Will Obama Legalize Marijuana?
by Big Dog on Dec 24, 2008 at 00:39 Political
Esquire has an article indicating that Barack Obama might legalize marijuana. This is big news for the bong toting left and a major concern among the youth in this country. On his transparent and open ask Obama site (the one where all questions about the Illinois scandal were deleted) the youth asked about legalizing the potent vegetation. The answer was that Obama is opposed to legalizing the drug which surprises me considering how much he enjoyed using it as a young man. He has indicated that he wants to decriminalize it but that is a matter of how to treat people from a legal standpoint.
I am not actually opposed to legalizing marijuana as a matter of principle. I have never used it and would not if it were legal but I find no difference between the effects of marijuana and the effects of alcohol. As a matter of health marijuana is far more harmful in a shorter period especially to the brain and lungs but alcohol is destructive to the liver and brain over the long term. Long term marijuana use has also been shown to cause mental health problems. Any drug that is abused will present a problem.
Legalizing marijuana and allowing the government to heavily tax it will bring a great deal of revenue to the treasury. If we could get politicians to use it wisely then it would be beneficial to the economy. I am sure there would be many jobs opened if farmers could grow marijuana and I bet we would have enough Americans willing to work the jobs that illegals would not have to pick weed.
There are quite a few problems that would need to be addressed. What kind of quality control would be involved in the process of growing and preparing the stuff for use? Where would it be sold and how could we control it so that it is not sold or redistributed to minors? What security measures would be required at farms to keep stoners from stealing the crop? Would Americans be able to grow their own and how much?
If we end up legalizing the drug it should be expensive and heavily taxed (revenues that will be lost if people can grow their own) so that it will not be easily available. There should be draconian penalties for those who do anything illegal with it like driving under the influence or distributing it to minors. People who are caught growing their own (or more than is allowed) should have to pay an amount equal to the taxes on whatever quantity they produce plus a substantial fine. Those who engage in illegal trafficking should receive jail time. Employers should be able to dictate whether their employees may use the substance regardless of when. In other words, airlines, the military, police departments and such can say their employees are not allowed to use marijuana.
There are many problems that are associated with legalizing marijuana but careful and thoughtful legislation (something Congress knows nothing about) could remedy those problems. Many problems will be difficult to address. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive component of marijuana and it is fat soluble so it stays in the body for quite some time. THC is present long after the effect of marijuana has passed so people who are tested will come back positive even if they have not used it for a while. If a bus driver (or some guy in a car) has an accident and is tested he will be positive and the level might be high depending upon when he last used. How could anyone tell if he was high at the time of the accident? This is a major issue that will fill the courts with lawsuits. If that bus drive was not high but tested positive after the accident and people are injured or killed then it is a safe bet there will be plenty of lawsuits. Many employers test employees after a work related accident. If the person is positive (for any drug) they are usually terminated. How will this be resolved if marijuana is legal?
There are also issues of health. What are the long term health effects of marijuana use? Decreased brain function, lack of energy and lack of motivation are common in long term use as are severe lung ailments and brain dysfunction. If only those who use it illegally now continued then the demand on the health care system would not change but assuming that more people would use it if it were legal, how will the increase effect the health care system?
These and any number of other issues need to be addressed before we can legalize the drug. I am personally not opposed to it because I think we can tax it and make money and because it is, in my mind, not very different from the use of alcohol. I would not use it but as long as the issues are addressed I see no reason why others should not be able to if they so desire. However, I would not lose sleep if they never made it legal.
I am a bit concerned because there will be even more bong toting, Kos reading, Kool Aid drinking liberals getting stoned and I don’t know how many more of them the welfare system will support. Besides, we are now dealing with the burnt out liberals of the 60s and I don’t know if we need even more of them around in 20 or 30 years.
There is one other condition that needs to be met before we ever legalize the drug. Every state in the union must become a shall issue state for people who want to carry a firearm (those legally allowed) and that includes every jurisdiction in each state. If we make it legal to use a drug that is not addressed in the Constitution then we need to ensure the citizens in this country are allowed to freely exercise a right that is clearly enumerated in it.
Come to think of it, we need to do that whether marijuana is legalized of not.
