Alright. That's it. Let's Legalize it and be done with this debate.

[OnBendedKnee]

So I'm talking to a buddy at work about a guy who just got sentenced to a couple of years for growing pot.

I told him it should be legalized and taxed. Right now it is the largest cash crop grown in California. Maybe taxing the sale of cannabis would mean California could stop issuing near worthless I.O.U.'s that even the banks won't accept after today.

So myco-worker callesme a liberal prick (couldn't argue with him there I suppose...)but at least agreed with my premise that instead of punishing a guy who simply wants to smoke up a weekend in the privacy of his own home,prosecute severly the dude who gets high and then insists on barreling down the highway in his SUV.

What you do outside of harming anyone else? That's [u]your[/i] business. Place the public safety in jeapordy? Then it becomes society's issue to deal with you.

All the hippies of the sixties are now congressmen and we can't get this initiative passed?

[Middle Finger]

You might as well outlaw people having two jobs and driving tired because I am willing to bet that sleepy, tired drivers cause more accidents.

[The Antagonist]

I'm with you. They've been trying to legalize pot for as long as I can remember.

Alcohol is no less dangerous, in fact probably more so and it remains legal.

People are prescribed all sorts of prescription meds that have way more dangerous side effects and get behind the wheel too. But that's OK because it's not labeled a 'recreational drug'.

The revenue this country would bring in if the 'recreational drugs' were legalized, regulated and watched over for quality control would give us quite the financial boon! Never mind all the new jobs it would create.

[OnBendedKnee]

You might as well outlaw people having two jobs and driving tired because I am willing to bet that sleepy, tired drivers cause more accidents.

Good point and one that doesn't distract from my argument.

Edited to add:

Ant, my rant is given credibility based on you agreeing with it.

[The Antagonist]

Thank you OBK.... you should see what I see when I'm prescribed percocets! And they tell me it's OK to drive on them if I feel OK.

Fuckers make me hallucinate! I need to break them into ¹⁄₄ size pieces and I still see ostriches! Fucking goofy ostriches too.

[Duchess]

Whoa.

[sally]

Most people here will probally agree on this issue. If you want to have a real debate then you should go over to 24 and talk to MIL.

[The Antagonist]

I say that every time I see that damn ostrich.

[OnBendedKnee]

Most people here will probally agree on this issue. If you want to have a real debate then you should go over to 24 and talk to MIL.

Interestingly, I'm finding fewer and fewer people who once they think about it, with an open mind, have a difficult time debating the issue.

Even with that said, we can't get weed legalized?

[OnBendedKnee]

Just came upon this and couldn't agree more:



_________________________________________



Is Marijuana the Answer to California's Budget Woes?
Time.com



By TOM MCNICHOL/SAN FRANCISCO Tom Mcnichol/san Francisco ⿿ 2 hrs 55 mins ago

Proponents of marijuana legalization have advanced plenty of arguments in support of their drug of choice - that marijuana is less dangerous than legal substances like cigarettes and alcohol; that pot has legitimate medical uses; that the money spent prosecuting marijuana offenses would be better used on more pressing public concerns.

While 13 states permit the limited sale of marijuana for medical use, and polls show a steady increase in the number of Americans who favor legalization, federal law still bans the cultivation, sale, or possession of marijuana. In fact, the feds still classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug, one that has no "currently accepted medical use" in the United States.

But supporters of legalization may have been handed their most convincing argument yet: the bummer economy. Advocates argue that if state or local governments could collect a tax on even a fraction of pot sales, it would help rescue cash-strapped communities. Not surprisingly, the idea is getting traction in California, home to both the nation"s largest supply of domestically grown marijuana (worth a estimated $14 billion a year) and to the country"s biggest state budget deficit (more than $26 billion).

On Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California legislative leaders a tentative budget agreement to plug the state's deficit, but it would involve making sweeping cuts in education and health services, as well as taking billions from county governments. Democratic state assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced legislation that would let California regulate and tax the sale of marijuana. The state's proposed $50 an ounce pot tax would bring in about $1.3 billion a year in additional revenue. Ammiano"s bill was shelved this session but he expects to introduce a revised bill early next year.

If the state legislature doesn"t act, perhaps California voters will. One group is preparing to place a statewide initiative for the November 2010 ballot that would regulate and tax the sale of marijuana for Californians 21 years of age and older. Tellingly, the group spearheading the measure calls itself TaxCannabis2010.org, stressing the revenue advantages of marijuana legalization. The group hopes to collect the required 650,000 voter signatures by January to place the measure on the November 2010 ballot.

"There"s no doubt that the ground is shifting on marijuana," says Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes alternatives to the war on drugs. "The discussion about regulating and taxing marijuana now has an air of legitimacy to it that it didn"t quite have before. And the economy has given the issue a real turbo charge."

The legalization effort is getting serious consideration from surprising quarters. In May, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger publicly called for a large-scale study to determine whether to legalize and tax marijuana.

"I think it"s time for a debate," the governor said at a news conference. "I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs."

In California, medical marijuana sales are already taxed, and some communities are looking for ways to get a bigger slice of the pot pie. Residents Oakland are currently voting in a mail-in special election that includes a measure which would make the city the first in the country to establish a new tax rate for medical marijuana businesses. If the measure passes, Oakland marijuana dispensaries, which are now charged at the general tax rate of $1.20 per $1,000 in receipts, would see that rate raised to $18 per $1,000.

