Next month the state of Michigan is going to vote on a proposal to allow doctors to recommend marijuana for patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and other conditions. Such patients would register with the state and then will be able to legally buy, grow and use small amounts of marijuana to relieve pain, nausea, appetite loss and other symptoms. Although polls show a 67% approval rate for the proposal, the measure is opposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, and Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican.
Michigan is not the first state to opt for legalization. In 1996 California and Arizona approved using marijuana for medical purposes as well while the court system had to deal with the reactions to the measure. Californian law allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for almost any pain or ailment while it also legalized its cultivation, not just the possession. However, after the measure passed, America's “drug czar” of the time, retired four-star general Barry McCaffrey, warned physicians not to violate federal law by prescribing marijuana. His warning was rejected by a group of California physicians who filed suit claiming that their rights to advise their patients were being violated. In the case of Arizona, voters even approved of the medical use of heroin and LSD. The unprecedented referendum results fuelled a debate over who should be controlling our drug laws. The federal government or the state voters?
The legalization of marijuana raises other broad questions for both supporters and opponents. Will legalization for medical use undermine the seemingly endless federal war on drugs by cultivating greater tolerance of marijuana and other drugs? Could it be the back door to an all-out legalization of marijuana and probably other drugs as well? Finally, some doctors wonder “Is it really good medicine?”
The issue became a complicated one in various states that had adopted the measure. In Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health issued new rules allowing people with doctor-certified conditions to avoid state prosecution. Similar steps were taken in other states that had legalized marijuana use, such as Louisiana, Virginia and Ohio. At the same time a new debate sprang across the country, focusing on our policy regarding drug use with many supporting legalization for any use, many opposing it, and others wondering as to the criteria that dictated legalization of alcohol and nicotine on one hand, and criminalization of marijuana and other narcotics on the other. If you click on this NYT article you will see the addictiveness ratings of nicotine, heroin,cocaine, alcohol, caffeine and marijuana.
Michigan is not the first state to opt for legalization. In 1996 California and Arizona approved using marijuana for medical purposes as well while the court system had to deal with the reactions to the measure. Californian law allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for almost any pain or ailment while it also legalized its cultivation, not just the possession. However, after the measure passed, America's “drug czar” of the time, retired four-star general Barry McCaffrey, warned physicians not to violate federal law by prescribing marijuana. His warning was rejected by a group of California physicians who filed suit claiming that their rights to advise their patients were being violated. In the case of Arizona, voters even approved of the medical use of heroin and LSD. The unprecedented referendum results fuelled a debate over who should be controlling our drug laws. The federal government or the state voters?
The legalization of marijuana raises other broad questions for both supporters and opponents. Will legalization for medical use undermine the seemingly endless federal war on drugs by cultivating greater tolerance of marijuana and other drugs? Could it be the back door to an all-out legalization of marijuana and probably other drugs as well? Finally, some doctors wonder “Is it really good medicine?”
The issue became a complicated one in various states that had adopted the measure. In Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health issued new rules allowing people with doctor-certified conditions to avoid state prosecution. Similar steps were taken in other states that had legalized marijuana use, such as Louisiana, Virginia and Ohio. At the same time a new debate sprang across the country, focusing on our policy regarding drug use with many supporting legalization for any use, many opposing it, and others wondering as to the criteria that dictated legalization of alcohol and nicotine on one hand, and criminalization of marijuana and other narcotics on the other. If you click on this NYT article you will see the addictiveness ratings of nicotine, heroin,cocaine, alcohol, caffeine and marijuana.
Who do you think should control the drug laws? The federal government or the state voters?
How do you feel towards legalizing cannabis for medical or recreational use?
146 comments:
I really think that the federal government should be the one's controlling drug laws and not the state. If every state has different drug laws, I think that after awhile this could be problematic. Laws should be as a majority, the same in every state with an exception of a few here and there. As for how I feel about marijuana being legalized, I really think that It should be closely monitered if legalized. Marijuana is a big gateway drug that can easily lead a person into other drugs. I have personally seen friends who started off innocently enough with marijuana here and there, then moving on to the harder and more dangerous drugs. Now I don't even hear from them, nor do I want to.
The federal government should control the laws regarding drugs. If we had one federal drug policy it would be much easier to control and maintain.
I think that if they want to legalize pot for medical and recreational use that is okay by me, doctors would be prescribing it for a terminally ill patients anyway, what is the harm in giving them a little comfort. .
I know a lot of people who would say, “Why does the government have a say on what goes into my body” and mostly I would agree. Survival of the fittest or death to the dumb. However you want to look at it.
I believe that the government should control the drug laws and regulations, not the state. It should be one way across the board, no different from anywhere else. As far as legalizing marijuana, i think that it should be monitored. In my personal opinion, I think that if we legalized it, then we could tax it and the money would go to OUR government instead of over seas. But then again, It could go the opposite way and kids could be rebellious and move to something different, simply because they aren't allowed to do it. I smoked throughout high school to the point where i was not happy unless i was high. When i hit my first year out of high school, i stopped and havent touched it since. It was just something i did with my friends because everyone else was doing it. But I learned from it, and part of me wants to say that other people could learn from it too. I guess, Im on the fence with this one. I think it should be legalized for medical purposes definitely. As far as recreational, not too sure about this yet. Might have to read some more about this and post again.
I think that the government should be the ones to control the use of drugs, especially marijuana. Marijuana is the most easiest illegal drug to get a hold of, and its also very dangerous, it can also lead to the use of other harmful drugs that can affect our thoughts and make people do stupid things, so I do not believe that the use of pot should be illegal. I am contracting myself when I say this but I also believe that pot can be used as a pain reliever to a person with arthritis or any other terminal illness to help ease the pain, and it should be legal for use under a doctor's supervision, but only for a person with a terminal illness.
i agree with frogger the most probly, the federal government should control all of our drug policies... it would make it easier to maintain and the knowledge of it would be more widespread, instead of having different laws in almost every state...
Now as for legalizing it, im not to sure about it... i come from a family where i am the only one who does not smoke weed, so i know alot about it, and how it affects people, and most of the time it really isnt bad.... i personally think it should be used for only the serious medical uses, but definitely not for recreational use because it can lead to other bad things, luckily that hasnt happened to anybody in my family, but i have seen it happen to friends, like operationjapan said, so even though it can be a care free fun drug it can also lead to greater worse things so that is why i dont think it should be distributed to the public for recreational use.
I agree with everyone's opinion and that the federal government should be in charge of setting the laws, especially with something as serious as legalizing drugs.
I think that marijuana should always be available to cancer patients. My thoughts about it for any other use is different. I really don't think anything that impairs you should be legal. How is alcohol any different than marijuana? If anything alcohol impairs you worse. So why is that legal? It is responsible for MANY deaths each year.
So the only thing I think any drug, illegal or not, should only be used for medical reasons.
i think it would be a good idea to be legalized, but only for terminally ill patients such as cancer,aids, etc. if it were to be legalized, it should be closley monitored and only given to certain medical personell so that it wont be stolen. but as far as legalizing it for the terminally ill, i think its a great idea! thier already going to be very sick and in alot of pain, why not die painless? kind of like what hospice does for them- " dying in peace".
I think it's clear that everyone agrees that the federal government should regulate drug laws. With one policy the positions on drugs would be clear instead of how it is now, no one knowing what exactly is allowed in various states.
On the topic of legalization, I am a strong supporter of legalizing marijuana. 7 billion a year is spent on "fighting the war on marijuana". This 7 billion could be put to much better uses such as education and health care. Not to mention the revenue the government would receive from the taxation of marijuana.
The federal Government should control any law dealing with drugs, not the states. While its good for the states to have their own independence on things it can get confusing, like if a law was different in Florida than it would be in Georgia.
As far as legalization for medical use I have no problem with it but only under strict regulation. I don't thing people who can have it should be allowed to grow it, for their own safety on one said and on the other, they might be tempted to sell it.
I believe that marijuana should be pushed for medical use and recreational use. I believe we should leave it up to the voters for at least decriminalizing it. No harm has ever come from smoking a little bit of marijuana. More people die from drunk driving and smoking tobacco than marijuanna users. In the documentary "In Pot We Trust", they document on five people who have been prescribed medical marijuana for their illness. It is a good video about marijuana use and the possible legalization of it. I support this because I feel it could a good asset to prescribe it to the sick...It has cases that people with glaucoma have been prescribed marijuana and it has prolonged their life. If you watch that documentary then you might possibly change your mind about marijuana.
It's funny that we are sending people to jail, AND paying for them, because they smoke marijuana. I read once that 44% of the American population smokes or has smoked marijuana in their life time. Honestly, it's probably mostly lobbyists for Tobacco and Alcohol companies keeping Congress tied down to this zero tolerance on marijuana, makes sense, no?
Although I agree that, yes, the federal government should regulate drug laws, they need to see where they are hurting the populace more so than helping them, having to pay for this 850 billion dollar bailout bill and what was it, 30,000? for quite a few people in jail merely because they smoked some marijuana? Ridiculous.
I'd say legalize it for both medicinal purposes and recreational use. Many say marijuana is the gateway drug, but in the end, is it not a person's character that decides to take that next step? It is. I also think it comes down to a persons knowledge base on harsher drugs, if they don't know much about it, they would be more tempted to try it.
Yes, smoking marijuana can lead to health problems, there is no way to avoid that (if smoked), but there are other ways of consumption that can lead to no health problems at all.
http://cannabisodling.1av10.nu/orange_high.html
Some one had sent me this link to an article about a professor at FSU that created Oranges containing THC.
In the end though, what can we REALLY do about it?
I think that the government should still have control of the drug laws. If every state had control of the drug laws, every state would have different opinions about them. The government has just one motion about drug laws and the states have to follow it.
As for legalizing drugs for medical and recreational use, I think that marijuana would be okay but anything worse than that should not be legalized. We already have alcohol and cigarettes as legal drugs and I think there worse than marijuana. I know that marijuana is a gateway drug but if someone is truely using it for medical reasons I don't think that they would consider continuing on to stronger drugs. If someone is just doing drugs for fun though then I don't think it matters if they go to something harder. They shouldn't have done drugs in the first place.
I would say the Federal government should be the ones who control the drug laws not the states. If each state would have their own laws it is going to be a big mess. People will take that from the negative side, so they can go to the doctor and say anything to get any kind of the drug that they need. For example, marijuana is a dangerous if people start using it I think they may not leave it.
So please do not leave this between the people because if that happened we are going to have a sick society and it is going to lead us to a failure society in the future.
I think that the federal government should be the ones to control the drug laws. I think if the federal government controlled the drug laws it would be much easier to maintain the use of drugs. I think that it could become a problem if some states allow it and others don't. Anyone can drive to a different state to see a doctor. I feel that if for the proper medical reasons that it is ok to prescribe marijuana. When I was have chemo treatments I was prescribed the pill form of marijuana to help control my nausea and put back on weight. In that case I don’t think there is a problem with it. As long as it is to help a person get better then I think it is a good idea. As for legalizing marijuana I am not sure if it was legal I think it would need to be heavily monitored.
