I just do not understand our gov. It is no worse than smoking and i do not see them banning that or alcohol. If there were people in Washington giving money to the congress like with tobacco alcohol, gas company’s and automakers I know for a fact it would be legal in the united states. Our country allows our over the hill congress who only know scare tactics. (I am a devote Republican Only pull one lever when I vote) We need to over throw our own government elect people under 35 and see where we go from there.
I hate the way Our country as of right now evaluates what is and what is not important. O’Reily needs to run and maybe we would get change in this crappy congress we have had for way too long.
We the people not we our congress.

Everytime I read an article about marijuana it deals with teens. No one believes teens should smoke pot. But if an adult wants to smoke marijuana in their own home, they should be able. I don’t drink but I like to take a hit every once in a while.

Where can I get some?

Why do you media types continue to reprint these ONDCP propaganda “reports” without question?

Would it be too hard or too much actual doing your job to fact check them?

First, higher THC levels means less smoking (the only real danger associated with pot), therefore the higher the THC level the safer the pot.

Secondly THERE IS NO DATA on pot from the 60s. None. They make this data up by testing pot that was laying around from the 60s in the 90s! Of course it’s not the same!

The best two word explanation for marijuana’s rabid prohibition in this country is “Bad Journalism”.

It may be time to legalize Pot. The Government could regulate the strength of it and tax the hell out it. If they didn’t get carried away they would complete shut down the illegal trade.

Well you could always just smoke less for the same high as most do…I guess logic is beyond our government. They’d rather just make everyone afraid of the big bad weed. You’d think they’d be all over legalizing so they could tax the heck out of it(ahem healthcare, our INSANE deficit, and social security all could be affected by this rather drastically). Legalization also leads to regulation. So we wouldn’t be looking at these super pots and laced garbage. Not to mention the increased complacency of stoners would play right into the Gov’s hands. We’re the joke; let the rest of the world laugh.

How long is this “Reefer Madness” mentality going to exist in this country? I think it’s funny that I had to suffer through Chantix to quit smoking cigarettes, and they’re legal. However, something that is not physically addictive (and no, there has not been a 100% conclusive study to support this) is highly illegal. What it comes down to is that there are too many benefits for our government and police state financially and politically to keeping marijuana illegal.

When are the Drug Czars of this country going to use the data that supports the research that Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Mr. Walters cited the “potential for users to become dependent on drugs such as cocaine and heroin.” The Institue of Medicine under the commision of Gen. MCCaffrey’s office in the Clinton years concluded that marijuana “does not appear to be a gateway drug” along with the RAND Institues finding that the gateway theory is “not the best explanation” of the link between marijuana use and hard drugs. The same old tired fear mongering approach to drug prevention hasn’t worked for the past 30 years. Until the government makes a stand against alcohol and cigarette abuse in this country they have no credibility in my eyes. The previous responder was dead on with his opinion that all that really matters in Washington is which lobbyist is stuffing their pockets the most. Congress and the Bush Administration with their pathetic approval ratings need to take a hard look at what is really important in our country today.

The U.S. government has been screaming that “the sky is falling” regarding cannabis use for decades. Millions of citizens know it’s a lie and that the screams of alarm are laughable. What is not laughable is the thousands of lives affected and destroyed, not by cannabis, but by POLICY. Cannabis is no more a gateway to use of harder drugs than breathing is a gateway to death. Saying so is simply POLICY. Still a lie, but lying is POLICY. The Federal government has made prostitutes of law enforcement agencies across the country. If one is stopped by police, it is automatically assumed that one is transporting drugs. It would be far more lucrative to government coffers to regulate and tax cannabis than by court levied fines for “manufacturing”, distribution, and use.

I do not understand why the government continues to advocate implicitly that cannabis sale and distribution should be the domain of “others” who retain all the revenue. Drugs like money, greed, power, staying in political office, methamphetamines, heroin, alcohol…these ARE harmful and unhealthy. Cannabis? Well, it is literally laughable.

You never hear of a man beating up his wife or kids when smoking pot!!
Only drinking. And drinking is legal!!!!and it kills people every day

Lies Lies lies we all know that the pharmaceutical company have something to do with this article, marijuana have less of a health risk than they claim to have, marijuana is more good than bad. Legalizing marijuana means less money for the pharmaceutical money hungry company. More people are smoking marijuana because they know the truth and see through the lies that articles like this present, this is just another scare tactics that our government likes to present to you just to make their pockets fat or someone or company pockets fat. America, do your own research and judge for yourself.

