Debating a Marijuana Policy Makeover

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I believe that if alcohol is legal then marijuana should be too. People drink and drive anyways and there are plenty of underage drinkers. People already smoke marijuana and nothings going to stop them. Another reason marijuana should be legalized is 1, It would help the economy and the government can tax the hell out of it, 2, for some users they use to just break the law and it would lower the crime rate in the United States. Truthfully, it will help a lot of things.

Anthony of AR 2:51PM January 09, 2012

the main reason they say its illegal is its the gateway drug but im sure if u ask everyone who uses drug 99% percent will say cigarettes or alchahol was the first thing they tried, taking a step out the ladder doesnt stop u from getting to the top it just makes it faster to get there. If legalized i think it would help more people stop at that step instead of progressing on. Also if 2 of our last 3 presidents and lots of the congress admitted to it then just think of some of the kids getting kicked out of college and labeled criminals the rest of there. We could be throwing a future president or next einstein out of college because he smoked some weed, so sad.

ryco1980 of MO 5:05PM March 28, 2009

marijuana is not a harmful substance as most people think it to be there can be a lot of good to come from marijuana legalization 1. the Government will stop wasting money on busting people for marijuana and make money by legalizing it and taxing it. 2. It will be safer for people because they will buy it from a tobacco store not a drug dealer who could lace it with a harmful drug. and 3. it will make everyone a lot more peaceful and happy.

Eric Schramm of IL 3:10AM February 26, 2009

This is crazy! Your precious God put this plant on our earth (he didn't put pain medication that is chemically produced)Society is the one that is saying this is wrong. Indians would smoke in their peace pipes everyday. It is perfectly legal for a citizen to consume as much trans fat and be 500 lbs then die from that. No laws on taking a whole bottle of aspirin and dying. So many people are on narcotic pain medication and abuse it because it is legal with rx and end up destroying their organs and dying. As for the kids consuming marijuana it's not a good idea, but they will do it anyway just as they do with cigarettes and alcohol. If you tell a teenager they can't do something they normally will. As for marijuana causing lung cancer you don't have to smoke it. It can be baked into different foods and be put in different drinks. I have currently not smoked marijuana for about 2 years now (because of my job) and the day that it is legal you can bet your ass will be at the 7-11 picking me up a bit to boost our economy. Everyone should smoke a bit a day. I mean come on there has never been an occasion where someone has overdosed on marijuana. The side effects of marijuana are hungry, happy and sleepy:) Think of Amsterdam they have the lowest crime rate in the world. We are paying about 60 grand a year per imamate to confine them in prison for having/smoking pot. Do you realize how many jobs would be created and money that could be made to put our country back where it needs to be? Not only that we would not be depending on other countries to provide this for us. I would love to walk in a store and buy something that says MADE IN AMERICA. Look though you home and all your precious belongings are from generally China and India. They will be the leaders of our country one day.

Nickie of OH 9:49PM February 25, 2009

Children should not use marijuana. I agree. Where I disagree is in the why they should not. They should not because they are too young to comprehend the reasons why people use recreational substances and therefor too young to make the decision to use, or not, on thier own.
NOT because of a false perceptiuon of harm our society may have. MArijuana is not harmful and does not cause brain damage in anyone at any age of ingestion
Legalize it. Tax it. Embrace it as part of human culture.

anon of MA 2:27PM February 24, 2009

This statement refers particularly to "doctor" Healy's article and is not meant as an insult to any of the true journalist associated with us news.
My first english professor at SWTSU was educating us about rhetoric and reliable sources in 1999. USsnooze was one of the papers she absolutely forbade us to use as a source for ANYTHING EVER!!!

Milton Burroughs of TX 8:41PM February 11, 2009

sheez. smoked pot for 22 years. 3.75 gpa in college. Good job, happy family, kid plays baseball and eats apple-pie. I strongly disagree with almost all anti-pot propaganda i've read because it's largely false. Almost all the medications used for pain management and anxiety cause severe g.i. damage and hepatoxicity. Please research the background of the researchers feeding you this shlep.

frederick nietzche of TX 8:33PM February 11, 2009

HR 5842 and HR 5843. I write to the white house once per week, asking the pres to stop this stupid prohibition. Notice how alcohol-related gangs disappeared after prohibition was lifted? I'd bet the farm that legalization would eliminate the violence seen on the Texas-Mexico border.
For the God-fearing people...where in the bible does Jesus say, "Go forth and enforce God's laws"? Keep an eye on your own pervert priests and homosexual ministers!

AndroidBoy420 of WI 9:42AM February 09, 2009

Just legalize it, tax it, and regulate it and move on to the next issue facing America!

Jim of TN 4:34AM February 08, 2009

If this is true, that the Holy Anointing Oil for the Holy of Holies in the Bible was marijuana. The Hindus have a Holy Day where they all smoke marijuana...
CHANGE ! ! ! ! Go Bama
In 1936, Sara Benetowa, later Known as Sula Benet, an etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences, in Warsaw wrote a treatise, "Tracing One Word Through Different Languages." This was a study on the word Cannabis, based on a study of the oldest Hebrew texts. Although the word cannabis was thought to be of Scythian origin, Benet's research showed it had an earlier root in the Semitic Languages such as Hebrew. Benet demonstrated that the ancient Hebrew word for Cannabis is Kaneh -Bosem. She also did another study called Early Diffusion and Folk Uses of Hemp. There is a reprint of this in Cannabis and Culture ISBN:90-279-7669-4. On page 44, she states, "The sacred character of hemp in biblical times is evident from Exodus 30:23, where Moses was instructed by God to anoint the meeting tent and all of its furnishings with specially prepared oil, containing hemp." On page 41 Sula Benet writes, : In the course of time, the two words kaneh and bosem were fused into one , kanabos or kannabus know to us from the Mishna. According to the Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary, page 607 the Hebrew for hemp is kanabos. [i]
[i] http://www.freeanointing.org/cannabis_in_the_holy_oil.htm

Jas of TX 7:26PM February 07, 2009