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Ted S. Warren / AP
A medical marijuana plant is shown at Seattle's Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, on Nov. 7. After voters weighed in on election day, Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow legal pot for recreational use, but they may face resistance from federal regulations.
A week after legalizing marijuana, Washington state voters may be hazy about the specifics of legal pot use. Which is why the Seattle Police Department published a tongue-in-cheek guide to pot in the Emerald City.
The basics: Washington state voters passed Initiative 502 with a 55 percent majority on Election Day. Beginning Dec. 6, adults over 21 won't violate state law if they possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use.
The specifics are thornier, as The Seattle Police Department's Jonah Spangenthal-Lee explains in "Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle."
Spangenthal-Lee answers some practical questions such as "Dec. 6 seems like a really long ways away -- what happens if I get caught with marijuana before then?" (Answer: "Your case will be processed under current state law.")
Spangenthal-Lee also tackles some questions local government may have to ultimately address:
What happens if I get pulled over and I’m sober, but an officer or his K9 buddy smells the ounce of Super Skunk I've got in my trunk?
Under state law, officers have to develop probable cause to search a closed or locked container. Each case stands on its own, but the smell of pot alone will not be reason to search a vehicle. If officers have information that you’re trafficking, producing or delivering marijuana in violation of state law, they can get a warrant to search your vehicle.
SPD seized a bunch of my marijuana before I-502 passed. Can I have it back?
No.Will police officers be able to smoke marijuana?
As of right now, no. This is still a very complicated issue.
Complicated, indeed.
Rachel Maddow highlights a new guide to Washington's new marijuana law, published by the Seattle Police Department to help clarify the contradiction between the federal ban and the state-level permission
Washington state residents will be allowed to possess one-ounce of pot or have 16 ounces of solid marijuana-infused product or 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquid, according to the primer. The Washington State Liquor Control Board has until Dec. 1, 2013 to finalize its rules on the sale and distribution of marijuana.
Seattle Police Department spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the guide's lighthearted tone was intentional.
"We deliberately designed (the guide) in a way that people would enjoy it," Whitcomb told NBC News.
Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com
Over in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado voters approved a similar marijuana measure.
To be clear, the votes don't change how the United States federal government sees pot: Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance, which means the feds believe it has no medicinal value. (Heroin and methamphetamine are also Schedule I drugs; cocaine is Schedule II because of its limited medicinal value.)
This is why, Spangenthal-Lee writes, "You probably shouldn't bring pot with you to the federal courthouse (or any other federal property)."
The Seattle Police Department makes clear that while they can't control the feds, "SPD officers will follow state law, and will no longer make arrests for marijuana possession as defined under I-502."
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Leave a Comment:
its about time!!! time for america to get out of the religious choke hold and breathe in!!
Religious choke hold? You do realize that Marijuana was legal at a time when the nation was much more serious about their religion, don't you? Blaming this prohibition on religion is misguided.
I'll have to agree with east coast. Not that I don't blame organized religion for blatantly and openly advocating the censorship and suppression of other human rights, but this one has got little to do with religion and more with plain old hypocrisy. Typically, those who oppose the decriminalization of cannabis (i.e., those who don't want you to exercise your freedom to consume a substance that's far less harmful than other widely used, widely legal substances) are the same people who are vehemently for the rights of corporations to do whatever the heck they want against the environment, against their employees, against their competition, and against consumers, all in the name of freedom. They're all for the government regulating the human body, though. Overall, they're just not big on personal freedoms that don't involve guns, big trucks, or effigies.
And damage your brain.
Joe, Every study done, including the ones by the AMA, CHIPS, and many organisations you probably never heard of finds your lack of knowledge to be disturbing.
Look past the 1950's propaganda and come into a new age.
orca9999,
Marijuana has been linked to psychosis, specifically schizophrenia. That's why you get potheads like Jared Loughner and Trayvon Martin going totally murderous for no good reason. That's why Rudy Eugene, the Florida cannibal who ate a man's face clean off was found to be under the influence of nothing but marijuana. Potheads go psychotic under the influence of this extremely dangerous drug and that's why it was outlawed.
It's not propaganda. I named three real examples for you that all happened this year.
