US ‘probably in the process’ of legalizing marijuana

[dc dalton]

Well all I can say is I hope this guy is right because he IS exactly right when he says:

He added that if there were to be a serious effort to fight the increasingly violent, powerful Mexican drug cartels, "you'd legalize marijuana," the sale of which provides the gangs the vast majority of their funding.

We want to reduce the deficit, how about reduce prison overcrowding (and the costs that go along with it), free up police to go after real criminals and a host of other money saving items? Well this is the way to do it!

http://rawstory.com/2009/10/george-p...egalizing-pot/

I don't smoke it, hell don't even know that many people that do but it's about GD time we stop this charade we call 'the war on drugs'

[RJT]

Well all I can say is I hope this guy is right because he IS exactly right when he says:



We want to reduce the deficit, how about reduce prison overcrowding (and the costs that go along with it), free up police to go after real criminals and a host of other money saving items? Well this is the way to do it!

http://rawstory.com/2009/10/george-p...egalizing-pot/

I don't smoke it, hell don't even know that many people that do but it's about GD time we stop this charade we call 'the war on drugs'

I end up disagreeing with you on most stuff, but on this I'm 100% on your side...I don't use it, but I might know a few that do

But if it's legalized and controlled like tobacco or alcohol, then you eliminate deaths from poor quality control (or dealers mixing anything handy in to increase the size of what they have to sell)

And the biggest benefit is like you said, you reduce the police/prison involvement and the violence associated with the distribution dries up because you can buy it anywhere and controlling the market through force becomes impossible.

[LittleRedToyota]

if you follow the link to the gallup poll in that story, you will find that 72% of self-described conservatives favor the continued illegality of marijuana.

in other words, 72% of self-described conservatives favor the liberal use of government to force their social mores on others.

in other words, 72% of self-described conservatives don't know the meaning of the word conservative in a political context.

besides, legalizing marijuana should be a no-brainer. the benefits of it not being illegal are immense while the downside is nearly non-existent.

on the other hand, the benefits of it being illegal are nearly non-existent while the downside of it being illegal is huge.

the fact that it remains illegal really shows how emotional and irrational our country can be.

[phillyd2]

key phrase = self-described

[TimtheDestroy]

i was watching something on tv before that made a good point about it,

drug dealers often sell many different drugs, thus someone going for marijuana could be pushed to try other drugs, if marijuana was sold in regulated places (stores) then the people that use marijuana would not be exposed to other drugs.

I think this is a good idea, it would allow for revenue on the sales as well as free up personal and resources to go after more dangerous drugs. it seems like the only logical way to make it more difficult for drug dealers by cutting down their customer base and potentially limiting new customers from finding them.

If it is regulated like alcohol is i think the problems will be no greater then the problems with alcohol. not saying those problems arn't significant, they are, but i think the benefits of cutting funding for drug dealers, criminals, cartel, crime syndicates and hopefully help people work for an honest buck and could actually lower crime

But what do i know, i'm just a 20something voter

[adymond]

I wonder how many people could actually get over the false moral premise that weed is bad if it were legalized.

[jcabin]

I think weed should be legalized.

That being said, it's a slippery slope.

I don't want to even hear about legalizing cocaine and heroin.

[unloved]

I wonder how many people could actually get over the false moral premise that weed is bad if it were legalized.

I'm surprised no one has expressed their outrage yet. You know, moralizing about how druggies belong in prison because they rob Granny for crack money and all.

[Spishack357]

Uhh duhh...The worlds not gonna end when it is legalized, people kill me with their irrational fears on this...

Side note: Michael Medved (Supposed conservative for individual rights) thinks that it should remain illegal on the premise that it makes for a stupider populace...

My interpretation on his thoughts are that he essentially would like there to be a conservative voting base that doesn't think for themselves and can't possibly know more then he does.

If you haven't smoked it or at least done unbiased research on the subject then you are a hypocrite and deserve to be jailed like the untold millions of innocent people in this Country who have been adversly affected by rediculous and unjust laws...

[adymond]

I'm surprised no one has expressed their outrage yet. You know, moralizing about how druggies belong in prison because they rob Granny for crack money and all.

Blaming the drug for the actions of the user is no different than blaming the gun for the shooter's actions.