Legalize Marijuana?

[04mucklowd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLsCC0LZxkY

 

[amostay2004]

In Malaysia and Singapore they hang you for smuggling drugs

 

[spitcuba]

NEVER legalize marijuana!!!

 

[Bapao]

NEVER legalize marijuana!!!

Why?

 

[Nestor]

NEVER legalize marijuana!!!

Reasons?

 

[cmhardw]

I used to be fairly well in the legalize marijuana camp. I like all of the societal arguments how we could tax the sale of it, get people out of jail for what essentially amounts to a misdemeanor level crime, etc. etc.

However, I am coming out of a living situation where a, now former, roommate of mine smoked weed quite regularly. In the process of living here I have discovered what I've heard lots of people say that "weed affects people differently." For me, even just breathing in the second hand smoke from others smoking in the same house gives me crippling depression. I'm not talking like I feel sad today, I mean more like my life is completely worthless and I just want to die and let it all be over with. I kept a journal for a time to write down when my roommate and/or his friends smoked and when I felt these depression symptoms. I found that every time I breathed in a significant amount of second hand smoke, that 3-4 days later I would get these symptoms. I never got the symptoms on their own so to speak, meaning at a time when my roommate had not smoked some time previous to the symptoms. I'm no scientist, but I found this to be fairly strong correlation that my symptoms are caused by the weed smoke.

So, in short, weed affects people differently. I am a relatively intelligent adult who could figure out what was causing these very negative symptoms for me. That means that I can choose to leave the apartment when my roommate lights up, or since it's my apartment too I can tell him not to smoke in the living room or common areas because it affects me like it does.

What would a small child do growing up in a weed smoking household? Yes, I agree that not all children would feel the same effects that I do. Weed affects people differently. But if even a small percentage of children would feel symptoms of depression similar to what I feel when breathing in second hand weed smoke, and the worst part is that they might not know why, then I think it should not be legalized. To be clear, I think it should be illegal to smoke weed inside your own home when you have children, but since this would be nearly impossible to enforce, I feel that weed not being legalized would be necessary to achieve the goal that it not be smoked in a home with a family living there.

The physiological effects of alcohol are contained to the drinker. If a person drinks heavily, only they get drunk. Yes there are other societal effects of heavily drinking parents on their families, but the kids in the family do not get drunk or feel intoxicated whenever the parents drink. If weed were legal, and the parents smoked in the house, then the kids of the family would experience symptoms from the second hand smoke.

inb4 "secondhand weed smoke doesn't affect you"

For those who say that second hand weed smoke doesn't affect you, I beg to differ. It affects me quite strongly, and in a very negative way. So yes, it might not affect you, but there are people like me who it does affect quite strongly.

I could see potentially de-criminalizing marijuana several levels, perhaps making it a misdemeanor or something to that effect. However, the problem of children potentially growing up breathing the second hand smoke until they move out on their own really bothers me now. It bothers me enough that I actually don't think marijuana should be legalized anymore. Yes I know that there is perhaps only a small portion of the population that would be affected negatively like this, but being in that portion of people I don't think marijuana should be smoked in the home around others. This conclusion would tend to mean that I lean more toward not legalizing it, since I find it difficult to imagine a scenario where marijuana is legal, and yet it is not smoked in the home in families with children.

inb4people tear this post apart to refute my stance on this issue

 

[Bapao]

I've never heard of anybody feeling suicidal from weed. Paranoid okay...
I smoke and have a child. I only smoke in the late evenings when he has gone to bed though. I generally consume drugs at set times be it alc, nicotine or weed & co. I've never understood the people that wake up in the morning and grab a bottle or a joint first thing...

 

[qqwref]

Who said anything about physical dependence? It doesn't take a physical dependence on gambling to ruin not only one person's life, but their whole family's life.

I agree that psychological dependence can really ruin lives, but considering that it can occur for pretty much anything enjoyable (sex, food, shopping, even things like internet use), it would be hilariously inconsistent to say that marijuana should be illegal because this is a risk.

However, I am coming out of a living situation where a, now former, roommate of mine smoked weed quite regularly. [...] For me, even just breathing in the second hand smoke from others smoking in the same house gives me crippling depression.

I don't think this problem should be dealt with by making the root cause illegal. There are plenty of things out there that can really hurt one's quality of life (such as: loud music in the early morning, barking dogs, someone near you holding parties, stalking, etc.) and the solution isn't to reflexively punish all people who do them, because being arrested can be as life-wrecking as any of these things, with the added problem that it stays with you for life. As with anything like this, the best way to go about it remains the same: try to fix the problem yourself or try to get them to stop diplomatically, and then if they refuse, you can either leave or get the law/police to make them stop. The thing is, having something be illegal creates a knee-jerk response: a few of the people who get arrested will be a nuisance to their community, sure, but many of them will be perfectly normal people who haven't hurt anyone. And the law doesn't care which one someone is.

