How do you feel about this herbal plant / drug / illegal substance / medicinal alternative? I myself have no issues what so ever with people who smoke. I've never been directly impacted by someone who has participated in smoking marijuana. I have never heard of anyone killing anyone, themselves, or doing anything life altering under the influence of this drug. I don't know how many years it will take to get this plant legalized and how anyone can argue the fact that this plant does in no way come close to the effects and ramifications of legal alcohol consumption, but I am one Linux user who waits for the day when I can walk into a store and legally purchase Marijuana.

You're probably gonna get slammed but I believe you are correct sans the overall PC view.

The statistics have always proven that among both illegal and legal drugs, marijuana is among the safest in terms of toxicology.
Far safer than alcohol, prozac, tobacco, etc yet it is not legal.
More importantly is that the legalization and sale of Marijuana would lift the entire country from it's deficit. It is a fact that just the domestically grown Marijuana is the undisputed number one cash crop even when you combine all the others (corn, wheat, etc).

Admittedly I smoked Marijuana daily for over 25 years (not now) without any issues. Problems such as driving, etc are encountered mostly by new users. Long time users actually suffer very few side-effects except for maybe being hungry

Whether you smoke it or not, if Marijuana should be illegal then so should Tobacco, alcohol, and lots of other things. Being that our country is supposed to based around individual freedom it should be legal.

As a matter of fact a friend of mine relocated to California just so he could smoke pot every day legally and look at all the hottie's on the beach. He now doesn't have to fear judgement or legal issues.

that's my 2 cents, dude

Personally, I've always found the alcohol and tobacco analogy weak. Just because we have people risking their health with some drugs, how does that justify enabling them to do it with others? There definitely seems to be medical evidence that marijuana is harmful, and it has been regarded as causing mental instability for centuries in India.

I think there will obviously be a national colour to opinions on this. In countries where the state (i.e. the tax-payers) has to pay for the sick, it will naturally be seen to have the right to have a say on how they look after themselves. In a country where the poor rely on charity or die in the gutter, the individuals 'right to pursue happiness' will be rated higher.

I think you should take all the governments opinions of toxicity with a grain of salt..

They've said it causes brain damage, men to grow breasts, hallucinations, blah, blah.

none of it is true and there has never been one case where Marijuana was proven to cause any kind of cancer.

It's the reason I love living where I do.

Beats the hell out of pain killer pills which I can purchase legally.
I know elder folks who are Oxycontin dependent for pain and to get a good nights sleep because alternative sources are illegal. It is all about the money in my view.

As long as the substance is not available for people under 21 and there's nobody smoking the crap nearby, I don't care.
It is your life, so if you wanna smoke, smoke. But if somebody's going to smoke somewhere around me, or will try to introduce some of my family to the substance, then regardless of "health effects", I will feel strongly inclined to resolve matters in harshest way possible - either using cops or violence.
I knew a quite problematic region where teens from schools (aged 14) could get the stuff, and as far as I know, this is definitely wasn't good. Once you've grown up it is your personal business, but IMO it definitely shouldn't be available for people under 21.

Violence seems a bit childish and I'm all for keeping things away from kids who are easily influenced in making bad decisions but to tell a grown adult that Marijuana is bad for you is an insult. There's not been any evidence that proves smoking Marijuana has any ill side effects. I find the alcohol argument a complete legit one. How can you blindly argue the fact that alcohol which kills millions of people and is extremely addictive and classified by the surgeon general as a "disease" is legal and Marijuana which no evident side effects except of the made up ones by politicians and bogus studies / reports. It's the only drug that is illegal yet it has zero negative effects and the profit and economy benefits are so extreme...it's quite ridiculous.

Almost certainly. It was prohibited in the USA following pressure from the pharmaceutical, oil and forestry businesses -- backed by Hearst's newspapers demonizing it. Most of the rest of the world followed suit, bowing to pressure from the USA.

