It's going to be legal :')

Full on legalization is a bad idea. I think the first step should be to decriminalize it. See how that goes first.22Toothpicks

[QUOTE="Whomeam1"]Kinda pathetic how many people are addicted to weed in this country. Can you imagine if weed had existed back in the 1800s? Nothing would have gotten done.sethman410

Yeah, for one weed isn't addictive, two weed did exist in the 1800s, three it was legal in the 1800s, and four in the 1800s trade journals were praising hemp as the product of the future before companies like DuPont that would have lost market share to hemp startups lobbied to have cannabis criminalized.

I would hope that pot is not made legal (that's a possibility here in CA sometime in the next few years). Society already has a big problem with people driving drunk-- we don't need to add to it by giving people a free pass to use marijuana. Do people honestly think that every pot user will use it responsibly?

[QUOTE="22Toothpicks"]Full on legalization is a bad idea. I think the first step should be to decriminalize it. See how that goes first.themajormayor

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="22Toothpicks"]Full on legalization is a bad idea. I think the first step should be to decriminalize it. See how that goes first.22Toothpicks

I would hope that pot is not made legal (that's a possibility here in CA sometime in the next few years). Society already has a big problem with people driving drunk-- we don't need to add to it by giving people a free pass to use marijuana. Do people honestly think that every pot user will use it responsibly?

MathMattS

[QUOTE="22Toothpicks"][QUOTE="themajormayor"] What's the difference?themajormayor

I would hope that pot is not made legal (that's a possibility here in CA sometime in the next few years). Society already has a big problem with people driving drunk-- we don't need to add to it by giving people a free pass to use marijuana. Do people honestly think that every pot user will use it responsibly?

MathMattS

For one, pot affects driving far less than alcohol (it's never been the sole factor in a driving death). Two, most people who would drive high already do, you really wouldn't see a noticable difference in that respect. Three, why punish people who do use responsibly because of people who don't use responsibly? Do we do that with alcohol? No, so why should we do it with cannabis?

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="22Toothpicks"] If it's legalized it will more then likely become a product that is taxed to high heaven and strictly controlled and regulated. If it's decriminalized then it will be like it is now only not an arrest-able/chargeable offense or an offense at all for that matter.22Toothpicks

[QUOTE="22Toothpicks"][QUOTE="themajormayor"] What's the difference?themajormayor

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="22Toothpicks"] If it's legalized it will more then likely become a product that is taxed to high heaven and strictly controlled and regulated. If it's decriminalized then it will be like it is now only not an arrest-able/chargeable offense or an offense at all for that matter.theone86

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="22Toothpicks"] If it's legalized it will more then likely become a product that is taxed to high heaven and strictly controlled and regulated. If it's decriminalized then it will be like it is now only not an arrest-able/chargeable offense or an offense at all for that matter.theone86

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

[QUOTE="theone86"]

[QUOTE="themajormayor"] I mean what is the definition of legalize vs decriminalize? themajormayor

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

[QUOTE="theone86"]

[QUOTE="themajormayor"] I mean what is the definition of legalize vs decriminalize? themajormayor

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

We agree on something, this is cause for celebration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR7U1HIhxfA

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="theone86"]

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

22Toothpicks

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="theone86"]

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

22Toothpicks

I'm still unsure of if you can produce your own under current decriminalization proposals. Still, I don't mind it being taxed. It produces jobs, it generates tax revenue (and honestly, you wouldn't need a huge tax to get decent revenue), and I'd be able to go to a pot shop in the same way I an go to a hooka bar right now.

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="theone86"]

It's kinda like the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor. You still wouldn't legally be allowed to buy, sell, grow, or use it, but you wouldn't get sent to prison for minor offenses.

theone86

We agree on something, this is cause for celebration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR7U1HIhxfA

[QUOTE="themajormayor"][QUOTE="22Toothpicks"] But then cooperation would take over the means of large scale production (if there is any?) and it would be heavily taxed. It would turn into the situation we (the US) have with alcohol: you can go buy it in a store but can't produce your own.22Toothpicks

But Budweiser no likey.

[QUOTE="22Toothpicks"][QUOTE="themajormayor"] That's bullsh*t. It should be totally legalized. theone86

I'm still unsure of if you can produce your own under current decriminalization proposals. Still, I don't mind it being taxed. It produces jobs, it generates tax revenue (and honestly, you wouldn't need a huge tax to get decent revenue), and I'd be able to go to a pot shop in the same way I an go to a hooka bar right now.

Obama can choke on a dick, but I'm all for legalizing marijuana. We need the tax revenue.

Considering how it is safer than cigarettes and alcohol, I'd much rather my tax dollars went to catching real criminals and not raiding basements. Plus, the money made taxing the stuff would be some clean revenue. The only loosers are the dealers, screw them.

