Cannabis.

Recently in the United States, there has been a surge of support for legalization of marijuana. From what I've been seeing in the news lately, quite a few states will have amendments on the ballot in November related to legalization. There's also been increased pressure from Latin American countries to legalize because they're practically falling apart due to cartels. They could begin by legalizing drugs themselves, but the real big consumers are Americans, so I doubt the illicit drug trade would suffer much if they still had the United States as a viable market.

All this change excites me. However, I am young and... idealistic, so I realize I might be naive in thinking such a drastic culture shift could occur so quickly (it was only ten years ago that I was being told by a DARE officer that marijuana kills your brain cells). What do you think, fellow watmmers? Is the United States ready for legalization of marijuana? Will it ever happen? How about other substances?

Impart your wisdom unto me.

seriously... last night I realized HOW AWESOME woulkd it be of ile .. mj was hard... and that made me think... I COULD GET NIGH NOw!! and soemtimes I wonder how BRILLIANT it woudl be to drive to Sppedway war DP and buy some PJs... i mean... BLOCKS!!! LOL!!!! and then come home and smoke it out of some aluminum foil my parents keep around for me to roll into a nice titranium pipe... out the window.. blow that filthy air out and listen to some abstract classical music... all fror MARLBORO all for CAMEL all for AM SPIR all FOR MENTHOL... all for KOOL! but yahat shit up and give us some nice clean MJ and you got yourself a deal... i mean seriously, where the fuck is the missing link, you;ll make the cassh , now lobby the GOV and get us some LEGAL fucking GAS STATION high quality POT!!!! law;

Answer to all of that: NO

that means admitting they were wrong about something... We don't do the right thing here in the USA, we do the wrong thing till it becomes the only thing to do.

Cartel is more of a Heroin/Meth/Cocaine thing. The bricks of weed they hurl across the border may be part of the problem, but the bigger problem lies in the harder drugs, once they let one slide, it opens the floodgates. I am glad that MDMA, LSD and Cannabis are now involved in sensible, non-biased research in hopes to better fields of treatment and medicine (i.e cancer treatment to PTSD and alcoholism ect.) Cannabis is fine and dandy, I do quite like it, but certainly the illegal pot market has never shrunk, so I hardly think the government can throw together a plan to tax and regulate it as a product in its 'free market'

I think it will be over the next 25-50 years an issue to tackle, but not while I'm still puffing away...

major tobacco companies already have brand name joints and blunts trademarked should marijuana ever become legalized, they pay a shit ton each year to keep the names reserved, and you better believe they got lobbyists pitching legalization as well

to even think it is "drastic"... how shameful. but not on your part, or anyone else's, obviously! I mean, really.. if any "American" wants to "smoke weed" they will... it's going to happen, regardless of the "law." Weed is decrim... to legalize would just be a complicashe... so what's the big deal? Like I said, legalizing weed would really only

A. make so called "weed guilt" disappear... because the cops don't care that much about weed users anymore, depending on where you live this can chane

and

B. make it way the fuck easier to get weed... from "weed dealers," gas stations, licenses, etc... the main problem is probably that the eaders just don't want to deal with this shit right now... because "legalizing weed" would mean putting "WEED IS GOING LEGAL" tv shows on air, making a "huge fucking debate televizedd" out of it, ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC... to make anything change means putting it through the really truly fucking depressing meat grinder that is the american media syztech.. or "tears" seomthing... it's fucking sad... to make weed "legal" would have to mean a huge televized illusionary legal debate... which cahnt ahappen.. it wont... so really, change might as well be a figment of our imagionations... how sad.

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The only thing I have to say on this topic is that I really hate "stoner culture." Those kids that name themselves shit like "fourhundredandtwenty" online. It's pretty dumb seeing people act like little kids about something and let it become a defining characteristic of themselves. "Ah, yeah, man. Can't wait to get home and hit up the piece gonna be sick, dude."

Now, being from goddamn-hipster-stoner-Portland-Oregon, I don't actually know if this will happen. People can already get cards for medical marijuana here, though I don't know the restrictions nor the regulations on them. I can see it going through here, at least relatively soon. It wouldn't excite me since I don't do any of that, but I don't understand the illegality of it in regards to many other things abound that are legal. GhOsty brings up a really interesting point that seems often neglected, especially when many people speak of legalizing cannabis to "raise money from taxing it" or whatever. If the same lobbies have the power to essentially legalize something, what's to say they don't have the same power to limit the taxation on the same object (I don't know how heavily or not-heavily tobacco is taxed or regulated).

I can see many new laws having to be written, or inclusions/exceptions, to put cannabis as a controlled substance that will no doubt still be embezzled to or by the youth crowd that seeks its use (since if it's legalized, it will only be for those 18 and up and I have no doubts it will be banned from use in public). I can also see there being further regulations put in place for facilities where one could go to use it (like a hookah bar or a regular bar), especially when considering it does have an intoxicating effect and those in the same room as the fumes will be intoxicated on at least some level and thus impaired when it comes to driving home. I think I'm ranting.

Somewhat similar with the area, I have no idea how gay marriage/whatever-you-want-to-name-it hasn't gone through in this state yet (albeit, Washington has it now). I can't see legalization of cannabis happening first; if it does, that'd surprise me.