Stronger Pot. Isn’t that the point? Lets alocate more money from the war on drugs to feeding our homeless and fixing our crappy economy. Get a real job you right wing guidance counselors!

Seriously, this is not what I consider a major concern with everything else we have going on. I used to enjoy the herb when I was younger but, then I grew up and had to get a real job. As far as I’m concerned it ought to be better…your paying twice as much for the sh!t.

LEGALIZE IT!!!

This is coming from one who is considered by his contemporaries to be a conservative. In my own family, I have lost 4 adult males to the evils of alcohol. Two of these died on the streets as vagrant addicts to a legal drug.

I have several friends who are casual pot smokers. Most of these people are creative, well-read and kind people. Go to any bar or professional sporting event and count the number of obnoxious and sometimes violent drunks - all fueled by their legal drug-of-choice.

“The illegal immigrant problem”, unemployment and new sources of tax revenues - you want a quick an easy answer to these problems? LEGALIZE IT!!! This will create jobs in agriculture, packaging and transportation. Why would illegal immigrants from Mexico wade across a river or travel in the back of an overheated truck bed to pick lettuce and strawberries when they could stay home with their loved ones (and with the cooperation of the Mexican government) grow a strong exportable crop at home?

I have also talked with many a Georgia and Alabama farmer whom would never use cannabis but would welcome the opportunity to grow the crop. “I could make more money off a few hundred square feet than I do on several acres of any other crop”, I was told by one.

Alcohol and tobacco are legal due in part to the fact that people want them to be. That’s the American way and I’m fine with that. But there is also a large portion of our population who choose to use marijuana. These individuals should be afforded the same choice, and not be treated as a criminal class.

Just another hit piece attempting to reinforce failing prohibition laws.
How could higher potency result in more damage to the lungs when generally less smoke is inhaled?
“The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment”
Who writes this fantasy garbage? If we’re talking toxicity, why are there absolutely no cases of death by overdose?
Why is there never any discussion of the seemingly infinite grades and varieties of cannabis (”marijuana’s” REAL name) ,as if to say that ALL available cannabis is extremely potent, which any casual user will tell you is not the case. Let’s all wake up and smell the herb: if we Take into consideration all the effects of cannabis, both short term and long term, it always amounts to something much less dangerous than its legal recreational brother, Alcohol, and is well within the realm of PERSONAL CHOICE.

ps. Hemp is known to have the greatest potential for making bio-fuels, with corn being a particularly bad source, it kinda makes you think about who REALLY has vested interest in continued prohibition of CANNABIS.

Finally!!! a true good news story!!!

Hell YEA! It’s about time we legalized it! Propaganda is the right word to use for these so called reports. What a crock of crap the government has been shoveling down our throats for years. I say we need to get rid of the old spend and tax cronies in our government, those fat lazy crooked a@&holes who only take take take from all of us and do nothing in return but pass these stupidly mind numbing laws that benefit no one but them. Those jerks are the biggest lawbreakers there are and never get prosecuted because our taxes pay for the lawyers who defend them. Legalize marijuana now and get rid of all the politicians over 55 for the sake of our country!!!!!

For the life of me I just don’t understand this government’s’ misinformation campagin concerning marijuana. As a marijuana smoker of the past forty years I have not seen pot potency change much from the 60’s. On the contrary, pot potency, I feel, has diminished in strength from that time. I think this is due to the fact that more inexperienced home growers are flooding the market with pot that has not been cultivated to its full potential.

How many die each year from cigarettes????????????? How many die each year from cocaine??????????? Prescription drugs?????????? OTC’s???????????? What about alcohol related deaths????????????????? Car accidents?????? Shootings??????????????? But this PLANT is still illegal?!! WT hell??????????????????????????????????????????????????????/

I don’t think it is a good idea to do any drugs. I include alcohol in this statement. I live in Tucson, Arizona and am close to a lot of the criminality and violence surrounding the illegal drug trade. After years of watching the failure of anyone to put a dent in this, I am now for the legalization, regulation and taxation of pot. I believe that if it were legal, it would actually be more difficult for minors to get a hold of it. (All it took to get a bag in the 70s was a telephone call). Legalizing and controlling it would put an awful lot of bad people out of business.

