"You're just a high school student, so I'll leave this atrocious statistical reasoning alone, other than to tell you that it's atrocious, and you should now quit making statistical arguments until you have some understanding of quantitative reasoning."

If you don't want me to make up a hypothetical scenario, then say something more than "we'll all be screwed - AHHHHH!!!!!"

I've always felt legalization was the logical way to go. To the best of my knowledge, marijuana isn't /that/ bad (I couldn't say for sure, I don't know any weed smokers well) for a person. Certainly not drastically worse than cigarettes, at the very least.
Because it isn't as destructive a drug, the benefits of increased tax revenue, the money being taken out of criminal hands, and lowered incarceration rates become very strong arguments for legalization, in my mind.

Nobody is being incarcerated for recreational pot use.

"If you don't want me to make up a hypothetical scenario, then say something more than "we'll all be screwed - AHHHHH!!!!!" "

It wasn't the hypothetical scenario that was crap.

It was this part: "then you have 12.5% of people that are overweight couch potatoes. Please demonstrate to me that our country is not already 12.5% overweight couch potatoes... "

I don't need to demonstrate to you that our country is not already 12.5% overweight couch potatoes. If it is, and pot creates a bunch more, then it will be MORE than 12.5% couch potatoes.

Also, please note -- I didn't complain about your creating a hypothetical scenario. I complained about terrible quantitative reasoning.

@Putin: that is not true at all. Many many people are in jail for it.

I just brought him up as an example of a successful person who smoked weed in his younger days. Whether or not you like him is your business, but any politician is obviously a product of successes in life.

I'm going to partially side with semck83 here, if we want to make it a state issue, then take the federal law enforcement agents out of the equation.

I'm all for states rights and agree that this should be a state issue, one where I would support legalization, however if this is a state issue then the federal government should have no control over what happens, and as Chaqa is mentioned, the federal government is doing a lot of harm in their current interferences with those who grow or possess marijuana.

"Suppose 25% of people become "heavy users"

Apparently it suppresses your appetite so if the 'heavy users' were also heavy users of fast food joints you may find one joints gain is another joints loss .... and there are a few porkers that need their appetite suppressed

"Nobody is being incarcerated for recreational pot use."

........Nope. Again.

"I'm all for states rights and agree that this should be a state issue, one where I would support legalization, however if this is a state issue then the federal government should have no control over what happens, and as Chaqa is mentioned, the federal government is doing a lot of harm in their current interferences with those who grow or possess marijuana."

It would be great to make this a state issue, but if the federal government is going to legalize it on their own, they're going to keep the money...

Nigee: I don't think weed suppresses appetite....it does the opposite, you tend to get the munchies after

Show me a fat junkie .....

Also, another thing: if you don't want to smoke weed, then don't smoke weed. Why should people who do be prevented from doing so? It's their choice. As long as they are responsible with it and don't murder anybody when high, why would smoking effect you personally if you are against it?

"Apparently it suppresses your appetite so if the 'heavy users' were also heavy users of fast food joints you may find one joints gain is another joints loss .... and there are a few porkers that need their appetite suppressed"
ummm, it increases appetite, not decreases... at least that is the media stereotype of getting high, you get the munchies. I've only gotten high twice, both three years ago, so I'm not going to pretend to remember what being high is like and claim loss or gains of appitite is based on personal experience, because truth is I can't remember.

I didn't start smoking weed until I was 20. Almost 25 now and I'm doing it more and more. I code better when high and take a rip from my bong every morning before heading to work. I stay on top of all my shit and keep racking up the knowledge and the pay bumps/promotions. Worst thing it does to me is keeps me lazy when it comes to the gym.

Having said that though, I recognize that the majority of people can't be successful while being stoners. Just like the majority of people can't be successful while being alcoholics. But some definitely can.

Well, it is already a state issue. Currently legal in CO and WA. Soon to be in several other states... but will the Federal Government want a cut? Maybe.

No more people are going to smoke, if it's legal than already do.

A side note, so far this has been a pretty level-headed debate. I wish we had more of these.

Krellin will show up and ruin it soon though.

Chaqa, it's currently illegal federally. The current administration has decided not to enforce that in CO and WA, but the next one could choose to.

In terms of appetite, I can definitely attest to the fact that for regular weed smokers, it can actually reduce it. If I'm hungry and take a rip, my hunger subsides for a little while.

Show me a fat junkie ...... apart from that fat actor that just killed himself in the bathroom with a heroin overdose, apart from that fat fuck

"Why should people who do be prevented from doing so? "

Because marijuana use bring us all down with higher healthcare costs, more emergency room visits, more traffic fatalities, lower worker productivity, and more crime.

This is the same bad argument that the people against seatbelts and helmets use.

"Many many people are in jail for it."

http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/whos_in_prison_for_marij.pdf

Yes, it has been nice getting opinions from people who aren't classmates, and I respect every point made. The debate has so far been pretty good thus far. Really hope nobody crashes the party...

"Because marijuana use bring us all down with higher healthcare costs, more emergency room visits, more traffic fatalities, lower worker productivity, and more crime."

I can't agree that higher healthcare costs should be a factor (no surprise there, given our different political philosophies -- and in practice, it will be one whether I think it should or not); but I think the traffic fatalities thing will be very interesting to see, and may end up being sufficient to kill this.

The "more crime" claim is too complicated to be a good argument right now, though, given that pot is illegal, and the subsequent correlations and effects become too complicated to pierce statistically.

Besides y2, do any of you smoke? I do. I've been quite successful too

Putin is not a commie ..... he is a dictator, just like I always knew
Chill bro', live and let live, stop dissin' da homeys you racist

@Putin: by that logic, then alcohol should also be illegal, as well as sports because of injuries, and we should never be allowed to drive cars, because accidents also put a lot of people in hospitals. Also, notice how I said it should be regulated like alcohol? Smoking and driving or driving high should be illegal.

don't you tax his vodka .... he'll go crazee !!

Actually, even with my opinions, I am as clean as a whistle. I wouldn't touch that stuff because I understand there are health risks. It's the same reason I don't touch alcohol: health risks. But, people chose to drink and I don't complain about that. Why complain about weed then?

clean as a babys bum.....