steveo777 wrote:Kudos to Washington state for letting us vote for the legalization of Marijuana. Firstly, I don't advocate drug abuse any more than I advocate Alcohol abuse. Frankly, from my own experiences since I was a kid, I see more people killed by stupid acts borne of alcohol, than I have ever seen caused by smoking pot. People who are simply high become mellow, more sexual and might just raid your kitchen of your cookies and ice cream. A drunk, on the other hand, wants to get more drunk, so he drives himself to the liquor store.......or the casino, a hundred miles away. Meanwhile, the stoney is just sitting on his couch, eating ice cream and cookies, while watching Beavis and Butthead.
I voted "yeah" on this. I'm tired of sending good kids and adults to jail for smoking a bit of MJ, while countless inebriates continue to kill people on the roads.
I feel largely the same as you about the issue. Quite frankly, the govt. completely missed the boat on the legalization of pot 40-some-odd years ago, Had it been legal all this time, they would have capitalized on billion$ in revenues generated from the subject et al, as well as saving billion$ on the ridiculous lawsuits brought against those who have partaken of the herb and got caught.
Now, having said that, I feel there should be strict laws surrounding the use of it - especially when it comes to minors, driving under the influence, and minors driving under the influence. I stand before you the voice of experience with regard to driving while baked out of my mind on Humboldt Indica buds. Growing up in northern Cal, Humboldt weed was plentiful and although expensive compared to the rest, its effects were far more dramatic and lasted longer. It's truly a wonder any of the crowd I hang with made it to adulthood alive! Driving under the influence of pot was literally a daily occurrence. And while you're right about the comparison the behavior between the drunk and the stoner, those differences cease when it comes to operating a moving vehicle. In fact, studies have shown that someone who is high has much slower reflexes and a longer response time than someone who is drunk (depending upon how drunk and for how long they've been drunk.)