Legalize it, Tax it, BUT you better keep it off my job site..

And using the number of people who USED or TRIED weed once or a few times is a great way to skew statistics. And there are always anomalies to statistics, some of which you quoted, so it makes it look safer or saner. Yes, I've seen guys with high-end jobs who smoke some, but I never saw one who smoked it a LOT and succeeded (unless he was in music or entertainment...for a while...you see them burn out too) and I doubt that his performance was as good as it could have been.
One thing all my contractor/builder friends agree on is that the straight guys seem to do the best work, show up, and are advancable. Now just why is that? And most of US have smoked before, so we're not all that biased.
I won't argue on the political aspects of legalizing it; I'm not all that political, but I can definitely see sociological problems that will arise with the advent of hundreds of thousands of new users coming on the scene.

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"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
~George Orwell

Fair enough RedFox. We'll agree to disagree, and that's ok. Whether it's legalization or otherwise though, I think something else needs to be done. All we are doing right now is creatng unspeakable violence, locking up and filling our prisons with non-violent offenders (who learn to become violent while there), and taking money out of my pocket.

Anyway, I doubt either one of us will change our viewpoint. But it's nice to have a civil debate on a forum for once. And of all topics! HA!

I may have missed something....But, I do not believe he said anything about prison population, and pot smoking.

Putting dope smokers in jail/prison is a waist of time in my OPINION... But, ..Who am I to judge? In my business ,dope smokers get people killed.... If I have a guy next to me on a high rise building(no pun intendeed).... HE better be sober, or we will have a problem. I will "Call him out". There are certain jobs ,that require sobriety....,and that is one.

Oh I agree 100%. I don't condone people working while they are stoned, just like I don't condone people working while they are drunk. If they want to get drunk or stoned on their own personal time, that's their choice. In fact, if given the choice, I'd rather them get stoned. At least they aren't going to your worksite the next morning hung over

With each new generation, marijuana use increases while it's illegal, yet tobacco use keeps decreasing even though it's legal (alcohol is pretty stagnent). I'm not for making pot legal so potheads can have free reigns. It's easy enough for them to obtain and use whenever they want as it is. I'm just saying something else needs to be done, because what we are doing right now is helping to not only increase use, but also damage our economy. Those at your worksite who show up stoned should be fired on the spot, whether it's legal or not. Heck, at least if it were legal, your marijuana using employees wouldn't be buying pot from drug dealers who also have cocaine and opium available for purchase.

I see no valid reason(s) to legalize marijuana. People keep saying the government can tax it and then we can get out of debt. Riiigght! If it's legalized people will just start growing it in their backyards and basements. They won't be buying it at CVS and Kroger. It's medicinal qualities are at best limited and California is proof of how it is exploited by those whose only ailment is that they are sad to have run out of weed. I've known people who considered it to be as natural and safe as drinking orange juice, it's not. Those people are idiots and I no longer associate with them.

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I have never tried it... mostly because it fell in that category with things that instill the fear of God and My MOMMA... she would have beat my arse til I couldn't sit.

Like GA said, if legalized it would be growing in backyards... and legalization would not cause a decrease in prison because some idiot would be locked up for stealing somebody's pot plant out of their yard.... sad to say, but true, or worse the owner of the property would be locked up for shooting the idiot who was stealing their pot plant... granted they were not high at the time and were aware of what was going on.

Nobody is perfect and i don't look down on people that have done it b/c that was their choice... however when it does affect their families, children, or the lives of others... i can't help but shake my head

Not to mention (but I will) that I don't want men on ladders or scaffolds underneath guys who are high in the wrong way. I even saw a guy hold a hammer between his knees up there once.
Once legal, usage would spread until guys getting high on the jobsites couldn't be stopped, since it's easier to conceal than drinking. It's bad enough now as is.
Then there are the psychological aspects of usage, such as listlessness, apathy, burnout etc. - no one will convince me that this isn't prevalent.
And what shall we discuss at lunch? Please. You guys usually bore the #### out of me.

__________________
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
~George Orwell

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/14...ncy/index.html

While that may be true, there's something to be said here. According to this source: [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. , those who smoke higher potent marijuana generally smoke less of it to compensate for the higher potency. Aside from the fact that no matter how strong it is, it's still impossible to overdose from it. In fact, even when distributed legally for medical purposes, doctors are allowed to prescribe marijuana with no limit on potency. It can be 100%.

Not to mention this little interesting peice of information: [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. . From studies done in the Netherlands, where its use is legal and regulated, users of Marijuana actually prefer less potent marijuana. They don't even want the strong stuff.

This is an even further arguement for legalization. Should it become legal here, as it is in the Netherlands, the potency of the product would be displayed (similar to alcohol levels displayed on liquor bottles). Therefor, everybody would know exactly what they are getting. And since most users actually prefer lower potency, this would be a non-issue.