Jared Loughner: Sentenced to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years. He will never see another day as a free man, and all because of the schizophrenia caused by marijuana abuse.
Rudy Eugene: Shot six times by a police officer, died on scene where he was eating the face off a homeless man. The psychosis caused by his marijuana abuse is the only explanation the coroner offered.
Trayvon Martin: Stupid pothead tried to attack and kill an armed George Zimmerman, a suicidal move clearly influenced by the marijuana abuse which got Martin kicked out of school. Zimmerman defended himself and the world has one less doper.
That's not the 1950's. That all happened this year, and it all happened because of the Demon Weed.
Mean Gene:
LOL...Good job coming up with such a Trifecta of pure BS. There is zero causal connection between schizophrenia and marijuana use.
Mean Gene-
According to your beliefs (and that's all they are having zero facts to back them), I suppose every single medical user and recreational smoker is sitting at home puffing on a fatty while polishing their guns and waiting for the next Batman movie or political gathering.
Is that really the impression you want the world to have of you? You have a chance to restate your opinion based on actual facts or you can continue to propagate the lies. Your choice.
You will never convince a pothead that pot is bad until it's too late. You will never convince an alcohalic that they drink too much until they are dieing of liver failure or pancreatitis and it's too late. you will never convince a gay person his lifestyle is wrong until he/she is dieing of aids. you will never convince an athiest that God is real until he is about to meet his maker then his view changes.
We all know that marajuana use is not good for you. it is a mand and body altering drug. Overuse and misuse will soon follow. I have read many studies against it's use. What has happened here is those who enjoy it and have convinced themselves it's ok to use it have enough money to lobby for it's legalization. We will all find out in time that these lifestyle changes that occuring will bite us all in the future. Of course it will be too late by then.
Coffee is a mind and body altering drug...."good for you" is a relative and subjective assessment.
Nope... any substance use or behavior (cardio exercise or daily showering ) can become habitual...marijuana use is about as "addictive" as coffee.
Got any links to those studies?
I don't use use drugs (other than cigarettes, coffee and my diabetes meds) and yet I am all for legalization of marijuana. Also, since millions of Americans use marijuana at present your concerns about its use causing some increased future problems that aren't already happening is at best alarmist and unwarranted.
I bet $ that MeanGene stands to lose money if weed is made legal is all. His logic and examples are laughable at best.
Care to look up what people have done over the last year while under the influence of alcohol? How many murders have happened by people under the influence? How many accidental deaths have be caused by people under the influence of alcohol? How many beatings, rapes, theft, etc.? Bet $ that more people were harmed by alcohol versus weed.
And you will say, "but some of those people would have done those things anyway regardless of if they were drunk or not", EXACTLY hypocrite.
How about pills issued from a "doctor"? How many people died as a result of legal drugs?
We have only wasted over 1 trillion on the pointless war on drugs. It only accounts for 1/16 of that 16 trillion in debt you blame Obama for. The debt has been going up since 1982 when Reagan slashed the top tax rates down from 70%, and people cry about having to pay 35% now when the effective tax rate is less then 20%... Why ship even more money out of the country, waste it on enforcement, incarceration, etc.? Why not tax it instead, keep the money here in our system, and create jobs? It would cost you money or you stand to make even more money?
Avenger - No doubt you have strong beliefs, but you lost credibility when you targeted homosexuals and athiests in your post. I have no problem with you believing in your god, but you really shouldn't go attacking people that don't have the same beliefs as you do. If a person wants to smoke cigarettes, smoke pot, drink alcohol, eat red meat, etc; it is not your place to condemn them. If you want to look at things globally, belief in gods are killing more people on a daily basis than anything else. Israel versus Hamas is a very real and contemporary example of the death and destruction that religious bigotry causes. The sad thing is, both sides have religions rooted in the same ancient belief system. So before you attack others, reflect on your own beliefs and stop verbally attacking those who don't share your doctrine.
I think MeanGene & Avenger fooled all you folks with their satire.
Either that, or they both fell into a coma in 1952 and woke up twenty minutes ago.
Lets CUT big BAD government and END job-KILLING regulations — STARTING with CUTTING the BIG government DEA and ENDING the job-KILLING regulations AGAINST marijuana!
