsed my comments for the audacity of suggesting the government not tax the "chit" out of pot!

some community....

Peeeeeuuuuuuuu

so here it is again:

"Tax it? You want more taxes? Leave the government out of it!"

Sounds like you all want pot SO BAD that you are willing to sell out just about anything. To prop up our country with sin-taxes doesnt sound like a terrific future evan if yer stoned.

In my opinion marijuana should be taxed the same as any other none food item but not more.Those who don't want to pay the taxes can grow their own. I don't like marijuana, but I also don't think it is my place or government's to tell anyone else what to put in their bodies or allow in their place of business. As far as the teens are concerned, I would prefer that they are punished but not with jail time. Its time to stop punishing adults with prohibition and ridiculous sin taxes just because teens want to experiment.

Joshua-10

Well put. People ignore these facts, and parrot the government's anti-drug rhetoric instead. Not sure about the choking on meat thing, but what you state is reality. Alcohol and cigarettes kill, yet the anti-herb people seem to ignore this. If they really want to take a stand on pot, they should focus their energy on outlawing booze and cigarettes. This is so backwards. The green plant should be legalized...

...and alcohol is legal. Drinkers do not modify or monitor their behavior to the same degree as pot smokers, because they are not engaged in illegal activity. Both are bad. Plus, pot probably does cause lung cancer, especially if people are allowed to smoke it unmonitored.

Brenda you keep going back to how the pot users "monitor" their behavior. First off, you talk as if a pot user is a total stoner. That is like saying that the mom or dad coming home from a day at work and having a glass of wine to relax at the end of day is in real danger of going overboard and putting down a bottle or 2 of wine. VAST majority are responsible and fine. No different than a puff or 2 of pot to unwind. Not going to roll a bob marley just cuz its legal and smoke it all at once. Many of us "users" monitor our intake NOT cuz its illegal, but because we are good responsible citizens and neighbors of yours. Your "facts" you use to scare others are completely off base with no merit. It is not YOUR thing, fine. But YOUR thing is not in line with most others .. so live and let live baby...

In the 70's it was not unusual for someone to smoke so many joins as to pass out. No big deal as they weren't going anywhere obviously. The strains of marijuana changed drastically and the quality became far superior. What this did was cut down on the overuse of the herb and for most a toke or two was all they were interested in taking. The difference between marijuana and alcohol is if you over indulge in alcohol you are drunk and in not condition to drive or function normally for hours, marijuana however if overindulged puts you to sleep or gives you the munchies but usually gives no incentive to go anywhere and you stay where you are. After an hour or so you have come down from your high sufficiently to function normally. I think alcohol abuse will always trump marijuana abuse. There simply is no benefit in over use of marijuana as a high is sufficient and not conducive to wanting more and more as in drinking alcohol. The other side of smoking vs. drinking is that there is no danger in angry outbursts from toking and alcohol can bring out the worst in a person.

Legalize it and watch the drug war violence drop immediately !

That is one of the best reasons to legalizing it...

Though, not the only reason...

Buy American, high American!

The drug violence won't drop immediately. Somewhat, yes, as the pot smugglers lose work (except as I mentioned above...there will still be a demand for cheaper, non-taxed weed) but there will still be cocaine, heroin, speed, and everything else. The cartels will just change their focus, and there's still the human smuggling element.

Legalizing marijuana won't solve as many problems as everyone thinks, and be realistic: criminals will always find work.

No. The drug dealers will still sell it more cheaply than the government. So not only will there be little increase in revenue, but users will monitoring their behavior.

Brenda, that is the 3rd time you make mention of pot smokers "monitoring their behavior." What the heck do you mean by that? Are you attempting to say that pot smokers are smart enough to use their drug of choice in a reasonable and safe manner, while drunks are not?

Lol Kov i know right? wtf does that even mean? I keep grappling to understand the "logic". And i am not even stoned yet today, lol. She may be floating out some "soundbites" for Fox news or someone to use to try and spin their message with all fluff and no substance..

People are free to grow their own tobacco, too, and to make their own alcoholic beverages, but most don't, because it's way more convenient to buy them for the same level of quality. Sure, pot grows easily, but GOOD pot takes time, skill and patience. Either way, the cartels lose, but I do believe there is a massive industry lying dormant, or rotting away in the hands of criminals, that should be made a profit center for the American economy.

