Have you tried pot?
Do you currently partake?
Are you in favor of legalization?
If it were legal, would you try it or use it?
If you smoked pot, could you lose your job?
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012?
Legalize pot movement gains steam
NEW YORK - The savage drug war in Mexico. Crumbling state budgets. Weariness with current drug policy. The election of a president who said, "Yes — I inhaled."
These developments and others are kindling unprecedented optimism among the many Americans who want to see marijuana legalized.
Doing so, they contend to an ever-more-receptive audience, could weaken the Mexican cartels now profiting from U.S. pot sales, save billions in law enforcement costs, and generate billions more in tax revenue from one of the nation's biggest cash crops.
Posts
67 comments:
I don't understand why it would be a problem for the state to sell an already available commodity that it is not currently taxing. In fact, said product is subject to a form of reverse taxation: there is a "war" on it. So tax payers essentially pay to fight and eliminate a product a great number of them use. Did I miss something?
The Wiz
DAMN RIGHT to all.
.
FUCK NO!
Made it 50 years without it
and I'm a southern Californian!
.
pot causes brain damage and is a gateway drug to voluntary slavery and servitude. america is stupid enough.
I have never tried pot or any other illegal drug. I do not believe in relying on any external stimulus for energy, creativity, social acceptance, whatever.
That said, I absolutely positively believe it should be legal. Not necessarily taxed, not necesarrily regulated. Just legal.
I don't think I would try it if it were legalized, but I might just in celebration. When I played ultimate frisbee tounrnaments (which are f***in grueling), I used watch the guys who used pot as a pain-reliever and muscle-relaxer and the end of the weekend and think, "I bet that guy is more comfortable than I am." So, if I got suckered into another ultimate tourney, I might give it a try.
Probably not; that would take all the fun out of smoking pot...
So the Miami Herald is reporting on the alleged "Mastermind of the 9/11 Attacks":
Alleged 9/11 mastermind: `I make up stories'.
So what say ye? Turns out the guy was just tortured into making ridiculous and baseless confessions. Bin Laden is still out there allegedly plotting more attacks from some cave in Islamo-Fascist-Jihadist-Afghani-Pakistan although the FBI has no solid evidence linking Bin Laden to 9/11.
You people still believe in this fairytale. Is that right?
Do you know that Osama is a member of the billionaire Saudi Bin Laden family and the Bin Laden's closest ties in the USA are the Bush family? Kind of like how the Hinckley's are close personal friends of the Bushes too and one of their sons just so happened to make an assassination attempt on Reagan.
Do you people ever think about this stuff or do you just lap it all up just like the mainstream media feeds it to you?
Are there any critical thinkers that are disturbed by this stuff? Anyone disturbed by the fact that 9/11 was an inside job?
I tried it when I was a kid and never liked it. Of course it should be legal. It's stupid that it isn't.
No to all. NO to legalization. If people smoked it in the privacy of their homes, fine. But the stink of pot is already present at most outdoor events, in subways, schools, etc. If it were legal, you'd never get away from the stench. Expecting pot smokers to be courteous and respectful of the rights of others is the joke of the century.
We would save very little money by legalizing pot because the police don't agressively target it anyway. They focus on hard drugs. But we would significantly increase our health-care spending down the road. Such a deal.
"Marijuana Damages DNA And May Cause Cancer, New Test Reveals"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615095940.htm
Smoking (1) joint is like huffing a whole pack of Cigarettes at once...How long can one stay healthy doing that Keith?
Not something I want my loved ones or friends doing to themselves...
Just Saying...
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. My boss (actually client) knows I smoke and is cool with it. I'm a software developer for a major Web site. If the last 3 presidents have essentially admitting to using it, how can it possibly still be illegal? The tax potential is enormous as well -- I predict it will be fully legal in the most fiscally downbeat and liberal states by 2012. California first.
Gives me the munchies and then puts me right to sleep. Don´t like it.
I agree with Anon: it is a gateway drug, and America is already stupid enough.
Those who want to legalize always cite accomplished, productive people who partake, but that is not a true picture. Many young people in this country are already a mess because of what they are able to obtain illegally. Giving the sanction of the state would be a disaster.
I use to use it, in quantities that made lessor men pass out. It's a waste of time and money, the negatives out weigh the the positives by a factor of 1000 (and no, I don't see many pluses in alcohol either). So no, I wouldn't use it. Yes, if I were stupid enough to use it I could (and should) lose my job. I'd rather not work with people who do use it as it does affect one even after you 'don't feel' the effects. I work in a job where if you aren't on your toes, someone could be severely harmed or killed.
