Im actually against legalization. I love to smoke, but think about the problems that legalization could bring to our society. Here's something i stumbled upon.... Myth 1 Money allegedly saved from giving up on the drug problem could be better spent on education and social problems. This is readily disputed. Unlike what critics of American drug policy would have you believe, all of those funds did not go to enforcement policy only. Those funds were used for treatment, education and prevention, as well as enforcement. Within that $18.8 billion budget, the amount of money Congress appropriated for the Drug Enforcement Administration was roughly $1.6 billion, a sum that the Defense Department runs through about every day-and-a-half or two days . Myth 2 Individuals' drug abuse is not a problem to society. In reality, drug abuse drives some of America's most costly social problems including domestic violence, child abuse, chronic mental illness, the spread of AIDS and homelessness. Drug treatment costs, hospitalization for long-term drug-related disease and treatment of the consequences of family violence burden our already strapped health care system. Myth 3 If the social and legal sanctions against drugs were removed, many experts estimate that the number of illicit drug users would remain the same. Actually, experts estimate that the illicit drug user population would at least double if the social and legal sanctions against drugs were removed. Legalization would result in skyrocketing costs that would be paid by American taxpayers and consumers. For example, a 1994 article in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that if cocaine were legalized, it was probable that the number of cocaine addicts in America would increase from 2 million to at least 20 million. As this estimation suggests, legalization would significantly increase drug use and addiction, along with the associated social costs. Myth 4 Drug legalization would eliminate criminal elements in the drug trade. No. Under a legalization scenario, a black market for drugs would still exist. If drugs were legal for those over 18 or 21, there would be a market for everyone under that age. People under the age of 21 consume the majority of illegal drugs, and so an illegal market and organized crime to supply it would remain-along with the organized crime that profits from it. After Prohibition ended, did the organized crime in our country go down? No. It continues today in a variety of other criminal enterprises. Legalization would not put the cartels out of business; cartels would simply look to other illegal endeavors. Myth 5 Legalization would decrease society's health care costs. On the contrary, legalization would only increase society's health care costs. Treatment, insurance, rehabilitation, social and welfare costs all would skyrocket, not to mention the misery and addiction that would accompany outright legalization of drugs. Myth 6 Education, health care, road building and a wide array of other worthwhile causes would benefit from the money that could be raised by legalizing drugs and taxing them. This is just not true. Addiction leads to an inability to work and higher unemployment numbers lead to increased cost of health and welfare benefits for the unemployed. Experts predict that drug treatment costs, hospitalization for long-term drug-related disease and treatment of the consequences of family violence would further burden our already strapped health care system. Perhaps even more important are the increased costs that would be incurred through the damaging social and emotional effects of drugs. Myth 7 A drug legalization scenario that included needle handout programs would eliminate new HIV infections contracted through the use of shared and dirty needles. No. It's not that simple. Research sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has shown that drug use interferes with judgment about sexual (and other) behavior, making it more likely that users have unplanned and unprotected sex. This places them at increased risk for contracting HIV from infected sex partners. Myth 8 Government legalization, distribution and regulation of drugs would remove the profit and the incentive for illicit drug dealing and related crime. While "government drugs" could conceivably be priced low enough to eliminate competition, perhaps by having taxpayers subsidize them to discourage a black market, the combination of low price and wide availability would result in greater consumption, and consequently increased addiction. Increased consumption and addiction lead to drug-related crime. This government regulation argument ignores the dangerously addictive nature of drugs. And finally, u nder a legalization scenario, a black market for drugs would still exist. If drugs were legal for those over 18 or 21, there would be a market for everyone under that age --a faction of the population that can be targeted by those looking to profit from the sale of drugs. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THIS? THERE ARE SOME VERY SMART INDIVUDUALS ON THIS SITE AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR OPINIONS
I think this is just One persons persepective. I think all your myths are "Busted". Did you even think before your wrote this? or did you copy and paste somenoe else's ideas? I neglected to read the part where you said you were against legalization, so I'm gonna add more. YOU SUCK BIG BALLS And ya know just because you think it has a possibility to create problems doesn't mean you have the right to take away someone's Choice. what a biggot ok, now I'm done. Chill with the disrespect and name-calling! Consider this a warning! *RMJL
I didnt write this... i said i stumbled upon it. I just wanted to know what you guys thought of it. Besides I like cannabis and all, but Im still against legalization of it. You think those Myths are "busted"? How so?
Plus many of those points are talking about the legalization of ALL drugs, not just MJ... Which is a diffrent matter altogether.
Im now ignoring shouse.... But ruffrat, many of those "myths" are arguments that people use for the legalization of marijuana? Arent they?
Seriously dude, keeping Marijuana illegal has solved not one single problem, but I can't even count how many problems it's caused.
Im for legalization, and I strong disagree with #4. Yes there are plenty of black market products available to the legal ones now, but they are not like the cartels of today, size wise. i'd rather get my stuff from a legal regulated vendor, then some bloak off the street. legalization, education, recovery. my body is my own, its my one and only true possession.
