How do you feel about alcohol being legal but marijuana being illegal? To be honest, I've done plenty of both during my young teen years and I definitely think alcohol impaired my judgment FAR worse than marijuana ever did. I do drink as an adult but of course I only have a drink here or there, so the effects of it aren't as bad as when I was a teen and getting sloshed, but I still stand by the fact that alcohol can do far more damage to one's process of thinking and physical and mental impairment. I don't understand why alcohol is legal but marijuana isn't. It doesn't make sense to me.

Do you believe BOTH should be legal? Both should be illegal? Should just one or the other be legal? And why? :)

Incoming poll also :D

Honestly, I think that they should both be legal. I'm totally with Brandi on this one.

I think they should legalize both. I agree, alcohol impairs me worse than weed.

I'm not sure how I feel. I dont know how I feel about pot being legal. I've seen people do horrible things while being UTI of it. Alcohol is also pretty bad too. I dont think both should be illegal, but I will say, pot IS a gateway IMO...I dont think alcohol is a gateway to other 'alcohol' just dangerous behavior while drunk.

I'm not sure how I feel. I dont know how I feel about pot being legal. I've seen people do horrible things while being UTI of it. Alcohol is also pretty bad too. I dont think both should be illegal, but I will say, pot IS a gateway IMO...I dont think alcohol is a gateway to other 'alcohol' just dangerous behavior while drunk.

But the question arises of WHY MJ is a gateway. Is it because it is illegal? I mean, think about it... why is it so much of a 'gateway drug'? I'm not denying that is, sure it is. But if it were legalized, would it be so much of a gateway drug? Just something to think about...

my opinion is that it's not the drug that becomes the problem, it's the user.

well i am not totally sure about this but i voted alcohol should be legal and marijuana should be illegal. i guess that i feel this way because 1. it is the law now, and 2. becuase imo you can tell when someone is drunk and can't always tell when someone is high. clearly driving uti of alcohol is unsafe and should be illegal (like it is) but i guess driving uti of weed is harder to detect and can be just as unsafe. i know lots of people smoke weed, but it is a mind altering substance and i guess to me it seems like if people were going about their daily lives high, lots more problems could arise. because if weed is made legal but then driving while high or working while high were illegal it would be nearly impossible to monitor. plus like someone else mentioned, it is a gateway drug, it is bad for you etc. alchohol could be considered a gateway drug too...and is very damagaing, my dad is an alchoholic i know first hand what it does to people....but this is a hard one for me, i think prisons, courts, police officers would be less consumed with petty drug offense crimes/criminals if weed were legal and then that would free up time and money for more serious offenders but right now i just don't think im a fan of weed being legal.

well i am not totally sure about this but i voted alcohol should be legal and marijuana should be illegal. i guess that i feel this way because 1. it is the law now, and 2. becuase imo you can tell when someone is drunk and can't always tell when someone is high. clearly driving uti of alcohol is unsafe and should be illegal (like it is) but i guess driving uti of weed is harder to detect and can be just as unsafe. i know lots of people smoke weed, but it is a mind altering substance and i guess to me it seems like if people were going about their daily lives high, lots more problems could arise. because if weed is made legal but then driving while high or working while high were illegal it would be nearly impossible to monitor. plus like someone else mentioned, it is a gateway drug, it is bad for you etc. alchohol could be considered a gateway drug too...and is very damagaing, my dad is an alchoholic i know first hand what it does to people....but this is a hard one for me, i think prisons, courts, police officers would be less consumed with petty drug offense crimes/criminals if weed were legal and then that would free up time and money for more serious offenders but right now i just don't think im a fan of weed being legal.

hmm, yeah thats how i feel too

I don't like either one, but I think people are going to use them whether they are legal or not, and legalizing them would cut down on bigger crimes a LOT. Remember prohibition? Al Capone?

But the question arises of WHY MJ is a gateway. Is it because it is illegal? I mean, think about it... why is it so much of a 'gateway drug'? I'm not denying that is, sure it is. But if it were legalized, would it be so much of a gateway drug? Just something to think about...

being high on dope and high from a buzz are two different feelings IMO...I think the dope high creates a want in the user to experience that high but bigger. My mom was a heavy drinker for almost 15 years. She smoked pot ONCE in her entire life. She didnt like the feeling of being high. but being drunk was a different sensory experience. THATS why I think pot is a gateway. Legal or illegal...I think pot becoming legal would cause a rise in the number of "illegal" drugs being abused.

