what are the disadvantages of legalizing marijuana?
929635
well a cop once told me they needed drug laws so they can hasve reasonable excuse to bust in \nseems like with terror legislation nowwe can afford to relax on those choosing to self medicate with a plant the war has made equal to the price of gold ,a weed that costs nothing to grow yourself\na politition told me once that paper money is made from hemp fibre ,so the law  is so people cant make thier own money ,i just had to laugh but he was serious ,but we have plastic money and they dont make that plastic from hermp but petrol ,time to ban petro chemical? yea right\na lawyer once told me 20 out of 12 plead guilty and apparently dopers keep the prison ers quiete so that wioont change ,we have legal aid here the average volenteer lawyer on duty makes 300 ,per guilty plea on a good day of comunity service he makes 6000 ,the govt makes 18,000 ,so what those 2/3 rds of lawyers going to do for money ,lawyers wont help ,drug laws all they know ,\ndrug law works by precident ,ie a higher court ruled it thus its now law ,the preceedents have been made on all grounds of apeal a long time ago ,that deems a plant a drug ,despite it clearly beingf a compound of chemicals 1600 plus a single drug thc ,\nthe precedent has deemed a plant ,ie legally a fungable despite clearly being whilst attatched to the ground thus part of the land ie a fixture , thus only allowed to be made a fungable by the tennents permission\nthe farce goes on and on the injustice rolls on we had a drug war to demonise drug use brought aboput because petro chemical users wanted to bankrupt and take over the hemp fibre and oil marketts ,it used the fbi and hoover ,via the hurst chain to make dupoint brothers rich enough to make the nuclear bomd ,to allow the murder of our planit ans eventuall sponser and paymasyer of those oil rich shieks who buy our weopons of mutual destraction\nso good luck ,it will never happen.
932086
Marijuana has many beneficial uses for many different things.  Marijuana could help us economically, environmentally and in some cases medically.  If paper were made from hemp that would be less trees that are being cut down.  Clothes, paper, rope, twine, and many other things can be made from hemp.  Also, if marijuana were legalized and they had figured out a way to tax it, there could be much needed economical relief.  Taxes could be put into general funds for school, roads and other needs that many states have that are not being met by the current system.  Less petty criminals in jails.  People who are busted with marijuana can do more time than somebody who has raped a woman or child.  The jails would be less crowded and we would be able to afford keeping real criminals behind bars.  Medicinally, there are already studies that marijuana can be beneficial in many situations.  It helps with chronic pain and many other conditions not relieved by regular or prescription medications.  It also helps with nausea and increasing appetite in those who are going through chemotherapy.  It is my opinion that marijuana has many uses and could benefit many aspects of our daily living.
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?
1138969
There are no disadvantages its used for medicinal purposes in a lot of states and countries! Have you ever heard of coke being use for medicinal purposes? NOPE!  No disadvantages that I know of.
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.
100981
Marijuana is less harmful then cigarettes and alcohol,no one has ever gotten cancer from it or any other illness for that matter, the only reason the government will not legalize it is because they make more money from it being illegal. Everytime a big bust is made they take everything, money,cars,homes ect. because they claim these things were bought with the money they made from selling Marijuana, it is not addictive like cigarettes and alcohol and it does not lead to harder drugs, if someone is doing harder drugs it is because they chose to ,not because they may have smoked marijuana first. native americans use to smoke it all the time and they lived to ripe old ages .
760646
it gradually destroys your will power .\nbad mouth odor and clothes smell .\nit is wasted money for individuals and communities.\nit makes progression to more serious dependencies easier.\nthe agricultural impact , the lands used for growing tobacco could be used to grow organic food making it more available and cheaper.\n\nrisk of accidental fires would be less if no-one smoked.
1035368
Marijuana, because it can be used to treat glaucoma patients and to alleviate certain types of pain, should be legal, provided that it does not cause uncontollable affects in the users for whom it might be prescribed.  Legalization could eliminate the abuse of this drug and the sale of it by "street pharmacists" who frequently add other dangerous chemicals to it and use unscrupilous sales tactics to dupe customers who cannot get it legally.  The fact that it is illegal makes it more tempting to some people who enjoy living on the edge.
434337
Well in a free society, where your freedom ends where mine begins, there is no justification for banning marijuana at all. You know all the arguments. People die from alcohol, while nobody has ever died from marijuana. Marijuana does not normally cause violent mood swings as alcohol often does. There are dozens of good reasons to legalize it.\n\nAlso, if you legalize it, the DEA would be free to spend more resources stopping meth labs, and crack houses, and heroin, which are the drugs that truly damage society. There are millions of people in the USA who are chronic pot smokers. They'll never stop. They pay taxes, they obey the speed limit. They are not criminals, but criminals benefit from selling dope. Why not legalize it and put them out of business?\n\nI know many people who smoke marijuana on some level. Either every day, once a week, or maybe once a year. I know for a fact that the laws have nothing to do with their decision. Their 'pot-intake' would not change if it was legal.
