5 Lies You’ve Been Told About the US Legalizing Marijuana

[Nous]

I think there are enough dopes there already without needing to make dope legal.

I'll ask you the same:

How much are you willing to pay for the system that arrests, prosecutes and sentences people for possessing marijuana? The war on drugs costs billions of dollars, and has ruined the lives of countless productive citizens. As the Cheat Sheet article notes, with legalization law enforcement costs fall, law enforcement resources are freed up to focus on serious crimes that truly harm people, and there might even be (already) an association with lower rates of homicide and assault. At least one study has shown a reduction deaths due to opioid overdoses in states that have decriminalized or otherwise legalized marijuana. (Ask me for it.) And, of course, as the article notes, Colorado, Washington and Oregon are rolling in cash from taxes. Massachusetts and California will soon follow. So is continuing the war on tokers worth giving all that up?

 

[Nous]

Hallucinations are fine as long as one can distinguish them from reality.

If you can't, how would you know?

I was just trying to make a Zen koan.

(One never knows how that's going to work out.)

 

[Alison Wonderland]

What does the fact that people want to get high have to do with subject of the OP? And people admit outright that they want to get high all of the time.

Seriously.

Sometimes I wonder about the lifestyles of people who post here; some seem to reek of an obvious deficiency in regular social interaction.

 

[Lyndon]

Seriously.

Sometimes I wonder about the lifestyles of people who post here; some seem to reek of an obvious deficiency in regular social interaction.

While others seem to reek of marijuana smoke!!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

One thing I do wonder about when it comes to medical pot, is how effective it really is in treating addiction? No doubt pot isn't nearly as bad as pretty much everything else, and it lacks chemical dependency properties, it may be my own experience but every case I have seen really involved replacing one addiction for another.

I've worked on a smokeshop counter for at least several years.

I used to work at a gas station, and plenty of times I saw someone wearing old, worn out clothes and counting out change for cigarettes. And of course the countless ones saying they're going to quit once a pack of smokes reaches a certain price, but the they never do.

Yes, all drugs should be legal. The only people who benefit from keeping drugs illegal are drug dealers, the DEA, private prisons, prison guards, and big pharma.

Exactly! If it weren't for drugs being illegal, we wouldn't know who El Chapo is or that he is an incredibly skilled tunneler; the Iran-Contra affair wouldn't have been a thing like it was; no addict would fear legal repercussions over admitting use when seeking treatment; research into addiction treatment would not have a major huge barrier to clear; prisons and jails would have vacancies instead of over crowding. Clearly the War on Drugs has lost, and it's beginning to hinder progress and it's making the absolute wrong types rich and powerful.

 

[Nous]

Sometimes I wonder about the lifestyles of people who post here; some seem to reek of an obvious deficiency in regular social interaction.

While others seem to reek of marijuana smoke!!

At least the ones reeking of marijuana smoke are not the same one reeking of a deficiency in social interaction.

 

[Nous]

One thing I do wonder about when it comes to medical pot, is how effective it really is in treating addiction?

I haven't seen any studies, but now that you mention it, I know a guy whose use of marijuana was the primary factor in his quitting smoking cigarettes. He said once he took a couple of hits, he didn't want to smoke cigarettes at least for hours. And he eventually quit cigarettes. Good for him.

 

[Lyndon]

If you call social interaction sitting at home at the computer hitting on a bong.

 

[psychoslice]

I'll ask you the same:

How much are you willing to pay for the system that arrests, prosecutes and sentences people for possessing marijuana? The war on drugs costs billions of dollars, and has ruined the lives of countless productive citizens. As the Cheat Sheet article notes, with legalization law enforcement costs fall, law enforcement resources are freed up to focus on serious crimes that truly harm people, and there might even be (already) an association with lower rates of homicide and assault. At least one study has shown a reduction deaths due to opioid overdoses in states that have decriminalized or otherwise legalized marijuana. (Ask me for it.) And, of course, as the article notes, Colorado, Washington and Oregon are rolling in cash from taxes. Massachusetts and California will soon follow. So is continuing the war on tokers worth giving all that up?

