I pray that clear heads will refrain from taking rash action on legalization of a proven addictive and carcinogenic substance which reduces motiavation, production and personal growth. The nation and world seems in a panic to do something. Such times are the worst times for knee jerk decision making in general, and even more so on important health policy.

It is one thing to not want to use addictive substances, it is another to want to strictly regulate them. Everything Mr. weeldreyer wrote about marijuana is true about television. And we don't seek to prevent its use --despite the wisdom to do so. This is interesting to consider--shall we prescribe wellness or make it widely available? And is mandated wellness true health or something else?

Former president Fox of Mexico is really a very foolish man after all the very serious trouble marijuana has caused he thinks to make it legal will solve the problem.Fox has proven what a foolish jerk he really is people who think like he does should never have power to rule.

Former president Fox of Mexico is really a very WISE and kind man, after all the very serious trouble marijuana prohibition has caused, he knows to make it legal will solve the problem. Bob W has proven that he has not learned from history that prohibition is what CAUSED the violence around alcohol, and that legalizing it for adults solved the problem of violent crime, even though alcohol use can cause violence, and marijuana use lessens violent behavior. So much less violence, plus productive members of society not rotting in prison hurting our economy - so many benefits! President Fox = Opposite of "a foolish jerk."

"Stopthehate" might be well advised to take off the rose colored glasses and sample a taste of reality for a change. One need only to assess the many unintended problems California now finds itself confronting to truly appreciate the many problems that legalization presents. Decriminalization and alternative sentencing for treatment might offer improvements and solutions to current problems, but to simply legalize a proven dangerous and destructive product like pot is simply ludicrous. The evidence globally is overwhelming (however much pot proponents wish it were not)-- medically, psychologically, socially, etc. For anyone unwilling to recognize the obvious, simply take a moment to check out your local treatment stats for pot, or check out the vast, considerableand growing research globally on its destructive and addictive properties, or just take a moment to review the brain (SPECT) scans of users. Still don't believe it? Find an addict trying to recover and let them tell you first hand just how destructive "good old harmless, medically beneficial, God made it, didn't he? ought to be legalized, just look at the tax profit potential, etc." was and still is to them.

Dangerous, destructive, kills motivation, destroys productivity. None of you know what you are talking about. the reason you think these things is because you knew or knew of a lazy, non productive person who smoked marijuana. The majority you never see are productive, even motivated members of society, including our current president.

ust be a sale on rose colored glasses!

yeah our last three presidents were wearing them....

"None of you know what you are talking about." I dare say that 25 years as a senior law enforcement professional, two as a counselor working with struggling recovering drug addicts, and over 17 as a State-certified preventionist, I think I can say with confidence that I do have a fairly solid knowledge and experience base to speak from, and one that didn't come out of smoke curls from a mind-bending bong. Daily professional study, countless courses and training programs, advanced degrees, extensive collaboration and much, much more provide me with an educated and informed perspective on this very difficult subject. May I rspectfully suggest the pro-pot heads who appear to enjoy rebuking others not of their persuasion do some serious research on their own (and I don't mean "High Times") before taking on the many tens of thousands of others comprising the highly qualified community of treatment, prevention, enforcement, education and research professionals dedicated to this effort.

Winkler, I hear what you are saying. But I am afraid that you have a bias against logically thinking this through. Compared to alcohol, pot is but a nuisance drug. Being in law enforcement, you follow the law. Since pot is illegal for the most part, you have a bias. Now, if pot was legal like say alcohol, then I suspect you would be more flexible in your way of thinking. I don't believe you know of anyone that is close to you who smoke pot. If you did, or if you smoked yourself, you would know that pot is not as harmful as you make it out to be. If you had an open mind and looked at studies that have no bias, you would see how states could benefit from pot and hemp processing. You believe the lies that years of prohibation produced. Now is the time for level heads to think about what is going on now. Pot is caught up in this war on drugs...and its not getting better for anyone involved. Should we stay the course, spend more money, arrest and jail more people for just possess it, damage more lives for just smoking it...etc. The opportunity is here for level minds to look at this problem and turn it into something positive. It can be done.

Actually, Nealisa, I've known quite a few people who smoked pot-- over 200, as a matter of fact-- and none of them were any the better for having done so. My bias, as you label it, is based on first hand experience and professional observation. But don't take my word for it-- consult your local treatment program and see for yourself the impact of maarijuana. And while you're at it, check out as well the SPECT (Single Photon Emmission Computed Tomography) brain scans of pot smokers compiled by Dr. Daniel Amen, among others, to see just how much damage this "harmless recreational" weed really is on the brain. Bus perhaps better yet, find someone who was on weed and is now trying to kick. Let them tell you first hand how it messed up their lives. Then again, none are so blind as those.....

In the United States we have attempted this type of legalization in conjunction with medical necessity as in with California. If you look at the increasing drug violence coming from the area of the Mexican-American border the cartels are not only targeting businesses surrounding use of and sale of Marijuana. The Marijuana factor is only a small component of this war and or problem. Would you legalize all the ecstasy, cocaine, crack coming out of this pipeline. The Merida Initiative looks to a partnership between two governments to deal with an increasing problem for both countries. It is only through a cooperative effort that this problem will be decreased. Legalizing Marijuana on the Mexican side only legalizes the cartels ability to increase their output and ability to export this as a viable product to an already difficult problem not just for our country but both countries. This will result in more increases in violence and the need for more funds for personnel , training weapons and constant monitoring. This could also lead to political tensions and in effect nullify the effectiveness of the Mexican government working with the United States or being able to. This problem must be met with diplomacy, training, monitoring, education, and the resources from both countries to deal with this problem.There is no one easy answer but I can tell you that the decriminalization and legalization of Marijuana from their side is not the answer in an an already dangerous environment.

