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Should marijuana use be legalized?

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in what country?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Reminds me of those SAT questions where one of the answers is "Not enough information to answer"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nothing wrong with the question. Any kind of prohibition never worked. All drugs should be legalized. That will be the end of organized crime.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

All drugs should be legalized. That will be the end of organized crime.

and will keep those particular countries specialised in this arena from ruining Jland and 'exploiting' the Jpeople.

True prohibition never works. Shinjuku even on weekdays!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

maybe, who really knows?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Imagine the tax revenue. It might even attract more tourists. You've got Japan. And then you've got Japan on WEED. Which sounds more interesting? The latter of course. Of course.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

That'd be, of course, awesome

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'd favor its possession being decriminalized. But I don't know if I want my ANA pilot taking a toke before he flies me to Sapporo.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

decriminalised yes, but can you imagine the ammount of high pitched squeeling from already annoying octive levels of J-lasses around town?. you`d need plugs for sure.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

In The Netherlands marijuana is not legalized but the government turns a blind eye to users because marijuana is not addictive. The reason the Dutch government allows the use of marijuana is to cut the link between the occasional weed user and the hard drug dealers who give free samples of cocaine and heroine to people who just come to buy weed. In this way the dealers get the weed users hooked on hard drugs which they then have to buy from them. With marijuana for sale in coffee shops, weed users do not have to get their stuff from dealers anymore and the result is that the number of heroine and cocaine addicts has dropped drastically in the Netherlands since the use of marijuana was allowed.

No, I don't want the pilot of my plane who flies me to Hokkaido be high on weed, just as I don't want him to be drunk on booze either.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Definately not. There are enough potty people aroind without letting them have free use of this addictive drug. In the process, I would also put a total ban on tobacco, especially cigarettes. Tobacco is an equally dangersou, life-threatening drug.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

alcohol is more poisonous, its use causes more health problems, and premature deaths, than smoking.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Of course. Uh, what was the question again ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Of course it should be legal. The drugs alcohol and tobacco are deemed legal and so should the good stuff too. Marijuana is great, makes you feel good and relaxed, the perfect antidote to the s*** of life.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You mean to say that if I want to grow something on my own land, solely for my own personal consumption, that there is a government out there that will make a criminal out of me and rob me of my freedoms for doing so?

Talk about your malevolent governments.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

you lot should've been in shinjuku on saturday night. it's university "ice-breaking" season, apparently. this means that there were quite a phenomenal number of young people strewn around the streets, many of them reliving their lunches. was quite a sorry sight to see. when you consider the amount of damage people do to themselves by using alcohol it really makes you wonder how anyone could possibly justify drug prohibition on public health grounds.

i was watching a documentary on the cocaine market in columbo recently. there was not one issue that could have been solved by legalising coke and putting control of the supply chain in the hands of the government. then the people would benefit from western drug use. but instead you have america telling a country what it can and can't do with its crops, its land, etc etc.

legalize drugs, take the criminals out of the equation, tax them as any consumable and treat any negative consequences as a health issue. it's so pathetically simple so as it will never happen

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Tell it to the Liquor lobbyists...follow the money. It would cut too far into the profits of those vultures.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hmm..? Yes. Why not? Is not worst than the pachinkos or the snacks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I think that the problems with enforcing the ban (money to organized crime, violence, theft to support expensive habits, etc.) cost society more than the problems created by use (DUI accidents, sloth, health issues - same as alcohol, really). I would say leagalize it and measure the costs against what you have today. If the results are good then leagalize more stuff and treat the addicts rather than deal with the criminals.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Living right and living free of drugs, is always right forever.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Definitely pro. I've never been a user but I can't fathom why consenting adults can't make their own decisions about what they do and don't want to ingest.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It`s not that pathetically simple. Yes THC is organic, has less health affects than alcohol, and no one really commits crimes when stoned..they sit, giggle, watch TV. But THC is a gateway drug---ask the majority of meth, cocaine, heroin users what their first drug was and they will say Pot. Ever heard of Sherm? THC laced with embalming fluid. These drugs make people violent and the crimes they commit are often savage. If it were only people using solely THC, sitting baked on the couch at home would be fine. But it does not happen that way. Where this drug leads to is a bad, bad road.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

But THC is a gateway drug...

