And sorry about your son, Lizzie, I didn’t catch that before for some reason. It is scary that so many really don’t understand how many people drive while drunk in this country.  And how many never make it home.  I remember the days myself and looking back, I was just lucky. 

I don’t do drugs. Never have. But I think a lot of problems associated with drugs would be solved if they were legalized. I doubt they ever will be.  A dear friend is recovering from chemotherapy. And hoping her grandson doesn’t get busted buying her marijuana for her.  It is  a godsend for those who have undergone chemotherapy.

People who abuse drugs and alcohol are inclined in such a direction; to assert that marijuana is a "gateway" drug which encourages hard drug use is just plain wrong. There are those who abuse alcohol, but plenty who don’t, and the same is true for marijuana.  Those with an inclination to overindulge or engage in substance abuse will do so, no matter what the circumstances. Marijuana should be removed from the criminal underworld and treated similarly to alcohol in regard to regulation.

I saw one comment about how weed shouldn’t be on the earth???? Well, it is, GOD MADE IT. He intends for us to use it!

Man made BEER, GOD made POT, WHO DO YOU TRUST?????

I graduated from High School in 1957.  We were taught in our classes that Marijuana was evil.  Our teachers stressed that we should never take a cigarette from anyone.  The reason being that the addicts hid their joints in the pack with regular legal cigarettes and you could get the drug by mistake and therefore be hooked for life.  Legal age for Cigarettes in CA was 21 years as was alcohol.

"I saw one comment about how weed shouldn’t be on the earth???? Well, it is, GOD MADE IT. He intends for us to use it!

Man made BEER, GOD made POT, WHO DO YOU TRUST?????"

By Diana Danh on 11/04/2009 10:24 am ROTFL, That’s a good one. Come on republicangelicals, how do you answer that one? Hemp weed grows wild all over Iowa. It used to grow on the hillside in front of my mother’s house in Atlantic and wild poppies grew all over the fields in the back. No wonder I was always so happy there.(:-p) 

When I was young I was a troubled teen and the first drug I ever did was alchohol. I did so much damage to myself, I was 12  years old. I later went on to smoke pot and try other drugs. Thank god that I got myself together within a couple of years and went on to be a productive person in society. I have seen the pain that alchohol causes in peoples lives and I would wish if anyone was going to do a drug it was pot. By the way every person that was in my group of friends started with drinking. I work closely with younger people now and have witnessed that the majority of kids who start doing drugs started by having a drink. Alchohol is the true gateway drug and its easy for kids to get because its legal.

I am from a medical marijuana state but no longer live there. I was diagnosed with MS several years ago and talked to my doctor in a non medical marijuana state and asked him if it could help me. He said this state would never legalize it but he said that they know it works for people who have certain conditions if it didnt the pharmacuetical compaines would not being trying so hard to mimic it. My sister is a caretaker for people with terminal cancer and she makes marijuana bread for the people suffering (she is in medical marijuana state) the difference that it makes for them is overwhelming.

Marijuana has been being used since the beginning of civilization, clear back to the summerians for enjoyment, relaxation, and medicinal. Its a natural substance and can be smoked or baked with etc without being altered. I am sure God did not want us to use it! LOL

I don’t do drugs, I don’t believe in them, but having worked in both the school system and for the legal system, I believe if we made drugs legal we would take the power out of the hands of the drug dealers and perhaps even save lives.  There are too many people, both young and old hooked on drugs, and no where to go for help unless your pockets are lined with money to pay for professional treatment.  Take the power out of the dealers hand, tax the drugs like we do liquor and cigerattes, use that money to pay for rehab centers, and then we can have control.

Isn’t it interesting how tobacco, a legal drug, has been been known to cause lung cancer, and marijuana, an illegal drug, has been found to help those who have cancer? Personally, I don’t smoke either one. But I would definitely vote for legalizing marijuana for medical use. However, I would be against seeing it sold at the local liquor store right alongside cigarettes. The downside to that, though, is that even if it legalized for medical use, people will still find a way to get their hands on it illegally. I mean, remember when ecstacy was once prescribed by therapists to married couples as a way to help them get their marriage back on track? When taken in the right doses, ecstacy made people feel happy and more willing to work things out. But, of course, the drug became abused and was soon criminalized. Same thing with cocaine. It was once a medical drug that became abused. Even today, you have Oxycontin (an opioid like morphine), which is a legal medical drug that is being abused by those who get their hands on it. And you also have people who abuse OTC medications. My point is that, while I wholeheartedly agree with legalizing marijuana for medical use, any drug can be, will be, and has been abused.

