Gallup: Majority of Americans back pot legalization

This is, I think, one of the more dramatic reversals of public opinion of the past 30 years.

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As Gallup notes, this is the first year in which a majority of Americans polled say they support legalization of marijuana, and the clear trend line suggests that majority is likely to grow. The realities of life offer further reason to think that trend will continue. Support for legalization is lowest among those 65 and older, and highest among those ages 18-29.

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Not surprisingly, Southern Republican conservatives older than 65 are least likely to support legalization. But even among that subgroup, it looks as though roughly a third or more think marijuana should be legal. That’s roughly the same level of support that existed in the nation as a whole just a decade ago.

I’m at a loss to explain that sudden shift in sentiment, because I have no idea what outside force might be driving it. It is, you might say, a homegrown movement.

– Jay Bookman

866 comments Add your comment

Jefferson

October 18th, 2011
12:48 pm

Carter stated the laws against weed caused more problems than smoking weed causes, so to speak.

uspo

October 18th, 2011
12:48 pm

Jay Bookman 2012; It’s High Time we legalize pot!

bwa

kayaker 71

October 18th, 2011
12:51 pm

Miss the days of growing your own Maui Wowie. Plants used to thrive in Hawaii and harvest time was a hoot.

uspo

October 18th, 2011
12:52 pm

Oh let’s face it: pot turns the smoker into a moron. What came first? The dope or the dope? It’s a chicken and egg thing.

Bosch

October 18th, 2011
12:53 pm

I am no Peep fan, but I do love this Peep photo montages (??sp) USinUK posts.

And geez pot being illegal is just as stupid as not being able to buy booze on Sundays. The arguments to keep both as is are completely without logic.

Mick

October 18th, 2011
12:53 pm

yaker

Who knew? That’s downright respectable :)

Bosch

October 18th, 2011
12:55 pm

kayaker was a pothead?? Well they do say it kills brain cells– I kid !!

:)

Mick

October 18th, 2011
12:56 pm

bosch

I think you got that bas ackwards – weed modifies brain cells, alcohol destroys them…

Go No Go

October 18th, 2011
12:57 pm

Just pulled a big one in honor of the poll. Oh, and I never exhaled. Mmmmm.

Bosch

October 18th, 2011
12:57 pm

And people who are against it have obviously never smoked it. I’d rather my kids smoke a joint than do tequila shots-ya’ know if they gotta chose to alter their minds.

Paul

October 18th, 2011
12:58 pm

Granny

Sounds like a guy telling his wife “that prostitute? Only thing I know is she’s on that streetcorner every day when I walk to my car from work….”

Bosch

October 18th, 2011
1:00 pm

Mick

Oh yeah true, I always preferred reefer to the drink- less headache, but damn it makes you thirsty!

AmVet

October 18th, 2011
1:00 pm

Don’t Tread, were your grandparents in Reefer Madness?

And Union! You used the T word!!!!

Watch out, they’re gonna throw you out of the GOP…

Go No Go

October 18th, 2011
1:04 pm

Funny how republicans and conservatives who claim to abhor government intervention are the ones most in favor of this government intervention.

BADA BING

October 18th, 2011
1:05 pm

Why stop at the US? Shouldn’t the World have access? Who is going to supply the poor people Cheetos? Do the masses in India have Grateful Dead albums available? Is there enough tie-dye to meet demand in the Sudan? Think people.

USinUK

October 18th, 2011
1:05 pm

oh, yeah! I loves me some WaPo Peep Show!!

:-)

[...] Support Legal Marijuana—Is the Drug War Almost Over?The AtlanticPatch.com -CBS News -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 491 news [...]

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:07 pm

I smoke pot, any reasonable amount should be legal, much safer to smoke pot than get drunk.

Bosch

October 18th, 2011
1:07 pm

USinUK

Just think how funny those pictures would be after a few tokes!!!!

Libertarian

October 18th, 2011
1:08 pm

If legalized, I don’t think we should decrease law enforcement. But hopefully they could focus more of their efforts on catching the violent criminals.