As "freedom loving" Americans, aren't you AGAINST big BAD government, AGAINST job-KILLING regulations, AGAINST government telling YOU what you CAN and/or CANNOT do (with your OWN body), and AGAINST government restricting YOUR personal rights, liberties, and freedoms?
And as "freedom loving" Americans, aren't you FOR small government, FOR ending regulations, FOR the free market, FOR capitalism, and FOR more personal rights, liberties, and freedoms?
So as "freedom loving" Americans, you SHOULD be FOR marijuana!
It SHOULD be LEGAL! Isn't America SUPPOSE to be the BEST land of freedom, rights, and liberties...?
You "patriots" just so LOVE America, just so LOVE freedom, and just so LOVE small government. You hypocrites SHOULD just so LOVE pot!
Marijuana could be THE answer for/to today's slow economy. First, legalizing it would CUT and SAVE billions in taxpayers money. Second, it would actually MAKE billions for taxpayers. And third, Americans SHOULD have the FREEDOM of CHOICE to use it!
Just think of ALL the jobs that could be created. Marijuana growing/farming, equipment, trucking, stores... I think marijuana is a MILLION jobs industry!
America is NOT as free as some of the "patriots" LOVE to say and think...
It should be my GOD given RIGHT to be allowed to use and consume the marijuana PLANT!
Lets see, God created everything huh? And everything that God creates is good huh? Well guess WHAT, your God created MARIJUANA! I guess your God isn't so perfect huh? I guess your God did EVERYTHING right BUT made a mistake with creating marijuana huh? Marijuana is NOT a man-made DRUG, it is a NATURAL herb created and given by your GOD!
Marijuana is GOD's gift to man. It is GOD's creation. As GOD's creation and gift to man, it has healing powers. It opens your mind up to GOD's way--love and peace. It brings you closer to mother nature.
Also, not to mention marijuana can cure the sick and alleviate the pain of the dying, but we don't allow it... Instead, we allow BIG private business health-care industry PROFITEERS to PROFIT on the SICK and DYING by DENYING the use of this SAFE, WORKING, NATURAL medicine!
Now get BIG government OUT of MY life!
Legalize - Regulate - Educate - Medicate
Empty the prisons! End the police state!
I freaking love MEANGENE! He posts the most ridiculous things and most people take the bait.
Keep 'em coming!
Sitting here, enjoying my coffee and having and early morning laugh, thanks to you. Hahaha :D
Mean Gene needs some mean green.
Here in Tennessee, the dominate religion (southern baptist convention) doesn't even officially condone alcohol use. They think it's a sin. Ask any of them what they think about marijuana and then tell me religion has nothing to do with this ridiculous prohibition. These people are the voting base here too, so legalization probably won't happen in my lifetime.
Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.” – Abraham Lincoln
MeanGene--- I read an article on the study about link between marijuana use and Schizophrenia. And what they said was a high percentage of Schizophrenic people had used pot frequently. It also said that the high percentage of pot use could also be because people in the early stages of schizophrenia were self medicating with marijuana because of it's calming effect. So it's kind of which came first the chicken or the egg. Since there are schizophrenics in cultures that don't use marijuana and plenty of none-schizophrenic people who use pot, it's unclear if marijuana causes schizophrenia or schizophrenia makes you want to smoke pot. But it is known that people with mental illness often self medicate with drugs and alcohol.
____________________________________________________________________
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MeanGene,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,, do you have some kind of personal policy that prohibits you from posting anything that is not completely ignorant ????????
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(Good post Zuksam, at least someone is still thinking here. Thanks ! )
.
Me thinks Washington and Colorado will now be test states to see what actually happens.
Does crime go up or down?
Does illegal dealing of pot go up or down?
What will be the financial impact in terms of tax revenue to the state and local municipalities?
Do SAT and other school test scores go up or down?
Does society benefit as a whole or will it be a detriment?
Will we see an increase in other drug use as a result?
Some of these we won't have answers for for years. Others could be answered rather quickly. At this point, any arguing one way or the other doesn't matter any more. All that matters now is what long term effects this will have and will they be positive or negative.
Long time coming!
Marijuana possession crime will certainly go down.
Hopefully - some will make the correlation between the powerfuls gangs in Mexico and Al Capone and legalizing marijuana will be the start of the end of the drug wars.