It seems everyone agrees with the fact that the federal government should be the one controlling drug laws. To mix it up a little I am going to disagree with the legalization of Marijuana. There is a rise in America of the abuse of prescription drugs. Why give someone the opportunity to abuse something else? If people are okay with stealing the medication that is keeping their dying grandmother alive whose to say they won't steal the medication that is helping their mother handle the pain of cancer? If it is legalized there needs to be strong restrictions on it. I feel that if it is legalized the only way to use it should be under supervision of a medical professional, for instance having a facility where they can be observed, and it can not be taken out of the facility. There are MANY other ways to help with pain that are healthier and have less side effects!
The federal government should control laws regarding drug policy and not the state. This would make it easier to control on law for different type of drug from state to state. I think legalizing marijuana can be both helpful and harmful, because it will not only be used by individuals who needs it for health purpose but by other who think it makes them look cool. Many people are using marijuana even though it’s illegal. Making it legal just give them the right to abuse the use of thing drug. The only reason I believe this should be legalized is that these people suffering from these life threatening illness can get some help and comfort that they will get better.
I would have to say I'm not sure on this one. A lot of people have valuable opinions and I'm stuck on this one. I know it would alleviate pain and other medical issues and that would be a positive outcome. But I worry about it becoming legal and our marijuana use would probably double. It has to be one the easiest drugs to get a hold of imagine if some people had it legally. I could imagine people who would have it legally selling it and they would probably not have done so if they didn't have to begin with. This is a tough one for me! But if I had to vote on it I think I would be against it because I think the negatives out way the positives.
The use of marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes only. Studies have shown that people high on marijuana do incredibly stupid things, and the general population should not be allowed to have it simply for the sake of having it. However, for those in extreme pain who are not about to go and do anything idiotic due to being confined to a hospital bed, it may be a good idea. Furthermore, it will eliminate some of the drug trade because if people can get it legally, they'll stop using dealers.
It should be legalized for medical purposes only.
I think it should be left up to the federal goverment to say if we can usemarijuana as a medical drug or not. But by saying that i also say that it should be legalized everywhere in the United States. The way i see it Marijuana is ok when its not abused just like any other "natural" drug. Plus if they leagalize it they can tax it and make money off of it and they can also control more of the drug crimes going on. Thats why i say we should leagalize marijuana.
Its pretty simple who should be regulating the laws of usage for marijuana. The federal goverment should be the ones and the only ones regulating martijuana usage.
Now as far as I am concerned about whether or not marijuana should be legalized i am not if favor for. If marijuana is prescribed for the proper usage of a needy patient then yes, that person should be allowed to use it. If marijuana stables a terminally ill patient better then pain killers and morphine etc. then they should be allowed to use it. However, marijuana for just getting HIGH purposes should not be allowed. Marijuana is a drug lets not forget as well it also a proven fact that it is a gateway drug that may lead to more fatal drugs like cocaine and ectasy. If we may marijuana legal, how would you feel if you saw a little five year old smoking weed, because if i saw that i would terrible to that point that would make me upset knowing that my little five year cousins might be doing the same.
Therefore marijauna should continue to be illegal, and legal only if prescribed by a doctor for medical purposes.
I really don't think the federal government should control drug use. I think they have their hands on too much power as it is. Controlling our drug uses, especially medical drug usage, should not be something they're allowed to do.
Why do I think this against all the other opinions in this room? Just think about it this way... It's such a small group of people controlling the many. They are so easily blinded by easy ways out, and money... Why should we let them make a mistake for all of us?
In any case... I do believe marijuana should be legalized for medical or recreational uses. It is nowhere near as bad as alcohol, and nearly on par with caffeine.
As for all the debates of it being a "gateway drug"...
Please!!! I have so many marijuana users as friends who would never even think of using harder drugs. I have an aunt and uncle who went through college got their 4.o GPA and still smoke pot. They have yet to use any hard drugs. Use of any actual "bad" drugs is not determined on whether or not you smoke pot...
I believe that the state government should be responsible for the laws of its own state. Sometimes people will cast votes without knowing the full amount of consequences that occur afterwards. If Marijuana is legalized it will be abused... no doubt. Its not like medicinal used drugs are not it will just make it more excessible to people, and there will probably be a larger drug problem than ever.
I can see though how it might have a positive hospital use, but there is no telling what could happen to those "growing" there own cannibus. They could sell it or have it stolen.
I really think the federal government is best to handle this issue. America as a whole should probably take a lesson from the European countries that has legalized marijuana on how the regulation and distribution should be handled. If it isn't legalized then people are still going to obtain it, grow it, and use it. I think that people with a medical ailment should be allowed to use it but doctors should be the ones to describe it and patients should not be allowed to grow it. That would get out of hand and probably increase violence due to the competition amongst drug dealers. I doubt it would be handled as civilized as the tobacco industry. Honestly I'd sooner opt for the legalization of weed over continuing the sell of tobacco. If weed is to be smoked merely for recreational use then taverns such as those in Amsterdam should be established and taxed as with any other business. Regardless of what the decision comes out to be, weed will never go away and the war on drugs will continue. At least if the government legalizes the use of marijuana, there may be less street drug dealers and more legit business men and a reduction in prison crowding. Perhaps that's just wishful thinking.
I agree with the legalization of Marijuana for prescription purposes.Marijuana is the least addictive substance available. I do not classify Marijuana as a "drug" per se because unlike most other substances used Marijuana is a naturally grown plant.If you were to look at some of the prescriptions available today to "help" people...such as Prozac or Paxil... look at the harmful ingredients and dangerous side effects, Marijuana is safer and more natural a medicine than most.
Though I do agree that giving each state the right to have their own voters decide on legalization issues could cause instability and confusion between what happens in each state and what people can get away with,I do not believe that it is best to put all our faith in the Federal Goverment to decide " what is best" for us as people. Although this is the basis for our goverment it does not always turn out for the better.
I think like most of the class that the Federal Government should be controlling the drug laws in this country. I think if marijuana is used for medical use that it is ok because it is helping people feel good. I do on the hand believe that it should not be done just on recreational use. Marijuana is a gateway drug and can lead to other drugs that could affect its users. I feel that medical use will help and recreational use will just bring bad affects. I believe that marijuana used for recreational use being legalized will have big affects on our society in the wrong direction. If it is used in a controlled way it is not that bad but i'm afraid that when used to much will lead to major problems. Use it for medical use but don't over do it becasue then we have problems. The Federal Government should hold these decisions and becasue of the seriousness of the topic hold it with respect.
Legalize it and get it done and over with. Marijuana other wise know as cannabis is not nearly as bad as cigarettes or alcohol. If we legalize it we can tax it so the gov. makes money on it and we free up room in jails saving more money and we can end the war on drugs saving even more money. Cannabis being really bad such as said by commercials and the government is a bloody myth. Go do some research on the subject the government back in the 60's lagalized medical cannabis and today there is about ten people in the USA who are sent it legally.
It is proven to help sleep disorders and help pain it is the medical drug companies who are against it as they can not patent it and make a lot of money on it, which takes money away from there other "LEGAL DRUGS" which are more addictive, have side effects, and in large quantities can KILL YOU. Think have you ever herd of someone dying from smoking to much cannabis.
I think the state voters should control the drug laws. These laws after all effect our lives; I don’t think the government should be given all authority on the matter. I am completely for legalizing cannabis for medical use. I don’t agree with legalizing it for recreational use. However, as stated in the chart, nicotine was worse all across the chart than cannabis was, and nicotine is actually legal! Cannabis is a drug that relieves so much pain to so many people. I know if there was no other cure or drug for me and I had a disease affecting me that much I wouldn’t hesitate to use cannabis.
I think that the federal government should have control over drug laws so that the law is uniform nationally. I think that the marijuana should be legalized. A lot of people laugh at the thought of it being legal saying that everyone would get the marijauana and be high all the time. But on a serious note it should be looked at as an alternative therapy. Marijuana does have side effects, but to someone who is terminally ill, those side effects could be beneficial to them. I think that the government should take everything into consideration and legalize it with specific stipulations so its not abused.
If you find it hard to form an opinion, here is an interesting mental exercise.
Imagine that marijuana did not exist. And all of the sudden, like this morning, it is discoovered on this planet of ours.
How would we be reacting to it if we just discovered it?
I believe the conservative advocates of the federal government are working diligently to contain and eliminate the drug problem in the United States. It upsets me that those Americans who support legalizing drugs like marijuana do not care about the best interests of future generations. I realize that many deaths every year are attributable to cigarette smoking, but to my knowledge there are no auto accidents attributable to this. I know that many auto accidents are caused by intoxicated drivers. I have read about the impaired reaction times and hallucinogenic affects of drugs like marijuana, heroin and cocaine which should be sufficient reason not to want it to be legalized and become a widespread recreational pursuit in this country,a country that seems to follow a more self-destructive path with each new decade. I think there are other ways patients who have chronic and painful diseases can deal with and assuage their discomfort other than following a reckless course of illegal drugs. I read Philip Hilts'article in the New York Times regarding the relative addictiveness of drugs. I read with great interest the parameters outlined to describe "addiction." I think it is ingenuous for a "rating user" to counter the evidence of the harm caused by illegal drugs with an arbitrary and subjective view of how frequently a "user" might
participate in the use of such drugs. I am sorry but drug habits do not typically wane over a course in time, but increase, unfortunately, with the consequence of harming not only the user but innocent members of society. I believe the federal government should have the last word in policy and law with regard to the legalization of cannabis for medical use. Also, I do not think cannabis is a viable and appropriate treatment for illness.
I believe the conservative advocates of the federal government are working diligently to contain and eliminate the drug problem in the United States. It upsets me that those Americans who support legalizing drugs like marijuana do not care about the best interests of future generations. I realize that many deaths every year are attributable to cigarette smoking, but to my knowledge there are no auto accidents attributable to this. I know that many auto accidents are caused by intoxicated drivers. I have read about the impaired reaction times and hallucinogenic affects of drugs like marijuana, heroin and cocaine which should be sufficient reason not to want it to be legalized and become a widespread recreational pursuit in this country,a country that seems to follow a more self-destructive path with each new decade. I think there are other ways patients who have chronic and painful diseases can deal with and assuage their discomfort other than following a reckless course of illegal drugs. I read Philip Hilts'article in the New York Times regarding the relative addictiveness of drugs. I read with great interest the parameters outlined to describe "addiction." I think it is ingenuous for a "rating user" to counter the evidence of the harm caused by illegal drugs with an arbitrary and subjective view of how frequently a "user" might
participate in the use of such drugs. I am sorry but drug habits do not typically wane over a course in time, but increase, unfortunately, with the consequence of harming not only the user but innocent members of society. I believe the federal government should have the last word in policy and law with regard to the legalization of cannabis for medical use. Also, I do not think cannabis is a viable and appropriate treatment for illness.
I think that the federal government should control drug laws and not the state voters. I do think marijuana should be legalized, but only for those who actually need it. I once saw a documentary on people who need marijuana to function daily because of their disease and have to illegally receive it from drug dealers because it is not legal in their state. I believe people of that circumstance should be able to legally retrieve marijuana. If it helps you, and you are using it properly and wisely, there should indeed be no harm. I have seen old friends and some as young as 13 all ready smoking marijuana and they're "proud of it". Dumb people like that don't need it at all.
