legalize pot ?

Godfather.

Flagg wrote:

Oh, and I am also for legalization, if only because of the ridiculous amount of money wasted on enforcement and incarceration because of a plant.

+1

Godfather.

Loulou

Not sure how I feel about legalising it. I have just seen sooooo many young guys who I went to school with get serious mental issues as a result from smoking way too much weed like bipolar and schizophrenia. Anyone that says that it doesn't effect people are kidding themselves. Even 2 people our family have manic depression/schizophrenia caused by smoking way too much pot! I would be lying if I said I have never smoked it, I used to alot and even I have epilepsy?? Was it caused by it? Who knows? But it did occur only months after giving it up??? I just don't want to know that it's legal for some little punk to give my little one dope.

BinauralJam

Loulou wrote:

Not sure how I feel about legalising it. I have just seen sooooo many young guys who I went to school with get serious mental issues as a result from smoking way too much weed like bipolar and schizophrenia. Anyone that says that it doesn't effect people are kidding themselves. Even 2 people our family have manic depression/schizophrenia caused by smoking way too much pot! I would be lying if I said I have never smoked it, I used to alot and even I have epilepsy?? Was it caused by it? Who knows? But it did occur only months after giving it up??? I just don't want to know that it's legal for some little punk to give my little one dope.

You could apply alot of what your saying to alcohol as well, Not saying you don't make good points.

Loulou

Yeah, I completely agree. In fact there are more alcohol related deaths than drug related supposedly? I know many people who drink morning,noon and night and their bodies have been ravaged. I think they should be doing something about that too, cigarettes are bullshit too but the government make too much money from them to ban it.

BinauralJam wrote:

Loulou wrote:

Not sure how I feel about legalising it. I have just seen sooooo many young guys who I went to school with get serious mental issues as a result from smoking way too much weed like bipolar and schizophrenia. Anyone that says that it doesn't effect people are kidding themselves. Even 2 people our family have manic depression/schizophrenia caused by smoking way too much pot! I would be lying if I said I have never smoked it, I used to alot and even I have epilepsy?? Was it caused by it? Who knows? But it did occur only months after giving it up??? I just don't want to know that it's legal for some little punk to give my little one dope.

You could apply alot of what your saying to alcohol as well, Not saying you don't make good points.

your move now

I'm not up to fate with the drug laws in the states. but surely the first step, assuming it hasnt already been taken would be to decriminilise posession.

MotoDC

your_move_now wrote:

I'm not up to fate with the drug laws in the states. but surely the first step, assuming it hasnt already been taken would be to decriminilise posession.

See this just goes to show how light I am on the legal facts here. What besides decriminalizing possession needs to happen? Once I can possess it, what else do I care about? Distribution? Or is "possessing" not the same as "consuming"? That is, I can own a joint, but if I get caught by the cops while I'm high, I'm in trouble?

loulou wrote:

Yeah, I completely agree. In fact there are more alcohol related deaths than drug related supposedly?

No doubt there are significantly more alcohol related deaths than drug-related deaths, but the more telling statistic would be a death-per-user number, which might be hard to come up with due to under-reporting of use.

Loulou

Yeah that's true. I mean if I was still smoking and I didn't have a baby I would be like "Yeah man, decriminalise!!!!" but I do and your priorities change to what it best for your children. Dope is dangerous, especially for young boys. I went to school with this one boy, he was healthy as an ox, played footy and was top of the class in most of our subjects. After school, he got into smoking dope on a regular basis (I was told through friends) and I saw him a couple of years later and I couldn't believe it, he had lost the plot and was talking to himself.
Now, I know this is just one story but he's not the only one this happened to. The family member of mine that that went through a psychosis too, met yet another 2 young boys we went to school with in the Mental Home he was taken too. It's more common than what most people think. I know there were days when this family member couldn't score any or didn't have the money for it and had to go without. If it was legal, it would be more accessible and less expensive and he would have been able to smoke even more often.

BinauralJam

Talking to yourself isnt that bad, it's when you start arguing with yourself, you might have a problem.

Loulou

BinauralJam wrote:

Talking to yourself isnt that bad, it's when you start arguing with yourself, you might have a problem.

In seriuosness though, if you have ever been around someone who is going through a psychosis, it's really quite freaky, saying there's people watching them, their food is poisoned, laughing hysterically at random things and this was someone who was living with my husband and I at the time.

pjfan021

legalize it!

"Ah, well, sir, I feel like a, like a slice of butter... melting on top of a big-ol' pile of flapjacks... yeah. "

Godfather.

pjfan021 wrote:

legalize it!

