# Any reason why marijuana is still illegal? Any GOOD reason? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704 "2003-12-13T01:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/121 "2003-12-18T01:00:18Z")
My very late $0.02: I’ve been high and I’ve been drunk. I’d much rather pass a high driver than a drunk one driving down the road. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/122 "2003-12-18T01:18:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Had any one of the legitimate studies they referenced actually came to the same conclusion that they did, they would have just posted the study. Since they didn’t simply post a study, we can deduce that no legitimate study has declared that marajuana + driving = safety. Bullshit. They didn’t post the study because they don’t have the right to. So they cite it, which is the proper course of action when making an assertion. Which goes double for you… you wanna question NORML’s cites? Get some cites of your own, bucko. Fact remains: Marijuana does not significantly hamper a person’s ability to drive. > [@](#): > > The fact that some people can drive safely doesn’t mean that all people can drive safely. How is this sentence any different if you are sober or stoned? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/123 "2003-12-18T02:55:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gyan9 \* > \*\*The acutal [9th Circuit] ruling limits the legalization to pot that’s only used non-commercially and for medical purposes. If otherwise, this would break down the whole basis for the CSA, rendering everything legal. \*\* Still, it’s rare when a Federal court rules to limit the scope of the Interstate Commerce Clause. They usualy rule that Congress can regulate anything they darned well please. ---
**Author:** ![Naive\_Theory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Naive\_Theory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naive_Theory)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/124 "2003-12-18T06:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > How is this sentence any different if you are sober or stoned? We have a licencing system for sober drivers. I would whole-heartedly support a licencing system for drivers under the influence of chemical X, and that would be a pretty good solution to this problem. Although, you would have to be tested under the influence of a LOOOOT of dope, because of the aforementioned inability to determine the ‘blood-alcohol’ level for thc. Benefit of the doubt goes to the public. As a general rule, I don’t debate. It’s pretty obvious that both of our minds are made up. That you stated your opinion as fact is discouraging. Consider this excerpt from a 2001 journal entry of mine. “Got fucking wired after work tonight, and [accidently] went over the curb out of the parking lot. [Name] was flippin out, but the rest of us thought it was hilarious.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/125 "2003-12-18T07:07:17Z")
> [@](#): > > We have a licencing system for sober drivers. We have a system that’s essentially a formality. And it’s not for sober drivers. It’s for drivers. Long as you’re sober the day you take the test - not that they test your BAC, of course - it’s not that tough. > [@](#): > > “Got fucking wired after work tonight, and [accidently] went over the curb out of the parking lot. [Name] was flippin out, but the rest of us thought it was hilarious.” So? How is this good evidence that weed should be illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Naive\_Theory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Naive\_Theory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naive_Theory)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/126 "2003-12-18T07:26:44Z")
Taking the drivers test qualifies you to drive under the rules of the road. That means that you aren’t allowed to drive drunk. If the same test were administered at a 2% blood alcohol level, the passing testee would then be allowed to drive with a blood alcohol level of up to 2%. (The number 2 was picked randomly. I have no idea how drunk someone with a 2% b.a. would be.) My excerpt isn’t supposed to be evidence that weed should be illegal. It’s evidence that driving under the influence of weed should be illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/127 "2003-12-18T07:32:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Taking the drivers test qualifies you to drive under the rules of the road. That means that you aren’t allowed to drive drunk. Sure you’re not ALLOWED. You think nobody’s ever done it? I agree that driving under the influence of weed should be illegal, maybe I misunderstood something earlier. If your blood alcohol level was 2%… it couldn’t be. You’d have long since died. .5% is more than enough. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/128 "2003-12-18T17:17:04Z")
Didn’t mean to duplicate your whole post, Sua–just saw it now. I had scanned down this last page, and every post seemed to be dealing with DUI. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/129 "2003-12-18T21:19:33Z")
I’m a little, no, quite surprised by the number of posters in this thread thinking along the same lines. Did the whole world turn rational when I wasn’t looking? ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/130 "2003-12-19T05:23:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Naive Theory \* > \*\*My excerpt isn’t supposed to be evidence that weed should be illegal. It’s evidence that driving under the influence of weed should be illegal. \*\* Sounds more like evidence that _some_ people shouldn’t be allowed to drive under the influence of weed (or maybe just you ;)). If we banned everything that could possibly influence anyone to do something dangerous, there would be nothing left. You don’t have to be high to drive over a curb or get into an accident. If you want to ban everything that has as much negative impact on driving as weed does, you’ll have to ban cell phones, radios, cup holders, and driving with less than a full night’s sleep. That said, I wouldn’t object to keeping it illegal to drive while high if marijuana were legalized, at least until we better understand how it affects users (of all levels of experience) and how to objectively measure its effects. Inexperienced smokers definitely shouldn’t be driving while high, because they don’t understand how weed will affect them, and because its effects on them may not have “stabilized” yet. Inexperienced drivers also shouldn’t be driving while high, but neither should they be messing with their sandwiches, cell phones, or radios. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704/131 "2003-12-19T07:48:23Z")
> [@](#): > > We have a licencing system for sober drivers. Irrelevent. The contention - as supported by the aforementioned cite - is that being stoned does not make you any more of a dangerous driver than sobriety. > [@](#): > > I would whole-heartedly support a licencing system for drivers under the influence of chemical X, and that would be a pretty good solution to this problem. Even if the statistics show that Chemical X does not significantly impair one’s ability to drive? Are you suggesting that we should make people take the driver’s test thousands of times, so we can see how they drive while, say, sleepy, angry, hungry, or after taking aspirin, caffeine, or smoking a cigarette, etc? No. Driving drunk should remain illegal because there is statistical evidence that a drunk is a more dangerous driver. There is NO such evidence for weed. Ergo, you have no argument. > [@](#): > > As a general rule, I don’t debate. It’s pretty obvious that both of our minds are made up. That you stated your opinion as fact is discouraging. I didn’t state my opinion as fact. I stated the results of the cited studies as fact. That you would dishonestly represent my posts in such a manner is discouraging. My advice? Stay away from the debating, since you don’t know how to do it. > [@](#): > > Consider this excerpt from a 2001 journal entry of mine. So you did something dumb once while stoned… a phenomenon which I am SUUUURE has never happened whilst you were sober. Right? > [@](#): > > Taking the drivers test qualifies you to drive under the rules of the road. That means that you aren’t allowed to drive drunk. We’re talking about driving while stoned. “Drunk” and “stoned” are two very different things, as supported by the cited article and studies. Care to assert differently? Cite it, chuckles. > [@](#): > > My excerpt isn’t supposed to be evidence that weed should be illegal. It’s evidence that driving under the influence of weed should be illegal. No, it’s evidence that YOU did something dumb ONCE while driving. Y’know what? PEOPLE DO THAT ALL THE TIME, **WHEN THEY’RE SOBER**. Did you not notice that this has been said several times already? Pay attention! Get evidence, not stoner memoirs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-why-marijuana-is-still-illegal-any-good-reason/218704.md?page=6)