See How It Works!
US8 - Legalize It
| Legalize marijuana. Current illegality is a waste of resources. | |
|
|
|
   
|
|
Arguments
The war on drugs is disproportionately enforced in low income communities and against people of color, thereby criminalizing members of these communities for something that members of all communities are doing. Unequal enforcement reinforces poverty and undermines democracy because it takes voting, employment, and familial opportunities and responsibilities away from people who become "criminals" for an action that alone does not hurt others.
Poor people are being thrown into prison for the recreational use of a substance that is not dangerous, and that is a crime.
Source: oregonlive.com
There is not one single death that can be traced to recreational marijuana, or even medical marijuana for that matter. It's been proven that even peanuts are more lethal. So what's the point in criminalizing something so innocuous and yet legalize alcohol and cigarettes which kill even more people than iron-fisted dictators?
Illegality only increases the damage that marijuana does. The most common reasons for entering drug use is that it is exotic, and that you are not 'supposed' to use it, or peer pressure that cannot be discussed due to its illegality. This is backed up by international results; in America, where it is illegal, marijuana use is rising, while in Canada, where it is legal, usage is falling. This also discriminates against those already addicted - prices are higher due to both difficulty of procurement and lack of competition. This does not cause people to buy less - if you are addicted, you are addicted. People just lose more money, which in many cases is needed by children or disabled people reliant on it. It is also far harder to seek help than for a legal addiction, such as smoking. Legalise marijuana, and you legalise progress, legalise drug-free lives. Do nothing, and do nothing about the thousands of people every year who become addicted. Do nothing, and do nothing about the money being stolen from vulnerable families by illegal drug-dealers.
Personally, I don't think we should have a fraction of the drug laws that we have. I think it's really absurd to be criminalizing possession or use or distribution of marijuana. I can't see any difference between that and cigarettes. I'm skeptical about the other drug laws. I don't know how much we know, for example, about whether cocaine is really a disabling drug or whether it's something people can take and lead more or less normal lives. Clearly there are, you know like LSD, obviously very dangerous drug, although I don't think we have a good idea how many people really jump out of windows because they're taking LSD. ... There are problems, but I think the notion of using the criminal law as the primary means of dealing with a problem of addiction, of misuse, of ingesting dangerous drugs, I don't think that's sensible at all. And that is responsible for a high percentage of our prisoners, and these punishments are often very, very severe.
Source: huffpost.com
Legalizing marijuana will reduce border violence and illegal immigration significantly, decreasing the U.S.-Mexican drug trade by 70 percent. Without a monopoly on the marijuana trade, Mexican drug cartels will have vastly diminished incentives to violate U.S. law and risk capture.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/
Visit this web site to learn the history of how marijuana became illegal and how it received its negative stigma. The reasons are no longer valid and we should be able to take advantage of all the plant's benefits.
Visit this web site to learn the history of how marijuana became illegal and how it received its negative stigma. The reasons are no longer valid and we should be able to take advantage of all the plant's benefits.
Maintaining this as a crime gives police too much power and too much maneuverability to punish people for consensual behavior if there isn't enough evidence to prove behavior that actually harms others.
Over a million and a half Americans were arrested last year on drug charges, and nearly 40% of those arrests were for marijuana possession alone. Does this make sense?
- A recent Gallup poll reports that 46% of Americans now agree that marijuana should be legalized, a dramatic increase in support that reflects Americans' increased knowledge and understanding of the issue. Proposals to regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol have been considered in several states, and Governor Johnson has supported those efforts; he believes the federal government should end its prohibition mandate and allow each state to pursue its own desired policy.
- Governor Johnson believes it is insane to arrest roughly 800,000 people a year for choosing to use a natural substance that is, by any reasonable objective standard, less harmful than alcohol, a drug that is advertised at every major sporting event.
- As Governor Johnson often points out to concerned parents, "it will never be legal for a person to smoke marijuana, become impaired, and get behind the wheel of a car or otherwise do harm to others, and it will never be legal for kids to smoke marijuana." But we have to understand that marijuana is our nation's #1 cash crop despite the prohibition; it will always be available to those who really wish to use it.
- When polled, high school kids say marijuana is easier to get than alcohol. Perhaps this is because they buy from black market dealers who do not ask for ID?
- Legalization of marijuana would instantly and dramatically improve conditions on our southern border. Marijuana is Mexico's #1 illegal export; legalizing it would result in dramatically reducing the power and wealth of the drug lords, and instantly helping to restore stability in a nation whose stability and sustainability is truly vital to our economic and national security interests. If we truly wish to reduce border violence, take the profit out of it.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
"Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control mans' appetite through legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not even crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our Government was founded."
