[caseinpoint]

I think we all should vote our consciences.

“Proponents of legalization suggest that the experiences of countries such as Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland prove the efficacy of legalizing or decriminalizing various types of illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. They maintain that because such drugs are legal, these countries have fewer addicts and less drug-related crime. . . . The statements of the legalizers here are empirically untrue. As we discuss each country in turn, it will be shown that legalization did not work in any of them.”

If you want the information backing this conclusion, go to www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/debates/myths/myths4.htm. I think experimentation has been tried and we ought to take lessons for those experiments. The article discusses the increased problems created by addicts who are getting younger and younger, crime increases to support the more common addictions, not to mention the problems created by “drug tourism”. I am not willing to gamble our children’s future on it.

[fr_freak]

I think experimentation has been tried and we ought to take lessons for those experiments. The article discusses the increased problems created by addicts who are getting younger and younger, crime increases to support the more common addictions, not to mention the problems created by “drug tourism”. I am not willing to gamble our children’s future on it.

Although I would concede that the principle of legalizing marijuana would also apply to harder drugs, we are still talking about marijuana here, and marijuana is not physically addictive. So, the arguments you are presenting here are invalid. Also, we are not Europe.

And, I must stress again that I believe you are kidding yourself about the state of things with regard to society and marijuana. I can say with confidence that marijuana is probably just as easy, if not easier, to get for underage kids than alcohol. Bear in mind that legalization of marijuana does not apply to those under 18, meaning that it will still be illegal for kids to have the drug, but yet they will still get it and smoke it. So, with regard to "our children's future", nothing will change with the legalization.