Legalize Weed Nationally

Perhaps 4/20 of every year should be a day off to push national legalization. Get out in the streets in hippie clothing and march for the Cannabis Cause.

So, how about it?

 

There is certainly a slow but steady trend in that direction. The majority need to be convinced, and to become so convinced that they actually take action. I think there may be more effective ways to promote this cause than to march for it one day per year .

 

yeah, dressing as a negative stoner stereotype and marching on the day that high school kids like to smoke weed is probably not the way to go about it. i would love to see the legalization happen though.

 

It's just a matter of time now. A majority of the public supports legalization and wealthy business men have taken the steps to be in the industry. I live in a legal area and on 4/20 people already complain. Although we don't have to fight for legislation some find it immature to have a "weed day" and make it such a big deal.

But what is St. Patrick's day? The day when one drinks. Christmas you have some egg nog possibly with liquor in it. Same with other holidays part of the celebration is enjoying the drug alcohol.

 

Alcohol is legal.

In the vast majority of states in the USA.....weed is not.

I am of the belief that pot IS a gateway drug.

And the longterm mental and physical effects are still not fully known. We DO know it hurts your sperm production. Fertility. So if it does this....it is not such a far leap to birth defects. Why not? There IS a thing called FAS. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

You are ready for surgery.....lying on the gurney.......the mask with the knockout gas is placed over your face. BUT...right before you drift off for some risky suregery....say, a heart bypass....you catch a whiff of POT wafting off your surgeon.

Would you be OK with this?


I wouldn't.

We do not need anymore legal mind altering substances in the country. The states that HAVE legalized it have seen attendant problems with it. The fact that we already have one dangerous legal drug in alcohol (ETOH) does not mean pot should be legal. That is not a sound argument.

Pot. Keep it Illegal.

Just my two cents, mates.

Chris

 

"birth defects why not" because it's not good science. You can't make conclusions like because you think it would be true. The gateway theory has been disproved as has any evidence of damage to the sperm. It's true that pot smoke does confuse them a bit. But there are still millions of them and some find the egg. And when you stop smoking the sperm are fine.

The surgeon well isn't that like alcohol? He is free do what he wants on his own time but don't be drunk at work. You are combining two things and assuming legality means use everywhere. Overall I don't care if he smokes but yeah I admit I would prefer he not do it at that time.

 

Again you use the faulty alcohol claim.

No....of course I wouldn't want my surgeon to reek of booze.

Nor pot. So again....the alcohol-is-bad argument has nothing to do with pot. Two wrongs don't make a right.

How can the gateway argument be destroyed? LOL I have seen dozens of my old friends going back to high school use other drugs after beginning with pot. Ask any drug addict is they think pot might have been a gateway for them. You'll be surprised what you hear from the, While the studies you show saying it is not a gateway might note the fact that pot is not psychically addicting, it most certainly CAN be mentally addictive. I know pot addicts.

Birth defects? Again...we do not know. It is not bad science unless I say for sure that cannabis can exacerbate birth defects. I am not saying that, mate. All I am saying is that, if a drug has been proven to lower sperm count, and sperm is, obviously, the major requisite and factor (or one of the two most) for gestation and making babies, then why is it such a stretch to think that the sperm count--or maybe the ovum cells--could not also be effected by this same drug?

I think I once saw a study showing an increase in birth defects from cannabis in lab animals of some sort. Mice, maybe? I will check this out and post a link for you if I find it.

So again...why take the chance? Is another legal mind altering drug THAT important to you advocates of legal pot?

I am a bit biased of course. I use no drugs. And as a pilot, the FAA calls just about ANY drug a "non-qualifier" for flying or getting a license. This includes even stuff you probably think of as very mild, like Ambien...all SSRI's....xanax...Tramadol......etc. So I have made it a point in life to learn how to feel high from doing various activities. Hence my addiction to running and the endorphin rush. And other adrenaline-spurring activites as well.

C/

 

^meh . didnt you say you were a libertarian? Not really a typical libertarian stance you're taking.

Uninformed opinions have been dictating drug policy for too long, and a lot have people have suffered legal ramifications for an innocent activity and something that isn't really anyone else's business.

For me this is a moral issue. People should not have to risk being jailed for using a plant.

 

The chance can "be taken" because it's good medicine. Beyond someone's desire to be high it helps people in pain. Google it and this is the # 1 result yet you say I don't speak the truth.

http://www.newsweek.com/marijuana-not-gateway-drug-325358

 

I get what you're saying, however I doubt any sensible smoker would condone this behavior. But there are some who drink before surgery, or pop pills beforehand.

You make a good point, but everyone has there duty of decency to live up to.

 

**sigh**.........again, the "but some docs drink or do drugs...so why not pot?"

LOL

And...again...that's a shitty argument. And a bad one.

Two. Wrongs. Do not. Make. A. Right.

Please dont make me have to say that again, guys.

C

 

It isnt a bad argument just because you say it is

I saw in another thread you were planning on enjoying a couple of Maker's Marks

I could understand your position better if you didnt drink

But you do drink, so clearly you believe in your right to drink legally without facing jail time for it. And yet you dont seem to support the same right for marijuana, do you not see the hypocrisy?

Also your reasoning for it being a bad argument is "two wrongs dont make a right" - but it isn't really fair to even put alcohol and weed in the same category of "wrong." I have seen the effects of long term alcohol use as well as the effects, or lack thereof, of long term pot use. I would argue that alcohol is much, much worse.

 

I think that it should be on a state by state basis so that each state has a voice in whether or not it will be allowed. In turn the states who legalize will obviously reap the benefits of taxation, and economic value of related tourism.

