Should marijuana be legalized

:) I forgot when I made my opening statement that you were not arguing the dangers of marijuana. . You did tell me you were taking a different angle and I thought about your arguments carefully. .. As we speak, law abiding, tax paying Americans are considered criminals because of the rigid laws in place. . These laws are essentially the attempt at controlling the most versatile plant on the planet. So much dogma and stereotyping comes from such an innocuous weed, it almost can be considered a witch hunt. I'm not looking for compassion for stoners here, I am merely trying to correct an error in the system. One that has not been justified by any source that enforces it. The police, judges and lawmakers have not made it clear why marijuana is illegal, they only degrade it with stereotyping and jokes about the munchies! As I said before, I was hoping you had done the research into the root of this issue, because I truly want to know. Without an answer I am left thinking that we live in a Dictatorship masquerading as a Democracy! I am an idealist, but I am aware that idealism has no place in reality. When we compare marijuana to alcohol it is a no brainer, marijuana is the safe alternative. That is why I promote it as a replacement for drinking and smoking cigarettes. Instead of being a nanny the government should focus on educating people about the harmful consequences of substance abuse and addiction, not charge them $1000 fine and deny them student loans! I have a problem with authority. . whew there I said it. I believe in the power of discipline and common decency, therefore I do not need someone telling me how to live my life. I recycle, mow my grandmas lawn, and have empathy for all of my brothers and sisters (aka people). .. mostly! So if I decide to smoke a bowl and watch the Avengers, I do it in my own world regardless of the hang ups and control issues of other people. Which leads to another theory of mine. . People are afraid of what they do not understand, people want to destroy what they fear. . in this case marijuana is the bogeyman. You might remember, when I broke down in the last debate it was because of my realization that everyone has something that they should not be doing, but they think they have the right to stop people from "making a mistake". (Epitome of Hypocrisy) Gay marriage is a perfect example although I'm done trying to reason with stubborn conservative Christians! My response to your enforcement argument is a simple solution: Use the tax revenue that is otherwise used for "the war on marijuana" and use it to fund a government sanctioned regulatory system and make them do their jobs instead of ignoring the massive elephant in the room! It is a copout to think that we could not have an adaptive system that keeps the money out of the black market and back into our more important resources like health care and education! From my (idealistic) perspective I should be allowed to grow and cultivate the plant as I see fit, but I realize that is a slippery slope in reality, so I am willing to compromise. . My question is, do you think the "law" will have the same ability to adapt to reason? Or is something else afoot? Leading back to conspiracy bla blah! The argument you made about people lifting the dogma off of weed causing more abuse and less restraint to abuse it! I will admit, addiction and breakfast bong tokes is a sad ordeal (not unlike people drinking at 2 pm) The sad fact is that people are not prone to discipline and moderation. I would be more than excited to learn that every ounce of alcohol had mysteriously vanished leaving the world into a mass detox, killing many! jk In truth, this needs to be approached with finesse. Education and positive re-enforcement is usually a good start followed by addiction counselors and maybe a better world to live in so they are not inclined to fall back into the same patterns. (I bring that up as an example of empathy for addiction as opposed to disgust and ridicule! ) "Perhaps if some plan or model for its introduction was devised, it may become a reality, but without proper limits, or even with them, the temporary intelligence detriments would inhibit schoolwork and productivity in workplaces. For this reason, I cannot support marijuana, even with the possibilities of hidden agendas. "-your quote Clearly a plan should be designed in an open discussion. I'm sure there is at least one person who can figure it out! That is far more productive than the ol "blow it out an air lock because its too scary"! These limits you are referencing are personal to each individual and should not be manipulated without proper analysis! Meaning self discipline is the solution not government restrictions (that are a violation of our human rights. ) Common decency is buried under bureaucratic red tape. I think it is an insult to rationally "evolved" people who see past the bulloney! Again as far as schoolwork and productivity goes, that has been a problem long before marijuana came into the picture. . some kids are idiots who think they are cool "acting like an adult" When really they should be thinking "maybe there is a reason I'm not allowed to have this". . solution: education! Not "Because I said so" Btw a lot of jobs can be done with efficiency and grace while high! Lazy people have themselves to blame not the plant! Anyway give me a little more to work with here. I went off on rants because I didn't have much for a reply to your arguments. I invite you to consider my positive approach to controlling marijuana instead of "Just say NO! !"