Legalizing Marijuana

Marijuana is nearly legal where I live, at least to a degree.

It used to be a criminal offense to have any marijuana at all, even a single joint. Now they allow a certain amount without it being a criminal offense.

It's still against the law to grow it and/or possess it, and will result in a fine, but it won't be a criminal record with jail time. I forget how much volume they consider to be a non-criminal offense though, maybe a few ounces or less.

Kind of reminds me of the backwards laws of prostitution. Prostitution itself is not illegal. However the act of soliciting money for services, or services for money, is.

Prostitution has been legalised here in New Zealand - this is so that they can regulate it and make sure that the streetworkers can be checked and I am sure it was legalised so they can tax it as well.

It definately is not ounces...An ounce of weed is a lot...Trust me I used to smoke it, sell it, weigh it, and love it! Most states that dont give you a misd charge for a small amount possesion (you still get in trouble but its like a speeding ticket not an actual criminal record) they will base it on weight in grams not ounces. A 'dime bag' is usually a gram and if you have a gram or over its a misd charge anything under a gram is a 'traffic offense' obviously it varies state by state but I can def say they arent basing the weight off ounces, ounce(s) is most likely possesion with the intent to distribute. Im actually trying to remember all the stuff about weed that I possibly can...its been so long it is hard to remember but Ill give it a shot.
An 8th is the most common weight someone is going to sell weed in (3.5 grams), a quarter is double an 8th and (duh) a 1/4 of an ounce. Some dealers will sell in less amounts but only normally going lower to a '20 bag' which is 2g and a dime which is 1g. Geez I feel somewhere between really creepy or holy crap I cant believe I remembered that and still dont really feel the urge to smoke it. Sometimes my sobriety shocks me because I used to smoke pot all day everyday and if I wouldnt have gotten clean Id probably still be doing it now.

I do think that pot should be legalized and not just for medical purposes. I think legalizing it will take away that 'mystic' that kind of seduces people into trying it in the first place. When I smoked I was the most laid back person in the world happy to just sit and chill watch tv hang out with friends. My biggest problem was that even back then I was getting migraines so frequently that I started replaced my headache pills with smoking pot and with the increased drinking things got out of control. I personally can look back and say that if I would have never been drinking at all I probably would have never felt the need to clean up my act. Drinking caused me to get 2 DUIs, wreck 2 cars, ruin numerous friendships, relationships, and literally my whole life. Smoking pot I could have lived with or without, I didnt have horrible withdrawal symptoms, just some 'stoned' dreams for a couple nights. I guess Ive experianced both sides of the street and while Im all for people being sober and clean and stuff....Im also all for the legalization of pot and taxing it putting certain (reasonable) limitations on it. Kinda like not being able to have an open container in a car, you cant have an 'open' bowl in the car.

I Vote LEGALIZE IT!

I am not in favor of legalizing it for any purpose, medical or otherwise. There are plenty of available drugs if needed to be prescribe by a doctor.

While I don't think people should smoke marijuana (just as I think people shouldn't smoke tobacco), I think it should be legal. I don't think it's any more destructive than alcohol is, a lot of money is spent on enforcing the illegality of marijuana, and nobody really pays any attention to the law anyway. That enforcement money could be used for other things. How many people have never tried marijuana (OK, I haven't, but most people my age have, even my 17-year-old cousin admitted to trying it), and how many people don't know where to buy it if they wanted it (I do actually know where to buy it)?

I totally support the legalization of marijuana. It is a medicinal herb that offers not only specific symptom relief to many debilitating diseases and ailments, but also for hemp which is one of the fastest growing, environmentally friendly, and useful natural resources. This includes everything from oils used for medicinal treatment such as eczema, it's fibrous base for clothing, furniture, paper.....We would not only be saving money if this could be a regulated crop, but trees, the environment........

Yeah like Oxycontins which is pretty much gives the same high as heroin does. People get addicted then go to heroin cause it is much cheaper. Then a lot of times they end up dieing because of an overdoes.
Why would they legalize something like Marijuana when the have oxicottins?

i think it is anything under an ounce that is decrimilized.

Not in Pa, NY, Va, and Md. Those are the states around me that I know of for sure. Especially NY, anything over 1 gram is a misdemeanor offense. If you actually saw an ounce of mj you would probably be surprised as to how much that actually is. Not only is it about $400-$500 worth (atleast in my area based on the range of $100 for a 1/4). Im going to double check just to make sure Im right but Im definately 100% postive that its anything above a gram that is a misdemeanor offense. As you go up in weight like over so many ounces then it becomes felony possession with intent to deliver. You can actually carry more mj around than any other drugs. If you possess ANY cocaine, herion, crack, illegal prescription pain pills etc those are automatically misdemeanors and then based by weight or amount of pills will go up to felonies from there.

