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Would you support legalizing marijuana use? If so, why? If not, why not?

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Yes

4 ( +10 / -6 )

Yes!

4 ( +9 / -5 )

But if it is legal you probably won't be able to buy it after 11.00 PM.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

If everyone in the world would use cannabis more, we might have less crazy people in this world. Bob Marley always had it right. Hemp is a good thing and has a lot of benefits besides medical applications.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

Every law of this sort aiming to regulate behaviors comes both with costs and benefits to individuals and society at large, whether it entail banning use of marijuana, prohibiting gambling and prostitution or even taxing cigarettes.

As such, the yardstick for the decision to legalize (or ban) marijuana should be whether or not the benefits of legalization outweigh the costs of prohibition.

Without going into detail, I think it should be legalized in the US where I believe the financial and societal costs of enforcement are very high relative to the costs of legalization. But, I think it should be kept illegal in Japan where the costs of enforcing the prohibition are much lower than the probable harm on Japan's society if it were made legal here.

-11 ( +3 / -14 )

Yes legalise it, use the money saved from trying to enforce the dumb law to pay down the national debt. Think of the benefits, less waste of public funds, more police freed up to deal with real crime, no rich drug barons, and then there are all the health benefits, treatment for glycoma, helps with cancer, reduces alcoholism rates just to name a few. And the music sounds better.

Make it legal for use over the age of 18 and illegal to drive will under the influence to satisfy the prudish who want to spoil everyones fun.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Yes. There are worse things for the body that are legal.

9 ( +14 / -5 )

I don't know why it's such a bad rap in Asia, even CNN Sanjay Gupta said recently there was no concrete evidence that taking in marihuana is bad for you. He did a 5 year research and found out quite the opposite. If these nitwitted politicians would smoke some, they might be label to get along and focus on their work.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

Yes, because there are so many research findings that support good use of it. In my view, data always win over emotion.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Sensato,

should be kept illegal in Japan where the costs of enforcing the prohibition are much lower than the probable harm on Japan's society if it were made legal here

Which aspects of Japan's society? Death from overwork? The demographic time bomb? The frighteningly high tolerance of suicide? Or maybe parasitic mizushoubai?

Must we really condemn millions to seek oblivion in deafening, smoky Pachinko parlors?

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Legalize it for sure, but it would have to be highly ( pardon the pun ) regulated and for those who continually say it isn't harmful, there are direct links between heavy use of Hydro to Schizophrenia , Not with all users , but then not all heavy drinkers become alcoholics, not all marijuana smokers end up doing hard drugs and wrecking their lives , It needs to be regulated for the same reason we have regulations in and on anything , to keep the bad apples from abusing it. Both the users and the suppliers.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

I'm completely against it. And remember folks I live in Colorado where it is now legal to toke it. I've seen first hand the people that use it (or used to use it), their mental faculties and health after long term use and the burden they're putting on our city. We've got tons of homeless folks(can't work a buck for a toke)/ wanna-be hippies/and more, and I haven't even begun with the teens and children that have been around parents that use it and their mental faculties. This is the future of our citizens. Lazy, stupid, inconsiderate, and unmotivated. I've already got a beef with the mass amount of inconsiderate smokers without adding tokers to the mix. But even with laws being enforced on how to "toke" legally people are still completely ignoring them...

Keep on advocating for legalization, but it comes with a price. Are you really willing to pay it in the long term? How stupid and pathetic do you really want future generations to be?

-8 ( +10 / -18 )

Yes, legalise it. I have friends who have smoked it over the years and they are still perfectly normal. Besides, it is the only natural thing that can take suffering away from cancer sufferers and those with painful medical problems.

Ever watch " Cops" on TV ? All they seem to do is jail people with a ittle packet of the stuff they find on them. What a waste of time and police rescources.

And then, In Japan you can't even purchase online nutritional Hemp seeds which is not the same as Marijuana and that ban also includes Hemp oil and Dr Bonners soaps made with Hemp oil. However, you can buy bird seeds and some Japanese condiments containing Hemp seeds. Rules for some and not others.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

YES!!! Why wouldn't you? The only reason it's illegal is many big companies are afraid of it being used as a replacement.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

HonestDictator is absolutely right, i have also experienced this first hand...

