There are a lot of things that are WAY more unhealthy when not used in moderation than pot.
So I wholeheartedly agree with this guy.

Ofcourse, I do live in a country where the possession of (a lot less than 100 grams...5 grams I think) of marihuana is legal, so maybe I'm biased because I'm used to it?


besides the recreational use (which causes A LOT less problems than the "recreational use" of alcohol), I also see the upside of people benefitting from it when they actually need it.
Even in my country, doctors are hesitant to prescribe marihuana, but rather choose to prescribe drugs with a lot worse side effects.
Being an MS patient, I'm happy to know that when the time comes, I can walk to a coffeeshop on any street corner (no, the biggest thing they sell isn't coffee, lol), and legally buy something that will help me out a lot better than the liver damaging drugs my doc will come up with.

Even though it's legal here, it's not a fairy tale country. It's proven that getting the legislation right is very hard.

I think I like this guy.

And it really should be legal. Why the hell isn't it? If people would just be allowed to use it, there wouldn't be so many problems associated with it. No reason to hide it, just be responsible with it. Don't go smoking it on main street or in public buildings.

Smoke at home laws are the way to go if you ask me. But no one asked me. Why don't people ask me?

in my country the approach of the topic is still a bit hidebound among our parents' generation(cheers, exceptions!), btw i'm 30. like: "today pot, tomorrow heroin" or "the first step towards hard drugs is a spliff". following the very same logic we can say: "today a pint tomorrow alcoholism" or "the first step towards alcoholism is a can of beer". what is nonsense.
yes, every drug addict/alcoholist started somewhere but drinking a beer or two or launching a spliff doesnt mean you'll end up selling your sister to get smack or with exploding liver.
oh, and lets compare the number of the families ruined by an alcoholist and a pothead. or lets compare the number of the accidents caused by drunk driving and when someone who only smoked pot.
i say it all because i dont really get the idea why alcohol is legal and pot is not. i can only think that (in the western countries) the culture of consuming alcohol reaches back much further then of the marihuana. so the first is part of the culture, the second one's a newbie.

"It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers"

Seems like that could be said about alcohol as well... Oh, wait.

I live in a frat house, and trust me, those who smoke pot do far better with their lives than those who succumb to alcoholism. Pot doesn't even leave you with a hang over... jeez....

My two cents? I can't recall the carry amount, but our County DA has allowed for up to 99 plants for personal use, if one has a 215 card.

YAY!

My man Ron Paul is co-sponsoring the legislation.

I hope this passes. I've never once used pot, and I never will. But I don't think it's anyone's job to tell someone else what cannot put into their own body.

How many serious Presidential candidates would every consider putting the legalization of marijuana into their platform? (just a side point)

The problem is that some people see this as legalizing a crime. Which though technically is correct, they see it as if every town in america will turn into a ghetto slum with higher crime rates.

Wasn't freeing the slaves, in essence, the legalizing of a crime?

I don't see how that would happen, weed dealers would be kind of silly, so we would lose those people and just have weed growing in peoples yards and all over the place.

He's not saying it will happen, he's saying that that is the mentality of most people. And I think he's right. Pot is a completely misunderstood substance, primarily misunderstood because we have been lied to for so long about it. The misinformation tactic has been quite effective.

I don't see how thats relevant. Besides that, I think the way ex-slaves were treated in certain areas after being freed reflects my point.
To think that drug deals only sell weed is naive. Yes not all weed dealers sell all drugs, but the ones that do would have money saved from not having to buy and transport weed to put towards buying and moving other drugs.

And to move past all of this, I was just trying to state a pretty common sense, suburban mom's POV. Not speaking for the plime crowd.

Not sure exactly what side you're taking, but I thought i'd say this anyway.

If you legalize weed, the weed dealers lose their source of income (strictly weed dealers..as their "career"). You start legalizing ALL drugs, and the drug lords go out of business, and crime rates plummet.

I'm sure we are both on the same side of the situation...

I'm just saying that the Mafia families made alot of money bootleg'n booze during prohibition, and when that was over, they had alot of money to put into other business ventures.