I believe that the states should have the right to chose whether marijuana can be legalized for medical or recreational usage. It seems to me that voters in a state have a better idea about the dangers and benefits of marijuana than the federal government. The long-standing prohibition of marijuana has cost states countless of millions of dollars in the enforcement and detaining of what the current law designates criminal behavior. The prison system is literally overflowing due to these laws against a victimless crime. Many studies have verified the medical benefits of marijuana. While much more dangerous drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are sold at every gas station and supermarket, sick people are left no option other than to break the law to get cannabis.
I think both federal and state should come to aggreement when it come to issues like legalisation of things,especially drugs. America is one country and why will every state decide differently on major matter like this. Every voter as a whole should come in to term with one another and decide what should be federal and what should be a state matter.
If this drug will help people with serious pain, it should be legalised by both the state and the federal level. Strict monitoring will have to be enforced so that people will not abuse the drug in question. People smuggle and use this drug illegally anyway, all because they know it is illegal. The moment it is lagalised, there will be reduction in the abuse and smuggling. In one word, marijuana should be legalise for medical reasons only.
I think that the federal government should have to law to say whether we can legalize merijuanna or not. It will be too messy if only so many states legalize it, and how will they sell it or mass produce it? In my personal opinion, they shouldn't do it, and instead they should have the pharmaceutical companies come up with new drugs that can copy all the symptoms of the marijuanna without it actually being it. That way, they wouldn't be breaking any laws or rules, and they can safely and efficiently distribute it through pharmacies. I think that would be a better proposal.
I think the federal government would be the best choice in controlling drug laws.It would be too chaotic if we gave each state their own option.People would travel to other states breaking laws because their state doesn't have the same laws.There would be too much confusion.I think cannabis should be legalized the same way alcohol and cigarettes are legalized.These are all drugs and should be treated as such.Cannabis gives medical relief unlike cigarette smoking,so why is that legal?There is absolutely no benefit in smoking cigarettes except that the government makes quite a profit from the sales just as they do from alcohol sales.Cannabis can be grown at home which would interfere with the profitability aspect of its sales through the federal government.It's not about the drug's effect on people's health but more on the effect of the government's deep pockets.
I think the federal government should be the one's controlling the drug laws. It just doesnt make sense to have drug laws one way here and another there. I definitly agree wtih the people that said it is ok for people to use it as a drug to help them. As for legalizing it so people can get high on friday's is not a good idea. younger kids a starting to use it and its a very big "gate-way drug" which is causing people to use much more deadly substances. Yes alcohol has killed more people and its legal but just like anything else anything can be abused. I think marijuana if legalized maybe not higher death toals but I think other things would be effected. I will half to say keep it the way it is and if people need it to make them better or to use it as a cure then sure, other than that I think it will slowly degrade our society.
Interesting topic for me.
I have never tried drugs a single time in my life and I have never smoked a cig. Every time I tell that to someone I am called a liar. I guess it's really rare this days.
I use to be against the legalization but now i am for it.
It's none of my business what people smoke, for all I care they can inject themselves with plutonium.
I just don't want to be affected by the decisions they make and that is the reason why I am typically against drugs. They cause a lot of social harm(some of it I have seen first hand, the tons of Mexican army troops in Mexico fighting a drug war of smugglers.)
The funds can be more properly allocated as well. I am just not a big fan of people when they are on drugs, they remind me of zombies. It's George Romero's Dawn of the dead all over again.
I'm sorry, but almost half of the posts here say something about the "gateway theory". This is a simple manipulation of statistics like almost all propaganda that is thrown at us by the government. Marijuana is a popular drug among our youth. Yes, almost 99% of all people who have tried cocaine did marijuana first. But only 13% of people who have tried marijuana move on to cocaine. And this is blamed on marijuana. How about the percentage of people who have tried heroine and cocaine started with alcohol? Or smoking cigarettes? And why are either of these two drugs not blamed?
And yes, let's take a look at if we just came across marijuana...It relieves nausea, helps weight gain for those with AIDS, relieves pain associated with glaucoma, induces alpha waves in the brain associated with creativity, and just flat out relaxes you after a hard day's work. There is no evidence of brain damage, lung damage is small and can be totally avoided due to usage through vaporizers and oral consumption. You cannot overdose on marijuana and can cause focus (depending on user). It also causes no physical dependency whatsoever. There are tons of other benefits that marijuana helps, depending on how it affects the user. Yes, maybe it isn't for everyone, but for those it isn't for...I'm not forcing you to smoke marijuana. I just want everyone to see why there is no reason for it to be illegal for those of us who do want to use it.
Actually the evidence tends to show that marijuana is not a gateway drug. This study from the RAND Drug Policy Research Center demonstrated that associations between marijuana and hard drug use could be expected even if marijuana use had no gateway effect. Instead, the associations could result from known differences in the ages at which youths had the opportunity to use marijuana and hard drugs, and known variations in individuals' willingness to try any drugs. The study does not argue that marijuana should be legalized or decriminalized.
I think that government should control laws concerning drugs because other states or voters might use the law for their personal gain instead of medicinal use. People will be taken advantage of and those in possession of the drug might be in harms way, from users. I don't think the drug should be legalized because the law will be misused eventually. I think the government should find other natural and healthy way to take care of these symptoms. For example, I work at a tea shop, and a lot of different types of teas can help with these problems. Of course, there are other ways to cope with therapy as well.
yea, the federal government has to handle that. one thing I'm not with however, is that i honestly believe that the only reason marijuana isn't legal is because the government can't tax it. they constantly try to push it towards staying illegal while pretending as if our health is first priority. a man has to be allowed to make his own choices, they don't need someone telling them what is right or wrong. if they can tax weed, it'll be right next to the advils at walgreens
i think the state should definitely control its own drug laws. Wen you go to court, its for the county of a state not federal. i believe if the feds took it into there own hands, people who got caught with pot illegally, would be charged with a federal offense because the feds would have orchestrated the laws. That would only cause harsher penalties and more insanity from the people charged. Marijuana is the safest drug out there. it has not even half as many cons or tragedies as alcohol
I really believe that the federal gov't should be the ones controling drugs laws. But Legalizing dope is something in my opinion the shouldn't do, I have never seen the results of test used to say it helps terminally ill patients. But I have done it a few times myself, not in a long time but I have, and all I know and remember from it is that I did feel good and I did get hungry. But there are other medicines out there that do the same thing pain medicine makes you feel better and the hunger part, well I was hungry for stupid stuff like cookies or hotdogs and milkshakes....nothing healthy for me so the pot would help them eat maybe but it wouldn't be what the need to eat. And if they do decide to do it then I 100 percent agree with froggers statement of "Survival of the fittest or death to the dumb"
I thinkt hat sums it up pretty well.
To be honest I'm not sure who I think should decide on the laws. In some circumstances it should be the goverment and others it should be the voters. There will never be an agreement on something like this. People will always disagree, thats life. I do think that in some cases drugs should be legal for certain diseases. None of us that have never experienced something like cancer should even get to vote on something like this. I think that those who have experienced it will be the only ones who understand the intensity of a disease and will know what it takes to releive that pain. We have drugs out right now that are more addictive and harmful than someone who is smoking pot, especially to help them eat.
The only thing keeping me from saying that state voters should have the say is the thought of how "messy" it could make things. On the other hand, the federal government is not any kind of alternative, because they are not the people who are in pain, they are not the people who are suffering. In the case of who should vote, it really is a "what is the less of the two evils" type situation, and honestly I cannot give my opinion one way or the other, its one of those very few things that I am undecided on...
As far as legalizing marijuana, ABSOLUTELY it should be legal. Mrijuana, in my opinion, should not ven be classified as a "drug". In fact, it is a plant. Marijuana has never killed a single person. On the other hand, there is alcohol and tobacco, killing hundreds of thousands of people every year. Marijuana can be extremely helpful for people suffering from almost any ailment from A to Z. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, joint pain, cancer, even AIDS. Why is Marijuana such a threat? What about it makes it such an "untouchable" issue? I personally want to know how it was ever made illegal in the first place! More than any other reason, I support marijuana because it has helped my aunt. Yes, my aunt smokes marijuana for medical purposes. She has a rare and very unfortunate disorder known as cushions. This disorder affects the thyroid, causing mood disorders, obesity, and various other things. My aunt heard about medical marijuana at a support group for people with cushions. Since starting her "treatment" she has lost 150 pounds, and is a happy person again. To conclude, I think that marijuana is a blessing, and if the stereotype "pot head" was forgotten about by the government and marijuana was given a chance, I believe it could work wonders in the medical field, and probably replace top-selling anti depressants, mood disorder medication, anxiety medication, sleeping medication, the list goes on and on. So please America, give marijuana a chance!!!
I agree with most of the posts thus far. Drug laws should be regulated by the federal government and not state to state. As far as whether marijuana should be legalized, I would certainly say so for those who are chronically ill and use the drug only as prescribed by a doctor. In this case it would be no different than any other controlled substance that has a potential to become addictive. Oxycontin, vicodin, percocet, etc. all of these drugs have potentially hazardous and addictive side effects but the relief they can offer from pain makes some doctors and patients feel it's worth the risk, as long as they are being monitored carefully. Now the problem becomes when you have some irresponsible doctors who start to write the prescription for every "Joe Blow" that asks for it. We have all heard of the doctor that all your friends tell you to go see because "he'll give you the prescription without a problem". In this case, monitoring at the pharmacy level will become vital in spotting prescription drug abuse.
Nelly12345
Why it has been criminalized? Read The History of the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in the United States
The statement of commissioner Anslinger who played a pivotal role in the criminallization process can be read here
I think the federal government should control drug laws. The reason I feel that way is because, if all state voters have different opinions on drug laws it would be a very chaotic and confusing situation.
I feel that marijuana should be legalized because so many people are doing this drug anyways. People are growing it selling it and everything else. Why not just legalize it and let people smoke some pot when they want to, without consequences if you get caught. Most people I know do it just to be relaxed and to mellow them out. I really feel like marijuana can be a gateway drug, but most of the time thats not the case for many people.
I definately feel that it should be the governments decision and responsibility to legalize marijuana. It sounds like a safe idea to allow doctors to prescribe it to patients under certain conditions but it's also important to monitor these patients and make sure they don't abuse this special use. I don't think it would be a smart move to legalize marijuana for the general public. When I graduated high school last year i could honestly say atleast 80% of the kids at my school smoke marijuana. Everyone I knew smoked and I even gave in to trying it out a couple of times. If they legalize marijuana more and more students will become "potheads" at young ages and become lazy. This could cause more students to fail and drop out or quit their jobs. It would be a huge deal to society and I personally feel like it will lead to more critical drug use and ruin the lives of many.
I think that the federal government shouold control drug laws. I think that if the states had the choice that every state would be different and that could cause problems.
Now when it comes to whether I think marijuana should be legalized or not, I say no! I think the only reason that it should be legal is for medical reasons. Those reasons must have a doctor prescribe it to the patient. I don't think that it should be legal for the use of everyday people who just want to get high. I think that if its there to help someone who is ill let them have it. But if it just going to help someone who has had a bad day there's plenty of other ways to get over your issues. Then you'll realize you might not have it as bad as someone else!!
