Legalize pot? Sure......why NOT!?

WilliamM2 · March 2009

nadams wrote: »

In PA, the tax on tobacco is going up

Cartons $7 per
Packs, $0.70 per
1lb bags of loose tobaccy... $24 per

The last one is what pissed me off... that's 2/3's again of what it currently is.

It's not just in PA, it's a federal tax to pay for childrens health care. And that last one isn't going up 2/3's, it's going up 2,159%!

http://ryorevolution.com/ryo-schip-table.html

Can anyone explain to me why only smokers should pay for childrens health care? As a bonus, it's expected to cost over 100,000 jobs as the roll your own industry shrinks to nothing:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090129/OPINION/901290341/1049/OPINION

comfortablycurt · March 2009

Knucklehead wrote: »

problem is.......for YOUNGER America Alcohol and Marijuana use leads to the use of harder drugs, and thats not good no matter which way you slice it.

The idea of pot being a gateway drug is pretty ridiculous, but is a very common misconception. That's another one of the propaganda BS items they fed you back in the "Reefer Madness" days. There are hundreds of thousands of pot smokers that have never even considered trying something else. People are going to try hard drugs because they want to try them, not because they already smoke pot, and they're "chasing a better buzz". There are plenty of coke heads out there that don't smoke pot, just as there are plenty of heroin addicts out there that don't smoke pot.

The prescription drugs that physicians hand out like candy are more of a gateway drug than pot is. Half of the prescriptions that people get are pretty similar in nature to both coke and heroin. Unlike pot, required dosages go up with these drugs, and eventually it gets to the point where these prescription drugs aren't doing the job. That's when people start chasing "the better buzz". This is because these prescriptions are ADDICTIVE.

Not only does pot not have a single addictive substance in it, but the required dosage is always the same. One joint is going to get you just as high as the next joint...it's constant. Of course the potency of the particular strain can vary things, and people get more used to smoking. This doesn't mean that their physical tolerance has changed at all though.

Knucklehead · March 2009

we will just have to agree to disagree....

treitz3 · March 2009

WilliamM2 wrote: »

It's not just in PA, it's a federal tax to pay for childrens health care. And that last one isn't going up 2/3's, it's going up 2,159%!

http://ryorevolution.com/ryo-schip-table.html

Can anyone explain to me why only smokers should pay for childrens health care? As a bonus, it's expected to cost over 100,000 jobs as the roll your own industry shrinks to nothing:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090129/OPINION/901290341/1049/OPINION

Jeeeez-o-flip. If that's what they want then I'll just grow my own tobacco in a greenhouse, hang it, cure it and roll my own. There comes a time to where it's just plain cheaper to make things on your own.

heiney9 · March 2009

WOW, this thread is still here.........last time this was discussed it was gone, Get your posts in, soon this will be in the recycle bin before you know it--lol

nooshinjohn · March 2009

the mods most be bongin' it tonite

Face · March 2009

This thread explains a lot.

emoxley · March 2009

obieone wrote: »

I'm just glad I don't live in CA. Can you imagine having 5+ million of these a$$clowns behind the wheel of a vehicle?

David Brinkley said one time that ALL drugs should be legalized. He said it would immediately do away with the drug black market. Also, instead of spending millions or billions fighting drug wars, spend it helping people get off the hard drugs, and keeping them out of the overcrowded prisons. Help them become productive citizens again, instead of making convicts out of them. Legalized, it would be taxed, which means much more money for the government. I'd much rather know everyone driving on the road had smoked a joint, instead of drinking alcohol. Stoners don't get into fighting, so there would be less domestic violence, so their wives and kids would be safer..........

zarrdoss · March 2009

If you dont think that drugs did the world any good then go home and throw all your records in the trash, because the artists that wrote those songs........ rrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllll f***ing high on drugs.

hearingimpared · March 2009

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Not only does pot not have a single addictive substance in it, but the required dosage is always the same. One joint is going to get you just as high as the next joint...it's constant.

Pot is psychologically addictive. There are countless people in rehab because of pot. As far as the "one joint is going to get you just as high as the next joint" that is BS. As far as a gateway drug is concerned, being high on pot lowers you inhibition and when offered a chemical such as cocaine when stoned on pot is a real easy, "OKAY."