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

defo better than alcohol

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Alex Einz, I don't know about that. A few glasses of vodka is heaven!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It could be legalised, but with the proviso that those who choose to use it permanently forfeit any claim to welfare benefits. I don't want to be paying for those who deliberately incapacitate themselves, addle their brains and make themselves fit for nothing.

Feel free to do as you like, but don't come crying to me when you're living in a cardboard box by the river due to your own actions.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

I'd support legalizing marijuana just so annoying pot heads will have nothing to talk about and I won't have to hear about their conspiracy theories about why it's illegal (although, I must admit, some of them are true). The more drugs are decriminalized, the lower crime and incarceration rates will be, and the fewer taxpayer dollars will have to go to fund prisons and law enforcement. It's no secret that after the "War on Drugs" started in the US crime and incarceration rates exploded. There is quite a lot of evidence that treating drug use as a social problem rather than a crime leads to lower recidivism rates, lower cost to taxpayers, and happier (not to mention safer) societies. Smoke up, bros, smoke up.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Just a few weeks ago we had a guy going through a complete mental break down literally crying "I want my mommy". Homeless, roughly about his early to mid 20s a wanna-be hippy.

@ John, lower crime rates? Has it ever occurred to you that crime rates go up when people can't afford their drug of choice through legal means? A lot of pot heads can't hold a good paying job, or even be accepted by a good paying job. So how do you make enough to buy 1/6 ounce for $150-200 USD? Taxes will be kicking up that price pretty soon as well. One of the things that came out of the 60s drug culture was drug addiction and how people are willing to do practically anything for a fix of what they want. Lessons haven't been learned by those that don't understand that the "good old days" weren't as good as they imagined it to be. Time always shows the truth of reality though. Time will have to sink it unless the folks meant to learn the lesson die off before then...

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

No. Mainly because cannabis use by younger people greatly increases the risk of their developing schizophrenia.

For those who have no family history of schizophrenia, cannabis use somewhat increases the risk of acquiring the disorder. For those who do have a family history of the disease, cannabis dramatically increases the risk of acquiring it. Unfortunatley, it can be difficult to tell if your family has a history of schizophrenia, some people have a genetic predisposition to the disease, but never develop it. Using cannabis greatly increases the chance of these people becoming schizophrenic.

Some studies suggest that more than half of the people who suffer from schizophrenia today might not have contracted the disease had they never smoked marijuana.

On the other hand, those who are adults, and have fully-developed brains seem to have no increased risk. Unfortunately, most people who start smoking pot begin doing so in their teens.

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

I enjoy a beer and a scotch in moderation nowadays and I used to enjoy the odd bong or space cake in moderation. Legalize it, but make people acutely aware of the dangers of abuse as you would with alcohol or even prescription drugs. It seems most believe it to be less harmful than alcohol but that doesn't make it harmless. All drugs have side-effects, particularly when used in large quantities over a long period of time. Moderation in all things....

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Absolutely. The image this country has of marijuana is straight out of Reefer Madness. Completely misinformed and fueled by lies and propaganda. Countries in Europe have had it legal for ages and now Canada and the US are using it for medical use with some areas allowing personal use, so I don't understand how Japan refuses to accept the facts that it is no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. Then again, look how long it took for them to make the breakthrough that gargling with water is not effective in combating colds/flus. The stubbornness of the medical communities and higher up government will never want to move back from their stand that smoking a joint will fry your brain beyond repair, as they would have to admit they were wrong and we know that is impossible. Marijuana is far safer than all of these loophole drugs that change their chemical formulas faster than the members of AKB.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Has it ever occurred to you that crime rates go up when people can't afford their drug of choice through legal means?

I'm afraid I don't understand your argument. One of the reasons marijuana users cannot hold jobs is either the social stigma of use, or the fact that they are drug tested. If it was legalized, they wouldn't have to worry about that. How about prohibition? When alcohol was made illegal, we had the most romanticized onslaught of crime probably in the history of the world.

If you're talking about the effects of the drug, I uh, still don't follow. Alcohol is detrimental, but if it's used in moderation most people can handle having a few beers after work and still make it on time the next day.

