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Re: Marijuna
Legalize. Tax. Regulate.
And enjoy :mrgreen:
Legalize. Tax. Regulate.
And enjoy :mrgreen:
Decriminalize it. If it were legalized, it would be heavily taxed. And more expensive.
I'm with you until the rehabilitation part.
Addiction is a mental illness. It is not uncommon for it to require several rounds of treatment and rehabilitation - for ANY mental illness - before permanent wellness is established. While it's easy to say they "did it to themselves," and in most cases (but not all) that's true, it's ultimately detrimental to society to either let them languish or keep them in indentured servitude for possibly decades.
In addition, a lot of people who develop addictions have a pre-existing mental health problem. And oftentimes they turn to drugs after the mental health system has failed them - an unfortunately common occurrence. How exactly do you deal with that ethically and from a care standpoint?
This begins to expand into other problems we have like the insane cost of health care. Truth is, most people can't afford any healthcare at all without insurance in this country. It's too expensive. It's the most expensive in the world. Expecting an addict to be able to shell that out when even most well-off middle class people can't is insane, and it is essentially condemning them for life.
In addition, the gobsmacking inadequacy of our mental health resources. A lot of addicts are self-medicating because they haven't been able to get decent care. Sometimes for money reasons, and sometimes because the programs either don't exist or were badly implemented.
I think harm reduction programs need to be expanded. I think we need affordable and universal health care. I think we need to work harder at caring for the mentally ill in a comprehensive way.
As you said, it is unlikely that legalizing drugs will increase abuse in the long run (though we may experience a short-term rise - worth it for the eventual outcome, in my opinion). And it is still true now that most people choose to do the drugs they become addicted to. So why would it be any different or any less affordable than it is now? It could be drastically more affordable if we fixed our healthcare system. A drop in the bucket.
Legalize it but...
I don't think it'll ever become legal on the federal level.
Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government given any authority whatsoever regarding marijuana. Therefore, per the Tenth Amendment, this is a matter for the states. If one state wishes to legalize it, then that state has that authority, and the federal government has no authority to interfere.* Likewise, if another state wants to criminalize it, with severe penalties for its possession and use, then again, this is that state's right, and the federal government has no authority to interfere.
If we want to make it legal or illegal under federal law, then the only legitimate way to do this is to amend the Constitution, as was done with the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919 regarding alcohol.
single convention on narcotic substances said:Article 36: PENAL PROVISIONS
1. (a) Subject to its constitutional limitations, each Party shall adopt such measures as will ensure that cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, possession, offering, offering for sale, distribution, purchase... ...of drugs contrary to the provisions of this Convention, and any other action which in the opinion of such Party may be contrary to the provisions of this Convention, shall be punishable offences when committed intentionally, and that serious offences shall be liable to adequate punishment particularly by imprisonment or other penalties of deprivation of liberty.
Decriminalize it. If it were legalized, it would be heavily taxed. And more expensive.
Actually it would probably be less expensive than buying from drug dealers because once it becomes legal the price goes down. Plus decriminalizing it doesn't have the benefits of taking away the funds from criminal organizations.
I'm not a user, but in those I know who use, I do not see the "gateway" to other drugs that was the big scare tactic used by the feds for years..
In January 1997, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) asked the Institute of Medicine to conduct a review of the scientific evidence to assess the potential health benefits and risks of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. That review began in August 1997 and culminates with this report.
The fear that marijuana use might cause, as opposed to merely precede, the use of drugs that are more harmful of great concern. Judging from comments submitted to the IOM study team, this appears to be an even greater concern than the harms directly related to marijuana itself.
... ... it is the legal status of marijuana that makes it a gateway drug.
Pot makes you lazy, paranoid and confused, then you vote Dem.
It should be legalized, period.
Decriminalize it. If it were legalized, it would be heavily taxed. And more expensive.
You must legalize it through the Fed.
Actually it would probably be less expensive than buying from drug dealers because once it becomes legal the price goes down. Plus decriminalizing it doesn't have the benefits of taking away the funds from criminal organizations.
Uh, the DEA can reschedule it...? Marinol is already classified as a Schedule III, and it's essentially a synthetic form of THC prescribed for the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and the loss of appetite associated with AIDS.
This whole controversy surrounding marijuana is insane and it so obviously being skewed by politics, which is ironic, because every year, more and more people agree to just legalize the damn stuff already. So where is all this political pressure coming from that keeps it in this BS legal-limbo state?
when enough people get tired of having their kids get criminal records for possession of something that they themselves got away with, that might help turn the tide. and some kids even lose their grants because of this failed, idiotic attempt at neoprohibition, so that should chip away at support for the failed war on pot, as well.
I turned in a college roommate for possession of marijuana during my freshman year in college and got him expelled.
While I don't like you at all anyway. I like you even less now, which is hard to do but there it is. Dick move.
The college I went to has a Zero Tolerance Policy (or at least did) for alcohol and drugs on campus. They also did probably 3-4 unscheduled room searches every trimester (11 week term). If contraband was found, everyone in the room got expelled. No questions asked. I gave him two warnings over a four day period, then turned him in. No way was I going to lose MY education because he couldn't follow the rules..... alcohol in the room. drugs in the room. tobacco in the room. Attempted to date rape his girlfriend in the room one night while I was there (about 2am and he was drunk as a skunk). Trust me, this guy had no business being at a college to begin with.
I'm all for legalizing weed, because I know several people that actually contribute to society that smoke it. My biggest pet peeve though is when these stoners claim to have "medical problems". "I need my medicine," blah, blah, blah. Its all just a bunch of bull**** to get high easier. These morons are abusing something that some actual sick people need. Cancer patients deserve every right to have access to marijuana, but some of these damn pot heads that are constantly complaining about being in pain, depressed, need to get off their ass on do something. You feel so much better when you finally stop smoking anyways. Marijuana causes anxiety and depression, trust me. There is nothing wrong with doing it every once in awhile or on the weekends, but this everday, even at work BS is annoying as hell to me.
Not only shouldn't it be allowed to become legal, consumable alcohol and tobacco should be made illegal as well. There is no need for any of those products.
I turned in a college roommate for possession of marijuana during my freshman year in college and got him expelled.
There is no good reason behind legalizing it. Keep it illegal and crack down on pot use. Prosecute the states that break federal law and "legalize it" for "medical use."
Seriously? Spend more money on enforcing laws against an essentially harmless substance?