I think the legalization of marijuana would be a wonderful thing, but I honestly dont see it happening in the US for my generation. Maybe Decriminaliztion but thats about it. As long as there are people who believe the government propaganda about pot, it will always be illegal.
Don't you guys realize they will never legalize marijuana? Pharmecutical companies make BILLIONS selling manufactured medicine. They also know that marijuana can be used to replace these drugs. Sorry but money makes the world go 'round... not pot!!! I am for legalization, I just don't see it happening.
Oneday when a good party comes into power, and when all this old political people are no longer in politics, and the younger generation comes in, who don't belive every single peice of properganda thrown at them, thats when it will become legal.
that means ONE THING PEOPLE! one person from grasscity should aspire to become the new president!!! then, LEGALIZE!!! fuck it im high, im probably talking out of my ass.
Or we could start our own Militia. Instead of askin we could Demand it be legal. Instead of kidnapping and harming innocent people like the Taliban we could just inflict pain on those who have something to gain from keeping MJ illegal. They would never be able to stop guerilla warfare like that. After all how are we going to compete with Billions of dollars? Assassination is the only way
take a look through the timeline of the lottery and its inception. I live in MA which is one of the largest lottery revenue drawing states around. We have had commercials and signs that have said what great things are being done to our neighborhoods and cities because of lottery income. shit there was even an ad campaign that made the point that playing the lottery was one way to give back to your community. I am not saying that they could apply the same thoughts to MJ but taking something that was once illegal and controlling it, when was the last time you saw a kid running around the streets collecting for "the numbers" it doesent happen any more and the people that controlled it have moved onto other things. The big cartels as stated before will ALLWAYS move onto the next thing.
im down for legalization. but i dont want it to be, cause if the govt gets there hands on this they'll genetically alter it or some shit to make it addictive.
wow. if only we could be as constructive as Shouse. Firstly: welcome to GC! myth 1 and 2: Like other people say, its difficult to know how much money goes towards MARIJUANA prohibition vs. all other drugs. Of course drug abuse is a problem to society, but its because we dont properly educate the members of our society honestly. We're living in an idealistic world that thinks that people will stop doing drugs if we make the penalties harsh enough. Lot of good that does. If we legalized and educated people honestly about how to respect drugs and partake safely, it would cut down on a lot of the bad effects. Of course people will come along and say, "well alcohol is legal and we're educated on that, yet people still abuse it". But again the way the laws are set up for alcohol and tobacco, they cause the youngest generation to glorify the substances because they become a "rite of passage" just like getting a drivers license. Myth 3: Again, your list covers all drugs, not just pot but if the legal sanctions were removed people may use more. but that would be a response to the decades of prohibition we've had to endure. Ultimately though, if people choose to abuse drugs... fuck em, they're weak. Its a bit difficult to believe that they can put a realistic number on a hypothetical situation like this. Myth 4: Pretty much true. there will always be a black market as long as there is an economy. As far as the specifics of that myth, its still retarded because like i said earlier, its a fallacy of our society to put age restrictions on these things. All that does is increase appetite in young impressionable minds. Myth 5: So make them pay for their own god damn treatments! I should say, there is no such thing as treatment for MJ. Every class i've ever been to made me want to smoke even more. Legalize away! wont increase shit in this dept. Myth 6: Meh. I think addiction is an excuse for people who are just lazy. Really tho. This isnt an issue w/ pot. Myth 7: Uh... those are some lines that i dont think can be directly connected that easily. Anyone w/ a good imagination could blow shit out of proportion like that. Myth 8: black market will always exist.... Pot is different. It doesnt come w/ as much baggage as the rest of the illegal drugs.. or even perscription drugs for that matter.. and those are pretty fuckin easy to abuse too. Legalize pot already. its not a drug.
It probably wouldn't be the government putting stuff in it to make it addictive so much as evil corporations who know they can make more money if they can keep their customers coming back for more all the time. Surely, though, there'd be some company somewhere that would sell natural ganja. I think it'd probably be more expensive, but I'd pay a little extra for the real deal and not some chemically altered shit. But yeah, getting back on topic, I feel very strongly that weed SHOULD be legalized. It's such bullshit how the government demonizes it and uses all these totally false reasons for not legalizing it. Whoever typed up that list of myths is one of THEM. That list is shit. Logically, none of that garbage even makes sense. It's obvious to me that if they legalized weed, there would be less crime supporting it. You wouldn't get rid of ALL of it, but logic tells me that some of it would be diminished. Logic also tells me that taxes from legalized marijuana COULD indeed be used for good, like education, despite what that list says.
You come on a drug forum and post propaganda from The Drug Free America Foundation? http://www.dfaf.org/whatsright/myths.php Wow, way to buy into the bullshit the gov't spoon feeds you.