Dave in NM

Agreed. Let people grow their own pot for themselves only. Want to sell it? Get a business license and pay your taxes and go for it. You can't sell or distribute your home made alcohol without the taxation and monitoring. Should be the same with marijuana.

Yes!!!! Why must the 12% of naysayers win the argument!! We outnumber them, so why is it still illegal in most states????

former repub: It's my understanding that these Newsvine polls skew a lot more toward the rational side than national opinion polls. Last I saw, a majority of Americans (though a slim and shrinking majority) still believe the lies about pot and oppose legalization, always for invalid reasons. It's up to all of us to educate whenever we get the chance; make facts available and see to it that our legislators both know the facts and know were we, their constituents, stand on the issue. It's still illegal because older Americans, and staunch social conservatives, believe it's the government's job to restrict freedom (and believe the ridiculous misinformation that's still disseminated about pot by groups like police unions). Our challenge is to counterbalance those forces, and work to reverse this harmful policy once and for all.

-another former Republican

Imagine the scene where the 30-year old stoner who lives in his mom's basement, greets his mother telling her he has a job in Quality Control.

Gee jrschw I rather see that than spend my tax dollars to house him in prison like we do today.

jrschw-HB CA

Imagine the scene where the 30-year old stoner who lives in his mom's basement, greets his mother telling her he has a job in Quality Control.

LOL!!! But he'd only do it if they delivered it to him. It'd be too much like a real job if he had to go get it to test it. If not, he'd just find another reason to stay in his mom's basement.

I can just see it now....

"WWWWWWWWWHhHHHhhhhhh....... wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhewww..... I think I need to try that agian....

"WWWWWWWWWHhHHHhhhhhh....... wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhewww..... did I write that down??? ......

or the pickers "Whooooa, one for you and one for me.....

B.S.

I agree with you. They need to have stiff penalties for getting cought getting high while driving. Too much is to be made from taxing and saved by not having to pay to fight the current illegal growers.

Exactly. Google the name "Anslinger," and you'll get a rich education in the racist history of the war on pot. The scheduling of pot alongside heroin and cocaine, under the Nixon administration, on the other hand, was not racist so much as it was cultural. Nixon's advisers recommended that pot be scheduled much less aggressively, but Nixon insisted on classing it with addictive narcotics, because he was terrified of the counterculture and wanted a way to round the hippies up.

The result, of course, was to remove all credibility from the scheduling system. People knew pot was nearly harmless, and figured that if heroin and cocaine were scheduled the same, they must be harmless as well. That's a large part of the "gateway drug" argument against pot. Once someone crosses the illegality line to smoke weed, might as well explore the other things there as well. I shudder to think of the thousands of fatal overdoses that could have been avoided if the lines had been drawn in rational places.

Don't forget DuPont. When they invented nylon, they needed a market for it. Hemp was grown on many, if not all farms at one time for rope, burlap, etc. That was the end of hemp crops. I believe Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. (all tho, I don't know if they smoked it.) Ha.

sc yes many drug laws are geared totally racist, and i can delve for hours on that subject. But also, one of the biggest reasons pot was outlawed back then was because William Randolf Hearst, and a few other mega rich corporate newspaper owners had the ear and influence over the politicians. AND their profits were being undercut by start up newspaper companies that were making papers on the cheap by using HEMP as the paper to print on. By owning the politicians then, as the big corporate giants still do today, they had them outlaw pot, so that hemp paper were illegal, and the small business guy with a newspaper couldn't afford the more expensive paper to print on, so he went out of business. Pathetic really. Big money dictates the government policies...

And - imagine that - the people who are most friendly to those things are the most hostile to pot.

Right on, Dave in NM. I have always said the war on drugs is waged by alcoholics against potsmokers. Alkies sure have anger issues, don't they?

I am in full support of legalization, but long term marijuana use does have it's side effects.

I'm fortunate to live in California which supports medical marijuana. It has been a Godsend in helping with my sleep issues. Pharmaceuticals are either ineffective or have unpleasant side effects (I will never take Lunesta again). Alcohol after 7PM also interferes with sleep.

