Should marijuana be legalized?

There are many rumors going around about why hasn't yet been legalized yet in America. Everyone says it's coming soon, which I find suspect to believe. This is a serious discussion, I'm not just some pothead trying to smoke freely, I'm just wondering what you think. Don't look it as, you may not do it, but in general, should it be legal? The second option means like in coffee shops, like how they do it in Amsterdam.

 

i dont' know. i can certainly see both sides of the argument. and i personally don't know what a person would do if it were legalized.

 

No, I don't think it should be legal. If it was illegal before, why should it be now? There is obviously a problem with it, otherwise it would never have been illegal. Marijuana can screw you up and even kill you! Why should it be legal? So more people can die?

 

No. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the actual medical uses for Marijuana - if any - pretty limited? That makes it useless in the medical field, and for recreational purposes it can screw up your body in a myriad of horrible ways -- plus, it's potent enough to kill you if handled improperly, like most drugs. Even if it does have good medical uses, people would still just abuse it for all the wrong reasons. Drugs like that are made illegal for a reason.

 

They've only -slightly- legalized it here in Massachusetts. There was a question on the ballot at the election that if the question passed, a person found with 1 oz. or less on them would be slapped with a $100 fine and sent on their way. In the past, of 1 oz. was found on you, it went down as a huge crime and thus ruined you for life.

There was an overwhelming "yes" vote on the question, so now if, say, someone like me, who's over 18, has 1. oz on them, I'd get hit with a fine. No different now than getting a parking ticket.

 

Alcohol used to be illegal during the 20's, otherwise known as the Prohibition Era. It was in the Consitiution even. And alcohol and tobbaco has a higher chance of killing a person than marijuana. They're actually more dangerous to use than marijuana. So I do think that it should be legalized.

 

Depends entirely on the situation. For proven medicinal purposes, yes. But not for recreation. And while it is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, it's still deadly. So yes for medicine, no otherwise.

 

Actually, Marijuana isn't deadly at all, no study has ever shown that Marijuana use in any form whatsoever harms the human body in any lethal facet, or even in any significant non-lethal fashion.

 

In my opinion, if they are going to keep drugs illegal, cigarettes and drinking should be illegal as well.

The only reason they are is that people have free will and rights to do whatever they want with their body. Drugs is no different. I believe if drugs are legalized and regulated by the government, the problems with drugs would lessen a LOT. Marijuana sold on the streets is laced with other harmful drugs, if it was regulated by pharmaceuticals then it would probably be a much safer drug.

If you want to treat addiction for Alcoholics as a disease, why not with drugs as well. It's so sad that sick people with problems are arrested and called criminals for either being a victim of a circumstance or wanting to have fun. Druggies shouldn't be treated as bad people, they've made mistakes and should be given the chance to heal themselves. If drugs were legal, those with the problems of addiction could be sent to rehabilitation rather then to prison.

There's a lot of people who think drugs should stay illegal due to the dangers they pose to the person taking them and those around them. Let's look again at Alcohol, there's more death caused by drunk idiots in a year then by drug induced crime, easily. Drunk Drivers are sent to jail. Just Drunken people get away free. If this approach was taken with drugs as well, addicts who DO actually hurt people while under the influence can be treated with capital punishment. Those that are just doing drugs in their basement and not hurting anyone, should be treated as normal people.

In short, drugs being illegal is completely unfair, and either all forms of addictive substance should be illegal, or none should.

 

It's good to see someone actually got this. Weed is still deadly. It's still smoke going in your body like cigarettes. I think it should be legal seeing how cigarettes and alcohol are legal, but they can still kill you. I just think, if you want the economy to be better, legalize weed. It would seriously be a billion dollar business, just don't sell it too high, and don't sell seeds, so people wouldn't be able to grow it as easily. Also if it is legal, I think that not just anybody should be able to sell it, you would have to get a license just like with any other business, like a liquor license.

Plus, alcohol is a depressant, it makes you sad and angry, if you are drunk and something pisses you off, you're more likely to lash out. But weed is much more peaceful, I can't think of one time where someone on weed has been angry and wanted to fight someone. That's just what I've noticed about people.

 

Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects, however it is interesting to note that there is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a single proven or documented cannabis-induced fatality.

The record of marijuana use encompasses 5,000 years of human experience. It is estimated that from 10 to 20 million Americans routinely, albeit illegally, smoke marijuana without direct medical supervision. Yet, despite this long history of use and the extraordinarily high numbers of social smokers, there are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death.

By contrast aspirin, a commonly used, over-the-counter medicine, causes tens of thousands of deaths each year.