Go No Go

October 18th, 2011
1:09 pm

bada bing – you been smoking too much; way too much; pot is widely available and very tolerated in india; the sudanese, given their religion, wouldn’t be interested in it if given free.

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:09 pm

Here’s a good article for Democrats to read. See, if Democrats really had their way the US would be like Greece. A system that promotes laziness.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44944435

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:09 pm

Uh oh, Mike’s coming clean. :D

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:10 pm

Mike, FWIW, the Greek system is rife with tax cheats.

USinUK

October 18th, 2011
1:10 pm

Bosch – I hate to be the downer here, but I never liked the stuff. Tried it a couple of times and really enjoyed myself for about 5 minutes before I would crash out and nap.

Now, the interesting thing is that I knew people who had ADD and smoked pot so that it would help them focus.

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:10 pm

The only conservatives against legalization are the old people. 50 and up. Younger conservatives smoke plenty.

Jerome Horwitz

October 18th, 2011
1:10 pm

DARE – drugs are real expensive. It’s about time for pot legalization. Would that make my 1979 conviction for holding a joint expunged?

Matti's Encouragement

October 18th, 2011
1:11 pm

The decriminalization of weed might well be what brings us together as a people! Think about it. I disagree with Mr. Woodstock Mike most of the time, but if we could agree on that (and sit around in a discussion circle) then maybe we could learn to get along and solve our problems for a change, instead of the constant bickering. Maybe? Sharing deep thoughts and a pizza would have to be more effective than vilifying each other on a blog, right?

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:12 pm

“Mike, FWIW, the Greek system is rife with tax cheats”

My point is Greece is a clear example of the dangers of national deficits. Everything is cool when the money is pouring in but when you slow growth as we do now it can become a major issue. Seems like liberals don’t think Greece is actually happenning??

Mick

October 18th, 2011
1:12 pm

Maybe one of these strugglin candidates should throw caution to the wind and run under the weed banner. Not only will you snag crossovers but you might even be able to reel in those pesky independents…

USinUK

October 18th, 2011
1:12 pm

“if Democrats really had their way”

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, someone needs to pass the joint to mike …

mm

October 18th, 2011
1:13 pm

Pot only helps the cops with their arrest quotas, not to mention the jerk judges sending people to “for profit” prisons.

Granny Godzilla

October 18th, 2011
1:13 pm

Boy, we need to have our bloggers meet up at Woodstock Mikes.

I’ll bring the cupcakes and a DVD of Fantasia.

Jefferson

October 18th, 2011
1:13 pm

The GOP ran up the deficit, the current admin just didn’t stop the spending.

USinUK

October 18th, 2011
1:14 pm

“Everything is cool when the money is pouring in but when you slow growth as we do now it can become a major issue. Seems like liberals don’t think Greece is actually happenning??”

ohfercryingoutloud – the reason growth is slowing is government cut-backs … that’s a lesson that the GOP needs to learn, not the Dems

oy.

stands for decibels

October 18th, 2011
1:14 pm

BADA BING

October 18th, 2011
1:14 pm

If pot is legalized, you will be giving 7-11s too much control over our lives. They have already cornered the Slurpee, 4 Loco, Red Bull, rolling paper, and p*n*s enlargement pill market. Hell, I can hardly see the counter now, when I buy my Lotto tickets.

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:14 pm

Mike — “My point is Greece is a clear example of the dangers of national deficits.”

You’ve seen my idea for holding down government spending and accelerating the retirement of our national debt. Do you think that’s the nugget of a good idea?

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:14 pm

I know what will bring liberals and conservative together!!

Lots of weed smoking.

USinUK

October 18th, 2011
1:15 pm

GG – I don’t think I’d want to see Night on Bald Mountain in an “alternative frame of mind”

The Wall was weird enough, thank you

Mick

October 18th, 2011
1:16 pm

woodstock

Take a few tokes then ponder, we are not like greece. That is your mantra because we have our own currency, a very popular currency, therefore, we are not like greece….

