Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense

TIME:

For the past several years, I've been harboring a fantasy, a last political crusade for the baby-boom generation. We, who started on the path of righteousness, marching for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam, need to find an appropriately high-minded approach to life's exit ramp. In this case, I mean the high-minded part literally. And so, a deal: give us drugs, after a certain age -- say, 80 -- all drugs, any drugs we want. In return, we will give you our driver's licenses. (I mean, can you imagine how terrifying a nation of decrepit, solipsistic 90-year-old boomers behind the wheel would be?) We'll let you proceed with your lives -- much of which will be spent paying for our retirement, in any case -- without having to hear us complain about our every ache and reflux. We'll be too busy exploring altered states of consciousness. I even have a slogan for the campaign: "Tune in, turn on, drop dead."

Read the whole story: TIME

Comments

[svBackstreets]

Imagine if all the marijuana law enforcement funds and personnel were used for a war on child abuse. In my experience as a California probation officer I believe this would result in significantly fewer people addicted to serious drugs including alcohol.

[worldlyhick]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/world/americas/04mexico.html

Check out this article at the New York Times. AG Eric Holder wants to decrease amounts of cannabis required to prosecute under Federal law for possession. He is meeting with officials in Mexico. It does not sound good to me.

Please someone tell me I'm wrong and I misread the whole thing.

[Erik Kolácek]

I was going to comment on this, but I can't remember what I was going to say. Something about uhh...uhhhhhm...ah, never mind. Think I'll eat a grilled cheese sandwich instead.

[fumes]

still a must watch:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1657827965975839596&hl=en

if you haven't already..

[Larry Stevens]

Klein was on Morning Joe this week and the consensus around the table was that cannabis should be regulated. Scarborough wasn't on the show that day; that's the next step. Joe and Mika sat silently when a previous guest averred that cannabis regulation was the only way to really hit the Mexican cartels.

Cannabis regulation has finally found a seat at the table of mainstream public discourse in Time and on Morning Joe. This is unprecedented in the history of drug policy reform.

[Marklar]

Great article.

[Intenzity]

For all purposes, it is virtually legal now. I believe CA will just write you a ticket if you are caught with less than an ounce. An ounce is a lot of weed. If you have more than an ounce on you..you are probably a dealer, or some kind of person involved in profiting from drug traffic, not someone who is just a consumer.

This is a huge distraction, of all the issues facing our country, smoking some chronic is at the bottom of the pile. The amount of discussion and churn that getting this passed would take is taking valuable time and energy away from the real issues - an illegal war, handgun and assault rifle control, regulating the capital markets much more stringently, a new energy policy...

Weed? Are you serious?

[humble liberty]

No, it's not legal.

When it's served at weddings, picnics, and business celebratory dinners then I'll say it's legal. I mean it can be decriminalized but if they still do drug tests (not that private companies can't, they just are overbearing) it's still outlawed to some extent.

Gay marriage is effectively legal in every state, along with sex. Though sodomy is often against the law I don't hear anyone being punished for it through the legal system. Find your partner and promise one's commitment, marriage. But for filing your taxes or visiting your partner in the hospital...

[Marklar]

Hey guess what, legalizing and taxing weed will help solve some of those problems, budget deficit will shrink because we aren't throwing away money putting potheads in prison, tax revenue from the sale and production of the plant, and as far as energy policy...weed is one of the best sources for biomass for fuel, grows fast, huge plants, and a new crop every year.

So, yes, we are serious.

[SamKnause]

Marijuana is a serious issue!! It can help revive the economy. If marijuana becomes legal so will hemp. Hemp can be used for cloth, bio fuel, bio degradable plastics. Cotton is one of the most damaging crops to the environment. It uses massive amounts of water and pesticides to grow and hemp does not. Medical use of marijuana has been proven to kill cancer cells in the brain and lungs. Marijuana seeds contain some of the highest concentrations of Omega 3's. Hemp can be harvested 3 times per year. Hemp can save our forest. If marijuana is legalized it can stop the need for private prisons and our police force could concentrate on violent criminals. The gangs money supplies would be hit hard. The Mexican cartel gets 75% of it's money from the sell of marijuana and uses that profit to sell hard drugs such as heroin. Children would have a harder time getting marijuana if it were regulated like alcohol and cigarettes. If you are really interested in this subject please do some research and enlighten yourself on the pros for the environment and the economy of legalization.

[The Ghost]

You can buy a gun legally, but NOT a bag of weed. Just plain stupid.

[Dharil]

Plus, stoned people are much easier to control, something that will become more and more useful as the economy tanks, where the bailout money went and people wonder what they might do about it.

[PlaceboStudman]

Just do it already! There is no reason to have marijuana illegal. There are 2 bills in Congress that are leading in the direction of legalizing it. Now we just need to do it. If for no other reason than forcing the more conservative states to look somewhere other than the federal laws to withhold often life saving treatment of medical marijuana to their sick and dying patients