We have done an excellent job educating our society about the dangers of tobacco. The fact of the matter is NO smoke is safe. Wether it be tobacco, marijuana or even smoke from a BBQ. Kids just don't argue the merits of tobacco any longer. Can we do the same for marijuana?

The mixed message that marijuana is safer than other drugs is the trap that legalization sets for many young users. After providng assessments for 100s of adolescents a year I can say with authority that the view from the ground is that for many, marijuana is a very dangerous drug far beyond the obvious health risks

People do'n argue the dangers of cigarrettes anymore because just about everyone in america has seen someone they love die as a direct result of smoking. Most people's experience with pot is different. they probably smoked or had friends that smoked it as teenagers, nothing bad happened to them and they stopped when they got a job they cared about losing because of a drug test.

Research states that Marijuana smoke is 7x more toxic then cigarette smoke. I'm a program manager of a 28 day rehab for adolescents. 95% of my patients are addicted to marijuana and have experienced severe psychosocial stressors because of it.

Can we please get away from arguing about the health merits and look at what we're actually giving up. As adults in America we have the rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is up to the individual to make their own health decisions, it's not up to your neighbors or the government to tell me what I can and can't do for my health. As long as my decisions do not take away from another individual's rights than it is nobody's business whether I smoke cigarettes, joints, shoot heroin, or drick alcohol. As long as my use does not DIRECTLY injure another than let me the heck alone. When did being an American mean that my liberties are determined by public approval. I know it all sounds good, but where and when do we stop determining what's in the "public's" best interest. Why not micro chip all kids with a GPS chip so that we can combat kidnapping? Sounds reasonable??? Why not tatoo our social security barcoded numbers on our bodies to make identification easier? I know this may sound rediculous now, but wasn't there a time not too long ago when other things sounded as rediculous?

I have been working in theifield of addiction for 22 years. I have seen first hand the damage pot has done in my professional and family life. I have seen people go to jail because of it, killed becausse of it, and who have ignored their children because of it. It is far more toxic and carcinigenic than cigarettes, and many people are dying from Cancer because of it too. Anything that is used to alter your state of mind to avoid thinking, feeling or doing- is potentially dangerous.

Todd, you talk about your rights until they directly injure another. What about all those people who are on medicaid and smoke and spend hours and days and years in the hospitals, clinics, and whose funerals aren't paid for? Those all come from my tax dollars which could be in my pocket instead of being spend on them. So it does directly affect everyone.

It will be interesting for all of us to watch what will happen as more and more people push for legalization of Marijuana. If you are a regular reader of Join Togther you know that as a 30+ year professional I am very concerned about the notiion this is about freedom of anything. Marijuana legalization will have as damaging an effect in our society as we have seen alcohol have. Todd I would agree with you if the long term effects of your use wouldn't end up on the door step of the rest of later when you collecting Medicare and even now in the insurance costs we exprience for all illnesses. As I work with employers and employees it amazes me little we recognize when it comes to the true cost of drug and alcohol "use" in our society. Sad to say as Americans we truly are a drug using group. Marijuana is just another substance we try to justify as harmless. If we weren't such an interconnected society maybe your individual choice wouldn't cost the rest of us but it does. We are a compassionate group so when you get sick, even if you contributed to it occuring we end up responsible for your care. (as we should) How about we all try to just enjoy life "au naturale" sans recreational drugs of any kind. Enjoy your neighbors and family and stay clean for your health, your family and the rest of us.

Todd, what would you say to all the medicaid dollars that are spent on people in the hospitals, clinics, funeral homes, etc. to care for these people who have used their "rights" to kill themselves slowly? It does affect me directly because as someone that is trying to survive in these economic times, I'd rather have my tax money either back in my pocket or to something worthwhile, not paying the medical bills for someone who chose to smoke, drink, do drugs, etc.

And this from a state that wants clean air so badly that it will provide sizable tax incentives for folks to sell their older model cars to any one outside the state to get rid of the emissions. I guess these guys are selective in how they pollute their lungs.

What about all of the medicaid dollars that are spent on people in the hospitals, clinics, funeral homes to care for people who are obese? Are we going to make it illegal for people to eat poorly? My tax dollars certainly pay for medical bills of people who choose to be unhealthy in a lot of ways, but we shouldn't make it illegal. Prohibition doesn't work.

