The real problem isn't the drug czar - it's that these anti-marijuana laws exist in the first place.
Bob Ellis
· 10 months ago
Yes, we really should be an intoxicated society. All the malaise, self-destruction and harm to others that comes from intoxication would be welcome, too.
cinemaphile85
· 10 months ago
Well it's obvious that many people enjoy being intoxicated whether or not their substance of choice is legal. So what solution would you propose, Bob?
Bob Ellis
· 10 months ago
A good start would be not making things any worse by loosening existing enforcement.
cinemaphile85
· 10 months ago
How would that make things worse? We already waste millions of dollars fighting an unwinnable "drug war" and enforce pointless laws that only empower criminals and put people in jail who (generally) have not hurt anyone. You'd think we would have learned our lesson decades ago: prohibition does not work.
Bob Ellis
· 10 months ago
How many children have we saved from this garbage by making it illegal and thus harder to access? We probably cannot calculate the number it is so large.
I have a friend who has for some time been trying to beat his addiction to pot. It's hard enough for him to stay clean, even with the hurdles of having to sneak around to get it. It would be exponentially more difficult if he could just go down the street and purchase it in open daylight.
We'll never stop everyone from self-destructive tendencies, but a healthy society should do everything it can to make things like recreational drug use as difficult as possible.
cinemaphile85
· 10 months ago
Legalizing marijuana does not mean we'll be handing out bongs and joints to children, so take a deep breath and calm down. Alcohol is legal, yet you can't purchase or consume it unless you're above a certain age, and even then you have to follow certain restrictions or face legal consequences. Why couldn't the same be true for marijuana?
If you are saying that your friend's "addiction to pot" is physiological, then I certainly would have read about him in the papers, because he would be the first person in history to have a physical dependence on marijuana. Tell him to see a good therapist and he'll be fine. If that doesn't help, then he probably has an addictive personality to begin with and could become psychologically dependent on almost anything under the right circumstances - which means that your friend, not marijuana, is the problem.
If society should discourage recreational drug use, then please explain why alcohol, a far more dangerous and destructive substance than marijuana (and one that you can actually become physically addicted to and overdose on) is legal. What do you think the United States should do to change that? Try prohibition again and hope that it works the second time around?
VM
· 10 months ago
For the record, the above article insinuates that Mr. Kerlikowske has spoken, or is planning to speak at, Seattle Hempfest. in fact Mr. Kelikowske has NEVER spoken at Seattle Hempfest. In fact, former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper has in the past been a featured speaker at Seattle Hempfest.
Jon
· 10 months ago
Please, its time we relaxed the stupid laws that have not worked, and have caused more problems than what they were created to do in the first place. people are going to use marijuana no matter what, its natural and most people feel it their own god given right. He is just the man to be the new drug czar, good job President Obama! finally, a president for the American people, not the government, that's exactly what this dieing country needs.
The man himself
· 10 months ago
This author is the problem, obamas czar is the solution
Bob Ellis
· 10 months ago
Yes, intoxicating the mind makes even the craziest stuff seem like a good solution, doesn't it?
All Comments
I have a friend who has for some time been trying to beat his addiction to pot. It's hard enough for him to stay clean, even with the hurdles of having to sneak around to get it. It would be exponentially more difficult if he could just go down the street and purchase it in open daylight.
We'll never stop everyone from self-destructive tendencies, but a healthy society should do everything it can to make things like recreational drug use as difficult as possible.
If you are saying that your friend's "addiction to pot" is physiological, then I certainly would have read about him in the papers, because he would be the first person in history to have a physical dependence on marijuana. Tell him to see a good therapist and he'll be fine. If that doesn't help, then he probably has an addictive personality to begin with and could become psychologically dependent on almost anything under the right circumstances - which means that your friend, not marijuana, is the problem.
If society should discourage recreational drug use, then please explain why alcohol, a far more dangerous and destructive substance than marijuana (and one that you can actually become physically addicted to and overdose on) is legal. What do you think the United States should do to change that? Try prohibition again and hope that it works the second time around?