Gunman May 5, 2003 Share Gunman Member May 5, 2003 Well, since I had to write a speech on this I figure why not post it to see what everyone else thinks. Keep in mind, I am no way endorsing the use of pot, I actually HAD to argue this side. First I would like to introduce everyone to some things you probably don’t know about marijuana. In colonial America marijuana was known as hemp, and it was a major agricultural plant. Both George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson grew it, and many people used it to make rope, canvas, lamp oil, soap, and birdseed. Somewhere along the way people found a better use for it, smoking it. Eventually marijuana became associated with illegal and illicit activities such as prostitution, in the 1930s, so many states began to pass laws against it to prevent these activities. “Hemp� then began to earn names such as hashish, cannabis, Mary Jane, herb, pot, and weed among others. Jump ahead 30 years, the age of experimentation sweeps across the United States. Eventually some states, like California noticed this and decriminalized possession of small amounts of weed. However, the decriminalization only lasted until 1980, when President Reagan was in office. He pushed for a crack down on the use of drugs in the US, and legislators began to pass laws making penalties for drug offenses harsher and harsher. Now, we have doctors recommending pot to cancer patients to relieve the nausea caused by chemotherapy, and not only to cancer patients, but to the sufferers of glaucoma, migraines, arthritis, and epilepsy. The Federal Government should follow the voters in Arizona and California and allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Another strong argument in favor of legalization of marijuana is the fact that we can sell it for nearly $70,000 a bushel, where corn only sells for a few dollars, and believe it or not marijuana HAS replaced corn as America’s #1 cash crop. Nearly 4 million Americans use marijuana regularly, and they are no more of a criminal than someone who stops at the bar after work for a drink. You can claim that pot is a gateway drug, and that smoking it leads to the use of other, harder drugs such as cocaine, but you could also establish a link between drinking Mountain Dew and a higher incidence of cocaine use, but no one would say drinking Mountain Dew leads to a cocaine addiction, because beyond a study of a small population of people you have no other proof. Either way, you should expect that those who have already proven themselves curious enough to try smoking pot to experiment with harder drugs. However, Jamaica has shown no progression in the use of harder drugs, and their per capita use of marijuana is quite high. Marijuana isn’t anywhere near as addicting as heroin, nicotine, cocaine, and even caffeine, and it has been made illegal for all of the wrong reasons. The government has no right to tell a person what they can or cannot do with their body. Whatcha think? Gunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[VI]ROosTEr May 5, 2003 Share [VI]ROosTEr Member May 5, 2003 The jamaica argument may need to be re-thought, as some jamaicans (rastafarians) feel that ganja ia a part of their religious worship, and feel that other drugs are wrong. Therefore, it really isn't given the chance to be a gateway drug. Just my 2 cents. You could turn it into a religious freedom type thing when it comes to jamaicans. Is it legal for them to use as part of a religious ceremony? They worship the same god as christians and Jews, but are they allowed to exercise the freedom to worship as they see fit? I dunno, just something you may want to check out. Our speech teacher hated speeches about legalization of pot. He said he got at least 20 per semester, so maybe something like this could put a unique spin on the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurtz May 5, 2003 Share Kurtz Member May 5, 2003 BLAH NOT AGAIN LOOK IN THE OLD POLITICAL FORUMS ABOUT THIS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyklik May 5, 2003 Share Cyklik Member May 5, 2003 Look in the political forums, I wrote quite a few facts, as I had to write a research paper on this last semester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rackish May 5, 2003 Share rackish Member May 5, 2003 I say don't. My one reason: its a gateway drug and can lead to other drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[Mmmm]Homer May 5, 2003 Share [Mmmm]Homer Member May 5, 2003 I'm moving this to Wonderland, I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It seemed more political in nature than the normal community chatter. I have no opinion on the matter but am glad you can discuss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xterminator May 6, 2003 Share Xterminator Member May 6, 2003 i dont care about pot. I dont smoke it so i couldn't give a damn if it was leagalized Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief May 6, 2003 Share Chief Member May 6, 2003 I don't have a problem with it being legalized. One, there are good uses for it. Two, what's the harm in smoking it? Nothing in and of itself, it seems. Punish the crimes that you have a problem with, not individual actions. Also, you don't need to have the active ingredients of pot to grow hemp for the its uses. So hemp and pot are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeabos May 6, 2003 Share Zeabos Member May 6, 2003 Definatly not! Pot smoking is worse than smoking cigarettes, making it legalized will just make it more readily available to kids who will start smoking more. Smoking is stupid...i dont care what your smoking wether it be cigarrettes, pot, or rolled up 50$ bills.. its all STUPID! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyFromHell`X May 6, 2003 Share CowboyFromHell`X Member May 6, 2003 I don't have a problem with it being legalized. One, there are good uses for it. Two, what's the harm in smoking it? Nothing in and of itself, it seems. Punish the crimes that you have a problem with, not individual actions. Also, you don't need to have the active ingredients of pot to grow hemp for the its uses. So hemp and pot are different. There ARE certain problems. It distorts reality and slows your reaction time to about 40% less than it would usually be. Plus, it's harmful to the lungs. I don't really care if someone smokes it, so I guess I'd vote yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman May 6, 2003 Share Hitman Member May 6, 2003 (edited) First I'll just say I'm against smoking in any way, shape, or form. But legalizing marijuana does have its advantages. We could add it's sale to the list of sin taxes, which could help the economy greatly. We could sell it right with cigarettes, which means the government could regulate it, they could make it less potent that way. I'm not actually sure it would make it more readily available to kids, it seems pretty easy to get it now anyway. Despite all of this, I think I'm still going to have to go with no. For one thing, I don't want some guy on a street corner to be smoking it next to me. I don't even like to breathe in second hand smoke from cigarettes, let alone joints. Plus, it would still impair judgment. Sure, probably not 40% if it were regulated, but there are already enough car accidents from people not being sober at the wheel. Edited May 6, 2003 by Hitman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xterminator May 6, 2003 Share Xterminator Member May 6, 2003 good post hitman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman May 6, 2003 Share Hitman Member May 6, 2003 Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyFromHell`X May 6, 2003 Share CowboyFromHell`X Member May 6, 2003 Yeah. Atleast I agreed with the majority this time. Don't get used to it. But really, why would we want more mumbling, stumbling morons. We have Lunk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[VI]ROosTEr May 6, 2003 Share [VI]ROosTEr Member May 6, 2003 which means the FCC would regulate it, Ummmm....I don't think the FCC regulates tobacco. That would probably fall under the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. If I am wrong, I will take it on the chin, but I think, just for education's sake, that this needs to be cleared up. (I would hate for this to be used in a speech, and I am sure Hitman just mistyped anyway ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman May 6, 2003 Share Hitman Member May 6, 2003 Hmm, I shouldn't type when I'm tired... why would the Federal Communications Commission regulate that! I guess I'll fix that, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief May 7, 2003 Share Chief Member May 7, 2003 There ARE certain problems. It distorts reality and slows your reaction time to about 40% less than it would usually be. Plus, it's harmful to the lungs. I don't really care if someone smokes it, so I guess I'd vote yes. Cigarettes are legal and harm the lungs, alcohol is legal and distorts reality as well as slowing your reaction time. People aren't allowed to drink a sack of whiskey on the corner and so I don't think that people should be allowed to smoke weed on the streets either. Driving while impaired is already illegal, I don't know that more people would start driving under the influence because it was legalized/decriminalized. Personally, I don't have a problem with someone sitting in their living room and OD-ing on heroin. I think it should be taxed and regulated as a substance. Criminalizing it isn't going to ever stop it. Ever. Smokers should be allowed to be productive citizens if the are responsible in their consumption...not stealing to buy it, not driving, doing it only in certain places like their home or "designated areas". As it is, we spend billions of dollars to regulate the crime instead of making billions of dollars to regulate the product. People are quite capable of making their own decisions to avoid dangerous substances. Some are willing to make the decision to partake in illegal ones. Why should criminals make millions while taxpayers spend millions. It seems foolish to me. I'm not encouraging people to do it, I'm just saying that making it illegal might not be the proper solution to regulating its useage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartless May 9, 2003 Share Heartless Member May 9, 2003 u can die from drinking too much, but u can't die from smoking too much. Legalize it. I believe (like others have said) it should be taxed and should only be legal to 18+ and it should be done with in the home or bars or something like that. Not in the car, because me and my friend got into an accident while we were smoking, and that was no fun. But being high, stoned, hurt, burnt, what ever u call it, isn't always bad.. i use pot more like a medicine then a method to get away, though its nice. When high u get away from reality for awhile, which is not always a good thing, but it gives u time to think about some serious stuff. I think if it wasn't for pot i'd be bald from being so stressed and pulling all my hair out. When ur high ur not as silly and as stupid as they say on those commercials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xterminator May 26, 2003 Share Xterminator Member May 26, 2003 how many of you think that smoking pot leads to more hardcore drugs? i think that is not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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