Edit: I do think this article is worth a read in regards to this topic: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-pro-marijuana-arguments-that-arent-helping/

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Just cause marijuana is legal doesn't mean people are going to go rampant on the streets doing crazy shit or getting into more accidents.

You regulate it like Alcohol, no drinking while driving no smoking while driving, must be 18 year of age, etc... etc..

You'd have fewer crimes, fewer people in jail and let me tell you something, that doesn't make the Jail companies happy, they need guests in their hotel and anything that will reduce the amount of customers they have is a big no no to them. If it were up to them they'd probably jail people for walking funny in the street.

Marijuana is illegal and yet here I am smoking... but... but that's impossible.

I would like to see it legalised in the UK but I can't see it happening any time soon :(

  On 3/1/2012 at 8:34 AM, Hoodie said:

Is the United States ready for legalization of marijuana?

I don't know about the US, but when Sanatorum is a serious contester for the Republican candidate: NO. Not in the next 10 years.

don't care. anything is legal if you do it well enough.

  On 3/1/2012 at 10:31 AM, Boxus said:

anything is legal if you do it well enough.

QFT

*prints T-shirt*

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:39 AM, ZiggomaticV17 said:

You'd have fewer crimes, fewer people in jail and let me tell you something, that doesn't make the Jail companies happy, they need guests in their hotel and anything that will reduce the amount of customers they have is a big no no to them. If it were up to them they'd probably jail people for walking funny in the street.

You realize the majority of the US prison system is not privatized, yes? 2418352 inmates in the prison system nationwide versus 99000 in privately owned ones. I'm not sure if the 99000 are included in the larger number.

There is going to come a time when they will have no other choice but to legalize all drugs, drug cartels are taking over.

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:30 AM, HoA said:

There is a difference between marijuana and hemp. I personally don't want marijuana use (smoking) to be legalized.

Good thing it can also be eaten.

The reason drugs are illegal are that it's getting someone paid. If it didn't they'd be legal already.

  On 3/1/2012 at 12:27 PM, Xyrofen said:

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:39 AM, ZiggomaticV17 said:

You'd have fewer crimes, fewer people in jail and let me tell you something, that doesn't make the Jail companies happy, they need guests in their hotel and anything that will reduce the amount of customers they have is a big no no to them. If it were up to them they'd probably jail people for walking funny in the street.

 

You realize the majority of the US prison system is not privatized, yes? 2418352 inmates in the prison system nationwide versus 99000 in privately owned ones. I'm not sure if the 99000 are included in the larger number.

This. http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/marijuana-arrests-feed-insatiable-u-s-prison-system

It's illegal to sell pot here but a person can grow 1 plant for personal use, wich i think is a great!

i just put it in the ground give it some water and i can smoke a half year of 1 plant without having to go to some scummy dealer. Saves me lots of money and trouble

goverments wont allow its population to leagaly smoke weed regardless of the benefits or comparision to more harmful legal drugs as it simply doesnt create an efficient workforce

at the moment in the UK/EU they are trying to put a stop to herbal based therapies as they want you to buy thier overpriced manufactured chemicals instead

  On 3/1/2012 at 12:27 PM, Xyrofen said:

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:39 AM, ZiggomaticV17 said:

You'd have fewer crimes, fewer people in jail and let me tell you something, that doesn't make the Jail companies happy, they need guests in their hotel and anything that will reduce the amount of customers they have is a big no no to them. If it were up to them they'd probably jail people for walking funny in the street.

 

You realize the majority of the US prison system is not privatized, yes? 2418352 inmates in the prison system nationwide versus 99000 in privately owned ones. I'm not sure if the 99000 are included in the larger number.

i know this seems like petty cash compared to what the bankers are making, but just this one private prison corporation is making $150 million a year after expenses ($1 billion in total revenue before):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrections_Corporation_of_America

that's a shit load of money--and that's just ONE of the corporations. i wonder what the entire industry is worth?

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:30 AM, HoA said:

There is a difference between marijuana and hemp. I personally don't want marijuana use (smoking) to be legalized.

Just wondering, why?

I don' know the legal context of marijuana traffic in the US but more generally, I think it should be legalized.

notably because of this :

  On 3/1/2012 at 10:07 AM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

however i don't think having it legal will increase the number of dropouts too drastically and even if it does, i'm not here to judge how people want to live (at least it's not smack, i guess).

+ the fact it's quite soft, especially if you compare it to alcohol which is IMO way more dangerous because it can excite you way more.

Also, I think smoking weed is pretty insightful. Like it gives you another angle of view on things. An angle you will actually remember and approve when you'll be sober the day after you've smoked.

I don't think it will increase the number of dropouts at all. I think people who want to drop out will drop out and will use whatever drug they choose to waste their time, whether it's cannabis, alcohol, World of Warcraft, YouTube, daytime soap operas, or some combination thereof.

I'm not sure why "stoner culture" or pride about use seems unique to cannabis, maybe because it's very pleasurable with so few immediately visible side effects. But that kind of underachieving lifestyle isn't unique to stoners, the culture just makes it more apparent with cannabis. Which makes it a nice scapegoat for this behavior.

fuk da lor smowk da drur

edit: i saw this graffiti'd verbatim on the wall of an underpass in peterborough