I guess my comment doesn’t count since Fox won’t post it

This article is BS. Maybe the pot nowadays is more potent, but as every pot smoker knows, the better it is the less you inhale. If one hit does the trick, that’s great, my stash will last longer. I’ve been smoking since around 1984 and I have a great job, pay my taxes, and contribute to my community raising money for charities and education. Its about time for the Government to wise up and stop wasting time and money on failed, inacurate, and outdated drug policy. I’m not saying we need to legalize any “hard” drugs like heroin, cocaine, or halucinogens, but come on Congress, marijuana is safer than booze, less harmful than cigarettes, and if done correctly could be the savior of a failing farm industry in many parts of the country. The benefits of growing it far outweigh any negative impact it may have. The economic impact alone is reason enough to legalize it, it would create thousands of jobs, generate billions in taxes that we are not collecting now, reduce crime, and make our borders safer by eliminating the need to smuggle it into the country. Why isn’t this happening already you ask, because it will hurt the Pharmecutical companies by reducing the demand for their pills! Of course they could buy it and distribute it but they don’t want to. I’m grandstanding, sorry, it just pisses me off when pot gets a bad rap, I will be a dedicated advocate of marijuana until I die, maybe I’ll die of lung disease, oh well, thats my CHOICE, screw the Health care industry if they don’t like it, and the insurance companies, I pay my premiums and make my contribution to society, so if you don’t like it, eff you. Communist bastards.

Someone said here to Legalize it…. if that’s done; there is more to be concerned about. The average person doesn’t realize that more than humans are using it. Humans are using it on animals for other competitive needs….like horses, dogs, etc.

I wonder if legalizing it would make the animal situation even worse.

What do you think?

More overblown Hokey propaganda sponsored by the liars in Washington. I have a 14 yr old and the way the schools and government braiwash them should be a crime. When was the last time we saw PSA about Meth? Talk to any Dr or nurse and they will tell you how debilitating it is and is the #1 evil (short of Bush) in our country. nothing will change until these old horses are sent to pasture and the lobbying by the tobacco and Alcohol industry is stopped. Legalize it, tax it and you will find that the budget defecit given to our gradchildren by our current administration will be gone in no time. Quit printing such slander and lies. Wise up

The Alcohol industry plays a big role in keeping Marijuana illegal by funding groups like the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The reason you don’t see any criticism of the drug war on TV is that the advertisers like Alcohol don’t want you anyone to see such criticism in the form of PSAs. Even though Alcohol kills over 4,000 young people annually from AOD and pot throughout history hasn’t killed one person, the media latches on to reports like this one from the White House without any meaninful counterpont or critical analysis.

Inspite of this lack of scrutiny by the media, the tide of drug policy is slowly changing for the better. The better being a system that’s regualated, controlled and taxed. The spreading of Medical Marijuana in America is an important component toward that change.

Yes it is all lies, corrupted data, what ever you want to call it, It is very wrong, because everyone who smokes cannabis knows, there is bad weed, good weed and great weed. The best weed I ever came across was grown in Florida, outside in the fresh air, and in the 80’s, twenty years ago.
This report is a propaganda lie, comparing low to middle grade cannabis, to high grade cannabis.
You don’t see peppers having more capsaicine, or carrots having more beta caradine every year do you, so why would you believe this lie?
What about coffee, do the beans contain more caffine each year? NO!
Wake up people, we need to fire everyone in our government, and start over. It is supposed to be for the people, by the people, but somehow got lost, now it is just, controling the people with lies, and scare tactics. We must act now before we, completely lose our freedom.

Don’t legalize pot. We have enough losers in this country as it is. We all have seen these heavy pot users. They’re lazy and not the smartest people in the world.

I think this countrys government is beyond stupid and should get off their lazy asses and do some real research and they will realize that marijuana is just a plant, not a drug, and make it legal for everyone to enjoy.

This drives me crazy. Just read the comments and you know it is time to legalize it. They can’t find one thing wrong with it. There are other ways to use it besides smoking, and not a single death has ever contributed to cannabis use. And for the real kicker, they want studies done but won’t let anyone have cannabis so they can perform the studies . Just like how the originally Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. And what about Pot Shrinks Tumors.

