What horrible things would happen if the prohibition on marijuana were repealed?

[Philosoraptor]

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Sporadic shortages of HoHos at convenience stores?

:smoke: :eyes: :silly: :shrug:

[Initech]

52. A shortage of Jack Johnson and Bob Marley albums at record stores?

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Acute shortage of Twinkies...

[apex nerd]

61. ...and Funyuns

[Warren Stupidity]

3. lower rates of alcohol consumption

increased state revenue
unemployed black market drug dealers

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

11. sums it up...

[safeinOhio]

4. Owners of Coors would

fall on hard times.
Cops would face layoffs.
Many prison guards would have to find new work.

[geckosfeet]

5. Excess border patrol and DEA agents - maybe major layoffs for them

[glitch]

19. They'd be offshored.

No more cushy home gigs.

[HopeHoops]

6. People would be unbearably mellow.

And there might be a Dorito shortage.

[Philosoraptor]

13. that's..(shudder)..UNSPEAKABLE

[HopeHoops]

55. I don't know, man. It would be like, so, - hey, is that a bag of Doritos on top of the fridge?

On Edit:

One of the things I listed in my yearbook was "Dorito Overdrive" - :hippie:

[PJPhreak]

7. Pringles Futures would go thru the roof. nt

[struggle4progress]

8. It would like be um ... uh ... oh man ... I forgot what I was going to say again

[Zephie]

9. America would develop a greater appreciation for Doctor Who

[JohnnyLib2]

10. Publishers of anti-pot literature would be devastated.

Which would affect the ink industry.....

[Hepburn]

12. The money spent busting smokers instead could be used for...

...smaller class sizes in public schools and fixing some of the crumbling infrastructure.

Wow, that sure would be an awful result...:sarcasm:

[old mark]

14. Lots more interesting TV ads for serious snack foods, man....

Remember Screaming Yellow Zonkers?

TV commercial from the stoned '60's....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReHO4cVEigQ


They wasted no time trying to make money off pot heads then, I have no doubt it would be moreso if it were really legal, ya know?

mark

[DBoon]

20. Some theorize that Quizno's strange commercials target stoners

the only thing that make sense to me

[old mark]

40. Probably the only people who eat there more than once...not much food for the money...

but they are crunchy.:shrug:


mark

[KG]

15. a collapse of the PIC.

wait, that wouldn't be horrible.

[rurallib]

16. empty corporate jails

I think that is the greatest fear.

[anarch]

17. I could see some lost revenue for alcohol peddlers and pharmaceutical companies

also, it's a big part of the prison industry, so there might have to be some downsizing there.

[Ichingcarpenter]

18. Something that would wake them from their Matrix

Especially if the watch American TV

They would laugh or cry at the wrong parts
Be it News or sitcoms.

Then they would either Kill themselves
or be forced to take LSD or Mescaline
by the 'Liberals'

But some would just smile.
and know that their physical pain
is temperately subsided from something
they can grow themselves and not have
to make an expensive trip to the Pharmacy
but get up and have a healthy snack
or figure out those connections and puzzles
that make the mind sharp

AND THINK DIFFERENTLY

[Froward69]

21. Closure of private Prisons

possibly America would stop being #1 in incarcerated citizenry.

Tax revenue would be UP.

the #1 killer of Americans could go back to heart disease. instead of what it is now... Pharmaceutical over doses.

the whiz quiz would be eliminated as a societal "purity test".

Forests would no longer need to be clear cut and replanted.

[Greybnk48]

26. All true, especially the bit about for profit prisons.

[DBoon]

22. a new TV show hosted by Cheech and Chong becomes a major "hit"

and a sequel to "Up in Smoke" is released to a theater near you

[patrice]

23. More people would come together to cook delightful foods & listen to good music & play games

[hootinholler]

24. Hmmmm

Let me take a toke and meditate on it.

-Hoot

[Greybnk48]

25. Cheetos will have an upsurge in sales. The fried kind, not

the puffy ones. With all the non-smokers today, I would say that investing in Betty Crocker would be a good bet (brownie mixes). Sell your beer stock!!

[femrap]

27. Increased demand for

pizza home delivery....more drivers hired.