I have been around too many addicts that have admitted to using pot first then the harder stuff. I've also been around pot addicts.

This is my experience and let me tell you addiction is probable with pot just like it is with alcohol or any other mood altering drug.

BTW you analogy of the drinkers vs the pot smokers is rediculous. I've been to plenty of parties where people drink responsibly. Pot smokers get stoned and that is a fact. Three hits off a joint and you are buzzed, smoke the whole joint and you get stoned.

F1nut · March 2009

There are hundreds of thousands of pot smokers that have never even considered trying something else.

Interesting. Just about every person I knew that started off smoking pot moved up the ladder. Many aren't with us any longer because of it.

I'd much rather know everyone driving on the road had smoked a joint, instead of drinking alcohol.

No offense to you, but that comment is born from shear ignorance of the facts.

Stoners don't get into fighting

That's a hoot and of course, dead wrong.

This thread explains a lot.

Amen brother, amen!

exalted512 · March 2009

My economics professor had a great discussion on this subject in class one day.

Here's what he said:

There's two ways to stop the use of drugs as there's two things every product needs, supply and demand.

So we can either:
A) Stop suppliers or

Stop the end users.

Historically, we have gone after the suppliers. Makes sense right? Why stop 100 individuals when we can stop the one guy that they get it from.

BUT!

Drugs are inelastic. For those of you who have been out of school for a while, that means thats price can fluctuate a lot, but demand doesn't. Kind of like gasoline. $5 or $2/gallon, you still have to have it so you're going to pay. While it might cause a few people to start riding bikes, the vast majority are still going to buy it...regardless of price.

By stopping some of the supply, that means whatever supply is left is going to have a higher price. As price increases, the total revenue for drug dealers goes up. As profit goes up, you are going to introduce more drug dealers trying to make good money.

As profit goes up, this means more money is at stake...and when money is at stake in illegal practices, violence goes up. More people will get killed, stabbed, and beaten, just due to the fact that more money is at stake.

Not to mention, when price goes up because supply is limited, less people are going to be able to afford it. Does that mean they're going to quit? No, they're addicted. What does that mean? Well, if you're not a law abiding citizen and you need money...guess what happens, people get robbed. Just like in a recession, when things get bad, crime goes up.

Now this doesn't really apply to pot, as its not physically addictive...but I thought it was a really interesting discussion.
-Cody

BlueFox · March 2009

It should never have been made illegal in the first place.

Face · March 2009

obieone wrote: »

C'mon potheads, let's hear those arguments:D

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,503645,00.html

Here's a picture of the moron.

F1nut · March 2009

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

hearingimpared · March 2009

Face wrote: »

Here's a picture of the moron.

Wow I was expecting a much older face.

SolidSqual · March 2009

If people want to start smoking pot, that's fine with me, but then they should not be entitled to any kind of welfare whatsoever. Let them sign a waiver. I know the effects of pot. I know people who smoke all the time and are highly successful individuals. BUT, and this is a big effin' BUT, most bud smokers I know are worthless and lazy. AND, they like the idea of someone else paying for their lifestyle.

Murray1 · March 2009

Wonder what is so wrong with enjoying life without having to ESCAPE from it. Hard to justify using substance (no matter what the type) when we objectively look at how it negatively affects so many people. I vote for a clear mind and the ability to make decisions without having my poor noodle altered in any way. I need all the help I can get.

comfortablycurt · March 2009

emoxley wrote: »

David Brinkley said one time that ALL drugs should be legalized. He said it would immediately do away with the drug black market. Also, instead of spending millions or billions fighting drug wars, spend it helping people get off the hard drugs, and keeping them out of the overcrowded prisons. Help them become productive citizens again, instead of making convicts out of them. Legalized, it would be taxed, which means much more money for the government. I'd much rather know everyone driving on the road had smoked a joint, instead of drinking alcohol. Stoners don't get into fighting, so there would be less domestic violence, so their wives and kids would be safer..........

This is very true. How many people are killed every single year, or every single day for that matter, because of illegal drugs? The gangs are the people controlling the majority of the illegal drug industry, and is one of THE main reasons that gang presence is still as prevalent as it is.

