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[Chase]

What are your thoughts on the current legalization/state actions (and in other countries) of cannabis?

Personally cannabis helped me greatly get off of my amphetamine addiction. I started abusing amphetamines 2 years ago, which did help me learn the amazing game that is dwarf fortress! However my stricken appetite, lack of socializing with my loved ones called to myself: I said "Enough" and flushed those vial pills (adderall) down the toilet. Then used cannabis to get my sleep and diet corrected. Among that and other family related issue cannabis has greatly helped me cope with my current situations.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Just legalize it. There's really no good argument against it--even as a gateway drug, it's just not enough. I mean I have friends who snort coke weekly, who don't smoke weed. Furthermore, how can you say something like cigarettes are legal, but marijuana isn't? It's preposterous I think.

[nenjin]

I think part of the legalization issue for the government, setting aside any moral or health arguments, is that they can't regulate it. You make moonshine, you gotta have a still, ATF can find that still. You make tobacco, you gotta have a field and process that stuff and ATF can identify it. But for the individual consumer, anyone can have a garden plot with a single pot plant on it, and go right from harvest to final product. You can't tax catch or control that stuff without an exhaustive use of manpower. Which if they legalize it, they're essentially obligated to do. As soon as they say "well you can have up to three plants but after 4 you need a license and a tax stamp", the onus is on them to enforce such rules.

[Frumple]

I mean... I guess? But I'm pretty sure the effort and manpower already being expended trounces any argument from that direction pretty easily, and involves notably more risk for employees and agents, as well. You can't tax catch or control the stuff without manpower, but right now they've got no tax or control, and significantly more incentive to avoid being caught, and are still having to expend the manpower. Means pretty much anything coming in on that front is an improvement. That's not even getting into the issues involved with how gov't folks have been trying to bleed some dosh from the mess. Less incentive to abuse civil forfeiture laws and shit would be pretty nice.

If you're running effort calculus there's basically no way for the current state of things to be more efficient or less burdensome than a state of legalization (or at the absolute least decriminalization). Fact that the criminalized aspect of things makes some of organizations like the ATF's other duties something more of an issue is loitering around, too, heh.

Pretty sure there's some similar stuff with microbreweries, at least in some states, so far as the "Up to a point, then we've got problems" thing. Know there is with fishing and hunting, in most(/all?) parts of the country. Seem to do a'ight on that front, least from what I've seen. Enforcement's kinda' loose, much like it is with road law and speeding, but it seems to do decently for keeping most folks mostly on the up and up, such as it is. And most is all you really need, at the end of the day, at the very least with something as relatively harmless as pot.

Also think you're somewhat severely overestimating how much of our population would bother maintaining a garden plot if an alternative of some sort is available, ehehe. That shit takes effort and time, the corner store (or whatev') doesn't.

[Antioch]

Keeping Cannabis illegal has the same effect as donating a couple of billion dollars to criminal organizations each year.

[martinuzz]

Keeping Cannabis illegal has the same effect as donating a couple of billion dollars to criminal organizations each year.

While true, it cannot be used as a sole argument for legalization.

Keeping homicide illegal has the same effect as donating many millions to hitman assassins each year.

[MrRoboto75]

Legalizing cannabis would mean the old Cheech and Chong movies won't make as much sense.

[Levi]

We should legalize all drugs. 

[Frumple]

Legalizing cannabis would mean the old Cheech and Chong movies won't make as much sense.

... so would that be a positive or negative consequence? Sometimes a movie making even less sense is an improvement, after all

[TempAcc]

Making cannabis legal mean my my smelly pothead friends will have even slower reflexes, meaning I can slap the back of their heads even harder with even less chance of retribution, all while I steal their pizza.

I'm ok with it.

[Alastar]

I think the case for banning Cannabis is weaker than the case for banning Alcohol or Tobacco; I'm all in favour of legalisation.

[nenjin]

Also think you're somewhat severely overestimating how much of our population would bother maintaining a garden plot if an alternative of some sort is available, ehehe. That shit takes effort and time, the corner store (or whatev') doesn't.

It really doesn't. There's a reason weed grows in pretty much every biome in the world except deserts and mountain tops at the frost line. It's a hardy plant and requires very little maintenance. You're not wrong on the convenience angle, but the Colorado experiment shows there's plenty of incentive to grow your own weed rather than buy it (namely, the producers markup which can be steep, and then state taxes which make the total cost even steeper.) Plus if it's like any kind of produce that someone mass produces and sells, it probably sucks ass after it's been in a plastic wrapper for 6 months before you buy it. Compared to fresh ganja you cut yesterday and has cured to perfection a day later, that costs you nothing to make....

Let's just say I'd take gardening a lot more seriously as a hobby if I could grow something I actually cared about. I imagine the same is true for a lot other people.

[Antioch]

Keeping Cannabis illegal has the same effect as donating a couple of billion dollars to criminal organizations each year.

While true, it cannot be used as a sole argument for legalization.

Keeping homicide illegal has the same effect as donating many millions to hitman assassins each year.

I don't see what the reason is to ban it in the first place.

[TempAcc]

Edgy

[martinuzz]

Compared to fresh ganja you cut yesterday and has cured to perfection a day later, that costs you nothing to make....

That only works in sufficiently dry climates, where you can let the buds dry while the plant is still rooted.
Any climate that has rain at the end of the weed's flowering season is unsuitable for that. Because, mold.
If you cut your weed fresh though, sure you can dry it in a day if you put it out in the sun or something, but it'll completely ruin the weed.

If you want nice, tasty weed, with it's full potential, you need to hang the stalks upside down in a dark, cool, somewhat dry place for at least 8 weeks. The upside down part is important, because it will let the active substance which is still in the plant's stems flow out to the buds, thanks to gravity.
Drying weed too fast will make it lose taste (it will taste like dried grass instead of like sweet herby flavour), and lose potence.