# What changed public opinion regarding marijuana legalization? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 10, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392 "2018-08-10T16:03:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/61 "2018-08-12T18:17:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > …publicity about marijuana being a sort of wonder drug - heavily overblown > [@BeenJammin](#): > > As overblown as all the pharmaco ad on TV, most of which have enough deleterious side-effects to give Dracula himself pause? Two separate issues there. First, the prescription drugs heavily advertised on TV (a marketing tool I don’t support) have gone through rigorous trials to demonstrate efficacy. As noted in [this article](http://health.spectator.co.uk/the-rise-of-the-cannabis-cult-dont-believe-the-hype-about-medical-marijuana/), proven clinical applications of marijuana are few, and we lack good evidence to say it’s useful in treating autism, Parkinson’s disease, cancer and various other maladies it’s supposed to ameliorate or cure.\* Secondly, marijuana is not without side effects of its own (for example, it can actually worsen nausea and vomiting in some cancer patients, despite evidence it may be effective in that setting). None of this necessarily makes it a bad idea to decriminalize marijuana. I’m tired though of legalization advocates hiding behind pseudoscience and bogus empathy for patients, in order to get laws changed so they’re able to use their recreational drug of choice more easily. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/62 "2018-08-12T19:02:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > If someone truly regrets being high in high school, telling your kids it is a bad idea isn’t being hypocritical, just learning from experience. Which has nothing to do with legalization. That’s fair, I’ve warned my kids to watch out for Tequila, that shit messes you up like no other liquor for some reason. I’ve also encouraged moderation and safety with any alcohol and never lied to them about pot, but did warn them it can cause some problems. ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/63 "2018-08-12T22:20:47Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’d say the tighter labor market also had a slight effect. Companies will a silly zero tolerance can get frustrated because they can’t hire someone who got caught with a baggie of weed in his college dorm 10 years ago and spent a weekend doing community service as a punishment for the heinous crime. It would be interesting to see if companies are dropping drug tests for jobs that don’t have an serious safety aspect. It’s one thing to have a school bus driver take a drug test, it’s another thing for a 19 year waiter. The Portland Maine police department recently announced that smoking marijuana within the last five years is no longer the disqualifying offense to hiring that it used to be. I presume they expect you to stop if hired, though I suppose it’s only a matter of time until there is a lawsuit about that, given Maine’s medical and recreational status. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/64 "2018-08-12T23:11:39Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > FWIW, I think legalizing gay marriage came from something different. Sure, it’s like legalizing pot in that when me, a Gen-Xer was in high school, I thought would happen some day, but not in my lifetime, but I think there were a couple of specific historical events that contributed to the legalization of gay marriage, but not to pot. Sure, mounting research into its many uses as a legitimate pharmaceutical contributed a lot toward the movement to legalize it, but I don’t think you can point to anything really specific, or name any particular people. Gay marriage you can credit to AIDS and the Silence=Death movement, and two women named[Karen Thompson and Sharon Kowlaski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_re_Guardianship_of_Kowalski), who spurred the gay marriage movement in the first place. I was there; I remember (and I’ve met them). They were there, but if they hadn’t been first in the US then of course someone else would have. And Denmark already legally recognized gay unions (though it wasn’t yet marriages) in 1989. I still think that the way you state the pot situation is also exactly the truth of the gay marriage situation as well. Just you’re personally closer to one than the other, and as a result it LOOKS more specific to you. Somebody had to be first on marijuana too - just you didn’t happen to meet them. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/65 "2018-08-13T12:11:35Z")
Opponents of legalization have always been on shaky ground with their arguments that marijuana use deserves criminal penalties. Richard Nixon’s and Ronald Reagan’s attempts to dehumanize pot smokers didn’t match the reality of what people were seeing around them. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/66 "2018-08-14T00:00:21Z")
> [@KMS94](#): > > The Portland Maine police department recently announced that smoking marijuana within the last five years is no longer the disqualifying offense to hiring that it used to be. I presume they expect you to stop if hired, though I suppose it’s only a matter of time until there is a lawsuit about that, given Maine’s medical and recreational status. More than a decade ago, there was an Onion “People on the Street” interview where people asked about the FBI’s decision to de-emphasize pot smoking as a disqualifier for joining the FBI. One of them said: “It’s nice that the FBI wants to hire people who went to college.” Disqualifying people for having smoked pot taught prospective employees to either play a silly dance where everyone knows the questions and answers are bullshit or get penalized for it. I suppose some workplaces may see that as a useful tone-setter. Looking at these 2 graphs of support for gay marriage and pot legalization, starting from about 1990: [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](https://imgur.com/a/ybINvtH) Does anyone else see similarities? 