Vote! Should drugs be legal in the U.S.?

I am so tired of hearing about young people dieing from overdoses as well as young people caught up in the drug trade and being arrested and having their lives crippled by a felony record. LEGALIZE it and get it out in the open.

Keeping this underground only creates a mystic and allows our drug dealers to become richer in the process. They are the only ones benefiting, not the poor addict who needs help or the parents who cannot deal with something that is so secretive. Stop with the undercover mentality and get it in the open. If that fails we can always criminalize it again. Let us deal with this as adults and not cops, because that just does not work.

I am so tired of hearing about young people dieing from overdoses as well as young people caught up in the drug trade and being arrested and having their lives crippled by a felony record. Lets consider legalizing it and get it out in the open.

Keeping this underground only creates a mystic and allows our drug dealers to become richer in the process. They are the only ones benefiting, not the poor addict who needs help or the parents who cannot deal with something that is so secretive. Stop with the undercover mentality and get it in the open. If that fails we can always criminalize it again. Let us deal with this as adults and not cops, because that just does not work.

The "war on drugs" is a proven failure. Doesn't help anyone(users), and no one is safer because of it. If you don't want to see kids overdose, have some regulation. Stop feeding the "terrorists" who are bringing the drugs over. Isn't this basic capitalism?

Drugs are already legal in this country. Pharmaceutical Companies push drugs on TV all the time. It is rare that you ever watch TV and not see some sort of ad for something. Americans are now convinced that they have some sort of problem that drugs can fix. So let's just make all drugs legal, because as long as we are aware of the risks then we should all be accountable.

People who seek to drown themselves in drugs and alcohol are impossible to stop. They are self destructive individuals who do nothing but seek an eternal high. I say legalizing them will not cause anymore deaths among drug users. After all they rob , steal and kill for them now. It may actually save lives of those who don't do drugs ...

The "War on Drugs" is a farce, and we LOST the war years ago. Legalize drugs now. Produce them, market them, sell them and tax the hell out of them, and we can still put the criminal element out of business and reduce the level of violence associated with drugs. Half of the taxes (of which there will be Billion$) can go toward education and rehab programs to help people avoid durgs or quit using them (although it's pretty much been proven that AA and NA are the ONLY successful addiction treatment programs, and they're self-supporting) and the other half can go towards reducing the national debt.

Thinking we're going to stop the demand and / or seriously interrupt the supply of drugs in this country is ludicrous. Legalize Druge, Lose the Thugs.

Why don't we look to Amsterdam as a model for legalizing marijuana? Are there challenges they've experienced or have they found that it can work? It would certainly put a dent in the cartels' business model. God forbid we should try something new, though.

Prohibition obviously does nothing to curb the use of drugs, instead it puts the power in the hands of criminals. How many more billions of dollars are we going to spend making this problem worse?

This is not a popular opinion, because most of us (myself included) are strongly against drug use, but drugs should be legalized. Those who understand the economics of black markets know that you simply cannot win a 'war on drugs'. You cannot successfully enforce a prohibition on anything for which there is a strong demand. The irony is that, because of the economics of it, the more successful you are in stopping the supply, the richer you make the organized crime syndicates that supply them. The richer they get, the more resources they have to circumvent your enforcement. You spend billions of dollars on law enforcement and on housing non-violent drug users in prisons (these are victims, not criminals), that you could be spending on free treatment centers and on convincing people voluntarily that they should not use drugs, and you make people afraid to seek help when they do want to stop. We should be completely committed to ending drug use in our society, but the method we've chosen to do it, through making it illegal and imposing harsh penalties, enhances the problem rather than solving it.

Addiction to drugs should be treated as a disease, first. The current method of locking someone up and throwing away the key IS not working.

The politicians in this country had better think about THE PEOPLE instead of their back pockets. It would be interesting to see exactly where the liquor lobby would be concerning the legallization of certain drugs.

We are underseige on our borders with drug traffic. The youth in this country are numb from the constant activity with drugs. I think it is interesting that Nikita Khrushchev pounded the podium at the United Nations saying he would bury this country somehow. His wish is occuring with the help of an inadequate policy on drugs.

Again, Mr. Politician whose hand is in the till for the GOOD of him, will find that he is not unnoticed.

legalize them and tax the hell out of them

I can't speak for all drugs, but, I definitely think, MJ should be legal. I don't use, but I think it's a pretty harmless drug that was prohibited by our the Federal government as a reaction against Mexican immigrants and African Americans – not b/c it was (or is) harmful.

Many recreational drugs were outlawed as a reaction by the (white) Federal government to different minorities that were primarily thought to be using it.

Furthermore, the Federal government is significantly losing the "war on drugs". Dealers are sentenced to outrageous prison terms (which costs taxpayers money to keep them incarncerated) as well dealers that do not get caught do not pay taxes on their profits. While many recreational drugs (like herion) are dangerous – pot is not.

I can't believe a capitalist government and society would let a cash cow like mj go untaxed for so long. Wake up people! It can be regulated!

the moment any drug is leaglized in the united states, whether it be pot or crystal meth-– it is game over for the U.S.

We are spending billions of dollars to control uncontrollable substances. It's like teaching abstinence to teenagers instead of safe sex. IT DOES NOT WORK! Stop trying to control through prohibition of drugs. Quit listening to fanatics that say that if you legalize drugs then all your children will become addicts. There are plenty of people that don't drink alcohol. There are plenty of people that don't smoke. I don't have a single friend that would start using heroin if it were legalized. They haven't used it yet even with it being abundant and cheap. The same as crack cocaine, crystal meth., huffing paint, steroids... Not even mentioning how much time money and effort is wasted to incarcerate, try, and convict drug users and dealers. I live in a city where they have so much property theft that they send you an email when your car or house gets vandalized and or robbed. No personal interaction with the police face to face or even over the phone. Just an email to turn over to insurance. Yet, they have committed full time drug task forces. Officers that exist solely on the force to setup stings and catch lower to mid level drug pushers and users. Then there is the medicinal purposes. Let this be clear. I've seen the effects of chemo and radiation treatment. If they tell me that marijuana can alleviate some of my nausea and suffering so that I may keep my food down and maintain some strength to fight a life threatening illness, I'm using it. Legal or not. Every sane person out there knows that the gov with all it's laws and policies and policing can't do anything to stop me. Legalize drugs. It's the only logical way to control them.

Henry, do you mean like when prohibition was ended and alchohol was again legal? There are many legal drugs today, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, etc. Look at other countries where MJ is either legal or 'overlooked' ... is it/was it game over for them? If you want to be taken seriously, throw a few facts in with your opinions.

legalize em, regulate 'em, and tax the hell out of 'em,. and tax the hell out of 'em. empty the prisons. end the violence.

I think all drugs should stay illegal because it will continue to keep them off the street. If drugs were legalized, then kids would start to use them. Just look at history, prohibition worked well! I don't remember why they stopped, but it must have been a good reason.

Pretty much any drug is more dangerous when it is obtained from unregulated black-market sources than when it is obtained from a quality controlled and regulated source. Making them legal will
make them safer and will reduce the associated crime. It worked for alcohol, it will work for heroin.

There is a big difference between legalization and decriminalization. If police stopped pretending they could eradicate marijuana, they would have more money to focus on crack and heroin and meth. I personally choose to live sober, but it's ridiculous to treat marijuana as an equal to harder drugs. It's all about proportion, and the current system is way out of proportion.

Henry, sorry but people like you are part of the problem when it comes to discussing how we handle drug use in this country. Your 'the sky is falling' attitude doesn't help address how best to handle the problem it is basically a 'get em off the streets so I don't have to see em' attitude. Number one, the drug epidemic is blown way out of proportion by including the marijuana smokers. Number 2, the object is to treat addiction for what it is a disease. Number 3, we must do something to break the backs of the cartels and big drug sellers and the only way to do that is to take them out of the mix. Lastly many people get exposed to harder drugs because they start buying pot from dealers who may also sell harder drugs and thus are exposed to the temptation of trying those drugs. To have a legitimate discuss about drugs we have to discuss what they are (truthfully), what their effects are (truthfully) and how best to help those that have a problem with drugs (and that doesn't mean throw them in a jail cell).

Legal MJ will reduce Mexican mafia and inner city gang violence because if you take away the huge profits, the problem goes away. No high profits no benefit for illegal sales. However the illegal drug business has created another situation, that of law enforcement getting addicted to drug money in the form of seizures to buy their toys. Imagine being able to purchase MJ at Walgreens for let's say $20/pack of 20 joints that were grown in controlled conditions by licenced growers and manufactured by major tobacco companies for quality control (I know the bad guys with the cigarettes). Add the tax revenue, lack of a need for thousands of jail cells, probation agents, court systems and other law enforcement costs and you've now got a safer world with more tax revenue.

leagalize it but test everyone for critical jobs – if they are not cleran then they dont get choice positions. Make it legal, tax the crap out of it and then dont allow users to get good jobs. That will fix it.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

End drug prohibition.

If so many people are interested in legalizing these substances why don't we do something about it? For the people, by the people. Let's quit talking and get this done. It's OUR country.

i agree with the pro Mjs, if u tax it, thats more money for the gov to be spending on things needed and that makes more room for jails for the people that need it, and it makes others go out a get jobs.

Legalize Pot, tax it, remove all people in jail for pot crimes not involving any injury to another person, between the taxes generated, the jails emptied, and the amount of police time spent on enforcment, we can fairly quickly regain a hold on the finances.
Still spend $ on enforcing chemical drug laws, and on trafficers, you might even think about removing the alchohol in beer and replacing it with THC.

greggy ... " prohibition worked well! I don’t remember why they stopped, but it must have been a good reason"

You're kidding right? How did it work well? It created a black market for alcohol and spawned all kinds of violence on the street ... just like what we see today for drugs. I'm interested in how you think prohibition worked well!

Having lived in Europe when all drugs were legal in the Netherlands I am difinately against their legalization. Switzerland is still fighting the effects of their legal hard drug trade. Over 34 million Americans use drugs and over 2 million are hard addicted drug users. Though less than 12% of our population causes hundreds of billions of dollars in damages not to include the fatal ODs. Legalizing it will merely make it more accessible, make it more socially acceptable, and will raise the number of addicted to unmanagable numbers. The Netherlands outlawed hard drugs in 1990 when they realized that they had lost a signficant population of two generations. While there (stationed with the military) I saw countless young dependents become addicted. I dread the idea of legalized herion, cocaine, or prescripiton drugs. If you think legalization will keep it out of kids hands you are terribly wrong, we will lose several generations of youth if it is legalized. The only way to combat drug use is to take away the demand. Right now with the Hollywood elite allowed to use the drugs and never being held accountable and the well to do white collar crowd tolerating it we will never win the war. Arresting the poor and destitute that are targeted by the drug dealers will not change a thing. Stop a few well to do figures, hit the much publized entertainment crowd (to include professional sports) and you might make an impact.

To eliminate criminal activity you must eliminate the profit motive.
God fobid we give capitalism a back seat and take a bold move to eliminate the criminal element. Very simple, make it so cheap that there will be no profit margin. The junkies who can't resist will OD and we can move on without their poor souls. Let's stop trying so hard to protect ourselves from our selves.

Firstly, I am glad CNN added a "legalize marijuna only" option.

Legalizing the relatively safe substance of marijuana is often bogged down by people pointing to it being a "gateway drug" or people assuming lagalizing the relatively safe substance of marijuana means you want to have ALL drugs legalized.

In terms of "the gateway drug," this can be a half-truth. Sure, a lot of kids, adults, and people in general will try pot, and then move on to something bigger. However, have we forgotten that it is extremely rare for a marijuana user to pick marijuana up out of no where? Come on now, what is the gateway drug to marijuana use? Simple, alcohol and/or tobacco. Many people would not use marijuana at all had they not tried a socially and legally acceptable drug like tobacco and alcohol.

Now we move to vague comparisons of the effects, both short term, and long term of marijuana as compared to the legal drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and common pharmaceuticals.

Tobacco can be shown to cause a wide variety of psychosis (a common argument against weed.) As well as strong lung damage, heart damage, and even kidney damage (from the release of adrenaline). It is possible, though hard, to overdose on smoking too much tobacco. Even more dangerous, should a child accidently ingest a small amount of some tobacco, there is the risk of death. Tobacco smokers can be rightly noted for their irritability should they even go a few casual hours without a smoke.

Alcohol, why this is legal and marijuana is not, I might never comprehend. Well, let's start with the obvious. It is EXTREMELY easy to overdose on alcohol. Don't forget the much more severe impariment the alcohol high causes as well. Not only does it severely disrupt motor skills and mechanical skill, but it can also cause a pretty calm person, and make them do something stupid, or far more likely, become angered quickly over something menial. Don't forget the hangover and/or potential next morning sickness. The long term effects are stunningly brutal. For one, unlike THC (the chemical in marijuana that produces the high) which targets only certain receptors in the brain, alcohol works in a "blanket effect." This causes widespread depression of almost all areas of the brain. Thus mental health as well as physical health for an alcohol addict compared to a marijuana addict is significantly increased, with a wider range of problems that could go wrong. Your liver will take extensive damage, along with the kidneys, the stomache, and your esophagus (if you puke, which at one point, you will.) Also, do not forget that the accidental mixing of alcohol with a wide range of legal (most notably, asprin) and illegal drugs is likely to kill you as well. I could probably write a larger diatribe on the destructiveness of alcohol compared to marijuana, but I shall spare you.

Pharmaceuticals! Ah yes, probably the #1 reason why marijuana remains illegal. First off, think of all the money the pharaceutical companies would lose if people could grow far more effective and safer painkillers than to buy them! Now realize that the pharmaceutical lobby is the biggest in Washington.

With that said, let's examine some common household over the counter pharaceuticals. (Prescriptions will not be counted, as they are regulated, though almost every single prescription is detrimentally more harmful than marijuana.)

Asprin- Ah yes, a favorite of teen suicide, last time I checked it was impossible to overdose on marijuana. However, it is quite simple (though painful) to overdose on asprin. Even if you do not overdose on the asprin. Long term use (for say arthritis or other pain management) is almost guaranteed to cause some wicked liver and kidney problems. And though it can save you from a heart attack if taken at the right moment, using asprin quite a bit might be setting you up for that heart attack

Cough Syrup- Another Over the Counter that you can overdose on (moreso from the asprin contained in it than from the actual Dextromethorphan, though you can OD on this as well.) This is a favorite of younger highschool kids due to it's relative ease to obtain. The short term effects can cause anything from a drunk-like state to full out hallucinations. Neither of which you get with marijuana (unless you have never tried it and watch one too many Stoner Comedies.) Long term effects can be severe liver damage, kidney damage, as well as damage to one's psyche and brain. Also, od enough as it is, marijuana can help you with that cough without causing so much harm to you. Ingested or smoked briefly, your cough will help be supressed a bit, you will sleep easier, and it will reduce some of that pain for you so that you don't have to mix cough syrup with asprin, and accidently kill yourself.

Benadryl (diphenhydramine)- I know what you're thinking. Benadryl is a drug wrose than pot? Well, I jest you not friends. used mostly for its antihistamine properties, and aiding people with allergies, a stunning amount is also a common recreational drug in highschools and middleschools. The diphenhydramine acts as a hypnotic and sedative, and so is sometimes used as a minor sleeping aid. As with all sleeping aids, mixture with alcohol or taking too much will kill you pretty easily, again as stated before, unlike pot, which you CANNOT overdose on by mixture or over-consumption. In the short term, expect just ONE benadryl to get you woozy enough to impair your driving ability. Even if you do not overdose, taking even just two or three of these at once will have you vomitting horribly. Do them habitually (long term), and you'll royally mess your brain chemistry up, and probably suffer from a short bout of depression once you refrain from use. Your kidneys and liver, as with all pharmaceuticals will be junked up. Also, it should be noted that long term use of this pill will also, ironically, seriously impair your lung's ability.

Drug addiction is most likely genetic – most people try them; few ever get addicted. Legalize drugs and get help for people who use them because prohibition has yet to mitigate the supply.

FYI – alcohol and cigarettes kill more people than drugs in this country.

It's a tricky situation where as legalizing drugs would eliminate the underground drug cartels or greatly reduce their illegal activities. However, legalizing drugs would also eliminate thousands of U.S. jobs.

The more we resist, the more problems become rampant.
Normalize what is already normalize, and the risk associations
will not longer be necessary.
So sure, legalize marijuana,
keep other, significantly more damaging drugs illegal

but all of this is meaningless anyway,
it doesn't touch the core issue involved in all of america's problems:
values.

Of course drugs should be legalized. The greatest thing that ever happened to organized crime in America was Prohibition - until the damfool War on Drugs. Besides the immorality of the ban on drugs - I have no right to use the power of the government to keep you from putting what you feel like in your body, the incontrovertible fact is that it just is not practical. And just as with Prohibition, the only effects are to put immense, unbelievable, amounts of money and power in the hands of some of the worst people on the planet, and jail millions who have harmed no one except, in some cases, themselves. Legalize them and tax them, like alcohol and cigarettes.

Make just marijuana legal. Suddenly the flow of cash to drug dealers of all stripes will diminish dramatically. Marijuana constitutes probably the largest item they sell. Everything else can still be illegal, and should be (as the experience in the netherlands has shown), and just taking marijuana out of their hands alone will remove the profit motive for so many drug dealers that their number will shrink overnight. Far less people use cocaine or heroin or speed – it's marijuana that's so popular, and it's also the least dangerous by far.

Treat drug dependence/addiction as a disease. Provide care, compassion, medical drugs or alternatives as needed with rehabilitation. Educate our children early and often. Stop the drug associated business/violence and markedly decrease the deaths and the costs associated with this disease. As it currently functions, the war on drugs is an absolute failure from all points of view.

Look, if we went after where the drugs are made or the initial source of where Drugs are coming from then there would be an extreemly minimal amount on the streets if any. We keep arresting the addicts on the streets and creating programs to get them off of drugs but when there out back on the streets wala there are the same drugs again. If we use all of our drug enforcement assets to get the big guy then we would be just about problem free and we wouldnt need all this program $ spent

If we really wanted to wipe out the illegal drugs we could but that might cause alot of people to loose JOBS and justify wasting money. ????????
What really is the concern? illegal drugs or JOBS dealing with Drugs hows making more money

How can we ever expect to keep drugs out of a country when we can't even keep it out of prisons! If you can bring in illicit drugs in jail, surrounded by walls, armed guards and very close scrutiny, how can we think we can keep it out an entire continent?

Make it like booze, legal age with ID, taxes the crap out of it and use the billions to educate and better society.

People will always want it and get it. Question is, who reaps the benefits, criminals or us?

This page sucks. I voted, and the results say 0% for everything. It took me 5 tries to get the stupid java to act right.

No one is asking why America needs so many chemicals. The material success that we have acheived beyond any possible need makes kids bored and ignored, and the marketing and R&D people at video and media companies are right there to fill the need. Them and the pushers... WAKE UP !

People forget, or never knew, the origins of the war on marijuana. It was originally made illegal as a deterrent against Mexican immigrants, since they were the main users back in the 20's & 30's. Then the government had no laws against growing it, but you needed a federal tax stamp for it, which they didnt make – making it illegal by default. Then the government waged a propoganda war on par with Nazi Germany, brainwashing people into believing falsehoods about it. Now it's pure economics – keeping it illegal keeps jobs in law enforcement, prison guards, and prison communities. Plus, its a weed and can be grown damn near anywhere without Uncle Sam getting a cut. So it's gone from a racist law, through the propoganda mill, and is now the basis of an entire economic model. The government will never legalize it, there's too much money at stake.

This "Drug War" Shouldnt be called a war.
There is one thing about war that makes it not apply to this situation:

WARS END

This is an extraordinarily stupid question, even for CNN.

Henry, you must be very innocent.

Legalize it! MJ first and foremost. Alcohol is a more dangerous drug than MJ. I'm not sure about the crystal meth etc. First start with the natural stuff. The money saved and earned will be huge. Our jails will be free from people who are caught with a joint. their lives won't be ruined. Mexican drug lords will have to find another business. The money saved and earned can be used to find much more dangerous drugs or the houses that manufacture these hardcore life ruining drugs. MJ, been around since the mountains were formed. Let it be legal!

[...] cnn drug legalization poll should all drugs be legal, just marijuana, or no drugs. Vote! Should drugs be legal in the U.S.? – amFIX – CNN.com Blogs [...]

Legalize Pot! Tired of seeing cops wasting their time and getting killed over a plant! Other manufactured drugs are doing more harm, especially alcohol the worst legal drug of all!

Drugs that are made with chemicals should not be legal because they are too addictive and dangerous. They really need to crack down more on illegal drugs that are made with chemicals because it only takes the slightest mistake to make a bad batch of drugs and kill everyone that takes them. If you can overdose on a drug then it should have to be given by a doctor because there is no reason to basically be giving people a loaded gun and telling them to use it wisely.
Marijuana on the other hand should be legalized and taxed. People give marijuana a bad rap saying that, "it is a gateway drug" that is bolgna. The biggest gateway drug in this country without a doubt is alchol. People make a lot more dumb decisions when drinking alchol then doing anything else. Marijuana is natural and is not going to kill you, so I say legalize it.

I love you American Anon!

right on! People, take the time to read his long entry!

James,

What should the question be?

This is a huge issue on many fronts for this country.

What would you like to answer?

Greggy – Prohibition did not work well. Its main effect was to drive drinking underground, into organized crime owned "speak easies." Have you ever heard of Al Capone? He was the most notorious gangster in American history, and he built his entire crime network on the black market sale of alcohol during prohibition. Prohibition was repealed because it manifestly did not work to prevent alcohol consumption, cost the government huge sums of money in enforcement and equally huge sums of money in lost alcohol taxes, while allowing the mafia and other organized crime cartels, much like the Mexican drug cartels of our day, to get rich off of bootlegging and racketeering backed by widespread murder and violence.

only mary jane

so how many votes does it take till any of these choices show up as more than "0%"???

im sure more than enough people have voted on here for it to change. One vote should make it change. What the hell CNN.

The "War on Drugs" does not work, nor has it ever worked. We should've learned that prohibition does not work after the prohibition of alcohol. The "War on Drugs" only pushes drugs underground, creating a mystic to them. If people were fully aware of the pros and cons of the various drugs, drug use in America would change. Because we are currently "withholding" drugs, people want them more. Also by making all "street" drugs illegal we have begun to create new drugs (i.e., crystal meth) which happen to be even more potent and worse for the body than the more natural drugs (i.e., cocaine, marijuana).

There has also been an influx in the abuse of prescription medications, most notably opioid painkillers. People assume that because this medication was prescribed to me by a medical doctor, who wouldn't give me anything harmful, that the drugs are safe. WRONG!!!!!!! For a lot of the prescription drugs that exist, researchers and doctors do not really know how they work, causing a myriad of side effects and drug interactions. Opioid painkillers are highly addictive substances that are extremely easy to overdose on, yet because they were prescribed by a person who has been specially trained in medicine, we trust them and don't think much of it.

If we really want to help the drug culture in America, the best way is to develop tolerance towards the drugs and educate the population about drugs–both positives and negatives of the drugs. Our drug policy should be based on scientific fact and evidence, societal risk, the lethality of the substance, and potential medicinal benefits. If we continue at the rate we are going with the "War on Drugs," our prisons will stay over populated with non-violent drug offenders, people will have the wrong information about what effect drugs have on people and society, and we will continue to look like an idiotic nation who has little regard for it's citizens, despite being built on the premise of freedom.

I live in logan ohio hocking county, Heroin has reached epidemic levels in my county. Elementary schools have reported that 10 and 11 year olds have been caught in possession of this illegal drug. The time for the U.S. to enforce border security against narcottic traffic has come. I would even go as to the point of posting the military to protect our northern and southern borders. I have also become aware of how some of the illegal drugs are coming into the U.S.. Overseas containers pass by customs inspections, only a small fraction of these containers are visually inspected. machines and drug dogs are used to inspect the outside of these containers. the percentage of containers inspected also is very small. most drug shipments from mexico are done via the railroad system. there are no measures taken to inspect the containers coming into the country via the railroad.

I'm so tired of otherwise well meaning people who murder going to jail. LEGALIZE MURDER! Do you guys not see the stupidity in your argument? Just because something is difficult to fight doesn't mean that we should legalize it so it's not a problem. Do you have no moral compass? In case you're wondering how legalizing murder and heroin are connected, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how deadly both are.

If you seriously think the reason kids and others OD is because of the "mystique" of the drug caused by illegality you are flat out wrong. Here's a novel idea: Heroin is addicting, easily deadly, and it ruins people's lives faster than any other addiction. I suggest you watch the movie "Requiem for a Dream" That might give you a good picture of the darkness.

Let’s legalize drug use by having our government produce a drug that can directly compete with the junk that destroys so many lives and costs so much to battle. By legalizing drugs we can sponsor education and rehab programs to curtail the need to escape reality. We teach math, English and sports to our kids. Why can we teach them to deal with their emotions and self esteem which is at the heart of most drug addiction? Teach people to deal with reality, depression, confront their problems, and give them hope.

There will always be lost souls, the criminal, the mentally ill, whose dependence on mind altering drugs is inescapable. For them the answer is prison, strict monitoring by government agencies, and drugs.

There are good drugs, and there are bad drugs. The one thing we SHOULD have learned by now, particualrly since the 1920's. is that Prohibition DOES NOT WORK.

Never has, never will.

At least legalized you have more and better control over who has access, than when it's a commodity on a black market.

Legalize it. Then you will be able to enforce a quality control, so people who get heroin and the like will know EXACTLY what they are buying. That would give you an idea of how much is too much.

The thing that gets me about it is that the whole idea of prohibition is that whatever is prohibited is "difficult to get". Nothing could be further from the truth. That's why it's easier for a kid to get marijuana than a six pack of beer. Drug dealers don't card their customers!

Prohibition forces everything underground where there are no rules. I simply cannot understand why people against legalization don't understand how dangerous that is. Violence and prohibition go hand in hand.

I am a lawyer, and drugs should not be legal, because otherwise I won't have a job!!!!!!

I do not agree with either extreme of the problem. I am against a full legalization of drugs for two reasons. One, if you try to control them with taxes, you simply open up black markets and smuggling runs because of them–think moonshine. Two, there ARE some drugs that are simply too dangerous to be on the street, because they can be overdosed too easily or because they invariably result in dangerous behavior. This is not a morale issue but a safety issue and is therefore valid to control. OTOH, full outlawing would simply mean prohibition all over again. Many people would sooner go to war with their country than go to war over drugs, simply because if they didn't have SOMETHING that helped get the edge off their day (and nothing else will work), they'd go nuts. Perhaps what's needed best is a revision of the drug schedules, with full public scrutiny and independent (from Congress) input, so that controlled drugs are categorized properly. As for the prison problem, part of the problem is that it's hard to tell a user from a pusher. Someone who has a few joints could be smoking or selling, and it's impossible to tell at that point, and laws err on the side of caution because of the risk to children, which is almost considered as hazardous as threats to national security. It's a dilemma. How do you get pushers off the street and not sweep up mere users in the process?

