Elvis is on the right? OK, good. So, not the left then. That guy on the right is Elvis. Got it.
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Look we can all agree hippies are horrible, but I totally agree we should legalize everything. Though THIS is a pipe dream:
ideally, he says, by legalizing everything and selling it in state-run dope stores that could adjust prices dynamically to make it too cheap to sustain a black market, but expensive enough to deter overindulgence
Yeah, no, you really canât do both. At least not with the cheap to make drugs. And expensive enough to deter overindulgence NEVER works. Poor people just wonât eat, or hock their TV, or not feed their kid. So letâs get rid of that idea.
I say legalize it. A seller has to disclose purity, dosing guidelines, and disclaimer about how bad said drug is for you, as well as an addiction help line pamphlet. Then sell away. We all have our vices, the war on drug just makes it more likely you will die doing drugs and/or end up in jail. Does nothing to stop, and little to deter or discourage use.
The pharama companies should be all over it. They would make a mint selling oxicontin to recreation users. They are paying like 10x their cost on the grey market.
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Evidently some people cant understand that basic point.
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Well, not without context!
Rednecks, Jethros, RWNs, irresponsible gun nuts, Trump supporters, and Fundamentalist religious types are FAR worse and more damaging to society.
But as a civilized adult I realize that itâs inappropriate and wrong to declare war on them, theyâre just broken and confused after all. We should be healing them instead.
Honestly, theyâre the ones who need weed the mostâŚpoor grouchy things.
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is this a riddle?
If income inequality is one of the levers to be moved, then hell yes.
So if someone [especially a white guy] ridicules you for saying so, is that really a sign that your off the mark, or maybe that youâre close to hitting it?
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Agreed. There should be no laws concerning marijuana. Let everyone grow it in their front yard and treat it like the harmless plant that it is.
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Well, time for me to go into hiding. Itâs been real, everyone.
(leaves while a sound like the horn of Helm Hammerhand* is heard from the other room)
*actual description used by my wife
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Thatâs hilarious!
And both you and those hippies that are a bit too attached to patchouli are welcome just so you give a bit of warning first 
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To be fair, rich addicts board their kids and have therapists, nannies, and fancy lawyers so they donât look so shabby to you, as well as the capacity to doctor shop and have their insurance pay for their habits - and they still go broke and die just like the poors do - just less often.
Poor people behave just like rich people, just with fewer options.
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WMDs in the war on hippies
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Well I went in the other room!
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Whoa whoa whoa. While I am all for weed for all, I caution about âtotally harmlessâ.
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There have been studies that it can damage STILL DEVELOPING BRAINS. So no, you donât want to be giving kids pot brownies for desert.
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Smoking it is still putting smoke into your lungs, which we donât have all the data in on how harmful that is. It doesnât seem as bad as cigarette smoking, and one can smoke it with out long lasting effects if used in moderation, but just like drinking, chronic use may lead to health issues down the line.
That said it should be like home brewing. You can make it/grow it yourself, but if you want to sell it you need to be licensed.
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can we agree on âmostly harmlessâ
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I never meant to suggest rich people donât do drugs. They tend for the classier stuff like Opiates and Cocaine, but yeah, it can ruin lives. Though they have more resources to hide it better. Their kids arenât going with out food, and if they finally have had enough they can afford a nice rehab place.
But the point of my post was that making drugs âexpensive enough to deter overindulgenceâ is pointless. The only people that directly affects is the POOR. Rich and middle class people can afford $10, $20 packs of cigarettes with out having to give something else up.
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So does refined sugar, fast food, and many other things the FDA has said are safe in moderation. Heck, too much water will kill you. Whatâs your point?
The plant is harmless. Your chosen method of ingestion may change that. Since it would be your choice, I see no need for regulation. By the way, we donât have all the data on anything.
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If the cost of drugs isnât the deterrent, maybe we can find a better one?
Like good parenting, community, and accountability?
If only there were a leadership type we could vote for for some high office who seemed to⌠get this.
(Iâm talking about Bernie)
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I think that many black and Hispanic Americans are already aware the government has been at war with them for a while. But I agree with you completely. This was a political move by Nixon, the point of political moves is to win elections. Voter suppression isnât an accidental result of the war on drugs, it was the initial purpose of the war on drugs. How many millions have died? Nixonâs bodycount must rival Stalinâs.
I donât think âdeterrentâ is the right way to think about it. The real question is, âHow can we make peopleâs lives happy enough that they donât feel they need to use drugs to tolerate them?â Sanders definitely has the closest thing to the answer that can be found in the current presidential race (by a long way).
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If only electing the right president would encourage people to behave better.
But Iâve argued for years the current methods of âdrugs bad!â and locking people in prison is a completely non-effective method.
Not everyone take drugs because they arenât happy. Drugs feel good to take. Just like drinking can be fun. Sex can be fun. The problem is when one canât moderate it.
Eh⌠gonna say the weed has a bit more of an affect than either of those things on kids. But yes, there are many things that are unhealthy that should still be legal.
Now I assume of course you arenât saying kids should use pot. But at the same time - if it was COMPLETELY HARMLESS - why not? Because it isnât.
And I agreed that one should be able to grow it for personal use.
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Neither do I. I also think some drug use can be part of a quite happy life. Integrating families, communities, and accountability - though not probably in any sort of ongoing Bacchanalian haze.
I donât think drugs cause problems. I do think drugs lower the threshold for awful and irresponsible behavior from people who are hurting from a lack of family, community, and/or accountability.
Humility, not humiliation, is what a community should teach. Maybe we will get there, probably not by way of a war on anything though.
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Why do we think that only people who are unhappy with their lives will choose to alter their consciousness? Does the desire for âdrugsâ really differ from the desire for coffee or chocolate? What about people who choose to make an alcohol marijuana tincture to help with arthritis? Are they unhappy? Do they need anyone to step in to make their lives âhappy enoughâ?
I think that borders on a condescending view of people making their own choices for their own reasons. The idea that drugs are bad and should be discouraged is a closed minded one.
like this one - as if choosing your own state of consciousness is a bad thing that should be discouraged.
Structural differences do not equate to harm. In fact, there is nothing to suggest that it is. Take it even further using that kind of logic and you could say that not taking marijuana creates brains that are structurally different and therefore abstinence is harmful.
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