Why is marijuana illegal?

[Beth]

I wish that I could grow pot. Not to smoke because smoking aggrivates my asthma, but to brew it. The leaves(not the bud) make a good tea that does not get me high, but rather calms my anxiety just a tad bit. I don't know why, but it does. I am sure the bud would help if it were added to the tea, but, oh well. I've only had this pot leaf tea twice, so it is not a regular thing.

I also think it should be legalized. Honestly, I do not see pot as impairing as booze.

[Legs]

godfry ~ reverting to large print, how silly, how old are you again?

[Legs]

Originally Posted by slimshady2357

Of course you don't understand it. You don't care if people go to jail for making a safer choice than alcohol. Screw them, right?

After all, alcohol is ok, because it's already accepted, or it's a lost cause...

Basically, you're a hypocrite.

It's illegal. There are reprecussions to illegal activity. Once/if it is legalized I won't have a leg to stand on *pun intended.

Until then it is against the law. What is so difficult to understand? They know the risk they are taking, don't they?

[D. Scarlatti]

Originally Posted by Legs

Scarlatti put your glasses on

My Post #75

Oh ... so you're in favor of legalization after all.

And is it possible that other people might see other benefits?

[Ari]

Originally Posted by Legs

Alcohol is a lost cause at this point, I'm sure you realize that.

The question should be, why is alcohol a "lost cause" and if banning alcohol failed so horribly why should we ban a drug less dangerous? Why should we spend billions of dollars on a horrible failure called the "war on drugs" when that money could be better used?

It seems your argument is that it's is illegal and has been illegal for your life thus it should stay illegal, which seems rather circular.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Legs

Jimmy's choice is not illegal Jimmy hasn't committed a crime.

Yeah... He ran off the road, destroyed his vehicle, endangered the lives of others, beat his wife, beat his kids and then collapsed in a puddle of his own vomit and urine. In a drunken stupor, he gambled away his paycheck and can't make the mortgage payment. His wife will divorce him and take the kids and his driving license will be revoked. He'll live his life with his primary social exchange being the hours he spends swilling alcoholic beverages at the nearest tavern and die of an enlarged liver in a fleabag trailer house.

But he hasn't committed a crime.

Big fuckin' whoop.

Sorry, are you now backpeddling and saying that the effects of alcohol and pot are not the same? I thought you were all telling me they were the same. Are they or are they not, make up your mind.

So, now you've gone illiterate on us, too? Does your reading comprehension just phase in and out? Perhaps that's due to the ingestion of too much alcohol. By the way, do you consume alcoholic beverages in front of your children?

What are you talking about? this thread is about marijuana, not alcohol - if you start a thread on alcohol I will be sure to stop by an mention the children of alcoholics and how bad I feel for them, but that's not what this thread is about so there is no need to go down that road.

No, this is a thread about why marijuana is illegal. That question has been answered several times over. Cannabis is an intoxicant. Alcohol is an intoxicant. Both are used for much the same reason, to relax and lift inhibitions, by the large proportion of their users. The comparison of one to the other raises the question of why one is illegal and the other is not.

[Legs]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

Yeah... I think it's time that Legs pinned one of these on her lapel: H

No, excuse me....not on her lapel, on the outside of her Klan sheet.

So I am a hypocrite because

1) I don't break the law

2) I chose not to endorse or fight for the legalization of a drug I feel will harm the youths of our society

3) I don't go looking for similar things to make illegal out of revenge & frustration.

In that case I'll wear the H proudly

[Legs]

Originally Posted by D. Scarlatti

Oh ... so you're in favor of legalization after all.

And is it possible that other people might see other benefits?

Controlled distribution for medical reasons? Sure

For 13 years I have lived with MS symptoms and believe me, if dope would have helped I would be taking it. Having said that, I wouldn't be taking it to get a buzz and the munchies - I'd be taking it to alleviate pain.

I support anyone with a chronic diseases that have limited options, enjoy their days on this earth.

I will never support recreational use but if it is legalized I will shut up about it.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Legs

So I am a hypocrite because

1) I don't break the law

2) I chose not to endorse or fight for the legalization of a drug I feel will harm the youths of our society

3) I don't go looking for similar things to make illegal out of revenge & frustration.