"Ah, well, sir, I feel like a, like a slice of butter... melting on top of a big-ol' pile of flapjacks... yeah. "

:shock:
Ohhhh yeahhhhhhhh

Godfather.

your move now

decriminalising it for posession means that whilst it isn't legal having posession 9yes and using) for personal use is in itself not a crime, legalising it means it is legal to sell, distribute in whatever amount you like. Until decriminalisation for personal use (say 14 days worth) is acheived and users as opposed to people making a profit from it are still being prosecuted or charged you cannot take the next step to legalisation.
In relation to worrying about kids etc, pot is readily available to kids if they want it who here can say they have ever had any trouble getting ahold of it if they want it. decriminalisation protects kids from ending up with records for something as meaningless as having a joint.

Kel Varnsen

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

Legalize it here in America....
Let the government tax it and control it just like tobacco.....

Let the government charge $800 an ounce.....

And if you get caught buying it from your friend down the street???
$10,000 fine, 6 months probation....

2nd offense???
1 Year prison......

You want the government to legalize pot???
Im all for it....

So then the war on drugs would just become the war on tax cheats and there wouldn't be any cash savings. Since it is not like the guy with a few lights and a little grop op in his basement would stop producing. I don't have a problem with legalization, but the idea that there would be this magical tax revenue stream is kind of crazy. I mean people who grow pot now aren't afraid of going to jail for producing drugs so why would they be scared of going to jail for tax evasion? Plus these guys already have their systems set up, and probably paid for, so unless the tax rates are really low, how could a taxed product compete on price with an untaxed product. In Ontario, illegal cigarettes are a huge problem, because the amount of tax paid on a legally bought pack of smokes is very high.

Godfather.

Kel Varnsen wrote:

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

Legalize it here in America....
Let the government tax it and control it just like tobacco.....

Let the government charge $800 an ounce.....

And if you get caught buying it from your friend down the street???
$10,000 fine, 6 months probation....

2nd offense???
1 Year prison......

You want the government to legalize pot???
Im all for it....

So then the war on drugs would just become the war on tax cheats and there wouldn't be any cash savings. Since it is not like the guy with a few lights and a little grop op in his basement would stop producing. I don't have a problem with legalization, but the idea that there would be this magical tax revenue stream is kind of crazy. I mean people who grow pot now aren't afraid of going to jail for producing drugs so why would they be scared of going to jail for tax evasion? Plus these guys already have their systems set up, and probably paid for, so unless the tax rates are really low, how could a taxed product compete on price with an untaxed product. In Ontario, illegal cigarettes are a huge problem, because the amount of tax paid on a legally bought pack of smokes is very high.

my ONLY reason for agreeing for legalization is to help stop the cartels and smuggling that is leaving a trail of dead bodies on both sides of the border and the money spent on this drug war.

Godfather.

know1

I am for this, but let's not start with the "tax it" argument until we talk about other places the government will cut taxes to offset the income from a pot tax.

Loulou

Sorry folks but I just don't see how decriminalising it is going to help chronic users of it. Unless you have seen the effects on some people and had to live with someone losing their grip on reality from it, I'm sure you would think it's harmless. I had to visit this person in the pysch ward every week and taste his food and water first before he would touch it. I had to scan his room for cameras before he'd sit in it. Trust me, it's not harmless for everyone!!!

keeponrockin

Loulou wrote:

Sorry folks but I just don't see how decriminalising it is going to help chronic users of it. Unless you have seen the effects on some people and had to live with someone losing their grip on reality from it, I'm sure you would think it's harmless. I had to visit this person in the pysch ward every week and taste his food and water first before he would touch it. I had to scan his room for cameras before he'd sit in it. Trust me, it's not harmless for everyone!!!

Agreed, but neither is alcohol...

Loulou

Agreed!

keeponrockin wrote:

Loulou wrote:

Sorry folks but I just don't see how decriminalising it is going to help chronic users of it. Unless you have seen the effects on some people and had to live with someone losing their grip on reality from it, I'm sure you would think it's harmless. I had to visit this person in the pysch ward every week and taste his food and water first before he would touch it. I had to scan his room for cameras before he'd sit in it. Trust me, it's not harmless for everyone!!!

Agreed, but neither is alcohol...

your move now

again if people are chronic users they are going to be using regardless of the legalality

Drowned Out

Loulou wrote:

Sorry folks but I just don't see how decriminalising it is going to help chronic users of it. Unless you have seen the effects on some people and had to live with someone losing their grip on reality from it, I'm sure you would think it's harmless. I had to visit this person in the pysch ward every week and taste his food and water first before he would touch it. I had to scan his room for cameras before he'd sit in it. Trust me, it's not harmless for everyone!!!

How can you be sure that pot caused his condition?
SOME studies say that it can aggravate, or even trigger ALREADY EXISTING, UNDERLYING mental issues. Other studies debunk that. Its been studied to death, and the fact of the matter is that regardless of these side effects, it is still MUCH less harmful than many, many other legal drugs....and more versatile/beneficial than most.