Is marijuana the subject of the newest prohibition?

Me and my girls were talking the other night and the conversation soon turned to marijuana and the act of it being decriminalized in Canada. We had all different views on it, so we kind of bantered back and forth on the subject. Eventually we all settled on one key point. What we COULD agree on was that in the grand scheme of the drug spectrum, it really is less harmful than most drugs, especially our most favourite legal drug–alcohol. The last time alcohol was illegal, there were scads of bootleggers making money off of bath-tub made, potent, illegal hooch. There can’t be any control or regulation over something that no one is supposed to have in the first place! Along with the very obvious health risk, people were engaging in gangland activities that wound up with lots of people dead…or really really “effed” up.

So, is marijuana the subject of the newest prohibition? Would it free up much of the courts time and public monies that can be used in other places if we stopped prosecuting every two-bit pot dealer that’s operating out of their home? Are they really making enough money that we should be concerned about them? What if it was government grown/taxed/regulated like alcohol is now? I’ve met enough shady dealers in my life that want you to come to their home to sell to you that I can safely say that it would increase public safety to put those dealers out of business by using more cost-effective and productive ways. What do you think??

Answer #1

* So, is marijuana the subject of the newest prohibition?

Yes, as are other illegal drugs. Prohibition of recreational drugs has CAUSED major problems, at great expense, while at the same time accomplishing nothing. Drugs flow as freely as they ever did, but now, rather than being home grown or sold in respectable markets like aspirin, they enrich the segment of society willing to do anything for a price.

Drug laws, like all arbitrary laws, cause crime and despair rather than aleviating it. The legal system is not an effective way of enforcing religious sensibilities on others, which is what the drug laws are all about.

You might argue certain synthetic drugs are too dangerous and should be prohibited, but general prohibition doesn’t work, and leads to the deaths of countless innocent victims of gang violence and the drug war.

Answer #2

I think you raise a good point. While I don’t advocate marijuana use, governments (state and federal) are spending too much money fighting it. Most of their reasoning is based on Victorian era morals reaching back to the mid 19th century.

The tax revenues alone would be worth decriminalizing marijuana, not to mention the decrease in cost of investigating, prosecuting, and imprisoning users and dealers. On top of that, the government could exercise better control of marijuana quality and safety by giving the FDA oversight into its production and distribution. As if that wasn’t enough, demand for high quality, FDA approved marijuana would create a new job market comparable to that of the alcohol or tobacco industries.

Answer #3

“So…perhaps the world’s largest economy isn’t exactly the smartest.”

I couldn’t agree more with that statement.

Answer #4

yeah smoking and drinking is far ot dangerous than cannibis, strange because Ecstasy and LSD is actualy less harmful then all of those, scientists did reserch on it :) watched a video on it

Answer #5

Pot should have been legalized 40 years ago, when possessing it added up to a hand slap, anyway…there would have been a lot less crow to eat, then…than now, after billions of dollars have been spent (unsuccessfully) in stopping it.

The legal system is not an effective way of enforcing religious sensibilities on others, which is what the drug laws are all about.

This is about as related to religion, as being forced to wear a seat belt…Can’t you tell when big bro knows best??

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Answer #6

There was a really good post here by “funguy” my older brother, and Marijuana became illegal after prohibition was repealed in no small part because those law enforcement officials needed something to do.

And when I read about the government of New York spending hundreds of millions of dollars fighting it…well, that’s a lot of education, schooling, etc.

Then, when I consider my time in Nepal, while Marijuana was illegal, you found plants (which were not illegal) growing everywhere…people seemed happy. Even in the middle of a civil war.

Amsterdam hasn’t exactly gone to hell, has it, since Marijuana became legal, right? So…perhaps the world’s largest economy isn’t exactly the smartest.

Answer #7

What red_rose_mafia is talking about is this…

www. sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070323105029.htm

and please, dont overly simplify things, they didnt say it was more dangerous, they said it was more harmful, and they talk about harm as physical harm to the user, tendency to induce dependence and the effect on family, communities and society, given that alcohol and tobacco are more widely used and tend to be abused more, they tend to cause more harm…

Answer #8

You are kidding me right. I was an avid LSD and Ecstasy user in my past. I dont do it now, but I know the effects of it. How can you say it’s less harmful than marijuana. Your insane. Have you ever done lsd or ecstasy? Do you know what the come down does to your body? Do you know how you start to feel after months or years or using either one of those drugs? Obviously not.

Answer #9

I tried to go to the link, it says the page has moved. Do you have another, I’m curious.

Answer #10

it should have never been made illegal in the first place it posed a threat to large corporations back in 1930s so these corps decided to make up lies about it and thanks to “bad journalism” they brainwashed many people its time to re-legalize

lol dont listen to what people tell u, its all misleading information you need to do your own research and see for urself

These are some of the comments I have copied from a forum

-pharmaceuticals are known to kill more people than illegal drugs

-marijuana is the number 1 cash crop in the world it serves as a natural medicine and has many other uses thats why they prohibited it so big companies can make more profit thanks to “bad journalism”

-can also help aids patients, aids diminishes appetite have them smoke a joint and they regain their appetite counteracting the illness

-no one can die from smoking cannabis and has been no known deaths compared to everything else including alcohol, tobacco, etc..

I myself have asthma and smoking opens up my airways making it easier to breathe with no side effects when medically legalized in my state I look foward to becoming a patient for prescription marijuana. 12 states have already legalized it along with other countries in the world and more following my job is to educate people that are not aware of the plants uses

re-legalize!

-I did most of my research through websites, books, magazines, and the news norml.org high times magazine etc..

  • theres more to it than just getting high and I believe legalizing it would make this a better world to live in

-God bless the whole crop!

  • and for people that dont smoke, you dont need to smoke it to support it

-all the better reason for the government to legalize.. couple reasons why it should be legalized: -will be removed from black market and stop empowering gang members -medical reasons -would be sold like alcohol, remember alcohol was once prohibited too (in stores away from children, have to be 21+) -would be a law that you cant drive while intoxicated on weed -prison population would lower (prisons are overcrowding with nonviolent offenders) -keep patients from being convicted -would provide millions of jobs for people -would make us an independent country (fuel, etc.., debt free america)

people with an addiction (including hard drugs) shouldnt be thrown in jail, they need help theres more people in jail with mental illnesses than there are in mental institutions

the list goes on

  • the War on Drugs is a failure, its a war on its own people. policies need to be changed we pay billions in taxpayers money to keep the war going and neither side is winning thats just a waste of our tax money I wonder what they do with all that money.. those greedy bastards just sell drugs back onto the street, you can even check urself on that there was a time when there was a cia operation transporting drugs overseas into america the government also provided Rick Ross with plenty of heroin to go around, course making money from it

the truth must be exposed, theyre dirty work must stop!

-Of course we can do something about it, we all just need to unite screw the federal government remember slavery? if no one stood up im pretty sure it would still be going on people were tortured, beaten, killed and thrown in jail but that didnt stop them standing up for their rights eventually slavery was abolished same with alcohol prohibition eventually became re-legalized

  • its like theres some kind of conspiracy going on I sense the government is up to no good and trying to control us. credit cards, money, and now they have chips that can be implanted in skin for uselful reasons but if in the wrong hands well were pretty much fuct they hiding the truth from us its dangerous to be right when the government is wrong they got theyre privacy but we dont. they want to know everything were doing on our leisure time

get up stand up!

  • marijuanas not anti-establishment because its illegal, its illegal because its anti-establishment

all facts stated have been double-checked and confirmed want to learn more? norml.org americandrugwar.org hightimes.com lets all make this a better place to live in!

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