Anon 6:39 said:
"pot causes brain damage and is a gateway drug to voluntary slavery and servitude. america is stupid enough."
------------------------
So you're in favor of draconian laws to save people from draconian laws?
BTW, has anyone noticed that all the anti-legalizers are anons? Is it all the same person, or is it just par-for-the-course thinking from stupid, cowardly anons?
That “gateway drug” argument is a total load of crap. It only took 4 comments before some hypnotized lemming started spewing the government’s lies. OMG … REEFER MADNESS!
Anon 9:13 said:
"Marijuana Damages DNA And May Cause Cancer, New Test Reveals"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615095940
--------------------------------
No such website, genius. Did you make that headline up, or is there actually a junk science article by that name? Looks like some journalist's synopsis of a study that he dosen't understand. Peer reviewed articles do not have stupid titles like that.
I've only used it maybe ten times in my life, in social situations. The first time I tried it I was expecting some kind of wonderful feeling and came away wondering what all the hoopla was about. I thought maybe I wasn't doing it right, or maybe it was just bad product. The next time I tried it, same result. It doesn't do anything for me. It's a weird kind of buzz and while people around me were giggling and laughing, I was like, ummm...nothing. I get a better buzz from vodka. I do think it should be legal though. It's no worse than alcohol and nicotine and other drugs. Marijuana needs a lobby.
i would use it but doubt my wife would a approve.
i am an ex-smoker so i would prefer it in some other form rather than a inhaling smoke.
But the stink of pot is already present at most outdoor events, in subways, schools, etc. If it were legal, you'd never get away from the stench. Expecting pot smokers to be courteous and respectful of the rights of others is the joke of the century.
----------------------------
i am for legalization but I had never considered the above. now i am not so sure about legalization.
Who is so intelligent enough to "decide" what people can legally use, and what is to be outlawed, and what criteria is used to make these determinations?
Who does side-by-side comparisons of all these drugs and commodities that people can spend their money for, and make the decision to allow "this" or outlaw "that"?
What difference does it make if your four year old little girl was killed by a drunk driver, or killed by a spaced out pot smoker?
When you look at your precious child in her coffin, is it lesser pain that the killer was "using" Vodka, or hard drugs, or legally obtained pot? I think we have plenty enough crazies out there without them being supplied with mind altering drugs of any kind.
I personally don't care of someone wants to shoot themselves full of drain cleaner or smell Pam thru a sock. Just keep it in the bounds of your own world, NOT MINE.
Nope, I'd grow my own :)
Green shoots you can believe in!
Republicrat/Steves '12
pot causes brain damage and is a gateway drug to voluntary slavery and servitude. america is stupid enough.
-----------
Wow dumb asses abroad.
"pot causes brain damage and is a gateway drug to voluntary slavery and servitude."
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
No. Regardless og it's legal status it is s drug and is harmful. I don't smoke or drink now, why would this matter?
Personally I can't stand the stuff. It made me miserable every time I tried it.
If it were sold in the grocery store like alcohol, I might try it once out of curiosity and then remember how much I hate and not do it again for a very long time, if ever.
My company does not drug test, so that wouldn't cause a problem.
Yeaaaahhhh mannn, pot in the grocery store would be soooooo sweeet.
Wait, what were we talking about???
It should be legal, but I would not use.
One problem with legalization: It would enable farmers to grow industrial hemp. US Agribusiness would not be happy at all with that.
That may be the real reason legalization is taking so long...
Yeah I use it, I'd continue to use it if it were legal (which it should be), and my boss couldn't care less. I think it will be legal in some form, somewhere, by 2012. Let's examine the arguments against:
"It's a gateway drug" - no, I don't touch anything else. Of course people who use hard drugs will smoke pot too, why not? Are snickers bars a gateway food to obesity?
"If it were legal, you'd never get away from the stench" - you may have a point there, although I personally would never smoke in public. However, you seem to be associating "pot smoker" with "disrespectful". There are plenty of disrespectful non-pot-smokers who wear too much cologne, scream on their cellphones in the waiting room, talk during a movie, take up two parking spaces with their giant SUV, or what have you. All disrespectful, all legal. Don't cigarettes stink too? Should they be illegal?
