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
But mostly that's out-of-sight out-of-mind to us posters. What we do see is how low the bar is set by an array of dishonest posts (to put it mildly) that some people are known for posting.
All we ask is for them to justify it's illegality compared to nicotine and alcohol, and they can't. I can even accept the argument of folks who want to ban all 3. At least they are consistent.
Before Dane calls me a druggie like he does everybody else when he is losing an argument,.... for the record, I have not touched marijuana in over a decade. I had zero problem whatsoever in not doing it. Right now I am on the patch though trying to quit nicotine. It's kicking my butt. I have relapsed 4 times in the last week. I have made it through the day, chewing big old wads of chewing gum and biting my fingernails to shreds. Funny how when I left college and stopped my occasional pot usage I never had this problem.
The drug cartels and the police are in cahoots in this war on drugs. It serves both their needs. Either Dane is a crank, or he is a profiteer on this madness.
Life today is so 'chained' that it amazes me that some would want to heap on more, absent a sadistic motive. I'm tired of sadists. I'm also tired of imbeciles mascarading as citizens who will drag themselves to a polling place with no knowledge of their rights, but a fair understanding of the 'privilages' granted them by their government.
Today's 'living document' representatives are proof that democracy has failed. Within hours or minutes of their swearing in, they begin violating that which they were sworn to uphold. Our representatives are no more than glorified valets and bellhops for tyranny, fascism, or socialism, as they ignore our Bill of Rights.
In the absence of a limited government some dirtbag system eagerly awaits the opportunity to fill the void.
The good news is that our children may be taught to recognize the evil which awaits them: the bully on the playground (tyranny), the kid you gave homework answers to-who goes to the principal and finks you out (fascist), the kid who thinks it appropriate that the whole class stays in, instead of taking recess because one student acted up (socialist).
Bad news is: unless our children can recognize the wolf in sheep's clothing, they will suffer greatly. They will look upon their grandparent's era as we have- a golden era when freedom and personal responsibility were abundant and plentiful.
Take a good look around today and ask: "Is this the golden era?". Your grandchildren will think so. Compared to what they will have to live with ours will seem a dream.
Sunflower seeds, come in many flavors ( I like Ranch) they give you something to do with your hands and mouth and, before you know it, you will have forgotten cigarettes completly. If you haven't smoked in a week, you're already cured. Strong urges will last six months (but you can beat 'em). Weak urges: up to a year (much easier to beat). You'll do it.
Your words could easily represent the support of any evil. It is always noteworthy that whenever "free will" is mentioned in a debate on public policy, it always refers to the free will of perverts, hedonists, and criminals alone. Never do citizens have free will to decide what kind of a society they are to live in, or voters have free will to elect good representatives, or conservative politicians have free will to pass good laws, or police have free will to perform their duties, or the judges have free will to preside over trials, or jurors have free will to make judgments. Gone are their advocates willing to laud their God-given free will.
I guess by your definition of "free will", every time a dictator decides to execute a pogrom, he is exercising his "free will". Tyranny of the majority can be just as devastating as any dictator. That is why all laws should be subject to the limits of very simple principles. Principles like the Golden Rule and Your rights end where my rights begin.
I know we have strayed from these principles, but that is to our shame. The WOD is immoral and you know it.
You couldn't be more wrong, and you know it. But you continue to spout lies like this, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. It must make you feel good. Thanks for helping to convince so very many lurkers that your "philosophy" is out to lunch, on a bender. Don't drive drunk, Kevvie, it's bad for other folks health. And the sooner you stop kicking your dog, the sooner he will stop biting your ankle.
And here's the link. Whatever it takes to change hearts and minds to end the INSANE war on drugs is money well spent, regardless of who is sponsoring it.
Just my HO, FWIW.
If there are around 10 million Americans who smoke pot on a daily basis, and 1 million who use heroin on a daily basis, simple math tells you that for every 10 daily pot smokers, there is one daily heroin user.
You are the sweetest.
We have to realize that all these drug warriors think things are better when things are "under control". They don't really know the benefits of freedom. They don't realize they are parroting control freaks that have been around from the beginning. Freedom is a value that must be fought for. Every generation has to face this
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