Good. I hope they're successful. Surely we learned Prohibition was not effective in the 1930s and isn't effective now.

To the idiot herb who posted previously: At present we have a bigger 'prohibition problem' than we do a 'drug problem' This is actually a re-run of the 1920s and early 1930s --Alcohol was rightly perceived to be addictive and dangerous, so they banned it. The result was so catastrophic that the same people who were behind it's prohibition soon took to the streets to get it legalized/regulated again. No amount of money, police powers, weaponry, wishful thinking or pseudo-science will make our streets safer, only an end to prohibition can do that. How much longer are you willing to foolishly risk your own survival by continuing to ignore the obvious, historically confirmed solution? If you support prohibition then you've helped trigger the worst crime wave in history. If you support prohibition you've a helped create a black market with massive incentives to hook both adults and children alike. If you support prohibition you've helped to make these dangerous substances available in schools and prisons. If you support prohibition you've helped raise gang warfare to a level not seen since the days of alcohol bootlegging. If you support prohibition you've helped create the prison-for-profit synergy with drug lords.

Sorry to break apart your insult but I dont drink or even condone it, but I do believe in freedom. You are the fool for thinking marijuana is harmful, you speak of lack of education but youre the uneducated one. Had you any knowledge on the subject you'd have a different opinion. Either way it will be legal soon, even federally. I will return to this post at that time to deliver a well deserved I told you so. In the meantime why dont you study up on countries like portugal that decriminalized all drugs and as a result had a decrease in crime and new users. YOU ARE WHATS WRONG WITH THE WORLD!

Thanks, Bob. In addition, even de-criminization and lessened poilicies in Portugal and Amsterdam have lead to steady and decreased use rates across their nations, including a decrease amongst teens. Another reason for many nationalist concerns are the cartels in Central America spreading violence across the border into the American Southwest. Of course, back the prohibition idea, you don't see the cartels creating a black market for beer. By taking away the forbidden fruit factor, many teens and adults will feel less pressured to use marijuana, and rates will remain steady if not decrease. Also, expect to see your DEA tax dollars be put to better use.

You'd think with a name like herb he'd be more supportive and less ignorant.

herb look your ignorant on the subject of marijuana let me educate you. 1st marijuana can not kill you period. second only marijuana's illegal status causes it to be a gate way 3rd kids/teenagers run and profit and are abused by the illegal drug trade. teens use of alcohol and tobacco are declining marijuana use hasn't moved, marijuana is is far easier for teenagers to get than alcohol and tobacco. herb you seem to think that smoking marijuana and being drunk are the same thing they are very different. alcohol is toxic to the human body marijuana has no toxic level to induce overdose or death. the effects of marijuana are very different from alcohol marijuana does not cause you to lose your control of your inhibitions like alcohol, you remain fully aware of your surroundings. no matter what you've heard it does not kill brain cells its a lie. Thats just a few things you need to get off the reefer madness i need the government to protect me from pot smokers its a waste of money.

How will legalizing it not help the economy? I can think of other concerns, but I don't see how this is a valid argument against legalization.

Not angry, just wish closed minds came with closed mouths. Then we wouldn't have to hear from your kind. Youre treating a harmless and beneficial substance as if it were meth, you might as well be the government. There may be days and subjects where you know what youre talking about, but this is neither for you herb. You dont seem like the type thats man enough to admit youre wrong, so we will leave it at that.

Herb is still on the losing side, opinion or not, it will still be legal soon, and I will still deliver my 'i told you so' as I blow a hit into his face. Once its legal and all the positive things we listed start happening, the only herb we will hear from is the one we smoke. Face it herb, it was real easy to get it approved for medicinal use, federally illegal or not, guess whats next buddy...

Cannabis is FAR safer than alcohol and a great deal of violence, misery and loss of life will be prevented when alcohol consumers are given the choice of switching to the far safer recreational drug, cannabis. The federal government is doing society a disservice by keeping cannabis criminalized and thus denying alcohol consumers the right to switch to the safest recreational drug in the world. Don't vote for any candidate not willing to legalize adult cannabis sales!

