People used to growth their own tobacco and build their own houses. Companies will find a way to make it efficient, inexpensive, and convenient .
Sure, you're local hustler may open a pot shop, but I can assure you that a large company will be supplying him. Legalizing marijuana increases consumption, which increases demand, which means that people aren't going to want to grow their own weed when they can pick up a prerolled joint for a reasonable price on their way to work.
Do you understand what a Complmentary Goods is? An increase in pot use would almost certainly cause an increase in alcohol use, and vice versa.
Because they can't purchase it anywhere... do you grow your own tomatoes, or buy them at the store?
Yes, you could, but consider how cheap and convenient it is to buy packaged tobacco, why would you?.
Do you realize how difficult and time consuming it is to grow a plant?
So is growing marijuana, but people have no problem doing it because they can't walk into a store and choose from 500 different types for under $20.
If I haven't changed your mind yet, think of this. The government will only legalize marijuana on the assumption that they can tax it. Furthermore, why in the WORLD would any user grow their own plants and nurture them and water them and go through the hassle of all that when they could pick up a small package of 20 joints for under $5 at their local gas station, or a large bag of lose weed for $3 for the roll-it-yourselfers? Would you? Let's not forget that selling products is all about marketing, so throw a few ads up and all of a sudden you have various "qualities" of commercial marijuana. You'll have your Marlboro quality weed, and your Swisher Sweets budget crap, and everything in between.
One study showed that damage can be avoided 100%. So what. Yes, every single study is suspect because NO study can take into account every single factor. We do it to mold our understanding, not to jump to conclusions. Do you think that just because someone is a doctor, they are reputable? Just because it's a medical journal, it's trustworthy. Everybody and everything has their own agenda, and while morality plays a part in their honesty, human nature makes everything skewed and suspect. Newspaper articles reporting about those studies make it even worse, to increase interested... I'm trying to help balance out that skew.
I wasn't using it as a comparison against other "vices". I just wanted to point out that it's not 100% safe, and you shouldn't make it sound so. We truly do not know the full long term effects because it's not done in a large enough example for us to see.
I absolutely agree with you, I'm certainly not without vices, I just wanted people reading to be clear that there are side effects and health consequences to smoking weed.
If marijuana was at least as harmful as cigarettes, or even half as harmful, we'd already be seeing the effects: cancer, emphysema. Those things show up in as little as 20 years with cigarettes, yet there is not one documented case of lung cancer from marijuana....hmmm...
How many people do you see smoking 20 or 40 joints a day, every day, for 20+ years? We just honestly DO NOT KNOW what will happen when people smoke weed that much. I'm certainly not saying that marijuana causes cancer, I'm just saying that you shouldn't assume it will not with that much use, and you certainly shouldn't make it should like because it does not cause cancer, it is not bad for you. Who know, it might cause much, much worse with prolonged and substantial use, even if it's just for a small portion of heavy users. Not every tobacco smoker dies from lung cancer, not even close.
Cliff Notes (for the lazy): I'm not saying you should or shouldn't do it, I'm just saying that you shouldn't use wording that make it seem safe around impressionable teenagers, nor use it to justify your personal lifestyle. Let people make their own choices, and take responsibility for your own.