It is about time that serious thought be directed towards going through with legalization. The criminal element associated with the prohibition has caused more harm and more deaths than the drugs themselves. Not to mention that taxation of legalized drugs would solve the economic crisis that only seems to get worse as time goes on.

Myles, according to DEA Mexico chief, Reyes, 65% of drug cartel profits are from Marijuana. Frank. Legalization is not promotion, it is REGULATION. You cannot moderate or regulate what you prohibit, and with prohibition you create a fertile climate for violence and criminality. It is the MONEY side of the issue which is the problem, not the DRUG side. Vincente Fox is just repeating an obvious truth that has been proven in Portugal: decriminalization works.

Brinna, you have the right idea. And Winkler, knowing 200 "closely" and "personally", would you have these people locked up for smoking? Are you willing to let someone close to you experience that? For what? Smoking a weed that does no harm to no one else? They don't go crazy, or psychotic. Haven't you seen "That 70's Show??" They just mellow out. But if these people were alcoholics, we know what can happen. It's responsible for the most accidents and tragedy , but I don't see anyone talking about a war against alcohol...oh wait, we had that one already. I don't know, maybe people love war. Let's spend even more money on something that's not working...maybe we can kill all the dopers and life will go back to normal. I taught my children differently. Try to understand how others live their lives. No one person has all the answers, but all of us together strive for a better life. We can learn from each other. We can help each other. Keep an open mind and form your answer.

The 200-plus I spoke of were those in treatment at my clinic at the time I was a drug counselor. And I've seen many more, including concerned families and friends, via consultations since working on the prevention side, as well. Now they know otherwise.consequences. A few minutes with any of these individuals shows just how much harm pot caused them. Less harmless than alcohol? stats on drugged driving show otherwise. Then there are the various physiological impacts of weed, much less mental, etc. I agree that we can learn more from each other, but only when and to the extent that we maintain an open mind and make a serious effort to research and properly digest valid research data. I would suggest that pot proponents- and anyone else for that matter-- make a reasonable effort to review the data-- its readily available, it is ample and growing daily. One more question-- why are proponents so hard over to leagalize potlace? Magnanimous concern for the health issues of their fellow man, or challenging the "establishment?" This is a mega-billion dollar industry begging to have the clamps lifted to make even more money. The Mexican mess is but one small part of a much larger picture in that regard. And at who's expense? At what price? Who in the pot industry really cares about the damage that would result, when there is phenomenal amounts of money to be made? Again, experience to date speaks volumes. So what do you really want to teach your kids?

I pose a simple question. If someone close to you (son, daughter, loved one..) did something you didn't approve and illegal (smoked pot, drunk driving, violent abuse..) are you willing to report that person to the police? To what degree is this "trouble" and what's the best solution. I like to take care of the people I love, or even like. I would do whatever I could to help. If my son, who's a good kid, smoked pot and I found out..should I call the police? He does well in everything. Respectful, caring...proud to be his father. Now I find out he smokes pot. The first thing I think to do is to find out if he needs help. Not to call the cops. I'm just saying that smoking pot is not such a problem..unless it's abused. Talking and understanding is what's called for here. Calling the police in this case is stupid. He would not trust me anymore. That's why I think it's important to see the "other side" of this question. If the only thing "wrong" was smoking, there are worse things in this world he could do (drunk driving, violent abuse..etc) The present pot laws are based on fear from the past. If we've learned anything from our past, it's that fear comes from not knowing the truth. It's hard to know the truth if you've never been there. Thank your lucky stars if you haven't. Because I think most people would try to find a solution to a problem. And as far as pot causing more "trouble" than alcohol...please, you KNOW that's not true.

Don't look at this politically, look at the facts on both sides of the issue. No one has brought up the fact that weed from mexico is brown,compressed with wood chips and pubic hairs ect... and typically sprayed with Windex to trick you into think your getting "super high bro". no one in their right mind should touch that stuff, and it should be composted and used to grow food for the hungry in my opinion. Where as Marijuana from AMERICA has been crafted through years of artificial selection. It comes in various bright greens and purples, still has intact trichromes, and is vastly different in basically every way. We've also made other strides in the science of pot, such as vaporizers ect that do not burn carbon. No carbon mixing with oxygen through the burning process means no carbonMonOxide -which means no cancer. This is the way the government advises patience to administer treatment. As far as the psychological effects go, It's incredibly hypocritical to label every human body and mind as the same. They're not. Drugs effect different people in different ways. That's why medicines have unintended side effects. Some people love the effects of pot, some people hate it, and it flat out doesn't work at all on other people. AT ALL. That's not to say that most people who use drugs aren't selfish, childish, and irresponsible. No denying that. My point is that those people were that way WELL BEFORE using drugs. Drugs don't make you something you're not.