heh ad hominem attack.
just because you don't agree with the government taking X action doesn't mean that you support the action taking place.
i don't agree with the whole gay thing but i don't think the government should make it illegal....does that make me a 'gay afficionado' or whatever? that's just ridiculous.
There's a handful of folks here who deride legalization of marijuana but don't seem to actually offer any legitimate arguments against it, just ad-hominem attacks.
I personally have tried marijuana before, as i imagine many people have. Wasn't for me, didn't enjoy it personally. Same with Alcohol, i'll have a beer every now and then but the feeling of being 'high', 'buzzed' or drunk never appealed to me. I don't think we should make weed illegal, for a few legitimate and enunciated reasons;
1) it doesn't work. We've tried prohibition before with Alcohol and all it did was funnel funds into criminal organizations.
2) There are legitimate uses for weed. This is anecdotal but i've met and heard from many folks who say that (x) extremely addictive drug, that was legally prescribed, did nothing for (y) symptoms but weed did. Chronic pain, problems sleeping, nervous/anxious problems, parkinsons, Arthritis, etc. It's not a wonder drug by any means but i think there are a few legitimate medical uses for it.
3) There's also the 'freedom' angle of it all. I think i've evolved on this issue as i did on the whole 'gay marriage' thing. We have to think long and hard before we let the government tell people they can't do something. I think it is wholly immoral to use the government to punish people for things we simply disagree with, but otherwise don't harm society as a whole. Weed might be a social ill as you see it, but is it the governments job to solve social ills? Do you want the government to be involved in the business of getting involved in personal choices like that? Being overweight is a bigger medical issue than smoking or drinking. according to RAND. Are we going to start regulating what people can eat, how heavy they can be? That's what they do in Japan. hating on people for smoking weed is pretty hilarious when being overweight is a bigger killer than smoking. I don't see anyone here hating on Sugar addicts or people who eat junk food. even though that's far more dangerous than pot.
4) What about Alcohol and Tobacco? Why is weed worse than those things? is smoking pot every once in a while comparable to being a drunkard or smoking tobacco ? Why not make Tobacco and Alcohol use illegal? Maybe that was the worst thing to happen to this state; repealing alcohol prohibition, right?
Of course we can always point to the extremes of pot smoking, where that's all people do all day, but i imagine those people are the extreme minority and most people that most pot for medical reasons or recreationally do so in moderation and are able to lead otherwise normal lives.
it feels like there's a certain animus against weed that has less to do with the drug itself, it's potential dangers or it's harm to society than with a certain social stigma that was prevalent in the not-so-distant past.
There have been some legitimate criticisms of legalization here, mostly relating to foreigners coming in with slave labor, it's environmental impact and the illicit trafficking of the drug to more restrictive states... I think those are legitimate but i would also argue that those problems aren't the result of marijuana but rather the result of a new industry that has grown from nothing and has yet to settle in, the strong demand from states that have yet to legalize it, the cost prohibitive regulations in other states that have legalized it, and the inadequate regulation and enforcement within our own state.
