Why not de-criminalize marijuana use?
Who knew that good old American capitalist competition could help defeat Mexican drug cartels? The Washington Post has a fascinating report today about American pot growers, whose illegal resourcefulness is giving the Mexican cartels a run for their heaping piles of money. Time was that Mexican and Columbian cartels controlled much of the marijuana trade, but not anymore.
Almost all of the marijuana consumed in the multibillion-dollar U.S. market once came from Mexico or Colombia. Now as much as half is produced domestically, often by small-scale operators who painstakingly tend greenhouses and indoor gardens to produce the more potent, and expensive, product that consumers now demand, according to authorities and marijuana dealers on both sides of the border.
The shifting economics of the marijuana trade have broad implications for Mexico’s war against the drug cartels, suggesting that market forces, as much as law enforcement, can extract a heavy price from criminal organizations that have used the spectacular profits generated by pot sales to fuel the violence and corruption that plague the Mexican state.
I don’t have quite the enthusiasm for de-criminalizing marijuana that popular blooger Andrew Sullivan brings to the subject, with his series of posts, “The Cannibis Closet.” But I have long believed that the war on drugs is dumb and wasteful and perpetuates the violence it supposedly abhors. It’s also futile, as the Post’s report shows clearly.
Authorities found and destroyed about 8 million marijuana plants in the United States last year, compared with about 3 million plants in 2004. Asked to estimate how much of the overall marijuana crop was being caught in his area, Wayne Hanson, who heads the marijuana unit of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, said: “I would truthfully say we’re lucky if we’re getting 1 percent.”
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106 comments Add your comment
King of All
October 7th, 2009
4:42 pm
Q. Ever heard of anyone who OD’ed on pot?
A. Nope.
Say What??
October 7th, 2009
5:08 pm
Why not de-criminalize marijuana use?
Hmm, why not de-criminalize the following:
1. gambling
2. prostitution
3. alcohol (for those under 21)
4. crack
5. cocaine
6. imbezzlement
7. voter fraud (you know, help out ACORN)
8. underage sex
………………….
Say What??
October 7th, 2009
5:10 pm
King of All
October 7th, 2009
4:42 pm
What about the deaths caused by mj use? Meaning, driving accidents, drowning (I recently read of one), screwing with weapons while high, …………..
Road Scholar
October 7th, 2009
5:14 pm
Say What @ 5:10: Same can be said with alcohol! What are your views on alcohol use?
NetBanker
October 7th, 2009
5:30 pm
Why not decriminalize marijuana and tax it just like alcohol so that we’re raising revenues instead of increasing expenses? Most people in jail for drugs are not dealers or the king pins, but non-violent offenders who were caught buying for personal consumption. Do you know how much it’s costing us to keep people like that in jail? It’s outrageous and stupid because we’re exposing those people to much harder criminals.
Say What…why not legalize prostitution and regulate it as is done in other countries? Making it illegal hasn’t stopped the practice and never will which is why it’s called the oldest profession. Criminalizing prostitution has only increase the jail population and led to organized crime running prostitutes. It also results in police spending time arresting prostitutes and their patrons for a non-violent activity between consenting adults. It just doesn’t make sense to me that sex between consenting adults is illegal simply because one party is charging/paying the other. In too many cases that is the definition of a marriage and those aren’t illegal!
Now when it comes to items 6 and 7 in your list those actions of deprive a person or a group of property or liberty so those shouldn’t be decriminalized.
El Jefe
October 7th, 2009
5:39 pm
Ms. Tucker – your right, we do not have enough lazy slackers in society, we need more.
FM
October 7th, 2009
5:40 pm
Obama is a pot-head. Dude!
Class of '98
October 7th, 2009
6:21 pm
Hell is frozen solid.
I agree with Cythina Tucker.
Class of '98
October 7th, 2009
6:24 pm
No get ready for 200 comments from people who disagree with legalization of pot…. and have never smoked it.