I think if the government feels it is necessary to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, then so be it. The government should control the drug laws, but they possibly could look at the effects alcohol and tobacco use has on the body also and compare. Marijuana is by the far the easiest drug to obtain. If we should make it legal to everyone, I think that opens the door to young people saying "It's ok to smoke pot". Would you tell a sixteen year old "It's okay to drink alcohol?" It can go either way...helpful or harmful.
I beleive that we should let the federal government control those issues. Things may get messy either way, but from state to state it would be horrible. On the other hand for whether or not I think that it should be leglized for medical or recreational use, I choose both.
I agree 100% with what Jinkzt3r said... While we are wasting time and money sending people to jail over drugs we haven't been worried about our economy. Yes there is harm in it, but I truly feel its a waste of time and that it is stupid that our jails are filled with addicts//drug users instead of the real criminals, like the murders.
So lets legalize it... Like really how many times do you hear about a person who endangered someone because of being high, if anything alcohol is what we should be worried about monitoring heavily.
If we could tax marijuana then I would say... tax it and call it a day, America would be ok, then!
Some are right, why should the gov't be able to tell you what you can and cannot be able to put into your body? Personally i don't like drugs, ive had bad experiences with people on them, and weed is a major gateway. But on the other hand if you want to hurt your self by doing this then by all means im not going to stop you. I think that the Gov't really wont ever make this legal because it is something that wont be able to control. People will grow there own liek they already do, We could possibly have more accidents because of people driving while they are high. They might as well just keep the laws as they are now. And no i dont think it should be an every state ordeal, it should stay the way it is now. For the safety of all of us.
I think the federal government should control the drug laws. I think it would be too confusing for each state to have its own law. I am for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. There has been research that proves the benefits of using marijuana for certain diseases. I think the use of Marinol(a synthetic version) is very effective as well. I have seen first hand that the use of Marinol can increase appetite and ease nausea and vomiting. Anything that could help ease the pain or suffering from a chronic disease in my opinion should be researched and used.
personally i think they should legalize marijuana for those medical reason and for others also. just how people smoke cigarrettes,black and milds, and other types of tobacco that take affect on the body in a bad way in the long run with cancer and diseases of that sort, i dont think i ever heard of a human being dying from smoking marijuana. but also not just the state but the goverment period should take affect. because also if you dont live in that state what happens if you are one of those patients who need that type of drug to help you with whatever it may be from, are they supposed to go to michigan everytime they need treatment? so therefore the whole goverment itself should look into that situation.
I believe that the federal government should be in charge of the drug laws involving marijuana. Every state should have equal drug rights especially if it can help the people who are sick. If the states decide it will only create problems in the future. I think it is a great idea that Michigan is having a vote on this topic, espicially since this years presidential voting. Not that it has anything to do with it, but many people are realizing that their vote can help. However, i still believe that its the governments decision. I believe that marijuana is a great idea for doctors to prescribe it to their patients who are better with the drug. It will have to be very monitored. In an episode of Desperate Housewives, Lynette is battling cancer and her mother decides to help her calm down and ease her pain by secretly baking her special brownies. It actually helped her. I strongly believe that it should NOT be used as recreational, it might not be hazardous to them, however it becomes habitual and fun. Soon they are led into other drugs which may lead them to a bad life style and poor choices.
I do not believe that marijuana should be legalized. There is already a drug problem as it is and legalizing marijuana-even if it is now supposed to just served medical purposes, it will be impossible to control. I do not know how much clinical evidence there is that marijuana even helps people, yeah they might feel better when they are high but what about the side effects? Some side effects from long –term use of marijuana are higer risk for lung cancer, impaired short term memory, and addiction. I don’t think the benefits outway the side effects in most cases. I am not a doctor but I would say this is not a good idea.
florida mom first off maybe you should do some more research on the topic as cannabis also look at the table attached to the post cannabis is on the same plane as caffeine. Yes it is not great for your lungs but cigarettes are way way worse and they are legal. Also cannabis doesn't even have to be smoked which makes it even better for you. After looking at your profile on here I see you are religious, no wonder your against it and as for it being impossible to control medical use is allowed in California and they do just fine. I bet you wish the prohibition never ended and alcohol was still illegal, alcohol impaires judgment, vision etc. and you can have a drink and drive legally if you have a blood alcohol level of lower then .02 which is still 100 times worse the cannabis.
Drwhom could not post her comment so I am pasting it for her
"i really do think the government should control the drug laws. i think that it should be prescribed to those people who really need it. that is my personal opinion... but then you look at the world now and all the people in it and you still see people using illegal drugs and underage drinking. so the way i see it is that whether they keep pot illegal or make it legal... it is still going to be grown, sold, and smoked. and if anything if they make it legal it will probably be worse than it is now. and i do agree that marijuana should be closely monitered... but i think that no matter what happens people are going to keep doing what they are doing now. i really dont think anything will change."
From Drwhom
I feel that the federal goverment should be the ones controlling the drug laws and not the states them selfs. If one state legalizes marijuana then we would have problems with people trying to move there or someone that needs it for health reasons would complain that they really need it and its not avalible in there state.
I personally think that the legalization of Marijuana is stupid. Like ioperationjapan said it is a gateway drug and would cause problems. Also the people with conditions that would possibly get marijuana could sell it. It says small amounts but if you are growing it, you could make as much as you want.
I think it should just stay illegal like how it is now, if it was legal i feel it would cause problems that we dont need. We have bigger issues like the stockmarket and the war over Iraq.
I think the federal government should regulate laws dealing with drugs. I also believe that marijuana should be legalized. I dont think it is much different than alcohol besides the fact that it leads many people to other drugs. Marijuana and alcohol both kill brain cells and both impair judgment when your under the influence. But if marijuana was legal I believe it would be less apealing to many people I believe a lot of kids just use it as a form of rebelion. The government could also regulate it and put tax on it which would help the economy. legalizing marijuana would also cut down drug crimes.
I believe that the Federal Government should control drug laws as they do with Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). If voters should want more stringent laws in their states, I feel that there can be additional state mandated controls, similar to that of the smoking ban we have in Florida restaurants. Furthermore, I believe that cannabis should be legalized for both medical and recreational use. My thoughts are that it should be handled no different than tobacco and alcohol. We can tax it, teach the dangers of it, create laws if you abuse it (DUI's) and ban the selling of it to minors. In my opinion, fighting marijuana is equivalent to The Prohibition, in due time it will be legal just as it is in some foreign countries. Although I do not use it, I think that the resources used in restricting it could be used in a more profitable way.
I think drug laws should be regulated by the federal government. If it is left up to states there is too much room for confusion, but an accross the board law would even it all out. I do believe that some terminally ill patients could greatly benefit from the medical use of marijuana, but do not think it should ever be legalized for recreational use. It is often a gateway drug to many more dangerous and addictive drugs. If it was to be legalized for medical use I think it should be closely monitored... very closely. There is a large problem in this country with the abuse of prescription drugs and prescriptions for marijuana could easily get out of hand and fall into the wrong hands.
I think that the federal government should dictate laws concerning drugs. I think that if every state has different laws, things coud get out of hand very easily. Its easier to regulate drugs and maintain control if you have the laws are the same throughout the country. As for the legalization of marijuana Im against it. I think that if we make it legal, people will definetly abuse it. The only time I think it should be legal is of course with people who need it for medical purposes and have it prescribed by a doctor. I think that drug usage has become a major problem, ecspecially in teens and the legalization of drugs would further that problem even more if they know theres no consequences of getting caught with it. Why wouldnt they use it? Whats to lose?
I really do not think that there is any REAL reason not to legalize the use of marijuana. It is far less addicting and hurtful than nicotine or alcohol, and both of those are legal. In my opinion nicotine and alcohol should be considered drugs. I have seen both of them ruin many families and end lives. It blows my mind that we have to waste our tax dollars to pay for people to sit in jail for merely smoking or possesing marijuana. It is ridiculous. There are many other MUCH bigger fish to fry than people smoking pot. What damage are they really doing to anyone else? I do however, think that the legalization of marijuana should be monitered by the federal government. Just like anything else, too much of something becomes bad for you and under no circumstances should anyone be able to drive or operate under the influence, whether it be alcohol or marijuana. That decision is something that I do not think voters are equipped to handle on their own.
I think that state government should control the drug laws. As far as how I fell toward legalizing it. I fell that it is a bad idea. We were talking in class how teens are getting high off of the prescription drugs and how people were able to go into doctors’ offices and say that they had certain symptoms and doctors would prescribe the medicine they asked for. I can see teens sneaking it from their parents. I also think that people would become addicted to the stuff and soon require a higher and higher dose. I think that we can find other methods for curing these diseases and helping people.
I believe the voters should decide if Marijuana is legal or not. However, it should be the same law nation wide, it would be pointless to have it legal in one state and illegal in another.
I think marijuana should be legalized it does do good for patients who need it. Helping ease nausia associated with chemo therapy for example. If marijuana was legalized it would be a taxable product for the government creating more money. It would create jobs, factories would open to produce it like tobacco companies do with cigarettes.
Legalizing marijuana would take it out of the war on drugs, which would free up resources to concentrate on more harmful substances such as cocaine and heroin, that impact communities harder than marijuana with their harmful effects. It would also create a vast amount of room in the prison system which is overloaded with "small time" offenders, and would cut the cost tax payers fork out to keep them in prison.
So if you legalize marijuana you will pay less taxes. Who dosn't love that.
I think the federal government should have control on legalizing the drug law, because all states are different, and plus the federal government is higher than state voters anyway. Also, I think that if marijuana can help cure some symptoms of an illness in a patient, I don’t see why not the doctors can legally prescribe them a decent dosage to take for it to have an effect. But what got me was towards the end of the article, it stated doctors are starting question if marijuana I a good cure?...I mean if doctors are starting to wonder if it can be put in good use or not, why are they still using it and trying to get a law to make it legal? I think some more research should be done then. So if they go ahead and pass the law for legal marijuana use for patients, maybe a way to prevent the law form getting abused they should only take the doses inside the medical facility. And once the patient is sent home and still feeling pain, go back to get more dosages.
It's my opinion that the federal government's "War on Drugs" is a money sucking black hole of waste. I believe that the positive effects of marijuana on glaucoma, and cancer patients are well founded. I also believe that the effects of marijuana are so much gentler than those of alcohol, that I really feel like the wrong drug was outlawed from the very beginning.
To fill jails and prisons with marijuana users and growers is absolutely ridiculous. Pedophiles, and dangerous individuals belong in the prison system, not marijuana users. The federal government would like to spend money on wars on terror and drugs, highways, homeland security, tax refunds, and corporate bailouts. At the same time the Bush administration and their Republican cohorts would love to continue to cut taxes, and increase spending. How long can this nation sustain paying for things with inflated money that it just dosen't really have? At some point you need to cut costs and raise some tax money. Ending the marijuana front on the war on drugs while beginning to tax the sale of the most popular illegal recreational drug in America would be a huge step in the right fiscal direction. I also believe that the Federal Government has about as much right to tell me what to smoke as they do telling me who to sleep with. These are personal matters, and not the Federal Government's concern. In my opinion the states have to take the lead on this issue because the Federal Government lacks the foresight, initiative, and intelligence to make this move on its own.