Legalize the drugs, and the gangs are going to go away. Once it's legalized(because it will be eventually, it's inevitable), it will be federally regulated and taxed. You want a way to fix the economy real quick? Legalize at least pot, if not all drugs. Not to say that you should be able to walk down to the gas station and get it, it should be something you have to get at a pharmacy.

Hemp and it's thousands upon thousands of uses would fix the economy real quick. California is talking about a bunch of state wide legalization efforts right now, because of the fact that hemp is the biggest cash crop on the state of California. This is with it being illegal still. If it were legalized, their economy wouldn't even be in question anymore.

There would be billions in extra tax dollars rolling in every year.

zarrdoss wrote: »

If you dont think that drugs did the world any good then go home and throw all your records in the trash, because the artists that wrote those songs........ rrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllll f***ing high on drugs.

Bill Hicks!!! He's awesome! One of my favorite comedians.

hearingimpared wrote: »

Pot is psychologically addictive. There are countless people in rehab because of pot. As far as the "one joint is going to get you just as high as the next joint" that is BS. As far as a gateway drug is concerned, being high on pot lowers you inhibition and when offered a chemical such as cocaine when stoned on pot is a real easy, "OKAY."

I have been around too many addicts that have admitted to using pot first then the harder stuff. I've also been around pot addicts.

This is my experience and let me tell you addiction is probable with pot just like it is with alcohol or any other mood altering drug.

BTW you analogy of the drinkers vs the pot smokers is rediculous. I've been to plenty of parties where people drink responsibly. Pot smokers get stoned and that is a fact. Three hits off a joint and you are buzzed, smoke the whole joint and you get stoned.

Yes, pot is psychologically addictive, but every other drug on the planet, including alcohol, is both psychologically, and physically addictive. Which is worse? I'm speaking of prescription drugs, as well as illegal drugs.

I'm gonna have to disagree on your statement about being high on pot making you more likely to try another drug because of lowered inhibition. I have never seen any real evidence of that being even remotely true.

Sure, there are plenty of parties where people are drinking responsibly. For every one of those parties though, theres another party where people aren't drinking responsibly. I don't see what being stoned has to do with it...being stoned and being drunk are complete opposite worlds from one another. I've been completely ripped out of my mind, and have still been in complete control of myself. Pot doesn't cause people to black out and completely lose their motor functions.

The fact is, no one in the entire history of man kind has ever died from smoking pot, nor has there ever been a scientifically accepted study that has shown any negative side effects of smoking pot. You don't have to agree with, or believe that, as I know a lot of you won't.

I'm not saying that you should smoke pot, nor do I encourage people to. For those of us that do though, I don't see how anyone has a right to tell us that we can't. Alcohol is every bit as much of a "gateway drug" as pot supposedly is. When you're drunk, your decision making skills are complete ****, and you're much more open to trying a line of coke than when you're high.

I just can't understand why people are ok with pot being illegal, when alcohol isn't.

snow · March 2009

nadams wrote: »

Don't "plan" on having kids

If I do, my outlook will change dramatically.

In PA, the tax on tobacco is going up

Cartons $7 per
Packs, $0.70 per
1lb bags of loose tobaccy... $24 per

The last one is what pissed me off... that's 2/3's again of what it currently is.

Not sure what it is down there per pack but here it averages $7.00 to $7.50

REGARDS SNOW

shadowofnight · March 2009

Sam: [coughs] Get outta here, Dewey!
Dewey Cox: What are y'all doin' in here?
Sam: We're smoking reefer and you don't want no part of this ****.
Dewey Cox: You're smoking *reefers*?
Sam: Yeah, 'course we are; can't you smell it?
Dewey Cox: No, Sam. I can't.
Reefer Girl: Come on, Dewey! Join the party!
[takes a hit off a joint]
Sam: No, Dewey, you don't want this. Get outta here!
Dewey Cox: You know what, I don't want no hangover. I can't get no hangover.
Sam: It doesn't give you a hangover!
Dewey Cox: Wha-I get addicted to it or something?
Sam: It's not habit-forming!
Dewey Cox: Oh, okay... well, I don't know... I don't want to overdose on it.
Sam: You can't OD on it!
Dewey Cox: It's not gonna make me wanna have sex, is it?
Sam: It makes sex even better!
Dewey Cox: Sounds kind of expensive.
Sam: It's the cheapest drug there is.
Dewey Cox: [at a loss and out of excuses] Hmm.
Sam: You don't want it!
Dewey Cox: I think I kinda want it.
Sam: Okay, but just this once. Come on in.

