I had discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van, or in the dorm room of some brother you'd met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl. ... You might just be bored, or alone. Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection."
What stoner wrote that? President Barack Obama, recipient of the most votes of any American presidential candidate in history.

The Government is missing a golden opportunity for more tax revenue. They can tax it as high as cigarettes and budget crisis will be solved.

That is amazing. I didn't know that something like this went on in California. Thanks for the info!

What effect do you hope to gain from this expose?

Money well spent! What a Frickin WASTE! Legalize!

Wow..this sounds like something going on in the jungle in peru..2 hours north of LA huh...that would make a fun trip!

Growing on federal land is of course wrong, and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. That being said we wouldn't be in this position if not for the War on Cannabis. Its easier for the Mexican cartels to send someone to the woods for four months than try and smuggle it over the border, and the ecologic harm caused by these operations are a determent to our parks.
If it were decriminalized/legalized/whatever then the profit would evaporate, eliminate the black market, and with a huge tax provide much needed money for the country for schools, roads, drug education, etc.

Not sure where to leave my questions for Randi and Anderson.

1. Is there a valid source that can give exact numbers in the USA where there has been a death related to marijuana use and it's use only?

I ask that because typically the reports have marijuana listed with other drugs and drinking. I have NOT seen a valid report showing that a HUMAN took Marijuana (Alone) and then went out and died from it, or caused someone else's death from it.

2. After all the reports are said and done isn't Marijuana the only illegal drug that was and have been growing naturally?

3. If anything isn't this drug only the blame for the possible cause of weight gain? Which is unfortunate but not it is no worse than fast food creating the cause of weight gain in USA?

Isn't there something that can be sprayed that doesn't harm the forest but makes smoking it taste bad? It's easier to spray than walk and risk being shot at.

i wonder how much it cost to fill up the chopper and pay the dea.

we could pay for health care reform with just taxes on pot sales alone!

It's just amazing that we don't legalize it already and control it like the government does with alcohol. This is an amazing cash crop that is virtually harmless. If we legalize it, and tax this as a normal business this will really hurt the mexican mafia's pockets. Why we allow them to take advantage of this crop to grow there mafia just does not make sense. LEGALIZE IT ALREADY!

Our government wastes more money fighting pot than they do fighting illegal immigration. Crazy, pot can bring in tons of revenue, while illegals bring tons of expense. Go figure!

Do YOU smoke marijuana?

How is legalizing marijuana going to help us? Do the cartels that are growing it here pay taxes!? And if it were made legal these same cartels would undercut the price that the government set on the drug. So having it legal would still not help us at all with the drug problem. They would still be growing and selling it here.

As far as bringing in money from taxing it....what good would that money do when it will have to be spent on drug rehab for millions of people hooked on drugs because marijuana was made legal? Not to mention more accidents, heart attacks, cancer..yes cancer..Bob Marley died from it because of his smoking of marijuana...are these things going to just go away like magic because it was made legal? NOPE!!

Cindy..Ga.

hey Big Brother look you take are tax doller's to combat marijuana on the drug war when you can maked money off of marijuan what in the hell is up whit all of you then some of the money can go in to the durg war to combat real durg's like METH !!!!!!

Just like in Vietnam, the cops destroy the "hooch" and tear up the plants, but the growers will be right back in there tomorrow starting over again. Just like in Vietnam, this is a failure of policy that is bankrupting the country. Legalize it!

I wonder how upset Randi's escorts would be if marijuana were legalized, saving them the time, frustration, futility, and risk of death/poison oak.

Then, those brave soldiers could concentrate on eradicating people who rape children, beat wives, torture animals, murder gays or abortion doctors...

It's not like they'd be out of a job....

Think about it, America!

Pot is illegal yet you cannot overdose on it and does not leave you impaired for hours like alcohol. Yet we advertise alcohol which is associated with lots of crime and violence. Let the people smoke pot if they want. Let them grow it if they want. Distribute it thru state regulated stores or like how liquor is regulated.

In Kentucky, many of the growers using public lands do so because they own actual farms. When you grow it on private land the government can seize it and not only does the revenue from pot disappear, but also anything else that's grown–tobacco, for instance. Per capita, Kentucky has one of the highest numbers of farms in the country, mostly small acreages. You really think these people would risk the rest of their livelihood–if they're growing marijuana–by growing it on their own farms?