How many people in Washington DC smoke or have smoked pot, and yet deny their fellow Americans the legal right to partake in what is in my opinion the greatest form of relaxation since I learned about sex?
Cocaine and Heroin users are not the same as marijuana users. Drugs which are popularly considered "hard drugs" carry that stigma because they are highly addictive and cause desperate users to resort to crime in order to pay for their habits. Someone might buy you lunch if you smoke a joint with them, but they won't have sex with you for a joint. That's the difference between crack, cocaine, methamphetamines, heroine and marijuana. Lets not lump them all together. And why not make this a taxable comodity? Why can't I go to the gas station and buy a pack of Marlboro Green Unfiltered Marijuana Cigarettes, and in doing so pay my 30% marijuana tax to the government? That would benefit me, it would benefit the country, and instead of hiring more police and buying helicopters just to find marijuana plants, you could begin making money on this rather than constantly losing money trying to contain something hat isn't even dangerous. The biggest problem that I see with our government today is that it lacks the fortitude to speak up to the American people and let it be known that while we all want it all for free, it just is not possible. We all have to pay taxes or limit the government's scope of practice. In my opinion doing both of those things would be for the best. But in the mean time, while the whole world takes a clockwise spin around the bowl, why not take something that history has shown many people to want, and make it available, while at the same time raising money instead of spending it? For fear of "radical" new ideas, we Americans perfer to debate something for a half century before we consider moving in that direction. This is not the gutsy revolutionary spirit that forged this nation, instead there seems to be a popular movement towards stagnation. I still love this country, I fought for it twice, and I would do it again if truely necessary, but more and more often this country that I love is filling with people that I do not recognize or respect. Can anyone who became an adult in the post 9-11 world ever be able to say that they enjoyed media coverage that came from a truely free press? Have you talked to High School kids in the Tampa area about labor unions and corporate America? It is scary to do so. Whether or not a company allows its workers to unionize it will bring in roughly the same amount of money. Without a union the executives and CEOs will enjoy hundreds of millions in bonuses instead of tens of millions, while the workers in a non union shop will see unstable pensions (if they get one at all), and overpriced health care. Taking care of workers is important. Why would a company that dosen't have to ever pay their workers fair wages, and grant them benefits. Someone asked why a person who builds cars should make 30 dollars an hour? It's because you can't build it yourself and you want one, so pay for it, and have some respect for those who made it. Of course child and slave labor are cheaper, but did we not fight in a civil war, followed by decades of civil rights protests in order to stop this practice of exploitation? People who are willing to work until hard until the day they die just to provide for their families are the kinds of people that forged this nation. As for the other type of person? The type who believes in taking as much off of the top for themselves as possible at the expense of their fellow worker's lives? Those seem to be the people that are inheriting this country. I don't know what that rant has to do with marijuana, but I guess that I just feel more and more like this country can never live up the the promises that it makes, because we spend more time arguing about something like marijuana, than we do arguing about the WTO, or corporate funded wars in Africa. The people who want to smoke pot already do. Nothing in life is illegal unless you get caught. But while all the nation's attention is on catching marijuana and other drug users, hunting ellusive terrorists that may not even be alive any more, and debating moot points like abortion which has already been before the supreme court and found constitutional, corporate American commits greater acts of murder, theft, and extortion than any one man could ever commit in ten lifetimes.
Smoke em if you got em, and keep a close eye on the world around you. It's the stories that you don't read about which are truely changing your life.
I believe the Federal Government should be the ones to decide on the legalization of marijuana. I think if it was up to the state voters each state would have their own views and this might turn into a problem. If some states allow it and some don't then people that sold drugs could easily go to their neighbor state and buy drugs legally and then take it back to their home state and use it. If they were to get caught doing this then they would be in trouble. As for legalizing marijuana i dont agree with that. I have personally seen people that use it and what it has done to them. I think legalizing it will cause a little chaos and thats the last thing this country needs right now. I'm not sure if I think even legalizing it for ill patients is o.k. either. Doctors should be able to come up with a better solution for ill patients than marijuana.
I agree that the federal government should control the drug laws so they are wide spread and there is less confusion in state to state laws. As far as legalizing goes I strongly believe it should be legalized for terminal medical cases. Shouldn't people be able to die in as much comfort as possible. As for recreational use I do not think it should be legalized because I do believe it is a gateway drug and if it is legal more people will use it and thus more people will want to experiment with stronger drugs. And whats next, if we do legalize marijuana, will people be having this conversation about cocaine 20 years from now?
As cliche as it sounds, I agree that, yes, the federal government should regulate drug laws regarding Marijuana here in the United States to be legalized for medical as well as recreational purposes, no matter what they may be.
I could not agree more with pyrobee. They held a valid point concerning this issue, and I would like to acknowledge that.
According to reliable websites, as I have done my research on this topic, i came to the conclusion that Marijuana should be legalized only under certain circumstances.
In the past Marijuana has been used medically to help terminally ill patients as well as those battling anorexia. Marijuana is alot better for you than any type of alcohol beverage or any ciggerette product the typical American consumes daily, yet they are still criticizing Marijuana? I mean come on people, get real. Canibus is the least bit harmful, because it is grown naturally.
Down the road drinking causes liver failure, and ciggerettes have been linked to causing lung cancer, i.e. emphysema.
So, everyone take a second look and do your research before you decide to criticize Marijuana.
I say, let it be legalized!
In my opinion, I think the use of legalized marijuana should be monitored and prescribed by medical doctors and health clinics.
In addition to the legalized marijuana, it should be controlled by individual states. I have come to understand that money can cause corruption in any major corporation including the Federal government. At least, each state would benefit from the profits of governing marijuana. It would create new jobs and keep the taxes in its own state. Also, the state would take responsibility to select and monitor the pharmaceutical companies. This would cut down on bribery and persuasion from other pharmaceutical industries. For example, the state of Florida would govern the cultivating of the hemp crops and enforce the guidelines of manufacturing the marijuana for medicinal purposes. I think legalizing marijuana is just around the corner, and where it is by state or by the Federal Government, we need to restrict the amount of greed and kickbacks that the pharmaceutical industries use to monopolize the power to control the government.
I strongly believe the tax payers of this country should control the drug laws in this country. The tax payer is what makes this country operate the way it does and should let the majority of the people of a state decide what is best for them. Where in countries like the Netherlands in the city of Amsterdam where the use of marijuana is legalized crime has gone down as well. Even also the use of marijuana for medical and recreational use goes hand in hand. Marijuana is a herb which is created naturally from the Earth, statistically there has been no recorded deaths from marijuana where as alcoholic beverages has been the case of many deaths which happens on a daily basis.
I feel that, instead of legalizing drugs, maybe they should just hand out bullets so people can kill themselves faster. Drugs are the bane of every society, and no matter what the idiotic pot heads thing, marijuana has many side effects, and is toxic.
I believe that the government should continue banning them, and if someone decides to allow it, tax it so much that people are afraid to even look at it.
As for prescribing it to terminally ill people, no. Not at all, give them comfort in medication that will kill their pain and not make them drooling idiots, which is what marijuana does. If this stuff is allowed, then what other drugs will be given to the people? Crack to cops so they don't feel pain, and get feelings of invincibility as they run into danger? Heroin use for interogation?
Drugs should be outlawed, and the penalty for using it and especially, ESPECIALLY, for selling drugs should be enforced much harder.
Ah, also forgot to mention another thing; I don't like this little blogging window. Federal government should handle the laws for this sort of thing, not the states. State law should be restricted to traffic enforcement and some taxes. This takes the pressure away from states, and stops people from going to the states where stuff is easier to get away with.
And, just to people like Tyler who say stuff like "There is no evidence of brain damage, lung damage is small and can be totally avoided due to usage through vaporizers and oral consumption. You cannot overdose on marijuana and can cause focus (depending on user). It also causes no physical dependency whatsoever. There are tons of other benefits that marijuana helps, depending on how it affects the user" - I am sorry, but a user of Cocaine also says the exact same things, but luckily... dun dun dun.. we have SCIENCE. And Science says you are -wrong-
To quote:
"Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.2 As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time." and "Research on the long-term effects of marijuana abuse indicates some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs. For example, cannabinoid withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system3 and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine.4 Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse."
http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html For more info, but I want to leave that on this mark "ong-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which make it difficult to quit. These withdrawal symptoms begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2–3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation." - Believe it or not, this isn't hype. It is odd that all the people who call this wrong are the potheads who really, as we see from science, will not long have the ability to discriminate logically.
Interesting arguments on both sides.
For extra reading, here are the Theories on drug abuse
As to the two sides of the argument, Addiction Rates And Drug Legalization opposes legalization whereas Time to Legalize Marijuana? argues the opposite
Honestly with people doing it whether or not illegal, my opinion is give it to them, I mean it's technically better than giving them alcohol that most drink underage anyways...one just tends to calm you a lot more. I have heard reference to in some European countries it's illegal to bring into a sporting event alcohol, the police will kick you out, but marijuana is legal. From what I see the authorities would rather deal with a bunch of calm people opposed to inherrently drunk crowd. But back to the question, yes it should be legalized and then controlled by the state government, due to different circumstances, however the rules should be nationwide the same. I am not a fan of recreational drugs but legalizing would cut down on many problems including most of the dealing for that particular drug.
I would agree with most of you in saying that the federal law should control the drug laws in this country however, I do believe it should be legalized. First of all it would minimize all of the underground drug dealing and put some drug dealers out of buisness leaveing the government in control of the market. Second, yes people do it and are going to keep doing it no matter what so if you give it to them a lot of probelms I think will be averted and especially after takeing a look at the chart form the article it shows that marijuana is the least harmful drug next to caffine and according to that chart caffine is worse! Yes, some of you say it is a gateway drug and while you are correct I really think it all has to do with the person and if they can not control themselves then they sought their own destruction.
Now, with this on top of the medical evidence that has been proposed I say legalize.
I think the federal government should legalize this drug in any aspect. Since drug use is pretty widespread, this would allow the laws to be the same in all states and would therefore prevent people from traveling elsewhere because the laws were different.
I personally have no problem with this pot being legalized. The only reason I think it will not be is because people can grow it on their own, so what would be the point in buying it? In some cases, I believe that alcohol can be more dangerous than pot, and yet alcohol is legal. Interesting.
I think that the drug laws should be controlled by those who are most benefited by them. In this case, I believe that drug laws should be controlled by the medical regulators because if patients can benefit from the use of cannabis, then it should be legalized. If it were in the hands of the medical regulators cannabis would be legalized. The way I see it, if your loved ones, God forbid, had a medical condition which could be potentially life threatening such as cancer, and marijuana had the potential to help them, or even save their lives, then would you not be 100% for that idea? As far as the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, to be honest, and coming from a college student’s point of view, it does not matter whether the use is legal or not, because such an abundance of people do it regardless. Thus, whether they are legalized or not, it is still very simple to obtain these drugs, and by day it seems to be getting easier and cheaper. As far as health implications go, it is obvious that there are going to be affiliations with it, just as there would be with any other “harmful” activity such as drinking. So in my opinion, marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes, however as far as recreational purposes go, I don’t feel it makes a true difference.
