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For first time, majority in U.S. favor legalizing pot according to Gallup poll

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Black Mamba

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According to the latest Gallup survey, 58 percent of Americans favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

Gallup says the poll culminates a year of “unprecedented success” for marijuana advocates and is almost certainly the harbinger of future legalization efforts. Support for legalization has climbed more than 10 percent in the past year alone.

“Whatever the reasons for Americans' greater acceptance of marijuana, it is likely that this momentum will spur further legalization efforts across the United States,” Gallup says in its analysis of the poll.

And as Gallup points out, the 58 percent support for legalization is a stark contrast to their first ever legalization poll in 1969, in which only 12 percent of respondents said they favored making marijuana legal.

Gallup also found that 38 percent of respondents in the poll said they had personally tried marijuana at some point.

The largest area of growth has been amongst independent voters, 62 percent of whom now say they support legalization. 65 percent of self-identified Democrats say they also support legalization. Republicans remain the only significant voting block opposed to legalization with just 35 percent support such an effort.

There is a also a direct correlation between legalization support and age, with voters over the age of 65 representing the only age block opposed to legalization. 53 percent of voters 65-years-old or above say they oppose legalization compared with just 31 percent of voters aged 18 to 29.

An August memo from U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole stated that the federal government will not attempt to interfere with Washington and Colorado’s efforts to implement marijuana legalization laws passed by state voters.

That decision recently was criticized by Craig T. Steckler , president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Steckler used his introduction of Attorney General Eric Holder at a public address this week to criticize the administration’s stance on marijuana laws.

"We have entered a slippery slope that will be hard to turn away from," Steckler said, saying that his organization’s relationship with the Justice Department was akin to a “contentious marriage.”

While not directly responding to the policy criticisms, Holder did joke in his response, “"We may need marriage counseling."

Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing medicinal marijuana use for patients who receive written permission from a doctor.

Several states are planning legalization ballot initiatives set for 2014, including California, Alaska, Arizona and Oregon. Other states, including Rhode Island and Hawaii, are planning legalization initiatives for 2016 to coincide with the next presidential election.

A recent poll found that 65 percent of voters in California favor legalization , a move that has been endorsed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Because of Colorado and Washington, it’s created a cannabis tidal wave across the country,” marijuana activist Mike Jolson said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We want to capitalize on this wave.”
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http://news.yahoo.com/for-first-tim...g-pot-according-to-gallup-poll-210057532.html

Dat Doritos Lobby.
 
And that number will only go up as Washington's and Colorado's laws fully come into effect and people realize that the world doesn't end as a result.
 
Hard to believe this is still an issue at all. Just legalize it already so we can move on to some important issues.
 
I can't wait for the day when all drugs are legalized and this stupid "war" is over. Spend money on rehabilitation for addicts, not prison.
 
As long as you dont smoke that shit around me, your fine. Ive got this one neigbor whose always downstairs doing his cig things. Dude, go smoke those poisons somewhere else.
 
58% of the people polled. The ones who don't use it are split between don't care and no.

I for one am strongly against it
 
SUPREME1 said:
Post of the day.
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image.php


C'mon universe, gimme that legal buddha. I wanna blow pot smoke in a police officer's face without repercussion before I die, is that too much to ask?
 
Don't care for pot or the culture that can crop up around it, but I cannot justify why alcohol and tobacco are legal but pot isn't. Either all three should be legal, or none of them should be.
 
All for the legalization of pot production/sale.

I am not for the legal distribution/sale of all drugs/anything though or the dissolution of the FDA.

moltonasty said:
C'mon universe, gimme that legal buddha. I wanna blow pot smoke in a police officer's face without repercussion before I die, is that too much to ask?
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I believe it can be considered assault to blow tobacco smoke in someone's face in some states. Like, if I were hammered at the bar and a cop asked me to leave, I don't think that I could spit beer in his face and it would be considered okay.
 
Emwitus said:
As long as you dont smoke that shit around me, your fine. Ive got this one neigbor whose always downstairs doing his cig things. Dude, go smoke those poisons somewhere else.
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Have you ever smelled weed? Shit is glorious and it smells nothing like cig smoke. I've always wanted it to come in incense form so I could smell it without having to smoke it.

Also not poisonous.
 
Emwitus said:
It is in high doses...just like every other drug. It'd be nice if you can cube yourself with it.
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No such thing as a dose of marijuana that can kill you. It is physically impossible.

