Legalize Marijuana?

[Travis28]

Please vote on this with the poll above.

"While Congress debates health care, handles the economic downturn, and the quagmire in Afghanistan, Congressman Barney Frank is eyeing America's draconian pot policies."

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/rich...xzz0LM7TeXSE&C

[kyled7]

I live in a state (WA) where it's legal for medicinal purposes. I'm only 30, but when I was 19 I messed my back up. Being covered under Indian Health Services, they rarely have money to fully diagnose anything. They did X-rays, other tests, but never forked out the money for an MRI. I was told my options were to live with it and they gave me tylenol 3's for 11 years. So, every night it was either a couple mixed drinks or tylenol 3's to subdue to the pain enough to simply sleep. Over those 11 years, the more I worked during the day, the more it hurt at night, so you can imagine I went and gained quite a bit of weight. When I hurt my back my senior year in high school i weighed roughly 205 lbs. My weight eventually hit 280 but my walking weight steadied out at about 240.

Fast forward 11 years, IHS finally told me they weren't going to give me any more pills. They also sent me for an MRI. Turned out I had 2 torn discs, 2 bulging discs, degenerate disease and since it went untreated so long, arthritis. Now another option opened up for me...surgery, or again, still live with it. I've been told by lots of people that roughly 33% get better, 33% stay the same and 33% actually get worse from surgery. So, with only a 33% chance of getting better, I opted not to do surgery.

At the time my boss was on medical marijuana and told me I should look into because it helped his knee (he had no cartlidge). I tried it a couple times prior, but never was a big smoker simply because of the stigma it brought with it and regardless what anybody thought about it, it was illegal.

Anyways, went and saw a Doctor and he told me he felt it could help with the pain. It doesn't necessarily take the pain away, but it takes your mind off the pain. Well, now I was able to get to sleep at night and started doing more during the day because I wasn't too worried about it anymore. By simply being more active, it got me rolling into the right direction when it came to working out and living healthier. I picked up a bowflex and started a 3 month program with supplements suggested by people on this board (thanx . I ended up losing 51lbs and dropped down to 184...my lowest weight since I was a Sophomore in high school. Afterwards I gained a few pounds back and have been steady at 186-190lbs now and I know I'm packing on muscle so I'm still losing the bodyfat, just not the weight right now.

So could I have done this without medical marijuana? Sure, but I'd been stuck in the rut I was in for 11 years and probably would not have even started. I'm a total lightweight which is great on the pocket book and take roughly 3 hits at night right before I go to bed....that's it. In fact, my employer is starting drug testing in next fiscal year and I"m quite frankly not going to quit. I'll fight that battle when the time comes (employer is federal...they don't recognize the state's right to legalize it...watch "Super High Me" documentary if you are interested in learning alot more about it). It really sucks because I'm relatively high in the employment ladder, but maybe that's good if I"m a case that helps several employees down the line.

I no longer have negative perceptions about it. I almost felt bad going in and initially seeing a doctor about it because the people that were there were VERY SICK. I saw people who couldn't walk, looked like they were nearly dead, very skinny....if this is helping all these people, why the hell wouldn't they legalize it...at least medically? The more I research and listen, the more and more I'm almost starting to believe in the conspiracy theories of big time people getting rich because it's illegal. I'm not usually one who follows those paths, but you never know.

[Singha]

Great story! I think marijuana has a place in helping certain situation's. My only concern is with anyone able to grow it how can you make it a prescription drug... I mean anyone can grow it use it, abuse it or be smart with it but it's the lack of ability to control it and having it in the wrong hands that concerns me.

[mhoward147]

Lets not forget that there is no way of knowing how much thc is in anyones system at the given time. For instance when the coppers pull you over and ask you to breath into their magical little box which then displays your insides toxicity in bright little digits, they know exactly how drunk you are and whether or not you should be driving. Flashforward to the future where marijuana is illegal and a cop notices your saggy beat red eyes and lack of concern with the situation, he has no way of knowing how much marijuana you smoked!
In order for them to legalize marijuana there needs to be some kind of way of testing people operating dangerous machinery, aka cars. Do I think this can be done? Not sure, and don't think so.
But I'm not ready to put it past America to go ahead and legalize it anyway. I mean we are a nation built upon the repression of other cultures, races, and sexes. Why not endanger the lives of every citizen on the road when it can be taxed! That way we can buy more nucs or pay governement officals a little more, or maybe commit genocide in some remote country. We could definitly fund a mass genocide with marijuana tax money.
I personally being eighteen like marijuana, it's fun. However there is way to many douche bags in this world for legalizing it to be ok. I think the legalization of marijuana will happen, and it will be the beggining to the end of our country and probably the world.

