Legalize Marijuana?

[jacobweymouth]

I think it should be legalized. It's a matter of individual choice.

I'm just afraid that will open the flood gates to the so-called "hard drugs."

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I'm just afraid that will open the flood gates to the so-called "hard drugs."

Actually, tobacco is far more of a gateway drug than weed could ever amount to.
Youth - Tobacco as a Gateway Drug
Prevent Teen Smoking FAQ - Is tobacco a gateway drug?
Tobacco as a gateway drug

 

[DarkSun]

Not as many. But, my girlfriend is allergic to most laundry detergents, fabric softeners, a good amount of body splashes and sprays, some foods, and any sulfur or penicillin based medications can potentially kill her because she is so allergic to them. I'm allergic to a couple medicines myself. So if you want to prohibit something just because someone had a bad reaction, then we need to pull pretty much every medication off the shelves, all nuts, milk, anything with any sort of fragrance, flowers, ceder chips, we need new materials for wiring since some people will have reactions from certain types of insulation, and probably some more things just to be on the safe side. Oh, we might even need to blot out to the sun itself, since some people do have negative reactions from direct sunlight.
Sun allergy: Can I be allergic to sunshine? - MayoClinic.com
And in just about everyone, the evil sun must go since it does cause sun burns, and too much can cause skin cancer.

I am going to ask. Why do I not know anyone who has dealt with serious mental illness or addiction to pot? And I know people who can keep up with Cheech and Chong. Speaking of those two, why did they never have psychotic break outs? And while we are speaking of the hippy era, why was the original Woodstock not a very hostile environment, since damn near everybody who was their, including the musicians and technicians, we either stoned off of weed, or trippin' off of LSD. And which drug did they have a problem with? Someone brought in a batch of bad acid, but no one complained about bad weed.

In the United States, researchers estimate that about 24 percent of people 18 or older, or about 44 million adults, experience a mental illness or substance-related disorder during the course of any given year. The most common of these disorders are depression, alcohol dependence (see alcoholism), and various phobias (irrational fears of things or situations). An estimated 2.6 percent of adults in the United States, or about 4.8 million people, suffer from a severe and persistent mental illness—such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or a severe form of depression or panic disorder—in any given year. An additional 2.8 percent of adults, or about 5.2 million people, experience a mental illness that seriously interferes with one or more aspects of their daily life, such as their ability to work or relate to other people. All of these figures exclude people who are homeless and those living in prisons, nursing homes, or other institutions—populations that have high rates of mental illness.

(Source: Mental Illness - MSN Encarta )



~*~

The current prevalence estimate is that about 20 percent of the U.S. population are affected by mental disorders during a given year. This estimate comes from two epidemiologic surveys: the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study of the early 1980s and the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) of the early 1990s. Those surveys defined mental illness according to the prevailing editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., DSM-III and DSM-IIIR). The surveys estimate that during a 1-year period, 22 to 23 percent of the U.S. adult population—or 44 million people—have diagnosable mental disorders, according to reliable, established criteria. In general, 19 percent of the adult U.S. population have a mental disorder alone (in 1 year); 3 percent have both mental and addictive disorders; and 6 percent have addictive disorders alone.3


(Source: Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General - Chapter 2 )

And according to this site, marijuana can worsen pre-existing mental ilnesses.

Marijuana Makes It Worse: Severe Mental Illnesses

Posted by Allan N. Schwartz, LCSW, PhD on Sat, Nov 1st 2008


On October 11, 2000 Dr. Dombeck responded to an E. Mail question from someone who stated he has a Bipolar Disorder and is taking a number of medications to control the symptoms of the disorder. The "Ask Dr. Dombeck" question and response can be found at this URL"


http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.phptype=advice&id=182&at=2&cn=4&ad_2=1&submit=I+Agree


Since that initial posting a number of people have responded during the past few months stating that they are angry and outraged about Dr. Dombeck's rejection of marijuana for those who are Bipolar. I believe it is incumbent upon me to respond to the concerns expressed.


