I worry that legalizing marijuana throughout the country will create more people who are unfit to work or parent. OTOH, I don't want to put people in jail for harming themselves.
Do you think marijuana should be legalized?
Acceptable DRUG use primarily marijuana was one of the key catalysts for a whole generation of lost people in the 60's and 70's. It contributed GREATLY to the left's takeover of our institutions. It contributed to the economic malaise of the late 60's and 70's. Ronald Reagan SAW this which was why he set an anti-pot tone in his administration. Unfortunately ever since then the left has snuck it back into society often with the help of libertarians who cry "freedom" when it comes to pot.
It doesn't take a genius to look at history and see how negatively widespread drug use kills a society and a culture.
There is no way legal marijuana will ever be a financial boom to anyone in the business legitimately.
UNLESS. Unless they want to deal with ILLEGAL marijuana as harshly as possible.
Illegal alcohol was dealt with harshly. Illegal tobacco was dealt with harshly. Both were dealt with until it became unwise or unprofitable to do manufacture it illegally.
If people can buy illegal marijuana with no recriminations then why in the world would they buy legal marijuana that MUST cost much much more?
My question is will people who find legal marijuana, medical and recreational, unsatisfactory to satisfy their needs? Will a lot of them move up the ladder to drugs that kill or incapacitate them?
I have a close friend who has been a marijuana user since returning from Viet Nam. (not around me) He and his son, both intelligent people with no physical, intellectual or mental problems they were born with, do not confront problems they encounter. They just accept what happens. Is that caused by marijuana use?
The term legalization has become synonymous with commercialization - and that is not something I think would be good for the country in the longer-term. There are already beer companies investigating how they can utilize cannabis in their beverages somehow, and companies who want to sell cannabis baked goods, etc. It just normalizes cannabis in society, as though it is no different than a pop tart.
The reality is that it is a mind-altering drug, and if it were submitted to the FDA today for approval as a drug, it would likely have a hard time getting approval - as a lot about it remains unknown or unclear, including its long-term effects (particularly in young people - whose brains continue to develop well into their twenties).
Here is a side effect of legal pot some may not think of. I worked for a distribution company that had a warehouse near Denver. They drug tested employees (truck drivers, fork lift operators, etc) when they were hired then at random times afterwards. Staffing became a problem and closure was imminent as they could not fine clean employees. Pot stays in your system for about 30 days and if you test positive, you are considered unsafe to work in the warehouse. A lot of it was an Insurance requirement, but the local population became such stoners that they would not find anyone who could pass the test. Unfilled positions crippled the operation.
One of probably only a few issues I have with marijuana is it is far more potent than it was 30-40 years ago.
Previous marijuana laws were more destructive than the drug. Chronic marijuana use is less destructive than chronic alcohol use. I prefer marijuana regulated under civil law then criminal law. couldn’t read the whole article.
My take from this thread:
A lot of potheads are in denial.
And please, potheads (and alcoholics) stay off the road. Especially when I’m driving on it.
Even when the news is good, you can’t change the minds of people who prefer the worst case scenario for reasons known only to them (or not).
The only affect I had on pot was munchies....
Normal pot does NOT cause paranoia, by the way. My sister was a daily recreational user in HS and college... finishing with Masters degrees in chemistry and biology and a 3.9 GPA (in the days before high grades were handed out for merely attending class)... and Purdue is not exactly easy on the science majors.
If you want to put yourself on the fast track to mental imparement, smoke weed on a regular basis.
Telling people they are free to use recreational drugs -- while at the same time telling employers they must hire and insure these people -- is an outlandish proposition by any objective measure.
Tommy Chong is still alive as is Paul McCartney. But Bob Marley and George Harrison are both dead from brain tumors. So I figure you have a 50/50 chances of a brain tumor. And a 50/50 chance of having a long happy life.
Unfortunately, I think the question is moot. Legalization is rolling across the states and it’s too late to stop it. The ramifications will be far reaching.
1. It’s stupid to get high. It’s stupid to get drunk.
2. People are always going to intoxicate themselves.
3. Freedom is more important than whether people make stupid choices.
4. Legalize for adults, limit RE driving, and keep educating people on all dangers.
Those surveys are crap. A person who buys pot illegally is more apt to be arrested for other offenses. But pot does not cause violence. Those who participate in illegal activity have a correlation with violent activity. Thats that. Make it legal and those people will still be more likely to be violent. But the people who do it legally will have no increased proclivity to violence.
I am not for pot. I am against stupid research.
It seems common sense to me that heavy marijuana use causes problems. Most all of us can spot long-term stoners. Why? Because they have damaged their brain. IMO, it is the height of foolishness to ingest anything that short-circuits the wiring in your brain. That includes alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs.
I see Weed, Inc., symbol BUDZ, a cannabis stock is up 35% at the moment. Guess there’s a whole lotta smokin going on.