AGAIN…. The government has no idea what they are talking about. Go smoke a joint and then do your research. I watched my brother die of cancer and my stepmother thank god medical marijuana was available to them. The government is just a waste of taxpayers money.

Marijuana’s potency is an example of evolution in action.

it’s good thing the gov’t is still trying to keep marijuana off he streets! people should only be allowed to poison themselves with far more harmful drugs that the gov’t can make money on….like cigarettes and alcohol.

Government stupidity never fails to shock me. The reason pot is more potent is because it isn’t regulated by the government. People smoke pot instead of drink alcohol to relax because pot ISN’T A POISON.
ALCOHOL IS A POISON.

Hey EMPEROR, YOUR NAKED dumb ass.

We should legalize it! After these numb skulls elect Obama we will need it to kill the pain of hunger and job loss. We will also need it to keep our heads “clear” of all the bull he and his mindless followers will be spouting!

Everyone here must be a pot smoker. I know several potheads, some are intelligent some are not.

Hemp/Cannabis is considered a weed right? and weed’s grow any where. Is it possible to convert Hemp fibers into biodiesel?

I know many potheads. Some are intelligent some are not. The stipid ones smoke more pot overall, than do the intelligent ones. This has been my observation. Yes, there may be exceptions that every pothead will site to as their excuse for lighting up a joint but there are far more Jeff Spicoli’s than Albert Einsteins when it come to pot smokers and drinkers for that matter.

Yes, but people smoke less now. The herb with the high amounts of thc is so sticky it is impossible to roll a blunt, or a joint. The only way to successfully smoke it, is in a bowl. Smokers are smoking LESS, paying more, and getting better satisfaction… legalize the herb.

every post is for weed, not against it. our “government”, of “by, for, and OF the people”…wtf happened to THAT? we are doomed by our governors who cannot see the most obvious. durr..screw it…wheres my bong…

Joke of a story….

Who would you rather have to confront on a dark street late at night, a guy high off pot or a guy high off booze?

This is good news, because you don’t have to smoke as much.

More government propaganda trying to justify an unjust cause. Makes me ill. “GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!”

Isn’t it odd that ALL of these comments so far are FOR marijuana and not against it? That in itself should tell you something. I am SO sick of reading articles about pot being a gateway drug! I’ve never known anyone (including myself) to use pot and then go on to harsher things or real drugs such as heroine or cocaine. The people who use these drugs use them because they want that type of high, not because they once smoked pot! I’ve NEVER, EVER known anyone to overdose or die from smoking pot. Heroine, meth and coke, yes, but not pot. And as for teenagers, they shouldn’t be smoking pot anymore than they should be using alcohol! I’m with Steve…enough of this “Refer Madness” mentality. Why not explore the benefits of pot more and perhaps the useage of the pot plant (ie., hemp) for a more efficient/alternate fuel source?

HEY BUSH…. you want to improve your rating and keep the republicans in office…THIS IS THE WAY - LEGALIZE AND TAX IT!!!!

Let them grow it - so we can freely smoke it! We need to look to our European counterparts where pot is already legalized and learn how to apply that to our country.

You want to have less people in prison?? Legalize it!!

You want to fix the Social Security coffers for hard working Americans… Legalize it!!!

You want to end the WAR on DRUGS?? Legalize it!!! Spend more time and money to fight against hard drugs that addict and kill then chasing down marijuana dealers/users.

Alcohol is the “drug” that should be illegal….it kills and hurts every minute of the day - when a drunk driver is on the road or beating up a spouse or their child….

POT IS A MELLOW EUPHORIC drug that does not make people angry!!!

once again, its the scam artists in the media and government that are swaying the minds of those weak minded people who make decisions solely on what is printed.

Sick.

Legalize it.

THATS WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT!!

(just not the fed)

In my forties now and I guess I still have not stepped through the mystical “gateway” to other drugs. Casual smoker for more then half my life, as most of my acquaintances, and those who aren’t still don’t understand the goverments BS. Yes, it’s more potent now but you definitely smoke less. Is it any worse then those who have a 3 martini lunch/dinner? I am not aware of any AA for pot smokers but I’m sure some shrink has sucked the $$$ out of healthcare trying to rescue someone from pot smoking and probably prescribed some “legal” drug made by big pharma with only a dozen or so side effects, to help them through their crisis. If you not stuffing the pockets of congress your voice is been quite muffled in todays’ goverment.

