Some say yes, others disagree because itâs a âdrugâ. I put drug in quotes because why should that matter; Alcohol is a âdrugâ, yet its legal?
So there are my Pros and Cons to both sides of this debate, but Iâm asking you where you stand. Please provide statistics, evidence, facts, to back up your assumption. Once again I would appreciate if people could RESPECT others opinions and discuss this in a mature manner. Please donât put others opinions down because they differ from your own. No one is necessarily right and this thread is just to spark some friendly discussion about the controversial issue.
I personally believe Marijuana should be legalized. Before I go any further, I would like you ALL to know that I AM NOT a stoner and I donât use drugs at all and I never will. I think itâs dumb. I also do not drink and I NEVER will.
Marijuana should be legalized for many reasons. First off, it may be a drug, but so is alcohol. Did you know that the number of deaths per year due to alcohol is 100,000 people? Did you know that Zero people die from Marijuana smoking each year. In 2000, 734,498 people were arrested for Marijuana. However, only 12% of them were actually using, the other 88% were only in possession.
California has already started a movement by legalizing the use of medical marijuana.
Alcohol is a drug that is abused by MILLIONS of Americans. Why isnât alcohol illegal? It kills the brain cells and makes users aggressive. Marijuana however, doesnât do anything to the brain, and makes the users calm. In fact the only health concern for Marijuana is the respiratory system. This can be avoided by taking Marijuana in many different non-smoking ways.
Marijuana has none of the health concerns that both alcohol and smoking have (e.g., strong addiction, cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, liver damage, etc.). Death because of a Marijuana overdose is impossible. Throughout history there has NEVER been a death caused by a health problem of Marijuana.
So why not legalize Marijuana? What would be the harm?
Let me start by saying that I am the most anti-smoking person you will likely ever meet. I despise tobacco smoking, and every time I find out that someone I once respected or one of my close friends is a smoker, 99% of my respect for them is gone. I find marijuana far less offensive than tobacco, but that does not mean I support it.
I have never done drugs, nor will I ever. As far as alcohol goes, I could see myself as a wine-drinker in the future, but in regular portions.
By far the biggest downside to Marijuana is the fact that it is a "stepping stone drug". People who do pot are more than likely to later pick up worse drugs, or even become dealers.
If it were legalized (which I'm not saying it should be), it would have to be only in the privacy of one's home, because seeing people do drugs or smoke outside on the street is just disgusting.
Alcohol was illegal.
I am under the impression it became legal because it's clandestine world was getting too macabre.
I despise drugs and am against them.
The only reason to legalize marijuana would be for the same reason alcohol was. Because the clandestine world has become a destructive element in many lives and it's death rate is humongous.
What idiot will kill for a beer when you can work and buy one in a store?
If drugs where legalized, what idiot would drag their life to dismay and commit crimes and submerge themselves to the underground world, when you could work and buy it in a store?
Posted March 23, 2008 at 8:59pm
, Edited March 23, 2008 at 9:06pm
As both Redsoxfan and Roxii suggested that Marijuana is a gateway drug and leads you into far worse things, those are false accusations.
Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.
Well so far I've proved the only reason why it shouldn't be legalized. Anymore evidence?
@Josean, Can you rephrase what you said in plain English, I understood some of it, but I also got lost in a lot of it. :/
Posted March 23, 2008 at 9:08pm
, Edited March 23, 2008 at 9:53pm
Marijuana is Gateway Drug
New research confirms that marijuana is a gateway drug for most teens who use it.
Some will tell you marijuana is a harmless drug, but the Journal of the American Medical Association isn't one of them.
Young people who smoke marijuana are two to five times more likely to move on to harder drugs. That is the formal opinion of researchers, who published their conclusions from a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
most of the kids that smoked pot in high school went on to harder drugs and aren't able to hold jobs.
thats right a cut and paste from a reliable source not some mindless idealistic thought you just make up and try to pond off us as some kinda fact. I'm really worried about what you are trying to do this site.and the actions you are having on this site. b these threads can be found other places on the internet. Dont post them here please, do you know who is reading this stuff? do you? its not right
I will never do drugs because I like having control of my body and would prefer to keep it that way.
