Democratic debates

[mooby]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Anecdotal evidence (I know a few guys who...) does not hold up well against scientific studies where they track progress against a baseline for 3500 people. Besides, the point isn't whether your friends are productive members of society, the point is how much more productive can they be? If you start with an IQ of 140 and it drops to 130 because of weed, you're still in good shape. But I still wouldn't do it personally. The power of the brain is too significant.

But that should be a value judgment for each person to make on his own.

As for medical benefits, that should be done only under the direction of a physician. Nobody should be trying to decide whether it provides medical benefit for them without the guidance and prescription from a physician. So unless you're a doctor whose job it is to balance the pros and cons of each medicinal option, I'm uninterested in that argument. It can only be made by medical professionals.

And on drug cartels, legalizing weed will have hardly any impact on them. They make most of their money from cocaine, heroin and similar narcotics, not weed. Taking away that business from them would be like telling McDonald's they can't sell the Filet o Fish and McRib anymore. There would be some disappointment but they'd survive just fine on their Big Macs and Egg McMuffins.

I agree that anecdotal evidence shouldn't hold up against scientific evidence, but my point is that amongst the younger members of society today, its' use is widespread enough that its' harmfulness has been totally destigmatized. I won't argue about its' longterm degenerative effects, but I would say it's probably on par with tobacco or to a lesser degree alcohol, both of which will continue to be legal even as studies come out showing how unhealthy they are.

I also agree on the medical benefits, obviously those that truly need it should consult with a doctor first. But from cancer patients using it to epileptics that control their seizures with it, I feel like it's obvious there are medical benefits to it.

As for the cartels, no doubt there are far worse drugs that make plenty of money for them. But weed remains one of the most popular drugs out there and probably still makes up a decent chunk of their business percentage wise. I'd argue heroin use is on the rise thanks to the prescription drug abuse, but weed is probably the Big Mac of the cartels. It might not be their money maker compared to other drugs but it still remains one of the most popular products on the market (though with states like Colorado/Washington/I think Alaska as well leading the way the process of legalization is starting to come around, which might be making a slight dip in cartel pockets.)

Anyways, nice debating with you. I realize it's mostly for naught but I appreciate the civility.