Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legalized?

  • Thread starter Thread starter YHWH_Christ
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
How many people get arrested for bootleg liquor these days versus during prohibition? Hint: way, way fewer. It still goes on occasionally but most people would prefer to go to a regulated, legitimate liquor store where they know what they’re getting as opposed to buying a jug of moonshine out of someone’s trunk.

So to with weed. Most people in the market for weed will go to licensed, regulated business and avoid going to a sketchy neighborhood and buying it from some guy outside a 7/11
 
But that’s what’s happening. The insurance industry is watching this closely.
 
Sure. It happens whether marijuana is legal or illegal. Some people are going to be irresponsible. I know I sound like a broken record here, but how is this different than alcohol? People drive drunk all the time. We criminalize it, we stigmatize it, and we try to educate people about the risks of it. We just apply the same forces to driving while stoned.
 
Who is monitoring purity and quality? Why not continue buying from the guy on the street who never sold you bad stuff because if he did, he’d lose your business. And the enforcement arm of organized crime is a lot quicker to come down on guys who lose them customers. Plus, there are some people who’d rather not have their face on a security camera. If word gets out that Bob’s Dope House is making money, they’ll get robbed just like a liquor store and unlike liquor, the robber can get rid of what he stole a lot faster. I am amazed that the downside of this is not being brought up more.
 
Why even start the cycle? Why put people through this? Legalizing is a waste of time and health and does not make sense.
 
edwest said:
The criminal aspect will just have their men on the street sell marijuana for less. No one wants to pay taxes so they’ll still turn a profit.
Click to expand...
I don’t see it going down like that, ed.

I see your gangsters making deals with shopkeepers to put dope on their shelves with counterfeit or stolen tax stamps being the main new racket. The higher the tax, the more lucrative the market will be for the criminal element. Like they do with cigarette smuggling today
 
Again, ask all those same questions about alcohol. Why do people prefer going to Joe’s Liquor Store, which is licensed by the state and subject to inspection, when they can buy booze from reputable companies, when they could go to some guy in the woods who brewed some liquor in his bathtub?

Because A) It’s convenient B) It’s legal, so they don’t risk arrest C) they know what they’re getting.

I’m sure there will be still be some dumb college kid selling weed to his friends, but for the most part, people will shift their business to the legitimate options just like they did with booze after prohibition. I mean, why do you think the mob got out of the liquor trade? Because there was no more money in it.
 
Wishful thinking. This will not go well. There are still plenty of other illegal drugs.
 
I never wrote that. My point is: the answer to the drug/health problem is not legalizing “recreational” marijuana.
 
edwest said:
My point is: the answer to the drug/health problem is not legalizing “recreational” marijuana.
Click to expand...
That’s not really an argument, it’s a conclusion. But anyway, I can see that we’re not going to agree, which is fine (although I do appreciate the discussion) but I have to ask: do you think alcohol should be illegal? If not, why not?
 
I’m signing off. The writing is on the wall. Anyone can find out what actually happened in the US states that have legalized this, plus Canada.

No one will be here wringing their hands if this spreads in the near future.
 
Fair enough. Just trying to give some food for thought here. If you don’t believe alcohol should be illegal for all the same reasons, it’s hard to take this seriously. The refusal to engage this question is telling.
 
I guess I disagree with everybody here, which is fine.

But if the MJ issue reverts to the states, (as to my mind it probably should – this is one issue federalism was created to handle), I for one will vote against its legalization. In fact, I think punishments for those who traffic in it should be vastly increased.

I don’t consider everybody using it to be an advantage or desirable, whether they drive or not. It is havoc on the human mind. Indulgence in it needs to be deterred.

Comparisons to alcohol are flawed in that alcohol has always been part of life and human beings don’t willingly give up what they believe they have a ‘right’ to. We are societally stuck with alcohol. That’s not an argument for making matters worse.

ICXC NIKA
 
Lev said:
For medical purposes, were it tested, refined and regulated by the FDA
Click to expand...
Presumably, if it were legalized, there would be some sort of government mandated quality control like there is for all other agricultural products. I’ve been in a couple marijuana dispensaries in my state, and they’re all clean and well managed and the marijuana has clearly labeled THC content and source.
 
Last edited:
Ellipses said:
Of course marijuana should and will be legal medically and recreationally in every state very soon. Common sense.
Click to expand...
Do you think other drugs will follow?

When I was a kid here in Pennsylvania, we had live parimutuel racing as the only form of legal gambling.

Since then, they added telecast races, lottery, scratch off tickets, interstate lotteries, legal bingo, slots, casino table games, internet gambling, and just now sports gambling.

Will the legalization of drugs take the same road?
 
Having everybody smoking marijuana is anything but common sense.

ICXC NIKA
 
I have heard that the marijuana plant has been bred to be even more potent. The pot the hippies smoked in the 60s would not be as potent than the pot smoked now.
 
This has been an interesting discussion, along with any number of allegations not citing any studies.

I had heard long ago that about 10% of those who drink could be classified as alcoholics. The National Institute on Alcohol abuse notes that for the age bracket of 18+, 6.2% of those adults have AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder).

There is no particular reason to presume that the % of abusers of marijuana is going to be significantly higher. Yes, there are going to be some who become “stoners” and seek to be significantly affected by their consumption; the same goes for alcohol. But just because some abuse alcohol does not lead to banning it for all who drink recreationally, the same applies to those who smoke recreationally.

People consume marijuana, to put it in their own terms, to “mellow out”. There are exceedingly few cases of violence by someone who has smoked; but with other “harder” drugs, there are any number of cases of violence and crime committed.

The Church has made a prudential judgement, just as Pope Francis has made a prudential judgement on capital punishment (and I would be happy to cite a case which flies in the face of his comment about it being “inadmissible”, in spite of the fact that I am against it).

What is likely to happen is that the Federal Government is likely to remove marijuana from the list of prohibited drugs and leave it up to the states to determine what, if anything, they choose to do to allow/control it. it will then be up to the states, and to the individuals as to whether and to what extent they use it.

Johnson and Johnson has set up a lab in Canada to do research on it. Coca Cola, Pepsi, and various large alcohol conglomerates are all looking at the issue, and some have invested seriously in some of the Canadian companies. In essence, it is here to stay.

We have any number of people “virtue signaling” about its use; many of the same people will have a drink or two (in other words, in moderation). On an empty stomach, one may feel the effect of alcohol with only one drink; with two, very likely will feel some moderate effect. I simply point out that the effect of alcohol is noticeable but not great for most, and many if not most marijuana users are not seeking a “Cheech and Chong high”, just as many if not most drinkers are seeking a bit of the effect of alcohol.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top