Comparing pot to crack shows you just how ignorant some people can be.
jconservative
October 7th, 2009
6:36 pm
We have been doing a war on drugs for, what?, 40 to 50 years?
And we are losing big time. Our butts have been kicked up one side of the country & down the other side. Why do we keep fighting a losing war?
I have no idea. Maybe because we do not like the alternative to that war?
Kevin
October 7th, 2009
6:46 pm
FINALLY something on which I agree with Cynthia!
Those of you who drag out the whole “what about crack” argument show your complete lack of understanding on the topic.
One is addictive. The other is not.
From an addiction perspective, I’d argue that alcohol is much, much worse than pot.
I’m all for regulating and taxing. It would raise an astronomical amount of tax revenue.
Chuck
October 7th, 2009
7:14 pm
As a conservative and retired police officer, I haven’t seen much I can agree with Cynthia Tucker on, but on this subject I am in complete agreement. Studies have shown that the war on drugs is a complete loser. If we spent just a fraction of the billions alloted for arrest and prosecution on rehab treatment instead, the recovery rate would skyrocket. Drug users hurt only themselves and need treatment, not incarceration. And how cool would it be to see the drug dealers put out of business and forced to get a regular job and pay taxes like the rest of us?
TnGelding
October 7th, 2009
7:58 pm
Chuck
October 7th, 2009
7:14 pm
Why won’t more active law enforcement officers state your sensible position? Do they see the current insanity as job security?
Why not decrimialize it indeed. But why not just make it legal? Farmers need a good cash crop and the taxes could pay for rehab for those that sought it. We simply can’t afford the war any longer, and really never could. Instead of being a drain on the treasury it would be a great benefit. And I’ve never even seen one, but I have smelled the smoke from co-workers. And I have never smoked or drank, and take prescription drugs only when absolutely necessary. It has always baffled me how a confessed Christian could defile their bodies with the poison.
Tom Middleton
October 7th, 2009
8:04 pm
Once again, I agree with you, Cynthia. When I first went into the Navy, they were giving Dishonarable Discharges for marijuana possession. When I got out four years later, they were giving two weeks of extra duty, and that was some years back. I’m not a smoker, but can’t we just move on with this one? Obviously, it’s not going anywhere!
Michael H. Smith
October 7th, 2009
8:41 pm
Drug users hurt only themselves and need treatment, not incarceration. And how cool would it be to see the drug dealers put out of business and forced to get a regular job and pay taxes like the rest of us?
Now the right nerve has been struck. Problem enters this picture of taxing a substance considered by many as a sinful indulgence when “Government” fails to be responsible for the injuries incurred from the legalized use of the substance that it is profiting from i.e. Alcohol and tobacco. Back to this statement: Drug users hurt only themselves and need treatment, not incarceration.
Who gets hurt or incarcerations is debatable. Treatment for the legally addicted is not an option when the “Government” is the “Pusher-man”!
The problem with using drugs remains the addictions and the government’s responsibilities in using the profits it reaps from them. Got answers?
Just throwing out something for the benefit of thought: Would it surprise anyone to find out that the “Founding Fathers” were involved -possibly very heavily, though legally of course at that time – in the use, trade and consumption of hemp and marijuana?
Oh, and this one is for Comrade Cynthia and her use of guile. Would it surprise anyone to find out that most of the drug laws in this country legislated were passed on ethnic or (for the weak minds) on RACIAL grounds?
Michael H. Smith
October 7th, 2009
8:51 pm
TnGelding
October 7th, 2009
7:58 pm
It has always baffled me how a confessed Christian could defile their bodies with the poison.
What is truly baffling you is likely your misunderstanding of the term “Christian” and to whom it correctly applies. Many are the followers from afar in the Christian faith, few are “Christians”.
….Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit.
joe matarotz
October 7th, 2009
9:01 pm
Being a college student in the early 70’s, I smoked a small forest worth of pot. I can say that it is one of the few things I’ve done that I am ashamed of today. Keep it illegal. Smoking pot is NOT something to be encouraged.