Maybe many of the early Prohibitionists did not really intend to kill hundreds of thousands worldwide, or put 1 in every 30 American adults under supervision of the correctional system. But similar to our "Great Experiment" of the 1920s, the prohibition of various other drugs has once again spawned rampant off-the-scale criminality & corruption, a bust economy, mass unemployment, a mind-boggling incarceration rate, a civil war in Mexico, an un-winnable war in Afghanistan and an even higher rate of drug-use (both legal & illegal) than in all other countries that have far more sensible policies.

Maybe it's high time we all stood up and told our government that we're pooped at being beaten and jailed in order that unconscionable Transnational Corporations, and their Media Enablers, can continue to abuse, addict and poison us for obscene profits.

And maybe we shouldn't wait for a complete economic collapse to regain our unalienable­ rights?

According to the CATO Institute, ending prohibition would save roughly $41 billion of expenditure while generating an estimated $46 billion in tax revenues. - http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/DrugProhibitionWP.pdf

Legalizing mother nature might hurt the Mexican drug cartels, but it will absolutely kill crazy low cost vacation packages to Cancun.

Herb, as much as I enjoy your excellent displays of ignorance, the memory thing is a myth also, sorry to be bursting all your little bubbles. Go back to watching reefer madness.

Bob I am happy that you are enjoying something. I think that I have many life experiences that date back to the Vietnam war. I've gone thru addictions and am very aware of what is good for the body & mind and what isn't.

The criminalization of marijuana, with the legality of alcohol, could not more clearly highlight a flaw in our country's laws when it comes to personal freedoms. I am not in favor of alcohol prohibition, and so I must be against marijuana prohibition.

If you are in favor of legalized alcohol, and criminalized marijuana, then please try to make a rational case as to how those two positions are not hypocritical. What is it about marijuana that justifies its illegal status that doesn't equally (or more so) apply to alcohol?

I won't take your poll because I don't like the way it is worded. Yes, I will sign the petition to legalize marijuana. I think the medical marijuana law is fine, but isn't relevant to legalization. An adult shouldn't need the government's permission to use pot, for any reason.

The current proposal won't solve "boo" for our economy. While I do not particularly care for marijuana (not my thing)....I would support legalizing it and taxing the snot out of it like our other "sin taxed" items....earmark it for our schools. How ironic, eh? Lessen the taxpayer expenditure of the court appointed attorneys, jails, etc...and have the people who use the stuff pay the tax on it. Win Win.

Welcome to 2012's most popular patch article. Legalize, and tax it. This would generate a ton of revenue for the state. With the creation of a roadside test readily available to law enforcement they now have the ability to determine if someone is operative a motor vehicle under the influence. Now is the time for his to happen. While were at it let's look at releasing non violent marijuana related inmates, thus making space in our overcrowded jails/prisons and saving tax payer dollars. Win win win.

The war on drugs has been a complete waste of time and money. Alcohol is a drug and weed is a drug. It is scary for some people, others that have used it, not so much. I think that the police do not want to legalize it.....there are a lot of issues regarding legalizing it and and how we can do it right and tax it. At this point in this country it seems that most people want it to be legal.........everyone has an opinion, let's all be nice guys!

I don't use pot. I don't drink all that much either. If I had to I could give up alcohol completely. But that doesn't mean I want to bring back Prohibition. Unlike others I don't get off on telling other people how to live. The legislature tried to carve out a limited niche for pot. By refusing to work within the intent of the law and the will of the voters I believe the prosecutors will lose their entire position and force the full legalization by their resistance. The people do not like paternalistic authorities overriding their will.

I can only agree with what everyone else has mentioned here. Legalize it, get it regulated to some degree and then add some tax and get some extra revenue. Get growers to pay for licenses and make users pay tax to retailers to purchase the stuff. How would this not be a good thing? People will always abuse things, there is no stopping that.

It seems Herb has been brainwashed to believe all the claptrap the government has tried to jam down our throats about how "dangerous" it is. I hope clearer heads will prevail, and it will be legalized soon. No one says you have to use it, but why shouldn't people be able to choose for themselves; just as they can choose the much more dangerous and legal drug - alcohol.

