11-04-2015, 03:50 PM
(11-04-2015, 03:37 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: 1.) Obviously you have your opinion and are certainly entitled to it. But so is everyone else. Just because you have a problem with people's desire to chemically change the way they feel doesn't necessarily give you the right to control their choice to do so.
The last I checked alcohol is legal, right? Throughout most parts of the world. People use it in a variety of ways. Some use it to relax or unwind, responsibly. Some use to socially. Some use it with dinner. Some abuse it. Etc, etc, etc. What exactly would be the fundamental difference between allowing people the same options and choices with marijuana? Afterall, we're talking about a much, much less harmful drug. (See alcohol vs marijuana abuse in physical impact, social impact, relation to violence, etc.)
I mean, you can say "I don't like alcohol either". That's all well and good, and you're entitled to think that way. But it is legal. And it will remain so.
2.) Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. GREAT point. Anyone who currently wants to smoke week can smoke weed. It's not hard to get. So why not regulate and tax it. If you're not preventing anyone from doing it then why not a.) make money on it, b.) keep money out of the hands of both drug dealers and cartels, c.) regulate, so that it is as safe as possible?
You know how marijuana can be a gateway drug? Because some shady ass dealer sells that and about 10 other things. And he says, "hey, try some of this" and bam, you know how are giving someone access to not only weed, but a number of other things. That would not be the case in a retail store.
People should be allowed to make their own decisions, especially with something as harmless as marijuana. Our time and resources would be better spent attacking the heroin epidemic, which was largely driven by prescription drug use. Many people who are against "altering your mind" don't even bat an eye and the abundance of opiate prescriptions (vicodin, percocet, oxycotin) that lead to sever heroin epidemic. One that causes death after death, breaks up families, violence, theft, millions in tax dollars and tons of resources to house and rehabilitate criminals.
It makes no sense to not regulate and tax something that you're preventing zero people from doing. And if people recall how alcohol prohibition went then they should remember that it paved much of the way for organized crime. (See: Capone, Al.)
The topic of the thread was the vote and people were saying how they voted, etc.
I posted my vote and people started quoting and having a dialogue. Of course my post was about MY vote. I didn't say "Damn all of you pot smokers to hell" or anything. And then people came in and wanted to try and justify their personal drug use to me. Ooook.
The rest of your post is really thought provoking and covers a tremendous amount of different issues. People have a problem with all sorts of drug use and abuse in the United States... we agree.... Then people, knowing this... want to try and make more drugs legally to find in stores and make at home.
Where do we draw the line on what is allowed in normal society and sanctioned under governing laws?
