"Snow Bell" <snowbell182@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:481116ee$0$13095$6c5eefc5@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> My father, a healthcare professional and longtime sufferer of severe
> arthritis, used to say marijuana should be legalized for medicinal
> purposes; while there is certainly a need for legal prescription
> painkillers, I believe marijuana should be the last resort; But my stand
> in keeping marijuana illegal is focused on those who have been clamoring
> for decades to make it legal for personal recreational use, to be sold
and
> available in a manner not much different from tobacco. No, it shouldn't
> be.
>
> My first stand against legalizing marijuana is I do not wish to "get
high"
> from someone else's pot smoke-- if you smoke around others, they will
get
> a contact buzz, whether they want to or not. That's not okay; it is not
> okay at all. My second main issue is I'd no more appreciate being killed
> or maimed by someone driving under the influence of pot than by a
drunken
> driver-- and while regulating alcohol limits is difficult enough, trying
> to do the same with marijuana would be virtually impossible, for
everyone
> reacts to it differently, to a different degree, as well as the potency
of
> the drug itself varying. No, I don't want to get "stoned" from someone's
> "personal choice," nor do I want to end up as a casualty from a vehicle
> driven by someone under-the-influence.
>
> Other factors cannot be overlooked either. First, for the past couple of
> decades it's been re****ted that nearly everyone who becomes involved
with
> so-called hard drugs began their experimentation with marijuana. In
> addition to the addictive nature, I suppose those who believe it is okay
> to break the law, abuse their bodies, and put others in danger from the
> effects of pot don't really see much difference between marijuana and
> substances like meth and heroin. From an entirely different perspective,
I
> don't see much difference either.
>
> Second, although it has not yet been infallibly proven, enough research
> studies have concluded that marijuana use in youth causes some degree of
> chromosome damage which even years on down the line significantly
increase
> their offspring's chances of developing childhood leukemia. Although not
> conclusive, the risk is too much.
Snow Bell,
One of your primary positions stands on pretty soft ground. The idea that
a
recreational marijuana user cannot partake without infringing on the
rights
of others is ludicrous. Perhaps you should campaign against the pollution
produced by millions of automobiles that contamiate the air we all breath.
I
don't see you calling for the prohibition of cars. If I smoke a joint in
my
house or outdoors in private, I am not affecting anyone in any way except
myself.
Life is full of risks. You cant regulate every aspect of peoples lives
because they might make some poor choices. So likewise, you can't make
everything illegal because an irrisponsible person might make a mistake.
Whether they be driving drunk or high or tired or even after taking some
cold medicine to relieve their cold symptoms. If you want to live in a
world where your entire exisitence is orchestrated so that any potential
for
danger is eliminated, then the USA is probably not the place for you.
I'll take freewill and personal responsibility for one's mistakes any day.
Philip
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