I am a firm believer that drugs should be legalized. Our tax dollars should go to funding more important problems. Besides, we are going to be suffering an overpopulation problem soon. It will just allow the idiots who will never give back to society the chance to overdose, thus being one less mouth to feed.

If the Government wants the violence to stop they need to take over all of the sale and distribution of anything that is deemed illegal. That is the only way that the government can keep organized crime, of any kind(mafia,cartels, Street Gangs etc), out.

Greggory did you even read the story. The young girl died BECAUSE she had access to drugs. If drugs were legalized and CONTROLLED she would not have been able to gain access. Ask any teenager which is easier to obtain, alcohol, tobacco or drugs and you will have your answer. The strange thing is that even the parents for a drug free America are sponsored by the alcohol, tobacco and big pharma lobby. Can anyone else see the irony?

As you can see on my myspace I like to smoke weed and I'm an actor and respected religious figure. Legalize it so we can have happier Saturdays. Shalom

It is my educated opinion, that persuades me to believe that all natural unsynthesized drugs, that aren't detrimental to ones health should be made legal. Examples of which, would be marijuana, mushrooms(Psilocybin), and peyote. While on the other hand, drugs like heroin or cocaine should remain illegal. Though you may ask isn't cocaine natural, it comes from the coco bean, but it is a man made drug that has to be sythesized or exstracted from the bean making it man made. All of the man made drugs in one way or the other have detrimental affects on the human body and mind.

I think all drugs should be legal. Let natural selection take care of itself. How much money are we wasting trying to put people in jail for this, and then how much more is it to keep them there? We're wasting space that could be reserved for REAL criminals.

I don't advocate using hard drugs but people that do need help.....they don't need to be put in jail....anyone commiting a crime to support their habit however should go to jail.....there is a big difference in my humble opinion!

and lets just legalize pot...... nothin wrong with a little hooch!

That way we can be just like Somalia, the envy of the world I'm sure.

History shows that everytime a mind altering substance is legalized, its use becomes normnalized and usage and rates of addiction go up dramaically, especially with youth.

You think we are loosing the war on drugs, illegal drug use by teens is down BUT now legal pharmaceutical drug use among teens is up, that tells us we should keep them illegal.

Its no surprise the cost to society of the two legal substances, alcohol and tobacco, is more than all the illegal drugs combined.

Ya its easy to say we lost the war on drugs, because it is something that is impossible to win totally due to humna nature but toi lose it is to give up throw in the towel and legalize everything...than you will see how bad things can get.

And there will still be a huge illegal drug market for the underage, for those that need credit to buy drugs, for those too high to be served in a drug store, just like they can't serve severe drunks in a liqour store now, they won't be able to serve those cracked or methed right out, for them the dealer will be waiting...so legalize drugs, history shows addiction rates skyrocket and you still have the black market, history also shows gangs will just start human trafiiking, loansharking, kidnapping..whatever to make cash...drugs are just a commodity, it goes they find something else...wake up, legalize drugs and then try to make them illegal again, then you will have what happened in Prohibition again, all the legalizers talk abour Prohibition..what do they expect would happen when you take something that is a right and freedom, used by millions and ban it, of course there would be the insane gang stuff...it was predictable.

Just as predictable, legalize drugs and watch society slide right off a slippery slope, people will be using coke and heroin like booze and people on booze cost America billlions upon billions of wasted dollars

I've been saying for YEARS:

We should legalize ALL drugs and put them under the regulation and control of the federal government, allowing those addicted to the hard drugs to get prescriptions for their "stash". This way, our health care system can identify those who need interventions and we can responsibly control the purity and potency of the drugs.

Cannabis should be legalized, regulated, and taxed like alcohol. This non-fatal plant is created by nature, unmarred by man, and is no more harmful (less so, actually) than tobacco or alcohol. The marijuana plant was made illegal and thus vilified by our federal government because it represented fierce competition when Mr. DuPont invented plastic. Look into its history.

For thousands of years, mankind has used cannabis and its derivatives for fuel, food, textiles, medicine, recreation, and religion. It is long past time to revoke the prohibition against it. History has proven that prohibition only creates a criminal market for the substance in question.

Our government knows this, but our elected officials are terrified to support legalized cannabis because they believe it's political suicide to do so. This is why President Obama said one thing during the campaign and now laughs off the subject.

The time for hypocrisy is over. In an era where we bail out irresponsible banks and industries to the tune of a TRILLION taxpayer dollars, it is incumbent upon We the Taxpayer to demand more sensible drug policies in this country, protecting our children through regulation and protecting our borders through the legitimization of a very real and profitable industry.

OK, if we leagalize it the kids will die leagally? Hmmm. The reason the drugs are illeagal is because they are bad for you. They turn your brain to mush. My sister used to own her own home, had a great job and then she discovered drugs. Now drugs are the ONLY thing she cares about. She is homeless and on the run from the law. Yes, lets leagalize drugs so everyone will lose their freeking minds...genius!

Legalize it all. Why do we spend billions to fight the "war on drugs", when all we are doing is making billionaries out of criminals who learn how to infliltrate our borders. The only people we catch and inprison are low level operatives for the cartels.
The only way to stop them is to take away the profit. Legalization does that ! They aren't selling drugs because they think it's great to get high, they are in it for the profit alone.
In addition, spend the money we are now spending to catch people on treatment and education.
Mark in Texas

[...] http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/13/vote-should-drugs-be-legal-in-the-us/ [...]

Yes, absolutely. The laws are Unconstitutional in the first place (alcohol prohibition required the 18th Constitutional Amendment but apparently there is a "drug exception" for other drugs?)

On this basis alone, it's completely justified to repeal these insane laws which do nothing but breed a subculture of violence, corruption of law-enforcement, and maintain the fiction that good intentions outweigh common sense.

Heroin costs less than a six pack. Thousand dead as the bootleggers fight over turf in Mexico. Cops in the US corrupted by the easy money. Overdoses aren't even news.

John Walters (former head of ONDCP says we're winning the War on Drugs. Calling it the War on Reality, Youth, Minorities, Liberty or Sanity would be far more truthful.

jackie Q said "The reason the drugs are illeagal is because they are bad for you"

Actually they are illegal because it would make white women seek relations with black men, it would make black men look at white women twice. This is why they are illegal, not because they are bad. Fast food, nicotine, alcohol are all bad too so why are those legal?

Drugs are illegal for outdated political reasons. Most were outlawed for racial reasons, and continue to be illegal because there is so much momentum for the "war on drugs" most people are ignorant and scared of what might happen if all drugs were legal. But the evidence says that not much bad would happen.

If drugs are illegal because they are "bad for you" then why is alcohol and tobacco legal while much less dangerous drugs like Marijuana illegal?

Unprocessed Coca (the plant) and Opium (Poppy) are mild and benign as well. One of the main problems that occur with drugs is when they are synthesized or altered artificially and things like Cocaine or Heroin are made from natural and fairly safe plants. Synthetic painkillers are prescribed by the millions each year and millions of Americans are addicted to painkillers and other synthetic "fix me ups" which are much more dangerous than their natural predecessors, but guess which is legal and which isn't?

LSD, most here would consider it the hardest of all dangerous drugs, isn't known to have directly killed anyone...ever. A few people have died here and there from accidents related to it, but nothing even comparing to the number who have died directly or indirectly from Alcohol!

Things to think about.

"History shows that everytime a mind altering substance is legalized, its use becomes normnalized and usage and rates of addiction go up dramaically, especially with youth."

[citation needed]

LEGALIZE IT

MAKE MARIJUANA LEGAL AND STOP WASTING MONEY ON PUTTING NON VIOLENT PEOPLE IN PRISON

drugs are already in the hands of kids. when I was a teen drugs were much easier to get than alcohol even tobacco. and why was that?
Alcohol and tobacco where/are regulated. Im sure things are much the same now as in the 70s and 80s.
Does it not make more sense to regulate the drugs in our country and have some kind of control over them or spend billions of dollars fighting a fight we can not and are not winning. we are making billionaires out of criminals who will do whatever it takes to get the drugs in our country and kill anyone who gets in the way.
The American people are going to buy/get their drugs no matter what legal or not.
Lets use the revenue from the sales to educate and for rehab. instead of tax dollars to fight a war we will never win. and stop putting none violent offenders in prison which also costs billions to house...
Just makes sense to me......................

92% of americans are atleast for the legalization of marijuana which would help me out alot. I'm a 17 year from South Carolina who is facing a fellony for sharing a blunt with my friends after school. Doesn't sound very just to me.

Sure.. make all illegal drugs legal.. then we will have criminals on drugs all over this country, walking around your city, high on dope, breaking into your homes, robbing, stealing, killing.. getting the pic in your head? Lets all let kids be on drugs too while we are at all.. we can be called the United States of Drug Addicts..

Eric, It's pretty hard to take you seriously in any argument to legalize marijuana when you can't even spell "felony" to make your point. Maybe you should stick with reading, writing and 'rithmetic and lay off the blunts.

P.S. No harm intended, but you knew "sharing a blunt" was not legal but you consciously decided to do it anyway. That's why you're facing a felony. There are a lot more important things in life to fight for than the legal allowance to get high. People are dying and suffering because of true injustices in this world. If you think not being legally allowed to smoke weed is one of them, you need to start contemplating the purpose of life.

Hemp Seed could feed the earth's starving humans.All of them in a years time.how can you be against that? Dean

I go to one of the best engineering schools in Canada.....Alot of people seem to trust me and therefore speak openly in front of me... It seems like most people at my school smoke marijuana..

I believe marijuana is the best mind altering drug out there because if taken in proper doses, it does not alter your mind but rather just relaxes you... Even when people smoke too much all it generally does is make people dreamy.... Taken in the right proportions marijuana can be used to make you more effective at tasks.... Ask CNN founder Ted Turner about that.... Ask Bill Gates about that.... etc....

I don't support the legalization of some other drugs because some of them can make you puke your guts up, and some of them are physically addictive... I believe in safe injection sites......However we cannot allow harmful drugs to get in the hands of children...For example, I am not in favour of crack cocaine....

I think legalizing marijuana alone could do the trick...But I am open to the suggestions of others who have taken other drugs.....George Carlin said marijuana is the only one that leaves you alone........

I think over hundreds of years if marijuana were legalized, alcohol would eventually die out... I don't think owners of alcohol industries are immediately in danger of losing business however.... I don't think there is anything stopping marijuana other than inertia....

yea I do think legalization of marijuana would and could bring peace ,people that smoke bud do not steel or kill and any1 say differnt is soooo full of it..think of the big picture why dont the U.S legalize marijuana $$$$$$$$$$$ and jobs so sad arent it.

Prohibition didn't work in the 1920's, just as it wouldn't today. Why shouldn't it be the same for marijuana?

"I think all drugs should stay illegal because it will continue to keep them off the street. If drugs were legalized, then kids would start to use them. Just look at history, prohibition worked well! I don’t remember why they stopped, but it must have been a good reason." -greggy
---------

The whole point to making drugs legal is to get them OFF the street and out of the hands of drug dealers. Making drugs legal will make it harder for KIDS to get there hands on drugs. I mean look at it this way, a dealer is not going to ask for I.D.

I live in Germany, if i want smoke marihuana, i drive to the netherlands, it is 40 miles away...

but marijuana is not a "drug" in my eyes, cause it does´nt make people get aggressive or something. People who smoke marijuana are most quiet, peacful and balanced...
but the other side are drugs like Heroine or cocaine, which are produced chemical. With those drugs you better not kiddin´, because they make go the crime up. People who needs hard drugs do stupid things to get them. I guess in USA ( it is a hude country, and the laws are individual for diffrent states) could the legalization of cannabis make an boost of taxes for the gouvermant, and the commercail using of cannabis would be creating new jobs...

but the legalization od hard drugs would be finishing in a disaster: DO you want really live in a country where "drug-Zombies" begging you every morning for a needle at your door? knowledge and culture could dissapear and the costs for medical network would become huge.

At least, i hope in USA marijuana become legalized, USA is an Role Model for Europe, not everything, but the most things we copy from you. and if USA legalize it, i guess in europe the states would be discuss the legalization...

Greetz

support the Red and White, Blue Suede Shoes plan for California

Legalize. We can not call ourselves a free people if we are not sovereigns of our own bodies. We deserve to live and die by the consequences of our decisions.

The only reason we should need for legalizing drugs is liberty.

Prohibitionist ideology is the very antithesis of what it is to be an American. And you can see it every day, this isn't America anymore, there's no liberty, only fascist tyranny and you could argue that it started with prohibition.

Prohibition made the black market. Prohibition is the poison which corrupts our civil servants. Prohibition is the indiscriminate assassin of citizens, young and old. Prohibitionist murdered the bill of rights, our civil liberty, our way of life....

When will freedom ring once more in this nation?

Prohibition doesn't work, we know this, it is a fact, it isn't even disputable. Marijuana is less dangerous than every other drug known to man, safer than caffeine and asprin. It doesn't even have an LD-50. Impossible to overdose. Legalizing and regulating is the best way to keep drugs out of the hands of children and eliminate the black market that produces this violence.

Lets just think about this for a moment. In our current state we are spending billions of dollars a year to fight a "War on Drugs" plain and simple. So we already know that means guns are involved, it is a "war", and were spending money. Since guns don't kill "drugs" but rather people, I already found three problems: its a waste of money, it is misnamed and misleading, and it is costing numerous citizens there lives and creating "POWs" locked up in this war. That's the short form of the problem. Now why do we maintain this course legalize it and just let it be a health problem or a none problem. Let adults manage their own bodies.

Are you kidding me? People will not stop using drugs by legalizing it. That's ridiculous.

What makes people think taxing the hell out of drugs is such a good idea? Part of the reason for making drugs legal is so the price will drop and addicts won't have to steal or prostitute themselves to maintain their habit. Taxing the hell out of them will only put the drugs out of reach financially, and will continue a black market to avoid the taxes.

As for marijuana, it's not even a hard drug, there's no reason for it to be illegal today except that it was illegal yesterday. It's not addictive, it doesn't mess you up like alcohol, it has medicinal benefit, and it just makes people mellow and relaxed. Sure there are stoners who overdo it, but nobody I know is like that. Everybody I know who smokes pot is a professional of some kind or other, just smoking a little for entertainment.

People need to get realistic about drugs and drug users, and get away from this drug war hysteria and the wrathful desire to punish. Wrath is one of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and look what it has gotten us: a failed drug war and more prisoners per capita than any country on the planet.

Regarding the gateway theory and marijuana.

I saw the exact opposite effect of the gateway take place while in the military from 1992-2000. On any given weekend about 20% of the barracks population was either using cocaine, meth, LSD, or ectasy. Nobody would use marijuana cause it would stay in your system for up to 45 days while the much harder stuff only stayed in for 3 days.

I wonder what the drug use statistics are for jobs that require frequent testing? I bet you would find (as I observed) that hard drug use is much more prevalent than marijuana use under those circumstances.

I would like to see a current and objective study done that is very public and open to scrutiny about cannabis for medical use. It is becoming more and more apparent that cannabis is an extremely medicaly useful plant. i would like to see our government acknowledge that by removing cannabis from being schedule I.

To Eric and others of the same midset:

Um, wow. No. First of all, if you go out of your way to break a law that you KNOW is in place (I'm not talking about speeding or anything, here, because such things CAN and DO happen on ACCIDENT) then chances are you deserve to be in jail. You broke the law. And you're probably breaking others. You're supporting criminals-murderers and thieves-with your purchase and use of drugs. You need to get out more and stop wasting your time. The legalization of drugs are NOT going to stop druglords from doing illegal things, that's so juvenile to think that way. They'll find another, more dangerous way to make money.

If drugs were legal, imagine the fatality rates. People are NOT responsible, that's the sad and simple fact of it. People are greedy and indulgent and don't know when to stop, and that majority ruins it for the rest of us. Bottom line is, legalizing drugs will kill off the country.

Then again, if you're dumb enough to use drugs that can kill you, maybe we don't need more stupidity poisoning the populace.

shooshoot legalize it smoke it share it tax it whatever lechey just do it bobmarley one love

Jackie Q,
No one has ever died from an overdose of Cannabis, Mushrooms, or LSD. Overdoses from heroin and cocaine are mostly the result of the prohibition of these substances. Outlaw caffeine and nicotine and you would see deaths from overdose from people using these drugs. Just like people today don't use the cocoa leaf so much, people will be freebasing caffeine or nicotine extracted from coffee or tobacco. (It's fairly easy to do. All you need is clean ammonia or ammonium hydroxide, coffee or tobacco, aluminum foil and a heat source.)

Dustin,
Alcohol is the most dangerous of hard drugs. LSD is relatively benign. Don't listen to urban legends or propaganda. LSA is similar to LSD, and can be obtained by eating morning glory seeds. Perhaps the most potent hallucinogenic substance is nutmeg. Eat a few spoonfuls of fresh nutmeg and you'd better not plan on doing anything for about a week. DXM is a powerful disassociative similar to PCP. Drink two bottles of cough syrup and prepare for the 24-hour trip of your life.

Eric,
The re-legalization of cannabis would probably not include anyone under 18 or on school property if this was the case with you. (Besides, blunts are a horrible waste.)

---

Prohibition doesn't control drugs, it relinquishes control over drugs.
http://leap.cc
LEAP – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

marijuana is not dangerous. when will people learn its harmless and actually benefits people.

If figures of authority... your parents, grandparents, your teachers, etc told you every day of your life from day 1 that the sun was blue, you would think it was. Well, it's not. People telling you that weed is harmful are either lying or unfamiliar with it. Many of the politicians truly believe weed is harmful because their conservative upbringing trained their brains to think weed was bad, when it is not. The truth is, alcohol, tobacco, aspirin, caffeine, and McDonalds will kill you before weed will even start to harm you. People who say weed ruins your motivation are completely wrong as well. Smoking weed makes me bust out my guitar, and I can write for hours. I've solved Calculus proofs high. The Beatles seemed to do alright when they were stoned 24/7.

I smoke weed every day. I was prescribed Percocets earlier for chest pains. I took a few percs and I'm pretty much unable to function right now. When I'm high, I can do anything just as well as I can sober. Don't see why this stuff is legal and weed isn't

by making drugs illegal, our government has opened the doors for underground criminal organizations to make $MILLIONS$ not to mention how it impacts the drugs themselves, expensive and dirty!

I really don't like the stuff but we are broke. we need tax money to fast.

Oh For Heavens sake. Our ancestors smoked many different things and they managed to hunt and take care of family so just legalize the crap for gosh sakes and lets more to another topic,

The US has a double standard when it comes to drugs,if America is so set against the drug cartels,why does our government let the Afgan people grow popies ,this plant is a major cash crop for Afghanastan and everyone knows these plants will be sold to make heroin,probably to some of the same cartels on our borders now . So why do we turn a blind eye to the root cause of the worlds drug problem there , but then try to blame American pot smokers for the entire drug problem here.

Why do we make a weed illegal? It would be like making dandelions illegal when there was a prohibition against alcohol.
These people think it is OK to take Oxycontin and other pain killers instead of smoking a little grass. The pain killers are addictive and make you feel horrible and sick.
If drugs are league then we could help those who are addicted and a harm to themselves and others instead of incarceration.

While I don't advocate drugs (yes I've partaken of the herb), I've always felt that marijuana was the lesser of the drug "evils." But to blame this nation's insatiable appetite for the drug violence is absurd. When this country adopted prohibition, the criminal gangs fought over the control over the illegal alcohol trade. However, when prohibition ended, alcohol crime literally dropped to nothing. So, legalize marijuana, tax the HELL out of it, control the quality, and you should see the crime relating to marijuana drop. When I'm out driving on the weekend, and see clown swerving all over the street, at a club and see some female passed out at a table, or two dudes fighting, it's not because they've smoked some incredibly potent Sao Paulo north slope trip weed...it's because they're DRUNK! I fear alcohol more than any other drug...why...because it's socially acceptable. I enjoy a coktail, beer or wine like many of you, but if they did away with alcohol it wouldn't bother me one bit. The reason, because I like to have a drink, but don't "need" to. Addicts need liquor/hard drugs/cigarettes, but I've never known anyone who needs smoke or who has to run outside on every break at work to "smoke one." Try to make alcohol illegal and this country would rise up in rebellion. Time to at a minimum...LEGALIZE IT!
Ask a farmer about how much he could make on a mary jane crop.

We are strong enough to get through America’s drug problem

This is an unbiased and purely rational analysis of the challenges we live and face in drugs.

I hope people are interested in this. There is a lot of truth in this analysis and grasping even a portion is a step towards resolving our challenges with drugs.

Drug related problems are:

1. Misunderstanding how drugs work and the attraction, which leads to the first two points:

a. Violence (domestic and international)

b. Irresponsible use / addiction/ abuse (including underage use)

Both of these very serious problems occur as a result of public and government misunderstanding and misclassification and oversimplification – we have written all drugs off as one in the same. Plenty of science is accessible that would help us understand our challenges with “drugs”. The first evidence of this was the La Guardia Committee Report in 1944. However, we disregarded all science and logic in favor of our feelings and emotions and continue that trend to this day. “Drugs” alone are absolutely 100% harmless. They exist in nature without human contact and never have one of the drugs leapt from their habitat and strangled a human being or forced overdose. Drugs are personified in order to accept blame. Science tells us that some of us have predispositions to certain drugs (stimuli) based on our psychological state. Hormones play the most important role in drug abuse and addiction. Hormones literally control how we feel. “Drugs” or stimuli as defined in this analysis, can control our feelings. Drugs as well as many activities and stimuli can reduce our negative feelings (hormones) or increase our positive feelings (hormones) or a combination of both. All people are in search of good feelings. This is called in science “The Human Reward System”. The reward system is a series of checks and balances of hormones that should provide us an edge in tougher times. For example, we feel hunger when we need energy and nutrients. This “hunger” is caused by the release of certain hormones that are somewhat negative in their nature. They tell us “hey we need energy and materials, you need to resolve this” and one will typically feel bad until food is eaten. When we eat certain foods (stimuli) our hunger can be quenched and positive hormones are released in certain proportions depending on what we ate, that make us feel good. Many people abuse food when they feel bad, this is a great example. Many people abuse food regularly. Ever eaten a donut just to wish you had more than one? The desire to eat another is not really the love of the donut and the desire to get that donut into your body and blood stream. The attraction comes from the subconscious knowledge that good feeling hormones will be released once this stimulus occurs. This is also known as pavlovian conditioning. This same protocol is followed by many substances or activities (stimuli) that we participate in, not just food but nearly everything we do follows this protocol to some degree for greater and lesser “reward”.

The current public classification of “drugs” is quite misleading. Placing all illegal substances in this category causes much miseducation about substance abuse that leads one to believe that drugs are drugs. This severe oversimplification probably leads to the majority of irresponsible use by uneducated users. Why would one seek or value education for one drug or another if they are all the same(drugs)? This oversimplification has also lead to laws that achieve the opposite of the desired result which is total use prevention. The current mentality is “Drugs are drugs”, so its easy to move from one drug to another in search of the “best drug”. Because total use prevention isn’t possible, bootlegging is the necessary vehicle of delivery. This leads to the violent aspect of “drugs”. If total prevention isn’t realistic, what is? We’ll get to this point later.

Violence in bootlegging (drug dealing) occur when criminals are the only ones in the business. The cost is high because the risk is high. Violence is just the top of the supplier’s umbrella of problems. These problems trickle down the umbrella impacting the public in various ways; increasing court costs and prison / jail costs, more violence, loss of life, etc.

Irresponsible use occurs when users are uneducated about the substance they will/ are using OR are aware but are actually looking forward to the abuse – a much more serious and self destructive behavior that is probably the majority cause for irresponsible use.

Many assumptions are made about how humans (different demographics) will respond to different stimuli, in this case, drugs, drug laws, and consequence. We make too many assumptions, and these assumptions are quite flawed. It’s not our duty as citizens or government to assume how someone will behave, we cannot control behavior, we can give direction and incentive, and consequence for offenders. This is what governing is by definition – not controlling. Government attempting to control people is what drove people to leave their homes in Europe for the USA centuries ago. History repeats itself.

There are many “drugs” in our society. There may always be a “drug” in society. In this analysis, drug use is defined as any activity or stimuli that can and sometimes does lead to irresponsible or dangerous behaviors that do provide a reward to the participant while potentially harming themselves and possibly others. Drugs require participation so the problem we face with drugs is really the use or misuse and the real problem is really an activity most properly defined as “drug use”. A list of “drugs” follows: Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, barbiturates, opiates, amphetamines, prescription medications, food, sex, video games, relationships, gambling, etc. and many other common and uncommon activities. Some “drugs” are more addictive than others depending on the activity and the participant. Two factors determine the potential for abuse and addictiveness: both the “drug” and the participant determine the potential for abuse and addiction. Without both the participant and the drug, addiction and/or abuse cannot occur. Certain “drugs” are more addictive than others and certain people are more prone to addiction than others, and to various drugs.

The solution to the drug abuse and addiction is a very complicated one. No one will be able to accurately predict a one step solution. Instead, as a people and a country we should make small steps and changes and gauge the effectiveness of each step before taking the next. The best solution will take many steps and probably many years to accomplish. Step one is accepting the absolute truth about “drugs” and how they influence our biology. Step two is educating the public and the government about these truths. Step three is to use the understanding of drugs we have acquired, which is currently insignificant, and make plans for a small step of change in the right direction. Step four – To Be Determined.

Well, Henry. This one's for you! You made a comment that the moment ANY drug that is legalized in the USA that somehow the "game is over"? LOL That has to be the funniest thing that I have read as of yet! Most drugs ARE legal! Even our ciggarettes and alcohol are legal, taxed, and guarded well. If you do not believe this, go into any Walmart store! The first few shelves are fully stocked with all kinds of legal "drugs" to cure just about anything! They even have shelves just for "drugs" for our babies, even tho pediatritions claimed of thier serious dangers, they remain on the store shelves for sale to the US Americans. They won't even protect our babies in the US when it comes to the legal drugs, so how is it that we should continue to leave them in control of what is legal or not? I will not give the "legal drugs" to my children, and illegal drugs will never be into my home either! I want the "freedom" to make my own choices instead of having them made for me! Somewhere here guys, we were a country whos men and women shed thier blood for that freedom. I want my freedom to make my own choice. No matter, I will make the right choice for me and for my family! They somewhat act as tho we as Americans can not think for ourselves and that we are not educated enough to make a good decision. As for legalizing the marijuana ...that is the one thing here that should never have been illegalized to begin with! I am not a young person. I am in my 50's now, and am a wise lady. I have been involved with this issue since the "Great American Smokeout" of the 1970's! Alot of importat people tried to warn the American people that this would happen, and guess what, it did! Maybe we should now UNDO what we did wrong to begin with. What you do in your home is none of my business and I feel it should be none of yours whatever I do in mine! It's called freedom! I am beginning to forget what freedom and rights are all about anymore! We lose them everyday that goes by now, and I am not sure why alot of Americans died fighting for it! We can not lose sight of that great gift that we earned as AMERICANS! OUR FREEDOM! Let's start fighting to keep it! You never know, they may come after the steaks next! They are high in fats and are not good for you! We should ban them too! lol (Sorry, I don't want to rock Rolands day)

Our founding fathers grew and used cannabis, even wrote about the importance if separating the male and female plants,,,,,,,
As far as other drugs go, make them legal too, put an age cap of 21 like alcohol, have warning labels all over them! More people die today from prescription medication than all "street drugs" combined!
http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30

I've seen many commercials for class action lawsuits for drugs the FDA told us were safe 10 years ago, example Depakote ( http://www.drugs.com/depakote.html ) is up for causing birth defects, just as many other "safe" prescribed meds, and "miracle vaccines" have been causing death and auto-immune disorders, http://www.righthealth.com/topic/Side%20Effects%20Of%20The%20Hpv%20Vaccine?as=yhoo&ac=423&p=l

Educate don't incarcerate!