So in just what you said in the above article, by legalizing, we would be helping cut cost on fighting Illigal Immigrants, cutting off one of the two cash crops, for Drug Cartels and limiting funds used for all the cops used on a marijuana raid of this sort.

Not to mention prison space saved, public defenders time and money saved, judges time punishing people for doing what our past 3 Presidents have admitted to using in one way or another. I think it is time we make money off this herb like we do Alcohol and Cig's.

i say legalize the HERB....it would make America a BETTER place, maybe congress would chill out and learn to stop being so UPTIGHT!!!

Seriously What a huge Waste...Meanwhile there are children being abused murder and rape but yeah ......lets heli through the forest to kill some weeds and show some hippie gardners whos boss. I

f we legalized we would obviously gain billions in tax revenue but think of some of our best blue chip stocks and how they would be affected:

Frito Lay, Hershey, Mcdonalds,Sony,Blockbuster ETC.

I see that your first piece is narrow-minded and one-sided, although I can't say that I'm surprised. I hope that the whole week doesn't play out like this though. Truth be told, "they" and their "hooch" wouldn't be an issue if cannabis was made legal again and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco. After all, the latter two are well-known killers and everyone knows this.

i say legalize ! tax it and watch the national debt go bye bye

It's about time the government becomes wiser and legalizes Marijuana.
Instead of spending hundreds od millions of our hard earned money on the war against Marijuana, they could receive hundreds of millions in revenues. It would also stem the violence associated with the criminal element from Mexico that invades our country to grow it. Wake up Congress!

Hey government people. go to the freaking senate and pass a bill that states that marijuana is fully legal.

also, make the drinking age 16

The marijuana plant is attractive! States could save money and eliminate some danger if they legalize drugs and stop fighting the war. Many people would live who would be killed otherwise. Randi, it seems dangerous for you to be right there where cartel operatives could be hiding. The sheriffs had weapons and gear to protect them. Can a person get high from being in the marijuana garden?

And now that so many California parks need to be closed for budgetary reasons – it's going to get better for illegal growers.

like it's gonna make a diff. they prob. have 5 or 10 growing areas all going at once (LOL.) WHY do they kill the plants? they could use these plants to sell to patients with marihuana cards in calif., so let them grow it and then take it from them to bring revenue to the brokest state in the country.
also, how long has the WAR ON DRUGS been going on? has anyone seen a decline of pot? the U.S is just wasting the peoples money to keep the drug enforcement emplyed!

I would like to see statistics of crimes comitted by marihuana users, i think we would all be very surprised!!

Legalize It!

Legalizes the use of marijuana! I have used MJ for 25 years with no
ill-effects.
I find the people who are aginst it are realy misinformed,and most aginst it like to get drunk on achohol.
Tax and regulate marijuana,take the cartels out put some taxes in.
Not to mention all the jobs the marijuana industry would bring to this depressed economy.

@Cindy

Bob Marley died from the spread of malignant melanoma which was initially found in his great toe, and was thought to be caused by an old untreated football injury. Let's try and keep it honest Cindy.

The war on marijuana is a war on dissent. It has been ever since Nixon instituted it to oppress the anti-war movement in the 60's. This country has been fighting a war on it's own citizens for 40 years now. It is time for the U.S. to welcome the 2/5ths of it's population that smokes marijuana back into open society.

Randi might have said that the street value of those 7,000 plants is $3.5million, only because with vigorous policing, the drug dealers can justify charging an exhorbitant price for a medicinal plant that costs anything to grow. The cost for growing and havesting these plants in a regular farm might be less than $1,000, if that much. If legalized, tax revenue from marijuana could be substantial, while giving no revenue to the drug dealers. It is not far fetched to say that the drug dealers and cartels strongly oppose legalization of marijuana.

PUNISH THE PLANET EARTH......

I see no reason, or true ability to prohibit the existence of something that is unique to our planet.

Many many years ago it helped thriving communities, which manufactured all type of goods from the plant.

They say it can even make Diesel Fuel....

Not sure its -Eco-Ethical to make it illegal in the first place, or to eradicate it off the face of the earth.

Legalize marijuana. Imagine how easy it would be to grow legalized marijuana in a California farm. Tax the plants, free the cops, bankrupt the drug dealers, empty the jails, and let those who enjoy getting high do their thing in peace, at home, alone or with friends! And Randi Kaye can tell us about it.

