Legalizing marijuana - for or against?

[DaFace]

As a spinoff of Ari's thread about legalizing marijuana in California...

Recent threads suggest that the Planet is somewhat accepting of marijuana use, so I'm curious how the numbers actually look. So...

If there were a proposition in your state to make marijuana sale, use, and possession legal for anyone age 21 or older, how would you vote?

(Note that this is just a thread to see how the Planet stands on the issue. Please keep any political discussion to a minimum. I'd hate to have to move my own thread to D.C.!)

[Pneuma]

Even though I do not smoke weed, I would still vote for it to be legal. This is still the land of the free, right? Besides legalization will make it more safe and everyone should benefit from the extra tax revenue.. Who am I to say what someone chooses to do in their own home?

[luv]

Even though I do not smoke weed, I would still vote for it to be legal. This is still the land of the free, right? Besides legalization will make it more safe and everyone should benefit from the extra tax revenue.. Who am I to say what someone chooses to do in their own home?

I'd have to agree. The government would make a fortune taxing the hell out of it.

[DaFace]

I think the interesting thing to me is that the Planet is dramatically weighted toward those in favor of legalization. However, if it were actually put to a vote in Kansas or Missouri (where the bulk of our members are), I'd be pretty skeptical that it'd pass.

[luv]

I think the interesting thing to me is that the Planet is dramatically weighted toward those in favor of legalization. However, if it were actually put to a vote in Kansas or Missouri (where the bulk of our members are), I'd be pretty skeptical that it'd pass.

We are the buckle of the Bible Belt. Of course it wouldn't pass.

[DaFace]

We are the buckle of the Bible Belt. Of course it wouldn't pass.

Yeah, that's what I mean. I just think it's interesting that our members are (apparently) so much more accepting of it than the population as a whole.

[POND_OF_RED]

I think the interesting thing to me is that the Planet is dramatically weighted toward those in favor of legalization. However, if it were actually put to a vote in Kansas or Missouri (where the bulk of our members are), I'd be pretty skeptical that it'd pass.

I would say it might involve some voting fraud scandal but that sort of stuff doesn't happen in America.

[luv]

Yeah, that's what I mean. I just think it's interesting that our members are (apparently) so much more accepting of it than the population as a whole.

I've only seen a few religious zealots on here. For the most part, we've either god potheads or reasonably sound people.

[luv]

I would say it might involve some voting fraud scandal but that sort of stuff doesn't happen in America.

ROFL

[ohiobronco2]

Even though I do not smoke weed, I would still vote for it to be legal. This is still the land of the free, right? Besides legalization will make it more safe and everyone should benefit from the extra tax revenue.. Who am I to say what someone chooses to do in their own home?

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I have never smoked weed, but I do know that nobody has ever died of an overdose of weed. I also know that I'd rather keep child molesters, rapists and murders behind bars for the duration of their sentence, rather than force them out for somebody who has smoked weed. Just my two cents.

[teedubya]

way to destroy my threads 100 post potential... thanks a lot DaDouche.!! heh.

[Deberg_1990]

Id be willing to bet alcohol has killed more people than weed.

[pikesome]

As soon as you can let people smoke in your bar no matter where you live.


So in a word...

No

[Basileus777]

Id be willing to bet alcohol has killed more people than weed.

I think thats pretty obvious. When was the last time you heard about smoking weed resulting in someone's death?

[pikesome]

Id be willing to bet alcohol has killed more people than weed.

If that was what we based decisions on we'd all be walking to work.

[POND_OF_RED]

I just don't see how bible thumpers can even vote against marijuana. The way I see it God created marijuana. The feds think God made a mistake. Now the bible thumpers agree with the feds over their own God. :shrug:

[teedubya]

I just don't see how bible thumpers can even vote against marijuana. The way I see it God created marijuana. The feds think God made a mistake. Now the bible thumpers agree with the feds over their own God. :shrug:

Nice.

[Dayze]

once the government figures out a sure fire way to make money hand over fist, it'll be legal. I'm sure they can make $$ now, but they want to close all the gaps to make sure they're sticking it to you hard and deep.

they'd have to figure out how to track all those folks who grow their own. Once they can do that, it'll be legal. Heaven forbid someone grow their own when it's legal.

