[MMM]

Originally Posted by futurebeast

Smoking Marijuana can definitely be equated with eating lots of junk food. It is unhealthy, destroys your teeth, it is addictive (I think that anything can be addictive) and it effects the way your mind and body works ie a drug.

Marijuana is illegal right now and it is a crazy blood bath on the streets of LA. I don't think that making it legal would make that any worse. In fact it would likely make it much better as the profit would be sucked out of the trade overnight. If you want to say that neglect of a child should be dealt with by some government agency. I would say that is a more rational argument, not that I agree with it. I think the better choice would be to have jobs available, so that children can support themselves if the need be.

Otherwise, government agencies can be involved to the extent that they help the children deal with their hardships. Housing, food and work assistance etc. would be nice. I have plenty of friends who were orphans and the state did not help them much. My mother in fact has no parents and would not have been better off in a government facility. Let the cop drive the kid home, not arrest him and hand him over to CPS. I want the cop making sure the kid does not become a prostitute. Don't much worry if he smokes or something that benign.

I am still trying to figure out how your argument it is bad for you means it should be legalized for children.

I don't think anyone in the pro-marijuana movement would be behind you on this one. A child's brain is growing, so things like nicotine, alcohol, THC, etc can have permanent and irreversible effects, which isn't necessarily true of adults. Children are also not responsible or mature enough to make educated decisions about things like cigarettes and drugs...another reason society makes the collective decision to keep them out of the hands of children.

Isn't being a parent today hard enough without society abandoning parents and opening access to marijuana to children? Should I assume tobacco and alcohol should also be accessible?

Originally Posted by xyzone

Hey, if the parents want to give pot to their kids, that's fine in their home. My dad gave me beer when I was a kid and the world didn't end. And no, I didn't become an alcoholic. I just hate and never touch "pisswater" beer now.

(but if pot becomes legal it shouldn't be sold to kids, obviously)

I think giving marijuana to a growing child is the epitome of irresponsibility.