For those who choose to vote against your not looking at the pro -abition of weed and look how Budweiser turn out good for the economy as well stimulate are debts and provide ppl justice for the movement.

There still remains a negative stigma on marijuana use in the United States due to incindiary advertisements and the association of the plant with minorities. The coverage of this issue and the remarks you make today mark the beginning of the end of a new era. The Baby Boomers and their immediate predecessors have shaped the political and social enviroment we experience today, but the clock continues to tick. The next generation is maturing and awakening to the fact that it can design it's own world. Liberal politics, less religion and hopefully less government will dominate the next 50 years of American life. Marijuana will become a non-issue soon. In the mean time, be responsible.

killing pot plants (with all that associated cost and danger) is not effective at actually stopping people from smoking pot. the commerce that goes on around this crop is incredible, inevitable and won't be stopped by any sort of force.

maybe these gardens, which admittedly are probably not good for the national parklands' well-being if they're leaching resources from the native vegetation – would cause fewer problems (social, ecological & military... hello!) if they were legal and allowed to be located in a proper growing location.

maybe you wouldn't also have smuggled immigrants eating rodents and living in camps, indebted to those who brought them here.

i like the quote from President Obama (see first comment) very much. and i believe it is time to treat the root of that discontent, rather than the reefer-smoke manifestation of it.

thanks for putting the topic out there though. sure this will spark (ha ha) a lively debate.

The government waste money on a drug that does less harm than alchohol and tobacco. we should legalize marijuana for the simple fact it will create more revenue for government to spend; one on schools and give raises to our teachers. Two save us from spending millions in combating the war on drugs and could save thousands of mexican lives, and lastly after a hard days work it would be nice to relax and laugh at anderson's grey hair flip and his weird laugh while watching the news.

I wonder how authorities would measure and test for weed, for example, in a DUI. There are considerations, what level of THC has to be in their (breath? blood? swab?) to constitute "under the influence." Also, if marijuana *were* legalized, what about people who grow their own for personal use? We can make our own wine, and roll our own smokes, but how would that work for pot?

legalize it? less work for the DEA, no more chopper rides, less money going to Mexico for there marijuana, more money for us here in the USA, less on the courts more room in the poky for real bad guys, Legalize it!!

I think it is criminal that law enforcement officers have to put their lives on the line so someone can smoke a joint at a concert or in their home.

Wouldn't it be great to live in a country where we have freedom to make our own choices about something as personal as whether or not to grow your own pot for personal consumption? Wouldn't it be even greater to be able to do so without fear of prosecution or risk of losing employment due to showing positive for THC on a urine test? What if we all just got along on this planet and everyone minded their own business? People wouldn't have to resort to growing POT on government lands if they could do it legally on private property. I am 55 years old and I haven't smoked POT in 27 years. Wouldn't it be great to finally have that choice... legally?!

As with any mind-altering substance, the problem lies with how it is abused. As a counselor I can assure you it is possible to be addicted to it, experience long-term side effects, and use too much of it. And I have talked to people who've caused car accidents or other injuries to themselves or other people while high on pot, so it doesn't always "keep people mellow." It's a hallucinogen: calling it a "herb" is merely a justification to keep inhaling.

As far as comparing it to alcohol: don't waste your time dragging that old arguement out. One thing anyone trained in the addictions field learns is that if alcohol had been invented within this past century, instead of more than five thousand years ago, it WOULD have met the same criteria for a controlled substance, same as cocaine or opiates. Legal drinking has merely been "grandfathered in" by society because of thousands of years of use, and not because it is "safer" than pot.

I think it's time to legalize weed, or at least hemp. Hemp has the most uses in the world. You can make almost everything from it.

If i had a garden like that id be token up all day for the rest of my days.

please end the unust prohibition on cannabis & hemp throughout the americas. we will green up in no time.

it’s just amazing that we don’t legalize it already and control it like the government does with alcohol. This is an amazing cash crop that is virtually harmless. If we legalize it, and tax this as a normal business this will really hurt the mexican mafia’s pockets. Why we allow them to take advantage of this crop to grow there mafia just does not make sense. LEGALIZE IT ALREADY!
so well said! Jaime June 15th, 2009 1:59 pm ET

Cannabis needs to be de-criminalized, re-scheduled, treated like alcohol and tobacco, and legalized. Create appropriate laws for DUI, etc. The hemp industry can add a LOT to our economy, also. This is a God given natural plant that has been around for thousands of years. We have far too many prisoners due to our antiquated and unjust 'judicial system.' Legalize it, break the back of the cartels. Allow 'grow your own' just as we can legally make wine. What a waste of taxpayer money the "drug war" has caused! Protect medical MJ patients and promote REAL scientific research into it's effects, both pro and con.