Since I have been using medical marijuana a couple times a week to help with sleep issues, I have noticed short term memory issues.

I've never heard of a pot hang over.

No, but there's certainly one hell of a Cheerios shortage after a smokeout.

And where did my Fritos go, too? Hmmm....

Um, okay. Legalize it but with one caveat: don't post on the internet.

Let me guess. You watched that movie, Reefer Madness, in Health class and believed every word? What an idiot!! A pothead is way easier to manage than a meth freak or a drunk. Bet you didn't give up your wine. BTW, I don't toke, I just support folks' right to choose.

Right so you are in favor of reenacting prohibition and BTW why stop there? What about cigarettes, McDonalds, sodas, and Catholic Churches (lol ok only if you are a little boy). All those have been shown to be bad for your health too.

When government thinks they know better how you should live your life than you do they go to far. If you don't think so maybe you would be happier with a job in China censoring the internet.

Mari, kindly state where you get your "facts" from? 10 minutes of reading and researching could possibly prevent you making an idiot of yourself in public parroting propaganda that all thinking persons know are untrue. Then again perhaps not.

So, Mari, are you a scientist that has personally researched the facts that prove your claim? Or are you just another dumb religion addled American that believes it is a sin and that the TV ad showing your brain as a fried egg is fact?

If the racist genius of Anslinger portraying pot as the south of the border evil had not been used, it would not have appealed to the right wing of that era. Since then, billions of tax $ have been wasted and subject to unimaginable corruption pursuing the "War on Drugs" that never has worked. Why not?

Because too many crooks(ie Noriega) from places like Nicaragua, Colombia and Panama were funded by the super secret illegal programs like Iran-Contra in order to support the right wing, supposedly as anti-narco forces but primarily to fight communism, in those places. The war has been lost because those in charge have no clue how to win or never really wanted to win.

When you consider mind altering drugs from tobacco and alcohol, that are legal in spite of their proven hazard to mankind, to heroin, crystal meth and cocaine, which are obviously the most dangerous drugs, there is no comparison to a naturally occurring plant used as God gave it to us.

Marijuana (Spanish for Mary Jane) can be smoked, cooked into many forms of food and eaten or steeped with teas and drunk. When you think about it, it is the only truly "green" mind altering substance. I know, He also gives us peyote and 'shrooms in their natural form but they are out of the main stream.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the legalization of pot becomes a reality thereby setting into place gradual changes in consumer preferences that significantly diminish the use of cancer causing tobacco and alcohol products?

It would be particularly delightful if free market pot could produce enough tax income for states to survive the economic disaster created by the Bush years and the R.J.B.* plague on our nation. *Repugnican Judgemental Ba$tards

The Republican Party is crumbling into a useless heap of corporate owned and operated political cronies that, for too long, have been blocking regulation of the banking, Wall Street and health insurance vampires that suck the $$ from our pockets instead of standing up for the 90% of the population that owns 5% of the wealth. The GOP (Greedy Old Patricians*) ran this nation into the ground by starting the illegal war that their neocon and MIC owners wanted. Their platform consists of blind support of empty fabrications from their eternal wizard and drug addict, Rush Limpballs, and Faux News gang of idiot liars.

It is NOW that the young American citizens of all races that are for free market pot must stand up to the blatant lies and arrogant belligerence of the GOP. You can help write the final chapter of the Bush fiasco if millions of new Democrats register NOW and vote in the November 2010.

*Patricians - The 2% of U.S. population that holds more than 90% of wealth. They are the privileged elite that capitalize on the remaining 98% and probably paid some P.R. puke millions to re-brand Capitalism as Free Market Economy because it sounds less threatening. They also view the illegality of drugs as their main tool to keep the non-white minorities in the ghettos and prisons that conveniently help their corporate buds make millions running prisons built with federal money so that they can maximize their profits.

Vote 2010 for your Democratic candidates for Congress. Make this election the first step towards eventual Free Market Pot or Marijuana Capitalism.

Amen brotha, Amen.

George,I'm standing there beside you, and I've been there since 1974....no longer young, but still here, waiting for MY favorite activity to be legal!!!