Can't afford it? I admit, I don't know what they're thinking about charging, but I doubt it would be made so unaffordable that it's unattainable. And, if it's decriminalized, you'll probably be allowed to grow for personal use.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A dear friend of mine, a rather conservative Japanese lady of 70-odd years of age, recently passed away from cancer. We'd discussed marijuana now and then over the years, and she was vehemently against it - until she began taking her cancer medication. She lost her appetite and withered away, poor thing. Towards the end, she told me she wished she had access to marijuana to help her avoid pain and to eat.

With such an aging society, criminalizing marijuana is itself criminal.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Uruguay has just legalized it as an experiment in Latin America, but under strict supervision, ie you get it from a medical clinic, and a set amount per month. Many other countries will be eager to see the results. The aim is to break the hold of the drug gangs and resultant crime, I believe. Other drugs are not included.

In the meantime, you now have a wider choice of favorite poison. So, yes.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Legalize it, but with the same rules as smoking in most countries (no smoking near children, no smoking in public, etc.).

5 ( +7 / -2 )

no, but can you imagine how many idiots in the car or truck drivers?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Where? In Japan? No comment.

In the US, probably, but there are some points of concern:

keeping it away from minors -- and what about pregnant women? stoned driving no advertising please

I have seen it damage some kids pretty badly. It that happens while they are growing up, I think it can affect them, mentally and physically, forever. About pregnant women, I worry.

But I think there is a chance that by legalizing it, instead more emphasis could be placed on honest education and discussion about side effects. Tax it, and use the money to show TV ads about the detrimental side effects.

Driving stoned should be illegal. But is there a way to measure blood level accurately? THC (the active ingredient) is fat soluble, and it stays in the body fat for weeks or months, and during this time there are traces in the blood even though it has no significant mental affect. Is there a blood test which can measure if a person is actually incapacitated by pot? If not, it should be developed before legalization.

I also dread the govt becoming addicted to pot tax revenues. I think there should be strict laws about using the taxes to help people who have a habit and want to quit and rehabilitate.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

No. I'm against any recreational drugs. They have been shown to damage young brains, they lead to a loss of self-control and... what's the point, the pot heads will come back with masses of anecdotes to prove that it's safe. If you want to smoke the stuff in your own home, then be my guest - but ONLY in your home, away from children, pregnant women, the infirm... and you need to sign a form which states that you fully understand the risks involved.

I work for the health service and right next door we have a clinic for addicts. You see (and smell) them smoking weed before they go in for their medication... quite pathetic really.

If it's for medical use, then there needs to be a spray version which is ONLY used by those who need it. Smoking weed to ease the pain is not the ideal way of doing it. A spray under the tongue would be just as effective.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Very tolerant for a Mennonite, Mennonite Maiden. Just wanted to mention my ancestors on my father's side were Mennonites. It's a small world.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Yes. Because the ban isn't working and is just a waste of money and ruins people's llives.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Mennonite Maiden I work for the NHS in the UK - what happens in America is none of my concern.

I'm all for banning tobacco... here in the UK there are already restrictions on where you can smoke. Supermarkets have the cigs behind shutters so are out of sight. Like Australia we are hoping to have plain packaging soon.

Booze? They need to so something about it. Here in Scotland there are too many alcohol related deaths. The Scottish Government are bringing in measures such as minimum pricing to try and combat the abuse of cheap alcohol. The health service is straining under the number of alcohol related injuries (violence as well as the results of too much booze) so I am all for curbs on it's sale.

Weed, pot, whatever you want to call it goes hand in hand with the cheap booze, resulting in yobbos who are not only drunk but stoned. When they grow bored with weed they will graduate towards harder drugs for a better hit, and so on up the ladder they go.

Lastly, how dare you question whether I work in the heath service or not...

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The real reason it has a bad rap, isn't because it is an "abusive substance" so much as the marajuana/ hemp plants compete with a big tobacco and other businesses. There many uses for hemp.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

No,

it is no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol.

Precisely. It's has useless and as harmful. We have already enough problems with alcohol and tobacco. Don't add others.

Has it ever occurred to you that crime rates go up when people can't afford their drug of choice through legal means?

Or the contrary. Amsterdam, where pot is legal, is a cut-throat. It's the worst city of Europe, and sadly, I know personally. Amsterdam : 4.4 murders per 100,000 people vs less than 0.5 per 100,000 in Japan... and there are rapes, assaults, slave prostitutes, etc. The thing is the Dutch don't bother making stuff illegal because there the mafia rules anyway.