I just read the article Mexican marijuana cartels sully US forests, parks. I copy the main parts:
"National forests and parks have become home to some of the most polluted pockets of wilderness in America because of the toxic chemicals needed to eke lucrative harvests from rocky mountainsides....
Seven hundred grow sites were discovered on U.S. Forest Service land in California alone in 2007 and 2008 — and authorities say the 1,800-square-mile Sequoia National Forest is the hardest hit.
Weed and bug sprays, some long banned in the U.S., have been smuggled to the marijuana farms. Plant growth hormones have been dumped into streams, and the water has then been diverted for miles in PVC pipes.
Rat poison has been sprinkled over the landscape to keep animals away from tender plants. And many sites are strewn with the carcasses of deer and bears poached by workers during the five-month growing season that is now ending.
'What's going on on public lands is a crisis at every level,' said Forest Service agent Ron Pugh. 'These are America's most precious resources, and they are being devastated by an unprecedented commercial enterprise conducted by armed foreign nationals. It is a huge mess."
The only way I see any drug regulation actually working in this country would be if drugs were regulated by the federal government. If something were illegal in say New Jersey but legal in New York, in reality, there would be no way of stopping it's flow into Jersey. We must have, in my opinion, a drug policy that is the same in all 50 states for any drug laws to work effectively. However, when it comes to drug laws I have to ask one question. What's the difference? I have read a few of the other blogs that say that marijuana is a dangerous drug that could significantly damage our society now and in the future. I strongly disagree with that argument. I myself am a recovering drug addict and can tell you through my experience that weed is the least of our problems. Sure heroin and cocaine are terrible drugs that I and many other people worldwide have struggled with but drug policies should be put in perspective. Thousands of people deal with alcohol addiction and die because of years of drinking but there are generally around a hundred alcohol overdoses resulting in death each year as well. Prescription pills like Xanex and Aderoll have also become prominent in the recreational drug culture and are very habit forming and can cause kidney, liver, heart, and stomach problems. Even some of the sodas and food products we buy are addictive and offer no real nutritional value. The point I'm trying to make is that there are a lot of things available to us that are unhealthy and addictive and you have the right to choose for yourself what is ok to put into your body. The federal government should strictly regulate drugs like heroin, cocaine, and crystal meth because of their great potential to destroy lives. It should also keep careful watch on pharmaceutical companies to make sure they operate ethically and distribute drugs that can actually help people instead of giving them legal narcotic alternative. I guess in a perfect world there would be no drugs but maybe we have drugs because it isn't a perfect world.
I think it would be too much drama if this issue was put in the voters hands, so I’m for the government regulating it. As far as medical and recreational use…hmm…let’s see. What makes marijuana any different from alcohol besides the fact that alcohol is legal? If anything alcohol causes more harm to your body by impairing your judgment and could even be fatal, sure smoking marijuana impairs your judgment also, but who ever heard of somebody dying from smoking it? I haven’t, but my uncle did die from liver disease because he was an alcoholic. So why not legalize it? I’m not trying to sound “pro-marijuana” (i've never even smoked it) but even alcohol is a gateway for other harmful drugs…should we go back to the 18th amendment?
I personally think the federal government should be the one to control any drug laws and not the states. If people are allowed to control the drug law, there will be consequences because voters may not know what can go wrong in the future.
In my opinion, I strongly disagree with having marijuana legalize for recreational use. That will just cause more problems. But as far as medical purpose goes, I think it’s okay for marijuana to be used and legalized under strict regulations. I believe there should be a certain limit in receiving marijuana. For example, patients should not be able to grow them. That can cause many problems like increasing drug dealers, violence and anything that can go wrong that’s connected with drugs! If patients seriously need them, they can simply go through the hospital where they can be monitored. I just hope in the end, whatever decision people make, that it will go towards the good and not for the bad.
Drug laws should most definitely be controlled by the federal government. My argument is the same as PunknDrublic's in that the flow from one state to another would be much too hard to control.
As far as medicinal I have seen a close friend go through chemotherapy for breast cancer and marijuana was about the only thing that let her eat and not feel so sick to her stomach.
As far as recreational goes.. I was a "pothead" for almost 4 years. Of course I had times where I wouldn't smoke for 2 months to clean out my system, but for the most part it was everyday. I can tell you from my first hand experiences that like alcohol (which in my opinion is far worse) it turns into an escape and although it has no addictive chemicals, the feeling of this escape can be. I found myself smoking everyday, spending way too much money, and in the end surrounded by problems I didn't know how to deal with because my mind was shut down. High stress led to panic attacks caused by a high rise in anxiety that smoking gives you. After 3 weeks of daily panic attacks I quit smoking and haven't touched it in 6 months.
Who's to say it isn't addictive? I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I was plagued by migraines and lost weight. It took almost 4 months to feel like was fully alive again. It feels great. I guess my next step would be those damn cigarettes!
Take this how you will. This was only my personal experience, Ive known people who have smoked their whole life without a problem.
I do belive that Marijuana should be legalized. Why waste tax payers money on incarcerating these people for making their own personal choices regarding their health. If acohol is a drug and many would consider it a drug, why isn't illegal as well. Surely there are more important issues regarding crime. Perhaps the energy and manpower could be utilized to prevent real crime such as robbery,rape and murder, furthermore if it were legalized and taxed, the monies generated could be used to develope many various programs for the good of the people. I think its high time we legalized it and focused on real problems. I am for it!
I think the federal government should control the drug laws instead of the state. If you have each individual state with different regulations on medication, or in this case, marijuana, then what do you do when you go out of town for a vacation? or to visit a family member? It would be ridiculous to have one kind of medication at home and another at your sisters.
I think that if it helps a person's pain or can help them cope with the new lifestyle there is no reason a doctor shouldn't recommend marijuana. Marijuana is completely natural... How harmful can it be?
I think that the federal government should be controlling drug laws, and it should not be determined by each individual state. When the government is in charge of laws then they will be the same for all of the states and it is important to maintain that consistency. I think that it sends a clearer message when laws are the same in every state. Also, i am for legalization of marijuana for medical use, i think it is a positive thing to relieve some of the pain that is associated with cancer,and Aids. When somebody is being hospitalized and in there death bed, why not decrease the pain? Then as far as marijuana being legalized for recreational use, I am absolutely against that. Even if there was an age limit, it would be too accessible for teenagers, and it is a horrible thing to see kids smoking pot.
I believe that if something is legal somewhere in the country or has a certain age restriction, then the same should be applied to every state. Not only for marijuana but also for alcohol. i feel that if marijuana was legalized then far less people would use it to get high. Also, i feel that if the drinking age was lowered to 18, far less teenagers would drink alcohol. Studies show that the majority of people that drink to get druk are in the 16 - 19 year range. They drink because it is illegal and they ar at a rebellious age. If alcohol age was lowered to 18, there would be far less teen deaths from alcohol. But back to the main subject. I feel that marijuana is smoked by people who are against the laws. I believe that if it was legalized half the percent of people who smoke marijuana now would still smoke marijuana. As i read some of your posts i began to think, is marijuana really a gateway drug? Some people that i know dont even smoke marijuana but they do other drugs such as perscription pills or cocaine. I really think that the myth of marijuana being a gateway drug is false. People will do what they want when they want, it has been that way since the beginning of time and it will never change. But legalizing marijuana and lowering the drinkage age will change the circle of life, and how the world is viewed.
Of course the federal government should control the drug laws, so the rules are even across the board. I also believe marijuana should be legalized for both recreational use and medical use. I just don’t see the reason why people think this drug is so harmful. However tobacco and alcohol are legal and they probably do more harm to people than marijuana ever could. The drug also acts as a great stress reliever for people who are in pain. Unless someone has smoked and experienced being high, I really don’t think they have the right to say what should be done with the legalization of pot.
I believe the federal government should be the one that controls drug laws.You can't really allow the state government decide on such a delicate matter. Imagine a worse case scenario where the states actually control this power. The entire country would eventually be divided in two, those who support, and those who reject the law. We already have plenty of "divisions" in this country as it is. Political, social, religious and racist differenses areb enough.
I don't believe we should legalize marihuana. Doing this gives people easier access to a drug that could cause dependancy if left unchecked. This could also create an "escalation" effect. You staart out legalazing marihuana and eventually move up to bigger, more dangerous things. ( I know you need a medical prescription to access the drug, people will devise a way to get around this "inconvinience").
I feel as though the federal government should control the drug laws because many states and their state officials might feel different towards the legalization of drugs. And having mixed feelings about the legalization of drugs may cause problems that differ from state to state.
I feel as though the legalization should not take place because a drug is a drug and if they start with one drug they might end up on further more drugs.
I agree that the federal government should be in control of the drug laws, but I do not agree that marijuana be legalized.
Although I do not agree with the legalization of marijuana, I am okay with it being used for medical purposes. If it truly does help patients relieve pain and is easier for them to have access to it then I think that is fine. What I am not okay with is people wanting to have it legalized for recreational reasons. I don't care if it's a "natural" drug and statistics show it's not as harmful; fact is people inevitably abuse the drug and I think it just becomes a problem either way. There are other ways people can "relax" and take the edge off without having to resort to smoking marijuana. I think it's stupid, and I have never agreed with the use of marijuana.
I see no problem with legalizing the use of marijuana. In fact, I can see benefits to society to be reaped as a resulf of making it legal. I would not be saying this at all if I had seen come conclusive evidence of marijuana having harmful and lasting effects on humans, but the evidence is simply not there. To auroralights, I would lovr to see studies you mentioned that have shown marijuana to cause "incredibly stupid" behavior.
Furthermore, I would like to see how the two are conclusively linked. I think it's safe to say that most people have done an "incredibly stupid" thing or two in their lifetime, even completely sober.
Marijuana is not addictive, does not alter your state of perception as dramaticaly as alcohol, and does not cause diseases or negative side effects. Also, the statistics labeling marijuana as a 'gateway drug' are flawed and one sided.
If the government legalized, but regulated the posession, sale, and use of marijuana they would be able to tax it, while theoreticaly keeping about the same price it sells for on the streets now, since the risk factor would be taken out of the price. This would mean that the goverment would be able to raise its income through the taxes, while decreasing its expenses by keeping some drug offenders out of jail, which would save fifty three dollars a day, per offender.
This is why I think it should be up to the individual states to decide whether they should legalize the drug. They should be able to decide whether they want to make money, or lose money, since it's their tax dollars in question. States should be allowed to decide whether they want to make it legal for both medical and recreational purposes, and personally, I oppose neither choice.
pgb8899
Thanks for telling us your story. I totally agree that the next target should be those "damn" cigarettes!
I really think that the federal government should be the one’s controlling drug laws and not the state. If each state has its own laws then every state would be different. Some people would try to take advantage of the situation by telling the doctor anything they need to so they can get the drugs. I feel that marijuana should only be prescribed for the proper medical reasons. As for legalizing it I’m not sure it would be monitored the correct way. Even if marijuana doesn’t become legal it will never go away.
