How do you feel about Legalized Marijuana?

[WickerMan]

I went to a 2 day conference this weekend in Ft. Worth for the Texas Region NORML group. NORML stands for National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Although I don't smoke Marijuana myself, I found the topic very enlightening and informative.

Did you know Texas spends more to imprison a marijuana possessor per year than it spends to educate a child per year? With 2,200 people lock up in Texas (about 90% for possession only) that amounts to 77 million a year alone that could be used for more important things like roads or schools. A drug dealer does not card children. Millions of revenue is lost by states that do nothing about the black market use. Colorado expects about 65 million in their first year of legalization.

Texas has a terrible crime-solving rate, 5% of vehicle thefts result in an arrest and conviction, 11% for burglary, 35% for rape, 65% for murder. If we eliminated marijuana as a crime, the police would have more time to focus on violent crime. And insurance rates wouldn't be so high.

Tarrant county plea bargains 95% of cases because the system is so overcrowded. One studied court had 500 new cases per month with 20% being for marijuana. The US has spent over 1.5 trillion dollars on the war on drugs in the last 40 years. About 60,000 Mexicans have been killed in the last 10 years. The cartels receive millions a year in US dollars leaving the country, most never returning.

The US government classifies Marijuana as a schedule 1 drug with no supposed medical value, along with Crack cocaine, Heroine and Meth. 18 states and D.C. have medical marijuana laws, and the Government holds almost all patents for marijuana as a medicine. You can lose your children. One child they featured name Cash Hyde, was 2 and had a brain tumor. After unsuccessful chemo-therapy they sent him home to die. His desperate parents turned to marijuana oil to help, he was in Montana a medical marijuana state. The oil helped and he went into remission. Then his parents oil provider got arrested for having too many plants, no more oil and the cancer returned. The family moved to California to have better access to the oil, the cancer went back into remission. The family fell on hard times, plus it's very expensive to supply the kind of doses they were giving, and they had to lower or sometimes go without, and the cancer returned. Cash died at the end of 2012, he was 4 years old.
You can lose your children in other ways. One featured person was turned in to the police by the mother of his child who wanted custody. They used to smoke together and she sold him marijuana. He had a college degree, she didn't finish high school. He lived in a paid off house, she lived in a trailer. He had one child, she had 4 by 4 different fathers, the oldest a runaway and dropout from alterative school for theft. He had been on his job for 11 years, she hadn't worked at all in the last 10 years. He got the child 6 years before when the mother abandoned her husband and other children with a Meth dealer. The child was an AB student in a top charter school, and she was sent to a title 11 low performing school in a rural county. Marijuana seemed to negate all the good things he had done and negate all the bad things she had done.

400,000 plus people die from tabacco use each year, Alcohol is toxic and will kill you if you consume too much. Marijuana is non-toxic you can't overdose, it has no withdrawal, and has very low addition rates. It doesn't cause lung cancer, the tar it produces is not nearly as negative. It has never caused a death. Prescription drugs kill thousands a year. Alcohol is removed from your system as quickly as possible because it is a poison. Your body stores marijuana in your fat cells to hold onto it for as long as possible.

Hemp is also illegal, and it doesn't get you high. The US is the only country in the modern world that does not cultivate hemp. George Washington did, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamine Franklin did also, but they will send you to prison. It's a more efficient used as paper than trees, it grows faster than corn and doesn't deplete the soil so you can grow it year after year with out resting the soil. it's stronger than cotton and makes more durable clothes. You can make fuel from it and it's non-corrosive unlike ethanol. It can be used to make concrete without the use of lime and other harmful chemicals. The seeds are also high nutritional with lots of antioxidants, which are very good for you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of things I learned. The leaders of this group asked us to speak to other organizations about this Important topic. Since I don't belong to the Rotary, Elks or Masons, and I fell strongly about this issue, I thought I would bring it up here, to inform and foster healthy debate.

[Rhino]

Moved to politics & religion.

[sckego]

I'm all for legalization. There's no reason it should be illegal... effects are similar to alcohol, but it's not toxic, there is no risk of OD/death, and it is FAR less addictive than either alcohol or tobacco. Legalization provides a huge tax revenue increase for the states, and decriminalizes a huge population of normal people who smoke.

