Hedonism negates Locke's contract and principles and it negates the very idea of this nation, so yes... there is reason.

I never said that, that's a misrepresentation of my argument. I said that pot is a freedom that is not granted by the Constitution and it's a freedom that's not necessary for any aspect of human life. I then said (separately) that it poses an unnecessary risk to the well-being of the collective. It is no different than speeding in a motor vehicle. There is no extreme about it. It's a freedom that is not necessary and it is not important. Because it is an activity that has no societal pros and yet also poses an unnecessary risk to the collective populace, there is no logical reason for society to even consider it.

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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy

"Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him."
-John Locke

"What worries you, masters you."
-John Locke

It is hypocritical that marijuana is illegal while alcohol is a far more dangerous and destructive drug. I have smoked copious amounts of grass and I will continue to do so. I have lost no brain cells. I am graduating from college with a BS then planning on pursuing a Master's. I have never been convicted of any crime. The fact is alcohol destroyed my childhood as both of my parents debilitated into heavy alcoholics and it killed my father. I don't drink and I find it repugnant to even be surrounded by people drinking, my recreational drug of choice is marijuana, and as a good citizen of America, I see no reason why my government keeps this plant illegal, the prohibition has failed.

Take it up with the government then, not in a thread that's not about alcohol. I feel the same way, but on more of a consistent standard, I think they're both pointless and have no place in society. It's wonderful that you've done all that, I'm sure there are a lot of proud people in your life, you're probably one of them, but your personal experience is hardly relevant to a debate--I would say the same for mine as well. As a good citizen of America, you should--or would, rather--know better than to break laws that are put in place for the good of the collective populace. Marijuana is a pointless waste that:

A. Has no societal pros.
B. Poses an unnecessary risk on the health and well-being of those around the users, infringing upon their rights as good, reasonable, and law-abiding citizens.

Condition A by itself is fine. There's never a problem with condition A in and of itself, because it's neutral. No benefit to society, but who cares? That's not a bad thing.

Then, however, you add condition B--the unnecessary risk of the side effects, the health risks, the unpleasant social effects, etc. of an activity or substance and because condition A already made the issue neutral, now it's just illogical for society.

No societal pros = fine

Societal pros (not individual--which is what pot is) + Cons = Weigh it out and decide

No societal pros + cons = stupid.

That's the formula here, that's why the government implemented that perfectly reasonable law and that's why you as a "good" American citizen would know that you shouldn't defy such laws purely for selfish anarchical reasons. I've already used the speeding example and I can even apply that to myself, so as to keep this equal. I like to drive fast, who doesn't? It gets me were I want to go quick and it's exhilarating. But at the same time, it's unnecessarily risky to those around me. So the government puts limits on how fast I go. Do I like all the limits? No. I think some of them are slow. But as a good American citizen I recognize that speeding has no benefit to society and it poses an unnecessary risk to the collective populace--so I don't do it. That's how these things work.

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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy

"Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him."
-John Locke

"What worries you, masters you."
-John Locke

a society is the sum of its parts, if people can get to accept pot than in a true democracy the government will do as they wish. locke also supports the idea that the government should act for the interest of its people

Ok so alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana are all equally stupid in your opinion but since the first two are legal, and it's clear that marijuana users are not hurting America in any way, it should be legal plain and simple, you don't like it? Fine, I don't like your opinion but I recognize your right to disagree with me, the same way I feel you should recognize my right to be able to smoke if I want to, I'm not hurting anyone other than maybe myself.

And I think you should do some research, marijuana prohibition exists largely because of racism. Marijuana use was attributed to minorities, blacks and especially Mexicans who were coming in and taking many jobs after the depression.

Our government is not protecting anyone. They're holding onto an archaic and uneducated belief that marijuana is dangerous. Remember the propaganda films that told people that after a few puffs people would go insane and murder their families? Come on man, get a clue.

Locke9-05, What no personnel experience in a debate. Oh an opinion isn't that of a personnel nature. Let me check that out.
Opinion: Noun, defined as.
1. A personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
2. A belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people
3. A message expressing a belief about something. .........Sound that way to me.
And anytime one can use any personnel experience in a debate that IMHO is a good thing. Why debate something one has no experience at or knowledge of. Unless they are wanting to learn from the debate. Then it is usually just to ask a question. A thread like many coins has more than one side. But that is just IMHO.Oh ya I used Web Word to get the above data.

And as I stated earlier if the police and all others in this war on drugs they are losing. Just think of the savings and manpower and prison/jail time that could be avoided by letting the pot head go. And used to get the real people and the dangerous drugs they traffic in. Now new on the list is prescription drugs. So how much more is going to be thrown into this battle we are losing sense day one when Nixon declared pot as bad as heroin. Do you know how much time off the street a police officer needs to spend once an arrest is made.

And once again check out the poll. That should give you an idea of the feelings on the topic. But all opinions are acceptable if with in the rules am I not correct?

This isn't a "true" Democracy, this is a representative Democracy or a Democratic Republic. The reason for this being because our founding fathers recognized that the masses are generally uninformed--or at least don't have a good enough idea of what's best for the collective progression of a nation (they're vested in their own individualist wants/desires), which goes against the idea of Locke's principles of a collectivist society. Locke believed that the Government and the people should maintain a balance--there is no "the people control the government" and there is no "the government controls the people," it's essentially a symbiotic relationship and Locke recognized this and emphasized the necessary balance between the two.

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"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
-John F. Kennedy

"Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him."
-John Locke

"What worries you, masters you."
-John Locke

Absolutly not! Their isn't one solid piece of credible evidence that proves it to be usefull to society unless it is for medical use. Doesn't society have enought to worry about than making an illegal subtance available for the masses.

even a representative democracy has to represent the will of the people. the will of the peole can be to have pot legalized, and in this case pot will be legalized. it is how democracy works: it follows the will of the people. Rousseau is more relevant than Locke i think.