Quote:
Originally Posted by Sangetsu
Operating a vehicle under influence of marijuana also kills many people each year. The term "Under The Influence" is not restricted solely to alcohol use. 3 wrongs do not make a right, using the problems we already face with alcohol and tobacco as an excuse to justify legalizing marijuana is not logically arguable.
As for how many people die from marijuana use lately, take a look at the border towns in Mexico, close to two thousand a year are dying in just Juarez alone. The drug traffickers (who smuggle mainly marijuana) are killing anyone and everyone who stands in their way; police, judges, soldiers, as well as the family members of these people. And they don't simply just kill them, they tear them apart, beheading, mutilating, or burning the bodies to "send messages" to their competition. Mexican police shot by drug traffickers are being taken to hospitals in America because the drug traffickers are breaking into the Mexican hospitals to finish them off.
Japan is justified in not wanting the drug problem that many western nations face. Marijuana is a gateway drug (arguing otherwise is pointless), the main door to the "drug culture" which is so pervasive in other countries. It makes sense to keep the main door shut. If anything, you can probably expect drug laws to get tougher in Japan, rather than being relaxed.
As for "medical" marijuana, you can get the same effect from prescription Marinol (made from THC contained in marijuana plants), which can be taken without having to smoke anything.
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You are talking about drug trafficking. Legalize it and there would be no more violence involved (did you see any Al Capone shootouts after Prohibition was revoked?) . As for a gateway drug, alcohol is the biggest. Almost all illegal drug users drank before using. A cop told me that all heroin and meth users all smoked tobacco and almost none used Marijuana after getting hooked.
The point is that drug abuse is lessened after it is legalized and treated as a health problem instead of a crime. Japan and all the countries need to learn this and figure out that making something illegal will never stop it. Japan will follow America's lead and legalize it after America does, this is close to happening here in the US.