More mellow people.

Less road rage.

Happiness could prevail.

Fewer dudes in the drunk tanks on Friday and Saturday nights.

More laughter in the US.

Fewer scripts for anti-depressants.

More individual reflection and insights.

Police could actually do their jobs....get violent persons off the streets, leading to fewer rapes and murders.

The world would be a better place.

[Toots]

28. Fewer teenagers being hospitalized for huffing dangerous inhalants.

Alaska had pot completely legal for seventeen years with quite low crime rates..Bush 41 put so much pressure on Alaska it made pot illegal again. Crime rate soared and teenagers being hospitalized for huffing stuff like paint and insect repellent sky rocketed. :shrug:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

29. A slight rise in the incidence of schizophrenia,

and conceivably also a slight rise in use of other drugs, although quite possibly not.

[RainDog]

31. the leading UK Pharmacologist said the schizophrenia issue does not relate to the general public

and a study indicated that there has been no rise in schizophrenia that correlates with the rise of the use of cannabis in the UK.

I think there might be a temporary increase in the use of cannabis but two other western nations have seen usage rates drop with decriminalization.

The best thing would be that police couldn't use this as an excuse to put African-Americans in jail.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

32. Possibly true, but misleading.

If you review all the studies rather than picking one quote and one study then there's a heavy preponderous of evidence for a link between cannabis and schizophrenia. I'm all in favour of legalising it, but I don't think it's either honest or responsible to present it as entirely safe (just like e.g. peanuts aren't entirely safe).

[RainDog]

56. Pertwee is the leading expert in GB and pioneered research into cannabis

so, if you have numerous studies that you think are more reliable than the most recent research and recommendations, I'd love to see them. Because it is my understanding that there is no evidence of causality. If you have this evidence, I would really like to see it.

Pertwee spoke on this matter last week.

this short article is behind a free subscription wall at the Financial Times.

Roger Pertwee, professor of neuropharmacology at Aberdeen University, will on Tuesday tell the British Science Festival in Birmingham that making cannabis available from licensed outlets would reduce drug-related crime and cut the risk of users moving on to more dangerous drugs.

“At the moment cannabis is in the hands of criminals,” he will say. “We are allowed to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it is handled properly, is not going to be more dangerous.”

Although research has shown cannabis may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia in particularly vulnerable individuals, this danger does not apply to the general population, he will say. The risk could be reduced by setting a minimum age of 21 for consuming cannabis or requiring individuals to obtain a licence to buy it.

A meta survey in 2007 indicated no relationship - no causality.

People who are already genetically vulnerable, etc. may be more likely to seek out something to self medicate. But that does not mean the cannabis caused the illness. It may facilitate the expression but, again, a survey that looked at all the medical research into this issue indicated no casuality. That's not looking at one study. That's looking at all of them from 1996 to 2005 in GB.

http://www.schres-journal.com/article/PIIS0920996409002692/abstract?rss=yes

...a model of the association between cannabis use and schizophrenia indicated that the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia would increase from 1990 onwards. The model is based on three factors: a) increased relative risk of psychotic outcomes for frequent cannabis users compared to those who have never used cannabis between 1.8 and 3.1, b) a substantial rise in UK cannabis use from the mid-1970s and c) elevated risk of 20 years from first use of cannabis. This paper investigates whether this has occurred in the UK by examining trends in the annual prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia and psychoses, as measured by diagnosed cases from 1996 to 2005. Retrospective analysis of the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) was conducted for 183 practices in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The study cohort comprised almost 600,000 patients each year, representing approximately 2.3% of the UK population aged 16 to 44. Between 1996 and 2005 the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining. Explanations other than a genuine stability or decline were considered, but appeared less plausible. In conclusion, this study did not find any evidence of increasing schizophrenia or psychoses in the general population from 1996 to 2005.

However, if I knew anyone with a family history of schizophrenia, etc. I would definitely encourage them NOT to use cannabis.

It appears that those who are at risk are more at risk with cannabis with high levels of THC - because this corresponds to a lower level of the CB2 cannabinoid that appears to be neuroprotective.