781437
I think so, for a couple of reasons.  \n\n1) Teen drug use is lower in countries like Amsterdam, which have legalized it. \n2) More law enforcemnet money can be spent on the "harder" drugs like meth, coke, herion, etc.--I consider those drugs much more of a danger to society.  This would take a burden off our jails too. \n3)  Decriminalizng Marijuana would give many minor drug offenders a shot at a better life--FYI, you are unable to get any financial aid for college if you are any type of drug offender, even a Misdemeanor!!  That only helps to continue the cycle of poverty/drug use/dealing, etc. \n4)  Tax the crap out of it and we could pay off our national debt! \n5) Marijuana has the potential to be an effective treatment for many people with various ailments, such as glaucoma, cancer, etc.\n\nCool class you are taking, never written papers like that before.
430507
bongs are a hassle because of their size, and you have to keep packing them, and you need to have a source of water. hmmm so what is the disadvantages for joints? nothing whatsoever. just like lighting up a cigarette.
713092
1.  Legalization of Prostitution\n2.  Legalization of Marijuana\n3.  The Right to Assisted Suicide (Look up Hemlock Society)\n4.  War in Iraq (done to death, but still pertinent)\n5.  Mandatory Driving Tests for Senior Citizens\n6.  Mandatory Retirement Age for Airline Pilots (Currently age 60--they are fighting for it to be 65+)\n\nThese are some ideas, hope it helps...
349398
Although I have never used an illegal drug in my life, I can see several advantages: (1) Criminals would lose a major source of revenue, (2) Tax revenues would be generated through the sale of legalized drugs, (3) Cancer patients could easily obtain drugs now classified as illegal to  alleviate the terrible pain caused by their disease, (4)Our prison inmate population would decrease significantly, (5) We could concentrate our law enforcement capability where it is now needed most: CONTROLLING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ACROSS OUR UNDEFENDED BORDERS!
618451
The worst side effect is that from the point you smoke it everyone knows just how stupid you are!!!\n\nTerry
1101708
As President Jimmy Carter acknowledged: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."\n\nMarijuana prohibition needlessly destroys the lives and careers of literally hundreds of thousands of good, hard-working, productive citizens each year in this country. More than 700,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges last year, and more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the past decade. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication of the criminal sanction that invites government into areas of our private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement resources that should be focused on serious and violent crime.
947545
I've thought about this for years and as a daily user I do NOT want legalization.  \n\nIn order to legalize, there would have to be laws passed and you know what that means.  There would be deals and regulations and restrictions and licensing.  My pals think it would be oh so great but they don't realize that to legalize we would have to give ALL the control to the fed.  \nThe laws wouldn't pass without a return so look for taxes.  Big taxes.  I expect prices would probably quadruple.  Look at the percent of tax on tobacco and alcohol and you will see what I mean.  Also in order to pass there would have to be government control.  This means the government would license growers, wholesalers and retailers just as they do alcohol.  You aren't going to be able to grow your own any more than you can make your own alcohol (except in small, personal use quantities).  The penalties for illegal growing and distribution then have to be INCREASED.  This protects the tobacco growers (who because of declining business would take over the industry.  They already have everything in place, all they need is seeds and a trade name. (oh wait a minute they have ALREADY taken out the trade names Panama Red etc and are owned by tobacco companies!  How convenient!)  Now the regulation part comes in and the amount of thc per gram of product will have to be regulated.  (if you disagree you don't know my government!).  Expect the quality to drop significantly.  There would be limits (and taxes) on whoever SELLS and how they sell and to whom.  Of course a legal age limit to buy so you younger users will have to find somebody to buy for you and they will likely be commiting a felony.  Look for liquor stores to fill this void and to be the only retailers.\n\nSo now what have you got?  High priced low powered legal pot and EXTREMELY high priced pot on the black market that will sent you to prison for growing, possessing, selling or smoking.\n\nI'll just stick with the status quo thanks, which seems to be a defacto decriminalization that pretty much leaves most of us alone and leaves the control of the indusrty in the hands of the people who are growers, smugglers, wholsalers retailers and end users.  I trust any one of them to do business with more than the fed.  Thanks for reading my opinion :)
1116397
The federal government is all about making money. If they could control the potency of marijuana, they would tax the crap out of it like cigarettes and legalize it. The problem lies in the regulation of the strains of marijuana. Personally, I am tired of my tax dollars paying for pot-heads in prison.