I'm glad it's illegal and hope it continues to be so.  I think it'd be the start of a downward spiral.  If we okay marijuana, how long before we start making other drugs legal too?
127368
If it was just true marijuana by itself maybe it wouldn't be as bad as alcohol.  But now it's mixed with all the other stuff and then it's just a introduction to the true brain rot that's out there.  If people want to be human vegetables for the rest of their life take dope.  If you want to be healthy mentally and physically don't do drugs, period.  Good question.
133780
If the government can figure a way to tax marijuana, they will legalize it, charge about $10 bucks a joint, so High School students can use their lunch money to get high and stop shootings in their schools, beating up fags, and raping girls; cause then it would be a "don't worry, be happy attitude", and nobody would feel hate, just love and peace.\nI vote YES, what the heck, give it a try, see if things don't improve in our country. Dealers would be out of a job, so they wouldn't be to happy. I say we legalize all illegal drugs, put all the DRUG LORDS out of business, cut down on crime; People only want what they can't have, if it were not illegal, the urgency would dissipate.
405184
That is a good question that I don't have an answer for, but will probably be pondering for the next few days. I just wanted to say your question is the reason weed is illegal--because it does make intelligent people think. The govt would rather we drink beer and stay fat and stupid.
396013
I think that people have done enough harm to make sure marijuana stays criminalized by their actions. There's a lot of people that carry the title of being a pothead as a badge of honor or whatever. One of the biggest reasons I ever laid off smoking marijuana was because I saw so much disrespect to the herb. I believe that it's the oldest healer that we have around. It has been used to help people relax, reach to a higher being of their own understanding in many Native American tribes as well as Aztecs and many other primal tribes in the world, it's also used to heal. My mother suffers from arthritis, she soaks some marijuana in rubbing alcohol, then applies an alcohol soaked rag on the part of her aching joint (no pun intended) and the pain is subdued. I think that the reason in is not criminalized id because it's an herb. People would grow it and use it to their own consumption. My only consern with that is the lack of responsibility of certain people that would use it. I know a lot of kids out there love having that whole grown-up facade and think that smoking your brain off is so cool, but they fail to see the other of side of smoking or eating marijuana, the doors it can open to your subconcious and mentality in all it's complex existence. I don't think it will be decriminalized because it really would be a hard thing to keep a tax on and if people can get away with buying it and distributing it now, they most definitely will if it's decriminalized all together.
94489
huh..  what... dude... like that question.. it like rocks.  i, uh, yea man, like weed should totally be legal.  peace bro.
283027
Yes, I think it's now the time for the cotton industry toapologize to the people of the US for bringing forth the political will to criminalize hemp and marijuana. Hemp was a competitor to the dominance of cotton. By twisting hemps cousin cannibus into a demonic substance, capable of causing reefer madness, the cotton industry bullied the population into outlawing a plant that our first president smoked. Lets stop the insanity, decriminalize, or even regulate it.
646312
I believe all drugs should be legalized and heavily taxed.  I strongly believe in individual responsibility and I believe drug related crime rates would go down.  There is a set precedence in our country of making things illegal increasing crime rates rather than decreasing them.
667945
I have never, never seen a marijuana overdose come into an ER I have worked. Alcohol and tobacco are a major reason I have a job........................But they are taxed aren't they? Either stop all alcohol and tobacco or legalize marijuana. Tax marijuana sales and put the money towards medicare and ethanol production. That may take a chunk out of oil profits and we can have that?
