Legalized Marijuana and the Crime Question

[OzmO]

Sounds like a fair compromise.

I'm fine iwth it - it'll get a ton of ppl off anti-depressants.  However, if you smoke and drive, I want your ass in the same situation as if you drank and drive.  None of this "pot doesn't affect judgement" bullshit.

HOWEVER, what about the effects on us, as a nation?
Does Weed affect your IQ?

Yes- the national institute of drug abuse came to the conclusion that smoking marijuana causes cognitive impairments lasting up to 28 days after smoking marijuana.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol18N5/Cognitive.html

Now, we're already not #1 in world education rankings... far from it.  Do we really want to see what happens to our high school scores and college attendance rates if pot is legal?

It isn't because of pot. 

[240 is Back]

So just because pot is 'about as bad' as alcohol, let's legalize it?

I mean, tobacco and alcohol and every other med out there is bad - what's another 305 million daily tokes going to hurt things?

I guess the only "plus" is that we all know it'll never be legalized.  Aside from all the reasons I give and the fact you'd have to have a SERIOUS politician endorse legalization (Palin 2010 approval of lax enforcement noted).  And it would put the drug industry out of business, since ppl can grow it in their yards.  Never gonna happen.

[240 is Back]

It isn't because of pot. 

Right.  But we're not going to move from #20 (or wherever we currently are) to 15 or 10 by ADDING pot use.  More likely, we would drop, all other factors equal.

[tonymctones]

LOL 240 I had to study alot of drugs and their effects on the body both short term and long term when I was getting my psych degree...did you know that long term consistant use of pot will actually borrow holes in youre brain? crazy shit man

[240 is Back]

LOL 240 I had to study alot of drugs and their effects on the body both short term and long term when I was getting my psych degree...did you know that long term consistant use of pot will actually borrow holes in youre brain? crazy shit man

I believe it.  I know so many people who have smoked pot since high school.  They've gotten so much dumber in 15 years.  of course, nobody here who uses on a regular basis will admit it'll dulled them. 

The long-term effects upon our nation, if 100 mil americans decided to just start smoking pot tomorrow, would be insane.  Yes, alcohol and tobacco and prozac are also bad - and people using them to justify legalizing weed is silly.  It's like defending Palin's idiocy by pointing out Obama is doing a terrible job. 

[OzmO]

I believe it.  I know so many people who have smoked pot since high school.  They've gotten so much dumber in 15 years.  of course, nobody here who uses on a regular basis will admit it'll dulled them. 

The long-term effects upon our nation, if 100 mil americans decided to just start smoking pot tomorrow, would be insane.  Yes, alcohol and tobacco and prozac are also bad - and people using them to justify legalizing weed is silly.  It's like defending Palin's idiocy by pointing out Obama is doing a terrible job. 

So outlaw everything?

Everyone has there own vice.  They choose, whether its legal or not, to use it.  Making it illegal causes more problems. 

[OzmO]

Right.  But we're not going to move from #20 (or wherever we currently are) to 15 or 10 by ADDING pot use.  More likely, we would drop, all other factors equal.

Legalizing pot, if done sensibly which seems what you infer won't happen, will do nothing more than alcohol.  If we want to raise our education pot is far down on the list. 

[OzmO]

So just because pot is 'about as bad' as alcohol, let's legalize it?

I mean, tobacco and alcohol and every other med out there is bad - what's another 305 million daily tokes going to hurt things?

I guess the only "plus" is that we all know it'll never be legalized.  Aside from all the reasons I give and the fact you'd have to have a SERIOUS politician endorse legalization (Palin 2010 approval of lax enforcement noted).  And it would put the drug industry out of business, since ppl can grow it in their yards.  Never gonna happen.

It will happen,  maybe not now, or in the next 10 years, but in the next 20 for sure. 

While we are on a crusade to make these things illegal that hurt you, lets also do, pork fat, salt, refined sugar and anything made with white flour.

You really do have a few liberal tendencies 240   

[240 is Back]

It will happen,  maybe not now, or in the next 10 years, but in the next 20 for sure. 

