Poll: legalizing marijuana

[kyounge1956]

I really can't think of any good reason a doctor shouldn't be able to prescribe marijuana or derivatives thereof. After all, they can prescribe opiates when medically necessary. I am still not sure whether non-medicinal use should also be legalized. I didn't vote in the poll, because there's no option for "definitely for medical use and maybe for non-medicinal also".

 

[GregLee]

I used it to refute the idea that more death and injury is a good idea.

Yes, we understand that all dangerous recreational activities should be banned. Skiing and sky-diving are two other things that people often do merely because they are fun.

 

[brewer12345]

What he said. Anyone check out beer prices lately?

Nope.

 

[donheff]

I was in Amsterdam in October where marijuana, while not technically legal, is openly tolerated in over 100 coffee houses. I didn't notice stoners stumbling around the streets and suspect their quasi-legalization has little impact on overall use.

I do think pot is different than typical alcohol use. You smoke to get stoned whereas most people have a few drinks for the taste or a very minor buzz. But those who drink to excess (and there are a lot of them) are much more likely (in my opinion) to drive, fight, etc than people stoned on marijuana. Thus they pose a far bigger risk to themselves and others. So why criminalize the less dangerous substance and celebrate the more dangerous?

And for inquiring minds who want to know, yes we did give the wares a try and, yes, the highly cultivated boutique stuff available today is much more potent than the standard stuff around 40 years ago. But, for the vast majority of users, this results in fairly infrequent use. Most of us just wouldn't want to be that high all the time.

 

[Martha]

For most of my adult life I have been in favor of legalizing weed. I am now bending to the other side. There is just too much stuff floating around these days to intoxicate folks both legally and otherwise. Why open up Pandora's box?

This has always been the case. Since the dawn of time people have found ways to alter their consciousness.

 

[Martha]

I don't know how I feel about it since I never used it. There is just something that turns me off about setting something on fire and sucking it into my lungs. If it turns you on, have a good time.

+1

Try some brownies sometime. You might like it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

BTW, you can still order a Vodka and Red Bull at the bar, but those poor young entrepreneurs who started Four Loco, with caffeine and booze combined in one package get tons of grief and have to remove the caffeine from their drink. Not that I've ever tried a Four Loco, but it is kinda dumb to single them out.

At the music festivals we go to, there are far greater concerns about drunks than stoners getting out of hand. Drunks can be violent. The stoners very rarely cause any trouble.

 

[Leonidas]

I was in Amsterdam in October where marijuana, while not technically legal, is openly tolerated in over 100 coffee houses. I didn't notice stoners stumbling around the streets and suspect their quasi-legalization has little impact on overall use.

But that would not be correct.

A fundamental principle in economic science is that supply and price of a product affect its demand. With cannabis legally and plentifully available, its use is much higher in Amsterdam (almost 3 times more) than in the rest of the country (note: 80% of Dutch municipalities do not allow the sale of marijuana). Furthermore, in Amsterdam marijuana consumption is well above EU averages - and these figures do not count the tourists. An urban problem? Hardly so: there is no difference in the rates of marijuana use between London and the rest of the UK, or between Washington DC and the rest of the USA. Elsewhere in the world, the urban setting does not affect drug consumption rates: why should it affect Amsterdam? To conclude, the city has a health problem caused by marijuana availability, and this could get worse as cannabis becomes more potent.

Source: UN Office on Drugs and Crime - A study tour of Amsterdam - June 2008. A study tour of Amsterdam

People look at the city of Amsterdam and see the cafes and think that the national marijuana usage of the Netherlands is a result. But that's not necessarily true.

Despite its reputation, the Netherlands does not actually have a tolerant drug policy. Law enforcement is tough. There are increased efforts to hit drug traffickers and confiscate their assets: the city's enormous Schiphol airport has long maintained a zero-drug tolerance on passengers, crews, cargos and even aircraft. Throughout the country, there are plenty of measures (even coercive) to address the health of drug addicts. Spending on drug control is by far the highest in Europe (almost 0.7% of GDP). As a result, the Netherlands has below EU-average annual prevalence rates of cocaine, opiate, and amphetamine use. The percentage of people (aged 15-65) who consume cannabis at least once a year (5.4%) is above the global average (3.9%), though much lower than, say, Spain and Italy (11.2%) or Canada (17%).

Note, however, that despite the high budget expenditure (much larger than even in Sweden, where 0.47% of GDP is spent in drug control), the prevalence rate of cannabis use in the Netherlands is greater than in Sweden (3.1%). Is it that tolerant attitudes on the ground (i.e. at the municipal level) reduce the impact of otherwise uniquely high drug-related national budget expenditure?

It looks to me as if loose Marijuana policies in the city of Amsterdam result in very high levels of usage, and strict policies in the rest of the country account for a much lower level of usage.

The Dutch are even considering limiting sales to Dutch residents only. According to one coffee shop employee, 99% of the customers are tourists and this will shut down the industry. On your next trip to Amsterdam you may find yourself limited to coffee in the coffee shop.

