What are some reasons that marijuana should be legalized?
465804
To illiminate controversy between the state(s) and federal gov't.
108802
I can forsee many social impacts from the potential legalization of marijuana.\n\npros \nFarmers will have a viable cash crop\nTax monies can be collected from the sales\nCigarette companies could package it and promote less tobacco use\nLess criminals in an already crowded legal system\nMany drug dealers would be put out of business and foreign imports of the drug curbed\nLess need for other means of getting high\n\ncons\nFurther class separation\nWorkforce productivity impact and drug related injury increases\nAnother source for family breakdown\nGenerational dependency issues\nIncreased lung and heart disease incidents and other long-term effects of chronic usage
236464
Just because Prescription Drugs may have considerably worse side effects or, furthermore, usage of Prescription Drugs may be abused does not give Marijuana legs to become legalized.  Marijuana is a drug which could have just many side effects as Prescription Drugs (but probably no viable (or focused on the issue of Marijuana long-term drug effects) trial has been completed on Marijuana to date -- but should that happen then, for starters, possibly Marijuana could simply be determined to be as deadly as cigarettes).  \n\nLegalizing Marijuana is not the solution.  A balanced understanding of Marijuana is the solution coupled with stronger national boarder control.  If Marijuana is determined to be safe (and thereafter legalized) the United States has the ability to grow it right here just like it's farming industry now grows corn, rice or wheat.
99366
I believe it should be legalized...  my reasoning is that the LAW ruins peoples lives over a stupid charge of possession, the drug itself does not realy hurt anyone directly, however, the irrational, irrisponsible, and/or wreckless things people do under it's influence can... but same could be said for alcohol...\n\nI used to use it... but I quit...
1094192
Yeah.  They should legalize it, tax the hell out of it, and try to pay back some of the money wasted on the war on drugs...... help us get out of debt a little.  But the government would have to admit they were wrong in some instances, and they'd actually be held responsible for tax dollars gone askew.  Not going to happen.\n\n**Oh, I totally agree with how much safer pot is than alcohol and especially cigarrettes.  Alcohol, the only drug whose withdrawls can kill you- and cigarettes, which contain nicotine, the most addictive drug on the planet, are both available 24-7. \n\nLook at social issues.  You don't hear about a man coming home stoned and beating his wife.\n\nI don't see how legalizing pot would make people more apt to leaving it out in the open for small children to get a hold of.  It would hold the same accessibility as cigarettes and alcohol.  If I had no other choice, I'd rather my kid be smoking pot than cigarettes, especially after learning what chemicals they have been putting in them- sharing some components with crack.
723018
Various industries pay lobbyists to wine and dine the people that make the laws in this country.  Some of those industries are:\n\nlogging industry: the hemp stock can be used to make paper and other products that would put a huge damper on the logging industry\n\npharmacuetical industry:  Marijuana is a better pain killer than any chemical that they can produce.  It can also stimulate appetite for those undergoing chemotherapy and can relieve pressure on the eyes of glaucoma patients\n\nAlcohol and tobacco industries: marijuana is preferable in many ways to America's favorite legal vices.  no hangovers, not addictive, etc.\n\nThere are more reasons.  What it comes down to is $$$.  The people making money in the above mentioned industries will stop making money if marijuana is legalized.
659533
As you probably know, I would choose to legalize POT. I see no harm in smoking one after work instead of drinking one. What the fuck why is pot so wrong and alcohol so right?
1156818
drunk drivers kill so many people every year - way more than the percentage of marijuana smokers driving and killing people.  if alcohol is legal, pot should be
253044
Yes it should be legal. For one, I have lived in a place where it IS legal and the differences are astounding. Children/Teens are MUCH less likely to smoke pot if it is legal. It doesn't have the "mystique" that illegal items do. Also, there are fewer Driving while Under the Influence charges per capita where marijuana is legal, because it is used more responsibly. Check your crime statistics, you'll find that I'm right. Marijuana is no more dangerous than a cigarette. In fact, it is NOT as addictive. Infact, marijuana is ONLY a psychologically addictive drug, not a physiologically addictive one. Cigarettes are both. Economically speaking, if it were legal it would be MUCH cheaper to get. This would help regulate quality of the drug, making it much less likely to be laced with other, more addictive additives like PCP. The sale of it could be governmentally regulated, like alcohol and other controlled substances, and TAXED. That would generate a HUGE amount of tax revenue........
