Marijuana, pot, weed, grass, the “good stuff” or the “bad stuff”… Whatever you want to call it, it’s a hot topic right now (and not just because it’s on fire).
Do you think that marijuana should be legalized nationally for recreational use?
As of 2021, 15 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use; additionally, 48 of the 50 states (Idaho and Nebraska are the outliers) allow for some type of marijuana use, whether it’s for medical or recreational purposes.
What do you think? Please tell us by voting in the poll below. Leave a comment, too, if you’re so inclined. Thanks!
NO! We have enough drunk drivers killing people on the highway. Medicinal use only!
I am in total agreement with you Timothy!
there are enough concerns about using this drug from years of illegal use, it is called dope for a reason. I work in the medical field in a hospice setting and will recommend its use at end of life but not for daily feel good use by novices.
End of Life=good, daily life=bad.
Yes – alcohol has to be prescribed
I voted no but only because we dont need one more thing that will get out of control because our culture has become far too tolerant of things that need to be regulated. IF we could insure that only adults are using it responsibly, then maybe. We have laws that judges and prosecutors refuse to enforce now but get ignored. In many ways we are raising our children, and grand children, to feel enabled and that they have the right to be entitled to do anything they choose regardless of the consequences. We have a fire that needs to be controlled before we add new fuel. We cant, or wont, control drunk drivers, even teenagers. And, medical marijuana? Right. That notion never gets abused. I should point out that my friends and I smoked weed in the 70’s and some of them still do. I wont because I feel the need to set an example for my grandchildren.
It’s legal in Canada but IMO there is a huge problem with administration of permit laws, supply and distribution and overall taxation collection. I think it would have been better to just ignore it. Use the current laws when applicable if marijuana is involved. Stop with the thousands of dollars in iron fist tactics for only $50 bucks worth of weed. Trafficking in substantial quantities is one thing but to arrest and process someone with a couple of joints in their pocket is ridiculous. Defining a more temperamental approach will save taxpayer money and better utilize police and border services resources. Again just my opinion.
We’ve got plenty of people that need to be in jail. We don’t need some guy with a bag of weed taking up a space where an actual criminal belongs.
I tend to feel this way.
I’m sorry, but I don’t buy the idea that it is only like alcohol … if it truly were, then it wouldn’t have been deemed illegal in the first place! Having experienced abrupt personality changes in young men as they became “potheads”, I can’t help but conclude that it is a precursor drug to the heavier narcotics of which some of those precious minds were literally “burned out” and destroyed within just a few years. So many promising futures destroyed for a feel good high!
Are you familiar with the 18th amendment?
recreational use? absoluteky not! and drug dealers..,of ANY illegal substance including pot…need long, long, long prison sentences. decades.
medicinal use? yes, but prescibed by actual MDs with an actual practice and not by phone or internet to people who have real conditions and filled by traditional pharmacies.
Not sure for medical or recreational use. There again I don’t think alcohol should be sold either as I have seen that across the board cause divorces, death either by accidents or ODs. Either one cost tax payers money. I don’t think there is any hard proof that it leads to stronger drugs. It would be saying beer drinking leads to harder alcohol drinking. I think if legal it should care all the law of alcohol use and taxed. But at the end of the day each to their own and everyone take responsibility for themselves.
This.
NO ONE takes “responsibility for themselves” any more! It is always someone else’s fault, whether it be they are hooked on drugs, alcohol, speeding… they always say it is some other persons fault.
I was a University Police Officer for 5.5 years. The pot smokers were much easier to deal with than the drunks.
Lots of comments here trying to compare to alcohol and saying it is bad. Without evidence or facts. Several about alcohol causing driving accidents. Why isn’t alcohol illegal? Cannabis is natural, medicinal, and healthier than drinking alcohol. I fully support. It has zero evidence of “gateway” and has tremendous uses for people.
“it wouldn’t of been deemed illegal” – this was an effort to go after minorities as was the whole war on drugs.
“alcohol causes enough accidents” – we’re not talking about alcohol here but maybe we should be.
These arguments are most likely coming from “conservative” groups who also preach personal freedoms. So why the ban? Alcohol is a great comparison here. Health problems > can’t drive > causes accidents > people make a personal choice. Is freedom just a word of convenience?
That’s a good question, is freedom just a word of convenience for COVID 19, or should we be able to do as we please?
