[Magician]

Interesting that the majority of Canadians now favor decriminalizing maijuana. All recent elections/referenda on the subject in the U.S. show the same majority.

The entire crime scene associatd with drugs, including most thefts in the U.S., could be done away with by adopting two simple measures:

1. Legalize marijuana and control it like alchohol. It is less harmful.

2. Give addicts to hard drugs a prescription for the drug they use and let them buy it at a pharmacy. If they are truly addicted, they are going to get the drug illegally if they can't get it legally. And if they can get it legally, they won't have to steal the radio out of your car to pay for their drugs.

Lets spend the $30 billion per year we now spend of the War on Drugs on education against drug use, and rehabilitation for existing addicts.

[PaxMacian]

God made herb

God saw that it was good

God gave it to man

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. (Whole Chapter: Genesis 1 In context: Genesis 1:10-12)

Genesis 1:12

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Whole Chapter: Genesis 1 In context: Genesis 1:11-13)

Genesis 1:29

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Whole Chapter: Genesis 1 In context: Genesis 1:28-30)

[eleni121]

It cannot be like alcohol and then gotten by prescription. You cannot have it both ways. Either you allow it to be sold on the open market by commercial firms - like alcohol -and tax the h#ll out of it - or you pharmacalize it and dispense by prescription. Or you continue to maintain its illegality with the resultant social and criminal costs.

I will not support marijuana being dispensed by doctors and pharmacists only. You know as well as anyone that marijuana is mainly a social stimulant not a medicinal herb. You will still have potheads who want to smoke it to get high and thus contribute to the ravages that alcohol creates. So...what do we do with pot? Keep it illegal and relatively hard to get. I can live with the social costs because the cost of legalization are so much greater!

[A CA Guy]

We'll maybe visit you behind bars. Go for it!

[A CA Guy]

Why are all these drug oriented and addicted threads on Free Republic all the time?

It most certainly is a liberal and not conservative issue!

[Ronin]

American industry will never allow marijuana to be de-criminalized because it would lead to the legal production of hemp fibers, which would in tern upset too many industrial applecarts.

DuPont would scream, the paper-pulp industry would scream. Ad nauseum.

[doctor noe]

Procuring pot these days is essentially a risk-free venture. The people who get caught are either idiots or criminals. I say to at least de-criminalize it. Growing pot is no more difficult than growing tomatoes. The only thing standing in the way of successful home cultivation is either stupidity, or excessively nosy neighbors. BTW, I don't smoke the stuff.

[Zon]

Here's a great argument that the WOD-warriors can use to support their "cause".

"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. " 130

Can't have people high on pot because it sets a bad example for children in the community, right. It takes a village to raise a child, right?

In favor of Hillary's bogus claim that it takes a village to raise a child, here's the hypocritical dark side of "people who share similar standards" 316. How about it start at home where most parents tell their children the three reality distorting lies -- flying Santa Clause, Easter Bunny and tooth fairy. Ah, but it takes a village to further distort reality in young innocent minds via telling/living the three lies. But those three lies are all told/lived in the name of having fun, right?

Is it any wonder that children are prone to telling lies considering that parents are first to teach their children by example how to lie and that it's a means to having fun -- not to mention teaching by example that getting a reality distorting buzz from alcohol is fun. Then parents try to teach their children that it's wrong to lie and do reality distorting drugs. Is it any wonder that some children chose to take reality distorting drugs to have fun. I mean, parents and the "child raising village" have taught by example that distorting reality in the name of fun is a good thing.

[copycat]

I am perfectly willing to have Canada legalize pot and then see what happens...

[Pharmboy]

I foreget...

[FreedomFriend]

I've delivered pizza, and on the whole the only people who appeared to be marijuana smokers are old aging boomers. Late 40s to mid 50s.

Does marijuana wrinkle your skin or age you? I ask this because I saw a woman at one of these deliveries who I could tell was around 50, but her face looked like she was around 65 or 70. What's with that?

[illbenice]

"WHY LEGALIZE MARIJUANA?"

Because I like it, and it is no Christian's business what I smoke!

[lara]

Why legalize marijuana? Because I'm an adult and I want to try it. And until it's legal I never will. I'd love to just sit back, listen to Three Dog Night and try one. Plus I hear it's less fattening than alcohol. If that's not a reason I don't know what is.

[Heartlander]

Dude, so like we legalize marijuana, like that would be so cool. I mean, like, the government can’t control it any more than – I don’t know – hell, abortion is legal. Like, we can kill little babies and we can’t smoke pot – what’s going on here?

It’s like, dude, who makes up these rules anyway, ‘man’. It’s like, who do these government dudes think they are, ‘God’?

It’s like, who determines what is right and wrong anyway ‘man’?

[Barnacle]

"WHY LEGALIZE MARIJUANA?"

So Libertarians will stop posting on Free Republic. That's reason enough for me.

[VA Advogado]

There are enough stupid people in society. We don't need to legalize something that will only make them dumber.

[1 FELLOW FREEPER]

So so-called doper libertarians can smoke their dope with impugnity!!