Public support for the legalization of marijuana continues to grow, according to a poll released this week by Gallup.
Now if only the government would let its people grow some pot …
“For the first time, a clear majority of Americans (58 percent) say the drug should be legalized,” Gallup’s pollsters note. “This is in sharp contrast to the time Gallup first asked the question in 1969, when only 12 percent favored legalization.”
Not only that, support for legalization has seen a dramatic spike over the last few years … climbing more than 22 points since 2005. Meanwhile opposition has plummeted from 60 percent to 39 percent over the same period.
Two states – Colorado and Washington – have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. The problem? They’re both attempting to tax it to death.
That’s unacceptable … and clearly runs counter to the vox populi.
Anyway, here’s Gallup’s longview on the legalization question …
What do you think? Should marijuana be legalized? Vote in our poll and post your thoughts in our comments section below.
27 comments
Bad Economy=More desire for pot
Pot=Good Economy. Build it and they will come. S.C. needs a cash crop.
Dope will get you through times of no money
better than money will get your through times of no dope.
-Furry Freak Brothers.
Drugs will get you through times of no money
better than money will get you through times of no dope.
-The Furry Freak Brothers.
It’s about time we had drugs on war for a change.
If you want Americans to be able to grow pot – doesn’t that disturb the delicate balance of not letting them distill moonshine, grow hops, tobacco, and white poppies? Are you just starting to notice the police state now that marijuana is legal?
The “vox populi” really?!? I support legalization and taxation on the order of Liquor and cigarette taxes. I’ve been working 40 years to support drunks and lung cancer patients, I’m gonna have to support stoners too we may as well get something out of it.
Vaporize it.
Stoners aren’t very productive anyway. They would be doing nothing anyway. What difference does it make to us if they giggle while they do it? Their money spends better than the Captains of Industry that keep their money in offshore accounts in what amounts to a game of “high score.”
Now that I’m thinking about it, stoners are better for the economy than Enron executives.
I’m all for legalization,but spare me the endless ‘pot warrior’ diatribes.Smoke of any kind is bad for your lungs,and I’ve watched too many friends and relatives die from the effects.Legalize it,but don’t act like you’re on some righteous crusade.
‘Medical marijuana’ is a thinly veiled disguise for people wanting to get high.It’s not some miracle drug,and has been available in pill form for decades.Go for a 5-mile run,and get really high.
Vaporize it…
edibles
Smoke of any kind is bad for your lungs
——
THC is a gas. Technology is not bound by the cement of the past. There is no reason that clear resin glands cannot be harvested, and the gas set free by innovative vaporizors. The harm from the tar is merely a technical hurdle, not a fixed constraint.
Running is bad for you and I don’t want to replace your hips and knees.
I can see all the teaparty farmers in Lexington switching from tomatoes to marijuana. Great roadside stands.
Marijuana cultivation could revitalize agriculture in SC. Farmers are always complaining about how hard it is to turn a profit — this could change the situation. Will we end up, though, with federal marijuana crop subsidies?
I’ve seen hash made entirely from clear resin glands. That would become a staple for roadside stands, making Stucky’s an endangered species.
I do not use marijuana and would never encourage others to do so. However, I think the time has come to legalize its manufacture and use. First of all, marijuana has enjoyed popularity among a large portion of our population. Experimentation with, and recreational use, of the hemp plant has become a common rite of passage with American youth. Also, it is “socially” consumed by a large proportion of middle and upper class adults. The image of marijuana as a dangerous drug has largely been dispelled. The film “Reefer Madness” for example, which was made as a serious indictment of marijuana, is now viewed as a comedy. The experiences of those who use marijuana recreationally simply run counter to all the warnings and pronouncements of the government that has sought to keep it illegal.
It is arguable that the reason that marijuana has not already been made legal is that there are so many vested interests in the government to keep it illegal. Huge amounts of government money and many professional careers have spawned a government industry that feeds off the perception that marijuana is bad and dangerous. It has simply become a justification for the existence of numerous law enforcement efforts that would be better and more effectively used elsewhere. If two students at USC are found in possession of marijuana, every police officer in the state knows exactly what to do with them. However, when it comes to the drug traffickers who supply and profit off the illegal distribution of marijuana they are flummoxed. American law enforcement has failed miserably to even put a dent in the influx of marijuana to the United States. They have fared no better with the marijuana that has been produced domestically. It is so plentiful that even inmates in prison have uninterrupted access to marijuana. If anything, the government’s efforts to interdict the distribution of marijuana are an even bigger fiasco and failure than the Obamacare website. This is really not surprising. The demand and profits are simply too great for the government to overcome. Legalizing marijuana would be disastrous for criminal organizations that depend on the income it generates. It would also free up law enforcement to tackle problems that are of far greater concern to the public. Attention could be focused on problems such as the violent crime in Five Points.
In addition to freeing up police and reducing the number of ridiculously expensive prison inmates we have to support, there are other positive aspects to the legalization of marijuana. The production and manufacture of marijuana (hemp) and its by-products could produce a new and profitable industry in South Carolina. I don’t know anything about agriculture, but I do know that South Carolina is capable of competing in tobacco production. Imagine turning our tobacco farmers, with their expertise and acreage, loose on hemp. We would no doubt go from being the “Palmetto State” to the “Killer Weed State” in no time at all. Certainly, tailgating at the Clemson-Carolina game would never be the same! There are other products that can be made from hemp such as cloth and paper that might be profitable as well. The marijuana would, of course, be regulated in its processing and distribution. The main thing is that the cash registers would be ringing all the way.
There is really no down side to legalization.
I do not use marijuana and would never encourage others to do so.
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I would. If you must have a recreational drug – such as alcohol, crack, speed, or heroin – I encourage you to use pot instead. It is the safest pharmaceutically active drug known to man. Not only is it a renewable resource, it can have a growing season every 90 days, it’s seeds have more protein than soy beans, and the waste materials, as you said, can be used for cloth, currency, and rope to hang Republicans with. The rest of the waste vegetable matter can be converted to fuel in cracking plants.
The regulation and taxes wouldn’t be hated to provide a known clean consistent purity, either.
it can have a growing season every 45 days
ack! you’re right. I was thinking of a personal grow room – 30 days from seed, 30 days from rooting, and 30 days to flower.
You mean,’psychoactive’ drugs.’Heroin’ was introduced to the ‘pharmaceutical’ market,by Bayer,as a cure for morphine addiction.If you’re able to get pharmaceutical-grade morphine/Heroin on a regular basis,and not go through withdrawals,it’s safer than marijuana.
I know doctors have used heroin for decades without ill effects into their 70’s, but there’s no way it’s “safer” than marijuana.
Not to belabor the point, there is a lethal dose for heroin. There is no lethal dose (LD50) for marijuana. The LD50 for an Opiate naive person is 50mg.
http://www.hightimes.com/read/lethal-dose-half-ton-weed-kills-man
I submit that “safety” is not how “safely” you use something, but what it will do if you don’t use it “safely.” – that goes for everything, not just drugs.
Let’s take caffeine for example. It’s LD50 is “75mg/kg, or approximately 4500mg.” As another example, the LD50 for the oral administration of water to rats is 90 g/kg.
How does your girl Nancy feel about it?
Hey Sic…WHERE’S THAT FIELD???
:-)
And I will advertise it