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I was talking to a friend the other day and he thought that marijuana should be legal, not because he thinks it's not dangerous, but because making it illegal causes more problems than it solves. That made me think about alcohol and how we have a legal drinking age in the U.S. but they don't in Europe. They have way less alcohol related deaths than we do too. Marijuana is legal in some European countries too and they don't seem to have any trouble. Going by that reasoning, I had to agree that maybe marijuana should be legal. So what do you think?

I've heard it can have long term damage but so can alcohol or cigarettes and they're legal so...

Thanks for the info. I didn't know there was a drinking age. I thought it was just sort of whatever your parents decided or something since I know a lot of European countries enjoy wine with their dinner, regardless of age. How does that work out if there's an age limit? Sort of a don't ask, don't tell policy?

Yeah I mean like alcohol is legal and it causes tons of accidents. I mean someone could get drunk off of beer and then go out drive and kill someone.
Someone could get high off of weed and the only thing at risk is the twinkies at the local convient store xD.

IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT AGE YOU ARE !!!!!!! SMOKING POT IS BAD, MMMKAY? JK actually, it really doesnt matter what age, smokin a joint or whatever can cause side effects just as bad or worse than alchohol ... ever tried to drive high???? not too fun ... you are disoriented, confused, and tired, depending on how strong the green is, you could also be delusional , all the lights on the road have tracers, and even walking a straight line is difficult, so needless to say having the tension span and accuracy to operate a vehicle is taken away when you get high ,,,,, so NO to legalization!!! Besides, who wants to pay taxes on pot???? HAHAHAHAHA not me!!!

alcohol causes people to get in bad car crashes that kill thousands of people a year, causes them to go home with strangers, basically interrupts most ability to function and rationalize. alcoholics are a whole different level, and there are plenty people who check in to rehab or join AA a year, and plenty more families living with the abuse of an alcoholic member who refuses to seek treatment. it's addictive psychologically, because it provides a way for the user to not have to deal with their own problems, and creates a false sense of superiority.

marijuana just provides a slow, sleepy sort of sensation. true it breeds laziness, but for every frequent stoner there's even more who are only occasional users. it is addictive but in the same psychological way as alcohol.

the notion that marijuana will make you stupid is also mostly false. if they studied the habits of the users before they began to use, they'd find that more often the case is that the user was stupid to begin with. iti causes lack of motivation, which can be interpreted as stupidity, because there's less will to actually go out and present oneself as smart/clever/fully functioning. from my own experience, i've found that the average stoner is at at least average intelligence, if not above; the science of not only growing the plant but inventing ways to smoke it definitely takes brainpower. even the mechanics of a bong, using suction to draw smoke up through a liquid to cool it, is higher-level scientific thought.

so basically they both alter thinking and have addictive properties, but marijuana makes the user more prone to sit back on the couch and eat chips than to go and get in a car or get in a fight.

how marijuana is the illegal substance is beyond me.

i think there should be like designated areas for mara coz its not fair for people to smell that eek