lol #19 your an idiot for one, your comparing alcohol to weed... they are nothing of the sort, im much more genious when im stoned and can focus better.. when im tanked, i fall, stumble my words, dont know wtf is goin on, pretty much opposites.. and do you feel special because you use different terms for weed, and include 1 strain name? your an idiot. also the person saying if weed is legalized meth coke crack all the others will to.. no you ****** moron, marijuana has been proven to give benefits, as well as obvious toxins in your lungs. You smoke meth, yea its terrible for you, nothing beneficial comes from smokin crack, meth or sniffin rails.. Also california is steppin their legalization steps up to benefit from a possbile tax that would be implied to provide some money becuase they are so far in debt. And also the government stated it would not be organizing or carrying out anymore raids on medical marijuana facilities. Because yes, in california law it is legal to provide medical marijuana... but its a FEDERAL law that it is illegal, which contradicts each other. Dont believe me read up on it.

#51 i will put this as simply as possible for you EVEN IF POT IS DIFFERENT/BETTER THAN THE OTHERs, THAT DOES NOT STOP THEM FROM BEING LUMPED TOGETHER WITH ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS. VICODIN AND OTHER PERSCRIPTION DRUGS HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS BUT THEY ARE LUMP TOGERTHER IN THE PERSCRIPTION DRUG GROUP, GET THIS THROUGH YOU HEAD, MAKING POT LEGAL WILL OPEN THE DOOR FOR ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS. IF YOU ARE TO STUPID TO UNDERSTAND THIS BASIC IDEA OF BEING GROUP EVEN THOUGHT THEY ARE NOT EQUAL HOW CAN YOU HOPE TO WRAP YOU MIND ON COMPLEX ISSUES. HOPPFULL THE CAPS HELPED YOUR SMALL MIND

#51. For one all drugs are not in different groups. You know like class D substances and stuff. And even beyond that there's no large movement for like legalization of crack. So don't call people stupid for being able to differentiate between things. And if you were actually trying to persuade someone it's best not to E-yell.

i don't see why this would be such a big debate. maybe it does have some benefits, but those are outweighed by the risks. the toxins that cannabis puts in your lungs have so many more carcinogens than tobacco. "A 2007 study by the Canadian government found cannabis smoke contained more toxic substances than tobacco smoke.[25] The study determined that marijuana smoke contained 20 times more ammonia, and five times more hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides than tobacco smoke." from wikipedia. ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and nitrogen oxides are things you do not want to put in your body, and the fact that marijuana has more of those chemicals than tobacco should be an instant clue as to why exactly the drug is illegal. Personally, i don't give a damn whether it's legal or not, because if a person wants to make the stupid choice to smoke it, then that's their decision. But it's not legal, and until it does, if it does, just don't smoke it. The law is the law, and many people don't just pay fines, they end up in prison for possession and use of cannabis. So stop bitching and don't smoke, unless you don't mind eventually getting into some trouble for it. And that's probably what the OP means by turning people into criminals. If you break the law, you are a criminal. He doesn't mean you will just randomly shoot someone.

