Never have, probably never will. But I think it’s stupid to be illegal when alcohol is worse. I’ve said before that I would like licenses to make sure you aren’t one of the few people for whom it would cause problems, but I see that enforcement of that would be nearly impossible. People who can’t legally drink get alcohol all the time.
I was going to say it has been years since I have smoked marijuana, and then realized it has been decades?! Sigh…I guess I hang out with the uncool group.
Still, I see no reason not to legalize it - and yes, I have heard all of the pros and cons in classes I teach where this is often a debate chosen by the students. There are far more benefits in legalizing it - if for no other reason than to stop wasting time and money chasing down, arresting and imprisoning people for using it.
I agree with your conclusion, but I’m skeptical about your assertion that weed is less harmful than tobacco. You’re inhaling smoke directly into your lungs - how will this be less harmful with weed than tobacco? True, you don’t get the physical addiction nicotine inflicts, but that’s about it.
Never used. I find the odor extremely unpleasant, and I feel the same about tobacco (which I have also never used), but I said “legalize it.” I can’t see any sensible argument for banning either, since otherwise we’d logically have to ban alcohol, junk food, and other things people find pleasure in that do little harm in moderation but can kill if abused. I would love it if someone could find a way for people to use the stuff without making me breathe their exhaust. (Few seem to prefer the snuff / brownies route).
Oh, and while we’re dreaming, horrific torture followed by capital punishment for littering cigarette butts.
ETA: Tobacco seems to do more than a little harm, but I still think the cost / benefit ratio should be up to the user except where it affects the community. See my comment on littering.
I put down that I’ve used marijuana, but that was once, about 40 years ago. I didn’t repeat the experiment because it was too rough on my throat – I have never smoked tobacco – and it didn’t seem to get me high in any way. But making grass illegal causes far more problems than legalising it would, so I voted for legalisation.
I’ve never used Marijuana and I’ve even seen it have a negative effect–admittedly typically minor–on the lives of many people, however, I’m in favor of legalization. If we’re to be a free society, people need to have the right to make free choices about their lives. So, even though I think it’s excessive use is immoral, just like any excessive use of any intoxicating substance, I think that moral reason is enough.
Of course, it has the added benefits of likely reducing crime, reducing prison populations, and reducing law enforcement costs. I would much rather see the costs on society that go toward enforcing these laws go toward treating addiction and other problems that either result from use or result in people using.
That said, I expect there will probably be a period of adjusting as a society, as dealers and smugglers either try to find other illegal methods to make money, or try to go straight, and as people in prison for drug crimes are released, and other such things. So, I think it probably needs some sort of phasing plan, or simply some patience as society adjusts, but I think after the transition is over, we’ll all be much better off.
There’s also the fact that you inhale a heck of a lot less into your lungs when you smoke pot. A few puffs (literally one to three) once a month or so, compared to 20+ cigarettes per day for tobacco smokers. Even a daily marijuana user would be inhaling a fraction of what a regular cigarette smoker would.
And they can use the same criteria for impairment - like lack of sleep, or stuff that will turn up in a blood test but not a breathalizer. Slurring words, slow reflexes, unable to do the walk the line, poke the nose and recite shit tests. If the person fail those, then they get taken for a blood test. [and diabetics like me wear ID tags in case we are having a serious issue that is medically related and not alcohol/drug related]
As if we didn’t learn from prohibition:smack:
And you can eat marijuana active chemicals in several ways [which is great for pain control] do it sublingually or vaporize it. When you vaporize it, you do not get the tars, you get the THC and other cannabinoids that are the active ingredients.
Here is a 400+ list of reference URLs on medical weed.
With all legal drugs you can get in this country by perscription, outlawing marijuana is hypocritical. I could be taking every psychotropic medication kown to man, but one toke on a joint has jail time. Plu–eeeez.
I want it legal and for the government to tax the bejeebus out of it. There is a huge industry on the West coast that we aren’t getting any taxes for. Gets my goat.
