Chicago City Council Approves Pot Decriminilization (Golf: crimes, live, most dangerous)

[Gtownoe]

Originally Posted by Golfer31

Ya know, I'm not a fan of marijuana at all. Its just as bad as any other drug.

People that use it can't use it in public (Since its illegal to do so), so they become hermits on a Friday night and sit at home instead.

I can't tell you how many times in high school that people I knew would pass up doing fun stuff, because they felt that they couldn't smoke pot there. They always chose their stash of pot over their friends. The only way you could hang out with them is if you went to where they were at. No way would they meet up somewhere with you.

Pot turns people into clueless creatures and it gets annoying after the first 5 minutes of being around them. Especially if you don't smoke pot.

I smoke "pot" and run 2 businesses. I prefer my solitude to recharge, but other than that I'm a pretty social guy. How come I don't fit into your box?

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by 55degrees

What does it mean that police will have the "option" of giving a ticket? Does that mean they can instead choose to arrest the guy if they feel like it?

The option of arrest is primarily for people the police think are selling pot. So if someone has just under a half ounce in a single bag they wouldn't get picked up. Someone who has the same amount broken out into eighths or grams would. That's the theory at least. Most cops don't want to waste time picking someone up for smoking a joint (as evidenced by how few of them show up in court later). The vast majority of people with less than a half ounce will just get a ticket from now on.

[linicx]

I think there is a misunderstanding about the effects of alcohol. It takes approximately one hour for the average body to metabolize: one beer, or one shot, or one mixed drink, or one glass of champaign, or one glass of wine.

Two drinks + 2 hours with no alcohol = 1 sober you. There is several factors that come into play when you pick up the first drink: height, weight, age, and physical state. It is one thing to work physically hard and a have a beer with lunch before you go back to work. It is quite another to work physically hard all day, do not eat, and then go out the boys for a beer after work. Cold weather has a reward. I saw a fellow one night who had worked outside all day in typical Illinois winter weather. He went out to dinner and had one drink before he dropped. He was fine after that.

Pot is entirely different. My kid used it for pain control for 3 years or more. In California you have a Rx, a license to buy from a state licensed seller, and carry it home. When the Pot not longer helped she stopped using it. One licensed seller said he paid nearly $M in taxes to the state and IRS. California raises their own pot too.

[Gtownoe]

I don't advocate driving impaired, or distracted, but here's a study showing that drivers under the influence of marijuana are much safer than those under the influence of alcohol. In fact, they're nearly comparable to sober drivers.

Marijuana and Driving: A Review of the Scientific Evidence

[clcfball11]

Originally Posted by Golfer31

Ya know, I'm not a fan of marijuana at all. Its just as bad as any other drug.

People that use it can't use it in public (Since its illegal to do so), so they become hermits on a Friday night and sit at home instead.

I can't tell you how many times in high school that people I knew would pass up doing fun stuff, because they felt that they couldn't smoke pot there. They always chose their stash of pot over their friends. The only way you could hang out with them is if you went to where they were at. No way would they meet up somewhere with you.

Pot turns people into clueless creatures and it gets annoying after the first 5 minutes of being around them. Especially if you don't smoke pot.

Lulz.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

IMO casual use is not dangerous in either instance.

Its when you cross the line of abuse it causes problems.

You have a casual smoker , casual drinker no problem

chronic drug user , chronic alcohol user you have a problem.

I do agree there are users of marijuana that are complete stones and brick walls.
There are also drunkards who have wasted their entire life in the bottle.

Fine line between casual use and abusing.

Personally I have seen way to many people ruin their life by alcohol and consider it a wicked drug no worse than pot.

Believe we all have had a friend of family member we have seen simply waste their life into nothing.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

IMO casual use is not dangerous in either instance.

Its when you cross the line of abuse it causes problems.

Exactly. The problem is there are people on one side of the argument saying that pot is inherently bad and always causes problems, and people on the other side saying it's perfectly safe and never causes problems. Neither is true.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

if every offense is decriminalized we will have empty jails and a rotten public.

You realize the U.S. locks up a higher percentage of our population than ANY other country, including such bastions of liberty like China and Russia - and those stats hold up even when using third-party estimates from places like Amnesty International and not just relying on governments self-reporting.

I try not to personalize responses to people, but seriously, are you proud to be an American right now? I sure hope not - being proud to live in the country that pretends to be about freedom while locking up more people than any other country would be a sign of sheer insanity.

The U.S. holds 25% of the world's prisoners.

The U.S. holds a higher portion of its population in prison that ANY OTHER COUNTRY

Only stupid, uninformed opinions help make that possible. Are your opinions stupid and uninformed? If so, you can claim credit for aiding in creating the biggest police state in the world. Kudos on that.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Exactly. The problem is there are people on one side of the argument saying that pot is inherently bad and always causes problems, and people on the other side saying it's perfectly safe and never causes problems. Neither is true.

100% agree. Pot isn't GOOD for you unless you have glaucoma or something, but then again it's not good.

Technically, everyone is "dying" and getting older, every second of the day, but there are some things to make the dying slower, and there's some things to make the dying faster. Things like pot, alcohol, even tylenol all have positives, but they also contribute to the "dying" faster. Some drugs though just make you die faster than others i.e. alcohol faster than pot, cocaine faster than pot, etc.

Obviously, a lot of people drink for fun and don't let it affect them too much and the same can be said about pot as well, and actually some other drugs (surprisingly, people with non addictive personalities). As long as it doesn't affect others, I'm fine with it. It's your body. Problem is that these substances have an impact on others, while others don't.

It's a fine balance, that frankly many people are not mature enough to know how to handle IMO.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by marothisu

It's a fine balance, that frankly many people are not mature enough to know how to handle IMO.

Well, many don't have the biology to be able to handle it, but that's another discussion altogether. Regardless, it shouldn't be illegal.