Legalization of Marijuana?

[Double T]

Decriminalize all drugs and remove the "Schedule" system entirely.

The schedule system I believe was originally in place for medical practitioners. Certain drugs are required to be behind 1 lock minimum in my med cart, others behind 2. Our facility decides to throw them all behind 2 locks.

If someone wants my drugs in my cart, they can have to whole cart. i would literally LOL at someone trying to lug that thing out of the facility, into a truck, and then roll around on the floor laughing as they tried to open it. It'd be like the world's dumbest criminals where the dude stole the register, and the receipt paper led the police to his home, 2 doors away...



I am neither here nor there regarding marijuana. it does have benefits for diseases and pain management. I don't think it should be open to the public, but I do think that people with end stage cancers and diseases like tourettes could benefit from it.

The war on drugs is dumb, and costs a lot of money yes. But the real burdensome question in the back of my mind is at what cost will it cause our country to roll back it's prohibition? There are pros and cons to it, and I really cannot decide which side of the fence I would be on.

I don't think meth, heroine, or cocaine should be legal. The detrimental effects in such tiny doses is far too much for anyone to be prescribed it for anything. I really don't think I've read of a single THC overdose though, so prescription marijuana has it's merits for me, especially in hospice care settings.

 

[LostLake]

You still face public usage charges, disorderly conduct, driving under the influence and so forth.

Sure, if the said person is irresponsible - Same as with alcohol or any other legally prescribed medication that causes impairment.

I personally don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't use marijuana. I've been around enough of all 3 to make me a believer in marijuana decriminalization / legalization. I believe the pros outweigh the cons at this point in our nations history.

As with all dangerous items / substances, the responsible always pay the price for the irresponsible. We as firearms owners know this first hand. It's 2014 - Reefer Madness is nearing 100 years old.

 

[poptab]

This is the same tired argument anti gun proponents make. It's ironic gun owners make it against drugs.

If the general population truly isn't responsible enough to own drugs, they certainly aren't responsible enough to own firearms.

This must be ****ing bizzaro world.

 

[247survivalmindset]

Let's consider what the real problem is: what actions pot causes. Directly, pot causes hunger, relaxation, mild paranoia, and several other, relatively harmless side effects. But indirectly, it causes people to steal money to buy more, causes a hierarchy of users, dealers, distributors, etc. This leads to violence, and several other crimes like theft, and breaking/entering.

Now let's look at what regulation causes. Because we have made it illegal, people go to jail for it, it is a black market type system (unregulated by definition), and it costs taxpayers a lot of money every year. As well as give the police one more thing to do when they already have trouble finding missing children and the sleaze ball who stole your car stereo last week. Making it legal and allowing the free market (and the regulations there) take over, we (taxpayers) could start to profit from it. Drug dealers and their market system would lose to CVS (its a DRUG store (; ), and all but disappear, the crime would go down, and we could spend more effort making sure it doesn't make it into the hands of kids.

Whatever we do, if we make it legal, there is no going back. Prohibition anyone?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Let's consider what the real problem is: what actions pot causes. Directly, pot causes hunger, relaxation, mild paranoia, and several other, relatively harmless side effects. But indirectly, it causes people to steal money to buy more, causes a hierarchy of users, dealers, distributors, etc. This leads to violence, and several other crimes like theft, and breaking/entering.

Now let's look at what regulation causes. Because we have made it illegal, people go to jail for it, it is a black market type system (unregulated by definition), and it costs taxpayers a lot of money every year. As well as give the police one more thing to do when they already have trouble finding missing children and the sleaze ball who stole your car stereo last week. Making it legal and allowing the free market (and the regulations there) take over, we (taxpayers) could start to profit from it. Drug dealers and their market system would lose to CVS (its a DRUG store (; ), and all but disappear, the crime would go down, and we could spend more effort making sure it doesn't make it into the hands of kids.

Whatever we do, if we make it legal, there is no going back. Prohibition anyone?