Drugs used in medicine are routinely given what is called an LD-50. The LD-50 rating indicates at what dosage fifty percent of test animals receiving a drug will die as a result of drug induced toxicity. A number of researchers have attempted to determine marijuana's LD-50 rating in test animals, without success.

Enormous doses of Delta 9 THC, All THC and concentrated marijuana extract ingested by mouth were unable to produce death or organ pathology in large mammals.

The non-fatal consumption of 3000 mg of THC by the dog and monkey would be comparable to a 154-pound human eating approximately 46 pounds of marijuana at one time. In addition, 92 mg THC produced no fatalities in monkeys. These doses would be comparable to a 154-pound human smoking at one time almost three pounds of marijuana, or 250,000 times the usual smoked dose, and over a million times the minimal effective dose, assuming 50% destruction of the THC by smoking.

Simply put, researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death to this date.

At present it is estimated that marijuana's LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.

In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity.

Another common medical way to determine drug safety is called the therapeutic ratio. This ratio defines the difference between a therapeutically effective dose and a dose which is capable of inducing adverse effects.

A commonly used over-the-counter product like aspirin has a therapeutic ratio of around 1:20. Two aspirins are the recommended dose for adult patients. Twenty times this dose, forty aspirins, may cause a lethal reaction in some patients, and will almost certainly cause gross injury to the digestive system, including extensive internal bleeding.

The therapeutic ratio for prescribed drugs is commonly around 1:10 or lower. Valium, a commonly used prescriptive drug, may cause very serious biological damage if patients use ten times the recommended (therapeutic) dose.

By contrast, marijuana's therapeutic ratio, like its LD-50, is impossible to quantify because it is so high. In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.

Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine without significant consequence, more so than any medically prescribed substances on the market to date.

 

They have marijuana in concentrate (pill form), but there's no point to it. It makes your senses more aware, but slows your brain functions down. For any reason, no. It should not be legalized.

 

Actually, by comparison smoking pot is much safer than smoking cigarettes, as one of the reasons is that marijuana is not inherently as addictive as tobacco is because it doesn't contain nicotine. Many more people get addicted to tobacco smoking than marijuana smoking, because the chemical reliance to keep the habit going simply isn't there for marijuana

Not to mention that the act of smoking marijuana involves taking significantly less smoke into your lungs than tobacco users, and many stop using marijuana as they get older, whereas cigarette smoking usually leads to lifetime use. As well as the fact that marijuana requires much less use in order to get the desired affect, you will hardly ever see a person who feels the need to smoke seven marijuana cigarettes or joints a day, by comparison cigarette use can be an entire 20-cig pack in a day. Marijuana smokers typically don't have more than one on average, and they tend to quit the habit much easier.

Marijuana is used to alleviate Cancer and HIV symptoms, as well as relieve sufferers of Influenza and the affects of Chemotherapy treatment. It's also been suggested to help those with Anorexia and Alzheimer's, and that it may even inhibits cancer cell growth. It also helps those with Multiple Sclerosis with muscle use, and some have claimed it's helped with OCD and Tourettes patients with control of their ticks.

Significant medical uses for Cannabis are still being researched and discovered.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080908103045.htm
http://www.webmd.com/news/20000228/marijuanas-active-ingredient-targets-deadly-brain-cancer

 

from what i heard the only reason it is illegal is because the goverment cannot tax it and make a profit from it. tabacco and alchohol have to go throw a factory before you can smoke/drink it. weed you can just grow it and smoke it. also tabacco and alchohol are far more dangerous than marijuana. they both each kill 250,000+ a year. there has never been anyone died from smoking to much marijuana (because its not possible to OD on it). marijuana is also given to cancer patients to help suppress the cancer for abit (this im not 100% on). so in my eyes i see nothing wrong with it, and on the other side i see many things wrong with what is legal (tobacco mainly)

so im my opinion, yes,i believe it should be legalized, and tabacco should be illegal :0

 

I LOL'D.

grr

 

Ethical reasons aside, the hypothesized lethal dosage of Marijuana is equivalent to 1000 joints. It's really a personal matter if you want to use it. I for one have no need for such drugs.In the end though, if used responsibly, it's no different than consuming alcohol for social purposes.

 

marijuana shouldnt be legalized. it is harmful and if i am correct it has way more chemicals in it than tobacco. therefor, you get more tar in your lungs. Also even though small doses of it may not harm you, it can lead you to do irresponsible things that will hurt you or even kill you.​

 

it should only be legalized if you need it for medical reasons, other wise it will be abused

 

Like how people abuse alcohol and tobbaco? If that stuff's legal, why shouldn't marijuana be legalized? There's nothing harmful about it, generally speaking.

 

Yeah. It should be legalized, whatever. As long as no one blows the smoke in my face.
Also, many of you should read this.