SURVEY: Should Marijuana be legalized?

[bazza40]

4 hours ago, csabo said:

I think all illicit narcotics should be legalized.  I never met one person who used drugs who said the law prohibiting their use or possession was a consideration.  I never knew one non-user who said it was only the law preventing him.  I don't think the statistics of users vs non-users would change that much if the laws were eliminated.  I know it would not change my choice.

Agree, with one caveat. If you commit a crime under the influence of any drug, you can't use that as a cop-out to reduce the sentence.

There is some evidence heavy marijuana use can lead to psychosis in about 30% of users. However, that's probably no worse than the alcohol-fuelled violence prevalent in many countries.

A senior policeman in Australia has said the police force can't arrest their way out of the ice problem there. The evidence says much of the drug-related crime would disappear if the drugs were legal, because there would no longer be any excess profit in it for suppliers. Or crime fuelled by the craving for a fix.

BTW, apart from a couple of shots of whisky, I'm not a drug user. Have never smoked marijuana. I  don't see the attraction of being in thrall to any chemical, just because it makes you briefly feel good.

[kingstonkid]

The problem that I see with legalizing Mary jane is that it will add to the unemployment.  Very hard to drive a cab or work when you are stoned.  It will also invite a subculture that Thailand is trying to get rid of.  Imagine the number of stonies that would come here for the cheap smoke and go overstay.

 

I am not vehemently opposed to it I do understand that recreational use among responsible adults is not a bad thing.  The worry I have is that the long term use has never been discussed and the people that I know that have abused or overused well let's say they are not the brightest in the world anymore.

 

If they regulated it to the point of alcohol with age restrictions it might not be so bad.  Also please make a promise that addiction or over use of MJ will be a fireable offence.

 

 

[Reigntax]

2 hours ago, F4UCorsair said:

 

Which country?

 

 

Sorry, all of them!!

 

Probably most countries anyway but SE Asia is certainly awash with many

[mankondang]

6 hours ago, halloween said:

Decriminalise might be better than legalised. 

 

Its a pity that some well educated people dont know/understand the difference between these two actions and consequences on society.

[DaddyWarbucks]

22 minutes ago, Credo said:

And did they in anyway force your country to get tough on weed?   

 

This thread is about Thailand and they got tough in 1937, I think that was quite a while before the US started putting any pressure on anybody about weed.  

No pressure by the US was necessary to make the Thais enact drug laws in the 1930s.

Just a screening of films like Reefer Madness would make them aware of the menace they were facing.

American lunacy on full view.

[Skeptic7]

Not a smoker, toker or recreational drug user...other than alcohol...but IMO almost all drugs should be legalized, regulated and taxed. They should not be sold to under 21's and carry similar laws and harsh penalties for misuse and worse. 

 

Time for another beer! ! 

[jcsmith]

39 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

The problem that I see with legalizing Mary jane is that it will add to the unemployment.  Very hard to drive a cab or work when you are stoned.  It will also invite a subculture that Thailand is trying to get rid of.  Imagine the number of stonies that would come here for the cheap smoke and go overstay.

 

It's also hard to drive a cab or work when you are drunk. It isn't something that people should be doing, and there should be laws to prevent that.

 

I would never recommend driving while intoxicated or stoned. I think in some types of jobs, a drug like marijuana can help aid the creativity process. It does certainly hurt with short term memory loss, and is more difficult to stay focused, which pretty much makes it a no go with many types of jobs. I find it useful when brainstorming though, and it makes things like programming more enjoyable. You can code longer for example, though you will lose some time now and again from losing your attention.

 

I think in cases such as that though, weed should be treated the same as alcohol. You shouldn't be driving while stoned, and you shouldn't do it at work. What people do in their own homes though should be up to them so long as they aren't negatively affecting other people. Legalizing Marijuana would not only bring in revenue and tourists. I doubt it would ever happen though. Certainly not with the junta in charge. 

 

 

[JHolmesJr]

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

YES, God gave man dominion over plant and animal. For a small select group of powerful men to deny all men the use of marijuana plant is to thwart God's will. They are for sure going to hell, I don't want to follow those that would annul the words of God.

 

don't hog that joint man…puff puff pass.

[ClutchClark]

1 hour ago, brain150 said:

 

I can go to a 7/11 and buy some glue to get high ...

You think things should be made illegal because they can be abused ???

 

Why would anybody want to smoke "Marijuana" ? ... I want to drink it ! But even if it won't make me high it's still illegal.

 

It's plain madness, nothing else.

 

I don't understand your post. You must have been trying to quote another member.

