Torgo: Oregon's assisted suicide law would never have gotten through the Oregon legislature. We needed the initiative system to override the religious a-holes who think they know better than we do.

Blabby has some good points. I don't smoke pot but am not against legalization. But isn't what you really want decriminalization? How exactly would you tax it or determine it's state of origin? Has anyone considered the last point? It does carry a number of ramifications

Uh MSanders, those "religious assholes" forced some very valid issues to the fore, for example, would physician-assisted suicide lead families to pressure loved ones to kill themselves because they were perceived to be a "burden" on their families, and would mentally incompetent people be allowed to exercise the option without serious examination. The Nazis overrode the objections of religious assholes to euthanasia, directly laying the groundwork for the Holocaust. One of the reasons euthanasia has not, as far as we can tell, been abused in Oregon is precisely because assholes raised objections to it, forcing proponents to address real fears grounded in history. Yes, I realize legalizing killing yourself is an admirable goal to many, but if you've lived through watching your family fight over a loved one when they were ill, you'd have a more measure response than the ignorant one you posted.