In that case I'll wear the H proudly

Wear it proudly on your Klan sheet and take heart that when some drunken driver who should have been incarcerated years ago, or the armed robber whose been released due to crowding, has the opportunity to maim or kill a member of your family, that some poor toper is occupying that jail cell.

You, by the way have not provided any support for your contention that it will harm the youths of our society. You are engaged in willful ignorance...

[Clutch Munny]

Originally Posted by Legs

Okay, I'll try again. Do you think kids with parents who get stoned* receive the same care, parenting & home enviorment as kids who's parents do not do drugs?

I don't know. I suspect not. But as with your other questions, there's no reason to think that marijuana use, as opposed to artifacts of criminalization (say, a willingness to flout drug laws), is the more genuine correlation with any putatively diminished parenting.

[Legs]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

But he hasn't committed a crime.

Big fuckin' whoop.

Life is not always fair, godfy.

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

So, now you've gone illiterate on us, too? Does your reading comprehension just phase in and out? Perhaps that's due to the ingestion of too much alcohol. By the way, do you consume alcoholic beverages in front of your children?

Maybe I misunderstood why slim was saying, everyone here is arguing that alcohol and pot go hand in hand - they are basically one in the same - if one is legal they both should be, if one is illegal they both should be and then out of the blue he said they had different effects. Just raised my eyebrow is all, no need to get your panties in a wad.

I had a margarita in February, at a restaurant, sans children. It may have been January. I'm not sure. Before that, hmmm I think a Baileys at Christmas. Before that, a wine pairing dinner, November I think.

I guess I can relax and lift inhibitions without booze or pot

[Legs]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

Wear it proudly on your Klan sheet and take heart that when some drunken driver who should have been incarcerated years ago, or the armed robber whose been released due to crowding, has the opportunity to maim or kill a member of your family, that some poor toper is occupying that jail cell.

You, by the way have not provided any support for your contention that it will harm the youths of our society. You are engaged in willful ignorance...

Bahahahaha... you can be such a melodramatic goof

[Legs]

[D. Scarlatti]

Originally Posted by Legs

I guess I can relax and lift inhibitions without booze or pot

And nobody is going to criticize you for it.

Originally Posted by Legs

Personally, I find it a weakness in people, a lazy escape and I wonder what is so bad in their lives they need to do it.

However in light of comments like the above, surely you can understand why the bullshit detectors start going off.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Legs

So I am a hypocrite because

1) I don't break the law

Yeah? Well, neither did the Night Riders, the enforcers of the Jim Crow laws, Bull Connor and all the racists that fought that horrendous scandal known as "equality under the law".

[Legs]

You are equating an illegal drug with the opression of black people?

If I was black, I'd be insulted, their fight was far more important then your recreational pleasure.

[Ari]

Originally Posted by Legs

I will never support recreational use but if it is legalized I will shut up about it.

Which of course makes me wonder why you would never support recreational use of an illegal drug? Is it just because it's illegal?
Many people use drugs to modify their body everyday, Starbucks has made a fortune on those that enjoy caffeine (a legal drug that is way more addictive than alcohol and can cause physical withdrawl symptoms).

[Legs]

Originally Posted by D. Scarlatti

And nobody is going to criticize you for it.

However in light of comments like the above, surely you can understand why the bullshit detectors start going off.

What are you smoking?

Yes, I think it is a weakness to need to do drugs. You need to be stong to not give in to temptation and pressure. IMO people (and society)would be better off without it. No bull there, my friend.

[Legs]

Originally Posted by Ari

Which of course makes me wonder why you would never support recreational use of an illegal drug? Is it just because it's illegal?
Many people use drugs to modify their body everyday, Starbucks has made a fortune on those that enjoy caffeine (a legal drug that is way more addictive than alcohol and can cause physical withdrawl symptoms).

Oh Ari, please don't disappoint me with bringing up caffeine. The day you see someone rolling a caffeine joint give me call and we'll talk some more.

As an aside, I was ill in March and for some reason I am off coffee and tea, have not had anything beverage like that since mid march and never felt a craving, couldn't care less. Didn't even think about it until you mentioned it.

You wonder why I would never support recreational use of an illegal drug?

1) the obvious - it's illegal - I see slimshady & godfry crying the blues about people who have lost their career, went to jail, ruined their lives etc... because of being caught. Hello?? no sympathy here my friend. They know the risks. It's illegal - there are repercussions for your actions. These people are either stupid or have decided they are above the law. Take your pick

Of course if/when it is legalized the subject is closed but what will happen to anyone already prosecuted or jailed? lawsuits?

