That's true, but if I get caught growing pot plants in my back yard, I can still go to jail, DESPITE the fact that it's a weed and maybe well, it just "grew there".:)
Think about the differences between alcohol (legal) and oh, for the sake of argument, marijuana (since that seems to have the biggest support of legalizing it).
Alcohol is much more likely to make people violent. Marijuana just makes people sit around on their couches watching bad television and laughing at it anyway.
Alcohol has a terrible affect on motor skills, hence driving while drunk is stupid and dangerous to you and (most importantly) others. Drunk people, because they think it is cool or something, often try (and succeed) to drive. Stoned people are much less likely to get up the impetus to go ANYWHERE.
Stoned people smile a lot and generally affect those around them in a positive manner. Drunk people often become obnoxious, impossible to understand, and grope those around them.
Okay, so maybe a comparison with alcohol is not the BEST argument for marijuana, but if the point of it being illegal is that you might hurt OTHERS... The people who are going to drive stoned are the same assholes who think it's cool to drive drunk. Stupidity is probably the biggest way of "harming others" and unfortunately, our society doesn't allow us to retaliate against stupidity.
Ironically, this brings me back to the original argument about roller coasters. There are warnings all OVER them that say "if you have a heart problem, if you are pregnant, if you are not this tall, do NOT get on this ride." If you ignore those warnings and something happens to you, it's your own fault because you are... say it with me... STUPID.
I went to an amusement park one REALLY hot summer day, and as I usually do, I went on the biggest roller coaster in the park. I passed out for about 10 seconds while on it, probably due to the heat. So, I didn't go ON any more roller coasters that day. I've since been on plenty, when it was NOT 100 degrees outside, and had no problems.
Sure the government should be allowed to check the rollercoasters and make sure they're not rotting/rusting out, falling down, or otherwise being any more hazardous than being in a car with a race car driver at the wheel. And i'm not even completely against there being some limits to what the roller coaster manufacturers are allowed to do. Terms like "breakneck speed" should probably scare us. It sounds like the regulations NJ is trying to impose are reasonable, but I guess my worry is the whole "slippery slope" of government interference.
I'm with you on that. I re-watched MIB (Men-In-Black, btw) last night. Such a funny movie. I hope they do it justice in the second one. And the Matrix Teaser is available for download now, though it doesn't show you much. Matrix Revisited is worth a rent, but I wouldn't buy it.
Have you seen SW yet? I'm going tomorrow night... I know, a slacker, not waiting in line for opening night tickets. guess I'm getting old *sigh*.
I did like Total Recall, and it was much more in-depth than the short story. I love that you never know which reality is quite the real one (which seems to be a major theme in Dick's stories).
"Screamers", a much less well-known adaptation of a Philip K. Dick is also a good movie. And the pending Tom Cruise movie... which was a GREAT short story, the name of which is currently escaping me. Pre-crime or something? Anyway, Dick is one of those guys everyone who pays attention to Sci-Fi should be intimately familiar with. Even if you DO have to sleep with your light on due to immense paranoia.
Okay, I'm sure I'm gonna get at least mildy flamed for this, as I can tell there are a _few_ Kubrick fans out there, but how is Clockwork Orange Sci-fi? I mean, yes, I HOPE that it's a made up society, and I love Kubrick as much as the next guy. If the list was "Top 20 Weird Shit" movies I grant you it would be entirely populated by Kubrick's movies, but for Sci-Fi....
Where's Dune?
And I guess I can't complain about the lack of Philip K. Dick movies in general, since Blade Runner got the number one spot. And did I mention...
Where is Dune?
I'm not saying it should be number one, but if movies are getting in based on classic appeal and cult following even if they're boring as shit, Dune should totally be inclduded. One of the best "world conceptions" I've ever seen. And the new Sci-Fi Channel adaptation was actually quite good.
As for other commentors..
