Should marijuana be legalized?

RIGHT!!!!!!!!! no chemicals added like cigarettes and alcohol, ALL NATURAL!!!!!

Sorry,man didn't make tobacco,but he messed with it long enough to increase the damage.but we are good at that,after all,look at what we make out of corn,wheat and hops. If man tinkers with anything long enough,he can mess it up. All the illegal natural drugs are relatively benign until man tinkers with them. Look at the difference in the health problems of cocaine users and coca leaf chewers.

And the things man does to a poppy flower really increases it's danger level.

And they tried to make synthetic thc,calling it Marinol,it has killed 4 people.

Were you trying to make a point?

Yup,I was,but it is one that we will ignore,man should leave nature alone,she seems to take care of us without any tinkering by us. We have tinkered so much now that we are going to have to act soon or start evolving. One of the best,and easiest followed that I have heard is to cover the bare spots of earth with hemp plants which will turn off the greenhouse effects,feed the hungry,clothe the poor,rebuilds the forests,replace coal and oil,and be purty as a bugs ear.

sorry laura posted to wrong comment, no i am not stoned, would like to be, lol!

Guns-DEATH!

Prescription drugs- OVERDOSE= DEATH!

Be real, we face potential diseases on a daily basis, even if we are strict with our diets, exercise, habits, etc. I say LEGALIZE! its an individual choice just like smoking cigs & drinking.

smoking- lungs.....yes, but there are other ways to consume marij. without producing carcinogens.

No one said "Driving while under the Influence" should be legal. Just like no one said marajuana should be legal for kids. It should be treated like Alcohol.

WOW... but people drink and drive daily? Have you ever smoked marijuana? Obviously not because if you have you would know alcohol is the drug that should be illegal. For instance people can go out drinking and act like a complete idiots, or you can simply smoke a bowl and what stay home and get the munchies? What sounds more dangerous?

agree, agree, agree! after a bowl is smoked, hell you can't even get off the couch to go drive, besides that is irresponsible, which is like DUI DRIVERS, we will always have irresponsible people as long as we take in oxygen.

Cannabis doesn't cause me to be "couch locked" by any means. When I smoke I use it to help my a.d.d. I am up and about to take care of my responsibilities in my life. I used it in college to focus more on my studies and I was able to pay attention to my classes more efficiently. Now I also use it for pain management for a previous non displaced fracture to my greater trochanter.

This drug war is ridiculous. It needs to end now. www.leap.cc (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition)

From my understanding, it is illegal to be under the influence in any state. That is why if you get pulled over you can get charged with a DUI or similar whether it is alcohol, maj. or medication.

I am a current medical maj. patient in CA. In my paperwork it lays out everything (like the pamphlet that you receive with your perscribed medication). Even on the containers/dispensed medical maj. item there is a req'd label (like the one on all medication boxes/bottles), that reads...

"MEDICAL USE ONLY. For authorized patients is compliance with H&S Code 11362.5. May cause drowsiness. Alcohol may intensify effects. Use care when operating a vechicle or heavy machinery. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN."

I must tell you that I was very reluctant to try medical maj. but after having tried Vicodin, Codine, and other perscribed painkillers, which left me tired and unable to do much with my day and barely put a dent in my pain, I decided to try medical maj. You don't have to smoke. I use a vaporizor or use concentrated oil-based edibles. These are both safe without the concerns of smoking.

People might have some assumption that there are these shady doctors perscribing medical maj. and that maj. is this horrible drug. I can tell you the doctors that have recommended and perscribed this for me have been top doctors at UCLA and Cedars. After having tried all the suggestions my doctors all over (Mayo, Northwestern in Chicago, Rush in Chicago, etc.) gave me, some of these suggestions were out there (hypnotherapy to stop pain) and some of them did a huge number on my liver (taking 5+bottles of different medication including two types of steriods, etc.) I gave medical maj. a chance. It worked!!! I don't have to increase my dosage! I don't have to take bottles and bottles of medication with so many side effects! Medical maj. has barely any side effects if any!

FINAL NOTE: I just wish all 50 states would legalize it (similarly to CA at least) so those that are medical maj. users could live in any state.

In my experience, cannibis users that drive are much more cautious, drive slower and tend to take lesser traveled roads. We all know the result of drivers using 'liquid courage'

so does drinking and that is why they make laws about drinking and driving...so they can legalize pot and make laws about smoking and driving

The pot had NOTHING to do with your disease. IT WAS THE CIGARETTES. What part about "Marajuana is safer than cigarettes" don't you understand? It's a medical and scientific fact, and you'd find that out if you do some research.

