Newt Gingrich, Dan Quayle, Clarence Thomas...
Posted on 02/20/2002 6:08:45 AM PST by Magician
My first reaction is WHY NOT?
It’s a question of common sense.
Our marijuana laws do not work. They never have, and they never will.
Their stated goal being to rid society of the so-called affliction of marijuana use, the harsh reality is that since prohibition, usage rates have increased drastically.
Either we legalize it, and fast, or we get busy locking up millions of Canadians. With one out of three Canadians admitting to having tried marijuana, we may very well be locking up our best and brightest, not ruined by drugs, but ruined by the criminal sanctions that go with getting caught for what amounts to a common social practice. I can’t even begin to count how many elected officials admitted to having used it, yet everyday hundreds of average citizens are arrested for marijuana offences.
So, why are there so many users, and why is marijuana so easy to acquire?
In a strange twist, prohibition is to blame.
When a product is illegal, the profit margin skyrockets. Prohibition turns an agricultural product (a plant that’s very easy to grow) into a drug worth its weight in gold. Without prohibition, marijuana would cost pennies to produce. No wonder some adventurous modern day prospectors are setting up in their own back yards and basements to try and get in on the gold rush. Who could blame them? They aren’t hurting anyone, they’re making good money, and most of all customers are willing, grateful participants in the process.
We must come to grips with the fact that the demand for marijuana is never going away and find a better way of dealing with it. Imagine the billions of dollars spent on marijuana and enforcement going to more noble causes like health care and other social programs.
The general public understands this. Support for legalizing marijuana recently reached the much sought after 50%+1 majority. Recent polls show that 51% of Canadians support legalizing marijuana, a slim, but very real majority.
And with more and more advocates, the trend is just taking off. Several European countries like Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and Germany are successfully leading the way towards tolerance with legislation aimed at helping drugs users, not by treating them as criminals, but as human beings deserving of respect. There is no reason why Canada should lag behind. We should be on the cutting edge of this new international movement.
Now it is time to step onto the world stage and assert our sovereignty by legalizing marijuana once and for all. I would venture a friendly wager that the international community would stand by Canada on this issue. Our inevitable success would then make us a world leader in marijuana reform—an example for others to follow.
(I can hear it already): But marijuana is dangerous!
For the record, marijuana is NOT dangerous. It is no worse than coffee and much safer than alcohol. Marijuana is also much less addictive then cigarettes. Chronic use is rare as the majority do not smoke it everyday. Try that with tobacco!
What little risks that may be present with marijuana are no worse then any other risks deemed "morally acceptable". Should we ban music because, if played too loud it might hurt your hearing?
French fries and gravy are far more dangerous for our health then marijuana. Should we ban fast food and send overeaters to mandatory fitness camps?
Who are we, as a society to judge? What exactly are marijuana users guilty of? Who are they hurting? What have they done wrong?
To deny marijuana users the right to choose what they want to consume is nothing more than an arbitrary decision based on moral values, not public interest......
Legalization does not mean promoting use. It means providing medical care, support, education, quality standards and proper labeling. We then trust that responsible adults will make their own choices. This is what makes legalization healthy for our society. At least legalization would force retailers to be accountable for what they sell.
Under prohibition, the government has waived its responsibility for the well being of marijuana users, and is only responsible for their arrest and persecution.
This total disregard for their rights drives a wedge between them and the rest of society and breeds contempt for our legal institutions. If society does not tolerate pot smokers, how are pot smokers supposed to tolerate society? This does not make for a healthy social climate and even less a basis for sound policy.
If a policy so deeply flawed as prohibition not only fails to reach its goals, but actually makes the situation worse, it should be radically changed.
Prohibition is the problem, and legalization the solution.
In places where marijuana is tolerated use actually decreases.
Of course, don’t count on the politicians to have the courage to change the law—it’s not in their nature. Look instead to the Supreme Court. That is where most significant legal change comes from anyway. Gay rights and abortion issues were resolved there, and, some time this year our land’s highest court will also rule on the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition. I strongly urge government to make a wise decision and end this madness now. Millions of bright, productive, patriotic pot-smoking Canadians are counting on it.