God I hate when people are so brainwashed by liberal media about the evils of "Marijuana". I don't smoke, but lots of my friends do. They go to the following schools; UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, CHAPMAN, HARVARD, STANFORD, UCSC, CAL POLY, BROWN, GEORGETOWN, GEORGE WASHINGTON, NOTRE DAME and USC and tens of other outstanding establishments. These kids are A and B students who have fantastic morals and a great way of living life. If pot was legal, you won't even think about debating it. Quite frankly, I have heard every stupid and inane argument against the use of marijuana. I am a political science major and have studied the topic thoroughly and tirelessly. If you want to actually educate yourself on the subject, instead of lying and creating bullshit remarks such as "Marijuana turns normal citizens into criminals", visit the website I have listed. If the government stopped its spending on the "War on Drugs", then maybe Obama and his suites would have a little money to help fix the economy. But they can't stop, because the War on Drugs, allows the government to slip billions of dollars into untraceable areas of bureaucracy. If you truly want to STIMULATE the economy, you must legalize pot. The amount of taxes received would be enormous. We would be able to pay off our debts in about 20 years if we allowed pot to be legal this year. But because of thick headed and brainwashed individuals like yourself roaming about this earth, that will never become a reality. The only thing I can do, is point out blatantly your ignorance to the issue and offer ways to educate you. Better yet, instead of me trying to educate you...why don't you do it yourself. Next time you walk by a group of stoners, ask them if you can sit in on one of their sessions. You will see that the exact opposite affect occurs. They become extremely mellow, relaxed, silly, giggly, and loving. They are in a state of euphoria. How did happiness every get misconstrued as evil? Are we really living in a world that promotes the denial of happiness? It is beginning to look that way. From Obama passing this Spending Bill, to the dead beats in California passing 50 billion dollars in new taxes, constant freedoms, liberties, money, time and values are being stripped from our society. For all those that know nothing about drugs, have never seen them in affect, have never seen the results first hand, shut your mouth until you educate yourself. Yes there are plenty of horrible things you can put into your body, but what you do with your body is your own personal freedom. Unless you become a threat to the immediate public, what you do with your body, mind and soul is up to you. Feel free to attack me on any grounds. I am an avid promoter of freedom of speech and welcome every opinion and view under the sun. But one thing I never tolerate is blatant ignorance. You may contact me with your threats, praise, or just plain questions at waronpolitics@gmail.com

Well like I said, I could care less whether it's legal or not, it's up to the individual if they want to smoke. Personally I never will because it's a risk I don't want to put on my health. Laws aren't trying to take away happiness.. they are trying to protect you.

Revised: My above comment was very spur of the moment and full of attacks on the writer. I apologize and have edited the post. God I hate when people are so brainwashed by liberal media about the evils of "Marijuana". I don't smoke, but lots of my friends do. They go to the following schools; UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, CHAPMAN, HARVARD, STANFORD, UCSC, CAL POLY, BROWN, GEORGETOWN, GEORGE WASHINGTON, NOTRE DAME and USC and tens of other outstanding establishments. These kids are A and B students who have fantastic morals and a great way of living life. If pot was legal, you won't even think about debating it. Quite frankly, I have heard every stupid and inane argument against the use of marijuana. I am a political science major and have studied the topic thoroughly and tirelessly. If you want to actually educate yourself on the subject, instead of lying and creating false remarks such as "Marijuana turns normal citizens into criminals", visit the website I have listed. If the government stopped its spending on the "War on Drugs", then maybe Obama and his suites would have a little money to help fix the economy. But they can't stop, because the War on Drugs, allows the government to slip billions of dollars into untraceable areas of bureaucracy. If you truly want to STIMULATE the economy, you must legalize pot. The amount of taxes received would be enormous. We would be able to pay off our debts in about 20 years if we allowed pot to be legal this year. Also, the amount of petty crime would dramatically increase. Instead of kids going to a drug dealer, they would just have to go into a liquor store or smoke shop. No need dealing with sometimes dangerous dealers. Plus dealers make it easy for kids to transition into other harder drugs. If pot was legal, they would just go to a shop to pick up some, they wouldn't be persuaded to pick up some cocaine or e. But because of thick headed and brainwashed individuals about this earth, that will never become a reality. The only thing I can do, is point out blatantly peoples ignorance to the issue and offer ways to educate them. Better yet, instead of me trying to educate you...why don't you do it yourself. Next time you walk by a group of stoners, ask them if you can sit in on one of their sessions. You will see that the exact opposite affect occurs. They become extremely mellow, relaxed, silly, giggly, and loving. They are in a state of euphoria. How did happiness every get misconstrued as evil? Are we really living in a world that promotes the denial of happiness? It is beginning to look that way. From Obama passing this Spending Bill, to the dead beats in California passing 50 billion dollars in new taxes, constant freedoms, liberties, money, time and values are being stripped from our society. For all those that know nothing about drugs, have never seen them in affect, have never seen the results first hand, shut your mouth until you educate yourself. Yes there are plenty of horrible things you can put into your body, but what you do with your body is your own personal freedom. Unless you become a threat to the immediate public, what you do with your body, mind and soul is up to you. Feel free to attack me on any grounds. I am an avid promoter of freedom of speech and welcome every opinion and view under the sun. But one thing I never tolerate is blatant ignorance. You may contact me with your threats, praise, or just plain questions at waronpolitics@gmail.com Love you all no matter how big your brain is, what drugs you do, what faith you are, or what lifestyle you promote. Peace

