590 replies to this topic

[HaroProBMXRider]

Personally I smoked weed for about 15 years now, and I'm 29 years old. Obviously my answer is yes, but I consider myself educated enough to answer that while it still holds some validity. The reason marijuana isn't legal is because of the governments inability to tax it effectively, and to be honest if it were legal it would pave the way for people to stop smoking cigarettes, as weed isn't physically addictive, though some people "claim" it can cause a physcological dependancy on it (Basically a mental addiction, which is only true with the weak-minded in reality). Understand that weed can be grown in a multitude of environments, altitudes, weathers, etc. The only thing weed truly needs is water and sunlight, which means anyone can grow it. In order for you to grow smokable tabacco, it needs to be refined, which is a service you won't find on your street corner. It needs to be processed, and all the rest before you can smoke it (That is why you see cowboys chew it, that is all you can do with it straight off the leaf). Beer and alcohol are the same thing pretty much, with moonshine being the alternative in that case. Many people say "Sooner or later it will be legal", and this is true to some extent. First, the idea behind why it will eventually be legal is because as younger people become older, they come in to power. Our Senators 40 years from now are basically our current generations children, as is our Senators now were children 40+ years ago. So you figure that the mentality of these new people in office would mean the legalization of it, but not quite. You got to remember that the government needs to make money, and they make a lot off of tobacco. Tobacco is revenue, but it is also population control. Everything equates when you are talking about governmental business, as they are in the business of running an entire country, and every dollar matters. If weed was legal today I would never smoke a cigarette again, as when I smoke weed I never really want a cigarette (Sometimes I do right after a blunt). I have been smoking cigarettes for about 10 years, and I also know I have no dependancy on weed, when I don't have any I don't fiend for it, I deal with it. So in at least my case (And I would assume pretty much everyones) I know if weed were legal the government wouldn't make a dime off me from cigarettes as I would be able to quit, and nothing off the weed because I would just grow it myself.If you think I'm nuts, think about this: The origin of the word govern is to control, and the Latin word menti (Where ment in government derives from) means mind. Now do the math, and understand that the government does in fact control your mind, just not how you think. They don't got MIB devices (Hopefully at least, lol), but they control what you read in the paper, what you see on the news, etc. Weed is only illegal because some reverand back in the 1930's ran a campaign against it, and he owned a paper mill, which hemp would have effected, so he ran a campaign to prove it was bad for society, and he had a lot of backing to boot. If you like smoking pot, this article should interest you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_marijuana_in_the_United_States

[Ragamuffin]

I think that marijuana should not be legalized because it hurts people's brains and it is very bad for you.

Weed can't possibly be as brain damaging as reading your posts.Seriously, at least try to post a proper argument.The funny thing is, a lot of people who've been against weed in this thread have said "no it's bad for your brain", yet they're the ones who've posted idiotic, baseless, single sentence posts.And what does "bad for you" entail?I've argued the positive effects of weed so many times in this topic that I'm not even going to do it anymore, I'm just going to call you an idiot for not even giving yourself a rudimentary grasp on the subject. Read a book, article, hell even a wiki entry ffs.

[HaroProBMXRider]

I quickly re-read through previous posts, and the new ones, and I have a couple of things that need be addressed. First and foremost, weed is only a "Gateway" drug because it is criminilized, and to obtain it means you have to deal with the underground market (And hence potentially bad people). For example, someone selling weed doesn't care much about the law, as they are already breaking it. So if they see a bigger profit in say crack, heroin, etc. they might go and start selling that. Now if your a pothead, maybe you copped your halfie or whatever you can afford. Now what happens when your dealer shows you new "stuff" he has and because it has been brought to your attention, dependant on your age, intellect, etc. you might be somewhat impressionable, and therefore try what you shouldn't be doing. If they sold weed in bodegas like they do with alcohol and tobacco, there would be no need for you to go to any illegal market (Dealers) to be placed in a situation you might make a bad decision in. So in essence by legalizing it, you are taking away the power of the dealers being able to influence what you partake in. By criminalizing it, all we do as a society is look down upon people who know better, and place those same people in danger for no good reason. I am not saying smoking weed makes you a better person, I am saying understanding that either God or Nature put it here, understanding it is completely natural, and potentially beneficial makes you a smarter person. Next I read something about taxing it (By a large portion of you people), and I already covered that in my last argument on this same subject. Marijuana CANNOT be taxed effectively, therefore we stand to make NOTHING, not a dime through taxation. For example, where I live (NYC) cigarettes cost almost $10 per pack (And soon to be more thanks to Gov. Patterson), and any smoker who lives in NYC can tell you where you can find a $5-$8 per pack spot. People order cigarettes online and sell them untaxed (That tax stamp on the bottom of the cellophane means the government got thier cut), but the police can't do nothing to you if they see you with one of those packs, as you can use almost any excuse (It wore off, I took the cellophane wrap off, etc.). So how would the police know where you got your product?For all of you have responded with "Legalize and tax it", you must not be very aware of the latest advancements in botony (Like the past 50 years or so). Weed is pretty damn easy to grow yourself (We can even distinguish between female seeds which get you high, and male ones which do nothing but dirty your system), and if it were legalized there would be no way to tell what source you used to obtain the product. The only argument to combat my last statement with people I have discussed this with was "Well, why not make the penalty so severe that nobody would risk it?" That in itself seems like a good idea at first, but you got to look at the bigger picture.All I have to say about that last statement is for the same reasons we can obtain ROMs from this site is the same reasons why it wouldn't work. Because other countries have different laws, and might not abide by what the US government wants specifically. For the same reason you can get dirt cheap vicodens, oxy's, etc. is the exact same reason our government stands to make nothing at all. There isn't a simple solution to this, and if the government felt they could make money off it, believe me they would. The point of government is to keep order and control, through fiscal means and otherwise. With all the deficits we have, don't you think they would have enacted such a law already if they felt we stood to benefit from it?

Edited by HaroProBMXRider, 12 January 2010 - 10:15 PM.

[Ragamuffin]

Legalize it. Marijuana is not a drug, and there are no negative side affects that last longer then a week or two

It's people like you who make pot smokers look bad.First of all, a drug is defined as any substance that alters your natural state of being, so therefore marijuana is indeed a drug.Second, there are plenty of negative side effects depending on your body chemistry and how often you light up. Some people experience severe paranoia or depression, which can last for the duration of the high, while long term users will experience a slight decrease in motor skills and short term memory due to brain tissue being damaged over time.Also, while a very small amount of THC has been shown to actually increase information retention in many people, too much has the opposite effect and makes learning anything while high very difficult.I could go on in much more detail but I doubt you'll even read this, nevermind post a proper response.