SB15 - Legalizing cannabis for those 21+
Discussion…
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imo… without actually have reading this bill…any person over the age of 18 has the right to use this substance if that is what they choose to do…hopefully through informed decision making…marijuana was not actually in process to be made illegal until the 1930s…first by being taxed which was found to be unconstitutional and then making it an item on the controlled substance list in the 70s
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I called Senator Romano‘s office yesterday, and the only reason he is in favor of this Bill is so it will generate more taxes for the state of West Virginia.
I believe the age limit should be 25 , Even though you are considered an adult at age 18.
18+ you are legally an adult. I do not believe anybody 18+ should be restricted by government on what they want to put into their bodies. They can smoke, legally carry a gun, and fight for our country. 18+ should be allowed to drink and have control of their own bodies.
Everyone should be doing their due diligence and reading and researching and then make their own decision on what they put into their system.
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This is why I believe it should be age 25, I believe in protecting our children’s health. As a opposed to raising more taxes for the state by harming those age 25 and under
At age 18 they are legally an adult. If people want to regulate what adults want to put into their bodies, they should raise the legal limit from 18 to whatever age they want to raise it to.
We need less government regulation, not more. Especially if they are legally adults (18+).
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I support any bill which reduces regulations and gets govt out of our business and personal choices. First, on the issue of mj, I I have never used it nor do I intend to do so, although I have seen some valid points for certain medical benefits.
Second, there are many things that I believe, and if I believe it, then I obviously feel I’m right, at least based on the information I have and consider at that time. I dont think anyone else has ANY SAY over what I do for myself as long as I dont harm another person or steal from them even if they dont agree with me. By that same token, I cannot limit, restrict or force someone else in their choices even if I dont agree or like it.
As long as a person is an adult, they should be able to make their own choices even if it’s wrong, or different than what I believe is best for them. They must suffer any consequences though if there are any. Now, I do think as a society, we have screwed up that definition and guage of what an adult is. Certainly a lot depends on the individual and their own development of maturity.
Previously, while the US allowed young people to get married at very young, drive at 16, smoke at 16, drink at 18, the “age of maturity” was typically considered to be 21. That measure only changed during the Vietnam War because 18 year olds were being drafted to go to war, but could not vote until 21. The country’s solution was to let 18 year olds vote instead of changing the draft age to 21. In my opinion, that was the wrong decision. I would argue that we should make 21 the age of maturity, voting age, drinking, smoking, etc. for most things like this. 25 is definitely too old to still control a person as a child, but at 18, I’ve definitely observed that most people are not mature enough to make informed mature decisions or judgement. 21 seems to be a good point for most. But once a child crosses whatever that line is, that they are legally considered an adult, they should be enabled to make any decision for themselves as well as be held accountable for any bad choices. It’s really as simple as that.
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I agree it should be legalized. Because Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness is very clear IMHO. Akin to the prohibition of alcohol, the outlawing of MJ has never stopped its consumption anyway and simply created a more dangerous environment for buyers, sellers, and law enforcement.
@RoyRamey “… at 18, I’ve definitely observed that most people are not mature enough to make informed mature decisions or judgement.”
I would argue that this is a generalizing statement, and there are even plenty of 16 year olds that could easily make this decision. You can enlist in the military prior to 18 years old. There is not any maturity litmus test that I’m aware of, so I somewhat understand that an age restriction would be applied somewhere to indicate whether someone is a child or adult.
However, what I’ve observed, is that it takes being treated like an adult for most people to mature. You have folks in college for 10 years that come out and still haven’t matured. Raising this already artificial age restriction, to me, would also mean to delay the point in someone’s life where they should start being treated as an adult and responsible for their own decisions.
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Maybe they are coming out of college un mature due to the article I posted . I’m not against taking away peoples rights, I am in favor of protecting the well being and health of our citizens. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/how-teen-marijuana-use-impacts-brain-development
I do acknowledge that my comment was a generalized statement and did qualify it as such. I also agree that even as children, youth should be challenged to rise to expectations, then given criticism of their actions to learn and become better, then challenged again and so forth. Place mature expectations of them even before they are considered to be adults legally. Give them responsibilities incrementally until that point.
However, there must be some figure that we agree upon as THE legal point of adulthood. While I’ve observed and trained youth, young adults and more senior folks, including situations as deadly as combat, I’ve had a very varied experience of observations of people. Given that variety of observations, I believe that while we should train and educate young folks, they are not really fit, on average, to be given that full legal status of adult until 21, as did previous generations before us.
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the coversation i am seeing brought a couple thoughts to mind…there are instances when children under the age of 18 HAVE been tried as an adult for serious offenses…my other thought…when the government controls a persons health decisions does that open the door for other areas for the government to invade our lives? where does it stop?
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I haven’t read the bill, but I do think it should be legalized, but with restrictions, and penalties the same as alcohol. 21 and older with valid ID to purchase at a dispensary, 21 and older allowed to carry in public unopened, or sealed as that person transports it to their final destination for their personal use. I have seen first hand how it slows reaction times, especially while driving, so having a bag opened in the vehicle, or smoking while driving should hold the same as drinking while driving, or driving drunk.
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I do not believe this bill should pass, due to the fact that your brain does not stop growing until age 25. This will affect the younger generations ability to grow maturely, and it affects decision making. I believe it will cause a lot of young people to drop out of school, causing more people to sign up and live on welfare.
The government is not, and should not be, responsible for ensuring “future generations have the ability to mature properly” by banning possession of substances, especially those that would never be used to harm someone else (like certain poisons for example).
The government is responsible for securing every individual’s natural rights are upheld. Liberty includes free will, and you are free to destroy or otherwise damage your own brain as you see fit. I could see an easy argument in favor of a labelling requirement. Fine; that is similar to alcohol and cigarettes.
The well-intentioned law tactic is so effective because it will trick you into thinking the law has good outcomes. However, it is the contrary. Outlawing possession of MJ has had no good outcomes at all.
Not only is it contrary to the primary role of government, but it has led to mass incarceration. THAT will land people in the welfare system faster than any drug out there, especially taking a working adult away from a single income household. And you must ask yourself if that is the actual intent behind the law. Making people dependent on the system is how the system grows, thrives, and protects itself.
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