Don’t Legalize Marijuana!
December 18, 2008 
37 Comments
Mr. James Cruise, you are misinformed and a prime example of why marijuana IS illegal in the United States.
To the Editor:
In 1612, the Native Americans taught John Rolf how to cultivate tobacco in Virginia. This commodity quickly grew into a thriving commercial enterprise.
But along with it came a very troublesome problem. By the 1670s, the medical literature of those times began to report all of the increased tumor growths and disease occurring in the population. Despite of the warnings of those days, tobacco has flourished and remains big business. It continues to be a serious medical cause of disease and accounts for nearly 500,000 deaths each year. Most of us recognize what tobacco has caused and there are on-going attempts to wipe out some of its consequences.
God has given most of us a measure of what is commonly called common sense. When I was a young man this was called “horse sense,” and if you didn’t have it you were said to be “mule headed.” Now is the time to call upon that endowed asset of common sense. There have been two Pandora’s Boxes that have been opened within the state of California. One is the issue of so-called “medical marijuana” in which marijuana is touted to be a great medicine, but there has been no medical supervision in its usage. There are no medical controls, and it has been up to the patient to prescribe his/her own dosage for almost any supposed ailment, no matter how minor the ailment might be.
A person that states they must have 25 plants is saying that they require 1 pound of marijuana per week.
With that amount in mind, mathematically they would be smoking or using 128 marijuana cigarettes per day. That is over 6 packs of regular tobacco cigarettes. Further, they would be smoking a marijuana cigarette every 7.5 minutes during a 16 hour period of waking hours, giving them 8 hours of sleep. In Alison Myrden’s case, she would be smoking 600 marijuana cigarettes per day. This would equal 30 packs of regular tobacco cigarettes and she would be smoking a marijuana cigarette every 1.5 minutes during a 16 hour period. Dear readers, use your common sense, does that seem possible to you?
There has been a loud cry, even from some highly intelligent people, that we should legalize marijuana and tax its usage. Again readers, use your common sense. Are you really going to open another Pandora’s Box and release a scourge upon this world? If marijuana was to be legalized, just what would that mean?
- It would mean that you could tax it, just as tobacco is taxed, but would you be ready to reap the consequences?
- Let us look at some of the consequences:
- It has been demonstrated by a Dutch study published in 2007 that marijuana does three to five times more lung damage than tobacco. Tobacco is a scourge and has been for 400 years. You can’t get rid of it. Are you willing to release something three to five times worse?
- How quickly will the planting of marijuana for profit displace other valuable crops?
- Will the price of marijuana really come down? No! The cost of problems it will cause will far outweigh any cost in a decreased price for marijuana. You are the taxpayers and you will pay all the medical cost of those that use it and reap the medical disease it will cause. Use you heads, folks! Do you think that these marijuana users are going to pay for their own medical bills? Many of them are already on welfare with you paying their way.
- How about restrictions on growing marijuana? Where can it legally be grown? Can your neighbor grow as many plants as he wishes in his back yard and give you an obscene gesture if you protest? If it’s legalized, it is legal and he should be able to grow it just like you grow tomatoes.
- Will there be so much grown that we with our sensitive noses cannot live with it and because it is legal we might tend to take action in our own hands? What a problem this would cause in the court system.
- Can you imagine what a stinking planet we would have if a lot of people jump on the band wagon and grow this stuff?
- Ease of access for our young people. It would be so easy to obtain that they would not have to buy it. They could just go out and steal it. Already it is being promoted in grade schools.
- Does it affect the mind?
- If anything affects the mind in an adverse way, it is marijuana. You must be completely out of your mind to pay three to five thousand dollars per pound for this stuff. Those that use it are willing to pay this price for it but get huffy if cherries are over four dollars per pound. They will destroy to get it. They will steal it. They will kill, perhaps even you, to get it. Does marijuana affect the mind?
- If we legalize marijuana just so we can tax it, who will benefit? How are those tax dollars to be used? We might find that we can start and fun a war with several countries at the same time!
This is only a partial list of consequences that we will reap if we legalize marijuana. Do not be fooled y those that urge its legalization and that the price will come down and everything after is a bed of roses. Use your common sense. Look around. It’s in there somewhere, unless of course, you have a marijuana agenda you wish to promote.
James R. Cruise
Redwood Valley
Similar Posts:
- Marijuana Quotes
- History Channel Special on Drug War Hits Home
- Open Letter to the President: Legalization of Marijuana
- New Jersey Medical Marijuana Bill
- Marijuana Advocate Irv Rosenfeld: Preaching to the Choir
“They will destroy to get it. They will steal it. They will kill, perhaps even you, to get it. Does marijuana affect the mind?”