While we are on a crusade to make these things illegal that hurt you, lets also do, pork fat, salt, refined sugar and anything made with white flour.

You really do have a few liberal tendencies 240   

If the taxpayer is going to be paying for every fatass idiot with diabetes by age 25, then yes, I'm all for either making the evils less attainable (taxes) or greater education.

[tonymctones]

I believe it.  I know so many people who have smoked pot since high school.  They've gotten so much dumber in 15 years.  of course, nobody here who uses on a regular basis will admit it'll dulled them. 

The long-term effects upon our nation, if 100 mil americans decided to just start smoking pot tomorrow, would be insane.  Yes, alcohol and tobacco and prozac are also bad - and people using them to justify legalizing weed is silly.  It's like defending Palin's idiocy by pointing out Obama is doing a terrible job. 

LOL I dont think it dulled me but I do definitely remember thinking more clearly about a month or so after I quit

or like defending obama by bringing up bush/palin/mccain... but you never do that so...

[Emmortal]

Right.  But we're not going to move from #20 (or wherever we currently are) to 15 or 10 by ADDING pot use.  More likely, we would drop, all other factors equal.

People who want to use pot use it weather it's legal or not.  The argument by people who are against legalizing it because it will become rampant is completely unfounded.  Usage would be limited to certain age restrictions, much like alcohol is.  And please show me where marijuana usage is directly linked to school performance.  I was on a plethora of drugs from acid to marijuana throughout high school and maintained a 3.9GPA.  I still smoke pot on a near daily basis to this day and fall into the top 8% income in the US.  So please again, explain to me where your logic is coming from because I don't see it.

[ToxicAvenger]

either legalize em all or make them ALL illegal

C6H12O6 is ALSO A DRUG

[Dos Equis]

 

Police: Mom Smoked Pot, Drove Off With Baby On Roof
Officers Say Infant Found Unharmed On Roadway
POSTED: 7:48 am PDT June 4, 2012
UPDATED: 8:02 am PDT June 4, 2012

Authorities in Phoenix arrested a woman who they said smoked marijuana then accidentally drove away with her 5-week-old son in a child safety seat on the roof of her car.

Officer James Holmes, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, said the infant fell off the moving vehicle and landed in the middle of a roadway. Officials with the Phoenix Fire Department found the baby unharmed and took him to an area hospital as a precaution, the Arizona Republic reported.

According to the newspaper, Holmes said the baby's mother, 19-year-old Catalina Clouser, was booked on child-abuse and aggravated DUI charges after she returned to the scene. 

Holmes said Clouser had apparently been smoking marijuana with her boyfriend at a nearby park prior to the incident and went to a friend's house where she admitted to smoking more pot.

Holmes told the Republic that Clouser left the house with the baby asleep in the car seat and realized the baby was missing when she reached home.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Clouser was released from custody with electronic monitoring. It was unclear if she posted bail.

The child is said to be in good condition and in the custody of Child Protective Services.

To read the original story click here.

http://www.turnto23.com/news/31150747/detail.html

[OzmO]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/nyregion/mayor-supports-plan-to-change-marijuana-arrest-policy.html?_r=1&hp

Bloomberg Backs Plan to Limit Arrests for Marijuana
By THOMAS KAPLAN
Published: June 4, 2012

ALBANY — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Monday that he would support a proposal by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to significantly curb the number of people who could be arrested for marijuana possession as a result of police stops.
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Mr. Cuomo urged lawmakers on Monday to change state law to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view, an offense that critics say leads to unfair charges against thousands of people who are ordered to empty their pockets during police stops that have proliferated under the Bloomberg administration's stop-and-frisk practice.

Mr. Bloomberg, whose administration had previously defended low-level marijuana arrests as a way to deter more serious crime, said in a statement that the governor’s proposal “strikes the right balance” in part because it would still allow the police to arrest people who were smoking marijuana in public.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, announced his plans to seek the change in state law at a news conference at the Capitol on Monday. The governor said he would seek to downgrade the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana in public view from a misdemeanor to a violation, with a maximum fine of $100 for first-time offenders.