~ Abraham Lincoln ~
Steve Jobs was a pothead who said that doing LSD was "one of the two or three most important things I've done in my life." He said that Bill Gates "might have been a broader guy" had he dropped acid. When our heroes stress the benefits of mind-altering substances, we should listen. Would you want a world in which drugs had never existed with none of the creative feats assisted by drugs or would you prefer that drugs exist to some extent?
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
I don't need to make this long or drawn out. It's very simple. I have epilepsy. For hundreds of years we used cannabis oil to control epilepsy. We replaced this simple medication with harsh drugs which require regular blood tests to assess liver damage.
Cannabis does not have "marginal" health benefits. It has properties which keep cells from mutating into cancerous cells. It has pain relieving properties which could replace synthetic opiates for many users.
Cannabis is not the gateway drug. That drug is alcohol, which is prevalent in our country. Alcohol is also legal and doing for more devastation to our society than cannabis ever will.
It is not okay to lie about the health benefits or dangers of cannabis simply because you have NEVER USED IT. That is not freedom. That is tyrannical control of people.
There is not a legitimate counterargument here which cannot be disproved with the La Guardia Committee or the Shafer Commission's report. Stop trying to control people and allow adults to be adults.
Cannabis does not have "marginal" health benefits. It has properties which keep cells from mutating into cancerous cells. It has pain relieving properties which could replace synthetic opiates for many users.
Cannabis is not the gateway drug. That drug is alcohol, which is prevalent in our country. Alcohol is also legal and doing for more devastation to our society than cannabis ever will.
It is not okay to lie about the health benefits or dangers of cannabis simply because you have NEVER USED IT. That is not freedom. That is tyrannical control of people.
There is not a legitimate counterargument here which cannot be disproved with the La Guardia Committee or the Shafer Commission's report. Stop trying to control people and allow adults to be adults.
In Colorado, teen marijuana use fell below the national average following the development of a medical marijuana industry.
A CDC report shows:
A CDC report shows:
- Youth marijuana use in Colorado went down 2.8 percent from 2009 (24.8 percent) to 2011 (22 percent).
- Youth marijuana use nationally went up 2.3 percent from 2009 (20.8 percent) to 2011 (23.1 percent).
- In 2011, youth marijuana usage in Colorado fell below the national average -- 22 percent in Colorado, 23.1 percent in the U.S.
But the CDC report didn't just measure youth usage, it also measured drug availability on Colorado school grounds. The report shows:
- Availability of drugs on school grounds in Colorado went down 5 percent from 2009 (22.7 percent) to 2011 (17.2 percent).
- Nationally, illegal drugs offered, sold or given on school property was up 3.1 percent from 2009 (22.7 percent) to 2011 (25.6 percent).
- Availability of illegal drugs on school grounds in Colorado is below the national average by 8.4 percent -- 17.2 percent in Colorado, 25.6 percent in the U.S.
The data shows that regulation helps to reduce marijuana use amongst minors. Mason Tvert, co-director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, told The Huffington Post "that even the partial regulation of marijuana can make it harder for young people to get their hands on marijuana. By regulating all marijuana sales, we can further reduce teen access and use. For years, federal surveys have found that marijuana is 'universally available' to young people, and that it is easier for them to purchase marijuana than it is to purchase alcohol. Our current policy of prohibition has utterly failed to keep marijuana out of the hands of teens, and it has even proven to be counterproductive. If we want to make it harder for minors to access marijuana, we need to take sales off the streets where dealers don't ask for ID, and put them behind the counter where proof of age is required."
Source: huffpost.com
More than 300 economists, including three nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling attention to the findings of a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually by not having to enforce the current prohibition on the drug. The report added that legalization would raise an additional $6 billion per year if the government taxed marijuana at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco.
Source: huffpost.com
Source: huffpost.com
Counterarguments
A recent study suggested that teens who routinely smoke marijuana are at risk for a long-term drop in their IQ that marijuana users 18 and older do not experience. The researchers were quick to point out that the findings are not definitive, but do line up with other signs that marijuana use can harm a young, developing brain.
Source: huffpost.com
Source: huffpost.com
My personal position on these issues has been let the states decide what they want to do with these things. This is something that is not a high priority of ours.
