First off, I'd like to say I don't think drugs should be illegal. It's a little bit 1800s of me but hey, if you want to wallow in filth, drowning in your own sorrows and shooting your arms and toes webs and hemroids full of heroin I say go for it. So that's sort of a side note, where I come from sort of thing. I've also tried a couple things, not proud of it but at least I have a basis of knowing what I'm talking about. I did cocaine once, felt like a freight train ran me over the next day and scared me out of ever doing it again. Some other things I would consider minor and stupid and not fun to do and never did again. Weed? Smoking weed is fantastic. I've met people who tried it and didn't like it and I believe them too but for me, even though I don't anymore, smoking weed was not a big deal. It was pretty much like drinking a few beer. Just getting my head right, puttin a buzz on, etc. What I'd really like to say is this, a young man recently died smoking "synthetic mar1juana" and at this point I believe it to be irresponsible to label it as such. It implies similarity where there is very, very little. And you can agree or disagree with mar1juana legalization but even I think this bullshit potpourri sprayed with some chemicals is poison and nothing but poison. I've tried it. It felt like drugs. Because it's just some compound, it can be changed to stay ahead of illegality. I think our change starts with labeling it something that doesn't imply using it will just make you happy, hungry and sleepy. You can hallucinate and OD on the stuff. Call it poison. Call it smokable heroin.
I agree with that, both in that most "drugs" should be legal and that "synthetic mar1juana" absolutely should be illegal. You can smoke all the weed you want all day long and it's not going to kill you. To me, that says that the government has no business telling adults that they can't do it. That said, let people smoke the real thing and "synthetic mar1juana" will cease to exist without even having to be banned.
I've actually read it's hypothetically possible to OD on mar1juana but that it's really iodine poisoning and would take basically someone smoking their weight in weed (literally) within a time frame of like 20/30 minutes but that realistically you would suffocate well before that anyway. So it's not really possible. Maybe it would cease to exist but while I think legalization is probably due sometime in the near future...until then, labeling this synthetic crap like it's anything but dangerous drugs is completely irresponsible,
Synthetic Marijuna, now there's a contradiction in terms. Yes, it's asinine that the government has criminalized a plant. Don't panic, it's organic!
I find it surprising only 55%-60% are supportive. I would think at this point in time, it would be closer to the mid 60's. Its time for the feds to decriminalize it.
I'm for decriminalizing all drugs that we lock people away for and replacing it with rehab and detox. This doesn't necessarily mean the same decriminalization for major players in the drug trade but for someone with a gram of whatever narcotic in their pocket, they wouldn't serve a potential prison sentence for it. From there though, if you live out in rural middle of nowhere Texas and your small town is a meth haven, what then is a former addict to do? Move? Possible I suppose but that's assuming you have prior funds or know someone willing to lend a helping hand which isn't always assured for everyone. Next step would be somehow changing the environment of small meth towns that are running rampant through the U.S. by having job training programs available to low income people across the U.S. This would give a former addict a sense of purpose and an opportunity to better their own personal well being assuming they're ready and willing to. Likewise for family members that are probably struggling financially themselves to help a recurring addict. Get enough people with better paying jobs that don't suck in industries the U.S. needs and you'd sooner be able to turn around these struggling small towns where drugs run rampant and take a decent chunk of our adult youth's lives.