I don't understand the fear of legalizing pot. This country and it's law makers are too rigid in their thinking and their actions. We're operating on hundred year old laws concerning many, many topics.
The only green they need concern themselves with is the money they could be getting. I don't think it would stabilize the budget, but I do think it could help in some areas.
Alcohol is far more dangerous than pot and yet it's sold in every state, in every country. There was a report I saw just yesterday about college kids dying more from alcohol use than ever before. We have all sorts of cop shows where people are being stopped/arrested for drunk driving. We have adults providing alcohol at parties for minors. We have numerous MADD programs, AA meetings and countless housewives who are functioning (some not) alcoholics.
The commercials I see about pot use has people sitting on couches looking sleepy. That's a much better alternative to driving around drunk looking for fights. People using pot don't even drive much, they're calling Dominos and having pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less.
Not to mention how pot helps those with cancer, glaucoma and others I'm sure. Alcohol helps...hmmm...give me a minute...hmmm. I got nothing.
I don't really care if pot is legalized or not, but I just wanted to point out the hypocrisy that is America. But believe somewhere even these lawmakers are making money on it somehow. Don't be fooled America, lawmakers are the biggest organized crime family there is. They know what they're doing when they choose to legalize or not to legalize something.

We should go ahead and legalize it and end the prohabition of this substance. Which over time has shown that it is no worse of a drug then say beer or wine and has been shown not to be habit forming. Lets recall the fact that this substance at a time was legal in the united states and really only became a target during the years of prohabition when the use increased as people tried to find alternatives to drinking. As well as the growing demand for hemp as a resource to be used in the replacement of trees for things like paper, rope, and tissue which would have taken money from the pockets of certain political circles.

I have been a cannabis user since I was a kid of around ten years of age. I am now 44 years old. Until twelve years ago when I broke my neck and back I didn't think cannabis really could help people with pain, sleeping & eating disorders, as well as spasams. But now I am a medical marijuana user due to my accident at work and am a firm believer in the use of medical marijuana. Without it I would be stuck in bed 24/7 hours a day.

I am also a huge believer that Marijuana does not lead to other types of drug use. If so I would be a crack head or something alike by now, but i'm not. I don't even drink for that matter. For to long non users have made a mockery of cannabis and it's use, and the time is now to put a stop to it. This is one plant that can save the world in more ways than one, Including fuel prices and the green house effects! Legalizing cannabis now will set new standards in the world in which we live in. Not to metion get our country out of debt.

I hope Anderson Cooper (are you reading these comments??) also goes into the INDUSTRIAL uses of the cannabis plant itself, and doesn't just focus on smoking it.

I also hope he watched the documentary on the cannabis industry called "The Union" before striding into this whole topic (all 11 parts are on youtube.com).

One final comment, to those opposed to legalization, do your homework regarding the studies done on cannabis before spouting propaganda developed for the 1937 film 'Reefer Madness'.

I for one do not support the war on cannabis. The money and time should be spent fighting hard drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and 'designer drugs' like ecstasy.

How much did it cost us for the helicopter, Sheriff's deputies and US Forest Service employees to destroy this "garden"?

I wonder how many involved in this operation went home that night and relaxed after work with a beer?

I'm a hard working, responsible, otherwise law-abiding 52 year old and I've smoked pot since I was about 17. Why, after a long day at work, can't I come home and legally smoke a joint if I feel like it?

Stop wasting the taxpayer’s money!

I'm a retired Federal Narcotics Agent and marijuana is so harmless that if you have any worries about it simply don't use it. It's obviously a wonderful medicine and pot users should not be punished. If anyone would like to persist in punishing pot smokers, look a little closer at who reaps the benefits from such actions. I'll answer that for you, no one benefits but the bad guys.