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Tags: alcohol, drug abuse, drugs, marijuana, Obama, pot, Second Amendment, stoner, weed
I am absolutely opposed to legalizing marijuana. We have enough trouble with teens drinking, driving while drinking and killing people. It is known that kids who use marijuana go on to use heavier drugs. It is wrong to legalize something that is wrong. Cigarette smoking is on its way out, thank God, and as far as I am concerned they can do away with alcohol due to the damage I have seen it do to people and families. People would be healthier and we all would be safer.
do you understand that its a free country and people have a right to choose what they decide to do with their bodies and such. Alcohol and weed have a much different effect on you. You cant overdose on it like you can develop alcohol poisoning from abusing it. Grow up Teach you kids good morals and standards and light up and enjoy your days. peace
I understand that it is supposed to be a free country. As long as government can deny our Second Amendment rights it is not free.
Also, please don’t insult me by telling me to teach my children anything, that is for me to decide.
THC is fat soluble. It is possible to overdose on anything including water and THC build in the body and has long term effects on the brain.
These are all well documented but stoners refuse to believe.
I don’t care if they legalize it or not. But there would need to be a lot of things that had to take place. Also, not until every state becomes a must issue state for carry permits.
BTW, ETOH and THC both affect the brain. They affect hand eye coordination and the ability to make judgments. They are both mind altering. Not much difference in what they do maybe more in how they do it.
thc is fat soluble and can be cleaned out of your system in less than a week because of this as for the effect on your brain it does has some and does kill your brain cells i will agree with you on that but so does alcohol. Another agreement towards this is that it does impair your judgement. now what i would like to see is your source or sources for the amount of damage marijuana does to your brain. I myself have read articles disputing heavy damage done to the brain by this drug. in conclusion i don’t think marijuana should be legal even though i smoke it because of how catastrophic it could be and with out this subject being completely looked over it would most probably fail and only cause more hardships.
First, I agree that marijuana should be legalized, considering we live in a nation hoisting freedom of thought.
But here are some other things to consider:
Alcohol is a dangerous drug if overused, however, marijuana is not something that will kill you.
Yes, marijuana kills brain cells, but so do cigarettes. What is killing the cells is not the content of the marijuana, it is the smoke. When you deprive your self of oxygen for any period of time, you are depriving your brain, which kills a few brain cells, however, cells reproduce. You don’t have a single cell in your body that you had 10 years ago.
Those who say marijuana is 6 times more harmful than a cigarette, would you not agree that it is most likely that someone smoking marijuana is holding the smoke in their lungs at least 6 times longer than smoke from a cigarette? And how many cigarettes does one smoke in a day compared to marijuana?
Secondly, marijuana does not lead to harder drugs. Drug dealers lead you to harder drugs because they want more money. Legalize marijuana, cut out the dealer, eliminate the likelihood of using harder drugs.
From my humanist perspective, marijuana is a part of our culture. It has had great influence on the arts, and if you don’t believe me, then maybe you should wake up.
My last point, marijuana, legal or not, is not going anywhere. People will use it regardless of legality. These concerns you have about people driving when high are problems that can be enforced, like alcohol is. Laws exist to protect people. Marijuana is not hurting people. Driving while intoxicated is. That law should stand. If a person is arrested for smoking marijuana responsibly, in their home, without hurting anybody, why should they be considered a criminal?
Im all for the the legalization of marijuana or at least decriminalized in all states. Yes marijuana is a gateway drug, i’ve never moved on to heavier drugs ever! But alcohol is just as much as a gateway drug so your being hypocritical
I don’t care one way or another if marijuana is legalized but I believe all your points are valid and should be addressed if legalization is considered. However, I doubt that would be the case. And carry permits should be as accessible if not more so than any legal drug including alcohol. This is a right and should not be infringed upon by the lame legislation.
I read that chronic marijuana usage can cause fertility problems. That would be a good thing for the conservative crowd if stoners had trouble reproducing (hell they already kill of most before their born – perhaps this would cut down on abortions, too).
One other thing that should be done if marijuana is legalized. Those who become addicted should not be able to get disability or benefits or free healthcare or free rehab or whatever. Your choice, live with it.
it is marijuana seeds that cause infertility in both sperm count on eggs and secondly marijuana has never been proven to be a physically addictive drug witch means that a person who believes themselves to be addicted to said substance is only mentally addictive and brain reacts in an addictive manner due to a pure placebo effect. this does not mean that these particular people don’t need help from rehab but would probably be more effective if counseling considering that not using will not cause withdrawls. if your rehab came from people sent there by the court system that would be to keep jail populations down.
