Dude, I have two grandfathers in the grave because of alcohol and about 4 alcoholics in my family. Why is it legal?

To answer your question though, it will or won't be safe for him, depending upon him. If we are going to make something illegal because of what it may or may not do to one person over another, then most everything sold should be illegal. I know not one single person that has ever had a bad experience with pot. EVERY person I know who drinks has had at least several bad experiences with it.

Thanks for making my point. You can't do it just like no one else can. Therefore, it will always remain illegal.

Just because it's legal doesn't mean your son would be forced to smoke it, just like he's not forced to drink, use chewing tobacco, etc. Your job as his father is to educate him as you see fit to avoid things that you believe would be bad for him. That's not a role for the government, imo.

Amsterdam and I had a good laugh at that. I think it'll be legal within 10-20 years because quite frankly there's no logical argument against such a move.

It's futile to even debate you on the subject if you won't debate the comparison. It's the comparison that gives you a basis for the debate to begin with.

It's akin to wanting to outlaw amusement parks. They are dangerous, and serve no purpose other than entertainment. Could I not compare the dangers of amusement parks to say, water parks, if one was illegal and the other was not, especially when they both are things you choose to do?

All in all it should be your own personal choice with what you do to your body, or EVERYTHING that can change our state of mind should be illegal, not just those things the government decides should be illegal.

I'm just saying, that's not going to hold up to Congress. That's not good enough. It's going to take alot more than that to get it legal. You will have a hard time with your case by presenting one more bad thing parents have to worry about.

Wishful think, but again... that's not the problem. The problem is there's not good logical argument for such a move.

Yeah, parents don't have to worry about pot now because it's so difficult for their kids to get it.

Ask a high school kid someday if it's more difficult to obtain pot or beer. I think you may be surprised by the answer.

The bottom line is this - from a public policy standpoint there's no reason to treat pot any differently than alcohol. Both can be intoxicating, both have health drawbacks, and both are widely used. Make a list of pluses and minuses of both substances and you'll have more reasons to outlaw alcohol than pot. The fact that you are unwilling or unable to acknowledge this makes this debate pointless.

Sorry, I thought you were making a statement and didn't think you needed a response. As far as that's concerned, go try to get alcohol banned then. You obviously have a legit argument. It has nothing to do with this subject, but I wish you the best of luck and you'll obviously have a lot of people on your side. There's a lot a movement to try and get tobacco banned, so you could follow what they've done so far (just a suggestion).

As far as I can tell, there are no reported deaths related solely to marijuana. You can't overdose on it etc. All drug related death statistics that I find, point to external causes and multiple drugs/alcohol in the person's system. I cannot find a single report about someone actually being killed by marijuana alone. I can't say that for any other "drug". That alone tells me that marijuana is at the very least the safest drug to put into your body.

It's not addictive, It's not proven to cause lung cancer, yet may actually help it, and it doesn't cause "second hand" smoke. No chemicals or other controlled substances are used in its creation. I honestly don't understand why its illegal when so many other things aren't. It can't be controlled and the state/feds won't have a reliable way of making money off of it, that's why its illegal.

Why? Both are illegal to them, so what's your point? You actually make the point that it's hard from them to get either, so being illegal actually helps. And don't take this up with me, I'm just pointing out what you all will have to do to get it legalized. So far, it sounds like everyones arguement will only end up making alcohol illegal.

Now we're getting somewhere. Thank you. I actually met someone who had a heart attack smoking weed (and only weed), but didn't die. I came across her when I was decribing what happened to me when I smoked it. Also, my former roomate was addicted to it and even admitted it to us. And don't forget the classic "mom's basement" guy or "mailroom" guy, etc. Obviously, they're addicted. But maybe those are small rare instances. I'll trust your research because this subject doesn't mean as much to me as it does the stoners. Maybe they'll have better luck with the governement or maybe it will uncover stuff your research doesn't show. Who knows? Only one way to find out, right?

Have a good weekend!

I've got the perfect argument for those against legalization of drugs.

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU AGAIN?

