Legalize and tax it. Take it out of the hands of criminals and privatize it.

Keep it illegal. You don't reduce crime by making criminal acts legal, you don't curb drug problems by legitimizing drug use, and you don't improve society by lowering social standards.

But that's just me -- I've seen too many promising young lives ruined by drug use.

No one said it would reduce crime. When we repealed prohibition we didn't eliminate crime but we did two things. We prevented government from making yet one more choice in our lives. We made Gangsters look elsewhere for their revenue.
We can do the same today and take money from the pockets of murderers and place it in private hands. Will this eliminate the worlds problems? No, no one is saying it will. Prohibition didn't eliminate alcoholism either, All it accomplished was to make Capone and his ilk rich. It's obvious to all people are going to smoke it weather it's legal or not so why not tax it like my wine is taxed.?
As far as standards go such things are and should be personal. I've seen more lives ruined by alcohol and drunk driving but prohibition did nothing for that either. If someone wants to harm themselves they will find the means. Period. Bear in mind expat personal choice is just that. Personal. It means you and I may not agree with the choice that is made but we should defend that right to choose non the less.
My neighbor and friend is a 68 yrs old, retiree, mother and grandmother. She's a left over flower child from the 60's and definately a liberal. She smokes marijuana at least 3 times a week and has since the 60's. If Marijuana really leads to harder drugs as some say she should have been a heroin addict many times over by now yet nothing could be further from the truth. She claimes she has never even tried anything stronger and I believe her.

There has never been a definitive study proving marijuana leads to other drugs anymore than your first beer leads to alcoholism. For my neighbor anyway the only thing marijuana leads to is a good nights rest. I want government out of my gun safe but I also want them out of my bedroom, my refrigerator and my medicine cabinet. So should you.

While I don't disagree with what you said, I do find it interesting that society says alcohol is okay. You can drinki it to relax or for whatever reason, but marijuana is taboo. Doesn't make sense.

Alcohol - let's see how fast we can take that curve up there.
Pot - whoa dude, you're going 35

alcohol - I'm big, I bad and I'm going to kick some ass tonight.
Pot - I'm, uh, I'm uh, oh heck, forget it, I've got the munchies

Alcohol - star athlete bust on dui
Pot - Phelps wins his 8th gold medal.

I understand about pot for recreational use, but it definitely should be legalized for medicinal use. There is no reason that pot shouldn't be considered a legitimate drug to help patients suffering from certain maladies.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Yes, Prohibition made Capone rich. But organized crime existed before Prohibition, and Prohibition's end certainly didn't put a stop to it.

Alcohol has been a socially accepted substance for thousands of years. The move to mainstream marijuana has been a recent event. Where do we draw the line? Once you agree to lower your standards and normalize something at the margin, you've simply created a new margin to normalize.

What I think is interesting is that the move toward tolerance of things like drugs and sexual behaviors seems to be accompanied by increased intolerance toward religion and moral standards. Historically, such shifts in social norms have never been positive for any society. Throughout history, civilizations have been marked by a period of ascendancy leading to prosperity. Once prosperous, societies then tend to embrace materialism and tolerate corrosive behaviors -- which in turn leads to social decline and descent away from prosperity and dominance.

Will the world end if we legalize marijuana? No. But in the long run I don't see it as a positive step for society.

I have worked security In about a half dozen bars and I can tell ya we looked the other way when some one was going outside to smoke some pot. We never had a problem with those guys. The ones that we looked out for were the whiskey drinkers , they became ten feet tall and bullet proof. It was a good thing their reaction time was whay slowed down, you could be all over them like a fat kid on a smarty. Tied up and in a cab before they knew it
F.K.

I agree, especially the part about "you don't improve society by lowering social standards". But, does legalizing weed define lowering the social standards any more than legal liqour? I've never experimented with any illegal drug and I don't even like to take medication unless I'm seriously sick. But I do enjoy a couple beers on a Friday or Saturday night and do partake in an occasional scotch or bourbon.

I have to say that I've also seen a lot of lives and families destroyed by alcoholism as well. I've seen a lot of serious health problems caused by tobacco use too. Yet brewed and distilled alcoholic beverages are legal, though controlled by law. Same with tobacco.

Many people consider the "Golden Age" of America to be the 1930's, 40's, and 50's, yet that was a time when most Americans smoked and drank much more so than we do today. Prior to prohibition your average American beer was 6% alcohol or higher. The legal drinking age in many states was 18 yrs old. You won't see that high of alc content today from Coor, Miller, or Bud.

From what I've witnesses, of all the so-called illegal drugs, marajuana is no more harmful that beer or whiskey. What it comes down to is the individuals personal restraint and how they decide to use these products. That's what makes the difference. Having said that I will say that I am NOT for the legalisation of any narcodic drug. But it does make me wonder if marajuana was as widely used and coveted by most white Americans for the last 200 years as much as beer and tobacco have been, would we see marajuana differently today?

And that's one reason I don't vote for the legalization of marijuana or any other illegal narcodic.