Legal Marijuana, the time is now.

I think the time for Marijuana legalization/decriminalization is upon us, there have been many news stories lately, including that of California's govenor pushing to legalize marijuana and tax it to help their tax deficit. Could marijuana finally be pushed to the forefront of politics?


Rob Kampia of MPP on Glenn Beck 2/25/09

Attourney General Eric Holder says that now the DEA will not raid Medicinal compounds that contain Marijuana

Change.gov's #1 issue facing america

"legalization of Marijuana"
hahaha

Legalizing it ain't gonna do shit... people will still abuse it, just like Tylenol and Nyquil...

As far as the monetary aspects, I totally agree. I heard on a radio show (AM radio at work...) that Marijuana is a 14 billion dollar a year business... know what the next in line is? Vegetables at 8 billion... and that's ALL vegetables! Also, it'll increase the police efficiency, because they won't have to worry about marijuana raids, they could focus on domestic abuse and child endangerment situations.

And for the record, I have seen the change it causes in people. You can say all you want that it doesn't affect you, but it does. And if you say it's not addicting... seriously? Look yourself in the eye, in a mirror, and say that without laughing. Not addicting? Then why do you feel the need to make it into clothes, lotions, food, and drink! I have nothing against people who use it, all my brothers being users, 2 of which now have valid medical cards, but I can say that for you to deny that it affects you is absurd.

Also, people think legalizing it is going to automatically mean society is going to be reduced to lazy people sitting all day at home doing nothing and smoking pot. WRONG! Even if it is legal, your employer still has the final say on whether or not a positive THC reading is reason enough to fire you. If he has reason to believe you were doing it at work, or an accident occurs, and you test positive, you can't prove you didn't smoke that day, because the stuff stays in your system for 30 days or something like that.

Another thing callers to the radio station were worried about is the consistency of quality of the product. If you don't smoke it, don't worry about it! As for the people that do, for some ungodly reason, and in some ungodly way, they seem to be able to tell the difference between Blueberry Bubble and Blueberry Yum Yum... but I figure, that's the same way an auto enthusiast can look at an engine block and determine if it's Honda, Mitsubishi, or Nissan. Or the way a nerd can see a motherboard and tell if it's a Pentium chipset, AMD chipset, or whatever else differentiates motherboards. Plus, you kinda hafta know. If someone tries to sell you stress (Honda, Pentium I) and you are paying for God's Gift (Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Pentium Core i7), I think you would know the difference. So let the comsumers worry about quality problems.

So, to paraphrase, and so you only have to read this last part instead of all that jibberish, I am against the use of it, but it ain't my life, it's yours. The sheer financial impact it would bestow us is definately worthy of some form of government regulation. The consumers can deal with quality issues. And Society will not collapse because of the legalization of an herb already being used/abused in circulation.

personally i don't really care if you smoke marijuana or not.

So long as you do your job, and leave me the fuck alone.

We're cool.