I've wondered how the police, as a group, view legalization. How many times does a cop really want to arrest someone, or at the least detain them and search a vehicle, for reasons other than possession or use of pot, and the mere whiff of pot, or the sight of a pipe, bag, or roach in an ashtray gives them convenient probable cause to toss the car or enter a premises (i think), or jack the cuffs on the person and take them into custody. With legalization, that all goes away?

 

[247survivalmindset]

I hope it does go away. Consider all of the unnecessary danger they are in when they have to do that? What further violence or crime are they stopping? All for a chance to get shot? Yeah, I hope that goes away with legalization.

 

[Classic]

Sure, if the said person is irresponsible - Same as with alcohol or any other legally prescribed medication that causes impairment.

I personally don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't use marijuana. I've been around enough of all 3 to make me a believer in marijuana decriminalization / legalization. I believe the pros outweigh the cons at this point in our nations history.

As with all dangerous items / substances, the responsible always pay the price for the irresponsible. We as firearms owners know this first hand. It's 2014 - Reefer Madness is nearing 100 years old.

Hahahaha. I have a DVD copy if anyone wants to borrow it. It's hoot!

 

[rkwhyte2]

It seems like the states legalizing or decriminalizing are saying...Here's your pot, now hand over the gun rights. And when it comes time to fill out a 4473, how will you fill out question (e):



While the state may have made it lawful to use, the feds have not. And what is considered to be addicted to MJ? Some say it's not addictive, others say it is. But the FEDS have the final word because you are filling out a federal document. Until the feds take cannabis off of the schedule 1 list, it wouldn't be a good idea to 'partake' in a legal state.

One could come to the conclusion that state legalization is playing right into the hands of the feds...and they know it.

This right here is what I consider the end game for the Feds and the states for that matter. Does anyone think they would be granted a LTCH if they were a user of drugs? The Feds will deny you the purchase of a firearm from a store and the state will deny you the LTCH. Of course you don't have to carry and you can always buy used from a private citizen.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

And make the death penalty an option for all violent crimes. If you can use drugs and play nicely with everyone else, fine, but if you can't handle yourself there's no reason we should all have to put up with it. Penal colonies/exile would also be a fine alternative.

I'm down for this. I don't care if a person is drunk or stoned, sober or xanexed. If someone wants to commit violent crime, they should run the risk of their neck getting stretched.

 

[Trooper]

I've wondered how the police, as a group, view legalization. How many times does a cop really want to arrest someone, or at the least detain them and search a vehicle, for reasons other than possession or use of pot, and the mere whiff of pot, or the sight of a pipe, bag, or roach in an ashtray gives them convenient probable cause to toss the car or enter a premises (i think), or jack the cuffs on the person and take them into custody. With legalization, that all goes away?

all those actions would still get the car tossed and the driver/passengers in jail. Except that it would be for driving while under the influence or having an open container (package) or so forth. That happens with alcohol now.

 

[LostLake]

Let's consider what the real problem is: what actions pot causes. Directly, pot causes hunger, relaxation, mild paranoia, and several other, relatively harmless side effects. But indirectly, it causes people to steal money to buy more, causes a hierarchy of users, dealers, distributors, etc. This leads to violence, and several other crimes like theft, and breaking/entering.

I believe for someone to act in the above manner, they've likely got something else going besides a pot habit. Is it completely inconceivable to believe that marijuana users could hold down jobs? I do agree that illegal marijuana is lining the pockets of Mexican cartels and or similar "bad people". Legal marijuana would end the majority of that.

I don't know exact statistics, but I'm sure for every 50 people who enjoy alcohol responsibly there's 1 bad drunk. Maybe it's more, maybe it's less. The same probably goes for pot smokers. You see, we don't hear about responsibility and marijuana use because they insta-label themselves as criminals.

 

[richardraw316]

munchies

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

Hahahaha. I have a DVD copy if anyone wants to borrow it. It's hoot!

it's on netflix streaming, too.

