Should we make Marijuana Illegal completely? Or use it ONLY for Medical purposes

1. 67

   mahsa setarehposted 8 years ago

   Should we make Marijuana Illegal completely? Or use it ONLY for Medical purposes? Or make it legal?
   
   Cannabis, aka marijuana and by numerous other names, is a preparation of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or medicine. It's a Schedule I controlled Substance. Its use is widespread among young people.  Marijuana overactivates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors. This causes the "high" that users feel. Other effects include:
   altered senses (ex: seeing brighter colors)
   altered sense of time
   changes in mood
   impaired body movement
   difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
   impaired memory
   
   

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2. 73

   ElvisaMposted 8 years ago

   Legalize it. The side-effects you have stated only appear in some individuals because we are all different and feel things differently. Look at Colorado. People living in the rest of the US are dropping everything and moving there to have a chance and try to cure the disease they have. Recreational use would only bring millions of dollars into individual states budgets due to the high taxes on the product. The side-effects are really interesting. Alcohol, as compared to weed, makes you feel the same exact thing but it's legal. How many people die because of drunk driving every year? Alcohol has no benefits while Marijuana does. Charlotte's Web helped little Charlotte go from 70+ seizures a day to less then 10 and this was some years ago.

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3. 51

   bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years ago

   Until you make the same decision on Tobacco, and Alcohol, Marijuana should be considered no different then those two.
   
   We have been unable to prohibit the sale or use of tobacco and alcohol, and there is no reason that we can prohibit MJ.
   
   We have known severe side effects on prescription drugs, and these drugs are not usually that effective. Yet, the FDA approves them, and then the lawyers generate law suits against these drugs.
   
   I have never used drugs, including MJ, nor do I smoke. My alcohol consumption is minimal and random, but I don't see MJ any different than the accepted use of tobacco and alcohol.
   
   These are the three musketeers, all for one, and one for all.
   How bad is MJ compared to the other two?

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4. 84

   tamarawilhiteposted 8 years ago

   The problem for society as a whole is how most cannabis addicts can't maintain employment when they use it, while most smokers and occasional drinkers can.
   It is their lack of productive activity and regular criminal activity to fund the habit that is why we should keep marijuana illegal. Using that drug impinges on my rights when I have to pay to feed you and house you when you use it because you end up on welfare, and it certainly impedes everyone's rights when you steal from me to pay for it.
   And there are far better pain relievers available than one that makes you high and essentially useless. And I do agree that we need better pain management and more readily available pain killers - but cannabis is not it.

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      Besarienposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Most addicts have trouble holding jobs. Even heavy smokers and drunks.

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5. 67

   mahsa setarehposted 8 years ago

   If we legalize cannabis then we have more people who become jobless and also addicts...this makes such a huge impact on not only the body of that person but also on the society they live in. I'm sure there would be college drop outs and people who become felons because of this ... I don't think that's what we want with the future of our society.

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   1. 73

      ElvisaMposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I disagree. Though there are impacts, I don't think they are that disastrous and widespread. Sure there is at least one individual described but that does not make it a statistic.

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      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I wonder if you make these assumptions about tobacco users, prescription medicine users, people who drink alcohol, or just about the things you personally don't agree with?

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6. 85

   Annsaloposted 8 years ago

   
   
   It should be legalized for many reasons, but the main one is that people should be free to do with what they want with their own bodies. Laws should not control what a person is allowed to put into their body.
   Marijuana also comes in a range of THC and CBD levels changing the amount of high a person gets. Some types of marijuana contain such low amounts of THC that they actually don't even get you high.
   I find it funny that I see one of the answers here implies that marijuana users are lazy and unemployed. I know many marijuana users and they are all employed, several making well over $100K a year. And outside of their marijuana uses none of them are criminals.
   I also see the same answer implies there are better pain relief options available. Really? I mean can anyone name one prescription pain killer that has killed less than 100 people?
   Approximately 40 people die per day from overdoses on prescription pain killers! Overdose on marijuana, you know what happens? You sleep it off!
   As someone who could easily replace 5 medications a day with marijuana if it were legal, I say legalize and stop trying to dictate what people do with their own bodies. My medications cost $500+ per month. I could replace all that by spending less than $100 a month on marijuana.
   No government should force me under threat of jail to use pharmaceuticals that cause as many side effects as they take away.