I think that if they are going to be so...i think lenient would be the word Im looking for...about mj being in peoples posession then what is wrong with trying to find a way to regulate and legalize it. The only reason I even support it is because Ive seen both sides. Ive been the 'addict' and have the personal experiance, I also know a lot of people who are trying to get clean off harder drugs and alcohol. Thru the past two years I have felt like an idiot and moron because of being the only person who was in treatment for drugs that got in trouble for smoking mj. I didnt do herion, crack etc. Yes I tried coke but that was after an alcohol induced moron state of mind. I definately think that alcohol is wayyy worse than mj. Really how many of us have heard of someone getting baked of mj and going out and killing someone. Im not saying it hasnt happened but of all my friends that died young from tragic stupid accidents ALL of them were from drinking and their own stupidity. That in itself is tragic to me, that alcohol is something that impairs people judgements so badly is legal how many people a year, a month, a day die from alcohol related illness. We have group like Mothers against Drunk Drivers, Students against Drunk Drivers, we shouldnt have to have stuff like that. I never thought about it before when I was drinking because I didnt care but after going thru rehab I really see now how bad drinking it. Im not saying that people cant drink but its the alcoholics or the Friday and Saturday night bar hopping 20 something yr olds that throw their judgement and brain cells right out the window and are the high risks to hurt other people not only themselves.

I just really feel that if the goverment would try and find a way to regulate it, tax it, find a legal thc limit to cover the dui factor, it would help more than keeping it illegal. Regardless of what would happen legalizing it or not Ill always support making mj legal, and Id never look badly at someone who does smoke it, thats just me though its something that really doesnt bother me or make me look differently at someone.

What I never understood is how can they make something illegal that actually grows? I mean, I don't know the ins and outs of preparing it, but from my understanding you grow it, you harvest it, you dry and cure it and you smoke it.

Believe me, when my mom was dying of cancer I would have LOVED to get my hands on some to give her a break from her pain killers (but she wouldn't have smoked it). My best friend got her mom stoned every night when she was really sick and it really helped her mom, and created some great memories for my friend.

I think that the side-effects of criminalizing marijuana is much worse than legalizing it. Criminalizing marijuana has resulted in an escalation of drug cartels, violence, destruction of our national parks from illegal growing operations, putting non-violent offenders in with people who are much worse. And we still have addiction problems. In fact, we have a higher usage here in the US than the Netherlands do where it is legal.

If we legalize it, we can subject it to the same rules and regulations as alcohol and tobacco. We can dictate the levels of potency. We can tax it to cover programs for those who do get addicted. And we can help the addicted instead of throwing them into jail.

True.

I have mixed feelings, but am leaning toward legalization. It should at least be decriminalized.

It was very difficult for me to quit. Harder than cigarettes. I really enjoyed it, but it was making my lungs feel bad. It seems that the affect on one's lungs is almost ignored.

That's like saying you shouldn't have the option to eat 8 almonds a day to bring down your cholesterol. (Good tip, btw.)

Instead you should be forced to take Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor, or Zetia, and endure the possible side effects which are joint and muscle pain and weakness (caused by the muscles breaking down), abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, gas, pain in the shoulders, jaw, legs, liver damage, memory loss, kidney failure (due to the deteriorating muscle tissue), neuropathy (malfuctioning of the peripheral nervous system), paralysis (side effect of neuropathy), and/or death.

Health problems are not solved solely by chemicals mixed up in a pharmaceutical lab, especially if the side effects greatly lower quality of life!

The only downside of eating 67 grams of almonds, on the other hand, is the risk of choking on one. Shouldn't all people have the option for relief with natural medications that have very little or no side effects?

I am all for the legalization.. All pot is is a plant. It was put here for a reason.. There are no chemicals added, nothing, unlike other drugs. Its a great NATURAL pain killer. Not only does it help pain, anyone going thru chemo or radiation can use it to help take away the nausea and help give them some sort of appetite so they want to eat. I have never heard of anyone becoming addicted to weed. Sure, there is a possibility of being addicted to the idea of smoking it or getting that high, but you don't go thru withdrawl when u quit like you would with alcohol or other drugs.

Honestly, I always wonder WHO decided that alcohol is ok but weed isn't? Seriously, alcohol kills people everyday. Drunk drivers, liver problems.. Anything can go wrong with alcohol, if someone is a heavy drinker or an alcoholic. Weed has never killed anyone. You can't OD on it, you don't get SO HIGH you don't kno what you are doing that you go out an kill someone. Yes I guess it isn't so great for your lungs, but there are other ways to use marijauna. Even people with lung cancer can use it safely. You can bake it into food, there are machines called "vaporizers" which heats the weed but doesn't burn it, pullling out the THC so it can be inhaled without the harsh smoke.

IMO, if alcohol is legal, marijuana should be. There's no reason not to legalize it.

+1

Yes, it was put here for a reason, but some of us or rather many of us are abusing it. Everything in this world is good but it is still depends on how are we going to use it.

Ask yourself, do you really want to legalize it for medical issues or for some personal reasons?

Anything too much is bad, let's just take what we need, not what we want and take not more what we need.

It does help very well with nausea. I have heard that it helps diminish pain, but I haven't had that experience myself. I'm not disputing it though.

Technically, your'e right, like people become dependent on cigarettes, but not addicted. To me, giving up pot was much harder than quitting cigarettes, and that was hard enough.
I recently heard about that. If it makes marijauna safer for one's lungs, I think it's great.

Doctors prescribe it becasue it's the best answer in a lot of cases. Do you have any idea what other pain killers such a tylenol do to your liver in fairly short time? Do you know what codeine based drugs do your your GI tract?

I'm pro-legalization including for recreational use. I don't drink but did smoke in college.

The objections about DUIs are already covered. You can be arrested for driving with ambien or a pain killer in youe system. It's called driving while impaired.