The costs of legalizing drugs?

James O
#1. November 15th, 2008, at 12:21 PM.

weed would definately help the economy, the tax revenue would be nuts. I’m down with legalizing mushrooms, and peyote too, but leave the coke, heroin etc illegal, too dangerous

punkrose
#2. November 17th, 2008, at 6:07 PM.

It may help the economy in some ways but I dont think it would be anything signifigant. Weed is wasy to grow, produce, take around, it doesnt really have much effect on an individuals life so i think in turn it would cost the government more money to try and regulate it.

Songbyrd JPA Jewish Lawyer
#3. November 21st, 2008, at 3:09 AM.

I think legalizing MJ would make lots of tax revenue. First, you can make your own wine and beer. Very few do.
Second, most stoners would forget to water their plants.

Sage
#4. November 23rd, 2008, at 7:12 AM.

The cost of weed abuse is much higher than alcohol and tobacco and you could probably add firearms to that!!

Marijuana potency has grown steeply over the past decade with serious implications for users with the average amount of THC having more than doubled.

In the same period the number of admissions to psychiatric hospital caused by the drug soared by 85 per cent due to the fact that those who smoke the drug regularly are more than twice as likely to suffer illnesses such as schizophrenia, hallucinations and delusions later in life.

Teens using marijuana to alleviate feelings of depression just compound the problem.

As well as psychotic illness cannabis can cause affective disorders such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Even worse it is linked to cancers.

Cannabis users display neuropsychological dysfunction (relative frontal lobe functioning deficits, cognitive inhibition) and attentional deficits similar to those found in schizotypal or schizophrenia patients.

Regular use can shrink the parts of the brain which control memory, emotion and aggression. The hippocampus, which is thought to govern emotion and memory averages 12 percent smaller and the amygdala, which has a part in controlling fear and aggression, 7 percent smaller. This suggests that heavy daily use may be toxic to human brain tissue.

Blood flow velocity is significantly higher in users and they have higher values on the pulsatility index (PI), which measures the amount of resistance to blood flow. This is thought to be due to narrowing of the blood vessels that occurs when the circulation system’s ability to regulate itself is impaired. This leads to abnormalities in the small blood vessels in the brain.

The active chemical in MJ called delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC) binds to cannabinoid (CB) receptors located on several cell types in various organs. This greatly increases the risk for heart attacks and strokes in addition to impaired learning and memory.

It can also effect physical health. Three to four cannabis cigarettes a day cause the same amount of damage to the lungs as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day. Thus there are rising levels of lung diseases such as emphysema.
In comparison to cigarettes marijuana smoke has significantly higher levels of toxic compounds, including ammonia and hydrogen cyanide. Ammonia levels are 20 times higher while hydrogen cyanide, nitric oxide and certain aromatic amines occurred at levels 3-5 times higher.
It can also effect the unborn child. Scientists have identified that endogenous cannabinoids, molecules naturally produced by our brains are functionally similar to THC from cannabis and play significant roles in establishing how certain nerve cells connect to each other. Maternal cannabis use allows THC to travel through the placenta and impair fetal brain development and impose life-long cognitive, social, and motor deficits in affected offspring.

Low doses of Ä-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), equivalent to that in the bloodstream of an average marijuana smoker facilitate infection of skin cells and can cause these cells to turn into malignant sarcoma.

And then there are all the car crashes caused by people driving under the influence of drugs that are at this moment being quantified but already show that more drug drivers kill than drink drivers!!

The cost of domestic violence, robberies and other crimes associated all added to the above make weed the single worst thing in the country, far worse than the other drugs!!

barakabashad
#5. November 24th, 2008, at 3:58 AM.

the crime and cost would go down,because there wouldn’t be anyone,or as profitable.worried about being caught,thus no snitches getting shot,no cost because most people would grow if it were legal,thus not profitable competition would be legal legitimate business.I believe that to legally sell the plant would open business,and strengthen the economy.As far as the hard,dangerous drugs,it usually becomes a sickness,and requires treatment,and rehab,not jail,but help.Regulations might need to be tighter,on the hard stuff,but there is no need to jail that has committed a victimless crime.If someone beats up someone,then they should go jail,but if they do not do anything that harms anyone they should not be put in jail.This would prevent overcrowding.It would also address the issue.Face it,we are not winning this war on drugs,so we might as well try something different.Theoretically seems plausible to cure the sick,and jail real criminals.

Patrik D
#6. November 26th, 2008, at 11:09 PM.

People just write off that its bad but i know a lot of people it helps and a lot of their parents now getting illness in their twilight years use it with great results. They can use a little marijuana instead of using an assortment of pills that they are told to take by the doctor. the pills have bad side effects while the marijuana just has good effects. Also note you dont have to smoke it. If you vaporize it no effects towards your lungs to be felt. Their are dangers to smoking it but eating drinking and vaporizing is perfectly safe with no fear of overdose fatalites. Not sure why its not legal

mattpytlak
#7. November 27th, 2008, at 2:16 PM.

Marijuana should be legal and taxed, just like booze and ciggs.

Btw, your link doesn’t work.