Legalizing it ain't gonna do shit... people will still abuse it, just like Tylenol and Nyquil... As far as the monetary aspects, I totally agree. I heard on a radio show (AM radio at work...) that Marijuana is a 14 billion dollar a year business... know what the next in line is? Vegetables at 8 billion... and that's ALL vegetables! Also, it'll increase the police efficiency, because they won't have to worry about marijuana raids, they could focus on domestic abuse and child endangerment situations. And for the record, I have seen the change it causes in people. You can say all you want that it doesn't affect you, but it does. And if you say it's not addicting... seriously? Look yourself in the eye, in a mirror, and say that without laughing. Not addicting? Then why do you feel the need to make it into clothes, lotions, food, and drink! I have nothing against people who use it, all my brothers being users, 2 of which now have valid medical cards, but I can say that for you to deny that it affects you is absurd. Also, people think legalizing it is going to automatically mean society is going to be reduced to lazy people sitting all day at home doing nothing and smoking pot. WRONG! Even if it is legal, your employer still has the final say on whether or not a positive THC reading is reason enough to fire you. If he has reason to believe you were doing it at work, or an accident occurs, and you test positive, you can't prove you didn't smoke that day, because the stuff stays in your system for 30 days or something like that. Another thing callers to the radio station were worried about is the consistency of quality of the product. If you don't smoke it, don't worry about it! As for the people that do, for some ungodly reason, and in some ungodly way, they seem to be able to tell the difference between Blueberry Bubble and Blueberry Yum Yum... but I figure, that's the same way an auto enthusiast can look at an engine block and determine if it's Honda, Mitsubishi, or Nissan. Or the way a nerd can see a motherboard and tell if it's a Pentium chipset, AMD chipset, or whatever else differentiates motherboards. Plus, you kinda hafta know. If someone tries to sell you stress (Honda, Pentium I) and you are paying for God's Gift (Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Pentium Core i7), I think you would know the difference. So let the comsumers worry about quality problems. So, to paraphrase, and so you only have to read this last part instead of all that jibberish, I am against the use of it, but it ain't my life, it's yours. The sheer financial impact it would bestow us is definately worthy of some form of government regulation. The consumers can deal with quality issues. And Society will not collapse because of the legalization of an herb already being used/abused in circulation.

Almost my thoughts exactly, great post.

So, let me get this right...


We get a Black President. Marijuana is legal.
Never would've guessed...

If you knew anything about what you are talking about you would realize that the states control the legality of marijuana/alcohol. Dipshit.

If you knew anything about what you are talking about you would realize that the states control the legality of marijuana/alcohol. Dipshit.

so let me get this straight...

we get a Black president...
the states make Marijuana Legal...
didn't change my opinion at all, fanboy.

Yeah... the president doesn't have any say as far as ABC goes.. which is Alcoholic Beverage Control... in the way it should/needs to regulate it's product. It's all state managed. It follows the rules and regulations that the state sets. How is this relevant? Because this is the most likely form of regulation that marijuana will see. To many people it is considered the same as alcohol. Or porn. And as such, each state has it's own methods of controlling the distrubution and limits of consumption for each product.

Also, as I stated earlier, Marijuana is a 14 BILLION dollar a year industry. The state of California is in a 42 BILLION dollar deficit, yet we just got nailed with higher taxes. With simple cuts, and relocation of wasted funds, we could save 36 BILLION in 1 year. Guess what? That 14 BILLION all of a sudden looks pretty tempting... but of course California isn't going to make cuts, but that's a horse of a different color...

Yea, the legalization of marijuana is estimated to bring in over $1 billion in tax revenue for California alone. That's a fraction of their budget shortfall, but it'll still give some much-needed revenue. I wish Kentucky would legalize casinoes. It would bring some tax revenues back home that's being given to neighboring states. I'm sure those states pay lobbyists to lobby against it here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2009031...08599188495600

I hate how they always throw in the opinions of some random Republican on a bible thumping rage.

So the contries become so Pathetically poor, it'll go against what half of it's time is spent to get rid of just for a good billion dollars?
All we have to do is stop using Gas, drink less soda, plant more Vegitables durring the summer and eat them when they're ready.
We could save money so much easier then people want to think....

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...liticalflipper

As drugs and related violence from Mexico continue to infect 230 cities in the United States, some politicians, economists, and even drug law enforcement leaders say legalizing drugs may be the answer. One Texas city councilman tells CNN “it’s the least worst option to ending cartel violence.” He says decriminalizing drugs would take away a lot of the financial incentive for the cartels to kill. Arizona’s Attorney General says 60 percent of the battle is marijuana — and he’s called for “at least a rational discussion” on ways to take the profit out of weed. Some insist legalizing drugs like pot would help our economy. One California congresswoman says it would pump $1 billion into her state’s budget alone every year. A senior economics lecturer at Harvard says federal, state and local governments spend $44 billion a year to enforce drug prohibition. If drugs were legal, they could be making about $33 billion per year in tax revenue.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...-spur-economy/

