I like it. But I havent done it for a long time. Moving to a new town and not knowing anyone sort of made me quit. I wish I had some, though.
When it was "any drug u want at anytime on the cheap," there were very few deaths due to drug use, there was no violence created by the distribution channels, and it was not anywhere near as expensive to enforce. I want something in between the "free for all" you mention and the idiocy we have now. There are already plenty of regulations against doctors (and all other professionals, for that matter) coming to work drunk and those same regulations would apply to every other drug, obviously. This is a red herring and you should know that. With the massive profits people are willing to pay, drugs themselves could pay for regulation, education, and enforcement of the whole system and would probably kick a profit to the general fund every year (I would support using that money to provide prescription drug benefits to the elderly). This is the biggest red herring of them all. As I have mentioned time and time again, the primary benefit of regulating drug sales would be reducing availability to minors. If you don't want kids to have access to drugs, you need to take a long, hard look at your drug policy. Half of our kids use drugs before they leave high school and our high school students report that they can get illegal drugs more easily than alcohol. We can do better, but we will have to overcome our prejudices about drugs.
I am quite worried about it I Just don't see how Legalization of All Drugs . . . . being potentially OVER THE COUNTER like . . aspirin . . .. What would our world look like. . . I mean REALLY WEED - Is it treated like Cigarettes and Alcohol What about Heroin? coke? Crack? Etc I mean . . .why is Weed ok to be like Tobacco and not heroin? Drugs is Drugs .. . correct Honestly. . . It is not a very big issue for me. . . If it happens my personal life won't change I don't smoke and don't plan on taking up any of the others I have problem being too close to the smoking section the WEED SMOKING SECTION would be worse to me I dunno . . . .I don't like the war on Drugs but i dunno if a FREE FOR ALL is the answer Rocket River
RR: Nobody is advocating a free for all. And right now it's easier for kids to get weed than alcohol. We'd be able to have a better discussion if you'd read some of andy's threads. Or, really, if you'd just read this one before posting in it. You're arguing against things no one has advocated and which, actually, they've taken into account. It's all there for you if you'll just read it.
I smoked pot every day of my life from 1970 - 1988, then I quit until I went to Tom Petty concert in I guess 2001 decided it was my antisocial duty to start again..on occassion. I was always sorta outside the mainstream and undermotivated but I gotta tell ya I don't recommed habitual pot smoking for anybody that plans on living a conventional life, like doing well in school, finding a good job and raising a family. It is definitely a motivation killer and a ready cop out. At the time I blamed Viet Nam for setting me on the freak path but hell that was done by '75 . Smoking pot on ocassion, to mellow out is cool though. I'm sorry for all those people getting BF'd in prison but if drugs were legal it would take away some of the rebellion aspect of using them. Potheads and Junkies as people are probably not the sort to be part of productive society anyway whether drugs were legal or non-existant. I do still think that LSD ought to be required for Freshman Lit. Some of those bozos never learn to think. (is this going to be on the test?)
It certainly wouldn't look like the nightmare you try to put forth. Obviously, nobody is arguing for heroin to be on the shelf at Stop-N-Go. We are trying to find something that ACTUALLY REDUCES drug use by minors and the only thing in the world that has been shown to do that is decriminalization. IMO, the only reason that decrim is the only proven way to reduce teen drug use is that no country has tried regulation of the sort that I have in mind. If you look at the scientific data regarding mar1juana, it is difficult to justify treating it any other way. You can't overdose on it, you don't get violent on it, and it is not physically addictive. Any way you slice it, pot is just not as dangerous as alcohol and tobacco. It is certainly more inebriating than tobacco and as such, would be better suited for the age limits of alcohol. Heroin I would have available to addicts with a doctor's supervision, much like the prescription heroin trials in Switzerland. These trials have shown reduced criminality, increased recovery rates, and have made even heroin addicts productive, responsible, taxpaying members of society. Coke is a bit harder. More than likely in a regulated market, the delivery mechanism for cocaine would change. It would be mixed in drinks like the original Coca-Cola or Vin Mariani, a mixture with wine. Some people would continue to snort and smoke it for the high, but by putting societal pressure on the users, we can probably force them, over time, to change their delivery methods. Crack would almost certainly cease to be as it is a substance made by drug dealers for drug dealers. They needed an easily measured, pre-packaged product to sell on the streets in place of powder. Again, some people might cook it up and smoke it, but most responsible drug users (I know many people scoff at the very thought of a "responsible drug user," but there are millions of them) would use in moderation. Because pot is demonstrably safer than heroin. Heroin is HIGHLY addictive (unlike pot), can be physically damaging or fatal (unlike pot), and should not be taken except under the supervision of a physician. Incorrect. That is like saying that a Mastiff is exactly the same as a Chihuahua because a dog is a dog, correct? Then why would you oppose something that won't affect you, except to reduce your tax load, increase the ability of the police to fight crime, and reduce the ever escalating violence in our society? Personally, I would not allow smoking weed in public except in specifically licensed facilities, much like the coffee shops in Holland. People who want to smoke should do it in their homes or in specially designated areas. If you don't want to smell burning hemp, just stay away from the shops licensed for it. You and me both. That is GREAT!!! I am not proposing a "free for all," I am proposing a system of strong regulation that is tied to science and metrics. It should have as its primary goal reducing the availability of drugs to young people. See my plan here: http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63243
I don't smoke it, partly because of my j.o.b. and partly because I get wicked sinus infections from any type of smoke. Hell, even CAMPFIRE SMOKE!!!! However, I think it should be legal.