 

Cheers

[Guitar God]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The word marijuana is not slang. It's an English word with Spanish roots and well understood as such. Hemp is also a well understood English word. You don't say let's smoke some hemp unless you're being ironic, just as you don't say, that's a lovely marijuana fabric handbag you're carrying.

 

Next ... 

The term was popualized by Harry Aslinger, the 1930's Prohibitionist who was in the pocket of companies producing synthetic fibers who didn't want competition from industrial hemp. His plan was to demonize Cannabis so they could outlaw any form of it including hemp. 

 

It was chosen to sound Mexican and the propaganda message was that the drug caused white women to listen to jazz music and have sex with Mexicans and "negros".

[ClutchClark]

One of the biggest obstacles experienced in CO (other than the homeless population increasing significantly) is that there is currently no methODS accepted by the court system to measure if someone is under the influence other than a blood test for THC.

 

The problem with that is THC can remain in the blood for seversl weeks after it is consumed. 

 

It is also difficult for a LEO to measure except for a field sobriety test and visual inspection of the pupil dilation and slurred speech combined with a smell of MJ or better yet posession of MJ & paraphenalia in the vehicle. 

 

Do you want your loved ones to share the roads with a stoned individual and there is no way for the police to get them off the road until an accident? BTW, the THC content of these scientifially developed plants is in excess of 30. 

 

Until there is a court approved scientific method to check intoxication level (as their is for alcohol by breath test or blood test) then this potentially debilitating drug should be restricted. 

 

But that won't happen in CO because the tax on recreational use sales was over $100 million on 2015.

 

BTW, there a some other testing methods under development including measuring a sepera chemical from THC however it only appears if the MJ is mokes. It is a byproduct chemical of the burning process. 

 

Ofcourse, I don't anticipate any stoners on here to have researched any of this since contrary to popular myth, it does not make you more creative dudes--it just makes you lazy and stupid.

 

 

[sirineou]

Arguably Good or bad, marijuana is not going away, so what is one to do. The reasonable thing  is to bring it in to the mainstream and regulate it. 

If it is a crime, criminals would sell it.Criminals usually do not limit their activity to the selling of marijuana   but expand their business to include other more dangerous drugs.

When we force our kids to purchase their marijuana from criminals we force them to come in to contact with other drugs. 

[Slip]

3 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

Yes for cancer or terminal illness otherwise no no no.

It's a drug it is adictive (yes it is) I've known many friends who say it's only weed!!! Then a year down the line there on heroine or these so called leagal highs. 

Oh what utter bullshit.   By the way it must be heroin you mean, unless they are snuffing brave and inspiring women.

[yogi100]

5 hours ago, MANFROMBOCA said:

 

what planet are you from ??? Uranus ??

 

It's obvious that you put a lot of intense thought and intelligent consideration into your contribution regarding the topic under discussion.

 

How about expanding on it and explaining how you arrived at your conclusion.

[ClutchClark]

16 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Arguably Good or bad, marijuana is not going away, so what is one to do. The reasonable thing  is to bring it in to the mainstream and regulate it. 

If it is a crime, criminals would sell it.Criminals usually do not limit their activity to the selling of marijuana   but expand their business to include other more dangerous drugs.

When we force our kids to purchase their marijuana from criminals we force them to come in to contact with other drugs. 

 

I would agree with your last sentence.

 

We are seeing that the growers in CO are offering a product that competes with large Mexican Cartel operations and as more US States legalize it then this effect is assumed to eventually cut down on the violence in Mexico which is systemic in the drug cartels.

[yogi100]

4 hours ago, simple1 said:

 

Actually tin the 60s it was mainly hashish imported from - wait for it - Muslim countries - arghhhh! No idea if hash is still prevalent in the UK. Hemp was grown in the UK for hundreds of years & THC was extracted to some degree as THC was used in medicines.  These days for recreational use growers cultivate Cannabis sativa as it has a lot higher percentile of THC.

 

As an aside I still remember being able to buy Dr Collis Brown tincture in the UK which had small amounts of THC and opium. Interestingly I was in Taiwan recently and got ill, was over the counter prescribed.... Dr Collis Brown, but with a different brand name and it included a small percentile of opium.

 

Don't know if it's still the case, but at one time in the UK the abuse of prescription drugs was the greatest cause of drug addition.

 

I support decriminalisation as still needed to have laws in place for DUI and so on.

 

That product could be associated with Dr Collis Brown's Chlorodine, once polular for loose bowel problems before Imodium arrived on the scene. I took it regularly on my continental travels when the circumstances prevailed but never felt any inclination to take it otherwise.

