Legalize it: for or against the removal of marijuana from the controlled substances act

[Ph0enix]

@(you need an account to see links), again, I was trying to say that is going to be the case with people no matter what because people are idiots. You cannot blame the drug for people's actions.

Also, no sorry but weed is not addictive. It has been proven in study after study and I will not argue further on this because science.

[Mama Bear]

Giving people greater access to more drugs is only enabling the risks for bad consequences though. You agreed regarding driving high; doesn't that suggest that you recognise it impairs people? People are idiots- do we really need to give them another way to endanger themselves and others

"Because science" is not really much in way of sources. Here are some papers you might like to read; the findings of the second study, published in 2010, were that the rate of marijuana dependance is higher than that of alcohol.
(you need an account to see links)
(you need an account to see links)
(you need an account to see links)
Here is a summary of some of the findings from a report published in the June 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine:

*Despite the popular belief that the marijuana is not addicting, about 9 percent of those who experiment with the drug, and up to 50 percent who use it every day, will become addicted.

*Smoking marijuana in the teen years is linked with brain abnormalities, such as fewer neural fibers in certain brain areas, decreased brain activity and a smaller hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory.

*People who use marijuana are at greater risk of abusing other drugs later in life, suggesting that marijuana maybe a "gateway drug." However, it could be that people who are more susceptible to drug use in general tend to start with marijuana because it is more accessible, and then move on to other drugs.

*In people who are genetically at risk for schizophrenia, smoking marijuana is linked with an increased risk of developing the condition. However, its possible factors other than marijuana are responsible for the link.

*A person's risk of a car accident doubles if that individual drives shortly after smoking marijuana.

Most studies agree on a minimum 9% addiction rate, even if you disregard the higher findings of the 2010 study. So please don't try to tell me that it's not addictive and "proven in study after study". Not only do I have the anecdotal evidence of my father, who used 5+ times a day every single day of my life, whom I begged to quit but whom I never once knew clean. I also have been able to provide some data to support my position. @(you need an account to see links), you may not wish to argue further on it, but I am just as adamant on my position and am supported by peer-reviewed evidence.

[Ruizu]

Making weed legal in this country would be a mistake. Sure if it DID become legal, the government could tax the stuff and get a ton of money from it. I don't mind people smoking weed, I used to be really against it because the way people used to act with it, until I had a bf who used to smoke bongs and stuff.

For some unknown reason I seem to get nosebleeds if people smoke weed around me, and the smell itself is terrible in my opinion. I wouldn't want people smoking it around their children as well.

I have nothing against weed smokers since they're so chill and hungry and hilarious to be with but I've never tried the stuff, I don't really want to and I don't see the point.

[Ph0enix]

Making weed legal in this country would be a mistake. Sure if it DID become legal, the government could tax the stuff and get a ton of money from it. I don't mind people smoking weed, I used to be really against it because the way people used to act with it, until I had a bf who used to smoke bongs and stuff.

For some unknown reason I seem to get nosebleeds if people smoke weed around me, and the smell itself is terrible in my opinion. I wouldn't want people smoking it around their children as well.

I have nothing against weed smokers since they're so chill and hungry and hilarious to be with but I've never tried the stuff, I don't really want to and I don't see the point.

People do this regardless of the legality of the drug. They're not gonna let you smoke anywhere you can't have alcohol open. It will be regulated just like alcohol would. That doesn't make it a mistake to make it legal.

[Ruizu]

People do this regardless of the legality of the drug. They're not gonna let you smoke anywhere you can't have alcohol open. It will be regulated just like alcohol would. That doesn't make it a mistake to make it legal.

Meh either way it's not gonna happen here anyway.

[Ph0enix]

Meh either way it's not gonna happen here anyway.

Where is here?

[Ruizu]

Where is here?

Here is the UK.

[Ph0enix]

Here is the UK.

Is it even an issue there? Like do people want it legal and they won't?

[Ruizu]

Is it even an issue there? Like do people want it legal and they won't?

Erm, sort of. To me it's not a big issue but to others it's huge. BUT there have been petitions to legalize it like there would be in other countries and all have failed because our current government are against the idea. Who knows what will happen if a different government was elected in the next general election. In years to come I could be completely wrong and they may legalize it

If the Police catch you with small portions of weed they caution you at first and then arrest you if you're caught again etc etc.

[spleef35]

While I have never smoked marijuana, (or even cigarettes for that matter), I have been around numerous people who have smoked it regularly long term, and the resulting effect was aggression, especially if they could not get high after an extended period of time. Just nicotine, narcotics, sugar, and even anti-depressants, the human brain becomes reliant on these substances and foods, which forms habitual behaviors. I'll even use myself as an example, I drink Dr. Pepper almost every day. If I go several days without Dr. Pepper, because that is my primary sugar intake (I am hypoglycemic, so this is the fastest way for me to reload my sugar level), I turn into a nasty bitch. I once removed all soda products from my diet for nearly a year, and despite doing that, I would STILL have moments, at least once a week, where I craved a huge amount of soda or sugar in general. It even made it hard for me to do my job, so I had to bring something high in sugar with me every day in order to not go ape-shit on my customers.

That being said, I am not okay with people using marijuana in a recreational setting. People sell pot, and anytime anything is sold, people have to fight over it. At the bus stop I wait at every single day, people were getting high inside the kiosk, a lot of times using laced pot, which led to fighting of course, followed by harassing people, and delightfully inappropriate behaviors. My favorite was when a woman who got into some really badly laced pot walked out of the kiosk, drops her pants and started twerking up against random people. It's not the pot itself that I have a problem with, let me just make that clear. It's the obnoxious things people do with it.

However, when it comes medicinal purposes, I am all for pot being used. Marijuana in pill form, vapor inhalants, etc, can be used to treat anxiety and depression. It is especially good for treating glaucoma if someone's health insurance cannot cover the cost of the surgery needed to correct glaucoma. Marijuana relaxes muscles, so it relieves the pressure on the eyes that is caused by glaucoma. (I wish I could convince my mother to seek out this treatment until she has her surgery in the future, because she has the beginning stages of glaucoma).