You can do as you please on your own property
You apparently have not seen drug problems at the street level.
The criminal element or what? Legalize all drugs, stop fighting the unwinnable war on drugs and use that money for treatment programs for those that want it.
What we are doing now is simply not working. If pot were legal we probably would not have meth or people taking bath salts for a high.
However this poll ends up, I am sick to death of the smell of pot everywhere I go. It has been legal in Nevada for a few years now. Ugh.😝
That and just looking at the “doped” head trying to make some kind of decision, including raising their children… It would be funny if it was not so sad what these new generations are doing. We have the house next door that reeks most days and they have 4 school aged kids. Not a care for the kids health/choice/welfare.
As a squad leader in Vietnam I informed my squad any use of pot or any other drug before going on duty would result in me shooting them, that way I would know they didn’t have my back in combat.
Making another intoxicant legal is not a wise move. It’s the old once the Camel gets his nose in the tent problem. Go ahead make Cocaine, Heroine, Meth , LSD legal while you are at it. What kind of a world do you want to live in with Zombies driving cars down your streets !
The thing that gets me about our states legalizing marijuana. Is years ago they sued the tobacco companies because smoking is hazardous to your health. States are getting millions from the law suit. Now because the states are greedy for more money they waste. They want to legalize marijuana. Smoking both cigarettes or marijuana will eventually cause cancer and COPD. If they legalize marijuana, they should give the money from the tobacco settlements back. I also don’t want to be in my yard or camping and smell marijuana all day. I can’t stand the smell of tobacco whether in the air or next to a person. Next thing you know they’ll be putting chemicals in marijuana like they do cigarettes.
How can we claim to live in a free country yet restrict what someone puts into their own body? Just put a warning label on it and hold the individual responsible for what he does when high.
Its called stopping a problem before it starts!!!!!!!!!!!
Just plain common sense, dope, all dope is bad. Country already has an uncontrollable problem with alcohol, irresponsible to add dope.
No, absolutely not. As a former drug and alcohol COUNSELOR I have seen the paths of a simple “weed” experience and what it can lead to. Legalization is a local or state government mode of tax revenue. Just say no.
Don’t care. Just keep your smell to yourself! Your right to put crap in your body ends when someone else has to smell your smoke, your clothing, or your BO! Odor from an alcoholic is bad but localized. Odor from a pothead or chain smoker can fill a whole building and it lingers for days!
Interesting that the votes here for or against legalization are about 50/50, but most comments here are negative. I believe that a lot of comparisons and conclusions are not accurate, some are clearly just wrong. It is interesting that more and more states legalize each year as voters have overwhelmingly passed legalization in almost all states where it has been on the ballot. Some states have had legalized pot for almost ten years or more without significant problems. It is also a problem that one state legalizes and bordering states don’t, causing people to cross lines to purchase legally. My guess is pot will be legal nationally sooner than later.
I believe that all drugs should be legalized and regulated. You would not have near as many overdoses and the money that would be saved from the war on drugs could be used for health coverage. We will never win the war on drugs and by legalizing it maybe we can get the gangbangers off of the streets.
This.
Yep!
Agreed. Other nations have taken this approach and have found that drug use has gone down.
I live in Colorado where its legal. I see no good coming from it. More crime and homeless than ever.
So are you saying that a rise in crime and homelessness is due to the legalization of marijuana? I do not believe that there is data that supports that conclusion, but illuminate us if that is the case.
Jim, I also live here in CO, have since mj was legalized for rec use and Dennis is correct. I happen to live outside a small town near a state line and every summer, the homeless hitch hike in and hang out, to get high. They steal everything that ain’t nailed down, ask any business owner in town. They panhandle on the off-ramps of I-25 with signs stating “just here to get high” and “my dream is a good bowl anything helps”. No there’s no “data” supporting that conclusion, that I’ve seen. Don’t need some expensive study when it’s right in your FACE. You have an opinion and I respect that. Believe what you want. But we here in CO are living it. It has made a difference and NOT for the better.
So…If it was legal nationally, they would need to come to Colorado. They could do all that stuff at home; the same way winos do.
I’m sorry, what do you mean???
