Drug Legalization

What do you all think? I say pot should be legalized immediately.  About one person every 40 seconds gets arrested for smoking marijuana - an activity which, in and of itself, doesn't hurt anyone but the health of the user.  Making marijuana legal would strengthen and reaffirm the notion that an individual has the liberty to do with his property and his body as he pleases - so long as he does not harm another human in the process.

Furthermore, I think police resources would be far better used hunting down REAL violent criminals, such as murderers, robbers, rapists, etc, rather than harassing and imprisoning people for peacefully enjoying a joint while sitting in their home.

Of those arrested in 2005 for marijuana use/possession, 88% were charged with possession only - indicating that the vast majority of marijuana users are not harming anyone and should be free to pursue their happiness by smoking a joint, if that does it for them. 

Almost 94 million americans have admitted to having used marijuana at some point or other in their lives, including presidents, congressman, and even supreme court justices. 

tl;dr

cigs and alcohol do far more damage than pot ever would.

our prisons are filled to the brim with teenagers caught with a joint or two or a plant growing in their home for their own use. Do i think pot should be legalized right away? no. but i do think we'd benifit from having it decriminalized, and just issuing a fine for it. most pot smokers do so in the privacy of their own homes. those who are caught outsdie their homes high, or even driving vehicles, should be fined heavily. get your munchies before you smoke, be smart about it.

the slippery slope thing is BS. mostly because it's assumed it applies to all pot smokers. any high is just as likely to cause the want for a better high. alcohol leads to stronger alcohol, cigs lead to larger sources of tobacco (chewing tobacco or cigars, or just more cigs in general), and pot will probably lead to something stronger, usually stronger pot, but not always. If you're gonna call ANY drug a gateway drug, you need to call ALL drigs gateway drugs, because they all have the potential. this doesn't mean it absolutly causes the urge to obtain stronger drugs.
Pot should be treated like both cigs and beer. no smoking in public places like cigs, and no operating vehicles like alcohol. smoke it in your house, our somewhere away from public places or vehicles, maybe even have hash bars with a taxi service or something.
Crime would go down if pot were legalized, because there would be no need for dealers of at least specifically pot. pot could be sold like any other legal drug, and could be regulated and kept from being laced with something dangerous. Plus i'm sure the government would love to place some kinda tax on it like they do cigs.
I think of it this way. do what you want, whatever you want, as long as it doesn't lead to the harm or interference in the lives of other people (or animals if you end up splitting the hair like that). i dont see how pot does either of those things if used responsibly.

>>13
The holocaust didnt happen.

>>42
The habbocaust happenned though, you get my point. Poor nigras 8(.

oh my fucking god, I am laughing so hard at this. Good show, 4chan xD

Can this be settled with firearms? Your silly ass arguements that never come to a conclusion are boring.

What does society gain when drugs are legalised? Does it increse GDP? Does it feed straving children? Does it build a better world for our descendants than a socity identical to ours that did not legalise drugs?

Answer is; there is no end benifit. The world would probibly be berrter off without alchohol too. Legalising any more drugs than are already legal (beer&ciggarettes) would create problems; not solve them.

Time you spend high is time that could be spent making the world a better place/ being productive. From an economic standpoint; the opportunity cost of getting high exceeds the utility gained from it.

>>46
"Time you spend high is time that could be spent making the world a better place/ being productive. From an economic standpoint; the opportunity cost of getting high exceeds the utility gained from it."

You think without recreational drugs like beer, cigs and pot the world would just work harder? as if these are the three pillars of laziness and without them a wonderful productive utopia will emerge? please. yeah maybe there would be some small benifits from lowered consumptiton, but overall, casting prohibition of anything creates a dangerous underground for that commidity. The first prohibition of alcohol did indeed reduce small household violence and petty crime, but it gave rise to murders, robberies and gang warfare over the production and distribution of said commodity.

alcohol is far more dangerous than pot ever could be, and it sits on some kind of golden throne as the 'drug wars' rage below. More people die through alcohol related accidents and illnesses than most major illegal drugs out on the market, esp pot.

>>46

>>47 Wins. Also; I'd like to add that liberty and freedom do fall under the category of "benefits" and that your argument is a bit duplicitous in that you're basically prohibiting a human being's freedom because you don't think it's "beneficial" to the GDP and mean while the only reason alot of these substance haven't been legalized is because a commercial mechanism hasn't been put in place yet. Don't try to assume some moral highground when your basic motavator is profit.

>>48
There's a big difference between not getting executed by the state for exercising freedom of speech and getting a huge hunk of government cheese for not being able to support the number of kids you've had.

>>46
"What does society gain when drugs are legalised? Does it increse GDP? Does it feed straving children? Does it build a better world for our descendants than a socity identical to ours that did not legalise drugs?

Answer is; there is no end benifit. The world would probibly be berrter off without alchohol too. Legalising any more drugs than are already legal (beer&ciggarettes) would create problems; not solve them.

Time you spend high is time that could be spent making the world a better place/ being productive. From an economic standpoint; the opportunity cost of getting high exceeds the utility gained from it."

I can't believe the arrogance of this guy's post, that he thinks that those who want to smoke pot or use drugs should not be allowed because any talents they might have would then go undeveloped and would not benefit society.  This whole notion is based upon the presupposition that the individual somehow belongs to society, as in is owned by society, and has no right to do with his body and his property as he pleases. 

It doesn't matter whether it is good for the economy or not.  The point is is people should have the freedom to do with their bodies and their property as they want so long as they aren't causing direct harm to another person.

>>46
Maybe we should ban computer games too.  Just imagine all the time that could have been spent learning by our nation's children that they spent playing video games instead of doing something for society.  Selfish assholes all of them.  They should be thrown in jail for depriving society of the potential benefits of their productive labor by selfishly playing computer games instead of doing something for the good of society.

>>51
That might actually be a good idea.

>>51

why stop there? What's the internet but a gateway to porn and gambling sites? What's TV but a collective masturbation of our pop culture? What're movies but escapes from the real world? So much time wasted! ban it all! we must contribute to the national economy and scientific community, damn hell, high water, and recreation!

>>49
"getting a huge hunk of government cheese for not being able to support the number of kids you've had."
ahahahaa

>>53
BRING BACK THE ERA OF PURITANISM!!!  BAN DANCING AND THEATRE.  BURN ALL THE WITCHES!!!

Amen, brother.  >>46 is either a troll or just didn't think about the logical conclusions of his argument.

Time spent high could also be spent manufacturing weaponry.  And that DOES affect posterity.

People on drugs create literature and expand culture. People on drugs created much of the work you enjoy throughout the day. People on drugs experience thoughts that allow for the laying down of the rifle for the pen.

You gentlemen may slip a bitter tongue to the hippies and the like all you wish, but that does not drown out the fact that they were right.

The choice to legalize or not is as simple as the choice between a Mac-11 in your hand, or a paintbrush.

For anyone who says the benifits of freedom of drug use are negligible and fabricated, consider who has left the greater boon to society: Alduous Huxley or Richard Nixon?

People on drugs created much of the work you enjoy throughout the day.
My computer was designed by a guy high on drugs? And my house? And my car? And, and, and?

Shit, civilization is going to come apart. Drugs and art can go well together, but drugs and any work that requires precision is a disaster.

Hey, if people want to do drugs, let them, but stop with the bullshit excuses.

If you were properly medicated we could be spared this truly remarkable fantasy.