In the USA, many of the same people who oppose legalizing marijuana also favor ready access to firearms. The difference is clearly the system of background checks in place to prevent those who should not own firearms from obtaining them - a system which is unique to firearms. I propose that a similar system be set up to control access to marijuana and other currently illegal or tightly controlled materials. In fact, the exact same system currently used for firearms could simply be expanded.
Such a system would also make the "drinking age" and similar blanket prohibitions unnecessary: a citizen who passed a background check would have rights equal to any other citizen as regards the ability to purchase firearms, liquor, porno, dynamite or anything else. It is what the founding fathers would have wanted.-- bungston, Jan 12 2011 This wasn't the idea Item_20Display_20by..._20of_20Manufacture [FlyingToaster, Jan 12 2011] Not bad actually, add driving a car and you get my vote.-- zeno, Jan 12 2011 Ah. So, not a certification system so I can check where my marijuana came from, then?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 12 2011 What [MB] said. [ ]-- FlyingToaster, Jan 12 2011 What [FT] said.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 12 2011 ...plus a <link>-- FlyingToaster, Jan 12 2011 So if you've ever had a felony for pot, you can't buy a gun and you can't buy pot?-- ldischler, Jan 12 2011 Seems reasonable.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 12 2011 "or anything else".
No limitations ?
I don't know if marijuana qualifies as "tightly controlled". It's the equivalent of a traffic ticket in many places, and you can grow it yourself.
I guess technically I could make my own porno, liquor, and dynamite.-- normzone, Jan 12 2011 Legalize it, but like everything it's not for everyone.-- rcarty, Jan 12 2011 /porno, liquor, and dynamite/
Now a Major Motion Picture!-- bungston, Jan 12 2011 This makes perfect sense, and will therefore never happen.
F'rinstance: how many times have you gone to a DIY store for green paint, wallpaper, sandpaper and paintbrushes and then bought a lawnmower "on impulse" even though it wasn't in a sale, it was the middle of winter, and you live in a 6-th floor apartment and don't have a lawn ?
If DIY stores sold high explosives "over the counter" to anyone over 18, 99% of shopper would not buy them. They would have no use for them; they would not know how to use them; they would be concerned they might damage property, hurt themseves, or others.
A small number of buyers would buy some and "have a go". Some would be sucessful and grow in experience and confidence; some would die (this portion of the sample can be safely excluded from the statistics). Sonme would be trained and experienced users who would do no harm to anyone.
This leaves only the criminals and the nutters, who are actually a very small proportion of the population.
The facts are:
(1) it is pretty safe to give grown-ups free access to pretty much anything.
(2) If someone wants to hurt themself, or someone else, they WILL find a way, whatever the law says.
Drugs are supposedly restricted; many still take them.
In many jurisdictions, firearms are strictly controlled; people are still shot on a regular basis, sometimes not even by the police.
Suicide is illegal; many of your species kill themselves annually.
You've been at this for milennia. Sooner or later you're going to twig to the fact that it doesn't actually work ....-- 8th of 7, Jan 12 2011 This should be instituted for medical doctors who give out prescription drugs that are more dangerous for your health than street drugs and guns combined!-- xandram, Jan 13 2011 20 years ago, most USAan fatal drug overdoses were from illegal ("street") drugs. Now, the majority are from prescription medications. So, from the public health standpoint, that's true. Though, for other interpretations of "more dangerous," maybe not.-- mouseposture, Jan 14 2011 random, halfbakery