LMAO Shades of Reefer Madness!
My Dear Mr. Cruise,
You haven’t a clue as to what you are talking about, I would suggest some research on your part before making a total fool of yourself.
“If anything affects the mind in an adverse way, it is marijuana. You must be completely out of your mind to pay three to five thousand dollars per pound for this stuff. Those that use it are willing to pay this price for it but get huffy if cherries are over four dollars per pound…”
“Will the price of marijuana really come down? No! The cost of problems it will cause will far outweigh any cost in a decreased price for marijuana. You are the taxpayers and you will pay all the medical cost of those that use it and reap the medical disease it will cause. Use you heads, folks! Do you think that these marijuana users are going to pay for their own medical bills? Many of them are already on welfare with you paying their way.”
The problem with your logic here is that if all these marijuana users are “already on welfare with you paying their way” then how the hell do you expect them to pay 3-5 thousand dollars a pound? No one on welfare is going to buy a pound of marijuana.
Let’s be realistic about this:
1) If you’re growing your own [medical] bud, you aren’t paying $3-5k /lb. since you’re GROWING IT. The price of growing is infinitesimal compared to paying for the luxury of someone else doing the work for you.
2) You can buy weed in almost any quantity for a corresponding price, so quoting the price per lb. (or what YOU think is the price per lb.) is completely irrelevant except to people who can afford to do that, and forgive me for being presumptuous, but if I were on welfare I don’t think I’d be spending $3-5k on anything except food, shelter, and my health or hygiene.
3) Anyone who has lbs. of marijuana will probably be selling it. If so, they either grew it OR had enough money to buy a pound. Think about this for a moment:
If you bought a pound at $3,000.00 you would have 16 ounces.
If you sold a pound of marijuana at $300 an ounce you would have $4,800.00, thus making an $1,8000.00 profit.
If you sold a pound of marijuana at $50 an “eighth” (3.5 grams) you would have $6,400.00. This would make you a profit of $3,400.00! This means, that if you sold per-’eighth’ then even if you paid $5,000.00 for that pound, you still make a profit of $1,400.00 (which, in my own opinion, is no small change).
Now, with that said- I’d like to address one more thing:
“Ease of access for our young people. It would be so easy to obtain that they would not have to buy it. They could just go out and steal it. Already it is being promoted in grade schools.”
Your statement is not just ambiguous, but unfounded & uninformed as well. Are you familiar with the responsible use of marijuana act? Unlike the inappropriately named ‘Patriot Act’, the responsible use of marijuana act would only apply to consenting adults. Let me repeat that last word: “adults”.
Not too many adults in grade school, Mr. Cruise.
Also, if it were so easy to obtain then why would they have to steal it? Buying it is incredibly easier than stealing (no matter how old you are).
Marijuana only has as much stigma as you assign to it- if by ‘promoting’ in grade schools you’re referring to educating people, then maybe you think they’re ‘promoting’ sex in schools with sex education.
Ignorance perpetuates ignorance.
Knowledge is power.
you sir totally suck i have a feeling youve had almost no experience with marijuana.
who would you rather drive a dude thats drunk or a dude thats stoned?
thats not even a question really
i can safely say the worst thing that can happen when your stoned is you rummaging through the couch cushions so you can go buy a bag of Doritos
ive actually been acquainted with people that have had pounds of marijuana stolen from them….. they reacted by complaining, footing the bill, and BUYING more
so lets assume smoking pot does cause more cancer then cigarettes how many cases have been reported? I couldn’t find any IN FACT when I asked Google about it. they gave me dozens of links to stories about how recent studies showing no association between marijuana use and lung cancer. IN FACT some studies suggested a protective affect. not to mention the fact that it is non addictive
so even if there was a case of cancer the person would easily be able to drop their smoking habit
The mere thought of someone KILLING me for MARIJUANA has had me in stitches for the past 20 minutes. Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Cruise.
this letter shows a complete lack of plant knowledge on the part of the writer … just because you have the plants doesn’t mean you consume all at once … so to james r. cruise …. grow a garden of vegetables … just because you have 25 corns plants does not mean you will get 25 ears of corn a day for 365 days a year …. it called harvesting …
In regards to your opinions on marijuana’s cancer affects, I encourage you to read the follwoing;
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html
This may be the single dumbest thing that I have ever read. You clearly have no knowledge on the marijuana plant and the benefits that it provides for people such as AIDs and Cancer victims.
I’ve never meet anyone who has ever smoke 128 joints in a day thats just crazy. Your an idiot. Not to mention how unconstitutional it is for it to be illegal. Retard.