[bazza40]

It's interesting that methamphetamine ( ice, yaa baa ) is widely regarded as the most dangerous of the illicit drugs. However, in World War II both the US government and the Nazis were freely issuing methamphetamine and benzedrine  to their flight crews to improve their endurance. Perhaps there is a moral in that somewhere.

[smotherb]

9 hours ago, yogi100 said:

Britain as well as other countries has seen it's standards drop and its society has been on a downward spiral ever since marijuana was introduced and has been more or less accepted. All drugs should be outlawed like they used to be when we lived in a world based on morals, decency and the possession of a work ethic. Much more severe sentencing should be introduced to discourage the use of any drugs.

 

We've always had drunken violence but not the lazy, shiftless behaviour exhibited by those that inhabit the dream world associated with marijuana. And it DOES often lead the user on to harder drugs which often prove to be impossible to get off of and leads those who partake into a life of crime that inflicts misery upon the victims and themselves.

Are you as misinformed on every issue?

[Credo]

2 hours ago, DaddyWarbucks said:

No pressure by the US was necessary to make the Thais enact drug laws in the 1930s.

Just a screening of films like Reefer Madness would make them aware of the menace they were facing.

American lunacy on full view.

I think the never ending conspiracy of anti-Americanism is on full view in your post.   Reefer Madness was filmed in 1936.   Marijuana was outlawed in 1937.   Movies were pretty rare back then and English was pretty far from understood.   I doubt very, very much it was seen by anyone in Thailand and I doubt that it had any affect on the country.   

 

 

[ClutchClark]

Should MJ be legalized in LOS?

 

Thailand already has a perfectly functioning legislative system to write new laws and MJ guidelines. 

 

Thailand already has a very effective and professional law enforcement community to enforce responsible consumption and prevent DUI's.

 

Thailand has no substance abuse problems with addictive type drugs like ya-Ba amongst its populace.

 

the average Thais have a rather large disposable income available to purchase these drugs responsibly. 

 

The ex-pat community and tourists have shown great personal control when it comes to responsible alcohol consumption.

 

No tourists would ever be tempted to stash some bud in their luggage for their retunprn trip home.

 

If there was ever a country that could responsibly handle the introduction of a legalized MJ it is certainly Thailand. 

 

Hopefully it is understood this post is tongue & cheek and just meant for a little humor.

I hope to elicit a laugh and not bait anyone.

[sirineou]

27 minutes ago, ClutchClark said:

 

I would agree with your last sentence.

 

We are seeing that the growers in CO are offering a product that competes with large Mexican Cartel operations and as more US States legalize it then this effect is assumed to eventually cut down on the violence in Mexico which is systemic in the drug cartels.

I an attempt to protect as from the arguable harm present in the use of marijuana , unintended and not so unintended consequences have created a much greater harm.

Have Destabilized   whole countries, compromised lives, and whole communities.

For a long time politicians were trapped in the politics of the situation. As evident in this poll, I am glad to see that attitudes have changed, allowing politicians to do that which they knew they had to do for a long time.

Mexico is a very sad case.I hope legalization in the US would help mitigate some of their drug cartel  problems.  

[boomerangutang]

Yes, pot should be legal, and so should hemp.

 

I used to grow pot in California, but I haven't smoked the stuff since 1969.  Why?  Because I don't like the high.  But everyone should have a choice with such a lightweight drug.

 

Hemp should be legal for many reasons, not least because it would afford poor Thai farmers a way to make more money than from nutrition-devoid rice.  Hemp is a better crop than rice for too many reasons to list here.

[MyFriend You]

9 hours ago, robblok said:

Never did i Imagine that so many on this site were so liberal. I am shocked that only 2 voted against it. 

I am not a liberal and I voted Yes - and only for the Tax benefit Thailand will be able to excise, I know nothing about Kraton so that should still be illegal as well as all the other illegal drugs available on the street.

[MyFriend You]

14 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I an attempt to protect as from the arguable harm present in the use of marijuana , unintended and not so unintended consequences have created a much greater harm.

Have Destabilized   whole countries, compromised lives, and whole communities.

For a long time politicians were trapped in the politics of the situation. As evident in this poll, I am glad to see that attitudes have changed, allowing politicians to do that which they knew they had to do for a long time.

Mexico is a very sad case.I hope legalization in the US would help mitigate some of their drug cartel  problems.  

 

I had a good friend, a long term resident of Thailand, that died from Emphasyma due too chronic Marijuana use - so  the 'experts here' can't tell me its not harmful in the long run..........just look at Willie Nelson, 67 & looks like 100.   as with alcohol, moderation is the key .

[NativeSon360]

"the Justice Ministry, in remarks to ASEAN, stated that Thailand would not be legalizing drugs."