"Marijuana Damages DNA And May Cause Cancer, New Test Reveals" - whether or not this article is fact, pot obviously carries some health risks with it (I use a vaporizer to limit the byproducts of combustion). Those concerned about these risks are under no obligation to smoke pot, legal or illegal. Like Ron Paul says, you can't regulate danger.
"It will increase usage" - nobody mentioned that here but I hear that one all the time. I have yet to meet the person who says "Man, I'd LOVE to try some pot but I'm just holding out for it to be legalized" or "wow pot is so hard to come by... I would be smoking the absolute SHIT out of it if it were easier to find, say in a drug store". Anybody met that guy? If he even exists, are you actually worried about such a law-abiding (and unresourceful) citizen being trusted with a joint?
Nobody says you have to like pot or smoke it or write an essay about how great it is for mankind. Making something legal is not the same as making it mandatory, or even promoting it. The question here is "has making pot illegal been effective"? I suspect that even the anti-pot crowd would have to agree that the answer is no.
Have you tried pot? Do you currently partake?
No and no.
Are you in favor of legalization?
Yes, of course. All Americans who believe in natural liberties would agree.
If it were legal, would you try it or use it?
No, but that's irrelevant. Others still have the natural right to indulge in it. My involvement just doesn't figure in.
It is funny, I'm not a woman but I support their right to choose whether to end an unwanted pregnancy
I'm not gay but I support gays having the same legal rights as anyone else
I don't smoke pot but I definitely want to see it legalized
I'm not black but any kind of discrimination or racism directed their way is infuriating
Hmmm... maybe I should worry more about straight white males?
Nah.
"That may be the real reason legalization is taking so long..."
Ding, Ding Ding!!!
Hemp has vast and wide ranging industrial uses. We are complete and utter idiots to allow it to remain illegal.
Tangelo Mozilo said:
No such website, genius. Did you make that headline up, or is there actually a junk science article by that name?
----
It's real and it doesn't seem like junk. Sorry the link got cut off. Here it is again on three lines.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2009/06/
090615095940.htm
Anyone who needs the marijuana crutch to get through life should go ahead an use it.
If reality is too hard for you, if you can't cope without being under the influence, if you need an alternative, drug induced reality, than by all means, than those weak and pitiful souls should be allowed to live in their own drug induced fantasy world.
And if they abuse it, and cause harm to others while under the influence, then should be prosecuted both in civil and criminal courts - without mercy.
Never tried any drugs. Don't drink alcohol. Get my kicks from my kids and having fun. Don't really care who drinks or does drugs as long as if they drive under the influence the punishment is severe.
Thats my only request, legalize what you want.....but if you drive and endanger my family, you should go to jail for years...no excuses, no warnings.
Thats also my position on guns. Have your guns, but if you ever lose your temper and threaten someone with it or commit any sort of crime with it, you are done, life in prison.
I am all for freedoms....as long as there are drastic consequences for those that endanger my family.
I wonder how many posters that are against its legalization actually ever got high? It doesn't sound like too many.
That said, just like everything else, when used in moderation it can be beneficial. For example, it helps one relax, and think and see things in a different perspective. It also makes music sound better, food taste better and sex feel better.
By the way, I have science and professional degrees, am gainfully employed in my field of endeavor, and try to exercise daily.
Hmmm... maybe I should worry more about straight white males?
Nah.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/01/post_1.html
The Psychology of the Self Hating Liberal
Saying that pot is a gateway drug is like saying milk is a gateway drink to whiskey. That's really stupid. Anyway, it should be a free country. You should be able to do whatever you want to yourself. Why is the government always telling me what to do?
Have you tried pot? Yes
Do you currently partake? Yes, for 40 years.
Are you in favor of legalization? Yes
If it were legal, would you try it or use it? Well, duh.
Duhh.
If you smoked pot, could you lose your job? Could have but am retired.
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012? 0
Have you tried pot? Yes
Do you currently partake? Yes, for 40 years.
Are you in favor of legalization? Yes
If it were legal, would you try it or use it? Well, duh.
Duhh.
If you smoked pot, could you lose your job? Could have but am retired.
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012? 0
Anon said:
‘Are there any critical thinkers that are disturbed by this stuff? Anyone disturbed by the fact that 9/11 was an inside job?’
You seem very disturbed..
Now how do you tax something that once it is legal I can grow in my yard,window,closet for free :-)
Oh wait.. I already do!