The New York City police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, attended the news conference as a way of demonstrating the city’s support for Mr. Cuomo’s proposal. Echoing the mayor, he described the governor’s proposal as a “balanced approach.”

Mr. Kelly noted that when he had been asked in the past about the city’s high number of marijuana arrests, he responded that people unhappy with the arrests should lobby the Legislature to change state law, which he called a better option “than having police officers, New York City police officers, turn a blind eye to the law as it was written and as it is still written.”

“This law will make certain that the confusion in this situation will be eliminated,” he said, adding, “Quite frankly, it will make the application of this law much clearer.”

Mr. Cuomo’s proposal followed a memorandum to officers that Mr. Kelly issued in September clarifying that they were not to arrest people who take small amounts of marijuana out of their pockets after being stopped by the police. Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Kelly said the governor’s proposal was consistent with the city’s directive.

Mr. Cuomo said changing the law was a better approach in the long term, saying, “I think it puts the police in an awkward position to tell them: enforce some laws, don’t enforce other laws.”

“This is nice and clean: change the law, period,” the governor added.

Critics of the Police Department’s marijuana-arrest policies have complained that Mr. Kelly’s memorandum has had little effect. But a city spokesman said that since the commissioner’s memorandum the number of low-level marijuana arrests has fallen by nearly a quarter.

[Roger Bacon]

Very interested to see how the vote turns out. 

Legalized Marijuana and the Crime Question

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!

You're nuts! 

[Soul Crusher]

I totally agree with this.   Cuomo has long exceeded my expectations so far.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/nyregion/mayor-supports-plan-to-change-marijuana-arrest-policy.html?_r=1&hp

Bloomberg Backs Plan to Limit Arrests for Marijuana
By THOMAS KAPLAN
Published: June 4, 2012

ALBANY — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Monday that he would support a proposal by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to significantly curb the number of people who could be arrested for marijuana possession as a result of police stops.
Connect with NYTMetro
Metro Twitter Logo.

Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation.

Mr. Cuomo urged lawmakers on Monday to change state law to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view, an offense that critics say leads to unfair charges against thousands of people who are ordered to empty their pockets during police stops that have proliferated under the Bloomberg administration's stop-and-frisk practice.

Mr. Bloomberg, whose administration had previously defended low-level marijuana arrests as a way to deter more serious crime, said in a statement that the governor’s proposal “strikes the right balance” in part because it would still allow the police to arrest people who were smoking marijuana in public.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, announced his plans to seek the change in state law at a news conference at the Capitol on Monday. The governor said he would seek to downgrade the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana in public view from a misdemeanor to a violation, with a maximum fine of $100 for first-time offenders.

The New York City police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, attended the news conference as a way of demonstrating the city’s support for Mr. Cuomo’s proposal. Echoing the mayor, he described the governor’s proposal as a “balanced approach.”

Mr. Kelly noted that when he had been asked in the past about the city’s high number of marijuana arrests, he responded that people unhappy with the arrests should lobby the Legislature to change state law, which he called a better option “than having police officers, New York City police officers, turn a blind eye to the law as it was written and as it is still written.”

“This law will make certain that the confusion in this situation will be eliminated,” he said, adding, “Quite frankly, it will make the application of this law much clearer.”

Mr. Cuomo’s proposal followed a memorandum to officers that Mr. Kelly issued in September clarifying that they were not to arrest people who take small amounts of marijuana out of their pockets after being stopped by the police. Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Kelly said the governor’s proposal was consistent with the city’s directive.

Mr. Cuomo said changing the law was a better approach in the long term, saying, “I think it puts the police in an awkward position to tell them: enforce some laws, don’t enforce other laws.”

“This is nice and clean: change the law, period,” the governor added.