Neither Dr. Dombeck, nor myself, wish to add to anyone's distress. Each of you who has responded to this posting is reporting your individual experience with both the disorder and marijuana. In fact, there is some evidence that marijuana eases some of the anxiety and agitation that comes with marijuana usage. In contrast to that, there is a lot of evidence that chronic marijuana usage causes relapse, re-hospitalization and longer term recovery. In fact, this is why those with a severe mental illness and who use drugs are considered to have a "Dual Diagnosis."
However, let's put aside "findings, research and surveys and look at my experiences working in psychiatric hospitals and agencies with patients who suffer severe mental illnesses including Bipolar Disorder. Also, let's do this in the spirit of understanding and learning rather than quarreling


I have directly witnessed the tragedy of patients going off of their medications for Bipolar Disorder, using marijuana and ending up re-hospitalized in worse shape than any time prior to the relapse. In fact, it has been my experience that many of these unfortunate patients experienced multiple relapses and were caught in an endless cycle of hospitalizations marked by periods of instability in between.

​

It is important to keep in mind that there are many intensities of this disorder. There are those people who experience rapid cycling while others rarely become manic. However, when they become symptomatic, they experience Major Depression. Also, there are those who experience Auditory and Visual Hallucinations while others do not. It is possible to have hallucinations at either end of the spectrum: major depression or mania. Then too, there are cases where the illness is so severe that is considered in the realm of schizophrenia and is called Schizoaffective Disorder. It has been my experience with the patients I knew who suffered from severe bipolar disorder and with those who fell into the Schizoaffective domain, that they were not helped by marijuana and were made much worse through its use.


Leaving aside anxiety, those who experience severe depression and who use marijuana end up feeling much more depressed, at least that is what I have witnessed.


There is a lot of denial around the problems of not only marijuana but other drugs of abuse and severe mental illness. In order to break through some of this denial I was, at times, able to get patients to agree to stop their marijuana use for a few weeks just so they could determine whether there was or was not an improvement in mood. These individual were surprised but were willing to admit that they felt real improvement in mood and functioning.


Lastly, there is no question that medications have side effects. That is why, depending on the medication, blood and urine tests must be done on a regular basis in order to be certain patients are not toxic from their doses. When taking some of these medications there is a constant struggle to balance variables such as weight changes, diet, coffee and tea consumption, and even water intake, with the dosage of the medication. There is also the matter of handling stress and levels of pressure in ways that will not promote relapse. The bottom line on this is that if the medications are working by allowing you to function in your personal relationships, at work and in the family then the side effects are a worthwhile trade off. It seems logical to me that even though medications side effects are miserable, hospitalizations are more miserable.


I do not wish to appear like a "party pooper" by taking the fun or relief away. But, when you have witnessed the amount of tragedy through multiple hospitalizations, family anguish, suicide attempts and general suffering, this discussion becomes one that is more than whether marijuana is good or bad. It becomes a matter of life and death for many people.


Your comments are welcome.


Allan N. Schwartz, PhD

(Source: Marijuana Makes It Worse: Severe Mental Illnesses - Bipolar Disorder & Manic Depression Treatment Help, Symptoms & Signs of Depression)

Maybe the reason that the people you know did not react badly to marijuana was because they were not a part of the 19 percent of the US who will have a pre-existing mental illness this year, or maybe they weren't a part of the 5.2 million people whose conditions are considered serious.

 

[DarkMaster24]

I say we should legalize it, seeing as it's a waste of tax dollars to try and keep it illegal, and it's essentially harmless, not to mention enjoyable to the people who use it.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Maybe the reason that the people you know did not react badly to marijuana was because they were not a part of the 19 percent of the US who will have a pre-existing mental illness this year, or maybe they weren't a part of the 5.2 million people whose conditions are considered serious.

Actually, a few of them do have some form of mental illness.

 

[DarkSun]

Actually, a few of them do have some form of mental illness.

Did you notice whether they reacted any differently to weed than anyone else?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Did you notice whether they reacted any differently to weed than anyone else?

The person that is bi-polar, smoking calms her down, and helps her control it. Same for the guy I know who is a bi-polar, paranoid schizophrenic with ADHD. And this dude NEEDS to smoke when he's waiting for his medication refill, because his schizophrenia (which was induced from heavy meth and pill use), has put ideas into his head that has put him in jail and state hospitals many times. Marijuana silences the voices he hears, which only works to his advantage.

 

[Jeremy Mason]

At least here, there have been problems with cigarette smuggling: people would buy them in the US where the taxes are lower and then smuggle them across the border. One way the government tried to combat the problem was by mandating that a special seal be put on legal tobacco packs when they're manufactured. Some smugglers would forge these seals to make theirs look legal, so their convenience store clients could display them openly.

Very informative, thanks and frubals.