In a statement that's sure to disappoint many of those who submitted questions to President Obama's virtual town hall meeting, the president made clear Thursday he does not support legalizing marijuana as a means to spur economic growth. "I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation," Obama said off-handedly at the town hall. "I don't know what that says about the online audience." "The answer is no, I do not think that is a good strategy to grow our economy," Obama said to laughter from the town hall participants. Some of the most popular questions submitted to WhiteHouse.gov in several policy areas were pot-related. Among the top questions was one sent in by a user named "Green Machine": "Will you consider decriminalizing the recreational/medical use of marijuana(hemp) so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and a multi-billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?" Attorney General Eric Holder said last week federal agents will seek criminal charges against marijuana users only when both state and U.S. laws are violated, a shift from the Bush administration's policy. The decision would effectively end raids on registered medical marijuana providers in the handful of states that have moved to legalize the drug's use for medicinal purposes.

All I have to say is, I live in the wrong fucking state.

You aren't the only one. Florida is in the top-5 State category out of the entire country that have harsher policies and more drug enforcement.

You aren't the only one. Florida is in the top-5 State category out of the entire country that have harsher policies and more drug enforcement.

I'm Moving to Florida.
I'd kill, steal, and rape before doing drugs.
and after doing them.
and while doing them.
wait, doing drugs won't make a difference then...

I'm still moving, and disappointed in every living creater alive.

Your logic is horrible and your intelligence is lacking. I suggest you do some of your own research before acting like you know everything.

Here's a little writeup on Today's CNN homepage. It's about legalization of course.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/...ugs/index.html

Editor's note: Jack Cafferty is the author of a new book, "Now or Never: Getting Down to the Business of Saving Our American Dream." He provides commentary on CNN's "The Situation Room" daily from 4 to 7 p.m. ET. You can also visit Jack's Cafferty File blog. Jack Cafferty says America's effort to prohibit illegal drugs doesn't work and should be rethought. NEW YORK (CNN) -- Here's something to think about: How many police officers and sheriff's deputies are involved in investigating and solving crimes involving illegal drugs? And arresting and transporting and interrogating and jailing the suspects? How many prosecutors and their staffs spend time prosecuting drug cases? How many defense lawyers spend their time defending drug suspects? How many hours of courtroom time are devoted to drug trials? How many judges, bailiffs, courtroom security officers, stenographers, etc., spend their time on drug trials? How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume? And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again? So how's this war on drugs going? Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That's a perfect description of the war on drugs. Don't Miss Cafferty: My battle with alcoholism The Cafferty File: Join the conversation Jack's new book: "Now or Never" In Depth: Commentaries The United States is the largest illegal drug market in the world. Americans want their weed, crack, cocaine, heroin, whatever. And they're willing to pay big money to get it. The drug suppliers are only too happy to oblige. The Mexican drug cartels now have operations in 230 American cities. That's 230 American cities! And we're not just talking about border towns, but places such as Anchorage, Alaska; Boston, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; and Billings, Montana. They're everywhere. And they don't just bring drugs, but violence and crime as well -- lots of it at no extra charge. They have been able to infiltrate those 230 cities because we have not bothered to secure our borders. In addition to illegal aliens who come here to work and avail themselves of our social programs, we have criminals from Mexico bringing drugs in, taking money and guns back, and recruiting American kids into their criminal enterprises while they're here. iReport.com: Is it time to legalize pot? What do you suppose the total price tag is for this failed war on drugs? One senior Harvard economist estimates we spend $44 billion a year fighting the war on drugs. He says if they were legal, governments would realize about $33 billion a year in tax revenue. Net swing of $77 billion. Could we use that money today for something else? You bet your ass we could. Plus the cartels would be out of business. Instantly. Goodbye crime and violence. If drugs were legalized, we could empty out a lot of our prison cells. People will use this stuff whether it's legal or not. Just like they do booze. And you could make the argument that in some cases alcohol is just as dangerous as some drugs. I know. Like I said ... something to think about. It's time.