Yes..wasting too much money going after and arresting and prosecuting potheads..But..I guess it's easier than stopping the real criminals..at least it's more profitable ;)

no way, weed leads to suicide or car accidents

Personally, yes. I think it could single-handedly save California with the taxes they could collect on it!

Legalise it, license the sales, grade it, tax it.

Yep. current policy is not exactly a success.

Yes

No way, It wouldn't be any fun to do if it was legal :P

sure if a person wants to use it but I think it should be regulated like alcohol no driving while under the influence.

Personally, I fawking hate it. I think people are obnoxious morons when they're high. However, I think it serves little purpose keeping it illegal It's less dangerous than alcohol so I don't really get the point

Yes

It's like my uncle says: the best way to find more criminals is to pass more laws. Decriminalize it and the US will disband tons if illegal gunk from its gears and hundreds of thousands of unnecessary incarcerations.

If it has medical value then yes.Under the Drug Act

Yes. I oppose the use of it, along with any form of drug. HOWEVER, I know many people who use it because they think it's cool to do illegal things. Legalize it, and it becomes less 'cool'. Tax it and it could help get us out of this b!tch of an economy.

yes

no. ive smoked pot for the last 3 years. i have only just managed to stop. its not addictive i no but its a huge motivation killer and i feel like ive stood stil 4 the last 3 years, and id hate to know how much money ive spent.

yes but i think its only illegal cause it gives cops jobs like the narcotics squad and helps the economy.

No because cigarette companies will intend to capitalize upon the legalization, dismissing the potential to rebell, by smoking marijuana.

Yes I do

yes please!

We have a generation lost in prison. We need to start with decriminalizing pot. And stop the mandatory minimums for drugs.

Yes. First and foremost, marijuana is much less harmful that other substances that are allowed. There should be other avenues to purchase marijuana so that it can be controlled. Tests should be taken like driving tests. If someone cannot pass the test, they cannot buy the bud.

But then police won't be able to confiscate (steal) money, vehicles and homes from people. And where in God's name would they spend the billions of dollars in taxes (stolen money) normally used to sting 'nickle baggers'? What the heck would we do with all the prison space that would be freed up, you expect them to do dangerous things like catch murderers and child molesters? Are you crazy yo?...

It's time. Look at the Netherlands. The Dutch justice ministry has announced it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in the prison system. A decline in crime has left many cells empty. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2268176/posts

Yes it is, but don't get your hopes up. Americans aren't that knowledgeable about marijuana and they're far from ready to legalize it.

Marijuana should be decriminalized, never legalized. There is a significant difference between legalization and decriminalization. When you legalize something, you're just making it so that it can be sold through the market with proper licensing. However, when you decriminalize something, you make it so that it's legal to sell and own without any special license. If marijuana were legalized, it wouldn't really do anything at all. The gov't would own all of it and they'd be selling Marlboro Joints and Camel Joints. Decriminalize it though and it will be legal for Recreational Drug Users to grow their own stash and to share this with their friends while they make a small profit from it off to the side. Also, if legalized, there would still be a drug problem with pot because you'd still have pot dealers trying to sell without licenses, decriminalized, the drug problem goes away because there's no longer any competition (no one needs a license to sell, problem fixed).

I'm ambivalent on this one ... I hate pot ... But I also hate the Government ... So it's a toss up. .... Okay, okay, potheads don't pose any real threat to me but the ever encroaching militarized police-state does. So I'd say legalize it.