 

[Jeremy Mason]

My mom, who worked in a rehab facility, always questioned why people sue when people commit suicide, who were on pychactive drugs. People who agreed to take Prozac or any other psychoactive drug.

it a sad, sad story, bla, bla, bla, but in the end the pschiatrist was really trying to help the patient and because, so and so, wanted to kill him or herself, it's now an issue of the doctor and their insurance company.

It sounds as if some people are trying to use the same tactic regarding medical marajuana and mentalyl ill people. if you are have a bad reaction, stop using it.

 

[Father Heathen]

Did you notice whether they reacted any differently to weed than anyone else?

Notice that people with mental ailments also react differently to alcohol and even nicotine and caffeine, too? Some people are also allergic to peanuts, so why not ban peanuts?

 

[emiliano]

Are you honestly trying to suggest cannabis is the cause of the current economic crisis? Are you ******* serious? Really?

Well I am trying to find a reason for this crisis, I can’t understand how our clever capitalists got sucked in to the sub-prime thing, event some Australian banks bought into this scheme. The US banks were forced to lend money to people that could not pay back their mortgages, let say that they did it to do a good deed (a socialist one) but then they went on to sell these mortgages to other banks, what happened to their good capitalist judgement? Since it has been said in here that many doctors, lawyers and other people that hold important position do partake the weed and we know that they also do a lot of alcohol, then I think that the reasons for their lack of judgement could be that when they invested our money the were stoned or drunk.

 

[Father Heathen]

Well I am trying to find a reason for this crisis, I can’t understand how our clever capitalists got sucked in to the sub-prime thing, event some Australian banks bought into this scheme. The US banks were forced to lend money to people that could not pay back their mortgages, let say that they did it to do a good deed (a socialist one) but then they went on to sell these mortgages to other banks, what happened to their good capitalist judgement? Since it has been said in here that many doctors, lawyers and other people that hold important position do partake the weed and we know that they also do a lot of alcohol, then I think that the reasons for their lack of judgement could be that when they invested our money the were stoned or drunk.

So in other words weed is the scapegoat for a system that doesn't work?

 

[emiliano]

So in other words weed is the scapegoat for a system that doesn't work?

Well it is that they lost their way, they messed with their mind and at present they are not very good in their areas of expertise “capitalism” the problem that I see is that the socialist/liberals are also messing with their brains in pursuit of the make happy at this instance drugs, they aren’t good socialist either, the empire is crumbling under the weight of their corruption and vices, they both lost the civil virtues that they once possessed, it is similar situation to the one that brought the Roman Empire down, lust and corruption. This generation has such lust for pleasure that it will bring them down, here we have people suggesting that the government will do well by entering into the weed trade although it is a vice that will do an immense damage to society, but even the liberal have the mentality of everything for a buck. I see no one that want to apply high moral standard, when they see the dollar sign , morality is out the window.

 

[gnomon]

Here's morality for you:

Drug use among whites and blacks is the same. Incarceration rates for blacks is far greater than whites for all crimes including nonviolent drug offenses.

Why is this? The best evidence leads to the fact that, although drug use among all ethnic groups is about the same, law enforcement is concentrated in lower income minority communities. In some years as high as 10% of adult black males are under some form of correctional supervision (incarceration, parole, probation). Many nonviolent drug offenses are felonies. In some states, simple possession arrests on three occasions will warrant a felony charge and long term incarceration that equals that of violent criminals. Felony convictions also remove, for the vast majority, voting rights.

It's called disenfranchisment. Institutional racism. Immoral.
__________

There are RICO laws which were originally used to fight gangs that erupted in the 1920's and 30's. A tool against organized crime. Now it is used against private citizens that allows the state to confiscate any property used in the commission of a drug crime. That means if a your kid uses your car and gets busted with pot then your car can be taken. The law allows for your house to be taken if residue or any criminal activity involving illicit drugs is found.

So much for unreasonable seizures. Given the lax laws in some precincts that allow law enforcement to use seizure laws to create, for example, a used car business or taxi service.......immoral.
_________________

The 4th Amendment states that every citizen has a right protecting them from unreasonable searches. At one time, the thought that agents of the state could enter your house without a warrant based on suspicion of a nonviolent crime or that they could enter forcibly, violently, based on mere suspicion for a nonviolent crime would be unheard of. SWAT was instituted as a task force to use in specialized situations. Notably hostage situations. Now those units as well as their tactics are used in drug raids, gambling raids, food raids.....basically any exercise where law enforcement can claim any perceived threat even without any evidence supporting the existence of such a threat. The Federal government has dumped money in the name of COPS, Byrne grants, Homeland Security and other programs allowing for cities ranging from New York to Podunkville to militarize their police departments. Thus we have,

The illegal (my assertion) raid on Mayor Cheye Calvo's home in which officers discharged their weapons in the house killing two dogs.