Critics of the Police Department’s marijuana-arrest policies have complained that Mr. Kelly’s memorandum has had little effect. But a city spokesman said that since the commissioner’s memorandum the number of low-level marijuana arrests has fallen by nearly a quarter.

[Roger Bacon]

we will never get rid of the cartels

Funny, I haven't heard anything from Al Capone since prohibition ended.  They will find something new, but nothing remotely as profitable.

[Dos Equis]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!

You're nuts! 

Uh, okay. 

[Dos Equis]

I wonder if it will get this cheap in Colorado and Washington? 

Uruguay Will Sell Legal Marijuana For $1 Per Gram, Official Says
10/21/13

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay's drug czar says the country plans to sell legal marijuana for $1 per gram, though he's given higher figures in the past.

A law already passed in the lower house of Congress and expected to pass in the Senate later this year would make Uruguay the first country in the world to license and enforce rules for the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for adult consumers.

The El Pais newspaper reported Sunday that drug chief Julio Calzada says marijuana sales should start in the second half of 2014 at a price of $1.

He says the idea isn't to make money, but to wrench the market away from illegal dealers. Calzada said in August that the price would be around $2.5 per gram.

Sales are for locals only.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/21/uruguay-marijuana-1-per-gram_n_4137179.html

[whork]

Funny, I haven't heard anything from Al Capone since prohibition ended.  They will find something new, but nothing remotely as profitable.

+1

[Dos Equis]

Poll: Clear majority support legalizing marijuana for the first time
Posted by
CNN's Bryan Koenig

(CNN) - More Americans think that marijuana should be legalized than those who want it kept illegal, according to a new poll.

According to the Gallup poll, 58% say that pot should be legalized, the first time in Gallup polling that a clear majority favor the move. Thirty-nine percent oppose legalization.

The 58% in favor of legalization is far removed from the 12% who said the same thing when Gallup first started asking in 1969, and it's up 10 percentage points since last November. The increase comes after a slight dip from when those supporting legalization first hit half the survey population, 50%, in 2011.

CNN's Sanjay Gupta: Why I changed my mind on weed

The survey attributes much of the pro-marijuana momentum to public referendums last year in Colorado and Washington state that made pot legal. Among those surveyed, 38% admitted to having tried the drug themselves.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the Department of Justice will not seek to block the Colorado and Washington laws.

Federal enforcement of marijuana laws in the so-called "War on Drugs" has declined under the Obama administration. Justice has issued guidelines to federal prosecutors telling them to no longer pursue mandatory-minimum sentences against low-level nonviolent drug offenders.

Most support for legalization comes from Democrats, 65%, and Independents, 62%. About one in three Republicans, 35%, agreed. The younger the respondent, the more likely they were to favor legalization: 67% for 18 to 29 year-olds compared to 62% for those 30 to 49. and 56% for those between 50 and 64. Only those 65 and older reported less than half in favor of legalizing marijuana, at 45%.

The Gallup poll was conducted October 3-6, with 1,208 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/22/poll-clear-majority-support-legalizing-marijuana-for-the-first-time/?hpt=po_c2

[Roger Bacon]

This is the kind of thing the Republicans need to get their act together on. 

Telling consenting adults they can't consume certain harmless natural substances. 

[Dos Equis]

Smoking Marijuana May Cause Men to Grow Breasts
Thursday, 05 Dec 2013
By Courtney Coren

Smoking marijuana may cause gynecomastia, also known as man boobs, according to plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn.

Gynecomastia can occur when a man has more estrogen in his body than testosterone, which can result in the development of more breast tissue than what is typical in most men, Youn explains in an editorial he wrote for CNN.

The active ingredient cannabis has been shown to decrease the testosterone levels in animals, creating an imbalance in the ratio of testosterone to estrogen. This also causes testicles to shrink and abnormalities to develop as well as affects how sperm functions.

This may not necessarily be the case in humans. However, some studies have shown that chronic marijuana users do have lower testosterone levels than nonusers.

A study done in 1972 did show a link between pot smoking and gynecomastia, while a 1977 study did not. However, the Michigan plastic surgeon notes that the 1977 study suffered from a small sample size and may not be very accurate.

