Q1; Should marijuana be legalized?

[La Femme Fatale]

Alright - starting off with an easy one that I'm sure everyone has an opinion about. I'll put in my two cents later. The discussion ends on March 15th.

Should marijuana be legalized? Why or why not? If you answer yes, how should the production and distribution/sale of marijuana be regulated?

 

[tremor]

I say yes. And don't even act like that shocked anyone, because if you've talked to me at all you know what I think about marijuana. :lol:

Mass production wouldn't be hard really. People already do this, and that's what ends up getting them caught and arrested. It would be like growing wheat, cotton, etc.

I believe that distribution would quite possibly be similar to that of cigarettes. Packages, cartons, and so forth. I imagine it would probably be quite expensive as well, seeing how expensive cigarettes are here lately.

 

[v iBaxter]

call me what ever but definatley not its bad enough as it is with todays society smoking kills alot of people why make things worse for everyone and it could fund terroism and gangs like the taliban was actually selling a drug don't know which in a town near me in a carpark so its funding the tailban hell no.

 

[tremor]

I look at it this way; it's already used as a medicine for people who have certain illnesses. I don't think anyone will ever stop using things to fund so & so gang or terrorist group. Legalizing marijuana, or it remaining illegal would make no difference.

I wish something would make a difference.

 

[Feng-Hi]

Without going off on one stood on the soap box that rarely comes out....I don't think that it should be legalized at all, in fact I think that sentencing and laws should become more stringent. Presently in the UK the law has sent mixed messages by dropping its classification the re-establishing it as a Class B but still treating it the same as a Class C at street level.

I believe (and have seen) that in many cases it acts as a stepping stone to further issues and behaviours. Yes it may be the same as smoking but I also think that should be banned. And believing it is the same as alcohol simply shows the problems we will face with mass distribution and legalisation.

Soap box prematurely put away for fear of going on!

 

[Angel]

I agree with Feng-Hi on this one. I have no doubt that weed has some medicinal properties but I think what would be helpful is seeing if it's possible to research the drug further in order to determine whether the beneficial effects for, say, MS sufferers can be separated from the harmful effects which include mental health degeneration and exacerbation of mental illness. In the UK, no one seems to really know what the rules are surrounding the possession and use of this drug and personally speaking I hate the stuff with a passion and what it does to people in the long term. But of course no one ever thinks of long term these days...

 

[Iced Digger]

I hate marijuana, always have, but I think it should be legalized. Many people smoke it... mine as well make it legal. The only thing it really does is make you stupid:lol:

Sort of reminds me when America tried to ban alcohol... look how that turned out

 

[Romero]

I have been strongly against legalization but now I'm not sure. Feng-Hi posted most of the reasons why I was against legalization.

What have made me doubt? I think I'm influenced by other people. Marijuana isn't so very common here, so I don't know so much about it. I don't know if it's so dangerous as I used to think. Sure it's not healthy for the lungs.

I'm torn and unsure. A part of me thinks marijuana is bad and should stay forbidden, a part of me accepts that it's "useful" to alot of people.
But I think most of me is still one the "keep it illegal" side.

call me what ever but definatley not its bad enough as it is with todays society smoking kills alot of people why make things worse for everyone and it could fund terroism and gangs like the taliban was actually selling a drug don't know which in a town near me in a carpark so its funding the tailban hell no.

I'm not so sure about that, I think it would perhaps be bad for Taliban if it was legalized, because we could grow it ourself.

 

[v iBaxter]

basicaly keep it illegal for people except for medical companies like UMBRELLA !!! :blink:

 

[La Femme Fatale]

I agree with Feng-Hi and Angel on this one. I do think that it is used as a stepping stone for harder stuff... I've seen that myself in my own family and group of friends. I know that it does have certain medicinal properties in which it is used to as a treatment, but I'm not certain that is an entirely compelling argument for legalizing it in the public realm. Who are we kidding - the vast majority of users aren't using it to treat a condition. It's like taking painkillers if you're not in pain, right?

Should it be legalized, I would hope that it would be nationalized in the same manner alcohol is nationalized in Canada. The government should have very short reigns on the distribution of it, and it still should be illegal to grow on your own. That way it's not as easy for children to get a hold of it.

 

[L]

No, it should not be Legalized. Reason is that it has certain effects that can be used on ill people, not general public.

 

[aintnoscrub]

First of all I can't believe this got turned into a 'funding the taliban' incident, that's just a cop out to make anything sound bad.
The way things are at the moment I don't think it would make much difference at all, most people who want it, get it nowadays so making it legal would just help that small percent who want it and can't get their hands on it

 

[Mr Sunshine]

In my opinion they should legalize the use of marijuana, while prohibiting its distribution and production... Almost..

1)The government takes possession of all the marijuana crops.

2)The governenmt doesn't grow neither harvest any weed. It just leaves the fields as they are.

3)A civilian can't produce marijuana unless he rents a marijuana field.

4)There are a lot of bureaucrat procedures and a very very high tax rate in order to rent a marijuana field.

5)A civilian can't distribute marijuana unless he has a license from the government.

6)Again there are a lot of bureaucrat procedures. Also the license expires every now and then. He must pay well the government to renew it.

7)Civilians use marijuana at their own risk.

8)Failure to meet these demands leads to some of the cruellest penalties.

If you can't face something, love it.

This is just theoritical speaking. I know that there are a lot of practical problems to the statements above.

 

[aintnoscrub]

Lol and what crop fields would these be? For the most part weed is grown and of sight I.e in somones house converted into a weed den, I myself know someone who is currently doing this, they've completely changed someones apartment into a place suitable to grow the stuff.

 

[v iBaxter]

why do people even want to smoke weed and for everyone who wants to legalize it u want to see more people die young of cancer heart failures and other things just so u can suck on a leaf

 

[aintnoscrub]

Have you ever tried it baxter? Even though its bad for you damn it makes you feel good. I don't anymore but a couple of years ago I smoked it more than I should have for about a year. Times have changed and so have I but that's a different topic.

 

[v iBaxter]

so does takin a dump but i don't get hooked on it...

 

[bruno]

It's not too popular around here, so i've never given it much of a tought.
Anyway, i don't think it should be legalized, unless for medical purposes. Every drug as it's good and bad effects on the organism and, if the good effects are worthy, then it is acceptable to use it in a controlled way (like all the pharmaceutical products).

 

[Romero]

@Fallen

How much corruption do you think all that bureaucracy will lead to? I think we have too much bureaucracy as it is. Bureaucracy is effective for raising costs (and corruption) and ineffective for everything else. These evil robots get a high salary, they don't work for free.

I see you want to make it hard to rent a marijuana field, but you don't need a costly bureaucracy to achieve that. It sounds as a bad idea to me.

 

[aintnoscrub]

so does takin a dump but i don't get hooked on it...

not everyone stays hooked on it, i did it for about a year and then suddenly stopped, now i dont ever touch it.

at the end of the day one day it may happen if countries governments took a drastic turn around, but the likely hood of that happening in the foreseeable future is next to nothing. i dont think people should be penalized for carrying it, as long as its not being smoked in public, because if your doing it in your own home what harm is that?