Marijuana, should it be legalized?

[Mitch]

Do you think that Marijuana should be legalized?
I think it should be, if people had easier access to it, it would decrease the amount of deaths in the drug rings, and the other stuff that dealers put in it to increase the weight.
I think Marijuana, when used right, can be less harmful that Cigarettes, if grown naturally.
Cigarettes have tar and all kinds of junk in them, and those are what I think should be banned. I think that Marijuana and Tobacco, should be sold in their natural form, ONLY.

[Cattraknoff]

If they're going to hand out bottles of synthesized opiates (drugs similar to heroin, opium, etc.) for pain, quite easily I might add, then I think they should give a natural alternative for a painkiller (marijuana). Pot could be substituted for any of these drugs, and others. It is not physically addictive at all, which alone would make it safer than the others. I have seen first hand peoples' lives shattered, souls crushed, by oxycontin (an opiate that they hand out all too easily these days). The room for abuse with chemicals is far too much, prescription painkillers are often sold to addicts, after being acquired through fallacy which is difficult to prove as such. Pot is not addictive, impossible to overdose on, and has very few side-effects.

I think the trouble with it is that it isn't addictive, and would be impossible for pharmaceutical companies to sell. They want you to continue taking their drugs, and they want you to only take the ones they produce.

[roflwaffle]

I agree w/ you Borghunter that it is not as bad as cigarettes but I think it gives the people idea that they have can do more. Once someone does marijuana, they think they are unstoppable and many times try drugs that are worse because they think if they can do one, they can handle the next.

I think although marijuana is not as bad as cigarettes, I think it leads to bad things.

[Locke]

What roflwaffle iterated has some merit. It can, in certain cases, be a gateway drug (this to the vociferous protests of all potheads).
I think is that it should be decriminalized, but not legalised. The incarceration of casual pot users places an unnecessary burden on the prison system. Formostly, retribution will do nothing to get people off drugs, and likely will not keep individuals from being introduced to them.

[hideip]

It should be legalized since so many people use it. The government can tax it and make huge money off it.

[Ed Jones]

It should be legalized since so many people use it. The government can tax it and make huge money off it.

I like the way this guy thinks.

[Gwendl]

I think it should be legalized as a pain killer medication just as morphine, oxycontin, etc, is. I don't understand why heroine is fine as a pharmaceutical and not marijuana. It would keep people in pain from buying bad stuff on the street, give the tax people a new tax and it would pay for itself with the drug companies. While it may not be addicted, long term pain management would certainly keep people coming back for more, and possibly a lot more if the pain becomes immune to the drug, as they often do.

I have mixed thoughts on the actual legalization of it as a whole. I do think that people should get community service perhaps for it, not jail time. Giving them something to do, instead of rotting in jail, will go further to keep them off the drugs. Unless you are dealing it, and then the penalty would be the same as dealing any prescription drug.