This would alienate more voters than it would attract by 10 to 1, at least.SantaTerb

[QUOTE="SantaTerb"]This would alienate more voters than it would attract by 10 to 1, at least.dkdk999

It's not ready to pass yet. I expect it'll be a bigger issue once gay marriage is legal nation wide. It's smart to put it on the ballot for Democrats though because people will come out to vote FOR it that wouldn't have otherwise. It won't pass because of the number of people who would vote against it, but not nearly as many people are going to come out just to vote against it.

Kinda pathetic how many people are addicted to weed in this country. Can you imagine if weed had existed back in the 1800s? Nothing would have gotten done.Whomeam1

I would hope that pot is not made legal (that's a possibility here in CA sometime in the next few years). Society already has a big problem with people driving drunk-- we don't need to add to it by giving people a free pass to use marijuana. Do people honestly think that every pot user will use it responsibly?

MathMattS

You do realize that pretty much anyone who wants to smoke it already is right?

Kinda pathetic how many people are addicted to weed in this country. Can you imagine if weed had existed back in the 1800s? Nothing would have gotten done.Whomeam1

Cannabis is known to have been used as early as 3,000 BC.

[QUOTE="MathMattS"]

I would hope that pot is not made legal (that's a possibility here in CA sometime in the next few years). Society already has a big problem with people driving drunk-- we don't need to add to it by giving people a free pass to use marijuana. Do people honestly think that every pot user will use it responsibly?

worlock77

You do realize that pretty much anyone who wants to smoke it already is right?

That's a terrible policy with unforseen effects. But it's not like potheads have long-term planning skills.

That's a terrible policy with unforseen effects. But it's not like potheads have long-term planning skills.

WiiCubeM1

This is idiotic. There are plenty of intelligent, even sucessful, marijuana users.

He already has the young vote because he's called black, hip ish, and plays basketball.LOXO7

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

That's a terrible policy with unforseen effects. But it's not like potheads have long-term planning skills.

worlock77

This is idiotic. There are plenty of intelligent, even sucessful, marijuana users.

Not the ones I know.

You can be successful no matter what you do, all it takes is good planning and knowing when to stop. A few successful potheads are an exception to the rule. That's like saying beer should be allowed on the road because a few people know how to drive drunk without wrecking, or that SAT scores don't matter because a few kids at Harvard are well-connected.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

That's a terrible policy with unforseen effects. But it's not like potheads have long-term planning skills.

WiiCubeM1

This is idiotic. There are plenty of intelligent, even sucessful, marijuana users.

Not the ones I know.

You can be successful no matter what you do, all it takes is good planning and knowing when to stop. A few successful potheads are an exception to the rule. That's like saying beer should be allowed on the road because a few people know how to drive drunk without wrecking, or that SAT scores don't matter because a few kids at Harvard are well-connected.

i also know people who have had their lives completely altered because of DUI/DWI that harmed no one.

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

This is idiotic. There are plenty of intelligent, even sucessful, marijuana users.

surrealnumber5

Not the ones I know.

You can be successful no matter what you do, all it takes is good planning and knowing when to stop. A few successful potheads are an exception to the rule. That's like saying beer should be allowed on the road because a few people know how to drive drunk without wrecking, or that SAT scores don't matter because a few kids at Harvard are well-connected.

i also know people who have had their lives completely altered because of DUI/DWI that harmed no one.

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"]

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

Not the ones I know.

You can be successful no matter what you do, all it takes is good planning and knowing when to stop. A few successful potheads are an exception to the rule. That's like saying beer should be allowed on the road because a few people know how to drive drunk without wrecking, or that SAT scores don't matter because a few kids at Harvard are well-connected.

WiiCubeM1

i also know people who have had their lives completely altered because of DUI/DWI that harmed no one.

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

No, alcohol, not pot, was the thing that led you to almost lose your brother.

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] i disagree, the ONLY unsuccessful pot heads i know have been institutionalized, and that is the primary reason they cant find work.

i also know people who have had their lives completely altered because of DUI/DWI that harmed no one.

worlock77

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

No, alcohol, not pot, was the thing that led you to almost lose your brother.

I know what you are doing here, but here is how he sees it:

Pot led him to stop caring about his life in the long run. Even if he didn't pick up drinking, he would still be living like a bum, getting picked up by cops for petty theft so he could buy more pot, drifting from job to job, and hanging around with people who, just last year, tried to burn down an amish guy's barn in my town for money. Same thing was going on with my cousin, but he eventually got institutionalized and sent to a halfway house.

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"]

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

Not the ones I know.

You can be successful no matter what you do, all it takes is good planning and knowing when to stop. A few successful potheads are an exception to the rule. That's like saying beer should be allowed on the road because a few people know how to drive drunk without wrecking, or that SAT scores don't matter because a few kids at Harvard are well-connected.

WiiCubeM1

i also know people who have had their lives completely altered because of DUI/DWI that harmed no one.

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

WiiCubeM1

No, alcohol, not pot, was the thing that led you to almost lose your brother.

I know what you are doing here, but here is how he sees it:

Pot led him to stop caring about his life in the long run. Even if he didn't pick up drinking, he would still be living like a bum, getting picked up by cops for petty theft so he could buy more pot, drifting from job to job, and hanging around with people who, just last year, tried to burn down an amish guy's barn in my town for money. Same thing was going on with my cousin, but he eventually got institutionalized and sent to a halfway house.