Most sincerely, Marc-Boris St-Maurice Le Parti Marijuana
Do you believe in free will? Or do you just think you are smarter than everyone else, and that no else in society can figure out for themselves how they wish to conduct their lives? Your brand of self-righteousness is corrosive to the principles of living in a free society. Why don't you just mind your own damned business?
Oh really? I am evil for stating that drugs are bad. That drug use does not get anybody far.
Wow! You are the evil one IMHO, since you think my speaking out against drugs is more evil than the drug pushers and those who say that drug use is benign, as this article states.
You are the scary person, IMHO.
Ahem - ol' Nancy was impaired by more than astrology. Perhaps she's willing to do some time?
I've never used drugs or smoked marijuana, yet MY money has been stolen from ME through taxes and many of MY rights have been diminished in the name of keeping others from doing so. I'm for the legalization of drugs not because I'm "pro-drugs" or because I advocate their use, but rather for the simple reason that I'm ANTI-big government. Government has a legitimate role to play in protecting me from others. It has no business protecting me from myself.
Legalization of drugs would reduce the PROBLEM of drug use to what it really is. Drug use. Right now, the primary problems of drug use itself are clouded within the overall problems created by drugs being illegal. Lets focus our attention to treating the "drug use" portion of the problem and we would all be better off.
To not accept that fact is putting your head in the sand.
Prohibition exacerbates anything problem it tries to solve.
Newt Gingrich, Dan Quayle, Clarence Thomas...
Great quote! -MM
I haven't been punished? I grew up in a culture where drug use was considered benign. I had Cheech and Chong pushed on me. I grew up in the late 70's when the drug culture was reaching it's "high" point. I grew up in a society where stories of the drug use of Studio 54 and rock stars were considered cool.
LOL! I guess I am the evil one who knows the damage about the drug culture.
Get a clue.
That argument is bogus. Marijuana use inevitably leads to harder drugs. Besides, that argument is no longer true. It might have been true 20 years ago, but now pot is much stronger. It is grown to produce new generations of plants with a higher THC content. Pot is now psychologically addictive, whereas it wasn't 20 years ago.
Really saying to people that you can out and buy heroin at your local CVS will reduce the problem huh?
This thread shows the difference between Libertarians and Conservatives. Libertarians do not believe there is a culture that influences life.
Your Honor, I know the statute says that I need to serve 1 to 3 for simple posession but... but... but... my munchies have caused me to gain 20lbs, my G/F left me 'cus of THC-induced Erectile Difficulty, and I can't seem to scrub off the resin on my sticky fingertips - I've SUFFERED ENOUGH!
Sorry son - Go Directly to jail and don't collect $200
Dane equates being "forced" to watch Cheech and Chong movies and "hearing" about Studio 54, with long prison stints.
Sorry son - Go Directly to jail and don't collect $200
Huh? Please lay off the bong before posting please.
Without debating your above assertions, can't all of these same points apply to alcohol and cigarettes? Do you want to make them illegal too?
That is not what you are doing, you are advocating prison time for drug users which is the current policy which you support. Are you now changing your entire position? Are you ready to say that drug use is bad but the WOD is bad too? Are you ready to stop villifing those who oppose the drug policy of the country and stop lying about them?
Wow! You are the evil one IMHO, since you think my speaking out against drugs is more evil than the drug pushers and those who say that drug use is benign, as this article states.
You aren't speaking out against drug use, you never have made that distinction, you support the immoral WOD. People like me who have never used drugs and do real work to help prevent kids from making the mistakes you made are villified and lied about by you because we oppose the loss of our rights and meddling in our lives by people with guns.
You are the scary person, IMHO.
I would be scared too if I had been exposed as a hypocrite and a liar.
Take a look at reply #132.
Sorry, Tom, just missed this one. I went back and found it. No, I have never used an illegal drug. I was simply assuming something. But if it doesn't work, why are you people so adament about legalizing your habit? I know, Tom. I should know better than to try using commonsense with deadheads.
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