Once drugs are legal - the most deadly gang in the world takes over...American Businessmen
Ask any third wold nation with resources why you do not want to anger American Businesses (Dole created the country of Panama from part of Columbia just to sell more bananas)
or maybe the CIA started a war so we could make the Panama Canal - I forget.
I just know not to get in the way of businessmen. If they can't buy your election they will try to make your life hell.
Got some bad news for you dopers out there;
No more twinkies, ho-hos ding dongs snowballs, etc. oh and BTW they also own Dolly madison so no more cupcakes either....your case of the "munchies" is about to get seriously F'ed up....
IA ScooterTramp - they will just reform another business under a different name.
They wanted to reduce wages by 30% so they will just declare bankruptcy and rehire the same people for less money. You see, they learned this from the auto industry bail-out.
President Bush made it easier for companies to declare bankruptcy for just such negotiating emergencies.
This is yet another reason why taxing the rich is the way to go. When a millionaire owner can force you to take a 30% pay cut or eliminate you there has to be some sort of social safety net.
Culheath: "Mean Gene: LOL...Good job coming up with such a Trifecta of pure BS. There is zero causal connection between schizophrenia and marijuana use."
Not only THAT, Mean Gene--the only thing one wants to attack after smoking a joint may be a bag of Cheetos. But it definitely has a "mellowing peacemaking" affect (as opposed to legal alcohol which can turn anyone into a crazed, irrational, aggressive, violent idiot.
In fact, your post suggests you might benefit from a toke yourself, Mean Gene. Who knows? You might even become GENIAL Gene instead.
Gotta love the trolls...make me laugh!
Right meangene and avenger!?!?
Okeeboy,
Actually, I do have facts to back up my beliefs. Let's talk about 800,000 Marijuana arrests per year, basically a marijuana arrest in the USA every 42 seconds. How do you think that happens?
I've worked with and around cops for over 20 freaking years, not once has any cop tried to arrest me and I am not kidding when I say I meet at least a hundred cops a year, but a pothead meets a cop one time and his busted ass is headed to the pokey. WHY IS THAT?
I'll tell you why. Potheads do crazy bad things which attract the attentions of the local constabulary. That's the only reasonable explanation to be had. I go into police STATIONS and I can't even get the attention of a cop, but potheads get the attention of a cop every 42 seconds? You know they're doing something so completely wrong that it can't be ignored by the lawmen! Cops, God love 'em, are not that proactive. It's got to be that potheads are that screwed up.
What, the impression that I'm for law and order? I believe in law and order. It's a lesser evil than anarchy. Neither choice is good, and when there's no good choice the good men must choose the lesser evil. I consider myself to be a good man, that's how I was raised and so I choose law and order.
Siding with the potheads is choosing the greater evil. It's anarchy. I've chosen my side. I am 100% foursquare against marijuana legalization.
Actually, no. I work on public safety communications systems, mostly based on Motorola products and the more crime there is, the more money I make because more people will call 911.
I'm serious when I say that 911 calls me more often than I call them.
The reason I don't want marijuana legalized is because it's mind altering. It turns people into criminals, it causes schizophrenia and we've known about REEFER MADNESS since at least the 1930's. I have the movie, of course, but I saw the real life version of it. My brother Chet used pot and did practically everything in the movie. He got into a fight with my (our) Dad and got kicked out of the house. He was stealing from family members to pay for his drug habit. He wound up dead the day before his 39th birthday because the druggie lifestyle had torn his young body to shreds. He was 39 and looked like he was over 60.
And now you make my argument for me. The legalization of alcohol did a lot of damage. You've just said so yourself. So why would we repeat that stupid mistake with marijuana?
We're actually in the process of outlawing alcohol. The national drinking age of 21 is the highest legal age of any nation on this planet which still allows alcohol. Our presumed intoxication level has been dropped from .10 to .08 and for commercial drivers and pilots, it's .06 which is like you even LOOK at a beer and you're going to hit that.