I don't care who the fuck you are, you don't have the right to tell me what I can and cannot ingest. Drug laws stand in contradiction with the Constitution, which explicitly states that I have the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. If I choose to ingest mind-altering substances as a way of pursuing happiness, and that pursuit is done without hindering the rights of others to their own lives, liberties, and pursuits of happiness, who has the Constitutionally mandated right to regulate my behavior?

Dear government, I'm not a child, and I'm not your tax chattel. I regulate my behavior. I decide what I ingest and do not ingest. Not the cops, not the Feds, not Nancy Reagan with her prescription happy pills and wagging fingers. Stay out of my home, stay out of my personal life, respect the boundaries of my property, and know your fucking place. You see me directly hurting someone else? Come stop me. Until then, shut the fuck up and go away.

I'm pretty sure what you've been injesting at all those rest stops isn't at all what this thread is about. :rolleyes:

So, you say that comparing alcohol to marijuana is an ineffective ploy, but then you compare the pro-legalization argument with a pro-dogfighting argument. Is marijuana like dogfighting?

Does anyone else smell the irony?

It's liberals like you that ruin this country. Yes, I said liberal. Look it up. You're it.

I agree 100%.

But what does this say:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I'm only throwing this in for argument is all. I don't agree or disagree with legalizing the stuff. I see both sides of the issue. But what does the Preamble of the constiution say right there "promtethegeneral welfare" They have to watch over us

I would bet money that most addictions are mental, not physical. The truly addicted turn tricks and live on the street to support a habit. Just because some folks live in the basement or never aspire for a meaningful career, doesn't mean weed put them there. You'd be hard pressed to find people commiting crimes just for a weed fix (excluding the victimless crime of purchasing and smoking of course)

And I highly doubt the person who had a heart attack was a model example of a balanced and healthy diet and exercise. Let's be realistic. People are addicted to Nintendo, internet forums and porn too, and McDonalds, Budweiser and Jack Daniels are a bigger menace to health/DUI/whatever

You son of a bitch, how dare you sully the good names of MacDonald's, Budweiser and Jack Daniels?

If you even read the article:
Second, the research is misleading, because it states
These are people who have done pot heavily at age 15 while their brains are still developing.

Pot is and always has been incredibly safe for regular recreational use. As with everything, you over use it and well, you'll have issues.

The right wing crazy people like you are what keep pot illegal. What benefit does this have? People with dime bags go to jail? People with cancer suffer more?

I used to work in the jail system. I've seen people get aggressive, but that's not the point of my arguement. If we're talking about freedom, let's talk about freedom. Pot heads want their dope, I want my toys.

Well, I'm not sure about that last comment about there being no public outcry that it be reclassified. Several states have passed medical use propositions on the ballots. Arizona has done it twice, and both times the legislature went against the will of the voters and refused to allow it.

Why on earth would you take an effective form of relief from a cancer patient suffering pain and discomfort just to perpetuate a war on drugs that was lost before it started?

This is no public outcry at all for the feds to change anything marijuana related on their books.

The "medical marijuana" thing is happening at the state level. It is also basically nothing but a fraud. It is an attempt to make an end run around marijuana laws, but state laws cannot trump federal law.

I don't know the statistics, but I recall reading once that most states that put marijuana to the ballot, it is usually voted down. Colorado voted it down recently.

People don't want the government giving the green light to pot. They don't want the government telling their kids it is OK to smoke pot.

The feds have already cracked down on some of this medical marijuana fraud that has been occurring. The Supreme Court also made a ruling on the subject in 2005 in Gonzales v. Raich.

California is finding out the hard way about the medical marijuana fraud. They become nothing but storefront dealing operations. Many have been shut down by law enforcement.

Regarding people who are sick, they can already get pot as a drug through prescriptions. The drug is called Marinol.

Most of the legitimate healthcare industry says medical marijuana is a fraud. Medical marijuana is political movement for potheads. It's not a legitimate scientific or health industry issue.

I'm glad you think it's OK that we put millions and millions of taxpayer dollars into punishing potheads.

Myself, I think there's a lot more worthwhile things we could be spending that money on.