Should marijuana be legalized?

I say YES. I think the feds should sell you a tax stamp for $50.00 bucks that lets you grow it like the other herbs and veggies in your garden. Take the money from the tax stamp and apply it to the debt.

coalkirk wrote:I say YES. I think the feds should sell you a tax stamp for $50.00 bucks that lets you grow it like the other herbs and veggies in your garden. Take the money from the tax stamp and apply it to the debt.

I agree...Legalize it & tax it. (but then, I'm in favor of legalizing all drugs to competent adults)
I've been on he other side of this debate & trying to enforce anti-drug laws has about the same probability of being enforceable as Congress passing a law saying that we must all be nice to each other....... & then trying to enforce that!

I'd agree with Devil, the current legislation just increases real crime. Take the profit out of illegal drugs and alot of the illegal activity if not all of it will disappear.

I think the feds should sell you a tax stamp for $50.00 bucks that lets you grow it like the other herbs and veggies in your garden.

If you're going to grow it yourself no tax, next thing is people will be in jail for avoiding tax stamp. Producing your own should be limited to marijuana. Anything purchased should be taxed.

I have had this conversation with several Baltimore city cops and while most they agree that drugs should be legalized, none feel it will reduce crime. There is a huge criminal enterprise in Baltimore and most cities I would think that are not going to suddenly go out and get a job selling tires at Sears if drugs are legalized. They will still be criminals and will find some illegal way to make money.

The state of Alabama already has a tax stamp for marijuana. it is a way to get more revenue. An additional fine for tax evasion. (If you buy the stamps put them on your weed and somebody gets busted with it, they can trace it directly back to you.) If all drugs were legalized, then they could be regulated as far as quality, weight, and cleanliness. Also when was the last time you heard about someone getting busted pushing beer or cigarettes in a schoolyard. If there was say a 21 year old age limit, it would be much easier to keep it out of schools. in 1985 when I graduated I could buy weed anywhere. I stopped 20 years ago. I am sure it it just as easy to get it today as it was back then.

coalkirk wrote:There is a huge criminal enterprise in Baltimore and most cities I would think that are not going to suddenly go out and get a job selling tires at Sears if drugs are legalized. They will still be criminals and will find some illegal way to make money.

Agree to a certain extent Terry. Legalizing drugs will obviously not stop all crime, but it will put a major dent in the most violent street level crimes committed by desperate drug abusers needing to grab quick money to support their daily drug habit. These tend to be the most violent & senseless of all crimes committed & the cause of most innocent deaths, according to FBI statistics going back decades.

Agreed it should help with the junkie crime. Baltimore has a population of about 630,000 and there are 60,000 herion addicts. That's alot of crime to support 60,000 junkies. That doesn't count the crack heads.

The junkies account for a significant amount of petty and not so petty crime where I live, they steal everything. Grave markers, robbing old ladies with their purses etc. One lady had a bronze urn with her husbands ashes in it stolen from the front seat of her car at the mall, she had just picked it up from funeral home and I don't think she got it back even after it was all over the news. Last I heard they were stealing catalytic converters now because there is a small piece of platinum. Many of these small time dealers are only doing it to support their habit anyway.

Hard core criminals may move onto something else but its not going to be easy money like drugs nor will it be anywhere near what they can make on drugs.

I'll agree on legalizing it if the tax recieved from it goes to paying for all the money already spent trying to make cigarettes illegal.

Personally, if you legalize it in this wonderful country of ours...our tax dollars will be spent treating addicts or providing medical care for those who develop ailments directly related to the drugs.

It's easy to discuss this topic if you never had to live it or live with the addiction yourself or with someone who had an addiction. The social user of marijuana is one that uses it seldom (other than everyday) sort of like the social drinker. Personally if you want it to be legalized...try living with a smoking doper 24/7 and then see if you still want it legalized. If you don't want to take the chance because that's illegal, then move in with an alcoholic who would rather drink than take care of themselves 24/7. The way I see it is that we have enough problems with alcohol in this country, why introduce legal drug problems?