The next big Dutch anti-Marijuana push is to try and eradicate some of the 40,000 illegal grows. BBC World Service - News - Scratch 'n' sniff marijuana cards distributed in the Netherlands

 

[dex]

Yes, we understand that all dangerous recreational activities should be banned. Skiing and sky-diving are two other things that people often do merely because they are fun.

You might have missed the point that it is the innocents (i.e. the people not using the drugs but harmed by the user; e.g. automobile, work) and the new users hurting themselves being referred to in that post.

To use your sky-diving example, if it were illegal and the sky-divers were killing/injuring themselves and others on the ground (reason not important) then you made it legal more people would do it and increase death/injury.

 

[Independent]

I voted to legalize. I figure that for both alcohol and mj, the costs of prohibition exceed the costs of legalization.

However, I'd like to see tougher laws on alcohol (and mj, if legalized). In particular, we should ban advertising. People who want to use these chemicals will find them. But, no point in convincing lots of non-users and children who happen to be watching TV that users are really cool people who have more fun than non-users.

I'm old enough to remember when cigarettes could be advertised on TV. I think banning those ads has had a big impact on public perceptions of smoking. When tobacco use has to stand on its own, without Madison Avenue support, it doesn't look so attractive.

 

[Nords]

Nope.

We're just wondering how much you charge for shipping & handling...

But, no point in convincing lots of non-users and children who happen to be watching TV that users are really cool people who have more fun than non-users.

You mean role models like Spicoli?

"Dude, all I need is some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine."

 

[martyb]

What he said. Anyone check out beer prices lately?

No chit!

 

[veremchuka]

if it were legal i'd like to use it, presently i don't tho have in the past. however, i can't see smoking it but rather bake it into some food. i did that in the past and the effect was double eating it vs smoking but maybe i ate a lot more than i'd have smoked. can't say for sure.

 

[Orchidflower]

This forum is dominated by introverts and INTJ's. Look at the results of this poll...wow, so many for legalization. Rock on! You introverts are more fun than us extroverts would think...

 

[Moemg]

To make it medically available is to open up the flood gates to bogus claims and reward unscrupulous Md's . I'd say legalize it with underage laws in place and yes I did smoke it occasionally in my younger days but I did not inhale .

 

[73ss454]

Try some brownies sometime. You might like it.

My mind is weak enough, I don't need anything to alter what I have left.

 

[HFWR]

To make it medically available is to open up the flood gates to bogus claims and reward unscrupulous Md's . I'd say legalize it with underage laws in place and yes I did smoke it occasionally in my younger days but I did not inhale .

I did not exhale...

 

[NW-Bound]

This forum is dominated by introverts and INTJ's. Look at the results of this poll...wow, so many for legalization. Rock on! You introverts are more fun than us extroverts would think...

I will have to take exception to that.

I just voted in the older polls too.

Never smoke it. Never knew anyone who did, or rather never saw anyone smoking it. Never went looking for it, nor ever had it pushed on me. Still don't know what marijuana smoke smells like. Was never interested, and will not be.

Caveat: I am not a saint. I started smoking cigarettes at 16. Was drunk the first time at about the same age. Stopped smoking about 7 years ago, and the most I smoked was 1/3 pack a day. Still drink, but I usually drink for the taste rather than for the buzz, because my tolerance level is a bit high. To get the later, I would need to drink a lot more than I usually do, which is just a couple of shots, or a couple of beers at most (I once finished a bottle of Cognac with a long-time friend, and was able to go to work the next day).

Back on pot legalization, I have the same reservation that Dex expressed above. And I look at pot users with jaundiced eyes. Maybe my attitude will change if I bother to study its effect on the users, but that is not very high on my priority list. Call me a bigot.

So, there!

 

[calmloki]

..... And I look at pot users with jaundiced eyes.....

So, there!

Well, they are looking back at your yellow eyes with bloodshot ones, so there you go.

 

[Nords]

Still don't know what marijuana smoke smells like.

I was paid by the Navy to go to a "test burn" class required for testimony that you had a basis for invoking probable cause.

We definitely inhaled. The graduation certificate in my service record is designed around a silhouette of a marijuana leaf...

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, they are looking back at your yellow eyes with bloodshot ones, so there you go.

Really! Just verify that on the Web. Thanks for giving me a tip to look out for them.

 

[kumquat]

Well, I attended university in the 60's. Still remember part of it (what did we do there, anyway).

 

[Nodak]

I say legalize it, I was in college in the late 60s and smoked more than my fair share back then. It seems to me that the law has ruined more lives than pot has.

 

[calmloki]

http://http://i.imgur.com/P0Izr.jpg

Dangers of dope.

 

[NW-Bound]

The first Web site I found on this subject said:

The short-term effects of marijuana include:

Distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch)
Problems with memory and learning
Loss of coordination
Trouble with thinking and problem-solving
Increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure
Sometimes marijuana use can also produce anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.

When high doses of marijuana are used, usually when eaten in food rather than smoked, users can experience the following symptoms:

Hallucinations
Delusions
Impaired memory
Disorientation​

Effects of Marijuana - The Health Effects of Marijuana

I guess I will never know how serious these effects are, because I will not get to witness any clinical study myself.