"The legalization of marijuana is some state[s ] could make it easier for researchers to determine the exact effects of cannabis use on hormone levels, gynecomastia and other bodily functions," Youn explains. "If a true link between smoking pot and gynecomastia does exist, then we should expect to see a spike in gynecomastia treatments in those states which have legalized marijuana."

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there was a 30 percent increase in the number of men undergoing plastic surgery to correct gynecomastia from 2011 to 2012.

Youn concludes smoking pot "probably" can give someone man boobs even though more studies are still needed to prove the connection.

He added that it has become routine for himself and the majority of other plastic surgeons he has talked to to ask gynecomastia patients if they smoke pot, and if so, "it's probably best to put out that joint."

http://www.newsmax.com/US/marijuana-smoking-man-breasts/2013/12/05/id/540239#ixzz2mePG90hQ

[RRKore]

Smoking Marijuana May Cause Men to Grow Breasts
Thursday, 05 Dec 2013
By Courtney Coren

Smoking marijuana may cause gynecomastia, also known as man boobs, according to plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn.

Gynecomastia can occur when a man has more estrogen in his body than testosterone, which can result in the development of more breast tissue than what is typical in most men, Youn explains in an editorial he wrote for CNN.

The active ingredient cannabis has been shown to decrease the testosterone levels in animals, creating an imbalance in the ratio of testosterone to estrogen. This also causes testicles to shrink and abnormalities to develop as well as affects how sperm functions.

This may not necessarily be the case in humans. However, some studies have shown that chronic marijuana users do have lower testosterone levels than nonusers.

A study done in 1972 did show a link between pot smoking and gynecomastia, while a 1977 study did not. However, the Michigan plastic surgeon notes that the 1977 study suffered from a small sample size and may not be very accurate.

"The legalization of marijuana is some state could make it easier for researchers to determine the exact effects of cannabis use on hormone levels, gynecomastia and other bodily functions," Youn explains. "If a true link between smoking pot and gynecomastia does exist, then we should expect to see a spike in gynecomastia treatments in those states which have legalized marijuana."

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there was a 30 percent increase in the number of men undergoing plastic surgery to correct gynecomastia from 2011 to 2012.

Youn concludes smoking pot "probably" can give someone man boobs even though more studies are still needed to prove the connection.

He added that it has become routine for himself and the majority of other plastic surgeons he has talked to to ask gynecomastia patients if they smoke pot, and if so, "it's probably best to put out that joint."

http://www.newsmax.com/US/marijuana-smoking-man-breasts/2013/12/05/id/540239#ixzz2mePG90hQ

Is anyone here on getbig seriously worried about the pot-related lowered testosterone of the general populace? (Cuz it won't be happening to any getbigger who is hormonized no matter how much one smokes.)

So because of pot, a bunch of guys will be even less muscular compared to me than they are now?  Cool!

[240 is Back]

you know the problem?  I'll tell you the problem.  I dont give a shit if ppl do it in their homes

BUT they won't.  No, people are inherently selfish idiots.  They'll smoke and drive.  They'll do it on the streets so I have to smell it.  They'll do it then shoot an old man on their lawn and blame anything but their own anger.

I'm 100% fine with legalizing pot.  BUT if you get high and you drive, guess what, you lose your license for a year, no exceptions.  Cause just like every other jackass drinking & driving or racing or whatever, you are endangering others.

if you handle a gun while high, boom, you lose abilitty to own them.  If you are going to get stoned, cool, but the minute you become a danger with a car or gun, they need to throw the book at you.

Once you legalize, you have this punks coming out with "but but but weed is better than alcohol, we should be able to drive..."  and   "I have a permit, I can go to the gun range stoned, it's my right.

People can't just get high at home.  They have to take that show on the road and endanger others.  Fuck them.  That's why they'll never have national legalization - cause they're too fcking stupid to just keep that shit in the house.  They'll be smoking that shit at red lights, grinning about it.