# Pot-free, support marijuana legalization - anyone else in this boat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420 "2009-12-24T05:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/41 "2009-12-24T16:36:02Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/42 "2009-12-24T16:57:50Z")
Never took illegal drugs, never took legal drugs, never got drunk and never will. I think it’s hypocritical to ban pot, but allow tobacco and alcohol. I feel it’s all three or none, and since it’s very unlikely they’ll try another Prohibition… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/43 "2009-12-24T17:03:14Z")
Never touched the stuff. Nor other drugs. And I think it should be legal. Thats not to say that if we made some drugs legal that we as a society would realize after a few years that from a practical point of view some drugs just should NOT be legal. But, I am certainly willing to try that experiment and I really doubt that pot in particular would be any worse than cigarettes or booze. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/44 "2009-12-24T17:32:54Z")
I have never touched the stuff. I don’t even drink alcohol. But, I am a social darwinist. I think we should legalize all drugs, and let natural selection take its course. Those who pursue self-gratification would die. Those who practice self-discipline would survive. Oh, and we should also legalize prostitution. That way, the junkies would be able to support themselves until they O.D. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/45 "2009-12-24T17:40:33Z")
I nearly qualify. I tried what was reputed to be pot, grown inside someone’s apartment in Cambridge, Mass. Never felt a thing. But I am certainly in favor of legalization. But then I don’t think the government should make any drugs illegal. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/46 "2009-12-24T17:51:13Z")
For those of you who are anti-hemp hype, would you mind taking a gander [at this thread?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11922020#post11922020) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/47 "2009-12-24T18:26:20Z")
Tried it once, didn’t like it. Still I support full legalization, and even did beforehand. My take is that drunks are a hell of a lot more dangerous to both themselves and others than stoners are. If alcohol is legal, then all less dangerous drugs should also be legal. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/48 "2009-12-24T18:59:20Z")
I was too risk-averse and control-freakish as a kid to try it. But ever since a pro-legalization sociology professor laid out the case, I have been for making it legal. It’s very silly to prohibit it in a society that allows cigarettes and alcohol. (FWIW, hemp makes great diaper fabric - it is very absorbent with less bulk than cotton or microfiber.) ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/49 "2009-12-24T19:02:15Z")
I’ve never smoked, never used drugs (except for the occasional legal prescription painkiller in the way it was intended by my dentist) and a bottle of kahlua will last quite a while in our house. That said, I absolutely support an end to prohibition. Let’s get this nonsense over with once and for all. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/50 "2009-12-24T19:12:17Z")
Prohibition does not work. Didn’t work for alcohol doesn’t work for drugs. There are several other alternatives and I don’t pretend to know which would be best. But nothing could be worse than the situation that prohibition has created. We could probably buy up the world supply of drugs at the source for the amount of money we waste trying to interdict them in the pipeline and host the users in prison. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/51 "2009-12-24T19:22:20Z")
I don’t like smoking of anything. But I understand a lot of people don’t share my view. I have a lot of friends who smoke dope and they are constructive working types. The dangers are way over stated. It should be legalized. It would take a lot of the money out of rime lords pockets and cut down bribery of police and judges. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/52 "2009-12-24T19:30:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, but all they’ll get is my vote-no cash or anything. > > And it would help if they would just stop with the fucking lies about the wonders of Hemp.:rolleyes: Sorry gotta call you out on that one. Hemp is a really, truly useful plant. Before it was banned in the US it fitted out our sailing fleet for over 100 years with sails and ropes. At one point it was even required that farmers in the colonies put some of their land in hemp production so that a supply was assured without import. Wiki describes it thus: > **[Hemp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp)** > > Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of Cannabis sativa cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants on Earth. It was also one of the first plants to be spun into usable fiber 50,000 years ago. It can be refined into a variety of commercial items, including paper, rope, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel Alth... > [@](#): > > In modern times, industrial hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and fuel,[1] with modest commercial success.