Stop the war on drugs. This war makes no sense.

You already presented the key fact in this controversey: 64% of American cartel funding is derived from American purchase of marijuana. If America legalizes and regulates the already massive industry, the drug cartel will lose most of its funding. We put more victim-less criminals in prison systems we can't afford to maintain. Stop prohibition; this is rediculous.

If you support Prohibition, you support violence, organized crime, lack of respect for the law and dangerous, contaminated products. Remember "Bath-tub Gin"?

I think all drugs should be decriminalized but cannabis should be promoted as the versatile plant that it is. From cannabis you get food, fuel, fiber for clothes,paper and building material, medicine and recreation. No other substance on earth covers all those areas.
It is time to decriminalize cannabis and allow us all the personal freedom to be independant and self sufficient instead of completely dependant on outside sources for our survival. Look what a good job Wall Street and the Banks have done taking care of us.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR OURSELVES. CANNABIS CAN DO THAT.

If the government couldn't sell it as cheap as the cartels. Then just let people grow their own. They don't need the govenment to provide it for them. They can do it all themselves, it is a weed after all. It doesn't take much to grow it at all. It wasn't a problem in this country until law were made on it. And yes our demand for gas isn't going anywhere, and that does support horrible acts in the middle east. Didn't CNN report on a Saudi judge that wouldn't annul a 8 year olds marrige. Yet we still buy gasoline

Marijuana should be legalized. The government should regulate and tax it. It will take the pot cartels out and put the small time street dealers out of business. It will also reduce crimes related this drug. Small time petty drug offenses will be reduced and free up jails for offenders that should be there in the first place. It will free up much needed revenue for a budget that is in diar need of help. And to top it off Pot is proven to be no worse than alcohol.

Chris
(from Renton, WA)

How delusional people can be. Anyone that says we can't grow marijanana and tax it for under 100$/ounce is to say it bluntly....stupid and should get off the air.

I believe the first step in the Marajuana delima should be de-criminalization. This would reduce the number of inmates incarcerated for posession and manufacture, which would decrease state and federal overhead cost to house these "CRIMINALS" as well as a subsequent decrease in violence. I believe this would deliver a serious blow to mexican drug cartels income. Then we can think about legalization and the benefits from taxation.

If people don't want their kide to use drugs their best bet is to teach that and demonstrate that by not doing it themselves. Education is the best tool for acheiving these goals, not incarceration.

Please Tell the truth about Marijuana and how it became illegal. Tell about the propaganda campaign that still goes on today. How many of our law makers know the truth? They can find out on this web site.
( http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm ).

Stop Wasting billions to give our children a criminal record. Give them an education instead.

Marijuana is here and easy to get in the United States already. Where do you think the money comes from that funds the cartels?

The only way Marijuana kills is that illegal Marijuana funds the drug cartels. They are killing thousands. Sending more troops to the border
will get more of our teen age children killed that's in the army.

You can tell if a driver is impaired with using the same coordination test as used for alcohol. If they pass the test than they are capable of driving.

If Marijuana is a gate way drug, why are there so many more Marijuana users than with the other drugs? Find the myths and facts on this web site.
( http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/ ).

They say POT is a $15 Billion industry, so why not make money on it much the same way Nevada did with prositution? Ask any pot smoker and they will tell you that the pot that comes out of Mexico is far less potent then the pot grown in the states that it's leagle. Then there is the matter of everything else that pot can be used for like making paper, cloths, medication and so much more. It's not just a drug.

Best Regards,
Frank

No offense intended to our friends south of the border, but I prefer domestic or Canadian marijuana. The quality is much better. Why isnt anyone concerned about our white friends to the north. It all seems a little bias and bigoted to me.

If marijuana was legal, we wouldn't need the government to provide it for the common users. Trust me they could grow their own without any aid or extra burden on the government. Plus those Dare programs are great for tearing families apart cause mommy likes to take a load off every now and then. I can see it being a good thing if mommy does speed, coke, or crack. But not for smoking a J here and there.

Marijuana should be legalized. Whether people like it or not there will always be a way to get it. People like it they wanna smoke it. Mexico is not the only place where they can get it from. If u legalize it it really would help the economy regardless of what the price would be people would still purchase it because they like it just like they like tabacoo. The price is high and they're still buying it.

we;ve fought this war before it was calle alcohol prohabition. the mafia was built on it. now the cartels and the terrorist are funded by drug money. we have been using law enforcement to incarcerate millions of our otherwise law abiding citizent for their use of intoxicants to no availe legalize marijuana in portugal nall drugs are legal with no ill effects to society stop prohabition stop violence

If you were to legalize drugs in the US, you could control not just quality, but QUANTITY. Crack could be eliminated by controlling the volume of cocaine one could get at any given time. Not to mention the money we would save on interdiction, but in new tax income as well. That money could then be better utelized in better treatment programs for hard core addicts.

The cartels have too much government control in Mexico the only way to stop this corruption is to legalize marijuana with heavy purchasing restrictions here in the U.S. only.The moneys will stay with us and not cartels and corrupt Mexico government officials.

I am a 53 year old diabetic neuropathy sufferer... I also have lymphedema in both legs and am in constant pain. Doctors prescribe me METHADONE for God's sake... and want me to take 4 pills a day. I do NOT want to become a narcotics addict, so I VERY DISCRETELY use marijuana in my bedroom, keep it locked in a safe, smoke it as safely as possible in a water-pipe, eliminating 90% of the carcinogenic tars from the smoke.
Four weeks ago, police received an "anonymous report" of illicit drug use in my home...I live alone by the way... and they had to search my home. They found less than a half-ounce of marijunana and a thirty-year old water pipe.
I now face criminal charges, public and family embarrassment, and my only option to reduce the horrible pain I always experience is to take MORE METHADONE.
Thank you, drug laws. Thank you police.
THEN YOU WONDER WHY PEOPLE LIKE ME END UP REAL ADDICTS... TO DEADLIER NARCOTICS!!
Please share my story.... this is not right.

I would rather come home from work and smoke a joint than have a cocktail. If Marijuana was legal my life would be so much easier. I have smoked pot just about everyday since I was 15 and am now 55.
I am still functioning and in good health, no problem with me with legalizing it.

The reason why we have not legalized drugs is because the DEA and other federal and state agencies responsible for investigations and controlling illegal drug use would not have a job to do. You heard Bob Strang say the three things that could stop distribution... One of which was programs like D.A.R.E. That program was awful and never worked.

Other nations have decriminalized drugs without increasing drug use. Let's let Mexico grow Wheatgrass for us instead and I'll buy in the truckloads.

"Kids Want to Grow Up to be Drug Dealers" should be the name of a country song because there is just so much money in it (and prestige). Treating drugs (of all kinds) like we do that of alcohol and cigarettes (both are drugs) by regulating, taxing, and educating against use/abuse is the most likely way to effect needed change with its current trouble.

Convenience stores biggest theft item from not only their customers but from their employees has become cigarettes–why? Because the tax on cigarettes has made them expensive enough for there to be a market for them to steal for resale.

Take away the lucrative money-making and take away the high incentive for foul play. Let's make room to keep violent criminals in our prisons instead and let those (adults) who want to fry their brains with drugs do so cheaply. They're doing it now except with theft and criminal activity all that lead to violence to innocent people because of the cost.

Don't legalize drugs!!! Drug dealers, DEA agents, and prison guards need their jobs to exist.

Please stop having these old archaic men in suits who obviously want to continue a failed war on drugs. We've wasted enough treasure and lives fighting something that will never be won. The answer is, if we sell it here, we tax it here, we keep the money here.
Then if you want to educate you do so like with cigarettes/alcohol.

There's an idea for a story......how much does the alcohol industry spend each year lobbying congress to keep drug legislation off the floor of congress? And why?......

The United States imprisons a larger percentage (2.7%) of its population than any other country in the world, including North Korea, Iraq, China, and Russia. A very large percentage of these Americans are imprisoned for low level drug offenses.

This started due to our insane War of Some Drugs, and is now maintained by commercial interests in the prison and anti-drug industries. Do we really believe that people are better off in prison than they are getting high from time to time?

Are we a country of the free, where we may do what we like with our own bodies, or are we the ultimate in nanny states, where all forms of recreation must be good for us, or are punished by extreme penalties?

The Netherlands have had decriminalized "soft drugs" for decades, and their drug abuse statistics are, in fact, lower than those of nearby countries. There is no rational reason for continuing to throw such a large portion of our population in prison.

Actually, there should be another choice... Legalize marijuana (which is safer than alcohol or tobacco) and decriminalize use of hard drugs. How can the U.S. government claim that they could not sell marijuana cheaper than the Mexican cartels and in the same breath tell us about hte billions of dollars the cartels are bringing in. At the very least, allow Americans to grow their own marijuana. It will grow anywhere in the U.S. and every ounce grown by users here is an ounce NOT bought from the cartels. We have had drug prohibition for over 75 years and it certainly hasn't solved the problem. It's time for another look.

Gary
Youngstown, OH

first off marijuana shouldn't be clumped together with the likes of cocaine, heroin, and crystal meth. its like comparing a cotton ball and a neutron bomb. it blows me away the war on drugs hasn't advanced ever since the days of cowboy ronnie. legalize marijuana and tax away.

I have a plan that would work for pot and only pot I would be more than happy to tell you about it if given a chance

If you pass one drug , then you've to pass another ,
Is this really the solution ?

Yes send ALL illegals back to there own countries.

Mexico , needs to take responsiblityand stop this
drug war , they gotten thereselves in this
situation now solve it on there own .

In a perfect world, nobody would use drugs or alcohol. We don't live there. In the real world, the folks using marijuana and other drugs are buying them through these drug dealers who, if you follow the line, work directly for the Mexican cartels.
Therefore, if you legalize marijuana, you are going to change the line of supply. If people can buy their pot from a smoke shop instead of a back-alley drug deal, they will. They're not buying from the cartels any longer.
True there will always be a black market for something, but this, at least, takes care of their big money maker. Not to mention turning profits with this crop for our OWN country instead of supporting foreigners.

On the marijuana issue. I believe marijuana should be legalized and taxed. The one point i'd like to get across is that millions dont drink alcohol and use marijuana as a safer alternative. Also, CNN is putting so much attention on Mexican marijuana and the violence. I haven't bought any Mexican marijuana in over 4 years and that goes for most of the friends and coworkers I know. The marijauna most adults over 40 yrs old buy domestic marijuana grown by indoor growers and are non-violent. It's a distortion by the media that most of the marijuana use in the United States is from Mexico. For example 98% of the marijuana with names like blueberry or northern lights is grown indoors by Americans who have nothing to do with the Mexican drug war.

The DEA's concept of the three legged stool smacks of coercion and red party politics. Brainwash our kids with DARE (which has been shown to not be effective), coerce adults into quitting through "treatment" or threat of jail or job loss. And by all means, lump marijuana in with methamphetamine and heroine, to suggest that marijuana is distinctly different from these seriously harmful drugs would just "send the wrong message."

How about sending the right message, that some activiites are privileges reserved for adults, and that marijuana use is a sustainable habit completely unlike meth or heroine and as such there should be a system in place for adults to legally smoke it. While we're at it, let's find a fair and accurate way to determine if someone is too intoxicated to drive or work. Detecting metabolites from a joint smoked a week ago is hardly fair or accurate.

And not everybody is going to like the taste or the feel, or the very idea of intoxication, so I doubt if legalizing marijuana would open the floodgates of addiction. But it would, if statistics presented were correct, reduce the Mexican Drug cartel's profits by 60% (until they discover perhaps sex slave trafficking) and it would reduce law enforcement costs and increase refenue.

When did you last have to justify by medical necessity that glass of fine wine or martini you drank? Why the double standard? I will know CNN is mature and HONEST enough to handle a debate when it does not rely solely on DEA, AFT, CIA and FBI agents...all who THINK they benefit by pot's continued suppression. Treat pot like a fine wine. The government need not grow it and distribute it. Let the experts do so in the private sector. America has plenty of fertile soil and we do not have to support Mexican or any other "violent drug cartels." That's hogwash that pot smokers perpetuate violent gangs. It is the REPRESSION of an often beneficial substance (God-grown herb) that creates the violence. Pot tastings, snobbery over strains will all blossom and tokers can partake in DIGNITY when the absurd laws are lifted.

I think marijuana should be legalized. There are no known side effects of smoking marijuana. It has been approved and used for medical uses in recent years.
Legalizing marijuana isn't going to solve our economic problem but it will take some of the power away from drug dealers. Legalized gambling has put more people in financial destitute than legalized marijuana ever will. Gambling and the lure of get rich schemes have nearly bankrupted this nation.
So, Yes I think marijuana should be legalized just to escape the reality of loosing all your money in the lotto.

I believe that only marijuana should be decriminalize for possession up to an ounce but all other drugs should stay illegal. for i know a grand total of 0 people that have died from marijuana but give you millions who have died from tobacco alcohol and the serious drugs

Things need to change in this country why do we put 1,000,000 to
1,200,000 people in jail for none violent drug crimes each year at a
cost of over 40 Billion dollars per year per million people just to
houses them. This money goes in to privet company's that are sub
company's of the people in the government. When the C.I.A brings cocaine
and heroin in to this country. Since we went to Afghanistan and took
over the country Afghanistan is now putting 80% of the heroin on the
streets world wide and there number two export is body parts for
transplants that does not say much for us running the country. The
C.I.A. got caught putting cocaine on the streets for sale in the 80s to
fund the Contras war more than once and did not get even a slap on the
hand for it. Marijuana should be legal for medical use in all states for
that matter if
marijuana was treated like alcohol and cigarettes and sin tax the hell
out of it. There is less kids doing cigarettes and alcohol then smoking
marijuana in this country because it is controlled better by the
government and tax payers would save over 40 to 50 Billion dollars a
year alone going in to these privet pockets just by doing this the drug
would be controlled better and less kids under the age of 21 would be
able to get marijuana as easy and the money for this would not be going
down the line and out of the country every one that is getting put in
jail for this would be out working paying taxes having homes paying
taxes
instead of costing the tax payer 40 Billion dollars per year. Then take
a bunch of this money and stop cocaine and heroin from getting in to the
country at all at the borders!. Any one that really looks at the whole
picture it looks like are government is trying to make money from both
ends of this bring the drugs in with the C.I.A. and make money putting
Americans in jail for using it. The average person in this country pays
his bills one week at a time cutting out food,medicines,vacations,not
being even able to keep home payments paid you name it. And be using
this money to help fund new way for every one to get to work ,travel
heat are home with out fossil fuel. if you think we had a depression in
the 30s it will not be nothing compared to what is coming The whole
world needs to worry about global warming more also how about taking
some of this money and putting in water treatment plants to take ocean
water to clean water on all are coasts lines with pipe lines to get it
to all the big city's and the crop land in the middle of this country
that most of are food is grown before it is to late. How about stronger
laws on all the scams people are trying to do to the average person like
make the commercials and advertisements run on TV really work just as
they say or be fined. THE PEOPLE NEED HELP

How many times do you think the people of this country will put up
with are rights being taken from us ?And how long will this country last
before people will be stealing or killing just to stay warm or have food
to feed there family's. If things go the way they are
right now you will not even recognize the world that is coming !!! If
there is not another way other than fossil fuel found soon and brought
to the people at a cost that will keep this country going so the people
of this country can work and make money enough to keep
warm keep food in front of are kids there will BE NO ONE PAYING TAXES OR
EVEN A NEED FOR A GOVERNMENT AT ALL...
This should NOT be put in the hands of the county prosecutors because they
are just out to put as many in jail for as long as possible because this
makes there records better not looking at the person or the circumstance
that drove the person to do drugs or sell them what would any one do if it
came to the point that you had no money to feed your childern or get your
parents the things they need to even stay alive and the only way you seen
was to try to sell a drug to keep your child from starving or cloths on
there back ? "

If our country is suppose to be the beacon of freedom why in my life of over 50 yrs have been told so many lies about drugs? Probably because of a corrupt political system / agencies and the drug / insurance companies who want their cut. Just look at the side affects of the crab they are pushing on us. They have destroyed the Auto industry as well as push out our manf jobs which made a promise to their employees. All this just so the drug / insurance companies can rape us selling garabage instead of allowing us to cure ourselves. I am sick of this debate just like the slaves of old FREE AMERICA NOW.

We need to look really close at legalizing drugs. Who remembers "Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it"? We tried prohibition with alcohol and we know what happened then.

If we legalize drugs, then, we can address the problem of drug use. How terrible are drugs? We don't seem to have a real handle on it. I don't trust many of the US based studies because I don't feel comforrtable with the objectivity of the research. You can't do marijuana research without approval and control by the Federal government. And, they (US Government) want to prove their point.

If we legalize drugs, first, we can control the potency of the product. One of the problems is what is it that people are buying? It may be cut with something lethal or too strong. Next, we can use it like alcohol to generate income. Tax it! Nicotine are is very powerful drug, yet, we have lived with it for years. And, we have found it can generate income. One result of legalization is that we can significantly reduce profit of the illegal activity.

We are a nation of addicts!! We are addicted to food. We are addicted to spending. We are addicted to alcohol. We need to address our addictive personality. The prohibition mentalty is a significant part of our national pyche. Let us responsibily live life! Do we really know the difference between casual marijuana use and casual alcohol use?

There is another aspect to the war on drugs. Since the war on drugs began, we have seen our constitutional rights slowly erode. Law enforcement has continually hammered at us that they need these broad powers to fight this evil. In the end, lawmakers have slowly eroded our personal rights. The war on drugs has also been a great reason for law enforcement budgets increase because we have to address this terribel scourage. What started with the war on drugs has continued with the war on terrorism. You have to give up liberty for your security. As Benjamin Franklin said "Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither".

Legalizing drugs will be a mistake. We already have young people getting hooked on them and when they become legal, there will be more young people getting hooked on them and our country would fall by the wayside as an unorganized third world country primed for the picking by some country like China or Russia.

That is not acceptable.

marijuana is not an addictive drug.no one has ever overdosed from
marijuana.And if marijuana is 61% of the cartells incom hit them were it hurts the wallet...wheather marijuana's leagl or not people are still going get a hold of it.the goverment will never fully stop the production of marijuana..I think if it were legalized,it would bring us right out of the recession,aswell as bring larger amounts of tuorist to the country...just look at the country of amsterdam..people come from all around the world to go to the "coffee shops"...and as for teenagers,its
just like dads liquer cabnit,if they want to try it,there going to get ahold of it..you said that its estimated that 15 million people use marijuana,is that really taboo..?i apologize for any spelling mistakes..
im not the best speller...
jamie

Think heavily on WHY the double standard for alcohol versus pot. Look at California's healthy wine industry. Pot should be likened to that. The diversity, the fine nuances between the different tastes, buzz, aroma, depth of laughter, degree of inspiration achieved would all become factors in "pot tastings." The only people freaking out at the prospect of decriminalization are or believe they are invested somehow in perpetuating a fatally flawed repressive regime to control a substance backed by popular demand (think prohibition and the disastor that was). It's time folks. No more knee jerk reactions or hysteria. Get real. It M-E-L-L-O-W-S people out - it does not create violent criminals . . . unless they are in the trade purely out of GREED and the stricter the laws are enforced against pot the richer you make the biggest thugs (including much of the DEA, ATF, CIA and FBI).

The argument for criminalizing "drugs" is the government trying to protect its citizenry from their harmful effects and life-destructive potential. However, Narcotic Painkillers, Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling and pornography have negatively impacted millions, but remain legal. Additionally, the legal consequences of illegal "drug" use can often be worse than responsible casual use. Billions of Americans tax dollars are spent arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating citizens for only marijuana use. Then, this permanent criminal record leaves them unable to resume a normal lifestyle. They are unable to vote, find employment or obtain credit to buy a home which results in billions of dollars of lost productivity. The decision to use marijuana (and even other "drugs") should be a personal decision – like alcohol, tobacco, gambling and pornography.

The government souldn't provide marijuana for the people. They have enough to worry about with the economy and world threats. They could just decrimilize it and let the public grow thier own though. It would take no effort on their part. The plant used to grow wildly all over this great nation, and if the government would stop cutting it down when they found it, it would probably spread out again. See, that would take less effort right there. Plus, it's its prohibition that empowers the drug cartels, not the demand. The "want" for it was here way before our laws on it came into place, and the country not only did well but we thrived with it then.

And another thing......I am so tired of the suggestion that people who smoke pot or want it legalized "lack a moral compass." I go to church most weeks, I volunteer in my community, I pay my taxes, heck, I even walk back into a store if I've been given too much change. Except for what you may find in my body fluids, I am no different from any of my neighbors.

Did I hear those figures correctly? 8.5 BILLION DOLLARS in profits for just the Mexican Cartel? Just from marijuana?
If the majority of the marijuana smoked in this country is grown here as well, it would logically follow that at least 17 BILLION DOLLARS in profit could be currently derived from this drug.
For gosh sakes... lets look at the scoreboard here:
Tobacco – millions of cancer deaths – licensed, taxed, and regulated.
Alcohol – millions of lives ruined – millions of cirrhosis patients – licensed, taxed, and regulated.
Marijuana – not one death – millions of people "secretly" using for medical reasons – ILLEGAL, PROFITS GO TO MURDEROUS CARTELS.
Seems just about as logical as everything else I see happen when lawyers and law enforcement combine their intellect.

I see the comments concerning how teenagers are becoming addicted and dying from drugs and that is a concern.. If you think logically, the reason teenagers have access to drugs is that they are readily more available to them precisesly because it is illegal. As a teenager growing up during the 60’s and 70’s I remember how much easier it was to obtain drugs than alcohol.
Another point I’d like to make is the anti-drug ads create the the mystique of the forbidden fruit that attracts so many young people to experiment. It’s time to take a common sense approach to this issue

The drug-law enforcement "experts" are living in a dream world. The drug problem has gotten worse over the past 40 years to the point that it endangers national security, and yet they still have no solution! The Taliban and many other terrorist groups are at least partially funded through the drug trade. Legalization and control are the only way to put the criminals out of business and end the corrupting influence of the black market. It is time for Americans to grow up and take some responsibility for their own lives!

You have made a good point, Gail! ...and God said .." I give you every herb bearing seed to you for meat". If your father gave you a steak to eat for dinner, would you actually roll it and smoke it? As God intended for us to take good care of our bodies, I would assume he meant for us to eat it. It is a great plant used for alot of different things and was found to be very useful to mankind, as God has said in the book of Genesis. In our religion, God has given this as a gift to all of mankind, and look what they have chosen to do with his wonderful gift! Talk about rights??? Where did our religious right go? They seemed to have vanished on this subject. If God did indeed give this as a loving gift to his people, how can any man mock what God has written and given! How can it then be illegal to begin with? Everyone should educate themselves on this subject before deciding for themselves. You just may be doing the very thing that our God does not wish for us to do. I love and treasure the gifts that God has given me, and till the end, I will consider this as a gift from God. What you chose to do with this gift should be between you and your God, not lawmakers! Marijuana should be legal. No question about it!!

Tobacco is more addictive then marijuana.
Alcohol is more destructive to society and especially family dynamics.
Yet marijuana is singled out....last year according to the f.b.i. 10 billion dollars was spent to eradicate marijuana...
as a tax payer I would prefer, that money be applied to education....NOT putting people behind bars for smoking a plant.....NO VICTIM NO CRIME....yet people opposed to legalization seem to all have an agenda....
LOOK my problem is with the federal government telling states that they cannot make their own laws....and when I say states I mean the people.....if you research the history of why it’s illegal you will find that fear is the only reason....
F.E.A.R=FALSE. EVIDENCE. APPEARING. REAL.

I WATCHED UR SHOW THIS MORNING AND FOUND UR SO CALLED EXPERTS TO BE IGNORANT AND CAUGHT UP IN BEING RIGHT MORE THEN DOING WHAT IS RIGHT!!!!!!

If I can buy some mind altering beverage or smoke a cig then why cant I smoke sum marijuana without being labeled a criminal or finding myself peeing in a cup just to get a job....NO MATTER WHAT- I KNOW WHATS RIGHT AND THERE ARE ALOT OF THINGS THAT ARE WRONG YET STILL LEGAL...GO FIGURE!!!!!
AND LAST OF ALL IT’S THE BEST TEXTILE WE GOT ON EARTH.

The legalization of drugs in this country is like many other issues we face. We run with emotion rather than logic. Everyone knows that things that are illegal and sold on the black market are much easier for teenagers to acquire than legal regulated items like alcohol. Obviously they would still get their hands on it like they do alcohol, but it would become harder to find and by direct result the usage among teens would decline further. When I was a teenager in California we simply drove to one of many known drug houses or made a call or two and then someone always had a source by the second call. Alcohol on the other hand required us asking adults to buy it or someone having a keg party, so we drank far less than we smoked pot.

I also think that expecting the masses to stop using drugs is unbelievably naive and unrealistic at best. Just like asking Americans to stop using oil because it helps fund terrorism. The argument that users are responsible for the cartels actions is hollow and hypocritical.

Aside from all the other reasons stated here and by other posters, I think the war on US citizens is against the constitution in terms of depriving people of their pursuit of happiness. If doing drugs makes a consenting adult happy, the government should mind it's own business.

One guest claims Mexico is doing a wonderful job fighting the drug war. With over 8,000 death related to the prohibiiton of drugs, I don't see how the host let that laughable claim go by unchallenged. The other guest says will on the right track and what's required is more of the same. With education like the DARE program, which four independent studies prove that it doesn't work. The host didn't question either of these ridiculous suggestions. But I fault her producers more for having two guests that were in agreement 100% on the issue.