Ludicrous and meaningless. What percentage of pot smokers become chronic users of those other drugs? Very small.

The gateway is actually stupidity. Stupid people try to lie about the "dangers" of pot to the extent that other stupid people conclude that they must be telling lies about other drugs as well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

But THC is a gateway drug---ask the majority of meth, cocaine, heroin users what their first drug was and they will say Pot.

Oh, I bet it's actually alcohol or cigarettes. But that doesn't fit the anti-drug hysteria, does it?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Of course it should be legal, but don't expect it anytime soon in Japan. What percentage of JT does the government control?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ask the majority of meth, cocaine, heroin users what their first drug was and they will say Pot.

And 99.9% of them would be wrong, unless they had never eaten chocolate or drunk a coke (and I'd wager most of them tried alcohol before pot too).

My first drug was chocolate which started me down the path of sweet things. That eventually led me to caffeinated beverages. Realizing the high I could get from the caffeine, I started taking coffee in the morning.

Chocolate is the real gateway drug, if you believe in those types of things.

Taka

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No.

stirfry - Har!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Come on Pump24, all your friends are doing it. Don't you want to be part of the "in" crowd? All the cool kids are doing it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Marijuana is a drug and should be treated as such. It should not be legal. What is more, the drug sellers and drug users should be treated the same.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Ludacris, meaningless Yabits? In your world, sure. But I worked several years as a parole/probation officer and saw first-hand the toll drugs take on the user, and the eventual victims. Stupidity is trying a drug for the first time. After that it is a battle to separate ones self from the craving. And do not confuse alcohol with controlled substances---few drug addicts are alcoholics, and vice versa. The cravings, the affects on the body are totaly different. To many lives are destroyed by drugs. But apparently this is hard to see for some when stoned, sitting on the couch.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I think the bigger point is not which is worse, it's that prohibition on a substance doesn't work. Never has. Never will. The US tried making alcohol illegal and it failed miserably. When it looked like all the cops chasing alcohol bootleggers might be out of the job, one Mr Ansliger changed his focus to Cannabis (which he renamed pot, because it was a Spanish name and hence linked to Mexicans) and started a fear campaign to make it illegal, which worked. The most famous example is the film "Reefer Madness". One man is almost solely responsible for pot being illegal.

Now Cannabis is bad for you, I won't try and deny that. The issue here is how much tax payers money is wasted on "The War on Drugs". And more to the point, what does it achieve? Public authorities have made much more progress on another dangerous drug, tobacco, despite the fact that it's "legal". Plus Portugal and the Netherlands have also made much more progress which drugs than the US or other Western nations.

I guess what it boils down to is that drugs are NOT a criminal issue, they are a public health issue and should be treated as such. They do ruin lives, true. But it's not something anyone should be arrested for and nobody has until 70 or 80 years ago (VERY recent). People with drug problems need help, not jail time.

And if anyone doubts the facts I've stated, you're on the internet, look them up. Start with Angslinger.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

sorry not pot, marijuana.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes, but not in Japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A good link.

http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Pump24-"But I worked several years as a parole/probation officer and saw first-hand the toll drugs take on the user, and the eventual victims. Stupidity is trying a drug for the first time."

Stupitidy is changing the subject. This does nothing to prove the gateway drug theory, and this is what you were called on. All you have done is throw an emotional appeal in and its not even related. Its a red herring and an awful method of discussion.

"But THC is a gateway drug---ask the majority of meth, cocaine, heroin users what their first drug was and they will say Pot."

...even though it was probably alcohol. You are not the only one confused about the issue. Even the users themselves are confused.

"And do not confuse alcohol with controlled substances---few drug addicts are alcoholics, and vice versa. "

Few morphine addicts are cocaine addicts too. Addicts tend to be addicted to only one drug, but have probably tried a few.