The killing of Kathryn Johnston in her home by three Atlanta task force agents.

Sal Culosi, Jr. was shot outside of an apartment, "accidentally", by a SWAT officer. Culosi was unarmed and being arrested for...........gambling. Not part of an organized crime ring. Just a private citizen.......gambling his own money.

I could start listing case after case of wrong door raids ending in the death of an innocent person, a nonviolent drug offender or a police officer. The numbers are increasing but that's only because more journalists are starting to pay attention. Law enforcement organizations do not keep very good records on wrong door raids from the local city to the FBI.

So much for unreasonable searches.
_____________

Medical marijuana is a fact. It was shown to be a fact over three decades ago under the La Guardia Commission when Nixon asked for research to support his desire to institute a War on Drugs. The Commission reached conclusions opposite the wishes of the administration. The Nixon administration, against advice, instituted this so called war anyway.

The federal government still supplies a handful of patients they recognized as needing medical marijuana in a program started 30 years ago yet adamantly stands by their assertion through the DEA that marijuana has no medical benefit.

In essence, the Federal government has had supporting evidence for medical marijuana handed to them over 30 years and a policy instituted allowing for the legal medical marijuana use under a federal law for some individuals yet chooses to say otherwise.

Is lying moral?
_______________

The CIA recently admitted to making egregious errors in their cooperation with the Peruvian government resulting in a Cessna full of missionaries being shot down in our drug war.
Foreign Policy In Focus | Global Affairs Commentary | Drug Plane Shoot-Down Policy In Latin America
Missionary plane shot down in Peru: collateral damage in US "drug war"
__________________

An argument can be made that the laws enacted under state and federal drug policy are worse than segregation and Jim Crow laws. One thing they have definitely achieved is the dissolution of those rights specifically enumerated in the Constitution. Rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizure, judges signing practically illegal warrants and the rights of due process are the clearest victims. States rights and the 9th Amendment are the others.

United States drug policy is anything but moral. It's a fiasco of a war on the same level as Vietnam or worse when the broader global impact is considered. It is directly responsible for creating the atmosphere that has allowed for more dangerous illicit drugs and lucrative black market as well as being culpable in the global arms trade and terrorism.

U.S. drug policy is a primary source of corruption within law enforcement.

U.S. drug policy is created and executed by hypocrites in elected positions who have used drugs themselves (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama - just to name some more recent politicians). I'll give this to Sarah that people overlooked. She campaigned for Governor to keep simple possession of marijuana decriminalized opposing her opponent who wished to criminalize it.
___________

The main poinst is that current drug policy is anything but moral.

 

[Nessa]

Three Nobel Prize winners including Milton Friedman were among the more than 500 economists who endorsed a 2005 Harvard study that concluded that legalization of marijuana “would save $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods. If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually.”

Rasmussen Reports™: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Site.

In the same article it states that 40 percent of Americans are for legalization. And those under 40 are much more in favor of legalization. It's an interesting read.

 

[lamplighter]

Well it is that they lost their way, they messed with their mind and at present they are not very good in their areas of expertise “capitalism” the problem that I see is that the socialist/liberals are also messing with their brains in pursuit of the make happy at this instance drugs, they aren’t good socialist either, the empire is crumbling under the weight of their corruption and vices, they both lost the civil virtues that they once possessed, it is similar situation to the one that brought the Roman Empire down, lust and corruption. This generation has such lust for pleasure that it will bring them down, here we have people suggesting that the government will do well by entering into the weed trade although it is a vice that will do an immense damage to society, but even the liberal have the mentality of everything for a buck. I see no one that want to apply high moral standard, when they see the dollar sign , morality is out the window.

