what is your opinion on marijuana?

Well, I'd say that it shoulod be a legalized, controlled, TAXED substance. But, if weed were legal, how would I make a living? I couldn't compete with agribusiness :P

I say legalize it, tax it, etc, etc.
In my opinion, I consider a drug to be made and processed.
Its a natural substance, and even after using it several times before, I have no urge to try anything else.
I like weed, I see the benefits it has. The culture around it seems interesting. I think its a good way to bring in some more money to them country. Focus on the ban for then more harmful stuff, instead of something thats giving a lot of money to fast food chains.

My opinion is that I do not care. I've never smoked it but I don't ridicule others if they have. To me this topic is much akin to alcohol or cigarettes. Some do it, some don't. If they do or don't doesn't affect you in anyway so let them be.

I never used to like it, recently I've developed quite a fondness for the state of mind one attains while under it's influence. Still it isn't something I'd want to indulge in regularly because it's unhealthy, once or twice a year is fine. Absence makes the heart grow fonder

I'll do it if it's there but I'l never pay for it. I love the effects of it but only if the person doing it can maintain composure.

I won't take anything that may ruin my body or mind, heck im even hesitant to drink alchohol, i don't smoke and i don't drink hard liqour.

I've tried it a couple of times, not particularly impressed, although I have several friends who are big fans. Wouldn't ever pay for it either.

But on the topic of legalization, I fully and absolutely support legalization. The idea that people should not be allowed to consume a certain item because it poses some minor health risks is absurd and conflicts heavily with the basic principles of individual choice. Marijuana isn't the only illegal drug about which I feel this way, but I'll stay on topic.

It's really a shame that so many drugs are arbitrarily outlawed in today's world. For much of human history, consumption of drugs has been inaccessible to most people due to poverty (the Islamic world is the major exception to this rule). During the Victorian era, much of the British upper-crust gained access to hemp and opium from their imperialistic forays into the exotic east. Unfortunately, a reaction to this trend was the opposition to virtually all drugs, alcohol included. While prohibition was a fad that quickly died in the west, criminalization of most other drugs remained in the legal systems of the post-colonial governments of most countries, and has even initiated a culture of drug-scorning that, in most societies, has no basis prior to the 20th century.

So I guess the real question is if you are Deontological or Utilitarian?

I might be overdoing it, but I do have a Ron Paul video for just about everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZrXt7Z1ZmU&list=FLcI01AB4KzumsuILLboebAw&index=23

Smoking anything is harmful, so I think it gross and harmful. If someone wants to legalize it or smoke it, I'm in no hurry to help or support them. Rather not unintentionally create the next, "Tobacco Industry", smoking sections, walking past people smoking in front of places, etc..

I understand the individual rights aspect, but forgive me if I'm not filled with enthusiasm to legalize something that people will be smoking in the living room while their 6 year old watches spongebob.

Marijuana isn't harmful. There has not been a single death reported in history by marijuana usage. That is unless you count the deaths of those killed by police or the FDA. Plus, you don't even have to smoke it. Vaporizing is a smokeless method and there are always food stuffs.

You also imply that people aren't already smoking it with a 6 year old in the room. I believe that the money spent on incarcerating these non-violent drug offenders is a massive waste of money. I also think that a person should not receive only freedom in this sense, but responsibility as well. If you do not want the government telling you how to raise your child or what religion your child should be, then you should not expect the government to keep you from doing something stupid around your child. Just because there is a potential for people to pick the wrong choices and be irresponsible does not mean our freedom and liberty should be sacrificed. Keep this quote in mind.

"The most basic principle to being a free American is the notion that we as individuals are responsible for our own lives and decisions. We do not have the right to rob our neighbors to make up for our mistakes, neither does our neighbor have any right to tell us how to live, so long as we aren’t infringing on their rights. Freedom to make bad decisions is inherent in the freedom to make good ones. If we are only free to make good decisions, we are not really free."

Anything you smoke is harmful, the idea that marjiuana isn't harmful is a myth. It isn't as harmful as the ads that depict brain dead teens, but it has been proven to be harmful to your body. I don't know why in the world people try to promote it as harmless. It is harmless if you compare it to say, tobacco products I suppose. But in and of itself it is not harmless - it has many researched and recorded consequences.