Source: KRDO-TV Colorado
Source: KRDO-TV Colorado
The entryway into our drug culture for our young people is marijuana. Marijuana is the starter drug. And the idea of medical marijuana is designed to help get marijuana out into the public marketplace and ultimately lead to the legalization of marijuana overall. And in my view, that's the wrong way to go. I know there are some on the Democratic side of the aisle that'd be happy to get in your campaign. But I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president, you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail.
Source: huffpost.com
Families that use drugs and expose kids to drugs become parasites in our society. The brains of teens who use drugs shrink and they are not able to think and make good decisions, same with those adults who want legalization of marijuana.
The use of illegal narcotics is disproportionate in low income communities. We should address that, not just simply legalize criminal behavior to make statistics look better.
It is hazardous to health.
It affects judgement.
It has marginal medical benefits that can be replicated with other legal substances.
The resources to manage regulations were it legal would be just as expensive and benefit only a small portion of society.
Marijuana is the entry drug for people trying to get kids hooked on drugs. I don't want medicinal marijuana; there are synthetic forms of marijuana that are available for people who need it for prescription. Don't open the doorway to medicinal marijuana.
July 25, 2007, town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire
July 25, 2007, town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire
Legalizing marijuana would increase use substantially through easier access and much lower prices. Parents simply don't want a higher chance of their kids developing drug habits.
One possible solution is to legalize it but regulate it to be weak. Having a weak legal option might (1) satisfy appetites with minimum ill effects and (2) undercut the illegal market. Consider the legal version of absinthe for comparison.
- Marijuana shall be dealt with on the State Level but the Federal Government has to get their hands off such issues. Medical Marijuana actually benefits because of its use in the past, historically, but for recreational use this could backfire. The reason why marijuana for recreational use doesn't play well for folks or politicians is because of the tobacco industry, historically speaking.
Perhaps we decriminalize it like speeding. But I don't like the idea of making another drug legal that has such consequences for other folks. We have just begun to make progress in the driving while drunk movement. Now we will have to add driving while high as well.
6 Topics
Discussion
started
by GaryJohnson
on Sep 11
Before we can get serious about reducing the harms...
...associated with drugs, we have to accept that there will never be a drug-free society. To create a drug-free society, we'd have to build a police apparatus so intrusive that all Americans would have to be under surveillance 24 hours a day... presumably for their own good. Would citizens of the "land of the free" ever stand for that?
started
by 12percenttax
on Aug 31
Its about the ABILITY of a government to regulate it
marijuana can be grown in a pot in your living room, and therefore it cant be regulated. Its not like alcohol, which is legal to manufacture in certain quantities. The truth is that the economies of alcohol manufacture make it prohibitive for recreational purposes, and when you make the leap to large scale production (like a micro-brewery), it does become possible to regulate.
Marijuana doesnt work that way. Large scale operations can exist, undetected, and therefore unregulated. So the economic argument isnt true (about the ability to tax it), and quality would actually suffer because you couldn't know if you were getting swag vs an operationally monitored variety (which presumably would cost more). So, in effect, even with regulated distributors, you would still have the black market, and you would still have the associated crime.
started
by kmlynch10
on Aug 7
Which industries want to keep marijuana illegal?
started
by kmlynch10
on Aug 7
Legalizing marijuana would not increase use among teenagers
The fact is that it is easier for kids to get marijuana than alcohol because it is illegal and can be bought on the street so kids smoke more pot than they drink alcohol. Legalizing marijuana would not increase use among teenagers because of easier access. It would decrease use because it would be harder for kids to get, just like it is harder (although not impossible) for them to obtain alcohol (assuming that legalization requires it to be sold in state-licensed stores). Legalization might increase marijuana use among adults, but its use does not cause the damage that alcohol does and its use should be the choice of the adult.
started
by kmlynch10
on Aug 7
Driving while high
Related Ideas
| Remove Marijuana from the Schedule 1 list of drugs in the Controlled Substances Act More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pass medical marijuana initiatives in AR, IL, MA, MO, NY, OH, and PA More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We should continue to ban dangerous synthetic drugs like 'spice' and 'bath salts'. More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Nationwide Approval of Marijuana or any substance that has been proven to have a positive effect on patient outcome. More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Legalize marijuana but regulate it to be mild. Would provide a safe social outlet and displace the illegal market. More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Eliminate the federal law criminalizing marijuana More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| I would prefer the government decriminalize marijuana use before they elect to make it legal. More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Legalize peyote/mescaline - isn't this the mental medicine of American lands? More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Prohibition of marijuana violates 1st Amendment right to freedom of thought/speech More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
last reply by AnarchoHusky on Nov 2
Peanuts (1 reply)