Although I am actually for the legalization of cannabis (not a medical term by the way, cannabis sativa is the Latin name for marijuana), what I am seeing on this thread are two somewhat aggressive and stubborn camps, one emphatically against weed (legal or otherwise) and one adamantly for it (again, legality is not the issue). There is an awful lot of anecdotal information and opinion, not to mention questions of "morality". I’ve gone to some of the websites, and, as I feared, most of them have a slant (sometimes subtle) either for or against. I do not want to mediate here, mostly because certain posters, whom I normally admire (whether I agree with them or not) seem to have lost perspective on this thread.

Many of the, um, pot-supporting side seem to be heavilly generalizing regarding the completely inoffensive nature of the substance. I used to indulge quite a bit, mostly at parties. It is true that most people react to pot by becoming mellow. But not all. Cannabis, even without additives, can, and does, induce paranoia in certain people. I have not only seen it, I have experienced it. It depends largely on the strength and quality of the product (and yes, there are degrees of both). I have experienced hallucinations on pure cannabis, and so have other users that I have known. Also, as to highly intelligent individuals having meaningful, intellectual conversations while stoned, okay, yeah, for a while. But if you happen to be the straight one at a pot party, you will soon find yourself bored senseless by the endless, rambling, meaningless mumblings of the totally wasted. Yes, I maintained a very high gpa in college while indulging…but, it wasn’t because I was smoking pot. Also, some of you must know some extraordinary humans, because not all of the people I’ve known have made it into stellar careers, much less all of the pot smokers. But okay, whatever. Plus, when you are high, and the other people around you are also stoned to the gills, the most ridiculous drivel can sound like the weighty words of sages. Intellectualism is replaced by awe at the fact that you have fingernails…if you can find them.

As to all of this misinformation about cannabis being "harmless" to your health. Not true. First of all, any inhaled smoke contains carbonized particulate matter, which contains serious irritants and carcinogens. This includes tobacco, marijuana, incense (monks in temples that continuously burn incense have a much higher incidence of lung cancer and emphysema, which sucks) and woodsmoke. The lungs are not set up to deal with smoke at all. Also, pot has been shown to affect the brains (not mind, I’m talking synapses, cells, neurons) of still developing humans. Like…teenagers and young adults. It also causes problems with fertility and, possibly, genetic material, in men, not to mention certain forms of testicular cancer. And, Only THC has really been heavilly researched, the effects of many of the chemicals found in pot are still not well understood.

On to the "Gateway Drug" dilemna. I don’t know who coined this idiot phrase. It isn’t precise, or accurate. Pot will not make you take "hard drugs". Nor, dear people, will alcohol. Nor do I think we have a slimy drug dealer lurking about saying, "I’m outta fatties, try this instead." No, it’s a bit more insidious. When I partied, quite frequently the "party table" would not just feature a bong or two, but blotter acid, cubes, maybe a little hash, some coke, and pills of various descriptions (prescription drug abuse is not new). I don’t know what parties have for favors these days, but the kids I know say the variety is endless. And the thing is, it’s a terrible mistake to think that only the "dumb", ignorant, gullible, unhappy kids, whose parents didn’t instill respect in them, or teach them morals, are going to yield to temptation. It’s not even simply a matter of peer pressure. Bright kids, curious, imaginative kids, kids who might want to feel a little naughty (Belinda Joy, I’m seeing you shaking your head. Woman, I respect you, but part of growing up is wanting to be just a little defiant, even in the most respectful and best of kids)…maybe they’ve smoked a little pot. Maybe they choked their lungs out, didn’t like the smoke…but a pill won’t do that, will it? Or a sugar cube, or a teeny bit of paper? Most kids stop at that, yes, and for most, it’s not a devastating experience ( although shit does happen, if for instance there is strychnine in the blotter, or that single hit of coke blows out his/her heart), but some kids don’t. You can talk about addictive personalities until you’re blue, but kids don’t know, and what’s more, kids don’t care. They think they’re immortal. So do a lot of people, come to that. 