Anne I think you should do some research on the history of the use of cannabis by humans. Cannabis has been consumed by the human population in one form or another for "thousands of years", likely far longer than humans have been consuming alcohol, so that is a somewhat flimsy argument to make saying that "[I]f alcohol had been invented within this past century, instead of more than five thousand years ago, it WOULD have met the same criteria for a controlled substance, same as cocaine or opiates.." You seem to be under the assumption that because cannabis was criminalized in the 1920's it has always been an illegal substance when that is far from the case. Again I ask you to research FACTS before making your argument.

In regards to the drug counselor Ann NH blog.

Yes, there are some negative issues such as if some people with certain medical/emotional illness conditions abuse MJ, it can affect their overall health and wellbeing. This does NOT justify the draconian criminal consequences that are still imposed on users and those not engaged in selling/distributing. In my 12 years in law enforcement pulling over drunk drivers and all others, I never had a problem with someone who had recently smoked MJ nor can I recall any instances where someone under the influence actually caused an accident or injured themselves solely under the influence of MJ. Not so with ALCOHOL which is by far a much more dangerous drug (annually thousands of DEATHS – auto and non-auto related, violence, addiction, triggering domestic abuse, etc.) and is sold at stores on every corner and advertized incessantly like it was Pepsi. Please folks. It is still illegal because the legislators have no 'you know what' to let go of it while under the on-going pressure of special interest groups (religious right, certain business interests, and the uninformed, etc.). It must be legalized and separated from the other really dangerous drugs.

To Ann from NH,

It is a waste of time just reading your argument. Pot has been around for 20,000+ years. So to say that if it was around earlier it would have been treated the same as alcohol is just a baseless argument. The FACT is Alcohol kills 150,000 people a year, cigarettes kill 450,000 people a year, and pot kills no one. People cant even use the argument that it will impair driving, when all different types of people from teachers to police officers drink and drive all the time. if your going to prohibit pot for those reasons, then alcohol should be prohibited also.

To Cindy,

Making it legal will not only bring much needed revenue to the state and national governments, it will create much needed jobs throughout the country. Imagine if pot were legal here, there would be no need to give money to mexican drug cartels for weed. Prisoners in jail for petty marijuana offenses would be released saving billions of taxpayer money. Law enforcement would not need to sniff out marijuana users saving even more taxpayer money and giving officers more time to deal with more important issues. The other comment that was completely laughable was that Bob Marley died from cancer due to his marijuana smoking. Get your facts straight. In July 1977, Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma, in a football wound, inflicted by broadcaster and pundit Danny Baker – on his right big toe. Marley refused amputation, because of the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole." Cancer then spread throughout his body. Do some research before you post your ignorant comments about something you know nothing about.

Anne–you are spreading falsehoods and lies. Cannabis is not a hallucinogen. Cannabis has been proven to not be physically addictive in numerous independant studies. It has also been proven to NOT have ANY long-term side effects and has been proven to have clinical value in combatting physical addictions to legal pharmaceuticals.

Further, Cannabis is known to be one of the earliest medicinal substances used by mankind. It has been 'illegal' for less than 1% of the time that it has been used by humanity. And the reasons for it's prohibition have NOTHING to do with 'getting high' and EVERYTHING to do with money. First it was Hearst and Anslinger and now it is Giant Pharma and the Punishment and Incarceration Industry.

As a supposed professional, I expect much more from you.

I almost went to jail for a seed and two stems, but instead i was given a court date, where i was sentenced to a year of probation. while on the streets there are real criminals like rapists, murderers,robbers and real drug addicts, if u ask me i think we are wasting money on all the wrong things, like destroying marijuana fields, while at the same time there are meth labs all over the place that could be getting busted or they could even be fighting immigration at the border were the majority of the drugs are coming into this counrty.

I was kind of suprized that "Marinol" was not mentioned, a prescription drug that has the main ingredient of THC. While smoking marijuana is a much better delivery system, the end result is the same.

I have taken Marinol, its pretty wicked stuff.

I have been trying to control nerve damage in my back for the last 10 years, I am still trying. I live in a state that has not medical use law for marijuana, but I would hope a law would pass that after all else fails, this could be tried.

To truly understand this debate, you must understand the nature of pain, and its a sad fact that most doctors don't.

All this because of a simple flower... Next thing you know, the DEA will ban Nutmeg because kids in New England are using it for it's hallucinogenic properties...

re: Cindy.

