For the first time, 50% support legalizing marijuana

[SteyrAUG]

That being said, I don't think making marijuana legal is going to upset the fabric of society.

Well here is one issue. If I stand next to a guy drinking a beer, I don't get drunk. I don't want to have to be in the same room with somebody smoking legal weed.

[Belmont31R]

Well here is one issue. If I stand next to a guy drinking a beer, I don't get drunk. I don't want to have to be in the same room with somebody smoking legal weed.

Thats where the free market and responsibility come into play...

[Eric D.]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. This would set a very dangerous precedent. "Don't like it? We can just tax it to make it go away." How long before that becomes the case with ammo, mags, etc.?

I don't know the ins and outs of what effects marijuana may or may not have on the body but I do know that most hardworking, red-blooded Americans would not condone such an unproductive an asinine practice as blazing up a leaf for the sole purpose of getting high and becoming a vegetable.

Legalization would put the cartels out of business; a good thing. I support the idea of people's choice in the matter but I don't support the use of non-medical marijuana. At this point I think legalization would do more good than bad.

I can honestly see MJ being legalized within the next decade. I support the legalization purely on the basis of taxing the hell out of it. No, I don't smoke it, so many are inclined to think that based on my position.

But looking at statistics, alcohol does kill more people than MJ. If anyone wants to dispute this, google it and look for any reputable sources.

[WillBrink]

The #1 cause of death in the United States is not auto accidents anymore, it is abuse of prescription drugs.

Please supply a valid cite for that statement.

According to 2007 CDC figures:

Number of deaths for leading causes of death

* Heart disease: 616,067
* Cancer: 562,875
* Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 135,952
* Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 127,924
* Accidents (unintentional injuries): 123,706
* Alzheimer's disease: 74,632
* Diabetes: 71,382
* Influenza and Pneumonia: 52,717
* Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 46,448
* Septicemia: 34,828

Source:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

And BTW, cigs and booze kill far more people then abuse of prescription drugs.

[kartoffel]

Well here is one issue. If I stand next to a guy drinking a beer, I don't get drunk. I don't want to have to be in the same room with somebody smoking legal weed.

Smoking is smoking, right? I'd assume most places would treat pot smokers the same as tobacco smokers.

Go stand outside an office building or restaurant on a cold, overcast day and hang with the smokers for a bit. I bet nobody would even notice if you pulled out a one-hitter instead of a regular cig.

[KhanRad]

Please supply a valid cite for that statement.

Sure.

I came across the article a while back, but I had forgotten that it was a CA study, not nationwide:

http://www.cjcj.org/post/alternative...remature/death

This is premature death and sudden death, not related to cumulative conditions such as heart desease.

[Reagans Rascals]

to be honest... I do not partake, however I do believe it has helping benefits for those suffering chronic illness/pain (my mother being one), and that being said I feel they should not have to endure pain that could otherwise be alleviated even for a short amount of time simply because a bureaucrat deems it illegal because there is not full proof way to tax it like Tobacco and Alcohol.

My mother suffers all day and night due to a spinal illness. She has exhausted all "legal" medical options. Marijuana holds the potential to possibly palliate her symptoms, even just short term, yet because someone else says no you cannot have weed, she is forced to suffer? bullshit... If I had access to it you better believe I'd be more than willing to do a 2 year bid to ease her suffering.

I had a friend pass away in 2009 due to Glioblastoma multiforme, as well as Leukemia, and in the end, when the battle was all but lost, the only remaining pain reliever was personally attained Marijuana, and it helped him drastically. He began to gain some weight back and had a better quality of life.

Would you allow yourself or a loved one to suffer when you have the ability to at least ease it somewhat, simply because someone else not in your shoes says no? I don't think so.

Also, I do not agree with the justice system incarcerating individuals for non-violent crimes i.e. possession, distribution etc.. If they think by doing so they will prevent a crime that is a load of shit, you can't stop a crime before it is committed, this isn't Minority Report. If the person buying or selling weed is so inclined to further break the law in a violent way, then you charge them, but it is asinine to think you can do so before.

The justice system is in place to protect individuals from harm, someone smoking weed in their own residence is a non-violent offence, a.k.a a victim-less crime. period. end of story. there is no rebuttal for that.

Just legalize it simply to ease the burden on our penal system... and to help those in pain that have exhausted all other options.

And no... I am not a pothead, and have never used it... Just looking at it in the most pragmatic of terms.

[WillBrink]

Sure.

I came across the article a while back, but I had forgotten that it was a CA study, not nationwide:

http://www.cjcj.org/post/alternative...remature/death

This is premature death and sudden death, not related to cumulative conditions such as heart desease.

Which is very different issue, and set of stats, then your original statement.

[hatt]

So how does my reply tie into what the OP posted....most people can only stomach so much hypocrisy even within themselves, i.e. any person who drinks an occasional glass of red wine at dinner or drinks a cold snack at a tailgate eventually has to be honest with themselves and realize that they are consuming a substance(usually very frequently), and by extension supporting the legalized status of it that is so exponentially more dangerous, deadly, and detrimental to society as a whole than marijuana could ever dream of being.

If you drink alcohol even in the rarest of occasions, and you don't support the legalization of marijuana...than you are flat out a hypocrite of the highest magnitude. Most people can only have that label on their back for so long before they let rationality take over and in this case support a substance that is far less harmful than the one currently in their hand, fridge, or cooler in front of them.

Yep.

The drug issue is no different than the basis for plenty of other issues. The need of a person to feel superior to someone else. It's the thing currently. Fortunately for those folks the Government is all too eager to play those cards. In the end the Government is the only winner however. But who cares as long as someone feels better about themselves.

[Reagans Rascals]

Well here is one issue. If I stand next to a guy drinking a beer, I don't get drunk. I don't want to have to be in the same room with somebody smoking legal weed.

Smoking indoors in general has been all but stamped out for the most part, hasn't it?

With the exceptional bar and craphole Denny's here and there, but who the hell wants to go to a Denny's....