I have four children (grown) they drink socially. I don't drink anything with alcohol. I never said alcohol should be legal and at 63 I had nothing to do with that. http://www.amenclinics.com/brain-science/spect-image-gallery/spect-atlas/images-of-alcohol-and-drug-abuse/ Check it out you won't agree and I don't really care what you think.

there must be something in the water in the city of clawson.

Just to answer Herb, I am 70 years old and have 3 grown sons. They are all very educated, very upstanding members of society. Believe me, I have done much research and DO know what I am talking about. There is no legitimate research to back up your claim that marijuana is harmful to the body. I know many people who are now using it for pain control. All I want to know is where can I sign a petition for legalization.

Jordan,

Good Comments.

John H.

The treatment of pot possession in Ann Arbor, where the City Police have refused to enforce the State Laws, and instead ticket under a civil ordinance is telling. This is primarily to appease wealthy parents who have kids at UofM and don't want them in jail for being stupid.

However, a kid in Pontiac will see jail time and a criminal drug record that will make them inelgible for Federal Student Loans.

The unequal application of law, should be a wake up call to civil Libertarians. No one wants their kids using pot, when they need to be focused on education. But, they also don't want their kids labeled criminals for pervasive, and culterally acceptable behavior.

John H.

I am opposed to legalizing marijuana because I fear that this will send a message to people (especially to young children and teens) that it is okay to take drugs once they reach a certain age. Will this become a right of passage once they reach the legal age, similar to alcohol and college binge drinking? Yes, kids may know it is bad for them, but if they know they won't get into trouble for using it, they are far more likely to abuse it. At least if pot is illegal, it may deter some people from trying it in the first place.

If kids see their parents smoking pot this will send a message that it is okay for them to do it too once they become of legal age (or even before then). For people that will argue that parents shouldn't smoke in front of their children, once marijuana becomes legal, this will be no different than parents drinking beer, wine or a cocktail with dinner, at social events or even just when they are home relaxing and watching TV.

If marijuana is legal then people are also more likely to rationalize that it can't be that bad for them and it could lead to a false sense of security that if marijuana isn't bad, then other drugs aren't bad either and people will be more likely to try hard drugs (especially if they are already high and are not thinking "clearly"). Yes, I am aware that this happens even with marijuana being illegal, but removing the stigma from marijuana will just change how people perceive drugs in general (especially children).

I also want to comment on how people are glossing over the long term effects marijuana has on health. I have seen firsthand the effects it has had on a close family member that has smoked it for over 40 years. This person has never smoked cigarettes, taken other drugs or drank any kind of alcohol. This person has become addicted to smoking pot and does not know moderation. Because of the frequent long term use, this person now has permanent lung damage and memory loss. Now when this person gets high, she can no longer function and becomes like a zombie. She can barely move and can't think rationally at all. It is scary to see how someone that used to be able to function while high can no longer form a coherent sentence when high.

Growing up in the 1970's, smoking marijuana was an everyday thing for the kids in my neighborhood. Most kids started smoking pot in junior high and because they thought that smoking pot was no big deal, most of these kids went on to abusing harder drugs. I personally know of at least 6 kids that overdosed in my neighborhood alone.

I know these are my own personal experiences and it is different for everyone. I know that my experiences may be extreme, but after everything that I have seen in my life regarding marijuana, I have never been tempted to try it. I have seen the long term harmful effects firsthand, so no one will ever convince me that it is a safe drug. This is only my opinion, I am not here to argue with anyone.

Thanks Herb. I just don't want people to be naive and not realize that there can be some very real serious side effects that need to be taken into consideration when we are talking about making such a huge decision as to whether something should be legal or not. I think both sides need to be addressed and discussed rationally, without attacking anyone personally. Everyone has their own opinion on the subject, it doesn't make any of us right or wrong.

Herb, would you be willing to explain what you've concluded from the information posed in the link that you've posted multiple times? I've read it several times over and I have an idea, but before I assume anything about your findings, I want to know what you got out of it.

Herb, I think the main point of the article is about legalization, not health effects. Even if ALL of the problems claimed for marijuana are true, the effect of jail time, gangs, and higher police costs FAR outweigh the alleged harms of marijuana. We don't put people in jail for smoking cigarettes, eating fast food, drinking alcohol, gaining weight, failing to exercise, or any of the other things that are "bad" for them. It's time to stop putting our own kids in jail for using marijuana.

