BONG HITS

[Evilution]

As far as programs for implementing legalization, take the excess money that is being spent on the "war on drugs" and use it to set-up a system. Take all the DEA agents and turn em into quality control agents for the growers. It's useless to fight something that will never go away. Better to cope with it. It's not a war on drugs, it a war on personal freedom. A war waged on the people by the government. That's BS.

[Hookah Smokin Caterpillar]

: Legalize only marijuana?

Why not?

- There are over 10,000 scientific studies that prove marijuana is a harmful addictive drug. There is not one reliable study that demonstrates marijuana has any medical value.

It obviously is harmful and addictive, just ask our parents who are still hooked today and coughing their lungs up. My friends dad went to Woodstock for God's sake, he seems to doing well with himself.

- Marijuana is an unstable mixture of more than 425 chemicals that convert to thousands when smoked. Many of these chemicals are toxic, psychoactive chemicals which are largely unstudied and appear in uncontrolled strengths.

Again, look up to "Woodstock, friend's dad at"

- The harmful consequences of smoking marijuana include, but are not limited to the following: premature cancer, addiction, coordination and perception impairment, a number of mental disorders including depression, hostility and increased aggressiveness, general apathy, memory loss, reproductive disabilities, and impairment to the immune system.

Thats up to a person if he wants cancer or depression. Ciggs and Alcohol do much, much worse then that.

- The Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U. S. Public Health Service have rejected smoking crude marijuana as a medicine.

Whats crude marijuana?

- Medical marijuana has been promoted for "compassionate use" to assist people with cancer, AIDS and glaucoma. Scientific studies show the opposite is true; marijuana is damaging to individuals with these illnesses. In fact, people suffering with AIDS and glaucoma are being used unfairly by groups whose real agenda is to legalize marijuana.

AIDS: Scientific studies indicate marijuana damages the immune system, causing further peril to already weakened immune systems. HIV-positive marijuana smokers progress to full-blown AIDS twice as fast as non-smokers and have an increased incidence of bacterial pneumonia.

Cancer: Marijuana contains many cancer-causing substances, many of which are present in higher concentrations in marijuana than in tobacco.

Glaucoma: Marijuana does not prevent blindness due to glaucoma.

I don't know enough about this subject to really comment except all I heard pot did is make things a little bit easier. Thats all.

- Marijuana is currently up to 25 times more potent than it was in the 1 960's, making the drug even more addictive.

I've heard this, but even one of my teachers told me this is bullshit. Think about it, if it was more then 25 time more potent [I said 15% to him, you know, strange facts like is smoking a joint equivelant to 10, or 15 ciggs? Depends on your DARE teacher] then it was be more then a 100% potent. That makes lots of sense.

- Americans take their medicine in pills, solutions, sprays, shots, drops, creams, and sometimes in suppositories, but never by smoking. No medicine prescribed for us today is smoked.

And?

- The main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC (Tetra Hydrocannabinol), is already legally available in pharmaceutical capsule form by prescription from medical doctors. This drug, Marinol, is less often prescribed because of the potential adverse effects, and there are more effective new medicines currently available.

Umm... ok.

- While a biomedical or causal relationship between marijuana and the use of hard drugs has not been established, the statistical association is quite convincing. Twelve to 17 year-olds who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than those who do not. Sixty percent of adolescents who use marijuana before age 15 will later use cocaine. These correlations are many times higher than the initial relationships found between smoking and lung cancer in the 1964 Surgeon General's report (nine to ten times higher).

Again, kids that'd try drugs smoke pot, pot doesn't make you wanna do drugs.

- Major medical and health organizations, as well as the vast majority of nationally recognized expert medical doctors, scientists and researchers, have concluded that smoking marijuana is not a safe and effective medicine. These organizations include: the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, National Sclerosis Association, the American Glaucoma Association, American Academy of Opthalmology, National Eye Institute, and the National Cancer Institute.

Its not safe, but then neither is eating a huge, sizziling steak but we do it anyway.

- In 1994, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that marijuana should remain a Schedule I drug: highly addictive with no medical usefulness. The court noted that the pro-marijuana physicians had relied on non-scientific evidence.

Eh, 1994, the stats [I forgot who] put up earlier were from 1999, so who knows really.

