Marijuana

[Jam930]

I absolutely 100% disagree with you on almost every point... and feel that it would be impossible for one of us to convince the other in any way... however, I'll try.

1. Smoking is collapsing because it is bad for you. Mainly, the industry isn't getting new smokers because people are now better educated on its health risks... and yes I think this is better for everyone.

2. I think Marijuana would be seen as a good alternative to those who were afraid to smoke... and it's more of a let's-get-together-and-have-fun-smoking-drug... today it is well known as being a bridge drug to harder stuff... and I think if it were legalized that people would most definately go for the harder stuff.

3. I don't think that if we legalized marijuana we would need to legalize other drugs at the same time.

Maybe I'm a little passionate about this as well. I'm sure we both have our good reasons for thinking the way we do.

[JurseyRider734]

Maybe you forgot the one reason why they might not make it legal:

Car crashes.

They would increase.

Smoking cigarettes don't have the same effects as smoking marijuana. If someone's driving they will be impaired and not only kill themselves, but innocent people (maybe me, maybe you). What if they make a law you say that doesn't allow you to smoke marijuana while operating machinery, you say? First, if the person under the influence of drugs even makes it alive from a crash, the other [innocent] person might already be dead. Sure, they get fined/jailed/whatever, but they still took the life of someone else who make the choice not to do drugs. Marijuana is illegal, but people still do it. If marijuana is legal, but illegal to use while doing things such as driving a car, people will still do it. Yes, this does sound a lot like alcohol. They have tried to make alcohol illegal in the past, but what happened with that? The Whiskey rebellion. It had already been legal for so long everyone rebelled and snuck it places anyways, they were forced to legalize it. It's better to just keep marijuana illegal, it would reduce things like that from happening. People already aren't spoiled by it being legal.

[MalReynolds]

You fail to realize that people still drive impaired anyways, no matter what legislation is passed. Legalizing MJ will not affect the statistic more than it already has; teens still drive drunk, it's still illegal. And it will always be. Hell, you're not even supposed to drive if you've had Benedryl, people still do it. Just because it's legalized doesn't mean more people will get the idea to drive under the influence of MJ...

Besides, smoking pot can make you a better driver. Drunks, they'll run right through stop signs. Someone who is high will pull up to a stop sign and wait for that bitch to turn green.

Mal

[jewpinthethird]

Storytime:

Last summer, I smoked some marijuana. I had no idea how long the effects would last. All I could thing about was "damn, how am I going to get home?!" It was really hard to concentrate on any one thing, so driving a manual car seemed impossible. Stoner Logic: "I'll test my driving ablities why under the influence on Midnight Club 2." It seemed like a great idea at the time. All I remember though is the AI cars wouldnt stop at the red lights and kept crashing into me, and being distracted by my own thoughts and the next think I know, I have crashed into a wall, which really freaked me out. It wasnt a pleasent experience. Soda tasted horrible too. And I forgot my cell phone was in my lap, so when I stood up it fell onto the floor...it was kind of a "wtf?" feeling. It sucked.

But the fact is, I knew I was not in the right state of mind to drive. You are aware of your surroundings, it's just enhanced and surreal...and funny. Your reaction time is terrible since time seems to move slower when you are stoned which makes doing things like driving or skydiving really dangerous, but it doesnt make you stupid.

But seriously, dont knock it 'til you rock it.

[The_Q]

1. Smoking is collapsing because it is bad for you. Mainly, the industry isn't getting new smokers because people are now better educated on its health risks... and yes I think this is better for everyone.

The one thing that frustrates me about this point is the fact that you disregard any research that may have been done (what I'm using to support my claim) and toss in your own opinion which is guided by this horrible thing I like to call "common knowledge." Note: this is not what I think, this is what the numbers tell us.

2. I think Marijuana would be seen as a good alternative to those who were afraid to smoke... and it's more of a let's-get-together-and-have-fun-smoking-drug... today it is well known as being a bridge drug to harder stuff... and I think if it were legalized that people would most definately go for the harder stuff.

That's already how it is, Jam. Maybe it would be used more widely, sure. Now, let's take a look at Amsterdamn, its crime rates, and how much general trouble they have with drugs. Lower crime rates, fewer drug problems. Ok, now, let's think over this again. Was this a good example? Maybe not: it didn't cover every single variable out there. Maybe so: it shows that legalized marijuana doesn't really make too much of a difference when it comes to the "hard stuff." Sure, it's a gateway drug, but you know what, of all the people here who have smoked weed how many do you think have tried other things? Jewpin, Skik, care to enlighten us?

Smoking cigarettes don't have the same effects as smoking marijuana. If someone's driving they will be impaired and not only kill themselves, but innocent people (maybe me, maybe you).

Sure, they get fined/jailed/whatever, but they still took the life of someone else who make the choice not to do drugs.

I like how you went from 1:1 on the value of human life to x:1 where x is any number greater than one and represents the nonsmoker.

It's better to just keep marijuana illegal, it would reduce things like that from happening.

Actually, that seems like it's completely opposite. With it being illegal it's a bigger problem to the government than it is legal. Sure, accidents are going to be a problem but most likely only a small one. The benefits still outweigh the costs.

Q

[Jam930]

sources?

=/ Sorry but I find a lot of your stuff hard to believe.

[TehWhack]

The amount of assumptions in this topic makes me sad.

I'm not even going to bother wasting my time on this one.

