I'd like to reply to some of your points. True, education pays for itself. At one time I was pretty poor and did most anything to make a buck. People need their carpet cleaned as much as being served at a burger joint.
Completely agree. But two types generally have those jobs. People that are young and transitioning, and people that have no decent education. I don't look down on it, just saying.
Now, I earn a decent wage in the medical field. As to the assumption of probable cause due to the body spray: Smelling like a french whore isn't a crime and neither should be used to insert probable cause. There are nurses that go out to smoke cigs on our smoke-free campus and come back in reeking like a pole dancer. They did not break any federal, state, or local laws; just a hospital policy. I, on the other hand, do not care if I reek like an ashtray because I do not have patient contact.
I think apples to oranges to be honest. Makes sense why your nurses try and hide it, but no anti-smoking policy for them outside a police station (that I've ever seen anyway). No reason to cover up cigarette smoke from a cop unless they were 16. I feel it's suspicious in that situation, just like I would be suspicious of your nurses breaking policy.
In regards to playing "Chemical Roulette" with alcohol and drugs in a bar: It's already happening and has been happening for quite some time. With the right connections you can acquire most anything (pot, pills, coke, smack, etc) so I also don't think legalization would increase the availability of pot by astronomic proportions.
I hear this point a lot. I've never seen a person smoke pot in a bar. Ever. And if I could buy weed at the gas station, that definitely increases availability. Not that it's not easy to get now, but people got booze during the prohibition too...
I feel that legalization will remove the criminal element and stigma from the herb; especially for those that use it as medicine. Also, I don't feel that more people will smoke because it is legal. I think by now we have reached an osmotic equilibrium with those that smoke. By now, everyone knows a smoker if they are aware that they puff at all.
Nothing against medical need at all. Provided the same stipulations of "stay at home" while you do it. I also know a lot of people that abuse that system. It's easy to find a doctor and say you suffer migrains and get the perscription, even if you don't. And I think there are quite a few people that would smoke pot if it were legal that don't now. I MIGHT be one of them. At very least, people will smoke more often, because they don't have to hide it.
The grass is medicine that helps people with various conditions that "legal"chemically derived pharmaceuticals can't relieve. Sure, pot is viewed as a recreational drug by many but for others it's relief - a natural product of Earth and not some chemical concoction produced in a lab.
Not really any difference of opinions here. Again, if not abused. Abusers to any other Rx are treated similarly.
Also, I know everyday smokers that lead responsible; successful, and productive lives. Generally good people. They'd never hurt a fly and give you the shirt off their back. If they ran into Adam's trap they would be considered criminals.
Like I said, I know some too. But, then again, they WOULD be criminals. In most states now, it is a misdemenor (unless you're carrying a lot) and not a felony. Just like a speeding ticket. We're not trying to get rid of speed limits, but that's a different topic entirely.
Forward thinking states exist and hopefully soon all will join in the legalization of medical marijuana. I also feel that as more states get strapped for cash they will discover that legalization leads to taxation - Just like they did with the booze.
They didn't make booze legal simply due to tax income. They did it because they couldn't stop the bootlegging. But had the government stuck to their guns, we would be in a similar position with booze as we are with weed. And the roads might be a little safer. Think about no bars for a bunch of people to drive to and get hammered at. Sure, there would be incidents, but I would bet not as many. People then wanted to get drunk more than high, and alcohol has been consumed in one form or another for more of the population than weed was smoked. But, if alcohol were illegal right now, I would bet they would be trying like hell to not make it legal. Even in a state like Cali, they can't get it legalized state-wide because of certain associated problems, and they've been trying for quite awhile. There aren't many states more liberal than here 