# marijuana and the government
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [May 18, 2001, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801 "2001-05-18T07:24:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2001, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/41 "2001-05-22T07:16:41Z")
Even for adults, it can be easier to get than alcohol. I have to drive a block and a half to the liquor store, I can make a phone call and have pot delivered.
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2001, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/42 "2001-05-22T07:18:57Z")
> [@](#):
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> And Dark Prince was right when he said the Government could capitalize of making marijuana legal.
Yes, he is. It’s idiotic to pour so much money into a worthless cause (ha! I bet you all were thinkin’ I’m one of those anti-drug nutcases, huh? Mwahahahaha!!! Okay, I’ve had my fun…)
> [@](#):
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> Someone said pot is hard to get. That is a big MYTH. Pot is easier to get than alcohol, if your a minor.
I guess this also depends on where you live. I doubt there’s too many drug dealers in, say, Idaho (nothin’ but potatoes in Idaho :D).
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> What i find funny is though, anyone on drugs is considered bad by the president, yet he used to do drugs, and now he is president.
Now, now, this is completely irrelevant. What someone did 20 years ago (unless it really hurt someone else) has no bearing on what kind of a person they are today.
There’re other ways to debate the marijuana issue without slinging mud, ya know.
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### Author:  [@Wump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wump)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2001, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/43 "2001-05-22T07:37:40Z")
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> One reason why pot is illegal is because it does not have the same effects on everybody. I know quite a few people who get violent. A few of them have committed serious crimes while high. Not everyone gets the giggles, not everyone becomes mellow. A drug with effects that are unpredictable is very dangerous.
Ok, now lets compare that to alcohol. Some people get _very_ violent, some get calmed down. 15 shots of tequila can kill some people, others will be ok (still alive) after 20. I’ve _never_ heard of an OD from pot.
> [@](#):
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> A few of them have committed serious crimes while high.
Ever been ANYWHERE with drunk people? there’s bad apples in every bunch. The last party i was at some drunk guys tipped over a car…
I’m just using Alcohol as a comparison. Most other drugs i can think of off hand also are different for different people as well. Pot is unpredictable, so is pretty much every other drug…
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### Author:  [@ssj\_man2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssj_man2k)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2001, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/44 "2001-05-23T06:07:33Z")
Ok, pot may be unpredictable, but it is not as bad health wise as alcohol. But since alcohol is a traditional thing, it is legal. Well, using that logic, pot is a traditional thing for native americans, so why isn’t it legal on reservations?
I just think that the government is really stupid in this area. They would make much more money having pot be legal, rather than spending money to try and keep us from it. The whole thing is pointless. Let me just have my hash!!
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2001, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/45 "2001-05-23T06:16:27Z")
> [@](#):
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> I just think that the government is really stupid in this area.
You’re young, ain’tcha?
You’ll soon learn that the Government is really stupid about a LOT of things.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/46 "2001-05-23T16:22:55Z")
> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \*
> \*\*… exactly how much more legitimate research (that is, research that wasn’t conducted by “High Times”) has been done regarding Pot? No, this isn’t a rhetorical question. \*\*
I can tell you a couple of things regarding this. Some years ago, within the last ten, some Canadian doctors where going to present a paper to WHO. The paper was supposed to show that there were medicinal benefits to marijuana and few risks to recreational users. It seems that when the US government (DEA?) got wind of this the shit hit the fan. There was all sorts of behind the scenes political “arm twisting”. Needless to say, the paper was never presented to the DEA. Note…I read about this both on the internet and in the print media. I’ve been searching for a cite, but have been unlucky so far.
Also, right now the Canadian government is actively seeking out steady and reliable sources of pot in order to do research with the mindset that decriminalization or even outright legalization is not going to lead to the fall of civilization, and might even be a good idea. Imagine the hissy fit that the US government will have, should that happen.
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2001, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/47 "2001-05-23T21:57:05Z")
Interesting, Adam. Do you know of any links to stories about that (not that I don’t believe you… I’m just curious). If not, that’s fine… and, for the record, I’m not entirely surprised that the DEA would pull such a stunt. I mean, if Pot were legalized, that’s half of their reason for existing down the drain… 😃
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2001, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/48 "2001-05-23T23:45:57Z")
> [@](#):
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> **(ssj\_man2k)** Someone said pot is hard to get. That is a big MYTH. Pot is easier to get than alcohol, if your a minor. Half the people in my school have it, i have it, and you can grow it almost anywhere.
Y’wanna route some o’ that on up to the Pacific Northwest? Been awful dry around these parts lately.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2001, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/49 "2001-05-23T23:45:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> **(ssj\_man2k)** Someone said pot is hard to get. That is a big MYTH. Pot is easier to get than alcohol, if your a minor. Half the people in my school have it, i have it, and you can grow it almost anywhere.
Y’wanna route some o’ that on up to the Pacific Northwest? Been awful dry around these parts lately.
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### Author:  [@mojo\_filter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojo_filter)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/50 "2001-05-24T00:16:24Z")
I find it amusing that the very same people that are starting to run this country are the same people that first introduced marijuana into the popular culture.
The protestors at Berkely, the hippies of Haight-Ashbury and the potheads of Hyde Park are now beginning to be elected into our highest offices.
As was mentioned, even our President apparently tried drugs and look at him now.
It really is a matter of someone deciding that something is not for them and then go about making that same decision for everyone else. The same holds true for too many groups in our culture; Christians are always trying to convert the sinners, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t want you to be just a Christian, they want you to be a Witness, Vegetarians are aghast that someone would decide to enjoy a juicy Porterhouse and ex-smokers don’t even like you smoking in the same state much less the same restaraunt.
It really makes me sympathize with the more recognizable minorities in our country, as this is what we are, a minority. And we have the same desperate thoughts about our situation, we wonder “why can’t these morons see my point of view and just let me live my life?”.
I don’t mean to offend anyone with my references to the above religions and I definitely don’t want to offend any ex-smokers (they always seem to be on edge anyways :)), heck, at least when you tell the Witnesses that you have already picked a religion, they’ll leave.
I don’t think people realize that you have to protect everyone’s right to make choices in their lives or you start to lose the right to make your own. This is America afterall, this is what we were founded upon, this is exactly what the Founding Fathers were thinking of when they wrote the Constitution (on hemp paper no less).
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2001, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/51 "2001-05-25T14:42:28Z")
Here ya go SPOOFE:
[http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveMar99/candigest\_mar3.html](http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveMar99/candigest_mar3.html)
[http://www.canoe.ca/aug00/candigest\_aug02.html](http://www.canoe.ca/aug00/candigest_aug02.html)
[http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveOct99/candigest\_oct6.html](http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveOct99/candigest_oct6.html)
[http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveApr99/candigest\_apr21.html](http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveApr99/candigest_apr21.html)
[http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveMar99/candigest\_mar9.html](http://www.canoe.ca/NewsArchiveMar99/candigest_mar9.html)
[http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSPoliticsColumns/mar6\_harder.html](http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSPoliticsColumns/mar6_harder.html)
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [May 26, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marijuana-and-the-government/65801/52 "2001-05-26T01:28:07Z")
Holy hell, Adam!!
Damn, when you’re asked to provide a cite, you come through in friggin’ SPADES!!
(Good readin’, those articles…)
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