Post by ®³~Cortana on Oct 21, 2010 18:12:50 GMT -5
Sigh.
Quanta= Smallest thing that can like, exchange energy and physically interact or w.e.
No, we should not legalize recreational Marijuana.
Yes, medicinal Marijuana could be legalized, however I want to see some damn strict regulatory measures, and prove to me it will be relatively sustainable, not a financial drain.
I'm with Arrow; find another way to enjoy yourself, no need to mess with your body.
1) Cortana, no idea where you got the statistic that $113 billion was spent on rec. marijuana in `06, but no. Faulty statistic. I looked at half a dozen sites, the number is much closer to $30 billion tops. And please, you HONESTLY think that the average dealer is going to paying taxes on his Marijuana business? Get real. If he gets paid in cash, it's not even gonna go on the books; no taxes paid.
2) One of the directors of the Nat'l Food and Drug association said it best: Important lessons can be learned from those two widely-used legal drugs. While both alcohol and tobacco are taxed and regulated, the tax benefits to the public are vastly overshadowed by the adverse consequences of their use.
Alcohol-related costs total over $185 billion while federal and states collected an estimated $14.5 billion in tax revenue; similarly, tobacco use costs over $200 billion but only $25 billion is collected in taxes. These figures show that the costs of legal alcohol are more than 12 times the total tax revenue collected, and that the costs of legal tobacco are about 8 times the tax revenue collected. This is an economically disastrous tradeoff.
3) Ok, you guys are crying that the current system of enforcement is costing us money, and it's not doing any good, etc. etc. Sounds cute, but what system do you intend to put in place when we legalize it and the number of users grows exponentially? Your collected taxes won't cover it. What you fail to realize is that your idea that we can easily regulate and control because everyone is going to be open about their pot smoking once it's legal is naive.
4) Again, I agree with Arrow. Take 10% of the money that it would cost to IMPLEMENT control of rec. Marijuana, drop that on the drug/alcohol abuse portion of the education system that is gravely flawed, and suddenly we might have a shot at not having the greatest number of drunk driving accidents involve teens between the ages of 15-25.
5) That educational component isn't going to go away with legalization; it will in fact continue to be a factor. We have to educate today's youth with the TRUTH. Not DRUGS R BAD DUN DO DEM EVAR. And not, "ye it's legal have a rip". There has to be some basic education about the risks. If only to prevent retardation like this.
6)Marijuana is a gateway drug. I know it's already been said, but you didn't really explain to my satisfaction why this issue can be so easily ignored.
Cocaine: 62 percent of adults who had used marijuana before the age of 15 have used cocaine at some point during their lives. For those who had never used marijuana, that number is 0.6 percent.
Heroin: Those who use marijuana in youth are more likely to use heroin. That number is 9 percent as compared to 0.1 percent for those who had never used marijuana.
Psychotherapeutic drugs: 53.9 percent of those who used marijuana before the age of 15 report that they have also tried to use psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical uses. The rate for those who have not used marijuana is 5.1 percent.
And if you try to tell me heroin and cocaine aren't a serious issue, I will probably cry.
Think about it like gambling. The government has legalized gambling, and hypothetically it is strictly controlled. EX. Betting on sports games, etc.
Have you guys found it hard to gamble? I play poker with friends in my own house sometimes, bet money on games of pool (and win ) and once snuck into a casino to play slots and stuff with friends for a few hours. It's not hard. Fake ID's exist. It's easy to procure alcohol for a minor, easy to get into a club, a casino, anything like that. Marijuana WILL be the same. Don't doubt it.
But back to my analogy; look at gambling. Legalizing certain forms of gambling has only increased illegal gambling in the U.S., in the same way underage drinking hasn't faded out since we ended prohibition. It just doesn't work like that.
I struggle to believe that 80% of the people on this forum saying "YE LET'S LEGALIZE MY LEAF!" actually give a damn about the supposed economic benefits, or any of the rest of it; most of you just want your quick fix to be legal.
Troll me, rage me, hate me, get at me.
NOTE: Sorry sneaky, I don't know why my Youtube video is showing an advert on the side. >.<
Do you have any statistics or testimonies given by experts to back up what you claim?