Marijuana in California

An altered state

A battle about hypocrisy, money and Mexican cartels

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Readers' comments




More important than whther or not Prop. 19 will pass in California, judging from some of the comments written by other readers, it seems that the most important thing right now is to have proper and objective data on marijuana and its effects. We can't make proper decisions on a matter such as this if we're not informed on the subject matter with clear and truthful information. A long time ago, the marijuana plant became a threat to the timber industry due to the numerous uses of the plant in all sorts of markets, which consequently led to it becoming an illegal subtance. Since then, we haven't been offered any type of consistent and objective studieas on the marijuana plant, and therefore have little information to base our opinions on.
Personally, I can only say what I know from my own experience. I've been an avid marijuana smoker for the last seven years. This means smoking a minimum of 2 joints a day, unless work or other responsibilities don't give me the time. But be sure... if I have pot and I have time, I'll be smoking. I smoked all throughout college and graduated in only three years and with honors (oh, and I had an internship for two of those years to which I never showed up high for, and ended up getting my current job from my experience then). I also finished my master's degree in 16 months (also paid for it myself) includidng my dissertation, and started working only three weeks after graduation. I never smoke before work, and smoking has NEVER kept me from doing the things I want to do. If anything, the periods of time that I have had to spend without consuming marijuana proved to me that my motivation, dreams, relationships or choices do not change if I'm high or not. I'm pretty much the same all the time. I just enjoy the process of smokng, sharing with others, the taste, the culture, etc.
I know this doesn't apply to everyone that smokes, but I do want people to know that all pot smokers aren't the same and the stigma that goes along with smoking doesn't always apply. Some of the smartest and most interesting people I know are pot smokers...


It's sad to see that other countries, counties..... different from, for example Colombia could make possible marihuana consumption by legal ways, and the biggest producers cannot because double moral

K Wolf

Yes to Prop 19 will have many affects on california both + and -. i agree that it will create a larger income disparity, which is especially bad for a state that is struggling economically and does not show signs of improvement. however the legalization would possibly create a money grab for several counties that could sustain the economy momentairly. Focus for california needs to be on jobs and standard of education otherwise our state in demise and will continue down the road.

Since bud does not create mass amounts of jobs and can negate personal responsibility i think its best off being something we smoke in our youth and get away from in adulthood.

Im in my early twenties and i smoke. i dont feel the need to have it leagalized because it will have an adverse affect on our production levels, education levels and economy for the years to come, because it lowers our ambition.

Super Weh

dutch semi legalisation has shown that so called "soft" drug markets are still run by criminal gangs, it has little positive effect on decreasing usage (yes, dutch may use less than other nations but this is also due to culture for a large part), kids still experiment with drugs far too young amidst increasing evidence that it is very harmful for developing brains.


With the exception of the ill-starred Prohibition Act, it has not been my experience that difficulty in enforcing a law has ever been a sufficient or even a compelling reason to strike that law.

Fortunately, marijuana usage in America does not possess the cultural roots of alcohol consumption.

Recognizing that defeatism in all facets of American thought seems to be running as rampant as bedbugs in New York City's toniest addresses these days, I am not surprised, though, that this would be thrown in with the kitchen sink in an attempt to create a sense of urgency and reasonableness for the legalization of DOPE.

Wake up, America!


Marijuana became an obsession for me when I was sixteen. After a long struggle, by the time I was fifty-one (three years ago) I had managed to quit. The amount of time I spent in use and pursuit of this 'imagination-enhancing' drug was wasted. As an artist I now have the exact amount of imagination as I ever had. The damage some of my family members have undergone by marijuana usage is ongoing and profound.

What I have gained by ceasing usage of marijuana is enhanced finances and health. My time is not spent in pursuing and consuming something that gives nothing back. When I want to let my mind wander I write on blogs like this.

It is a false argument to say that rich guys smoke pot so it's not bad. I bet those guys would say it was just a way to kill time, totally unproductive. And if you say, 'What's wrong with that?', I would point out that legalizing a substance as a way to kill time is not a compelling argument. 'But we like it', similarly is not a reason to legalize a substance that is known to have deleterious effects on the human brain and body and is known to contribute to vehicle accidents.

It is a fact that marijuana users are stastistically less successful in undertakings that require high degrees of intellectual ability, such as high school and college.

More children will be exposed to it earlier and easier with legalization. What will be the benefit to those individuals? Why don't the compassionate speak out for those instead of their own selfish gratification. Giggling for no reason, twiddling thumbs or staring at a test-pattern on tv have the same purpose and value as smoking marijuana.

It is a false argument to say it is more benign than alcohol and so should be legalized. Rape is less damaging than murder but no one is arguing for legalization of rape. Both are harmful.

The fact is that everyone here arguing for legalization of marijuana smokes it themselves and wants to make it easier to pursue their life-style. No amount of specious arguments, moral, ethical, legal or medical can obviate the glaring fact that marijuana offers no benefit to society other than pacifying its consumers. Can this possibly be a reason to introduce into society a material whose product is indolence and inefficiency and apathy?

The ugly fact is that everyone using marijuana today (just the same as me when I used it) is complicit in the drug-war south of the border and all the murders and societal destruction that that entails.

Claiming an 'enlightened' view in the presence of that fact screams of hypocrisy.

I am waiting for one cogent reason to subscribe to an addition to the roster of substances that ensnare and deceive the human mind. Self-gratification is not a compelling argument.

Having witnessed the distorted lives that are produced by marijuana addiction, I can only sneer at the notion of the 'social value' of an illegal, destructive, war-financing drug that offers no benefits to its users other than a pathetic vicarious giggle and a chance to withdraw from reality.

We've already got a plethora of devices and substances for that. This one causes more harm than good. NO.



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