Why Parents Should Support Legalizing Pot | | AlterNet

There are so many good reasons to legalize cannabis. I can't think of a good reason to keep it outlawed, but I can think of lots of financial gain to be had by maintaining cannabis prohibition.

Unfortunately, it's all about how one (ie; the government) can make the most money. Since just about everything can be made from hemp (which everyone with cannibis knowledge knows you can't get high from it), it would give the major companies competition. Drug companies, oil industry, etc., etc., etc., would go down fast. I'd LOVE to see this happen. But those with power have just that. Power. I was in the healthcare industry long enough to see marijuana does more to help those who need it FAR better than any prescribed RX.

I sat my oldest daughter down and we had a good long talk about pot smoking. We came to the agreement that if she was going to smoke she would wait until after high school. Then should she decide to she could come to me and i would give her something to try. I did this because if they make up their mind that they are going to do it there is not much you as a parent can do to stop it.

She turns 20 this month, has tried it and decided it is not for her. I know this wouldnt work with all kids, but it seems to have worked with mine.

I would like to see cannibas legalised for many reasons.

Wonderful stuff. .. the discussion and the product. I've worked in social services and the mental health field since the mid 1970,s and have seen so many people who have used pot who have functioned quite well and prospered in their lives and careers. I have seen a large number of recreational alcohol users crash and burn. The government, bless it's heart, just cannot seem to get the message painted in blood on the streets of Chicago and New York during the prohibition years. Legalize it and LET'S TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME!!

I am not a parent, I am only 21, but I know my mother and father have not tried it, nor do they drink, so in turn, I saw no point to ever do it. I think parents should lead by example. I know lots of pot heads at my college, and I refuse to deal with them personally. I found out one of my friends started smoking sophmore year and hasn't stopped, needless to say, we are no longer friends.

Just because it comes from the Earth doest not mean it's safe. I'll pass, and I hope to God that my children are like me and take after my family and don't drink or use drugs.

I am a little hesitant to add anymore to the discussion at risk of having to come at the subject from two sides at the same time. The weakness one person may have in becoming depended on a substance, legal or other, is not the issue. Pot is a substance that can be enjoyed and appreciated by a great many people without them becoming dependent or "dumbed down" by the experience. There are always exceptions to the rule.

Parents have a job to do. That job is to help children, of all ages, make choices that will assist them in adjusting to the demands of the world. Educational demands and social demands. Recreational drug choices should be a part of that agenda. Some parents are basket cases themselves and have run from choices they made in high school and college to equally bad choices.....like narrow minded viewpoints that do nothing to advance a child's development.

There should be age limitations on the use of recreational devices for sure. However, the criminalization of a substance to justify one's lack of understanding should not be allowed to happen. We saw, during prohibetition, how the criminalization of alcohol led to the development of organized crime in the U.S.. Thousands died because some thought alcohol to be a sinful thing to have around. So, for the sake of good, we created something horrible.

The cost of imprisonment for people convicted of crime in the U.S. is more than $30,000.00 per year. The casual user, buyer, seller of the product, "POT" who happens to get arrested and prosecuted and convicted is costing the tax payer a fortune. Why not decriminalize the substance and put the money, formerly used to incarcerate people, to good use in the field of rehabilitation for those with real problems of addiction to the hard drugs.

If you look at the statistics of addiction from the 1960's to the present you will see that the percentage of the population truely addicted to hard drugs is about the same. On the other side of the coin the percentage of people being arrested and incarcerated for simple possession has increased. We really need to decide if we are going to continue to fatten the budget of law enforcement agencies or are we going to let the police go back to going after the bad guys and put a great deal of money into rehabilitation programs that will certainly benefit a great number of "innocent people".