IMO pot is a gateway because you have to be in contact with shady people to get it and these people are likely to be doing harder drugs like coke, heroin, whatever. If it were legal you wouldn't have to be in contact with these kinds of people and situations to get your pot, therefore eliminating the gateway effect.

Hmm Ive never tried either alcohol or marijuana, so I dont know the feelings firsthand. Like Chelsea, Ive seen the effects of alcoholism and think that alcohol is taken less seriously than marijuana for some reason, kwim? For example, you dont really see people sitting at the dinner table smoking marijuana... but they will drink alcohol.
I would like for both to be illegal, honestly. I know people enjoy alcohol, but it seems to cause way more damage than good in this world.

Even if they make both illegal people will still use them like they are now..and if we legalize marijuana than it is just the start of people wanting more drugs legalized. I think things are fine how they are now.

Even if they make both illegal people will still use them like they are now..and if we legalize marijuana than it is just the start of people wanting more drugs legalized. I think things are fine how they are now.

agree

I dont think pot is a gateway drug... i think it is much safer than alcohol.. i mean what do you do when you get high???you eat and laugh and end up going to sleep... as long as the weed isnt laced with anything... you are fine. weed is not harder to detect than alcohol there are sure signs and the smell gives it away if nothing else. it is a smell that wont go away. I have never smokes pot, but my best friend used to be a pot head in her highschool years and she says that weed is much safer... I think they should both be legal. what harm can be done if you are high and its not laced? you start to run into problems when it is laced with coke or crack. i think making alcohol illegal would be a war in itself..

Even if they make both illegal people will still use them like they are now..and if we legalize marijuana than it is just the start of people wanting more drugs legalized. I think things are fine how they are now.

ditto this

I think they should legalize pot. I personally don't care for it, but it's something that could be regulated by the government and they could tax it. I've been around it plenty and I don't really feel like it's a gateway drug. It's a plant- just like tobacco. Tobacco isn't a gateway substance... :dunno I think it'd be an ok idea.

I never understood why they don't legalize MJ.

Oh Brandi... You know I have opinions on this subject... LMAO.

I voted that I think both should be legal. I will explain why be responding to other people since they already hit the points I would want to make anyway!

But the question arises of WHY MJ is a gateway. Is it because it is illegal? I mean, think about it... why is it so much of a 'gateway drug'? I'm not denying that is, sure it is. But if it were legalized, would it be so much of a gateway drug? Just something to think about...

I am so with your train of thinking here... Pot is a gateway drug because it is illegal. To get it, people buy it from dealers who usually sling more than just pot. Because of that they are more likely to become friends with people who do other drugs besides pot, and that leads to experimentation. If pot were legal, you could buy it from a business or the government and not from a criminal who also sells meth, heroine, acid, etc. Besides, every pot head I know experimented with alcohol before they first smoked weed. So, alcohol is a gateway drug too. Every pot head I know still drinks, in fact. If alcohol wasn't legal there would be tons of studies linking it to marijuana use, as well.

well i am not totally sure about this but i voted alcohol should be legal and marijuana should be illegal. i guess that i feel this way because 1. it is the law now, and 2. becuase imo you can tell when someone is drunk and can't always tell when someone is high. clearly driving uti of alcohol is unsafe and should be illegal (like it is) but i guess driving uti of weed is harder to detect and can be just as unsafe. i know lots of people smoke weed, but it is a mind altering substance and i guess to me it seems like if people were going about their daily lives high, lots more problems could arise. because if weed is made legal but then driving while high or working while high were illegal it would be nearly impossible to monitor. plus like someone else mentioned, it is a gateway drug, it is bad for you etc. alchohol could be considered a gateway drug too...and is very damagaing, my dad is an alchoholic i know first hand what it does to people....but this is a hard one for me, i think prisons, courts, police officers would be less consumed with petty drug offense crimes/criminals if weed were legal and then that would free up time and money for more serious offenders but right now i just don't think im a fan of weed being legal.