When alcohol was made illegal, we had the most romanticized onslaught of crime probably in the history of the world.

It's romance precisely. America was a land of gangsters before, during and after the famous prohibition. Other prohibitions over the world were big success. For absynthe in France, opium in China, prohbitions worked at 100%. And look at Muslim countries, they sure have a few guys drinking beers in their cellar, but no Al Capone gangs dealing booze.

Driving stoned should be illegal.

It has always been illegal. The laws are not specifying substances, even driving with certain flu medications is illegal.

Is there a blood test which can measure if a person is actually incapacitated by pot?

A blood test, yep. In Europe, cops use it routinely on roads. For youths, they already get more traffic accidents due to sh*t than to booze. But well, as it's a blood test, they can make you take without a reason, it's done after people get arrested for bad driving or something, to prosecute them. Too late. Useless. I don't think they have anything fast like the blow test for alcohol. Many air heads believe pot doesn't render you unable to drive. My brother was saying that, before his (big) accident, and now, he can go tell his old buddies saying : "actually that's worse", they don't even listen. There is so much propaganda stating that would be a safe product, they say "recreational", so that sounds like watching fireworks.

more emphasis could be placed on honest education and discussion about side effects.

No need to change the law to educate people.

Sanjay Gupta said recently there was no concrete evidence that taking in marihuana is bad for you.

We can take him to see graves of marijuana of victims in the other car. I don't care what it does to you, the issue is what it does to others.

she began taking her cancer medication. She lost her appetite and withered away,

@Laguna, medical use is a different matter, your story is sad, but that's something else. To terminal cancer patients, they can legally prescribe products better adapted and much stronger than marijuana, including medical marijuana extracts, so if that doesn't work, don't dream, a joint won't do anything. Now your friend was maybe too proud to ask stronger stuff to her doctor, or he was one of those old-fashioned sensei that don't listen to patients and deny them the efficient pain killers. That's another problem. We had it with my grandma.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

HonestDictator is absolutely right, i have also experienced this first hand...

@inlsgr--I guess you never figured that most of that was a result of it being illegal, did you?

Push things underground and they can cause much more harm. That is what happened with the prohibition on alcohol.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why not for the terminally ill - if it makes pain more tolerable.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@Mennonite Maiden I neither smoke nor drink, so banning either wouldn't affect me in any way shape or form.

I am NOT suggesting no MJ for terminally ill patients - I am merely suggesting that rather than have the patient smoking the stuff, can't it be made into a spray? People trying to give up smoking can use a nicotine spray, so surely a spray containing the 'weed' can be used? There is just something wrong with a patient smoking a spliff.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

without a shadow of a doubt it should be legalised and regulated. There is not a single rational reason for a prohibition on cannabis

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

“There are no bad drugs. There’s simply stupid people who don’t know how to use them.”- Timothy Leary.

Of course he was totally neutral on the whole subject wasn't he?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

syzyguy, there are a lot of really bad drugs around nowadays. (Timothy Leary might want to say something different forty years on.)

I agree it should be legalized and a legal framework put in place, like with cigarettes, to classify the strength and purity and lack of contamination with other substances. The effects are much more powerful and longer lasting than tobacco, so limitations on what humans are allowed to do after smoking should also be top of the list.

As to whether a patient should be allowed to smoke or have it sprayed under the tongue, if you want to stay natural MM, you could always make tea with it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I find this a tough one. I used to smoke a bit when I was younger - it was part and parcel of the surfing scene and youth culture of the early 90's. Most places I went people smoked it. But, in all honesty, it didn't do anyone any real favours.They thought they were cool,they thought it gave us 'insights' into life, we were anti-establishment, some people thought it helped them relax. But, in reality it did none of those things. For some, it was a pathway to harder stuff. For some, it just became their life and they became reclusive, withdrawn and kind of useless. For some, it badly affected their state of mind and made them paranoid and delusional. Some genuine surfing talents just festered their talent and motivation away in a cloud of smoke. In fact, I can't think of any people who used it a lot and genuinely benefited from it. And can think of a few now, in their early to mid 40's who are just socially hopeless people that are a real chore to humour for any length of time at all. So, I think that legalising it will not be good, overall. I can see a stronger argument for decriminalising it - for people to be allowed to smoke it at home, by themselves if that's what they want to do, but I really can't see any compelling reason why it should be legal.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Honest Dictator is right. Legalizing cannibas would destroy the U.S. or any country who does it. The Asian countries know this and its why there is such a heavy penality for it. All your push to be engineers and an export country would vaporize. It was interesting watching Sanjay Guptahs interview, all the people he interviewed had a stoned, vaccant look to them, like the stoners back in high school.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

HonestDictator.