Second, I don't mean imply people aren't already doing it, but they aren't already doing it like they do with cigerretts. And yes, I think the government should keep you from doing something stupid around your child. It already does that - there are thousands of social workers employeed for that very reason.

Your quote is fine but you can't just generalize. It can also be used to promote the legalization of assualt rifle ownership too, or polygamy. Maybe you don't think people should be able to keep a heavy machine gun in their house, or be allowed to have 3 wives, or maybe you do, I dunno, I won't judge. But a community does have the ablity to decide which things they will tolerate as a society and which things they will not allow.

Just saying.

Citation please.


smoking isn't the only way to use marijuana.

Just look at it right here.



Okay. And...? I don't think I'd have the oppurtunity to say, "legalize smokeless marijuana!". The majority of people are undoubtably looking to smoke it.

"Cannabis smoke dilates the capillaries in the lungs whereas tobacco contracts them. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO LINK CANNABIS WITH CAUSING CANCER OR ANY OTHER DISEASE. Tests and experiments with THC alone are invalid in consideration of cannabis."

Did you know that out of all studies done regarding marijuana, the only test done with negative results was a study in which the test subjects were monkeys that were deprived of oxygen which is what resulted in the brain cell damage.

Just watch "The Union". You will find out that marijuana not only is harmless, but it has shown to prevent cancerous cells from forming.

What? Okay, why are you telling me this? Are you implying that ALL THE OTHER test and numerous studies ending up with the subjects having zero side effects? As if, there actually were numerous other test done, and out of all these test, only this faulty test done on monkies was the one with negative side effects?

I didn't think it was neccessary to point out that there isn't a large swath of data floating around as to the medical consequences of smoking marijuana like there is on smoking tabacco. There aren't any test being done subjecting people to smoking purely marijuana, and even the research on marijuana users is usually skewed because those people almost always smoke tabacco too or consume alcohol.

However, basically all doctors agree inhaling something into your lungs is going to have a very negative side effect on your lungs, as well as teeth, brain, and heart. Unfortunately, there isn't solid facts or data on the damage you are doing to your body - NOT because there is no damage being done, but because their isn't enough reseach being done.

But since the research being done right now doesn't scream, "Hey everybody! This stuff is harmless!" I'm filled with apathy when it comes to legalizing marijuana.

The fact is that there has never been a single death from marijuana usage, smoking or otherwise. Another fact is that there are plenty of deaths and negative side affects caused by over the counter and prescription drugs. Another fact is that marijuana is known as a schedule 1 drug in the U.S.A. Substances in this schedule have a high potential for abuse, have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. Marijuana does not apply to any of those.

The point is that while it may not be 100% harmless, although I believe it to be, it is nearly irrelevant when arguing legality when just about any other medicine out there is worse. Plus marijuana is one of the few drugs that allows you to negate the potential negative effects simply by using another means of getting the THC, such as a vaporizer or baking it into food.

In my opinion, it being harmful is the worst argument for keeping it illegal. I believe that if someone wants to alter their mind or body, that is their right. You don't think that people should be allowed to smoke it with their children watching, but is it not worse with alcohol? Alcoholic parents are far worse than stoned parents. It is up to the people to be responsible for their actions. I've been drunk and I've been high and one thing I've learned from that is that alcohol is worse in terms of mental and physical effects.

But I digress. I find this all to be irrelevant because I believe in the notion that the government should not dictate how people take care of themselves. A government like that is one that would dictate people's diets as a means to control an obesity problem. Quite frankly I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet, but I fear that this mindset that the government must take care of us will lead to something similar one day.

Do you do something because it is morally right or because of the outcome???

Really now, really. Do you really think that people would start smoking it like tobacco? If you do, you're wrong. People smoke cannabis like people drink alcohol. Most of the people smoke it with friends on the weekends and sometimes people smoke a bit after work to relax. But I admit that just like with alcohol, there are the daily users, but they are minority.

Even if it was harmful, why should marijuana be illegal when Alcohol is legal? unlike marijuana, alcohol threatens the safety of other people; over 10,000 people die each year from drunk driving.