Posted on 02/20/2002 6:08:45 AM PST by Magician
My first reaction is WHY NOT?
It’s a question of common sense.
Our marijuana laws do not work. They never have, and they never will.
Their stated goal being to rid society of the so-called affliction of marijuana use, the harsh reality is that since prohibition, usage rates have increased drastically.
Either we legalize it, and fast, or we get busy locking up millions of Canadians. With one out of three Canadians admitting to having tried marijuana, we may very well be locking up our best and brightest, not ruined by drugs, but ruined by the criminal sanctions that go with getting caught for what amounts to a common social practice. I can’t even begin to count how many elected officials admitted to having used it, yet everyday hundreds of average citizens are arrested for marijuana offences.
So, why are there so many users, and why is marijuana so easy to acquire?
In a strange twist, prohibition is to blame.
When a product is illegal, the profit margin skyrockets. Prohibition turns an agricultural product (a plant that’s very easy to grow) into a drug worth its weight in gold. Without prohibition, marijuana would cost pennies to produce. No wonder some adventurous modern day prospectors are setting up in their own back yards and basements to try and get in on the gold rush. Who could blame them? They aren’t hurting anyone, they’re making good money, and most of all customers are willing, grateful participants in the process.
We must come to grips with the fact that the demand for marijuana is never going away and find a better way of dealing with it. Imagine the billions of dollars spent on marijuana and enforcement going to more noble causes like health care and other social programs.
The general public understands this. Support for legalizing marijuana recently reached the much sought after 50%+1 majority. Recent polls show that 51% of Canadians support legalizing marijuana, a slim, but very real majority.
And with more and more advocates, the trend is just taking off. Several European countries like Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and Germany are successfully leading the way towards tolerance with legislation aimed at helping drugs users, not by treating them as criminals, but as human beings deserving of respect. There is no reason why Canada should lag behind. We should be on the cutting edge of this new international movement.
Now it is time to step onto the world stage and assert our sovereignty by legalizing marijuana once and for all. I would venture a friendly wager that the international community would stand by Canada on this issue. Our inevitable success would then make us a world leader in marijuana reform—an example for others to follow.
(I can hear it already): But marijuana is dangerous!
For the record, marijuana is NOT dangerous. It is no worse than coffee and much safer than alcohol. Marijuana is also much less addictive then cigarettes. Chronic use is rare as the majority do not smoke it everyday. Try that with tobacco!
What little risks that may be present with marijuana are no worse then any other risks deemed "morally acceptable". Should we ban music because, if played too loud it might hurt your hearing?
French fries and gravy are far more dangerous for our health then marijuana. Should we ban fast food and send overeaters to mandatory fitness camps?
Who are we, as a society to judge? What exactly are marijuana users guilty of? Who are they hurting? What have they done wrong?
To deny marijuana users the right to choose what they want to consume is nothing more than an arbitrary decision based on moral values, not public interest......
Legalization does not mean promoting use. It means providing medical care, support, education, quality standards and proper labeling. We then trust that responsible adults will make their own choices. This is what makes legalization healthy for our society. At least legalization would force retailers to be accountable for what they sell.
Under prohibition, the government has waived its responsibility for the well being of marijuana users, and is only responsible for their arrest and persecution.
This total disregard for their rights drives a wedge between them and the rest of society and breeds contempt for our legal institutions. If society does not tolerate pot smokers, how are pot smokers supposed to tolerate society? This does not make for a healthy social climate and even less a basis for sound policy.
If a policy so deeply flawed as prohibition not only fails to reach its goals, but actually makes the situation worse, it should be radically changed.
Prohibition is the problem, and legalization the solution.
In places where marijuana is tolerated use actually decreases.
Of course, don’t count on the politicians to have the courage to change the law—it’s not in their nature. Look instead to the Supreme Court. That is where most significant legal change comes from anyway. Gay rights and abortion issues were resolved there, and, some time this year our land’s highest court will also rule on the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition. I strongly urge government to make a wise decision and end this madness now. Millions of bright, productive, patriotic pot-smoking Canadians are counting on it.
Most sincerely, Marc-Boris St-Maurice Le Parti Marijuana
See, there ya go again. You need help.
You simpleminded fool. You wouldn't know satire if you sat on it.
This is by far THE funniest thing you have ever posted. Now I know for sure your posts are not serious. Your getting high right now.
Oh really? You are the hypocrite, IMHO. By basically agreeing with the article of this thread that marijuana is benign. Do you tell that to the "kids" you counsel?
I respectfully disagree. I roomed with a "dead head" senior year. I also knew a guy who smoked quite frequently. When he ran out one time, he vacuumed his room, and smoked the contents of the vacuum bag! His theory was that he smoked so much, there must be at least a grams worth on the floor!
So if you never have used illegal drugs, to what do you attribute your inability to stop lying about people? Like me? And since you lied about so many people so many times, why should anyone believe you now when you claim to have never used them?
Dane's statement regarding his adequite "punishment" is right up there with the assertion of another well-known Freeper drug warrior who once stated, in all seriousness, that other people doing drugs violated his constitutional right to the persuit of happiness because it made him sad to see fellow human beings ruining their lives.
Another one for the archives!
What did one dead head say to the other at the concert after running out of pot?
answer: "Man, this music really s**ks!"
I have never used an illegal drug. You continue to say that I have. That makes you a liar.
No, you are not evil because you make the statement and hold the belief that drugs are bad. You are evil because you wish to use the powers of government force to go after people for making the same mistakes that you admit that you made in the past.
My own view is that drugs are dangerous (some more than others) and for different reasons. There is nothing wrong with "catching a buzz" now and then from alcolohol, mj, or whatever. But when drugs take over your life, become habitual, and prevent you from prospering and growing as a human being, then you have a drug problem.
The fact is, people with drug problems face enough difficulties without the added problems of legality. People with drug problems are often inflicted with mental health problems. The legality of the issue does nothing to help these people. Others who use drugs, but do not have apparent problems interfering with the quality of their own lives should be left alone by the government.
Do you think that people in general should be left alone and not be harassed by the government? Do you think we should live in a free society, or do you really prefer an authoritarian society? Or, are you just hung up on the drug issue - knowing drugs are inherently bad for (most) people, while not knowing how to mitigate the effects of drug within communities.
The problem is that you approach the drug problem from the perspective of self-righteousness, rather than from a perspective that appreciates the complexity of the problem facing the country. It is difficult to ascertain whether you are interested in offsetting the problems drug use causes in our society, or whether you are simply interested in having the drug issue out there so you can advocate greater authoritarian powers for the state.
You need to repair the cognitive dissonance that separates your own personal experience from the policies you advocate the state uses to go after others who have committed the same transgressions as yourself (albeit in the past).
Sorry Thom, you are the one who stated that you "counsel" kids. Do you tell them that marijuana is benign? You must since you are agreeing with the article of this thread.
So I am evil because I beleive that drugs are evil and a menace to society. You are fine with a society where people make mistakes and those mistakes are never learned from.
Sheesh why don't we just make a time machine back to late 70's when drug use was at it highest and so was the homicide rate.
Sounds like your type of society.
Ever go to a movie?
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