Marijuana

[blind_synergy]

You're right, gangs are so scary, we shouldn't expect our law enforcement to deal with them. And since we are giving up, why don't we legalize hard drugs and guns too? After all, guns don't kill people, people kill people

 

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen such a fantastic straw-man.

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

It's true, but at the same time, can you realistically compare cutting your head to smoking a blunt?

 

Haha nah I can't, I was just saying you can still be an opponent of an activity without trying it. I've never smoked a cigarette, but I'm against that.

[UTPEOPLE]

I don't live in Ontario, and the distinction between 'individual'/not individual is arbitrary. According to the proposal to decriminalize currently in Parliament (C-359 I believe), 1g of hash is the maximum limit. This is a ridiculously small amount. Police shouldn't arrest people for the possession of any amount.

 

so if I walk down the street carrying 50 cartons of cigarettes, the police shouldnt have the right to arrest me, even though I probably just stole the smokes (who would normally carry so much?). Even if weed is legalized, there should be a common sense clause to let the police detain you if you are carrying an excessive amount of it.

[deeman101]

You're right, gangs are so scary, we shouldn't expect our law enforcement to deal with them. And since we are giving up, why don't we legalize hard drugs and guns too? After all, guns don't kill people, people kill people

 

Lets be honest. Law enforcement is totally ineffective at neutralizing marijuana use and distribution. The more they try they more resources they waste. Theres STILL 2 out of 4 weed factories in my neighbourhood since the 14 years I've lived here. LOL! So why not fight the problem of guns, gangs, etc. more intelligently? Why not cut-off their main income source?

 

And incase you missed what I meant by "harmless", I'll just clarify that hard drugs and guns do not fall into that category. Since they can, you know, kill you. Try killing yourself by ODing on weed.

[NewfieMike]

so if I walk down the street carrying 50 cartons of cigarettes, the police shouldnt have the right to arrest me, even though I probably just stole the smokes (who would normally carry so much?). Even if weed is legalized, there should be a common sense clause to let the police detain you if you are carrying an excessive amount of it.

 

.... good point UTPEOPLE. The police should be arresting people for theft.

[JeraJaclyn]

You're right, gangs are so scary, we shouldn't expect our law enforcement to deal with them. And since we are giving up, why don't we legalize hard drugs and guns too? After all, guns don't kill people, people kill people

 

Guns are legal, they are just under control of the government (in the same way that driving is legal, but you need a license).

[jt23]

10char.......

[deeman101]

.... good point UTPEOPLE. The police should be arresting people for theft.

 

Today's winner of forum wars

[raketemensch]

so if I walk down the street carrying 50 cartons of cigarettes, the police shouldnt have the right to arrest me, even though I probably just stole the smokes (who would normally carry so much?). Even if weed is legalized, there should be a common sense clause to let the police detain you if you are carrying an excessive amount of it.

 

OF COURSE NOT!! Why should the police arrest you for having too many cigarettes? That is utter insanity. It's nobody's goddamn business why you are carrying the hypothetically large amount of smokes, unless the shopkeeper up the street accuses you of theft and has evidence to back it up. In that case, it is the theft of property which would be a crime, not the possession of excessive amounts of something. What defines an excessive amount, anyway?

[seann]

Guns are legal, they are just under control of the government (in the same way that driving is legal, but you need a license).

 

Well weed is legal too, you just need a doctors note...

[jt23]

10char......

[jt23]

10char........

[deeman101]

Well weed is legal too, you just need a doctors note...

 

Every politician wishes there were more people like you voting. Unshakable trust in the system you have.

[cnb88]

Tougher laws? In what respect? Putting a bunch of kids in a juvenile corrections centre won't accomplish anything except for completely screw up someone's childhood worse than weed ever could. Keeping kids from doing excessive amounts of anything falls at the feet of the parents, not the government. Kids should be properly educated about this sort of stuff in school and at home, and their parents should instill in them an understanding of the consequences of doing too much weed when they're young, and curb their behaviour if they step out of line. But beyond that, we shouldn't be trying to clap irons on kids for doing, really, the same sorts of stuff they're doing right now.

 

Tougher laws for those distributing/found selling to kids. Obviously they are going to try and get their hands on it, so it's important to have tough laws against anyone found selling to kids (really tough fines, etc).

Like you say, putting kids in juvie won't help, but they need to know as well that doing something illegal (as it would be illegal to smoke pot under a certain age) has consequences (I would personally say that x number of hours of community service for kids found smoking it as the toughest sentence).

