Should marijuana be legalized?
595785
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.
79600
Yes, marijuana should be legal, because the current system of illegalization is unfair. Why are cigarettes, which are proven to be tons more times unhealthy and deadly than marijuana, legal? Cigs kill through a physical addiction as well as a psychological addiction, which means that you actually become physically dependent on the drug and you enjoy how it makes you feel, and therefore you develop the diseases that kill you. On the other hand, marijuana does not cause a physical addiction, but a psychological addiction. So you don't die from weed, and there are very few reports that support the direct disease development of weed that kills you. So why are cigs legal and taxed, but weed isn't? Why don't they just make weed legal, tax the hell out of it so it can benefit the economy, and set an age limit for 21 years-old, just like alcohol. This will benefit everyone, because it will allow taxes for law enforcement to go towards people who are actually committing violent crimes instead of trying to calm down after a hard day by smoking weed. Also, it will stop the violence that erupts over the weed drug war between gangs and thugs. Money will no longer be an issue for the gangs to fight about over the weed.\n\nWe all know why weed is illegal - because the majority of its users are minorities and those in poverty. Sure, there is a fair share of middle and upper class young people who smoke weed, but the majority are those of us in the lower tier of society. If it was made legal, then those in power (the rich, upper class and conservative citizens) would not have as much power over us. Bottom line. Dispute it if you want, but the evidence is clear.\n\nIt's the same thing with why a smaller amount of crack carries a harsher legal penalty than the same amount of pure cocaine. Poor minorities use crack, upper class citizens use pure cocaine.
409587
read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalization_of_marijuana
255195
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.
1020062
I think it's a good idea also, but many of the people blocking legislation for it are against it for moral grounds.  If it's legalized, then the government is saying that it's okay and so forth.  There are places in the US where it's legalized, and you know what?  Those places aren't dying of moral blah blah blah. :)\n\nPeople are going to do it anyway.  Might as well make it safer for both parties.
1182063
this is a really good question,  I for one think the US should legalize pot too.... They should sell "j's" in packs like cigs... The US is in so much debt, then y not legalize something that has few side effects besides muchies..... they would be out of debt in no time... And ppl need not to say that it leads to other things cuz it dont , its the person who wants more... not because they cant get h*gh ne more its all in their head ... I know..... Just think if they would legalize it there wouldnt b much hate ne more either........ because its a know factor that when ur sto*ed that ur a happier person .....
24032
Yes, marijuana should be legalized.  If you were to put the stats together, you would see that many, many more rapes, murders, thefts, assaults, fatal car crashes, deadly occupational accidents, and various other crimes have been committed under the influence of alcohol.  Recently, a young man was arrested for murdering his mother. His line of defense was that he was under the influence of Marijuana.  Marijuana does not make one aggressive in the least. Anyone that does or has smoked will testify to that. Marijuana has a relaxing effect, not to mention its medicinal benefits.  As for prostitution, it should also be legalized. It is THE oldest profession in the WORLD. You cannot put a restriction on ones body.  The only way to stop it would be to eliminate one of the sexes. Just my guess, but there would probably be a drop in sex crimes and sexually transmitted diseases if prostitution were to become legal.  THE ONLY REASON NEITHER OF THESE THINGS ARE LEGAL, IS BECAUSE OUR GOVERNMENT CANT FIGURE A WAY TO CONTROL OR TAX THEM. (Like cigarettes and alcohol. Which by the way is two very high contributors to our mortality rate here in America.)  Hence the war against them.
373125
It should definately be legalized.  If alcohol is legal, then marijuana should be too! I don't think the death statistics for smoking a joint are near as high as the ones for alcohol.\n\nAccording to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2004, 16,694 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes - an average of one almost every half-hour. These deaths constituted approximately 39 percent of the 42,636 total traffic fatalities.