Saying marijuana is the cause and root of the financial crisis is like saying sea gulls are the cause of our excess trash. The problem is the fact we have a bunch of CEOs who are no better than spoiled children, it's not a drug problem but a common character flaw in the upper echelons of corporations. Just look at how the CEOs of the Big 3 of the American car industry acted when they showed up with hands out at Washington DC begging for money, it wasn't out of any fear for the company but, their own luxury. They have no expertise as far as I can see, CEOs seem to have lost any real importance and have become much like the royalty of empires past. They are a fat tick on the backside of a working dog that is the company they are supposed to have the best interests of. They can inflict their will and cause pain and grief throughout the company but, the health and well being of the company can be no better attributed to them than it can be for the blood sucking tick making the dog healthier. They seem to have this over inflated self worth that they are somehow the most important person to the company, when it is in fact all the 9-5 blue collars that break their back in vain for the company, hoping that they increase their job security by proving themselves valuable to the company. The business practices today would probably disgust the likes of Henry Ford, today you have too many resting on their family's laurels, the CEOs of today have done nothing to justify their existence or their place except for being born to the right family. They are not professionals of capitalism striving for innovation and the betterment of the economy and the average person, they are the devout followers of Mammon. The car industry has been decaying for decades in the face of companies like Toyota who produce cars more in mind for people using such foreign concepts such as dependability and appeal, the reason why the death of the American car industry hasn't happened yet is because of brand loyalty. As for the housing market, those followers of Mammon have destroyed our economy with ARMs (adjustable rate mortgage), the didn't hand ARMs to people out of generosity, they handed them out to rape the ignorant. With ARMs they swooned people to sign with really low interest then quickly sent the interest rate sky rocketing, burying the people in a mountain of debt that would stay with them the rest of their lives. ARMs is why the Bush administration changed the bankruptcy laws to make it extremely more difficult for the average American to escape their compounded debt. Combine all this with the high oil prices that occurred since Bush took office, and you have the reason for the American economic depression.
So exactly how does all of this equate to marijuana being the cause of current financial situation exactly? :sarcastic

 

[emiliano]

Here's morality for you:

Drug use among whites and blacks is the same. Incarceration rates for blacks is far greater than whites for all crimes including nonviolent drug offenses.

Why is this? The best evidence leads to the fact that, although drug use among all ethnic groups is about the same, law enforcement is concentrated in lower income minority communities. In some years as high as 10% of adult black males are under some form of correctional supervision (incarceration, parole, probation). Many nonviolent drug offenses are felonies. In some states, simple possession arrests on three occasions will warrant a felony charge and long term incarceration that equals that of violent criminals. Felony convictions also remove, for the vast majority, voting rights.

It's called disenfranchisment. Institutional racism. Immoral.
__________

There are RICO laws which were originally used to fight gangs that erupted in the 1920's and 30's. A tool against organized crime. Now it is used against private citizens that allows the state to confiscate any property used in the commission of a drug crime. That means if a your kid uses your car and gets busted with pot then your car can be taken. The law allows for your house to be taken if residue or any criminal activity involving illicit drugs is found.

So much for unreasonable seizures. Given the lax laws in some precincts that allow law enforcement to use seizure laws to create, for example, a used car business or taxi service.......immoral.
_________________

The 4th Amendment states that every citizen has a right protecting them from unreasonable searches. At one time, the thought that agents of the state could enter your house without a warrant based on suspicion of a nonviolent crime or that they could enter forcibly, violently, based on mere suspicion for a nonviolent crime would be unheard of. SWAT was instituted as a task force to use in specialized situations. Notably hostage situations. Now those units as well as their tactics are used in drug raids, gambling raids, food raids.....basically any exercise where law enforcement can claim any perceived threat even without any evidence supporting the existence of such a threat. The Federal government has dumped money in the name of COPS, Byrne grants, Homeland Security and other programs allowing for cities ranging from New York to Podunkville to militarize their police departments. Thus we have,

The illegal (my assertion) raid on Mayor Cheye Calvo's home in which officers discharged their weapons in the house killing two dogs.

The killing of Kathryn Johnston in her home by three Atlanta task force agents.

Sal Culosi, Jr. was shot outside of an apartment, "accidentally", by a SWAT officer. Culosi was unarmed and being arrested for...........gambling. Not part of an organized crime ring. Just a private citizen.......gambling his own money.

I could start listing case after case of wrong door raids ending in the death of an innocent person, a nonviolent drug offender or a police officer. The numbers are increasing but that's only because more journalists are starting to pay attention. Law enforcement organizations do not keep very good records on wrong door raids from the local city to the FBI.

So much for unreasonable searches.
_____________

Medical marijuana is a fact. It was shown to be a fact over three decades ago under the La Guardia Commission when Nixon asked for research to support his desire to institute a War on Drugs. The Commission reached conclusions opposite the wishes of the administration. The Nixon administration, against advice, instituted this so called war anyway.