So I've done some research and looked at various websites (for and against it) and both bring up valid points...
Death from the drug isn't the issue, it's the effects, and those might cause harm to other people. Of course the effects vary because of how much of the drug you take, what you take with it and how you take it.
" Several studies, including one reported a few years ago in the American Journal of Public Health, indicate that if you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to do things that could embarrass or even hurt you-such as driving under the influence or engaging in risky sexual behaviors."
There are other, less serious effects like dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and poor sense of balance, slower reaction times, and intoxication. It also affects memory, judgement and perception.
Actually, it does have the health concerns that cigarettes have but at a much higher level. "It can also be much worse for your respiratory health than smoking cigarettes; the amount of tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer-causing chemicals inhaled in marijuana smoke are three to five times greater than that inhaled from the same amount of tobacco smoke."
Marijuana is used much more then any other illicit drug. A 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health recorded that an estimated 97.8 million Americans aged 12 or older tried the drug at least once in their lifetime.
If it were legal I don't think the numbers would go down. When I was little my parents would offer me candy. I never ate much because it was readily available to me. I don't believe that same system can be applied to such things as drugs. Beer is readily available but people still drink as much as they like.
Now as far as counter points, they are mostly stabs at money, free will and the fact that prohibition didn't work.
Money being the fact that it takes more money to incarcerate people for having the drug then it would if it was legalized.
Valid points but if it was legalized people would be using it for the wrong reasons and regretable things /could/ happen.
I have no problem with smokers, if they want to destroy their bodies, let them but it's not 100% safe to the rest of us.
You'll probably ask me if I have a problem with beer then because that's not 100% safe either. Well people should know thier limitations and have a designated driver if they're planning on getting smashed.
Wow that's the longest thing I've ever writen here O.O
Posted March 23, 2008 at 9:29pm
, Edited March 23, 2008 at 9:29pm
Wow MTL, I'll post a response to your post later.
As for Funny, please stop. I agree with Derreck on what he said about you. I'm sorry, but its the truth.
As for Marijuana being a gateway drug, it is not. Once again Marijuana is the most highly used drug in America, because of that, almost ALL users who have tried 'harder' drugs have tried Marijuana. This makes it appear like it is a gateway drug, but it is not. Marijuana is so common that almost all drug users have tried it.
But once again funny, don't feed me your 'copy-pasta'. You can tell that those arent your words and you just copy and pasted it. You probably don't even understand half the stuff that you post.
A side note: My mom's friend, who is in her 50s smokes pot. Which is extremely odd to me. She doesn't really have any serious health problems (as far as I know) except a slight cough.
Quote MTL: I will never do drugs because I like having control of my body and would prefer to keep it that way.
So I've done some research and looked at various websites (for and against it) and both bring up valid points...
Death from the drug isn't the issue, it's the effects, and those might cause harm to other people. Of course the effects vary because of how much of the drug you take, what you take with it and how you take it.
" Several studies, including one reported a few years ago in the American Journal of Public Health, indicate that if you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to do things that could embarrass or even hurt you-such as driving under the influence or engaging in risky sexual behaviors."
There are other, less serious effects like dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and poor sense of balance, slower reaction times, and intoxication. It also affects memory, judgement and perception.
Actually, it does have the health concerns that cigarettes have but at a much higher level. "It can also be much worse for your respiratory health than smoking cigarettes; the amount of tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer-causing chemicals inhaled in marijuana smoke are three to five times greater than that inhaled from the same amount of tobacco smoke."
Marijuana is used much more then any other illicit drug. A 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health recorded that an estimated 97.8 million Americans aged 12 or older tried the drug at least once in their lifetime.
