Decriminalize, don't legalize.

[salinen]

That's how I feel. The State should recommend the the non-use of drugs IMO. No jail. Affordable rehab for anyone who wishes rehab. Release users from jails and scrub their records of drug violations. Allow pharmacies to sell all drugs with a prescription from the Doc.

Am I worthy of scorn?

[Nye Bevan]

1. Why not make pot exactly like tobacco? (nt)

[salinen]

5. Cuz it's not

I've smoked both. Tobacco gives you a little speed rush, but not much. Good Gang gets you fucked up.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. yes it is non-addictive and much safer to use.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. pot is WAY fucking easier to quit, and better for you.

it simply is.

[Fumesucker]

2. No problem, just do it for alcohol and tobacco too and I'm down with it.. n/t

[tridim]

3. Americans want it legal.

I agree, Cannabis should be 100% legal. It's a beneficial herb.

All I want is to be able to grow and consume my own with no hassle.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. If you mean pot, at this point stopping at decriminalization is like DADT.

i.e. the wrong solution. Legalize and regulate, just like other like drugs.

[salinen]

8. I like

decriminalize and regulate. We're not that far apart.

[WillyT]

14. Question: *Hand Raised*

How do you regulate it, if you don't legalize it?

I mean... think about booze, and the dangers of bathtub gin. I realize booze is far more dangerous than pot, but I like being able to decide whether I want 190/151/101/100/80 proof booze, or stout ales or light pilsners.

Wouldn't you have to legalize pot to get truth in advertising... let alone pricing?

Just wondering.

:hi:

:shrug:

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Some drugs are actually good when used sensibly.

[ixion]

7. Legalize it. Period.

It's not your place (or anyone's) to dictate the lifestyle choices of others.

[salinen]

10. If either approach is taken

nobody's lifestyle is in question.

[msongs]

12. of course it is, you are segregating users into a separate class apart from legal people nt

[aquart]

9. Wussy.

But corrupt doctors thank you for the increase in income.

[salinen]

11. I don't think

the Docs that give out cards are all corrupt. Some are really good people.

[Capitalocracy]

13. The state does "discourage" legal alcohol and tobacco use

They pay for awareness campaigns for those, but they're legal. Can't they do the same for currently illegal drugs?

[RainDog]

15. if you want to be able to step down from the drug war - the fed can decriminalize

and states can legalize.

then the feds can eventually legalize too.

if the federal govt. decriminalized (that's the bill that is stuck in House that the asshole, Lamar Smith, vowed will never get a hearing) then the DEA, etc. could move on to other issues.

Since so many of our so-called representatives have their heads in their asses on this issue - removing the federal govt's involvement in cannabis as a criminal issue would greatly improve the current status quo.

States and counties could create regulations on the way in which legal cannabis is handled in their areas.

Those states that chose to remain "dry" would be like those places that still exist that are "dry" in regard to alcohol sales. But no one would be a criminal for choosing to use cannabis products.

[Sparkly]

17. I almost agree.

I think there should be distinctions between drug classifications. Heroin and meth, for instance, are generally much more devastating to lives than pot. I'm not sure where other drugs would fall on that scale, but those are two extremes to make the point. For clarity, I'll say "hard drugs" vs. "pot."

Decriminalize -- I agree, except maybe for distribution of some drugs (which the pharmacy suggestion could solve) and maybe some forms of endangering a minor by introducing them to hard drugs, whether by coercion or even persuasion.

Don't Legalize -- I agree about not legalizing sales of hard drugs. But I don't see any reason not to legalize pot -- something people can grow and enjoy on their own anyway, with no risks to society greater than tobacco, alcohol or firearms for that matter.

Affordable rehab -- I would go as far as FREE rehab. The money saved on courts and jails would cover residential programs, and states already do provide them.

Jail -- Agree there, too, for use and addiction. It's a ridiculous misuse of judicial and penal systems, wastes money, and is largely ineffective to boot! For any acts that remained criminal (as above, i.e. pushing), jail would make some sense.

Allow pharmacies to sell drugs with prescription -- yes, for addicts. "Medical marijuana" shouldn't require a prescription, in my opinion -- there shouldn't be such a thing. Opiates are already available with prescriptions, though.

I think -- I don't know, I just think -- that if The State (the government) really didn't want illegal drugs in this country, they could have done quite a lot that they haven't... to the point that I find it hard to believe that at some point along the way at least, there hasn't been some complicity. This is one of my tinfoil hats. (Who has the hard-drug epidemic benefitted, and who has it harmed; where are poppies grown in massive quantities, for example, and what dealings does the US have there...)

We are SO far from decriminalization, and treating addiction as an illness, that we're now seeing this battle about government drug testing as a qualification for assistance!! So this train is still going backwards.

Because of the limitations of the laws we have now, I support something that may sound awful at first. I believe that heroin addicts, like other mentally ill people, should be able to be restrained or "committed" (or as it is now, arrested and jailed if nothing else, unfortunately), for the same reasons. If it's legal to intervene when people are suicidal, it should be legal to intervene if people are playing Russian roulette with needles. As it is, society says they are "making a choice" and deserve whatever happens to them.

::Removing tinfoil hat and stepping off the soapbox:: :hi:

[salinen]

18. We're

very close. Thanks for the thoughts.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. legalize, regulate, and TAX pot.

any other approach to pot doesnt make sense.

[Name removed]

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