Thoughts on Marijuana Legalization?

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Maximilian75

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Personally, I am in favor of highly regulated legalization of marijuana.
 
If alcohol is legal, there’s no reason for marijuana to be illegal. Marijuana does a lot of good for a lot of people.
 
I’d get fired for smoking pot. So I don’t. Never will either 😐
 
I think all drugs should be legal and only regulated as such to ensure people are getting what they pay for, the war on drugs in the US is a failure.
 
I am a former drug addict, so I’ve used a lot of cannabis. I’ve also studied pharmacology and US drug policy pretty extensively.

I think cannabis should be rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule II at the federal level.

This would make marijuana legal for medicinal purposes.

The difference between schedule I and II is drugs in SI are said to have no legitimate medical usage and a high potential for abuse. Drugs in SII are said to have a legitimate medical usage and moderate to high potential for abuse.

Examples of schedule I drugs in the US include heroin, LSD, PCP, and cannabis.

Examples of schedule II drugs in the US include cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

So according to the current US Federal government law, cannabis is more prone to abuse and more dangerous than cocaine and meth. It doesn’t take an M.D. to see why that’s a problem — it’s simply untrue and unfair.

I also think possession of an ounce or less, or 10 plants or less of cannabis should be decriminalized at the federal level - this doesn’t mean it’s legal, but rather that if you get caught with those amounts, you don’t get arrested and charged with a crime — instead, they confiscate the contraband and write you a ticket like a speeding ticket.

So - I am in favor of decriminalization and rescheduling from SI to SII. I am against full out legalization as I think it will precipitate more drug abuse in the country. Marijuana is a gateway drug - I can personally vouch for that, along with the majority of addicts I know. In the midst of a full out drug epidemic, it would be imprudent to fully legalize marijuana at this point in time.
 
I don’t like being around pot smokers. I hate the smell of a pothead sitting next to me in class. I’d rather it not become more mainstream.
 
I don’t use it and I would not use it. I don’t think using it is a good idea. But I am for legalization, for the following reasons:
  • The drain on law enforcement resources policing marijuana laws is not worth the benefit to society.
  • There are proven, unique medical benefits or it for some serious conditions and the current laws keep people from getting the help they need.
  • It is not nearly as dangerous as alcohol and so it could be a safer alternative.
 
Decriminalization and rescheduling would accomplish all three of those goals but avoid the potential pitfalls of full out legalization.

I think full legalization is a very bad idea.
 
The big problem, as I see it, is the marijuana edibles, which don’t seem to be regulated. How is that all other food is regulated the FDA, and marijuana edibles are not? I believe that there is a higher rate of children ingesting marijuana and ending up at the ER.
 
Well, I will split those hairs with you. Something should be done, though. The idea that it is federal Schedule 1, along with heroin, is ridiculous.
 
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I don’t much care either way. I never smoked tobacco or this and I’m not going to start smoking at my age.

If I end up someplace where it’s legal I might try an Alice B. Toklas brownie, emphasis on the “might” because I know my husband will want nothing to do with it and will make frowny faces at me.
 
That’s a good point. Kids have been hospitalized from eating their guardians’ pot gummy bears and brownies.
 
It’s an important distinction to make between full out legalization and rescheduling+decriminalization.

But something does need to be done, soon, and at the federal level. The fact the US Federal Govt. classifies cannabis with heroin and PCP and above meth and coke is unacceptable.
 
My best friend from Catholic high school is a licensed grower of medical marijuana in California. He says you can also vaporize it, like an asthma nebulizer, and it’s pretty effective.
 
For medical use that would probably be easier than someone trying to drag smoke into their lungs when they’re sick, especially if they never smoked before.

I’ve never liked inhalers or vaporizers though (my mom used to fire one up when I was sick with a cold as a kid) so I wouldn’t be doing that recreationally either.
 
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Vaping is very effective, and much safer.

Vaping a juice containing THC/CBD is the same as vaping a vape juice containing nicotine. It’s much less harmful than smoking dried plant material.

Smoking cannabis carries all the same health risks as smoking tobacco. Plus the same social problems (air pollution, smell, bad breath, etc.)

Vaping or using edibles is to be much preferred over smoking.
 
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Spyridon said:
Vaping or using edibles is to be much preferred over smoking.
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I’m glad to hear someone say that. I am tired of listening to some of my otherwise intelligent friends try to tell me that smoking marijuana is a very low risk compared to smoking tobacco. Now on the one hand, I would hope no one is going to be smoking 3 packs of blunts a day, but on the other hand, with marijuana you are putting resin in your lungs which to me is just ugh.
 
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I’ve read studies that suggests that gram for gram, smoking cannabis is worse then smoking tobacco.

And I believe it.

Smoke a 1 gram tobacco cigarette then smoke a 1 gram cannabis cigarette. Look at the amount of tar/resin on the butt/roach when it’s done - the weed cigarette will have 5x as much.

Again, I’ve personally smoked literally thousands of tobacco cigarettes and cannabis cigarettes. I can offer eye witness testimony that cannabis smoke is harsher on the lungs, and produces way more resin.
 
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We forced the chinese into that once, absolute disaster. Turns out a population of opium addicts aren’t very useful to an economy.
 
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