As marijuana becomes legal for recreational use in some states, and for medicinal use in even more states, the debate about nationwide legalization continues to rage. What are your thoughts? Do you think marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use? For recreational use?

Personally, I think marijuana should be legalized for recreational use nationwide. I have never tried weed in any form before, but I know plenty of people that have, and they seem a lot more functional high than they do drunk. To me, marijuana is comparable to be alcohol, and should be treated the same way. Legal for anyone over the age of 21, but illegal to use before driving or operating machinery. I'd just take any laws related to alcohol and also apply them to weed.

I also think legalizing marijuana would lead to a decrease in crime. Instead of having to resort to shady drug dealers or black markets, people can simply go to a dispensary, and avoid all of the other crime associated with buying illegal drugs. The weed that people are buying can also be regulated, to ensure that it is completely safe and not laced with any other kinds of drugs.

What are your thoughts on the issue?

I say yes. I have never tried it myself but I'm sure that if it was legalized there would be far fewer conflicts revolving around possession crimes and the sort.

Back in high school when I was young there was a kiddo who loved all kinds of drugs but he seemed to be the most determined of all of us.

There are way too many instances where people are being arrested simply for having weed, which isn't even as effective as being drunk, so I have no idea why it's illegal in the first place. Plus, I am all for letting people just do what they want as long as it doesn't end up in hurting other people. What's funny is that more cases of being drunk have ended up in hurting other people than cases of being high, because when you are high, you have at LEAST some control over yourself. That, and the more times you do it, the more control you have. It's tolerance. So yes, I am very much for it. No reason for it to be illegal, especially when alcohol is legal.

Lexatom : You touched on another thing I forgot to mention, the number of people going to prison for a victimless crime. It doesn't happen as much anymore, but there was a time where just possessing marijuana could result in a prison sentence, and that is absolutely absurd. No one is being harmed in that situation other than the person taking the drugs, so why should they go to prison?

I don't think Marijuana should be recreationally legalized overall. It is my opinion that any recreational use of drugs (overall) is immoral. Yes, it's enjoyable, but it puts the focus on one person: Self. And I am of the opinion that self-fulfillment is inseparably tied to the fulfillment of others.

That said, I recognize that marijuana can have positive effects on health, and I recognize Prohibition didn't work. But the reason I believe it didn't work is because not of how strict it was, but how forceful. Those who drank alcohol or created it were embarrassed publicly. No one should be shamed or belittled because they choose to participate in recreational drug use, even if it is immoral.

So why am I against it? Because there is widespread potential for abuse. You can grow your own weed. You can get it publicly. It creates a culture in which the focus is on getting a fix, as small or as high as it may be, at the cost of things that are more beneficial not only to others, but to self.

Another reason is the effects I've experienced myself. I don't smoke weed and never have, but had some neighbors that were busted for growing it. I inhaled it. It was a pleasant smell, frankly. But it was one that caused me to feel...not in control. Not as alert. Duller. And I want to be as sharp as I can be. If weed affects me this way, surely it affects others this way. And while I like the idea of people being in control of what they take into their bodies, I also want to promote a culture of people that have potential for long-term success...and that means opposing some things that in a better society, should be allowed.

The problem is that weed is...well, weed. It has the potential to be everywhere. If cigarette smokers already disregard the health of those around them (such as their children in a car), what will weed do? Weed smoking is not a victimless crime (where it can truly be called a crime). It affects the health and inhibitions of others in a way they may not want. And by making it public, we are opening doors of abuse.

That said, I am not opposed to the legalization of medical marijuana. I have heard a number of stories of people whose lives improved dramatically upon usage of it. People with chronic pain can live relatively normal lives thanks to it. It's not ideal, perhaps, but there's so much evidence to support the idea that medical marijuana ought to be legalized.

And besides, there are also products which contain compounds found in marijuana (such as hemp seed) that are both beneficial to health and legal to be sold already (and yes, it's delicious. We sometimes have some at home ). If those things have significant health benefits, then it stands to reason that the marijuana itself might be able to produce a similar effect, if used with wisdom.