If it were legal I don't think the numbers would go down. When I was little my parents would offer me candy. I never ate much because it was readily available to me. I don't believe that same system can be applied to such things as drugs. Beer is readily available but people still drink as much as they like.
Now as far as counter points, they are mostly stabs at money, free will and the fact that prohibition didn't work.
Money being the fact that it takes more money to incarcerate people for having the drug then it would if it was legalized.
Valid points but if it was legalized people would be using it for the wrong reasons and regretable things /could/ happen.
I have no problem with smokers, if they want to destroy their bodies, let them but it's not 100% safe to the rest of us.
You'll probably ask me if I have a problem with beer then because that's not 100% safe either. Well people should know thier limitations and have a designated driver if they're planning on getting smashed.
Wow that's the longest thing I've ever writen here O.O
Well that pretty much wins the argument, lol :). VERY well said, MTL, I couldn't agree more. Good to find out that you're anti-smoking as well, that Joe Camel mii had me wondering :)
Posted March 23, 2008 at 9:57pm
, Edited March 23, 2008 at 10:02pm
Quote funny: common that almost all drug users have tried it.
that makes it a gateway drug.
Jose Do you really want this thread on your site are you going to allow Matt try to convince the kids on here its ok to smoke pot??????????????
I don't think it's up to you. Jose will address the issue if need be. As for now, this is completely valid. Now, I am completely against drugs. While legallizing it wouldn't make much of a difference (if you want it that bad, you'll do it ilegally), they shouldn't even think of it.
Hell, they shouldn't make any drug legal. I'm aware of medicine drugs, and those are completely fine.
Personally, in January '07, I took a kind of Steroid to releave me of Bronchitis. But it wasn't anything dangerous.
My final statement, they made certain drugs illegal for a reason, they shouldn't change that.
Quote funny: common that almost all drug users have tried it.
that makes it a gateway drug.
Jose Do you really want this thread on your site are you going to allow Matt try to convince the kids on here its ok to smoke pot??????????????
Honestly just stop funny. You're not going anywhere and you just proved to me that you have NO IDEA what you're talking about. You have just been copying and pasting and honestly you don't know what any of it means.
First off, a Gateway Drug means that it leads you into other drugs. Not whether it's common or not. Theres something like 98 million Americans who have used Marijuana, but only 4.96 Million have tried other 'hard' drugs. If Marijuana was a gateway drug, wouldnt there be 98 million users who use 'hard drugs' or something at least above 75% of Marijuana users use 'hard' drugs. But instead theres only about 6% of Marijuana users do other types of drugs. To me this doesnt make it a Gateway Drug. So with that in mind and other points I've posted earlier, Marijuana IS NOT a gateway drug despite how many people think that.
funny, I'm not telling people it's okay to smoke Marijuana. Cuz it's illegal so it isnt okay. I'm just posting valid reasons to why it should be legalized. This issue is very controversial and there are many debates over it because some are for it and some are against it. Even people in the goverment who have a chance of making it happen.
Also, leave it up to Jose to decide whats appropriate and whatnot. If he doesnt like this thread, he'll close it, but please don't [parade into this one and ruin yet another one of my threads that has great discussion going on.
Thanks Much, I really appreciate it.
If you have any problems funny, please PRIVATE MESSAGE me and we can talk about them, but don't flame my thread with your rambling on about how you hate me.
Posted March 23, 2008 at 10:31pm
, Edited March 23, 2008 at 10:44pm
marijuana will never be fully legalized in any country, with exeption of medical use, sinply because it is harder to control the sale and growth of the drug.
currently, anybody can by seeds to cultivate there own crops, never having to acctualy purchase it from a shop, therefore it`s not profitable for any shop to keep it in stock. also the government would not see a penny in tax.
lager quantaties would also get smuggled in regardless of wether it`s legalized or not, so the drug would then be sold by a street dealer, so the money would go from the dealer, to the supplier,then onto the grower, again bypassing the shops and the taxation laws.
this is my theory on why it`ll never be legalized. simply because no government will see the same tax returns as the do with alcohol and tobacco.