2) It doesn't so much bother me to think of adults having a joint now and again - the thorn in my side is the 'appoval message' once it is legalized. This message sents to the youths of the world - that this is okay, accepted, encouraged, normal.

If you don't agree, I'm terribly sorry but I am being honest about how I feel.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Legs

You are equating an illegal drug with the opression of black people?

If I was black, I'd be insulted, their fight was far more important then your recreational pleasure.

Well, I am insulted that you think the struggle for civil rights was a struggle only for black people. But I am equating the criminalization of a theretofore perfectly legal drug with a tool of majoritarian suppression of unwanted minorities.

You are such a dupe of the fear mongers and racists.

I'm beginning to think that you're getting dumber and more gullible by the minute.

If that suits you, fine. If you won't act to bring to market a relatively benign substance that would not only help you deal with your pain, but thousands of others as well...then just fucking suffer.

Stinkin' willfully ignorant fascist, racist martyrs....just like you.

[D. Scarlatti]

Originally Posted by Legs

Yes, I think it is a weakness to need to do drugs.

This is your biggest misconception about marijuana right there. Apparently the balance of your assumptions follow from it. It seems to me you don't know anything about marijuana, which is why it's nearly impossible for me to take your Reefer Madness act seriously.

The least you could do is spare us the self-righteousness.

eta: What's ironic about the quoted statement is that it ascribes a so-called need to recreational users, but in the case of therapeutic use, according to which people actually do need it, it's a weakness. That seems just a bit inconsistent, to say the least.

[Legs]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

Yeah? Well, neither did the Night Riders, the enforcers of the Jim Crow laws, Bull Connor and all the racists that fought that horrendous scandal known as "equality under the law".

Your post. Oppression of Black citizens. You wrote it.

[Ari]

Originally Posted by Legs

Oh Ari, please don't disappoint me with bringing up caffeine. The day you see someone rolling a caffeine joint give me call and we'll talk some more.

But see, the kicker is, caffeine is a drug, it might not be as impairing as alcohol or pot but it is a drug.
Should I give you a call? I've heard of kids snorting and smoking caffeine pills. There have actually been a number of youth deaths from caffeine overdose thanks to nodoze pills.
How it is taken shouldn't matter, there are a number of drugs that can be smoked or ingested but provide about the same effect.

Originally Posted by Legs

As an aside, I was ill in March and for some reason I am off coffee and tea, have not had anything beverage like that since mid march and never felt a craving, couldn't care less.

Good for you, but ever heard of someone mention a "caffeine headache"? That's an effect of caffeine withdrawals.

Originally Posted by Legs

1) the obvious - it's illegal...

In which case Glad's analogies may be accurate. If Jim crow laws were still in effect would you support the punishment of interracial marriage just because "it's illegal"?

Originally Posted by Legs

2) It doesn't so much bother me to think of adults having a joint now and again - the thorn in my side is the 'approval message' once it is legalized. This message sents to the youths of the world - that this is okay, accepted, encouraged, normal.

Such as the same messages often sent to them when adults drink alcohol?
Why shouldn't personal and responsible use of a drug be considered accepted?
Unfortunately today we don't send a message of responsibility but one of abstinence that often says "don't do it" but either doesn't provide any reason not too or provides false evidence that when youth discover is false instills doubt in other messages (it's quite amazing the BS and false information you can find on many DEA and anti-drug youth oriented sites).
I would rather teach responsibility and safety than pure abstinence and lies, but that's just me.

[Legs]

Originally Posted by D. Scarlatti

This is your biggest misconception about marijuana right there.
It seems to me you don't know anything about marijuana, which is why it's nearly impossible for me to take your Reefer Madness act seriously.

I respect your opinion

Originally Posted by D. Scarlatti

The least you could do is spare us the self-righteousness.

You can depart the thread anytime, since you have no actual views to share on the topic, other than splitting hairs, clouding the issues & nit picking

[D. Scarlatti]

It isn't an opinion. Marijuana is not physically addictive, unlike caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, heroin, etc., etc. As for it being psychologically addictive, so is American Idol (the latter being far more dangerous, in my opinion).

And I'll happily depart the thread, at your invitation, since I've already seen Reefer Madness a couple of times.