A Field Poll conducted in California this spring showed 56% of the state"s registered voters in support of legalizing and taxing marijuana as a way of offsetting some of the budget deficit. Several national polls have shown that more than 45% of American adults are open to legalizing pot, about double the support a decade ago.

Even the most ardent marijuana advocates aren"t expecting nationwide legalization anytime soon. Instead, any action is likely to come on the state and local level. For now, all eyes are on cash-strapped California, where high taxes could take on an entirely new meaning.

[Liquid]

BOTH pot and prostitution SHOULD be legalized, regulated, AND TAXED.
1) it would make things safer, both with the drugs and the prostitutes if everything government regulated and controlled. (mandatory testing for whores, growing standards for crops, etc)
2) the tax revenue generated could completely wipe out a lot of the countries debt, while at the same time...
3) CREATING LEGIT JOBS, both farming the pot, and working as whores.

I am 100% serious that both pot and prostitution should be legalized right away.

[Maggot]

What do you do with all the people in jail for growing and distributing after it's legal?

[Mock2zuma]

:shock: Aren't you in Law Enforcement OBK?

Interesting, but yeah for the most part I agree::thumbs::

I've always wanted to genetically splice cannabis with kudzu because that would be funny and extremely hard to eradicate. I've experimented with pot when I was younger but haven't really messed with it much since. I'm lazy as it is and don't really care for something that will just bring me down. I have a green thumb ::thumbs:: and had a bizarre passion for growing it in the past. Not anymore though. I spent a whopping 2 days in jail--which was quite nice; got three meals a day, $3 haircut, $5 tattoo. But yeah I don't think I ever want to go back there, it's just stupid.

It would boost the economy a tad bit for taxation on the crop.


But imagine what impact it would have on the nation's workforce. People will get high, fall asleep and miss work. Production would go to shit and China would swamp US.:( (which is kinda inevitable anyways)


I will agree that Alcohol is easily more dangerous than weed. You all seem smart, I doubt anyone would disagree with that so I wont elucidate.


As far as the current marijuana-convicted people go. That's a damn good question Maggot. If we left them in jail--double standards. If we released them, they're going to be like, "Well WTF? You fuckers [government] owe me X amount of money for the X amount of years I've spent in prison!" And then even if we did release them, there is a good chance there will be an exuberant surge in crime rates. Hardened Criminal syndrome.


I wonder if any of this made sense... I'm sleep deprived as I post so who knows ::b33::

[Mock2zuma]

On another note.

I was randomly thinking about this. If you really, REALLY wanted to 'stimulate the economy, you'd legalize stimulants such as: (ahhh I won't even bother listing)

True it'd be a very dangerous world, but imagine how productive the workforce would be. Kinda like a caffeinated-country but ten-fold. People would die though, because it's way too easy to OD on stimulants. And chances are, those people = idiots anyways, so... hooray Natural Selection! ::laugh::


::coffee::

[FAHQTOO]

Fuckers make me hallucinate! I need to break them into ¹⁄₄ size pieces and I still see ostriches! Fucking goofy ostriches too.

Send me some now please. I want to see some Alpacas though, Ostriches are mean.

[The Antagonist]

I think the law says if you're in jail for a crime committed during a year it's illegal, you stay in jail.

Kind of like when you go and get caught for things way back in your past, but the statute of limitations are never up on such a crime - you must be tried according to the law at the time of the crime.

The right thing to do would be to let them out with time served.

If they were trafficking, they sadly would have to stay in jail because I imagine that would still be illegal since the govt. would have that regulated up the 'wazoo'.

I'm sure if it were legalized here you'd not be allowed to work on it same as you are not allowed to be shit-faced on booze or beer during your bosses time.

[Mock2zuma]

Very good point Ant :cool:

I have a random question. Have any of you ever eaten marijuana instead of smoking it? Like marijuana brownies or something?

I'm curious as to whether or not eating it will: 1) Make your eyes bloodshot red, 2) Make you reek of the smell.

[sally]

Very good point Ant :cool:

I have a random question. Have any of you ever eaten marijuana instead of smoking it? Like marijuana brownies or something?

I'm curious as to whether or not eating it will: 1) Make your eyes bloodshot red, 2) Make you reek of the smell.

I'm not a big pot smoker, it just makes me too tired and sometimes gives me anxiety attacks. I did make brownies once and ate one thinking it wasn't going to work. Well it worked, I was so stoned out of my mind that I forgot they had pot in them and I kept going back in the kitchen and eating more. I finally had to just go lay down because I couldn't think straight anymore. They didn't smell like pot or even taste like it.

I've also made split pea soup out of pot and that worked as well. You have to grind theit really well and heat it in oil to a certain temp. If you over cook it or under cook it then it doesn't work. I found the recipes in a High times magazine.

[LKTraz]

I'm damn sure on the right hand side of the political fence and feel that hell yes it's time to either legalize or at the very least, de-criminalize weed.

Regulating the growers/producers/marketers and taxing the product would be an excellent revenue producer and as some others have said, make it similar to DUI with alcohol. There's already some states who consider driving while toked up a DUI offense. (Pennsylvania is one of them).

As far as dealing with past offenders? Ant said it pretty well, release the minor offenders with time served and keep the traffickers for the duration of their sentences.