Marijuana Prohibition - Where do you stand?

[Drak]

Originally Posted by habernac

I'd bet it becomes harder for kids to get it if it's controlled. Drug dealers don't give a crap who they sell to.

Just as selling cigs and booze to minors is illegal, I agree. Set standards and tough penalties for sale to minors. Also put out awareness campaigns on potential health issues, risks etc.

[Frequitude]

Look, I know I'm in the minority here. I don't care to argue it, trade medical journal reports on the subject or try to convince people to my side.

I saw a thread asking where I stood, opened it up, answered the poll and gave a quick response on my feelings ("it's a drug, keep it illegal").

I don't want it becoming easier to acquire. I also don't want my government conveying the message to youths that drugs of any sort are directionally more ok than they were before. Decriminilizing/legalizing it would do that. I'm happy with how easy it is to acquire the stuff today and prefer status quo.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

There is a continuum of drugs which includes everything from caffeine to crack, alcohol included. It is my opinion that alcohol is not as bad as marijuana, and it is my opinion that the line should be drawn between the two.

The rationale behind my opinion is mainly focused on children and young adults below the age of 25. I don't want it to become one iota easier for a 20 year old to get their hands on weed.

I believe for young adults, that in some cases it can be a gateway drug and also that it can lead to a higher likelihood of smoking cigarettes later in life (particulary once someone chooses to stop smoking weed).

So a 20 year old can die in war for their country, vote to pick the leader of their nation, but they can't be trusted to make a decision on what they want to consume? Ridiculous

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by rubecube

You realize your opinion is not based on one shred of solid scientific evidence, right?

It really is the crux of this issue.


I have changed my stance, to legalize it, but place the similar rules as alcohol.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Look, I know I'm in the minority here. I don't care to argue it, trade medical journal reports on the subject or try to convince people to my side.

I saw a thread asking where I stood, opened it up, answered the poll and gave a quick response on my feelings ("it's a drug, keep it illegal").

I don't want it becoming easier to acquire. I also don't want my government conveying the message to youths that drugs of any sort are directionally more ok than they were before. Decriminilizing/legalizing it would do that. I'm happy with how easy it is to acquire the stuff today and prefer status quo.

You realize its absurdly easy for kids to get pot right? Like much easier than alcohol right? It's not that you're in the minority that people jumped on you, it's that you're using stuff from the Reefer Madness era that has been thoroughly debunked.

Like gateway drug? You must want alcohol banned then. Because I can guarantee you alcohol has led more people to cocaine then pot ever has. It's not called the party drug by accident.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Look, I know I'm in the minority here. I don't care to argue it, trade medical journal reports on the subject or try to convince people to my side.

I saw a thread asking where I stood, opened it up, answered the poll and gave a quick response on my feelings ("it's a drug, keep it illegal").

I don't want it becoming easier to acquire. I also don't want my government conveying the message to youths that drugs of any sort are directionally more ok than they were before. Decriminilizing/legalizing it would do that. I'm happy with how easy it is to acquire the stuff today and prefer status quo.

So you're okay with the increased rates of recidivism that come with the criminalization of drugs and the associated economic societal costs then? Or I should say, you're more okay with that than some abstract idea that the government is somehow saying it's okay to do drugs by not throwing people in jail for it?

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Look, I know I'm in the minority here. I don't care to argue it, trade medical journal reports on the subject or try to convince people to my side.

And this is the biggest criticism of the Conservatives' social positions, that they're based entirely on ideology and completely ignore the evidence surrounding the positions.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

So a 20 year old can die in war for their country, vote to pick the leader of their nation, but they can't be trusted to make a decision on what they want to consume? Ridiculous

So we should legalize all drugs then?

Assuming no, then that arguement holds no water. It is simply a matter of where you draw the line.

(note: I recognize that some people switch the order of alcohol and marijuana on the line. I'm fine with that. To each their own).

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

There is a continuum of drugs which includes everything from caffeine to crack, alcohol included. It is my opinion that alcohol is not as bad as marijuana, and it is my opinion that the line should be drawn between the two.

The rationale behind my opinion is mainly focused on children and young adults below the age of 25. I don't want it to become one iota easier for a 20 year old to get their hands on weed.

I believe for young adults, that in some cases it can be a gateway drug and also that it can lead to a higher likelihood of smoking cigarettes later in life (particulary once someone chooses to stop smoking weed).

This reads like a conservative, fear commercial from the 70's.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

You realize its absurdly easy for kids to get pot right? Like much easier than alcohol right? It's not that you're in the minority that people jumped on you, it's that you're using stuff from the Reefer Madness era that has been thoroughly debunked.

Am I? Ok. I was born well after this era so wasn't really exposed to it.

Originally Posted by rubecube

And this is the biggest criticism of the Conservatives' social positions, that they're based entirely on ideology and completely ignore the evidence surrounding the positions.

Neat paintbrush.

[Drak]

http://www.inquisitr.com/1490010/is-...ly-suggest-so/

When Colorado cautiously legalized recreational marijuana, critics strongly warned it would lead to more crime throughout the state. But, in what could easily be considered a big slap-on-the-face to all marijuana haters, the overall crime rate actually plummeted. As reported by the state’s official website, crime data for Denver, the hub of legal pot sales in the state, shows that murders, assaults, rapes, burglaries, and other violent have crimes actually declined during the first three months of the year, compared with the same period for 2013.

