Is it time to legalize pot and reduce the death rate of tobacco and alcohol?

[thesummerqueen]

Entire industries, more likely, Rev.

[Doubting Thomas]

I've never understood the "legalize pot but ban tobacco" attitude from the liberal crowd. You'd think they'd want to legalize it across the board. I'm all for personal responsibility. Educate people on the potential addictiveness of all drugs and let them make their own choices. Sorry, but you just can't save people from themselves.

[Minimalist]

In truth, I don't care what people use to kill themselves. People have to die of something.

"If I take very good care of myself the best I can hope for is that some day I'll get very sick and die."

-- Rodney Dangerfield

[The Grand Nudger]

There is more money in illegal pot than there ever would be in legal pot. For everyone, from the police state to the grower. While I wouldn't assume that everyone in this chain is somehow complicit in what amounts to a massive price fixing scam, I couldn't ignore the possibility that many very powerful (and very wealthy) people are, and by extension so are those entities which operate as the public face of their private, profitable arm. An arm, which I have to add, is holding a gun no matter which side of the line one is on. It is in the best interests of the business of growing and selling pot for it to remain illegal, and, as we see, they are not beyond the use of deadly force to protect this business.

[Jackalope]

It is in the best interests of the business of growing and selling pot for it to remain illegal, and, as we see, they are not beyond the use of deadly force to protect this business.

This latter point is one of the more compelling reasons for decriminalization or legalization.

Much the same as our experiment in the prohibition of alcohol, treating substance use, abuse, and addiction as a legal problem and not a social / medical one has been an absofuckinglute disaster.

But, yeah - it's not likely to happen any time soon. To many people are getting rich off of prohibition for that to happen.

[Faith No More]

I'd love to have it legalized, but the corporations that stand to lose a lot of money on this will never let it happen.

[Greatest I am]

[Faith No More]

Nope. I meant corporations. The pharmaceutical, alcohol, and tobacco companies stand to lose a lot of money if marijuana is legalized, which is why they are some of the largest contributors to the war on drugs.

[downbeatplumb]

Legalize it , regulate it, tax it.

We'd see a fall in prison numbers, an increase in tax revenue and a fall in deaths and diseases caused by doctored drugs.

On the minus side there'd be fewer humerous stories about people buying oxo cubes for twenty quid instead of pot, (which happened to a friend of mine)

[Greatest I am]

Nope. I meant corporations. The pharmaceutical, alcohol, and tobacco companies stand to lose a lot of money if marijuana is legalized, which is why they are some of the largest contributors to the war on drugs.

Yes. I wonder how much they pay for the heads for every Mexican we kill just so they can keep making money?

Regards
DL

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Legalize it , regulate it, tax it.

We'd see a fall in prison numbers, an increase in tax revenue and a fall in deaths and diseases caused by doctored drugs.

On the minus side there'd be fewer humerous stories about people buying oxo cubes for twenty quid instead of pot, (which happened to a friend of mine)

Always lick first.

Regards
DL