Chances are that Obama will not Legalize marijuana, although he probably work to aid in the decriminalization of Medical Marijuana Nationwide.
It is true that THC can be cleansed from the system in the time of one week to one month. This presupposes one time (or very infrequent) use. THC is fat soluble and each additional use causes a cumulative effect that increases the amount that has to be eliminated so it takes longer. Chronic use will cause THC build up that will take a long time to get rid of.
Marijuana is physically addictive. It also affects the nerve cells int he brain that deal with short term memory.
This NIDA information page details the information.
Big Dog, please go do some reading so you can be as educated as me.
“…I find no difference between the effects of marijuana and the effects of alcohol.”
Wrong.
“As a matter of health marijuana is far more harmful in a shorter period especially to the brain and lungs.”
Wrong.
“Long term marijuana use has also been shown to cause mental health problems.”
Wrong.
“What kind of quality control would be involved in the process of growing and preparing the stuff for use?”
None. It’s a plant. No different than growing a tomato plant…you don’t need quality control to grow and pick a tomato.
“Where would it be sold and how could we control it so that it is not sold or redistributed to minors?”
It’s not as dangerous as a gun, and you can keep guns from minors…right?…
“What security measures would be required at farms to keep stoners from stealing the crop? Would Americans be able to grow their own and how much?”
Stoners wouldn’t need to steal – because I’m sure they would grow their own in their own backyard…Americans would grow as much as they want, just like if they wanted to grow a lot of tomatoes!
“Kool Aid drinking liberals”
Well, I take offense to that, but since your so easily corrected me, a liberal, I shouldn’t feel so bad, and maybe you should rethink things, because I can out-debate you on every conservative issue…very easily!
I doubt you could out debate me on anything. You chide me to read and learn. I must have wasted all those years in nursing school, all those years as a paramedic and an army medic. I must have not paid attention to any of the lessons on drugs. Geez, all those inspections I have conducted on drug programs and the expert testimony I have given in front of administrative judges concerning drug use, if I had only read the stoner magazines you read.
Where to start?
The effects of marijuana and of alcohol have little difference in the brain. They might act upon different areas but both are mind altering substances.
Instead of saying wrong maybe you could do the reading. I provided references but you can go to the CDC, the SAMSHA, NIDA and any number of other agencies. You can read the studies linking long term use with schizophrenia, you can read the studies depicting the damage to the nerve cells in the brain and to the lungs, though anyone could figure that if you draw smoke, any kind of smoke, into your lungs there will be problems.
Tomatoes are not drugs. Marijuana is a drug and it requires quality control. You see, while I was in class and not reading stoner magazines I learned something about the FDA and classes of drugs. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug which would have to be changed for it to be made a recreational drug like alcohol.
There is a difference in growing it and tomatoes. There needs to be some control over what is actually being grown to ensure that something that people will be sucking into their lungs does not include additives that will be more harmful than the drug. Don’t you think the government inspects alcohol producers and that there is some kind of quality control?
We could debate whether it is as dangerous as guns. Guns used in self defense are only dangerous to criminals. Guns require a person to take a decision to use them. Law abiding people do not go around murdering. Criminals do and it is interesting because a lot of it involves drugs like, marijuana. But, since you mentioned it, yes we can keep kids from getting guns. That is because in most places you cannot buy more than one a month and there is a mandatory background check to make a purchase. There are severe penalties for buying them and selling or giving to people who are not allowed to own them.
So, we should require people to have a background check and the should not be allowed to buy marijuana if they have any item that would prevent them from buying a gun. Anyone caught selling or giving to minors would have to have a mandatory jail term of 5 years or so. Thanks for pointing that out.
Americans are allowed to make a certain quantity of beer and distilled spirits. This is to keep people from avoiding paying taxes. Make no mistake, if the government makes it legal the only reason will be so they can tax it which means people will be LIMITED in how much they can grow.
Yes, you are a Kool Aid drinker.
It is you’re so easily corrected not “your” but maybe if you read more you would know that.