I don’t think marijuana is a huge deal. I think it is just as mind altering and judgment bending as alcohol, if not even a little less. I think the DEA or the federal government should be the ones to limit and control the drug laws. The voters should have some say, but I think it should be a forty-nine percent compared to fifty. I think legalizing cannabis for medical use is wise, some people just have so much pain that all they can hope for is something like cannabis to relieve it a little. I think for recreational use isn’t a good idea, I know many stoners who just waste a life doing drugs. Cannabis is a gateway drug, weather you believe it or not it has been proven. If we legalize this, what’s next? Heroine?
Well the ever contraversial question, should marijuana be leagalized? When I was in High School that would have been an easy question for me to answer, but maybe not for the right reasons. Now in a more mature mind state facing the same question I think that it should be legalized. In Europe it is legal and they have minium problems with their decision to legalize. In most countries there isn't a drinking age limit and if so it is 18 years old. It seems by tighting our laws here have caused more problems than good. We have more alcohol related incidents. But back to marijuana it serves a few medical purposes and it has a much better purpose than I can say for tobacco. I believe the reason tobacco was legalized and not marijuana is that one could used under a controlled market (tobacco) and marijuana was to easy to grow at home. The government couldn't make much profit if it was legal so instead they legalized a product that kills over 400,000 people a year. As far as who gets to decide I belive that popular vote wouldn't work as a nationwide decision therefor the federal government should decide.
I think it should be left up to the state voters and the federal government should not go over thier heads. Just because they have more power doesn't mean that they should have it over every single little thing.
I think that marijuana should be legalized for medical use. Not for back pain or sleeping problems, but forcancer patients or others with serious illness.Those are the ones it could truly help, and they're not as likely to over indulge or do something dangerous that could harm themselves or others. they're not looking for a good high, they're simply looking for a medicine that will make them feel better. I also think that they should have to get it directly from their doctors and not from a shop. That seems a little to extreme how in places such as california people are allowed to open shops and sell marijuana to anyone who has a prescription. I don't think that should be allowed because that's where problems will occur.
I really think that the federal government should be the one's controlling drug laws and
not the state. Marijuana generally isn't more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in
moderation. All illegal drugs are higher in price because the production, transportation,
and sale of the drugs carry heavy risks. When people develop drug habits or addictions,
they must somehow come up with the money to support their cravings. Unless a person is
wealthy, he or she must often resort to robbery and other crimes to generate the money
needed to buy the drugs. Legalization would reduce the risks and thus reduce the prices.
There would therefore be less need for the secondary crimes needed to raise money.
There are medical benefits such as for cancer patients. There are a number of
medical benefits of marijuana, most notably in the treatment of patients undergoing
chemotherapy. Certain states have brought initiatives to legalize the drug
for at least medicinal purposes.
The legalization of marijuana is a delicate theme in this society; there are so many different points of view and opinions aside from all the scientific data available today. When reading some articles about the pros and cons of the use of marijuana all of them made sense to me. This difficult argument got me more confuse than any other topic us blogged before. Maybe we should legalized it and see what happens it might help the economy by taxation of this good and give the government the opportunity to label the ingredients and necessary warnings. Maybe just maybe we all can see what the excitement is about this drug. The laws against or in favor the use of marijuana should be control by the state but once more we live in Florida will be better off if this law was control by the federal government.
Although I have a close personal friend with the disease Glaucoma and she was in so much less pain with medical marijuana, I also believe that once it is legalized, everyone will be trying to prove that they are sick when they are really not. I think that once the laws are changed for one group of people, that the ones with the addiction to marijuana will be stamping down the hospital doors to get their weekly fix. Once we let one group have a little, everyone will be asking "What about me?" and it will beccome chaos. Perhaps there should be more funding for research on marijuana alternatives for those with plausible medical conditions?
The federal government controls all the drug laws in the first place, so I think they should have control over the ditribution of drugs for medicinal purposes. I think that if marajuana were to be legalized, things would be out of control.It would probably lead to a bigger and much more serious drug problem, and people would become more comfortable with the idea of drug usage. As far as some of the other drugs mentioned being used to relieve pain (cocaine and LSD), I would think their side effects would be too serious.
This is an iffy subject for me. I am totally against drugs to begin with.
First off, if it came down to state voters or fed. government, Id say the feds should be in total control. You cant leave whether or not a drug legal in the hands of voters. To me that wouldnt end well.
As for legalizing cannabis for medical use, i dont know. A lot of people, including famous ones like Montel Williams, claim that its the only drug that relieves the pain they suffer from and the only thing that helps me eat. However, on the other hand there are a lot of doctors and people working at pharmacies that would write prescribs./ sell it for extra cash. Also, it would just be another drug some teen ager steals from his/her parents and sells at school or takes for him self.
Its very iffy for me and I still havent decided whether I'm for or against its legalization for medical use.
I think that the Federal Government should be in control of the drug laws and not the state because then every state would have different laws and regulations on drugs. This way if the federal government has control over the drug laws then it would be easier to maintain.
I think that doctors should be aloud prescribing marijuana to people who are really ill because those people are always going to be in pain or suffering. So why not let them feel less pain and suffering by prescribing them marijuana to make them feel better.
As far as legalizing marijuana, I think that only doctors should be aloud to prescribe it because people can get addicted to those drugs really fast and then get hooked on other drugs. This can make the lives of the people around them miserable because they don’t want to be around them. So I think that marijuana should be illegal and only be used by people who have medical problems.
Ok figure this out who decides if drug companies are allowed to produce a drug??? Is it the government or the FDA?? and lots of drugs made that are legal or far far more dangerous and have tons of side effects. Ever listen to drug commercial for an anti depressant they have so many side effects and they always talk about how thoughts of suicide are rare but not uncommon. So think cannabis isnt half as bad as other legal drugs and look cigarettes are legal and they are worse in some ways.
I'll have to agree with the majority. Drug laws should be controlled by the feds rather than state. I feel that if state did control these laws it'd be a situation, like it was with alcohol, of just drive to the next state and get high.
But unlike all I also think that cannabis should be legalized for both medicinal and recreational use. In my opinion marijuana is one of the less harmful drugs that are illegal. I think law enforcement, rather than doing raids on people selling weed, should focus on the ones pushing drugs like cocaine, and ecstasy...things that actually kill people.
Please don’t take these comments the wrong way because I’m definitely not a drug user, but I do have friends that are. Even though I don't support the habit I don't believe that they should be imprisoned because of it. I'd put drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and tobacco all in the same category.
I think that state laws should control drug laws. The way it is now is not working anyway. People do drugs left and right and dont get in trouble. This way everyone would be on the same page. But then again there lies a problem with that because then people will be traveling between states, and some will allow it and some won't so maybe states shoul control it but the government should ass well. They should have like countrywide laws that regulate the traveling bewtween states. personally I dont think it hould be legalized AT ALL, but people do it anyway, just like under aged drinking, and they are considering lowering the drinking age so why not legalized marijuana. But I think if they do it should only be used for medical purposes but people will still abuse the system and get it anyway.
HMMM.. well i think that the way we are doing it now between the different states is fine. we are a democracy and we should all have that right to vote in a matter such as this one. If a state so happens to legalize it thats on them. I think that cannibis should be legalized. I never smoked it nor do i want to but if you think about alcohol its legalized and that causes just as much or more danger or slow reaction time and any other excuse they put on it so that it wont be legal. We cant use alcohol to relieve pain for patients so why in the case of cannibis it has to be something medical? Its already legal in other places like Jamaica and Germany and you dont here nothing going absolutely wrong. If anything its accepted and when something is accepted its not abused.
In this situation i believe that it should be up to the federal government to control drug laws. I think legalizing marijuana is a pretty serious thing and should be left for the government instead of the voters.Now for legalizing marijuana i really dont agree with it. But i know in some cases it is necessary for people to use it. So if it is legalized in certain states they should really be careful on who they give it too, and once it is given keep a close eye on them and make sure they continue using it for the right reasons.
What a crazy question.
It is really a tough topic. On one had, I say if it helps, do it. But, on the other, is makes it very easy to get into the wrong hands, and I wouldn't doubt there would be people trying their hardest to get it.
I do not think it should be used recreationally. One reason is that we can hardly control alcohol. This drug alone has caused many problems and I'm sure a new one will too. I think it also encourages using drugs (as it is a gateway drug) and laziness (from experience at least I know people who have given up on their education to smoke pot).
i truely believe that the Federal Government should be in charge of the drugs. they can divi it up equally upon the Americans and no one can be jelous of one state or the other.
I think that the state voters should control the drug law because we are the ones to see and experience the affects of the drugs and the first ones to know when a new drug has hit the street. In my case, I think that cannabis should be legal. Hack, we legalized alcohol and tobacco and they cause the most death in my experience. You never hear about anyone dieing from smoking cannabis but you do hear about a lot of people dieing from cancer cause by tobacco and deaths cause by alcohol poison and drunk driving. People even get high off of snuffing paint. If they want to get high they will whether it’s legal or not.
This is quite the one-sided argument. Obviously, I'm gonna have to go with the federal government on this. I'm supporting this decision not only because it's easier to maintain, but because they control it's limitations to the public. It's almost to obvious that most voters just wanna legalize marijuana and have an easier process of distributing it in the event of a "health issue." In some cases it can help, but ONLY as a reliever, and not as a cure. Cause most that use this will eventually move on to bigger and better drugs, increasing their health risks even further.
It is best to legalize the use of marijuana for both recreational and medical reasons. Why? One way or the other, not prohibiting the use of marijuana would not stop consumers from growing it, selling and consuming it.
My beliefs is that by making it legal there would be a decline in the illegal drug market and that would probably lead to a decrease in criminal activity, and also the amount of drug users going to jail. People would go out of their way or do anything to get a supply of this drug. So by providing it for them would make things a little easier.
And definitely, I think that the federal government should control all the drug laws.
I have never smoked marijuana, nor do I ever intend on doing so, but I have never seen it as one of the more dangerous drugs. In the same fashion that I do not approve of smoking or excessive drinking, both of those are legal and have just about as bad or worse effects than marijuana.
For medical purposes, I don't see a single reason why it should not be allowed. Daily millions of Americans swallow prescription medications which are drugs. The only difference is that they are legal. Why are they legal? Apparently the FDA believes this mixture of substances and poisons helps people despite the laundry list of bad side effects. Most of them include organ failure that can very well lead to death but I can't recall every hearing about marijuana failing your organs and therefore killing you.
I am not saying I approve of it for it is a moral and control issue with me. However, it is the same reason that i would not pop a vicodin to calm down or down some spoonfuls of nyquil to get to sleep. Alcohol, smoking, the drugs your doctor says will help whatever condition you have... what is the real difference? There is none. All have their side effects and it is hypocritical to say that one is less dangerous than another.
They are all dangerous.
I am on the fence as far as this issue, but I am leaning toward the legalizing under certain conditions. When I was younger, I said, “sure they should legalize marijuana, they could tax it and make more money and it would lessen crime.” But, now that I am older I understand that we do not all think the same or have the same values. If you were to legalize it, what would be next? I just think that there is way more variables then just should we or should we not. I also believe that the doctor’s that are doing all the studies on this drug and for what benefits they should be used for, should have the control over it. I am in business and I do not pretend to know law. Why should we allow the federal government to make medical decisions? Each state should have their own choices as to what is right for them. I believe that we have given the government enough of our power!