[DaFace]

way to destroy my threads 100 post potential... thanks a lot DaDouche.!! heh.

ROFL...if you don't make it to 100, I'll merge em together :D

[Skip Towne]

For. The gubment didn't have a good reason to outlaw it in the first place. And that pisses me off they can do that.

[Dayze]

granted, most anything consumed in excess is derimental to your health; so moderation is key. Yet, how many clinically obese people are in this country? How many alcoholics? etc. Fast food in general, must be (assumption here) as bad, or worse, than MJ for your health. Yet, nothing is being done to regulate fast food etc.

I dunno; I haven't smoked regularly in years (sans a puff or two at a concert etc) and probably wouldn't begin buying. I just think too many tax dollars are wasted on trying to control something that can't be controlled. Social Security, health care, education (actually enforcing requirements) reduction of oil dependence etc....all are things I think the associated tax dollars could be applied too rather than used to fight the 'war' on MJ.
I'm sure legalization is an argument that could go on for many more years.
my $.02.

[POND_OF_RED]

they'd have to figure out how to track all those folks who grow their own. Once they can do that, it'll be legal. Heaven forbid someone grow their own when it's legal.

Or just tax the growers themselves. I'm sure many of the growers would pay a tax to take away the risk of jail time.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Even though I do not smoke weed, I would still vote for it to be legal. This is still the land of the free, right? Besides legalization will make it more safe and everyone should benefit from the extra tax revenue.. Who am I to say what someone chooses to do in their own home?

I do smoke it, and I would also say that they need to develop a way to detect if someone is under the influence currently, rather than sometime in the last 30 days. I certainly don't think people should be driving around while high, but I would say that for seasoned smokers it's a completely different animal than drinking and driving.

[Dayze]

Or just tax the growers themselves. I'm sure many of the growers would pay a tax to take away the risk of jail time.

True.

:thumb:

[WhitiE]

GO WEED!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Flopnuts]

This thread is a landslide. Someone alert CNN so they can post the results as if it's a Rainman generated sample of a wide variety of demographics.

[Buehler445]

Meh, don't care. Can't smoke it (asthmatic), so it doesn't matter to me either way.

However, I am intrigued by the taxation potential. I'd have to think it over first, and like floppy said, I don't want people to show up to work or cruisin around with the kids in the back blazing.

[Buehler445]

Oh yeah, and I hate big marijuana...

[kcfanintitanhell]

The legalization and taxation has been long overdue. What bothers me is what the gubment is gonna do with all the DEA people that have been getting paychecks kicking down doors getting that dreaded medical marijuana off the streets, and all those DEA helicopter pilots tirelessly patrolling the forests here in East Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina looking for the occasional plot of plants, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer's money?

[Bugeater]

I just don't see how bible thumpers can even vote against marijuana. The way I see it God created marijuana. The feds think God made a mistake. Now the bible thumpers agree with the feds over their own God. :shrug:

God is perfect
Man is not
Man made beer
God made pot

[Logical]

I really want to know who voted against.

[POND_OF_RED]

I really want to know who voted against.

Probably someone too high to understand the question. :bong:

[KcMizzou]

It seems like a no-brainer to me.

You just can't make a good argument for legal alcohol, and illegal marijuana. Anyone who's experienced both would agree.

I assume whoever voted against, would also vote to start up alcohol prohibition again.

[blueballs]

If you test positive they would probably deny you health insurance
insurance companies run this country

[little jacob]

it should be legal. but only in California.

[J Diddy]

God is perfect
Man is not
Man made beer
God made pot

ROFL

[Mr. Flopnuts]

God is perfect
Man is not
Man made beer
God made pot

LMAO Awesome.

[jjchieffan]

I would probably not vote either way, just skip the question. I have used pot and alcohol both when I was younger, and I have used neither for about 15 years. From my experience, I can honestly say that pot is no worse than alcohol, and probably actually better. I do, however, have moral convictions about the use of drugs(including alcohol), and that would prevent me from voting for it. However, I have used it, and would be a hypocrite to vote against, so my best option would be to abstain.

[teedubya]

Now... if you take away the "Weed" part of it... and being able to smoke it...

Considering this... would those who voted against, change?

In 1619, America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, “ordering” all farmers to “make tryal of “(grow) Indian hempseed. More mandatory (must-grow) hemp cultivation laws were enacted in Massachusetts in 1631, in Connecticut in 1632 and in the Chesapeake Colonies into the mid-1700s.

