When will it be legal...

[NAG]

I think it will become legal between 7-10 years, they already decriminalized it so what's next?

 

[Savinelli]

Legalizing it will save the government (and ultimately the taxpayer) money as they will not have to pay for police raids and for the upkeep of imprisonment of those that are caught with possession of, or dealing, marijuana.

The cost of a fine for the possession of marijuana in the United States is about five times over the needed costs to detain the prisoner for two years (the maximum amount of years given on the smallest possession amount possible).

They actually turn quite a bit of profit with it illegal. Secondly, the war on drugs averages at about $2.64 per person per year. Stop complaining.

 

[Noam]

When I saw the thread title, I was willing to bet all of my liquid assets and a good $250k as well that it was about pot. There is no real way to tell when it will become legal, however.

 

If they haven't yet I doubt they will.
It hold tremendous tax opportunities and the government could make millions off of it. But it's seen as a bad thing so I doubt they'll legalise it.

 

[PrayerKid]

Personally, I smoked weed about twice a week, so maybe my opinion will be a bit bias. However, legal or not, I will still smoke that weed as and when I want, usually in my own home, so my chances of being caught are extremely slim. If I want weed right now, all it takes is a single phone call and I will have it within 15 minutes, there really is no point in it being illegal.

exactly my point, if people want it they will find someone, or they allready know someone who can get it for them. Or they just simply grow it themselfs (not hard ;P)

 

[thunderkat]

it will never be legal, cause the fed are a bunch of haters!

 

[Chase]

Marijuana will never be legal and it should stay that way. There is no benefit to any current smoker nor is there a benefit to legalizing it.

What? There would be a MAJOR benefit to the country itself if it is legalized. Our economy would be so much better, it'd be the #1 cash crop by far. Also less incarcerations which WE ALL PAY FOR with tax, and maybe we'd finally focus on more important problems than what people do to their own body. Not to mention less violence, since stores would be selling it instead of shady dealers, and no one would have to worry about being ripped off, or have their shit laced.

 

[Pursuit Of Happiness]

Imo, I'd say in the next year or 2.

 

[Savinelli]

What? There would be a MAJOR benefit to the country itself if it is legalized. Our economy would be so much better, it'd be the #1 cash crop by far. Also less incarcerations which WE ALL PAY FOR with tax, and maybe we'd finally focus on more important problems than what people do to their own body. Not to mention less violence, since stores would be selling it instead of shady dealers, and no one would have to worry about being ripped off, or have their shit laced.

Actually not true. Marijuana remains a major cash crop because of its price per ounce. When California moved to the option of MMJ, the price per ounce dropped $10, and when Colorado moved to this principle the ppo dropped about $7. Continuing this rate, the price for MMJ and MJ will decrease, destroying its potential profit margin. To maintain a substantial profit, MJ would have to compete with tobacco, something which it cannot do. Tobacco, to put it simply, has to much money for MJ to ever be legalized by a Congressional session.

As stated in my above post, MJ does not cost the United States money and in fact brings money in. The cost of an under one ounce of MJ ticket averages from one to two hundred dollars, and by the average legal fees paid to the courts, a total of one to two thousand dollars. As the costs of the courts and appeals is covered by the defendant, the state stands to gain money. For over an ounce, the sky is the limit. A grower was caught just around the street from us and paid a fine of 215,000 dollars minus the court fees and spent two years in prison. Assuming the total cost per year of staying in prison is roughly $47,000, the state gained roughly 121,000 dollars and the contents of his "estate". As I cannot speak to the contents of his household, I will give an average of roughly 800 ounces (given that he could possess 100,000 dollars worth of $125 per ounce MJ) to the state. That's an extra 100,000 dollars to the state. Now assuming my total calculations are correct, that stands at 221,000 dollars profit to the state.

As to the incarcerations for MJ possession, our state only imprisons persons with over two ounces on a case by case basis ranging from 15 days to 18 months based on the level of severity up to eight ounces as long as the defendant appears in court. Now, according to our state's law, those who possess under two ounces serve no jail time and pay the minimum of two thousand dollars plus court fees AND an additional $600 fee (for who knows what). Thus again, a profit for the state.

Speaking to the safety of individuals purchasing MJ from dealers, you would again be wrong. The sole goal of a drug dealer is to turn a profit and ensure a continued profit. The same can be said with a clerk at a gas station (assuming he owns the place). Now, why would it be a wise decision to harm or kill your customer? It wouldn't. The events that do occur where a customer is killed are mostly: by cops, when attempting to rob the dealer, or when buying another illicit substance that isn't MMJ. I've failed to find any recent news of a drug dealer simply attacking a customer and unless this can be shown to be a major trend, I doubt its existence.

As for laced weed, it would be surprising to see how often this actually occurs. For the most part, what I'm seeing is those who purchase MJ with TCH additives or those who are not aware of the potency the should be using or what amount they should be using. I won't say there's compelling arguments against this contention but, there is no evidence to support it either. The reason I would differ with this contention would be put simply Halloween. It is common knowledge that apples contain razer blades and unwrapped candy may have arsenic, however, this is actually incorrect. There have only been ninety cases of Halloween candy being poisoned, and the majority of those were given to the child by their parents. I cannot say that it is factual to say there have not been cases of MJ poisoning, but I cannot say it is logical to say there have been.

If you made it all the way to the end, awesome.

