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
Are you equating marijuana with murder?
I'm pointing out the foolishness of the statement about whether the law works or not. I also posted that there is a huge problem with the definition of 'work' in that statement.
Same holds true for bong hits. One binger and I'm writing endless loops and private classes with public properties.
Murder laws never work and they never will either.Completely specious! For one thing, if cops do their jobs correctly, 90%+ murders are solved. What is the arrest rate compared to the use rate for drugs? Notably, murder solution rates are low in cities where the cops are corrupted by drug trafficers. So not only is this specious, it is dishonest in that policing is known to be least effective where the Drug War has corroded it most.
So we have you accusing those who are innocent while you are guilty. Interesting. Have you reported to prison to begin serving the term that you advocate for others who have used it?
So what's your point?
The point is you are a hypocrite and a liar.
No the point is that the drug culture is not benign and it makes you mad when someone shows some sunshine on that fact.
Me either, but the same cannot be said of Dane and many others here who advocate sending people to jail for using the drugs which they themselves used and for which they have served no time in prison. They also come on these threads and accuse everyone who doesn't support the WOD of being druggies, when in fact they are the druggies. It's kinda amazing until you figure out that they are mentally ill and the whole thing has nothing to do with drugs.
Not so much Pro Pot as anti drug war. I'm not here to advocate using ANY substance that has an intoxicating effect, I'm just rallying against ANY attempt of the Gov't to control such a BASIC FUNDMENTAL RIGHT to ingest anything I damn well please.
How do you know it works Donnie boy? You ever use an illeagal drug in your life? C'mon tell the truth for a change.
Suppose two kids are ready to jump off a bridge and there is a local law saying it is against the law to jump off the bridge.
I am walking across the bridge and see the kids ready to jump off and I shout,
"Hey don't jump off this bridge, I did it 20 years ago and broke my leg and was laid up for 10 weeks in traction."
All of the sudden the cops pull up and ask what is going on. All of the sudden there is a shout(from you ThomasJefferson),
"Arrest that man(Dane)"
The cops ask why? And Thomas Jefferson states,
"Because he jumped off this same bridge 20 years ago and was never arrested for it".
These goofs have been told exactly that by many many people on this forum for a long time. They are not interested in that, they are interested in lying and most of them are hypocrites who have used drugs. None of them have surrendered to begin serving the terms they advocate for others.
It's also amazing watching you spew your vitriol, but you keep on posting, you only dig yourself a deeper hole.
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