Yabits has rightly told you have things backwards. Your logic is like saying that all illegal racers got their start on street legal vehicles. No doubt. But the significant point is that most people who drive cars do not become illegal racers. Eliminating street legal cars will most likely spell the end of illegal racing. But why hold everyone to the standard of a few rotten apples? Its bull. But why am I not surprised an ex-probation/parole officer is falling into the logical fallacy of the gateway drug theory? I think its because it justifies the silly act of arresting people for marijuana possession is why.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The use of marijuana in Japan would be the single most improvement to this country since cup ramen.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Point taken, BeaverCleaver. But not agreed with.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If you're going to post your comment, make sure you know what you are talking about. Have you ever indulged? if not, refrain from posting. and that applies for any topics. No first-hand experience?Don't post anything!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Pump24,

Oh, yeah, TRYING drugs has completely ruined my life...pfft!!! What you wrote is complete claptrap. TRYING drugs doesnt destroy everyones life. And i seriously question your coments about alcohol, and you fail to mention the biggest killer, tobacco. The biggest cravings i ever had, from any legal or illegal substance (i`ve tried a few, outside Japan), was from tobacco. But you conveniently overlook tobacco. And surely, in your experiences you must have come across alcoholics.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Pump24

Why don`t you class alcohol as a drug, when it clearly is?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Beware of the poll results. I already voted once, and now its letting me vote again, which I will not do. So now, I cannot even see the results, not that I trust them now anyway.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

yes yes and yes, personally I'm not a pot smoker but the sheer amount of money wasted on enforcement makes up my mind. Beyond that let's tax the stuff just like alcohol and tobacco and plug some holes in the budget.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Only if there is a verifiable way of proving whether a driver is driving under the inluence.

Smoking will affect your coordination for the next several hours, so not good for people with jobs. The weekend maybe, if you're not planning to do anything responsible for half a day.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When people lack wisdom, they can't tell the difference from what is right and what is wrong. All the pro MJ folks keep forgetting, when you light up, everyone around you is gonna be affected immediately. Second hand smoke doesn't just dissipate around you, it travels for a few blocks before it really does go away (affecting a few others in its path). 2nd, Believe it or not drugs affect each person differently, it affects people based on their metabolism and blood type. What may be good for the goose may not be good for the gander.

Alchohol will only affect the person that intakes it, and even then other people can intervene when they try to drive after intake, as for if they die of alchohol poisoning, its that persons fault for not saying enough is enough.

As for legalization of all other drugs, thats just plain stupid. Are you willing to have to pay more in taxes for the government to place more programs to deal with people tripping out and harming others from PCP, cocaine, meth or any other things that can cause them to not only seriously harm themselves, but others?

But hey its ok as long as the "Its all about me" folks get what they want. Lack of complete consideration for those around you will eventually cause the backlash of the consequences to throwing your morals out the window. Society will always fail when the majority keeps ignoring the lines they're not supposed to cross.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Japan immigration office could probably use this as a evidence to make their policies stricter against more immigration ...and I suppose the Japanese police too could do more targeted checks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"I think the bigger point is not which is worse, it's that prohibition on a substance doesn't work."

you could argue that in Japan it has. ..to the extent that attitudes to it here are far different to western countries that have a prevalence and take up of it and their own problems as a result: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8115229.stm . and yes like most around the world i do make a "real" distinction between alcohol and "drugs" as i know some places are more prim about alcohol in "general".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No. Also, the most addictive dangerous drug is cigarettes. The world will be a better place without cigarettes. Especially in Japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Marijuana works for some and not for others. It should be an individual's decision and not the state's.

Japanese could use it. The ones I know who smoke had a better handle on life and were much more happier than the ones that didn't.

I bet it would cut the suicide rate in half.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I had so called friends push me on cigarettes everyday until I started smoking when I was in grade eleven. I didn't even drink. But as per the gateway theory . . .

I don't mind smoking, and figure I can do it till I die, but the reality is that noone knows what happens when we die, and this is where things like cigarettes, weed, and alcohol begin to matter for anyone who has spent any time thinking about it.

If it wasn't for this I would be all over it, no problem, but that isn't the problem.

The easiest way to think of things is that while you do whatever you do, there are wars going on, people don't have jobs, and little black kids are dropping like flies everyday. In everyday parlance, our "brothers".

These are the main reasons why people should minimize "indulging" in the first place, while people you don't necessarily know are going through fairly tough times.

In simple terms we are either part of the problem, cleaning it up, or doing nothing. Pick up a spade brother.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

All the pro MJ folks keep forgetting, when you light up, everyone around you is gonna be affected immediately. Second hand smoke doesn't just dissipate around you, it travels for a few blocks before it really does go away (affecting a few others in its path).

