Denver Legalizes Marijuana

[Elmer J.]

In response to "degredation of society:
If you believe that there are invisible laws that dictate that certain things should not be done, why do you need the government to tell you not to do them? Leave us alone. If your morals are so great, we should be able to be convinced.
Spiritual degredation
Dependency on substances, I can agree with. But I don't think that recreational drugs automatically degrade your spirit. In fact, used sparingly, I think they can improve a person's spiritual life.
People use weed to escape reality
I tend to use weed to enhance reality, and experience it more fully. I never truly appreciated pineapples or strawberry cream cheese.

[Terex4]

My stance has been and always will be, who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body? As long as it doesn't affect anyone else, who cares?

People who don't do certain things have their reasons for doing so, but don't focus on the negative. For every one dumbass who drives off a cliff, there are thousands of others who aren't.

As far as spiritual awareness goes, there isn't one and only one way to seek enlightenment and greater knowledge of one's being and surroundings. Just because a certain technique works for one person, doesn't mean it will work that way for everyone.

To better clarify my position, imagine this. Locke is smoking a joint. I walk up to him, pull the joint from his mouth and say "I don't believe this is right so you can't do it."

I prefer my laws to maintain the freedom of the individual and instead focus on the protection of society (i.e. You can smoke this, but keep it to yourself)

Has anyone else noticed how are biggest taboos are things not crafted solely by mankind (marijuana, sex, shitting in the woods, etc....)?

[TheSpacePope]

I tend to use weed to enhance reality, and experience it more fully. I never truly appreciated pineapples or strawberry cream cheese.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
greatness

I'd just like you guys to realize that there has been a massive propaganda engine about weed since the 40's
try and rent reffer madness, this used to be shown in SCHOOLS
ridiculous

[Althane]

Originally Posted by Illuminatus

Try to understand that though I support the legalization of all drugs, especially marijuana that doesn't mean I use them. I just think that legalizing drugs is a smarter way of dealing with things, a la legalization of alcohol. You can yap all you want about "impaired thinking" and "gateway drugs" but I have four years of personal experience with marijuana, since all of my friends smoke, regularly. Many of them are good students. Few of them smoke irresponsibly. None of them are going to die any time soon from anything pot related. I just think it's about time that we started caring about other things.

Hmmm? I didn't mention impaired thinking, or gateway drugs. I just said that I thought taking drugs was stupid. There's more ways to have fun than screwing with yourself.

[Mirai Gen]

As I have said many many times - but probably not on this form - if I want to 'get high,' I'll go skydiving.

Adrenaline > pot

BUT! The reason I am doing a happy dance for this is simple; the government staying the fuck out of my life.

[mxyzptlk]

Back to the original topic:
This law will be overturned in court, and I doubt this will start much of a domino effect. Officially, the Department of Health and Human Services requires proof that hemp not only poses no health risks, but can actually have medicinal properties before they'll legalize it (that's funny. Shouldn't tobacco and alcohol be banned under that logic?). Even though they have their proof through a scientific study requested by them. It found that THC is a good drug of last resort for a variety of illnesses, and the only significant risk of side effects from it comes from the act of smoking it- a problem which vaporizers and THC inhalers solve in California and Canada, respectively. And as long as it's banned on a federal level, it'll stay banned on every other level. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the commerce clause gives the national government the ability to ban hemp in all forms of local use, even if the state government allows it and there's absolutely no commerce between the states involved.

So basically, all branches of our national government are irrationally against the legalization of pot. I suspect it's because they don't want to admit fault for banning it in the 1930s. Imagine how unpopular our leaders would be if they told us directly that not only have they been lying to us for seventy years, but they also used racism to get it banned in the first place (for one example of this, look up the etymology of the word marijuana some time. It's no coincidence that this word was a Mexican one that came into existance in the '30s).