It will also clear up fucked-up situations like this one - http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/ ... id=2337150" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - where the Feds demanded that a landlord evict their tenants, a medical marijuana dispensary, or risk the forfeiture of their building. The landlord filed eviction papers on the dispensary, which went through state courts, which denied the eviction order, because the dispensary was doing nothing illegal under state law. Feds don't care and file for forfeiture, and the landlord is SOL, caught between federal and state laws that don't jive.

[DemonDuck]

As long as it is only Marijuana then sure legalize it. But I draw a firm line there.... no harder drugs.

[WickerMan]

As long as it is only Marijuana then sure legalize it. But I draw a firm line there.... no harder drugs.

I agree with you, although I voted for Gary Johnson (and his VP candidate spoke, some Judge named Gray) they are for legalizing everything.
During one of the presentations they said teens are more easily able to get marijuana than cigarettes or alcohol, because of the regulations. A drug dealer doesn't card, has no age limits, and only cares about money. In countries where all drugs are decriminalized, they do not have higher addiction rates, but they also have more educational programs and medical help. I can't imagine legal Meth and Crack, but if it was regulated, someone would know who the users and suppliers are, and right now we don't. Tough questions for sure. The cartels are left with X because Y is legal, we legalize X, and the cartels move on to Z. Where does it end? Until there is nothing left?

I'm for freedom more than I'm for drugs, or abortion, or gambling, or alcohol, or tabacco, or...I could go on and on, and technically I'm against all of them. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. I think to many things infringe on those rights these days.

[fixxervi6]

I say legalize everything, including prostitution.

Not because I think it's right, or I would do it, but who am I to dictate to someone else what is right or wrong, and making something illegal doesn't make it go away, it just creates a black market for it.

[sckego]

I think 'legalize everything' is taking a bit too far. Extremely addictive and dangerous drugs like meth, heroin, etc. should remain illegal. It's just that marijuana should never have been lumped into that category in the first place.

[Grinner]

Im all for the legalization of Mary! I firmly believe it will reduce the amount of state funds going to waste that can be used more productively elsewheres. I also believe that selling of sex or "prostitution" should also be legalized for the same reasons. I feel it would be able to be better controlled and regulated if treated like typical business. It too would bring in more tax dollars for the economy.
All Im seeing is win/win on either of these topics.
Im voting for it anytime I see it show on a ballot just in hopes of seeing my tax dollars going to better things than somebody that was pulled for speeding and ends up arrested for a friggin joint.

[U-Turn]

But what about the incarseration business? We can't penalize them because you liberals want to make everybody a stoner, being more tolerant an shit.
NO to Legalization.

[DemonDuck]

Believe me the prisons would stay full. We are over full as it is.

The only issue I have is that I need to be in the clear for killing the person that gives my kid drugs if it ever happens. That goes if it is legal or not until they are out of my care of course. In my opinion the drug dealers are not just going to go get a job. Legalization of weed is one thing and they would likely just start selling a different drug.... legalize everything and they will likely just start selling to the people its still illegal for (kids). And the even worse thing would be that they can only get arrested if caught selling to a kid because it is legal for them to have crack or whatever so it would be even harder to lock up the dealers.

I don't believe for one minute that it is harder for a kid to get cigs or alcohol than weed. Underage kids know someone that will buy the stuff for them.... I got drunk way before 21.

[Firewa11]

Victimless crime laws do not force morals upon the masses, or address public safety issues, as those that got them passed and enforced would love to believe. They only make criminals out of good, honest people, or they give police and the judicial system a way to lock up persons they might not otherwise be able to lock up (or deport, in the case of the Great Depression in El Paso... getting rid of Mexicans that were taking jobs). Victimless crime laws create an industry and an underground network of manufacture, distribution, and consumption outside of taxation and regulation.

[DemonDuck]

If weed was legalized the use would go up. No doubt in my mind about that. However I don't really have a problem with that. It would cause an increase in pay for jobs that do not allow use of Marijuana so that would be another good part. The rest of the drugs are just to addictive and have to many problems that I could not see it being worth legalizing.

Of course if we did legalize all drugs then it would be a huge boost to economy, it would reduce our population, and would require more law officers and prisons for the crimes that come from their use. So it wouldn't be all bad. It would change the drug cartels to a more legal type of manufacturing business but that wouldn't do much except they could probably charge more from the source. It would also likely create more private security jobs in the end. I just cant bring myself to get onboard the total legalization but if it did happen I don't think it would take to long for the drugs to fix the problems it creates on its own.

[fixxervi6]

I bet if you were to legalize heroin the actual use would increase very very little.