USinUK

October 18th, 2011
1:17 pm

Mick – and don’t forget, the US has a FAR more diverse economy – we’re more than just tourism

Jm

October 18th, 2011
1:17 pm

What will Obama do with all his free time in 2012?

What do you think his charity work will include?

Granny Godzilla

October 18th, 2011
1:19 pm

USinUK

but the dancing mops and buckets are waaaay cool

Guy Incognito

October 18th, 2011
1:19 pm

Matti’s Encouragement

October 18th, 2011
1:11 pm
The decriminalization of weed might well be what brings us together as a people! Think about it. I disagree with Mr. Woodstock Mike most of the time, but if we could agree on that (and sit around in a discussion circle) then maybe we could learn to get along and solve our problems for a change, instead of the constant bickering. Maybe? Sharing deep thoughts and a pizza would have to be more effective than vilifying each other on a blog, right?

I’m sooooo there, and I’ll bring a fat sack:-)

Super Silver Haze

October 18th, 2011
1:19 pm

take a hit of that and get back to me why you want to keep it illegal.

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:20 pm

Mick — “we have our own currency, a very popular currency, therefore, we are not like greece….”

The Euro isn’t popular?

stands for decibels

October 18th, 2011
1:20 pm

the reason growth is slowing is government cut-backs

Austerity is stupid. Pass it on.

Mick

October 18th, 2011
1:20 pm

usinuk

Yes, not to mention agriculture and on and on, but hey this grease business gets to be a pretty slippery slope for far too many…

Mick

October 18th, 2011
1:22 pm

joe

Can greece manipulate the euro? Can the US print more dollars? One of the advantages of having your own currency…

Normal

October 18th, 2011
1:22 pm

Jm

October 18th, 2011
1:23 pm

Nice column by David Brooks today

Guy Incognito

October 18th, 2011
1:24 pm

Jack

October 18th, 2011
1:25 pm

I suppose Bookman would have us release all those in prison for pot use and pot distribution. Why not? It makes as much sense as legalizing pot.

Jm

October 18th, 2011
1:26 pm

Mick 1:22

Your flippant consideration of money printing reveals a high level of ignorance

Seriously

Bruno

October 18th, 2011
1:26 pm

Jay–I challenged you yesterday to lay off the Republican ridicule for a minute and put some solutions to our problems out there. Good job in that regard. A substantial part of our budget crisis could be solved by legalizing and taxing both marijuana and online poker.

The problem with Cain is that he clearly had no definition at all in mind. Under his personal internal dictionary, there was only a blank space next to the word “neoconservative.” And again, that should not be true of anyone with ambitions of being leader of the free world.

I did humor you and watch the Herman Cain clip provided and strongly disagree with your characterization that Herman Cain was “befuddled” by David Gregory’s question. Herman simply didn’t allow Gregory to force him into adopting a label which had no meaning to him. In your mind, that provided the “gotcha” moment you so long for, but for me it had the opposite effect. I now have more respect for Cain for holding his ground and asking for a clarification. When Gregory was unable to provide one, Cain had no further obligation to answer the question in the context in which it was asked. In fact, Herman did attempt to answer the question by tossing out the label which he identifies with: a conservative. Sorry that wasn’t good enough for you, but it doesn’t disqualify him as a candidate.

I still hope that you and your crew here reevaluate the proper place for ridicule as part of general discussion. Obviously some people deserve ridicule, but when it becomes part of nearly every statement, it only makes the speaker look bad in my opinion. (You listening, USinUK?) We’ve got some serious problems facing our country, and your attempts to marginalize nearly half of the population through ridicule and constant disrespect isn’t solving any of those problems. Ditto for the insulting “cons” here. Let’s grow up and try to work together for a while.

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:28 pm

G. Incognito — “I’ll bring a fat sack”

Dood, nobody cares about the size of your junk. :D

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:28 pm

“You’ve seen my idea for holding down government spending and accelerating the retirement of our national debt. Do you think that’s the nugget of a good idea?”