I'm definitly all for educating the kids more, but if the parents don't give a rat's @$$ about teaching their kids/being involved with their life, chances are the kids won't either. Too many parents nowadays are either completely oblivious to their child's behaviour or just don't care.

[Tango Charlie]

depends on the state in the US and I am not 100% sure, but I don't think you can get medical marijuana any where in Canada.

 

http://www.medicalmarijuana.ca/

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_legalization_in_Canada

[jt23]

10char..........

[UTPEOPLE]

OF COURSE NOT!! Why should the police arrest you for having too many cigarettes? That is utter insanity. It's nobody's goddamn business why you are carrying the hypothetically large amount of smokes, unless the shopkeeper up the street accuses you of theft and has evidence to back it up. In that case, it is the theft of property which would be a crime, not the possession of excessive amounts of something. What defines an excessive amount, anyway?

 

okay, maybe not arrest in the sense of charging, but arrest in the sense of detaining. No matter the level of legality, there will still be rampant trafficking. The police should have the right to detain if you possess too much weed, just like cars (except official company trucks) carrying too many cigarettes are stopped for inspection, because they more often than not are traffickers.

[deeman101]

okay, maybe not arrest in the sense of charging, but arrest in the sense of detaining. No matter the level of legality, there will still be rampant trafficking. The police should have the right to detain if you possess too much weed, just like cars (except official company trucks) carrying too many cigarettes are stopped for inspection, because they more often than not are traffickers.

 

Police: You there! I'm detaining you!

 

Dude: What? Why? I didn't do anything!!

 

Police: Well you're black. Black people do bad things usually.

 

Dude: What I didn't do anything! Are you saying you saw me do something wrong?

 

Police: Um, no. But just in case....

[jt23]

10char.............

[seann]

Lets be honest. Law enforcement is totally ineffective at neutralizing marijuana use and distribution. The more they try they more resources they waste. Theres STILL 2 out of 4 weed factories in my neighbourhood since the 14 years I've lived here. LOL! So why not fight the problem of guns, gangs, etc. more intelligently? Why not cut-off their main income source?

 

And incase you missed what I meant by "harmless", I'll just clarify that hard drugs and guns do not fall into that category. Since they can, you know, kill you. Try killing yourself by ODing on weed.

 

Ok look you have a pretty good point assuming legalizing weed would cause less violence and gangs. But it's hard to say that would be so. If we want to make selling weed not worth it, how about tougher weed laws instead of weaker ones? How about we try to make our law enforcement better at catching these guys? How about we employ more law enforcement? Ought to be good for the unemployment situation down in the states...

[seann]

Police: You there! I'm detaining you!

 

Dude: What? Why? I didn't do anything!!

 

Police: Well you're black. Black people do bad things usually.

 

Dude: What I didn't do anything! Are you saying you saw me do something wrong?

 

Police: Um, no. But just in case....

 

Where did you come up with racism in this thread?

[deeman101]

Ok look you have a pretty good point assuming legalizing weed would cause less violence and gangs. But it's hard to say that would be so. If we want to make selling weed not worth it, how about tougher weed laws instead of weaker ones? How about we try to make our law enforcement better at catching these guys? How about we employ more law enforcement? Ought to be good for the unemployment situation down in the states...

 

And who will fund all that? In the end it all comes back to money.

 

 

Legalizing weed will: make law enforcement more effective by crippling the "bad people's" financial income, generate $$$$$$$$ from taxes on weed sales, and free up law enforcement officers from the almost pointless need to chase after weed smokers.

[jt23]

10char.......

[raketemensch]

okay, maybe not arrest in the sense of charging, but arrest in the sense of detaining. No matter the level of legality, there will still be rampant trafficking. The police should have the right to detain if you possess too much weed, just like cars (except official company trucks) carrying too many cigarettes are stopped for inspection, because they more often than not are traffickers.

 

Hmm that really is not the same as possession being illegal then. You're right that the police are justified in inspecting large shipments to prevent smuggling. My point, once again, is that simple possession of something should not be a crime. I don't like the idea of police detaining people just because they have 'too much' of something, but I suppose that habeas corpus laws should theoretically prevent such detentions from being excessive.

Nothing that you have said is an argument for prohibition, though. Yes, theft and smuggling should still be illegal and the police may be justified in hassling people they suspect are committing crimes. But once they determine that the hypothetically enormous amount of pot you own is not stolen or being smuggled, the cops should let you go.

[deeman101]

Where did you come up with racism in this thread?

 

Thats how it will end up really. Discrimination for "suspicious" yet not illegal things is what causes black people to feel oppressed by the police (or more like thats one of the factors) in the states.