Michael
October 7th, 2009
9:08 pm
Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama (I think) and VP Gore all used marijuana in the past. They have all most likely drank alcohol. Obama probably still sneaks a cigarette every now and then.
Does anybody think these people didn’t amount to anything in their lives? Disagree with policy all you want, but those are four of the most powerful men of my lifetime, and they all did drugs when younger. There are probably thousands of powerful people who recreationally use drugs and function just fine.
Our food is so loaded down with industrialized crap that I can’t imagine a moderate amount of marijuana is going to destroy society. There is no bigger waste than putting someone in prison because they got high off a drug without a powerful lobby. As Gov. Jesse Ventura said, God put it here for a reason.
godless heathen
October 7th, 2009
9:40 pm
It’s obvious from many posts here that the money spent on drug law enforcement would be better spent on drug education.
Most people that have ever been involved in the drug culture have seen first hand the corruption in the drug enforcement business. The cops always have the best dope.
420
October 7th, 2009
9:56 pm
The only reason anyone would want to continue the prohibition of cannabis at this point is to somehow continue to make lots of money from it…Every credible study that has ever been done clearly suggests that prohibition makes it EASIER for kids to get, exposes them to drug dealers with little conscience, enriches the criminal element and provides absolutely no tax benefits…Wise up people. Any person making any stupid remark about how it causes this or that or will cause this or that has clearly been drinking the koolaid. You don’t even realize how ignorant you are of the FACTS. It’s just so silly. Now, I will say that decriminalization isn’t the answer…Legalization is…Decrim continues the problem..Legalization eliminates the criminal element almost entirely from the sales and profit…Let the police focus on serious drugs like Oxycontin and Heroin…..Haven’t they shot enough old women and dogs in search of a little pot? Of course this is Georgia..and we tend to try and legislate morality..can’t buy beer on Sunday’s…you can drink it, just not buy it…silly..ignorant, really.
Barry
October 7th, 2009
9:57 pm
Our war on drugs has been almost as successful as our war on poverty.
mmm, mmm, mmm
October 7th, 2009
10:04 pm
The federal budget deficit tripled to a record $1.4 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year that ended last week, congressional analysts said Wednesday.
The Congressional Budget Office estimate, while expected, is bad news for the White House and its allies in Congress as they press ahead with health care overhaul legislation that could cost $900 billion over the next decade.
The unprecedented flood of red ink flows from several factors, including a big drop in tax revenues due to the recession, $245 billion in emergency spending on the Wall Street bailout and the takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then there is almost $200 billion in costs from President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus bill, as well as increases in programs such as unemployment benefits and food stamps.
Marc
October 7th, 2009
10:26 pm
Say What?? Do you drink? If alcohol were discovered today it would be a Class I drug. Class I means that the dangers outweigh the good. The same can’t be said about pot! Your examples are lame at best I would wager that a was involved in each and everyone of those instances. Why are the first 5 of your list illegal? 6 & 7 are forms of stealing and how could YOU even but 8 on the list. Your list is of apples, pliers and mountain ranges (couldn’t think of anything that was as outrageous as having child prostitution on that list so I went with mountain ranges).
420 Oxycontin = legal, Heroin – illegal
Sunshine
October 7th, 2009
11:51 pm
Cynthia,
Have you ever seen a pot head with a ‘to do list’ ? The answer is no. Pot heads are too lazy to do anything. The pot heads who are all for legalizing it have probably already pickled their brains and can’t see the damage it does. This country should NEVER, EVER legalize pot.
Jessica
October 8th, 2009
12:07 am
I usually don’t agree with anything on this blog, but it actually makes sense to decriminalize marijuana.
I think it’s stupid and morally wrong to use drugs recreationally, but I don’t want to pay more in taxes so that we can prosecute and incarcerate a bunch of idiot potheads. It’s just too expensive. Better to regulate the drug and slap a heavy tax on it.