As to the argument that pot is natural, please come up with something better, okay? Since I don’t believe in "God" (and wouldn’t trust "Him" as described in the Christian Bible, or elsewhere, for that matter) and humans, much as I love them, are unreliable at best, I find that whole line of thought ludicrous. There are lots of natural substances out there that I am not going to put in my body. Opium, for example, pure bead from the poppy. Botox is box jelly toxin, and it can kill you, and it sounds like a bad idea too. Jimpsom weed is an hallucinogenic, but it can cause death, and mescal is pretty natural too…but I won’t drink liquor distilled from it. Btb, fermentation is a natural process. Just saying.

Also, please, how is saying that alcohol is legal, so we should make pot legal too, in any way a valid, sound argument? As a recovered alcoholic, with a recovered alcoholic mother, dead alcoholic grandfather, and alcoholics too numerous to mention  all over the family tree, I well know the dangers of alcohol. But saying that one potentially dangerous mind-altering substance should be legalized because another is already legal is a ludicrous, illogical and dangerous argument. Utilizing that train of thought, which is governed by a juvenile sense of "fairness", then it would follow that, upon legalization of marijuana, the cocaine "lobby" would argue for the legalization of their preferred poison, on the grounds of perceived equality. Then it might be heroin…and then, perhaps, crystal meth, all arguing that the substance legalized previously (potentially dangerous, even deadly, or not), gave the supporters of each drug the "right", in all fairness, to push for, and gain, legalization of their drug du jour.

Another thing that supporters of the weed constantly argue is that marijuana isn’t addictive. I think that "addiction" is a dicey term at best. If one is referring to pure, physical craving, such as is experienced by junkies, crackheads, tweakers and some alcoholics, which results in actual physical breakdown, and even death, if the substance is taken away, I would accept the term "addiction". But, of late, everyone seems to be addicted to something: online games, sex, gambling, shopping, hoarding…whatever. When we talk about alcohol, people with a drinking problem are always alcoholics, ergo, they are addicted. Okay, time for my own anecdotal information. I am diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). I have been a smoker (of both tobacco and pot), a heavy drinker, and had a severe problem with pain medications. I have had a serious difficulty with compulsions and dependencies. This would include marijuana. While it may not be chemically addictive (thought some studies suggest otherwise), it is certainly possible to develop a frightful dependency on pot. I had one, and I’ve known many people (intelligent or otherwise, sometimes bright people fall the hardest) who could barely get through their daily lives without a series of hits to keep them going. They needed it, they wanted it, it was necessary for their existence. Same here, I am not too proud to say. A dependency like this is no better than an addiction. These people were impaired, their lives were on hold, no matter what semantic tricks you try to use.

I most emphatically do not want to work beside a chronic stoner, no more so than someone reeking constantly of nips from a "secret" flask, or the smoke-break queen/king with the cigarette stench, or anyone else who is indulging in annoying, possibly work-inhibiting habits. Pot does diminish your capacity, it slows down response time, fails to clarify thought processes, and frequently de-motivates people. It also smells terrible. As for the "no hangover" statement…have you never awakened with cotton-mouth, a headache, a slightly heavy feeling in your lungs and a sense of languor that just won’t quite go away after a really heavy session? No? O, the Uncle Bill type then ("I never inhaled…"). Please. Been there, done that.

