Legalize it!

[Katzndogz]

A realistic approach to drug use is to provide the users with all the drugs they want, free, and encourage them to overdose.

In the case of pot, until they have a stroke or a heart attack. Just as good.

 

[MikeK]

And increasing the use of it. Not only by the user but by our own kids. Being easier to get it will increase crime.

Marijuana was decrimalized throughout the 1970s in New York City, meaning the laws remained on the books but except for sale to minors, public use, and possession or sale in excess of two ounces, enforcement was suspended.

Back then head shops were commonplace. E.J. Korvette and Sears sold rolling papers, pipes, bongs and screens in their smoke-shop departments. People grew marijuana in their back yards. My neighbor grew it, along with tomatoes, on the rooftop of his Brooklyn brownstone.

Back then the price of an ounce of ordinary weed was anywhere from $20 to $40, while the going rate for an ounce of the finest Indica Sinsemilla was around $75. Today the rates for the same things are around $250 to $1,000 -- and the bootlegger syndicates are flourishing.

The most significant points of mention are the crime rate was much lower back then and there were absolutely no negative consequences from the relaxed atmosphere. By the mid-1970s, marijuana had become no big deal in New York City. It was just something one either did or didn't do. Like patronizing McDonalds.

As an interesting point of mention, New York City's Mayor Bloomberg has announced that arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana will soon be suspended. It appears he is reflecting on the success of the seventies and is taking a step in the same direction, for which he deserves credit. If other cities and states follow suit and gradually decriminalize their marijuana laws it will pave the way to full legalization -- provided we are not imposed upon by another posturing, corporatist nitwit like Ronald Reagan.

 

[GuyPinestra]

Government - "Hey mister dope seller. We have just made marijuana a legal substance. We are now going to require you to give us 30% of your profits and fill out a ton of paper work that will be a complete pain in the ass. You will also be subject to commerce and trade laws and any other regulations with your product we see fit."

Dope seller - "Yeah right!, I will continue to take my chances and sell illegally."


The idea that any significant amount of tax revenue would be inccurred is absurd. Not to mention that the bureaucratic apparatus put in place for such activity would soon require even more funding, without realizing any spending cuts in law inforcement of continued illegal drug selling.

You should know beverage alcohol once was Prohibited, during which time a number of criminal syndicates engaged in bootlegging illegally manufactured booze. Then alcohol Prohibition ended and now you can buy all the certified clean and accurately measured booze you want in any of many thousands of liquor stores -- and the liquor industry is quite profitable in spite of considerable tax revenue paid to the government and individual states.

So is there any need for illegal liquor sellers?

There's still a few moonshiners around, but not any Al Capones...

 

[Katzndogz]

Because of the increase in crime since Colorado legalized pot, Denver is considering whether to opt out of legalization.

Denver Considers Whether To Opt In Or Out Of Amendment 64 « CBS Denver

White said the city has seen an increase in crime like burglaries since the introduction of medical marijuana.

Letting cities decide whether to permit legalization is necessary. In California cities can opt out of permitting medical marijuana. Some cities that started out permitting clinics later recognized the rise in criminal activity and closed the clinics. Torrance and Lake Forest both come to mind as communities that first embraced, then prohibited pot sales. Pot users can still get their fix, they just have to go elsewhere to buy it. The outlets are slowly being crowded into very dangerous high crime areas. Which is as it should be. It is a reasonable compromise.

 

[Dubya]

Because of the increase in crime since Colorado legalized pot, Denver is considering whether to opt out of legalization.

Denver Considers Whether To Opt In Or Out Of Amendment 64 « CBS Denver

White said the city has seen an increase in crime like burglaries since the introduction of medical marijuana.

Letting cities decide whether to permit legalization is necessary. In California cities can opt out of permitting medical marijuana. Some cities that started out permitting clinics later recognized the rise in criminal activity and closed the clinics. Torrance and Lake Forest both come to mind as communities that first embraced, then prohibited pot sales. Pot users can still get their fix, they just have to go elsewhere to buy it. The outlets are slowly being crowded into very dangerous high crime areas. Which is as it should be. It is a reasonable compromise.

Those problems still involve pot being illegal. How many pounds of pot can a person harvest in an hour? Why would it cause burglaries to make pot worth what it's worth and that's much less than tobacco without the tax. The key to legalizing pot is to make it as cheap as possible. Let them grow their own at minimal cost and effort!

 

[MikeK]

And while their growing their own...we better start building more hospitals and clinics for the after effects. Hurray....more taxes.