@Mari....that's BS there are MANY positive health effects from Cannabis! Google cannabis shrinks tumors. And in Colorado anyway at least 50% of medical users no longer "smoke" their cannabis, the use a vaporizer which DOES NOT PRODUCE SMOKE that you take into your lungs, thus eliminating any worry of bronchitis (which is the ONLY illness considered by REAL MDs to be "caused" by cannabis use, b/c smoking irritates the lungs. @ Brenda....the FIRST thing you should have learned in Alanon is that you do not have control over another person, their actions or their life!! Let go and Let God, and how about minding some of your own business, you must be the gossip on the block, a person with zero facts and all lipservice, you are not winning fans here by throwing around lies and bs so wake up and smell the coffee lady (coffee does by far more damage via caffeine to ones body than cannabis btw)

as far as medical conditions go Cannabis reduces tumor size (google it) it causes a SHORT term drop in IQ of approx 4 points which returns after about 1 hour (most MENSA members and people in a higher IQ range do smoke pot) so that means that when someone like myself medicates (I am a licensed patient in the state of Colorado) my IQ goes from 152 to 148, still above MENSA membership levels, and still above people who post on BBs with no facts and improper info.

By definition alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. Have you noticed the number of commercialsfor ambulance chasers trying to sign people up for class action suits against pharmaceutical companies.

Drugs are not evil. They can be beneficial if used correctly and in moderation. Drug use becomes abuse when people use them to escape their problems; this includes alcohol, tobacco, mother's little helper and the over prescription of anti-depressants (which has been pushed for years by well intentioned doctors).

Based on your comment regarding our government promoting drug use, I assume you watch way too much Fox News.

Polka14

Try to educate yourself about the true differences in the various types of drugs and then get back to us, okay? Really learn something though. Don't just go with the talking points that you hear. Read up on some real studies.

Marijuana is not the same as cocaine, heroine, and meth and should not be treated as though it is.

And this is from someone that does not smoke pot. Never have... never will... legal or not. But I do partake of my selected wines and whiskeys on occasion. Yearly.... uh, monthly... really weekly.... OKAY... NIGHTLY!!

jrschw-HB CA

Based on your comment regarding our government promoting drug use, I assume you watch way too much Fox News.

Agreed with your response, especially the above.

I am a liberal and I despise Fox Noise, jrschw-HB CA. I am obviously not against pharmaceutical drugs because they serve a legitimate purpose. Marijuana is completely evil. Noone should have a right to use it. Even selling it should be punishable with death by hanging.

And I noticed you did not try to argue against the fact that children will be receiving mixed messages in regards to drugs. "If drugs are bad, why are people allowed to use it", Says the innocent fifth grader. Can you answer that, jrschw-HB CA?

Teach your kids the difference in the various drugs.

What do you think we're teaching them by making criminals out of them for smoking a joint? Utter stupidity.

No! Children should be taught that ALL illegal drugs are wrong. No exceptions.

Polka - the message to children should be is....

A drug is any non-food substance that alters the body chemistry of the person taking the drug. When a drug has a medicinal purpose, it can help improve the quality of someones life. Drug abuse is bad. Drug abuse takes many forms. When drugs are misused, over prescribed or incorrectly prescribed, these same drugs can cause long term and permanent damage to the person taking them.

Polka - thanks for the civil dialog.

Polka14

No! Children should be taught that ALL illegal drugs are wrong. No exceptions.

Might I suggest #13.2 again. To paraphrase a famous statement... Learn before you leap. The point being, that once you know the difference, marijuana should not be illegal.

Marijuana like any other illegal drug, ruins the lives of people. I have seen it happen. Anyone that says Marijuana is not addictive is lying through their teeth. In reality, Marijuana is no better than meth or even cocaine. It is not worse but it is not better. Legal drugs will ruin our society because every naive fool out there will become slowly addicted to that evil plant.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all, Polka, but would you please share what experience/education and/or faith-based position has brought you to this conclusion and judgement that pot is that dangerous and evil.

A statement on that sort of punishment deserves a reference.

CM

ROTFL...Polka14

You have been watching too many government films from the 1930's!!!

Hahahahahhahahahahahahhahaha!!!!!!!!

Rob, you will not be laughing when our country starts to decay due to everyone using drugs.