Are you saying you did smoke cigarettes but you were not " a heavy cigarette smoker" ?

first of all i am a nurse for many years, you mentioned you didn,t smoke heavy, but you smoked cigarettes, it doesn't take much cig smoking to get copd, or other breathing problems, you should also take in consideration your surroundings, were you around second hand smoke, work around any chemicals,did you use rolling papers to smoke out of or any other tobacco products, also the city you live in with smog etc. i have taken care of patients with copd, that have never touched cigs or pot ever in their life, so not every copd case comes from smokering. so please don't blame pot unless you are sure that is the source of your health conditions. plus if we have so many problems with smoking cigs then shouldn't we ban them too?

For one, like others have stated, you cannot pin point cannabis as the suspect when you smoked cigarettes. You also look at other variables as the source as well.

There are other ways to take in cannabis than just smoking the leaf. You can cook with it (anything that contains butter, oil, (fat) or alcohol. There is also another popular method called vaporizing. Vaporizing simply heats up the cannabis to 325-375 degrees fahrenheit so that the resin spheres that contian the active ingredient vaporizes so that you do not burn the leaf.

You should be allowed to grow your own. We don't need to have government in everything we do in life. God gave it to us and God does not tax.

People will not grow it if it is cheaper to buy it.

People can brew beer, but most of them don't. People can grow a tabacco plant, then dry it, then smoke it, But most of them don't. All the people I know, would rather buy all 3 products, pay the price and be on their merry way. It is just easier.

For one, you can tax the seeds.

Second, it is legal to brew your own beer, but you don't see brewers putting beer corps out on their butts!

That is a poor excuse to keep cannabis illegal. People love convenience and not everyone has a green thumb.

If there is money exchanged and it is creating revenue, even if it is "given away", it is taxable. No one could "give away" pot from one plant (that they use) and make much money. One plant cannot provide for more than one or two people continually. The IRS is pretty good at finding people's income and taxing them. Plus tax law continually changes to make sure that there are not loopholes, such as this potential one, for taxpayers to use. The gov't is broke so be sure they will do everything they can to get their tax money if this would be legal.

DITTO! Exactly!

I agree, I am a full-time college student also and I do much better in class after I've smoked! It's all on how you handle yourself!

So true! Our 1st president, George Washington, said,

"Make the most you can of the Hemp Seed and sow it everywhere."
George Washington - 1794

I also have clothes made of hemp.

what do you think the indians use to smoke in there pipes, they called them PEACE PIPES, when they would smoke, doesn't the word "PEACE" give people a clue.

they smoked nicotiana rustica most of the time in their peace pipes, a form of tobacco. they hardly ever smoked cannabis. but legalize it already. no prohibition of any kind. let us be adults for fark sake.

That's not an opinion, thats a fact.

Marijuana doesn't make people non-violent,and it can be used to stimulate rage when the right motivation is applied. It was used by Ghengis Kahn,on his "berzerkers",who were fed hash and then worked up into a frenzy,and released on his targets. They were his assault troops.

And if you believe marijuana makes everyone benign,smoke a joint with a biker,and tell him his bike looks like crap.

Uh...."Claborne", you really need to research History and your facts before you publicly post.

"Berserkers (or Berserks) were Swedish and Norse warriors who wore coats of wolf or bear skin and were commonly understood to have fought in an uncontrollable rage or of fury, hence the modern word berserk. It is also likely they were called Berserkers because of their close relation to bears and the fact that they wore a "serk" of bearfurs. Serk simply meant a dress in the old Nordic language."....Wikipedia

The over-consumption of Marijuana results in Unconsciousness!!! Simple Emergency Room/Clinical symptomatic classification.

RAGE?????.....I think not.

Knowing the bikers that I know....even if they are just standing and watching a beautiful sunset....or petting a bunny rabbit, you tell them their bike looks like "crap"....you are going to have a very serious problem! Your argument is not only pitifully uneducated, but it seriously makes me wonder how you got access to a computer in the first place. Not trying to be overly insulting, but your comment is laughable at best.

They should've realized this a long time ago! I glad to finally see it hitting the public!

Thank you.

Once you are high from marijuana, you are relaxed and peaceful. No other drugs or alcohol is wanted. You stay home. Legal alcohol kills 100,000, legal tobacco kills 400,000. Apparently, you should try marijuana and know what you are talking about.

again, responsible people don't do these things (drink & drive, under influence of substances), we will always have irresponsible people in this world. besides most people that smoke pot, don't want to go anywhere after smoking pot!

the sad part is we are building more prisons and spending more money in detaining pot users/sellers, then we are educating our children. if they legalized pot, taxed it, then we could educate our future leaders instead of letting our children suffer, if other countries can legalize it and be successful in brining in revenue, decrease crime rates and allow people to make their own choices, if we put more money in schools, then the children we are educating may decide not to drink or smoke cigs/pot. D.A.R.E. a joke!! kids can get drugs in school, prescription drugs especially.

It would be nice to go out to the bars and order a joint instead of alcohol. Any alcohol will badly affect my liver so that's out. I stay home where tobacco is not allowed inside.