I think you misread me, Max. I’m not a hardcore supporter of the legalisation of marijuana, but I am a supporter of the basic human right to do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else. And in my own experience I’ve never seen anybody on pot do anything worse than I’ve seen people do on alcohol. (Granted, people do terrible things when they’re drunk, but in our society we blame that on the individual, not the beer, right?) I’m not a fan of teenagers embracing “pot culture”, either, but I think a big part of it is simply that it’s forbidden. When I was in high school it was “Coed Naked” T-shirts and L.A. Raiders jackets. Now it’s stoner wear. I don’t know anybody who would smoke pot but doesn’t because it’s illegal. They do it anyway. Making it legal isn’t necessarily going to increase the demand. It’s just going to make it regulate-able and keep young people from going to jail (or being denied college funds) for something that doesn’t hurt anybody.
Okay, I now eagerly await your rebuttle. Man, this take me right back to being on the Speech team in high school!
Jann
May 30, 2001 — 1:59 pm
And anyway, decriminalisation (which is what’s on the cards) is not legalisation. It merely downgrades personal possession and use to a civil offence, not a criminal one, which still keeps the multinational/taxing/profiteering element at bay and makes a lot more sense (though, obviously it doesn’t deal with the more serious aspect of the criminal underworld who deal in it and other more harmful substances). You wouldn’t jail someone for jaywalking now would you?
Max
May 30, 2001 — 3:40 pm
No rebuttal here, Kris–I’m on summer break, remember? 🙂 And I apologize if I did misread you. I think my antipathy towards the whole subject comes from watching really smart kids who decide to substitute stoner culture for a real personality–suddenly everything’s about how high they got last weekend or how cool it is just to be able to get high when the parents aren’t home and all that stuff. The act itself doesn’t bother me at all–which is why I guess decriminalization (as opposed to legalization) would be okay with me, I guess; watching the obsession with something because it’s forbidden (you’re right about that being the main allure) replace genuinely interesting facets of a young, bright personality (and become the determining factor in the formation of friendships)is what gets to me. Thank God it’s usually (in my experience) only a temporary situation–balance is regained after a while in most of the kids I see this happen to. Hope I wasn’t too assy-sounding in my post.
Kris
May 30, 2001 — 3:55 pm
Nah, I totally get where you’re coming from. I was as straight-laced as they come in high school, and quite frankly I was terrified by the entire drug crowd. It wasn’t until college that I realized that otherwise “normal” people smoked up, and that I was gonna have to get over myself if I expected to hang out with them (or attend concerts, or parties, or whatever). Personally, I’m at the stage now where cigarette smokers bother me more (in an actual physical way). But they’re grown-ups; I think they should be able to do what they want. I totally agree with you that kids/teenagers, on the other hand, shouldn’t go anywhere near the stuff. They haven’t developed the ability to handle something like that, and they’re not able to keep it from taking over their lives the way adults can.
Kris
May 30, 2001 — 3:56 pm
Oh, and a very good point there, Jann. I’ll remember that when I argue this in the future. 🙂
Anonymous
May 30, 2001 — 6:30 pm
You were on the speech team!!!!
That explains a lot……
Kris
May 30, 2001 — 6:42 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, let this be a lesson to you. Never feed the troll. Or ferret, as the case may be. 🙂
Sal
June 3, 2001 — 8:09 am
I, myself, (surprise, surprise) was never on the speech teaM. i took debate 1 as a freshman in high school, was assigned 3 extemp. speeches, and fainted during each one. Mr. Carter, the d3ebate teacher, got tired of assigning someone to catch me and transferred me to computer applications by mid-semester. Incidently, hewas arrested for sex with a minor later the next year. go figure.