576475
marijuana is the most commonly uses illegal substance in the United States. it is used by many people, most of which aren't your stereotypical "druggie", with no life agead of them. Many of them hapen to be very successful, good people. Think about it almost if not every person who reads this paper will know (even if they don't realize it) at least one if not several regular users of marijuana. Its often made out to be much more harmful htan it really is, unfortunatly not every one realizes this. \n\nWhat many people don't realize is marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Yet it's the one of the three that gets a bad rap and is illegal. Marijuana isn't even physicaly addicting. You certanly don't see meetings for marijuana like you do with alcohol and AA. Unfortunatly due to American culture the less harmful of the three is illegal.\n\nThe most common reason why marijuana can be harmful is that people can often come across laced marijuana without realizing it. Marijuana can easily be mixed with other more harmful drugs with out the buyer realizing it, until they have already used it. This is a dangerous thing that causes many people to do more harmful, hard core drugs without realizing it. If it were to be legalized the government could provide guide lines, like it does with alchol  to insure that people knew what they were putting into their bodies.\n\nMarijuana actually has many helpful benefits toward diseases / sicknesses. Marijuana can reduce nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by AIDS. It can Reduce interlobular pressure, which alleviates the pain and slowing and sometimes even stopping the progress of glaucoma. Common side effects of chemotherapy are nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting, all of which marijuana would help. It can limit muscle pain and relieve tremor nad unsteadiness of gait for multiple sclerosis patients. Marijuana can help prevent epileptic seizures in some patients. It can also alleviate chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries. Each one of these applications have been deemed legitimate by at least one United States court, legislature, and/or government agency.\n\nDue to these reasons and many others many people are going to jail/prison on a daily basis due to simply smoking a little pot These aren't dangerous criminals that would kill or rape someone. Many of them are teachers, lawyers and respected members of their communities. But yet we still pay thousands of dollars of tax payers money to lock up non dangerous "criminals" yearly even though most aren't going to stop after they get out of jail. Don't you think the money spent here is a waste? Couldn't it be going to more useful things such as hospitals, disease research, or better schools? These are the things that would benifit the people of this country. Certanily you would rather benefit the people more than throwing a non violent pot head in jail who was only trying to smoke a joint and relax after a long days work in jail. There is up to forty million regular (note thats just the regular not occasional users) drug users in the United states. If we were to throw all of them in jail it would cost $500,000 per million people, plus the cost and space of building many more prisons. Couldm't that money be spent on building hospitals? There's already about 1.5 million people tax payers are paying to keep in jail over drugs. From 1990 to 2003, nearly 5.9 million people had been arrested for smoking marijuana. Thats a greater number than the entire population of Alaska, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Montania, North and South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. This country simply can't afford to put 40 million more in jail.\n\nMarijuana should be legalized. It has many uses such as helping sick patients. People are going to smoke it no matter what the government sais, and with out govenment guidelines this can b
572992
Marijuana is perscibed to people that are dying and people with health issues that need it for certain reasons. Yes i think it should be legalized. The medical use is a step in the right direction and i belive these folks get cards and paperwork for personal use.
498091
Pot is illegal because it was competition for the cotton grower. During the civil war it was outlawed mainly because of its fibers. Hemp (Marijuana) can grow faster then most plants and produce much more usable material than the cotton plant. Hemp can grow up to a 30 foot tap root, in search of water. Hemp seed contains more protein then the soy bean. It can be used for so much other than the drug effects. Sadly its outlawed for these reasons. As long as DuPont and DOW chemicals are around hemp will be outlawed. Also take into account all the Drug companies who provide campaign money to all the senators who have drug laws approved and denied. If pot was legal maybe someone would not be on Prozac or Paxil. Alcohol will always be legal. It makes to much revenue. From the people who manufacture alcohol to the distributers. Then the bar owners who mixes a bottle and makes a couple 100$ on it. To the state who pops people for DWI's. Then lawyers who get paid to get you off. Then the insurance comp. who rapes you every year to drive. So alcohol makes to much money and will never be illegal regardless of how many people are killed and families destroyed by alcoholism. I smoke pot when I want, and don't really care what the Feds say. So put me in jail. That's where the good pot is anyways.
220135
yes, it should be legalized. if you can't get rid of it at least you should be able to control it.
211109
Agree, at its worst marijuana is as bad for you as cigarettes and alcohol, both of which are legal. Its not up to the government what we decide to do with our bodies or our free time. You would have a hard time making a case that personal consumption of marijuana hurts anyone other than the smoker.
534580
These are different issues.  Abortion is legal but drugs are not legal.\n\nActually, I think the US should legalize some drugs and pot and make money taxing the substances.
640048
Another division or so and we might actually become effective at stopping both the human traffic and drugs. I think people or underestimating the positive effect this could have against the drug insurgency. Mexico has always been a major player and the drugs have contributed to the immigration problem.
104999
I don't think it should be legal, we got enough potheads in America, although I think the punishment for possession should be less serious.
562667
i can answer that in one simple word....MONEY...the government makes way too much money off of marijuana busts to make it legal...i know its fucked up but thats just the way it is.. marijuana is the only harmless drug on "Schedule I" (others include: LSD, opiads, methanphetamines...etc. (look it up). \n\nschedule I means....supposedly: "it has no medicinal purpose at all"... so therefore there can not be any government funded research on the subject to advocate its' legalization...\n\ni could go on forever on this debate but its tiresome to type that much, i really wish it was legal as i'm a "fan" of it...lol....\n\ncontact me if you care to hear anymore of my opinion...