I would say that it’s very clear when you have so many government programs and agencies that must be paid for it creates a major problem if recession occurs as it has across the world. Of course certain agencies are vital but I think you would agree there are many that aren’t vital at all. Greece makes it very clear to what can happen when you’re on an unsustainable path. Look at how the other countries are turning their backs on them to save themselves. This also promotes a society to blame the government for all their problems as we are starting to see in the US, especially from the left.

Jm

October 18th, 2011
1:28 pm

Is anyone still in woodruff?

I can’t find any news on it.

Apparently no one cares.

Just curious myself

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:28 pm

Mick — OIC

WOODSTOCK MIKE

October 18th, 2011
1:29 pm

My father makes a great point, once you create a government agency, it’s very difficult to ever get rid of it.

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:30 pm

Mike @ 1:28 — That’s kind of a non-answer. Would you like for me to restate my idea?

MightyRighty

October 18th, 2011
1:32 pm

I favor legalization of Marijuana so long as it is controlled the same as alcohol. Funny how the “liberal” East has the lowest approval percentage.

Jm

October 18th, 2011
1:33 pm

Mick you’re in over your head

Stop digging

Jay

October 18th, 2011
1:33 pm

I was just down there, jm. Maybe 70 tents there, still a thriving scene.

Mick

October 18th, 2011
1:36 pm

jm

How’s about if I flippant you off? Just making a point, not acting on it….chill

Joe the Plutocrat, paleo-neo-Carlinst and Hall Monitor

October 18th, 2011
1:36 pm

Bruno, are you familiar with military radio-speak? Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot? when did you become the referee in terms of when ridicule is appropriate, and when it “makes the speaker look bad”? and spare us the “in my opinion” disclaimer; ALL BLOG POSTS ORIGINATE FROM ONE’S OPINION. so here’s a memo; ANYTIME Herman Cain opens his mouth, he is worthy of ridicule.

willydoit?

October 18th, 2011
1:36 pm

Jay, I think you’ve finally hit on a subject that most everyone that reads your columns can agree on…legalize it!!

Thomas

October 18th, 2011
1:36 pm

Absolutely- when I got so tired of morphine during cancer the alternative was another opiate- percocet. What I and others gravely needed was marijuana- pain killer, easy on the stomach, natural, and non addictve.

Rogue!

October 18th, 2011
1:37 pm

legalize so I can get some higher quality stuff. My girlfriend smokes all my good weed when I’m not around.

WhoCares

October 18th, 2011
1:37 pm

The Billion Dollar Crop and it’s history……

“Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.” – Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)

“Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country.”
- Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President

“Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.”
- George Washington, U.S. President

“We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption.”
- John Adams, U.S. President

“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this.” – Albert Einstein quote on Hemp

“An entire family was murdered by a youthful addict in Florida. When officers arrived at the home, they found the youth staggering about in a human slaughterhouse. With an axe he had killed his father, mother, two brothers, and a sister. He seemed to be in a daze… He had no recollection of having committed the multiple crime. The officers knew him ordinarily as a sane, rather quiet young man; now he was pitifully crazed. They sought the reason. The boy said that he had been in the habit of smoking something which youthful friends called “muggles,” a childish name for marijuana.” William R Hearst.

“By the tons it is coming into this country, the deadly, dreadful poison that racks and tears not only the body, but the very heart and soul of every human being who once becomes a slave to it in any of its cruel and devastating forms…. Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters. Hasheesh makes a murderer who kills for the love of killing out of the mildest mannered man who ever laughed at the idea that any habit could ever get him….” William R Hearst

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” Harry Anslinger FBN

“Colored students at the Univ. of Minn. partying with (white) female students, smoking [marijuana] and getting their sympathy with stories of racial persecution. Result: pregnancy” Harry Anslinger FBN

“Two Negros took a girl fourteen years old and kept her for two days under the influence of hemp. Upon recovery she was found to be suffering from syphilis.” Harry Anslinger FBN

Inadvertently, Popular Mechanics Feb 1938 “The New Billion Dollar Crop” tells a different yet familiar story, a story where “timber for paper” would be eliminated over night:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/history/newbilln.htm

vinny

October 18th, 2011
1:38 pm

As soon as it becomes legal, the libs will be demanding free pot at taxpayer expense as a “right”

Matthew

October 18th, 2011
1:40 pm

“I was just down there, jm. Maybe 70 tents there, still a thriving scene.”