Marijuana use I have no doubt would go up, because lets face it 99% of the public is probably educated on the real "dangers" of pot. It's been long proven our other legal drugs are actually worse.

[DarcShadow]

If weed was legalized the use would go up. No doubt in my mind about that. However I don't really have a problem with that. It would cause an increase in pay for jobs that do not allow use of Marijuana so that would be another good part.

Would it? I don't see how that could be done legally if weed is legal on a national level. It'd be like saying you can't work for a company if you ever drink alcholol.

[WickerMan]

Portugal has legal marijuana, and it's use is not up, by teens or any other group. The Netherlands with decriminalized Heroin doesn't have a higher rate of use or addiction than here or before it was legal. New Zealand also doesn't have a higher instance of marijuana use with it legalized. Their use of other drugs also has not gone up now that it is legal.
In fact marijuana use has been steady at around 12% of the population over the last 40 years in this country, no matter how much money is spent on commercials or enforcement. If marijuana is legal, it will still only appeal to about 12% of the population.
Ask a teen, any teen, if it's easier to get marijuana or cigarettes or alcohol. Cigarette use in this country is down even though the addictive nature of the chemicals in them have been compared to heroin addiction.

[DarcShadow]

While it might stay around 12% in the long run, you can count on a pretty decent spike in use if it's legal. I have no doubt there would be a large number of people that would want to try it who never did because it was illegal.

[fixxervi6]

While it might stay around 12% in the long run, you can count on a pretty decent spike in use if it's legal. I have no doubt there would be a large number of people that would want to try it who never did because it was illegal.

I bet it wouldn't be that much, even if legalized it will still carry a stigma, just like cigarettes do.

And if it did increase some, does it really matter? Not as bad as alcohol and that just means more money moving through the economy.

[Rhino]

Cigarette use in this country is down even though the addictive nature of the chemicals in them have been compared to heroin addiction.

Yeah, you might want to back up a step there.

If you want your ideas to be taken seriously, don't compare cigarettes and heroin.

[sckego]

While it might stay around 12% in the long run, you can count on a pretty decent spike in use if it's legal. I have no doubt there would be a large number of people that would want to try it who never did because it was illegal.

It'll be easy to see if there is a spike in CO and WA... I doubt it, though.

[DarcShadow]

yeah, but still being illegal on the FED level prevents lots of people from it and discourages others.

[DemonDuck]

If weed was legalized the use would go up. No doubt in my mind about that. However I don't really have a problem with that. It would cause an increase in pay for jobs that do not allow use of Marijuana so that would be another good part.

Would it? I don't see how that could be done legally if weed is legal on a national level. It'd be like saying you can't work for a company if you ever drink alcholol.

That is true and I'm sure it would cause problems. They would have to come up with a test that was easy to use that could tell if you where under the influence and how much..... something like a bretholizer or something. I don't know.... it would be a process for sure.

[DemonDuck]

Ask a teen, any teen, if it's easier to get marijuana or cigarettes or alcohol.

I know its hard to believe but I was a teen once. I knew plenty of potheads.... I knew more smokers.... and even more that would drink. I never went to a party that didn't have lots of alcohol and cigarettes. Although not all of them had weed or if they did it was a whole lot less of it.

As for if use would go up..... well I would have been much more likely to smoke weed if it was legal. Again I'm not to worried about weed.

[Firewa11]

http://tribuneherald.net/2013/06/03/tex ... -on-floor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DemonDuck]

Wow that an idiot!

[nitzer]

OK I for one am trying to see how legalizing it will decrease the number of pot related crimes? For instance, Colorado put into law that it is legal to possess up to 1oz for recreational use per individual. IE that means anything more is criminal to possess and therefore that person can go to jail. The law also limits the number of pot plants in a home for "personal use". Any more than the limit and it's breaking the law and therefore you can go to jail. If you could buy pot from your neighbor for $5/joint (have no f'n clue how much pot costs nor do I give a shit), why would you buy it from a retail store for $7/joint and pay more because it's now taxed? And stores have overhead. Legalizing it will not magically empty our jails or save the tax payers money in any way shape or form. The minimal amount of revenue generated in taxes will still not cover the costs of prosecuting the ones possessing more than the legal limit. Why would I want to get it legally for more money when I can grow my own and sell it or a profit? Hell, if it becomes legal here I should grow some and sell it. It would be a pure profit enterprise for me since I wouldn't be smoking my product. JMHO.