Interesting to see how the kids respond to this issue. I'm glad that you all have tried to do some research before making choices. I know it's hard for you to know who's being honest about the real dangers. Pot is comparable to alcohol in the strength of it's effects and should not be compared to things like heroine or crystal meth. Still, there really are some negative health effects involved. Overuse can affect your memory, just like overuse of alcohol can affect your liver. The risk of lung cancer isn't as bad as cigarettes because smokers will go through 2 packs a day, and no one smokes that much pot. Whether or not it will impair your judgement, or lead you on to other drugs is personal. It's very much the same as with alcohol. Some people will black out or become angry when they're drunk. Some people will get paranoid when they get high. But many people can handle themselves just fine under the influence of either. It's hard to know beforehand what type of person you are.
Anyway, I'm for legalization because I don't think the government should have that kind of power over people. Let people be free to make their own choices as long as they don't hurt anyone else. Also, there are many valid medical uses for weed, and the criminalization hurts innocent users, and encourages dealers to violently protect their "turf".
Posted March 23, 2008 at 10:37pm
, Edited March 23, 2008 at 10:37pm
Quote rababob: Anyway, I'm for legalization because I don't think the government should have that kind of power over people. Let people be free to make their own choices as long as they don't hurt anyone else. Also, there are many valid medical uses for weed, and the criminalization hurts innocent users, and encourages dealers to violently protect their "turf".
I completely agree. As long as users aren't hurting others or puttings others in danger, then i believe that it's fine. I mean when people put others in danger because of alcohol they get put in jail and get punished. I think the same would apply to Marijuana. If someone is putting someone else in danger, they should be punished, but if theyre not putting them in danger, and are doing no harm, why not let it be allowed? I see no harm in that. It's the persons own choice to whether they want to hurt their body or not.
I don't really care if they legalize or not, but I have to say I make a point of not associating with potheads. So many of the ones I've met were just incredibly boring, and pot was nearly all they could talk about.
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Some say yes, others disagree because itâs a âdrugâ. I put drug in quotes because why should that matter; Alcohol is a âdrugâ, yet its legal?
So there are my Pros and Cons to both sides of this debate, but Iâm asking you where you stand. Please provide statistics, evidence, facts, to back up your assumption. Once again I would appreciate if people could RESPECT others opinions and discuss this in a mature manner. Please donât put others opinions down because they differ from your own. No one is necessarily right and this thread is just to spark some friendly discussion about the controversial issue.
I personally believe Marijuana should be legalized. Before I go any further, I would like you ALL to know that I AM NOT a stoner and I donât use drugs at all and I never will. I think itâs dumb. I also do not drink and I NEVER will.
Marijuana should be legalized for many reasons. First off, it may be a drug, but so is alcohol. Did you know that the number of deaths per year due to alcohol is 100,000 people? Did you know that Zero people die from Marijuana smoking each year. In 2000, 734,498 people were arrested for Marijuana. However, only 12% of them were actually using, the other 88% were only in possession.
California has already started a movement by legalizing the use of medical marijuana.
Alcohol is a drug that is abused by MILLIONS of Americans. Why isnât alcohol illegal? It kills the brain cells and makes users aggressive. Marijuana however, doesnât do anything to the brain, and makes the users calm. In fact the only health concern for Marijuana is the respiratory system. This can be avoided by taking Marijuana in many different non-smoking ways.
Marijuana has none of the health concerns that both alcohol and smoking have (e.g., strong addiction, cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, liver damage, etc.). Death because of a Marijuana overdose is impossible. Throughout history there has NEVER been a death caused by a health problem of Marijuana.
So why not legalize Marijuana? What would be the harm?
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I have never done drugs, nor will I ever. As far as alcohol goes, I could see myself as a wine-drinker in the future, but in regular portions.
By far the biggest downside to Marijuana is the fact that it is a "stepping stone drug". People who do pot are more than likely to later pick up worse drugs, or even become dealers.
