legalize or decrimilize

Your opinion differs from mine so you must be a big dummy!
My stance on this issues is because of my incredibly forward thinking that means you're a backwards neanderthal!
I use big run on sentences, look at how smart I am!
You don't agree with me or share my exact viewpoint? That's ok, I'll just place labels on you so I can group you with everyone else that doesn't agree with me. That way it's easier to dismiss you and your ideas all at once!

<insert eye roll here>

I'm so disgusted with the lack of tolerance when it comes to other peoples opinions. These forums are meant to promote thoughtful discussion. Debate is awesome as long as it's respectful. Some of these posts are just dripping with arrogance and it shows a huge lack of maturity and more than a little insecurity.

Anyway, back to the topic...

I don't think weed should be legal in the sense that it can be commercialized and marketed. The last thing I want to see is camel joe like bilboards on the side of the highway with a big joint in his mouth. I don't want to see weed become mainstream, I like my sub-culture just the way it is. Basically I don't want to see MJ turn into what alcohol has turned into.

One can make their own beer and wine, but not distill anything. Distillation is required for alcohol content much over 10%. Do that and you go to jail.

Back to the point, when I speak of decriminalization I mean people could not be prosecuted for small amounts. But, it could be restricted to certain areas and what not. Under penalty as a civil infraction at the most.

Full legalization could work also but a can of worms would be open in many ways. Plus, I'd hate to see it regulated like alcohol - that would put us hobbyists out of business. Mainly in my eyes it's more about the message it sends than the cause and effect.

Distilling alcohol at home is much like owning a machine gun. You can do it, but you must jump through enough regulatory hoops as to not make it worthwhile.

Which brings up an interesting point. As other states consider re-legalization I can see laws enacted which might force hobby growers out, like the Marihuana Tax Stamp laws. As such, all re-legalization efforts should be highly scrutinized. However, this does not seem to be the case in California.

We must remember that this is being sold to regular Californians as a tax revenue generating measure for the state. The limits on how much one can carry around are meant to discourage black market transactions. If you buy, you must pay taxes on it. Seems pretty reasonable to me.