Should weed be legalized? - Page 63

On September 21 2012 08:32 knOxStarcraft wrote:
Of course people that smoke weed will Want it legalized lol. Weed is the door to other drugs whether people like to think so or not, it stinks, it's bad for you, and it will lead to more deaths if legalized. But as long as people don't smoke it in my face or close to me like fucking cigs then I don't care at all.

And ffs the people who say they want to take more control away from the government are being a little ridiculous. The government can be downright retarded at times but the average person is pretty fucking retarded aswell so the government having control over the population is required

There is some evidence that cannabis use can contribute to schizophrenia. Some studies suggest that cannabis is neither a sufficient nor necessary factor in developing schizophrenia, but that cannabis may significantly increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and may be, among other things, a significant causal factor. Nevertheless, some previous research in this area has been criticised as it has often not been clear whether cannabis use is a cause or effect of schizophrenia. To address this issue, a recent review of studies from which a causal contribution to schizophrenia can be assessed has suggested that cannabis statistically doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia on the individual level, and may, assuming a causal relationship, be responsible for up to 8% of cases in the population.[94]
An older longitudinal study, published in 1987, suggested a sixfold increase of schizophrenia risks for high consumers of cannabis (use on more than fifty occasions) in Sweden.[95]
Despite increases in cannabis consumption in the 1960s and 1970s in western society, rates of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia remained relatively stable over time.[96][97][98] Also, Sweden and Japan, where self-reported marijuana use is very low, do not have lower rates of psychosis than the U.S. and Canada do.[99] Thus, there remains controversy over whether or not the apparent association between cannabis and schizophrenia is a causal relationship.

On September 21 2012 08:20 TheFish7 wrote:


I would like to second this. I have been smoking pot, except for the 5 months I spent in China, for 7 years now. I got a job not too long ago as a Financial Analyst at a Fortune 500 company. (I had to lay off for a few weeks to pass the drug test, no side effects at all.) I'm faster than almost everyone else in the Finance department running pivot tables, spreadsheets, etc. I might be a weed user, but imo thats much better than being a caffeine and/or tobacco user, which most of my co-workers are. Yet, I arrive to work before most of them and am able to stay alert throughout the day more easily. Despite this, the company drug tests for weed, but doesn't care about caffeine or tobacco. Its a double standard and its time for it to stop.

On September 21 2012 09:47 AngryMag wrote:
Just to the argument that weed dealers will be competing with the government if weed gets legalized. That is not really true, the price you pay for your weed gets largely calculated via 2 factors: Risk and the amounts of hands it already got through till you as consument buys it. If you buy street weed it often went to 5 or even 6 hands.

If the government taxes it halfway rationally, most of the black market will be eliminated. The margins will get smaller because you have to compete with the government's prices and the risk stays the same. For most people it just won't be worth the risk anymore.

On September 21 2012 09:48 rogzardo wrote:
1 - Total deaths from Cannabis overdose: 0

2 - Total deaths caused from alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs: hundreds of thousands per year.

3 - Marijuana's current status as illegal does not prevent anyone from smoking it who cares to. Depending on what poll you look at, 40-60 percent of the US population under the age of 21 has smoked at least once, and about 10-15 percent smoke regularly. A recent study that has been thrown around this thread (by people opposed to legalization) states that 7% of high school seniors smoke weed every day.We've all heard anecdotal evidence that high school age children often have a harder time acquiring beer than marijuana.

4 - Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer from disease for which marijuana can provide some relief, but are denied access.

5 - Marijuana laws typically prosecute marijuana users on a similar level to users of cocaine, heroin, and meth.

6 - Many professionals are marijuana users. The stereotype of a lazy fuck-up exists for smokers and non-smokers alike. Some notable smokers include Bill Gates, Rick Steves, Pablo Picasso, Steve Jobs, Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, Francis Crick, Andrew Weil, Kary Mullis, Oliver Sacks, Richard Feynman, and the list goes on and on if you care to look.

8 - Studies have shown that marijuana use does not negatively impact your brain, but it is a moot point when discussing legality. Alcohol is 100% proven to damage your brain, liver, and many other systems in your body, and yet it remains legal. Cannabis' negative physical side effects are at the worst controversial, and at best hardly existent. This is not a basis for prohibition.