I'm torn on this argument. I had a family member killed earlier this year when he drove his ATV off a cliff.The tox screen came back positive for both pot and alcohol.Had he not been under the influence of both I doubt the accident would have occurred.He had a "prescription" for the pot.
Pot does in fact causes depression and yes there are studies to back it up.If the depression becomes severe enough, suicide will occur. Pot will be a secondary contributing factor to the death.
To say that pot has never caused a death is either an outright denial or ignorance.

To dismiss a death as non-related to pot is unjust without knowing the full facts.

To dismiss a person's emotional response to the death is outright wrong on every level.
Would you feel any differently if they had been killed in a drunk driving accident?

Has anyone addressed the issues of social vs chronic use of cannabis?
Most social users( weekend users) fire up and care only about having enough Doritos and Pepsi to make it through the weekend. The only thing that might motivate them to get argumentive is whether to listen to the old Hendrix records or watch Pink Floyd's The Wall.
Social users very rarely escalate to using harder drugs.
Hardcore chronic users present a very different problem. They are very apt to be using other drugs and very often are unemployed. The probability of these users committing crime is high. I am not sure how many banks have been robbed by people high on pot, but let's address the neighborhood gas and sips. Good chance that drugs were involved.
There are places in Northern California that have been taken over by the pot growers that make it unsafe for people to go into our national parks and forests. The Emerald Triangle comes to mind.

Now for the other side of the arguement.
Pot does have documented medicinal uses. It has been proven effective in the treatment of glaucoma, combating the side effects of chemo, chronic pain, and eating disorders, and in treating the effects of HIV/AIDS in individuals. Pot has less side effects than prescription tranks by the way.
The argument can be made that if it was legalized and controlled by the Federal government, the quality would be regulated and the amount of THC present could be standarized.
THC attaches to fat cells throughout the body and it's presence can be detected for up to a month after use. A contact high will do the sme thing.
The sale of pot would be taxed and business licenses would generate a further revenue source. Having a age requirement on the buying, or possession of the pot would reduce the underage use.
I cannot resist commenting on Reefer Madness. Has anyone other than me actually seen it? Remember this movie was brought to you by the same people who lied to us about so many things such as the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the lone gunman theory, etc. The US Govt. was testing LSD on our own military, sometimes with fatal results.
To imply that one hit off a joint is going to cause an individual to become a mad criminal or into a sex-starved maniac is almost funny.
Maybe one should light up before watching. It would probably make more sense, not to mention be really fun to watch.

so no ones ever been shot over a weed deal gone bad.... i highly doubt that, i am definatly pro marijuana, but i wouldnt go posting fake facts to get my point across

No one said anything about trafficking, but if it was legal wouldn't that take away the trafficking of it?

Trafficking and marijuana are two completly different things. People are shot over alcohol all of the time, oh, but that is legal so it is okay.

I posted research, you posted an opinion, actually, for the most part, a lot of you have posted opinions. Cross-check the research I posted, the references cited, and I'll cross-check your research and references, how about that?

Actually check out the CDC website.I don't think anyone is arguing the validity of the medicinal uses of pot. I think that what is being lost in all of this is that just like any other drug, people can and do have adverse physical and psychological reactions to pot over long term use. To say that it has never caused any long term damage or deaths is misleading at best. That is not opinion but fact. It's not a question of alcohol vs pot. It's not the fact that alcohol is legal and pot is not. There have been 2 deaths that have been posted in this forum that can be at least be linked indirectly to prolonged pot use.To say that no deaths have ever occurred is just playing fast and loose with logic. It's like saying that alcohol is not responsible for drunk-driving accidents- it's the drivers fault. A tad disingenious wouldn't you say?
Pot-or more accurately THC- can cause damage to a developing fetus, causing birth defects, and in some cases loss of the pregnancy.The damage in this instance is documented.
Facts, statistics and reports can all be manipulated by the issuing agency to show exacty what the agency wants them to, be it pro-pot or anti-pot.

I've checked the CDC website, I've gone over this hundreds of times. It is statistically noted to have never lead to a death, both of those deaths noted in this topic do not go over underlying issues such as prolonged depression, alcohol abuse and/or use, other drug use. Which makes it nearly impossible to say it is directly because of marijuana, there isn't a medical report that exists at all today of marijuana being noted as the cause of death, trust me, I looked that up too. I've dug through millions upon millions of papers, informational copies of death certificates where marijuana was thought to be a precursor...there is absolutely no solid shred of evidence linking marijuana alone, with no other attributes, and no other substances to a death.

Of course pot can cause damage, and no one here is saying it cannot cause damage. It is smoke inhaled into the lungs, of course it can cause damage.

You know what, I've brough a lot of information to the table here and I am yet to see this mystifying death certificate where it says 'cause of death: marijuana.' So I'm leaving this discussion until I have substantial proof aside from 'hearsay.'

legalize it , regulate it,,


take it away from the control of 'criminal' types...


either that, or illegalize alcohol again,, it causes MUCH more destruction and death

Noooooooooo! I never want to see weed being sold at 7-11! Please, no!



But yes, no one should be in prison simply for growing, selling, or smoking weed.

Oh God...I used to work at 7-11...that would be awful, but they are trying to market their own alcohol now. I always said it would happen, sad to see it actually did.

Prohibition did not work the first time around. Illegal speakeasies sprang up all around the country, the feds could not keep up with with enforcement, bathtub gin was being brewed in homes around the country. Let's not forget that Al Capone, Bugsy Malone and that ilk also got involved in rum-running.
Re-instating prohibition for either alcohol or pot or both will not work.