It is about time. Let's make this work. Smoke responsively everyone .

Lets end this "prohibition" were crime flourishes and the state looses. Legalizing cannibus would benefit ALL!!
Judie

The laws r so flawed they need change. Getting it is no problem, half of the us is growing it legally. It would b stupid not to

I have epilepsy, dialantin put me right back in the hospital and I don't like drugs anyway... Ganja has kept me seizure free. How can we make an herb illegal? Let's get smart here guys! Oh and before we start getting the idiots talking about gateway drug. I'VE BEEN USING FOR 17 YEARS AND I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY GATES!!! I'm still employed, pay my bills and take care of my family. LEGALIZE not just for medicinal use but for recreational too. Marijuana has cancer preventative properties along with MANY other positive effects.

Get real guys, this will never happen, this is the Bible Belt, plus Atlanta only just got alcohol sales on Sundays, and parts of the state are dry counties.
Even if pot were legalized, we will still still have drug dealers on the street selling it cheaper than a dispensary would. Thats just simple supply and demand.
Also, I cant find anything about "GA C.A.R.E. Project" or "Georgia Taxpayers Alliance" being a not for profit group. Who's paying them? Does anyone else know?....... "follow the money"

YES! The prohibition of cannabis for medicinal, recreational and industrial (hemp) uses is about as archaic as the Witch trials. There is solid evidence supporting the benefits of cannabis in the human body as well as the HUGE benefits in industrial hemp. Right now cannabis is the #1 cash crop in the US, and the #3 cash crop in GA. All untaxed & unregulated. Why? Because there are huge industries that would be impacted from the legalization and taxation of cannabis. It's time to GET EDUCATED and stand up and speak out! Furthermore, why are we allowing our tax dollars to be WASTED on a prohibition that has proven ineffective since its inception? We are wasting the time and energy of law enforcement in arresting people, a majority of them kids under 25, and a majority of them are minorities (FACTS). WHY? We are ruining their lives for possessing a substance that is LESS dangerous than Alcohol or Tobacco or virtually ANY prescription or over the counter medication readily available today. It's simply ridiculous. Put plainly, if you support this prohibition, you are either willfully ignorant or willfully evil.

Legal in pill form for disease treatment would be fine. For smoking, no.

Marijuana is significantly milder, safer and less addictive than alcohol, and there's absolutely NO good reason why we shouldn't be able to choose marijuana instead of alcohol!

We taxpayers are forced to spend $Billions every year funding the marijuana prohibition and the only thing we get back from it is that it makes our children LESS safe and more likely to be arrested and hassled by drug dealers.

We need to END this madness and legalize marijuana like beer and wine! Keeping marijuana classified in the same Schedule as heroin sends children the message that heroin is no more dangerous than pot! And this is a VERY dangerous message for the federal government to send to our children!

If there are medical benefits derived from the plant have a pharmaceutical company phase I, II & III test it then send the results to the FDA for approval like every other drug. We do have legal opiates. Morphine for example. Of course no one wants to do this because it's more about use and abuse than medicine!

I've only seen how this drug destroys homes, people and relationships and is a gateway drug to heroine, crystal meth and cocaine. Have you ever tried to get a stoner to go to the gym, the park or anywhere for that matter. Yeah, Good Luck! More like the couch to the cupboard for the cheetos....

See hurricane u obviously are either willfully ignorant or evil have u forgotten mr gold medalist Michael phelps? My weedman has a gymset he uses I have a total gym and I'm not overweight.I don't eat cheetos they're unhealthy. There r no medicinal benefits to cheetos but I bet u kill them things. U seen it destroys homes? No the user did that. Gateway my ass. All I smoke is pot. No coke, meth, heroine etc and like I said before... 17 years.

@Organik Produce, @Jillian Galloway - Cooool Maaaan. Got it, brah!

Finding new funds for the state and counties has been very hard on this state, all the budget issues facing the state has caused many lay-offs and put hard working people out of much needed jobs. This would be a new source of taxes which would keep your property tax rates down and it would also create jobs.....it would also make room in the jails and prisons for more violent offenders and free up the courts to handle more cases......it's a win win win win for this state.

Been smoking since 1969 the only problems I have had with cannabis is the laws, end the war on marijuana.

I have a problem with the smoking of pot because of the nasty smell it creates. If you live in an apartment or condo building the smell will travel, and that will be a problem. If you have a medical use, then pill form should suffice.

@JM, Along your same logic shouldn't alcohol also be illegal? I would say it certainly destroys homes, people, and relationships wouldn't you? In fact I would say even more so. That is, an alcoholic is much more likely to resort to violence than a "pot head" would. Not to mention alcohol creates a physical dependency, whereas marijuana only creates a psychological one. And let's not forget ones ability to drive while on each substance, and if you don't the difference then you haven't done your research and are indeed speaking from an ignorant point of view.

