[AustralianConservative]

http://bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=270&ArticleID=52735

[freekitty]

I really hope they don’t. I believe it’s a lie that marijuana is not harmful. Dr. Paul being a doctor should know better. Barney Frank is nothing but a little ugly worm who makes my skin crawl.

[alexander_busek]

This article is a tissue of logical fallacies - chief among them, the "Straw Man" fallacy mixed with the "It's for the Children!" fallacy. Though the "All or Nothing" fallacy (also known as "Demanding Perfection") likewise gets a good work-out. And the fact that the medical side-effects (neurological changes, metabolic disorders, etc.) and behavioral problems (not completing high school, etc.) of ALCOHOL are, of course, not mentioned.

And, of course, the societal costs (including erosion of the Constitution - specifically of the Bill of Rights) of the "War on (Some) Drugs" are not discussed.

That's why I say: "RE-legalize it."

Regards,

[Grizzled Bear]

Dr Simmons said: “People say ‘it’s only weed, it’s natural’. It is a natural substance, but it can have significant adverse effects. It can not only cause psychosis, but exacerbate existing phychoses.”

Poison Ivy is also a natural weed. Let's smoke some, right after we finish this delicious Night Shade salad!

[andyk]

From the Merck Manual

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug; it is typically used episodically without evidence of social or psychologic dysfunction.

Let's not get all in a tither.

[freepersup]

Someone on THIS thread PLEASE tell me how many deaths marijuana (illegal) has caused... and how many deaths alcohol (legal) has caused??????????????????????????????????

[berdie]

As soon as the demonization of smoking a cigarette quits...I’ll think about legalisation. (I am not a smoker, btw). Taxing pot could be very lucrative..but I want pictures and warnings and massive restrictions.

As soon as Libertarians run on the “L” ticket as opposed to the “R” ticket...

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Chantelle Simmons said: “Cannabis use has been shown to be associated with difficulties in thought processes in 15-20 year olds.

Right, this is a very big concern because there's a big push on to legalize it for 15 year olds /sarc. Marijuana will not be legalized, and we will continue pouring billions of tax dollars that we don't have into the futile war to combat it's use. But if it ever were legalized, it's inconceivable that the age of use would be under 21 - the legal drinking age.

[Berlin_Freeper]

The Commissioners of The Global Commission on Drug Policy:

» Asma Jahangir
- human rights activist, former UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary, Extrajudicial and Summary Executions, Pakistan

» Carlos Fuentes
- writer and public intellectual, Mexico

» César Gaviria
- former President of Colômbia

» Ernesto Zedillo
- former President of México

» Fernando Henrique Cardoso
- former President of Brazil (chair)

» George Papandreou
- Prime Minister of Greece

» George Shultz
- former Secretary of State, United States (honorary chair)

» Javier Solana
- former European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Spain

» John Whitehead
- banker and civil servant, chair of the World Trade Center Memorial, United States

» Kofi Annan
- former Secretary General of the United Nations, Ghana

» Louise Arbour
- former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, president of the International Crisis Group, Canada

» Maria Cattaui
- Member of the Board, Petroplus Holdings; former Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Commerce, Switzerland

» Marion Caspers-Merk
- former State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Health, Germany

» Mario Vargas Llosa
- writer and public intellectual, Peru

» Michel Kazatchkine
- executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, France

» Paul Volcker
- former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve and of the Economic Recovery Board, US

» Richard Branson
- entrepreneur, advocate for social causes, founder of the Virgin Group, cofounder of The Elders, United Kingdom

» Ruth Dreifuss
- former President of Switzerland and Minister of Home Affairs

» Thorvald Stoltenberg
- former Minister of Foreign Affairs and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Norway

[Monorprise]

I am against Drugs and I feel many if not most State Governments should control theses addictive substances.

But it is nonetheless my firmly held position that the Federal Government of the United States is NOT constitutionally empowered to prohibit a plan, drug, or any other substance within the boundaries of any State.

To that end I see FDA, ATF, and DEA agents as nothing more then criminals that should be arrested, charged, and shunned as such.

[TigersEye]

Dr Simmons added that studies had shown that marijuana use caused higher rates of depressive illness in adult women – four times the rate of depression found in non-users.

Teenage marijuana smokers have also been found to be less likely to complete high school and more likely to make poor career and life choices.

Correlation does not equal causation. Perhaps people prone to depression and making poor choices are more likely to self-medicate with pot, alcohol, tobacco and so forth.

[I see my hands]

I'd like it legal (not taxed) but the arguing and arguments have become wearisome. Same old BS from the same old impenetrably righteous and/or ignorant crowd.

[douginthearmy]

We are 14 trillion in debt. I don’t care if marijuana causes fluorescent orange testical discoloration. Stop spending MONEY ON THIS STUPID WAR ON DRUGS!!! What a TOTAL waste of my unborn grandkids’ money so some can feel better about themselves.

[CodeToad]

The same power the government is using to outlaw some drugs is the same power they are using to ban tansfats, sugars, and other things.

What constitutional authority does the goverment have in saying what we consume?

[wildbill]

Half the legal over the counter remedies can kill you if overdone or combined with another substance such as alcohol.I remember being shocked when I actually read the little description of the sideeffects in the package and found out that a common pain-killer could destroy your liver if you drank alcohol.

The other half of them only cause serious side effects if not taken in moderation or as prescribed on the box. I remember I once took an over the counter ‘nerve’ pill and had a couple of drinks. The results were hallucinatons to the point where I had to be taken to a doctor.

And I’m not even going to all the side effects that are so glibly and speedily enumerated on advertisments for prescription drugs on TV. We don’t ban those drugs because they have side effects on a minority of those who take them.

Salt can kill you. Mother’s Milk can cause cancer. We don’t advocate putting these items into dangerous substance categories with penalties.

In the final analyss we can’t save everyone from every hazzard. While some studies show all the potential hazzards for heavy users, what are we talking about in actual numbers?

Our national conversation should be about a rational cost vs values analysis on the War on Drugs.

[Little Ray]

Yeah, and the side effects of alcohol abuse?

Legalize the stuff and get the pot business out of the hands of criminals. Throw the (non-violent) pot offenders, in prison on mandatory sentences, out of the prison. Leave the beds open for REAL criminals...

[rottndog]

Neurologist Dr Keith Chiappa said: “The use of marijuana, especially in younger age groups, should not be encouraged by any legalisation and should continue to be discouraged by specific programmes.”

Legalizing something is not encouraging its' use...you can always see the hollowness of someone's argument against drug legalization when they deliberately try to confuse and connect the two. Dr Chiappa may have a degree hanging on the wall, but clearly that is not evidence of his ability to reason.