These Marijuana smoking people you refer to that have problems, it's because they had their demons before they started. Plenty of people with mental problems who don't even smoke the stuff. Being homeless is not an indicator of smoking Marijuana-- If they do smoke, it's probably the only pleasure they have in their miserable lives. Plenty of homeless people in Japan but they aren't users of the stuff.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

no, that stuff would be too hard to keep under control. Everyone would have it but, no one would by it. I respect Japan's illegal drug laws and I think its for the best.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

I think it's fine if it's legal, but it had better not be in public (i.e. around kids)! In the privacy of your own home? Sure.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Yes and allow the person that uses it or needs it for extreme pain the right to grow it for him/herself enough for their private use.

I have a shattered spine from an RPG explosion and with the governments now getting to where the pain meds I use NOT to be given because of a few bad people then what would I have to take to even try to ease the pain?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not after reading about that pilot of that hot-air balloon that crashed in NZ, killing all 11 people aboard, had cannabis in his system.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

I am against the legalization of marijuana.

Of course, where to draw the line? That is open to honest debate. Mine is the following: when the entire purpose of consuming a substance is to alter the mind, then it has crossed the line. For instance, wine can be appreciated for its bouquet and flavor responsibly without mind-altering intoxication. Beer can be appreciated without mind-altering intoxication, if consumed responsibly. Same is true for scotch, rum, et cetera.

These comments should be enough to garner many "thumbs down" reviews from JT readers today. Y'all may not agree with my position, but at least respect that I arrived at my position reasonably.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Not in any country in which I must pay for health care coverage of cannabis (and tobacco) users. Make people pay for their own choices.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

So Phil are you opposed to the sale of autmobiles? More peope are injured and hospitalised as a result of using them than cannabis.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

How come we don't have a dope meter - I mean vote meter on this topic? Did JT assume everyone who posts on here smoked the stuff?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes.

The violence associated with marijuana has to do with the fact that it's illegal. If it were legalized, the price would go down and it would be less profitable, so the cartels would be out of business.

Anyone who says smoking weed is a victimless crime doesn't understand the issues. Drug enforcement officers and police on both sides of the borders have been murdered by cartels and marijuana growers. Marijuana is by far the most profitable cash crop in Mexico, which is the reason the Mexican government doesn't want the U.S. to legalize it. While Mexico makes moral arguments against legalizing it, the fact is narcotics are a $40 billion per year industry in Mexico, and pumps much-needed liquidity into their economy. Their banking system and government would collapse if profits from marijuana dropped from 80 percent to 10 percent.

The government should consider meeting with marijuana growers, introducing them to other crops, and providing seed money to make the transition, much like Thailand did more than a decade ago.

However, I don't think it'll become legal at the federal level for awhile, given the precedent in the U.S.

Here's an article from 2010 that explains the issue better than I could: http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100405_mexico_and_failed_state_revisited?utm_source=GWeekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=100406&utm_content=readmore&elq=d216c3c85de5479bb8578b091fb502a0

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I'm from the UK and I think everyone my age from the UK can tell a personal story of punch-ups and flying pint glasses. One of my school classmates was left brain damaged by a gang of pissheads who set upon him and his girlfriend who escaped with a glass in the face. If history had been different and pot was the drug of choice, a drug which doesn't seem to induce aggression, I'd probably be posting a resounding no to the legalization of alcohol.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yes, I would support the legalization of it.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

. Beer can be appreciated without mind-altering intoxication, if consumed responsibly.

Perhaps. But one drink alters your brain chemistry. One drink being a 12 oz can of beer, a glass of wine, or an oz of hard liquor (40 proof).