(Especially since it’s not that harmful to the individual.)
I have never used marijuana. I have never even seen any marijuana. Or smelled any. Or associated with anyone else who has ever encountered this hypothetical thing.
Why in the world would you make a poll on this subject a **public poll **where all the responses can be sorted by individual poster? Huh, freido?
The bottom of the lake is too good a resting place for you.
Well, I don’t care if it’s a public poll. Legalization just makes sense. I smoke fairly frequently and make damn sure I do it in a responsible manner, behind closed doors (and at large rock concerts)
I’m a successful business owner, btw. Haven’t hung out stoned on a couch eating Cheetos in my underwear since college. Pot is my ‘happy hour’ relaxation drug of choice. Compared to most cocktail hour boozers driving home etc, I’m far safer and more conscientious.
The worst choices I’ve ever made due to grass was ordering too many burritos at Taco Bell.
I made it public because I wanted to see who voted for what. If you don’t want your name associated with your dubious (or dooby-ous) past, then you don’t have to vote. (Or post.)
In middle school we had a big public indoor swimming pool and would do a brief rotation of swimming for gym class each year. My favorite activity was to grab the weights and sink down to the bottom and hold my breath there for a couple minutes, while idly staring up. Once in a while it really freaked someone out.
It was very peaceful and quiet and soothing. Though I imagine it would stop being so enjoyable once it came time to breathe again.
Never used the stuff, think it reeks and is vile (one roommate at university was a toker)… but fully support legalizing it.
Not all smoke is the same. Depending on what’s being burned, and how completely it’s combusting, a cloud of smoke can have all sorts of different particulate matter in it. Consider this cloud of smoke versus this cloud of smoke. One of those is clearly carrying a crap ton more particles than the other. Or compare the smell of a pile of burning leaves, with a pile of burning tires. While all these clouds will all carry a lot of carbon, which is not a great thing to have in your lungs, they also carry any number of other substances, whose effects can range from benign to extremely dangerous.
ETA: I’m not personally sure of where on the spectrum of harm pot smoke is, relative to tobacco smoke. But as others have pointed out, people who smoke pot tend to smoke it less often than people who smoke tobacco, so even if pot smoke is more harmful by volume, a pot smoking habit is going to tend to be less harmful than a tobacco smoking habit.
Most cigarettes are filled with all kinds of additives. These are quite bad for you.
I have no idea if one breath of natural, additive-free tobacco is any worse for you than one breath of the same amount of weed. But I know that, in practice, tobacco smoking tends to be much harder on the lungs.
If it were legal, I would definitely try it.
A few years back I had decided to try it anyway - but realized that I had no idea anymore where to get any…
Very, very in support of legalization for dozens of reasons. Was very, very in support of legalization before ever trying it for recreation.
I don’t smoke pot often and only have a very few times. My experiences were very positive – it was pleasant feeling, made things I already like (food, music, and movies) even more engrossing and fascinating, and I felt more “in control” than when drunk (the only other drug I’ve used recreationally).
But even if I hated pot, I’d strongly support legalization.
I support making it legal for anyone over the age of 21. I love it. I quit it in October of last year only because I knew I was going to start my job search and I would need to pass a drug test.
Now that I have a job, I will most probably start smoking it again. It is my only real vice.
Weed affects me in some positive ways. I eat less, I have a lot of energy and love to exercise as opposed to having to force myself to. It also made my menopause symptoms disappear totally. Not a single hot flash or episode of night sweats when I was smoking. It also helps me to sleep better. My only real problem now is finding a source from which to buy it.
I love love love it and I’d smoke it regularly but I can’t, because it’s illegal and because it’s a drug employers test for.
I am curious though, in states where it’s not illegal do they still test for marijuana for blue-collar jobs? I abstain mostly because I’m afraid I’ll fail a drug test.
I think it should be legal and sold in stores to anyone over the age of 18, medicinally legal for any age who might benefit. I’m guessing where it’s legal medicinally they don’t have an age limit?