Originally Posted by
Wendy1967 
I'm ready for the firing squad here by voicing my opinion.
#1. At one time, ALCHOHOL was illegal. Remember learning about Prohibition? People were morally opposed to the use of alcohol, criminalized those who imbibed, and drove the production, sales, and consumption of it underground. It was a holy mess and lots of people got hurt or killed because of it's illegality.
The same is happening with the drug war now. Amsterdam has virtually no crime because of their leniency to "moral crimes", such as soft drug use and prostitution. We could definitely take a lesson from them.
#2. I would much rather be around someone who smokes pot than someone who drinks any day. I have never seen anyone high on pot want to beat the tar out of someone or get into an uncontrollable rage. Stoners are usually pretty laid back and the most they'll do is take your last twinkie.
#3. As with any drug or alcohol, moderation is the key and some people, regardless of their drug of choice will use it excessively and end up having a big problem.
Hi Wendy, and I agree.
I grew up in the 50's and 60's when pretty much everybody smoked pot, and when pot was pretty mild stuff. I grew my own and smoked that, and I barely felt a high from doing it. It was just fun, and I still love the smell of weed.
The "new weed" scares me with its potency. I took one hit in 1994 and was stoned for 2 days. That shocked me! I don't know if all of it is strong these days -- my guess is that it varies according to which hybrid is being smoked.
I do think some people can smoke weed responsibly, just like some people can drink responsibly.
I don't think we should criminalize all mind-altering substances. I do think addicts should not be smoking pot to ease their withdrawals from their DOC.
I don't usually post on the friends and family sections, because I am in recovery from opiates after ortho surgery, but I've seen the addiction problem from both sides of the coin.
I think that people with substance problems have enough problems on their hands trying to get off them, without becoming felons at the same time. In my personal experience, people will use substances whether they are legal or not.
My only point here is that, like Wendy, I do think that "weed Prohibition" will only drive the users to seedy places to buy it, and will make criminals out of non-violent, peaceful people, many of whom are not addicts at all.
JMHO
FT