Even in England, the much-sought-after prize of full British citizenship was bestowed by a decree of the crown on foreigners who would grow cannabis, and fines were often levied against those who refused.

Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s. Why? To encourage American farmers to grow more.1

You could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for over 200 years.2

You could even be jailed in America for not growing cannabis during several periods of shortage, e.g., in Virginia between 1763 and 1767.

(Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; The Chesapeake Colonies, 1954; L.A. Times, August 12, 1981; et al.)

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations. Jefferson,3 while envoy to France, went to great expense, and even considerable risk to himself and his secret agents, to procure particularly good hempseeds smuggled illegally into Turkey from China. The Chinese Mandarins (political rulers) so valued their hemp seed that they made its exportation a capital offense.

The Chinese character “Ma” was the earliest name for hemp. By the 10th century, A.D., Ma had become the generic term for fibers of all kinds, including jute and ramie. By then, the word for hemp had become “Tai-ma” or “Dai-ma” meaning “great hemp.”

The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp “plantations”* (minimum 2,000-acre farms) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Most of these plantations were located in the South or in the Border States, primarily because of the cheap slave labor available prior to 1865 for the labor-intensive hemp industry.

(U.S. Census, 1850; Allen, James Lane, The Reign of Law, A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, MacMillan Co., NY, 1900; Roffman, Roger. Ph.D., Marijuana as Medicine, Mendrone Books, WA, 1982.)

*This figure does not include the tens of thousands of smaller farms growing cannabis, nor the hundreds of thousands if not millions of family hemp patches in America; nor does it take into account that well into this century 80% of America’s hemp consumption for 200 years still had to be imported from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, etc..

Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify the need for paper and books from England.

In addition, various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second or third most-prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. Its medicinal use continued legally through the 1930s for humans and figured even more prominently in American and world veterinary medicines during this time.

Cannabis extract medicines were produced by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, Brothers Smith (Smith Brothers), Squibb and many other American and European companies and apothecaries. During all this time there was not one reported death from cannabis extract medicines, and virtually no abuse or mental disorders reported, except for first-time or novice-users occasionally becoming disoriented or overly introverted.

(Mikuriya, Tod, M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, Medi-Comp Press, CA, 1973; Cohen, Sidney & Stillman, Richard, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, NY, 1976.)

[ChiefsFanatic]

I have never used it, never will, but I would vote for it to be legal.

There are some interesting questions though, like who would be allowed to sell (licensed sellers versus government shops) where would the taxes go, who would decide price?

[CrazyPhuD]

Id be willing to bet alcohol has killed more people than weed.

:Poke: Dude how many people die each year from Obesity brought on by a cheetos binge?

[eazyb81]

This thread just proves that there are 7 retards on here.

[siberian khatru]

God is perfect
Man is not
Man made beer
God made pot

When I was 13-14, I had a T-shirt that said:

Man made booze
God made grass
Who do you trust?

Looking back, I can't believe my parents let me buy that. Different times.

Oh, and I'm FOR legalization.

[chasedude]

Now... if you take away the "Weed" part of it... and being able to smoke it...

Considering this... would those who voted against, change?

In 1619, America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, “ordering” all farmers to “make tryal of “(grow) Indian hempseed. More mandatory (must-grow) hemp cultivation laws were enacted in Massachusetts in 1631, in Connecticut in 1632 and in the Chesapeake Colonies into the mid-1700s.

Even in England, the much-sought-after prize of full British citizenship was bestowed by a decree of the crown on foreigners who would grow cannabis, and fines were often levied against those who refused.

Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s. Why? To encourage American farmers to grow more.1

You could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for over 200 years.2

You could even be jailed in America for not growing cannabis during several periods of shortage, e.g., in Virginia between 1763 and 1767.

(Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; The Chesapeake Colonies, 1954; L.A. Times, August 12, 1981; et al.)

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations. Jefferson,3 while envoy to France, went to great expense, and even considerable risk to himself and his secret agents, to procure particularly good hempseeds smuggled illegally into Turkey from China. The Chinese Mandarins (political rulers) so valued their hemp seed that they made its exportation a capital offense.