It’s going to be legalized because that is the direction of young America. All about me, not you, mentality. The comparisons to Alcohol are so tiring. I can enjoy a social cocktail in a restaurant and have zero concerns of intoxication. Not the case with MJ. It is used for one purpose only and that is to get high. Also, we have been down this slippery slope of ‘live and let live’ enough times to know that legalizing MJ will only be the beginning. If it was used in their home, so be it. But the use will be anywhere that person chooses to use, with no regard for others having to smell it, working alongside you or driving a motor vehicle. Enough is never enough for drug users, they just want to get high and tell the rest of us it’s their right, so shut up and deal with their weakness.
Not all on board are young Americans, some of us have been fighting for this for a long time. I am proud that my home state has just legalized it.
Alcohol has killed more of my friends than any other drug.
You just made my argument. Alcohol and drugs, kill.
Even enjoying an occasional cocktail impacts your brain functions. It’s not as safe as you assume. And not all people use marijuana to get high, just because the US doesn’t sanction the testing needed to prove the benefits of pain control and nausea relief from many drugs used to fight cancer and the like, doesn’t make ALL users drug addicts. And the old stories of “if you use marijuana it leads to stronger drugs” is total BS!
And as far as I am concerned the use of alcohol or marijuana should be used only in the home and not in public…
Don’t think this question was regarding medical use, rather recreational use. Also, I am not assuming anything about one cocktail intoxication, follow the science.
Sooo, not one person ever, has had MJ lead to other drug use. Not sure what your field of expertise bases this comment on, but mine is based on experience from my profession. It also assumes MJ is not harmful. Tobacco companies told Americans this same story for decades.
“I can enjoy a social cocktail in a restaurant and have zero concerns of intoxication.”
This is incorrect. You are impaired after even one drink whether you realize it or not and can be a danger to others
Can you name one State that makes driving with the blood alcohol level of .0055, illegal. That is one drink for average male. It should frighten us that there currently is no court approved test to determine MJ impairment.
There are many who benefit by keeping as many as possible under the influence,. The question is: is it better for families, children, education, physical health, safety, mental health, voting, personal finances, business? Yes, this is supposed to be a free country, but too many don’t understand and or care that their rights end when another’s are violated.
All drugs legal… All drugs available… No prescriptions required… Natural Selection.
Yes. Give us individual freedom and then hold us responsible for our actions. That’s what I’m for.
I said it should be legalized even though I do not use and never will. My only reasons are that people who use it will buy it, legal or not! If it is legalized at least a significant (hopefully) tax will be charged to help offset education and rehabilitation of abusers!
Been smoking for over 50 years. I don’t think I turned out so bad. Had a good 40 year career as a mechanic. Always kept weed in the same category as booze. Nice to have a drink or a smoke or both after work in the comfort of my own home.
It ain’t necessarily a “gateway” drug for everyone…
Folks who say you can OD on weed have never smoked it. At a certain point, you just don’t need/want any more.
As for those who just want to get high- grow up and get a job!
In California, the legal stuff is so expensive, due to taxes and regulation CA added, the illegal trade is just as big. I’m at the point that says the Feds should legalize it and get it over with. Then they can tax and regulate it and people can start whining about the cost of it and all the regulations to sell it, just like we do the other things the govt controls.
Legalize it. Tax it. Think of all the people in jail for possession. If you want it, you’ll get it. Take it out of the shadows and make it a revenue stream. He’ll, George Washington grew Hemp on his farm…he also grew tobacco and distilled Whiskey! My kind of President!
He grew hemp on his farm, yes. So did a lot of farmers back in those days. They used it for making rope and utility fabrics, not to get high on. Hemp has low to no THC content.
Its heavily taxed but does anyone know how much money is there and what the money is spent on? Money spent on drugs is money not spent on something good or necessary, like food or rent.
If Alcohol is legal then yes Marijuana should be too.
Marijuana is not a cure all. it will cause it’s own set of problems.
Legalizing it won’t increase the tax revenue drastically when you look at Ca heavily taxing it. The drug runs continue under the radar. Colorado shows how crime has risen as Dennis Smith pointed out.
It has been reported before that users at a young age suffer slower brain function at an older age. Not like alcohol where you can have one drink and still have reflexive controls, MJ doesn’t offer the same outcome.
I don’t consume either substance, I just know people who did MJ in their younger years and now don’t have as much rational as those who didn’t consume it regularly.