It is frustrating to read the various tangential arguments about marijuana's legal status and health consequences. Perhaps there is agreement on a few points: Do you want the driver of your child's school bus to be smoking a joint while at work? (No!) Does smoking anything likely contribute to increased risk of mouth, throat, and lung cancer? (Yes). Do people abusing or dependent on drugs participate in treatment because of court mandates? (Yes). Readers would probably agree on a long list of health, safety, relationship, and economic consequences of substance abuse and addiction. Some other questions are not so certainly answered but the answer we each hold shapes our response to drug policy issues: Is there a huge percentage of America wishing for constant intoxication and only held back by urine tests and threats of incarceration? (Your answer here). Is it worth $25,000 or more per year of your tax dollars to incarcerate a drug user (consequences including loss of employment, family disruption, physical assault, maybe even anal rape) in an attempt to steer the drug user away from the use of drugs? (Your answer here). What else can we do that will work better than what we have been doing? (Your answer here, please!)

everyone should read the report about Portugal by the Cato Institute. The country de-criminalized all drugs, didn't legalize, de-criminalized. Read the results since it's been 8 yearssince the country did it.Puts this argument into more perspective.

Everyone is talking about marijuana like it is a terrible thing, yet few people mention alcohol in a negative light. That is because alcohol is socially accaeptable. But the use and abuse of alcohol leads to huge health costs (yes some covered by medicare), incarcerations (covered by tax dollars), violent crimes, and a huge number of fatal automobile crashes per year. But I would be willing to bet that a lot of people commenting on this issue have a six-pack in the refridgerator or meet friends for happy hour. However, they are very quick to judge marijuana users because of social norms. If we're going to berate recreational marijuana users, let's remember that alcohol is just as harmful if not more so. If marijuana were legal and alcohol were illegal, this conversation would be a lot different. Yet people are always quick to judge others without questioning their own behaviors.

I have been reading some of these comments on here about the article, and frankly I am wondering where a lot of these people are getting their facts! This is the first step in many to come to the full legalization of marijuana, the way it was 40+ years ago before the government started making money and elections based on false facts about the dangers of marijuana. There is NO danger with the use of marijuana other than the properties of smoke inhalation. No deaths have ever been related to the use of marijuana, and to Michael the "Rehab Clinic guy" who said pot is 7x more toxic and addictive than cigarettes... Wow, have you been lied to!!! …It’s time to do some research America, and find the truth about Marijuana for yourselves.

The facts are that society has accepted the responsibility of caring for persons who have negative consequences of all kinds from the use/abuse of substances. Marijuana, though illegal causes far less problems than most controlled substances. This is borne out that millions of responsible people use it daily without problems. As one other comment pointed out, "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are constitutionally protected. As more becomes known about marijuana and about the government's program of hysterical mis-information the closer we are to legalization. This is also a fact. Responsible users of cannabis have a constitutional right to cannabis and someday soon should have it.

We shouln't make policy based on romanticized euphoric vignettes....popular TV shows (Weeds)...amotivation is a big problem in this society...lets stop laughing it off.

Hi RC - I just read the short version of the report you cited. Thank you for suggesting that. However, there is a profound difference between decriminalization--the context of the actions taken in Portugal, and legalization--actions NOT taken in Portugal. This conversation and the actions taken in Breckenridge is about legalization. Let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples for a legitimate argument for or against. Thanks for your resource!

It makes no difference if we legalize or not. Some people are still going to have a problem with it, like many things that are legal. I just wonder how you measure if someone is under the influence or smoked last night when there are accidents on the job or on the street. I know for a fact my place of business is not going to allow positive UA's for THC so legalize is really just a way to increase revenues in failing state and federal government. I really believe we should be more focused on keeping our country running than argueing about marijuana. Why not decriminalize it to reduce prison population? Or legalize then let go of the funds to put all of those people in treatment who cannot use it in moderation. That would give me job security. And that statement is not one I enjoy making....

