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A family member was badly harmed by marijuana abuse. I still support legalization. I don't think smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco are goo

A family member was badly harmed by marijuana abuse. I still support legalization. I don't think smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco are good things, but I'd still rather have them be legal, warn others of the risk, and treat those that are harmed.

jnbiche 11y ago
> I still rather have them be legal, warn others of the risk, and treat those that are harmed. Yes, long live a rational approach to drug policy. Portugal is heading in the right direction and is seeing great results.
- caramel 11y ago
  Growing or selling cannabis is illegal in Portugal. Owning cannabis seeds is illegal in Portugal. The only thing that was changed is that the consumer of cannabis is no longer treated as a criminal. I've yet to see a good argument why the same approach wouldn't work in the US.
  - jnbiche 11y ago
    > The only thing that was changed is that the consumer of cannabis is no longer treated as a criminal. Right, which is why I say it's going in the right direction. I think full legalization will provide the most benefits to society, but decriminalization of use is a good start.
sedeki 11y ago
> A family member was badly harmed by marijuana abuse. I still support legalization. Can you expand on how (s)he was harmed by marijuana?
- GFischer 11y ago
  To be honest, it's a bit more complex, and as with all substance abuse, there are underlying causes. But the short story is he developed schizophrenia. We're not sure if cannabis was a cause or a trigger or what, but he was a heavy smoker, and he had a history of theft, etc. linked to cannabis (much as he would have if he abused alcohol or other substances. But the schizophrenia angle was stressed by the mental health professionals that took care of him). http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/06June/Pages/Cannabis-use-genetically-linked-to-schizophrenia.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/06June/Pages/Cannabis-use-geneti... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033190/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033190/

jnbiche 11y ago

> I still rather have them be legal, warn others of the risk, and treat those that are harmed. Yes, long live a rational approach to drug policy. Portugal is heading in the right direction and is seeing great results.

caramel 11y ago
Growing or selling cannabis is illegal in Portugal. Owning cannabis seeds is illegal in Portugal. The only thing that was changed is that the consumer of cannabis is no longer treated as a criminal. I've yet to see a good argument why the same approach wouldn't work in the US.
- jnbiche 11y ago
  > The only thing that was changed is that the consumer of cannabis is no longer treated as a criminal. Right, which is why I say it's going in the right direction. I think full legalization will provide the most benefits to society, but decriminalization of use is a good start.

sedeki 11y ago

> A family member was badly harmed by marijuana abuse. I still support legalization. Can you expand on how (s)he was harmed by marijuana?

GFischer 11y ago
To be honest, it's a bit more complex, and as with all substance abuse, there are underlying causes. But the short story is he developed schizophrenia. We're not sure if cannabis was a cause or a trigger or what, but he was a heavy smoker, and he had a history of theft, etc. linked to cannabis (much as he would have if he abused alcohol or other substances. But the schizophrenia angle was stressed by the mental health professionals that took care of him). http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/06June/Pages/Cannabis-use-genetically-linked-to-schizophrenia.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/06June/Pages/Cannabis-use-geneti... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033190/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4033190/