i think this what the governments reasoning is in not legalizing

....no, i dont think we will all want to do cocaine once weed is legalized. plus, people still did and still do other drugs then and now, that wont change either.

 

Yeah... no. Fuck cocaine. Its all about money. The United States spends 10 billion dollars each year on prohibition. That's a lot of jobs. Pharmaceutical company's is the big reason. 10-20% of current drugs could be replaced by medical marijuana not to mention up to 50% could have marijuana added to them to make them safer and work better. Well so you see they would lose hundreds of millions to billions of dollars each year just to legalizing. They are the largest lobbying group in the United States, they wont go down without a fight and their not the only ones. Drug testing companies and jail guard unions want it to stay illegal. Its not surprising that it has to do with keeping money where the rich want it and to keep it away from everyone else who could get their medicine for free or the farmer that needs a lil extra money or even the guy on the corner or could use extra money to pay for something special for Christmas.

 

Hate to say it but I don't think this theory makes any sense, you assume the "next thing" will be a harder drug. Alcohol is far more addictive and intoxicating than cannabis. So we would be going the opposite direction from cocaine because that's a harder drug compared to alcohol.

 

Really, really bad. This whole "drugs" generalization is ridiculous to me. You can't just lump them in a pool and say use of one leads to the other. Saying that legalizing marijuana would cause people to use cocaine or heroine is the most inane argument I've heard in a very long time.

Cocaine is a stimulant. Heroin is a depressant. Marijuana is neither. Why in the world would legalizing marijuana, a sedative euphoriant, cause people to snort lines? People do different drugs because they are seeking the effects produced by those specific drugs, not because they just want to do drugs in general.

"Oh man! They legalized marijuana! I'm not epic cool rebel anymore! Need to get some meth now..."

The idea that people choose to smoke weed because of ANYTHING related to alcohol prohibition is really, in my opinion, quite retarded. Please, consider how much popular media, like news and such, is responsible for this line of... thought. When alcohol was illegal, plenty of people smoked marijuana. People smoked marijuana before alcohol prohibition, during alcohol prohibition and now, after alcohol prohibition. It has 30,000 years of documented human use. Use of marijuana is, always has been and always will be fairly constant, no matter what the law states.

Stop watching so much TV. Stop using blatantly faulty and false generalizations.

The main reasons marijuana is prohibited are money and power, period, final and the end. As long as they wage their war on marijuana, they keep their police departments heavily funded. They can sick their militarized SWAT teams on anyone who dissents. They can continue to seize homes and cars. They keep judges, cops and corrections officers gainfully employed and raking in the overtime pay. They keep private prisons filled to capacity, providing the equivalent of slave labor to government agencies and Defense Contractors. They keep people sick and in dire need of Big Pharma's drugs and AMA-proscribed treatments. They keep their bogus industries propped up and in a position to financially loot and pillage the American people.

Every penny the War on Drugs costs the American people ends up in the pockets of a prohibitionist, don't doubt it for a second.

 

The reasons for the war on drugs isn't valid for marijuana, it is too widely accepted and fairly safe, I say fairly because there's always chance of lung damage and a bit of burn out depression... And people with other drug issues and mental illness also smoke it... But the thing is they also smoke cigarettes at a higher frequency than marijuana and it's ridiculous to align it to narcotics. I don't think it should be legalized, but I think penalties should be diminished depending on the charges... Weapons go ahead cops can take those guys away, with other narcotics sure them too, but leave the distributors and the smokers... You want to waste your tax money on something you have no chance of stopping? Why? If it's legalized I'm sure prices will be higher... But then again quality would be... I don't know... I think I'm just annoyed.