There is a movie you can watch on youtube called The Union: the business behind getting high,there are also various videos on the topic of how marijuana got to be classified as a schedule I substance. A doctor at the University of Colorado says that MJ is very beneficial to the body and many doctors and scientist have reason to believe that marijuana helps with a wide variety of illnesses including cancer.
a friend, too was very skeptical being an RN(registered nurse) but after watching these videos and testiomonials of doctors and patients she began to see what has really been going on. I suggest that we all educate ourselves on the subject and also ask ourselves, why would the government lie? why is it illegal? how long has it been illegal?
It is also said by scientists and doctors that marijuana is harmless and that cigs and alcohol are much worse.Everyone has an agenda to support, but someone has to be right. And there so much information for both sides is it harmful and killing brainless? Is it harmless and beneficial? Only one side will be able to prove their side without using smoke and mirrors.
oh and by the way it is highly hypocritical of the governement and the FDA to pass so many other harmful ‘anti psychotics’ that can very well leave you worse than when you started. Legalizing all these drugs that are highly addictive, cigs,alcohol,xanax,morphine,the oxys,valium.
Essentially what the government is saying is that Marijuana is worse than all these?? Don’t make me laugh. These so called scientist and doctors that have been running these test say whatever the pharmaceutical companies want them to say and as a reward they get some of the profits. WHERE THERE ARE HUMAN BEINGS THERE IS CORRUPTION. Especially if these human beings are in power. You can’t blindly accept everything you read and are taught, ,like i said every1 has an agenda.
Yeah
I smoke pot and it helps me read. I have ADD and it is really hard to concentrate for long periods of time. When i smoke marijuana my brain slows down, the time around me slows down and it helps me get sh!t done.
Oh and i am an astrophysics major and i don’t spend my time reading pot magazines (dumba$$)
I started drinking in high school and i know how dangerous high school students can be when they are allowed to misuse drugs. If it is legalized, it should be enforced the same way as Alcohol. (although i dont think they have anything in common. one causes you to forget pieces of time and another distorts your ability to register time) The dangerous problem about legal marijuana is the same problem with underage drinking and driving under the influence. There needs to be much more sever penalties for people breaking these laws. I personally would completely recall a driver’s license if they are caught under the influence and they should have to retake their drivers test to get it back. And underage DUIs should have to wait 2 years after their DUI to get it renewed.
Marijuana is good for the economy, good for creative though, good for the crime rate, good for international relations and isnt that detrimental to your health. If it is to be legalized, (i dont think it will be until the second term) and controlled responsibly, i think the world image of America will change and we are in desperate need of a makeover in the eyes of the world. No one in the world has any beef with The Netherlands and they dont have any beef with anyone else. I think it because a good portion of the country is happy with life. (thanks to a little plant)
And for the last time
insulting liberals is a dirty conservative tactic that has been over used for the past 50 years.
And liberals calling conservatives “seal-clubbers” is the same thing
stop the name calling and actually think about the target problem instead of throwing cow pies at each other
I know there are intelligent debates from both sides but conservatives and liberals alike spend too much damn time calling each other names to actually say anything important
hey [redacted for non compliance] –
When you say “I have never used it and would not if it were legal but I find no difference between the effects of marijuana and the effects of alcohol” do you realize what a bum cloth you sound like?
Tooth, I have tolerated you long enough. Keep your vulgar references out of the comments.
I am a medical professional and have seen as well been taught about the similarities in the way they affect the brain.
Just because you use it does not make you an expert, it just makes you a drug user.
In other words, just because someone owns a hammer it does not mean he is a carpenter.
Keep it clean or you are gone.
I’m sorry but is calling somebody a drug user supposed to mean something? Have you ever used morphine, tylenol, aspirin etc.? Feeling good about yourself because your drugs get the smiley face rating from the government and pot users get a frowny face is hypocritical and it decreases your ability to debate.
MS04, Tylenol, ASA, and many other drugs have medicinal value. Using them to address a medical problem is quite a bit different than using a drug for recreation.
Smoking dope before commenting decreases your ability to form a rational thought.
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Thanks
legalize it.
I just wanted to say that Big Dog, I am sure that you are a very intelligent person. But on this subject you are putting out a lot of wrong information. Please do some more research and correct yourself.
Well, my information comes from training, my license, my job and the physicians I work with including some at the CDC as well as those who are substance abuse counselors.
I did not get my information from the guy who sells bongs at the head shop or from a stoner website so maybe it disagrees with what you are used to seeing.
Honestly I think that we should just allow Vegas to have coffee shops. That town is already dirty and most everything is available there anyways.