To end where I started, the mystical gateway today is right in most people’s medicine cabinets. Kids may smoke pot but the pain killers that they’re dying from taking come from mon/dad and BIG PHARMA with the FDA in their pocket and evey doc eager to right the script so BIG PHARMA can take care of them also. I’ve seen big pharma’s workings from the inside at a high level, young and nieve at the time, left and will never go back.

LEGALIZE IT!!!

Everyone keeps saying the government could make a huge profit off of taxing marijuana. I disagree and let me explain. The legalized drugs in this country (alcohol, tobacco & even caffeine) are not very easy or cost effective to produce at home whereas marijuana can easily be grown in the privacy of the home. The government would not be able to tax this as much as the others because the public could easily grow it if the cost became too prohibitive. I’m going to get into a little conspiracy theory but if you look at it you have 2 sides that do not want this to be legal because they will not profit…one being the illegal drug dealers who would stand to lose billions if it were legal…two would be the government, who either receive money now or has in the past to keep this illegal. Pharmaceutical companies may not want it legal either but there will always be a market for that so I don’t believe it is to the extent that some people believe it to be.

And let’s not get hell bent on believing this is illegal because of Republicans. I am as right wing as can be but I believe that it should be legalized.

Reading the headline of the article, I thought to myself, “how much do you bet this report is from a government source?”

Here is what I want.. no, what I DEMAND happen.

All alcohol in the entire country banned, taken off the market, right now.

Why?

If the game the government is reportedly playing is to look out for destructive effects of substances on people, then all alcohol has to be pulled prior to pot.

There is no question whatsoever that alcohol has caused more car crashes, more wife beatings, more incest, more broken families, more destructive addiction than anything that pot could ever have done.

This drug policy is supposed to protect the public. Alcohol is confirmed to also kill brain cells. So why is it legal?

Because in fact, the same legislators that work to ban pot are boozing it up in off hours and would sooner die than to give it up. So they criminalize the less destructive, naturally-ocurring substance instead - while people routinely drive around over the legal alcohol limit.

This is a class war that started during the 60’s. The love generation embraced pot, and rejected government, and the government decided that they would outlaw all recreational drugs that generation was using, while continued to abuse their own.

More bunk journalism. Smoking cigarettes and cigars is much more of a health hazard. Fuck the government can’t control itself. A healthy dose of patriot blood maybe the only remedy.

Let’s quit putting average people in prison for something natural . Just think of the tax cuts we could get if only real criminals went to jail!!!!!

It is ridiculous to claim marijuana is ‘toxic’ as the drug czar does in this article, because it has never, ever, been shown in any medical journal to have caused the death or poisoning of anyone. Ever. So it’s even stupider to imply that a rise in potency is somehow dangerous. You smoke, you get high. How much you smoke is largely irrelevant. It’s not like alcohol, which is sold at potencies ranging from n/a, near 0% to grain alcohol, near 100%, and can easily kill you if you drink too much. Why not legalize pot and label the contents if they’re so concerned? That has to be more efective for increasing the safety of millions of U.S. consumers than continuing a half-hearted prohibition. You could even dedicate a portion of the tax revenues to offering treatment for marijuana ‘addicts’, if they don’t get laughed out of the room like the Bob Sagget scene in the movie ‘Half Baked’.

Legal pot would be awesome. I could see going to the store. “Hey buddy, how much for that carton of Marlboro 420’s?”

Oooooh, I’m scared! The ILLEGAL pot is around 9% THC. Oh horrors!! Yet, the LEGAL drug Marinol is 100% THC. So, are they saying that less THC is MORE harmful?

What cracks me up is the stupidity of the study. If you substitue pot for alcohol, the message is that whiskey has more alcohol than beer! So your government thinks that if you drink a couple of beers to unwind, now you’ll drink two glasses of WHISKEY to unwind. But I digress, there is a difference: Alcohol can kill you, THC cannot.

The truth is that higher THC pot means less inhalation, where one joint got your dad high, you now only need a couple of drags. Saves you money AND you inhale less carcinogens. Ooooh, scary health hazzard!!!