-M

[TooBad4U]

I think if it was sold in stores and gov made a profit from it off tax or whatever else, they'd LOVE to have it out in public usage. Trust me on that one... Same things with gambling? Why can you gamble in the Casino but not even at home? Think about it.

[Travis28]

I think this articles makes some good arguments:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/...alization.html

"Arguments for and against decriminalization of some or all drugs are familiar by now. Distilled to the basics, the drug war has empowered criminals while criminalizing otherwise law-abiding people and wasted billions that could have been better spent on education and rehabilitation.

By ever-greater numbers, Americans support decriminalizing at least marijuana, which millions admit to having used, including a couple of presidents and a Supreme Court justice. A recent Gallup poll found that 44 percent of Americans favor legalization for any purpose, not just medical, up from 31 percent in 2000.

...States' rights and conservatism are old friends — except when they're not. While many Republicans nurse a libertarian streak, the party has been selective in its support of federalist principles. The George W. Bush administration refused to honor states authorizing medical uses of cannabis, for instance, but aimed to return abortion and marriage issues to state jurisdictions.

In a column for the Colorado Daily, Corry argued that conservative principles of smaller government are in direct conflict with laws that try to control what we put into our bodies. Alcohol and cigarettes — not to mention 700-calorie cheeseburgers — are inarguably more harmful than a little reefer...."

[kyled7]

I am on a task force to address marijuana crops for my Tribe. This year we busted about 7 different plantations on our reservation. We have 1.4 million acres, about 95% mountainous so it's very easy for these plantations to crop up and not be noticed for some years. The latest one is estimated at over 5 years in operation due to multiple years of vegetation stacks found...ie, pine branches covering up holding pools.

So, coming back to TooBad4U's mention of taxes. My Tribe harvests many millions of board feet of pine, fur, etc. This is throughout our 1.4 million acres. The crop we busted maybe comprised 2.5 total acres. It had an estimated street value of $21 million. That is more than our yearly timber harvest. That's freakin insane!!!! They made more of 2.5 acres than we make on 1.4. Apparently we are in the wrong business.

[Travis28]

Taxing is an intriguing opportunity, if it could be accomplished (assuming legalization). It would not only be a significant revenue stream, but provide huge social benefits. I'm thinking of all the costs of the "drug war" (most of which is aimed at marijuana), where hundreds of thousands of non-violent offenders are locked up in our over-crowded prisons every year. I'm also thinking of the toll that takes on pulling good people away from their jobs, their families, etc., simply for doing something they should have the freedom to do. I take a libertarian stance. It would also free up more resources to go after the truly violent and egregious crimes, and the truly harmful drugs, such as meth.

Weed is California's number one cash crop (and many other states as well). If it could be legalized and taxed, it would generate $1.4 billion annually in CA alone. It is no more harmful than currently legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. In fact, it's much safer and even has positive medical properties. 14 states now have legalized it for medical uses: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

I'm sure some people would grow their own (and escape taxes), but even this would save billions in prohibition law enforcement and the social costs.

I believe many people would simply buy it for the convenience factor and for the simple fact that you'd have a controlled, measured, tested substance of which you know the THC content. People can grow their own tobacco or distill their own alcohol, but you don't see that happening on a very large scale.

If you look back, racism is at the root of it's initial illegalization. The DEA's own judge ruled against the DEA's scare and fraud propaganda: “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”

"Alcohol and tobacco kills hundreds of thousands of people ever year. Cannabis kills no one."

http://www.cabot.net/Issues/CWA/Arch...ack-Obama.aspx
http://fora.tv/2009/07/30/Marijuana_Economics
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/legal...ory?id=8912772

[Travis28]

The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_marijuana_legalization

[mustangcobra]

I say keep it illegal, while it's not as bad as tobacco and alcohol, it's still bad for you. Despite whatever controversy surrounds the other chemicals in marijuana, the fact is it still contains carbon monoxide and tar which is bad for you. More important is how it effects people mentally. I've seen personally seen family and friends change when smoking weed long term; paranoia, personality disorders, anti-social, irritable, less motivated, less driven, etc.