Research the number one drugs being abused by minors.......Prescription drugs. Drugs their parents have in their medicine cabinet. Many fail to realize these drugs are just that....drugs.

Although, I'm totally against minors using pot. Any person, young or old, can get pot. It's always been that way. Think of the millions of dollars spent by the government trying to enforce pot laws. To what effect? How many millions of dollars are spent on violators being warehoused in prisons? Law enforcement, themselves, will say that they may intercept perhaps 10% of all pot being brought into the country. Many local police see pot violation enforcement as a waste of time and resources.

Years ago, I read an article whereas an esteemed economics expert stated "anything with a 1500% mark-up on sales, the government should be in on. (or words to that affect).

I say legalize it. Controll it. Tax it. Violators would be dealt with severly.

If it were legalized, watch who, after a years time, is making huge amounts of money from it....ie. Business men. Investors. People you would never think would get involved with it. (But, may have been involved with it all the time it was illegal).

Polka----Some research shows that legalizing Pot, or any drug, does not show use will go up substantially. Most who would use pot after legalization, are already using it today. There IS evidence that people 50 and over are NOW beginning to use pot. Some stopped years ago for fear of being arrested. Now they are less fearful. (More careful, too). And find that it is a much better activity than alcohol.

Our county is decaying at an amazing rate, but we can discuss that on another thread on another day. What does marijuana have to do with evil and what is your basis for that statement? Please

We should not be MAKING MONEY off of the suffering of people. It is not right! People who sell marijuana should simply be sentenced to death!

Personal basis for such a strong statement, Polka

Polka14

Marijuana like any other illegal drug, ruins the lives of people. I have seen it happen.

Here's my hypothesis on your "seen it happen" bit. They would have found another "way" to "ruin" their life other than marijuana. The age-old scene of the 30 year-old livig in his mom's basement smoking pot is just too silly. That 30 year-old would most likely be in his mom's basement spending his day drunk and looking at porn if pot wasn't available.

In other words... it wasn't the pot, it was the person. Not usually the case with cocaine and heroine.

And again, scientific studies have concluded the differences between marijuana and cocaine and heroine. Might want to brush up on them when you get a chance.

Polka14

People who sell marijuana should simply be sentenced to death!

Channeling a pre-Oxycontin Lumpbutt there Polka?

Indeed. As I said earlier, I have seen what happens to people when they use marijuana. It ruins the lives of people. It is truly evil.

In other words... it wasn't the pot, it was the person. Not usually the case with cocaine and heroine.

Even if cocaine and heroine are worse, legalizing marijuana is one step toward legalizing those other drugs too.

Paluka, your inability or refusal to explain your basis for such an inflamitory word as evil leads me to the conclusion that you are actually a stoner on your couch getting a kick out of ruffling some feathers of people trying to have a serious conversation.

Have fun with that.

1) It's "Polka14".
2) I would never take marijuana. It is evil. I would rather die.
3) There is no exact definition of "evil". However I consider anything that actively ruins the lives of people to be evil. If this is not good enough then too bad.

Polka14

Even if cocaine and heroine are worse, legalizing marijuana is one step toward legalizing those other drugs too

I've rarely seen a more ridiculous argument.

Ok, who's life did it ruin? Was that a personal experience or a friend of your mother's nephew's friend? When did that happen? "that you'd rather die" than touch marijuana deserves a follow up, don't ya think?

Ok, who's life did it ruin?

It ruined my father's life, then later almost ruined my brother's life too. If it was not for him joining the military, he would be a deadbeat loser like my father. And it is all due to using marijuana. I do not even want to know how many millions of other people will fall on the wrong track when this country becomes pro-drug.

What is illegal is not always "evil". What is legal is not always right. Slavery was legal for many years in the US ... was it right? Women voting was illegal, did that make it "evil". Marijuana is plant, it is not evil. If you believe in god, then why would he/she/it create this great evil. If you don't then, perhaps, you see it as part of nature. People can abuse anything ... drugs, food, religion. That is not to say that drugs, food and religion all need to be outlawed to save us from ourselves. Marijuana clearly is not as dangerous as alcohol or tobacco. The laws against marijuana have clearly NOT stopped people from using it. What the laws have done is to put a lot of people in jail, at taxpayer expense, and created a huge drug violence problem along the US/Mexico border. Does anyone believe that the current approach is working. I don't use marijuana now and wouldn't use it if it were legalized, but I am sane enough to see that the current laws make no sense. Let's legalize and TAX marijuana. That way we could take the money away from the nefarious gangs and give it to the nefarious politicians!

