I can find any stated forum rules, but this nevertheless is in line with the Terms of Use and Code of Conduct. There is nothing illegal, unethical, or otherwise negative about this topic. It is a serious national conversation and can be (and has been) implemented through legal means. I was reading through the #rules topic and someone mentioned how this new forum format (with the lack of stated rules, besides the ToU and CoC) would allow users to show their true colors. I think that is true. My color is green. For the past several years (actually, since I was fifteen years old), I have been involved in the effort to raise awareness for responsible drug use through organizations such as Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Since breaking ways with that group (mostly) last year, I have been on my own in raising awareness for the beneficial effects of cannabis use in particular, and the importance of legalizing it for recreational use across the board. I am now 21 years old and I don't use cannabis anymore, but I found that it has influenced my life in unspeakably positive ways. There does come a time, though, when you have drawn all you need for the time from a substance or idea or person, and it's time to move forward. I reached that point with cannabis, but I am more fervent than ever in raising awareness on the issue of cannabis legalization. Two months ago, the United States witnessed a historic event: cannabis was legalized for recreational use in the states of Colorado and Washington. Contrary to paranoid belief, this has not resulted in mass mayhem, degeneration of values, or Satanism. The world continues to turn, and Colorado and Washington are facing the real possibility of earning tons of revenue for public schools and other projects by taxing and regulating the cannabis trade. As of today, the United States is nearly $16.5 [b]trillion[/b] dollars in debt. There is no easy or foreseeable way to fix this. But there are ways to begin. Long has too much in U.S. tax dollars gone to supporting an unjust and untenable War on Drugs--at this point, that total reaches nearly $1 trillion dollars--and it has not been a success on any account. I could go on and on with the fiscal facts of the matter, but those are readily available anywhere. I will provide some links for your perusal. Instead, I want to open up in Bungie's public forums a serious conversation about the cannabis legalization. There is a gap to bridged between two sides of the debate, and the best way that this can be done is through a long, honest, open discussion. Now, I want to be careful with how this discussion goes, since we don't want to tread into the realm of "illegal activities". So, please, if you are going to discuss personal cannabis use, do so only if you live in the state of Colorado or Washington (assuming your stories come AFTER the most recent national election) or any of the number of states where cannabis is legalized for medicinal use (that is, if you are a medicinal cannabis user by doctor's referral). Beyond this, I believe that through this separate hashtag, #CannabisLegalization, we as a community can have a long, fruitful discussion on the philosophical, financial, and even religious aspects of this topic. [url=http://www.drugsense.org/cms/wodclock]Drug War Clock[/url] [url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/13/ap-impact-years-trillion-war-drugs-failed-meet-goals/]2010 FOX article on the failure of the War on Drugs[/url] [url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-20072096.html]Similar CBS article[/url] [url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/amendment-64-passes-in-co_n_2079899.html]Huffington Post article on the passing of Colorado's Amendment 64[/url] [url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/legalizing-marijuana-washington-state_n_2249238.html]Huffington Post article on the legalization of cannabis in Washington[/url]