[2][3] In the past three years, commercial success of hemp food products has grown considerably.[4][5] > > Hemp is one of the fastest growing biomasses known,[6] producing up to 25 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year,[7] and one of the earliest domesticated plants known.[8] For a crop, hemp is relatively environmentally friendly as it requires few pesticides[9] and no herbicides.[10] There are some people that declare that if we legalize growing hemp it will change the world, that’s just silly. But there is no question that it would be an easily grown cash crop with multiple established markets. The plant was originally banned for political reasons and it is only political gamesmanship that leaves it banned to this day. In case anyone is not aware you would have to smoke a couple of pounds of the stuff to get any biochemical effect. Hemp is not a drug. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/53 "2009-12-24T20:51:58Z")
I am completely in favor of the legalization and extreme taxation of pretty much all illegal drugs. People are going to use it anyway, it’s ridiculous to turn it into a cost center (by way of the cost of law enforcement and imprisonment) when it could be a revenue stream. I’ve never smoked marijuana, never used a heavier drug, barely use prescription drugs, and have a drink, singular, roughly once every three years. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/54 "2009-12-24T21:47:27Z")
Never touched the stuff, not even in college where it was effectively legal (a Cambridge cop told us they wouldn’t ever arrest anyone for pot unless they were selling to minors or growing it in a window overlooking the cop shop) and am not interested. But I’m for legalization. Not just for civil liberties. A story on NPR on the Mexican drug cartels last night said that they get a lot of their money from selling marijuana to the US. Smoking anything now that you haven’t grown yourself or know got grown by a non-bastard grower seems unethical. Legalization would shut off this source of money, and save lives. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/55 "2009-12-24T22:27:44Z")
Yes. Except I have smoked it. I just wasn’t wild about it. You know that song that goes “no thank you please, it only makes me sneeze”? That. But I don’t see why it shouldn’t be legal. I think it’s particularly foul that people can’t grown their own, for their own consumption. Whose business would that be, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@Nicolas\_Bourbaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicolas_Bourbaki)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/56 "2009-12-24T23:08:04Z")
I haven’t smoked in, like, . . . a month? but I’m still all about legalization. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/57 "2009-12-24T23:19:17Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > Sorry gotta call you out on that one. Hemp is a really, truly useful plant. Before it was banned in the US it fitted out our sailing fleet for over 100 years with sails and ropes. At one point it was even required that farmers in the colonies put some of their land in hemp production so that a supply was assured without import. > > Wiki describes it thus: > > [Hemp - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp) > > There are some people that declare that if we legalize growing hemp it will change the world, that’s just silly. But there is no question that it would be an easily grown cash crop with multiple established markets. > > The plant was originally banned for political reasons and it is only political gamesmanship that leaves it banned to this day. > > In case anyone is not aware you would have to smoke a couple of pounds of the stuff to get any biochemical effect. Hemp is not a drug. You’ll notice that hemp is perfectly legal in most of the world, and it isn’t the prime material for most of those applications. Hemp does wonderful things, but it isn’t the best at any of them. It has a niche market anywhere it is legal, the same will be true here. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/58 "2009-12-25T01:15:21Z")
I have never smoked pot. I will never smoke pot. It doesn’t appeal in the slightest to me. But yes I fully support legalization. Albeit with the caveats that others have said, it needs to be properly regulated. And we might as well tax it too. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/59 "2009-12-25T01:56:05Z")
Never tried, & don’t want to. But the violence & expense of enforcement have made its illegality impractical. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420/60 "2009-12-25T02:13:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Only when the other side stops with the fucking lies about the dangers of pot.:mad: Because two lies make a truth?:dubious: I will reply to the mythical value of Hemp in the other thread. Here’s the definitive thread on hemp, however. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533692&page=3&highlight=hemp](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533692&page=3&highlight=hemp) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pot-free-support-marijuana-legalization-anyone-else-in-this-boat/522420.md?page=4)