Since no one who drinks consumes less one one drink, and most can drink three of four over a few hours without having a blood acohol level over .06, I don't think you point stands.

Finally, people do drink to excess. And it is a leading cause for violence and drunk driving.

Baked stoners do not hit other people. They listen to music and eat too much.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The evidence is building to over whelming proportions that the medicinal benefits out weight the negative stereotype on the cannabis plant , i would vote yes

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Sorry, but advocating using MJ for those suffering from cancer is the weakest argument out there. I work in a pharmacy, and we've got seriously waaaay better medication for thse patients and the situations their in. People only use this "argument" in attempting to validate the "good" that MJ does only to advocate recreational use which is the end all for them. Why take a chicken bone for hunger pains when you can have a more effective steak meal?

Oxycodone and some other high strength analgesics are what is used to alleviate the severe chronic pain that many cancer patients suffer from (we're talking about opium dirived medications with here folks, the not that weak THC stuff. Which by the way doesn't have to be smoked to be effective. We actually already do have concentrated THC tablets now in our pharmacy, and its hardly ever ordered because real docters don't even prescribe it since there are so many better meds out there. Even tramadol is more ideal and effective. We also have much better hunger inducing meds than a bit of MJ and not a single one of you has even considered extreme cases where we just have to give people IVs if they can't even swallow or eat orally. which is exactly one of the numerous reasons we don't have it prescribed. If a patient needs it so badly they'll even be prescribed cocaine, heroine, or legally. So uhm, no MJ is not the magical herb to fix their needs. If it were, it would be prescribed more now wouldn't it?

Even at this moment it was shown that the vast majority of the "doctors" who were passing out medical MJ licenses before my state passed the law for recreational use well over 75% of them were fraudulent and there are so many court cases for them that it's riduculous. That speaks more volumes than not about how MJ was pushed into recreational use by shady motives in the very beginning.

Many of you who advocate for it live in a dream world. I've lived with the reality of it since my childhood and I'm looking at it straight in the face every time I go outside in my city. You're going to get exactly what you work for. I know for a fact, and while its fine if people don't believe me because it all comes to and end just not the way many of you figure it would. It really sucks having to suffer from the extremely stupid decisions of others. Remember the saying, "Just because its popular doesn't meant it's right and just because its right doesn't meant its going to be popular"?

Its not going to be the little happy hole you've always imagined it to be just because its "popular".

1 ( +4 / -3 )

My biggest concern is that pot makes you "chill" and essentially robs you of your drive and ambition. Think what you will of me, but I'm in my 40s and driven enough to want to become successful and have financial security. But my own experience if, people who do pot will not have that drive, and I'd love to see comparisons of income of people in different professions etc. and how they perform with or without pot.

I know it's way less harmful than alcohol. I'm just sure it's not best for most people, especially people who want to have a good career, and be successful in their lives. Can you think of anyone who was very successful yet smoked pot often, without suffering lower performance in their professional lives? Carl Sagan, yes. Anyone else?

All this said, people have voted for pot legalization with their actions for decades. That, and the way anti pot laws are applied to blacks more than whites, makes me support legalization.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

@Peterpayne How about successful stockbrokers, other high-flyers or even junior doctors wired on cocaine or amphetamines to enhance their sharpness and be successful? Is that more acceptable?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Yes! Because yes!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why ask such a question? Is Japan pondering over it? Make it legal. Theres no logical reason for it to be a crime to toke. Heck if its legal I might even smoke it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

My biggest concern is that pot makes you "chill" and essentially robs you of your drive and ambition

You fell for the great myth. Sorry to burst your bubble but there are millions of people who regularly use marijuana and are far more successful than you.

Its an interesting question why it was made illegal in the first place. I think we're living in a short blip in human history where that is the case.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

yes! right now sensible act in bc are TRYING their hardest to legalize it in bc! ha i signed up and i feel really proud!!

its obvious weed helps in cancer, depression and other things. i'm pretty sure the government made it illegal to make us suffer and made it look so scary for no good reason. im not addicted to it yet people smoke and drink LOL wow. why make a healthy herb illegal if there is soooo much proof out there that weed is good for you? gov should go to hell.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Different strains of marijuana have different effects. Some strains are "downers" while some strains are actually "uppers." Not all strains are like Cheech & Chong, although those are usually more popular.

