Put it on the ballot and let the people decide!

Findings of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse include:
- “No significant physical, biochemical, or mental abnormalities could be attributed solely to their
marihuana smoking.” (National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, “Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding; First Report, Washington, DC, U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1972, p. 61)
- “No valid stereotype of a marihuana user or non-user can be drawn.” (p. 36)
- “Young people who choose to experiment with marihuana are fundamentally the same people, socially and psychologically, as those who use alcohol and tobacco.” (p. 42)
- “No verification is found of a causal relationship between marihuana use and subsequent heroin use.”(p. 88)
- “Most users, young and old, demonstrate an average or above-average degree of social functioning, academic achievement, and job performance.” (p. 96)
- “In sum, the weight of the evidence is that marihuana does not cause violent or aggressive behavior; if anything marihuana serves to inhibit the expression of such behavior.” (p. 73)
- “In short marihuana is not generally viewed by participants in the criminal justice community as a major contributing influence in the commission of delinquent or criminal acts.” (p. 75)
- “Neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety.” (p. 78)
- “Recent research has not yet proven that marihuana use significantly impairs driving ability or
performance.” (p. 79)
- “No reliable evidence exists indicating that marihuana causes genetic defects in man.” (p. 84)
- “Marihuana's relative potential for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it.” (p. 130)

So I ask the author of this article, the doctors mentioned in it, and everyone else who is against marijuana use to do some research for not only your benefit, but for everyone else’s as well. Maybe then we won’t have all of the problems we are having today.

Cannabis is probably about as close to a wonder drug as it gets. It will alleviate pain, cure nausea, and despite what the propaganda machines of the War on Drugs say, in small doses it has shown to actually improve cognition. These claims alone warrant much more impartial research to legitimize the science behind cannabis.
I’m curious as to if the author of this article or this doctor have read the 1972 Shafer report. Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970, which was a report on marijuana and other drugs and recommends appropriate drug policies. Well Congress acknowledged that it lacked reliable information on the effects of marijuana in particular and wanted the commission to advise it on where to place it in the Controlled Substances Act as well as on other marijuana policies. Well President Nixon appointed Governor Raymond P. Shafer to head the commission. This was known as the Shafer report. It is to this day the most extensive and comprehensive examination of marijuana ever performed in the United States.
”They recorded thousands of pages of transcripts of formal and informal hearings, solicited all points of view, including those of public officials, community leaders, professional experts and students. They commissioned a nationwide survey of public beliefs, information and experience. In addition, they conducted separate surveys of opinion among district attorneys, judges, probation officers, clinicians, university health officials and “free clinic” personnel. They commissioned more than 50 projects, ranging from a study of the effects of marijuana on man to a field survey of enforcement of the marijuana laws in six metropolitan jurisdictions.”
The DAY before the report was set to be released Richard Nixon was recorded saying on declassified Oval Office tapes, “We need, and I use the word ‘all out war,’ or all fronts . . .have to attack on all fronts.” One year after Nixon’s “all out war” marijuana arrests jumped from 100,000 to 420,700 people. You know what though? The commission recommended marijuana offense not to be a crime, nearly 15 million people have been arrested since.

Legalization in general would make our border wars and other drug-related violence disappear. Mexican traffickers couldn't compete with a competitive American market. But, knowing our government, exclusive rights to production/distribution would probably be given to corporations to eliminate competition and drive up prices & profits, which would keep the black market in full swing.

I don't advocate the use of drugs, but I do advocate personal liberties & the removal of government intervention. Drug addiction should be treated as an illness, not a crime. But once you remove the criminality from drug use, you eliminate another government racket -- the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, the incentive for the government to tax & regulate drugs does not outweigh its desire to create criminals and keep the (private) jails filled to capacity.

Con's??? What con's Cannabis is safer than water you can overdose and die with water no one will ever overdose on marijuana ever promise. Also people get addicted to anything especially percription pills try taking oxycotton or even coffee for that matter away from someone who has to have thier pill or cup in the morning and then tell me marijuana is addicting. The other alternatives do not work for everyone and have negative side effects not the case with cannabis. When you take the crime out of it no longer will it have its thrill also it takes the money out the hands of the "drug" lords and in the hands of taxpayers. Lets all vaporize and save our lungs, health and children. When 17 I could not get my hands on a beer to save my life yet, marijuana was a text message away not that I smoked then but I knew it was there same with your kids I promise. Legalize, Educate, Regulate and in turn provide a safer environment in wich to aquire the most useful flower in the world.

I agree with you family man,
legalize it. More than half of the prison poulation is in there for marj. The feds make 40 thou a year for every inmate thats there. and even more if they need med or constant medical treatment. The prisons would not be overcrowded, We could save money on the housing of them, the drug cartels wouldnt be making all of those millions the government would be.I personally would rather see alocohol banned and marj legalized. I have never heard of someone dieing over smoking to much marj, but I hear all the time about alcohol poisining.

P.S. When was the last time you have heard of someone overdosing on cannabis? NEVER! I have heard you would have to ingest over 1 pound to come close to overdosing.
The Dr. said "even a small amount can slow a person's decision-making process. That's why marijuana is not legalized". What about booze? It is stronger than even a small amount can slow a person's decision-making process.

"That's why marijuana is not legalized

Make it legal like alcohol and sell it in packs. By doing this you hit the pocket books of the cartels and put them in a bind! Cannabis is NOT habitual. In my younger years I smoked it for two years, daily and quit with no problems! It calmed me down and fixed an upset stomach. It is a natural plant that God makes. The medical community already uses Cocaine in their business and opium so why not use cannabis to its full potiental. There are many more uses than to get high. I say make it legal and tax the heck out of it and use that moneies to fight the real crime in the area. At a $20 profit per pack that is millions in Victoria alone. That would pay for overpasses, street repair and many other things that the taxpayer is now paying for these days. There is a gold mine in making it legal. It is no worse than alcohol. In fact there are more motor vehicle accidents due to alcohol than cannabis. Think about it! There are several states that have decriminalized cannabis and things are working out just fine. Alaska is one state to look at. I NO LONGER SMOKE CANNABIS! (37 yrs dry)

What dangers? Does Yahagi have any proof? Because the AMA fought outlawing cannabis until Harry Anslinger started having doctors arrested after they defended this wonderful plant, causing them to drop their support of this medicine. Recently however they have renewed their interest in having tests done to show it's validity as an all-natural medicine, as opposed to the synthetic chemicals Big Pharma creates in labs.

It's not a war on (some) drugs it's a war on minorities to replace outlawed slave labor with prison labor, read http://tinyurl.com/1mn

"Well, there it was, you didn't have to look another foot as you went from state to state right on the floor of the state legislature. And so what was the genesis for the early state marijuana laws in the Rocky Mountain and southwestern areas of this country? It wasn't hostility to the drug, it was hostility to the newly arrived Mexican community that used it."