 

Recreational pot is legal in 8 states and Washington DC, medical weed is legal in 21 other states, and we have midterm elections next year. Hang in there, it's all coming to pass.

 

But, again...alcohol is legal.

Pot is not. In the vast majority of states, that is.

So my sole point here is......let's keep it that way.

Don't misconstrue my feelings on pot here, mate. I am OK with the right to legalize being left to the individual States. Fine. I am just against a massive, comprehensive Federal Legalization, as was, as I recall, the point in the OP of this thread. If I had my druthers, personally, privately, I would have pot illegal everywhere. That's just me. My opinion on it is that it IS very often a gateway drug, and that prolonged use can have consequences, and that it DOES denigrate motivation and reasoning skills in some cases.

And yes.....before you say it...I know alcohol does as well. I just do not think this country needs another legal mind altering drug.

You pot heads can argue on this till the proverbial cows come home, and I ain't gonna change my opinion.

Yes...I drink. Moderately. Never during the day. Usually only a beer here and there, like maybe after work. Maybe twice a week Robyn and I have a glass of wine or two with dinner. My Maker's Mark is a special indulgence of mine. I love it too much to not limit myself with it. So I do. A 750 mil. bottle (what you call a "fifth") will sit in our liquor cabinet and last a couple months. Robby doesn;t drink it, or ANY hardstuff, save the odd Margarita with Mex food once in awhile.

So...fine...call me a hypocrite if you like for being a moderate and social drinker and still opining that marijuana should not be Nationally legalized.

Lastly...I'd be fine with more drastic limits on alcohol sales, too. I know how destructive it can be. I am all for the national drinking age to be 21. Loss of license for life for a DUI...No alcohol at all for convicted felons....maybe even beer and wine only, and no hard stuff till age 25. Something like that. Robby's little sister was killed by a drunk driver when she was 14, so I am a bit biased on the DUI thing.

 

Christial is shitting all over these forums. Never met him but I can picture the type. Perhaps we should just not feed the troll. Coming to a place where you are the minority and making illogical circular arguments is fun for some people.

 

I will say this. We shouldn't write him off yet. He's from a different background (the military) and probably has his own set of issues that go along with that. Now some people doubt he ever was in the military, as well as it not helping that he's arguing wrong. lol. He keeps hitting me up about my avatar as well. I'm not immune. It's vexing, but ... I read what he's saying about pot and it sounds like he just isn't sold on pot. Maybe that will change if he gives it a chance. I don't feel like he's a total troll is all I'm saying.

What I will say is that when it comes to my own personal case, I have misgivings about smoking. Period. That's my only argument, that smoking is bad for your lungs.

That said, what I said before is still true. And I live in California where it's legal as heck! It's a non-issue for me because I used to do lots of acid and speed, and marijuana was constantly talked about and often smoked. I had my share of it then, and later I did my own thing (after I quit everything else) and took edibles for a year or so. That was interesting. But, what I said before is it should be up to every state to decide for itself. If they legalize it nation wide I think it becomes an issue of you having the wrong policy in place with regard to substance abuse.

If at the national level, perhaps there would need to be legislation explaining that we don't believe that it is as harmful as we once did, and so forth...

etc. etc.

 

Obviously, when marijuana is legalized, it will still be illegal to show up to most jobs stoned, just as it is illegal to come to work drunk. The stoned doctor argument is a non-argument, completely irrelevant. Performing surgery under the influence of mind altering substances will never be legal. That's a straw man if there ever was one.

Drug abuse is often a "victim-less crime", and even if you don't support full legalization for whatever reason, I don't see how any clear-headed person could not at least support decriminalization. To throw someone in jail, or even to slap them with a prohibitive fine for engaging in a private mental experience makes no sense. The only person they are even potentially harming is themselves, and if their pot habit begins to somehow affect other people (say they start neglecting your children), there will be- and probably already are-laws in effect to limit that damage to others.

 

**sigh**........And here you are blaming me for something I did NOT say... But I will say it now.

I would NEVER condone a surgeon performing his job high on Marijuana.

I did say that I'm sure some docs probably perform after a cocktail or taking prescription pills.

Do NOT put words in my mouth.

DON'T make ME say that again either, girls.

J.

 

Oh, bugger off, wanker!

I am merely stating my opinion. That is all. I am also backing it with ideas and facts. Just because I am in the minority regarding my viewpoint...that makes me a troll? I don't think so.

News Flash...This is a debate forum. Discussion. Hello!! And in such a setting there are bound to be different ideas. Viewpoints. Opinions. I suppose you would rather everybody agree 100% of everything and sit around and stroke each other off and sing Kumbaya?

LOL

How boring would that be?

Please explain how I am "shitting all over these forums" by engaging in discussion and debate and sharing views? Show me a troll post I have made? Do you even know the definition of a troll? You need to get out more, bro. I spent a lot more time here over this past weekend than I usually do because I had a rare weekend off work and also my wife was out of town. It will most likely be a long while, if ever, that you are treated to such a prolific flurry of my posts again in just a couple days span. You should try to learn from me...as it is all but obvious which of us is the more intelligent and well-read and skilled writer...instead of groundlessly denigrating me as a troll simply because you happen to disagree with my views.

Hope. This. Helps.

Anytime you would like to engage in a one-on-one debate about a particular topic, with formal debate rules and moderation, to prove I am not a troll but rather am quite experienced in debate and rhetoric, please let me know. We can do our own thread. As we are now here straying woefully off-topic.

Let me know. We can also continue this discussion via PM if that mode of communication suits you better.

Cheers.

Chris.