Lets get a few things straight. I will be as objective as I possibly can on this issue of great concern to me, at least for the pro's and con's.

Pros as a drug:
-Marihuana is one of the most benign substances known to man. No one has EVER overdosed from it, where as people die from OD's on ibuprofen (advil) or even simple vitamins and minerals.
-The drug can be used to treat many medical conditions when otherwise untreated with marihuana can be very painful to live with. The list is large, here are some good uses: Depression, anorexia, arthritis, cancer chemotherapy, nausea, glaucoma, AIDS Wasting Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, asthma, brain injuries, and a shit ton of other things like general analgesia (pain relief).
-It has no place on the list of Schedule I drugs. Does not create dependency, has medical uses, non-harmful.
-Cannabis has a great spiritual/recreational value.
-Marihuana has not caused lung cancer in any person (possibly decreases in given studies).
-It does not create harmful/wreckless behavior while operating cars or other normally dangerous things. This is arguable, depending on the person and situation, as most things do.

Cons as a drug:
-Smoking can reduce lung efficiency (no cancer risk though).
-Some research has results suggesting an increase in predisposition to Psychosis by 2% after lifelong use of the drug. (This is widely criticized as propaganda or poor results)
-Anecdotal evidence shows "fuzzy talk" or scrambling of words during conversation after prolonged smoking.

Pros as a crop:
-Cannabis can grow very rapidly under very simple conditions (hence the "weed"). It is called a domesticated plant that is suited for easy growing and healthful use.
-Hemp can be used for biofuel.
-Hemp can make plastics.
-Hemp can make paper and textiles.
-Hemp can be added to food as an essential supplement.
-Hemp can be used as a much cleaner and healthier makeup, lip-gloss, etc.
-Hemp contains nitrogen, a very important element in growing crops as part of a healthy environment. (Thats why farmers rotate crops with soy)

Cons as a crop:
N/A

So.. Why is it illegal again? Oh, because some logging company CEO thought hemp production hurt his business, so he used the newspapers he owned to publish articles that explained how Cannabis is bad. The U.S. Congress made decisions off of this propaganda in creating the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. It is still illegal to this day, I believe for very scary reasons. Cigarette companies belong to one of the largest industries in America, how could the government harm them?! It doesn't even matter though because they are all ready to implement marihuana into their systems the MINUTE it is legalized. The other reason I believe marihuana is kept illegal is because of the culture around it. Many use marihuana and experience a new state of mind, one in which they think openly. The people in power don't want that, of course.

If the countries of the world produced hemp for paper and other listed materials, deforestation could almost end completely. The world can begin regrowing its invaluable rain forests, etc. to make a healthy environment once again.

Legalization would be a large step in solving the problem with America's "war on drugs". The "war" can never be won. A demand for drugs will never end. We should follow the Netherlands in their legalizations and end "hard drug" use as they have. The "war on drugs" is probably one of the most destructive domestic policies the U.S. has. I will go into no further detail on this matter unless asked to.

I am compelled to add one more tid-bit: I know from smoking marihuana that marihuana use can create the most important and powerful senses of community, acceptance and pleasure. It brings one of the most important senses of community and friendliness ever experienced. I know that a planet with legalized marihuana will be a pleasant place.

What do people think about marihuana? Why do we have such "Fear of a Green Planet"? Why isn't it legal? How can we legalize it? How do we combat harmful propaganda such as Above the Influence? Anything besides your complacence?

If it's true what you say, marihuana should become legal, while tobacco should become illegal (I think tobacco should be illegal anyway).

Well based on the Drug schedule, Nicotine should be the most illegal. No medicinal value, high abuse rate, and harmful (cancer).

It is a shame how so many have been scammed into believing that marihuana is as harmful as it is. I feel like I speak quite clearly and thoughtfully. I can keep up my position as captain and mvp of the soccer team while also training in mixed martial arts multiple times a week. So much for stoners being lazy unhealthy morons.

Even if weed was grown in mass quantities there would still be deforestation, people do need lumber. Also paper can be made out of any fiberous plant material.

There is more damaging health effects, however it is one of the safest drugs.

The US will still wait till' the last of cigarette addicts are dead until they see a burst of decrease in purchase of normal tobacco smoke until there is near to nil.

The majority of trees cut down is for paper pulp. If we cut that down 100% we could easily regrow the forests better than the rate we cut them down. Hemp, as I understand, is a not only a possibility for paper, but it makes better paper unlike other fibers.