I support the legalization of marijuana for both medical and recreational uses. After looking at the link in this article it just confirmed my thoughts. I think the states should be the ones in control over the decision. If the states in control the people are in more control. if 67 % of the people are voting for it, it just shows that a majority of the population agrees that it should be used for medical uses. As for recreational reasons. i just see no hamr in it
I am all for the legalization of marijuana.I believe it should be controlled and regulated by the federal goverment.There would be alot less crime,and taxing it would bring a lot of money into the economy.We can take the control of drugs away from the criminals and use it to help the individuals lives.This drug could help many people who are under tremendous pain of cancer and other illnesses.Either way,people are going to produce it and use it weather the government legalizes it or not,so why not tax it? Marijuana may not be good for your health or even moral, but neither is alcohol or cigarets.
I think the federal government should control the drug laws and not the state voters. I think if the voters did control them there would be a lot more voters though. I can see some major problems if each state had different laws.
I think that marijuana should be legalized, but only for the use for medical reasons. It does need to be monitored very closely by the government. I do feel that the cancer patients would really do better at fighting if they could feel better.
I think that the legalization of marijuana is just plain retarded. I mean, come on. They arrest people for using it, and now they're turning around and might very well legalize it? It can't go both ways. It has to go one or the other. And I, personally, would prefer it remain illegal. Sure it's more work for the police and such, but it destroys the mind. Which would you rather have? Cops cracking down on something that is illegal, or them giving in and letting stupid people that do not need to get high, get high and allowing them to rampage about in their stupid fashion? I would rather have a safe environment to live in. That means not legalizing marijuana, because then EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER will be running into the hospitals and saying "My eye hurts! Give me some pot, Doc!"
If Doctors are agreeing “to do no Harm” with their choice of medicine being cannabis, then I am for what ever they’re researching.
As a prescribed medicine it should be up to the government to supervise and regulate it nationally; assuring the best quality and all.
Anything that the Doctor’s prescribe that was not created in a lab is fine with me. I support any natural remedy that the great creator put on this earth. I like the more natural holistic herbal approach to life.
As for legalizing marijuana, it should be up to the people of the individual states; (it is one way that laws are reversed; we have to start somewhere.)
I could support both sides to legalizing this; it would drop the street value to nothing, making it just another lovely house plant, kindda like my sage bush. (I use it to cook with, but some groups are known to use it not just medicinally but recreationally). The other side of the coin is we should catagoratized tobacco with Cannabis & either penalize people for something that a large number of the population is addicted to or legalize it. Unfortunately both are being adulterated with a variety of poisons, making them very dangerous.
As for the Hybrid TCH Citrus plants; I wonder, if you eat it instead of smoking it, couldn’t that be a healthier concept.
I believe marijuana should be legalized. It is a harmless drug thats has never been linked to death.They made alcohol and tobacco legal and that has killed millions already and keeps on killing. It doesnt make since it is a plant and herb and if you so happen to set it on fire there are some side affects.If something is not harmful then why is it illegal
I feel that the federal government should completely release their hold on marijuana. It is known that marijuana has shown effective as a pain reliever and anti-nausea treatment for cancer and aids patients. In some cases marijuana is the only thing that gives these people relief from the side effects of their medications.
I feel that if it was put on this earth then it has some sort of benefit to offer people. So legalize it! In this case marijuana has shown to be beneficial to people who have tried every other kind of medication with no relief.
Marijuana has been shown to be safer and less addictive than alcohol and cigarettes. If it were legalized then there would have to be restrictions and regulations placed on the distribution and consumption of marijuana. There would have to be an age restriction and there would have to be consequences for driving while high (similar to a DUI).
I am all for legalization but we must be responsible about its use.
I just wanted to add to whomever stated that terminally ill patients would be reduced to dreulling idiots from smoking marijuana. 1- have you ever seen a patient on chemo-therapy. Have you ever seen a patient with a Morphine drip? Ever get prescribed Codene? Have you ever given a patient demerol? Valium? Ever see a patient on any of the endless drugs which we use on the sick and dying? Ever stick morphine in someone's thigh because they are missing limbs? The drugs that we use a VERY strong. The effects are VERY powerful, and most of the more powerful prescription drugs that doctors use to treat pain WILL reduce to to a incoherent druelling mess. And most of these powerful drugs cause very real and very serious organ damage. Your liver and kidneys are assaulted by everything from advil that you take whenever to the real RX drugs. I do not know if some of you are basing your opinions on Cheech and Chong movies, or on reality.
Jason
You have a point there. I remember when my younger daughter had to undergo a powerful treatment for 9 months, we were dead worried over her liver functions -among other things- and we had to have these functions checked and monitored regularly.
Many people are not aware of the fact the prescription medication, even over the counter medication has contributed heavily to our addiction epidemic. I copy from Trouble in the Medicine Chest (I): Rx Drug Abuse Growing
In 2000, 43 percent of those who ended up in hospital emergency rooms from drug overdoses-nearly a half million people-were there because of misusing prescription drugs.
In seven cities in 2000 (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Seattle, and Washington, DC) 626 people died from overdose of painkillers and tranquilizers. By 2001, such deaths had increased in Miami and Chicago by 20 percent.
From 1998 to 2000, the number of people entering an emergency room because of misusing hydrocodone (Vicodin) rose 48 percent, oxycodone (OxyContin) 108 percent, and methadone 63 percent. The rates are intensifying: from mid-2000 to mid-2001, oxycodone went up in emergency room visits 44 percent.
I think the federal government should be the one to control these types of laws. But as far as marijuana being legal, I think it should be. Even if it was not being used for medical purposes, I still think it should be legal. I think marijuana has the same effect on you as alcohol does, and I don't see why it's such a big deal. I feel like maybe one of the reasons it's not legal is because it cannot be taxed, or controlled by the government. I personally knew somebody who had cancer and had to go to a dealer to by marijuana, just so she could gain an appetite and not feel sick all the time. If that was the only thing that helped her with her cancer, im all for making marijuana legal.
The federal government should control our drug laws. For the scenario of it being legal in the U.S. as a whole; states will have to keep passing laws allowing the use of marijuana for different uses. Although heavily regulated, I believe it should be legal for medicinal purposes and eventually totally legal. Regulation and taxation would halt growing operations, free prison space, and make it harder for teens to obtain. Also marijuana is less harmful to the user and society than alcohol.
I think that the federal government should control the drug laws. I support legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use. I don’t understand why cannabis is so forbidden. There are many substances that are legal and available to buy in the United States that are very harmful and that are being abused, yet they’re legal and accepted. It doesn’t make sense to me. For example, alcohol is legal as long as you are 21 years of age and alcohol can be very harmful in many ways. Alcohol can be deadly. I have never heard of an overdose of marijuana, or someone dying because they used too much of it. If abused, it can have side effects but that’s just as equal as stating that prescription pills or alcohol could have the same negative effects. It all comes down to the type of citizens and the class of people that are using it. If it’s used for proper reason and responsibly, then I think it should be legalized.
I feel that the drug laws should be controlled by the state voters. We the people of the U.S. should have the right to at least vote on the topic, So why not let everyone vote? I understand it is considered a "gateway drug," but you could also look at alcohol and cigarets the same way. You could say that alcohol could lead to cigarets and cigarets could lead to cannabis. So why not make cigarets and alcohol illegal too. Therefore, I think that the use of cannabis for medical and recreation should be legalized. Other than being a "gateway drug," I don't see what the big deal is about cannabis.
I think the federal government should control the drug laws; because if the state laws decided the laws of paraphernalia, what would be illegal in one state would be legal in the next. Thus leading to drug trafficking between states and a higher crime rate. Also if federal government did control drug laws this would provide for a better punishment system then we have now.
I think the federal goverment should oversee the process. When it comes to legalization I think It should be legal with strict restrictions from doctors, I agree with everyone one the board that marijuana can be benefical in many diffrent ways, but it also it is a doubled edged sword. Meaning many pot smokers may feel the need to venture into more deadlier and addicting drugs.
I think that legalization of drugs should be up to the federal goverment. If each state had the right to control the leagalization of drugs, all of the different states would have different drug laws, depending on the people in office and the people who live in the state. I personally think that if marijuana should be legal but only for those who need it, it should be used for those who are suffering and those who are in severe pain. I think that it should be something that is used as medicine and not just as a recreational thing. Unless you have a subscription for it, I dont think you should be able to have it, grow it, or use it.
i think that the federal government should be the one controlling all the drug laws. if their was one main law it would b easier to go by. marijuana for sickness or any medical reason. then i say yes to.. but if its jus for kids to go gat high like if it was anything then no. Getting high does things too you, its not safe for it to be legal anb used like if it was anything. but like i said medical reason yes, if its under medical supervision.
I think that the federal government should control the drug laws. To me it seems like the fairest way to handle things. Every state can't have different drug laws. That would cause a lot of problems. U.S. citizens would move to certain states just so they can use marijuana. Its just the best way to control the laws is to have the federal government control ALL the laws.
I do believe that the federal government should legalized marijuana if its helpful medication. If its making bad symptons then why not? If patients are getting treated better because then they should definitely legalize it. And the chart even shows that its the least serious out of all the addicting substances. Marijuana is not a major problem at all. I don't know what the issue is all about.
I think that the federal government should control drug laws. If the individual states control them, I think it would result in conflict. If one state legalizes marijuana for medical purposes and another does not, the patient could simply move to a state in which it was accessible.
Although I think the federal government should regulate the drug laws, I think that the nation should vote on it.
I think it will also open the door to acceptance of marijuana. After looking at the statistics for the withdrawal, reinforcement, tolerance, dependence, and intoxication, marijuana is consistently one of the least serious in every category. At times, it is even less serious than nicotine, alcohol and caffeine which are all legal. I think that if the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes passes, it will most definitely lead to the legalization of it for recreational purposes.
Its a no brainer that the government should be in charge of the drug laws. If voters had a chance to be in charge of legalizing marijuana this world would be more caotic than it is now. Could you even imagine getting on a plane and the pilot is high on marijuana because doctors prescribed it to them. Or a bus driver or a cab driver. It starts of with marijuana which have been provern to lead to other stronger drugs like crack or cocaine. Like I said before, leave the drug laws to the government, do not legalize marijuana. People will not take it only for medicational purposes, but some or most will abuse it and use it for personal satisfaction.
Rose
Pilots are not allowed to fly if they are on any kind of mind altering medication.
Supergitl
Last night when I was showing the addictiviness rates to the class, one student remarked that we have legalized the most addictive dtugs (alcohol and nicotine) for tax purposes. She said -if I remember correctly- "with those drugs legal, the government knows you will keep coming back for more..."
Interesting thought, no?
I think the government should make the law for the whole country. I think legalization of marijuana to people who are suffering should be allowed just as vicodin, tylenol3 and other pain killers are perscribed to patients. Everybodys body reacts to pain and painkillers differently. Marijuana might be the only relief for some sufferers. why deny them that. As for the people that use it for recreational use and dont have a perscription for it should still be penalized the way they are now. Legalizing marijuana to the whole public I think would cause chaos.
Post a Comment