I'm all for stricter laws on driving under the influence of alcohol. If pot is legalized, I'm sure it will be strictly regulated.
That is what I hope. We need to have a set of reasonable regulations regarding the manufacture and distribution of dangerous drugs. What we are doing now is not reasonable.
2 of my younger friends from school were driving down the road speeding and all drugged up. (not pot, like pills and stuff) The driver lived the passenger died. All the driver got was 2 years in prison. Yet if he were to shoot and kill someone, he would have received life..... I don't see the difference. That's one thing that I will never understand.
One could be considered purely a result of negligence while the other is intentional. Not that I feel there's much difference, personally. I'm just answering the question.
yah.. I'd still like to see them get more strict on the DWI stuff. How old are you by the way??? I know that you could drink and drive back in the 80's was it? 90's? Do you remember much about that?
My brother's accident was from the end of that era (1989). Groups like MADD put a lot of pressure on the politicians to crack down on drunk driving and we have made huge strides in reducing drunk driving and reducing underage drinking (through the We Card programs that were also pushed by MADD). It is truly amazing how much impact we can have on these issues in a regulated market. It wasn't that you were allowed to drink and drive, it was that the penalties were so lax that it didn't really affect someone to get multiple DUI tickets. It is better now, but I tend to agree that the penalties could be further increased.
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Good post and debate. Now that I've read all 289 posts I'd like to give some of my input. I'm 35 yrs old I've been smoking pot since I was 15. I own my business have a couple of rent houses and coach my son's little league baseball team. I am a productive member of society as a employer of several people and don't mind if they smoke as long as it doesn't effect their work habits and I will call them out on it. I do drink alcohol but try to stay away from it as it changes my personality. My wife would rather me smoke then drink any day of the week. She says I'm happy and laid back when I smoke and become aggressive when I drink. I've have done harder drugs but stay away from them as they suck the life out of you. Pot smokers are a breed of people all their own, my wife has smoked it but she doesn't like the way it makes her feel, but doesn't mind me smoking it. This nonsense of it leads to harder drugs is a line that the government has been feeding us as a scare tactic to put fear in the people. People can abuse anything, you can't make everything idiot proof. Some people like to eat too much, some like to drink too much, some like to smoke cigs, everyone has their own issues. Now I have stopped smoking weed about two months ago, not because of me but because of my kids. I have a 9yr old boy and a 5yr old girl, If you want to lead you have to lead by example. mar1juana is just like alcohol or any drug for that matter, as kids brains are developing and my opinion is that they shouldn't start using any drug at all as this is the best route, but everyone as a right in this country to do the things that make them happy as long as it doesn't effect others. There should be age limit of 18. As we all know it is easier for teens to get illegal drugs then to buy beer or cigs. And now with all the over the counter medications and doctor prescribe drugs it's as easy as kids raiding their parents medicine cabinets to get ahold of stuff that impairs them more so that pot. I personally don't want the gov. or corporations in control of my smoke. These guys are only out for self interest and money. I don't believe in big government if there is no need for it. My answer to this would be a license, similar to a fishing license but cost several hundred dollars to grow your own number of plants with tags. The gov. gets paid and you cut out the middle man. It's really not rocket science to grow the stuff, just depends on how technical you want to get. It's really all about the seed and nutrients. If the smokers using the stuff could just grow their own, why do you need a supplier? It is called "weed" for a reason. People behind the wheel drunk or under the influence of a over the counter medication, texting or even putting on make-up is worst the the guy that just smoked a joint. But as in anything if you can't operate heavy machinery impaired or distracted, you should should be ticketed or arrested. The war on drugs has failed and as we can see it time for a change. The gov is spending billions on a war they can't win and at the same time are creating the new Al Capone's of the world. Instead of helping drug abusers, they are locking them up and making them unproductive members of society. As far as health wise since I've stopped smoking weed, I've picked up the bad habit of cigarettes and cigars. I can definitely feel the difference that these are having on my body and the addictiveness with all additives and chemicals that these company put in them. Weed is much cleaner and you have to smoke much less of it. So every time a pick up a cigarette I cuss myself and ask myself "why am I smoking these cancer sticks"? It's time to drop the veil and misleading information on pot! If there was more education out there people would know it's not wise to smoke four joints in 30 minutes. Just as it's not wise to drink a bottle of ever-clear. You can't make everything idiot proof, other wise everything would be wrapped in bubble wrap and someone would still find a way to choke on it.
We've heard every possible side of the story on this. But lets get down to it. Realistically, what are the chances of the legalization of mar1juana? I say slim to none. I just don't see it happening.
Full fledge legalization is far away in my opinion. We could see decriminalization much, much sooner.
I agree with you completely from a non-medical mar1juana standpoint. However, I believe there will be more and more states approving it for medical use. And, of course, if you have it in place for medical purposes, then it will certainly be abused by users who don't really need it for medical purposes...the same way a person can go into a doctor's office and walk out with prescriptions to pills they don't really need. What do you think is happening in California now? Want some legal pot...find a Doctor to write you a prescription for "headaches".
Realistically, I could see it happening in Obama's second term, assuming he gets one (assuming the GOP continues doing the same things they have been doing). I believe the first step would be rescheduling mar1juana on the federal level, allowing states to set their own policies with regards to pot. That is the part that will take a while, moving the states towards regulation.
A relatively small percentage of Americans smoke pot and those that want to already do. One of the biggest benefits we will get out of ending the drug war is simple honesty. We will be able to get an honest accounting of drug use because people will not feel compelled to lie when they get surveyed on drug use. I would rather have a country filled with stupid people who are honest than a bunch of lying geniuses any day.
Can you imagine the drop in KB prices if there was a little legal competition in the market ? When an ounce of high grade mar1juana is more valuable than an ounce of gold something is significantly out of whack.