Now to refute every objection to pot in this thread, and then some.
1. It fucks up your mind: damn right it does. I don't care if you want to stay away from it for that reason. But you shouldn't prohibit me from smoking it. I don't want you to save me from myself, and I find doing so by force to be immoral.
2. It fucks up your driving: potheads would still be pinched for DUI if pot were legal.
3. It's a gateway drug: bullshit. This was disproven in the 1940s.
4. It has no medicinal value: bullshit. This was disproven in 1999.
5. It's immoral: show me a branch of ethics that disapproves of hemp, and I'll show you moral relativism. At which point I'll destroy that branch's validity in about 20 different ways.
6. It kills: LD-50 for a 165-pound man is 21 grams. The only reason we even know this is because scientists have injected THC in lab rats- an unheard of method of getting high. See also #2. And if you're stupid enough to kill yourself on any drug, good. Thanks for culling your dumb ass out of our society.

In summary: Denver's legalization of pot means nothing, and will continue to mean nothing until the point where enough of our society realizes their government is lying to them, or until our government sacrifices its pride and legalizes it.

[Mirai Gen]

I have alot to say, but I'm supposed to be playing DND relatively soon so I'll just let Lockeownzj00 convey my message for me.

He usually does anyway.

[FunkyBlackMage]

Two words: Road Trip.

[Althane]

Originally Posted by mxyzptlk

List of refutations

1&2. Sure, you have the right to screw yourself up as much as you want. As long as you don't endanger other people doing it. Therefore, driving stoned should be (is, actually) illegal. I think we can agree on that? Yay.

3. I don't recall saying M is a gateway drug, but I don't really think you can disprove that. Or prove it. I mean, seriously, will it lead you to taking crack and heroin? I doubt it. Will you want to to get a high? Possibly, but it's more probable that peer pressure will do that, not using the drug itself....

4. Yeah, M is a painkiller. And a euroiphic (spelling?). So's chocolate and asprin. And some other stuff. But chocolate and asprin don't mess with your mind (well, I mean, I haven't encontered a drug yet that has had adverse side effects, other than that one antibiotic, and that's only if I haven't eaten in like 12 hours...).

5. Well, to a Christian, it would be. Along with smoking, getting tattoos, and getting overly drunk. And a bunch of body piercings. I can't speak for any other religion/code of ethics, though, as I haven't studied them too much. I believe Hinduism probably wouldn't like it that much though.

6. LD-50 is 21 grams? Ok, say yer using high grade weed, how much do you get from that? Less than 2 grams? I mean, I don't know, I haven't tested it or anything, but it seems to me that the delivery system of smoking isn't very efficient.... But hey, we agree, if you're dumb enough to kill yourself with drugs, yay, less of humanity, and less of stupidity.

Edited twice to get the stupid quote tags.

[Uselessinformation]

I smoke the stuff.

many of my friends smoke the stuff.

The only viable argument i have seen is the whole "gateway" drug one, but i have worked out exactly why that is:

Weed smokers are more likely to try harder drugs than people who do not take drugs because they have already demonstrated their willingness to get ****ed up on a drug.

It's really quite simple - of COURSE people who don't smoke weed are less likely to go onto cocaine or heroin, because they are not willing to try drugs. full stop. On the other hand i have seen one mate of mine go from weed to coke - keep in mind that is one mate, out of 23(off the top of my head) people that i can name who smoke weed (and thats just who i can name, i've had many a biff in a circle of strangers, its a communal drug like that).

So legalising the drug will not increase the number of people going onto things like coke and heroin, because those who would be willing to go onto those things are going to take up weed ANYWAY, wheras there are possibly some who probably wouldn't mind the occasional joint but who don't want to break the law (although to be honest, i can't name anyone who fits that description)...

Basically, legalising would mean that people like me could walk into a shop to buy our weed, instead of having to ring round dealers and see whos selling.

Hopefully it would see less resin kicking around as well - i've only ever smoked skunk because resin is 95% rubber and plastic, and 5% weed, but there are people who smoke it, and they are the people REALLY fucking their bodies up. If it was being made and packaged with the government regulating it, there would be less crap mixed into the weaker and cheaper stuff.