Jordan, I didn't miss his point or the point of the question about making the pot legal. My reasoning for not wanting it legal is everything that I have stated. There are ways of de-criminalizing it with out making it legal. Like I said previous most people think it's about the money.

Who is Herb and why does anybody care wht he thinks? I don't. One study is not sufficient to prove Herbs case. Why doesn't Herb find some current research from another source? Probably aren't too many. I was forced through court to get drug treatment. When I went the true professionals told me that marijuana wasn't addictive and that I needed no treatment. Judge didn't like that too well. You see this whole legalization issue is about money that the government will lose from the dismantling of the prison industrial structure in this country. Marijuana bust are easy for leo and job security. It has absolutely nothing to do with rehabilitation as recidivism rates will attest to.
I vow never to read another word of Herbs incorrect propaganda. He must be related to the AG.

Hilarious. Herb is a doctor too. You know that someone with mental issues can't have a healthy body? Ridiculous.
Many of you have no idea why this drug is illegal. Does anyone here know what civil forfeiture is? Look and see how much money and property was seized in New York alone. There is your answer.
This all has to do with money and power. The government has no vested interest in an individuals health. If so many more things would be illegal.
Herb, do you know Anslinger? Do some research befor you start preaching. If your kids are drinking at all, they are doing much more harm to themselves than if they were using cannabis. Your evidence comes from a pro prohibitionist source. Try to find one that is not biased. I am done with you. I am too intelligent to waste my time reading your propaganda. If you thin that people will support your ideas thn run for office in order to keep prying into the lives of adults who can make their own conclusions.

Herb, of course you have a right to your opinion. No one disputes that, but when you keep using that link from the Amen Clinic; it is hard to take you seriously. Really, the Amen Clinic? Of course, all they want is to scare you into signing up for their Amen Solution! lol

Herb, if you have done as much research as you claim, I am sure you have read studies how it has helped cancer patients and people in constant pain. I only hope you are never one of those people. But, I can see your mind is closed and nothing anyone can say will change it. Too bad.

wow! what a bunch o fpot heads

Someone is trolling, don't feed the trolls.They bite.

Newsflash for some of you. There are a lot of aging conservatives who also want to legalize pot for various reasons. For one thing, a huge amount of them used to or still do smoke. That is why legalizing polls run so high, they are added onto the base.

Opiates are killing children, students, and adults. They damage the liver over time and when mixed with alcohol, they are lethal. Opiates are found in newborns blood and these tiny babies are going through withdrawal symptoms from their mother's consumption.

Marijuana is a drug, but you can not overdose on it. I have seen it cure cancer, remove tumors, and help people on opiates live a normal. life. Those who have heard propaganda for the last century have been mislead. There are so many benefits to this wonder drug! Please, give it a chance or atleast let those who want a choice for pain relief, to have this choice.

Reading all of Herb's comments, I can understand how lack of knowledge breeds fear. I challenge Herb to further his studies on the medical benefits of marijuana rather then citing ONE article for the rest of his life.

I have witnessed patients speak before the State House of Representative in tears because they are so thankful for this medicine! I have spoken to veterans with PTSD that find benefits from marijuana after serving our country in war. I have met people with Fibromyalgia, Crohn's disease, degenerative spine diseases, cancers, surgeries, and on and on, that have benefitted from marijuana. These people were on morphine, vicodin, etc etc. Those pills and their side-effects are so much more harmful than marijuana. I don't expect you to change your mind, Herb; you had not responded to this post since January, obviously you have done nothing to educate yourself since. Thank you for serving our country and for helping maintain my freedoms, like my right to choose.

Agreed, it is about legalization. I am not sure it should be legal for all.
Medically, people should have access if they wish.
We agree on that I hope. It is less harmful than alcohol, opiates, and other drugs: TRUE. You don't have to smoke it. In fact, most people trying to cure their problems ingest Simpson Oil it by pill. Look up Simpson Oil for anyone interest in learning about a cure all. Thanks again, Herb!

"Opponents, however, argue decriminalizing marijuana is a mistake and won't help Michigan's most pressing problem – the economy."

So the opposing side chooses money over what is right or wrong?! That's crazy!