Should marijuana be legalized in the US?

[Kristen Horton]

WSJ: "Decriminalizing the possession and use of marijuana would raise billions in taxes and eliminate much of the profits that fuel bloodshed and violence in Mexico." from the WSJ article: Drugs: To Legalize or Not

Should the US legalize marijuana for personal non-medical use?

[Nicki Laycoax]

If pot is a gateway drug, wouldn't alcohol be one as well? I'm pretty sure that everyone that I know that smokes or has smoked has drank alcohol first...

[Nicki Laycoax]

Yeah, I'm a little weirded by this, Chris...

[Michael R.]

Yeah, IMHO, it is a gateway drug (scientific or not). I've known HUNDREDS of people over the course of my lifetime who got their start in drugs by smoking dope. It was easy to get, cheap, and it got people's courage/curiousity up to move on to the next "feel good drug".

[Chris Horn]

chances are those kinds of people are going to smoke it whether its legal or not.

[Bob Sullivan]

You've known HUNDREDS of people who got their start in drugs by smoking dope?!

Hyperbole, I assume?

Or perhaps you need to hang out in better neighborhoods. :)

A gateway drug has only one definition, and MJ is not a gateway drug by that definition. The people you know simply have the disposition to want to pursue the next level of high.

I knew a couple who divorced over her husband's leisurely weed use. On the weekends, he liked to smoke the grass instead of mow the grass, and this bummed her out. But for over ten years it never led him to any other drugs. Of course, it was the reason for his divorce, so he had a problem...

Bob

[Marita Topmiller]

The hypocrisy is already shattering, Michael. Drug companies are doing it with lethal chemicals.
There is no evidence that mj is a gateway drug. That's all myth.

[Michael R.]

With all due respect, I've seen it with my own eyes with LOTS of people. I don't NEED anymore proof than that.

[Marita Topmiller]

What was missing in the lives of so many people you know, Michael? Why did their families,
careers and health mean so little to them? Having known countless collegians who used mj
only after hours and created successful lives and happy families, I am curious about your
comments. You must have seen tragedy. What were the extenuating circumstances?

[Joe Shoemaker]

Yes.

[Brian Morgan]

I wouldn't want it legalized. Perhaps there are two sides to any coin, my opinion is that MJ can lead to other more power drugs; saw it happen to someone in Fraternity life and it was not a social thing it was outright addiction. The power of certain drugs is that the addict turns away from "life and living" and is solely consumed by the "habit"; it's the purpose of their "life". If you've seen videos or documentaries about "crack" you might see a pretty ugly world; not something that I/we would want to think we can simply "let" happen to people. I say "Danger Will Robinson"... Brian

[Marita Topmiller]

Pot is not crack. Pot is not addictive. How many people did you see using mj, Brian? Out of that
number how many went on to destroy their lives with it? Having grown up in the '60's, I can't count
the number of people I have known who used it and went on to develop outstanding lives in their
communities.

[Nicki Laycoax]

Oh dear... I hope that his school isn't following this...