[WESTPORTMAFIA]

Originally Posted by BMEUPSCOTTY

I'm NOT advocating the use, misuse, or abuse of ANY intoxicating substance, legal or otherwise. I simply think there is a huge discrepancy in the laws relative to the cost to society attributed to their use. I don't think a week went by this summer where I didn't read about a state trooper or innocent civilian being injured (or worse) by a drunk driver. Oxycontin is "legal" when prescribed by a physician, yet it is responsible for ruining countless lives through addiction and OD deaths. Cigarettes are legal, though no one denies the serious effects on both the health of the individual and the cost to society as a public health issue. What about the costs to society by keeping MJ illegal? Assuming XX million people are going to use it anyway, (that's not a hypothetical number, XX million people are already using it illegally) by keeping it illegal, those that are (understandably) afraid or unable to produce their own or find a trusted domestically grown supply turn to whatever they can find. More often then not this is a product of inferior quality grown by Mexican cartels who care little about what chemical fertilizers or pesticides they spray on it to maximize their yield. (Not to mention the violence associated with their never-ending battle for their share of the US market, or, in the case of cartel grown weed on public land in the US, the chemicals that they inevitably spill that can find their way into our waterways) Efforts are even being made to restrict access to large sugary drinks because of their public health costs. (Childhood obesity, diabetes, etc.) I just think it's time to admit that we are NEVER going to curb the demand for MJ in the US and that it would be more helpful in the long run to treat it as a healthcare issue. I know some have expressed worry that it would send a mixed message to kids, but that horse has already left the barn. Kids aren't so stupid that they don't recognize hypocrisy when they see it. Keeping it illegal doesn't make it harder for kids to get, in fact I think it's just the opposite. I don't want my kids, your kids, or anyone else's kids smoking weed (or drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, etc.), I just think that what we are doing doesn't seem to be working...

Amen! Last sentence should read is NOT working.