Marijuana.com

Buzzby

In exploring the question of whether or not it's ethical to prohibit something that is much less harmful than our socially sanctioned intoxicant, prescription, and OTC medications, it confuses the issue to compare possession of marijuana with drunk driving. The former is a private act that harms no one, the latter is a menace to public safety.

You are correct in your inference that just because millions of people do something does not make it supportable, but that's only in the case that activity is harmful. OTOH, if millions of people engage in an activity that is essentially harmless there is a serious ethical question about what is banned and what is allowed in our society.

Millions of people drink alcohol and it's not illegal except under certain limited circumstances. The same goes for the use of tobacco. Alcohol is the second-most dangerous drug used in our society and it kills 100,000 people a year in the US. Tobacco is the most dangerous drug used here, killing over 400,000 people a year. We legally sanction these drugs, despite the number of people they kill. Marijuana doesn't kill anyone that I've ever heard about, but we spend billions of dollars trying to suppress it, overload our legal system with what should never have been criminal cases, and ruin many, many lives with convictions, incarceration, and the lifelong aftermath of having passed through the criminal justice system.

I would have to conclude that marijuana prohibition is thoroughly irrational and that criminal penalties for its possession and use are unethical. In a rational society, any prohibitions would be based on the harmfulness of the prohibited substance. In an ethical society people would not be punished for doing something that harms no one, except, perhaps, themselves. The harm perpetrated by marijuana prohibition far outweighs whatever harm marijuana presents to society.

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phuzz01

That is all I was saying. All that other stuff has nothing to do with what I was saying, as I was making no such comparison. All I was doing was pointing out how that argument does not work by using another example.

reefermadness

drinking responsibly- good, responsible drinking doesnt take things too far

drinking and driving/getting drunk-harmfull and should be kept illegal


smoking pot-my thoughs on this are like its just something you doin by your self or when your alone. its an activity i should say. when you smoke theres a good chance that you going to get high one way or another, and there doesnt seem to be any innapropriate way to smoke pot. but you still have a pretty good awareness of whats goin on. i dont really know the real reason pot is illegal, but it seems to me that its not as bad as drinking too much.

my opinion: drinking a cup of win at a meeting with your boss is no problem, taking it too far is. there are many resonsible drinkers out there. smoking pot your gonna get high no matter how much you much i think. thats why i say pot shood have a tiny bit higher legal status than alchohol.