What "after effects?" Please be specific.

 

[MikeK]

i can't say anything about washington but in colorado so far legalized pot is not working out very well. Car accidents have spiked as have accidental poisonings. Accidental pet poisonings took an unbelievable jump.

If legal drugs keep libs in the gutter and creates a drug war it will be worth it.

total nonsense

I just put that katzndogsz fool on Ignore. He's a a waste of time and space.

 

[MikeK]

You pot heads are amazing. They see cigarette smoking practically illegal and you want to make a buck by introducing school kids to a drug that is probably ten times worse than cigarettes.

I know facts won't affect your Reefer Madness orientation, but for the benefit of any reasoning mind that might be affected by what you've said here: do you know how many Americans die or are made seriously sick every year from smoking cigarettes? Google the answer, which is in the thousands. Then Google the answer to how many Americans die or are made sick from using marijuana. It's zero. None. In spite of the fact that the DEA estimates 40 million Americans use marijuana every year, and that rising number has been going on forever, there isn't a single example of anyone dying or being made seriously sick from it. Again -- none! Google it if you don't believe it.

Marijuana isn't a medicine anymore than heroin is and who says it's less dangerous than alcohol?

Who says? Dr. Lester Grinspoon, MD/Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatric Medicine, Harvard Medical School, says so in his book, Marijuana, The Forbidden Medicine.

But I know you won't bother to read the book because that is not the way you learn things. And even if you did read Dr. Grinspoon's book you would still insist he's wrong and you're right. But the book is available from Amazon for anyone with the intelligence and will to learn the truth about marijuana.

The pot heads? The dirty little secret is that any pot head can get a couple of seeds and grow a marijuana bush and smoke the crap until his brains come out his ears but in their warped minds they see themselves in business selling the junk when most of them can't even keep a job.

That mean, obnoxious little diatribe really isn't worth responding to.

 

[Jarlaxle]

A realistic approach to drug use is to provide the users with all the drugs they want, free, and encourage them to overdose.

In the case of pot, until they have a stroke or a heart attack. Just as good.

Nobody in the history of the human race has overdosed on pot. It has no known lethal dose.

Are you on drugs you shouldn't be taking or are you OFF drugs you SHOULD be taking?

 

[NoTeaPartyPleez]

I'm completely pro-legalization of marijuana. The gov. could step in and sell pot making huge amounts of rev. in taxes, which can help pay off our debt. We'll also save millions by not having to fight the drug dealers and lock up men and women who sell the drug. Pot is medically useful and much less dangerous than alcohol.

Why haven't we legalized this drug yet?

We already have some legal drugs that people can't deal with responsibly. Don't you think that's enough?

We don't need big government in our bedrooms and bathroom cabinets.

 

[MikeK]

Pot doesn't really do it for me. I've tried it enough to know for sure.
That being said, I see absolutely no reason why it should be illegal, and quite a few reasons to legalize and regulate it.

Now that is a surprisingly objective and intelligently honest comment!

Thank you for raising the important but seldom mentioned issue that marijuana does not affect everyone in the same way. For the vast majority of users it is nothing more than a euphoric tranquilizer. But the neurochemistry of a small percentage of those who try it is such that it either has very little effect, or it has no effect at all, or in some cases it has a negative effect (paranoia, disorientation, or confusion). But there is no record of anyone ever suffering seriously negative effects from it -- except for that ignorant cop and his wife who tried baking pot brownies using several ounces of raw marijuana leaf, including ground up twigs and seeds. And even in their case the most serious effect they suffered was intestinal blockage and extreme disorientation, which wore off in a few hours.

 

[auditor0007]

I'm completely pro-legalization of marijuana. The gov. could step in and sell pot making huge amounts of rev. in taxes, which can help pay off our debt. We'll also save millions by not having to fight the drug dealers and lock up men and women who sell the drug. Pot is medically useful and much less dangerous than alcohol.

Why haven't we legalized this drug yet?

Because we're stupid. Seriously.

 

[MikeK]

Denver is considering whether to opt out of legal pot. They weren't expecting the increase in crime.

Denver Considers Whether To Opt In Or Out Of Amendment 64 « CBS Denver

Seems to be an opinion of the local sheriff and as if he is speculating.

What year was medical marijuana made legal in Denver do you know?

When marijuana was decriminalized in New York City (in the 1970s) and was far more available than Denver's medical provision allows, the crime rate decreased. In the 1980s, after Ronald Reagan's escalation of Nixon's War On Drugs, including marijuana, the crime rate rose sharply.

