Legalize it!

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I guess what I'm saying is that I concede that my argument for keeping it illegal isn't all that strong. There are some objective reasons for it which I still believe strongly in keeping it illegal (and I won't rehash because I've expressed them already). But there are strong arguments in favor of legalizing it, the biggest of which is that people should be free to eff themselves up if they want to, which I actually buy into. If you want to make a bad decision regarding how to treat your body, you should be free to do so. I think the affect of legalizing will be deleterious to our youth. Us adults, we'll be just fine. But it's the kids I'd worry about with the increased accessibility to pot.

But mainly at this point, I've moved on to expressing my subjective and personal distaste for marijuana and those who smoke it. I agree that you should be free to make decisions regarding your own body (to the extent it doesn't affect others). But I also feel that if you're going to make bad decisions regarding your health, you should be prepared to deal with uppity people like me who consider you an idiot for doing so. Freedom is a two-way street; if you're free to decide to smoke pot, others should be free to look at you with derision, voice their opinions, and shake their heads in disgust.

I think our opinions are closer than you, or I, thought. I would like to stop completely. I really just think it is a waste of money. However, I have the same opinion about alcohol. I think I just have less judgment, because I myself am a user. I don't think pot smokers are dumb because they smoke pot, but there are certainly a lot of dumb pot smokers.

I totally accept other people's opinions about smoking pot. It doesn't bother me if people think I am making a bad decision about smoking pot. I have made, and will continue to make, poor decisions throughout my life. It's mostly due to a lack of self-discipline. I don't really have a problem with the criticism. I just don't like people trying to control my life, based on their own morals/opinions. Just because another person's lifestyle does not conform to your own, does not mean it is any less valid (note: I mean 'your' in a general sense -- not you specifically).