Well, I'm certainly biased...(I know, you meant Fox news) as a former dope smoker now 21 years clean - and all I'm sayin' is that even if the physical effects are less than reported, the mental stuff is still very valid and all negative, save for pacifism.
But I think we have enough of those in America.
Good to know you smokers may not get cancer from it, but I'll bet a shiny penny that smoking anything isn't good for you.
Come down to my gym and find out.

__________________
"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

Hey Red Fox. I know that comment probably wasn't geared directly towards me, but I am not a pot smoker at all. There are actually a lot of people who aren't pot smokers that are against the prohibition of it. As I think I said in an earlier post, I actually did a massive research project on this in one of my Law Enforcement classes in college (this post is miniscule compared to how long my report was in college – I can go on for days). We were told to choose a topic about a controversial law and debate about it with a partner through a research paper, as well as a presentation in class. A friend of mine chose to debate why marijuana should be legalized, and I chose to debate against him and say why it should remain illegal (I originally wanted to debate the required seatbelt law, but the topic was already taken). After we handed in our topics and which side we were on, we were told we must debate for the opposite side we originally wanted to. Only after I did this research did I realize the negative implications the black market associated with marijuana has on society. It's much worse than the drug itself, and goes virtually unnoticed by society.

I went to school to become a cop, but an injury will forever keep me from that. So I'm all on the side of Law Enforcement. Most of my family members are cops actually, and they share my views on legalizing marijuana. To quote my brother “I would much rather deal with somebody who is high than somebody who is drunk.” I also found this to be true when I worked as a security guard for Six Flags. The people I had to kick out for being drunk never left without a fight. Those who were stoned and actually got arrested (we were required to call the police if they had drugs on them), were well behaved and usually caused no issues. And for the record most people who are for legalization don't claim the drug is harmless at all. Rather, we believe the prohibition of the drug does more damage than the drug itself.

I've tried to avoid doing this, but to make a point (since many of you probably consume alcohol and maybe even get drunk from time to time), I'd like to compare marijuana a little bit to a perfectly legal drug...Alcohol. Yes, alcohol is a drug (how we ever got the term "drugs and alcohol" is waaaay beyond me). Not only is alcohol a very dangerous drug which you can overdose on, it's extremely addicting and does an enormous amount of damage to our society. Through my research, I'd have to say alcohol does much, much more damage to society than marijuana (except for the illegal black market associated with pot). Does this mean we should make alcohol illegal? Of course not. We already tried that, and we found that making it illegal does more damage than keeping it legal. When they legalized alcohol again after prohibition, they weren't saying "alcohol is harmless." They just knew that they would never actually ever win the "war on alcohol" so they decided to minimize the damage instead of try to eliminate it. How many people have overdosed on the drug alcohol in the world since the beginning of its use? Millions? How about the drug marijuana? That would be zero. And just like with alcohol, some people will become addicted to pot. Some will let it take over their lives. It will happen, whether it's legal or not.

As with alcohol, we are way past the point of return. There is absolutely no way we will ever eliminate marijuana. It will probably always remain the #1 most widely used illegal drug in the United States (and the world). So, instead of trying to eliminate it, we must find out how to reduce the damage it has on society. By far, that is legalization.

Most of the complaints about marijuana I see on the news or hear people say would be a non-issue should it be legalized. Here are a few examples:

- Massive damage to our national forests due to marijuana farms, where growers use highly toxic pesticides (also enters our water system): Without a black market, these illegal farms wouldn't exist.

- Random people murdered after stumbling upon an illegal marijuana farm: Think it doesn't happen, right here in the US? Think again. Again, without an illegal black market, this problem would disappear overnight.

- Potency of marijuana is much higher now than ever before: Most pot smokers don't even like the "high potency" marijuana (see previous post). If it were legalized, smokers could choose how potent they want it. Amsterdam does this, and it's been a great success (sort of like the "proof" posted on liquor bottles). And the AVERAGE potency of marijuana has remained almost constant for the last 25 years. Yes, there are more highly potent breeds out there, but this isn't the norm like some want you to believe.

- Marijuana is a gateway drug: While its true people who use other harder drugs, like cocaine, also use marijuana, they also drink alcohol. Alcohol is probably the #1 gateway drug in this country, yet nobody wants to talk about that. Also, currently, marijuana smokers must purchase from a drug dealer, who often times offers them harder drugs or laces the marijuana with a harder drug. If it were legalized, these marijuana smokers could purchase from a licensed marijuana dealer (like a bar) and wouldn't be offered these harder drugs. But it's a moot point anyway as the vast majority of marijuana smokers never use a harder drug.


I don't know what the exact answer is guys. I wish I did. All you who are against legalizing marijuana make very good points and certainly, legalizing is not a perfect solution. But either is continuing what we're doing. How many people have died due to its prohibition? Innocent people are murdered over this plant, and it's not because people who are high are murdering them. It stems from money hungry crooks in the black market. And those who get into the black market in the first place sort of find themselves stuck. Sort of like a gang. You’re only useful to them if you’re a part of them. Once you leave, you’re just a liability.