That's a terrible policy with unforseen effects. But it's not like potheads have long-term planning skills.

WiiCubeM1

potheads don't care what they do

Sounds like a bad idea.ArmoredCore55

Ever heard of prohibitionism?

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] i disagree, the ONLY unsuccessful pot heads i know have been institutionalized, and that is the primary reason they cant find work.

i also know people who have had their lives completely altered because of DUI/DWI that harmed no one.

surrealnumber5

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

Since the accident he's in college for computer engineering and repair, and made the Dean's List 2 years running. He has a full-time job, has a girlfriend, and is closer to his family than he's been in almost 18 years.

He took up pot 2 years before our dad and his mom split (he's my half-brother), was acting like a bum before the divorce, and to my knowledge he never had any glaring psychological problems or depression. He told me he just smoked it one day at his friends and decided that was more fun than normal life.

I know people will defend pot just as I will defend my stance that it's not something we should have legalized. My brother has had psychological evaluations, and nothing was really ever found. They gave him one right after he got out of the hosipital and nothing was found. He didn't have any lingering depression, no psychological abnormalities, nothing abnormal. All he did regret was putting us through the scare of him almost dying. He doesn't take meds outside of antibiotics for his burns, he had decent grades in school, nothing screamed "PROBLEM".

I know some people have issues with drugs due to psychological problems, but my brother isn't one of them. He is just an example of what drugs can do to a normal person. Banning sypmtoms... I hate that argument. When the chips are thrown down, all I know is that there are substances that alter the minds of people, normal or not. No person in immune to the side effects of these substances, some people are just more susceptible. I've seen what they can do to a normal person, and it's not a pretty sight.

[QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

[QUOTE="worlock77"]

No, alcohol, not pot, was the thing that led you to almost lose your brother.

surrealnumber5

I know what you are doing here, but here is how he sees it:

Pot led him to stop caring about his life in the long run. Even if he didn't pick up drinking, he would still be living like a bum, getting picked up by cops for petty theft so he could buy more pot, drifting from job to job, and hanging around with people who, just last year, tried to burn down an amish guy's barn in my town for money. Same thing was going on with my cousin, but he eventually got institutionalized and sent to a halfway house.

I know where you are trying to go with this, but trust me, you don't know the situation well enough to make that call.

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"][QUOTE="WiiCubeM1"]

The ones I know are just the stereotypical potheads just laying around, working minimum wage jobs (if they have any at all), living in their own filth. From personal experience, the people I know who want pot legalized are either tired of trouble with cops or don't smoke it themselves and believe the glorified images of pot and the people who smoke it that we see in Hollywood.

My brother is the main reason I don't trust any kind of mind-altering substances. When he was in school, he used to smoke pot. He never left his mom's basement, got kicked out of school twice, and could never hold a job for more than a few weeks because he was either passed out at home, smoking with his friends, or just didn't want to show up. After he graduated, he continued down in a spiral decline, picked up drinking, and a few years ago, nearly killed himself in a drunk-driving accident. That was more than 3 years ago, and he's still walking around with a cane. He was in the hospital for 9 months, had brain surgery twice, had his skull reconstructed, and had one of his toes amputated due to third-degree burns and gangrene. Most of the hospital stay, there was a 60% chance that he would lose his leg, which he didn't. The first week he was there, he had a 95% chance of death from bleeding out due to a ripped blood valve.

You keep thinking what you want to about marijuana, I'll always know it as the thing that led me to almost lose my brother. Even he believes that it was pot that ultimately drove him to this. He has told me that smoking pot just led him to not care about what he did. All he cared about then was just smoking and drinking, living like a bum.

WiiCubeM1

Since the accident he's in college for computer engineering and repair, and made the Dean's List 2 years running. He has a full-time job, has a girlfriend, and is closer to his family than he's been in almost 18 years.

He took up pot 2 years before our dad and his mom split (he's my half-brother), was acting like a bum before the divorce, and to my knowledge he never had any glaring psychological problems or depression. He told me he just smoked it one day at his friends and decided that was more fun than normal life.

I know people will defend pot just as I will defend my stance that it's not something we should have legalized. My brother has had psychological evaluations, and nothing was really ever found. They gave him one right after he got out of the hosipital and nothing was found. He didn't have any lingering depression, no psychological abnormalities, nothing abnormal. All he did regret was putting us through the scare of him almost dying. He doesn't take meds outside of antibiotics for his burns, he had decent grades in school, nothing screamed "PROBLEM".

I know some people have issues with drugs due to psychological problems, but my brother isn't one of them. He is just an example of what drugs can do to a normal person. Banning sypmtoms... I hate that argument. When the chips are thrown down, all I know is that there are substances that alter the minds of people, normal or not. No person in immune to the side effects of these substances, some people are just more susceptible. I've seen what they can do to a normal person, and it's not a pretty sight.