These are all facts folks...

Here are some questions that nearly all legalization proponents like to stay away from...

Should all drugs be legalized? No.
Who will determine which segments of the population will have access to legalized drugs? I will, everyone.

Will they be limited only to people over 18, 21? 21, just like Alcohol.

Will cocaine, heroin, LSD, and PCP be made available if people request them? No.

Who will sell drugs, the government, private companies? Any company that really wants to, like a Budweiser [really bad joke].

Who will be liable for damages caused by drug use, and the activities of those taking drugs? Whose responsible for drinkers?

Who will collect the revenues generated by the drug sales? Whoever collects them for other things now. That'll be decided by someone else.

How will a black market for cheaper drugs be controlled? Is there a black market for cheaper alcohol out there? And if there is I don't know anyone that uses it.

Who will bear the costs to society (health care, addiction clinics, etc) of increased drug use? I think we'll have decreased drug use, and what, we don't have that stuff right now anyway?

How will absenteeism and loss of productivity be addressed by business? Who will bear the costs of lost productivity, consumers, stockholders? It'll have a sticker on the box like those on Cigg boxes.

Will the local drug situation in a community dictate which drugs are sold where? Most drugs should be illegal still, I just think there are certain drugs like pot that are a waste of time to be illegal.

How will society care for and pay for the attendant social costs of increased drug use, including family disintegration and child neglect? You keep saying increased, even though you never heard about countries with decreased drug use after their legalization like lets say Amsterdam.

Who will bear the costs of the expansion of social service and welfare programs that may be necessary to care for increased drug addicts through drug legalization? Would taxpayers bear this expense through increased taxes, would funding for other programs such as education be reduced? I wanna know what makes you think it'll increase and why guys smoking pot are addicts.

Will people still need prescriptions for currently controlled medications, such as antibiotics, if drugs are legalized? Yes.

Will legal drugs require prescriptions? Depends on the drug.

Can anyone, regardless of physical or medical conditions, purchase drugs? If they're dumb enough.

How will we deal with the influx of people to the United States who will seek legal drugs? Hmm.. good point.

Can we begin a legalization pilot program in your neighborhood for one year? I'm down, and trust me, it'd work in my ghetto ass neighborhood.

Should the distribution outlets be located in the already overburdened inner city? Its safer then them getting it off the street. Harder as well.

I would love to hear some realistic solutions to these problems/questions. People that support legalization are usually the type that have no idea how to address problems like these. Lets hear the specifics of how to implement a system for the distribution and sale of legalized drugs ...not "I like to smoke...legalize it, man...". How will you implement these programs? who will control them? will they be taxed? Who is responsible for paying for the health care costs? etc....lets hear some solutions.

There, put that in your pipe and smoke it =) I know this will ganer much debate from you, but I think it might be intresting, later

[NDIrish]

Your point about your friends dad may be true, but that is just one example. I bet for every one example you give of someone who uses drugs safely, without hurting someone, I can provide two who have had drugs have a dramatically negative affective on their life, and the lives of those around them. I don't doubt most people who say that they don't hurt other people (well, maybe the do, but they don't realize it).But I think they are in the minority.

As far as << kids that'd try drugs smoke pot, pot doesn't make you wanna do drugs>> is concerned, I simply disagree. The stats show this to be true.

It seems to me that there is a big distinction to you between marijuana and other "Hard" drugs...that is where we differ I guess. What my point comes down to is that I believe that the legalization of drugs would be a sign that we have given up on the issue. Admittedly, you guys are not the most objective sources on this topic...Anyway, time to go vote for Bush!!!

By the way...its off topic, but am I the only one that things that Gore would be bad for our sport. Obviously, this is not a reason to vote for one candidate over the other, but I think if Tipper got her paws into things, she would outlaw the sport...who knows....MMA is legal in Texas....

[Hookah Smokin Caterpillar]

Stats aren't like personal experience ND, and trust me, these kids are bad no matter what. Has nothing to do with pot. However, I do agree that to a certain extent, sometimes people will try harder drugs to feel higher, but I think legalizing it will end that problem because most drunks don't try crack to get drunker.

Either way, even though I'm voting Gore, he COULD do something bad to our sport. He seems like the type if someone broke a nail in action and bled and everyone complained, he'd do whatever it takes to make people happy.