The above makes a few good points. With that said, some of it is completely untrue. Does this man realize that hemp– the THCless species of Marijuana, could effectively end world hunger? Does he realize that people have used Marijuana for thousands of years? He needs to check a few of his facts. Marijuana, where it is legal, is a multi-billion dollar industry. Can you imagine how that might be able to help with our national debt? Legalize the beautiful Cannabis!
In the great words of Peter Tosh: “Legalize it, don’t criticize it…” Seriously, this plant could literally make the world at least a little less fucked than it is. Enough said.
this guy + being horribly misinformed + ridiculously lame argument + lack of evidence to support what are not even close to facts at all + sheer deuche-baggery = FAIL
Who in the hell pays three to five thousand bucks for a pound of weed? I keep an ounce of killer at all times and full street value is only a hundred an ounce!! this guy is straight out of the old “Reefer Madness” days!
whilst much of this letter is fantastically misinformed, it does actually raise valid points. i have smoked for years and have rarely had a problem gettin hold of this remarkable drug. however all to often i hear an immature, adolescent “why the hell shouldn’t i if i want to?” and overly liberal way of thinking concerning prohibition.
cannabis is an underground drug and it should stay that way. i don’t believe that users should be criminalized but neither do i think that the state should sponsor giving recreational drugs to people who may otherwise not be bothered with it. there is nothing cool about being a stoner, frankly it is just a waste of potential. and yes, btw, skunk does induce lethargy. i myself was an example and i’ve seen countless others waste otherwise productive years of their lives stoned. people who seek the weed can find it with little difficulty. is there any need to push it in peoples faces?
enough said this guy is a real fruitcake. I certainly agree everyone should be able to express their opinion and practice choice. lying trying to scare people is not the way to get your cause heard. Me smoked Marijuana for 20 years,non violent smile alot ,love to eat when im hi. caught selling 1 ounce to a so called friend ,5 year prison sentence imposed. DRUG PEDDLING FELON FOREVER. u dont have to legalize it just dont ruin the next pot heads life by sending them to prison and then brandishing them forever as criminals
I guess this guy didnt take into consideration that there are some intelligent stoners:) Am i right!?
This is the second time I’ve seen this in the last month. The individual, if it was just one individual, who wrote this is obviously troubled by something and not necessarily anything to do with marijuana. In reading the ‘comments’ most people seem to agree with me. All, except for one, would not have a problem in the full and total legalization of marijuana. Which will happen, it is inevitable. It will not happen for about 20 years, which is the amount of time it will take for the last generation raised on “Reefer Madness” in there jr-sr high school days to die off. I’m 55 so this is my generation that is holding us back. Cannabis/Hemp will be restored to it’s full legal and respected use as a medicine like it was prior to the “Reefer Madness” days. Which amounted to our government running a “Fear and Smear” campaign against marijuana in order to make it illegal so they could arrest and deport the marijuana smoking Mexicans who flooded the southwest after the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Our government used racial prejudice to fuel their anti-marijuana campaign. Saying that the Mexicans were a lazy, uneducated people because of the use of marijuana. This then spread to include jazz musicians and their fans, for they were mostly black people or white people who associated with the jazz scene/black people. That’s how sick our government was at the time it started ‘Marijuana Prohibition.’ The world’s economy will be the force that drives politicians to change a law that is solely based on racial propaganda denying any scientific and/or medical facts and research. It will take time but that’s all the more reason for us to hold Obama to his word to not use Dept of Justice funds to circumvent California’s, or any other state’s, Medical Marijuana Laws.
Im using my common sense right now & it says that,James R. Cruise, is making no sense. I pitty the fool who thinks I’m paying 3-5 thousand on 1 lb. My advice to him is, be like Mike (Phelps. Then he may just make some sense.