Again...any smoke taken into the lungs is harmful. Marijuana smoke does have more tar than cigarettes, and is held in the lungs a lot longer; this needs to be realistically considered. Also, no one has absolute freedom of choice; we all affect one another by our actions, directly and indirectly. From all the study evidence over the years, smoking marijuana does not support health in our society, though there are some affects that assist with medical conditions. Still, these affects occur when the drug is smoked! How long are we going to keep ourselves focused on smoking a plant!? Is this what makes for meaning, health, purpose, fulfillment, mutual support, social problem-solving, and helping our kids grow up strong??

If alcohol were being discussed for legalization, it would face the same criticism. IMO, since Alcohol is legal, it has cost our society in more ways than money. How about the lives of children who live with an alcohol? They sit in therapy for years trying to heal the emotional scars. Pot will only bring on neglectful parenting that alcohol has statistically shown. Why would we need a National Organiztion for Children of Alcohols and Adult children of Alcoholics if it was so safe? Soon it will be an organization for children of marijuana users...If pot is legalized, the only gain that I can see is the government being able to earn oodles of taxes from the sales. As with alcohol, there will be responsible and irresponsible users - society always pays for the irresponsibility of our citizens with or without legalizing drug and alcohol use. As with prescription drug use, why can't there be an agency that limits the amount you can have? Patients are limited in their monthly scripts so why not alcohol? Think about it... The ultimate decision always comes down to the greed of the green!

Most of our society's drug problems are associated with LEGAL drugs. "It's the BEHAVIOR, stupid!"

We should make fast food illegal too if the reasoning is about health costs borne by everyone. Fast food contributes more to health care costs than just about everything else!!! Oh, and don't forget just outright obesity... What else can we take away from everyone? BarBQ??? Now that is dangerous!!!

I take healthy and damaged human organs in to schools and let students put on gloves and feel the difference. I do not tell them what to do. I just show them and tell them they will be the sum total of the choices they make. I sat with a boy in Eastern Washington last week after "The Real Inside Story" and he cried. He said that both of his parents smoke marijuana and they they ignore him when they are high. He told me he wants more attention from them and he feels lonely. I smoked marijuana in the 1960s and quit then. I smoked cigarettes on and off throughout my life until 1995. My grandsons, aged 10 & 12, love it when I jump out of a closet , scream, and chase them down the hall. They say, "grandma, do it again!" I tell them I can't breathe and have to take a break. Thanks to lighting something (anything) on fire and sucking it in to my lungs, I now have lung disease and it is not pleasant. Coughing hard pops your air sacs. Air pollution pops your air sacs. But, the number one way to get to emphysema is to light something on fire and suck it in to your lungs. I hope like crazy that I will be around to watch the birth of my great grands. Life is short and precious. My frineds used to tell me I should stop smoking, etc. because I was going to die. I remeber taking another puff and saying, "We all have to die some way, party on!" I gues it is not about how we die but how we live that is most precious. We are all connected so what we do in life affects others.

Tough crowd--substance abuse professionals. They see, and many times have themselves been through, the worst drug experiences. But the truth is that marijuana is only addicting for less than 10% of the population. For 90% it's not. The truth is that the addiction potential of marijuana is about equivalent to caffeine. And how many caffeine-only addicts do you see in S.A. Rx programs? The truth is that there are fewer cases of lung cancer among marijuana smokers than there are among people who don't smoke anything. Marijuana appears to have anti-tumoral properties, among other healthful benefits. The truth is that marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent for a wide variety of diseases, symptoms and medical conditions. This is why 25% of the U.S. have approved medical marijuana and another dozen states are considering it. The truth is that when you exaggerate the dangers and deny the benefits of marijuana, you are lying about marijuana. And that is never a good thing.

Good point, Ken. "The truth will set you free" - unfortunately, kids have been lied to for so long that drug prevention advocates have lost credibility and kids no longer believe "everything' we say about "all" drugs. Lumping drugs together and treating them as if they are all equally dangerous has been catastrophic to our society. The Legal Prescription pain killers are now the deadliest drugs around, but MJ is still the more "dangerous" drug - unbelievable! Get real - 70% of adolescents try drugs - Warn them about the ones that Kill and are truly Addictive! Michael - No Way do you have more people "addicted??" to MJ than Opiates - I am in contact with different rehabs and Most All of them are "overwhelmed" with patients Truly Addicted to Oxy, Percs, or Vicodins,and (leading to) Heroin - up to 70% of them are women addicted to pain killers - We are soon becoming the Majority in some private rehabs. TRUTH.

