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Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wutitiz
I am actually all in favor of legalization as long as the taxpayer is not on the hook to pay for the health care costs that result from its use. But that is presently not the case. The taxpayer is on the hook to pay for the costs, which per Rafael Mechoulam, are significant.
The costs of health care for those who use alcohol, tobacco, some prescription drugs, and who overeat themselves into morbid obesity are also significant. Why worry so much about marijuana when the taxpayer is on the hook for the others?
BTW, Mechoulam seems to say marijuana is significantly bad for growing brains, who's ever advocated legalization for minors?
I don't think anyone behind legalization thinks pot is harmless. The thinking is more that the bans cause more problems than there would be having pot legal. It's not like the ban on pot is keeping anyone who wants to from smoking it. It's just making the drug gangs enormously rich.
Pretty spot on man. Hell, I'm for legalization of more than just pot, and I know first hand and fill well, what the harmful effects can be from usinv ANY mind altering substance. In every case where I've seen bad damage done, and there have been quite a few, alcohol and Meth are probably tied. If I factor in damage done from manufacture and distribution, including sales, to the equation, Math is a runaway first. This being because it IS illegal, and therefore there is a lot of violence involved , and zero oversight, getting the stuff to the "customer".
Despite the known , harmful effects, all substances people use to catch a buzz have, people use them anyway. In the case of drugs, the demand causes mayhem and destruction, on a grand scale. Mind boggling, vicious, brutal effects. Sounds like I'm making a case for them being illegal, don't it.? All that violence and mayhem seems to make the case for that?
Not at all. That is all happening BECAUSE drugs are illegal. Alcohols effects are individual, and stay within the abusers circle. Nobody gets shot vetting the bottle he buys to the liquor store. Nobody kills hi., or any of his loved ones, if he can't pay for that bottle. There are no shootouts between.the distillery crews and owners with SWAT operators. Nobody is getting shot to doll rags by SWAT teams serving no knocks and getting the address wrong. I can go on forever. But I don't think I need to.
The biggest problem with drugs is a manufactured one. Leone who use them, though what that use does to their live because of abuse, are not causing the major percentage of damage. That is happening because , since in someone's infinite wisdom and attempt to babysit, drugs are illegal, that means big money for those who care to be bold and be part of the supply chain. Big enough money to over, and all tax free. Quit babysitting people, let them make their own life decisions, and that will do a lot. A lot less bodies will drop, that's a certain fact.
I dont want anybody stone working no where near me, not even on the same property, I know it impairs one motor skills, I should have the right to work in a safe enviroment
I'll let you in on a little secret. There are very likely people working around you stoned now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brownbagg
I dont want anybody stone working no where near me, not even on the same property, I know it impairs one motor skills, I should have the right to work in a safe enviroment
I dont want anybody stone working no where near me, not even on the same property, I know it impairs one motor skills, I should have the right to work in a safe enviroment
Umm...surely. I feel the same way. But that doesn't really bear on the topic here. Drug/alcohol abuse in the workplace is a desperate issue. It takes a special kind of idiocy for someone to go to work toasted. Though I've seen it happen, and reported more than one co worker who showed up on my AO trashed.
So do you also believe that alcohol and tobacco use should be made illegal? What about high-sugar drinks and foods?
Because those things, too, have devastating health and societal effects which are borne by the taxpayer.
I would be in favor of an incremental move towards control of these other harmful substances, and I think we're pretty clearly going in that direction. The CDC estimates that up to 86% of health care costs are from behavior. If we're moving to an era where health care is a right, inevitably the taxpayer will demand that behavior-control is also a right of government.
I detest a nanny state as much as the next guy. I don't want to be poked, prodded, and monitored by gov't bureaucrats. But on the other hand I don't like seeing my wallet vacuumed by drunks, smokers, or consumers of high-sugar drinks and foods. To the extent that we have the massive welfare state, my vote will support an equally massive nanny state.
The end game will not be control of substances, but of individuals. Everything that you eat, drink, smoke, or screw is going to be within gov't purview. Other advanced nations with free health care already have this. We're gong to have it too. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/wo...3fat.html?_r=0
Cigarettes cause lung cancer.......alcohol impairs everything (in excess of course - alcoholic) causes accidents......shooting up heroine and you're an addict and probably useless
If anyone thinks marijuana is even close to any of those controlled substances with regards to the dangers to ones self and others, all I can say is you are so naive. I've known attorneys, bankers, all walks of life - very successful and enjoy a toke. The few "potheads" I've known in my life were useless to begin with, and all pot did was make them a relaxed useless person.
Sure, legalize it which will mean control it. Let our government tax the crap out of it and make money. Or, just stop wasting so much of our tax dollars going after pot offenders, There are SO many more things worse than that.
Cigarettes cause lung cancer.......alcohol impairs everything (in excess of course - alcoholic) causes accidents......shooting up heroine and you're an addict and probably useless
If anyone thinks marijuana is even close to any of those controlled substances with regards to the dangers to ones self and others, all I can say is you are so naive. I've known attorneys, bankers, all walks of life - very successful and enjoy a toke. The few "potheads" I've known in my life were useless to begin with, and all pot did was make them a relaxed useless person.
Sure, legalize it which will mean control it. Let our government tax the crap out of it and make money. Or, just stop wasting so much of our tax dollars going after pot offenders, There are SO many more things worse than that.
You were on a roll until the last paragraph. Government regs dont make anyone safer and it sure as hell doesnt need anymore of our money.
Sounds like the guy needs to smoke some weed and stop being a killjoy.
And since he's an Israeli, he needs to promote more weed smoking in that region. Maybe they'd all stop whacking each other. Nowhere in the world needs more weed than Israel and the rest of the middle east.
Someone should give Netanyahu a spliff. Then he'd sound less deranged.
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