If you want a serious debate, have a speakers from Law enforcement Against Prohibition on to debate the issue since you host is incapable of challenging guests when they make flat out mispresentations.

another thought.... sorry... but I am very passionate on this subject.
An open letter to President Obama:
You admit to having used marijuana and cocaine. And of course, you are no pothead or coke freak. At some point, your education kicked in and you decided that path was not for you. Good choice..for you.
I supported you from the first primary through the election. I watched with anticipation when you held your first online-news-conference.... knowing that you would be fair and answer the questions most asked by the American public.
When the polls were opened up, legalization of marijuana was one of the top three most frequently asked-about topics. I knew you would give an honest, decisive FAIR answer.
Imagine how betrayed I felt, and the fifteen million other people in this country felt... when you blew-off the question by laughing about it.
I still support MOST of your policies. Unfortunately, a COMIC PRESIDENT is not what I helped elect.
How about an HONEST INSIGHTFUL DEBATE WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ON THIS TOPIC? Or have your "advisors" told you that it wouldn't be politicallly expedient? Over 90% of the people in this CNN poll support some sort of legalization of drugs, most in favor of marijuana. WILL YOU ANSWER THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HONESTLY, WITH NO SMIRKING, JOKING, OR SCREWING AROUND? Your actions, or lack of them, will speak volumes about your real intentions in this area... or whether you feel "politics" are more important than REAL dialogue!

Also, a friend of mine died last week from a heroine overdose. This guy had been a pot smoker for about a decade. He was clean cut by most standards, and loved life. He use to do all kinds of activities like wakeboarding (while high, and doing backflips), ski diving (never high, already high enough altitude wise), and the sort. Half a year ago he got into a motorcycle and had some fractures. He recieves a perscription for vicodine and becomes hooked. From there I watched him go into a downward spiral from his addiction to pain killers. He waisted away physically and mentally from the pain killers. Then, he moved on from the pain killers to harder opiates, getting us now to the present. Marijuana didn't take him down, it was the pain killers..... pain killers..... guess there's no hiding with the name.......killers. Marijuana should be legal only. Everything else should be fought with reckless abandon.

Marijuana needs to be Legalized. As a 40 year smoker of this substance I can honestly say the only dangerous and harmful effects of this herb are the laws and penalities against it. Prohibition didn't work with alcohol, and is not and will not work with marijuana. These laws are needlessly ruining the lives of other-wise law abiding U.S. citizens.

PLEASE READ– I am a 62 year old woman who never did drugs. However, I am a firm believer that you should try everything once to make a decision based on personal experience and I'm sorry I did not do that before this writing.
I have tried cigrrettes and alcohol as a young person. Look at the (easily) 150 carcinogens in cigarettes–No one seems to care that any one of those is enough to cause cancer and death let alone 150+? Are we kidding?? Now Look at Alcohol –it causes liver damage and death and a host of newly discovered diseases-not to mention horrifying fetal underdevelopment problems like FAS & worse.
There have been many studies on Marijuana–none have shown any problems other than the temporary "peaceful" state–which we could all use once in awhile! There's no evidence that I found, it even causes lung cancer– Pot is used more recreational and cigarettes are more constant. It is a plant found in the ground for God's sake–That's it!! There are probably many more plants that do the same in everybody's back yards that we don't even know about yet and as time goes by they'll be discovered too-Is the gov. going to go into all American yards and ban those too??
Next–I have a husband who suffer from cancer–trust me –I will go to the ends of the earth to help him and if it became medically necessary & I found pot could help–I'd be the first on line!

Look at the first and biggest concern the gov. has (as told by your guests on TV today-) "....well,if we did legalize it, we should tax it and sell it and blah, blah, blah"–See? it's all about the money! it made me sick!–All they want is to figure out is how to make money on pot–that's why it was banned in the first place–it was much,much easier to legalize cigs. and liquor than pot. Finally, there is a SONG CALLED "GANJA" by the music group ECHO MOVEMENT. It can be found online at their website or youtube(?)–It amazingly targets and sums up today's discussion and the REAL message is clear which tells the story in short of the gov, the history and the outcome–which is why we're in this predictment today. It's truly a must listen! It's all over the internet.
Finally–please don't put marijuana in the same class as cocaine, heroin, LSD, cigarettes, alcohol–from what I've read, it clearly is not and i don't apprecialte the American intelligence being insulted as such. EVERY line of work–in ALL walks of life– people have and continue to use marijuana and curiously, NO ONE HAS DIED.
Thank you.

To say that marijuana is "a GATEWAY DRUG" is as logical as saying breast feeding leads to alcoholism... since most alcoholics started on breast milk.

I have spent my entire life around people in the entertainment business, and I can assure you that a great many entertainers and musicians use pot daily and still manage to function very well in society.

For example jazz legend Louie Armstrong reportedly used to smoke about an ounce of pot every day.

Other countries have decriminalized drugs and have actually seen a REDUCTION in hard drug usage.

Imagine the BILLIONS spent on law enforcement, courts and prisons being spent on hard drug TREATMENT instead!

We criminalized alcohol and created riches for the Mafia. We have criminalized drugs and created riches for the drug cartels. Will we never learn?

Legalizing any drug would only destroy more lives. Is anyone thinking about the effect legalizing drugs would have on the rich, the poor and especially children? All I hear is how much money the government can save by legalizing drugs. What about the increasing amount they would have to spend for rehabilitating more drug adicts. I can see more adults spending their weeks pay on drugs instead of paying the rent and puting food on the talbe for their children. This means more people would be living in shelters and on the street which boils down to the governmetnt rescuing them at tax payers expense.

I to believe that drugs should be legalized. Look at how many police officers are killed each year because of drugs. It only makes sense,
That DEA person on CNN this morning said that the cost with the government in control would not go down. But just think, if drugs were legalized, then all the drugs coming in from Mexico would vanish.
Just say NO, as Nancy Regan said back in the 80's sure made a big difference in our drug wars.
Legalizing is the only way to go. I just wish Obama would take a closer look at this issue and quit laughing about this issue.

If you are going to bring people on your show and ask them if we should legalize drugs don't use poeple that make there living from it.
It is a no brainer to think what way a man would pick when he makes his living from hunting people down and putting them in jail for having drugs because if it was legal he would be out of a job.

I may be just a senior in high school but that does not mean that I cannot recognize the difference between things which are inherently bad and things that could end up being extremely beneficial. Like others who have commented, I too am glad that there was a separate "legalize marijuana" option. With the current poll numbers it is clear that a new drug policy needs to be pursued. If we were to legalize just marijuana, it would substantially damage the cartels beyond the border. How do we keep track of it? Simply, tax it, tax the hell out of it just like the government does with cigarettes and alcohol. Of course there would need to be a legal age for marijuana consumption just like there is for tobacco and alcohol, that is one thing that I do not question.

For those who say that legalization would do nothing but increase consumption, I say you are right, it would. But, with a large percentage of adults and teens already using marijuana with no real proven bad effect e.g., there has been no increased violence and the violence which has occurred has been because of gangs and cartels which would be put out of business by legalization and taxation, there has been no notable increase in traffic accidents whereas a large amount of fatal accidents have been caused by driving drunk. I of course am not suggesting that smoking and driving is the safest thing to do however, when compared to alcohol and when you take into consideration that on your drive into work, you pass at least 10 people who are either high or smoking, and they are not the ones causing accidents, you have to think twice.

Legalizing all drugs is also one approach to solving the whole problem. Legalization and taxation of all drugs would decimate the international market. Of course, the drugs which are harder and more dangerous would have to have much more regulation in comparison to less dangerous drugs. Without a market for the cartels and gangs to exploit, they collapse, dissolve and disappear. I think legalization of everything would be more effective than just legalizing marijuana but it does have its darker and more dangerous sides.

America does not want to support the cartels. America would love to have them completely removed from the equation. But until people can grow their own marijuana again like we used to when this great nation was first starting out, the cartels or other groups of organized crime will continue to have a lifeline. The only effort our govenment would have to make would be lifting a pen and signing a new law, a marijuana (only) decriminalizing law. That's all they would have to do. That one small (yet huge) action would slash cartel profits, and leave more law enforcement man power available for catching the cocaine, speed, heroine, and crack pushers. And someone needs to work on the kinds of pain killers that people can get. Those are way more addictive than pot ever will be and people only move to harder painkillers from there once addicted (see previous comment above).

I am afraid that it was the "illegalization" of marijuana to begin with that created the problem that we now are seeing today! Marijuana should not even be considered a drug! It is a helpful tool for mankind!! Wake up people, do your research on this one! It is a cure all and could help to be finally able to remove all of those harmful drugs off of the store shelves that we all indulge in! Takes away headaches, pains, depression, heartaches attributed from the death of a loved one, Giving you the "munchies" which also will solve the problem our country sees now in the healthfield ...eating disorders! The list of benefits from marijuana goes on ..and on ..and on.. Do your homework! It is SO benefitial to mankind yet this is what we ban and outlaw! I agree tho. We need a president who will look at what 90% of the public wants without laughing. I do not see where this was a joke ..at all. Making it illegal in the first place, that was the joke! If 90% of the public want it ...then it should be! We, the people, should matter!

Legalizing drugs will not solve the violence in Mexico. I used pot for years back in the 70's and 80's and it never led to the use of harder drugs, I support the legalization pot only. There is a program were our government grows and gave pot for medical reasons for about 15 people for a study on the affects and possible treatment for their illnesses and today there are still about 6 people still being supplied pot through this study, you would think that if our government thought that is was such a bad drug and it should remain illegal then why would they start such a program. There are many pros and cons to the legalization debate. Who would really benefit from the legalization, letting our government control the sale of it would 1. double and maybe even triple the cost raising more tax dollars, empty some of our prisons, saving billions of dollars for useless programs that ain't working. However one big down fall that would be hard to overlook would be the increase in the black markets and the raise in the Mexican cartel violence for controlling interest in those markets. This is only my opinion, thanks

If marijuana was legal, reported use would go up. Not from new users, but from the actual users in this country finally not having to hide there use of it. There's a lot of them. There will always be new users too ocourse, but they won't be what puts the usage needle through the roof if and when marijuana is legalized. And I'd like to thank CNN for putting a "marijuana only" option under the legalization vote. It shows that there are people that can say yes to marijuana and still be against all other drugs.

American marijuana consumers are (NOT) fueling the violence at the border. Lets keep the blame where it belongs. By making the profits so high, ( Unrealistic Drug Laws ) are to blame. History will show that the war on drugs, caused more trouble than the drugs. Nicotine the #1 gate-way drug and alcohol, both legal; cause more pain than all other drugs combined. Will we ever wake up???

One thing is for sure...mankind has gotten high in one form or another since the beginning of time. Think about how alcohol addiction has ruined lives, and worse yet...ended lives...many of them innocent victims of someone else's problems. Marijuana vs alcohol...I choose weed everytime because I've seen, experienced and felt the consequences of those who drink.
Legalizing marijuana does not mean that an employer can't stop requiring that a prospective employee submit to drug testing. It is however a new tax source, and in my opinion, will stop the crime that is related to selling it. We will NEVER stop folks from getting high, but the reality of an ever changing world/society dictates that drastic measures (the legalization of marijuana) be considered.

American marijuana consumers are (NOT) fueling the violence at the border. Lets keep the blame where it belongs. By making the profits so high, ( Unrealistic Drug Laws ) are to blame. History will show that the war on drugs, caused more trouble than the drugs. Nicotine the #1 gate-way drug and alcohol, both legal; cause more pain than all other drugs combined. Will we ever wake up???

at one time i thought that only marijuana should be made legal but now i believe that this is america-land of the free-its our choice to do whatever makes us happy as long as we are not hurting another is my new opinion.there are alot of things that can kill us.tobacco,alcohol,legal drugs,caffiene,asprin,an allergy,salt,i mean the list goes on and on.at 18-you can go off to war and die -you should be able to have a beer if you want to.personally-i dont drink beer-it makes me sick to even smell it.

The fact of the matter is they the state,county,legislaters and government will never legalize marijuana for the fact that the revunue to all these legislations would be stopped.Seizure of property,money and redistrubition of funds and or pot to the American people to create revunue for local police departments countys and state funds simpliy putting a tax on pot will not create the revunue of their unconstitional seizure of private property.

DRUGS do NOT produce SEEDS, so, let's clarify that now.

LEGALIZE & TAX THEM ALL !

what about organic versus synthetic?

Addiction TREATED as HEALTH, not CRIMINAL ISSUE.

Take the PROFIT OUT of HEALTHCARE, also!

Commonsense NOT Common!

Its time to legalize marijuana.
I say no way to the rest.
A local hemp industry will help America become less dependent on foreign petroleum. Especially in regards to making safer and more environmentally safe plastic products. Its time for change.

I operate a small business that requires me, by federal law, to drug test each employee. Each employee also has to be in a random program. I'm curious how legalized drugs would effect this law. Will there be a double standard?

One of the problems is that the government workers are in the business of protecting their own jobs.
I have never and will never do heroin, it destroys lives.
The drug interdiction task forces have put a huge crimp on the Colombian Connection and the Mexicans have taken over the business.
Marijuana should be legal but Cocain, Heroin, LSD, Crank etc. are all too dangerous and create anti social behaviors. If we ever get a handle on the Mexican Connection, heroin will start to come from China.

As a Vietnam combat veteran with purple heart and PTSD. After 40 years I have found that the ONLY "drug" that has helped me in any way at all has been MJ. Of everything that the VA docs. have tried on me to help me have been of little help, And most of the so called "legal" drugs they gave me either made me so sick or so out of it that i couldn't even walk without falling down. The only thing that has helped me is smoking MJ. the overall effect is that reather then bouncing off the walls all the time I can smoke a little MJ and I sorta can set down as stare at them. and I can still function...Even some of the VA Docs say that MJ just may be the best med. for PTSD.. But it is illegal so tuff luck go suffer. or take a chance on going to JAIL...

Tax the _ell out of it isn't all that good an idea, tho a little tax won't hurt. In other words did you know that people will buy cigs in Va and Nc where that tax is reather low and sell them in NY where the tax is high–under the table (black market) and with all the new taxes it is getting cheaper to buy andsmoke pot then cigs.

Marijuana should be made legal and people should be able to grow their own. The war on drugs is a failure and it has managed to over crowd our prisons and clog up the judicial system.

Obviously we can't cantol uncontrolled substances and it has been an unmitigated failure. Asking the DEA and Law Enforcement officers believe their jobs are at stake so their comments are extremely biased. And once the drug policy changes they can still have their jobs controlling the substances in other ways. We can control controlled substances effectively. The statement of use doubling is also bogus since many users are never going to admit to using while drugs are illegal so when legalized all these people come out of the closets and admit the truth thereby giving us the "user" numbers which are well above what we have on record. I love the comment that giving the drugs to all kids is dangerous, who in their right minds expects legalization means selling it at candy stores to five year olds?
This is just more fear tactics generated in a fear based country thanks to the last administration and their constant preaching of fear at every level which has just about ruined this great country. The other comment made on your show this morning is that after taxation and legalization all the illegal drugs will be much more expensive. What a CROCK.

THE PROOF CAN BE FOUND IN MENDICINO COUNTY CALIFORNIA.

Some day maybe we'll wake up to the fact that illegal drugs make criminals and corrupt officials rich at all of our expense and our jails are full of small time users, dealers etc that is also a great expense to us and a waste of law enforcement and court systems that have a lot of better things to do.

Imagine stimulant drugs like cofffee and chocolate being illegal, Millions clamouring for their daily fix. Coffee and chocolate cartels forming across South America, Illegal chocolate factories popping up across the country,Coffee speakeasies in inconspicuous basements and hundreds of thousands imprisioned along with the other drug users. Let’s stop the war and return to common sense laws.

Alcohol is Legal and it ruins lives, Family's and Thousands of people die every year from Drunk Driving and it remains Legal. I have never heard of a person getting killed because of Marijuana ,only in an Ilegal drug deal.I have been Smoking Marijuana for almost Twenty years and I function just Fine. Statistics dont lie . The U.S could make Billoins of Dollars if they Legalized it. If people want Marijuana they can get it, all they have to do is go to the corner and buy some ,it's that easy. Laws do not stop people from living the lifestyle they want to live.The only one Losing is The U.S Economy. OPEN YOUR EYES AMERICA .

Prohibition only serves those who profit from it, not those it pretends to protect.

Does anyone out there trust our government..

I higher standard of education about drugs in particular would be an important addition to the end of U.S. drug prohibiton in my opinion.

This is just the way of the world . The human species will contiue to smoke pot even when the possible punishment could be extreme to the point of people killing each other for their stash . Or police being targeted for just doing the job they were hired to do, and that is what really scares the bejesus out of me . Besides that , the money being made from selling it legally through the system would generate jobs , and maybe even drive crime stats way down . Eventually , after all the hype has been forgotten , then just maybe we as a species would live another 1,000 years . The way we are going now is not an indicator of longevity or prosperity !

Anyone who thinks legalizing marijuana will solve border trafficking problems is way out of touch with reality. Meth and cocaine are just as big a cash cow. And legalizing yet another substance which has been proven destructive to one's health and psych is an absolutely ridiculous idea. There's not enough affordable drug treatment to go around as it is.

This is about the poll I've ever seen. You're just asking about "Drugs," what does that even mean? Are you trying to be sensational, or are you just dumb? Get an editorial backbone CNN.

R Glenn – There's not enough affordable drug treatment to go around because so much much of our hard-earned money is dumped into the enforcement and eradication money pit, for one. The ROI in prohibition is miserable and an obscene crime against taxpaying citizens. Being afraid of change is a normal reaction and, like addiction, can be dealt with in a humane manner.

Almost 100 years ago, US lawmakers ammended the most central law document in our country to end prohibition of alcohol. Weren't they saying, then, that prohibition was a failed model? Why can't today's lawmakers see the same issues with drug prohibition.

Prohibition funds organized crime, it wastes our tax dollars, it puts our friends and family members in jail for no good reason. The only good from prohibition is felt by the pharmecutical companies, the oil and lumber industries, and their ilk.

What will a dozen new tax revenue sources, a federal budget cut of over 100 billion dollars, and an influx of newly freed prisoners do for our economy? Lots of good.

I think they should legalize marijuana. You are getting taxed on it anyway when you get caught with it. The government is making money on it. What is good for the goose is good for the cander. Isn' that what the old saying is?
I have personally seen that marijuana helps people with diabetes. My husband does so much better with his diabetes when he is smoking.
I also have another experience where marijuana has help someone. I knew someone that had a tumor in her head and she was not able to eat or sleep. She smoked aliitle and it helped her.
Marijuana is not harmful as the other drugs are.
I say if the government can make money off of it then why can't the american people smoke it!!

If marijuana were legal, these cartels would almost cease to exist. Marijuana can be controlled just like alcohol (maybe even better) and causes less impact in the real world than alcohol does currently. If marijuana were legal, other drug use would decline as well where cocaine, heroin, meth, prescription drugs, etc... destroy multiple lives. It is medically impossible to overdose on marijuana.

http://CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com

Alcohol is a drug and it kills people on a daily basis yet it's legal. You will NEVER find a statistic like that on marijuana. It's time for our government to do their homework and make decisions based on facts.

Find out why more and more cops, judges, and prosecutors who have fought on the front lines of the "war on drugs" are standing up and saying we need to legalize and regulate all drugs to solve our economic, crime, and public health problems: http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com

I think that because marijuana is so easy to grow. that a tax and making it legal will never happen. after all look at all the money the government is getting from fines they are getting when they bust some poor sole for having a joint or two. and if you can grow your own why should anyone waste money to buy it when most of the cost will be a tax.

Our out-of-control drug policies' monetary and environmental costs are staggering and the human suffering is unconscionable. The destruction of the sacred family unit is one of the worst consequences of prohibition.

The propaganda is we wage this war to protect our children. The devastating and deadly facts are our babies, especially teens have become collateral damage in this grossly failed war.

*The death and devastation begins on kids before they are even born. Because mothers on drugs are afraid to go to doctors for fear of being arrested or having their babies taken away from them, their fetuses have higher incidences of birth defects, prematurity, and miscarriages. The drugs don't cause these problems; it's the lack of prenatal care.

*Kids placed in foster care when their parents are incarcerated for drug use have four times the death rate of kids left with their parents.

*We have deprived millions of children and teenagers of their imprisoned parent(s).

*Our adult murder rate is four times higher than in the Netherlands where drugs are regulated, controlled, taxed, despite having six times their adult incarceration rate. Much worse, this drug war has created an obscene teenage murder rate that's nineteen times higher than in the Netherlands, where drugs are legally available to everyone over eighteen.

*The drug war has turned a million of our teenagers into drug dealers, many in deadly drug gangs that have four times the death rate of Texas death row prisoners.

*We have more teens selling drugs than the rest of the world combined. Why? The tough Rockefeller drug laws provided for mandatory five-year sentences for anyone over 18 involved in drugs. The result: drug dealers got 16 and 17 year olds to sell drugs for them and we created the teen drug market. Just another of the many unintended consequences of the drug war.

*Only 50 percent of high school students graduate in our ten biggest cities and only 40 per cent graduate in NYC, Baltimore and Detroit. In the Netherlands 92 percent graduate; that's No Child Left Behind!

Stephen H. Frye, M.D. Retired medical school professor just wrote a book giving the facts titled: We Really Lost This War! Twenty-five Reasons to Legalize Drugs.

It is really misleading to call it a drug war or drug fueled violence. The horrific carnage is triggered by the new prohibition and fueled by official lawlessness.

The war waged by Mexican drug cartels has resulted in 610 children deaths reports a study and 3,700 children have been left orphans as a result of the violence or execution of their parents. Many minors who are orphaned have been psychologically scarred after witnessing violent actions against their relatives.

The Mexican military reported that 420 children who had been recruited have died in the clashes between rival groups. There were many examples of adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 dying in fierce battles with the drug traffickers or being tortured and killed as paybacks between feuding clans.

How much misery can a policy cause before it is acknowledged as a failure and reversed? This international calamity is no laughing matter.

Save the children, just say NO to prohibition! Trigger less violence, official lawlessness, racism, tyranny and ruined lives!
http://www.WeCanDoItAgain.com
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The criminalization of drug use creates an unfortunate and unnecessary barrier between problem drug users (those who consume the vast majority of all drugs) and the diverse array of treatment options that should be available to help them live a healthier life. Addiction entails externalized costs for everyone, and the abdication of control that criminalization (paradoxically) creates only prevents effective intervention.

Just as important, there isn't a damn bit of convincing evidence that criminalization has ANY positive consequences when compared to decriminaiization, but there is plenty of evidence to show that it entails enormous liabilities.

People in the US need to grow up and take a sober (pun intended, ) look at the stupid, futile catastrophe that is the war on drugs. It is FEAR, "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror" that is perpetuating this nonsense. How silly, how childish, how utterly lacking in dignity and self-respect that supposed adults should be so held captive....

We need to legalize all drugs. Then we need to take our drug funding money and use it for drug education and rehab centers. We need to eliminate this paranoia that Marijuana is bad.

I have been noticing lately (last couple of months) that the most responded to articles are ones dealing with the war on drugs or legallization of pot.

The Presidents online community spoke to him and now are speaking out all over the internet.

What could possibly be gained if we legalize drugs?
Less crime? Smaller prison polulations? more and/or better schools?Maybe even our Homeland Security would have time to protect the homeland?

The war on drugs is a racist and facist tool used to take the freedom and rights away from all of us user and non user alike.
If you support it you knowingly accept and use lies to attack your fellow man. You feel your views in this world and your morallity are worth people losing lives, liberty and happy pursuits as long as you feel superior. You justify abuse and destruction to what end?

Ever talk to a prohibitionist? They don't know why they believe the refer madness, they just believe with all thier soul! mindless zelots!

It is sad to see our , leaders refuse to do the right thing. LEGALIZE!!!!!

What Recovery should be
I use to be an addict and legalizing them is not the real answer, but since what I want isn’t real in this world,
I guess it will happen, the only thing it will do is stop the import of illegal drugs. no one will be on corners selling it. Our people can get back to work, the way the Methadone helps the addict come to terms.
it allows some addicts to see the world not as a victim but as an equal.
That woman wont be beat down for her pocket book, our houses wont be broken into, there wont be a need to steal, rob or kill for drugs.
The doctor will give it or the clinic, but we have to watch the clinics also, as with the methadone clinics they can hurt the purpose instead of help it.
They can make it so difficult to get the drugs. In some states. They want to help, but as with SC, they want to make money of the drugs.
They put the price so high jobs cant even pay for it. The threat of not getting it tends to lead the addict back to the streets. That when the dealer becomes a big part of our lives.
I remember when I didn’t have insurance I hated going to the doctor, and that almost killed me in 1992, because of the way they treat you in the hospital setting, talking loud to shame you.
Know one wants other people to know their business. Another thing, If you staff the clinics with all non users, it wont work, we need some who has been through, to deal with the addict.
Id love to help in our church we have a Celebrate Recovery at Barefoot Church, to try to help out other addicts.
Most of us are addict which makes the suffering addict more comfortable, as they walk in. I love it when that addict walks in in the first place, but I love it even more when the next time they come.
I see the difference in them, washing their hair, cleaning their clothes, actually wanting to come and get involved.
This is what help is suppose to be, kind, peaceful yet strong. We who reach out have to show strength and be powerful in our need to help and stay sober, powerful, bright, in truth and love.
I reach to hug those who might have been the same way as me lonely for love and a life. I use to stand across the street from a church and wish it was me going in.
Wish it was me with nice clothes, shinning bright. Today I’m so glad that someone hugged me.
When I walked into Barefoot strangers hugged me. Clean people that smelled good, and treated me nice, That night when I went home I could still feel those hugs squeezing me, they never acted like I was too dirty to come close too, it was awesome. This is what recovery is suppose to be
Life, love faith, compassion, warmth. We the sober addict are a big part of the still suffering addict. We are here to show them what its like, and if we have to do it over and over again so be it. Recovery should
not a place that you have to be made to come, real sobriety is wanting too for your self.. By: Patricia Robinson-4/13/09-5pm

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LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST PROHIBITION

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Marijuana is bad..Just ask our government... after all our government will take care of us from cradle to grave. our government knows what is best for us. get used to it.

Didn't we learn anything from prohibition? This country has been spending billions of dollars for many years fighting an unwinnable drug war. It has been a complete failure and has cost us, as citizens of this country, a fortune. Illegal drugs are easier for our kids to acquire than alcohol. They don't have to show an ID when they buy illegal drugs from criminals. The only way to limit our children's access to drugs and put the drug cartels out of business is to treat them the same as alcohol, legalize them, regulate them, and tax them. We need to use some common sense and logic to address this issue. Join Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (http://leap.cc) and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Countries that have experimented with legalization have already proven that making drugs available through legal means does NOT increase drug usage rates. The "problem" of having drug users is not made worse by legalization and, in the case of marijuana's legal status in the Netherlands, actually shows a decrease in usage rates post-legalization.

We are a country of drug users, regardless of the legality, who consume the world's drugs at a higher rate than any other country while simultaneously punishing the countries that produce them. The war on drugs was a foolish practice from the beginning, and has been fought in the face of consistently damning evidence that it has always been, and will continue to be, a losing battle.

Wake up and smell the common sense, legalization has worked and continues to work.

I think we should start with the legalization of Marijuana and see how that goes.. In other words get our feet a little wet before jumping head long into the pool. We were told today that 61% of the drug cartels money is via sales of Marijuana.. I don't know about you but if 61% of my salary disappeared I would be hurting.

Remember the drug cartels would hate for us to legalize it. They are counting on our prohibition so they can keep up their insidious behavior.

The law does more harm than the drug. End the war on people!