Cannabis is a gift from The Creator. It has been used for centuries as a remedy for numerous ailments. You sir are a victim of billions of tax dollars spent to convince you a thing is so, that is not! It is you who needs to wake up. Regardless of what you think,,, the use of Cannabis is a moral choice! just like drinking. I wonder if you drink? Would you like the government taking away something like that? Governments job is to keep us secure from foreign threats, and maintain order. Not regulate morality. If someone chooses to use a substance that alters the mind, and then commits a crime, or hurts another, say in a car crash. It is governments job to deal with that. That is your common sense! We have lost enough freedoms in our lives already do you really want to support a system that wants to run every aspect of your life? I am 46 and spent 4 years fighting the drug war in the US Coast Guard. I am as anti drug as a person can get. I had a cousin who blew his brains out while on heroin. A brother who is a meth addict. I spent most of my life not even using aspirin for headaches. I suffer from chronic cluster Migraines, and have now been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis,Gout, and Diabetes. I have severe nerve damage that causes me great pain. I know pain well. I have been shot in the face. broke my neck in a motorcycle wreck. and have been a tattoo artist for 30 years. I am very inked and love the pain! However when I was put on painkillers for my nerve pain they made me sick and I lost a bunch of weight. A good friend got me to try cannabis and I am telling you it worked! I am now back to my normal weight of 275 and can not only walk again but have been tattooing, fishing, got me a new bike! and am living life again! The great thing about being an American is we still have the right to our opinions, and I do not begrudge you yours. However I caution you that voicing them without all the facts can lead to the reason I wrote all this in the first place and that is to let you know that your ignorance of the subject has shone through and exposed your for the fool many above think you are. With that I say good day to you!
So… It’s being used… it’s being bought… it should be a choice like alcohol. What’s the real difference between the two? There really is not… Pot just needs a testing system like alcohol!
Dear Mr.James R. Cruise,
Kindly stick your head between you legs and then shove it back up your ass, where it rightfully belongs. Thank you.
Sincerely Your,
Eat shit and die
Interesting which 1670′s news publications is Cruise writing about the ones that were obsessed with hunting and burning witch’s most people didn’t live long enough to die from cancers in the 17th century. I think Cruise is a prime example of a modern Day witch hunter. A total a ignoramus and moron.
Mr Cruise if I am so stupid when smoking marijuana. What is your excuse for being stupid?
this guy has got to be joshing.
there are some serious side effects to the legalization of pot.
complete, total legalization is the only way to go. Grow it, sell it, smoke it etc.
If we allow the Govt. to take it over we’re screwed.
1) they aren’t going to go into the pot business if people can continue to buy and sell it as we do today. The laws against personal use and growth will have to become more strict. As Mr Cruise up there says “use your heads people” What sense would it make for them to try and sell it while everyone can continue to buy and sell it as we do now. It doesn’t make good business sense. They won’t allow that to happen.
2) they might let a bunch of dealers out of jail when the laws change, but they would soon fill with pot DUI’s. There is no way in hell they are going to let people drive around stoned. I’ve been driving around stoned for over 20 years. That won’t be easy to do if the Govt. takes it over. This is another law that will become more strict. Who knows how many tax dollars will be spent trying to perfect a device that will test for recent pot use?
3) The quality will drop. They will put additives in it. Once they control it, and stop everyone from growing it, the price will soar.
D) Smoke shops seem to be the answer. Only problem is, we are a driving nation. Driving down to the smoke shop and burning one then driving back home ain’t gonna happen. Remember years ago how road blocks were all over the place? That will again be the norm. Use your heads people…. they ain’t gonna let us drive around stoned. legal or not.
5) The only solution is complete legalization, or leave the laws alone and forget about it. If we allow the govt. to lead us in this we will all be headed down a very rocky road.
F) Sure it’s a constitutional right of the citizen to decide if he or she wants to smoke it. It’s not for the Govt. to say if we can or not. But they have controlled it, and they have said “NO” for many years. If we let them take it over, we’re not only screwed, we’re double fucked!
We all know it makes the gvmnt more money in its illegal condition.
From production control, to brivery… if people could grow it in their window sills, there just wouldnt be enough logistics to tax it all…
2nd.. it would make the tobacco industry go bankrupt? and also heavily affect alcohol industry, and other sectors for which cannabis could be prime material.
3rd, Big Brother remember? What are we meere-sheep gonna be afraid of, if not big nasty evil marijuana growers from hell?…
Legalizing it will improve quality of life for everyone. Even people who DONT like it, will better know how to avoided.
But it will reset the rules for the tabacco, alcohol, wood and textiles industry plunging the continent into economic maelstroms…
Also remember … this is not a global change.. there are many parts of the world where it’s considered what it is: just a damn plant.
Kids can get it now if they want or dont want. DARE, and programs like it do the job they were designed for. Stop kids from doing things they wont want to do. Or at least thats the way my school ran it. They told us what it was, the consequence of being caught, what it did to our bodies, and to “just say no.” That is the basis of all anti-narcotic programs. De-criminalize, or legalize, whatever floats your boat. Perhaps zoning laws can be put in place for growers in certain areas. And any person with allergies could ask their neighborhood reefer guy to maybe try out a greenhouse or some counter measure to abate his allergy problems. At the core of every argument, both for and against, let this be the new slogan, “In all things, Balance!” pretty basic. And to anyone who posts on online reads like this, please use spell check, or something. Nothing ruins a point like bad grammar, ESPECIALLY when your defending your own intelligenc or attacking anothers. Peace out people!
