[HRC]

MARIJUANA grows like a weed. Therefore anyone could grow their own crop of MARIJUANA for use. There goes your tax it argument. Why buy it from the stores, where it will have less potancy, higher cost and taxes to pay when you can get around all of that by growing it yourself? You are assuming that people are pretty much idiots and could not realize this on their own. Unlike grain alchol and beer, which takes different processes to more potent, the same process is needed for really potent MARIJUANA as does lesser potent MARIJUANA. All you need is a seed, water sunshine and there you go!

No one grower will ever be responsible for their crop if there are millions of growers. Sure the price of MARIJUANA may go down due to legaization but where are the regulations for mom and pop growers? Are they going to be responsible for the negative side effects of smoking MARIJUANA?

[eno_]

You can brew your own beer legally. This is another Drug War straw man. Legalization does not imply TV ads and Proctor & Gamble New Improved Ganga in colorful packages.

[sharktrager]

People could grow their own tobacco too, but they don't.

I've never smoked pot, and don't plan on doing it even if it is legal. I hate watching my tax dollars go to waste, however.

If banning something works, it's hard to explain that I drank more in the 5 years before I was 21 than I have in the 10-years since I turned 21. And it's probably by a factor of 3 or 4.

[Nate505]

MARIJUANA grows like a weed. Therefore anyone could grow their own crop of MARIJUANA for use. There goes your tax it argument. Why buy it from the stores, where it will have less potancy, higher cost and taxes to pay when you can get around all of that by growing it yourself? You are assuming that people are pretty much idiots and could not realize this on their own. Unlike grain alchol and beer, which takes different processes to more potent, the same process is needed for really potent MARIJUANA as does lesser potent MARIJUANA. All you need is a seed, water sunshine and there you go!

I think you underestimate the laziness of many pot smokers. Why grow it when you can get a month's supply or so for $30-50? And when the store has a great variety? Growing it could only get you 2-5 or so varieties at a time, when at a store you could theoretically get 500 or so different strains....not to mention that while growing is easy, growing well and drying well can easily be messed up.

[angry beaver norbert]

Valid point,perhaps,about growing, but WHAT negative side effects? There are no hangovers. After 25 or 30 years,I'm not really aware of ANY side effects, unlike many prescription drugs.Farmers,esp. tobacco farmers could use alternative crops.But even if everyone grew their own, at least the drug pushers wouldn't have that $$ to work with. Maybe a 'permit' to grow x amount? They still bust moonshiners here in the hills for non-tax-paid. Anyway, the present system sux. I'm not advocating the use,of course, but booze took me closer to destruction than reefer ever did.By Gods' good grace, I outgrew that problem.