Monday, January 20, 2014

New Hampshire pot vote could nudge Vermont to loosen rules on marijuana

New Hampshire pot vote could nudge Vermont to loosen rules on marijuana

New Hampshire's House voted in favor of legalization non-therapeutic marijuana. 60% of people in the state approve of the measure and only needs passage by the Senate and the signature of the governor to take effect. The ramifications of such a member are clear and enormous: NH would become the third state in the union to legalize marijuana.

I am a little uncomfortable with the thought of legalized marijuana--while I am all for allowing people to make their own decisions (and live with the consequences of those decisions), marijuana is quite different from alcohol. The cultures surrounding the two drugs are very different (and in the case of marijuana, extremely detrimental). As of right now, if NH were to legalize marijuana, I would probably scratch it off my list of potential states to move to.

10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. In my eyes, i dont see the big deal about legalizing marijuana. Eventually, whether you like it our not, i think our country is going to adopt marijuana as a legal drug. I think a lot o people are skeptical because marijuana is classified as a drug, therefore it is evil. I also think the tax on marijuana will definitely help us out.

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  3. I don't see any problem with the legalization of marijuana. In fact, I can only think of positive economic benefits that would result. Thousands of people are in jail for marijuana related convictions. The legalization of marijuana would expunge the cost to house these inmates and would save thousands of tax dollars. Furthermore, a tax on marijuana would generate millions of dollars of revenue and businesses would benefit immensely. In Colorado, there has already been shortages of pot because of the huge demand. There are many negative connotations surrounding marijuana, but let me expel any misconceptions. The negative most detrimental physical health effect of the use of marijuana comes through the method that it is delivered to the body: smoking. This may lead to bronchitis, respiratory infections, and possibly cancer. Smoking a cigarette has these same risks. Studies have shown that abuse of marijuana can lead to behavioral problems, but the same is true for alcohol abuse.

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  4. I don't see the big deal with legalizing marijuana. Marijuana isn't any worse than alcohol or cigarettes. There is not much outcry from people about banning alcohol these days because such an outcry would not get very far. I think states will only continue to legalize marijuana, and I will not be surprised when New Hampshire passes this vote.

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  5. I'm actually going to agree with Andrew on this one. I am very, very against the idea of legalizing marijuana. While, yes, I think the taxes gained from it could be beneficial and that alcohol is just as bad for you as marijuana, I still think its dangerous to assume that legalizing marijuana will not have a detrimental effect on society as a whole. I think it will lead to even more people abusing the substance and therefore a less productive society.

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  6. There are two types of marijuana: recreational and medicinal. I believe that recreational Marijuana because it causes the user to have a substantial decrease in motor skills and motivation. This leads to a less productive society and some morons thinking they can drive and getting into accidents. However, medicinal marijuana should be legal and used widespread. Medicinal marijuana has a plethora of benefits and absolutely no negatives for its users.

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  7. I agree with Emily and Andrew. The legalization of recreational marijuana may bring in money but what is it going to do to our community? Also, what Ethan said about medicinal marijuana is very true. Its most promising area is aiding cancer patients, and from my experience with someone close to me going through chemotherapy every other week, anything that helps them with their side effects should be utilized.I am all for medicinal marijuana, not at all for recreational marijuana.

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  8. Marijuana should most definitely be legalized. Everyone seems to be worried about how it will affect society and people driving under the influence, but how is it any different than alcohol? People have driven high before and yes there are accidents and deaths because of it, but people also drive drunk. There are people who abuse alcohol in our society so of course there will be people who abuse the recreational use of marijuana, but if alcoholism doesn't have a substantially detrimental affect on society, why would marijuana?

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  9. I disagree with Andrew's assertion that marijuana is so much worse than alcohol. It does decrease motor skills, but so does alcohol, which is why it's illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol and why it should be illegal also to drive under the influence of marijuana. However, marijuana doesn't have the health hazards associated with alcohol; people don't die of marijuana poisoning, and it doesn't cause any organs to fail. In addition, I don't think the culture associated with marijuana is no more dangerous than the culture associated with alcohol. It's very rare (probably unheard of) to hear of people becoming violent and getting in fights as a result of smoking marijuana.

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    Replies
    1. If you try to prevent them from having access to ice cream or Doritos...

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