LOL. i don't have to claim that it needs to be made illegal because it's a gateway drug. it's already illegal because they made it illegal like 90-100 years ago.

But I asked you why it should be illegal and that is what you came up with. Would you like to try again?

they will never legalize it in the States. they will decriminalize it, and probably pretty soon. It will be tantamount to a ticket for not wearing your seat belt or something like that.

they are trying to drive tobacco use out of our society, no way in hell will they legalize another smokable substance.

my $0.02

that does seem to be what is happening mrford

how the heck should i know why it should be illegal? i'm just questioning why it should be legalized now, and why US citizens feel that they have a right to ignore a law that is entirely within their control to change.

what good is passing a law that everybody ignores?

well.. there are many products legal and illegal that peopla have no need of that are for sale in the US.
Alchohol, tobacco, potato chips, cola, computer games...
so what.

And braden while that may be true that doesn't explain the fact that alchohol and cigarette taxation are very successful. Especially after alchohol was banned for quite some time.

The idea that many controlled substances should be banned (pot, alchohol) comes from the concept of puritanism. For the bulk of human history most of these substances were available with little detrement (there are exceptions opium trade for example).

There is a fair bit of tax avoidance in canada on sales tax, alchohol, and tobacco (rapant) already. The fact that there would be tax avoidance on pot if the solution was to treat it like alchohol/tobacco is somewhat secondary. The costs of keeping it illegal far outweight the costs of legalization. Treating it like alchohol (ie you make it yourself it's not extra-taxed, you buy it from somewhere and it is) would make more sense. IE you grow it, no tax. You buy it from a store tax (in theory).

I digress:P

You are a stupid fluffing troll. I knew that before I posted and I never should have engaged you. Why argue on a point and then claim you don't know enough to back up your fluff.

See yah later dibs

"1 Marijuana grows naturally. Making something that is natural illegal is unnatural." oh there are plenty of things that are natural that are much worse for you than marijuana and I don't really wish them to be legal.. ever (you can do some pretty nasty things with mold and bacteria)

yah, you digress alright. why should it be exempt from tax simply because you grow it? it has a certain intrinsic value, admittedly you'll run into problems getting people to admit that they grow and use it to avoid paying the tax, but that probably has something to do with a person's inherent dishonesty and greediness.

And like a perfect troll he smoothly transitions into bating his next target for an argument

i'm technically a pretty smart troll. i got some liberal ivy league educated person to cuss and throw up his arms in vain before i got banned and deleted this time.

haha...I suppose the insertion was more a sign of my frustration than trying to comment on your intelligence :)

i have no idea why you would suffer from frustration in trying to prove why marijuana should be legalized everywhere. i'm not even sure that it's worth my bother in listening to the arguements. somebody had sufficient proof in the past to determine that the weed should be illegalized and it was. who am i to question the wisdom of my ancestors?

and btw Ozzite, you have failed to convince me that it's perfectly acceptable for US citizens to avoid obeying the law just to suite their own desires or dependencies. they are US citizens and people have died to protect their rights so they can determine what laws they want in place.

it's kinda ludicrous to go around complaining about The Man is keeping US down, when we are The Man.

answer for your stupid claims. you're a US citizen contaminated by natives. give up your citizenship or defend the right of the US people to pass their stupid laws.

What is more unhealthy and more addicting, Cigarette or Marijuana?

marijuana. unfortunately it's effects aren't documented because it's illegal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)

We all must learn that nothing we say here is based on real facts... unless of course you can back your statements up with sources of information and research.

Arguements on the internet always hurt my head. No one wins anything.

yah, i should've documented the habits of everybody that i've known who smoked things that didn't smell like tobacco. my bad, i was too busy getting drunk at the time.

bah, i don't need to know anything, other than it's illegal to use and i've known people who are willing to break the law just to use it.

bring a moratoriam on it's illicit use, and if the people can do without it, then make it legal. otherwise tell them to pound sand.

based on real fact? i ride the bus dude. i can give you all kinds of real imagined facts that the pot heads produce in defense of themselves.

would you like me to drag one of them off the bus and make them give testament in front of a camera?

