DEBATE - Marijuana Legalization

Vedic wrote:marijuana won't kill you, It will make you see Ponies and Unicorns on the highstreet, but it won't kill you, unless you mistake a moving car for a Unicorn, then yes you will die, but that's there fault, not the drugs.

I'm not a drug expect, and i can't remember if marijuana even causes hallucination so don't quote me on it.

Darkwing wrote:Then should alcohol be outlawed? And there are a few ailments out there in which the only cure or powerful enough pain medication is marijuana. But doctors can't give it out because it's illegal.

Mind you, I'm just playing devil's advocate here, I'm actually not sure where I stand on the matter

Darkwing wrote:Not here in Canada and this debate is about whether or not Canada should legalize marijuana

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia wrote:Medical use
Main article: Medical cannabis
Cannabis used medically does have several well-documented beneficial effects. Among these are: the amelioration of nausea and vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and AIDS patients, lowered intraocular eye pressure (shown to be effective for treating glaucoma), as well as general analgesic effects (pain reliever).b[›]
Cannabis was manufactured and sold by U.S. pharmaceutical companies from the 1880s through the 1930s, but the lack of documented information on the frequency and effectiveness of its use makes it difficult to evaluate its medicinal value. Cannabis in the form of a tincture and a fluid extract is documented in a 1929-30 Parke Davis & Co catalog,[65] and is listed as an active ingredient in ten products for cough, colic, neuralgia, cholera mordus and other medical conditions, as well as a "narcotic, analgesic, and sedative". The catalog also lists compound medications containing cannabis that in some cases were apparently formulated by medical doctors, in its Pills and Tablets section.
As cannabis is further legalized for medicinal use, it is possible that some of the foregoing compound medicines, whose formulas have been copied exactly as published, may be scientifically tested to determine whether they are effective medications.
Less confirmed individual studies also have been conducted indicating cannabis to be beneficial to a gamut of conditions running from multiple sclerosis to depression. Synthesized cannabinoids are also sold as prescription drugs, including Marinol (dronabinol in the United States and Germany) and Cesamet (nabilone in Canada, Mexico, The United States and The United Kingdom).b[›]
Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved smoked marijuana for any condition or disease in the United States, largely because good quality scientific evidence for its use from U.S. studies is lacking; however, a major barrier to acquiring the necessary evidence is the lack of federal funding for this kind of research.[66] Regardless, fourteen states have legalized cannabis for medical use.[67][68] Canada, Spain, The Netherlands and Austria have also legalized cannabis for medicinal use.[69][70]

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia wrote:Medical marijuana legislation
Health Canada permits marijuana for approved patients who can demonstrate a medical need for compassionate end-of-life care or debilitating symptoms[9]. Chris Buors, a marijuana activist, was sentenced to six months in jail in November 2004 after pleading guilty to cannabis distribution and marketing charges arising from his operation of the Manitoba Compassion Club which served patients suffering from a variety of illnesses. Lynn Harichy was also put through the criminal courts for creating awareness for medical marijuana. Lynn suffered from multiple sclerosis and died on December 25, 2003, before she could see any real progress of her struggle and efforts.

Darkwing wrote:Not here in Canada and this debate is about whether or not Canada should legalize marijuana

Jtull wrote:prices will drop dramatically.