comfortablycurt · March 2009

shadowofnight wrote: »

Sam: [coughs] Get outta here, Dewey!
Dewey Cox: What are y'all doin' in here?
Sam: We're smoking reefer and you don't want no part of this ****.
Dewey Cox: You're smoking *reefers*?
Sam: Yeah, 'course we are; can't you smell it?
Dewey Cox: No, Sam. I can't.
Reefer Girl: Come on, Dewey! Join the party!
[takes a hit off a joint]
Sam: No, Dewey, you don't want this. Get outta here!
Dewey Cox: You know what, I don't want no hangover. I can't get no hangover.
Sam: It doesn't give you a hangover!
Dewey Cox: Wha-I get addicted to it or something?
Sam: It's not habit-forming!
Dewey Cox: Oh, okay... well, I don't know... I don't want to overdose on it.
Sam: You can't OD on it!
Dewey Cox: It's not gonna make me wanna have sex, is it?
Sam: It makes sex even better!
Dewey Cox: Sounds kind of expensive.
Sam: It's the cheapest drug there is.
Dewey Cox: [at a loss and out of excuses] Hmm.
Sam: You don't want it!
Dewey Cox: I think I kinda want it.
Sam: Okay, but just this once. Come on in.

That has got to be one of the funniest movies I've ever seen...I love it.:D I haven't watched it in a while...I might have to pop it in sometime soon.

Also...Does anyone else think that the guy in that picture looks just a little bit like Ron Howard?...lol

dragon1952 · March 2009

No....Ron Howard doesn't have any hair:D

Shizelbs · March 2009

Some interesting opinions in here. Lots of them based on completely wrong assumptions and ill informed facts, but they are interesting at least.

george daniel · March 2009

That settles it,, I'm moving to a "hemp farm",, and if my car breaks down,, I can smoke it while waiting on assistence,...or maybe grow some dental floss.;)

F1nut · March 2009

I'm gonna have to disagree on your statement about being high on pot making you more likely to try another drug because of lowered inhibition. I have never seen any real evidence of that being even remotely true.

Sure, there are plenty of parties where people are drinking responsibly. For every one of those parties though, theres another party where people aren't drinking responsibly. I don't see what being stoned has to do with it...being stoned and being drunk are complete opposite worlds from one another. I've been completely ripped out of my mind, and have still been in complete control of myself. Pot doesn't cause people to black out and completely lose their motor functions.

The fact is, no one in the entire history of man kind has ever died from smoking pot, nor has there ever been a scientifically accepted study that has shown any negative side effects of smoking pot. You don't have to agree with, or believe that, as I know a lot of you won't.

Spoken like a 22 year old doper and completely wrong. How do I know, you ask? I was 22, smoking pot and thought exactly like you are. Now, I'm much older and know the truth.

ben62670 · March 2009

george daniel wrote: »

That settles it,, I'm moving to a "hemp farm",, and if my car breaks down,, I can smoke it while waiting on assistence,...or maybe grow some dental floss.;)

Moving to Montana soon?

Ricardo · March 2009

Funny to see so many experts on the subject. Ha.

Motzart · March 2009

Well as for the Guy in the link......He was on more than pot.....thinking more like Meth!!

As for Pot being legal........why not?
I don't smoke it anymore but have had plenty in my time! :rolleyes:
It's a Natural Weed not man made.....not doctored Tobacco.......Not hard Liquor that's gonna kill your liver. Certainly can't be any worse for your lungs than legal Cigs.
Really Pot don't do anymore to you than a few good shots of Vodka would do.
IF it were made legal it should be treated like Alcohol......should you be under the influence while driving.

Nothing you put in your body for recreation or socially is good for you.

nadams · March 2009

snow wrote: »

Not sure what it is down there per pack but here it averages $7.00 to $7.50

REGARDS SNOW

Currently in the $5 range for the big names.

And yeah, my math was wrong on the loose pack. What's currently $12 will be selling for $36.

Legalize pot? Sure......why NOT!?

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