If it were legalized (which I'm not saying it should be), it would have to be only in the privacy of one's home, because seeing people do drugs or smoke outside on the street is just disgusting.
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I am not a Druggie or Drug Advocate, and I say legalizing Drugs can send us spiraling into more of a Hell than George W. Bush has already created.
Yes, it is used for Medical Purposes, but in ANY Case, is it REALLY necessary?
So, I say no, but if by some chance it happens, Tax the Hell out of it. That will keep People off of the Stuff.
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I am under the impression it became legal because it's clandestine world was getting too macabre.
I despise drugs and am against them.
The only reason to legalize marijuana would be for the same reason alcohol was. Because the clandestine world has become a destructive element in many lives and it's death rate is humongous.
What idiot will kill for a beer when you can work and buy one in a store?
If drugs where legalized, what idiot would drag their life to dismay and commit crimes and submerge themselves to the underground world, when you could work and buy it in a store?
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Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.
Well so far I've proved the only reason why it shouldn't be legalized. Anymore evidence?
@Josean, Can you rephrase what you said in plain English, I understood some of it, but I also got lost in a lot of it. :/
hah XD
New research confirms that marijuana is a gateway drug for most teens who use it.
Some will tell you marijuana is a harmless drug, but the Journal of the American Medical Association isn't one of them.
Young people who smoke marijuana are two to five times more likely to move on to harder drugs. That is the formal opinion of researchers, who published their conclusions from a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
most of the kids that smoked pot in high school went on to harder drugs and aren't able to hold jobs.
thats right a cut and paste from a reliable source not some mindless idealistic thought you just make up and try to pond off us as some kinda fact. I'm really worried about what you are trying to do this site.and the actions you are having on this site. b these threads can be found other places on the internet. Dont post them here please, do you know who is reading this stuff? do you? its not right
of 12 Badges
of 14 Badges
So I've done some research and looked at various websites (for and against it) and both bring up valid points...
Death from the drug isn't the issue, it's the effects, and those might cause harm to other people. Of course the effects vary because of how much of the drug you take, what you take with it and how you take it.
" Several studies, including one reported a few years ago in the American Journal of Public Health, indicate that if you're high on marijuana, you are more likely to do things that could embarrass or even hurt you-such as driving under the influence or engaging in risky sexual behaviors."
There are other, less serious effects like dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, some loss of coordination and poor sense of balance, slower reaction times, and intoxication. It also affects memory, judgement and perception.
Actually, it does have the health concerns that cigarettes have but at a much higher level. "It can also be much worse for your respiratory health than smoking cigarettes; the amount of tar, carbon monoxide, and cancer-causing chemicals inhaled in marijuana smoke are three to five times greater than that inhaled from the same amount of tobacco smoke."
Marijuana is used much more then any other illicit drug. A 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health recorded that an estimated 97.8 million Americans aged 12 or older tried the drug at least once in their lifetime.
If it were legal I don't think the numbers would go down. When I was little my parents would offer me candy. I never ate much because it was readily available to me. I don't believe that same system can be applied to such things as drugs. Beer is readily available but people still drink as much as they like.
Now as far as counter points, they are mostly stabs at money, free will and the fact that prohibition didn't work.
Money being the fact that it takes more money to incarcerate people for having the drug then it would if it was legalized.
Valid points but if it was legalized people would be using it for the wrong reasons and regretable things /could/ happen.
I have no problem with smokers, if they want to destroy their bodies, let them but it's not 100% safe to the rest of us.
You'll probably ask me if I have a problem with beer then because that's not 100% safe either. Well people should know thier limitations and have a designated driver if they're planning on getting smashed.
Wow that's the longest thing I've ever writen here O.O
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As for Funny, please stop. I agree with Derreck on what he said about you. I'm sorry, but its the truth.