My worry is that it will not be too often.

Drugs are usually associated with crime so to say selling more of them through other means would reduce crime is a falsehood. It would not reduce crime but encourage more of it. People will still buy in the black market because it's cheaper and you can buy in higher quantities then you can at a weed shop. In addition, there are now more drug dealers readily available to serve underage folks drugs. Mommy buys an ounce of weed, kid steaks some and resells it in school. You got yourself a new drug dealer! You can say you will keep your drugs and liquor and weapons in a safe place... don't fool yourself. Kids are smart! They WILL get their hands on your drugs and weapons when you are not home.

Also, I think you are forgetting that weed is a big introductory drug in schools and is the drug of choice for beginners right next to booze and cigarettes. First it might start out with weed then it might progress to meth and heroin etc... So technically having it more available to the public = more potential for drug abuse, crime and addicts.

Should it be legal? Medically yeah it should be. Recreational? I don't care. If people want drugs they will get them by any means necessary whether that be through a weed shop, someone in school or someone off the street.

These kinds of regulations are totally counterproductive. You're not going to control people with this kind of stuff. When you try to ban something so socially ingrained, you're trying to put out a fire with gasoline. There is so much revenue that could be coming out of the legalization of weed that could be put to something actually worthwhile and you wouldn't have to increase and other existing tax to do it.

As a couple people have stated, regulations on things like drugs aren’t effective and don’t really cut down on drug use at all. Just look at prohibition and, while alcohol is a more widely consumed drug, the whole situation was a mess. However, do I agree with the point behind the regulation? Yes.

I personally believe that marijuana is a gateway drug that causes serious problems if consumed for an extended period of time. Weed, compared to other drugs, is cheap. Therefore, many people can easily get their hands on to it and not see a huge financial problem. Eventually, people stop getting the same high from it, as is the same as any other drug, and will try and find their fix somewhere else. Weed, which wasn’t “addictive” in the definition sense, causes users to seek a high in other means. So sure, weed doesn’t cause all of these horrible problems that other illegal drugs cause, but the threat of mixing addictions is one I don’t want to take.

And yeah, people can get weed anytime they want because there is such a high market for it, but those people are likely to continue on to use more drugs in the future. The regulations don’t work, which I understand, but I support the reasons behind the regulations.

Do I think that possession of marijuana should be a low class misdemeanor crime? Absolutly. There are way too many people, primarily black, serving extended sentences for possession of marijuana. I think that’s absurd, and I was happy when the state of Georgia downgraded the crime and created a warming system to keep people out of jail. Our jails shouldn’t be used for such petty crimes.

And yes, I do support medical marijuana because it does have great medical benefits, when used correctly.

It should be legalized. Both for medical reasons as well as recreational reasons.

What good actually comes from making it illegal. If you do that then yeah people will take greater risks to obtain it as they can get arrested if they get caught. By legalizing it people would also be more quick to get help should something go wrong as they won't get in trouble for the possession anymore.

Maybe do this; when someone commits a crime while high off weed, strip them of their right to own it in the future. A weed license sounds dumb as hell though so that might not be the best idea actually. 

Just let people do their thing as long as they don't hurt anyone with it is what I'm trying to say.

I give it a big ol' "Yes."

People are going to do it whether it's legal or not. It's readily available, easily accessible, and very prevalent. I agree with your point that it doesn't affect people nearly as negatively as alcohol does and how it keeps them more functional. I think that keeping it legal and available for recreational use (as well as medicinal) can be beneficial.

It will keep people who go to jail simply for possession out of jail. Smoking weed does not make you a criminal. I don't think it's fair that people are put into the same place as killers and rapists simply because they smoked an herb. That makes no sense considering it doesn't affect anyone but themselves. Further, it costs money to keep people in jails and prisons. Having so many people in those places because they smoked or were in possession of marijuana is poor for the city and government spending.