Now, all of that said, I still think that we should legalize pot. Not because of taxes, although that would be a nice boost to the economy. Not because it will regulate sales and distribution…people will still try to get it illegaly…hell, people still by stolen cigarettes. Not even because everybody’s doing it anyway…so why the hell not? No, it’s because the laws concerning marijuana are utterly ridiculous. Throwing some doofus with a dime bag stash, or some noodle with enough to sell a little to his friends, or even somebody with an in-home, black-lit, hydroponic garden in prison forever does not solve, but instead exacerbates our crime problem. First of all, these people are not heavy hitters with assault rifles and armored vehicles moving tons of weed across borders (amongst other things, such as human slaves and Mexican brown and desperate, ignorant illegals). Secondly, putting people who are not criminals in jail with people who really are criminals has the effect of teaching the former a thing or two about survival. And bitterness. And resentment. And, o, crime. How about that? And thirdly, when a person spends time in prison, convicted on a drug charge, it makes them virtually unemployable. Car washes, rag factories and other ex-con type jobs are not usually very profitable, nor pleasant. An angry, bitter person, who is at least moderately intelligent, who has probably lost everything while inside, who finds him/herself unable to find reasonable employment, and who still must eat, and sleep, and find shelter, might just take the interesting skill set learned behind bars and put them to use. And, voila! Another criminal! Why ruin people’s lives, punish society as a whole, crowd our prisons (I think rapists, and child molestors, and mass murderers deserve their space, don’t you?) and create yet more criminals over something like cannabis? So legalize it already and concentrate on more important matters. There is nothing inherently immoral about marijuana, and the country is not going to devolve into some anarchist orgy if it is legalized. But please, supporters of the weed, quit trying to pretend that cannabis sativa is some harmless, angelic manna from heaven. The "natural" argument does not work, nor does "alcohol is worse". Sunlight is natural, and it can kill you. A friend of mine lost his brother to a solo 70 mph car accident. The only substance found in his blood (that means no alcohol, and many others were tested for as well) was THC and other chemicals found in pot.  The witnesses said he blew past them, nearly striking their vehicle, then flipped his car three times. He was dead at the scene.

peace

bb

Research the internet and you learn many horror stories including arms length associations with the sale, unloading and delivery of marijuana is treated as a Federal Offence - the best numbers I can find are, twelve years after the 1982 War on Drugs these 1994 rough numbers only hint at its cost:

$30 billion spent so far at the state, federal, and local levels to fight marijuana; two billion dollars’ worth of assets seized in marijuana cases; four million Americans arrested for marijuana offenses; as of 1994 a QUARTER OF A MILLION people convicted of marijuana felonies and sent to prison for at least a year.

In addition, what most statistics do not mention is the devastation to the children of inmates now feeling the abandonment that puts them on the road to addiction or co-dependency to cover their pain. The human costs are not so easily measured.

Since 1982, our prison population due to drug charges has doubled with aged Federal Prisons holding a minimum of 40% over capacity.  

What I find striking is that compared to these 17 year old numbers and the cost in our tax dollars to prosecute Spousal Abuse is a limited sentence that includes in most cases mandatory counseling. E.g. in California a spousal abuse charge is either a misdemeanor or a felony charge depending on the circumstances, and can carry the following penalties: State prison sentence of up to 4 years - Maximum  $10,000 fine - Mandatory counseling  - Community service  - Probation.

With judges having their hands tied when it comes to sentencing Drug users, growers and sellers the sentences for those battering their partner seem more in keeping with what we, as a nation should be willing to expect for most cannabis crime.

As of 2007, Possession of cannabis is legal in Canada with a max sentence for growing or selling up to 2 years. Not the Freedom of the Netherlands but a lesser National Anti-Drug Strategy.

Rather then simply making the use of cannabis legal include parameters in the law: where it can be sold, the age of those who can purchase the product and where legally it can be used.

P.S. My views are colored by finding out from my daughter,  daughter-in-law, her sisters, and the daughter of a good friend - all Public School Teachers in different states - N.C. Texas, S.C.- they are all teaching in city versus rural schools where 90% of the students are middle class income families and yet, in each of their classes 20 to 25% of the students have either one or both parents in prison.

Trying to motivate and handle the truancy of these students is a challenge that takes away from the time and attention to all students. When a sentence is considered, we never think of the innocent children who are going to be affected and ultimately the community of students these children associate.

Are we punishing including the families of the criminal or are we rehabilitating including the families of a criminal? Our attitude over the seriousness of certain crimes can adjust the sentence structure that is directing our Judges.