 

It never ceases to amaze me, how some of the most ignorant people on the planet, manage to get themselves placed into authoritative positions of national spokesperson. Sigh!

 

I have listened to so many (so-called) "educated" people, in the LOL, who seem to have a true penchant for sticking their feet into their own pretentious mouths, that I "actively listen" to absolutely nothing they have to say, anymore.

[yogi100]

4 hours ago, retoohs said:

My spelling of Ganga might be wrong but doesn't make your nonsense any more real. Cannabis came to the Middle East between 2000 B.C. and 1400 B.C., and it was probably used there by the Scythians, a nomadic Indo-European group. The Scythians also likely carried the drug into southeast Russia and Ukraine, as they occupied both territories for years, according to Warf's report. Germanic tribes brought the drug into Germany, and marijuana went from there to Britain during the 5th century with the Anglo-Saxon invasions.

We move on and by the 1840s cannabis was being touted as one of the wonder-drugs of the age, as doctors out in the Empire reported excitedly that it was a ‘powerful and valuable remedy in hydrophobia, tetanus, cholera and many convulsive disorders’. The Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal seized on these reports and devoted its front-page to the new medicine, and in subsequent decades the plant was used to treat everything from tetanus, to period pains and mental illness.

It has been around a long time and been used recreationally ever since its arrival. William Shakespeare smoked the stuff along with many other successful people through history such as David Urquhart (1805-1877) who was an British MP in the 19th century. It was big in the clubs in the 20's until it was made illegal in 1928. They wouldn't have made it illegal if nobody had heard about it. Just because YOU hadn't heard about it doesn't mean it wasn't happening.
 

 

 

You never knew that nor did anyone else, you've copied that from the internet! Where did Shakespeare and his chums get their gear from?

 

I'm posting from personal experience and knowledge from what I've seen of the drug culture in London over the last 50 odd years. Like many of my generation I smoked Temple Bull, Gold Seal, Red Seal and Thai Sticks back in the 70s and 80s. It had no lasting effect on most of us but those few who fell by the wayside wound up on heroin and often died before their time was up.

 

Most of 'em were decent people but had addictive natures that drug addiction homed in on and eventually ruined their lives. As far as I know they're all dead now, taken before their time. It's said the arty farty mob all experimented with drugs in Victorian and Georgian times but but it was all comparatively new to the rest of us back in the 1960s.

 

The same could be said of those who got on Purple Hearts and Black Bombers in the 1960s. There was even an all night dispensing chemist at Picadilly Underground station in those days where addicts could get their heroin. The only such dispensary in the whole city and possibly the whole of the UK at the time.

 

"It was big in the clubs in the 20s until it was made illegal in 1928" What clubs! It's illegal now but is still in widespead use. Making it illegal would not have stopped folk from using it back then any more than it does now. Oscar Wilde was rumoured to have taken heroin for what good it might or might not have done him.

 

 

[mikebike]

 

I had a good friend, a long term resident of Thailand, that died from Emphasyma due too chronic Marijuana use - so  the 'experts here' can't tell me its not harmful in the long run..........just look at Willie Nelson, 67 & looks like 100.   as with alcohol, moderation is the key .

Did ur friend happen to smoke ciggies as well by any chance?

[NativeSon360]

11 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

 

I had a good friend, a long term resident of Thailand, that died from Emphasyma due too chronic Marijuana use - so  the 'experts here' can't tell me its not harmful in the long run..........just look at Willie Nelson, 67 & looks like 100.   as with alcohol, moderation is the key .

 

11 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

 

I had a good friend, a long term resident of Thailand, that died from Emphasyma due too chronic Marijuana use - so  the 'experts here' can't tell me its not harmful in the long run..........just look at Willie Nelson, 67 & looks like 100.   as with alcohol, moderation is the key .

In my lifetime, I have worked in residence, within 14 different countries on this planet, with colleagues from a host of different cultures. I have yet to meet one person who was actually addicted to marijuana. That is the topic "point" of this thread.

[ClutchClark]

6 hours ago, johnnysunshine said:

Marijuana is not a drug it is a plant and ironically it is the only plant in the USA to be made illegal.

An example of a drug would be Aspirin or Lipitor.   These are fairly dangerous as compared to MJ.

Maybe we can outlaw drugs and let plants be!    

 

Sorry zjohnny but that is not true.

[MyFriend You]

1 minute ago, mikebike said:

Did ur friend happen to smoke ciggies as well by any chance?

I never saw him smoke cigarettes  - but he could have earlier on, like myself, I quit 35 years ago...........so I have to blame it on his marijuana useage.