I really think many economists are low balling this issue.. If Marijuana were legalized tomorrow I could see stores going up all over in a matter of weeks.. Everyone would be in a frantic rush to get into the market. New companies would be created all over, tax revenue would be flowing into the state and federal government like the swallows to Capistrano.

People are just afraid because its new territory. I think we should just give it a shot and see what happens.. I think this has a high possibility of surprising a lot of people.

I think it's time we admitted that the War on Drugs has been every bit as successful as Prohibition. The profits fuel organized crime, people die from products of unregulated quality, and demand continues unabated, with an added 'forbidden fruit' mystique. Nor can you eliminate demand with education and propaganda, as the drive to use these substances is primal and irrational. You may as well try to curb population growth with a War on Sex.

Drug use should be a medical and mental health issue, not a legal one. Let people get their dangerous drugs from pharmacies, where they can be counseled on the dangers and offered help, not incarceration.

Cannabis, being physically about as dangerous as coffee (though somewhat less addicting), ought to be legalized and commercialized.
Treat it the same as beer and wine – sell it, with taxes and regulation, to those of legal age, and allow home production of reasonable quantities for personal use.

Genisis 1-29.... In the reality I live in I would like to see the U.S. legalize the Cannibas Herb, I have a disease called Charcot Marie Tooth or (CMT) in the medical world, The medicinal properties of this wonderful herb helps me relax from muscle spasms and relieves the pain from both the spasms and joint ache. and I still have cognitive sense of my body and mind, In contradiction to the flexeril and vicoden that makes me a stupid zombie... The legalization on a medical stand point alone would be a very wise and great step in our society for our sick, suffering, and dying

[...] http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/13/vote-should-drugs-be-legal-in-the-us/ [...]

Prohibition didn't work the first time and it's not working now. Time to stop wasting billions on a failed "war on drugs."

Not everyone can handle hard drugs such as Alcohol...

Yet Alcohol is legal while the very safe soft drug Cannabis gets us thrown in jail. America is known as the "Prison Nation" as we put responsible adults in prison because they make a conscious choice to use a very safe drug (Cannabis) over a deadly drug (Alcohol).

Alcohol and Tobacco together kill OVER one half million people just in America alone each year – Cannabis on the other hand, has never killed a single person in the entire World – EVER! Yes – 0 deaths for Cannabis, over a half million for Alcohol/Tobacco (just in the U.S. EVERY single year)!

Real Wars – funded by the American Government created Black Market – are killing thousands of people.

The American Government could use the Taxation Money created by ending this ridiculous prohibition to help itself and its people. Yes, Mr. President – Cannabis can indeed help the economy!

Cannabis also has many Green Uses for us to explore and has great medicinal and therapeutic qualities.

This insane prohibition needs to stop – Now! Prohibition did NOT work for alcohol in the 20's and it does NOT work now against Cannabis.

Please Legalize Cannabis – Legalize it NOW!!!

"History shows that everytime a mind altering substance is legalized, its use becomes normnalized and usage and rates of addiction go up dramaically, especially with youth."

Not true. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. Legalization removes the mystique, the feeling of being a maverick or rebel. When Prohibition ended, alcohol consumption actually DECREASED in this country. So did the crime and violence associated with bootlegging liquor.

To Eric who faces a felony,

Don't listen to any of those toolbags that tell you that you somehow deserve what you got. It's unfortunate that you are stuck in the Bible belt where you can drink as much alcohol as you want to the point of death, but God forbid you smoke a bluntski.

Remember, truth is treason in the kingdom of lies. You have liberty, the Constitution and truth on your side.

Stay strong, be confident and do your best to not let it rattle your mind. The day will come when you once again get to enjoy a blunt without the overbearing arm of the government upon you.

[...] http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/13/vote-should-drugs-be-legal-in-the-us/ [...]

Its not new territory though. There are existing models in many other countries. We also have our own model from ending alcohol prohibition. In all cases the countries continued to go forward. Allso in all cases use spiked and then dropped ot much lower than usage was while illegal. If you want it to go away legalize it and stop talking about it. Talking about it glorifies it. there is nothing bad or good about it. it's just a plant, if you enjoy it great and if you don't well thats fine to. As long as those that do enjoy don't effect your life you should probably just go on with yours.

Who would you rather live next to:

An alcoholic family, or a stoner(only) family?

For those who are seriously interested in learning THE TRUTH behind the "Drug Wars" initiated in the 1930's, repealed in the 1940's, and reinstituted in the late 40's, please see the following web sites:

http://NORML.org

MUCH general information about the true uses and benefits of the cannabis plant family.

http://JackHerer.com

The above link will take you to the information on why cannabis was made illegal in the first place, and why it must be returned to legali use once more...this time, for the good of society, instead of only benefitting corrupt politicians, prisons, courts, and legal budgets, and major corporations who know what they will lose if people are truly healthy and free to choose for themselves.

http://PhoenixTears.ca &/or http://PhoenixTearsMovie.com

Do you think that they're really keeping the cure for cancer a criminal offense for a reason they "might not really want to tell us?"

I think that we should legalize Cannabis. When we had a prohibition on alcohol it did nothing to stop the consumption. In fact it help support a lot of bad criminals. When we lifted the probation on alcohol almost all the crime stopped. My brother died because of a legal drug called alcohol, but that is ok because it was legal, tell that to all the families that there lives are changed because of death or dependence of alcohol. My god when are people going to understand that the ignorance of pot is over. If your drinking while reading this you are no better then me smoking pot while I read this. Yes pot is illegal only because an ignorant government. If you are an alcoholic I feel bad for you because you will die because of it. I will not die because of pot unless I go to buy pot from somebody I do not know and they kill me for my money. That is funny I would not have to take that chance if they would end adult prohibition and regulate it so I could go to a safe place and buy it. One more thing would the tax I pay on my bag of Cannabis give one more child a book to have while he sits in his new school because of the taxation on that bag of CANNABIS.

Legalize LSD.

Look at LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition)....a dedicated organization comprised of former police officers, undercover narcotic agents, border patrol agents, judges, lawyers and others, all with years of experience working the front lines of this failed war on drugs and who can tell you prohibition has never worked and will never work.
Lets legalize all drugs, remove the "forbidden fruit" factor and spend our efforts building a safer and saner country where those with true drug abuse issues are afforded genuine treatment and those who wish to indulge in recreational use can do so without fear of imprisonment, banishment or death from questionably mixed substances.

Alcohol is an addictive narcotic substance – but returning it to legality was one of the best decisions we made, both Americans and Canadians. During the time between its' legality in Canada and its' legality in America, millions of dollars of Canadian Gin crossed the border.

This fueled the criminal gangs operating in the United States before Repeal Day.

Drugs today fuel the gangs and organized crime – and it's been this way for thirty years, through many scandals of corrupt police and ineffective anti-drug messages. Repealing much of the Drug Control Acts would stop these criminal gangs funding police corruption and killing our youth.

Even just legalizing marijuana would make it much, much harder for them to operate. Marijuana only makes up about 20% of street sales of drugs, but it is the one that funds the production of the rest.

ditto on "bigdood's" open letter to Obama. Right On !!

I am not contributing another dime to ANY politician unless and until they openly discuss their position and intended ACTION regarding the decriminalization of marijuana. CNN tried to say that "marijuana lobbyists" dominated the public's questions for Obama. That's giving way to much credit to the notion that an organized pot lobby even exists. CNN, media in general and certainly the President would be well-served to finally deal with this issue in a SERIOUS manner and NOT BE DISMISSIVE. It is not just flakey pot heads discovering the virtues of this weed; lawyers, politicians, police officers, teachers, techies, moms and dads and multitudes of others find it enjoyable if not outright medicinally beneficial. Again, well said bigdood.

All drugs should be legal everywhere, not just the U.S.

well to be honest i think marijuana should have been legalized a long time ago, but the crimes and economic crisis' we face today stronger pushes the issue on whether or not to legalize it(marijuana). Today millions of Americans smoke marijuana and as a result of it being illegal many of those Americans are arrested. the monthly cost for one persons imprisonment is around $1000-$2000. Unless a person is a dealer, the marijuana offender is usually a non-violent offender and probably doesn't even have a record, but we pay the same amount for them as we do for a sexual offender or murderer, although im for legalization, a fine would be better because your requireing the offender to PAY MONEY to the state.

Drug cartels, if we legalized marijuana i don't believe people would give money to people who use it for power to kill and purchase more guns, instead i think people would be more inclined to spend money on a product where the money goes to rehab programs or education or what ever that state wishes to use the money for. Drug dealers in our own country would lose money because a person would be able to purchase marijuana safely and they can be sure that its not laced with another drug. In general crime would decrease dramatically because of the legalization of marijuana, and a few good programs could be funded through the revenue generated from the product.

The economy, ha, its a shame that something has to make money in order to be considered for legalization. what the govt. doesn't know is that there is numerous ways of generating money from cannabis(marijuana plant) for example: textile, feed, paper, clothes, skin care products, insulation, cooking herbs, medicine, bedding and so on, you get the picture, but its not only the money u can make from producing things out of the plant, u can create jobs for farmers and factory workers who will grow and harvest the plant and fabricate the product the factory is producing, and this can be done across the country. Export revenue can also be generated to countries that have already legalized marijuana such as Holland and Australia or other countries that are debating the same subject like Canada who seems as though they will legalize it.

Lastly, to those who think the effects of marijuana are hazardous, being polite, your just plain wrong. all recent studies show no harm done to the lung, brain, heart or any other organ for that matter. There was one study on a monkey that showed that he lost some mrain activity that had to due with his memory, but that test has been proven to be irrelevant since new study shown that only when the person is "high" does he/she lose sense of memory, little if lost any, and that loss is temporary, as long as your "high". Alcohol has a more damaging effect on the brain.. if you drink too much you'll die, if your a heavy alcoholic your body becomes dependent on alcohol there for you need to be detoxified, numerous car accidents are a result of its ingestion and driving. Cigarettes, don't get me started on how many people die a day due to its extremely harmful toxins, and you don't even have to be the one smoking it to develop the diseases, but since the govt. can make money off it its okay... just put a warning label on it...

i love this country, but it seems like this country is more concerned with making money than the well being of its citizens. Aspirin, Tylenol, morphine, alcohol, cigarettes, fat pills, pregnancy pills, all of these and so much more are readily available to the public and can be found at your local liquor store or grocery market. Just about all, if not all, of the over the counter drugs have side effects, and they usually include; diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, birth defects, and so on, we all know what alcohol and cigarettes do, but all these things are legal, why? because the govt. is in full control of regulation and revenue, but since marijuana is a plant and can be home grown(lets not mention that it almost doesn't have side effects except for hunger, happiness, and sleepiness, depending on your mood) the govt. feels like it wouldn't make as much money and it remains illegal. so let me get this straight, you would rather me buy something that might kill me legally, than legalize a product that hasn't had a single use related death, because you make more money off the drug that can kill me?

*what a government, it shows they really care about you.*

oh if you want to know some facts on the uses and tests go here

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/

peace and love to you all

P.S.
if your someone who believes in the legalization of marijuana, please bring intelligent arguments to the table, the ones who just ramble make marijuana look bad when in fact that's not true. show that you have an education and be productive, if all us pot heads could show that we are indeed intelligent marijuana smokers we would be shutting up the ones who say it makes you stupid... so bring the argument to action by displaying pride, confidence, intelligence, drive and success, not ignorant rambling or rioting.

Legalize marijuana or make alcohol illegal ! I think there are too many drunks out there and too many parents drinking with their kids. Alcohol is by far MORE dangerous than weed. Let's see some stats on this.

I'm from Canada, and I really do feel for the poor saps who spend months in prison for smoking marijuana, while I can be stopped by the police, and at the most have it taken away from me. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that this warped perception about the evils of drugs (especially one as harmless as marijuana) continues to run the show in the legal department of the US.

Look at alcohol's correlation to deaths (such as impaired driving, alcohol poisoning, etc.) compared to marijuana. I can't believe the former is legal while the latter still is not.

It's a no brainer... LEGALIZE! Listen how silly this sounds, a plant is illegal. It's just absolutely ridiculous.

I believe it's a crime cannabis/marijuana is a crime... and worst, the "centerpiece on the so called 'war on drugs'". I'm 54... came of age in the 70's, and I saw progress! I especially liked President Jimmy Carter!!! He legalized home brewing of wine and beer, and marijuana... 2 out of 3 happened... the 3rd was all politic! I don't relish people using heroin, meth, opiates... but we could provide centers for people with those needs... what I do see are two very dangerous drugs legal, and necessary for taxes, and a third, cannabis, illegal and the laws are much worse than the crime – a crime motivated by fictional stories, illegal immigrants and politics in the 1930's.It's time to "legalize drugs"... or maybe time to recriminalize those that are legal, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, catnip (yes, some believe that is a drug), etc. Tomatoes were illegal in the time of Sir Walter Raleigh, they were red, and the fruit of the devil for being that color.

[...] 13, 2009 7:00 PM Subject: Vote – CNN Poll – Should drugs be legal in the U.S. ? Here's the link: Vote! Should drugs be legal in the U.S.? – amFIX – CNN.com Blogs So far its: No way 12% Yes, all drugs 55% Only marijuana 34% __________________ What I freely [...]

The "war on drugs" is a failed endeavor.
It is time for the politicians to listen to the voice of the people and end this needless persecution of our citizens.
Cannabis is a plant. It does actually have medicinal value.
It was created by nature. No man should have the right to outlaw nature.
Legalize it, regulate it, and make tax revenue from it.
It WILL strengthen the economy.
GrowKind – GreenPassion

I'm glad to see all the good responses! Some people just don't seem to realize the prohibition doesn't really work and that legalizing the drugs wouldn't be enabling the users but would instead be protecting them. There is no control as to what substances are used to cut drugs or even potency levels. How many lives would be saved by just having a quality controlled production?

Love others as yourself. Locking human beings up in a cage with thieves, rapists, and violent psychopaths simply because they prefer heroin to Prozac or cannabis to xanax – is this an act of love?

My mother is a lifelong drug addict. At no point in my life would I have been better off, had she gone to prison.

I am a drug user. I've used numerous drugs – primarily cannabis and psychedelics, but I've tried both meth and crack. I didn't become an addict. I'm married, I have a job with a decent income, and I've never harmed anyone in my life. I help others when I can.

You have no right to attack me with police and lock me in a cage, no matter how many laws or rationalizations you apply. The War on Drugs abuses those who life has most abused already. It's wrong.

The fact of the matter is, if you are not free to put anything you want into your body, you are NOT living in a free nation. People do drugs because they effect you exactly the way you want to be effected, and to some people, they feel that the benefits outweigh the consequences. They must learn for themselves that the consequences are always worse, but does it really help these poor people to be placed in federal prison for their bad habits? If I want to smoke some marijuana, go out on my porch, and enjoy the afternoon breeze, am I hurting anyone or bringing down the established justice system? No reason, moral or otherwise, can be given that negates this simple truth: if you can't do whatever you like with your own body, you are not free. Thomas Jefferson said, "the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." Amen, brother.

A follow-up to my last comment. The summary of this poll suggests that cartels and killings are fueled by drugs, but in fact, it is quite the opposite. When you illegalize anything, you are effectively CREATING criminals. Taking people who used not to be criminals, and applying criminal status to them. You also create a black market. In a black market, you cannot solve business disputes with courts and other legal means, because you will be arrested for it; so instead, things are handled in violence. Everyone remembers the mob wars of prohibition era America. This is the same principal behind what makes prostitution such an unsafe business. With no way to run to the police in situations of rape or theft, prostitutes are left to defend against violent pimps, violent Jons, and other situations because their business, while non-violent and effectively nothing more than consenting sex between to adults, is illegal. By turning the market of prostitution into a black market, these human beings are in constant danger because, like drugs, and like alcohol at one time, the Federal government has taken it upon itself to create criminals rather than just let people be free.

lets look at the real reason it was made class 3. Life would be easier,the goverment everything would fall in place just like NASCAR did, ( look up the meaning for he letters). it is a NO Brainier tax it and lets MOVE ON!!!!!!!.

I VOTE TO IMPEACH OBAMA!

Why don't we criminalize ALL self-destructive behavior? We tried criminalizing alcohol and that didnt work! So, after nearly four decades of this "war on drugs", what have we accomplished? Well, we have one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, the drug trade is thriving, the US government has blown billions of taxpayer dollars, drugs are more prevalent now than when Nixon started this damn thing, and we have millions of non-violent drug users and addicts who are forever branded as "criminals". Congratulations America!

We need to do something different. Our drug policy has failed and it is a supreme embarassment. ENOUGH!

Would you all agree that the vast majority of people that consume alcohol are not alcoholics ? Well isn't it safe to say that the vast majority of people that use other drugs are not drug addicts so whats the difference? legalize them all, tax them all and use the money to educate our youth and to treat those who need help.

I know that Making Cannabis & Hemp legal will not only bring great profit to the U.S. but will bring truth and peace among my friends and family..I'm only 17 but my whole life i've been hearing about the developments of the drug war and who got busted when and how much they had n where exactly it was but i have expeirienced in full the impact of the illegal drug trade in Arizona,And can vouch for all of the rediculousness that is going on in the streets involving illegal drugs and can honestly sit back and and laugh at the DEA for their complete lack of brains on this issue.. it's almost as if they aren't doing anything to stop the herion n meth dealers they pursue and attack anyone suspected of having a lot of drug money not just going after all the drug dealers like you'd think they would. They are simply after a big profitable bust instead of looking out for the best interest of the citizens and the youth. So i say looking at the picture from my point of veiw we need to make serious changes in drug policy. Because all those dried up rich 70 year old racist senators oppinions are't relavent anymore and aren't making progress towards a safer society for my little siblings whos lives are potentially in danger because of the lack of effort to fully crack down on harfull drugs and drug dealers.. with all of that my answer is....LEGALIZE CANNABIS it's harmless!! and let's not rush into legalizing all harfmfull drugs because the conservative argument against it is a good one..much love -The kid in AZ

First off I think it unfair to use the term "drug" exclusively for substances such as marijuana, MDMA, LSD or whatever else may be used to temporarily fill this unbearable emptiness. Anything we do is basically a temporary distraction; some activity that will efficiently and effectively capture the mind's attention. For some that may be shopping, sex, art, religion, or drugs (though that is far too vague a term). I personally love the company of babies, as they are in a perpetual state of wonder (what better way to absorb the mind). In addition, I have grown to deeply enjoy meditating, yoga, and certain drugs, as they bring me back into that state of wonder which was so wrongly replaced by the "necessity" of tangible results in a well ordered life. It's not enough to wander the limitless world with innate wonder. Money, a stable job, and religion raped for a world too busy to wonder of creation and God and purpose sadly suffice. Don't make drugs legal. Here's why. The majority of people, for as long as they remember, have been existing in a solid, objective reality, not subject to change. (Myself included) At some point curiosity creeps up and next thing you know your hitting a bowl after dropping acid, or at least that's what it seems. Actually, your trying to figure out who you are, where are all these thoughts coming from, what actually exists, what is reality? Those haunting questions asked by religion and avoided by most. Avoided for a reason obviously. What can you get with such questions but more questions and few answers. It's not worth it, I would rather direct my effort to simply survive.
The only worth in life is to solve the mystery. I admit, drugs shouldn't be needed. But truthfully speaking, they help. If anything, they'll throw your life into a whirl of confusion and question. But that's the beauty. And maybe when we live in a world where such a lifestyle is accepted, then drugs would no longer be a problem. Maybe they would no longer be an escape, a distraction, and the cause of so many careless deaths and mental instabilities. Maybe one day they'll be used responsibly as a method of insight. And then again, maybe I'm just crazy, but thankfully my sanity was thrown away with that irrational fear of death that seems to drive society. But that's a different, overly lengthy topic I won't treat myself to begin here.
Feed me back with something interesting, I'd like to know- drummerboy3847@gmail.com

how many people die every day from alcohol, ciggaretts and pill thousands??millions.. How many people have died from cannabis??anyone??

i think legalization of all drugs outweighs the benefits of the current system. if need be we can take all the money we save from incarcerating people on drugs charges and put it towards drug rehab programs/centers. what it also provides is more accountability. rarely is anyone held accountable for drug deals on the street when the user ends up dead from the product, but you have a whole different set of criteria from a drug purchased at a store. just like alcohol and tobacco we have legal ages and penalties for people who buy for minors we could do the same with current illegal drugs should they become legal and as commonly available as alcohol or tobacco.
manufactured with some safety standards will at least make these drugs safer for would be users too. i have heard in the making of cocaine they use gasoline and sometimes put fiber glass in to cut the nasal cavity for faster absorption. legalization may never be a perfect solution but it seems a better alternative than what we currently have.

Please sign my petition to call for a national vote on legalization of cannabis:

http://criminaljustice.change.org/actions/view/national_vote_on_legalization_of_cannabis

Weaklings who can't control their urges and temptations already abuse drugs, as they're also addicted to the rush of committing crimes discretely. Weaklings and their weaknesses should not anchor others strong enough to resist over-indulgence into such activities, from their freedoms to do so. This should not happen in a 'free republic, or democracy'

For countless thousands of years, psycho-active substances were interpreted very differently to ancient cultures from modern mainstream culture. Using such substances was more of a spiritual/sacred activity than recreational.

Legalization of such substances would also encourage people to perceive substance-use more responsibly, maturely, and passionately - and perhaps to generally perceive one's life as more meaningful, with deeper insight, to make decisions more consciously/responsibly.

Additionally, the prohibition of drugs makes money for all the wrong people.
Throughout history, drug cartels were just the other wing of oppressive dominance from politicians who outlawed it - it is all about money and control.
Prohibition is a product of "Order out of Chaos".
With legalized marijuana, hemp, etc, profit and prosperity could be made for everyone as it would greatly contribute to more economic branches.

DW

“It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.”
George Washington

[ Edit ]

Weaklings who can't control their urges and temptations already abuse drugs, as they're also addicted to the rush of committing crimes discretely. Weaklings and their weaknesses should not anchor others strong enough to resist over-indulgence into such activities, from their freedoms to do so. This should not happen in a 'free republic, or democracy'. Because of their weaknesses, the strong are legally restrained.

For countless thousands of years, psycho-active substances were interpreted very differently to ancient cultures from modern mainstream culture. Using such substances was more of a spiritual/sacred activity than recreational.

Legalization of such substances would also encourage people to perceive substance-use more responsibly, maturely, and passionately - and perhaps to generally perceive one's life as more meaningful, with deeper insight, to make decisions more consciously/responsibly.

Additionally, drug prohibition makes money for all the wrong people.

It is without question that wealthy drug cartel leaders have lobbied for sustained prohibition, throughout the world. Throughout history, drug cartels were just the other wing of oppressive dominance from politicians, who outlawed it. The pyramid of dominance is multi-sided, with benefits to be shared between the 'good guys', and 'bad guys' - and this pyramid is global, from sea to shinning sea.
Prohibition is a product of "Order out of Chaos".

With legalized cannabis, hemp, etc, profit and prosperity(and peace) could be made for everyone as it would greatly benefit several new and existing industries.

DW

Drug abuse, just like alcohol abuse, is a social issue.....not a criminal one...... All drugs should be legalized.

Marijuana is not a drug...it is a plant.

"We in this country have to make up our minds - – we can not have it both ways: we cannot be both drug-free and free." Lester Grinspoon, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Co-author Marihuana, The Forbidden Medicine, Marihuana Reconsidered.

I want to legalize pot, heroin and cocaine. They were all legal in 1776 because our founding fathers did not want to waste precious resources on controlling their sale or manufacture. The founding fathers knew that the most important function of the courts and law enforcement was to keep economic transactions honest, fair and lawful. While the Feds and States were busy persecuting addicts & dealers, Madoff stole 65 billion, and Wall Street caused the lost of approx. 11 TRILLION dollars, and alot of mortgage fraud has occured. Most of that will never be prosecuted because the courts, police, and prosecutors are too busy with drug cases. The total cost of the drug war is really in the Trillions because other types of crime have run rampant while our police are devoting literally half their time going after drug dealers, addicts, and the petty crimes that addicts commit to get money for the drugs.

If you would like to know alot more reasons that pot, heroin and cocaine should be legalized, then check out http://www.leap.cc website (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition).

legalize it period! we waste so much money housing people who do not deserve to be in jail for marijuana. other hard drugs such as meth, crack and what not, those i understand. But not MJ, it just grows like that and it has so many helpful purposes and has been used for thousands of years.. someone said it before me but use legalize it and tax it

The Controlled Substances Act is not based on any powers granted to our government by "we, the people". No reasonable reading of our constitution (in the context which the founding fathers clearly intended) can come up with our current "Drug War" being at all compatible with living in a free society. Dismantle the DEA and let each community and state decide for itself which laws serve the interests of their population.

Stop calling it 'marijuana.' That is a foreign word used by Harry Anslinger, 'the father of the drug war' to incite fear of the unknown in an ignorant congress to outlaw hemp because it was such an outright competitor to so many fledgling start-ups, and the english language already has a word for this wonderful plant: cannabis.

Henry, :April 13th, 2009 1:19 pm ET

"the moment any drug is leaglized in the united states, whether it be pot or crystal meth—– it is game over for the U.S.:"

Then please tell me how we operated perfectly well before these drugs were outlawed in the 1930s...150 years after we became our own nation.

Read tinyurl.com/1mn to see how IT'S NOT A WAR ON DRUGS, IT'S A WAR ON MINORITIES.

Legalizing marijuana would not only provide American jobs, but would give Mexico and actual industry around which to build its country. This would in turn reduce immigration and help both countries with the recession.

Of course the DEA is going to be against legalizing drugs. They would be out of a job!

If we tax them to death, people will just buy from (cheaper) dealers anyway. For drugs to be legalized,and monitored, the government would have to be little more than a glorified enabler itself.

research alcohol prohibition and get a clue and a brain. marijuana is far safer then alcohol! put emotion aside. if you can add 1+1 and you get 2 then you should understand that marijuana laws are far more dangerous then the drug itself. if marijuana is a gateway drug , then outlaw water since over 50% of people who have used marijuana also drink water. which clearly means water is a gateway drug!! get a brain and get a clue!

We simply "cannot afford" to jail all these drug users anymore. What part of "cannot" "afford" do folk no understand? Also, we need to get past the idea that we need to dictate all aspects of life. I'm tired of all the D*** excessivee rules in life. Let us be free.

Yay Phil! I agree! The media doesn't call alcohol hooch, it's time we started calling this plant by it's name: CANNABIS. Are you listening CNN? Be the first to lead the charge and do away with this racist name born of greed!
Thank you Ron Paul for being our voice of sanity in this war our government wages against it's own people!
End prohibition now!

Marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol drink and cigarette.

Alcohol kills your brain cell and damamge your body organs.

I smoke cigarette for 9 years and had a hell of time to quit. During same time I smoke Marijuana and had no problems kissing it good by. That was 20 years ago.
This is a double standard, either make cigarette and spirits illegal or legalize marijuana. Take the profit out of it and crime will be reduced.