 

[46201]

How many people look down on pot smokers but have never even tried the stuff?

The simple fact is, it's just not that bad. It is a very relaxing drug with medicinal benefits.

Is it harmless? Of course not. But I really get tired of hearing how pot ruins lives. The only real problems surrounding marijuana stem from the fact that it is illegal...

And remember, in the tyrannical police state that we live under, just because it is illegal does not mean it is immoral!


But in my opinion, the pros and cons are irrelevant because at the end of the day, the government should not be allowed to tell people what they can't put in their own bodies.

 

[dshaf]

I don't really care what people put in their bodies as long as it doesn't affect me (but I do understand that is a pretty big "if"). I also don't like what the drug war has transformed our law enforcement into. So I guess it would put me more into the Libertarian camp.


However, what gives me pause, and prevents me from going all the way over to the legalization camp, is the fact that we do in fact have a Welfare State in this country, and this nation absolutely does not, will not, allow people to fall on their face and suffer the consequences of their mistakes. I do believe legalization _will_ result in more people using it. When some of these folks inevitably fall on their face as the result of bad choices, our government will be right there to swoop them up in mama's arms, and coddle them with assistance, rehabilitation, etc., ad nauseam, ad infinitum. You, and I, WILL BE PAYING FOR THIS. The Welfare State never misses an opportunity to seize an opportunity, and "a friend in need, is a friend indeed." Another excuse to add more unproductive bodies onto the middle-class welfare state will be welcomed by the Statists with enthusiasm. A Christiania with 350 million citizens would suit them just fine.


One more thing I'm not sure the legalization proponents have thought through: employers don't want their employees under the influence of anything, generally, and pre- and post- employment drug screening is court-tested and the law of the land. The bumper-crop of new users will be, by definition, largely unemployable. How are you going to handle that? Attempt to pass laws "outlawing" employment drug tests? Does that become the next "frontier" of your "fight?" How do you prevent this wave of unemployable people from winding up on the public tit? Are the people who "quit using" when their first child was born, _all_ going to stay on the wagon, when there are no longer any legal ramifications? What's that, you say - "I will still want to work to support my family, so I will toe the line?" Really? Do you think that's the choice everyone will make, when government benefits are so available? Do you really think all those people will not be happy with an Obama-phone subsistence quality of life?


So, go ahead and legalize if you want to...but don't delude yourselves for one minute that it won't result in further increases in the size of the welfare state, because it will. And no, I don't believe there will be any compensatory offset in federal spending, because you can be sure every flat dime of enforcement money that is no longer needed, will be funneled forthwith into employing an army of people with social-work degrees into an ever-expanding "war on addiction" which will also have no end.

Well spoken !!!!

 

[poisonspyder]

This right here is what I consider the end game for the Feds and the states for that matter. Does anyone think they would be granted a LTCH if they were a user of drugs? The Feds will deny you the purchase of a firearm from a store and the state will deny you the LTCH. Of course you don't have to carry and you can always buy used from a private citizen.

You know alcohol was a illegal drug once too, and legal before that. Pot was legal till 1937 as well. Colorado is a constitutional open carry state without a permit. Will the Feds or state give everyone a drug test before they can carry then? You need no card or forms filled out to buy legal pot in colorado. You can't buy a used firearm without filling a 4473 here in colorado tho.

 

[AtTheMurph]

It doesn't matter what the pros and cons are. The federal government does not have any lawful right to outlaw the possession or consumption of drugs.

Amen.

I dn't see an enumerated power to make drugs illegal or legal so get the Feds out of the drug war business.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Looking for a good thread for this sort of stuff, this thread title seems good enough to fit the needs for a "General Marijuana Thread"

Rep. Jim Lucas R-Seymour introduces marijuana decriminalization bill

 

[IndianaGlock85]

Thanks for the link

 

[ATOMonkey]

I really hope that bills like this gain more traction each year. Every black market that we can eliminate will benefit us all.