As to why it was banned in the U.S. in the first place, after the losing end of the Alcohol Prohibition in the 1930s, the ultra-traditionalists needed a new scapegoat to blame the ills of society, and MJ weed became one. So decades after decades of misleading info were fed to the public to keep MJ on the same grade level list as cocaine, even though cocaine is much more destructive. But new polls nowadays show that more than half of Americans now won't stand in the way of legalizing marijuana as a regulated substance.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Kind of a vague question. Legalize it where? There in Japan? Good luck with that.

I'd never vote for legalizing that narcotic. Am told it was made legal somewhere here in the U.S. Not sure where and don't care because fortunately federal law trumps state law. The hippies in whatever state got it voted into law will never smoke one leaf of legal weed.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

@LH10, once again why take a weaker, less effective medication when we have better meds that do the exact same thing except 10 times better? Strawman argument again...

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I used to smoke it and drive. Looking back it's a wonder a tragedy didn't happen.

No, I don't support legalising it. First, the chances of actually getting caught with a bit of personal is very, very small. Second, the punishment for getting caught with a bit of personal is basically a slap on the wrist. Third, the number of people smoking it would increase, and I'm pretty sure that would result in an increase in marijuana-related road accidents. Fourth, the bloody price will increase. Fifth, I'm not convinced legalisation would actually take organised crime out of the picture anyway.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Marijuana is illegal for one reason and one reason only: It can't be effectively controlled. Because it can't be effectively controlled the government can't effectively tax it.

The end.

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As I indicated above, ad have subsequently been proven right, there s no RATIONAL case for MJ prohibition. Legal, economic, equitable and common-sense arguments all support legalisation. The "war on Drugs" has been an unmitigated disaster in every sense. Time has come to introduce a regulatory framework around these products.

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Fifth, I'm not convinced legalisation would actually take organised crime out of the picture anyway.

When has organized crime every been taken out of any picture? Some will go legit. Others will lose a cash cow. I believe the effects on organized crime will be largely negative.

Third, the number of people smoking it would increase,

Well if that comes with a decrease in alcohol drinkers it might do a lot of good, even on the roads.

But basically why I am against pot being criminalized is that the government and society has no business stopping me doing what does not directly harm any of them. Some people have decided that there would be a negative effect on economy for legalization, but their profits over my rights?? No way.

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SimondBOCT. 31, 2013 - 08:01AM JST But if it is legal you probably won't be able to buy it after 11.00 PM.

Brilliant! I can't believe anyone voted that down.

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Absolutely should be legalized. Much less harmful than either tobacco or alcohol. And WAY less harmful than the effects of prohibition. Plus it's a great medicine.

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I'm absolutely against the use of marijuana in any form. I accidentally inhaled this substance once (as a passive smoker), and all I got was a shivering feeling of paranoia, suicidal thoughts and a realistic hallucination that I was choking to death. That's enough for me. I didn't feel anything that marijuana smokers tell everybody - absolutely no feeling of relax but rather a feeling that I was unable to do anything and totally hopeless.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

HonestDictatorOCT. 31, 2013 - 10:58AM JST I'm completely against it. And remember folks I live in Colorado where it is now legal to toke it. I've seen first hand the people that use it (or used to use it), their mental faculties and health after long term use and the burden they're putting on our city. We've got tons of homeless folks(can't work a buck for a toke)/ wanna-be hippies/and more, and I haven't even begun with the teens and children that have been around parents that use it and their mental faculties. This is the future of our citizens. Lazy, stupid, inconsiderate, and unmotivated. I've already got a beef with the mass amount of inconsiderate smokers without adding tokers to the mix. But even with laws being enforced on how to "toke" legally people are still completely ignoring them...

Keep on advocating for legalization, but it comes with a price. Are you really willing to pay it in the long term? How stupid and pathetic do you really want future generations to be?

Are you serious? I too live in Colorado and frankly you are grossly misrepresenting the facts and your stories are ridiculous! Oh wait, you must be from the conservative guard who hates all of these people migrating to Colorado, even though we are all educated, work high paying jobs, and pay taxes... Perhaps you should move up to Weld and/or Larimer County and try to secede from the rest of the State.... For the record, I am neither pro or against the legalization but you my friend are simply making up too many tall tales! You must have watched Reefer Madness over the weekend...