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   1. 67

      mahsa setarehposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah true but then at the same time this means more people who are going to end up: homeless, on the streets begging, college drop-outs and addicts...is that what we really want for our society?

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      Annsaloposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Why do you assume this?

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   3. 73

      ElvisaMposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I personally know a whole lot of people that are regular users and have, for a very long time, maintained their jobs. Mahsa, your statements are only your opinions.

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7. 70

   Sandi Kroegerposted 8 years ago

   Any plant that has accepted medicinal value will eventually become legal. I, myself, do not use marijuana but, as a nurse for many years, I have seen the benefits it can have for cancer patients who are in extreme pain and/or extremely nauseous to the point where they cannot get the nutrition they need to help kill the hideous monster growing inside.
   
   Many states are making it legal to use marijuana for medicinal purposes and, at the very least, that should no longer be a battle. I think every state should legalize it for that purpose alone at this time.
   
   Of course, how the sale of the substance is governed and/or taxed is another story.

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8. 0

   ValKarasposted 8 years ago

   EXCEPT FOR MEDICINAL USE, I don't see why people generally need chemical emotional crutches to help them function, or even give them courage to face the world. It's not the question of "government imposing anything on people what they could or couldn't do with their bodies". It's a question of being so addicted that someone will mug you or even kill you (as we see on "The First 48 Hours" documentary series) out of desperation to have money for the next fix.
   
   So we are not talking about those well off and highly industrious members of society who indulge in MJ.  We are talking about my neighbor's son who sold his parent's jewellery to get money for MJ.
   
   But above all we are talking about the basic question that I mentioned at the beginning  -  why do we have to resort to drugging ourselves? Please don't tell me "for the same reason that we would have a gourmet dinner, or sex, or watch a good movie  -  to feel better".  There is a pretty sharp line between acceptable and crazy when both feel good.
   What kind of softies are we turning into anyway  -  if we have such a burning need to feel great all the time? I understand when a baby is given a pacifier to stop crying, but I thought grownups were past that stage.
   
   Just to avoid a wrong impression, I am not of a normative nature, and I personally don't give a rat's behind what you choose to do with your body. As far as I care, you can go on and sniff on glue to knock yourself out.
   I am simply wondering what's happening with folks who "need" something like MJ.

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      Sandi Kroegerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Many people have learned to cope with ugly childhoods or horrific living siutations without the need for mind-altering substances to make them "feel better". However, sadly, some never get to that stage of growth & development.

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9. 76

   Besarienposted 8 years ago

   I don't smoke it. I do think it makes sense to grow it, tax it, and take the money away out of the pockets of criminals and put it into the hands of honest farmers and shop owners. We could use the tax money to pay down the federal debt. My son tells me that it currently is easier for kids in his school to get marijuana than regular cigarettes or beer. Making it legal keeps it away from kids and decriminalizes it for adults,  which frees up law enforcement, courts, and prison space. Addicts then can get help without stigma. The benefits seem to far outweigh the drawbacks.

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10. 0

    JG Hemlockposted 8 years ago

    It should be made legal for medicinal purposes. Marijuana has been known to cure many illnesses. The government does not want to make it completely legal and challenges the medicinal founded research only because people will not spend millions and millions of dollars for the pharmaceutical companies that they lay in bed with.

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       bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       It does sound like the government protecting the drug perscription cartel. And anyone can grow their own MJ.

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    2. 0

       JG Hemlockposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       kudos. it sure is. Do you know how much money the G would lose if they made it legal? They would lose millions and millions just from all the psychotropic medications alone. Can't even count the millions of dope arrests and fines that G snatches up.

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11. 57

    Imbwomenposted 8 years ago

    Legalize it everywhere in the United States. It is a herb that is grown.

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