(What if it were legal?)
NPR came up with a hypothetical scenario and asked experts to play along, commenting on their imagined outcomes. The scenario: Marijuana has been legal for two years throughout the U.S. It is treated, in the eyes of the law, similar to alcohol. It is taxed and regulated, and users must be 21 or older.
Pot smokers can buy it by the gram at licensed dispensaries. Predictably, the law change would make some people very happy — and others deeply concerned.
Link to the articleThis was probably one of the more in depth analysis of pot, and its effect on society. Here is the quick and dirty for those who don't wanna read.
1) A lot of Willie Nelson's friends will be out of a job.
2) The curious will try it. And perhaps even like it?
3) People don't feel guilty because they aren't contributing to the cartels.
4) The cartels are still in business
5) People with chronic pain diseases are grinning ear to ear.
6) Pressure on the prison system, and the number of arrests drop 45%
7) Farmers struggling to make ends meet scramble to pay the $1000 license to legally grow
8) A lot more people will smoke now that it's legal.
What do you guys think? Should marijuana be legalized already?
Comments (68)
i'd seriously invest in FABREEZE.
Less tourists in Amsterdam!
the world would become a better place! i live in the new-york metro area and boy are people stressed!!!!! there would be nothing like coming home and hittng a bong after a long day at work! and you can drive high way better than intoxicated from alcohol.
Why not? I still don't see the harm in it. As long as people do it in moderation, there isn't a problem. There will always be alcoholics, though, so there will probably be (more) marijuana addicts if it is legalized, but even so, it'll never be as harmful as alcohol.
Even if it was legalized, I wouldn't smoke it.
@TheBigShowAtUD@xanga - you got the right idea.
the world would be a much better, lazier place
Why not?
we'd all be smokin that shit brotha.
Ah, NPR, I love you.
@xDark_horizonx@xanga - I wouldn't, either.
@MeStripped3@xanga - right...
Friends wouldn't be so nervous!
SO many people would have jobs and I've always wanted to open up a hemp/pot shop! We NEED jobs NOW not later. so why wait? and its wayyyyy better than alcohol.
The world would be a better place.
@Papilio_machaon@xanga - Nowadays, it is legal to carry less than 3 ounces or something, but you cannot smoke in the cafes anymore. So, if you were planning to go there... you're a year too late.
It solves all the worlds problems!
:P
this article was not an in depth analysis at all. It was just idle speculation with very little to back up any of its assertions. It's certainly an interesting hypothetical experiment but I see no reason to believe that the writers have any idea what they are talking about.
It's also got a fear mongering aspect to it. Casual references to emergency room visits and risks to the young that are not substantiated by any significant evidence.
But even if everything that article said is true, it doesn't matter.
Marijuana should be legalized if only for the simple fact that it's an ATROCITY that kids all over the country are serving time for a crime that our last three Presidents have all blatantly admitted to having committed in their youth. That's an abomination. It's the worse kind of class based double standard that says if you're smart enough, rich enough, or otherwise run with the "elites" you're allowed to get away with something while the poor folks, especially poor blacks and hispanics can get their lives permanently screwed up for the same mistake.
No nation can call itself JUST while hypocrisy like that exists.
There's always going to be downfalls to anything that happens, so it won't make the world perfect or anything, but it'd be a hell of lot more peaceful!
There'd be alot more happier people in the world. =DEven though I am not a fan at all about weed, I don't think it should be illegal. Yes it turns people who use it too often into nothing losers, but that's what they deserve. I think it should be legalized mostly to stop the insane about of arrests. I've had two friends get arrested and gone away for at least up to a year simply cuz they had pot and everyone thinks like its some horrible thing.
Sorry I started to rant a bit. In short Yes, and that scenario seems pretty accurate .
Marijuana is legal in Michigan, for medical purposes (which is why I think everyone should vote during elections). And it's only a matter of time until the government wisens up and legalizes it completely. It's ridiculous that cigarettes are legal and marijuana isn't.
Of course it should be legal. People should have the right to do what they want to themselves.
If you're allowed to buy and consume alcohol, it doesn't make sense to be denied the right to buy and consume marijuana.
I know of more lives damaged by alcohol than by pot (even though marijuana is supposedly easy to get, despite its illegality).
It wouldn't be so hard to find a job because a good percent of people would be too busy at home getting high off their asses! That's a very good idea.
If marijuana were legal I'd probably get around to smoking it. My only problem with it is that it is illegal and I don't do illegal things.
If it's legalized, I'd smoke it to boost the economy.
i'd be in heaven :)
I have better things to do than getting high. At least if the government legalizes it, they can control and put a tax on it. It still amazes me how many people just HAVE to have their pack of cigs, despite the recession and how expensive they are to begin with. But I bet these people are seriously trying to help the economy (while polluting the environment). You go guys!