Marijuana.com

Zilos

Policy Director David Jesze outlined Destiny New Zealand's position on legalization of cannabis at the forum on "Prohibition - weighing the costs and benefits", organized by NORML and the Politics Group at Otago University last night.

Jesze pointed out, that the real issue that needs to be addressed is demand: "If we reduce demand, prohibition or not will be irrelevant".

Addressing the 150 strong audience, he continued, "If your motivation for legalization is purely for yourself, then you have lost sight of our greatest responsibility, which is not to ourselves but to our children and the next generation".

"It is because of this reason, that we support legislation that protects the mental and physical health of our people, and therefore our nation, and it will come as no surprise to you that we oppose any piece of legislation that could potentially damage or harm the individual or the family unit. This includes the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis", Jesze added.

"Whatever you legalize, you normalize, and the tab for yet another social experiment would be picked up by the next generation. Like with alcohol, it will be impossible to reverse the damage inflicted. The answer lies in strengthening our homes and families", he concluded.

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Buzzby

If you start out with the assumption that marijuana is a social evil, your necessary conclusion is that the public must be protected from it, especially the children. All other arguments are irrelevant.

If you start out without bias and look at the costs and benefits of prohibition versus legalization you get an entirely different picture.

First of all, anyone with his eyes open will see that prohibition is a total failure. What it doesn't do is reduce demand, reduce supply, or prevent access by people who are likely to get in trouble with marijuana.

What it does do is feed a vast criminal empire that incidentally provides all varieties of truly dangerous drugs to anyone who can afford them. What it does do is put a lot of otherwise productive good citizens in jail and ruin their chances at a good education and good jobs. What it does do is corrupt law enforcement officers. What it does do is divert limited law enforcement personnel, hours, and prison cells away from violent, dangerous crimes and criminals.

Legalization? First of all it corrects the evils enumerated above. It frees research into the medical and other benefits to be derived from the cannabis plant. It puts sales into the hands of licensed dealers who will not sell to underage individuals. It raises tax revenue. It diverts people away from alcohol, a dangerous and addictive drug which causes a multitude of social ills, violence, disease, and highway deaths.

It tells our children that their governments are not entirely made up of hypocritical politicians who defend killers like alcohol and tobacco while demonizing a relatively harmless recreational drug. A lot of people, myself included, lose interest in politics when it veers away from rational debate and tries to buy votes by lying to people about the dangers they face.

A politician who confronts reality will know that marijuana is not a major social problem, it doesn't cause crime or violence, and is far less of a danger than many things (alcohol, tobacco, prescriptions drugs, sitcoms) that are fully accepted and are, in fact, subsidized by government.

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GanjaGirl420

I personally think Marijuana shoulden't be legalized. We are fine as we are, right? We have are own little underground system flowing freely benath the noses of the government- all they want to do is put taxes on our bud and profit from it as well, right?

Legalization will lead to more open smoking, which will probably lead to more people smoking green. (This is what I think. xD) and then younger generations will start smoking it because, just like ciggarettes, monkey see monkey do. So if they legalize it, eventually we will have little 7 and 8 year olds running around with joints in there hands, just like the little hooligans that live in my neighbourhood. They'll be too young to know better aout other drugs and we'll soon have more statements about 'marijunana being a gateway drug'


xD This is what I think, though. -shrugs- I'm more than likly wrong, but I've thought about it lots when I'm ripped, so... -dances around a fire singing in a foreign tounge-

lilgrasshoppah

"If we reduce demand, prohibition or not will be irrelevant".

If you potty train elephants, the circus people don't have to work so hard cleaning up elephant poo. If you taught lions the wonders of vegetarianism, than wildebeests would be free to wander the plains without fear. If you lived in a world with pink skies, you wouldn't need rose-colored glasses.

All drugs, with the possible exception of methamphetamine, are either plant-based, or processed from plants. The drug experience is as old as humanity. It is no "social experiment" to recognize that certain things exist, and that these things have mental and physical effects when consumed. It's just common sense.


"Whatever you legalize, you normalize, and the tab for yet another social experiment would be picked up by the next generation. Like with alcohol, it will be impossible to reverse the damage inflicted. The answer lies in strengthening our homes and families", he concluded.

Strong homes (quality 2x6 construction?) and strong families... indeed strong people... don't need the government to tell them how to behave. In fact, the more a society relies on government to dictate its morality, the weaker that society becomes. Alcohol did most of its damage during prohibition. It was through education, and regulation that the damage alcohol inflictecd was corrected.

cassiusclay

WTF!! So I should live solely to increase the population! Who's gonna be responsibile for me, unless its me?!? (stops screaming)

The CCChhhiiiillldrren. AAauugh. (well, almost) I was a child once. Nobody zombied themselves to please me...Thank god!

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Buzzby

Yeah. Sure. Let's keep up a system that arrests almost 800,000 people a year, puts tens of thousands in jail, ruins lives with criminal records, costs $17,500,000,000 in tax money each year, and keeps the cost of an ounce of weed around $200.

GG, maybe you need to be thinking more and smoking less.

camd0g1

Dont trust what they say! to be in the church you have to give 10% of your money!

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cb007sax

I'm not asking for legalization, although that would be nice. I'm asking for decriminilization.

He talks about strengthening families and such. GOING TO JAIL FOR POSSESSING 2 GRAMS OF MARIJUANA DOES NOT STRENGTHEN FAMILIES!!!!!!!!!

This is a case of "sitting back" and saying things are good when they aren't happening to me. When he is faced with stories of prison time for minor offenses, he might have a slight change in opinion.

He is overlooking the broad social spectrum of injustice only to say that it will hurt future generations. It's already readily available, how about you get rid of possession laws so us adults can enjoy some basic freedom.

Marijuana is safe enough to be used responsibily by adults. That is the bottom line. Legalization would turn Marijuana into alcohol. Why aren't you fighting for Alcohol prohibition.

Don't worry, our society is ever changing. I stand by my opinion that this generation of young adults will see Marijuana at least decriminalized in the Majority of states within 20 years. We see old generations pushing the same ideas for the new generation, and it simply won't happen. I promise when this generation comes into power, you WILL see changes.

reggie_the_dog

"Yeah. Sure. Let's keep up a system that arrests almost 800,000 people a year, puts tens of thousands in jail, ruins lives with criminal records, costs $17,500,000,000 in tax money each year, and keeps the cost of an ounce of weed around $200."


YOU GET WEED FOR 200 an ounce!!!!! is it kind buds or mids, in Chicago they charge 300 to 400 an ounce for kind (i got a rich cousin who sells to spoiled 20 somethings with rich parents in the suburbs and he gets 800 us dollars an ounce. He actually tried to sell me an eighth for 100, he wanted to charge his own cousin 100 dollars for an eighth (i had paid 40 for the eighth of kind that I had in my pocket so I declined his "generous" offer)

killer12382

Why not do both...strengthen the family AND legalize cannabis? Seems like a good idea to me.