Oh, I should add that it causes short term memory loss (hardly...) when smoking.

I just started it up recently, and I see no bad things about it, especially when compared to alcohol and tobacco. I know to smoke it in a place where I'm not gonna need to drive etc, so therefore, the risk is minimal.

Also, the typical stoner kid low ambition thing depends on the person. People with low ambitions and willpower who do pot will have just that, low ambitions and will power. I've heard of Valedictorians who smoked pot regularly, so it's very possible, it just depends on how 'strong' the user is.

I typically avoid topics such as this. The reason being that I don't really have much scientific opposition to the idea of legalizing chemicals such as weed. My prejudices are strictly for personal reasons.

My parents did not give me anti-drug propaganda and instead simply advised that I avoid drugs due to the potential for addiction, and warned me that doing them because my friends wanted me to was a bad reason. Both of my parents were psychiatric nurses, and told me whatever I wanted to know about drugs. They didn't even feed me anti-drinking propaganda, which is amazing in retrospect because my older brother and sister were killed by drunk drivers, and my mom's father basically drank himself to death.

So throughout my life, I have barely touched anything. I've only been drunk twice, and the last time was over 6 years ago. (I was trying to impress a girl, lol) I took one hit of pot when I was 16, and it was only after my son's mother (whom I hadn't been dating long at the time) finally talked me into it.

Perhaps the core of my prejudice has to do with the deep rooted programming of wanting to please my parents. At least, that may have been behind my initial resistance. I didn't enjoy hanging out with my son's mom when she was drunk/high, and I didn't like her white trash friends either, so I told her to cut down on the partying, or break up with me. Obviously, she chose the partying. Then I find out later that she's pregnant. We try getting back together, but she has problems quitting the pot and the drinking (which she did every day). After a couple of months of begging her to stop, I finally dump her and stay away from her until about a month before my son was born. They found pot in the baby's blood, and I went through over a year of court battles to first keep him out of the state's custody, and then to take full custody from the mother.

Although it was a very painful time, I realize that it may have just been a number of unlucky circumstance that led to my prejudice against recreational substances. My son's mom was a stupid, manipulative stoner, and I was a young pup who didn't know better. The legal system is biased against it, and for that reason they gave us a ton of hell until I was able to prove that I was an outstanding young citizen who never partied and took care of his responsibilities.

My son's mother got into far worse drugs and turned to the street life. Nearly everyone I've met who liked drinking or smoking pot (which are comparatively lightweight compared to crack, heroin, etc.) did it in excess, and usually were into other things as well. I may dislike pot by association with stupid behavior.

I suppose I'm just trying to elicit some understanding from people who do use recreational drugs. Although I've improved somewhat, I am still extremely prejudiced against users. I don't like to go to parties where I think something more than light drinking might take place. If I find out someone is a user, I refuse to give them any meaningful job on film projects - even if they seem intelligent and responsible. I'm actually quite sick of it. I would like to overcome my prejudice. I'm not saying I want to try these things, but I often find myself refusing to give someone a chance because they like to have a little pot now and then. Talking to people such as you, yenku, has helped with that.

Btw, I don't have much opposition to hemp being used for the reasons under the 'crop' list.

Doodan, most of my friends won't smoke weed either. I think it is very admirable. It is one more thing you just don't need to clutter your life I guess. I know many stories of people who have been turned off of drugs from events like that through their growing up. That, in a sense, is just knowing what drugs can do through experience, even if it isn't directly yours. I believe I smoke weed, rarely drink and do those other things I'm not supposed to do because I'm not done experiencing indulgence. I strongly believe that there is a great need to live through "Samsara" before one can understand how to live contentedly through the rest of their life.

I feel a little bad because I think I may be subconsciously pressuring one of my friends into trying it just by talking about it all the time. He said I wasn't pressuring him and that its just because he knows its not what he had thought it was in the past. Well, if he likes it then he likes it, if he doesn't then he doesn't. He won't judge me and I won't judge him and the world keeps spinnin' round.

I don't smoke weed nearly as much as I used to. I've gone weeks at a time without smoking sometimes, even though I always own a ton. If I'm not super stressed from one thing or another, I'll smoke maybe twice a week. I sell to close friends all the time. It's how I pay for gas.