I’m almost positive this is a joke.
Why would you bother writing an article about something you know nothing about without doing any research at all? You, sir, are a moron.
Hhaha what a freakin joke, this entire article reads like some DEA anti-drug poster from the 70s. Some people just dont get it
You, Mr. Cruise, have no idea what you’re talking about. Worst article ever
succesful troll is succesful…
You are an idiot for many reasons.
1. Why should the government have the right to tell individual people what they are or aren’t allowed to put in their own bodies?
2. How does marijuana being legal prevent anyone from smoking it? Millions still do, nobody who wants to smoke is deterred by it being illegal, we just waste billions enforcing the laws
3. People are harmed much more by the penalties themselves than the drug. What’s worse, using a drunk no worse than alcohol or tobacco, or going to jail for 20 years.
4. It’s been proven that tobacco actually saves society money. In the ridiculous settlements with the states, the only factored in the added health care costs, and threw out the extra money the government was being saved. Let’s say someone dies of lung cancer at 55, sure there’s a decent amount of medical expense. But now factor in all the Medicare and Social Security the government doesn’t have to pay for them for the next 30 years….
How about you stick to your own life, and not encourage governments to take ownership of the bodies of private citizens. There’s plenty of countries where people have no freedom, go ahead and move there if freedom is so terrible.
Idiot.
@nonidiot
i agree with you but next time you make that whole argument i would take out point number four cuz it sounds kind of crazy
Most of the users are on welfare? Where did you get that “fact” from? I have never met anyone who smokes who is on welfare. As for the kids they’ll have as much ease of getting to it as they do with cigarettes and alcohol. Not to mention there are more benefits than just smoking it. You can make stuff out of the plants too. There are a lot of benefits.
I have to say thanks for the laugh. Now go do more important things like play scrabble, or garden, or just quit bitching and moaning. Get with the time, maybe get Alzheimer’s or something so you forget how wrong you are.
Mr Cruise,
To add some legitimacy to you rant, next time you might want to sight your sources for your claims.
As someone who has plenty of experience smoking tobacco and marijuana, I can definitely tell you that marijuana is not nearly as harmful to the lungs and body as tobacco, if at all.
When I smoke a cigarette, I feel light headed, anxious, and slightly sick.
When I smoke pot, I feel amazing for 6 hours, go to bed (because it’s usually at night) then wake up feeling amazing and refreshed.
This post is old, but thought I’d comment about the lung cancer allegation. Most know by now that Amsterdam has banned tobacco from it’s cafes because it has found it to be harmful to health. Why is cannabis still legal? Their health department has not found comparable health risks for marijuana.
I’ve personally seen how cannabis helps cancer victims keep on weight to stay alive.
I’ve also seem the damage prescription drugs have had on veterans whereas wise use of cannabis has relieved them. When it comes to PTSD, cannabis is almost always a safer drug than SSRIs and other poisons given to vets. They work for some, but can have deadly effects on many. Google the site “SSRI Stories.” Also, read the book “Understanding Marijuana” by Mitch Earleywine for a scientific look at the facts.
Also, consider the retired chief of police of Seattle, Norm Stamper, who’s for complete legalization based on a career of experience. He’s not alone either.
The science behind cannabis shows that it is much safer than many over-the-counter medications.
Finally, it’s not the government’s job to control the citizenry, but to serve according to the will of the people. This is a republic, not a monarchy.
–
“The Drug Enforcement Administration’s own top administrative law judge, Francis L. Young, dismissed the drug warriors’ untrue propaganda when he ruled in 1988 that, “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”” —Francis L. Young
hello there,
i am from Ca and am a prop 215 supporter!
i definetly have a bias on this topic, but i definetly love to see both sides of the story. needless to say i respect the author of the article’s opinions…. but it seems like Mr. Cruise is talking out of his behind!
“A person that states they must have 25 plants is saying that they require 1 pound of marijuana per week.
With that amount in mind, mathematically they would be smoking or using 128 marijuana cigarettes per day.”
^^i am an experienced grower and i can definetly let you know that there is no possible way to mesaure the amount of finished product by the number of plants growing. you can grow 1 lb with 1000 plants or 1bl off of each plant. the plant is not the variable here, the lighting are. if u put 1000 plants under a 1000 watt light you will get the same amount if u put 10 plants under that same light. The more plants there is just effects how long it will take to fill in a space!
i know people with 1000 plants and get the same amount, if not less than some people i know with 100 plants!
please know what ur talking about b4 you post