There’s only two kinds of people who want pot outlawed: those who don’t believe in ANY form of intoxication, and those whose livleyhood depends on it. Those of you in the first group, God bless you and I hope you live long healthy lives. Those in the other group, you disgust me. You are profiting by the suffering from every family affected by marijuana arrests. Most pot smokers are otherwise law abiding citizens, with pot as their only “crime”. It is unfair and morally unjustfiable to punish these people for private behavior that harms no one.

Pot prohibition is just more proof that the government distrusts its people and wants to keep us in fear of it. The liberal are right about one thing: Big Brother IS watching you. It is almost ACCEPTABLE behavior for us to pee in a cup in front of a stranger so that they can find out what you’re doing on your OWN time. If your employer wants to regulate your time off, by golly, they better PAY you for it. The way I figure, if you’ve not smoked marijuana in 30 days (which is what the test will show) then they owe you 512 hours of OVERTIME. And remember 192 hours of that is double overtime for the weekends!!

P.S. I voted for both Bushes. I’m trying to like McCain, but seeing that he supports the continued persecution of marijuana PATIENTS, I just can’t make myself vote for him. The ONLY reason I like Obama is that he openly supports marijuana policy reform, but I disagree on him at nearly every other turn. So the question is, do I support someone who wants to fight terrorists AND Americans, or someone who wants to try to reason with terrorists and stop arresting the sick and dying? Someone know of any OTHER candidates?

This drives me crazy. Just read the comments and you know it is time to legalize it. They can’t find one thing wrong with it. There are other ways to use it besides smoking,
and not a single death has ever contributed to cannabis use. And for the real kicker, they want studies done but won’t let anyone have cannabis so they can perform the studies . Just like how the originally Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. And what about Pot Shrinks Tumors.

It is a scientifically proven fact that the nicotine in tobacco is much, much more dangerous and hazardous to ones health then the THC in marijuana, and that alcohol poisoning kills more people per year than marijuana, and lung cancer is one of the largest killers world wide. So why is marijuana illegal in so many countries? If anything, marijuana should be legal and tobacco should be made illegal.

The facts speak for themselves, Marijuana and all the drug laws were made because of racism. The war on drugs is a multi billion dollar business. Pharma companies make marinol which is based from marijuana butthe government claims ithas no medical value? then why would they allow marinol on the market?Theold saying money talks……..bullshitwalks.

This study that this article talks about is flawed. Samples from Law enforcement??? Soone year they test some dirt weed and the next some wicked white widow? Its not a fair comparison.

They say they wants us to smoke less? Dr. Mitch Earleywine, who teaches psychology at the State University of New York in Albany and serves as an adviser for marijuana advocacy groups. “Stronger cannabis leads to less inhaled smoke,” he said. Well we are!!!!!!!

Caffeine is worse. yet it is allowed to be ingested by children with every can of coca cola. Starbucks is on every corner because people need their caffeine.

All I need is my 2 joints when i wake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s take advice from Bobby Dylan” Everybody must get stoned!!!” (exhale) PS rock on Tommy Chong

In all honesty, John Walters needs to do his homework. I don’t understand how a goofball like him can have such a position. Number one, recent studies show that marijuana not only slows the onset of Alzymer’s (speaking of the apparent mental disorders marijuana causes) but also cures some aspects of it. Marijuana smoking is also better on the lungs than cigarette smoke, as it has elements that can prevent cancer cells from setting in. Number 2, it has been proven by colleagues of Dr. Earlywine that smoking stronger marijuana makes smokers need less to obtain a high, so where is the harm there? We need to take on marijuana as we took on alcohol in the past-regulate, tax, and legalize it for consumption for responsible adults. Besides, when was the last time a pot smoker died of liver cancer? OPEN YOUR EYES WASHINGTON!!! YOUR CHILDREN ARE PROBABLY DOING WORSE DRUGS THAN A HARMLESS PLANT!!!

I agree with everyone here. Marijuana has been proven in many other studies to have positive effects on people who might suffer from cancer or other illnesses. It helps reduce pain, and among other things, helps someone in pain relax.

What I’m tired of is our own government telling it’s citizens what it can or can’t put in their own bodies. I assumed that this being a “free country” meant that we have the right, as tax paying adults, to put what we want in our own bodies. I don’t think that the governments job is to police what people do on their own time.