That brings me to my next point: Money. The government could make so much more money by legalizing marijuana into recreational use. Just put a heavy tax on it and use that tax money for much needed issues like.. Fixing the streets, food/shelter for the homeless, better living conditions in orphanages and nursing homes, More/Better rehabilitation centers, so many things. That would be a huge wave of more income going toward the government.

So not only would they get money for selling it and taxing it, but they would save money by keeping people who have drug problems out of jail. And HOPEFULLY they would see that having an addiction is less a crime and more an illness and send them to get the proper help instead of just sending them to jail.

Kiyo : I didn't mention the money aspect in my opening post, but you're absolutely right about that. If the government were to tax marijuana as heavily as they tax cigarettes, they could make a ton of money off of it, and maybe even cut income tax because they have money coming from somewhere else instead. (Haha good one tgags, I'm sure that will happen.)

I also tend to agree with your point about addiction. If you have an addictive personality, you can get addicted to literally anything. Obviously some things are more addictive than others, but it's still something that we need to focus on helping people with rather than punishing them for it.

Furret : I don't know if I agree with preventing people from buying weed if they do something stupid while on it. We don't ban people from buying beer if they get into bar fight. In my idea world, we'd treat it the same we treat alcohol.

Barathemos : I don't necessarily agree with your "gateway drug" comment. Alcohol is a drug just like any other. You don't see people saying "this beer doesn't do it for me anymore, I'm going to try crack instead" do you? Every drug has a different kind of high, and makes you feel different. It's not like harder drugs just make you more high, they make you a different kind of high.

Canada has legalized marijuana in Canada and it didn't make the black market go away. The black market still exists because Canada is choosing to tax marijuana making it more expensive than getting it the way people used to.

I'm fine with decriminalizing it for cases of possession because sending someone to jail for having a few grams of it seems insane. However, making it legal and treating it like it is less harmful than alcohol is reckless. It has an effect on brain development and since brains don't finish developing until around 24-25 having it legal at 18 leaves plenty of time for damage to be done.

So, I'm on board with decriminalization but legalization is too far. We still don't have a valid method to test for and measure intoxication. What is the legal limit of marijuana consumption before driving should be illegal? These are questions we don't have answers to and without those answers it shouldn't be openly legal.

To me legalizing marijuana is really like opening pandora's  box so to speak because now your basically allowing the argument to be made that all drugs should be legalized drugs like crack/cocaine and heroin as long as it's taxed or modified to lesson the negative side effects or dilute the high. Granted with legal weed the THC count is way less potent than what you would find naturally and it is taxed so good old uncle sam is receiving his cut but with the legalization of weed, are we going to free all the people that were locked up for weed since it's legal now? The legalization of weed comes with its own problems like what to do about being high in public, and whats the legal limit for  high driving. To me should it be legal no simply because you'd have to legalize all those other "drugs" to be fair and release all the people who have been locked up over the years for possession of the substance 

While it's not something I particularly like using (though I will admit to having done so in the past) I would be open to the possibility of making it legal. Studies point to it being no more physically harmful than alcohol and cigarettes, thus it is a double standard to have it be illegal while those things aren't. Young people are still going to get their hands on it and may infact feel more inclined to try it when it's illegal. Not to mention that it also makes it more unsafe because you never quite know if its been tampered with.

With that said studies are still not entirely conclusive last time I checked. Research still needs to be done in terms of the long term impact it may have on the brain. Some argue that it can lead to psychosis that persists after use, however the only evidence I've seen supporting this is anecdotal (family member who works with treating people where that's the case). I've also seen people who have used it for long periods of time and seem to be doing alright. It might be something that really only affects certain people. Even so determining when someone is at risk would be difficult.

Divine Aurora : I disagree with this particular instance of the slippery slope argument. One could in fact make the argument that legalizing this will lead to legalizing all other substances, but that doesn't have to be the case.