I don’t think this approach can be applied to all illegal drugs; some are much more dangerous than pot and should always be illegal.
Rick
October 8th, 2009
4:58 am
If I can show by example of how “brainwashed” we are as a society. Here’s a few facts you can check yourself. #1 Marijuana was made illegal because the Dupont Chemical Company simply didn’t want hemp as a competitor for their new polyester rope. #2, at that same time in history, about 1937, making it illegal could get rid of some “undesirables” in Louisiana. This is the ONLY reason. If you don’t believe we’ve become a nation of fools, the brainwashing you’d received obviously has worked. Don’t you get fed up with the stupidity in this country? Please start thinking and use your head. We are fools. Alcohol and cigarettes are way more dangerous than a friggin weed that grows in the wild….!
CK Hall
October 8th, 2009
5:36 am
For all you “authorities” on Pot–Keep it ILLEGAL!
Ben
October 8th, 2009
6:23 am
Because if you decriminalize it soon you’ll have to decriminalize and legalize opium and cocaine. In the future, however it will be seriously considered only because of the taxation and revenue funds that it will generate to keep politicians in power.
Say What??
October 8th, 2009
6:52 am
Marc
October 7th, 2009
10:26 pm
I’m flattered you are so interested in me…..I think. No, I don’t drink. And I haven’t engaged in the other 7, so you’d lose your wager. Nice try at being cute, though.
You mentioned items 1 – 5 are illegal. Agreed. Using marijuana is illegal.
You said items 6 – 7 are forms of stealing. Agreed. Both are illegal. Of course, those ACORN hacks involved with voter fraud weren’t prosecuted, so I guess in those cases it was legal. I guess those devoted community volunteers switched their focus from voter fraud to more important things such helping people set up underage prostitution rings, which brings me to #8.
Two words about #8 – Roman Polanski. Drugged and raped a 13 year old girl, yet there is a growing number of people who want him to be able to enter the US as a free man. Many of those same people are the stoners who want to legalize pot.
I thought my list made sense and progressed in an appropriate manner. YOUR list, however, (apples, pliers and mountain ranges) is a strooooong indication that you regularly “enjoy” the benefits of pot. Sure……it has no negative impact.
Caveman
October 8th, 2009
7:01 am
Ben – that makes as much sense as saying that if you allow parents to spank their children, you’ll have to decriminalize child molestation.
The few people that think marijuana should be kept illegal prove the old saying that “some people spend many sleepless night thinking that somewhere, somehow people are enjoying themselves in a way that they don’t approve of.”
BTW: unlike booze, coffee, and tobacco, pot CANNOT be physically addictive. It can only be psychologically addictive like the internet, or television, or comic books.
Public Option Heading South
October 8th, 2009
7:08 am
Anyone who has seen a relative or close friend hit rock bottom because of drug addictions knows why marijuana should be illegal. Marijuana is the port of entry for stronger highly addictive drugs like crack cocccain, opiates, meth etc. Alcohol, while a drug that can lead to self destructive consequences isn’t any where near as addictive for most people. Someone who purports to be a former LEO commented on here that drug users only hurt themselves, not so, many turn to crime in order to support their habit.
jt
October 8th, 2009
7:14 am
Remember this nanny-state pot fear mongers.
Because of the Federal governmet’s insane, ineffective and corrupt war on drugs,
it is easier for your kids to buy a few joints than a pack of cigarettes.
The money involved in trafficking and growing pot causes market satuation.
It is everywhere.
becky
October 8th, 2009
7:29 am
I agree that mj use should be decriminalized. People should be able to use it in the privacy of their home if they so desire. I think it is less detrimental to our society than alcohol, wonder what would happen if they made alchohol illegal again? Alcohol has destroyed many many families and it has done its share with me, too.
clyde
October 8th, 2009
7:31 am
Legalize marajuana and tax it heavily,a la cigarettes and alcohol.
