[sigzero]

Are they distinguishing “medical” usage from “recreational” usage? I would be for the former but not for the later.

[rightwingextremist1776]

I just had to laugh at this one... Marijuana has a history of being linked to crime in the United States and throughout the world..,p. And Alcohol isn't? Truth is that legalization would suck the wind right out of the sails of the narco-terrorists just as it did to the mop that controlled alcohol during prohibition.

[svcw]

For better or for worse, alcohol as been part of human history for millennia.

And so has cannabis.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Of the many falsehoods in this article, the following may be the most glaring:

"marijuana is far more likely than alcohol to be cause addiction"

Exactly the opposite is true: according to research cited by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, of all those who ever used marijuana, 9% have at some point been addicted to it - whereas the corresponding figure for alcohol is 15%.

[dblshot]

An issue not usually addressed is that many occupations, such as oil and gas work, require by law, drug testing. And for good reasons. So assuming those safety requirements stay on they books, we have an another society polarizing effect. Those who are cool or at least cool to it and those that aren't, as the saying went. Can I enjoy a concert filled with pot smoke if I am subject to losing my job if I fail a wiz quiz? Considering the hate towards tobacco smoke these days, what's it going to be in public places against the smell of burning rope? Legalizing may still mean some boundaries exist but it is more likely that people who don't care for smoke will be affected if pot is more prevalent. Now if people would go to hookah houses or eat marijuana brownies that might work.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Drugs are a tax on your health.

[Responsibility2nd]

That Heritage Foundation article is simply outstanding.

 

It's long. But read it. Read it now.

 

Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No

 

 

It is beyond belief that there are so many liberals here at FR who want to legalize this.

[qam1]

In fact, in Amsterdam, one of Europe’s most violent cities, pot is legal and a prevalent aspect of society (Stimson 6). Heritage reports that “Officials are in the process of closing marijuana dispensaries, or ‘coffee shops,’ because of the crime associated with their operation” (Stimson 6).

Stupid

Amsterdam's crime is from Islamic immigrants who I doubt are big pot heads

In addition to its lack of historical precedent in America’s historical experience, marijuana also has much more severe health effects than alcohol. 1) marijuana is far more likely than alcohol to be cause addiction, 2) it is usually consumed to the point of intoxication, 3) it has no known intrinsically healthful properties (it can only relieve pain –and artificially at that), 4) it has toxins that can result in birth defects, pain, respiratory damage, brain damage, and stroke, 5) it increases heart rate by 20% to 100% elevating the risk of heart attack (Stimson 4).

Everything in the above is flat out lie

I haven't smoked pot in 10+ years and have no desire to do so again, but come on now, if you have to resort to half truths, distortions and flat out lies like those found in this article, then it's really time to reexamine your position.

Who ever wrote this tripe is an embarrassment to Conservatives, regardless of which position you take. Liberals use tactics and lies like this, not Conservatives

[Sudetenland]

This must have been published in The Onion. It's hysterical, the logic is flawed in all of the arguments, but "mythbuster" #3 is downright absurd.

Alcohol has destroyed more lives, destroyed more families, been responsible for more abused wives, abused children and general violent crime and killed more people--either directly or indirectly--than all the other drugs combined.

You can't successfully legislate behavior or morality and attempting to do so only increases criminality and scorn for the law.

Legalization is one of the areas where libertarians are right.

[Neidermeyer]

The conclusion is not supported by the “facts” ... In no place in the USA can someone grow their own supply free from threat of arrest ,, that keeps the bad elements involved and the price high (creating the crime in myth#2) ... Marijuana is not Alcohol (myth#3) , marijuana is far more benign... especially if the price were low enough where people could afford to use it in ways other than the most efficient (smoking) ... cooking or heated inhalation devices ...

The biggest fraud in this “study” is the arrest statistics ... sure a large percentage of people arrested test positive ... it is a fat soluable drug ... you could use crack or meth and test “clean” the next day where 6 months later you will test positive for THC.

P.S. before the “smart people” chime in ... I don’t use.

[A CA Guy]

Fact from direct sources in California prisons. The violent offenders LOVE their pot.

[Persevero]

Informative post, thank you.

[rawcatslyentist]

America's #1 Narco Terrorist. /s

WWWD?

Legalize herb. Outlaw the IRS. Yeah Willie is a threat to our nation.

[frithguild]

The only way California could effectively eliminate the black market for marijuana is to take away the substantial profits in the market and allow the price of marijuana to fall to an amount close to the cost of production. Doing so, however, will mean substantially smaller tax revenue.

You ususally put your strongest argument first - but this? What other crop can you grow in sandy soil with minimal care and sell 1 plant yielding 2-4 pounds retailing at $100 per gram (28 grams per ounce)? Well you shouldn't tax it because you might get bootleggers - and maybe a new sport like NASCAR.

[GSWarrior]

Myth #1: Legalization Would bring in Enormous Tax Revenues

It already is doing just that in many municipalities.

[vigilence]

To me it’s simple, GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT SEEK TO OR PROFIT FROM THE VICES OF THE GOVERNED. TO DO SO INVITES TYRANNY OF THE WORST KIND.

[vigilence]

To me it’s simple, GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT SEEK TO OR PROFIT FROM THE VICES OF THE GOVERNED. TO DO SO INVITES TYRANNY OF THE WORST KIND.

[gdani]

It is up to unashamed, unapologetic young conservatives to articulate that message and continue to stand for ordered liberty.

Yes, because nothing says "conservative" and "small government" like telling other people what they can and cannot put in their own bodies.

[rhombus]

War on Drugs = Yet another way to addict people to federal tax dollars so they can get high on feeling good about themselves and protecting society at the same time.

War on Drugs = Ethanol = Cap & Trade Climate Fear = Federal Highway Funds = The Big Damn Dig

I live in NH. I don't give a ratz arse if people in CA smoke pot and I don't want my money going to make sure they don't. Cut the spending, remember?

[easternsky]

I personally have never met a Pot Head who did not have a scrambled brain. They have the Medical shops all over in California, set outside one for awhile and observe the consumers. Very enlighting.