How many people have smoked what they thought was marijuana, only be find out it was laced with another drug? How many petty marijuana offenders have been denied government aid for college due to a past marijuana charge? How many people have been turned down from jobs due to these charges? How many non-violent offenders are crowding our prisons right at this very moment. How many billions of dollars in law enforcement have we spent fighting this drug, only to have use continue to increase? How much money has gone to terror organizations stemming from profits made in the black market. How many illegal crossings into the United States take place each day from smugglers? How many people do we share the road with that are carrying a large quantity of marijuana? God help you if that person ever suspects you know anything.

I think the issue is at least worth debating. And I'm glad to see this thread hasn't gone to complete hell yet (usually these threads go bad real quick). But the fact of the matter is, even though I'm out numbered here on this forum (as expected and I'm actually glad to see it from truck drivers), my opinion is becoming more widespread, even among government officials. This is going to become a serious issue within the next 10 years, especially if the horrific violence in the black market continues.

Believe it or not, I'm going to agree with you.
However.
When it comes to hiring guys who have clarity, scope, and real-world reasoning ability, I'll let YOU hire the smokers and I'll take the straights.
Simple fix; THC testing and a "clean" card. No card, no job. Unfortunately, a cleanup won't exactly make you clean again: the effects on the mind last for many years. The memory problems last a good while, and the character flaws last almost a decade.
I should know.

__________________
"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

a recent study by one of those fancy shmancy hospitol colledges has determend that it to causes cancer !!!!
also there are some instances where you are still alowed to drive a cmv with perscriptionn drugs like pain killers in your systom,but there is documentation that has to be given by you dr that says it will not interfere with your ability to drive in a safe mannor.i know this to be true cause i know drivers who have to take this medication to lead a semi productive life.

Can't totally disagree with you here. But on the same token, if you make that argument, the same "card" should include alcohol abuse. About 17.6 Million people, or 1 in 12 adults in the United States abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent ([LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. ). That's a huge number! If you have a drink or two every now and then, no big deal. But for these 1 in 12 people who abuse alcohol, the effects on their brain are arguably just as bad if not worse than the effects marijuana has. Go to any bar and point out the people who are only having a drink or two. I bet you'll have trouble finding more than 2 or 3 people.

But I have to be honest with you, I share the same thoughts. If I had two people sitting in front of me at a job interview, one social pot smoker and one social drinker, I'd probably take the drinker. But let's not minimize the negative long term effects of alcohol, simply because it's legal and marijuana isn't. Statistics show that 1 in 12 of your employees abuse alcohol. I'm sure that you already do, but I hope you take that just as seriously as those who abuse marijuana. Even if they aren't drinking / drunk on the job, having somebody come in all hung over after a night of drinking certainly isn't a good thing.

A couple of posts said that if MJ were legalized then ppl would be growing it in their backyards and such. In FL everyday it seems that there is a news story about another "grow house" being raided. And ppl all the way up to little ol' grandmas being arrested. Don't think legalization would be the cause as ppl have been growing it themselves for years.

And the reason most people grow their own marijuana is because there isn't any other place to get it except for drug dealers. They'd rather risk being caught growing it than have to mess with drug dealers. Do you think most of those pot smokers would still take the time and effort to try and grow their own if it were legalized? Probably not. They could just run down to the liquor store and be set. No fuss. Same as alcohol. We all have the ability (within certain legal restraints) to brew our own beer / make our own liquor. You can even buy beer brewing kits at Walmart. But how many of us actually put in the effort to do that? It's much easier to just run down to the store and get a 12er of Miller.

The way Spain has their marijuana laws set up is very interesting. You are legally allowed to grow a certain number of plants for personal use on your own property. However, if you get caught trying to sell or transport it, the penilties are extremely harsh. Their black market crime from marijuana is virtually non-existant.

Point was that legalizing it would not be the cause for people growing as they already are doing that. Many now have begun to grow their because of the state of the economy, they think they'll good money (sounds familiar?).

love it never would want my kids to do it though hate to admit does lead to other drugs for the easily influenced my dads girlfriends son is like 300 lbs he was on probation.
he smoked weed all day and night he was gonna get random test so he stopped for
like 3-4 days drank water juice etc the day of his test he brought some certo took it 2-3 hours before test piss till clear about 3-4 times when i was on probation smoked weed all day and night high power #### my dumb ### drank bleach 72ounces water green tea never drink bleach!! but it worked so #### it except for once when i was smokin day of test my uncles use substitution take piss in condom tuck it in your nuts gauranted if kept 94-98 degrees i believe body temp. as for the certo and bleach it could have been mere dillution for im no rocket scientist hope this helps

Wow, I think you drank a little too much bleach. That post was hard to read.