 

[PrayerKid]

What? There would be a MAJOR benefit to the country itself if it is legalized. Our economy would be so much better, it'd be the #1 cash crop by far. Also less incarcerations which WE ALL PAY FOR with tax, and maybe we'd finally focus on more important problems than what people do to their own body. Not to mention less violence, since stores would be selling it instead of shady dealers, and no one would have to worry about being ripped off, or have their shit laced.

i agree with you because if it was legal, the distributers would be wanting to be selling it with extreme quality because if something were to happen like poison or w/e then they would obvs be shut down.

For instance if i opened up my own pot shop, i would want to have a very clean well lighted area and a very well, mannaged place so that people would know that it's a good place to buy from ect. Getting a good reputation and becoming more popular.

 

[2003]

How long does everyone think its going to take marijuana to become legal?

With everything done it seems to me that it's not a question of about "If" its going to become legal but "When" it's going to become legal honistly.

Post your thaughts.

Please dont spam.

It may become legal when they're needed for medical purposes

 

[Herman Li]

Marijuana will never be legal and it should stay that way. There is no benefit to any current smoker nor is there a benefit to legalizing it.

No benefit to any current smoker? What?

I'd much rather go to a headshop to buy some weed then to the outskirts of the ghetto where my dealer lives.
Laced weed IS reality. I haven't had any personally, as I buy from the same guy everytime, but I've had direct experiences with people who have smoked weed with PCP.
And yeah, I shouldn't get fined for owning a plant.

 

[FacelessVoid]

i liked an argument for pro legalization

it won't be like the government isn't there to take care of me so I'm going to smoke it, is either you smoke it even it is illegal or you don't.

 

[Savinelli]

No benefit to any current smoker? What?

I'd much rather go to a headshop to buy some weed then to the outskirts of the ghetto where my dealer lives.
Laced weed IS reality. I haven't had any personally, as I buy from the same guy everytime, but I've had direct experiences with people who have smoked weed with PCP.
And yeah, I shouldn't get fined for owning a plant.

You mean the drug that hasn't been known to cause any ill effects and has the same effects as alcohol with an added hallucinogen? Sounds like a horrible time...

 

[PrayerKid]

It may become legal when they're needed for medical purposes

if you think about it, Anywhere would need it for medical reasons, if it was legal everywhere there would be lots of people that would get it world wide to use it for medical reasons, but do to it being illegal in alot of places, they cant.

 

[Savinelli]

if you think about it, Anywhere would need it for medical reasons, if it was legal everywhere there would be lots of people that would get it world wide to use it for medical reasons, but do to it being illegal in alot of places, they cant.

His statement was that marijuana is not needed as an alternative medicine and, correct me if I'm wrong, that there are no current uses. I cannot claim that Mountain Dew has herbal healing properties and ingest it (considering it would be illegal at the time) because I say there are medical properties.

 

[PrayerKid]

His statement was that marijuana is not needed as an alternative medicine and, correct me if I'm wrong, that there are no current uses. I cannot claim that Mountain Dew has herbal healing properties and ingest it (considering it would be illegal at the time) because I say there are medical properties.

but there are medical properties to it that helps people, helps with back pain, sleep, cancer ect. Said by doctors...?

 

[Herman Li]

You mean the drug that hasn't been known to cause any ill effects and has the same effects as alcohol with an added hallucinogen? Sounds like a horrible time...

I don't buy weed to hallucinate and get drunk, sorry. Do you think it would be just "fine" for everyone who drinks alcohol to suddenly get stoned? Why the other way around?

 

[Savinelli]

but there are medical properties to it that helps people, helps with back pain, sleep, cancer ect. Said by doctors...?

1)The US Institute of Medicine conducted a comprehensive study in 1999 to assess the potential health benefits of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The study concluded that smoking marijuana is not recommended for the treatment of any disease condition. In addition, the effects of the cannabinoids studied are generally modest, and in most cases, there are more effective medications currently available.
2)A number of studies have reported that the effects of smoking marijuana for people with psychological problems are profound, most significantly in young women, where rates of mental health problems were many times higher in daily cannabis users. Cannabis is bad for one's mental health and causes higher rates of depression and anxiety problems. Cannabis also triggers the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in predisposed people and also exacerbates the symptoms generally.
3)For the terminally ill, the use of marijuana can no longer be considered a therapeutic intervention but one of several procedures used to ease the ebbing of life of the terminally ill. However, for this purpose doctors should prescribe antiemetic and analgesic therapies of proven efficacy, rather than marijuana smoking that also causes side effects.
4)In approving the program, voters envisioned medical marijuana helping with granny’s glaucoma or a loved one’s battle with cancer. Only 2 percent of those using marijuana have glaucoma and 4.5 percent have cancer. Meanwhile, 87 percent are smoking dope to battle “severe and chronic pain”. Of the 18,000 Arizonans using marijuana for medicinal purposes, nearly 75 percent are male. Upon the arrest of the largest Arizona medical marijuana dealer, the DOH determined that 96.5% of those currently prescribed had used falsified data to obtain their "Red Card". According to state statistics, only 13 percent of Arizonans smoking a joint for medicinal purposes are age 61 or older while 24 percent are under 30.
5)Arizon's pro medical cannabis legislation is based around a "highly respected medical journalist", from the Elle Magazine...

 

[Cheap Beats]

I live in california where is already practically legal. I give it less then 10 year and it will probably be as normal as cigarretes. The thing is though once it becomes legal it will no longer be "hip" after a while thus killing the hype and the industry and deminishing all the drug cartels