The argument that the majority of heroine users started on marijuana is nonsense. While 90% of heroine users might have tried marijuana first, almost 100% of heroine users drank milk before getting hooked on "the harder stuff." Let's outlaw milk before more of our children waste their lives as hopeless addicts. Write your Congresspeople and urge them to "Ban the Boob!"

Bob. your second argument (the gateway) is my wife's favorite argument and I think it is silly. That said, kudos on your first point.

There is nothing wrong with pot, it's not a drug manufactured by people it grows in the wild, hang for it? you should move to another country! How stupid!!!!

Thanks okieboy. That said ... I have never been a fan of the white stuff and wouldn't be opposed to a ban on milk. However, I have no personal opposition to that aspect of the female anatomy, so perhaps I went too far in my earlier message.

@Bob, milk comes from cows, kay.

@Okieboy, the "gateway" argument holds some truth. Why legalize one drug and not all of them?

Polka14 , you have no idea what you are talking about. You've never used the green plant and never will. You are right about one thing, ALCOHOL and CIGARETTES are ruining our society. Get on that high horse and shout it out. Make THEM illegal, but... you'd never say that... You just said you enjoy fine wine and whiskey nightly... You are just spouting the misunderstood fear-message fed to you by our government's war-on-drugs. You're one of the naive fools already addicted to alcohol...

What?! I don't drink. Where did you get that impression?!

Polka14:

On the white stuff ... not always!

On the gateway argument: This is an inherently illogical approach. The idea that one drug introduces another makes no sense. The only way that you could logically make this argument is by suggesting that because marijuana is illegal, then obtaining it will introduce the innocent to the criminal element that also sells other drugs. This is an argument to legalize marijuana, not to criminalize it! One can argue that not all drugs should be legalized. Opiates are strongly physically addictive, so one might feel that they should not be legal. Oddly, tobacco -- which is also physically addictive -- is legal, while marijuana -- which is not physically addictive -- is against the law. Can you explain that one to me???

Marijuana is inherently evil because in interferes with the mental processes of people. Tobacco does not do that; it is no more evil then normal cigarettes.

Hey Pfeffdaddy1, hold up there. I enjoy a nice Scotch and a glass of red wine with dinner, but do so without getting drunk, driving while under the influence, or being addicted. To the degree I enjoy drink without causing risk or harm to others, you should let me be. I feel the same way about people who, "use the green plant." I see no sign that they are harming anyone, I see no reason for telling them what they should smoke. At a certain point, we need to give each other a little freedom to make our own decisions.

Polka, you need to look at the research. Tobacco does have physical and emotional effects on people. It also poses a health risk to people who happen to be nearby. You have a right to your opinion on marijuana, but please don't make believe that there is any sense or consistency in our laws regulating what is acceptable to smoke.

Bob, I was being facetious. The good green plant should be legalized, as alcohol is today.

"Marijuana is inherently evil because in interferes with the mental processes of people."

How about Zoloft? Evil? What about anti-psychotics? Evil? Alcohol?

Let me guess - you've never touched the stuff, right?

The gateway argument is silly because 100% of us had milk (if only once) and water before doing any legal or illegal drugs.

Very nice argument Poker:

Marijuana is inherently evil because in interferes with the mental processes of people. Tobacco does not do that; it is no more evil then normal cigarettes.

Marijuana...interferes with the mental processes of people.

A statement, an argument and basis for position, thank you. BTW, tobacco=normal cigarettes

@okieboy, reported for inflammatory speech.

Hey Polka, what kind of twisted logic do you use to explain the results of this poll?

How about Zoloft? Evil? What about anti-psychotics? Evil? Alcohol?

Drugs with a purpose to help with mental problems are not evil. Marijuana is evil because people take it to damage their mental capacity. Same with Alcohol. Both are evil.

Hey Polka, what kind of twisted logic do you use to explain the results of this poll?

The drug user deadbeat population must be out in force today.