Laverne
October 8th, 2009
7:37 am
Pot eases pain very efficiently for many chronic sufferers , including cancer and MS, and is non-narcotic. Ever seen an oxcontin addict nod off mid sentence ? Ever seen one die ? I have. Legalize pot.
neo-Carlinist
October 8th, 2009
7:42 am
you have to love a government that all but requires some citizens to use drugs as prescribed by healthcare professionals – the H1N1 vaccine comes to mind, but prohibits the recreational use of a naturally occurring substance (created by the very god who politicians cite for bestowing certain unaliable rights). my question to the politicians and the demagogues who continue to support the war on drugs; “why do you hate freedom”?
Bill Harris
October 8th, 2009
7:54 am
One need not travel to China to find indigenous cultures lacking human rights or to Cuba for political prisoners. America leads the world in percentile behind bars, thanks to ongoing persecution of hippies, radicals, and non-whites under prosecution of the war on drugs. If we’re all about spreading liberty abroad, then why mix the message at home? Peace on the home front would enhance global credibility.
The drug czar’s Rx for prison fodder costs dearly, as life is flushed down expensive tubes. My shaman’s second opinion is that psychoactive plants are God’s gift. Behold, it’s all good. Canadian Marc Emery sold seeds that enable American farmers to outcompete cartels with superior local herb. He’s being extradited to prison, for doing what government can’t do, reduce U.S. demand for Mexican.
Only on the authority of a clause about interstate commerce does the CSA (Controlled Substances Act of 1970) reincarnate Al Capone, endanger homeland security, and throw good money after bad. Administration fiscal policy burns tax dollars to root out the number-one cash crop in the land, instead of taxing sales. America rejected the plague of prohibition, but it mutated. Apparently, SWAT teams don’t need no stinking amendment. Father, forgive those who make it their business to know not what they do.
Nixon passed the CSA on the assurance that the Schafer Commission would justify criminalizing his enemies, but it didn’t. No amendments can assure due process under an anti-science law without due process itself. Psychology hailed the breakthrough potential of LSD, until the CSA shut down research and pronounced that marijuana has no medical use, period. Drug juries don’t seat bleeding hearts.
The RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993) allows Native American Church members to eat peyote, which functions like LSD. Americans shouldn’t need a specific church membership or an act of Congress to obtain their birthright freedom of religion. John Doe’s free exercise of religious liberty may include entheogen sacraments to mediate communion with his maker.
Freedom of speech presupposes freedom of thought. The Constitution doesn’t enumerate any governmental power to embargo diverse states of mind. How and when did government usurp this power to coerce conformity? The Mayflower sailed to escape coerced conformity. Legislators who would limit cognitive liberty lack jurisdiction.
Common-law must hold that adults are the legal owners of their own bodies. The Founding Fathers undersigned that the right to the pursuit of happiness is inalienable. Socrates said to know your self. Mortal lawmakers should not presume to thwart the intelligent design that molecular keys unlock spiritual doors. Persons who appreciate their own free choice of path in life should tolerate seekers’ self-exploration.
cas
October 8th, 2009
7:56 am
The revenue generated by states taxing and regulating marijuana and prostitution alone justifies the decision to legalize. The benefits of elimination of the illegal trade for both of these would be realized immediately as would the elimination of the cost of confinement for these victim-less crimes.Foreign words, I agree with Cynthia.
TnGelding
October 8th, 2009
7:57 am
joe matarotz
October 7th, 2009
9:01 pm
Yeah, it worked so well in your case. The illegality increases the appeal in our youth.
clyde
October 8th, 2009
7:31 am
Maybe taxes on cigs could then be reduced. It’s criminal the way those addicts are being taken advantage of. And nobody hates cigs more than I.
TnGelding
October 8th, 2009
8:01 am
cas
October 8th, 2009
7:56 am
The politicians want us to believe they’re protecting us from evil. You’d think the embarrassing incidents in their own families would be enough incentive. Legalize, tax, educate, rehab.
