I didn't want to mention beer as many beers such as the mass produced lagers are not very good for you... but most of the "real ales" are.

Cider of course is a big no no for continous drinking... stomach ulcers are NOT fun... *groans*

I suppose there is a range as there is to is cannabis.

Leaf rather than block is considered to be less harmful as there are less impurities, and you have to consider that the stuff around now is about 20 times more powerful then the stuff that was around in the sixties during its heyday.

The ironic thing is the healthiest thing you can with cannibis is to grow it yourself.... any sort of government company maying wacky baccy are bound to contain countless impurities and will actaully acentuate the dangers of smoking leaf in the first place.

I can't believe people are actually even contemplating something so stupid as drug legalisaztion...

Now Now...

Everybody's got a right to an opinion.

...but I agree with you. ;)

hey iceheart why not give us your opinion? then give us why you believe what you believe. You could even give some evidence if your reasons are not purely emotional.

A lot of people here are comparing pot to alcohol, its side effects, potential risks, etc. Heres the deal: if I got out to a public place and have, lets say, two beers with dinner, I'm the one consuming the beer. As the alcohol leaves the container, it enters straight into my body. Not the case with pot. If you smoke pot in public, then other people around have to deal with the smoke who may not want to. Some people say its a violation of thier rights not to be able to toke it up. Well it's a violation of my rights if I have to inhale your smoke unwillingly. Well then you say, lets only legalize and say you can only smoke in private places. Then there will obviously be problems with people disputing what is public etc etc.

I will never smoke pot because I have no interest in it.

Thats my .02

golovko good point. I believe pot should be de-criminalized but shouldn't be allowed in any public areas. I believe the same of tobacco, I hate smoke but I don’t think that my dislike for it should dictate whether or not others should be allowed to use it especially in a setting where I am not affected.

I think the same about alcohol and tobacco, indeed any intoxicating substance. It's not something ANY of the public should have to put up with...

Look at the leverage it's given to criminals, and the damage those criminals have done to the world. How could you possibly contemplate leaving it's control in thier hands?. The fact is IT'S THERE ANYWAY. Legalising and controlling it can only be good...

Under the same arguments, a number of things should be legalized...

As I pointed out, you can't use the law as a tool to enforce a law. The law is there to define what's wrong and right. By making pot legal, you're effectively saying that it's ok to smoke it, and that that's the end of it. It's wrong...

That's true. And...?

By what standard? By what right does the government tell me how I live my life? Since when have I become the chattel of the government? If my actions affect only me, or those who willingly choose to be affected, why must the government become involved?

I suppose the next time you and your wife wish to "get it on":dome:, you should retain counsel to verify that the evening's festivities conform to government standards.:rolleyes: If they have the right to determine what can enter your body through your lungs, why do they not have the right to veto anything else entering through any other orifice?:mad: :shrug:

Bob

ps. I hope I didn't grosse anyone out with the visual!:eek: :p

...then by extension, child pornography would become legal.


The governmental institution isn't there to tell you how to live your life: it's there to balance your rights versus your freedoms. You're otherwise free to do anything you want, any way you want it. ;)

Our governments have the difficult task of balancing our rights, as individuals, and as a society, versus the freedom we all enjoy.

We're not free to just kill anyone, because it infringes on our individual rights, and our social rights. That one is pretty obvious.

It's when we get into pot that it becomes a lot more "grey". There are drugs curently available that mimick the effects of marijuana, and they were designed for that purpose too!


Maybe a better exercise here, would be to try to answer the question: why is marijuana illegal? Regardless of your position, just try...

Where's a good lawyer when you need one? (A: probably sitting at his desk, waiting for the next sucker to fork out $300 for an hour of his time!)

By electoral right... you voted them in.

I guess by that logic that all the white people have the right to vote that black people be deported, or even killed! Right?:shrug: :rolleyes:

Its not the best system but unfortunatly we are stuck with it. Can you think of a better system that encorporates action with debate?

Duh, guys,
A bunch of other things should be legal by those grounds!
Prostitution should be made legal to put all the dirty pimps out of business, stops the spread of diseases, and turns prostitution into a safe and tested produce.
Cocaine should be made legal to take the power out of the hands of the huge nicaraguan drug lords.
Theft should be made legal so the government can tax it. Think about how much property is changing hands here untaxed!
Murder should be a standard service offered by the government to stop all of the amature hit men who might screw up and only injure, or cripple someone. That's just not cool!

Hell! Maybe we could become known in an international level for some of these things. I would love to see prostitution become a major US export.

By George, I think he's getting it!

Now here is where you seem to go off the path. You see, prostitution and drug use are victimless transactions between consenting parties. Theft and murder [obviously] are not. Therein lies the crux of this biscuit!
:D

Bob

So where does child pornography fit, in this grand scheme?

And it is VERY debatable if drug trading is between two consenting parties! Remember drug addiction is classified as a disease and not a character weakness like some would say. Also drug trading/use is definitely NOT victimless!

Prostitution... Sure legalise it it's not the prostitutioun itself that is harmful, it's the drugs (tada) and pimps for example.

Drugs and prostitution should be legalized.

my 2 cents.

Child pornography by nature victimizes children and hence should not be legal. A child cannot consent to such an act as a child is a child; because a child is a child they need legal protection. Anyone that views child pornography willingly promotes the victimization of a child. Drug use and child pornography are very different sociologically speaking.

It really tests my adherence to the First Amendment to allow myself in the company of some of the most vile creatures on earth, but I still believe no information should by its very existence be contraband. We have laws against information theft, against public indecency, against harrassment, against conspiracy, against fraud, and against sexual assult and rape, which by themselves protect a society from people who would procure or use information to harm us.

We do not need laws that procecute horrible people for looking at horrible things. So long as they have not harmed anyone, I think even terribly sick people deserve a right to privacy.

Alchemy

Can we please leave child abuse to a different thread?...

Pediaphiles should be seperated from society. Child porn is not a victimless crime, and internet policing for the purpose of stamping it out is fine by me. If only the RIA spent 5% of their 'spare' time and energy to something other than money...

I'd rather drugs were available rather than glamourised and pushed

The fact is the majority has changed with regards to drug use. Remember democracy only works on the obvious/polarised things. Anything less is a screaming match...

Alchemy. I would'nt allow a flea privacy to suck my blood, I would'nt allow cancer the privacy to spread through my body. I would'nt allow pediaphiles to share the same mind space as any child of mine. The constitution was written by 'gentlemen' for gentlemen, the world has changed alot since then, so should your constitution IMO...

Under that argument, child porn should be allowed, since "it's there anyways"...

But you're right, it's not victimless, because the act of taking the pictures creates a victim.


So I'm going to ask again: how did marijuana become illegal?

I can't rember the date... but sometime not very long ago factory owners were concerned about productivity being harmed by its staff smoking weed.

They pertitioned and made the drug illigal, thus increasing effciency.

It was also helped along by the film "Reefer Madness" (1936), which portrayed pot smokers as maniacal psychopaths bent on listening to Jazz!:eek:

Link

Bob

This mirrors my position on many such things... I don't like it, I don't condone it. Neither do I condone drug use, smoking, drinking, or the eating of Big Macs, but I do not think it is the role of government to enforce my value system on others.

Bob