Polka, leave Pfeffdaddy alone. He is no using inflammatory speech. this is one of the better blogs I have seen here... and I like the "green plant" references.

Polka14 "The drug user deadbeat population must be out in force today."

Yea, that's a reasonable explanation...

Polka, leave Pfeffdaddy alone. He is no using inflammatory speech

I know. I reported Okieboy.

Polka14 - I am a proponent of legalization and I have seen people flush their potential down the drain because of drug abuse.

The key thing that got them started was beer. Alcohol is the true gateway drug. I know multiple people with substance abuse problems and they all started by sneaking beers from the refrigerator at a young age.

Regarding the "drugs are evil". I get the impression you're a Christian woman. As a Christian, I do not believe anything created on this earth by God is evil (with the exception of human nature). There is nothing wrong with marijuana. But when people misuse it (just like with any other drug including tobacco or alcohol) bad things happen.

Regarding the addictive nature of marijuana, there is only psychological addition (I learned that back in the 70's in our mandated drug awareness education classes in elementary school). It can become an easy crutch for people who have trouble dealing with stress in their lives.

I am atheist and I continue to think that any non-prescription drug that can cause additions and can therefore ruin people's lives are evil. Alcohol is an addictive substance as well and it is evil too.

I don't want to read all of the posts by you to find out, but it sounds to me like you are 14, and one of your parents smokes pot, and you find that they are not the parent that you would like them to be...??

What did Okieboy do that was in the least bit inflamitory or rude? You reported and I'm still here along with all my comments you'll notice. I think to say the the drug user deadbeat population strikes of inflamitory

So, after reading the entire list of comments, Polka, I determine that you are 14 or have felt this way since then. I've got more guesses where that came from, and one of them is that your attitude is more of a problem to your dad and brother than pot is.

@Kellian, I'm not 14. I'm an adult now and my relationship with my father has been strained for years now due to his drug problem. I am convinced drugs are completely evil and should not be tolerated in our society for any reason. Marijuana really does ruin lives.

@Okieboy, I believe you intentionally misspelled my name twice to provoke an angry response. Instead of yelling at you, I decided to report your actions.

It sounds like Polka's mommy consumed quite a bit of booze while pregnant with him/ her.

Polka, the Christian Right and most big corporate america morons are the REAL evils in our society. Stay the F* out of this debate if you are only going to come with an argument that marijuana is "evil". WTF??

Polka, I am a conservative a Constitutionalist and a Republican, Cannabis and Hemp were legal and USED, frequently (do your research) by our founding fathers in a variety of ways INCLUDING the use of cannabis as a pain reviler. With your enormous rhetoric and bull I come to the conclusion that you have never smoked cannabis and thus, you have no real idea of its effects, you are just assuming, based of your love of the movie REEFER MADNESS that if one uses it, they will rape their teachers and kill their parents...lol When nothing could be further from the truth. Fear mongering and lies have turned people like you brains to MUSH.

POT in NOT a gateway "Drug"

It should have NEVER been made illegal.

It is 100% Safe and Effective and cannot be taken incorrectly

No one has EVER DIED, (ever ever ever ever evder) from just smoking pot

People die from caffeine, beer, cigs, fatty foods, tylenol, asprin and even WATER, but no reported cases on earth of someone dying from overdosing on Cannabis!!

Your fear is 100% irrational.

Pot should be 100% legal for ALL ADULTS age 18+

Pot growers should be monitored for QUALITY CONTROL just as tylenol, a resturant, a tattoo shop, a liquor store or your local daycare is monitored, there ARE inspectors, government, state and local regulators even private corporations are hired in other industries as a form of QC.

The US Government made pot a "gateway drug" by classifying it in the same category as meth and cocaine and heroin which cannabis is NOTHING like! The only reason anyone has ever used pot as a "gateway drug" is because the government and media only purports lies on the matter, so when a teen is offered pot and tries it, they realize they were lied to about its ill effects because they see the effects for themselves. So they no longer believe the government or the media or their parents when they say all drugs are bad, so then they go out and try a REAL DRUG that is actually addictive and BAD and they get hooked. NO ONE gets HOOKED on Pot. Studies show it in NOT physically addictive like (even caffeine is)!! Your arguments are not based in reality. Go research the good that cannabis does and has done for centuries and then get back to me!