In July 1977, Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma, in a football wound, on his right big toe. Marley refused amputation, because of the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole."

Cancer in his big toe caused from what again Cindy?

At least know what you are talking about before you tell half truths to people.

Yes he died from cancer, No the cancer was NOT caused from Ganja.

I just want to be free to make my own choices and pursuit of happyness.I whatch people kill themsevles eating mcdonalds every day.there very fat and can barely walk there are so huge and gonna die soon because of there choice to eat fast food at every meal.I smoke weed and im going to live a lot longer than them.My quality of life is much better than theres. im healther and more active,volenteer at the local food bank,help old ladies cross the street,when I see some one broke down I stop to help Ive changed women's tires I did not know.but I

Anne in NH
Great points, I agree that it can cause problems when overused. I would have to interject where you say it is addicting, as it is proven to be not physiologically addicting, but rather a habit forming psychological dependency when used as a crutch or as a regular part of one's daily routine. There are people addicted to fast food in the same way that many of your patients are likely "addicted" to marijuana - that is to say they are so accustomed to using it daily that they continue to do so out of habit and fear of change.
To play devil's advocate on the alcohol piece, I think that people are beginning to ask why alcohol may be grandfathered into modern society when it is so much more dangerous than pot. You state yourself that alcohol should be considered in the same controlled substance class as opiates, yet it is not. We saw prohibition fail at curbing alcohol use in the 1920's, corresponding to a boom in black market trade and profits to organised crime, exactly as marijuana prohibition is working (or failing to work) today.
So why simply allow alcohol to exist because it has been "grandfathered" in? If that is your logic, then prepare to see the legalization of marijuana because the fight for legalization is in it's third generation.

I have been waiting over 30 years for this im not holding my breath.Should have been leagle all along,booze is the evil one

marinol has thc but that is not all the medical oils pot has hundreds of oils that help muscle and bone pain and it cures cancer. Watch "run from the cure" on youtube if my loved ones ever get cancer I will grow pot to save there life, that is a promise.I will not let my family die because the cure is illegal.

I missed the show last night, but from the comments I can see that the "expose`" was nothing more than a re-HASH-ing of the same drivel that has recently been spewed forth on other networks (ex. CNBC). Granted, decriminalization is the only prudent course of action when it comes to MJ. But no matter what is done with the plant/drug itself, the policing/eradication of weed from national forests/land must continue. The tragic issue there is not the actual growing (because any weed grown is definitively not tragic), but the growing process. National forests are such because they are protected land with protected species–plants and animals. Growing ganga requires deforestation and a lot of assistance from the agricultural chemical industry, and those products kill the very things national forests are designed to protect. Finally, stop trying to legitimize it by advocating its taxation. Advocate decriminalization based on the fact that it is a medicinal plant, one which causes virtually no harm to oneself and to others, and in fact has some very uplifting qualties.

i feel for ya al. 27 years. INSANE!!!! it would be nice to live in that country. i belive it was called "THE GOOD OL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" it was a time before GREED hit the scene about 1920's they had everything legal back then. but the gov has got to make us safe.what happen to the pursuit of happiness!!! make it LEGAL!!! stop wasting our money on enforcment courts and prisons.put the real criminals in jail like the people who been ripping us off. they should be the ones stripped of everything they own. not someone who smoked a joint. COME ON AMERICA WE GOT THE POWER !!!WE ENDED PROHABITION!!!

If the best way to keep cannabis out of the hands of young people is to have organized crime and street gangs control the production and sale of pot then why is that not the best way to keep alcohol and tobacco out of the hands of teens?

I really hate giving my money to some mexican cartel, or where ever there from. I would rather pay taxes on my pot and help improve our schools or roads or our borders. I am not a criminal. I love this country and fought proudly for it.

The law and the war on drugs kills thousands of people a year.
Marijuana (the plant) has killed no one.
I think about this every day when I work in our National Forests.
Legalize it so our public lands can be safe again.

Pot doesnt have a prescribed dose because it cannot kill you like even aspirin can. Directed to kim: why are you worried about dui tests for marijuana, do you not worry about dui tests for vicodin, lithium, etc? they are way more dangerous when driving. the US gov't should listen to scientists. peer reviewed scientific studies show that weed is relatively harmless. legalize it, tax it, and leave pot smokers alone.