1990 support is between 15-20%. Steady gains start to slow down until about 2004 where there’s a small dent in support but then it picks up faster than before and it surpasses the opposition in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/67 "2018-08-14T00:52:59Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > That’s fair, I’ve warned my kids to watch out for Tequila, that shit messes you up like no other liquor for some reason. I think this is a myth, alcohol is alcohol. Because tequila is part of the bizarre amalgamation of Mexican culture that is marketed towards and promoted by high school and college drinking culture, people tend to pound it down more intemperately than other types of alcohol, hence all the horror stories. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/68 "2018-08-14T01:13:34Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I think this is a myth, alcohol is alcohol. Because tequila is part of the bizarre amalgamation of Mexican culture that is marketed towards and promoted by high school and college drinking culture, people tend to pound it down more intemperately than other types of alcohol, hence all the horror stories. Also personnel experience. And sure, it is probably all in our minds, but bad things were more likely to happen with tequila. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/69 "2018-08-14T15:00:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I’m tired though of legalization advocates hiding behind pseudoscience and bogus empathy for patients, in order to get laws changed … And I’m tired of willfully ignorant people spreading their affliction on the topic. Here’s [a little light reading](https://nccih.nih.gov/health/marijuana) to get you started, in case you ever feel like puling your head out. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/70 "2018-08-14T16:09:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > That’s fair, I’ve warned my kids to watch out for Tequila, that shit messes you up like no other liquor for some reason. I’ve also encouraged moderation and safety with any alcohol and never lied to them about pot, but did warn them it can cause some problems. > > > [@Lamoral](#): > > > > I think this is a myth, alcohol is alcohol. Because tequila is part of the bizarre amalgamation of Mexican culture that is marketed towards and promoted by high school and college drinking culture, people tend to pound it down more intemperately than other types of alcohol, hence all the horror stories. Some alcohol is stronger by volume than others. You can drink the same mL of beer and vodka, and get a lot more messed up on the vodka. Also, some liquors have flavorings in them that make them go down smoother, so you lose track of how much you are drinking faster. I personally hate the way gin tastes, and could never get drunk on it, because it nauseates me, but some people actually like it, and can drink it like a cola; they get wasted really fast with a bottle of gin. So while yes, molecule for molecule, alcohol is alcohol, there are a lot of factors that make one type or another “easier” for some people to get drunk on. It’s not the alcohol itself, though; it’s the other factors, like the alcohol-by-volume, and the flavorings. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/71 "2018-08-14T21:12:00Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I generally agree with you all, but when I was younger and tried it, a couple of times I got paranoid as hell. If I didn’t have someone there to get me through, I don’t know what would have happened. > > What caused that? All I hear is how wonderful it is. I had that experience, too, and was also told it was the THC. It was a thoroughly miserable experience, and I WAS alone. It wasn’t my first time smoking weed, but it was my last time. And I had no idea that reaction was a possibility. Gee whiz, they said in health class it was a depressant! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/72 "2018-08-15T01:47:23Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > After gay marriage and pot legalization are largely settled and only subject to guerilla attacks by opponents, what might be the next “the sky will fall if we do this” reform? I’d like to see Ecstasy (MDMA). Ecstasy was a party / dance drug in Melbourne in the late 20’th century, with corresponding decrease in alcohol-linked violence and injury. It was stamped on by the police around the turn of the century, with corresponding increase in alcohol-linked violence and injury. It’s not universally harmless, and may have long-term effects (it’s hard to tell accurately because it’s not legal). But it was generally a good thing, and should be legalized and regulated. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/73 "2018-08-15T01:53:37Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I had that experience, too, and was also told it was the THC. It was a thoroughly miserable experience, and I WAS alone. It wasn’t my first time smoking weed, but it was my last time. And I had no idea that reaction was a possibility. Gee whiz, they said in health class it was a depressant! :rolleyes: The paranoia seems to disappear or at least fade significantly after even a slight tolerance builds, at least IME. Now I am referring to smoked marijuana and not other forms like edibles, oils, etc. These have much more range in potency and just a little can have a huge impact. So it would make sense to only use in the right setting, one that was familiar, comfortable and safe, such as your own home, with familiar people. ETA: Sorry if I’m repeating things already said. Prolly shoulda read instead of skimmed. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/74 "2018-08-15T13:12:50Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I’d like to see Ecstasy (MDMA). Ecstasy was a party / dance drug in Melbourne in the late 20’th century, with corresponding decrease in alcohol-linked violence and injury. It was stamped on by the police around the turn of the century, with corresponding increase in alcohol-linked violence and injury. It’s not universally harmless, and may have long-term effects (it’s hard to tell accurately because it’s not legal). > > But it was generally a good thing, and should be legalized and regulated. You may get your wish in 1-2 decades. An organization called MAPS is getting MDMA through the medical research process to treat PTSD. Once a drug has been approved for one medical treatment, it can be prescribed off-label to find more medical uses for it. We may get medically-available MDMA within 1 decade and then it may follow the same trajectory as pot. I did hear from another Doper that people who work MDMA parties tend to very much prefer them to alcohol parties. MDMA can turn people into