The Chinese character “Ma” was the earliest name for hemp. By the 10th century, A.D., Ma had become the generic term for fibers of all kinds, including jute and ramie. By then, the word for hemp had become “Tai-ma” or “Dai-ma” meaning “great hemp.”

The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp “plantations”* (minimum 2,000-acre farms) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Most of these plantations were located in the South or in the Border States, primarily because of the cheap slave labor available prior to 1865 for the labor-intensive hemp industry.

(U.S. Census, 1850; Allen, James Lane, The Reign of Law, A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, MacMillan Co., NY, 1900; Roffman, Roger. Ph.D., Marijuana as Medicine, Mendrone Books, WA, 1982.)

*This figure does not include the tens of thousands of smaller farms growing cannabis, nor the hundreds of thousands if not millions of family hemp patches in America; nor does it take into account that well into this century 80% of America’s hemp consumption for 200 years still had to be imported from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, etc..

Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify the need for paper and books from England.

In addition, various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second or third most-prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. Its medicinal use continued legally through the 1930s for humans and figured even more prominently in American and world veterinary medicines during this time.

Cannabis extract medicines were produced by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, Brothers Smith (Smith Brothers), Squibb and many other American and European companies and apothecaries. During all this time there was not one reported death from cannabis extract medicines, and virtually no abuse or mental disorders reported, except for first-time or novice-users occasionally becoming disoriented or overly introverted.

(Mikuriya, Tod, M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, Medi-Comp Press, CA, 1973; Cohen, Sidney & Stillman, Richard, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, NY, 1976.)


Nice article. My Family has had a farm for 200 years and they used to farm hemp on it. There's still all kinds of ditch weed growing down there from those days. I can understand why it was such a sought after plant. That fiber is super strong!!

[ModSocks]

I just don't see how bible thumpers can even vote against marijuana. The way I see it God created marijuana. The feds think God made a mistake. Now the bible thumpers agree with the feds over their own God. :shrug:

The quote of the day. What a great way to start my morning.

[RealSNR]

I voted for legalization.

I am curious about the actual health risks of marijuana when compared to say... cigarettes. Obviously inhaling smoke is not the healthiest lifestyle one can come by. Is it more or less dangerous than cigarettes?

[ct]

Hemp yes, marijuana no.

[boogblaster]

Legalization of marijuana would'nt help nor hurt anything ... however your quality would be there and your state could afford be fix the pot-holes on their highways ...

[RNR]

I do not smoke it or do any other drugs. I did when younger and quit when I got married and had children. I do not understand why it is against the law. There are drugs that should be against the law however I do not feel weed is one of them.

[Third Eye]

I voted for legalization.

I am curious about the actual health risks of marijuana when compared to say... cigarettes. Obviously inhaling smoke is not the healthiest lifestyle one can come by. Is it more or less dangerous than cigarettes?

That is a tough one to answer. There are "reputable" studies that have said it is less dangerous, about the same, and even more. One fact that cannot be argued is that the average pot smoker smokes considerably less pot than the average cigarette smoker smokes tobacco. I recently quit smoking cigarettes, but when I did I smoked approximately 25-30 cigarettes a day. Marijuana on the other hand, I rarely smoke more than a couple hits a day. Equivalent to roughly half a cigarette.

Another important factor is the way in which it is smoked. Many pot users smoke through water pipes which greatly reduce the carcinogens as well as cool the smoke which greatly decreases the health risks. Also, vaporizers are growing in popularity, and they remove the smoking aspect altogether.

[Frazod]

Much like cigarettes, I no longer have any use for it and think the smoke smells like ass. But it should be legal.

[Extra Point]

Legalize it, and tax the heck out of it. Surplus in less than 10 years.

You can try to grow your own tobacco, but good luck. You need a Fed stamp to grow it, and they don't give farmers those stamps.

[Demonpenz]

They better start taxing something else when most of the smokers quit or die same with the alcholics

[R&GHomer]

Legalize it, and tax the crap out of it. I honestly can't think of a reason to have alcohol legal and MJ not, it's just plain stupid. Hell, they already tolerate it to an extent. If I'm not mistaken in JO, you can get caught with up to a certain amount and all you will get is a ticket. You end up paying all kinds of court costs and class fee's. Why would law enforcement want the laws changed? It's a cash cow. Not only that, but if the feds make it legal then they loose all those additional funds also. It's all bullshit polotics. I would bet if it were up to the general public, "popular vote" it would pass

[little jacob]

i wonder if eventually pot will be legal and cigarettes illegal. one seems to be beloved and the other hated but it's hard to imagine habitually breathing combustion fumes isn't harmful in both cases

[Skip Towne]

Legalize it but don't tax the crap out of it. There are plenty enough taxes.