Anyway.. I can see why individuals like Doodan or my friends choose not do do drugs (as I hope now people understand why I do drugs), but why do others have to force laws upon us that make it criminal? Taking drugs is a victimless crime. It's consented. It isn't any more unhealthy than your cheeseburger (in moderation). It just makes too much sense to legalize marihuana (and I think the rest too), because of the shitty situation we're in now. Of course you can never stop addictions to drugs, but people are addicted to everything, even fucking SEN and that's not banned.

Regarding the health effects...
Looking at that list, I think of tobacco smokers before the whole "smoking is bad" thing was realized.
To say that "Marijuana has not been linked to (cancer, death, addiction etc.)" is very different than saying "Marijuana CANNOT be linked to (cancer, death, addiction etc.)
I doubt there have been any major studies, and if there were I'm sure they weren't on as large a scale as the studies we have on tobacco.

I think the primary reasoning for keeping it out (or trying to get it out) is that nobody wants another tobacco industry.
If indeed marijuana turns out to be as bad as tobacco, legalizing it would be a huge problem. Once people are hooked, the industry will be powerful enough to fight off any attempts to get rid of it.

I personally can agree strongly with Doodan's sentiments. Perhaps even more so, I find myself personally biased against the use of such drugs, whether it is that the people who would do drugs in the first place are the problem, or the drugs themselves, or whatever.

Politically, though, I take a very libertarian stance. Marijuana is illegal, yet millions of people still use it, often on a daily basis. Making something like marijuana illegal is not going to drastically stop its consumption (look at Prohibition), and instead the government could legalize and make a killing in tax money. And like Yenku said, while I may feel that using marijuana is a very unwise decision, you should have the right to make such decisions yourself.

I totally am for that.

Then the industry would grow and stop taxes, just like with tobacco.

My history teacher a few years back grew up down the street from a Nobel prize winner who was arrested from growing Marijuana in his front window. I don't know if that winner is smart or stupid though.

One thing that I've learned from studying though is that traditional society does not listen to any scientific evidence, and simply follows money.
- In a similar manner of cigarettes, most artificial sweeteners on the market nowadays can have rather harmful properties. There are many better sources of calorie free sweetness, but the production lines still pump out the same harmful chemicals.
- Or in the car industry, wouldn't it be smarter if we all drove more fuel efficient cars, yet when you go to a car dealership, the "hot" models are all giant gas-guzzling SUV's. (Or one could look at the fact that were still using oil, or at the rate at which were using it.)
- Similar things could be said about computers & technology, about how there are great leaps in methods of making components smaller and smaller, and thank god we have other countries that compete with us on that, who actually produce innovations. (China's miniOne is so much better than the iPhone, yet we have the huge companies working on ours.)

America has the money, Money dictates that no change is needed, therefor America will not change.
Solution: Make America lose its money, and we will have change.

Wow that was a tangent for no apparent reason.
B.T.W. Bong Hits For Jesus

Even though I don't believe in Jesus, I'll hit to that

That is complete bullshit. I hope I don't have to explain...

I'll have further comments later.

People aren't assured that smoking tobacco gives one cancer, yet it can be expected. If one smokes weed, they will not have any increase in lung cancer risk. You want studies? Ask any daily life-long pot smoker who DOES NOT smoke tobacco cigarettes.
People don't get "hooked" to weed like they get hooked to cocaine. They get into a habit that can be ended whenever they feel it be necessary.

Do you believe its BS that one feels more open minded when high? Or just that its a BS notion that the men behind the curtain don't want that? I am very skeptical of certain people in power. I am quite sure the latter is part of it.

Explain? The government makes a shitload from tobacco taxes. Hell, It's going up January 1st (at least in my state) by close to a dollar.

Asking one or two people is not a study. I reiterate, the lack of proof that marijuana does cause negative health effects does not serve as proof that they don't.

"I can stop smoking whenever I want to. I just don't want to. In fact, I doubt I'll ever want to. EVER. But if I did, I could."
Again, people didn't realize how addictive cigarettes were until they actually tried to stop.


Kow: Whenever you see a commercial saying that a tobacco tax will hurt America, guess who's paying for it.

Both are BS. (although I've never smoked pot myself, so I can't say for sure on the former) What is moreso BS is the fact that people would take the time to think pot smokers are more open-minded and thus would consider it a reason to illegalize marijuana. That train of thought is completely contrived.