TnGelding
October 8th, 2009
8:02 am
bob
October 8th, 2009
8:00 am
At least the first thing they want to do is not to get behind the wheel of an automobile like alcoholics.
Jimmy62
October 8th, 2009
8:08 am
Anyone who says pot is worse than alcohol is simply wrong. Anyone who drinks beer and thinks pot should be illegal is a hypocrite. Anyone who drinks caffeinated coffee and thinks pot should be illegal is a hypocrite (check brain function studies, caffeine affects you as much or more than pot). Anyone sitting in jail for a non-violent marijuana related crime should be released. And anyone who thinks potheads are all lazy and never have “to-do” lists hasn’t met me.
I’ve got alcoholic relatives who are completely worthless. On the other hand, I smoke pot daily, and have an MBA and a very good job at which I excel. I will be glad to compete against ANYONE in a memory test. I’ll do it sober, and I’ll do it high. I’ll beat you in a math test, an essay writing contest, and even a weightlifting contest. I’ll do it after smoking so much pot you would be passed out, but I’ll still crush you in any contest of the mind. So don’t tell me how pot makes people lazy and stupid, because I know otherwise from experience.
Of course, just like any drug, caffeine including, pot can be abused. And smoking enough of it can cause cancer just like smoking cigarettes.
The problem with legalization is that the war on drugs is a jobs program. End it, and suddenly half our police will be twiddling their thumbs and have nothing to do. That’s a good thing, we already have too many police to meet what we need to stop violent crime, it’s just that now they spend their energy on non-violent drug crimes. Half the prison system will be empty, so a lot of guards will lose their jobs. And don’t forget all the lawyers that won’t have drug users to defend (or prosecute). And we all know what happens when politicians try to change something that would take away jobs from lawyers…. The politicians get offered money from the trial lawyers groups, and suddenly they no longer want to change things.
When I smoke pot, I hurt no one. Why is this illegal? It’s not a moral law, and it restricts my freedom to live my life as I choose. It also creates a lot of distrust between police and citizens, and is in large part responsible for the militarization of local police forces, a trend that is inherently disruptive to a peaceful society.
Aquagirl
October 8th, 2009
8:09 am
@ Public Option, if you’ve seen someone hit bottom from smoking pot, legal restrictions are clearly not working.
The only time pot increases crime is if you try and take a bag of Cheetoes from a stoner.
Grob Hahn
October 8th, 2009
8:09 am
Saying pot isn’t addictive ignores the nature of addiction. Addiction is a condition of the mind and doesn’t require a substance to be ingested at all. Gambling addicts aren’t smoking scratch-offs. Sex addicts aren’t mainlining Astroglide. Drugs are another aspect of addiction, but they don’t actually CAUSE addiction. Physical Dependence is NOT the same thing as addiction. So just because pot doesn’t cause any serious physical dependence, it may still be the drug an addict chooses to ease their condition. And yes, equating pot with crack or heroin only proves how naive some of us can be. Thinking laws will stop addiction is even MORE naive.
Grobbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
Litt
October 8th, 2009
8:44 am
I am a conservative and even I could support the legalization of marijuana with some provisions.
DWI arrest would carry a minimum 1 year in jail for 1st offense, no exceptions, you blow – you go. Subsequent DWIs would carry 2,5,10 year sentences.
Being high in public, same as being drunk in public, charged with public intoxication – off to the pokey with you.
You want to smoke week in your own house or live in you Mom’s basement for the rest of your life?
I don’t have a problem with that. Just don’t make your private peccadillos public and we can both get along just fine.
Okay, Bra?
Fred Evil
October 8th, 2009
8:45 am
Oh no! What about the greater threat cannabis posses to children? Poses a greater threat to children HOW? 26 MILLION Americans have used this stuff in the last year. It is present and prevalent in EVERY state in the union. How in the world would regulating, controlling, and demanding ID from those who would purchase it, just like alcohol, make it more dangerous to children?!