Ozzite, you are required to come out of hiding to defend your liberal arts position. you can't just quiver in a cave and hope it'll go away.

your frustration is like 1/10th of my intelligence. you should be happy that it's all the burden that you'll have to bear. well assuming that your overseas position isn't compromised because i called you a bunch of names.

Marijuana cured my depression, true story

So you feel the second hand smoke from weed, which, just like a cigarette, contains large amounts of tar, doesn't hurt others? Thats why it is illwgal to smoke in your car with children?
And for the record, my current partner works in neuroscience at USA. As such sh keeps abreast of various studies etc.

Did jiman really post wikipedia as proof of something? Since when is wiki acceptable?

*goes to edit wiki*

lol

Edit: that should read UWA. Stupid autocorrect

ps. alcohol is killing me.

Hmmm...I heard you can get that fluff mailed to you directly.

I could source other websites of higher reliableness if that helps.

I think Spinach should be illegal, In fact we should just have a different green plant made illegal each year lets rotate it.

we'll do a little test.

I'll randomly come up with a point of interest, and you can go scour wikipedia for all the wrong information.

Lets go with Barry Goldwater attempt at the presidency of the united states.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_goldwater

I would love, love, to have you explain everything that is incorrect. We'll move onto Charlemange after, sound good?

You can't just say say it's wrong without even looking.. wikipedia is able to be wrong, but that doesn't mean it always or often is. It is certainly accurate enough to use for ridiculous internet arguments or discussions :P

wikipedia isn't suitable for educated peoples(fluffed up students) to use. works fine for us dumbasses, assuming that we can get there and change it to support our arguement before some moderator type person changes it back to something that is reasonably accurate and makes sense.

how many studies did it take to make marijuana illegal to begin with? the politicians probably just said, "Hey Look, My Friend Flipped Out On IT and tried to fark a squirrel. It's Got To Be Bad For The Mind And Little Squirrel Bodies!!!"

what's this?
http://articles.cnn.com/...ug-pot-shops?_s=PM:TRAVEL
a call to make it legal for only Dutch citizens to abuse the drugs? how can that be? pot makes everybody happy and carefree.

Ummm, OK!

thanks for the input, Short Breath Stutterer.

it boils down to why I should be for or against the legalization of weed...

i'm pretty much against it simply because of my tobacco taxes and the way that the non-smokers treat the smokers. if the people don't recognize the benefits of a tobacco smoker, why should they recognize the benefits of a pot head? people who ignore the law to get whacked out of their head, so they can feel happy.

http://www.economist.com/node/13237193

I thought this was a well written article that largely lines up with my own opinions, but I was curious as to what others thought of it. :)

no matter what you may be talking about, there are going to be people on both sides of the argument, for whatever reasons they may have

as for marijuana, im not sure if it will ever become legal... and if it does, it will be a long time from now... simply because there is just way to much money involved from every angle imaginable, and in todays world, the money is all that matters, not the pros or cons

the simple fact is that there are millions of things that we should be more concerned about than the illogical threat of marijuana... but most people forget, there is very limited room for logic in todays world...

people who are interested should watch the movie "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High"

if you have netflix, you can watch it instantly

awesome! :P

Imo there's no good reason to keep it illegal other then possibly the fact that legalizing it could perhaps(probably) increase the usage. But then I smoke myself and I think the world would be a better place if people switched from alcohol to weed :), but those who are against weed see the increase of usage as something negative and I guess that is what it all comes down too.

Fastfood, candy, soda, nikotin, alcohol and a whole bunch of other stuff are all legal and accepted in our society but we all know it's unhealthy, yet we still consume it.

As to the argument that weed is a gateway drug, I don't agree. From my own experience alcohol is the first drug (yes it's a drug!) most people try, it opens up a new world where you discover you can get into other states of consciousness by taking a substance. Either we should make everything that is unhealthy illegal or we can give people the freedom to decide for themselves what they wish to put in their bodies.