There's a book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes", that sets out in exhaustive (and exhausting!) detail the history, including contemporary documents.

yep, I have that book Catkin

There's also the huge industry that could be created as the oil in Marijuana can be used for engines, cooking, etc and of course many textiles can be made from it's fibers.
Many problems in many countries could be solved simultaneously if governments would make effective use of this plant.

There's also a side benefit that Marijuana produces more oxygen than almost any other plant.

If you reread my previous reply, you'll see that I did not write/say anything like that.
I said it is bad when kids/teens can access it.

Is it bad for your health? I don't know and I don't care, because I don't smoke it and this is not my problem.
But regardless of health effects I don't want anybody smoking it anywhere where the wind can carry smoke to me.
Aside from that part - it is your life and you live it as you see fit, fully responsible for consequences of your decisions. Consequences can be positive, or they can be negative.

Well as far as India is concerned I believe marijuana will create more peace than any other thing. I do not know of any such statics showing mental illness with specific marijuna abuse/use here.
There are a billion more things in India bothering us and believe me marijuna is not even in that list. I believe 'the pot' has always been a part of the Indian culture and it still is. Anyway all you have to do is ask someone and they will show you a retailer or else I know of places where the drug is sold on the streets like candies or icecreams.
That being said, yes the drug has pharmcutical value and thus should be legalised atleast in circumstances where there is no other option but then somehow I believe we are all hypocrites and all we want to do is show how better we are than the others. And then again there is this religion thing that keeps coming in the way scaring people of offending gods and so on. I believe fear is the key here. This is one issue where any government would be on the backfoot if people ask of proofs and statistics.

Up in smoke...Don't bogard that joint my friend!

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Legalize it and tax it.

Positive side-effects:

• Black market for marijuana is destroyed (read: less violence)
• Marijuana-only offenders are not prosecuted and imprisoned on the taxpayers' dime
• A badly needed new tax revenue stream is created

I doubt it will happen, though (at least in the USA). Too profitable for it to be illegal. And there are massively huge departments and enforcement units dedicated to the so-called "War on Drugs", of which marijuana is today a major part.

Stupid, stupid, and inefficient. But I digress.

I don't smoke, but I do enjoy an occasional drink. I don't really understand why this substance is considered so 'illicit'. Alcohol is many times more dangerous, and is yet just another drug anyways. I remember watching docs. about the history of Marijuana and the only reason it is so stigmatized is because of the use by immigrants in the US during the 19 and early 20th centuries, and it stuck.

The so-called 'war on drugs' is designed just like the 'war on terror' to last without any real resolution. There would not be any real gain to actually 'winning' or 'concluding' these two wars, it is there to keep the populace under constant tension so that the 'authorities' can be there to 'protect us' from the big nasties out there.. Pff,

As far as this 'war on drugs' crap is concerned, all I can say is just look back to prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th century in the US, remind me again how did that work out again? What happened when it was outlawed? Oh yea thats right, people went underground, organized crime flourished on illegal 'hooch' (sorry, that was just an excuse to use that early 20th century term for alcohol ), and actually more people died because of the ban, due to violence and even dangerous watered down drinks of 'dubious' origins because of it. Oh, lets not forget one of the main sources of prohibition was from the fanatical religious types at the time who have so much sway over officials.

Then what happened when prohibition was lifted? Oh yea a major source of revenue for the government! Lets not legalize it though, it is better to keep it deemed illegal, otherwise how will this charade continue anyways? If we lose the Marijuana 'bogeyman', who knows what else might be lost to further instill fear and complacency to masses?

I'm of the opinion that pot is no worse than alcohol or tobacco and keeping it illegal is making it too profitable for criminals. I think we could reduce a bunch of drug related violence by legalizing pot.

I know this is a bit of topic, but it pertains other legal substances. If you're old enough to decide that you want to kill people for your country and you have no problem putting your life on the line for that, you're old enough to decide what chemicals go in your body.