Per UC Davis extensive studies on Marijuana, when it is burned, there are approximately 700 carcinogens which can lead to cancer. It always amazes me, that so many who detest smoking, who are concerned about 2nd hand smoke, want to promote Marijuana legal usage. It is far WORSE, than how terrible cigarettes are, yet the ignorance is just amazing! Under-the-influence of any substance that alters ones ability; whether it be to drive, operate machinery or a myriad of situations really speak volumes against this additional drug use. Please, think, read up to confirm my observations and comments for yourself. Then ask, “Do we really need this to add to the thousands of needless deaths and injuries, by encouraging such use?!”
I agree, as soon as they ban cigarettes and licquor! 🙂
Nobody is encouraging it. If you want it, you can grow it or buy it. Just like alcohol prohibition didn’t work.
You don’t need to smoke it and edibles are becoming much more popular as a replacement to smoking in legalized states. It is a safe and enjoyable method of consumption and creates new foodie opportunities.
At least decriminalize it. If you won’t legalize it make it like a speeding ticket.
The effects of pot are like those of alcohol consumption so why not. I’m not going to use it but they have to have a good way to check for driving while under its influence.
It’s a personal decision you make to harm your lungs by smoking it.
You don’t need to smoke it. Edibles and drinks remove the harmful smoke effects.
If it is legalized then I would hope that the politicians have the law say that there will be a lifetime removal of driving privileges for those that DUI. In addition, there should be absolutely no government benefits for those that waste money in this manner. Yes, I am dreaming since our so called governments are in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling and toll taking businesses.
The problem with legalMJ as with alcohol will be driving under the influence, with no way to test impairment. More accidents on road and deaths. As for increased taxes won’t happen. Will be bought and sold as it is now and no taxes will be collected.
My experience over 30+ years as a Police Officer leaves NO DOUBT that marijuana IS a “gateway drug”. Very few people start with the “hard stuff”. MANY people however do not recognize that marijuana IS addictive and falsely believe marijuana is “safe”. Marijuana, unlike alcohol, stays in the system MUCH longer. I dread the thought of having to share the road with drivers who are “high” because they used marijuana days earlier. I would like to see MANDATORY BLOOD TESTING when there are reasonable grounds to believe the driver is under the influence of ANY mind altering substance. I’d even go so far that ALL motorists involved in motor vehicle accidents have their blood tested. Refuse the test and you FORFEIT your operating privileges FOREVER, period, end of story. The current National Drivers Data Base would be updated so that offenders could NOT get a new license in a different state. Those who try to “game” the system would know in advance of these strict, no nonsense penalties.
Thank you for your 30 serving. It makes you more bias in your response than having actual facts. You are exposed to drug dealers and heavy abusers and you make incorrect associations that studies prove incorrect. This sounds more like old school policing beliefs.
The problem with asking this question here, is that most readers grew up believing ‘Reefer Madness’ and bought into Nancy Reagans, ‘Just say no’ program. Pot, like booze or gambling, is fine when done in moderation. Up here in WA State, like most other states that have legalized recreational use, there has been zero appreciable uptick in traffic accidents (in fact, traffic deaths climbed recently because of the pandemic freeing up roadways and people sped like the backstretch at Talladega!). Oregon has decriminalized all drugs, to get those with dependency issues in treatment (which is cheaper and more effective) rather than putting them ***** in jail. It’s a personal choice, and if it doesn’t hurt anyone, the Government shouldn’t stop me. (Bleeped by Diane)
No. My wife and I worked in a children’s home for 7 years. Virtually every child there was admitted due to drug addiction by the parents. We don’t need more zoned out pathetic excuses for “parents.” I know it will soon be legal, but there will be a terrible cost to this in both human and financial terms. In the end, the problems caused will cost far more than the tax revenue brought in. Decriminalize it for small amounts but don’t legalize it.
Pot is not like alcohol and to compare it to alcohol is just plain ignorant. Pot does not clear out of your system within 24 hours or less like alcohol does. Pot chemicals acumulate in the fat cells in the brain and body and can take over a year to completely be dissipated. If you have ever heard of the expression “he’s a burn-out” or “burned-out”, they have gotten high so many times that they can’t get any higher and like any time you have too much of a “good thing”, your brain desensitizes to the level you are exposing it to so it requires more and more to get almost the same effect of feeling high. Pot is a total dead end for entertainment value. For medical uses, that may be a different story.