Yeah, they’re thriving all right – They are stealing from other Occutards. Isn’t that ironic? A bunch of moochers that want a free lunch stealing from each other. Gotta love it.

willydoit?

October 18th, 2011
1:40 pm

Hey Rogue!
You might want to put that special app on her IPhone…I think she is smoking it with your best friend!!!

Mick

October 18th, 2011
1:40 pm

vinny

Nah, they’ll be able to grow for free; yours and mines favorite price…

USMC

October 18th, 2011
1:42 pm

“As soon as it becomes legal, the libs will be demanding free pot at taxpayer expense as a “right””

LOL! I think Jessie Jackson JUNIOR has already added that RIGHT to his new “Social Justice” constitution that he has created to replace our original copy. :-)

TBone

October 18th, 2011
1:42 pm

Not that one can believe any poll nowadays. Let me preface that I don’t smoke the weed no more but alot of folks do I guess so why not let those folks grow a few plants so the Mexican drug cartel can go to hell. People think this is a victimless crime and nobody gets hurt; BS go down to the border and look at the slaughter taking place over the drug money.

Bosch

October 18th, 2011
1:43 pm

“Now, the interesting thing is that I knew people who had ADD and smoked pot so that it would help them focus.”

USinUK, let me introduce you to Bosch, Bosch, USinUK. :)

Butch Cassidy

October 18th, 2011
1:43 pm

So we’re all in consensus, the candidate that promises the legalization of Weed will be the next POTUS. I like it! :)

stands for decibels

October 18th, 2011
1:46 pm

Nice column by David Brooks today

ok, odds that it’s gonna suck elephant dingle berries?

where’s that infinity sign when I need it…

Jm

October 18th, 2011
1:47 pm

Jay 1:35

Good for them. Glad they’re staying civil but the mayor is going to have real problems in the future because of this. Will they be paying the city re-sodding costs? :)

I’m glad I don’t still live in the muses lofts. I’d be tempted to poop on a tent.

getalife

October 18th, 2011
1:48 pm

We get a SS increase so I can buy some weed :)

stands for decibels

October 18th, 2011
1:48 pm

Misty Fyed

October 18th, 2011
1:50 pm

Hey Great. I think Obama should make that part of his platform for 2012.

Liberal Parrot

October 18th, 2011
1:50 pm

“How’s about if I flippant you off?”

You know you’ve lost an argument when….

Lame…..

Live Free or Die

October 18th, 2011
1:51 pm

Ron Paul is the only candidate who supports pot being legal.

Take our country back from the unconstitutional idiots,

Matti's Encouragement

October 18th, 2011
1:52 pm

Bruno: “A substantial part of our budget crisis could be solved by legalizing and taxing both marijuana and online poker.”

BartCop echoes these sentiments almost daily. I dare you to visit his page for two weeks. As for the new-found abhorrence for ridicule… Dude… It’s time to twist one and chill, doncha think? There are at least a dozen regulars here who remember how well you’ve dished it in the past. You sound like somebody who smoked a pack a day for 20 years, quit last month, and now lectures every smoker you see. (UGH!) More example; less judgement, please!

HDB

October 18th, 2011
1:52 pm

TBone
October 18th, 2011
1:42 pm

The reason FOR the violence at the border is the ILLEGALITY of drugs in the nation, the appetite for them…and the PROFIT! Take away the illegal nature of the drug trade, those cartels could be effectively monitored, the profit motive still in place…and a decrease in violence!!

Legalization should’ve taken place YEARS ago!!

getalife

October 18th, 2011
1:52 pm

Legalize it to calm the masses.

Also, legalize Cuban cigars and I want to shop for weed, liquor and cigars at one place.