Legalize it!! Or make alcohol, cigarettes, coffee illegal.
and... I smoke everyday and ran a company of 60,000 people. Retired in my mid/late 30's and can say all my friends are partners in law firms, senior corporate executives,etc... AND WE ALL SMOKE!!! The GOOD stuff too!
So much for pot destroys your life. Just because someone is an idiot and smokes pot, doesn't mean the pot made them that way. Just means there are too many dumb people that also use pot! That's like me saying religion makes you dumb. No it does not! Many very dumb people just like religion!
"Have you tried pot?"
Yep
"Do you currently partake?"
Yep
"Are you in favor of legalization?"
Yep
"If it were legal, would you try it or use it?"
Of course
"If you smoked pot, could you lose your job?"
Not my current one, not many of my past ones either.
"And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012?
0%.
Minor point, Keith, but here in MN they sell watered-down beer and wine coolers at the grocery store. Content is limited to 3.2% alcohol. Liquor stores sell the real thing.
Smoked it in high school. Partake when offered but don't seek it out and probably would not if it were legal. Should definitely be legal and is really no big deal.. Am self employed to would not matter.
Probably in moderation.
Where I live it is criminalized so I don't partake. Not worth the risk. However if it was regulated and safely available I would consider occasional use.
Having tried it in college I can can confirm it's less destructive than alcohol.
-Mike
This I can't figure out. You would think that if smuggling cocaine were at all difficult (and I'm sure it has some difficulty) then how could they ever do it on the scale required for pot.
I don't know the numbers but I'd guess a 20/1 price to weight increase for coke over pot. Especially for pot, the bulk of this must come in ships. There's just no way they're carrying that kind of load thru the desert.
I've got a friend that contends that dogs can't smell coke, only pot. Considering the stakes though they must have figured out how to make large hermetically sealed containers to send by ship.
Sure, what the hell, legalize it, sell it like candy. We're so far down the highway to hell, what's one more step? Can we get any more vulgar and profane? Looks like a lot of "free thinkers" want to find out.
Have you tried pot? - Yes.
Do you currently partake? - No.
Are you in favor of legalization? - Yes
If it were legal, would you try it or use it? - Try it: Probably. Use regularly: No.
If you smoked pot, could you lose your job? - No.
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012? - 70% odds that it will be legalized.
It should be obvious to all by now that America never does the right thing until all other options have failed so I doubt it will be legalized until we become a third world country (ie too poor to care).
@anon said
Have you tried pot? Yes
Do you currently partake? Yes, for 40 years.
Are you in favor of legalization? Yes
If it were legal, would you try it or use it? Well, duh.
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012? 0
+++++++++++++++++++
Exactly!! You beat me to it. And if you're worried about the smoking part damaging your lungs, use a vaporizer. I know hundreds of smokers that are in all kinds of fields that smoke pot and lead normal, productive lives. Tons of people around you probably do too...they just can't admit to it until it's legal. If you ever met me you'd never think that I did either (highly technical job, gray hair, etc). I've tried all the drugs there are when I was young and the worst one...the one that has caused me the most grief...by far.......alcohol. Hands down the worst.
Typical words of a drug user:
"I don't have a problem."
"Everyone else does it too."
"It's illegal, but so what."
"I'm a hot shot, it's not slowing me down."
"Other drugs are worse for you."
Man, it's like 8th graders are posting here now.
But hey, if you need the crutch to deal with life, go for it. But if you drive stoned and hit my wife or kid, I'm gonna go after you legally with all I got. Expect to rot in jail the rest of your life.
The pot sold in the weed houses of socal is mostly hydro grown by Americans, not from a Mexican cartel.
The very idea of making a naturally occuring PLANT illegal just boggles the mind. Can we put an end to such stupidity now, and try to forget this embarassing act of hubris? I used to smoke it, but I have not for many years, and probably would not if legalized.
Toked a few times in college...never liked it.
Drugs are strange...I attended high school and college in the late 60s to mid 70s and the real druggies seemed to look down on us nerdy types. They seemed to take pity on us, as if they knew things we could never grasp.
Anton
Oh, I forgot, I think all drugs s/b legalized. We can't afford this drug war bs. I also forgot to say I used to down white cross during finals week. Keep it professional.
Have you tried pot? Yes
Do you currently partake? No
Are you in favor of legalization? Yes
If it were legal, would you try it or use it? Hell Yes!!!