bonobos, alcohol can turn people into chimps. I’ve never been to MDMA parties and I haven’t been to bars much, could you compare the differences between the two? I think one source of opposition is the idea that tobacco and alcohol are legal and doing great damage so that if pot becomes legal, it’ll add as much damage as alcohol or tobacco. This seems to be based on 2 premises: 1) pot and such are as destructive as alcohol and tobacco 2) they will largely combine with rather than largely displace alcohol and tobacco. For some reason, the main drugs we made legal, tobacco and alcohol, are especially shitty, addictive and harmful. I don’t know if there are reasons behind that if it’s just bad luck. As for displacement, I think it was David Nichols who said something along the lines of: “People who want to alter their consciousness and are deprived of one option will take the next best one” which is going to be one notch lower. You see that in teenagers huffing paint, prisoners drinking pruno or some Russian wretches taking krokodil. Providing more options and guiding people through them seems to beat leaving them with few options. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/75 "2018-08-15T13:21:36Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Looking at chart like this: [http://weedjournal.org/2015/04/14/new-pew-survey-shows-53-favor-legal-marijuana-44-oppose/](http://weedjournal.org/2015/04/14/new-pew-survey-shows-53-favor-legal-marijuana-44-oppose/) > > What factors changed people’s minds on the issue of marijuana decriminalization or legalization? It’s not just due to old people dying as the link above shows. Which demographic groups are most or least in favor of it? > How much overlap is there between the opposition/change in support for pot legalization and the opposition/change in support for gay marriage? > > After gay marriage and pot legalization are largely settled and only subject to guerilla attacks by opponents, what might be the next “the sky will fall if we do this” reform? I agree with one of the first posters that medical marijuana’s mainstream embrace in the medical community was probably a major breakthrough. But beyond that, there have been people within the criminal justice system complaining about the prioritization of marijuana arrests and the drain it has put on the system. It costs officers time that they could be using to investigate the distribution of harder drugs, and to pursue more violent criminals. It clogs up the courts. It fills and overpopulates prisons. Then there’s the matter of the psychological hardening of people while their in prison, their post-prison release, and recidivism. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/76 "2018-08-15T15:35:45Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > For some reason, the main drugs we made legal, tobacco and alcohol, are especially shitty, addictive and harmful. I don’t know if there are reasons behind that if it’s just bad luck. I don’t know about tobacco, but alcohol has been around since at least the dawn of civilization and celebrated in popular culture since the _Epic of Gilgamesh_. Beer and wine also used to be safer to drink than water. ETA: the fact that alcohol was everywhere, both geographically and in the social structure and had been there forever made it hard to ban. And when we tried it didn’t work out. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/77 "2018-08-15T15:44:18Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > I don’t know about tobacco, but alcohol has been around since at least the dawn of civilization and celebrated in popular culture since the _Epic of Gilgamesh_. Beer and wine also used to be safer to drink than water. ETA: the fact that alcohol was everywhere, both geographically and in the social structure and had been there forever made it hard to ban. And when we tried it didn’t work out. There are some serious arguments that civilization was started to better brew alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/78 "2018-08-15T17:03:54Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I think this is a myth, alcohol is alcohol. Because tequila is part of the bizarre amalgamation of Mexican culture that is marketed towards and promoted by high school and college drinking culture, people tend to pound it down more intemperately than other types of alcohol, hence all the horror stories. Is this known for sure by experiment? The binge drinkers I’ve known have universally warned against tequila. They would binge on other things and report significantly fewer problems. Drinking one or two shots of tequila vs one or two shots of vodka may make no significant difference, but maybe with too many shots something accumulates. Maybe law (or enforcement) regarding tequila production is inadequate compared to other types. ---
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/79 "2018-08-15T17:06:30Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I did hear from another Doper that people who work MDMA parties tend to very much prefer them to alcohol parties. MDMA can turn people into bonobos, alcohol can turn people into chimps. I can confirm this. As a former bouncer, people on MDMA are way more fun to deal with than drunks by a large order of magnitude. Though I do feel the need to counter the very common misconception that MDMA is a aphrodisiac. It does makes the sense of touch more powerful, but IME it doesn’t usually increase sexual desire. Think of it more like a big cuddle party than an orgy. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392/80 "2018-08-16T01:54:23Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I did hear from another Doper that people who work MDMA parties tend to very much prefer them to alcohol parties. MDMA can turn people into bonobos, alcohol can turn people into chimps. I’ve never been to MDMA parties and I haven’t been to bars much, could you compare the differences between the two? I too have no personal experience. I’m told that spending all night at a bar or at a dance party gets boring if you don’t take some kind of drug. The effect in Melbourne was pretty obvious: people stopped going to bars, and started going to night-clubs and dance parties. Then people stopped going to night clubs and dance parties, and started going to bars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-changed-public-opinion-regarding-marijuana-legalization/819392.md?page=5)