I thinl legalizing drugs like heroin and cocaine would be a mistake, but marijuana should definitely be legal if people decide to use drugs at least marijuana is the safest. B/C weed is so great most heroin, cocaine, prescription pill users could easily obtain marijuana and it curb the use of harder drugs. The U.S. has to put politics and saving face behind and make the right choice for once.

If the so called 'war on drugs' is not working and is draining our wallets then maybe we need to take a look at another alternative.

The point of these laws is not safety. If that were the case, tobacco, alcohol, and cars which are capable of speeding 100mph+ would be illegal as well.

Start by legalizing marijuana, the least harmful of the drugs. Study the effects on society and make determinations from there. Let's begin thinking logically instead of emotionally.

Legalization will more likely lead to a decrease and usage. The trends currently observed are likened to children, they always want what they are forbidden to have. it is a human condition that has plagued us since Adam and Eve who ate the forbidden fruit.

The other point is it is no wonder why youth are having problems in this nation that in one vain takes away rights to gays using on phrase in the bible, while the Book of Timothy instructs the reader that "God has given everything on this earth as long as we receive it with thanksgiving". The contradiction which exist in these issues must be consistent and speak with one voice if religion will ever have any credibility for our children.

I never thought that I'd be agreeing with Rep. Ron Paul, but he makes absolute sense. There's no reason to outlaw marijuana while we condone nicotine and alcohol. Legalize it, control it and TAX it. Get our non-violent offenders out of jail and save a huge amount of money.

Anyone who wants them can get them today with very little problem. Ergo, the war doesn't work, so why keep spending money on a failed strategy?

Yeah let's just add to the problem of our nation being over-medicated, what a wonderful idea!! Illegally selling drugs already brings in multi-billion $$. Imagine once ALL drugs are legalized how much that jumps. I see everyone quiting their jobs and selling drugs. Wow, what a wonderful scenario. The U.S. would go from being an obese nation to being a nation full of stoners and coke-heads.

The only people that should have the option of using those drugs are those with pain so severe that they would rather die, such as chronic pain from cancer, etc.

How about people try to achieve an optimal state of wellness through diet and exercise. Laziness is the reason most people would rather sit in a damp basement, smoke a joint, and eat doritos. How about getting outside and enjoying the weather? There is vitually no need for recreational drugs, they are for people who have become weak in mind and body.

I think that people should be able to consume what ever they choose. Even if the gov only made pot legal its a step in the right direction. Weed is lucrative enough to pull America out of its economic slump provided of course they sell it at around the same price that we could get on the street.

Legalize marijuana, regulate, and TAX...
Alcohol which is legalized is deadly compared to pot. Not everyone will become a pothead as not everyone becomes an alcoholic.

The legalization of marijuana would do two things. First, it would allow us to put tariffs on imported weed and thus take advantage of growing it domestically which, with this economy, is a very positive action. Second, by making it legal by a certain age, it will be harder for younger people to attain. Weed is easier to buy than alcohol. Thats only because its just as illegal for an older person than a younger person. If there were an age limit along with the legalization of weed, there also becomes a factor of control. We don't just need to make it legal to have weed, we need it to be legal in our market for production, purchase, and sale.

I have smoked "Pot" my whole life.. The ONLY issues have been with the Law and NOT the Drug.. No "Gateway". Now at 40 years old.. Top level Support for major Computer company have lost my job (this week) because someone said I smoked and I admitted it. The loss of my Job will be MUCH more of a damage to my life and family then the drug.
After several years on the Job as a TOP agent, PERFECT attendance and twice promoted... Fired due to my honesty. Well now I will take the Unemployment... Great Job Drug War!
Study the History of the Laws.. Based on Racism.. Scare tactics.
Read " The Emperor Has No Cloths" by Jack Ferrer!
Wake up America. In a FREE country "I" have the right to do ANYTHING that does NOT Hurt someone else.. In my Home!!!! Now I need a Job!

I graduated from a Technical School just recently, and in one of the classes that I took a team of students did a research project on marijuana and found that if it were regulated correctly, the cash crop nationwide could average $60 Billion a year

It is incredibly ironic that this discussion is part of "amfix" which uses drug vernacular to promote an edgy newshow.

LEGALIZE IT AND TAX IT!!!!! Cigarettes and alcohol are taxed to help fund recovery programs, do the same thing with the drugs. Set age limits, require doctor intervention for the hard drugs. Create more recovery avenues. Don't put drug USERS in prison with murderers.

Keep the drug companies from making too much profits too. Have one customer for the drug companies to sell to..the government. Then the pharmacies can buy through the government pricing and that would help keep the cost down to the "consumer".

if you take the profit out of the drugs, the drug dealers don't have anything to fight about nor do they have any way to make money.

It's not rocket science folks!

We think marijuana should be legalized, me and my girlfriend have smoked marijuana practically every day for almost 3 years. We have never felt any harmful affects from it at all , if anything we are more focused on work and more productive when we are on it. We both made the deans lists at our state college in Pennsylvania for every semester and are perfectly capable of functioning on marijuana. it is frustrating for us to see people smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol legally when those are the real gateway and harmful drugs. How many people die from cigarette related illnesses or how many drunk driving accidents are there per year? Over 400,000 people die per year from cigarette illnesses and about 25,000 from alcohol instances depending on the information you find. Marijuana depends on the individual, it can help those that are in pain , it can make you more focused and build creativity or it can make you sit on the couch and giggle at the tv, either way its in no way a comparison to our other drugs that you can buy in the convenience store.

Legalize it, and i will advertise it.

If marijuana or any other currently-illegal drug were legalized tomorrow, I would not use them. But, this is not the issue. The issue, like so many others, comes down to the "social contract" found in the U.S. Constitution. By what theory does the federal government in a free society dictate to citizens what substances they can or cannot consume? The drug war is just another example of governmental over-reaching, and the improper intrusion upon the right of the individual to make choices for him or herself. The flip side of this coin, however, is personal responsibility for one's own choices. Just as the government cannot tell you that you cannot do drugs, neither does the government have a duty to provide programs for you to address your own decision to misuse drugs.

I, for one, am glad to see that we have at least one senator that is smart enough to do some research, come up with actual facts, and then present them in a logical order to support his stand. It also is not that hard to look at what other countries have done and see what has worked and not worked. Why are so many Americans that stupid too listen to anyone spout off emotionally laden rhetoric and not put forth any facts? I listened to the senator this moring on the news present a logical argument in a calm non-emotional way, then listened to the opposition scream emotionally and offer no actual supporting facts to support his position. Point well taken Senator, and I hope that my fellow citizens actually use their brains to come to a conclusion rather than some emotional rhetoric designed to misdirect what the actual issue is.

PS Alot of people will say that the opposition to the senators stance of allowing the individual state to decide the legality of controlled substances made valid points. If those points were so valid, why did he not take the time to cite any actual facts, especially when this person knew he was going to be on a national news show?

Not only should drugs be legalized, but the DEA abolished! Their "War on Drugs" is now focused on legal, prescription drugs and the doctors who prescribe them. It is absurd that doctors in this country fear the DEA and are forced to underprescribe LEGAL medications to those in need.

Marajuana should be decriminalized by all stated and the Federal government.

Growing hemp can be grown by our family farms and help save them. It can be used to make clothes, shoes, paper and many other products.

The State and Federal Government should change their laws!

Marajuana should be decriminalized by all states and the Federal government.

Growing hemp can be grown by our family farms and help save them. It can be used to make clothes, shoes, paper and many other products.

The State and Federal Government should change their laws!

The idea that cannabis is a "gateway" drug is absolutely crazy. As a child of the 60's, myself and everyone I knew smoked at one time or another. None of us went on to become crazed, hard core drug users. The money that has been wasted and the lives that have been ruined in the name of saving us from ourselves is the true crime.

The Problem with the drug war is the police and dea are addicted to the tax payers money to fight the war on drugs . Think about how many people are employed to fight the war on drugs Judges,prosecutors,police,dea,mandatory rehab,private prison industry ect ect. The partnersihp for a drug free america is funded by tobacco,alcohol and pharma co's WAKE UP AMERICA !

I know plenty of people whose parents smoke pot and they themselves don't. Back in the day Native American women used pot during labour as it is a muscle relaxant. Legalizing something that grows naturally only makes sense. It is when man warps nature to create a drug that is not for medicinal purposes where we find problems in my opinion.

Regarding the legalization of drugs, these people have obviously never had an addict in their family or even knew an addict. I find it incredibly unbelieveable that a nation that is so irresponsible, people are trying to push to legalize drugs. When I say irresponsible, I mean that parents can't even get a hand on teen pregnancy, bullying, 'sexting', so how on God's green earth are we gonna legalize any drug and expect our citizens to not abuse it the same way they are abusing it now. I work in a recovery center and people are coming in here addicted to Oxycontin, Percocet, Xanax, etc. These drugs are legal even though can only be obtained with a prescription but they are still being abused none the less. We need to get a hand on our drug problem now and then maybe we would be mature enough to legalize drugs. The government only wants to make a quick buck with the legalization of drugs, but unfortunately it will be at the expense of our youth and fellow americans.

On the show there was a representative from the DEA on the show defending the current federal policy on drug. Anything they say should not be taken seriouslly because they are a federal Bureaucracy
who first goal s to maintain funding. Leagalizing pot and giving jurisdiction to the state would vertually be the end of the agency.
Not to mention the loss in revenue to local police and juvenile system which makes its living off a pot.

Pot should be legalized because it helps me with my depression. I feel alive i have the energy to exercive, i focus better, and it cancel my hunger.

Congressman Ron Paul is a product of the openness of Americans to giving equal rights to all people, idealistically, to serve in the Congress. But like what most businesses are willing to say or print in contracts, just because it is said does not mean it so, right or legal. I am a "military brat", and as such I have lived in many communities across the country since the 1963. One of the marked things in my life is the number, the HUNDREDs ON ONE HAND (?)", of my past friends who are "dead, with ruined lives or mentally buned-out or disfunctional in their lives" - yes on social support programs which cover the cost of living for rent, food, medications, etc. This includes people who I have buried who also lost out to alcohol. THESE PEOPLE ARE DENIED LIKE THOSE WHO DIE IN HOSPITALS UNSEEN. They are those other people. In this state, like all the others, in the suburban communities people pay $140,000 a month for cocaine, have their cases closed before court so they do not appear on the public record, and have the best expensive recovery centers which are not publically advertised while their drug scraps are sold for hundreds or a few thousand in the urban communities, all cases for suspects appear on the court docket, people are trapped in communities which have MORE OR LESS RESULTLESS drug treatment programs (and suburban programs are financially more expensive as their habits from just as expensive hospitals with unending programs which don't produce successes wherein community leaders sneak in and out who can not afford suburban programs, too).

To that ends, I wonder, if Congressman Ron Paul lives in a real-world or a suburban community, and would HE dispense marijana to his children and grand children at home parties, knowing that they would almost definitely lead to cocaine, prescription drugs, etc. or end up like any of the hundreds or thousands of people I know and knew from the suburban and urban communities I have lived in across the country since 1963.

I for one, saw the wall with the life checks for lost Americans who did not make it and the hundreds of thousands of USD they and their families became trapped in loosing annually - each year per any of each of 3,000 municipality across the U.S. When you think about it the easiest way for the Taliban and South American Drug manufacturers to defeat the U.S. interest(s) is to elect Congressman Ron Paul as President Ron Paul in 2012, or just re-elect him as Congressman Ron Paul in 2010.

CR
(Wednesday, 04-15-2009, 08:02:55 a.m.)

i say legalize murijuana, but noting else,just think some one on heroin driving a car that is worse then drinking and driving.

I have thought for a long time that the so-called "war on drugs" was absolutely ridiculous when it comes to marijuana. Do you realize that in the state of GA, that it costs around 30 to 40,000 dollars to house an inmate for a year? You do the math. I also agree that legalizing it could benefit our economy greatly. Cigarettes and alcohol have worse effects than this particular drug. I do not think that all drugs should be legalized such as: cocaine, heroin, or meth. Marijuana is in the same category as these hardcore drugs because someone said that it was a "gateway drug" which is absolutely absurd. I also believe that the FDA has been fighting against the legalization of marijuana because the drug companies would lose money, especially on their anti-depressants. There are many over the counter drugs that are far more dangerous than marijuana and if you are worried about children getting their hands on it, put an age limit on it and make it illegal to use in their presence. Come on people, get with the times.

There is a difference between "legalizing" and "decriminalizing" drugs... I would be in favor of decriminalizg most if not all drugs, and using the money we currently use for policing, courts and incarceration for TREATMENT programs for addicts.

The idea that pot could be grown commecially and taxed like tobacco is ridiculous from the standpoint that marijuana is bascally a weed that most anyone can grow more easily than tomatos.

On the other hand, marjuana is known to be less addictive thantobacco, and it's habitual users are generally non-violent as opposed to alcohol abusers.

Yes it should be legal,is this not the country to choose freely?The goverment has turned this drug thing into a ego driven dictatorship giving DEA ect.what ever force nessessary to get the bad guy.As far as kids getting it that should be up to the parents to stop them that is part of that job not the goverments.On top of that ther are more kids taking it now then ever, so that means we are going to have to arrest almost everyone soon.I personally dont do them (my choice) so why should i pay for people getting locked up for one of the more dummer laws.With all them DEA/Drug agents we pay they could be shifted to child care and take care of a problem that would actually help this country and it would save billions of dollars .
G Broihier

for phil e drifter , Cannabis Sativa, CNN look it up

There are many people who do not like alcohol and do prefer marijuana. The benefits are numorus to both the sick and healthy. It is sad to think that so many normally law abiding citizens have to break the law to enjoy enjoy a drug that in my opinion is healthier and safer in a social context than is alcohol.
When will the Federal Government butt out and let the people choose what is best for them.

i think they should make marijuana legal its more healthy for you alcohol and cigarettes are the main killers in america ....... can anybody tell me how many people die from smoking marijuana?.........dont worry i'll wait

shauna is anyone forcing you to smoke cannabis sativa?? if not then it is your choice ,now if you want to become a nazi, then feel free to be a dictator to all and lets start arresting anyone that consumes alcohol a far more dangerous substance then cannabis!

get a clue, i know narc officers and folks like yourself that agree the only dangers from cannabis are the laws themselves!

marijuana is safer to eat then most common foods,so should we outlaw food to?? o yeah the gov is trying to outlaw small farms to! welcome to your own fascism. you seem to like the nazi's your acting like one!!

I would guarantee you that most of the people voting are drug users. It seems to me that Ron is smoking something that has made him think legalizing drug use would solve any problems. It would do just the opposite. First of all look at the effects using drug does on a person's mind and body. Some drugs cause cancer, panic attacks, mind altering thought processing, violent tempers, mood altering effects on one's personality, etc.
Yes nicotine, and alcohol are severly addicting and dangersous. But come on, illegal drugs are not only dangersous to those who use them ,but for the mind altering effects it could do to hurt other's from the people using them.
That is all we need in the United States a bunch of zombies or out of control drug using people walking around making irrational decisons that could effect our future.
These people that want to legalize, illegal drugs need help. It is sad to think they need a mind altering drug to make them happy or content.

Why do 94% of people in this poll want to legalize murijuana, Why dont they put it on the next natoin wide vote and realy cee want the people want why dont we do that for all r laws?

CR go read the us constitution and get a clue. Ron Paul has more common sense then you have in your whole body. you sound like a hitler fan to me.

actually the taliban won by scaring you into the patriot act . this is what the taliban would of passed.

http://www.campaignforliberty.com get a clue before you ramble your nazi nonsense. you probably voted for the nazi bush. registered republican with common sense something you seem to lack!!

GO READ THE US Constitution

just think about the money the goverment will save and make on the taxes if they make it legal.

Wow America ges it why dont politicians. I am very happy with the return of this poll. I have said for many years that our drug polocies are nothing more than a way for organized police groups to control and take money from the people. It has very little to do with keeping drugs off the streets. It has MUCH to do with crime!

On the economy and the legalization of marijuana...

I am an Environmental Horticulturalist and I believe that legalizing marijuana could produce MILLIONS of jobs. You want to stop the black market drug trade, let us grow for the government, let them import and tax the crap out of it. The only thing that stands in the way is the laws and that is what makes the drug trade so dangerous. Legalize it, I can think of a million reasons why this would be a good thing. The government is wasting too much money going after this drug when they should be focusing on meth, cocaine and heroin. These are the drugs that make addicts, no one has ever been a marijuana addict. These are a few of the regulations that I would put on the use of marijuana:

1. no using while driving or driving while under the influence
2. must be 18 years of age
3. no more that 2 plants per household for personal use only and must be registered to grow
4. must attend a class on how to handle and dispose of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides

Drugs can be a useful mind tool. like Carl Sagan, I study cosmology, the mind, and other subjects related to human knowledge. Because weed is a mental stimulant it does make it easier for me to think deeper into these topics. Most never learn or study HOW to think, how to channel increased mental waters (energy), which is when they become goofy or whatever. but so what? i use it for study, they use it for fun. nothing wrong with either. it’s a short existence we are allowed, please don’t judge mine. PLEASE don't throw me in jail because I choose to experience existence differently then you. I strive every day to contribute to the human journey and our progress towards reason, compassion and knowledge. how is that bad?

Legalize marijuana. If everyone including our government would do a little research they would see that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol. Alcohol is a physically addictive drug. Marijuana is not. People can die from alcohol overdose. Smoke too much pot , well then you will just have a good night's sleep and be able to wake up the next morning, unlike the poor guy who drank one too many. The war on drugs is a failure and has been for decades. It's time to put the mexican drug cartels out of business and end the violence. Let's get our country and economy back on track and make marijuana legal. Tax it and make a killing. Sure everyone is not going to agree with that but , everyone doesn't drink alcohol either. Anyone remember Harry Anslinger? I do, he was the one to make it illegal by saying it is a killer drug. he says smoke marijuana and you will likely want to kill your family and commit suicide, and this is coming from a top law official. I don't even see how he was allowed to say that without stating or showing some kind of facts, and it has been that way from 1937 up until now. Yes indeed Mr. president Obama and the rest of our government, it is TIME FOR A CHANGE.

Something I failed to mention in my previous post... the actual statistics of people who die from heroin overdose is far lower than the government would want you to know.

You actually stand about as much chance of dying from a fall in your bathtub than a heroin user stands of dying from an overdose... usually fewer than 500 per year in this country.

The danger comes from people tryng to get the MONEY to pay for the illegal drugs!

Additional Comment.

Grocery USD purchasing power in this area appears to be more than 33% less now than it was las year in this area, taking into account, price increase, product size reduction, and container content reduction, i.e., the shopping cart looks less than that....!

Oh Jay, Fresh, and all of you other people that want drugs to be legalized. First off you can see the anger in what most of you write about legalizing drugs. They do have mind altering effects after using them. Come on let's be honest. I know people that use drugs, they are non productive, angry, some violent, weight loss, skin problems, depression, irrational decision making. I could go on and on and on.
Bottom line making it legal and putting high taxes is not going to work. You will have so many problems you won't believe it.
I love the comment that marijuana just makes you relax, DUH?
Why does someone need a drug to relax?
Come on America get your lazy butts up and do something productive to make your lives more productive, feel good by doing good for others instead of wanting a drug to alter your mind or body.
High taxing is not the answer, the answer is to make drug using people pay for using illegal drugs.

Throughout millineum, marijuana has been associated with, "The Tree of Knowledge", since the use of marijuana, is known for causing insights , that don't come normally.

It is also well known as a useful tool to bring out artistic potential..

If 'pot' can remove pain, or aid in people becoming wiser or creative, it is bound to become legal, for the right reasons...

To Diana True... Not necessarily so...

I for one don't use any illegal drugs, but I'm on someting like 14 different LEGAL medications for my crippling arthritis, diabetes and heart problems. It's just possble that marijuaa MIGHT help one r more of those problems, but I can't get it because it's illegal.

On the other hand, I have a close family member that was addicted to cocaine but we couldn't get him any treatment until he attempted suicide out of desperation.

We preferred that he get professional treatment to being sent to prison, but it wasn't available!

Get to know your subject before you mouth off.

Hilarious, and sad. You show how the drug trade effects our safety and economy, and question what can be done about it; then Dr. Gupta presents a "new drug" that alleviates the pain of another drug (alcohol) and you wonder why our society is the largest user of recreational drugs–it is that way because we solve ALL our other problems with legal drugs! What's the difference? An adult takes caffeine and chemical boosters (and often prescription drugs) to start and continue the day, and then alcohol (and often prescription drugs) to close the day (and sleeping pills that help us "forget" the day). And a teen in the same family use marijuana for the whole day and his actions are criminalized.

LOL, to top it off, you have a drug ad appear at the station break...perhaps you should investigate the nature of our drug culture and stop pretending that there is a difference between prescription drug abuse and illegal drug abuse–the former pays your pockets, the latter pays the disenfranchised, and both are destroying our country...funny, legal drugs are MORE abused than illegal–just ask Rush Limbaugh.

Diana True... it's people like you who need to get a grip on reality. The reality is that people like me are not mindless zombies. I have an education; I am content in my life and if you had any kind of common sense you would know better than to say :

"That is all we need in the United States a bunch of zombies or out of control drug using people walking around making irrational decisons that could effect our future."

Ummm...hello? Who's the zombie? You are the one who is irrational...you should go stand in the Dunce corner with Glen Beck and Chicken Little. Oh

and it's not "dangersous" it's d-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s.

Dear Diana, honey, I think that you are misconstruing enthusiasm for anger. Sounds to me like you need to go do some research before you start including marijuana in your comments on mind-altering effects. Marijuana doesn't have any dangerous mind-altering effects. The effects are more physical than mental. I have never been depressed, angry, or violent while under the influence of marijuana. The effects that I have experienced are: more restful sleep, a healthy appetite, the ability to focus more on what I am doing, and it helps with my anxiety.
If you had lived my life and survived my childhood, you would need to be medicated as well. But honestly, I don't think that people like you could have ever survived what I've been through. So when you say that you think it's sad that people need to depend on something to make them happy, maybe, you should take a step back and think before you speak.

To Dianna True...you say that you can see anger in our responses to legalizing? The only angry comment I've read out of all of these is yours. I think you need to do some research yourself before you come in and just start mouthing off and calling people names. I too have a successful business and I do it all , the work and the paperwork, so Dianna you tell me how much time I have left to be a zombie.

This subject is something i have been recently covering, the fact is i think drug's should all be legalized to rob the drug cartel's of it's motive for digging tunnel's buying arm's and taking over our country , the fact of the matter is the drug user's will not Double or triple etc as ive seen some claim because drug's are so readily availible already those who wish to use there drug of choice already are plain and simple. Here is the real kicker , washington know's we should have legalized drug's along time ago but the fact of that is the drugs being on the illegal side employ's to many people Crooked judge's, police , district attorney's , politicians etc. Not to mention the pharmacuitical company's know if all drug's are legal there not gonna be on there brand of opiate narcotic's when herion is available which is in fact just another type of Morphine which we already give to thousand's of american's every month , who is gonna pay crazy price's for there script of low grade hydrocodone painkiller's that dont work , when they can go get something that fully take's away there pain. Also a person who is responsible with the drug can take it every day of there life and in most cases be more healthy then ur average person. But as i was saying the pharm companys know cymbalta , lyrica , paxil etc will be of no more want by the american public when they know they can smoke and relieve symptoms naturally , dalaudid , fentnyl ,demerol , morphine , hydro-oxycodone prescription's including oxycontin outsource to herion , Portugul just decriminalized drug's for 5 years and show a drastic downturn in crime , as for the other video where u were talking about our insatiable demand for drugs , where he said if ur kids gotta walk past neighborhood drug dealers to go to school which makes u afraid for his safty , well lets think about that. If drugs are regulated and controled freely sold by prescription or in a supermarket do u think that kid will have to walk past the "drug dealers" anymore to get to school?!NO!!! so that point is crazy invalid, and i would say atleast 40% of drug related crime is to fuel to addiction , Only because the price's are so high because of prohibition is the cause of this , if they can get what they used to pay 200.00-300.00 or more for 10.00-50.00 chances are they wont commit crime to feed the addiction being its so cheap and easy attainable , Its ONLY when the bad in his pocket is empty and he doesnt have the mass amount of money required to get the little bit he require does he resort to such measure's. I have alot more i could say about this matter and hope it open's someone's eyes to lead to a better future for us in america when we can open 100+ Billion a year from not having to utilize law enforcement for futile efforts and can start making the cartels money for this country

thanks , steve

I would be in favor of the Federal government legalizing drugs and allowing state governments to regulate drugs in the same manner as alcohol and cigarettes (nicotine). This would also allow the states to produce a stream of income through taxation.

The legalization and regulation of the drugs would reduce the cost even with the taxation. This would result in a reduction in drug-related crime.

Unfortunately, because we have allowed these drugs to be managed by criminal enterprises, we would probably need to sell the drugs through state-run drugstores. I don't see the drug cartels relishing the thought of losing their source of income and wealth.

Do you people not see the same commercial ad's that I see advertising a plethora of pills with side effects WORSE then the symptom in which one should be taking the pill in the first place? They openly admit at the end of each advertisement 'MAY CAUSE DEATH" and yet people still order them. WTF? May cause death! HELLO? Cannabis has NEVER caused a single death in the history of the plant. Do some research before you're so quick to jump to conclusion. Its time us cannabis users are given the right to smoke freely without consequence by our government. May 2nd 2009 GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH. Find your city and stand up for your rights. NYC Washington square park. 11am. Be there..

I don't think so, Diana True! Enough on the prohibition already! It does not work! I, along with most all Americans, want the RIGHT to the FREEDOM to be able to choose for myself! I am NOT a user, so you were wrong about that too! We want OUR FREEDOM! Blood was shed for it, and I want to keep it! What is sad here is this topic! This should have NEVER been a "topic" to begin with! The AMERICAN people should have the FREEDOM to make thier own choices, or why did so many men and women die fighting for this to begin with? We became a FREE country years ago, and I would never stop fighting to keep it! People should have the freedom to choose. People who wish to keep the drug problem "as is", seriously ...they need educated on the subject first! Study all of the information that is on this board! Educate yourself! Cannabis is one of mankinds greatest gifts. We should be taking advantage of its many purposes, and GO GREEN!

By the way, Diana, I am a head consultant for a large firm in the USA. I am a highly educated lady.( Ignorant people! They do need educated!) This is our governments fault! They lied to you! Cannabis is actually a very resourceful plant with great medical benefits! Please take the time to get a little educated so you do not end up sounding like an uneducated angry lady! You just may be highly surprised in the end.

To make drugs legal may be a political disaster in the short term but in the long term the country will stronger for the change. The economic benefits alone are worth it, then with the decrease in crime here and abroad, the health benefits and the return of citizens personal rights given to us by the constitution. When you take all this into account you need to ask yourself "How can drugs still be illegal?"

Jews were e-legal in Nazi Germany, But that didn't make them bad. It was the government that was bad ! Bob Dylan and Jimi said it well ! In the song ( All Along The Watch Tower)...Their are many here among us who feel that (Life Is Just A joke), but you and I have been through that and this is not our fate, so let us stop talking falsely now , The Hour is Getting Late !!!!!