When I was growing up it was easier for me to get weed than it was alcohol. The regulation of alcohol makes it a safe business and keeps it (mostly) out of the hands of those who are not suppose to buy it. Conversely, and as Jillian has noted, it's very easy for drug dealers to come around and offer your kids whatever they have. She also makes a good point that scheduling weed the same as heroin sends the message that the risks are the same. The drug dealers talking to your kids will certainly make that point as well. If your children tried smoking weed and found it not be so harmful then the same must be true of heroin since the "establishment" categorizes them the same. So they try it once and (in most cases) are hooked. Now that drug dealer has a customer for life and has reason to keep coming around where you live. Then when the addiction takes over they steal from you, or end up getting into an altercation when they can't pay their debts. So I would say it is the current rhetoric that makes it a gateway drug. 

For what it's worth I don't prefer alcohol but I don't mind it being legal (although it does get annoying seeing drunk people stumbling and yelling all over the streets of midtown). I have a masters degree, make over $100k/year, and do triathlons. I completed 2 ironmans last year. So to say that everyone who smokes marijuana is lazy, stupid, eats Cheetos, and won't go to the gym is stereotyping. Which is easy to do when you have nothing else better to say, but shows how naive and ignorant you are.

@traci, cigarettes smell much worse and are much worse for you, yet they are legal. I wouldn't mind an even trade. Let's make cigs illegal and marijuana legal.

I know it is way past time to make this legal .Locking up smokers and small time growers does not help anyone.This is a plant put on this earth to be used like all the rest

I read this and I rejoiced at the fact that it's finally coming into consideration. When I was in middle school I couldn't believe the amount of kids boasting about smoking marijuana. It's truely appalling that kids so young knew where to get it. This prohibition is introducing something to our kids which they aren't mature enough to know how to deal with. And to me that's more than enough reason to legalize it. It's uncanny to see things like tobacco and alcohol legal when we know it kills people and is highly addictive. The fact that cocaine is a schedule 2 drug shocked me, if anything marijuana should be schedule 2 and cocaine schedule 1.

Marijuana is not a bad drug it does not comsume people and has so many benifits I am sick an do not enjoy the high of smoking but the many ways it helps and takes place of methadone and xanax would be the best thing that could happen in this state.

I'm guessing the collective success of the above respondents is minimal at best. Keep being thrilled with mediocrity, good luck.

Um ok JM I'm a marijuana user and love going to the gym and the Park! Speak for yourself!!!

Oh and I've been smoking for years and have NEVER waned to try stronger drugs in fact I don't even like alcahol, again speak for yourself, don't Put everyone in the same category!

We need to do this a the federal level the DEA has no place in the USA or any country why should every country follow what the US goverment says it is just wrong and should be illegal we spend billions on stoping the use of a erb

Mega Braaaa!.... Way, MEGA, sooo stoked, brah!

Its time to end a war that prevents people from being adults putting something into their body for medical or just recreational use . The Gov has no place in someones health choices or their recreational choices . The Gov has become more of a control freak than a body that simply Governs the people of a so called free nation . Its more than time its over due time to end this war . Things like this war is what keep people in poverty because they are listed as criminals and cant get decent jobs because of background checks.

Some would say o just do not do it! well next time you sip some wine with your wife/husband you think at one point wine would have been in the same war. Until the Gov. seen the tax money that could be made from the sale, the people stood up and said no more can we allow our Gov. to destroy our familys. Alcohol is why we have NASCAR it is used in medication it has been a big money maker for this country in many many ways and created several jobs over the years in todays time alcohol is seen as a normal way to wind down relax and share romantic moments with friends ,family and our spouse . I support the change in the law it is what is wise for this country to end this war that simply is nothing more than a rouse.

Legalize it, regulate it, tax it, same with prostitution. Put corner pimps and drug dealers out of business. Btw, America is the number one of importer of hemp in the world, because states can't figure out how to tell the difference between growing hemp and pot (2 different processes.) Let's help American farmers grow a product that could feed and clothe billions all over the world.

I think it is about time to legalize weed people are more focused on locking people up for smoking weed because they violated probation or smoking in there car but here we have kids buying guns off the street scouring each other lets make jail a place for a more serious drugs or for killers and child abusers. Have you ever heard of something going wrong from people smoking a joints besides for nothing but peace and love in the room I agree you should be over 21 to smoke just like buying alcohol stop wasting space in these jails and prisons over weed lets do the right thing.

Hey maannn, way brah, mega wedatude, like way, brah.

JM Hurricane...why don't you grow up brah??? Stop w/the the stereotypes and use that thing between your ears called a brain and quit drinking the kool-aid given to you by the entities that want to keep it illegal. The ONLY reason people with a rational thought process would want to keep it illegal is because of MONEY. PERIOD . EVERY point that has been made so far in the above comments clearly shows the positive effect legalization would have for society ...dude, like get a brain- man

IT is great to see most of the peoples comments great thinking now we just need to make the goverment do whats right STOP LOCKING UP POT USERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think they should make it legalize in the entire USA! For many reasons to make the economy better and to make the sick feel better yo
u can even make useful items as well !