 

[ErikJ]

the war on drugs is not winnable and is therefore a waste of tax payer money. people will find a way to do drugs no matter how many laws and money you throw at them. the prohibition era is a perfect example. legalize it.

btw, I do not smoke.

my views on lowering the drinking age are similar but I'm not going to hijack a thread to go into it.

 

[TheManInBlack]

Marijuana should stay illegal, The next thing we need is more potheads in this country (United States). This drug effects the brain after continued use, over a period of time. Im not saying alcohol doesn't (and I'm against alcohol as well). But id rather have a dying liver than a dying brain.
Also cubers did you know that long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction, i.e., compulsive drug-seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities, Such as speed solving a puzzle. Yeah, no 10 second times if you have been solving and smoking a while. Some of my buddies tell me its better than smoking a cigarette. Smoking pure cannabis is more harmful to lungs than tobacco. But did you know a study by the British Lung Foundation found that just three cannabis joints a day cause the same damage as 20 cigarettes. Thats right.
I have no respect for potheads, they are criminals. The same goes for alcoholics, and such.

Potheads and smokers will respond to me sayings like
"It growz fromz ze gwound, Iz Healthys fo meh! HurHurHuuuuuuuur"

But would you smoke deadly night shade, Think about it. (If you can)

Anyone who smokes pot and has a family are a disgrace. Think about your child and what you are exposing them to. Would you like them to smoke, really. I remember i had a friend(age 9) and he started smoking pot! all because his dad did it and such. Would you like to know where the dad is. (JAIL! where that twat belongs) Now that same kid is addicted and is having a lot of problems, he appears slower and less smart from the effects marijuana. because stupid twats like the father thought it was healthy to smoke in front of his infant.

 

[blah]

...

I read the whole thing. I'm actually genuinely interested in your situation. Are you sure it isn't just some sort of placebo effect? I don't want to go into any deep sort of argument until you've considered such a possibility.

...

You're clearly eleven years old. Save your comments and stop embarrassing yourself.

 

[ben1996123]

No.

 

[Shortey]

No.

Please explain.

 

[riffz]

Marijuana should stay illegal, The next thing we need is more potheads in this country (United States). This drug effects the brain after continued use, over a period of time.

I stopped reading here.


@ Chris: I don't believe that legalizing marijuana necessarily means ANYONE of any age can smoke it. I would never expose a child to second hand smoke, and I think if it were legalized the minimum age should be at least 16/17 or so.

I did find it strange that you seem to indicate that weed affects other people more than alcohol. How many people have died in car crashes while high? How many people have beaten their spouses in a high fit of anger? It's much more common to see someone drink themselves to depression than smoke themselves there.

As for your personal experience with the drug, I've never heard of something like that before. Seems to be a rare reaction and you should stay away from it. Having said that, tons of people do not cope well with even a small amount of alcohol in their system, but I would never say we should make alcohol illegal for that reason.

 

[d4m4s74]

Marijuana should stay illegal, The next thing we need is more potheads in this country (United States). This drug effects the brain after continued use, over a period of time. Im not saying alcohol doesn't (and I'm against alcohol as well). But id rather have a dying liver than a dying brain.
Also cubers did you know that long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction, i.e., compulsive drug-seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities, Such as speed solving a puzzle. Yeah, no 10 second times if you have been solving and smoking a while. Some of my buddies tell me its better than smoking a cigarette. Smoking pure cannabis is more harmful to lungs than tobacco. But did you know a study by the British Lung Foundation found that just three cannabis joints a day cause the same damage as 20 cigarettes. Thats right.
I have no respect for potheads, they are criminals. The same goes for alcoholics, and such.

Potheads and smokers will respond to me sayings like
"It growz fromz ze gwound, Iz Healthys fo meh! HurHurHuuuuuuuur"

But would you smoke deadly night shade, Think about it. (If you can)

Anyone who smokes pot and has a family are a disgrace. Think about your child and what you are exposing them to. Would you like them to smoke, really. I remember i had a friend(age 9) and he started smoking pot! all because his dad did it and such. Would you like to know where the dad is. (JAIL! where that twat belongs) Now that same kid is addicted and is having a lot of problems, he appears slower and less smart from the effects marijuana. because stupid twats like the father thought it was healthy to smoke in front of his infant.

I just facepalmed so hard I think I broke my nose

Check abovetheignorance.org
Literally ALL info you posted except for the things which are your "personal (as in the same as every person who wants to keep pot illegal without actually doing research on the subject)" opinion have been proven wrong at least 10 years ago, most of them even longer.

 

[deadalnix]

I think europe have a very good laboratory to see the effects of legalizing pots at differents degree.

You have Netherland, where it mostly legal, spain or belgium, where it's illegal, but tolerated for little quatities, and France, where it's strongly illegal.

