The Inexorable Legalization - Comments

This article was very well written and was a well needed change from the typical rants. I for one agree that the legalisation of weed would boost the economy and take it off the streets. Human nature makes us want the things we cannot have; I'm fairly positive that if it were to be legalised, people would lose the thrill and less people would abuse it; it is this abuse that causes the problems. It is no more dangerous than drinking or smoking, both of which many people do - myself being one of them. My main reason for the legalisation of weed is simply the profit for the country; the entire world has been plunged into economic recession, and extra taxes would benefit the Governments of the world exponentially. Furhtermore, I completely agree with your point about prisons - the UK has similar problems, with over crowding due to daft sentences for non-violent crimes. We should focus less on a drug that is wrongly classified, and more on drugs that can actually cause definitive harm, such as cocaine and heroin. Very good article, brilliantly written.

Fantastic article!

Very well researched and informative. While I may not 100% agree with your views, it is nice to see someone nicely and calmly put together an informative article suggesting why it should be legalized. Nicely done.

First of all, I think this article was very well written and touched on a lot of key points. Now whether recreational use is legalized or not, I think medicinal should at least be legalized. While it's scientifically controversial as to if marijuana actually eases the pain caused by fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, hypophosphatemia rickets, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. I have multiple family members with these ailments and prescribed medication doesn't always work. Or, in able to have the medication work they have to be on a variety of high dosage medications; that on long-term use causes damage to their liver and/or kidneys. But when they smoke weed, they find it helps with the joint pain, the tremors, etc. Now whether or not this is the case with everyone, we cannot know without further trials. But prescribed medication doesn't work with everyone either. Medicinal marijuana can help most of these people; it can get weed off the streets (for the most part) and make it harder for adolescents to get. I personally don't see anything wrong with marijuana use, in my experience of watching others; it is no more addictive than alcohol or any nicotine products. So what's the harm in it really?

I agree with legalization and I think this article was a breath of fresh air. It was told from a very academic point of view and I liked that you touched on how screwed up the criminal justice system is when it comes to jailing people for marijuana. (Nonviolent possession charges make up so many inmates and it disgusts me when we're in a recession.)

Firstly, I would like to point out that I'm glad that this article wasn't simply someone ranting and raving about why weed should be legal so that they can get high. I cannot tell you how tiring that gets, and how it really doesn't help their case in trying to sway me. I, personally, am against the legalization of marijuana, but I am always open to hearing the other side. This article was well-researched concerning the law that originally banned marijuana, and I appreciate the fact that you brought it up and analyzed it. There is, however, much more to the argument than poorly-implemented laws (and I think a user below went into that, so I won't go there), as there are several laws that don't work perfectly but need to be there.

But, with our differences aside, I think that you did a very good job of laying out the information that you have for other people to read. Well done.

Interesting, I figured an article about such a controversial topic would draw many more angry comments haha that's why I put off posting it after I wrote it :) Thanks guys for the support

This article has very strong research and because of that, it can stand up to the scrutiny of a controversial subject. Great job! Have you considered entering it in the site article contest?
http://www.mibba.com/forums/topic/174483/

Of course, it's not just an issue of "is this law a good idea which has been badly implemented" - if you look into the history of marijuana in the US, the push for criminalisation was instigated by various corporate interests - particularly producers of alcohol and producers of paper, arguably simply because each industry saw marijuana/hemp as a threat. Hemp was a product with hundreds of applications, which was very favourably looked on by innovators such as Ford. The opposition drew on racism and fear, employing propaganda to push their message that cannabis was evil. I'm not denying that there are health complications - but in a world where a person is allowed to smoke tobacco, drink, drive fast-moving vehicles, etc, there is an acceptance of a degree of personal responsibility in our lives. Marijuana was not demonised because of scientific health concerns, and the way the 'war on drugs' has addressed such a relatively innocuous substance is a cause for dismay.

I was looking for a simple reference (I've discussed this at length with my father, we've both read up on it) so forgive the seeming bias in the link: http://www.dope-seeds.com/untoldstory/hemp_5.htm

Government wasn't blameless, either. Just like when the government pushed aside proposals for electric cars because they could more easily tax petrol (thus propelling us into the expensive, gas-fuelled environmental nightmare we live in today), it was economic interest - support of the big businesses, who also had friends in congress - over science, rationale, law or the common good, which prevailed.

Human history is depressing.

I have a friend who smokes weed every morning, just to focus in school more and so she can eat. If she eats without toking, she gets extremely sick.
Good article. :)

This was well written and thought and I would imagine thought provoking for people who haven't been given the chance to have an open mind about the topic. Here in England it's pretty lax and I've never heard of an armed drug raid on a cannabis dealer/distributor so those issues about police deaths ect don't really apply here but I could imagine that being a really serious problem. Also here they don't have anti-cannabis campaigns which I think is a good thing because it means that teenagers have the option to decide for themselves rather than just swallow the propaganda. Most of friends who don't smoke green don't because they don't like it or because it screws their focus for school which I think a much better reasons then not ever trying something because the teachers and the government have told you not to. Again a good article, little one sided haha but good anyway