So you really think it's practical to lock up stoners when the jail space could be used for REAL crooks?
You lock up the stoners
and the crooks. Its not a dilema, you can have both.
Yeah, but alcohol doesn't grow now does it?
No, but it is a byproduct of a natural chemical reaction. Humans just take it to a level where we create more than would occur under a natural setting. The same could be said about mary-jane.
Exactly the sort of whack logic I expected. All drugs are equal then? Lets criminalize Benadryl!
Benadryl is an antihistamine. Marijuana and the drugs I'm talking about are psychotropic substances.
"A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that
acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it alters brain function, resulting in temporary changes in perception, mood, consciousness and behavior."
You know, clinically depressed people also have altered chemistry.
Other than emo kids, who in their right mind would be addicted to depression?
Theres two cases for clinical depression:
1) natural - its in your dna that your brain chemistry is going to be naturally off.
2) psychotropic drug use, which artifically creates an imbalance.
If you notice the first is natural, and can be remedied with medicines. The second is not natural and isn't easily medicated.
Addictive like masturbation is, I suppose.
In that I like doing it, but I could stop it if I so desired...
You seem to not understand the meaning of addiction. Addiction is where you dont want to stop, even when you want to. Meaning this: you conciously have the desire to stop, while at the same time deep down desiring that you dont stop.
By this I mean the following: you have a mental dependency. You have the feeling that you need it. You get cravings for it. We're not talkign food here, thats a real need, this is a virtual need. Sometimes this mental dependency is followed with a physical dependency where your body actually does really need the substance, because if you stopped you'll have withdrawl symptoms.
You can have a mental dependency without the physical dependency, which is why I think many people have a problem thinking marijuana is addictive drug. So many people think "hey I can stop anytime" but we all know you cant. Just as much as a regular alcohol user wont stop drinking even though he could "if he wanted to" a regular marijuana user wont just stop anytime.
Yet again, nannying adults who are perfectly capable of choosing for their own damn selves, and determining what is right and wrong for them.
You know, workaholics can ruin their lives by being addicted to their job. Should we ban working?
Work isnt a physical tangible object we can pick up and throw away. Marijuana and drugs are, they are phyiscal objects which can be destroyed.
Workaholism, if you want to consider it, would be a byproduct of psychological goings-on since childhood. Its a natural byproduct of your personality, its who you are. Drugs are not a byproduct of your natural personality, your psychological history. They are a physical object which is used to change your psychology, if only for a short time.
It's like you said kid, with alcohol and ciggies, people will always want it. Therefore, it's simple foolishness to tell them to drop the joint.
Besides, people can still grow their own for their own self. Should that be illegal?
But as we've seen in the recent decades the percentage of alcohol and tobacco usage is
decreasing mainly as a result of scientific studies and education. The fact that it is entrenched now doesnt mean it will be in the future.
And I never said its something people WILL always want, its something they HAVE always wantED. Past tense. I was explaining the history of why alcohol and tobacco are legal comapred to marijuana.
Here's an idea, legalize it so that the money is circulated into the mainstream economy! That way, we can also avoid having to waste money trying to enforce this unenforceable law!
Nah, screw that...
Unenforceable? You should consider environmental laws unenforceable then, because there will always be a slim amount of pollution. It would just cost too much to remove ALL of pollution production. But just like the production of pollution we can curb it to a high degree so that its minimal, and not a major problem.
heres a theoretical question:
How many people would be on marijuana today if it had never been made illegal?
If you could find that number, and compare it to the number that are on it today we could find out if it is indeed 'unenforceable.' If we found that there is a singnificantly larger number of people who in this alternate history use marijuana in comparrison to this one, then you know that this is an enforceable law, and that the law is working. Unfourtunetly, as is the problem with any social science, we can't do this. But the point remains valid; I believe there would be a significant difference and therefore the law has been working.
.. but then I'm able to go without smoking the stuff for weeks with no problems.