If you smoked pot, could you lose your job? In its current legislative (demonized) state, Yes. When it becomes legalized, I'm hoping not..., but that would up to individual companies (I'm thinking).
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012? F-No, they're too many puss**** out there.
-Silly Monkey
pot causes brain damage and is a gateway drug to voluntary slavery and servitude. america is stupid enough.
Are you for real? Where is your proof in making any of the ridiculous statements? What medical studies have been done that irreversibly conclude that marijuana causes brain damage?
If you're statements weren't utterly stupid, that would almost be funny. Ha ha ha
The only reports that I've ever read on the subject (and this was years ago with the whole egg on the frying pan to signify your brains on drugs), specify they kill brain cells, but there is no proof that it kills anymore brain cells then naturally get killed. You do realize everyone's brain cells are dying as we speak..., right?
So if that was what you were basing your statement on ... a ... I wouldn't call that the cause of brain damage.
As far as it being a gateway drug..., that's just a fairytale they tell kids to scare them away from smoking it. All that does is make kids more curious to try it...ha ha ha Which is brilliant!!!
Most of my friends, and myself included, who smoked pot in college left it there when we graduated. So where are your studies that show that marijuana is a gateway drug?
Seriously?
People get into hard core drugs for many reasons. None of which is related to a gateway drug (in my opinion). I would argue that the people who are hard core addicts would have been that way without any help.
And if you must have a gateway drug, how about sniffing glue or in the olden days the ink that was used to print up our tests.
Hmmmm, the high.
-Silly Monkey
Have you tried pot? Yes.
Do you currently partake? No, but I did for 32 years.
Are you in favor of legalization? Yes
If it were legal, would you try it or use it? Yes, but not in front of my kids.
If you smoked pot, could you lose your job? Possibly. But I'm not subject to random testing now, but probably would be in such a scenario. All the most creative thinkers would test positive, then the company would stop testing.
And what do you think the odds are that marijuana will be legal by 2012? 0%. but a 75% chance of decriminalization.
Clearly from the comments...
Pot makes people arrogant through a euphoric feeling of superiority. This effect greatly damages the judgement in the user. Clinicaly this phenomenon is brain damage induced ;neuro transmiters in the brain are retarded by the chemical pesticide effects of the drug. Marajuana also causes deviant sexual beahviour and homosexual preference shift. People who use pot will stop at noting to rationalize their use. The euphoric feeling is very intense causing many to give up important socioeconomic aspects of their lives to use it.
How is this not a health risk? The benefit of drug induced servitude must be greater than the risks to legalize. The only way that government can legalize this drug is if the dumbing down effect improves their opportunity for enlargement beyond the costs of stupor induced non production.
Government will now choose for you in "your best interest".
and... I smoke everyday and ran a company of 60,000 people. Retired in my mid/late 30's and can say all my friends are partners in law firms, senior corporate executives,etc... AND WE ALL SMOKE!!! The GOOD stuff too!
You must work in the mortgage banking industry or some other form of legalized extortion ...did you smoke pot to kill the pain of conscience?
Where are your 60000 employees now? Servitude? The unemployment line! The homeless shelter?
Kiefer,
In the 1970's, pot was illegal, but decriminalized, at least here in NYC. People smoked pot openly on college campuses. You could walk down the street with a joint in hand and no one thought anything of it.
The problem with legalization - they'll tax it.
Decriminalization is fuzzier. So long as it's technically illegal, you can't be sure you won't get busted.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615095940.htm
The title of this article should be corrected to add the word "smoke" so that it reads: "Marijuana SMOKE Damages DNA And May Cause Cancer, New Test Reveals"
Vaporizing or consuming a tincture would eliminate the dangers of smoking it.
I am one who should not have laughed at Reefer Madness.
Have had major panic attacks few times I've smoked it. HATE IT.
chslaxcoach said...
I have never tried pot or any other illegal drug. I do not believe in relying on any external stimulus for energy, creativity, social acceptance, whatever.
==============================
Have you every tried financial leverage? Buy a place, use it as an ATM, then pack up your XBox into your H2 and drive away... What a rush!!! If that doesn't get your motor running I don't know if anything will!
The Wiz
"I do not believe in relying on any external stimulus for energy"
So uhh.. you have an internal nuclear power plant or something that replaces your need for food? If you eat, especially anything with short chain sugars or caffeine you're "relying on external stimulus".
Post a Comment