Let’s look at soms facts, since Fox is known for eliminating them most times. There are more people in prison today for simple drug use or possession, who have no other criminal records, and have otherwise been model citizens of society. There are child molesters who receive probation, yes PROBATION, for ruining a childs life and tearing a family apart, but those who wish to consume a plant that can be grown virtually everywhere are burdened with a criminal record and punished.

This government hs done nothing but put its own special intrests first before our own interests. Personally, if a baseball player wants to do steroids, that’s his decision, his own PERSONAL decision. The only reason the government won’t legalize marijuana is because they get alot of more taxpayer dollars by incarcerating people and prosecuting people who do nothing more than a simple recreational use of marijuana.

Overaged congress who are out of touch with reality. It’s going to take time, but eventually these state medical marijuana bills that keep passing will force the Feds to answer why they have a different policy then half of the states in the union. Like everything else these days in congress, it’s going to take years though (unlike voting on their own compensation which is passed in days). The key in majority. If we want to win this then we have to play the game. Support these organizations today. Both have lobbyist on capitol hill.

norml.org
mpp.org

How many of you know someone that has died from alcohol related deaths? Over the counter drugs? What about shootings? Car accidents? PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?!! HHHMMMM?

These studys are such bs. Pot is so much less harmful than any other drug, legal or illegal this amounts to nothing more than propoganda. If it were leagalized and taxed the taxes along with the money saved in trying to get rid of it could help pay for health insurance as well as put the drug lords out of business.

Does anyone really think that smoking a little pot is that bad when we sell beer and liquor at every corner store in town. When have you ever heard of someone getting high and beating there wife or getting into a car and causing a traffic accident. Spirits (liquor) is much more of a problem in our country than pot has ever been. I’ve smoked now for nearly two decades, have a good paying job and a wife and kids at the house. I think the government needs to wake up, get their heads out of there rear ends and wise up. The only reason pot remains an issue is that there is no way of the government to get their hands in the money pile. Lets face it, their only concern is that anyone and everyone would be able to have their on plant and the government would never have anyway of knowing or regulating the consumption. Can anyone say BIG BROTHER. What a joke.

Obviously you way over state the Problem, as NYS top court see no harm in a “Little Pot” being brought into one of its Prisons

ALBANY
Court reduces penalty for pot in prison

Updated: 06/11/08 6:36 AM

ALBANY (AP) — New York State’s top court says small amoounts of marijuana in prison do not represent “dangerous contraband” under the law and ordered lower courts to reduce two convictions to misdemeanors with shorter sentences.
The Court of Appeals ruling came in the cases of Kyle Salters whose girlfriend tried to bring him 9.3 grams of marijuana in 2003 at Bare Hill Correctional Facility and Robert Finley who had “three joints” in 2004 at the Orleans Correctional Facility. Both were convicted of felonies, with Salters sentenced to two to four years in prison and Finley to three to five years.
The court majority said the test for “dangerous contraband” is its likelihood to be used in a way that causes death, injury, escape or “other major threats” to prison safety or security

Well well doesn’t this open a can of worms? hmmm for beginners it all started with the cigs, booze and then pot and yes I even smoked meth; nasty just thinking about it but I still smoke pot for a few reasons and most of you know what those are. i run 3 miles in 18 minutes, i train Muay Thai and ju-jitsu 7 days a week; you tell me where its affecting me and I’m network and system admin. I’ve been a smoker for 20+ yrs. I’m from cali but not there presently and we should all jump on board like cali with the killer out of the vending machines. Sorry to ramble folks. one more thing my dad was a cop for about 22 yrs who was a abusive, mean and nasty alcoholic that just died at 57 of the disease.

Thanks

J

it is about damn time we got some good pot to smoke . QUIT OMITTING POT SMOKERS FROM GETTING GOOD JOBS BECAUSE OF DRUG TESTS . BUNCH OF CRAP !

Did these people ever stop to think, that maybe these teenagers aren’t smoking pot and then getting depressed, but instead, smoking pot because they are already depressed and it helps?

I’m positive if you asked any of them how they felt mentally prior to ever smoking pot, they’d all say that they had pre-exisiting depression.

Not one comment in here supporting the government’s position. Nicotine is more addictive than heroin but it’s legal. Alcohol is more damaging to our bodies (and to other people) than pot and it’s legal. We used to be a country that was respected by others in the world. Our government is laughable…and an embarrassment. Our current government, not just the administration but the whole body - executive, legislative, judicial - needs cleaned out.