How many social programs do we have for alcoholics right now? How about all those social programs for drug abusers? Should we just legalize drugs and drop all social programs? Or legalize and pay even more into social programs?

BugsyR wrote:The way I see it is that we have enough problems with alcohol in this country, why introduce legal drug problems?

If your argument is that drug addiction is bad, you'll get no argument from me or any conscious person. Using drugs is bad for you & society....Getting drunk is bad for you & society....eating to many Twinkies is bad for you & society...Religious & racial intolerance is bad for you & society.......Can we change that by passing laws?....Of course not! (there's an old adage in political science that says: "You Can't Legislate Morality." Congress passing a law means absolutely nothing if that law is unenforceable.
Congress could pass a law tomorrow, repealing the "Law of Gravity".......Could they enforce it?


Drug use, Prostitution, racism, obesity , drinking alcohol, getting no exercise, watching to much TV, not getting medical checkups, too little sleep......(I could go on for pages) are all bad but can they be stopped by passing laws against them?....NO! They exist & there's nothing law enforcement will ever be able to do to prevent them.
(education, family values, church maybe....but Law enforcement?....not a chance)

It's time we grew up in this country & stopped trying to pretend we can "legislate away" all our problems!

Think of all the money we could save (on police, prisons,court over-use,legal fees etc) by stopping the foolish belief that we can stop people from doing things that are bad for them by simply passing laws........Foolish!
Making something illegal does not ensure it wont be done. (it used to be believed that masturbation caused blindness,...... but I was smart enough to stop when I only needed glasses! )

Devil505 wrote:

BugsyR wrote:The way I see it is that we have enough problems with alcohol in this country, why introduce legal drug problems?

If your argument is that drug addiction is bad....

Either I'm too tired or too drunk but you lost me with your rant.
Make it clearer for me...are you asking for legislation to get rid of drug laws...meaning make them legal to use and distribute?
I don't believe I asked for any new legislation pertaining to drugs. I just don't believe in making something legal that will probably be abused by immoral individuals who will turn to the overly Liberal American people looking for a hand out to help them with their new "legal" disease called drug abuse.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a true to fact percentage of how many people are on Welfare today because they were or still ARE drug abusers? How about alcoholics? Even the true meeting attending addicts? How many of them have their hands out accepting government assistance? People bitch about where their tax money goes...I bitch about the scum that spend my tax dollars on their addiction. I bitch because that same scum are benefitting from my military retirement. Why would anyone want to legalize drug addiction in this country....we already have enough addictions.

Make prison life hard...real hard...make it a place you don't want to go to for just smoking marijuana. Make the penalty for crime...hard...real hard.

BugsyR wrote:Make it clearer for me...are you asking for legislation to get rid of drug laws...meaning make them legal to use and distribute?

I was simply responding to Coalkirk's question & saying yes, we should decriminalize marijuana use, possession, sale, whatever. I went beyond his question to voice my opinion that we should do the same in re all drugs. We can't ever stop them so, accept reality, legalize & tax them. (My years with DEA qualifies me to provide "Expert Testimony" that drug abuse cannot be stopped through law enforcement techniques, no matter how energetically applied!)
I don't follow your arguments Mike, turning this issue into a debate on welfare, liberalism, etc??? To me, those are separate issues in re decriminalization of drugs.
In my mind, It is merely a question of accepting reality. "Immoral people" will do what they want regardless of what Congress says anyway.

I on board with the devil today.
Tax the hemp and anything else people want to do.
I think that we should have town run farm for people who can't make it on there own.
Welfare should last 6 months they off to the poor farm until you learn to become a productive member of socity.
And yes open up our Mental Instution and put the homeless back were they belong.
BDD

I can see it now.... The next forum get together.



Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...

Back to the original question. I think legalizing herb will only make it cheaper. When alcohol was illegal, the same people drank anyway. Didn't matter if it was more expensive. If weed is legalized, the same people are going to be catching a buzz. Doesn't matter what it costs. It will just be easier to get. I'm not sure that making something legal just because it's a problem is the answer either. What happens when the issue is ,,,,say,,, murder. Are we just going to issue a stamp and let the government get their cut? Scott