# Awful things that you believe should be legal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259 "2009-11-04T05:30:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/41 "2009-11-05T03:34:37Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I generally disapprove of adultery but firmly believe it should not be illegal. Adultery is illegal? ---
**Author:** ![St.Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@St.Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Anger)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/42 "2009-11-05T05:06:43Z")
> [@BMada](#): > > your 1 seems to be Eugenics. > > your 2 seems to be animal cruelty. > > your 3 seems to be capital punishment. > > i’d hate to live in your idea of a government. Hold on a second. The title of the thread is “AWFUL” things you believe you should be legal. You just admitted that everything I listed was awful, right? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/43 "2009-11-05T05:26:33Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Adultery is illegal? Depends on the country I suppose. It’s illegal where I live. ---
**Author:** ![Cesario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Cesario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cesario)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/44 "2009-11-05T05:30:01Z")
Hate speech. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/45 "2009-11-05T05:52:18Z")
> [@Cesario](#): > > Hate speech. Since when is hate speech illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/46 "2009-11-05T05:56:11Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Since when is hate speech illegal? I’ll use **HazelNutCoffee** ’s words, “Depends on the country I suppose. It’s illegal where I live.”. Canada ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/47 "2009-11-05T10:58:39Z")
Dueling. Some cad implied Grace Kelly was a better and lovelier actress than Audrey Hepburn, and _I demand satisfaction!_ ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/48 "2009-11-05T12:09:01Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I think they will all choose the continued benefits! Who would choose being cut off, AND cut off? 😉 It was a choice or either/or. Sadly there are many people who are so short sighted that they’d choose sterilization rather than go out and get a fucking job. Their way of life is getting money from The Man and having to work really crimps their style, man. I like the idea of mandatory service as well. Doesn’t Switzerland do something that? ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/49 "2009-11-05T14:01:27Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > Sauerkraut, bestiality, and being an asshole. I bet your weekends are interesting… I would second EvilTOJ: mandatory birth control (implanted or surgical, IOW you can’t fuck it up) for as long as you are receiving public benefits. And possibly forever if you have to go the surgical route. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/50 "2009-11-05T14:25:13Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Mandatory national service. > > Upon graduation from high school, or reaching age 18, whichever comes first, at age 18 you enter national service to your community for three years. So, if you turn 18 before you graduate from high school, are you forced to drop out for three years in order to fulfill your service requirement? Or can you get the requirement deferred until you graduate? That would be my main concern with your idea. Other than that, no problem at all. > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > It was a choice or either/or. Sadly there are many people who are so short sighted that they’d choose sterilization rather than go out and get a fucking job. Their way of life is getting money from The Man and having to work really crimps their style, man. I think **It’s Not Rocket Surgery** gets that. But the choices you laid out were this: > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Welfare recipients that have been on the dole for continuous 5 years (yes I have known people where welfare is their primary means of support and are happy that way) have a choice; sterilization, or continued benefits. The choice should be sterilization or **dis** continued benefits, not continued benefits. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/51 "2009-11-05T14:42:58Z")
> [@Cesario](#): > > Hate speech. Hmm. Really? \*This \*is your entry? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/52 "2009-11-05T17:25:43Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > Marijuana. It’s really bad for you, is also bad for anyone having to inhale your smoke Cite? It’s my understanding that (a) it might not be carcinogenic if inhaled (and almost certainly not as bad as tobacco smoke) and (b) it has no negative effects if ingested. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/53 "2009-11-05T21:08:36Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Cite? It’s my understanding that (a) it might not be carcinogenic if inhaled (and almost certainly not as bad as tobacco smoke) and (b) it has no negative effects if ingested. No, marijuana smoke contains [pretty much the same mix of nasty stuff](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18062674) as tobacco smoke (a big difference is that most marijuana smokers do not use as much of it as tobacco smokers), and is associated with [lung cancer](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18238947) and [cancer of the soft tissue of the nose and palate](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19724280), as well as [assorted other](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19586351) slightly less nasty things. There is some research suggesting that purified cannabinoids have an anti-carcinogenic effect, but they don’t seem to be able to overcome the other things present in the smoke. There are no studies I know of on eating marijuana, but in general inhaling any smoke is very bad for you, so non-smoke-producing methods are likely to be safer. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/54 "2009-11-05T22:57:02Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > No, marijuana smoke contains [pretty much the same mix of nasty stuff](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18062674) as tobacco smoke (a big difference is that most marijuana smokers do not use as much of it as tobacco smokers), and is associated with [lung cancer](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18238947) and [cancer of the soft tissue of the nose and palate](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19724280), as well as [assorted other](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19586351) slightly less nasty things. There is some research suggesting that purified cannabinoids have an anti-carcinogenic effect, but they don’t seem to be able to overcome the other things present in the smoke. Well, [here’s](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060526083353.htm) a [study](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html) that found absolutely \*\*no \*\*link between even heavy and regular marijuana use and lung cancer (but did support the cigarette/cancer link), and here’s [another study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19638490) that linked marijuana usage to a \*\*decreased \*\*risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Really, at this point, I think we have to say we don’t have enough information–if smoked marijuana is carcinogenic, it seems to be carcinogenic in a different way than smoked tobacco. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/55 "2009-11-05T23:44:40Z")
As others have said, any and all illegal drugs. Regulated and taxed. Same with prostitution. Abortion. No questions asked, no restrictions, no 24-hour waiting period, no mandatory parental notification. My take on the “mandatory service” thing? Everyone should be required to work some sort of retail or food service job for at least five years. Wait, I don’t actually think that’s awful. ---
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/56 "2009-11-06T12:45:38Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I don’t think it is awful, but I think polygamy should be legal. I don’t see what business the state has in determining how adults arrange their private lives. Ditto. I seriously don’t care who you marry. Legal aspects of things like divorce might get tricky, but shit, from a moral standpoint, go nuts. I’d toss in that I’m for complete legalization of all drugs. I don’t buy that people are going to casually get into heroin just because its suddenly legal. ---
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/57 "2009-11-06T12:53:35Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Public execution- and I mean with public participation- of guilty-beyond-any-doubt sexual predators & other savagely violent criminals. I think if we’re going to have the death penalty, we’ve gotta acknowledge it. Televise executions. We’re doing it, why ignore it? ---
**Author:** ![Cesario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Cesario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cesario)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/58 "2009-11-07T04:59:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Hmm. Really? \*This \*is your entry? Yes. I find the entire concept abhorent, but I’m dedicated enough to the concept of free speech that I believe that even bigots who use it to spout their ignorant bile ought to be allowed to speak. What were you expecting? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259/59 "2009-11-07T05:16:27Z")
I would like to see more people lose their shit in daily life. When people see inconsiderate or thoughtless behavior, they ought to feel safe and justified in meeting it with a good hard take-no-prisoners dressing-down, and that the object of said treatment ought to be enjoined, by force if necessary, to shut the hell up and take it. It would be cathartic and would do something to repair the tattered fabric of the social contract. Yes, it might increase the amount of free-floating anger and resentment in certain sectors of society, but fuck 'em, if they can’t swallow their anger, let 'em do something stupid. We’ll lock 'em up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awful-things-that-you-believe-should-be-legal/516259.md?page=2)