I agree with the idea that everyone who's been thrown in jail or prison for possession should be released post-legalization, and those charges expunged from their records. I would also go as far as saying that simple possession under a certain small amount of any other substance should no longer be illegal, but that the focus should be put on the producers and dealers of dangerous substances. It does absolutely no good to lock up a user or addict. You're not helping them repair their life, you're permanently tarnishing their name. If you want to combat drugs, go after the people distributing it.

m0ssb3rg935 : Even now with weed being legal in D.C, California, there's poor regulation, terrible oversight on dealers and growers I hate to be "that guy" but honestly weed should have stayed illegal..what are we teaching the coming generation...the only reason the arguement for weed to become legal was made is because uncle sam figured out a half assed way to make his cut via taxes and licenses to distribute..but here's the kicker with this whole "legal weed" you can buy it from a "legal" dispensary in D.C. in large or small quantities like for example a 8th(which you can be arrested for having as by law its counted as dealer quantity and a arguement has been made where its dealer quantity with intent to distribute)or 1gram (which is a small possession charge) why am i telling you this because while its legal to buy and smoke in D.C lets say your dumb enought to buy 2 8ths and come back home to Virginia but get pulled over just as you pass the state line the officer says i smell weed and bam federal law has now been broken amd your looking at a charge for possession with intent to distribute. Bottom line is weed is illegal on the federal level regardless kf what state laws say you can be arrest for weed, weed is still illegal at the federal level, legal weed isn't weed because the levels of THC in legal weed is drastically different then the levels you'd see in regular all natural weed and thats because legal weed is largly synthetic and has been breed to where the THC isn't as potent as its found in its natural state, but to me the whole idea of legal weed in a nut shell is crazy, what are we teaching our next generation that drugs are ok? Why not legalize crack(cocaine), pcp, meth,heroin after all surely it can be taxed and regulated to? Would that really cut down crime if it was easily accessible? No it wouldn't have any of you actually seen a true crack head(dust head) or someone strung out on meth or heroin? Weed is just something they smoke until they can get to the hard core drugs they want...the truly sad part in all of this is they never made weed legal its still illegal at the federal level they can come arrest you if they really wanted to for manufacturing and distribution of a controlled substance if they wanted to reguardless of state "regulations " oh and to add insult to ignorance according to state "regulations" as a distributor you know your only legally allowed to grow a certain amount and buy a certain amount so you can get busted at the state level for having too much of the substance..but to end this rant...should weed be legal? How can something be legal if it was illegal still at a federal level and when the so called "regulations" essentially guarantee a open and shut drug distribution case if you take a large quantity of the substance you purchased outside of the few states its legal in..not to mention weed is just as bad as all the other major or commonly used drugs, all addictive in nature designed to keep you dependent and addicted to really pull you down, same M.O. as every other major drug.

Divine Aurora : Weed is no more addictive than, and likely less so, than any major brand of tobacco because of the chemicals used to treat tobacco.

Weed doesn't make people psychotic like the hardcore drugs. The argument could be made that people bored with weed will chase a higher high, but that's true for things all the way down to caffeine and sugar. I do in fact know one person who said they'd try cocaine because they're used to caffeine.

I don't consider the federal regulation legitimate, and I don't believe it should exist. State law should supersede any federal law that doesn't involve constitutionally protected rights.

Laws can't and shouldn't replace responsible parenting or education. If kids should be taught that weed is a waste of time and money and that smoking if bad for your health, it's the parent's responsibility to do that.

The state finding ways to cash in on it isn't a reason to keep it illegal and ruin otherwise productive and responsible people's lives. If the state decided they wanted to tax ever cupcake sold in store, on top of any preexisting sales tax, would you argue that suger should be made a regulated substance?


Laws shouldn't exist for any other reason than to protect the individual's universal human rights. Anything that is not a direct harm to another or a community should not be illegal. Law cannot and will never replace morality.

This is the sort of thread cops watch to bust ya. Just saying.

It's gonna happen, it's just a matter of when business people are ready to establish their market, undercut any smaller businesses from taking hold.

Making it illegal in the first place criminalized innocent people, as well as cut them off from asking for advice and information from family or friends.

Propaganda campaigns drowned out actual rational moderation that existed before, creating a void for black-markets to exploit ignorant and naive people for kicks that are both addictive and harmful.

People have said this for years, long before I was born.
What's taken so long for things to change?