Do you think marijuana should be legal?
761198
Marijuana smoking should be legalised everywhere.\nIt is a simple natural herb, which provides pleasure and relaxation, and has many beneficial medicinal properties. It relieves stress, reduces pain, and certain studies show that it can disipate asthma, and be beneficial to alzheimer's patients.\nThe reason it was made illegal in the first place was because the oil from the seeds can be used to fuel an engine, and so the oil lobby, along with the media who were making profits from cutting down trees, found a way to make it illegal. The law was passed as a part of the tax law, which introduced the name marijuana, so that nobody would realise that they were restricting the use of hemp.
596414
Let me first start by saying I have never smoked any pot or done anyother type of drugs in my life. Not because I have any religious beliefs against it or anything, but just because I like having control of my mind and thoughts. I also do not drink by personal choice. (not that I look down on you if you do.) \n\nI believe the main reason that pot is not legal is because of voting pressure against our leaders. They know that there are tons of groups such as M.A.D.D. and others that would make sure that they were never re-elected. However I feel that if we ever have leaders with enough balls to do it, it would not only lower the crime rate but it would overall help our country finanially.\n\n\n\nIf they legalized drugs it would...\n\nA. Make room in our prisons. Our prisons are overflowing with so many people that they are constanly having to turn guilty criminals loose on the streets to make room for more. About 73% of people in jail are there on some type of drug charge or another. If they legalized drugs there would be more room to house murderers, rapists, and other serious criminals in this world.\n\nB. It would lower the persentage of roberies everyday in this country. If drugs were legal, the price of them would drop jurasticlly. Therefore there would not be as many desperate people out there who are willing to steal to feed their habit.\n\nC. It would bring more economic opportunity to our various states. If it were able to be purchased the same as you would a beer (which by the way it does absolutely no more harm than beer does) then any store could aquire a license to sell and it would hence bring more money for our honest local buisiness owners, instead of into the pockets of lowlife scum dealers.\n\nThese are my thoughts on this subject.
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...
949024
I don't smoke marijuana, but I think that if it will help people it should be legalized.
562151
If you look at this question from a purly historical standpoint, I would say that we should legalize drugs based on the lesson we learned during the alcohol prohibition.  During that time we had HUGE increases in gang (Mob) crime.  There were people who obsessed so much about getting it they stopped their legal pursuits in order to obtain more.  When alcohol was legalized again, that problem was gone.  When was the last time you heard of a fight over who was selling beer in who's hood?\n\nIf you look at this from an environmental (And business (How often do you hear those two used together in a positive way)) standpoint, it is said that hemp is one of the best plants pound for pound in the production of oxygen.  It is also a great sourse of paper (and renews much quicker than a tree), clothes (Lasts longer than cotton), pharmacuticals (already used in many proscribed drugs), and other things.  If we had the ability to grow hemp legally I think we could help correct some of the abuse we are creating on our environment.
34706
I think that it's absolutely pointless that it's illegal.  Prohibition didn't stop people from drinking alcohol, it only made it more dangerous for all of the people who were already drinkers.  The only reason I see for continuing to keep marijuana illegal is to supply more people with jobs in law enforcement and in the penal system.
1042834
I think it should be legalized....you don't hear of people getting stoned and killing someone...whether driving or not.  Stoned people just want to chill and eat....legalize it now and start dealing with the true drug problems like meth, coke, and heroin
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.
797756
Not comletely legal...and even if it were federal law over rides states...haven't you seen the med marijauna in CA??\n\nIt's not now...but we are still working on it...\n\nThe government can't keep the lie up much longer...people know that marijuana is not nearly as harmful as they try making it out to be.\n\nI am more concerned with my son trying harder drugs than pot...in fact I would be more angry if he come home drunk than if he come home high....but I would still be pi**ed!
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.
1015919
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.
695501
I think that marijuana laws should be relaxed.  There are many people who need to use marijuana for herbal remadies.  So, in answer to your question I say YES.  Let's smoke on, in moderation.
736693
I agree. I don't smoke marijuana but think it should be legalized. Think of how much money the government would save/make.\n1 The government spends loads of money to try and prevent people from using marijuana. With advertisements and all.\n2 the government has to spend tax money to build new prison's, because so many people get arrested for possession.\n3 Government could tax it similar to how they tax tobacco and alcohol, so they could potentially make Millions maybe even more.\n4 police could spend time actually helping people rather than trying to bust people for smoking a little marijuana every now and then.\n5 could create new jobs and stimulate the economy with people buying and selling.
1045398
Mostly fear. And ignorance. \n\nThe medical community and people who decide what is legal and illegal still consider marijuana to be a gateway drug. They think it is  bad for you. \n\nWhile I agree with you about it should be legal, it isn't. \n\nYou can it taken off the list of illegal drugs and work to make it legal, but until it is legal, don't break the law and risk going to jail. Instead, work to get it made legal. \n\nIt is legal for medical use in Oregon and California and all over the west coast. \n\nWork to get it legalized.
314571
pot was made illegal when lsd and all the hard druggs of the 60's were i think. instead of actually knowing what pot was or how it was different then acid and x and cocaine, and the other hard drugs, it was illegialized right along with it. so really for no good reason is it illegal.. yes it should be legalized.. we wouldnt spend so much money on the fight against drugs, and would be able to focus on the important things like coke, and crack, and heron, exc... the things that actually kill ppl
151407
I think weed ought to be legal, the government could tax it and take all the money their spending on fighting marijuana and dump it into fighting the REAL drugs out there.
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.