You type a comment, and it times you out within minutes... your words are gone.

Write your comment in a separate application, and Cut & Paste here.

Leave it to CNN to have a cheap comment app.!

The drug war has failed and everyone agrees! So why do some politicians think we should continue it? Makes no sense to me, legalize it already!

Drugs are already legal in this country. Pharmaceutical Companies push drugs on TV all the time. It is rare that you ever watch TV and not see some sort of ad for something. Americans are now convinced that they have some sort of problem that drugs can fix. So let’s just make all drugs legal, because as long as we are aware of the risks then we should all be accountable

Ron Paul is definitely on the right track. I am a college student and last November i had to do a report on what we could do to create jobs and possibly help our dying economy. I did my report on this very subject and the revenue and the jobs I would create was mind boggling compared to the money spent on the war on drugs that hasn't got any close than when Nixon started it. The revenue that could be generated in a year’s time period was in the 20 billions about the same as the pork barrel spending in just the first four month of this year. Needless to say this report got me an A for the class because the entire true behind. Come People its time to be real with ourselves and get it together. We are all paying for prison to be over run with non violent people that in most case just trying to feed they're family with the little bit of profit they did make, to totally devastating whole family for 10, 15, and 20 years. But only give the people who rape our daughters and molest our children 1, 2, or 5 years and cause a lifetime of pain to the victims. Its time to change for a better tomorrow.

Legalizing all drugs would be stupid. Legalizing something thats less harmful than alcohol makes more sense. I am suprized that more are voting to legalize all drugs. It is insane. I think it was china...around the time dextroamphetimine was made. They allowed for it to be used legally. Well it backfired when use soard...all sorts a hell broke lose. I think vermont had 400 heroin ods. If you legalize heroin...they will be dropping like flies. Its absurd. I admit, in an ideal world. Recreational use of all drugs would be ok. But...its just not so. The only reasonable thing to do is legalize pot. Period end of discussion.

LEGALIZE DRUGS?

Legalizing marijuana only has you try other more harmful drugs. But forget about imprisoning for a while. Why not provide the most education possibly in high school and in college for the kids to think about the consequences.

how can people think that legalizing marihuana will not cause a bigger problem?

It's time to stop this war on our own people for an almost completely victimless crime. I say "almost" because there are victims, the American citizen who's arrested, all of the tax paying Americans who foot the bill for the arrest, and the time wasted within the courts. Taxpayers spend between $7.5 and $10 billion annually arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations and results in the arrest of more than 829,000 individuals. Do we really need to waste this money when our economy is falling apart? By legalizing we can create an entirely new industry which would then create new jobs for both small and large businesses. The government can then regulate it and tax it just like tobacco and alcohol which would create even more revenue. Currently all money spent upon marijuana is just going to the black market which only exists because of drug prohibition.

Do we need to waste the time and resources of our brave men and women who serve and protect us as law enforcement officers when they can be devoting more time to catching real criminals like murderers, thieves, and rapists?
I advocate responsible adult use of marijuana. From personal experience while I was younger than twenty-one it was difficult to obtain alcohol because I couldn't just go and purchase it. I needed to find someone else to purchase it for me which was rather difficult at times. However I've never been carded by a drug dealer, yet still at twenty-five, get carded when purchasing alcohol because it is the law. I believe by regulating the sale of marijuana it will effectively cut down on use by minors.
If one looks at selected studies of jurisdictions that have decriminalized the drug, the evidence is either no increase or a slight increase among those segments most likely to use the drug. A study by Rosalie Pacula, Jamie Chriqui, and Janna King examined several states where marijuana had been decriminalized by reducing the penalties for simple possession. They found that living in a decriminalized state increases use among high school students but by only 2%. Other studies have found either no increases among juveniles or as much as 4% increase.( Marijuana Decriminalization: What Does It Mean in the United States? Working Paper 9690. Washington, DC: National Bureau of Economic Research)

We know cannabis is non-toxic; you’d have to eat the equivalent of 1,500 lbs. of bud in fifteen minutes to “overdose”, Which is humanly impossible. On the other hand, an estimated 50,000-80,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning, and more than 400,000 annual deaths are attributed to tobacco smoking. Not a single person in human history has died from marijuana, it simply is not toxic enough to kill.

Marijuana prohibition applies to everyone, including the sick and dying. Of all the negative consequences of prohibition, none is as tragic as the denial of medicinal cannabis to the tens of thousands of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use.
Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications. These include pain relief - particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) - nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia. Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors and are neuroprotective.

Why are American farmers legally forbidden from growing a plant that has the potential to be manufactured into more than 25,000 environmentally friendly products which could stimulate the economy and help ween us off of oil for fuel? Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. that contains minimal (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. It is a tall, slender, fibrous plant similar to flax or kenaf. Various parts of the plant can be utilized in the making of textiles, paper, paints, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, foodstuffs, insulation, animal feed and other products including biofuel. The hemp plant is currently harvested for commercial purposes in over 30 nations, including Canada, Japan and the European Union. Although it grows wild across much of America and presents no public health or safety threat, hemp is nevertheless routinely uprooted and destroyed by law enforcement. Each year, approximately 98% of all the marijuana eliminated by the DEA's "Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program" is actually hemp.

Under our current laws three of the most important individuals responsible for the formation of our great country would be in jail. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp farmers and Benjamin Franklin started the first American paper mill, which made paper exclusively from hemp. The first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written upon hemp paper.
In the words of our first president (who farmed hemp) and founder of this country
"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." -President George Washington, 1794

I understand that legalization will not happen overnight and I don't expect miracles. We need to decriminalize this harmless and incredibly useful plant. You can stop making criminals out of regular Americans simply because they choose to smoke marijuana. You can help further stimulate our economy, create jobs, and get additional revenue by taking steps to legalize marijuana.
It's time to end this senseless and wasteful war upon our own citizens and simultaneously help get us out of this economic slump we currently are in.

Stop "playing God" and end Cannabis prohibition.

We live dangerously close to inviting bad karma and consequences upon ourselves (speaking of society collectively) when we try to play God. We say that it is illegal to use a plant which He Himself has created, but that it is perfectly legal to surgically remove (and kill) and unborn human being from its mother's womb. Shame on us, and may God have mercy upon our souls!

The bible clearly states that all plants and animals were created for man's use. Those who most vehemently oppose the legalization of Cannabis are the cartels themselves and the pharmaceutical lobby, both of which would stand to lose billions of dollars in profits as a result.

Sometimes persons who take polls do not know subject matter. All drugs have side effects which may be as simple as a headache or as severe as death. Illegal drugs given by undeucated morons who only care about money need to go to Siberia. No offense. Babies breath in second hand smoke while their Mothers breast feed who knows what to them.Which is worse,driving while texting or being high?

Legalizing drugs would give the younger generation the idea that it is okay, enough young people do drugs already. In facts many adults do drugs as well in today's age. Do we really need more drugs in our society? I am sure the world would be better off without all these drugs. Then maybe people would have to find enjoyment in other places.

AJ

thank yo very much for that second to last paragraph in your comment. even forefathers grew cannabis(hemp) for industrial use. why do we look to our forefathers for so much influence and guidance but then don't listen to their words, or we have selective hearing. either way if u read m comment then you'll know my stand point and why it is.

peace and love to all.

also I'm reading the opposing arguments and i see that the oppositions main argument is that if marijuana is legalized then more people would use it, when in fact that isn't true. People will do what they want regardless if it is legal or not, people still make moonshine and it doesn't seem like that's going to stop. but just because you put something in someone's face doesn't mean they are going to use it, that's true with alcohol, and cigarettes especially. Many people don't drink or smoke yet they are legal, and if marijuana were legal people wouldn't just use it because its available, they would use it because they choose too.

the facts our there go to you tube type in ;run from the cure. 30 min . show maybe it will open you eyes because you have been blinded the u.s. goverment also type in urban grower #27 find out why so many people grow pot in ther homes

people that make these dumb laws have hideing agenda to do so i say get your head out of you duff take a look around you weed / pot is legal if you wanted to be pot can be purchase on any street in the usa
and not that cheap as.. weed the mexicans pushing on us for the last 100 years drug produceing countrys in the world all of them including the usa pot and cocaine meth opuim all can and have been made in the usa for 50 years by the way the real reson pot is illegal is because the us useing the hemp fiber fore printing money why do think they call it greenbacks also big pharm. useing it to make diffrent medicines 65% all pharms made from plants : ) we know..

Decriminalize all drugs, legalize only marijuana....stop jailing users....Ron Paul said it best...if you want to arrest me for marijuana then they should arrest you for alcohol...i dont drink drive and beat my kids or wife, i smoke, eat, and sleep.

As long as Marijuana is illegal I'm an outlaw . . . now wouldn't it be great if I didn't think of the legal system and the police as advisaries?

We should lock up all our youth with gang recruiters and rapists, that will keep them from harming themselves!

If you want to hear something ridiculous:

There is something out there that can cure many known pain ailments, and several medical conditions better than any drug on the market. It's side-effects are far less harmful then any prescription pill on the market. This "thing" also helps the body relax from stress and stimulate appetite. Better yet this thing is a plant, a common plant that can grow in many areas and is a re-usable resource. What part of the plant that is not used medicinally may be used to create rope, canvas, and textiles. It is a fact that this plant produces the most paper per square mile over ANY other plant on Earth and the process has far less pollution and would reduce the amount of topsoil erosion.

This thing is marijuana, and for all it's benefits, if you are caught with it, you can be arrested and jailed.

Now thats ridiculous.

Drugs should be a health issue not a criminal issue. I like what Ron Paul said about alcoholics. How did we as Americans decide that it's acceptable to allow people to be "under the influence" and totally obliterated with alcohol, but we find that it's some how improper, immoral, or unacceptable to find the same or similar effect from an alternate substance. How did we locate this 'line' that we've drawn between alcohol and the other intoxicating substances that are available, to anyone that desires them? The choice of drug use should be left to the individual. If heroin and cocaine were legal I would not use them because I have used and abused those drugs and I learned that I choose not to use them.

Economics shows us that teenagers benge drink because it's illegal for them to drink, so when they can get away with it, they take it to the extreme. I feel the legalization of drugs would allow people to enjoy their guilty pleasures in moderations.

Plus, we would save millions of dollars each year spent on the completely unsuccessful war on drugs and earn millions of dollars each year from taxation of drug sales. Finally, the government could regulate the production and ensure the safety of what people are consuming.

My question is,
If I smoke marijuana and its legal, I have grown my own or purchased it from a local grower or some other controlled source how am I hurting you or anyone else?

I can't agree with legalizing the deadly street drugs, meth/ice, coke/crack, heroin or any other drug that could kill you even after one dose.

Marijuana on the other hand, has never ever been proven to kill anyone, ever...unlike alcohol or cigarettes that take years to kill you and by the time it's too late, you are dieing a slow and painful death, yet, those two "DRUGS" are legal.

I say they should sell marijuana to consensual adults in a controlled and licensed adult setting (much like a liquor store) and even sell the seeds in the US for people to grow their own...all of which would be taxable and safe.

Most people don't know this, but if you know where to look, you can already buy seeds through the internet now, so why not let the US in on that market too.

This country needs all the taxable revenue it can get right now and in the future.

People need to get off this "it would send the wrong message to the kids" thing!

The real "wrong message" being sent, is that mommy or daddy is going to be in jail for a non-violent offense as well as pay a hefty fine that will keep the kids from eating or having descent clothes, because that big fat fine just cost mom and dad the bill money for those couple of months they had to pay out because of the non-violent offense of possession of marijuana...I think foster care is the wrong message as well, because if DEFAX catches wind that you smoke weed, you could loose your kids and you really want to talk about a wrong message!

No sir! I think parents should be the one's raising their own kids, and educating kids about cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana should be the responsibility of the parents.

I say, let all those non-violent offenders out of prison, so they can get back to work supporting and raising those kids like they should be doing now, instead of rotting in jail!

What is prohibited cannot be moderated.

It is the ultimate foolishness to think that by prohibiting substances which people use to make themselves happy, we will end the behavior. Has not worked in the past, does not work now, and will never work.

Regulation is law and order. Prohibition is a free-for-all.

I chose only legalize marijuana. There are just countless reasons I mean there are very few things in the world as harmless as cannabis. And hemp is very benefical. As a fiber and paper. Also if the government taxed marijauna use i think we would see a quick pull out of the recession. And we would be living in a boom in economic prosperity and probably I'd even go so far as to say happiness. And it's obvious why people are now questioning it's illegality: There is a shift in our nation from Convservative thoughts to more Liberal ones. And that shows through our now questioning these laws.

I agree with Jack Grabit. Drugs aren't a criminal issue, they are a health issue. We should have learned by now from The Meth Project or from the current campaign against cigarettes that the only way to decrease drug consumption is to educate potential users. Criminalizing is not the answer.

Drug laws create drug lords

If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on. – Terence McKenna

"Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded" -Abraham Lincoln

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." -Thomas Jefferson

"The oppressed should rebel, and they will continue to rebel and raise disturbance until their civil rights are fully restored to them and all partial distinctions, exclusions and incapacitations are removed."
- Thomas Jefferson, 1776

These substances have not always been shunned like they are now. They have been illegal for about 1% of human history. Hemp was used for thousands of products before it was illegal to grow. The plant can be used to make fiber, biodegradable plastic, fuel, paper, medicine, and even food. Hemp has had a mayor involvement with human history. Entire wars were fought over hemp. At one point in our U.S. history, it was illegal not to grow hemp. Hemp was even used as currency at one time.

The ancient cultures have involved themselves with these substances for a long time. They play a part in their society. These cultures are not extinct. Many still continue to use them in their way of life. Some villages survive on the coco plant, and others use peyote in tribal rituals. No matter how a person views these substances, there is no doubt that they have played and continue to play a large roll in our global culture..

By 1839, cannabis hemp products for fiber, paper, nautical use, lamp oil, food, etc., were possibly the largest agricultural and industrial businesses in America and, of course, throughout the world, the hundreds of medical uses of cannabis (known for thousands of years in the Orient and Middle East) were still almost entirely unknown in much of Western Europe and America because of the earlier Medieval Catholic Church’s suppression.
From 1850 to 1937, cannabis was used as the prime medicine for more than 100 separate illnesses or diseases in U.S. Pharmacopoeia.
By the start of the 20th century almost four generations of Americans had been using cannabis. Virtually everyone in this country was familiar from childhood on with the “highs” of cannabis extract – yet doctors did not consider it habit forming, anti-social or violent at all, after 60 years of use.

Governments make laws against substances that have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. There will always be an underground market that generates billions for drug lords. No drug laws equal no drug lords. Using a drug should be a choice. The health consequences should be the only concern for the person using it. Why should we suffer with jail time, fines, restrictions, and many other hassles that make our lives that much harder to live. We need to get a hold of our rights. These laws make it harder for a society to function. Governments take control of peoples lives when its the people who should be in control of their lives. Wake up and take control. Educate yourself.

Read "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer

I don't think making marijuana legal is a good idea i've smoked before you become mentally impaired. the price of marijuana varies with quality of the product so uncle sam would have to sell a high quality product and equal or lesser price to compete which means more mentally impaired people driving cars, operating forklifts, and cooking YOUR food at your favorite restaurant... not to mention the companies who will begin to manufacture it will water it down with filters and chemicals. just because it is legal doesn't mean you and i can sell it with out fear of jail it's just another way for Washington D.C. to pay for the deficit.

Just listen to Ron Paul's arguments. He really nails it all on the head. As a teenager, marijuana (although illegal) was much easier for me to acquire than alcohol. Alcohol is legal and regulated.

Just ask...
How many people die from drunk drivers and drunk driving?
How many people die from stoned drivers and stoned driving?

I've driven after smoking possibly thousands of times, including on the freeway. Never has it impaired my ability to operate a vehicle; even seemingly, it appeared to alleviate any tensions associated with driving.

I agree with JackGrabit, even if cocaine and heroin were legal, I would never even touch those nor even experiment with them. Proper unbiased/objective education in pharmaceuticals is the basis of my decision making. I believe equipping people with knowledge provides individuals a foundation for making the right choices. Also, people can learn through experience as Jack did. There are better ways to deal with drug problems without sending them to jail!

Hemp is also a fantastic product, something else Ron Paul is also an advocate of. It's so unfortunate that the pinnacle of his greatness has just recently come into fruition. I wish I could donate years of my life to extend his because he is truly an admirable human being.

I'm also against smoking though. Breathing in smoke is simply unhealthy for your body, it's not a difficult concept to understand. If you choose to smoke, it's your body and your right to do with it as you wish. However, I advocated a policy of better health. Should one choose to consume marijuana, I recommend THC extraction into oil and applying to foods. The most notorious example of this application is with brownies. Administer with caution as the onset is delayed and it is quite possible to overdose, as there is no set threshold (max limit high) when consuming orally. Everything should be carefully measured.

If we’ve proven anything in this country it is; prohibition doesn’t work.

Prohibition forces a substance underground; subsequently creating an underground culture and economy that finances the unscrupulous and ignites violence.

By decriminalizing marijuana and controlling it the same way we do tobacco or alcohol, you draw this subculture out into the sunlight. And sunlight is the ultimate disinfectant. You then bring the flow of billions of dollars a year to Mexican drug cartels to a halt. This will hinder their ability to export truly harmful drugs like cocaine and heroine; those dollars now going to the federal government in the form of taxes. This combined with the savings from the ending of the enforcement and judicial costs from destroying people’s lives over a plant, the government would be able to eliminate the deficit in no time.

Not to mention the US needs to come to terms with its history with the plant and our forefather’s use and cultivation of the plant. All of our forefathers cultivated the plant and many of them took marijuana for its medicinal purposes. More than 200 years later the country denies its forefathers use of the plant and its citizens are imprisoned for doing the same.

I don't have a problem with medical marijuana and would be more inclined to question a national policy of making that use illegal . I do have a problem with harmful drugs fraudently marketed by the pharmaceutical industry.

we should make Church, Flowers and Golf illegal.

I think marijuana should be legalized. I do not smoke it, but you never hear about overdoses with people who only smoke marijuana or people who are killed by marijuana smokers. Yet alchol is legal and someone is killed by a drunk driver on a daily bases and why is this ok. So we should legalize marijuana or put a band on acohol.

Yes marijuana should be legalized. It would create many jobs we need and create billions in tax revenues ! I suffer from chronic pain and was not a user until I suffered a broken back and neck. It helps me much better than all the other narcotics I have been prescribed by my doctors !!!! There are millions of underground users whom use this drug to relieve pain, both young and old. At this day and age if someone wants to smoke a marijuana cigarette they should have the freedom to do so. I could go on all day about the reasons why but I have to go to work. Because of my use I am able to hold a f/t time and also a p/t weekend job.

I don't understand why the Gov't continues to "bulk together"all drugs.
Legalization of a HARMLESS plant, would allow police, (by their own admission) to concentrate on more serious crimes, and focus on the dangerous drugs like meth that are coming across the border.
Obama betrayed millions of responsible adults who choose this PLANT, (many times, as opposed to drinking, or pharma drugs);
He laughed in the face of millions of citizens who want nothing more than their constitutional rights and were willing to say so.
Prohibition hasn't worked, enforcement is too costly and time consuming; and often the reward for law enforcement is to put an otherwise responsible law abiding citizen into a legal mess that ruins their life, and ties up the legal system.. Often-times, a young adult.

Freedom is dead in this county and we know it.
Obama is a Democratic party puppet, continuing their age old crap !
He doesn't give a DAMN about average people.
His motto should have been:
CHANGE WE CAN"T BELIEVE IN.

Legalize them all. Prohibition is worse.

You have lost the war on drugs. We are tired of this witchhunt. Americans now ask for your unconditional surrender!

Great job by Neill Franklin to talk about the reality of the Drug war, while Asa Hutchison, like the rest of the prohibitionists, took the tired worn-out hysteria approach warning about what might happen if we legalize drugs. The Netherlands has half the teen marijuana use that the US has, and Switzerland has greatly reduced demand and use of heroin with their distribution model for this dangerous drug. That's reality vs. hysteria.

Congrats to CNN for giving attention to this whole issue, especially the legalization perspective. Keep asking for reasons...the prohibitionists will cave and the DRUG War will end. Slavery ended. Women gained the right to vote. Alcohol prohibition ended. Civil rights were granted to Blacks. This too, will fall onto the trash heap of failed policies.

The only way to control drugs is to legalize it and regulate it as we do with alcohol, that way we'll have real control over it's use. Then we can really protect our children from it's use, today a high schooler can get drugs easier than they can get a beer, because of the black market. Legalization can give us real control and the tax revenue generated by it's sale,will provide much needed money to help those that fall by the wayside, money we don't have now. I feel people can take care of themselves, look at how many people stop smoking, I'm old enough to remember when everyone smoked cigarettes, no one had to make that illegal. Think about it.

When people try to defend legalizing marijuana I wish they would do a little research first instead of just saying "yeah...legalize it" or "no...it's a horrible narcotic".

First and foremost, let's start with some facts;
-number of people who die from alcohol related deaths every year-85,000.
-number of people who die from cigarette smoking every year-435,000. The CDC also reports that cigarettes also cost the US $167billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
-number of people who die from marijuana every year-ZERO
-number of deaths attributed to marijuana in history-ZERO
http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30

Next, through a little research you will also find out that one of the oils that Jesus and his contemporaries anointed themselves with was hemp oil.

A little more research will show you the ACTUAL reasons WHY marijuana was made illegal;

-first it was completely racially motivated-"The first marijuana law found so far was a 1905 El Paso, Texas law. It, and most of the other laws in the southwest that followed, was motivated by racial prejudice against Mexican immigrants. These laws had nothing to do with the actual effects of the marijuana. In fact, cannabis in the form of hemp was a common crop in many of these states, and tinctures of cannabis were included in hundreds of common medicines. The purpose of the laws was to discriminate against Mexicans and other racial minorities."

-second-the marihuana tax act of 1937-not only was this racially motivated, but financially motivated, hemp was, and still is, a far superior NATURAL product and it threatened the success of newly discovered synthetic products-
"The historical origins of this act are particularly interesting. In 1930, Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon appointed Harry J. Anslinger, his niece's husband, to the fledgling Federal Bureau of Narcotics. At the time, one of Mellon's chief financial interests was Mellon Bank, a principal backer of the chemical company DuPont.

DuPont, previously a munitions firm, were by now expanding into the field of plastics and synthetic fibres, a market they have dominated ever since. A statement by their corporate president hints at DuPont's intentions:
"Synthetic plastics (made from mineral, chemical, petroleum, and fossil fuel deposits) find application in fabricating a wide variety of articles, many of which in the past were made from natural products."
Furthermore, their archives reveal they had designs on Congress:
"The revenue raising power of government may be converted into an instrument for forcing acceptance of of sudden new ideas of industrial and social reorganization."

At this time, hemp was an enormous industry in the States, where new extraction technology was being developed that made hemp products, such as paper and fabric, cheaper than ever before. Hemp seed oil was being used to manufacture paints and varnishes. The first plastics had been manufactured from cellulose, and hemp, with its huge cellulose content, was at the forefront of the nascent plastics industry.

Anslinger set about whipping up a frenzy of popular opinion against "the Killer Drug", which was mostly used by Blacks and Mexicans. By playing on people's racism, he was able to justify the blanket ban on all forms of hemp, in spite of the fact that most industrial hemp produces very little psychoactive resin."

One of the men you just interviewed stated that marijuana use is "localized"...yet you stated that there are 15million ADMITTED users in the US...

Now, I'm not condoning using marijuana, but it is MUCH "safer" than cigarettes or alcohol. If you want to continue to have marijuana illegal, then make them illegal as well, as they are actually addictive (marijuana is NOT) and are responsible for a large number of deaths every year.

No, I don't think that heroine, cocaine, meth, etc...drugs that are actually addictive and destructive should be legal, but you cannot deny the facts that even the use of these drugs have stabilized and become safer, in the proper use & disposal of needles, in countries where these drugs are legal.

If you actually pay attention to the facts surrounding marijuana, add in the possibility of the revenue gained by taxing marijuana cigarettes, and free up law enforcement to go after REAL criminals (thereby freeing up a huge amount of space in jails) you will find that there is no legitimate reason to keep marijuana illegal.

alcohol -millions of deaths. marijuana-0.

Good Morning! I just watched former Governor Hutchingson say that there isn't enough support to put legalizing marijuana to a popular vote. I firmly disagree and infact that is what needs to happen. It is apparent we will not get anywhere with this subject in the hands of our elected representatitives due to the fact that they are more concerned with staying employed then listening to their constituents and making a stand on a controversial issue for what we are expressing now presently regarding the legalization of marijuana. And I would like to know how much it has cost us paying for the war against drugs over the last 30 years and how much it costs us annually. I am certain we will see it is astounding and this could be money used for other areas of public services that need the money. It's time to put this issue to a popular vote and let the votes fall where they may fall. In addition to this I was taken aback to hear Jennifer Palotono say that this is not something that they would consider right now, let me just say "she would if the people tell her too"!!!!

I am an advocate for legalizing marijuana only and would like to see some statistics comparing the health risks of marijuana to legal substances like sugar and caffeine both of which can be purchased by anyone and could be considered "window drugs". Additionally, the AMA and pharmaceutical companies have done an excellent job in addicting Americans to so called "legal" drugs such as antidepressants that have far more lethal side effects than marijuana which is a natural way to allleviate stress and depression. Is the resistance to legalization a health issue or a political one supported by lobbiests for the medical community?

I wish the media would do more investigation about marijuana and hold the prohibitionists feet to the fire when they lie.

ASA, (the corrupt prohibitionist) claims cartels would just make other hard drugs if we take the marijuana market away from them. This is nonsense. Studies in other areas of the world have shown that all drug use goes down, across the board, when you legalize marijuana.

We have had several studies since prohibition and all have concluded that Marijuana is not harmful to individuals (even with long term chronic use) or society. We have a society right now that uses Marijuana regularly and the only problems we see are related to the law and not the plant. How many more studies do we need before the media starts reporting the facts?

End prohibition. Why? Because Marijuana makes the world a better place and prohibition does not.

If marijuana "alleviates stress and depression" it should not only be legalized but added to the water supply in red states because republicant teabaggers have really gone off the deep end.

Legalize pot. Not so sure on legalizing everything. But I do see how it would help. Iam just personally a fan of pot, not everything else. For people who say "oh, there's carcinogens in pot", that's why there are things like vaporizers. They only extract the THC vapor from the weed. Tax the hell out of it, use the money for education, making our country green. It is not going to hurt our gov't to have another source of income. What the gov't needs to look at is all the money they have lost out on by NOT legalizing it 30-40 years ago. BEER is legal, and in my opinion, it's worse than pot. Take a teenager, goes and drinks a 6 pack. Now most teenagers are not going to have a high tolerance for alcohol. He's trashed driving his car, swerving. That same teen guarantee you could smoke a joint and go drive. Maybe a little slower, a little more cautious, but he's safer than a drunk driver that could kill a family. How many Stoned Driving Deaths do you actually hear about? How many drunk driving deaths do you hear about?