"we're here, we're high, get used to it"

After getting out of the Marine Corps in 1972 I enjoyed a year of decadence which included the copucious use of marajuana. When I started college I realized immediately that its use would have to be diminshed significantly in order to complete the challenges ahead. Over the years I have used marajuana recrationally on occasion but fail to understand its continued illegality! Legalize it! It's use and consequences are no greater then alchohol.

My former brother-in-law, who works for law enforcement for the U.S. Forest Service is a shining example of the facist attitude that law enforcement takes against marajuana growers. It is a vicarious way to pretend to they are striking a blow against the drug cartels.

Legalize marajuana and put more effort into the stopping of drugs being smuggles into the U.S. from Mexico, Columbia and other slimeball countries.

sb, M.A., M.Arch, Ph.D.

The consensus on the comments I've read overwhelmingly favor legalization of this mild sedative and pain reliever. The favorable revenue aspects for our government are also overwhelmingly positive. I would not be surprised to find the liquor and pharmaceutical lobbies are a big reason for not legalizing. Wake up, America! Legalize It!!

Anne, Humans have been using marijuana for thousands of years before alcohol was invented. And Even NIDA reports that marijuana is less addictive than caffeine.

Sorry to dispute cindy but i have to completely disagree. Just like every commodity, the market sets the price and in the case with marijuana the price has already been set. The government has great potential to profit and is even profiting now through all the dispensaries in primarily california. (might i suggest you keep in mind that this is hundreds of thousands of dollars per dispensary in tax). And as far as cancer and physical harm from smoking marijuana, the thing is smoking has come a long way. There are a handful of ways that eliminate toxins and unwanted ingredients in the plant that may be harmful through water and/or vaporizing. Also more people in rehabs? Maybe but what differentiates this "drug" from any other mind altering drugs that are legal like alcohol? Are you considering other drugs that are ACTUALLY killing people like cigarettes? Marijuana is socially unacceptable based on untrue "facts". This country needs to move beyond this and legalize.

Ever notice how people who are opposed to legalization are those who earn their living from prohibition? Anyone who has ever used it, especially those fit, healthy, intelligent, eloquent folks who have been smoking daily for 20,30,40,50,60 years, know how benign and healthy it is. Anyone who questions the validity of cannabis' medicinal properties should watch someone with a spastic condition, who takes one toke. The effects are immediate and quite profound. Or try sitting down with someone who has Alzheimer's and smoke a joint with them... you'll have the first real conversation with them you've had in years as they can now remember what was said during the course of the conversation. It makes me very angry when I see people like this being denied cannabis.

Anderson talk to the lawmakers,ask them why they don't save us all time and money by legalizing marajuana. As you can see most people are for it so you need to take it a step further and confront the lawmakers. Of course Obama doesn't want to be stigmatized by being the first black president to set the precidence, so lets start low on the totem pole, address congress. What hypocrites, alcohol can be legal but not marajuana. America?

if the U.S. legalizes it, then we can cut our budget defecit significantly because we can reduce FBI, DEA personnel wasting their time on this effort. who cares, if it is harmful to one's health, then those people will die anyway and thus reduces the overpopulation and again puts less strain on our health system, medical insurance and social security. it's a win-win

I'm a 62 year old who thinks it's time to legalize marijuana. Our country has enough people locked away for using pot. To me there punishment is a bigger crime than the one they were locked away for. It's time to legalize, tax it, and leave people alone for using it.

So, in the video where cooper interview Melissa Etheridge (CNN video), when he asks her about people abusing it she says "This is a people issue. It's not the drug. It's the people."

Now, can anyone of you explain, without 'ad homineming,' why this is an ok argument for illegal drugs, but when used for legal firearms, the argument is thrown out the window?

If it's not the drug, it's the abusing people that are the problem, then it's also not the gun, it's the abusing people that are the problem. Can't have it one way without the other.

I learned more from Melissa Etheridge in a few minutes than I ever knew about medicinal marijuana. I really find a LOT of adults can't EVEN speak intelligently about medicinal marijuana use without implying others aren't COOL enough or others have any IDEA what it is like to be them.

How long has marijuana naturally grown on the planet????

We can regulate most other things – are we THAT stupid????

Randi Kaye's story is just another sensational rehash.

If marijuana was legal, then folks wouldn't grow it on public lands. And the govt. would get a slice of tax revenue.