And where do you end, do you also make other drugs legal ?.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

If you call social interaction sitting at home at the computer hitting on a bong.

I never meant to say that social interaction requires cannabis use.

I meant to say that regular social interaction would lead any reasonable person to believe that recreational cannabis use is significantly less destructive than routinely getting drunk.

 

[Nous]

If you call social interaction sitting at home at the computer hitting on a bong.

Actually that's a lot less anti-social, i.e., less harmful to others, than what people often do with alcohol or even their prescribed "meds".

 

[Nous]

And where do you end, do you also make other drugs legal ?.

Legalizing marijuana does not produce some kind of logical conundrum about restricting opioids from being sold over-the-counter. The states that have legalized marijuana have not fallen into perplexity about what other drugs to not arrest and prosecute people for possessing.

And BTW, the didn't answer my question.

 

[SomeRandom]

I used to work at a gas station, and plenty of times I saw someone wearing old, worn out clothes and counting out change for cigarettes. And of course the countless ones saying they're going to quit once a pack of smokes reaches a certain price, but the they never do.

I remember when I was in California and my relatives were complaining about a 7 dollar packet of I dunno 20s or 30s. Which I'm sure is relatively expensive over there. I was like, goddamn, smokes in my country haven't been that cheep since like the 50s. lol
Our cheapest pack of 20s I think is at least 26 dollars. Though I suppose to be fair, our minimum wage is like 17 an hour in my state.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

Actually that's a lot less anti-social, i.e., less harmful to others, than what people often do with alcohol or even their prescribed "meds".

I actually had a friend die a couple of weeks ago mixing booze and benzos. 35 years old; 2 children under the age of 10.

If she was "hitting on a bong" (hilarious phrasing), she'd still be here.

 

[psychoslice]

Legalizing marijuana does not produce some kind of logical conundrum about restricting opioids from being sold over-the-counter. The states that have legalized marijuana have not fallen into perplexity about what other drugs to not arrest and prosecute people for possessing.

And BTW, the didn't answer my question.

I suppose its right if its policed like drink driving, where I am they take a swab and test it for drugs, we certainly don't need stoned drivers.

 

[Nous]

I actually had a friend die a couple of weeks ago mixing booze and benzos. 35 years old; 2 children under the age of 10.

If she was "hitting on a bong" (hilarious phrasing), she'd still be here.

That is extremely sad.

I do think the evidence shows that when it's available without threat of imprisonment, people do substitute marijuana for more dangerous substances.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I suppose its right if its policed like drink driving, where I am they take a swab and test it for drugs, we certainly don't need stoned drivers.

At least they're less likely to drive and the driving is significantly less aggressive and, thus, potentially dangerous than drunk driving IMO.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

That is extremely sad.

I do think the evidence shows that when it's available without threat of imprisonment, people do substitute marijuana for more dangerous substances.

Agreed.

I like that we're living in an age where the evidence isn't being tampered with due to corporate, commercial and political interests anymore.

I actually believe meth and coke are just as destructive as alcohol.

Imagine if we had advertisements and marketing campaigns for those substances along the lines of our alcohol endorsements.

 

[Lyndon]

Imagine if 70% of the population was using Meth, and its clear just how ridiculous it is to compare the dangers of Alcohol to the much worse dangers of Meth.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I actually believe meth and coke are just as destructive as alcohol.

Meth is, more-or-less, ADD/ADHD medication. Of course it's not exactly the same as street meth, but a wine cooler and whiskey are both alcohol. Coke too can be useful. Medicinally a good number of "hard" drugs have legit pharmaceutical uses. And, for the most part, occasional recreational use doesn't pose a serious health risk as long as you don't over do it. Many drugs have benefits when used in moderation (such as alcohol), and all but very few have dire consequences for abuse and overdose.

Imagine if we had advertisements and marketing campaigns for those substances along the lines of our alcohol endorsements.

We do. They often include "ask you doctor about..."