It leads to an opposition between police and popupalation in france which is really anoying. Actually, when you have policemen around, you fell worried, not secure. Weed is one of the reasons of this situation. The fact is that you never solve any problem by criminalizing half of the population. How, I didn't mention that. France is the country in europe where people smoke the more weed. Effectiveness of the prohibittion : ZERO. It's also very anoying for others county. Just spent a week end in Amsterdam, you'll see bunch of french people completely high.

I have lived in several countries in europe and can assure you that you win nothing by criminilizing marijuana.

 

[ElectricDoodie]

I did find it strange that you seem to indicate that weed affects other people more than alcohol. How many people have died in car crashes while high? How many people have beaten their spouses in a high fit of anger? It's much more common to see someone drink themselves to depression than smoke themselves there.

He already addressed this. He said that it's about how second hand smoke can affect someone like children, but you can't get second hand drunk.

 

[Anonymous]

Marijuana should stay illegal, The next thing we need is more potheads in this country (United States).

Computers should be illegal, the last thing we need are more internet addicts wasting time in front of a computer screen 24/7. Fatty food should be illegal, the last thing we need are more fatasses in this country. Rubik's cubes should be illegal, the last thing we need in this country is a bunch of losers solving the same pointless plastic puzzle over and over again.

This drug effects the brain after continued use, over a period of time. Im not saying alcohol doesn't (and I'm against alcohol as well). But id rather have a dying liver than a dying brain.

Are you against all alcohol use? Are you against someone having a glass of wine with their dinner?
Plus, long-term alcohol abuse screws with the brain, as well as the liver. Besides, who are you to decide who should be allowed to damage what part of their body? In any case, if you're against alcohol, I guess you haven't heard of the Prohibition. Didn't work out too well.

Also cubers did you know that long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction, i.e., compulsive drug-seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities, Such as speed solving a puzzle.

I believe that marijuana is fundamentally different from other drugs such as coke and heroin in that it doesn't produce physical addictions. People might really like to get high, but they don't depend on it chemically the way they might some other drugs.

Yeah, no 10 second times if you have been solving and smoking a while.

Apart from this being patently false (I'm sure there are some fast pothead cubers out there), your point is also not true at all. Marijuana doesn't have to interfere so much with someone's life / job / hobbies. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Depends on the person. Kind of like alcohol. Or cubing.

Some of my buddies tell me its better than smoking a cigarette. Smoking pure cannabis is more harmful to lungs than tobacco. But did you know a study by the British Lung Foundation found that just three cannabis joints a day cause the same damage as 20 cigarettes. Thats right.

That's dubious. There have been other studies linking marijuana with a decreased likelihood of lung cancer. Either way, my reaction is: so what. Are you going to outlaw someone smoking 20 cigarettes?

I have no respect for potheads, they are criminals. The same goes for alcoholics, and such.

Well, I suppose potheads are criminals in the technical sense, so I guess that that's legit, to some extent. But I have a feeling your deep-seated hatred for pot smokers goes further than them just breaking the law. You have some weird misconception that pot smokers are doing something morally wrong, that they're all worthless pieces of garbage who do nothing but smoke pot and waste society's resources...
On a separate note, alcoholics are not criminals, in any sense of the word. They're just unfortunate people with a problem. Maybe have some empathy?

Potheads and smokers will respond to me sayings like
"It growz fromz ze gwound, Iz Healthys fo meh! HurHurHuuuuuuuur"

This is so true. /sarcasm

Remember what I said about you having weird stereotypes / generalized visions of pot smokers in your head? This would be a good example. At this point, you've crossed the line from ignorant to malicious.

But would you smoke deadly night shade, Think about it. (If you can)

Has anyone ever told you that you're brilliant at making comparisons?

Anyone who smokes pot and has a family are a disgrace. Think about your child and what you are exposing them to. Would you like them to smoke, really. I remember i had a friend(age 9) and he started smoking pot! all because his dad did it and such. Would you like to know where the dad is. (JAIL! where that twat belongs) Now that same kid is addicted and is having a lot of problems, he appears slower and less smart from the effects marijuana. because stupid twats like the father thought it was healthy to smoke in front of his infant.

Yes, it is an unfortunate fact of life that substance abusers often pass on their habits to their children. A strictly enforced minimum age would go a long way to prevent the situation you're describing.
By the way, you have no idea whether the pot is at all responsible for him appearing "slower and less smart".

tl;dr You're rather ignorant.

 

[Bryan]

I don't think this problem should be dealt with by making the root cause illegal. There are plenty of things out there that can really hurt one's quality of life (such as: loud music in the early morning, barking dogs, someone near you holding parties, stalking, etc.) ... if they refuse, you can either leave or get the law/police to make them stop.

How is the law going to stop them if it's not illegal?

 

[xFear of Napalm]

How is the law going to stop them if it's not illegal?

The law can't even begin to control marijuana!