[Biz]

******As far as << kids that'd try drugs smoke pot, pot doesn't make you wanna do drugs>> is concerned, I simply disagree. The stats show this to be true. =*********

Realize that the same kids who want to try pot are the same kids who want to try crank. Pot didn't lead the kid to the drug, the kid did.

Point is, the war on drugs has been going on long enough. The War On Drugs hasn't helped one bit. The world was a better place before it.

[Evilution]

As for marijuana being a gateway drug my take on that is, it's because to get weed the person has to go to a drug dealer. This drug dealer might also sell other, more dangerous drugs. If I could go to 7-11 and pick up a six pack, a carton of marlboros, and an ounce of weed, I'd never go near a drug dealer. The closest I would get to hard drugs would be when I walk by the local crackhouse on the way to work. That's my opinion on the gateway thing.

[Hookah Smokin Caterpillar]

Good point Evi, although our dealers aren't usually drug dealers, more like pot dealers. But getting any drug is easier for me then to get alochol, its kind of strange...

[royceg420]

ND:

I'll admit drugs have caused a problem with my family and some of my friends. I struggled with my parents for years because they knew that I was doing them and they were worried about me, but do you know what they were worried about? Me getting arrested. The only reason weed has caused problems in my life, family and friend oriented or not, was because it was Illegal. I have had two friends die (one was revived and thankfully still here today) and both of them were from alcohol.Neither of them even smoked weed.

BTW I had answers to all "questions that nearly all legalization proponents like
to stay away from...", but I'm not going to fill up another page answering them because my fellow legalization proponent, Hookah, did fairly good job in doing so.

[klif]

Look at the way the tobacco companies are getting torn apart by law suits. Does anyone think legalzing drugs could ever work here? The law suits would make the tobacco judgements look small.

[Robbie]

Drugs are what is ruining this country imo.

[Biz]

It's funny that you say that, because before the "War On Drugs", this country was a better place to live in.

[royceg420]

If the tobacco companies just admitted their product was harmful they shouldn't get sued. The only reason they should lose is because they denyed the fact that cigaretts could kill you for years, if they didn't make that mistake there is no grounds on which to sue them. Its your choice to smoke, even if the companies didn't admit it everyone knows its dangerous, and if you die from smoking its your own fault, not the tobacco comapany's. Its like trying to sue a gun company because someone gets shot. Everyone knows drugs are harmful and if the companies that would sell them didn't start denying this fact than I don't see any reasonable grounds to take them to court. If people did start winning in court against drug companies that were following the new laws and not doing anything wrong than that would just be more proof as to how corupt this countries legal system actually is.

[Ryan The Bad]

Some of you guys have the most idiotic ideas. Legalizing pot is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Drugs have been linked to wife beaters, rapes, robberies, depression and suicide. If it were to be legalized, don't you think that more people would be doing it??? I can't see any good in that happening. I don't think it's exactly right to be putting people in jail for drug use alone, as seeing how it is a victimless crime; but the fact remains, nothing good can be brought from drugs at all. If you deny this, you're only kidding yourself.

[Biz]

***Drugs have been linked to wife beaters, rapes, robberies, depression and suicide.***

Yeah, so has alcohal. It's not the drugs that are the problem, it's the people. Drugs can be used to help people. If you honestly don't see any good out of legalizing drugs than either you are very ignorant, which I doubt, or you haven't gave enough thought to the issue...

[Ryan The Bad]

"Yeah, so has alcohol." << Ya, and you can see how alcohol has helped so many people...

When you say "It's not the drugs that are the problem, it's the people", are you suggesting that this nation would be responsible enough to freely use mind altering drugs?

I can see how the use of certain drugs could help the sick, but by legalizing it to the public, anybody would be able to use it. When I grow up and have kids, they'll be living in a generation created by decisions made today. If we legalized pot, they'll be growing up in a generation of stoners (obviously larger scale then the 60's ).

By the way... I noticed that you said that this country was a better place to live in before the "Drug Wars". How true... However, back then the county's morals were different. Back then, sex and drugs were taboo. Now we now live in a world where everybody is candid about it- and all of a sudden there's an increase in violence. Thankfully, the government's laws have conformed.