Though the overall reduction was only 10 percent, the impact is quite visible, claim proponents of marijuana consumption. According to the data obtained, homicides went down from 17 to 8, a massive 53 percent drop, automobile break-ins went down from 2,317 to 1,477 (36 percent), and sexual assaults from diminished to 95 from 110 (14 percent).

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...-revenues-2015

Legal marijuana tax revenues have been breaking records in Colorado this summer, nearly doubling monthly numbers from last year and on pace to exceed projections of legal sales that bring revenue back to the state.

Through the first seven months of this year, Colorado has brought in nearly $73.5m, putting the state on pace to collect over $125m for the year.

In 2014, experts predicted legal cannabis would bring in upwards of $70m to the state’s tax coffers. In reality, the state collected just $44m in marijuana taxes.

[Frequitude]

Alright guys, I'll just back out of here.

To answer the question as it was asked, I'm happy with the status quo (both it being illegal and how easy it is to access anyway).

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Alright guys, I'll just back out of here.

To answer the question as it was asked, I'm happy with the status quo (both it being illegal and how easy it is to access anyway).

sorry man

[Coach]

Keeping it illegal does not make it less accessible to youths. I would argue it goes the other way. Street dealers don't take ID, they don't care how old you are. If you legalize it and make it available in stores to people over a certain age (likely 18, maybe 21 if you really want to try your best to keep it out of high schools), it will be more difficult for those underage to get it, unless they pay an older friend to do it, or find a black market for it (which will likely still exist, but hopefully on a much smaller, less accessible, scale). This is no different than alcohol is now.

In my experience, unless you were able to steal it from your parents, getting booze as an under-ager was more difficult than pot. All you had to do was go to a stoner friend and they would either sell you some or give you their guy.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

Alright guys, I'll just back out of here.

To answer the question as it was asked, I'm happy with the status quo (both it being illegal and how easy it is to access anyway).

But you said your main issue with legalizing it would be it's ease of access to youth.

[jayswin]

Yeah, legalizing it makes it more difficult for minors to get it, which is what Frequitude originally wanted, I just don't think he's done a lot of research on this topic.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

There is a continuum of drugs which includes everything from caffeine to crack, alcohol included. It is my opinion that alcohol is not as bad as marijuana, and it is my opinion that the line should be drawn between the two.

The rationale behind my opinion is mainly focused on children and young adults below the age of 25. I don't want it to become one iota easier for a 20 year old to get their hands on weed.

I believe for young adults, that in some cases it can be a gateway drug and also that it can lead to a higher likelihood of smoking cigarettes later in life (particulary once someone chooses to stop smoking weed).

Well here's the thing. Right now the law makes it possible for underage kids to order online. You can send in some money and there are businesses that will mail it regardless of age checking and these businesses have been caught selling to kids and they keep operating.

The law makes it easier to get cannabis, if you're against underage use you'd be for legalization.

Alcohol is definitively worse. Death, delerium tremens, changes to brain capacity, liver disease just a few of the side effects thousands of people experience with alcohol every year. These are all exponentially worse than abusing cannabis.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I just don't think he's done a lot of research on this topic.

100% correct. I haven't. Because it's just not that important of an issue to me.

It's about important to enough to answer an internet message board poll and respond to people asking for my rationale using clear statements that my response is purely based on opinion.

I must have missed the disclaimer saying that only those with strong opinions on the subject and evidence-based responses would be permitted.

[Dion]

Report - Marijuana-related deaths, suspensions & problems spike in Colorado

A new study of marijuana drug use in Colorado found increases in marijuana-related traffic deaths, hospital visits, school suspensions, lab explosions, and pet poisonings. The study was conducted by a federal government program.
The 166-page report released this month analyzed the effects of legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use in Colorado spanning the time period from 2006 to the present. Along with the state of Washington, Colorado is considered as something of laboratory in which the effects of legalizing marijuana use can be studied.

The study showed that the number of drivers testing positive for marijuana increased 100 percent from 2007 to 2012, with marijuana-related fatalities doubling from 37 to 78. Traffic fatalities total around 500 a year in the state.

Marijuana-related emergency room visits grew 57 percent in two years, from 8,198 in 2011 to 12,888 in 2013, the study found, with a 29 percent increase in emergency room visits for teens.

The report also found that drug-related suspensions and expulsions increased 32 percent between the 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 school years. The majority of expulsions were for marijuana violations

One of the reports key findings was that the number of children aged zero to five exposed to marijuana increased 268 percent when comparing the period from 2006 to 2009 to the period from 2010 to 2013: triple the national average
.
The report showed that more young people aged 12 to 17 were using marijuana as well. When asked during a national survey in 2012 whether they had used marijuana in the past month, 10.47 percent of Colorado’s youth said they had, which was 39 percent higher than the national average.

“I never dreamed in a million years that this would happen to my son,” Kendal, a parent who didn’t want to use his last name, told CBS, referring to a time when he came home to find his 13-year-old son unconscious from what he says was a marijuana overdose.

https://www.rt.com/usa/316148-mariju...njuries-study/

Full report can be found below...

http://www.rmhidta.org/default.aspx/...MHIDTAHome.htm

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

100% correct. I haven't. Because it's just not that important of an issue to me.

It's about important to enough to answer an internet message board poll and respond to people asking for my rationale using clear statements that my response is purely based on opinion.

I must have missed the disclaimer saying that only those with strong opinions on the subject and evidence-based responses would be permitted.

Nobody is silencing you. If you have the right to post an opinion people have equal right to respond