It should be legalized. Why? 1. Marijuana users are determined to stand up to the injustice of marijuana probation and accomplish legalization, no matter how long or what it takes to succeed. Despite the threat of arrests and a variety of other punishments and sanctions marijuana users have persisted in their support for legalization for over a generation. They refuse to give up their long quest for justice because they believe in the fundamental values of American society. Prohibition has failed to silence marijuana users despite its best attempts over the last generation. The issue of marijuana's legalization is a persistent issue that, like marijuana, will simply not go away. Marijuana will be legalized because marijuana users will continue to fight for it until they succeed. 2. Marijuana use has positive attributes, such as its medical value and use as a recreational drug with relatively mild side effects. Many people use marijuana because they have made an informed decision that it is good for them, especially Americans suffering from a variety of serious ailments. Marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. Many American adults prefer marijuana to the use of alcohol as a mild and moderate way to relax. Americans use marijuana because they choose to, and one of the reasons for that choice is their personal observation that the drug has a relatively low dependence liability and easy-to-manage side effects. Most marijuana users develop tolerance to many of marijuana's side effects, and those who do not, choose to stop using the drug. Marijuana use is the result of informed consent in which individuals have decided that the benefits of use outweigh the risks, especially since, for most Americans, the greatest risk of using marijuana is the relatively low risk of arrest. 3. Marijuana is too expensive for our justice system and should instead be taxed to support beneficial government programs. Law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession, especially given the additional justice costs of disposing of each of these cases. Marijuana arrests make justice more expensive and less efficient in the United States, wasting jail space, clogging up court systems, and diverting time of police, attorneys, judges, and corrections officials away from violent crime, the sexual abuse of children, and terrorism. Furthermore, taxation of marijuana can provide needed and generous funding of many important criminal justice and social programs. 4. Marijuana is not a lethal drug and is safer than alcohol. It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. It is unfair and unjust to treat marijuana users more harshly under the law than the users of alcohol or tobacco. 5. Prohibition is based on lies and disinformation. Justification of marijuana's illegality increasingly requires distortions and selective uses of the scientific record, causing harm to the credibility of teachers, law enforcement officials, and scientists throughout the country. The dangers of marijuana use have been exaggerated for almost a century and the modern scientific record does not support the reefer madness predictions of the past and present. Many claims of marijuana's danger are based on old 20th century prejudices that originated in a time when science was uncertain how marijuana produced its characteristic effects. Since the cannabinoid receptor system was discovered in the late 1980s these hysterical concerns about marijuana's dangerousness have not been confirmed with modern research. Everyone agrees that marijuana, or any other drug use such as alcohol or tobacco use, is not for children. Nonetheless, adults have demonstrated over the last several decades that marijuana can be used moderately without harmful impacts to the individual or society. 6. Marijuana's legalization would simplify the development of hemp as a valuable and diverse agricultural crop in the United States, including its development as a new bio-fuel to reduce carbon emissions. Canada and European countries have managed to support legal hemp cultivation without legalizing marijuana, but in the United States opposition to legal marijuana remains the biggest obstacle to development of industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity. As US energy policy continues to embrace and promote the development of bio-fuels as an alternative to oil dependency and a way to reduce carbon emissions, it is all the more important to develop industrial hemp as a bio-fuel source - especially since use of hemp stalks as a fuel source will not increase demand and prices for food, such as corn. Legalization of marijuana will greatly simplify the regulatory burden on prospective hemp cultivation in the United States. 7. Legalized marijuana would reduce the flow of money from the American economy to international criminal gangs. Marijuana's illegality makes foreign cultivation and smuggling to the United States extremely profitable, sending billions of dollars overseas in an underground economy while diverting funds from productive economic development. 8. A regulated, legal market in marijuana would reduce marijuana sales and use among teenagers, as well as reduce their exposure to other drugs in the illegal market. The illegality of marijuana makes it more valuable than if it were legal, providing opportunities for teenagers to make easy money selling it to their friends. If the excessive profits for marijuana sales were ended through legalization there would be less incentive for teens to sell it to one another. Teenage use of alcohol and tobacco remain serious public health problems even though those drugs are legal for adults, however, the availability of alcohol and tobacco is not made even more widespread by providing kids with economic incentives to sell either one to their friends and peers. 9. Arrests for marijuana possession disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics and reinforce the perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. African-Americans account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13.5% of annual marijuana users, however, blacks also account for 26% of all marijuana arrests. Recent studies have demonstrated that blacks and Hispanics account for the majority of marijuana possession arrests in New York City, primarily for smoking marijuana in public view. Law enforcement has failed to demonstrate that marijuana laws can be enforced fairly without regard to race; far too often minorities are arrested for marijuana use while white/non-Hispanic Americans face a much lower risk of arrest. 10. Prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for over 75 years and yet: marijuana is now used by over 25 million people annually, cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the planet. Claims that marijuana prohibition is a successful policy are ludicrous and unsupported by the facts, and the idea that marijuana will soon be eliminated from America and the rest of the world is a ridiculous fantasy. Also, many law enforcement officers and officials agree that the time has come for legalization. Check out the following link. http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php

If you don't need a prescription to buy beer or cigarettes, why should there be any law forbidding the purchase of marijuana? The only reason is that it will cost the police forces billions in lost revenue and confiscated (stolen) gains. The DEA will have to lay off thousands, prisons and prison contracts will be lost, drug companies will find many profit making drugs replaced by marijuana, politicians will loose lobbyist dollars, and the religious hate to see anyone having a good time. The only people that would benefit is the average citizens and we all know that we don't count.

dont you hate when you think you're making a comment, but nope, you just answered your own question

I won't speak to the political aspects of pot use, but instead bring up another aspect of continuous (chronic), long term use of reefer. You pot heads will know what I'm talking about when I mention the resin from pot. To non-pot smokers it's equivalent to the brownish-yellowish stain on a cigarette filter. Resin from pot clogs up a smokers pipe so bad that they have no choice but to clean it out regularly or their pipe is rendered useless. It's extremely sticky and/or gummy. Now picture this in your lungs. You will slowly suffocate as your lungs resemble that pipe you labored to clear. You can't clean out your lungs. You'll huff and puff just trying to walk from one room to the other. You'll suffocate if someone with perfume on comes near you. You'll not have the air or strength to make love anymore. You'll be walking around pulling an oxygen tank around just to be able to walk. All for that buzz. I know most of you will think this is bull*** or that it won't happen to you because you're superman, just remember you were warned.

