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Legalize Cannabis

I want to make sure I get this right. Are talking about marijuana being illegal or having it illegal to drive while high?

I don't want to go over that whole thread again, but in summary...

The main reason weed is illegal right now is because supposedly it is dangerous to drive while high. The problem with making DUI laws similar to the alcohol laws is, the stuff stays in your system for weeks (or even months) after it is used. So you can be stone cold sober and test positive just because you smoked some a month ago.

Anyway, in the last thread where this was debated many studies were posted showing that police officers and drivers ed instructors were unable to detect any impairment to the driving of test subjects who had consumed a fairly significant amount of cannabis.

Again, I am not debating that you can smoke so much you pass out and that would obviously hinder your driving. But at the same time, when is the last time you heard about someone getting in a car crash and killing someone because they smoked a joint? And if it is such a rare and unlikely event, then there is no need to debate/write/enforce laws about it.
 
"I'm in favor of legalizing marijuana for several reasons. First, I don't believe it's more harmful than alcohol; in many ways, less. Second, by legalizing it, government can tax its sale, thereby providing us with ways to pay for public services that are now starved for revenue. Third, we don't use up scarce police and correctional resources on non-violent offenses. Fourth, we reduce the black-market premiums going to underground economies and to violence that's spread from Latin America up through central America and into Mexico. And so on..."

-Fmr. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich
 
I don't want to go over that whole thread again, but in summary...

The main reason weed is illegal right now is because supposedly it is dangerous to drive while high. The problem with making DUI laws similar to the alcohol laws is, the stuff stays in your system for weeks (or even months) after it is used. So you can be stone cold sober and test positive just because you smoked some a month ago.

Anyway, in the last thread where this was debated many studies were posted showing that police officers and drivers ed instructors were unable to detect any impairment to the driving of test subjects who had consumed a fairly significant amount of cannabis.

Again, I am not debating that you can smoke so much you pass out and that would obviously hinder your driving. But at the same time, when is the last time you heard about someone getting in a car crash and killing someone because they smoked a joint? And if it is such a rare and unlikely event, then there is no need to debate/write/enforce laws about it.

I absolutely reject the notion that driving while high should not be illegal. Absolutely. No room for debate there. Snoking and possesing marijuana should be legal and I think it is idiocy that it is not.
 
"I'm in favor of legalizing marijuana for several reasons. First, I don't believe it's more harmful than alcohol; in many ways, less. Second, by legalizing it, government can tax its sale, thereby providing us with ways to pay for public services that are now starved for revenue. Third, we don't use up scarce police and correctional resources on non-violent offenses. Fourth, we reduce the black-market premiums going to underground economies and to violence that's spread from Latin America up through central America and into Mexico. And so on..."

-Fmr. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich
 
I absolutely reject the notion that driving while high should not be illegal. Absolutely. No room for debate there. Snoking and possesing marijuana should be legal and I think it is idiocy that it is not.

I have 2 questions...

1: How did you come to this opinion? What did you base it on? You're aware that there are studies showing that cannabis use doesn't necessarily make driving more dangerous, right?

2: How will you determine who is high while driving and who is not high at that moment but was high earlier in the day?

I probably shouldn't even ask, lol. We went over all of this in that other thread already.
 
I absolutely reject the notion that driving while high should not be illegal.

I had to read this several times before I knew where you stood. It's like answering the question, "How are you doing?" with "I'm not unwell".
 
2: How will you determine who is high while driving and who is not high at that moment but was high earlier in the day?

We've been down this path before as well. If you use, you risk being busted regardless of whether you are high at that exact moment or not. There is no way to tell how recently you used, just that you have used. It's no different than getting a DUI for having narcotics in your system even though you haven't taken anything for 3 days.
 
As long as we're only putting around 1000 people per state in prison when they absolutely don't deserve to be there I guess I'm okay with it morally. I mean they're only human beings and their freedom isn't that big a deal because there are so few. As long as they arn't having their freedom impacted by paying too many taxes it all evens out in a way. Except for the people who live in prison instead of at home, working, taking care of their families.

Oh, and calling this a pothead vs non-pothead issue hurts your case.

They broke a known law so I have a hard time caring.
I can't see anyone but potheads and friends to potheads caring so much about it.
I find the exaggerations and name calling unpersuasive and counter to a pointless cause.
 
In other words, you don't care who goes to prison or what they did to end up there. You should have been born in Saudi Arabia.

No he wouldn't! Hitler's advisers were all very intelligent. He wouldn't want a guy on his side just because he's a dick.
 
We've been down this path before as well. If you use, you risk being busted regardless of whether you are high at that exact moment or not. There is no way to tell how recently you used, just that you have used. It's no different than getting a DUI for having narcotics in your system even though you haven't taken anything for 3 days.

So then you think if it gets legalized, then anyone who smokes pot should/would have to forfeit their driving privilege?

I think it's nonsense if you are saying someone who tests positive from a joint they smoked 3 weeks ago should still get a DUI just for testing positive. Especially when lots of tests have shown that smoking a joint won't even necessarily make your driving anymore dangerous at all, let alone 3 weeks later.
 
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