First off I am going to state this before I even type the rest of what I am going to say....
A lot of your post seems to just be aimed as an attack at me or to be looking to start some sort of argument. You really dont know me, but thanks for assuming you do! If that's that case, I have no problem assuming some things about you.
NOT attacking you, just your argument. No offense meant...
I realize that the link was one with teen prevention in mind, but the content would be no different if the age of the person changed to 35. The message in the material is still the same. It tells the facts like they are. Marijuana is worse for you than cigarettes.
So is milk if you have too much of it. I was disagreeing with the amounts in the comparison as I think that is complete bs. I have known some fiends and heavy users in my life, and they NEVER did that much. Didn't stop them from being complete retards though.
Alcohol is debateable I will give you that.
Making and argument along this line also doesn't make me a hypocrite at all. This does not apply for Alcohol, because that isnt illegal to possess or consume alcohol once your of age.
So because it is legal and more teens die from it then ANYTHING else it is ok? Why do you just brush this point aside? Shouldn't this be more important? The #1 killer of teens?
Marijuana is illegal period. That is Illegal to consume, posses, transport, grow, hell even the paraphernalia is illegal to have. The law is the law weather you agree with it or not. Until that changes its the way it is.
What does legality have to do with the health effects of marijuana? Would you be making the same argument if you were alive during the prohibition time period? Would your thoughts about alcohol change as the government dictates what is good and bad?
As for your cigarette to joint comparison are you kidding? "The average user smokes one joint a week at most" That is grossly inaccurate. There are kids in grade school that smoke more weed than that in a week. Teens and Adults that smoke regularly sure smoke a lot more than 1 joint a week. Marijuana is just like beer you build a tolerance to it over time and end up smoking more and more to get the same effects from it. So the longer you smoke the more you smoke.
Are you saying the average user is a grade school kid? Or the average user is a heavy regular user? I am saying that is not. I guess you are?
From both school and work, I have known and seen people that smoke. They sure smoke a lot more than 5 joints a day. Hell I know people that smoke full Quarters in a couple days, quite regularly. If you dont know what a quarter is all I will say is that its more than 5 joints. This isn't just a few people either.
Depends upon the size of the joints.. lol. Again, are you using these examples of people as average users?
Your last paragraph... Well, first you say that I think that legalizing weed would advocate use among teenagers. If you cant see that it would increase drug usage among teenagers then I dont think you fully realize how much teenagers drink and smoke in high school as it is.
They drink and smoke tons!!! What does it mean that alcohol is the number one cause of death for teens, and yet it is not legal for them to use, yet marijuana is illegal for everyone to use and yet it is not in the top 5 reasons for teen deaths. What does that comparison mean for you?
Then you go on to state how easy it was for you to get weed at school even though it was illegal. Enlighten me... Precisely what will happen once it is legalized? Do you really think usage wont shoot up, and the problem wont get worse? Why wouldnt it? its not illegal so now you get several people trying it that didn't do it before just because it was illegal.
Are you talking teen usage? I think teen usage would stay the same. Can you explain why it seems to be easier to get an illegal drug then alcohol for teenagers?
Did you ever once think of what this would do for the inner city kids that have a hard enough time staying in school now as it is, and not selling drugs even though its illegal??? Legalize it and see what happens.
I think more wouldn't sell drugs as the profit margins would DECREASE by huge amounts. Maybe they would all get real jobs growing the stuff for big farmers? Yah, that last part is the stretch. Do you know why people sell drugs? Cause you can make A LOT of money with the stuff.
Also do you really want to make the argument that paying for rehab is the answer over paying for law enforcement of drug laws? I dont see how that's plausible or even reasonable but to each their own. By your mentality I guess its just let the people do whatever they want, dont worry society will pick up the pieces if and when your already addicted.
Look at the example that is Amsterdam. Most soft drugs are legal in small quantities. You know who all uses the drugs and gets into trouble with the drugs? It is all the stupid tourists.
My argument for not spending any money on drug laws is for the following.
1) Generally they are victomless crimes. I am not talking about the coke lords and the big time dealers, but the small amounts people were going to jail for is retarded, and I would rather have our jails full of killers and rapists, then petty drug users.
2) Out of all the money that has been spent on the war on drugs, has it made any progress? The problem with making anything illegal is that you make the black market grow and become very powerful. Look at the prohibition periods, bootleggers were making tons of money, and becoming powerful. To take away their power, you take away the money. To take away the money, you take away their profit margins. To take away the profit margins you legalize it.
3) The issue with drug use is always the demand. As long as the demand is there, there will always be supply. That should be easily shown by the taking down of major drug cartels, to only have their imports be displaced by other cartels.
I don't condone drug usage for teens or anyone. Life is full of important choices and people should make them for themselves. I think government telling people that they can not smoke a silly plant is just stupid and a HUGE WASTE of important financial resources.
Yep they can.