It will boost the local economies.

stands for decibels

October 18th, 2011
1:54 pm

Ok, I read Brooks’ column (if by “column,” you mean, “bland faux intellectual insights masking a deep desire by a rich nerd to be accepted by the cool kids” — h/t Rude Pundit).

It contains this Freedom Nugget:

Quietly but decisively, Americans are trying to restore the moral norms that undergird our economic system.

then he goes on to state:

America went through a similar values restoration in the 1820s.

David’s sense of fashion was around in the 1820s, so I guess he knows whereof he speaketh.

Vincent Von Dudler

October 18th, 2011
1:54 pm

This two part plan is the only action the citizens of the US need to take to end federal marijuana prohibition
1) EVERYONE that sees these links sign up at both sites and weigh in on the debate
- pvox.co/CdiFqY
- wh.gov/gDQ
2) Propagate those two links and ensure that everyone that sees them go to both those sites.

Too many people are blaming the President for enforcing the federal marijuana prohibition. Contact Congress (the LEGISLATIVE branch [that's the important one when it comes to law]) via the first link. Contact Obama (the EXECUTIVE branch [until Obama vetos a passed H.R. 2306 it's on Congress - but tell Obama anyway]) via the second link. It really is THAT easy. Participate in democracy!

jconservative

October 18th, 2011
1:54 pm

The surprising number in the poll for me was Independents supporting legalization by 57%.

If this is the same “Independents” who usually decide presidential elections the Republicans may want to be real thoughtful, as opposed to knee jerk, about who they nominate.

Joe Mama

October 18th, 2011
1:55 pm

Matti — “There are at least a dozen regulars here who remember how well you’ve dished it in the past.”

Indeed. I’ve only spoken with you twice before, but your intemperate and condescending behavior on our first meeting left quite a bad taste in my mouth, Bruno.

Maybe you’d consider setting the example before declaiming so emphatically on the topic of others’ behavior.

Ron Paul 2012

October 18th, 2011
2:00 pm

`
Ron Paul agrees with the majority of Americans that pot should be legal.

Thomas

October 18th, 2011
2:01 pm

But in keeping with my neocon thoughts and tendencies marijuana may also solve the defective gene issue that causes folks to be gay as well as reduce the negative impact blacks face by having that extra calf muscle that Jimmy the Greek pointed out.

Logical Dude

October 18th, 2011
2:02 pm

A few reasons:
1) similar to alcohol, which is legal, and prohibition was attempted and was an utter failure. Lesson is slow to be learned for other drugs. (which should still be legal, but much more limited)
2) War on drugs is a failure. Tossing people in jail for just wanting to get buzzed is downright stupid. The last three presidents have said to have participated in the use of marijuana.
3) It DOES have medicinal qualities that do work. It appeases nausea in cancer patients (who undergo chemotherapy) to allow them to eat. Regular drugs that do this have many more side effects than marijuana.

Just #3 does it for me (and those who I know who had cancer).

Dude, just legalize it already.

Jm

October 18th, 2011
2:02 pm

Jay. I assume you talked to them when you went down there.

Care to describe it?

A motley crew with no unifying theme?

Just a bunch of disaffected unemployed youth?

People who just think wall street got bailed out and they got screwed?

None of the above?

FrankLeeDarling

October 18th, 2011
2:03 pm

GOP candidate Gary Johnson supports legalization

USMC

October 18th, 2011
2:04 pm

“But in keeping with my neocon thoughts and tendencies marijuana may also solve the defective gene issue that causes folks to be gay as well as reduce the negative impact blacks face by having that extra calf muscle that Jimmy the Greek pointed out.”—Thomas

LOL! Thomas, was just uncalled for! :-)

Guy Incognito

October 18th, 2011
2:04 pm

Joe Mammy,

And thanks to a green thumb, that sack is bottomless too

Think of the tax $$$$$ saved in not arresting some 17 year old kid for a joint. Or in the case of a number of professionals that I know with slight hick-ups on their records, there would no longer be a fear from job applications