Canada has a high population of cannabis smokers yet Harper is trying to change penalties for possession and distribution so that they are more severe.... Even more severe than someone caught for molestation... That's fucked up.
The kids will smoke it anyways even if it is illegal

 

to be honest I dont even associate with cocaine or "harder" drug users now, why would I after my mary jane is legalized. haha

 

I think legalization would mean lower prices. Supply and demand. Right now the supply is quite limited due to the legality in most of the US. But despite prohibition demand has continued to increase. Therefore demand far exceeds supply pushing the price upward. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think its safe to assume that, even if taxed heavily on a federal/state level, legalized cannabis would almost certainly mean lower prices for smoke. Thats not to say that some Pharmaceutical giant is going to produce some inhaler or other more "friendly" way of administering cannabis as a medication which they could sell for whatever they want. Then once patents expire generics will jump on the scene and something new and better will come along. But right now with Cannabis on Schedule 1 technically no US company should be doing research without special permissions from the powers that be.

But again when thinking about legalization you need to look at the big picture. Seedy hemp would be grown in fields nearly everywhere. Where you now see soy beans, cotton, corn, tobacco, etc you would also occasionally see hemp/cannabis. Legalizing would mean many other products would also be produced from the plant. Pharmaceutical companies could grow "pharmaceutical grade," home growers could grow dank nugs indoors or out, and farmers could grow fields of males and females for seed, pulp, hash, oils, etc etc etc. Medicinal use would certainly be a large part of its consumption but other markets would undoubtedly open up, and my guess would be quite quickly. Think of the amounts of corn grown for ethanol. Think of the amounts of soybeans grown for soooo many more uses than just food. Cannabis could out compete these products in many ways because it would mean reduced costs for farmers.

I really believe it would turn around the US and the world's economy. That is if it were legalized by the US. I also believe other nations would follow suit as I'm sure US pressures already keep it illegal in many places.

I firmly and fully believe that outright legalization is the only solution to the problem.

My 2 Cents

Oh and as far as other drugs, I think the decriminalization is the solution. People addicted to these drugs should be able to get help without fear of prosecution or harassment by police. They should be able to admit they have a problem without fear of losing their job or even worse their family.

Bottom line is this. People that want to get messed up will get messed up no matter what society deems acceptable. Hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and meth definitely leave a stain on society. So legalizing the sale or distribution of them I think would be irresponsible and unethical. However possession charges should mean a fine or community service at worst. Its not like some meth head is going to start cooking meth in his house for personal consumption. Nor is someone going to do the same for cocaine or heroin. Cannabis on the other hand is a plant. Can be grown anywhere on the globe. It can be plucked from the plant and cooked or smoked for medicinal use. No processing or refining is required. It also has many other uses agriculturally and technologically, they just aren't being widely pursued because its illegal. I think its rather stupid, and cocky for that matter, for anyone to think it can be kept illegal forever.

Theres 2 more cents!

 

At least your thinking! But it can not and is not that simple. There are so many differant reasons why marijuana and hemp are Illegal.

To me the biggest reason is fear. Take the common 70 year old man as an example. ( my Pops) He would never even try weed. Even if nothing else worked! He has been brainwashed that it is horrible and he still beleves it. It doesn't matter what I or anyone else says. The only one he would beleve is the Goverment! And I'm afraid that is the majority.

Look at all the things our goverment gets away with. And look at what gets done about it. Nothing! The majority want to come home from their mindless jobs and not think. They just want to eat dinner and watch some Dumbed down TV

 

You don't think it should be legalized. This is the equivalent to saying that cartels should continue to chop people heads off in Mexico to control the supply of marijuana to the States. I would pay a higher price for marijuana, or give it up completely, to stop the War in Mexico that has already claimed more than 36,000 lives.

People who advocate the prohibition of anything are in the pockets of the Tyrants who maintain the War on Drugs. Prohibition is an unnatural state imposed upon the natural world. If you think it makes you safer, I encourage you to educate yourself further. The only arguments for maintaining prohibition against marijuana are purely selfish and self-serving.

I'm sure your love your money. I can only speak for myself, but I value human life significantly more than the money I pay in taxes. I value human life more than I value marijuana. You, on the other hand, have clearly stated your priorities.