Pot legalization

[DZoolander]

I'm curious what you all think about the trend toward legalizing pot.

Right now I'm engaged in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek debate on Facebook with a bunch of people from my area about it. I read somewhere a while back that (at least among older folks) that they don't draw a ton of distinction between drugs like Marijuana and Heroin...which is why you have seen such adamant unwillingness to really tackle the issue. After all, if the older codgers who get out and vote think that pot is going to destroy society, you probably won't want to be getting their ire.

I can understand why the older folks believe the way they do - because for a long period of time that's exactly how pot was treated and talked about. But really - that's just stupid and pretty much nonsense. Personally, I never liked pot, but I've known a ton of stoners in my day and the worst thing that can be said about them is that they suffer from a bit of laziness.

But - a large percentage of those in this group are going off about how they think it's a horrible idea to have brought medical marijuana to the state, how it's going to not be regulated properly, how it's going to be too easy to come by, etc.

...to which my reply was "Well, what's the worst thing that will happen if prescriptions are abused? An increase in demand on late night junk food & taco bell?"

Dunno - what do you think?

 

[mkgal1]

Dunno - what do you think?

If things like alcohol, caffeine, and cigarettes are legal......I see no reason why pot ought to be banned. We have friends/family that have died from the first three.....so, to me, those are potentially lethal yet still available......so should marijuana have the same standard.

OTOH.....it's not necessarily marijuana (because there's no THC) but I'm giving my dog (that, most likely, has a brain tumor) CBD oil that has pretty much eliminated his seizures that were occurring daily. CBD oil is legal in all states now.....but when I first learned about it (I think it was on 60 minutes)...it was only legal in a few states besides, if not only, Colorado. On 60 Minutes this family was featured.....if that were my daughter.....I would have done the same thing they'd done. To hear, "We've reached the end of the line....there's nothing more we can do" is something I don't think I could accept:

 

[CoolDude68]

So all the prescription drugs they take are healthy? Yet, those are legal. You see one commercial on TV pushing a new drug every night, then two months later here come the lawyer commercials for suing the pharmaceutical companies over that same drug. It's a vicious, corrupt circle of non-sense. Yet, all that stuff is perfectly legal.

I think pot gets a bad rap and always will because man's law thinks it should be illegal. How can some states say it's legal, while other states disagree? Man's laws are so messed up it's ridiculous. Pot helps a lot of people and we should have a choice for those who benefit from it.

There should obviously be age restrictions and used in moderation (like anything else) by a responsible, mature adult, how can it be any worse than the garbage people put in their systems every day? Junk Food, Soda, Cigarettes, Alcohol, tons of prescription drugs, etc.

If it doesn't alter your way with the Lord I don't have a problem with it, but that's just me.

 

[mkgal1]

So all the prescription drugs they take are healthy? Yet, those are legal. You see one commercial on TV pushing a new drug every night, then two months later here come the lawyer commercials for suing the pharmaceutical companies over that same drug. It's a vicious, corrupt circle of non-sense. Yet, all that stuff is perfectly legal.

Exactly! It's certainly not a matter of looking out for our health. Those drug commercials with a person skipping through a field of flowers while the announcer says ...."may cause sudden death" are ridiculous.

 

[mkgal1]

I agree with age-registrations (and awareness about dangers of using). My husband worked with a 30 year old guy that suddenly--and out of the blue-- dropped dead from drinking energy drinks like we should drink water. Until this story.....I'd never heard of it happening to anyone else:
Caffeine excess leads to teen death, coroner says - CNN.com

 

[Hank77]

I can understand why the older folks believe the way they do - because for a long period of time that's exactly how pot was treated and talked about.

Well listen up young whipper snapper, many of the old folks were the hippies of the sixties. They are not all that ignorant or without knowledge concerning the pot of today. The marijuana of today can be bought in strengths hundreds times greater than in past generations.
The biggest problem that I see is regulating strengths, clear markings of strengths (like there is on alcohol), and eatables.
Eatables are poisoning children. They look and taste sweet just like familiar brownies, cookies, and bright colored candies.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I agree with age-registrations (and awareness about dangers of using). My husband worked with a 30 year old guy that suddenly--and out of the blue-- dropped dead from drinking energy drinks like we should drink water. Until this story.....I'd never heard of it happening to anyone else:
Caffeine excess leads to teen death, coroner says - CNN.com

Such stories are rare. If you are talking about straight caffeine it takes an ungodly amount to be fatal. Also depends on how quickly it is consumed. Energy drinks have way more than just caffeine in them though and that is why they can easily be abused and be fatal.

 

[mkgal1]

Such stories are rare.

I doubt that matters too much to the family/friends of that 16 year old and the guy that we knew. That it happens at all should be a caution to everyone (I think).

 

[ExodusMe]

Anything and everything can be abused to a point where it is detrimental to someones health. Using that as a gauge is not really helpful or insightful. This would be equivalent to asking whether it is okay to have sex with your spouse 99 times per day. I don't know and I don't plan on enacting a law to make it illegal.

In the most basic sense we should be asking whether it is helpful to society. Unfortunately, most campaigns for the legalization of marijuana hinge on the revenue benefits for the government to tax pot & the decriminalization of marijuana to allow a focus on other drugs.

I live in Washington where marijuana was legalized and I recently moved to a county that has a marijuana farm. The marijuana farm is literally down a street from my house. We live in a rural city named Mount Vernon outside of Seattle.

There are three marijuana shops right next to each other currently. We drive past them everyday pretty much. A guy sits outside with one of those signs and it says "WEED 21+" on it. It was funny at first, but now I mostly just shake my head as the guy waves at people trying to get others to smoke weed.