[eridani]

59. And you may well have assignment of causation assbackwards.

Schizophrenia is 50% heritable. It's very possible that having a tendency toward schizophrenia might lead to attempts at self-medication.

[Ichingcarpenter]

39. LOL.... America already has national schizophrenia

In their political and religious belief through their
churches and their media.

What a bunch of garbage.

[devilgrrl]

42. Schizophrenia and a gateway drug! Oh but course!!!!!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

48. Are you denying that either of the things I said is true?

(And note: the question I am asking is "are you denying either of the things *I* said is true", not "are you denying either of the things you said is true".)

[devilgrrl]

58. Things you said are a heaping pile of crap.

eom

[Donald Ian Rankin]

47. Posted in wrong place, delete.

[Cal33]

30. The big time drug criminals would lose a lot of money, and crime rate would drop --

this would be too much for some well-to-do people in power!

[Fumesucker]

33. The government would lose a huge amount of credibility..

When it admitted lying about cannabis for eighty years or so.

[socialist_n_TN]

34. Lots of good ideas here, but the overreaching effect.............

of legalization would be a total change in world view for MOST of the people who smoked it for the first time. You see/sense the interconnectedness of the entire Universe. That WOULD create schizophrenics of the people who were TOTALLY invested in the old view of reality.

[HuckleB]

44. Uh, no.

[ensho]

35. the private prison Barons would lose money and we would hear them

screaming Nooooooooo

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

36. Stpck values of private prison companies would decline

[RadiationTherapy]

37. Economy would take a hit from losing lots of underpriced prison slave labor.

Do you want murderers and rapists and armed robbers working for you or do you want some pot heads?

[EstimatedProphet]

38. The worst thing possible. People would enjoy themselves.

[devilgrrl]

41. Crime will go down. What will the private prison industry do now?

:wow:

[HuckleB]

43. Crime has been going down, but it could go down a bit.

Still, I suspect that most drug-related crime is not marijuana related.

[Greyhound]

45. We'd start the process of replenishing our soil. The crime rates would plummet to all-time lows.

People all over the nation would reconsider what they've done with their lives.

Gilligan's Island would be the number one show on the God-Box.

Red states would have budget surpluses and finally be able to pull their own weight.

Sleep deprived wage slaves would show up late.

Millions of law enforcement and prison workers would have to change careers...

[Prophet 451]

46. In theory

In theory: Plummetting workrates, disrespect for the rule of law, exploding use of drugs, dogs and cats living together, MASS HYSTERIA!

In practice, with age restriction and proper regulation: Zig-Zag and Zippo become the new cornerstones of the economy, crime rate drops, private prisons lose money, medical marijuana becomes utterly uncontroversial, some people choose pot over booze, copts get to redirect money and resources to real crimes, Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong host a smash-hit late-night show called "Tokin' Up, Americans develop a greater appreciation of Monty Python.

[hayu_lol]

49. LOL...oh the dreamers...

we can then fill the emptied out prisons with people being jailed for smoking in public places.

[Fumesucker]

50. You don't have to smoke pot..

It can be eaten or vaporized..

[Prophet 451]

60. I actually wouldn't use either

I'll stick to my real ale but it makes no odds to me if my neighbour chooses a joint over a pint.

[Contrary1]

51. My husband wouldn't get so many home cooked meals...

Sounds like a fair trade off to me. :)

[spanone]

53. a lot of white collared criminals would see their incomes shrink

[Dappleganger]

54. I could cut back on my pain meds...

and not worry about oxy-nightmares any longer.

[Festivito]

57. ADD: Fewer kids would become users. (too boring and no longer sold by youths)

Switzerland found that by decriminalizing hemp the youth dropped use and the reason was given that we(the Swiss) succeeded in making it boring.

Also, the nature of illicit drug distribution falls to younger and younger persons. That puts the high school age dealers as high schoolers themselves. When legal, distribution goes to old people who own stores.

[Sparkly]

62. You mean you haven't seen "Reefer Madness?"

All the warnings are there.

[Arkana]

63. Everyone would realize that...like...whoa, their hands are huge.

They can touch anything...but themselves...

[Canuckistanian]

64. People would drive WAY too slowly

They might be a danger to those who are drunk and drive too fast.