Jake...Your a fool, your logic is that of a 2nd grader and your hypocrisy is astounding. #54, did you just try and quote wikipedia as though it was fact???? I commend you for trying to do some research so you can have form an educated opinion but wikipedia is not the place to go for that. As far as this whole debate goes i say there is no problem with legalizing marijuana. Number one, the government can tax the crap out of it, some misinformed soul up above said that tobacco can't be grown individually which is why the government can tax it and marijuana can be grown and sold by individuals so it can't be taxed. People can grow there own stash of tobacco, it just doesn't make sense to because you can buy it from the gas station. If marijuana were legalized huge corporations would start growing it and selling it and everything they sold could be heavily taxed. The tax money from this could go a long way to helping our national deficit. Someone was also pointing out what else hemp could be used for (paper etc) you left out the fact that methanol is made from the male marijuana plant. People like to talk about reducing our foreign dependence on oil, well there you go, and easy to grow plant which the female cna be sold and taxed and the male can be used to solve our gas crisis...maybe i should run for president...

HAHAHAHA........someone in my drug class said the same thing and everyone laughed at them!......Weed is not bad for you!! There is no scientific vidence to prove it. I looked. Get over it.

Ok, my turn on my own post. My slip up came because it is very hard for me to organize my thoughts when I don't write them down and also because of frequent personal use. This is all besides the point of the debate though. I oppose the marijuana laws for both my own selfish reasons and from an economic-minded libertarian approach. It is written in the Declaration of Independence that all men are entitled to their own pursuit of happiness. From a public health point, marijuana does not physically harm anyone. Hard drugs should remain illegal because they will lead you to decay and death. Marijuana does not cause lung cancer or any other type of cancer. Zero people in the history of mankind have died directly from weed use. It is impossible to overdose and the worst that can happen is lethargy and fatigue. It can and has been used to treat over 120 diseases or symptoms of other medication. This country spends 12 billion dollars fighting pot with no results. If marijuana were legalized and taxed, then it would produce 6-7 billion dollars in revenue. That means almost 20 billion dollars would be gained every year that marijuana is legalized and taxed, money that can be spent on education, health care, environmental reform, defense, anything. Currently there is a huge overpopulation problem in prisons. 40% of all arrests are because of drug laws. Again as an American, I want to support legitimate American businesses and my government with my weed money. The people bringing weed into this country are international gangs that also deal in cocaine, heroin, prostitution, slavery, and arms deals. I do not enjoy supporting those causes for what I consider should be my personal freedom. To legalize pot would also create millions of jobs. Limited hemp research has proven that it would reduce dependence on foreign oil through hemp products and biodiesel made from hemp. Hemp is biodegradable and plastic can be synthesized from hemp fibers. Hemp seeds contain more protein than soy beans and could lower malnutrition if only it was legal to include it in aid packets sent to Third World countries. There is no slippery slope after you legalize pot. To say that fully automatic weapons could be legalized once pot is is absolutely absurd. Jake, the only reason weed is grouped with illegal drugs is because the government decided to place that label on it. Other drugs do physical and emotional harm through addiction. In response to #54, a good reason all those chemicals are present in weed smoke is because there has been no scientific approach to removing them, and most weed is smoked without a filter. Tobacco has been cultivated in America for 400 years and science has been around for 150 of those, the tobacco companies have billions of dollars to spend funding both research on how to make it safer and to fund anti-pot studies. I say enough propaganda. Listen patiently to what others say and accept it only if they can prove it with facts. All that I have stated above can be proven with facts. Jake, could it be that pot makes your family lazy because they don't want to be arrested outside? For someone who posts that you don't want people to cram opinions down other people's throats, you certainly like to cram your own down ours. In the last one I just read you were using mostly all caps.