When the original marijuana law was enacted there was an old couple who had green houses in their back yard. They sold their home, then that person sold it, and finally a marijuana grower procured it. They started growing marijuana illegally and were eventually shut down. They were also doing other precarious things from that house.

There is another marijuana shop on a highway that is also a bikini coffee shop.

Hopefully you get my point. You don't have to go far to see the corruption involved in this industry.

If you don't get my point, then one day you will when you live down the street from a marijuana shop and a bikini barista stand. You might be into that kind of thing, so who knows. As long as it doesn't hurt other people, right?

 

[mkgal1]

The marijuana of today can be bought in strengths hundreds times greater than in past generations.
The biggest problem that I see is regulating strengths, clear markings of strengths (like there is on alcohol), and eatables.

I get most of my drug knowledge from shows like NCIS (and a small bit from law enforcement friends--so please forgive my lack of education here.... )......but wouldn't legalizing it nationwide (and somehow regulating it) make it far safer than "street drugs" that can be laced with really harmful/deadly chemicals to allow the supply to go further (and allow for more profit down the line)?

 

[mkgal1]

A guy sits outside with one of those signs and it says "WEED 21+" on it.

When the original marijuana law was enacted there was an old couple who had green houses in their back yard. They sold their home, then that person sold it, and finally a marijuana grower procured it. They started growing marijuana illegally and were eventually shut down. They were also doing other precarious things from that house.

There is another marijuana shop on a highway that is also a bikini coffee shop.

Hopefully you get my point. You don't have to go far to see the corruption involved in this industry.

Hmmm.....isn't that a step up from people gunning down others in order to get their supply and things of that sort? I don't quite see a guy holding a sign advertising "weed" as horrible "corruption"....but I DO live in California....

 

[Hank77]

but wouldn't legalizing it nationwide (and somehow regulating it) make it far safer than "street drugs" that can be laced with really harmful/deadly chemicals to allow the supply to go further (and allow for more profit down the line)?

Yes, I think so.
Stronger strengths are definitely safer than say pot laced with PCP, imo.

 

[mkgal1]

Stronger strengths are definitely safer than say pot laced with PCP, imo.

Right....or laced with ketamine....crushed glass....or even laundry detergent (what even happens when you smoke that into your lungs?).

 

[ExodusMe]

Why would legalizing weed ensure that people do not lace the product with other drugs? You just end up with people selling the legalized version with laced chemicals for more money.

 

[ExodusMe]

Hmmm.....isn't that a step up from people gunning down others in order to get their supply and things of that sort? I don't quite see a guy holding a sign advertising "weed" as horrible "corruption"....but I DO live in California....

I guess it depends on what you want your children to grow up remembering.

I was walking down the street the other day with my wife and our baby and two guys high on drugs were riding bicycles. We have a 12 year old also, but he wasn't with us. Good stuff

 

[Hank77]

I'm curious what you all think about the trend toward legalizing pot.

Right now I'm engaged in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek debate on Facebook with a bunch of people from my area about it. I read somewhere a while back that (at least among older folks) that they don't draw a ton of distinction between drugs like Marijuana and Heroin...which is why you have seen such adamant unwillingness to really tackle the issue. After all, if the older codgers who get out and vote think that pot is going to destroy society, you probably won't want to be getting their ire.

I can understand why the older folks believe the way they do - because for a long period of time that's exactly how pot was treated and talked about. But really - that's just stupid and pretty much nonsense. Personally, I never liked pot, but I've known a ton of stoners in my day and the worst thing that can be said about them is that they suffer from a bit of laziness.

But - a large percentage of those in this group are going off about how they think it's a horrible idea to have brought medical marijuana to the state, how it's going to not be regulated properly, how it's going to be too easy to come by, etc.

...to which my reply was "Well, what's the worst thing that will happen if prescriptions are abused? An increase in demand on late night junk food & taco bell?"

Dunno - what do you think?

Did you start this thread in this forum intentionally? It should probably be moved to the Christian Politics forum and you would get more responses. This really isn't strictly a married couples issue.

 

[mkgal1]

This really isn't strictly a married couples issue.

This forum is more of a community where 'anything about life' is acceptable to discuss. Instead of being "topical"......it's more about the people (something I do appreciate).

From the SOP:

The purpose of our Married* Couples Forum is to have a general area for our married members to discuss faith, life, love, relationship issues, etc., without fear of being judged.

....not so sure the last part has been accomplished...but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Hank77]

Why would legalizing weed ensure that people do not lace the product with other drugs? You just end up with people selling the legalized version with laced chemicals for more money.

When it is legalized it is sold in shops that are inspected and under strict regulations. I haven't heard of any lacing coming from legal shops in the states that have them.
It would be very, very stupid for someone making a lucrative living for a legal business, that is closely regulated and inspected, to break the law. They would be quickly caught, financially lose everything, and go to jail for several years.

 

[Hank77]

This forum is more of a community where 'anything about life' is acceptable to discuss. Instead of being "topical"......it's more about the people (something I do appreciate).

From the SOP:


....not so sure the last part has been accomplished...but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not saying he shouldn't or couldn't. I only mentioned it for him to think about as far as getting more input for a wider point of view.

 

[mkgal1]

I guess it depends on what you want your children to grow up remembering.

I was walking down the street the other day with my wife and our baby and two guys high on drugs were riding bicycles. We have a 12 year old also, but he wasn't with us. Good stuff

My "child" is already well into adulthood......but my concern has always been more about the "good of society" not just "what my child remembers".

Street drugs and that whole world.....fortunately.....weren't what my "child" ever really encountered growing up (or seeing many signs of it).....but that doesn't mean people weren't being killed by it/because of it..........robbed....etc. Just think of the days of prohibition....and the crime world that created....and what the alcohol industry is today.