[Skikamukazi]

Yes, I know that they will get tested for drugs, yet being a parent you always defend what your child does. Any mother would...well...if they're a good mother and don't hate their kid.

BS. Simply, BS. If a Mother loves her child she will do whatever is necessary to determine the truth. Sometimes, loves your child means you have to do things that make it look like you hate your child. Man, I would hate to be your child.

A Mother who hates their child will not do shit for their son/daughter. If they get caught with weed, will they send their child to a re-hab center? Will they send the child somewhere to get help? No. But a good parent will.

[The_Q]

sources?

=/ Sorry but I find a lot of your stuff hard to believe.

Look into, my number one source, Steven E. Landsburg. I'm unsure if Milton Friedman (a Nobel Prize Winner) did research on the subject, but I'm sure he'd have said the same.

The amount of assumptions in this topic makes me sad. Sad

I'm not even going to bother wasting my time on this one.

Then don't post.

Q

[jewpinthethird]

Jewpin, Skik, care to enlighten us?

I don't drink, smoke, or do any other drugs. Albeit, I didnt enjoy getting high. Sure, it made music sounds so much better, art ten times more awesome, sweet snacks taste like an awesome explosion of flavor in my mouth, and everything hilarious, it just wasn't something I would continue to do. I just tried it. So I'm hardly the person to ask.

[sleeplessdragn]

Hmmm I havn't browsed these forums in quite some time so I'll drop my two cents in here:

I've tried marijuana myself, on many an occasion, and like Jewpin, I don't smoke, drink, or do anything else. And it's just as he described it, though I was more focused on the loss of time measurement. Marijuana puts you into a comic strip, time flows in blocks, yet every instance of time is vividly, and I mean very vividly, remembered. The ability to focus on a single task is immeasureable, and I recall a certain high where I found myself threading a needle repeatedly with great ease. For me, it is like engaging in a video game, to a certain extent. It takes my brain off of my priorities, relaxed in a way where your responsibilities aren't even at the back of your mind. When was the last time you can recall where you had not needed to worry about <u>anything</u>, not school, not friends, not summer homework, etc.? I think that is a huge difference, and it is what keeps me using. Now I'm not a daily stoner, I've recognized my choices and mostly use the experience as a small vacation from life every few months.

From my perspective, the whole argument on the drug really depends on the choices of the user. I think that it should be treated like alcoholic beverages, and they show similarities. There does exist the subtle drinker, who has a beer or a glass of wine from time to time, and there to exists the alchoholic, whose liver fails at the age of 35. Yet as a society we feel that alcohol is a requirement for regular function; one need only to revisist the days of prohibition to recognize that. And just like drunkness, car accidents are inevitable when on high. So why are these drinks tolerated, but not this drug?

[Skikamukazi]

Jewpin, Skik, care to enlighten us?

I don't drink, smoke, or do any other drugs. Albeit, I didnt enjoy getting high. Sure, it made music sounds so much better, art ten times more awesome, sweet snacks taste like an awesome explosion of flavor in my mouth, and everything hilarious, it just wasn't something I would continue to do. I just tried it. So I'm hardly the person to ask.

No other drugs for me. My life is too full of activities like Soccer, Track, Boarding, School, and Sober Social events to get into any hard drugs. Yeah, I do enjoy Herb every now and then, but the nows and the thens are spread pretty far apart. I never plan to do any major drugs.

[The_Q]

No other drugs for me. My life is too full of activities like Soccer, Track, Boarding, School, and Sober Social events to get into any hard drugs. Yeah, I do enjoy Herb every now and then, but the nows and the thens are spread pretty far apart. I never plan to do any major drugs.

I don't drink, smoke, or do any other drugs. Albeit, I didnt enjoy getting high. Sure, it made music sounds so much better, art ten times more awesome, sweet snacks taste like an awesome explosion of flavor in my mouth, and everything hilarious, it just wasn't something I would continue to do. I just tried it. So I'm hardly the person to ask.

There you have it, folks. Two testimonials from weed smokers. Please work around these points.

Two smokers decided that they have better things to do than drugs. If it was legalized, how many people would come to this conclusion rather than going hardcore stoner?

I'd like to point out, again, that I am not an advocate for doing drugs. I'm an advocate for legalization and what I like to call "liberty." I would never do these drugs and never plan to go beyond, perhaps, experimentation (like Jewp).

Q

[Skikamukazi]

Thank you, Q.

[JurseyRider734]

Yes, I know that they will get tested for drugs, yet being a parent you always defend what your child does. Any mother would...well...if they're a good mother and don't hate their kid.

BS. Simply, BS. If a Mother loves her child she will do whatever is necessary to determine the truth. Sometimes, loves your child means you have to do things that make it look like you hate your child. Man, I would hate to be your child.

A Mother who hates their child will not do (#$% for their son/daughter. If they get caught with weed, will they send their child to a re-hab center? Will they send the child somewhere to get help? No. But a good parent will.

Obviously the parent will know what they did, but will defend them anyways. It's the same in any case, I heard it straight from a mother's mouth. Some girl stole something of mine at my horseback riding farm, and my dad said to not even bother going to her mother because her mother would deny that this girl did anything. This girl is known for causing trouble and stealing things, so obviously the mother is aware of it, yet she would still defend her. I'm just saying, the parents don't want to have to deal with their kid going into jail so they will defend them, but punish them on their own terms.