BTW, wanted to point out that , to me, at least, the options available in the poll were insufficient. I was left having to decide between " Love it." and " Have no feelings about it.", neither of which were all that accurate. I like it sometimes, wouldn't want to do it with any kind of regularity, and think its beyond idiotic that it's illegal. What feelings I have are positive, but I wouldn't say I love it, though that was my choice as it came the closest.
Interestingly enough, I can't stand being around cigarette smoke. It gives me sinus problems and headaches for 2 or 3 days after a some hours hanging out at a club or bar listening to music. That didn't used to be a problem, but it has been for the last several years. That, more than anything, has curtailed listening to live music, which is somewhere just below sex as my favorite thing to do. But when I've been around the other kind of smoke, it doesn't bother me at all. Go figure. It's very frustrating and why I'm 100% behind making clubs and bars smoke-free. So sue me.
Yeah my smoke>>sinus problems issue only appeared about 2 years ago.....sucks that I leave concerts at clubs feeling like crap.
Were it not stigmatized by our gov's. laws I would use ganja as my drug of choice but the oppressive laws stop me from being able to partake, I need my job and my freedom more than I need to enjoy ganja. I am a reformed smoker who used to partake daily, I held a job for well over three years which I showed up everyday and performed my tasks well but having to hide what I did in the privacy of my own home combined with the fact that I would likely lose everything if I failed a test made me decide to quit. I have promised myself that if I live to retirement age I will grow and partake; fascism be damned.
I think adults should be able to do whatever they want to their bodies, and I think mar1juana should be legal. And regulated and taxed. The economics of prohibition baffle me. Think of the billions of dollars we spend on enforcement, judicial process, incarceration and probation for harmless mar1juana infractions. These are expenses that drive up local taxes and drive down a community's quality of life. This new consumption tax would also *generate* tens of millions of dollars. Maybe billions. Hell, legalized hemp would create an entirely new, potentially lucrative cash crop. Legalized mar1juana is an economic miracle waiting to happen.
I "partake" pretty often, but make a conscious effort to fight the anti-motivational syndrome that plagues most people. I'm still the hardest worker at work and one of the best students in school...you can have the best of both worlds, moderation is the key.
I think you're right on there. Personally, I can't really enjoy the sweet ganja unless I feel like I've accomplished something that day, if I've taken care of important responsibilities, etc. But is there anything better than having a smoke for the Rockets game? Basketball is pretty sweet after a big spliff.
When I smoke pot, I just get hungry and paranoid. So, I don't smoke it nor do I desire to smoke it. That being said, I don't think there's any justifiable reason for not decriminalizing it.
And this is really the key. Millions of people "partake" of al lot of different substances and, with the exception of a very small minority, use these drugs responsibly and never encounter problems outside of the criminal justice problems that go along with prohibition. We can have a system that proactively identifies people who have a problem with certain substances, but we will have to allow legitimate businesses and the government distributing in order to make that happen. In addition, the drugs themselves can pay for all of the societal costs all by themselves through taxes and licensing fees. Moderation is the key. We can ensure moderation by tracking the sales of these substances.