The federal government still supplies a handful of patients they recognized as needing medical marijuana in a program started 30 years ago yet adamantly stands by their assertion through the DEA that marijuana has no medical benefit.

In essence, the Federal government has had supporting evidence for medical marijuana handed to them over 30 years and a policy instituted allowing for the legal medical marijuana use under a federal law for some individuals yet chooses to say otherwise.

Is lying moral?
_______________

The CIA recently admitted to making egregious errors in their cooperation with the Peruvian government resulting in a Cessna full of missionaries being shot down in our drug war.
Foreign Policy In Focus | Global Affairs Commentary | Drug Plane Shoot-Down Policy In Latin America
Missionary plane shot down in Peru: collateral damage in US "drug war"
__________________

An argument can be made that the laws enacted under state and federal drug policy are worse than segregation and Jim Crow laws. One thing they have definitely achieved is the dissolution of those rights specifically enumerated in the Constitution. Rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizure, judges signing practically illegal warrants and the rights of due process are the clearest victims. States rights and the 9th Amendment are the others.

United States drug policy is anything but moral. It's a fiasco of a war on the same level as Vietnam or worse when the broader global impact is considered. It is directly responsible for creating the atmosphere that has allowed for more dangerous illicit drugs and lucrative black market as well as being culpable in the global arms trade and terrorism.

U.S. drug policy is a primary source of corruption within law enforcement.

U.S. drug policy is created and executed by hypocrites in elected positions who have used drugs themselves (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama - just to name some more recent politicians). I'll give this to Sarah that people overlooked. She campaigned for Governor to keep simple possession of marijuana decriminalized opposing her opponent who wished to criminalize it.
___________

The main poinst is that current drug policy is anything but moral.

This is interesting, as I said immorality is right at the centre of the fall of capitalisms and whatever recovery of the situation will come from countries that have better control over what has to be controlled, just one thing though the use of HTC is already in place for the treatment of nausea in chemo patients and those treated for HIV, but this isn’t what those pushing the legalization wagon are after, is it? The other information is good, but in my opinion what is at the roots of this evils is lust. Any country that is driven by lust is bound to fail, the corruption has been so subtle that nobody wakes up to the fact that we are been conditioned to accept immorality for a buck. Adding to the wrongs of the past will not help, so this legalization proposal must be rejected. Why do potheads want to smoke the stuff when they don’t have an illness that can be cured or alleviated by marijuana?

 

[emiliano]

Lamplighter ,
The use of drugs in the scale that we see today springs out of lust for the “I must have something that will make me feel happy“, the wealthy can afford it, the poor of this world are been sucked into it, how do you justify the used of marijuana in the people that straggle every day to put bread on their tale? Marijuana will be heavily tax for the same reasons that alcohol and tobacco is, their cost that they put on the health system, the police and other systems.

So exactly how does all of this equate to marijuana being the cause of current financial situation exactly?

Pot-heads are less productive and sicker than the general population, they get fire from their jobs more often, then the state get in with social security hand outs and they become a burden to all, they cannot gather enough money to have a deposit to buy a house, the state get it and sub-prime is born, so now the state must finance their vices (lust) and a house and to make things worst it becomes a right, the rich does it so they want equal rights. Your earning are just part of what you produce to your employer and it will never pay more till your productions mean more to the employer, that is if they want to continue employing, CEOs are in that category they managed a companies that produce good returns ( millions of dollar) they get pay more, they must produced more than they get pay for, the state is the worst CEO there is.
By the way do you think that the US will become a socialist state?
Do you think that pot will become cheaper under the new/changed US promised by the Liberals?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Pot-heads are less productive and sicker than the general population, they get fire from their jobs more often, then the state get in with social security hand outs and they become a burden to all, they cannot gather enough money to have a deposit to buy a house, the state get it and sub-prime is born, so now the state must finance their vices (lust) and a house and to make things worst it becomes a right, the rich does it so they want equal rights.

Alot of potheads are also more productive than average, rarely miss work, never sick, never fired, and pretty much the exact opposite of what you just stated about an entire group of people, of which I now of only a few that even come close to that description, and its not the weed that's making them do it.
And I only wish wages were equal to production. Harsh truth is, it simply is not.

 

[Jeremy Mason]

The main poinst is that current drug policy is anything but moral.[/quote]

Here's morality for you:

YouTube - Lard - Drug Raid At 4 am (stereo)

Great post!