Instead, we get GI Joe wannabes in choppers pulling up plants. If they want to do some good for US, there is a border that needs policing.

If you're in favor of legalization – contact your representative/senators. Let them know. Nothing's going to change until we ask for change.

Only good could come from legalization. Jobs, taxes, reduction in violence. Oh yeah, if you really want to reduce violence, outlaw alchohol and legalize what the majority of americans do anyway.
I bet you would never hear of a bar fight where marijuana was searved in stead of alchohol.

It's beyond me why the government doesn't legalize marijuana, the potential tax could only help our economy at this point and possibly save California.

Although I agree that not everyone who smokes marijuana will become addicted to it. I have yet to meet a drug addict whose entry drug was not marijuana. After a year and a half ,$130,00.00 and 2 drug programs we finally saved our daughters life from drug abuse which started with a little marijuana joint. The problem is that if you do become addicted, there is no health care program that is comprehensive enough to cover drug addiction. It comes out of a families savings, college savings or re-financing homes to save their kids.

Keeping them honest?! What a joke. If the media would be honest and truthful on the subject of marijuana, it would not be illegal in the first place. No matter what any cop, spineless politician or ignorant doctor says, my Ophthalmologist and I know what has saved my eyesight.
Doctor prescribed glaucoma medicine only led to laser eye surgery twice. It does work well when cannabis is used with it.
After 29 years of glaucoma I know what works and what makes the drug companies money. I'll use what works.

chris-i thought that was great. your right about all the junk food corporations making a killing. i will never forget about the munchies. eat until you pop. that is the only problem with pot-weight gain big time.

Heck no, no bar fights. People would turn against each other in that debate I fear. That is the only thing.

hopefully this war will end soon

Like I said before, the people who smoke weed will do it anyway. What I am trying to say is I see no problem with having it legal. I can't even forsee a problem in the future.

Legalize it, tax it, create a new industry and create jobs. A new energy source?

The war on marijuana is bankrupting this country with all the non violent prisoners with ridiculously long prison sentences for pot. Paid 4 by the taxpayers.
This is an enormous debt we pay and borrow the money from China since we are broke, to keep marijuana illegal.

I am very upset over this issue. I am a recovering cancer patient with spinal problems and ptsd and i was recently cut off from my pain medication ( percoet) because i tested positive for marijuana. I have been on the pain meds for 6 years and they just said no more go to emergency room if you hurt bad enough. Marijuana has saved medicaid at least 800.00 a month for the medicines they were paying for and thank GOD for friends who help me with my pain and marijuana. I do not drink alcohol and it's very relaxing for me to have a tote occasionaly. And I feel i am being tortured with my pain. i told my dr. that i would quit smoking if she would give me enough percocet for the 30 days it takes to get out of my system but she said she couldnt because she could loose her medical liscense. IS this justice. if anyone can help please let me know. I would like to let president Obama know. Maybe he can help. thank you,,ps How much does the emergency room charge medicaid!!!! Percocets are much cheaper.

LETS ALL FACE IT! Cannabis has been around since B.C.. At the last supper the anointing oil was hemp. Even our founding fathers of this great FREE nation grew it. The Mexicans would never be able to beat any price that we set. We will just set it lower, plus the cost of shipping it would be unjustified. Our government is just scared the world would be a better place if it was legal. After all who benefits from chaos? Because when there is chaos the people feel the need to be GOVERNED.

On the front page of CNN's website is a story about a 64 year old man in Oklahoma who admitted to raping and sodomizing a 4 year old little girl. He's getting one year in prison.

And yet. Possession of any amount of marijuana is punishable by up to one year in jail for the first offense and 2 – 10 years in prison for subsequent offenses. For a weed.

A weed.

LEGALIZE IT.

Free up our prison system for the child raping scumbags that belong in there.

I think that weed should be legal. It does no harm to anyone but only if you do it for many many years and it also helps people with an issue. Like cancer, an eating disorder, anxiety, or other reasons. Make weed legal. It makes everything better. Do us a favor and make it legal!

Legalizing pot would bring peace in this land.

Anne NH :News flash people have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years.It was legal until the 1930's. Grandfathered in my ass if thats the cause mj would be too.The truth is if marijuana were to become legal big drug company would lose everything because marijuana is a maricle drug at least for me it is.