Yes, but as part of a coherent review of the whole treatment of drugs. I think many drugs should be legalised, under varying levels of control, and marijuana would be the first. While not denying the harm that drugs do, I believe that the War on Drugs has not only failed but had a perverse effect: the profits of drug dealing are such that there are more drug users than there would be if drugs were legal - plus the huge social cost of drug-related crime and the cost of drug-related policing and prisons.

Are you kidding? What about all those prison guard unions?, Empty prison cells? How would Wakenhut survive? Lest us not forget, Wakenhut is to big to fail. What about all the cops who's very salaries depend on busting innocent people out ax murdering people every day? What about organized crime? They would have to find new reasons to murder people and new reasons to bribe politicians, judges and you guessed it, cops. Don't forget the politicians who pander to the extreme right.. What will some of the extremist churches do with all that campaign money sitting around burning holes in the congregations pockets? Then again..considering the cost of incarceration, roughly $40,000 per warm ass..if 2 million were set free that would be about $80,000,000,000 in the hands of the public.. We can't have that now can we?

In canada yes they will. In the U.S. maybe in 20yrs. or so +4pts.

no

I don't because it is not at all the "harmless" drug that these pot-smoking hippies claim.

Absolutely so. Prohibition isn't working and hasn't for 70 years. The only ones to profit from keeping it illegal are the drug cartels and the police. It's time to stop ruining people's lives just because they'd prefer to smoke a joint than drink a legal beer.

Yes, marijuana should be legalized. I don't think the government should tell me what I can and cannot put in my body. The government can't stop people from smoking marijuana so they might as well hop on board and control sales, taxes, sources, etc. The reasons why go on and on and most of what you learn from dare or anti-drug commercials is not quite accurate.

Yep. It's been proven time and again that prohibition leads to violence. It happened with alcohol, now it's happening with other drugs, including marijuana. Also, as marijuana is illegal, it is often grown in secluded areas of national parks and nature reserves in large quantities. The growers are only concerned with growing a large crop and then getting the hell out of dodge, so they usually grow the plants in a very environmentally damaging way, and leave lots of litter, irrigation tubing, and pesticides behind. If marijuana was legalized, it could be grown in environmentally friendly ways. Also, marijuana can be used to make a pretty awesome biofuel, and great fabrics. Growing marijuana could be excellent for the economy. Plus, marijuana is not as harmful as the anti-drug nuts would have you believe. Most, if not all physically addictive drugs effect the dopamine receptors in the brain. After increased activity, these receptors 'wear out', and a person becomes addicted. THC has nothing to do with dopamine receptors. The brain actually has cannabinoid receptors, which work much differently than dopamine receptors. You can be psychologically addicted to marijuana, just as you can be psychologically addicted to food, exercise, playing a computer game etc, but it's extremely rare to find a person who is physically addicted to marijuana. The schizophrenia-marijuana link is shaky, at best. We still cannot prove that marijuana use leads to schizophrenia. We don't know if marijuana gives you schizophrenia, or if people who are predisposed to mental illnesses like schizophrenia have a tendency to use drugs, including marijuana. Marijuana has caused 0 deaths in the US. Alcohol and tobacco cause THOUSANDS each year. It's time we legalize marijuana, in my opinion.

Yes it has less damage that alcohol and crime rates will go down.

Yea Alot of kids stress when thier parents smoke it and they get scared because that can get them tooken away from thier moms i was so scared all the time they would catch my moms husband then we get tooken away because my mom would say that

It's more complicated that just a simple yes or no. I would like to see the tax money from weed sales go toward eliminating our national debt. I really don't think more people would take up smoking dope, legalization would just allow those who already indulge to be more open and have a legal source. But I know that all my friends that smoke turn into idiots, and I would hate to take the chance that this mind set would spread.

sure, but tax the potheads and reduce the deficit within 3 years

I do. There needs to be a test of impairment,however. Presently, testing involves checking for the lingering traces of the chemicals, which remain in the body a long time after usage. I don't want my bus driver stoned at work, but I don't give a sh** if he smokes on his own time. Current testing can only determine that THC has been ingested sometime before the test.

this question has been asked before. please check to make sure there isn't already a question like yours when you post. i've marked this as a duplicate.

I've answered this so many times, I'll just say yes.