[DaFace]

i wonder if eventually pot will be legal and cigarettes illegal. one seems to be beloved and the other hated but it's hard to imagine habitually breathing combustion fumes isn't harmful in both cases

I think the difference currently is that cigarettes are smoked in public and, therefore, are despised by those who do not like the smoke. The majority of weed is smoked in private, so many people haven't been around it enough to hate it. I'd guess that more people would hate weed more if people were smoking it in restaurants and the like.

Although the contact high would probably make their meals taste delicious. :D

[QuikSsurfer]

I never thought i'd see the day.... "Pot Planet"

I knew you guys would come around :)

[markk]

I think the difference currently is that cigarettes are smoked in public and, therefore, are despised by those who do not like the smoke. The majority of weed is smoked in private, so many people haven't been around it enough to hate it. I'd guess that more people would hate weed more if people were smoking it in restaurants and the like.

Although the contact high would probably make their meals taste delicious. :D

I think the reason weed is smoked in private might be because you generally face pain of arrest for smoking it in public.

[DaFace]

I never thought i'd see the day.... "Pot Planet"

I knew you guys would come around :)

Haha...I just think it's funny that we've got 4 pot threads on the front page. I'll put it back tonight.

[blueballs]

POT PLANET

now try and keep the hippies out

[sedated]

F yes.

legalize the shit out of it.

[Bugeater]

F yes.

legalize the shit out of it.
I never would have guessed you'd feel that way about it.

[DaFace]

I never would have guessed you'd feel that way about it.

ROFL

I wonder what the difference is between "legalizing it" and "legalizing the shit out of it." :hmmm:

[R&GHomer]

Any way, what is this "vaporizer" thingy people keep mentioning?

[POND_OF_RED]

Any way, what is this "vaporizer" thingy people keep mentioning?

It's just the greatest invention since sliced bread.
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[QuikSsurfer]

Any way, what is this "vaporizer" thingy people keep mentioning?

look up "volcano vaporizer"

[Bugeater]

Any way, what is this "vaporizer" thingy people keep mentioning?
I've never seen one, but somehow it uses water vapor to take the THC off the weed without smoking it. Quiksurfer can probably explain it in more detail.

[DaFace]

look up "volcano vaporizer"

Holy crap! That thing's for RICH stoners.

[POND_OF_RED]

Holy crap! That thing's for RICH stoners.

Think of it more like an investment. :thumb:

[QuikSsurfer]

Holy crap! That thing's for RICH stoners.

It's an investment :)
You'll conserve so much and have much longer lasting highs.

[QuikSsurfer]

Think of it more like an investment. :thumb:

haha you go it
:thumb:

[Jewish Rabbi]

When did they change the name of the lounge to pot planet?

[R&GHomer]

When did they change the name of the lounge to pot planet?


ROFLROFL just noticed that

[R&GHomer]

Think of it more like an investment. :thumb:

When did they come up with that? Never even heard of it until today. What will those crazy little p heads come up with next. LMAO

[markk]

instead of chiefs planet it should be "cheeba planet"

[Buck]

If everyone just started smoking weed, then gas prices would go down.

Hopefully that sums it up for you.

[penguinz]

If everyone just started smoking weed, then gas prices would go down.

Hopefully that sums it up for you.It would make much more since to make ethanol out of hemp than it does corn. ;)

[Mecca]

I don't care if people smoke weed, to be perfectly honest weed isn't nearly as bad as alcohol. I've been high/drunk, I was much more aware of what I was doing after smoking weed than being drunk...

And I'll tell you what I'd much rather deal with a group of stoners than drunks.

[ChiefFripp]

I'm all for it. Tax the hell out of it too.

[jjchieffan]

Much like cigarettes, I no longer have any use for it and think the smoke smells like ass. But it should be legal.

Really? I love the smell of it. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke, but I find MJ aroma to be a pleasant smell.