This is actually the one reason I thought maybe pot should be illegal, but with the instant drug tests now, it really isn't an issue anymore. If someone is driving erratically or gets in an accident, it's not like they have to take a breathalyser before they are pulled over, or before they are arrested. They may not be able to do breathalyser for pot, but they can do field sobriety tests and make the driver submit to a drug test just as easily as they can make them submit to a breathalyser. They can tell almost instantly if they have smoked pot in the last 30 days, and with a little bit of further testing they can tell if they have smoked it recently by the levels of THC. They already do those tests when someone is arrested for suspicion of DUI. So, what 's the difference??

being high on dope and high from a buzz are two different feelings IMO...I think the dope high creates a want in the user to experience that high but bigger. My mom was a heavy drinker for almost 15 years. She smoked pot ONCE in her entire life. She didnt like the feeling of being high. but being drunk was a different sensory experience. THATS why I think pot is a gateway. Legal or illegal...I think pot becoming legal would cause a rise in the number of "illegal" drugs being abused.

Preference for mind altering substances differs with everyone though. And with the rate of alcoholism in this country, do you really think that pot creates a bigger psychological addiction than alcohol? Your mom didn't even like pot but was a heavy drinker for 15 years, but pot is the one that you think would lead to a more dangerous addiction? Obviously in your experience alcohol leads to more and more alcohol. Just trying to understand your reasoning here, because it seems like it should be the other way to me.

Hmm Ive never tried either alcohol or marijuana, so I dont know the feelings firsthand. Like Chelsea, Ive seen the effects of alcoholism and think that alcohol is taken less seriously than marijuana for some reason, kwim? For example, you dont really see people sitting at the dinner table smoking marijuana... but they will drink alcohol.
I would like for both to be illegal, honestly. I know people enjoy alcohol, but it seems to cause way more damage than good in this world.

This is my gut feeling. LOL. I think alcohol is WAY more dangerous not only because it is so available and not seen as a big deal, but because the physical effects seen by alcoholism are WAY more prevalent in society than the effects of marijuana. People die from heat disease and liver disease after years of drinking all the time in this country. Hundreds of thousands of people are hurt or killed in alcohol related car crashes and alcohol related violence every year. No one has ever died from marijuana use. NEVER. The link between marijuana and lung disease is sketchy at best. The statistics of car accidents linked to marijuana are extremely low and I couldn't even find any statistics about violence while under the influence of marijuana. LOL. That makes me want to take the stance of make alcohol illegal and let everyone smoke pot.

Then the freedom loving side of me wins, and I just wish that our government would let us choose how to live our own lives.

Preference for mind altering substances differs with everyone though. And with the rate of alcoholism in this country, do you really think that pot creates a bigger psychological addiction than alcohol? Your mom didn't even like pot but was a heavy drinker for 15 years, but pot is the one that you think would lead to a more dangerous addiction? Obviously in your experience alcohol leads to more and more alcohol. Just trying to understand your reasoning here, because it seems like it should be the other way to me.



:lol Yeah I guess I should be the other way, but I just cant bring myself to think pot should be legal. No matter how much I argue that POV in my head, I just cant. My dad died from cirrosis of the liver after 20+ years of heroin use. Yeah my mom screwed up part of her life and part of mine, and she is damn lucky she recovered. My dad NEVER drank, smoked pot a few years in high school, someone introduced him to heroin, and he used it the rest of his life. Sadly, he used till the day he died. I feel the way I do because of personal circumstance, although I DO see your point. But then my feelings get in the way, and I just cant agree. :)

I think that cigarettes should be illegal even. Of course people who smoke MJ want it legalized :rolleyes never saw that one coming.

People get drunk and start brawling...people get high and sit down to eat cake.

I'm not a big partier but that has been my observation!

Just wanted to add, I dont smoke pot... I actually HATE the way it makes you feel. A paranoid "cat on a hot tin roof" feeling isnt pleasant to me, but I know people who just relax from it. I think as with anything, self control and responsibility play key roles if it were ever legalized.

:lol Yeah I guess I should be the other way, but I just cant bring myself to think pot should be legal. No matter how much I argue that POV in my head, I just cant. My dad died from cirrosis of the liver after 20+ years of heroin use. Yeah my mom screwed up part of her life and part of mine, and she is damn lucky she recovered. My dad NEVER drank, smoked pot a few years in high school, someone introduced him to heroin, and he used it the rest of his life. Sadly, he used till the day he died. I feel the way I do because of personal circumstance, although I DO see your point. But then my feelings get in the way, and I just cant agree. :)

LOL, understandable. I have strong feelings about a lot of things for personal reasons. :tu