In an extremely "toned-down" manor. Medicidal(sp?) pot isn't the same super high-THC and/or laced stuff being smoked on the street.
Sorry for jumping late into this thread, but here it goes:
Let's face it, marijuana is the most used drug in the world, millions of people in the world use it daily, there aren't numbers but i bet every few seconds a joint lights up anywhere in the world and in the US.
So outlawing it would never reduce the number of people smoking. Allowing it may jump the number a bit, but as it happened in the Netherlands (where it is completely legal), the number backed down a few years after (why? probably because a lot of people tried it because of all the "hype" around it, and many didn't like).
It not the truthmaster, but here's something i've learned over my extended years of smoking pot:
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smoking is bad for your health, whether is tobacco or weed you are smoking, so there will always be lung damage. it is said that a blunt equals 5 cigs, i don't know if that is true, but smoking 2 blunts a day certanly does less harm than a pack of cigs a day
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whatever people say, marijuana IS a gateway drug. actually, any illegal drug (shrooms, ecstasy, whatever) is a gateway drug, there's no question about it. when you try an illegal drug and enjoy the effects, you'll always get interested in the other drugs
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marijuana does weaken the immune system. i don't think it's scientifically proven, but from my experience i get a lot more colds when i ABUSE smoking. the codeword here is ABUSE, not USE, which means 5+ joints a day for a few weeks. A joint a day probably won't do any harm, or else they woudn't prescribe it to AIDS patients (which have a very weak immune system)
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marijuana should never be taken by kids below 16, it does harm the memory capabilities and a kid that age will never have the power to leave weed by itself. ideally, the entry age should be 18, but this would only happen in a utopic world
- the above is true for mental patients, anyone who takes marijuana should be a perfectly sane person, or else it can increase mental disturbances.
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marijuana DOES NOT cause brain cell damage. it's been extensively proven in various scientific tests. you can contradict that with a study i can show you another which says marijuana makes brain cells grow (see below)
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the prohibition of marijuana fuels a multibillion dollar "industry" which spreads violence among several communities, enriches street dealers and high class "mafiosos" alike. it's taxation and control by the government would allow much greater control over the end product, which would be the best and purest for the consumer
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legalizing marijuana is not the same as encouraging consumption. the government would continue with their anti-drug campaigns, but remember, the most effective education is at home and if you say to a kid "don't do that" that's halfway for him to do it. so parent education would also be necessary. also, some professions would require regular control to ensure a person doesn't smoke (like bus drivers, air pilots, taxi drivers, you get the point).
- although marijuana is known to make a person become zombie-like, that's wrong. 90% of all the music you listen was made high or by people who smoked it, same for every kind of art... did you ever think about that? and lastly, why is the Netherlands, a nation which legalized marijuana for some years now, on top of the US in the World Human Development Index?
So legalizing marijuana would be like opening up the gates of hell; it would be much more controlled and safe to do, in the privacy of your own home.
To finish answering your quote, that's exactly why it should be legalized. Firstly, medicinal marijuana isn't "weaker" than street one; it's just of better quality. So it does less harm to the end user, while giving him the same or better high.
Some links:
Brain creates its own marijuana-like chemicals, scientists find - Stanford University Link
Marijuana Health Mythology - Lycaeum Drug database link
Marijuana-Like Drug Increases Brain Cells, Relieves Depression - From FOX News!!!
Marijuana may spur new brain cells - ScienceDaily link
and many more i could continue till tomorrow..