Maybe you should go read the facts.

Ferrio said:
Shit smells horrible for most people, especially for non-smokers.
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Different strains of marijuana smell different. Let me guess, you think all cheese smells the same too?
 
Kajigger said:
58% of the people polled. The ones who don't use it are split between don't care and no.
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That sums it up pretty well...
As far as the whole hemp farming deal, sure but smoking itself provides no net benefit to anyone who doesn't want to smoke. It's a matter of not caring or probably not wanting to see it.
 
Brian Griffin said:
Have you ever smelled weed? Shit is glorious and it smells nothing like cig smoke. I've always wanted it to come in incense form so I could smell it without having to smoke it.
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Weed's smell is totally disgusting. Not as bad as cigarettes, but pretty close. Downstairs neighbor will do it now and then, and our apartment always smells gross when she does.

That's one of the issues I've had with some pot smokers: not caring how their activity affects others around them. (But I say the same thing about plenty of other things in life, such as music listening habits.)
 
J_Lee said:
It is impossible to OD on weed, I would argue that Tylonal is more dangerous.
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This is the thing. I don't want to be smelling those drugs around me or me kids if i had any. Otherwise, ive got no issue with weed. You could have em breakfast, lunch n dinner for all i care.
 
Damaniel said:
And that number will only go up as Washington's and Colorado's laws fully come into effect and people realize that the world doesn't end as a result.
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But what if every state legalizing it IS what ends the world? Hopefully the south doesn't give into the demands of satan.
 
shidoshi said:
Weed's smell is totally disgusting. Not as bad as cigarettes, but pretty close. Downstairs neighbor will do it now and then, and our apartment always smells gross when she does.

That's one of the issues I've had with some pot smokers: not caring how their activity affects others around them. (But I say the same thing about plenty of other things in life, such as music listening habits.)
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Ever asked the neighbor to smoke indoors? I bet they would immediately apologize and never smoke outside again.
 
pxleyes said:
Acquired smell, like beer is an acquired taste.
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Beer and smoke aren't exactly a fair comparison. One can actively avoid beer and never have to deal with it. Smoking in any form can smell disgusting and is far harder to avoid if it's happening in the immediate vicinity. Just throwing my two cents in there.
 
studyguy said:
Beer and smoke aren't exactly a fair comparison. One can actively avoid beer and never have to deal with it. Smoking in any form can smell disgusting and is far harder to avoid if it's happening in the immediate vicinity. Just throwing my two cents in there.
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I agree with your statement, but that wasn't the point I was making. Simply stating that the smell is an acquired liking just like beer.
 
Legalize and tax it

Lower my taxes because of it

Go

The smell is bad btw

Not sure how that's an argument?

Sure you can get used to it but generally it's unsavory
 
Emwitus said:
It is in high doses...just like every other drug. It'd be nice if you can cube yourself with it.
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The study people use had to do with monkeys being given high amounts of THC (through smoke). The monkeys died and it was attributed to marihuana. This is the study everyone uses. The fact is the monkeys died due to suffocation from the masks that pumped in the smoke.

A human would have to ingest 15,000 joints worth of THC in 15 minutes to die of a THC overdose.
 
J_Lee said:
It is impossible to OD on weed, I would argue that Tylonal is more dangerous.
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Well? Are you going to? I will: Tylenol kills more Americans ever year than weed.
Weed probably kills more Mexicans though, BECAUSE IT'S ILLEGAL. And that sucks. But that's a whole different mess, don't want to derail.

Those numbers are incredible though. Good news! America getting closer and closer to the future every day.
 
I have never partaken in marijuana in my life.

I am still for legalizing it.

Restrict its use like you would alcohol. Tax and regulate it.

Be prepared for the spike in pink floyd albums being sold.

Be further prepared for the unintended consequences of this on the border.
 
pxleyes said:
Ever asked the neighbor to smoke indoors? I bet they would immediately apologize and never smoke outside again.
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No, their smoking indoors is the problem (they're the apartment below ours).

And this is a neighbor who has played music cranked at 5AM, has a non-functioning car taking up her parking space (meaning she then parks her working car in other people's spaces), who doesn't leash her dogs even after they've bit people, who yells homophobic slurs at other residents (when she's a lesbian), and who has refused to open the door for police when they've been called on her.

So, I have a feeling my conversation with her on her smoking habits wouldn't quite go that well. *heh*
 
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