I’ve seen plenty of people who don’t want it to be legalized. I’ve seen plenty of people who think it’s bad for you. But is there anyone out there who has an actual moral problem with it? I’m sure they’re out there, but I’m wondering if there’s any of them in here.
I have no moral problems with mary-joo-wanna. I really believe that it is on the same level as alcohol–it can be treated recreationally and used on occasion–but it also has the power to screw up people’s lives. Heck, I’ve smoked a few times, too, so I’m not going to poke around saying that its good or bad for you. That’s a decision you have to make up for yourself.
One major problem with legalizing it is that this would deprive various police agencies an important revenue source from fines and asset forfeiture.
If alcohol is legal, I can’t see a single reason why Pot shouldn’t be too. But addressing your morals question, I would suppose anybody who was morally opposed to alcohol would probably also be morally opposed to the Kind. And that’s ok. It’s the people who will kick back with a martini and preach the evil’s of Weed that you have to look out for.
As far as it screwing up people’s lives … agreed. I can attest to that. I smoked daily for ten years, and I was (how can I put this tactfully), a frickin’ loser. {That’s slacker for the Politically Correct inclined} But that wasn’t the drug so much as my personality. BTW, I’ve been totally clean for going on three years.
BUT - comparatively speaking, alcohol screws up many more lives in much more profound ways that marijuana ever has or ever could.
:: stepping off of soap-box ::
If the market for legalized MJ is as big as both proponents and opponents believe, I think the variousgovernment agencies refered to will more than make up revenues in taxes and licenses.
Not to be preachy here, but from a moral standpoint, do we really need another legal drug with few (beyond the occasional medicininal) benefits, and a number of risks?
Ok. I can already see this is going to turn into a debate about whether or not it should be legalized. That wasn’t my intention, but I suppose I probably should’ve seen it coming. But as far as legalization goes…
It’s not a matter of whether or not you need it, it’s a matter of personal rights. And if it doesn’t hurt anyone else but yourself, than why should the government intercede? Granted, it has virtually no benefits, and quite a few drawbacks, but that’s not the issue. If I wanna screw myself over, that’s my right.
And the main difference between marijuana and alcohol is that marijuana slowly kills you. Whereas alcohol causes you to kill others.
**
Oh, the shame! 
Nope, I have no “moral problems” with it. As far as legalization goes, I don’t really care either way. Except, at least the way I see things, if marijuana became legal the prices would be so jacked up with taxes and everything that I probably wouldn’t even smoke it anymore. Nah, I probably still would.
True, but at the same time the fact that it’s commercialized and legal would make it so potent that it would more than make up for the price. I mean, just imagine what bud would be like if good ol’ American capitalism got involved.
Not to mention how much money our economy is losing to gangsters and thugs (I’m not saying that all drug dealer are one of the above, it all depends on how casual they are about it).
Then of course the media would report how the evil “Big Pot” companies targeted children with their “Mary Jane” cartoon character on the boxes of “Freak’s Special Gentleman’s Cut” marijuana cigarettes, and how they tinkered with the THC content of the - oh, never mind.
I have no moral objection to people using ANY drugs. I personally think it’s silly to do so, and have never used any drugs, but I do not support criminalizing it. And I would not allow children to use any drugs until age 18 (in the US at least).
Oh, thank you Anthracite for the absolute funniest thing I’ve read all day. ROFL! Big Pot. Whew! ::must resume breathing::
“That’s right kiddies, your parents don’t want you smoking ‘Freak’s Special Gentleman’s Cut’ because they know it’s cool. But don’t listen to your parents. If you do, you might turn out just like them.”
I don’t favor using drugs for recreation. However, it seems that marijuana is quite a useful plant, as medicines are made from its ingredients. I would not object to its medicinal use at all.
I do have to warn you that there is an extremely potent drug that can be made from a mix of legal drugs. In Thailand it is called * ya ba, *meaning ‘crazy drug’. It is probably known as ‘Ecstasy’ in Australia. This is not ‘reefer madness’ paranoia. It is said to be one of the most potent ever made, even worse than crack. So I expect that someone caught with 2 kilotons of it will get, what, four years? Man, these drug sentences are so screwy.
Uh, if you’re referring to MDMA, then no, it cannot be made with a “mix of legal drugs.”
From a moral standpoint, was it really worth arresting over 10 million people in the U.S. alone over the past 30 years for a victimless crime?
And for those who don’t know, potent pot is actually a good thing in regards to health. Marijuana users practice something called auto-titration (I think that’s the word) where they smoke enough to get high and they stop. With potent pot, they’d only have to take 2 or 3 tokes, as opposed to a joint or two with the weak stuff. That means fewer carcinogens are introduced into the user’s body.
For you guys…but it’s not for me after all these years.
5 long years of smoking my ass silly and I simply grew out of it.
-Sam
Geez. So we children still have a chance then? 
Just messing with you, Sam. (Notice the )
Damned kids…
-Sam
Not to mention the deprivation of revenue for organized crime. If I were a leader of organized crime, I most vehemntly would oppose legalization.
As far as asset forfeiture is concerned, this testimony before the Judiciary Committee pretty well gets to the heart of the matter. It shows the development of the asset forfeiture “law” from Old Testament and medieval doctrine.
It says, in part:
And it makes this point:
I think Aldous Huxley would disagree that it has few benefits. But that’s another topic.
Anyway, two other problems with legalization I see: 1.) It relies on personal responsibility (which doesn’t seem to be a popular idea), and 2.) What happens when several million drug-dealers lose their jobs? I doubt they’ll get desk jobs.
I personally am not against anyone’s personal use of marijuana, but…I suppose that from a moral standpoint, I would oppose it’s use, but not for the reasons you might think. I look at it from a cultural viewpoint. Marijuana is legal in many countries in Europe, the most notable being The Netherlands. If you look at the culture there, it is part of everyday life… and it is not commonly abused. Compare that to the US where there are many things considered “legal” that are abused every day (cigarettes, alcohol, etc.). Imagine what would happen if marijuana were made legal. It would probably get abused just as bad as alcohol, if not worse.
Again, I’m not against use of marijuana, but look at the history of this country. We as Americans, like to abuse things and take things to excess. It’s part of our culture: We eat too much, drink too much, and if marijuana were legal, get high too much.
And therein lies the fatal flaw of majoritarianism: one man’s too much is another man’s not enough.