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@dubleHelix74,

I agree with you but perhaps the most powerful and appealing argument for marijuana decriminalization is that it would save a huge amount of government money now being spent on the enforcement of such laws. Every city has budget problem. The the goverment is putting economics over additional long term problem.

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Meanwhile, some of us prefer natural alternatives. Show some respect for dying people.

@Mennonite Sorry to hear about your situation. I know someone, too, who has cancer.

There's an interesting, eye-opening documentary called Cancer The Forbidden Cures which I recommend you to watch if you haven't already. It details how Big Pharma, FDA and the powers that be have and continue to suppress natural treatments because it will hurt their bottom line. It's startling to find out that there was already a cure since the 1920's. You can check the video out on Youtube.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I know I'm going to be voted down on this as it seems that most here are pro legalization but I say, "Why"?

The only people that even seem to want it are foreigners. I haven't met very many Japanese people who even know what it is, other than what they've seen on TV. It's not some miracle drug that is suddenly going to make people better. The best that most people can say is that it's not as harmful as other substances. (such as alcohol or tobacco). Do we really need more drugs in Japan? I came from a place where it was fairly common to see people light up, even in broad daylight, and I can't say that it made it a better place.

People won't "miss" what they don't know, and so far no one has a really convincing argument that it's good for you. In some cases, it can be good for you (medically speaking) and in those situations perhaps it should be legalized, like any other prescription drug. However, you can't convince me that the majority of users actually need it for medicinal purposes. That's just a load of BS.

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Yes. Before 1936 it was a legal medicine in both the USA and Japan.American policy changed that.Lots growing wildly in Hokaido.As for the smoking,most users take the stuff from baked goods and candy.Get with the program.Europe is light years ahead of of on this matter.

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Yes! Simply because everyone should be free to experiment with whatever they see fit to their lives. It maybe meaningless to some, but very important to others. One's life should not be ruined just because they like the plant. It's very unfair that they should loose their job, treated like a criminal, not able to get permanent work, just because they decided to inhale a toke, even just once. Legalizing it doesn't mean that it will be available to everyone at any time. As soon as it's legalized, profiters are going to think up ways to make as much profit from it as possible. This is the real danger, not the product. It should never be advertised, and should only be accessible to registered people, who agree to go through yearly health checkups and even psyhological evaluations. It should be restricted to the ones who can't handle it. Sales should be done by government bodies and strictly non profit organizations.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yes - but there should be strict guidelines pertaining to how it's bought and consumed (ie. ID cards, volume restrictions etc.). It's a recreational drug - and totally different to the harder stuff like MDMA, cocaine or heroin.

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Pro with all positive points listed in the above and hopefully J-NSA didn't post this thread originally :)

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The TAX money generated by a proper program, ie : alcohol tax model , will soon become very hard to ignore. The 2 states over here in the US that have legalized recreational use will soon be under close watch by the rest of the world. I'm am positive that the Government will not ignore the billions of dollars it will generate in the state's coffers. YOU know Governments, they like money.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Can you think of anyone who was very successful yet smoked pot often, without suffering lower performance in their professional lives? Carl Sagan, yes. Anyone else?

Ween

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Cannabis is a Medicinal Plant , smoking ( which is not the best use), it is only one use from hundreds of other uses. It is outraging to see a constant spreading of disinformation ( by official media), on subjects that are vital to a healthy society and to people who suffer from many illnesses ! Read and educate ! The only way to contribute to society in a positive way.

We have a 2nd "Library Of Alexandria" = INTERNET

When one read enough, search enough, learn enough, is curious enough, patient enough, and free ( as much as possible), from preconceptions, the truth and lies separate like oil and water .

start by reading : Dr. Donald Tashkin Marijuana Lung Cancer Study http://nimbintelevision.net/194 or ASA association http://www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety

or "The transdermal and Oral Use Of Cannabis" By Dr. Scirus: http://drsircus.com/medicine/medical-marijuana/transdermal-oral-cannabis

the youtube named: Kaneh Bosm: The Hidden Story of Cannabis in the Old Testament https://youtu.be/w0bH6Z_OSp8

and endless studies around the world ...

ignorance is not a virtue

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