Legalize, regulate, tax and discourage.

Each time the pirates receive ransom they are gaining strength by being able to get better arms and organization.
If the nations of the world can get together and put their astronauts out to a space station, why can they not get together on earth to assist in protecting their assets?
Why can't the countries who have sent their naval forces to the coast of Somalia do this?
Get together and place ONE older class deemed outdated aircraft carrier in a strategic location off the coast of Somalia.
When a distress call comes in, a high speed fighter jet is launched to the sight and blow the offending vessel out of existence.
The jet returns to the Carrier and the cargo ship carries on its way safely.
This would have the following advantages.

The countries would share the cost of this operation and could send their navies home thus reducing cost.

Quick response time to protect vessels and crews,

The pirates would soon run short of vessels and crews,(sea going terrorists).

There would be no need of talk about sending troops to Somalia and getting involved in another expensive war and having more young soldiers come home in coffins.

I see it as a win win situation for everyone but the pirates.

susan boyle from britain got talent is all i will say ,Thy shalt not judge."

To Deborah AKA; Your arguement for legaization was one of the best I've read on this blog.

To Taxpaying Father: Your quote by George Washington, April 15th, 2009 12:29 am ET

“It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.” is probably the most compelling statement for legalization in a democracy I have seen so far.

To Jackie Q.: I too lost a sister to addiction. She hemmoraged to death from esophigial bleeding caused from years of alcohol abuse. She was 53 years old, 5'3" tall, and weighed about 63 lbs. when she died. As a family, we tried many things to help her fight her addiction. I suggested that she substitute her alcohol addiction to one of cannibus. She was affraid of the legal ramifications. She had to abuse something; some people are just like that. I can't help but wonder if changing her addiction to a less harmful drug might have saved her life. We will never know because she was too afraid of this ludicrous law to find out. There will always be addicts. Legalizing cannibus won't increase or decrease that fact, and who knows, it might just help some folks.

I hope the media decides to do more as well. We really need to ratchet up support for this issue. The government is burning through money at an insane rate.. Obama says he will not raise taxes on everyone, but at some point he will have to unless we find other ways of paying for all of this..

The war on Marijuana is ridiculous. It is a plant for God sake the way it grows out of the ground is the way you use it. No tampering is necessary.

Seriously, folks are actually linking Marijuana smoking with God's plan? Hemp oil is much different than smoking. Our Lord would want us to use our bodies(holy vessels) for more than this.

What happened to the validated research of the last decade showing Marijuana smoke to be as dangerous as 12 cigarettes? Not to mention all the "laced joints" that will surface killing thousands as they do now. (PCP) Also, I am sure the deaths linked to drugs are not documented properly so don't believe everything you read. Doesn't it all start with a simple Marijuana party, harmless try? How sad for our nation! We have so many more important issues to help with and solve. This issue should not take so much energy and reckless comments, GEEZ.

GeorgeSchultz may not have been right about everything,
but he was right when he said long ago that drugs should be legal.
I agree. It is time to legalize drugs.

I am more for what i call "personal responsibility", If an individual can use a substance and not cause harm towards others (or their property), then there is no reason to interfere. The Federal government SHOULD NOT be "in the business" of banning substances that are not themselves dangerous.

Legalizing drugs will not by itself increase the use rate, it will however increase the likely hood that someone will admit to using, since there is no chance of being sent to jail, or destroying ones livelihood.

As for DEA agents who support the "war on drugs", of course they support it, it's how they get paid, they have built their who "being" around destroying peoples lives. All in the name of the "greater good".

It is not for the government to decide what is legal and what isn't, it is up to the people, government is supposed to work for the people, not against them. "Of the people, For the People, By the People."

And no a drug use should not excuse people from their actions

When are you going to conduct a scientific poll for this question?

Juanita:
I believe the reports you are referring to were "produced" by the government, not independent studies.

If you are worried about "laced joints" then you should stand with legalizing and regulating. With no regulations anything is possible, with it you can create accountability.

by the way, tobacco is grown in or with radioactive chemicals, and sprayed with harsh pseticides, which is where much of the harmful properties come from. not to mention that if not cured properly tobacco itself can be poisonous, the same can not be said about cannabis(marijuana). The plant is NON TOXIC!

Gods plan or not (do you think God would plan to put people by the thousands into prison for responsibly using a substance?!?!) the government (federal) should not be dictating these policies.

The initial war on drugs was started with prejudice (mainly race), and continues to do so.
Maybe some people are ok with the FED wasting their tax money on a "War on Drugs" but i am not.

Why do people believe that synthetic drugs are better than natural?
Why is it only "good" if it can be patented? Think about it for a bit and you will eventually come to the answer of $$$$$, it's all about the cash.

LEGALIZING WILL NOT CONTROL THE MARIJUANA. BLACK MARKET GROWERS WILL CONTINUE (TAX FREE) TO GROW MORE EXOTIC HYBRID CANNABIS WITH DANGEROUS LEVELS OF THC. IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. WHO WILL PAY TO TREAT OUR NEW ABUSERS?

Legalizing all drugs would solve so many of our current problems in the country. The money in tax revenue alone would go along way to bringing the United States out of this recession and back to a state of
prosperity.

-VeganToker
overgrowthemafia.org

Why would legalization not control the black market of marijuana? It costs lots of money to grow pot in the first place. If farmers got licenses to legally grow pot and grew it in large numbers in their fields all over the United States the marijuana would not be what it's worth on the black market in a legal market. There would be marijuana distribution all over the place like there is alcohol distribution. People still brew their own alcohol but those private alcohol brewers aren't getting rich. If people want to buy marijuana in a store most of them that are adults will do that instead of growing their own. If someone was to brew their own alcohol in their home and sell it I would still buy what I want in a store as long as it wasn't nearly as expensive as it is now.

There will be licensed marijuana breeders developing different strains and those strains would be put on the market to be sold in stores. They won't be going for 400 dollars a ounce like they do now. When alcohol was illegal the prices were crazy for bottles of whiskey. People brewed alcohol in their homes and sold it. That type of market dropped after legalization when the big brewery companies got their license and took over and stores got licenses to sell it. The criminal market was out.

To grow a large amount of pot for distribution the people would need a license to do it. It would be hard for some small time illegal grower to cut out the legal business and make a profit because growing good pot costs lots of money. It really wouldn't be worth it for someone to try to grow some pot and sell it for a profit because it would be hard to make that profit. If they had no license for distribution they would be cut out. Most of the supply and demand would be in the stores and those stores aren't going to sell it to minors unless they want to lose their marijuana sales license and be out of business and risk going to jail.

People aren't selling tobacco for a profit and they could grow it. The tobacco industry remains in control of the market while prices sometimes increase or decrease.

Dangerous levels of THC? The more potent the marijuana is, that just means the less they are consuming to get high. Instead of smoking their brains out to acheive the high they want on low grade marijuana people will smoke better pot. That also means less smoke in the lungs with high grade marijuana. If someone doesn't want to smoke marijuana at all they use a vaporizer and that eliminates the carcinogens going into the body because a vaporize doesn't make any smoke.

If an adult wants to grow their own marijuana for personal use under legalization they should be allowed to do it like people can brew their own personal supply of alcohol tax free. Most people will just go to a store and buy what they want and know what they are getting.

Larry.

your opinion is valid but, marijuana takes months of growth and maintenance in order to produce. if legalized people wouldn't waste time growing something they could go to the store and buy ready for use. and there is no such thing as dangerous levels of THC, pills of PURE THC have been made and are now sold by the govt., so there is no dangerous level of THC.. do some research on tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) and then talk about the effects or dangers, although there virtually aren't any dangers.

The "War on Drugs" is a farce. All it's done is criminalize millions of people needlessly.

Most are recreational drug users who have been penalized by the legal system so that now our prisons are overcrowded with low-level non-violent offenders whose prospects, when they get out, are slim at best.

The major dealers or drug pushers rarely get the prison time the end user gets and with conspiracy charges leveled, the kingpin always throws the ones on the bottom rung to the wolves.

I should know. My son, now 28, was diagnosed with bipolar and ADHD in his teens. His condition worsened and he took to taking illegal drugs. He was caught in a sting operation in our local village. An undercover officer urged him to sell him some crack. He was homeless at the time living in the streets and off medication.

Upon his arrest, his bail was set at $30,000 and I thought, OMG, he must have been dealing alot. Upon learning of the amount they confiscated, it turned out to be a $20 (pea size) hit of crack cocaine. (I have the court papers) but because of the draconian Rockefeller Laws in NYS, the judge had no choice but to jail him.

It turned out he was remanded to a special program for 6 months designed like a military boot camp. He never was treated for his bipolar and while he did well there because of the structure. Within 1/2 hr he was discharged, he had a mental breakdown and was hospitalized for three weeks. Severe schizophrenia and mood swings.

So jails have become the homes to the mentally unbalanced in addition to drug users.

The costs to house drug users amounts to $40,000 an inmate for the year. The costs for the legal system to arrest, prosecute, along with all the court proceedings, postponements, overloaded dockets, is monumental and in the end, nothing is accomplished except to provide a means for society to employ thousands of people for this bizarre charade.

Now he has a felony record. No one wants to employ him because he has several marks against him; his disease and his criminal record.

Legalizing all drug use can serve many purposes. It will take away the obscene profits that the drug cartels make; it will reduce the violence; we can shift the moneys to offer drug counseling; taxing the manufacturer, distributor, the retailer and the end user. Regulate it, regulate it, regulate it.

Not everyone is an alcoholic who drinks and the same will be with the banned drugs. Society itself will regulate its own and employers will have the same requirements in place as they do for drinking or smoking for that matter.

Legalizing drugs will come a long way in making our society a more humane society than what society thinks they are now.

All I can see, is billions wasted with no solution and law enforcement going after the easy arrest and we thinking something is actually being accomplished.

How sad and how stupid is that?

The paradox in legalizing "drugs"? What "drugs". Strong advocacy for "prohibition" of "drugs" began in the 1830's... the drug at the time – alcohol. It took almost 100 years to do it, and the repercussions were instantaneous lawlessness (speak-easy's) and extreme violence. The violence was so pronounced that repeal came within a few short years. Prohibition of current, so-called recreational drugs was never an issue... instead, with the exception of marijuana (Mexican slang for cannabis sativa), the "government" recognized a growing problem with addictions, unregulated "snake-oil" cures with both health consequences and fraud, and so, in a rather covert means, passed laws that eventually led to "prohibition" of those drugs such as opium, cocaine, morphine, etc., again, excluding marijuana. I wasn't until 1937 that with a growing problem of illegal immigrants coming from Mexico – during recovery from the Great Depression, and paranoid do-gooders like William Randolf Hearst, and a deluge of marijuana horror stories derived from the the concern of illegal immigrants, to B&W relationships, that marijuana was in short notice prohibited, and even more, demonized. In short... marijuana was a scapegoat, and became popular not just because it provided a high, but because of it's notoriety. It's in a class by itself – much safer than legal drugs like tobacco and alcohol, but much worse in that the "government officials" can point fingers at marijuana and proclaim "it is the devil in the closet", based on historic misinformation and the egg on all the faces of those caught up in criminalizing it. Thus, we have a situation in which millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens chose to smoke pot, can point out in return that "the emperor not only is naked, but has egg on his face", but will have spent most of their "baby-boomer" years as outlaws because of it – and now... all of this has created the "new mafia", the drug cartels, and to back down and admit this whole war on drugs is bulging with mistakes dating back to the 1800's is akin to a politician admitting they were wrong, and that won't happen. I go to my death eventually knowing, and proud, that I, like Butch Cassidy was an outlaw... a decent guy in all other respects, but I used pot... and I used it because it was vital in my American Dream of Happiness. Ironically, gay marriage is illegal but gays don't get arrested, and unlike real crimes like murder, rape, kidnapping, etc., which are true crimes against humanity – and it's those crimes that really concern me. So much human suffering that if only we used the resources spent on the war on drugs on that cause, there'd be much less suffering. The war on drugs only makes it painfully clear "we" don't know what "crime" is... we are too busy pretending we do... pretending the emperor is dressed without egg on his face!

the most dangerous attribute of marijuana is the US criminal justice system.

legalize, tax & regulate.

I think legalizing marijuana will help lots of poor people around the world. Its not a drug, but rather a medicine, its the best when used in tea.
Its also good for appetite, a stress relaxer., sex n energy booster, not forget Holy Moses saw it burning as a bush, n that was a ganja tree burning, without being consumed by the fire..

The drug problem is created by the black market which has been created by our government. It's a no brainer – No black market, no drug runners.
Regulate it like booze.

Don't let Rome Fall.

If you think more permissiveness is what this culture needs, you are simply out of your minds. We've become a morally bankrupt culture in since the 1960s and the results of this poll are simply shameful.

All of you should wake up in the morning thankful to be alive and embrace the wonder and mystery of planet earth.

I guess I am in denial to an extent but I think it's sad that the "average American" has decended so far over the course of my lifetime.

It is sad that my children are going to have to live in a country so infested with drugged-out losers.

Being one of the only people in my family not addicted to drugs, I've seen what it does to people and their families. I don't think that lealizing drugs would make it any better. If everybody had a direct access to any drug they wanted, life here would be worse than what it already is. Also, everyone needs to think about all the people that would be at work under the influence... I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to be at the hands of an addict.

I also do agree that something should take place to help the addicts thrown in prison. We need to start being more proacvtive and start changing the way things are done in this country.

I think we have enough drug users in this country. Legalizing it would just make more users. Hope we don't do it.

Is is just me or does it seems that the only people that are for the legalization of marijuana are the ones that smoke it?

Treatment over sentancing. I have watch too many non violent friends and family members spend time in jail and worse over drugs. Legalize all of it and begin working on education and assistance like we do ciggarettes and booze. Stop the violence, stop the insanity. I never liked that my government declared a war on drugs and thereby declared a war on our own people.

To start,[for alcohol or any proven driver imparing substance] first time DUI conviction = permanent loss of vehicle[s} ownership rights and drivers licenses. DUI causes death of another=life in prison. One strike only. No excuses. No exceptions.

As for any drug use related to nonviolent/property crime, it should be mandatory medical maintenance/treatment as condition for probation.

I think it would be a safer country if these were implemented. That's what I think..

please read john miller's statement a few comment above. you might learn something, and check out my comments also if you wish.

legalize, grow, fabricate, tax, and sell cannabis.
restrict age to either 18 or 21
instill regulations and let states enforce their own laws on cannabis.

Just for a moment, consider all the harm youth presently are experiencing as a result of alcohol and tobacco, the legal drugs of America. Legalizarion makes products appear to be harmless and that is by far the biggest lie of all if referring to marijuana, heroin or cocaine.There is nothing good about the use of marijuana, heroin or cocaine. All cause irreparable harm.

What a nice way to replace the lost taxes from foreclosed homes. But only Marijuana.

The problem in Mexico should NOT be entirely blamed on the American peoples appetite for drugs! Let's get real here! What the US gov does NOT want us to know, cnn started reporting on just yesterday! The problem obviously began when the US gov. substidized corn and other produce, and took it across the border to sell it to the Mexican people at a much cheaper cost! Now think people! What do you think that did to the farming communities in Mexico? It shut them down! They could not sell thier produce and lost thier farms. Now, again ..think!! What would have happened in the USA if another country did this same act to us, and caused the downfall of our farming industry? Well, it would cause millions of people to lose thier jobs, homes and thier lands. Think of the outcry in America! This is exactly what was done to the Mexican people by our gov, yet noone will ever be held accountable for this crime against thier people! But, they chose to blame the American people for thier appetite for drugs, and also for a stricter standard to inforce the gun laws, right here in the US! Does anyone have ANY clue how much money this is going to actually cost the American people in the end? Will there ever be an end? We now have a "highly priced" Czar at the border! Billions of dollars going into the "already defeted war on drugs". BILLIONS! And, to top it off, we LOANED them our blackhawks to fight this war with! (along with 17 million American dollars.( to start off with). This is what we needed a HUGE stimulis for! We have to now not only fight Iraq, we have to fight Afganastan, Somolia, Mexico (and it's MANY) problems there, fight drugs worldwide (it is worldwide, not only in Mexico), and this list continues to grow! Problem with this? We have 24% foreclosures in our own peoples homes just yesterday alone! How many AMERICANS are without a home today? Maybe with NO FOOD? No employment? No hope? Too many for me! I am sick of helping everyone else in the world, and leaving OUR OWN PEOPLE to suffer the consequences.

Trillions of $$$$ in wasted money!! Can we begin to help our own people?? And, did anyone notice the poll numbers here? Between last night and today, the numbers went up for NO WAY, yet ever statement left on the site (as we all can see)is for legalization. interesting. They have to keep coming back just to vote NO WAY, just to make it apper that they actually have that support! I wish that we could finally have a nationwide vote on this issue, and allow the educated people of America to cast a vote. I would bet, the American people are quite tired of THIER $$$$ going to fight a problem that should have NEVER been there to begin with!! Legal it already!

LEGALIZE We really do need to.. This is a wrong done in the past, that needs to finally be corrected.

There is a booze cabinet. There isa drug cabinet. Now take the freaking time to teach your children their measure in life for if you do not when leaving home and not knowing their measure they will fall. Kids in University binge drinking because their measure was not taught them growing up have already died as a physical consequence of parental neglet. Parents too busy working the system to properly instruct their own children. Sad state of affairs peoplesand personally I am tied of dealing with the children you parents turn your backs on. Smarten the hell up.

I done 10 years federal prison and 8 years on probation for growing 360 pot plants.I didn't sale I only used. i also done 10 months drug rehab, and counseling and I have 6 weeks left than I began my probation.

America, "the land of the free and the home of the brave". Is it? All drugs should be legalized. All means ALL. We, (ALL) not just as Americans or Mexicans, etc., but as humans, need a reality check. The reality of the 'war on drugs' is not 'drugs' it's 'people'! We are always looking for a reason, or should I say an excuse to take the place of our own responsibility to ourselves and each other to be responsible. Now, more than ever in our history, it is time that we stop using excuses and take resposibility for our own actions. Drugs are not doing anything wrong! People are. We are. Just because drugs are illegal, doesn't stop people from doing them. Just because law enforcement officers arrest people for buying, selling, and using drugs, doesn't mean that they aren't doing the same thing. Wrong is wrong, and right is right. There are no gray areas here. We are losing whole generations, not to drugs but, to ignorance. And I don't want this to be misconstrued because contrary to popular belief..."ignorance is not bliss!"

Ignorance comes form ignoring and I can speak of this from experience. Ignoring something doesn't make it go away. Usually, it gets worse. Let's cut to the chase, or scientifially speaking, solve the equation.

"Congress has just passed a bill legalizing the use of any and all drugs in the U.S. The vote was unanimous. This is the first bill ever to pass through Congress with 100% of all votes! There will be a press ...." stranger things have happened.

Most experts agree that US drug policy is seriously flawed because it treats all drugs equally. There are HUGE differences between pot, cocaine, heroin, meth, etc. The level of regulation of a particular drug should be determined by its potential for causing damage to a person. Drugs that are more addictive should be illegal. Drugs that are relatively, harmless, like marijuana, should be tolerated just as alcohol is.

I think the question is too broad. What does legalizing all drugs really mean? Would we be able to get our doctor perscribed pills over the counter? I agree with dealing with the problems of drugs and laws. I believe drugs are dangerous but so are a lot of things. Compare death to drugs with death to driving down the road. I think we need to be kinder and gentler in our outlook to drug treatment and tougher on hate crime. We need to rediscover mental health providers. Now or later we all need a little check up whether it is physical or mental. Get on board to health stop punishing those who could be helped.

Uncle Don, yes. It's just you! Not everyone is a user in the USA. We want the rights that our forefathers died for us to be able to enjoy. I would like to have the "choice" to sy NO...all by myself! I don't need another dad. I already have one of my own! He raised me to know better than to harm Gods temple! He also raised me to understand what the constitution was all about and how we, as the American people, should continue to fight to keep it! Legalize it. It is a natural creation from God which is stated in the Bible as being given as a gift! It is one of the best plants, if not the best, on earth as we know it today. It's properties are quite invaluable to people worldwide! Please educate yourselves! Cannabis is not a drug! This gift should be in a CLASS of its own. Our gov. has not been truthful to its people. If someone tells you that the sky is not blue, but it is now yellow, will you be the one to get off of your chair to look for yourself? or, would you be the one decieved in the end?? Educate yourselves on anything that they tell you. You may just be surprised to see how OFTEN in history ..our people were lied to. We need to educate ourselves ..with the truth.

The legalization of marijuana or any other drug may create competition for the drug cartels, but it won't put them out of business. I doubt that the cartels are interested in turning over a new leaf, become responsible business man, pay taxes on their products and export fees, and make sure their workers have good health care coverage, a nice dental plan, and a retirement fund. So let's say we legalize, we are still going to have to fight a drug war. Also, the truth is drug cartels have had free reign in Mexico for so long, allowed by the Mexican governments of the past, that now it's like trying to take a bloody tuna out of the mouth of a great white shark. You can expect a struggle.

Which drugs currently cause the most (health, death, or other) problems for people in the US? Aren't they tobacco and alcohol, which are legal for adults? So, why would we legalize more? Maybe, we need to look at our punishments and other consequences for drug users, like offering more treatment and other help, and less jail or prison time.

http://tinyurl.com/hwgtr ~ The US government holds a Patent for medical marijuana. At the same time, claims it has no medical value.

There is no valid reason for marijuana to be illegal when you look at nicotine, alcohol, and the science supporting marijuana's amazing healing effects.

Cannabis is not a drug, it's a plant. You can't lump a plant into a drug category simply because it doesn't fit with your agenda.
Drugs are created, they don't grow from the earth. You have to cut a drug and you have to add baking soda to a drug. Drugs are created in someone's kitchen.

Marijuana is not a drug.

I don’t understand why the only drug that doesn’t kill anyone illegal? Marijuana has been on this planet since day one. What makes me sick is that good hard working Americans that are put in jail and labeled as a criminal. Yet, a senior in high school that hits his/her 18th birth day can purchase cigarettes or other tobacco products that kill people everyday!! Alcohol and prescription pills also take over and kill people everyday. I recently lost a good friend to Xanax overdose. These are man made drugs that are highly addictive that are ok to use with an I.D. of the lawful age or a prescription from a doctor. Really? How hard is it to see how stupid it is to arrest and panelize innocent people that smoke pot? Smoking it is not the only way to get the affects of THC. Vaporizers and ingesting keeps you away from harming the lungs. For people that disagree with legalizing marijuana, just check out http://www.norml.com to get the truth and facts about this plant.

The legalization, taxation, and regulation of marijuana alone would significantly reduce our nation's prisons population, as well as give a huge boost in revenue. As our economy is at the moment, ruling out the legalization of marijuana as one of the potential steps to reduce our national debt and stimulate the economy, is absolutely close-minded.
As it is now, tobacco and alcohol are legal and why? Both cigs and alcohol are manufactured and not very natural substances, yet they are two of the most profitable markets in America, and highly harmful in numerous ways to health. Marijuana being a single plant with a "relief" sensation that many users resort to it for, whether they are medically ill, or just to unwind as any responsible alcohol or cigarette consumer would.... responsibly.
Myself has been a daily user of marijuana for over 10+ years. I like to think i'm well educated. I've always tried to be a responsible citizen of our country and abide most every other law. After being arrested for marijuana on two occasions within the past 3 years, have created nothing, but hardships for myself and my family. Applying for new jobs or renting a house/apartment is the same feeling a lion must have when jumping through flaming hoops.
I pay taxes, I work, I have responsibilities, I have served our country as a member of our Armed Forces, I enjoy smoking/vaporizing/ingesting marijuana responsibly. -I KNOW I-, am not alone when it comes to any of the previously mentioned I's i've mentioned!
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are my typical times to consume (for a solid 10+ years). My doctor says i'm in great health (he knows i'm a daily consumer of marijuana).
Willie Nelson, Tommy Chong, and Snoop Dogg are just three "long-term" users that anyone and everyone knows. They all seem to be of equal health of their peers as well, if not significantly more successful than some. Millions of Americans are sought to be habitual users of marijuana as well.
I AM PLEADING to anyone against drugs, to please take marijuana out of the talk as a drug. It's a plant, and to some it's a safe alternative to alcohol or cigarettes. DEA, and local law enforcement would likely object, because they would be in jeapordy of having to potentially downsize from having a lack of crimes. DEA would be forced to actually fight "real" crimes as opposed to non-violent marijuana offenders/users!

I was at one time a proponent for RX however, history has shown us that IT DOES NOT WORK!
Therefore, either legalize; or for repeat offenders, JAIL!
It was pointed out that RX for habitual offenders is fiscially draining our econemy, and the Mentally Ill for whom RX was origionally intended are being forced out of the Mental Health System by habitually offending Drug Addiction.

Whats the quote..if you do not learn from history you are DOOMED to repeat it...drugs, alcohol, and guns in America. Outlawing drugs /alcohol/guns only helps the CRIMINALS. Hello!! Does anyone remember Capone and et al??????

I am from Ann Arbor, MI. first of all, so I live in a community of Liberal's. What's sad is that murders get less time than people who sell Marijuana! Come on, my ancestor's (Indians) smoked pot for many reasons, also I have never seen a violent pot head!! Peace, Love and smoke a scooby snack already!!!

Ponder this...."Man made booze, God made grass. Who do you TRUST?" I think Government crack, (also known as)..... Cigarettes!!!! Is far far far far far Worse!!!

Chrissy,

I love your enthusiasm but have to add a few things. The man booze, god grass statement goes well on a t-shirt but god didn't dry the grass, roll it into a joint, or light it on fire . . . alcohol does occur in nature, all decaying organic matter makes alcohol as part of the decomposition process.

Second, your native american ancestors may have smoked pot but not untill after Columbus did his journey . . . cannabis is originally from Asia and was not native to the Americas.

I have always thought that while we are arguing for legalization that it is important to make logical arguements that have the facts straight. If someone can poke a hole in one little part of your arguement then the rest of it, no matter how true is then disregarded.

I always felt that I have a right to do whatever I please as long as I don't infringe on another. Arresting me for possessing an herb is an infringement on me. Everything else doesn't matter. If marijuana would have a 99% chance of causing me to die within a week it should still be my right. Is it not my life? I don't think its my right to smoke it anywhere or anytime, I think it is my right to smoke it on my private property or the private property of another (a business is included) that allows it. I think it is any employers right to prohibit it or being under the effects of it, etc. It's about freedom plain and simple, the right to pursue happiness, for me, you, and everyone in their own way.

Chris

I think marijuana should be legal. It's a lot less harmful than any other drugs especially alcohol. Alcohol should be banned and marijuana should take its place.

If legalized "pushers" would have little motivation to increase new users.

Existing users would be identified and helped if desired.

Drug oriented law breaking would be eliminated thus reducing court loads and prison population. This would free up resources for constructive uses.

Resources now spent on incarceration could be spent on rehabilitation.