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They'll certainly try. But are you arguing that criminals are not already engaged in non-drug criminal behavior because they're too busy dealing drugs? If there's a criminal niche to be exploited, somebody will fill it. Legalizing drugs just eliminates or vastly shrinks that particular niche.

   

Good point, has happened before. Gangs and criminals do and will move into more profitable bussiness. If one avenue closes down, becomes less profitable.

   

Drugs cause a lot of harm in society, and should be strictly prohibited. The drugs causing the most harm are alcohol and tobacco. Instead of wasting our time trying to legalize pot, we should be working at making booze and cigs illegal. Let's go the Chinese system, death sentence for anybody that deals, long imprisonment for anybody that uses.

And, it will take those booze swilling, pickup truck driving rednecks down a peg or two. No more sanctimony from them as their drug of choice now makes them an outlaw. (This is reply to Freaking Old Guys rant about dope smoking VW driving hippies. Man, some people really need to get into the 21st century, or at least out of the 60's)

   

There is nothing to move on to that is as easy or as profitable as adding water to seeds. You don't even need the seeds after the initial batch, clones are used after that.

   

So? The same could be said for non-users of alcohol, or cigarettes or automobiles or hunting rifles or orange juice.

   

Sorry, wasn't talking about the users, mostly the big producers and distributors.

   

I'm not aware of any country that has legalized pot. Portugal would be the closest.

   

Oh, I'm sorry, it's "illegal, but not punishable"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_coffee_shop

   

I stated that "legalization of pot would only be good for the users", and that was attacked.

   

They have the same thing in most cities in Canada. You can go to Cannabis Cafe in Vancouver, Vapour Central in Toronto, Kustom Kulture here in Winnipeg. Nobody will arrest you. It's not the same as making it legal.

   

It wouldn't just be good for the users Brenda.

Think about it from a purely Canadian point of view.

A huge portion of weed produced in this fair Dominion is in grow-ops that by-pass hydro in a very dangerous way, usually in a suburban house/apartment causing a fire risk to neighbouring buildings.

As others have mentioned, there is a whole bunch of nasty people who rake the cash in from the drug trade. They would lose out big time with the decriminalisation and official control of pot production and sale.

There’s two good reasons right there to end the prohibition of weed.

   

I could actually care less whether or not pot was legalized. Like I said before I just don't believe in the fantasy-land that pot-advocates live in when they claim that the negatives (organized crime) will magically disappear overnight. That's all it really is, a fantasy, and they're either too stoned when they say it or too delusional from using it too much to ever be able to admit it.

Arguments for drug legalization are almost the biggest condemnation of libertarianism one could ever find. It's almost a picture-perfect cast of total selfishness and an over-concentration of 'my rights, and only my rights' philosophizing combined with a near-complete contemptuous dismissal of any negatives that automatically come alone with substance use/abuse. It's a fascinating that pro-drug crusaders have psychologically managed to make themselves into such heroes in shining armour when it's clear that they don't give a flying fuck at all about how much real-world damage the legalization of their preferred recreational substances will end up causing.

   

Agreed. As I said, let's ban alcohol and tobacco. Those cause more damage than all currently illegal drugs put together. But smokers already go on about their rights, just with smoking restrictions. And you want to see real howling at the moon, ban alcohol. But it would make for a better society. Alcohol related problems declined sharply during prohibition. Well, except for the huge expansion of organized crime and the criminalizing of ordinary citizens who just wanted to have a drink.

I'm sure the Bronfmans are still singing psalms to prohibition.

   

Fact is legal or not people will consume, pot alcohol tobacco other illegal substances, the trick is finding the balance and going from there.

I wouldn't argue to make alcohol or tobacco illegal simply because they have been accepted throughout my whole life time, plus we all know prohibition was a disaster in the ealry 1/2 of the 1900's, I'll also agree that the criminal element will just move on to other things to make their money.
I will however argue that
- Marijuana is a less harmfull substance than either Alcohol or Tobacco,
- The money saved in investigating and prosecuting users would be a plus to the budget.
- Many successful productive members of society use marijuanan creating no strain on the economy nor making a negative impact on anyone else.
- The gateway drug theory is complete BS
- The Majority of citizens in this country either support or are indifferent to the whole issue and allot of the opponents (mind you not all) are so full of old propaganda and misinformation about the drug that they are incapable of making an educated decision about it

Anyway the subject has been beat to death, there are many petitions and signatures on them out there that the government has ignored for years, many studies supporting legalization or decrminialization, meanwhile I'll continue to puff if I want, I won't hurt you or yours by doing so and if/when I'm busted for it I'll take my lumps pay my fines or do my probabtion and continue on with my life not careing what anyone really thinks of the fact that I enjoy Marijuana

   

Jesus dude, no one said the criminal element would disappear magically. But let me ask you this, do you prefer the production, sale and distribution to be controlled 100% by criminals or would you prefer they were on the fringe like with alcohol with the government in firm control?
The fact is, it's been around for thousands of years and it ain't going away anytime soon. And the longer feet are dragged on its legalization, the longer the criminal element will continue raking in the cash instead of legit business and government.
Now, if you want to talk about causing real world damage and harm, then we better eliminate automobiles, fast and fatty foods, alcohol, tobacco, aircraft, use of fossil fuels, contact sports, sunbathing, Celine Dion, and any resource extraction, to name but a few.

   

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