Portugal legalized pot years ago and they are very happy.
Health experts in Portugal said Friday that Portugal's decision 10 years ago to decriminalize drug use and treat addicts rather than punishing them is an experiment that has worked.
"There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal," said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.
The number of addicts considered "problematic" -- those who repeatedly use "hard" drugs and intravenous users -- had fallen by half since the early 1990s, when the figure was estimated at around 100,000 people, Goulao said.
Other factors had also played their part however, Goulao, a medical doctor added.
"This development can not only be attributed to decriminalization but to a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies."
Portugal's holistic approach had also led to a "spectacular" reduction in the number of infections among intravenous users and a significant drop in drug-related crimes, he added.

A law that became active on July 1, 2001 did not legalize drug use, but forced users caught with banned substances to appear in front of special addiction panels rather than in a criminal court.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9C6x99EnFVdFuXw_B8pvDRzLqcA?docId=CNG.e740b6d0077ba8c28f6d1dd931c6f679.5e1

I really hope they make this legal soon, because I can't take it anymore..

Thats the problem with this country to fast to do things wrong and so slow to fix the mistakes and admit they were wrong.By doing away with all the drug laws the way they are cost so much money and what gives the goverment the right to tell any one what they can or can't put in their body's I am sure most people know when a drug is making life bad for them and this country is suposed to be free

The way I see it, the fastest way to get the bill to be looked upon as a serious matter is to simply look and speak in terms of the money. I am not saying that Georgia as a state are greedy, what I simply mean to say is that while legalizing it will save millions, if not billions, it will, at the same time, earn an extra few millions (or perhaps billions) in tax revenue. This will also allow further research on Marijuana which in turn will allow for all the medical purposes to be explored. I give credit to Washington state for its move to legalize recreational use and suit the laws according to it as the same as drinking. To me, this is exactly how it should be looked at, drinking is far worse then Marijuana but to be on the safe side, I think that smoking it should be looked at the same as drinking. I do not think anyone should be allowed to operate machinery or drive or even go to work while affected by Marijuana but I do think we should be allowed to partake while in our own home. Save money spend on a prohibition that has clearly failed, save lifes and prison space and at the same time, make this a very very rich state by taxing the hell out of it.

*Michael Brandon Howard

I have seen the destruction alcohol can cause for a family. My best friend. His father is an alcoholic. His sister is anorexic with bad anxiety and OCD. His mom is struggling to keep the family together. He often has to keep his father from hurting his mother and sister.

My other best friend smokes marijuana. Daily. His dad smokes daily. His stepmom smokes. Daily. That house has no violence. The only problems there are his parents think he's messing with other substances. He is very smart. He has also been smoking weed consistently since eighth grade. An he got a 2200 on his SAT. So which causes more problems?

I am glad that common since about marijuana is coming into play. All the years of propaganda is finally coming to an end. Legalize it and save us taxpayers money, should have never made it a crime in the first place, after all it was George Washingtonian main crop.

People move up to more dangerous drugs BECAUSE/ AND ONLY BECAUSE when they go to buy weed they are offered other drugs. If people had a legal and safe way to buy weed then the term "gateway drug" would no longer apply to weed. Pot smokers don't go looking to find a stronger drug.

Its kind of sad really to see what our tax money is going to. In my most humble of opinions it really should be legalized. One thing that I hav noticed is that most people would probably stop selling it illegally because it would not be illegal any more. Its a sort of idiotic mentality that people take the " I feel like a badass because i'm doing something illegal." mentality. Washington has legalized it why not here. It certainly would cut back on the people standing on a corner going "hey you want to buy some weed?". Because actual dispensaries would be able to get it to consumers much cheaper than the street sellers ever could. Just give it a 10% tax and let it be. Just saying
~From a nonsmokers perspective~

Portugal legalized drugs and started treatment programs for offenders ten years ago, as noted in my previous comment above. Their holistic approach also had a side effect of reducing violent crime and drug related infections.

I believe that marijuana should be made legal for the fact that I have severe pain everyday from an automobile verse motorcycle accident 17 years ago and the only thing that helps my pain is marijuana. I guess I am immune to every medicine due to the fact that I was on a morphine drip for 8 months and because a BC powder works better for me than an oxycotin 80 does. I have tried the marijuana pill and it did nothing for me, whereas if I smoke a joint the pain subsides tremendously, so my vote is to legalize marijuana. We also could tax and regulate it so it would help in the long run so why not legalize it.

GA as a state is just not ready to do any thing that is right for the people they would rather spend money locking people up than to let some one live in peace.

Give the people in ga a chance to live happy and let them have weed it is very relaxing and make it law for your home only