I liked Gattaca, it was an interesting idea, good follow through. You don't have to hate it just cause Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were in it. I mean, come on, Jude Law MUST be cool, he was in A.I.;)
And the Matrix was great. Get over it. I didn't see a thing in their rating factors about "ability to alienate most of the population", so no, I don't think Clockwork Orange would beat it out. Just chill out and go listen to your Ludwig Van, okay?
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Think about the differences between alcohol (legal) and oh, for the sake of argument, marijuana (since that seems to have the biggest support of legalizing it).
Okay, so maybe a comparison with alcohol is not the BEST argument for marijuana, but if the point of it being illegal is that you might hurt OTHERS... The people who are going to drive stoned are the same assholes who think it's cool to drive drunk. Stupidity is probably the biggest way of "harming others" and unfortunately, our society doesn't allow us to retaliate against stupidity.
Ironically, this brings me back to the original argument about roller coasters. There are warnings all OVER them that say "if you have a heart problem, if you are pregnant, if you are not this tall, do NOT get on this ride." If you ignore those warnings and something happens to you, it's your own fault because you are... say it with me... STUPID.
I went to an amusement park one REALLY hot summer day, and as I usually do, I went on the biggest roller coaster in the park. I passed out for about 10 seconds while on it, probably due to the heat. So, I didn't go ON any more roller coasters that day. I've since been on plenty, when it was NOT 100 degrees outside, and had no problems.
Sure the government should be allowed to check the rollercoasters and make sure they're not rotting/rusting out, falling down, or otherwise being any more hazardous than being in a car with a race car driver at the wheel. And i'm not even completely against there being some limits to what the roller coaster manufacturers are allowed to do. Terms like "breakneck speed" should probably scare us. It sounds like the regulations NJ is trying to impose are reasonable, but I guess my worry is the whole "slippery slope" of government interference.
Err, that was a long post...I'll shut up now.
I'm with you on that. I re-watched MIB (Men-In-Black, btw) last night. Such a funny movie. I hope they do it justice in the second one. And the Matrix Teaser is available for download now, though it doesn't show you much. Matrix Revisited is worth a rent, but I wouldn't buy it.
Have you seen SW yet? I'm going tomorrow night... I know, a slacker, not waiting in line for opening night tickets. guess I'm getting old *sigh*.
I did like Total Recall, and it was much more in-depth than the short story. I love that you never know which reality is quite the real one (which seems to be a major theme in Dick's stories).
"Screamers", a much less well-known adaptation of a Philip K. Dick is also a good movie. And the pending Tom Cruise movie... which was a GREAT short story, the name of which is currently escaping me. Pre-crime or something? Anyway, Dick is one of those guys everyone who pays attention to Sci-Fi should be intimately familiar with. Even if you DO have to sleep with your light on due to immense paranoia.
Okay, I'm sure I'm gonna get at least mildy flamed for this, as I can tell there are a _few_ Kubrick fans out there, but how is Clockwork Orange Sci-fi? I mean, yes, I HOPE that it's a made up society, and I love Kubrick as much as the next guy. If the list was "Top 20 Weird Shit" movies I grant you it would be entirely populated by Kubrick's movies, but for Sci-Fi.... Where's Dune? And I guess I can't complain about the lack of Philip K. Dick movies in general, since Blade Runner got the number one spot. And did I mention... Where is Dune? I'm not saying it should be number one, but if movies are getting in based on classic appeal and cult following even if they're boring as shit, Dune should totally be inclduded. One of the best "world conceptions" I've ever seen. And the new Sci-Fi Channel adaptation was actually quite good. As for other commentors.. I liked Gattaca, it was an interesting idea, good follow through. You don't have to hate it just cause Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were in it. I mean, come on, Jude Law MUST be cool, he was in A.I. ;)
And the Matrix was great. Get over it. I didn't see a thing in their rating factors about "ability to alienate most of the population", so no, I don't think Clockwork Orange would beat it out. Just chill out and go listen to your Ludwig Van, okay?