As to the fear of addiction, I think it's a stupid argument. People will always find something to get addicted to, be it gambling, fastfood or whatever. Alot of people have disciplin and can control their consumption, they should not have to be restricted in their freedom because of a minority group that probably will find something to get addicted to one way other another anyway!

I'm just glad to be living in The Netherlands where it's still legal (yes, "gedogen", which is Dutch for allowing, means that it's legal) to smoke weed or hash. On the other hand it has been getting harder in The Netherlands in the past 15 years to start a coffeeshop (where they sell weed) and the Dutch public opinion seems to be more and more against legalized weed or for a more controlled system than the current laisez faire system.

As with all substances like alcohol, tobacca and even medicine: moderation is the key. And moderation is very individual, e.g. I smoke daily before going to bed and I function excellent, both socially and intellectually. Others are more prone e.g. for schizophrenia or depressions. Use the marijuana with respect, like all comparable substances like alcohol and tobacca should be used with respect, and all will be well.

PS I do drink alcohol in small amounts but the effects are more negative for me if I would do that daily... as opposed to what weed does to me. I do not want to think even about getting drunk daily... the results the next day would ruin my workschedule!

Dibs: In canada if you make booze it's not taxed.. in fact depending on how you make it chances are none of the ingredients you use are going to be sales taxed either:P

It should be banned and carry the death penalty. Same with tobacco. I hate to say it but in this country alcohol needs to go, too.

Americans on the whole can't help but abuse anything that can be abused.

For the smokeables I am just tired of my clothes smelling like fluff and having to be near that fluffty tasting smoke. I am glad that the US is all but done with it. It makes you smell bad, makes you look bad, makes everything around you stink, decay, and discolor.

Can you name me one thing that Americans don't abuse.

If they legalize it, no one will do anything... Just sit around getting high. A country of burn outs.

I would rather see them legalize cocaine and heroin instead. At least riding the dragons claims the addicts fast.

I miss the old Ghost. :( (No offense!)

awesome!

lol@ barry goldwater. Whenever I think of him I think of the political add ran against him.

@Futureghost: you realize that almost every single human civilization has made/abused alchohol (and that ones that never did made/abused tobacco or hallucinogenic plants) and also one of the reasons why cities came into existance :P

No places abuses like the American and Roman Empires.
I find it odd that why are there not entire civilizations of stoners then?

that daisy girl commercial, martian?

i don't know which i enjoy more, the fact i knew what you meant or the commercial itself (i'm going to say the latter, the ad is golden)

because it is not an addictive substance. True anyone can have a mental dependance on any substance, but physiologically it is not an addictive substance.

I smoke daily, i have won scholarships in academic competitions baked out of my mind, my 3-year-old is loved and raised in a structured and productive environment, and i have held the same job for a decade. Please tell me how marijuana is hurting me.

Let me tell you this truth: My doctor said that if i could get it i should, since the current "pill-popper" fear running rampant in my state prevents doctors from prescribing medicine for fear of legal censure and arrest. Several doctors in our area have been "busted" dealing prescription drugs, to patients that have legitimate health issues.

I would rather break the law and relieve my pain and suffering than live in a world where d-bags would rather their clothes smell good. Take a walk in my shoes and then when sever neropathy and back spasms take control of your life i will let you tell me what to do.

When marijuana was made illegal the argument went-
"It is a drug that causes insanity,criminality and death- the most violence causing drug in the history of mankind"- Harry J. Aslinger,1937

to this-
"The strong form of marijuana that most young people smoke produces a chronically passive individual-someone who is lazy,who doesnt want to be active, who doesnt want to take initiatives. The kid who prefers to lie in be with a joint in the morning rather than getting up and doing something." -Roger Morgan, Chairman and Executive Director for the Coalition for a Drug Free California, 2010

I live in a state with medical marijuana. I have a sellers permit as a medical marijuana collective. I also pay federal taxes on any marijuana donations. Tell me again how illegal it is. The Fed wants a bigger piece. With whats happening here in California and whats happening in states like Michigan,Colorado and Nevada the government will not pass up all that money.

Propaganda gets old fast. I only speak to elected officials about marijuana legalization. You cant have a rational discussion with someone mired in ignorance and untruths.