Yes, because we're gonna be lighting up in restaurants and bars. What an idiotic argument. Proper legalization would be restricted to homes and/or special "marijuana bars". Your secondhand smoke theory is a smokescreen for your puritanical fascism.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Legalize Marijuana? Sure, let the public decide. I think the majority of people will try it once and forget it.

From experience:

-seen a whole dozen people smoke something they thought was weed and become sick -been very sick on baked goods -seen friends that had a lot of potential and creativity become totally inactive in their lives ... better to be an escapist than live life

Less competition in the world, when it is full of burn outs.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I can also think of many reasons why ganj could be good, especially if you look at the many crack and heroine addicts in North America, and in the same sense, the many salarymen in Japan who drink until they can't remember which station they left their briefcase. I agree that ganj could be a better alternative, much more chill, and that it goes well with good music, girls, etc.

But, you never know what happens when you die, after a while I know many people who quit and don't touch that stuff because it costs a lot of money, the utility of it bottoms, and it wastes a lot of time.

But the number one thing to me, is that the most hardcore of these guys, are not your friend, they couldn't care less if you fell off the face of the earth, even though when you are with them, they seem like the best thing that ever happened.

It might get you girls, and friends, but that is not really what they want from you, they just want your ganj.

So the next time you smoke up, fine if you want to, but the guys next to you are not your real friends, it starts to gets really boring, your wasting your cash, unless of course you grow and sell to your friends who are wasting their cash, while the world is in a global recession, more than 10% have lost their jobs, 1BN around the world are now in poverty, and 26,000 kids are dying everyday.

You can smoke up and celebrate this great world and great life you have, but eventually you will start to wonder, what the f#%$ is going on?

We live in a crazy world, even if we don't smoke, and maybe even more so if MJ is legalized, but you can't ignore the world that you wake up to every morning. Your chains are this world, and that you will die some day, so it might be in your interest to try to understand why, regardless of what good or bad religion you live by.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Alchohol will only affect the person that intakes it

tell that to victims of domestic violence, drink driving victims, people who get puked on on trains, etc. your logic is horribly flawed

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ask the majority of meth, cocaine, heroin users what their first drug was and they will say Pot

i guarantee that the majority of them drank alcohol LONG before they had their first smoke. if you want to talk about gateway drugs, alcohol is the real gateway drug

0 ( +0 / -0 )

griff nice last post, agreed with

0 ( +0 / -0 )

USNinJapan2

Do you think marijuana should be legalized? I have heard several conservatives seem to say that it should. I would be interested in your opinion.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

goodDonkey, why don't you just speak for yourself, or are you just posing as a goodDonkey, and getting other people to do your dirty work.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Badreligion, Nothing fanatical about it , you apparantly don't have not experienced living and growing up in a "bad" neighborhood, people break the law and smoke it out on their porches daily. I am upset about this because I have to LIVE with it. I have to EXPERIENCE it.

Heaven forbid should I try to open my windows to get a breath of fresh air when somebody is outside on their porch smoking away their MJ... Think more about the various situations that happen beside these mythical "MJ bars". We don't even have Cigarette bars yet, what makes you think people aren't going to keep doing what they've been doing anyways? I'm living with reality, your thinking is from dream land. Live in a neighborhood where people are doing something that affects you negatively even if you're in your own home away from them. Then I might listen to you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes! and here's just one of the reason why. http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/07/23/driven-to-drink-by-marijuana-laws/ Another reason is that this is a plant sent by god for us to enjoy. I don't think anyone has right to restrict it. I understand that it shouldn't be consumed in public places or advertised. Only the ones with license should be allowed to consume. License taking should include mandatory training, just like the drivers license. How about yearly health checks? Anyone who has tried it knows that it's no big deal. It doesn't make you see hallucinations, or make you do stupid stuff, any more than alcohol does. Look at Dutch? They are not having any problem with it. They are now trying to restrict the tobacco you can add because it's damaging. Are they crazy? I think opposite. Law must be changed to protect innocent people from getting their lives ruined.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

And for the record, it's only a gateway drug because it's available in same place that other hard drugs are available. If it's legalized, most of those drug dealers will not be able to survive. Even terrorist organizations will have to find other ways to finance their wars. Worlwide legalization of pot can save the world.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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