Are they saying with utmost confidence, that the Mexican Cartels have taken to checking the ID’s of their customers?
Foolishness. In a society as free as ours, it is utter futility to attempt to control a substance such as cannabis. The abject failure of alcohol’s Prohibition in the last century is a singular point of evidence that our FORTY YEAR ‘War on Drugs’ is following in its footsteps. Is there anyone who thinks the WoD is actually keeping ANYONE who wants to smoke from smoking? So what is the purpose of the $40 BILLION/year effort to control an uncontrollable substance? (how else would you describe a substance banned by law, but used by nearly 10% of the population in the last 12 months?)
Or is it controllable? Once we legalized, regulated, and TAXED alcohol again, the legends of moonshiners and rumrunners have faded. Yeah there are still those who brew there own, but it’s a niche market now, with beer brew kits available on the internet.
NO, drugs aren’t good for you, but Prohibition is WORSE. With 26 million users in this country, and only 3 million (already occupied) prison beds, what would we do with them all if we managed to ‘win’ the WoD tomorrow? And who wants to pay for their three hots and a cot? I don’t. They can work, they DO work, but they spend their lives with one eye over their shoulder.
The VAST majority of us are hard-working, tax-paying, home-owning, child-rearing American CITIZENS, who simply wish to relax with an alternate intoxicant to alcohol or cigarettes.
Alcohol KILLS 75,000 Americans/year, and addicts 15% of those who use.
Cigarettes KILL 450,000 Americans/year, and addict 30% of those who use.
Cannabis kills ZERO Americans/year (aside from drug raids/cartels and prison sentences), and can cause dependence in 10% of those who use.
So cannabis is non-lethal, AND less addictive, but its the one that’s illegal?
Nobody wants to get high and drive, or go to work (and if they do they should go to jail or be fired, just like anyone who drinks and does those things). We just want PARITY for a substance that is demonstrably less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes.
That stuff will kill you, ya know?
go to www.altshirt.com
October 8th, 2009
8:46 am
The Government will not make Pot Legal. They are making too much money by keeping illegal. Every user who is caught with POT in thier possession, will get arrested. That person then has to pay a bondsman to bail them out of jail, then they go to court where they will have to pay a fine (over a $1,000 for each offense), that person is then put on probation, where they have to pay the probation officer thier fees (on top of your fine), not to mention the 100’s of hours of community service that they have to perform. Now why would our government make pot legal when they have such a sweet deal for themselves by keeping it illegal?
Jimmy62
October 8th, 2009
8:50 am
And don’t forget civil forfeiture. The cops can arrest you for smoking a little pot, then they can steal all your money and tie it up for years, sometimes forever, just because they say it’s related to illegal drugs. Theft is theft, no matter if it’s a street thug or the local police.
ye ole hippy
October 8th, 2009
8:52 am
Keep your govt. hands off my medicare and my bong!
You Distort/We Deride
October 8th, 2009
8:56 am
I used to live in Holland, and once spoke with a shop owner whose establishment sold liquor on one side and weed on the other. In his over 20 years of ownership, he said that the local police would be called to the bar at least once a week, but he had never once had an issue that required police intervention in his coffee shop. My wife and I lived in a small village in Holland with our two young children and I can assure you, the fact that cannabis is legal there did not lead to an increase in crime or even contribute to a “slacker” environment. In truth, it is obvious to me that we have a much larger drug problem right here in Atlanta, where marijuana is illegal and everyone who smokes it – and don’t kid yourselves, folks…a LOT of people smoke it, including your doctor, your accountant and your lawyer – is a criminal in the eyes of the law. Decriminalize for God’s sake. Either that, or criminalize alcohol and cigarette usage as well. The former endangers our society much moreso than weed, and the latter leads to…well, death. You anti-weed proponents just need to turn the other cheek. This is America, dammit. As long as I don’t put you in peril with what I do behind closed doors, I deserve the freedom to act in any way I see fit.