Say Lady,

It's easier for the kids to get weed than it is beer! I personally would

rather see the kids smoke than drink, have you ever been to a college frat

party! My oldest kid smokes weed occasionally is getting his phd in one

year and doesn't drink beer because of the amount of damage he's seen from

alcohol! And we could get rid of these Gestapo pot police at the same time!

Tbyrde

TheOGMrsG, very very well put.

Pooky, did you actually say "Wah, you misspelled my name"? That aside, I have never seen anyone so passionate about their ignorance. I guess that is what has drawn me to you. An enigma. Report me again! I dare ya!
Peace Out ya'll

Go to an Al-Anon meeting. You'll find that for the children and significant others of those who are often impaired, it doesn't matter if the drug of choice is alcohol, cocaine, pot or any other drug that impairs the senses. An absent, self-centered spouse or parent is one period. My cousin likes to get high and his 8-year-old is now saying a lot about it. It does have a negative impact. Although my cousin does work and pay the bills, he is emotionally vacant.

Excellent point, Brenda. My 18 year old revealed her reasons for not smoking pot a few years ago. It wasn't that I was involved in her life, working every day and being there on time despite my occasional use of marijuana, it was that my brother the drug dealer was always under enormous stress to keep his family safe from being shot at and the fact that he never bothered with a real job. I'm not being sarcastic or facetious, this is why I no longer have a relationship with him. My dad, on the other hand, started all of this by being a drunk and an abuser. For my brother, it was escapism. For me, it was about the same as bridge night if you know what I mean.

My family has similar problems. Half of my family won't associate with the other half, because one half wants to drink and get stoned at every gathering and the other half is now clean and sober. One of my cousins is also a drug dealer. Believe me, that idiot will not be under-priced by the government. We also will not go to my aunt's house because we are afraid of being shot. Have those who feel a need to do drugs really questioned why they need to? Why can't half my family enjoy partying while clean and sober? I actually know the reason. Most are escaping from issues of sexual abuse and child abuse and seeing each other reminds them of the abuse. But instead of dealing with the issues, they want the government to legalize more drugs so that they can self-medicate.

" it doesn't matter if the drug of choice is alcohol, cocaine, pot or any other drug that impairs the senses. An absent, self-centered spouse or parent is one period. Although my cousin does work and pay the bills, he is emotionally vacant."

My ex was an "emotionally vacant" frequent stoner. So What!! Does that mean a person should be thrown in jail for smoking a joint!? Should the law be controlling our emotional states?

Brenda, strange... my ex was an absent, self-centered spouse and parent WITHOUT using a single drug! And my husband now is a quite present, emotionally healthy, amazing father and husband and he DOES smoke marijuana! There's no correlation here; it's entirely circumstantial and rest assured, if those same absent, self-centered parents weren't using marijuana, they would be doing something else to maintain their level of uninvolvement with their families.

I agree with those who are saying, in effect, that Brenda is conflating cause and effect. I know people who are fantastic parents - very involved in their children's lives, supportive and fun - who would be no more so (and often less) if they didn't have the chance to unwind with a few hits after a long and stressful day. The problem with emotional distance is personality; pot, even if abused, is at most a symptom of another problem, and in the vast majority of cases, it's not abused.

I don't smoke the stuff....can't stand the smell of it, and live in a house with someone who does. Smokes from the time they get up, smokes on breaks at work, and smokes while driving to and from work, and as soon as they walk in the door. I wouldn't have near the issue with it, if it was only a hit or two to wind down after work...but, it's not, and when they run out....watch out! The evilness that results is mind boggling! I have an occasional drink, but not every day...in fact, it has been about 6 months since I have had anything to drink. But I am not on the warpath spending hours trying to "hook up". I just don't understand why someone would want to stay high 24/7.......where is their reality/ Do they even have a clue what reality is? I don't think so.....and they insist they are not addicted to pot....they could quit anytime, then why is it that even when finances are extremely tight they feel entitled to their pot?!? Sorry...but I have needed to rant for a while now. Letting kids experiment without the possibility of repercussions would only make them believe that the way to get through life is to IGNORE IT! When they really need to learn to DEAL WITH IT!