Burglary, which is the crime the Denver police chief said has risen, is typically attributed to heroin addicts, not marijuana users. So Chief White is either looking in the wrong direction because he doesn't know better, or he has some personal issue with the medical marijuana program in his city.

 

[Papageorgio]

Denver is considering whether to opt out of legal pot. They weren't expecting the increase in crime.

Denver Considers Whether To Opt In Or Out Of Amendment 64 « CBS Denver

Seems to be an opinion of the local sheriff and as if he is speculating.

What year was medical marijuana made legal in Denver do you know?

When marijuana was decriminalized in New York City (in the 1970s) and was far more available than Denver's medical provision allows, the crime rate decreased. In the 1980s, after Ronald Reagan's escalation of Nixon's War On Drugs, including marijuana, the crime rate rose sharply.

Burglary, which is the crime the Denver police chief said has risen, is typically attributed to heroin addicts, not marijuana users. So Chief White is either looking in the wrong direction because he doesn't know better, or he has some personal issue with the medical marijuana program in his city.

So if a person is of a different opinion as yours, they have the problem. Interesting take.

 

[Dubya]

Seems to be an opinion of the local sheriff and as if he is speculating.

What year was medical marijuana made legal in Denver do you know?

When marijuana was decriminalized in New York City (in the 1970s) and was far more available than Denver's medical provision allows, the crime rate decreased. In the 1980s, after Ronald Reagan's escalation of Nixon's War On Drugs, including marijuana, the crime rate rose sharply.

Burglary, which is the crime the Denver police chief said has risen, is typically attributed to heroin addicts, not marijuana users. So Chief White is either looking in the wrong direction because he doesn't know better, or he has some personal issue with the medical marijuana program in his city.

So if a person is of a different opinion as yours, they have the problem. Interesting take.

The notion of taxing pot and creating these medical marijuana stores is stupid. An ounce of pot is worth around two bucks, so make it so it will cost around two bucks and everything will work out fine. If the person has a yard, they can grow their own without much trouble. Once they mix up some good soil, seeds and fertilizer is all they need.

 

[Papageorgio]

When marijuana was decriminalized in New York City (in the 1970s) and was far more available than Denver's medical provision allows, the crime rate decreased. In the 1980s, after Ronald Reagan's escalation of Nixon's War On Drugs, including marijuana, the crime rate rose sharply.

Burglary, which is the crime the Denver police chief said has risen, is typically attributed to heroin addicts, not marijuana users. So Chief White is either looking in the wrong direction because he doesn't know better, or he has some personal issue with the medical marijuana program in his city.

So if a person is of a different opinion as yours, they have the problem. Interesting take.

The notion of taxing pot and creating these medical marijuana stores is stupid. An ounce of pot is worth around two bucks, so make it so it will cost around two bucks and everything will work out fine. If the person has a yard, they can grow their own without much trouble. Once they mix up some good soil, seeds and fertilizer is all they need.

Sort of like taxing cigs? A pack of cigs is, mostly tax. If you are stupid enough to inhale smoke into your body, then the government should tax your stupidity.

 

[Katzndogz]

The government is talking about taxing pot at $50.00 an ounce. Then whatever state sales taxes on top of that.

That will last until the cartels lower the price of their pot by selling it untaxed.

 

[BlindBoo]

The government is talking about taxing pot at $50.00 an ounce. Then whatever state sales taxes on top of that.

That will last until the cartels lower the price of their pot by selling it untaxed.

Yeah for the coming price war.

HIGHTIMES.COM | Pot Prices - December 2012 THMQ

 

[Katzndogz]

The government is talking about taxing pot at $50.00 an ounce. Then whatever state sales taxes on top of that.

That will last until the cartels lower the price of their pot by selling it untaxed.

Yeah for the coming price war.

HIGHTIMES.COM | Pot Prices - December 2012 THMQ

Price war! How very "American".

The best thing to happen to the legalization of pot would be a war between the cartels and domestic outlets including customers!

 

[BlindBoo]

The government is talking about taxing pot at $50.00 an ounce. Then whatever state sales taxes on top of that.

That will last until the cartels lower the price of their pot by selling it untaxed.

Yeah for the coming price war.

HIGHTIMES.COM | Pot Prices - December 2012 THMQ

Price war! How very "American".

The best thing to happen to the legalization of pot would be a war between the cartels and domestic outlets including customers!

Yes, I'm well aware of your postition that you'd like to see anyone and everyone who smokes weed murdered.

Turkey executed tobacco smokers too.

Fascist are amazingly self righteous.