Jail the illegal recreational users and allow use only to the sick and dying who need it.
"Jail the illegal recreational users and allow use only to the sick and dying who need it."
*Cough cough, sneeze sneeze*
C'mon Doc, I'm like sick and stuff...
Heh. Seriously, though. As a conservative and a pothead, I've given a good amount of thought to both sides of this issue and I'm still up in the air about it. While I think that legalizing pot would generate a lot of tax revenue there are a few problems that I can see with it. One of them is the fact that there is currently no "scientific" method that I'm aware of to do things like roadside testing, unlike a DWI, where it is pretty easy to scientificially ascertain what someone's blood alcohol content is. Another one is the fact that pot makes you put on weight, not take it off, and we are not exactly known as a nation of thin people. The biggest problem with pot is that to a segment of the population, it is indeed addictive. The last time that I quit smoking for a few weeks I went through an extemely unpleasent physicial sensation. It wasn't like detoxing from "hard drugs" but it was a pretty tense, sweaty palmed experiance and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty much on edge for the whole 10 days. Another down side is it sets a precedance for the legalization of "harder drugs".
On the positive side, I honestly don't think that smoking pot has any long term detriment, at least any worse then smoking cigarettes. I can retain gainful employment and be a professional and productive member of society. I think that legalizing weed would be a powerful political manuever by a politicial party in the next 20 years, and whichever party does this will be the party to finally crack the youth vote. Trust me on this. I also think there could be a steady stream of revenue generated from this.
Smoking pot might not be best thing for you, or even the smartest thing to do. But God help us if we turn into a nation of people that demands that everyone wakes up at 5am for prayer and excercise. I believe the governments role should be one of general governance, not intrusion into people's lives and insistance upon conformity under penalty of punishment.
Oh, by the way, earlier in the thread, there was something of a disagreement over the effects of driving stoned. I'm certainly not advocating it but it is honestly not much differant then driving with a sinus infection.