929753
I would certainly think the opposite is true.  I do, however, feel that marijuana SHOULD be legalized for medical use in many other circumstances.
1153668
I think it is something that needs to be done.  We have all sorts of highly addictive and dangerous drugs that are legal-vicodin, percoset, oxycotin....It may take longer for it to be legalized for recreational use, but is it really any worse than alcohol?  I know of MANY more lives ruined by alcohol than marijuana.
111833
Yes.In my opinion, I think marijuana should be legalized. Have you ever watched the tv show called Cops? How many domestic violence calls have you seen them respond to because someone was high on pot. None that I remember.. Alcohol on the other hand causes most people to become violent,arguementative and has destroyed thousands of families. Most that get into a drunken stuper can't even remember what they did the next day. Marijuana on the other hand causes most people to relax, kick-back, laugh and eat.. They can alsways remember what they did. The only lives I know of that have been destroyed because of marijuana has come about because they got caught using or in posession. Now their life is ruined because they are going to loss their job, possibly their house, cars, kids and anything else the government can figure out a why to make a buck. Hell, someone that smokes a little pot on the weekend can loose their job three or four weeks later if they're drug tested at work. This, even though they aren't under the influence. An alcoholic, who has abused his wife and kids over the same weekend can go to work on monday and pass any drug/alcohol test given them.. Me personally, having spent time with both, I'd much rather spend time with the potheads than the drunken, slobbering loud mouthed alcolohic's.
769865
Absolutly.  Making it illegal wastes tax dollars and ruins people's lives who have not engaged in any sort of violent crime.  Instead, they have done something very similar to drinking or smoking cigarettes, and because they have, they now face jail time, huge fines and criminal records.  It should, at the very least, be decriminalized, as the punishment would be rehab or something.  But absolutly, legalization will put drug dealers out of business (similar to the way the end of prohibition ended the mobster culture).  It would bring in more revenue, it could be regulated (and kid can tell you its easier to get pot than beer, as they don't have to show their ID to dealers), and it would free up our police to search out and get violent criminals more effectivly.
1031727
Cuz they are drugs that do absolutely nothing for you. Politicians drink and smoke cigs.  If they didn't they would be banned.  I agree that pot should be legal, it has known medical benefits.  But everything in moderation.
381891
I think that if spirits (rum, whisky...) are legal marijuana should also be legal.
151432
Jim Bender is a Canadian politician who supports legalization of marijuana. \nits is argued that is alcohol is legal so should marijuana.\nalso, they ay if it is legalized, crime will be reduced and other related negative externalities will be reduced such as black market.\n\nread this, an excellent summary http://www.usask.ca/education/ideas/tplan/sslp/values/legmarij.htm
1086319
Yes.\n1. As a popular intoxicant, marijuana is much safer than alcohol and other drugs. If Tobacco and Alcohol are available (tolerated by society), then marijuana should also be tolerated. I would much rather have my child abuse marijuana than alcohol, because afterward they would still have a liver and a brain.\n2. All recreational drugs should be legalized. There is no point trying to regulate personal behavior, which contravenes the American ethic anyway.\nCurrent laws do or can provide penalties for intoxicated problem behaviors such as driving under the influence, so that's covered.\n3. If you want to eliminate the crime associated with "the drugs trade", then legalize drugs. If necessary, make various drugs (such as cocaine) available only at the pharmacist's counter with a valid ID as proof of age.\nBut, no more drug kingpins - drugs will be commodified.\n4. Tax drug sales and get those revenues; and save all the money wasted on the drug war.\n\n5. And of course, as a marijuana user, I would look forward to cheaper product. :)