887110
No.   Federal Law prohibits states to legalize pot (and other substances)
1166223
Most definitely.\n\nI don't use it as a drug and wouldn't, if it were legalized, but it would open the doors to a lot of opportunities.\n\nOne of the reasons hemp isn't allowed as a crop in the USA is because, obviously, it's a product of the canibus (marijuana) plant.  Hemp has so many positive aspects about it, from clothing, paper, and rope manufacturing, to a possible product for formenting ethanol, to even directly fueling organic power plants.  Since it doesn't decarbonize the soil (it actually improves the soil it's grown in and requires little to no fertilizer), it's better than cotton and corn as a crop and produces far greater volumes of usable material in the same amount of land.  It's a sort of wonder-plant.\n\nBut, since we can't grow it without also having "pot", we should just get over it and legalize the stuff.  If it were legalized, the government could tax it, generating increased revenue (for the US instead of the cartels), and employ FDA to regulate it, making purer and safer products that are inevitably widely used anyway.  Plus, it would decrease the amount of court-system flow, freeing up more legal system resources to focus on truly necessary law enforcement / punishment.\n\nStudies have also shown that "weed"-use is far less harmful than alcohol, and has also shown that users are far less likely to become violent, which (alcohol) is the primary contributor to domestic abuse and sexual offenses everywhere, along with street violence, and countless other crimes.\n\nHowever, it is still a person/mind-altering drug that needs to be taken seriously.  Any use of a substance that inhibits normal thought-processes and physical functionality is bad and needs control / responsibility / accountability.  Plus, "pot" does cause neurological damage among other significant physical problems (less than alcohol, keep in mind).\n\nI do not see it as a "gateway drug".  But, it is a drug.
348899
I think it should be legal...well it already is in some states. But just think how much money the US can make off of selling that stuff. Perhaps the president might be able to get out of his trillion dollar debt. Alochol is worse than weed. If they want to make something illegal that should be it.
676456
Yes...Maybe not legal to sell, but to smoke. I would hate the taxing on it, and the potency or effect would be screwed up with all the chemicals that they use for tobacco and $hit. I think just not busting people for smoking it would be nice. Both Alcohol and Tobacco cause more deaths than Marijuana. No one has died from Marijuana unless they had been allergic to it or something, or it was laced. The only deaths from Marijuana are the mental incapability ones, and Alcohol still tops those...So it should be legalized, but in the end that may do more harm then good.
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.
575645
From my studies, Yes.\n\nIt would be a masive bost the the echonomy for the industral uses of the plant alone, the plant marijuana comes from is one of the greatest sorces for bio-fuel in existance and can be uses for nearly anything. It also makes the highest quality of paper, though the paper is not white.\n\nFor recreational usesage though it would be debatable.... However it could be used as a masive bost to the goverment funding, simply by placing a hefty tax on it (even then it would be comprable to the price of tobacco if produced and sold legaly). The sell of ilegal Mariguana in the US makes a good 4~500 million dollors a year..... Imagen the money they could make, and it would give more money to fighting the worce drugs out there.\n\nBut the bottom line is it's health imlications are nominal, being the safest drugs taking for recreation perpouses (healther than alchohol even).  And long as there are proper laws to inforce it's missuse there would be little problem with it. (EI those similar to alchohol use, no smoking and driving, no smoking it on the job... ect ect ect)\n\n\nEDIT- A fun fact, the decloration of indapedance is on paper created from hemp. And our frist president wrote a book on the care of the plant, personaly invinting the methods of triming it in order to produce more leaves for use in making hemp to sell or in order to produce more bud to smoke.\n\nEDIT- Another reson for making it legal is it being iligal has seported criminal activity. Just look at the probition. No one will ever win the 'war on drugs' by making them legal they can control and regulate them, fine them and tax them, and monitor them. It would put a stop most the marijuana related crimes.
631126
I don't know if I qualify as Smart People or not, but...\n\nI disagree that it will soon be legalized.  There was a ballot initiative that passed here in my very liberal hometown of Columbia MO that decriminalized pot, and there was such an outcry from the community that it's almost certain to be repealed this November in the general election.\n\nHowever, I do believe that it SHOULD be legal.  It can be taxed and regulated, and then we'll have fewer people getting killed over it.  I agree...if you want to kill yourself by smoking tobacco, you're allowed to.  If you want to kill yourself by destroying your liver with alcohol, you're allowed to.  If you want to fry your brain smoking pot, you ought to be allowed to.\n\nPerhaps legalizing it would help weed out (no pun intended..ok, maybe it was) the "dumb people" that you speak of.
953973
Weed may eventually be legalized only for medicinal uses only.  I don't think it will ever be legalized for every day personal use.  \n\nPS the Democrats are going to win in 08.  Thats just the way this country runs.
229462
Drugs should be legalized, and especially marijuana.  Marijuana grows out of the ground, therefore, it must have a purpose.  It is medically proven to help cancer patients and people with multiple sclerosis, yet the stupid government has this whole issue with controlling people's lives.  My husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and did not smoke pot.  He kept having exacerbations and ending up in the hospital.  When he began to smoke, he stopped getting sick!  People shouldn't be punished for using drugs...they should be punished is they commit crimes to obtain drugs!