Look people, the REAL ISSUE is about a person's right to make their own personal decisions and decide their own quality of life - whether I, you, or the government agrees or not. We have gradually given our rights over to a government who tries to play parent and treat us like brainless children. We are like sheep being lead to the slaughter. Inform me, yes - criminalize me, NO. To all you fatties out there, just wait until the government begins to restrict the amount of calories you can legally consume each day - for your own good. You will be fined or jailed for violations - it will be commonly known as the fat-tax. Your doctor will be required to report your weight via an electronic system similar to the Prescription Monitoring Program. Sound ridiculous? The recommended daily allowance (RDA) has already been established. Don't you people get it? Don't you realize that your right to make personal, moral, and ethical decisions that directly affect the quality of your daily life is slowly taken away and not only dictated by our government, but criminalized. Today it's drugs; tomorrow it will be an issue that affects YOU and much sooner than you think. Wake up people! It's all happening right under your noses, but you are too busy criticizing and judging others that you are blinded by your own pride, but eventually YOUR habits and behaviors will be criminalized.

To all you rehab clinic people, I got caught with less than a gram and the judge made me go to rehab. . . i was in jail for two weeks, I let everyone in there know what was happening I got laughed at for it, I was in a cell with someone alleged with sex offending, and another with armed robbery. I had a gram of weed not even, if you don't want it legalized and are willing to lie to the population about the facts of it, atleast decriminalize it so I don't have to be in a dorm with -bloods,crypts,robbery,murderers,sexoffenders,assault-ers, and real drug junkies, who can't stop shaking . . . ive been smoking for 5 years been clean now for 2 months after the bs i got put through and haven't shook once, n scratched my neck crazyily. get a grip.

Smoking marijuana is pleasurable. Our society, with its Calvinistic underpinnings, does not know how to effectively handle pleasure. We are often too embarrassed to talk about it. So we prohibit what we are afraid of talking about; and to bolster the rationale for prohibition we develop a list of dire consequences which are sure to befall us if we give in to the prohibited pleasure. But pleasure is a much greater motivator than prohibition. That is why prohibition ALWAYS fails. In order to reach a goal, you have to visualize it. How about this as a first step? (1) Let's agree on how we would like our society to be, and (2) find a way to prod rather than punish people in order to get there. Remember, the national rate of tobacco use was reduced through education, not by prohibiting nicotine.

I don't see why we would compare fast food regulations and obesity to drug regulations and chemical dependency?? The truth is that when some people use drugs they do things that our dangersous to our society. With some drug use comes dangerous activity and this includes marijuana;it is not an exception. People lie, cheat, and steal to support habits which often include the use of marijuana. Children are put in harms way and don't always get the care they deserve when living in homes with addiction-which often includes mj addiction! It is highly unusual that one would lie, cheat, and steal for a cheese burger or neglect their family for another meal. obesity can impact a family in negative ways but I would argue that the impact is not the same as the impact drug abuse has on families. It is true, that some people can use certain drugs/alcohol without abusing it but I wonder how legalizing another drug is going to make anyting better. Alcohol causes enough problems as it is...do realy need to add to this...I don't have a problem with medical use when it has been proven to help people with chronic/terminal health problems but legalization may increase use with those already smoking and lead to and increase in first time users as well as more availability for kids.

No Marijuana does not cause cancer. There are no documented deaths EVER by marijuana. It is not Marijuana that puts people in jail and kills people, in fact it is the prohibition of marijuana. If marijuana were legal and regulated, no one would be killed by it because it would be out of the hands of dangerous drug dealers. The notion that it alters you mind and makes you dangerous is also ridiculous. Marijuana makes you happy, sleepy and hungry, that are all of the side affects. Stop spreading false information about marijuana. Police officers have said they had seen the absence of marijuana connected in crimes and have seen the overwhelming number of alcohol related crimes. Do some research before posting negative comments about marijuana