Posted on 03/08/2012 9:21:14 PM PST by Mariner
RICHMOND, Va. -- Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says marijuana should be legalized and treated like alcohol because the government's war on drugs has failed.
The outspoken evangelical Christian and host of "The 700 Club" on the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network he founded said the war on drugs is costing taxpayers billions of dollars. He said people should not be sent to prison for marijuana possession.
The 81-year-old first became a self-proclaimed "hero of the hippie culture" in 2010 when he called for ending mandatory prison sentences for marijuana possession convictions.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
So did a lot of the people that pushed through Prohibition. It became plain though that the damage caused by Prohibition was worse than the effects of the substance. It made criminal enterprises very profitable, and those profits led to violence on the part of criminals fighting to keep their piece of the action as well as corruption of employees at all levels of government. It also led many people to distrust the government, even to the point of considering it the enemy. Sure, you can stop people from engaging in certain behaviors by holding a gun to their heads, but they generally resent that. I see the same thing happening now with the drug war.
The fact is, there is a fairly high percentage of the population that has used marijuana at some point in their lives, and those that I know seem about as normal as anyone else. Sure there are some oddballs, but they'd be oddballs even if they had never used it.
I can’t believe they gave that stuff to kids!
Marijuana is hardly evil. Cocaine? Yes. Crack? Yes. Meth? Yes.
I’ve smoked pot and my soul is fully intact.
Somehow I doubt the Marijuana had something to do with the murder.
This idea that idea that someone can do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t harm others isn’t entirely the case.
That is my main issue with pot (especially harder drugs) is the health issues related to long term use.
Once again, who pays who those..probably not the pot head/useer but other people.
Now if they opted out of any health care services related to long term use then maybe its truely a matter of individual choice.
“Drug use is wrong because it is immoral and it is immoral because it enslaves the mind and destroys the soul.” -James Q. Wilson
CaptainCrunch, marijuana may indeed be a soul destroyer, but alcohol destroys souls, relationships, lives and families.
When alcohol gets a grip on a human being, for a single unusual night or the throes of ongoing addiction, there are few drugs as destructive or evil.
Sure, we can all have a beer and not get drunk or crazy. And it is also true one cannot smoke pot without having an effect.
But once people cross the dose level for alcohol, they can become wildly unpredictable, and behavior can run the gamut from giggling-tipsy to homicidal with every behavior variant in between.
Ask any cop or healthcare worker. There is a common theme in incidents they have ALL been involved in which range from the absurdly funny to the frighteningly scary, and that common theme is alcohol.
I say this from the perspective of someone who works in healthcare and who grew up with an alcoholic parent. There is no comparison whatsoever.
Set him straight Al Osika.
Edited:
This idea that someone can do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t harm others isn’t entirely the case when it comes to pot/drugs.
My main issue with pot (especially harder drugs) is the health issues related to long term use.
Once again, who pays for the health related issues related to pot/drugs..probably not the pot head/useer but other people.
Now if they opted out of any health care services related to long term use maybe then would truely a matter of individual choice.
Otherwise, ya ever known anyone who is truely addicted to video/internet games. SOmething weird about 30-40 y/o spending 12-14 hours a day playing space wars or whatever.
Wouldn't legalizing pot be retrofitting society with the pothead's idea of paradise?
License and regulate it. Stop the killing.
Truth is, alcohol is much worse than pot when it comes to causing someone to harm others
I have to say that in my 60+ years of living, I can’t recall ever seeing a stoned person that wanted to fight anyone. I can’t say the same for persons that have been drinking.
And that is legal and prescribed pharmaceutical. Maranol has been around for many years in many forms....For those with severe pain it has been a good thing
I just read about a triple-murder in eastern Washington State-—a mother and her two sons, a 3rd grader and a 5th grader. All three were strangled by a 22-year-old LOSER that the family felt sorry for and took in to help out. Two friends told police that this LOSER came over to their house hours after the murders to play video games after a night of cocaine and smoking pot. And there are thousands more stories like these out there. Yes, our society definitely needs more LOSERS like him. P.S. If you’re wondering, this LOSER shot and killed himself later that day.
I know about those horrible stories.
Abuse in any form is bad.
And I can assure you that it is my experience that what I said is also true....and I am most definitely NOT co-dependent but thanks for throwing around the psycho-babble. Enjoy your smoke....
The Mafia moved from one form of crime to more sophisticated forms. The only thing that has weakened it ever has been law enforcement take downs. To think that Mafia does not have a massive and effective organization is naive.
Those millions who responsibly gamble, drink, smoke marijuana and the millions who don’t are already paying for the millions of irresponsible ones through taxes that fund social programs, health & drug abuse costs, mortgage assistance programs, unemployment and countless other programs - do you actually think that those costs will not go up dramatically with the legalization of gambling & marijuana ?
That’s the real liberal nanny state, cradle to grave government assistance - find a way to eliminate those programs for the irresponsible first and they you have a case.
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