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March 19, 2006
Marijuana Prohibition: Will It Ever End?
A new Zogby poll has pot legalization advocates cheering:
Washington, DC: Nearly one out of two Americans support amending federal law "to let states legally regulate and tax marijuana the way they do liquor and gambling," according to a national poll of 1,004 likely voters by Zogby International and commissioned by the NORML Foundation.I think this is good news. Marijuana prohibition excacerbates smuggling on the border, triggers turf wars among drug dealers, gives violent street gangs an easy way to make money and costs society untold millions spent paying police officers, judges and incarceration costs.Forty-six percent of respondents -- including a majority of those polled on the east (53 percent) and west (55 percent) coasts -- say they support allowing states to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. Forty-nine percent of respondents opposed taxing and regulating cannabis, and five percent were undecided.
Posted by Conor at March 19, 2006 06:31 PM
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Comments
I don't think America should legalize marijuana. Sure it would cut down police costs and prevent smuggling, but it would endanger America's youth by easily giving them a gateway drug to more harmful drugs. Sure its easy to get your hands on marijuana, but to make it legal would be crazy. It would become just as common as cigarrettes and it would also impair people's driving abilities leading to more accidents. Legalizing marijuana may seem beneficial at first, but I think in the long run it is quite the contrary.
Posted by: Brian Chadwick at March 20, 2006 08:27 AM
The line must be drawn somewhere. Currently tobacco, caffeine, and alcohol are America's legal drugs of choice. Though argument can be made for legalizing marijuana and adding it to this list another could be made for cocaine, crack, and methamphetamines. Though these drugs can ruin people’s lives, the same can be said of any of the aforementioned drugs (perhaps with the exception of caffeine).
It’s just a matter of choosing where to draw the line.
Posted by: Jeremiah Hankins at March 20, 2006 05:58 PM
I used to think that legalizing the mary jane wouldnt effect me to much. But people are stupid enough to abuse it. Lets focus on traffic and driving issues for a moment. After we got cell phones the accident rates sky-rocketed. Same logic here. If we could be responsible (and by "we" I mean everyone all at once) there wouldnt have been a problem. But the potential for people getting high and driving or doing things that can hurt others is to great. Keep it illegal. It's at least stopping a large group of people from being exposed to it. RIP IT
Posted by: ryan jackson at March 21, 2006 11:01 AM
What's interesting is that, if alcohol were discovered/invented today, that it would probably be banned by the government? I do not believe that marijuana should be legalized at all. There is a reason why drugs are illegal: because they are bad for you. I believe legalizing marijuana would be the same as, lets say, legalizing murder. Its just not a bright thing to do. Not only are americans considered to be fat and lazy now and days, but to become a nation of potheads as well? a little to much for my taste.
Posted by: Richard at March 21, 2006 10:35 PM