As for Marijuana being a gateway drug, it is not. Once again Marijuana is the most highly used drug in America, because of that, almost ALL users who have tried 'harder' drugs have tried Marijuana. This makes it appear like it is a gateway drug, but it is not. Marijuana is so common that almost all drug users have tried it.
But once again funny, don't feed me your 'copy-pasta'. You can tell that those arent your words and you just copy and pasted it. You probably don't even understand half the stuff that you post.
So bring it on man, You have NOTHING on me.
(MTL, you might. XD)
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A side note: My mom's friend, who is in her 50s smokes pot. Which is extremely odd to me. She doesn't really have any serious health problems (as far as I know) except a slight cough.
that makes it a gateway drug.
Jose Do you really want this thread on your site are you going to allow Matt try to convince the kids on here its ok to smoke pot??????????????
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Hell, they shouldn't make any drug legal. I'm aware of medicine drugs, and those are completely fine.
Personally, in January '07, I took a kind of Steroid to releave me of Bronchitis. But it wasn't anything dangerous.
My final statement, they made certain drugs illegal for a reason, they shouldn't change that.
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Honestly just stop funny. You're not going anywhere and you just proved to me that you have NO IDEA what you're talking about. You have just been copying and pasting and honestly you don't know what any of it means.
First off, a Gateway Drug means that it leads you into other drugs. Not whether it's common or not. Theres something like 98 million Americans who have used Marijuana, but only 4.96 Million have tried other 'hard' drugs. If Marijuana was a gateway drug, wouldnt there be 98 million users who use 'hard drugs' or something at least above 75% of Marijuana users use 'hard' drugs. But instead theres only about 6% of Marijuana users do other types of drugs. To me this doesnt make it a Gateway Drug. So with that in mind and other points I've posted earlier, Marijuana IS NOT a gateway drug despite how many people think that.
funny, I'm not telling people it's okay to smoke Marijuana. Cuz it's illegal so it isnt okay. I'm just posting valid reasons to why it should be legalized. This issue is very controversial and there are many debates over it because some are for it and some are against it. Even people in the goverment who have a chance of making it happen.
Also, leave it up to Jose to decide whats appropriate and whatnot. If he doesnt like this thread, he'll close it, but please don't [parade into this one and ruin yet another one of my threads that has great discussion going on.
Thanks Much, I really appreciate it.
If you have any problems funny, please PRIVATE MESSAGE me and we can talk about them, but don't flame my thread with your rambling on about how you hate me.
Thanks, Matt
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currently, anybody can by seeds to cultivate there own crops, never having to acctualy purchase it from a shop, therefore it`s not profitable for any shop to keep it in stock. also the government would not see a penny in tax.
lager quantaties would also get smuggled in regardless of wether it`s legalized or not, so the drug would then be sold by a street dealer, so the money would go from the dealer, to the supplier,then onto the grower, again bypassing the shops and the taxation laws.
this is my theory on why it`ll never be legalized. simply because no government will see the same tax returns as the do with alcohol and tobacco.
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Anyway, I'm for legalization because I don't think the government should have that kind of power over people. Let people be free to make their own choices as long as they don't hurt anyone else. Also, there are many valid medical uses for weed, and the criminalization hurts innocent users, and encourages dealers to violently protect their "turf".
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I completely agree. As long as users aren't hurting others or puttings others in danger, then i believe that it's fine. I mean when people put others in danger because of alcohol they get put in jail and get punished. I think the same would apply to Marijuana. If someone is putting someone else in danger, they should be punished, but if theyre not putting them in danger, and are doing no harm, why not let it be allowed? I see no harm in that. It's the persons own choice to whether they want to hurt their body or not.
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Wtf I thought I was against legalization...darn you Rababob
My first jump into a logical discussion and it ended so quickly ;-;
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they will have damaging effects on u
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Marajuana, or however you spell it, does good things for your eyes.
Alcohol was legalized because people were complaining and it tasted good.
Just try not to get addicted to either of them. i'm addicted to Mountain Dew.