You've got this grand illusion that this nation is becoming more tolerant of drug use and it's not. You can't smoke cigarettes anywhere anymore, possession of an open container of alcohol is allowed nowhere other than in a house or an establishment with a liquor license, and states are in a contest to see who can make the most restrictive DUI laws. Here in Arizona, if you get busted for DUI, you're talking about a $10,000 cost. NOT KIDDING. You will serve 30 days in jail. You will probably lose your job. You will DEFINITELY lose your drivers license. You will pay at least $6,000 in fines and if you EVER want to get your REVOKED license back, you will have to install a $5,000 breathalyzer on your vehicle and use it for a year with monthly checks on the computer log it keeps.
Tell me alcohol is legal. It amuses me. A whole lot of people get into deep doodie with so-called legal alcohol.
Not germane. The reason people go to doctors is because they're dying anyway. Your argument is like accusing a paramedic of murder when the CPR doesn't work. The dude was messed up long before the medical profession got involved.
It's not wasted money. It's actually a good bargain.
About 80% of theft committed in the USA is done to fuel drug habits. That's US DOJ statistics, and it's borne out by the fact that about 80% of arrestees fail drug screening tests when they're booked into jail.
Theft is a costly proposition by about 10 times the damage done to the profit realized by the crook. For example, let's say a punk wants a car stereo. He's going to smash a $100 window, cut a $100 wiring harness, crowbar the dashboard and get maybe $20 for the stereo at a pawn shop fencing the thing.
The $1 Trillion we've spent jailing these creeps has easily saved us over $10 Trillion in crimes that they'd otherwise commit. I think it's money well spent. It's like the $1000 I spent on Progressive Insurance for my truck last year. I didn't need it, but it's because nothing happened that I consider it money well spent.
Every pothead thrown in jail is money well spent. It's an insurance policy.
Rudy Eugene ate the face off of a homeless man in Florida, MSH.
ATE HIS FACE OFF. Toxicology reports on Rudy Eugene showed exactly ONE DRUG in his system... marijuana. Marijuana is why he was running buck naked in Miami looking to snack on human flesh.
Pot supporters love to say that Reefer Madness isn't real. Like Hell it ain't.
The human brain is a complex organ, working on electricity and hormones and chemistry which no one completely understands, but I do understand this basic concept... if you don't know how it works, then you really should not be messing around with it. The human brain should have a warning label that says "NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE"
Zuksam,
That's a non-starter because marijuana is unavailable to anyone but people who know criminals. Anyone who knows where to get pot associates with criminals and they know it. I don't associate with criminals, in fact I don't even like people who have tattoos or piercings. My mother doesn't even have pierced ears because we were raised that you do NOT defile the temple of the human body, EVER.
My brother failed to take that lesson to heart and now he's dead. Your body isn't your property, it's your gift. You can't sell it and you can't take it with you. Abuse it and you'll lose it. Them's the rules.
Schizophrenia is an interesting subject scientifically, because like color blindness, it almost exclusively affects males. The X Chromosome is the factor which separates men from women, and contrary to popular culture, men are the weaker sex. Men have shorter life spans, men are more prone to cancer and high blood pressure, men simply aren't as well suited to life as women are.
As I stated before, if you know where to obtain marijuana (I don't and if I did I'd call the cops) then you're familiar and friendly with criminals. You'd have to be. You know people who will break the law. I don't know those sorts of people. I certainly don't associate with their ilk.
Here's the problem I have with that theory. Medication CURES things, it doesn't make it worse.
Pot killed my brother. Wanna hear how it happened? Too bad.
My brother had gotten cancer in his kidneys. He was peeing red and his common-law wife noticed the bowl was turning pink in the bathroom. He didn't care, he was high. All the time, he was high. His wannabe wife tried to get him to a doctor (no insurance, money spent on dope) and he wouldn't go. He felt good, because he was high. All the time, he was high.
Cancer ate through his guts like acid through a dixie cup. He was walking dead by the time he ever saw a doctor. And he didn't care. He was high then too. He's not high anymore. He's six feet under. He's dead. That's what getting stoned causes. Stones are found in the dirt. That's where stoners wind up as well.
MeanGene-- It is highly likely that your brother did feel sick and was self medicating. People who feel bad either because of mental or physical illness, or maybe they just have a crappy life and a nagging wife sometimes self medicate with drugs or alcohol. Medication doesn't always cure. Pain killers don't cure disease they just make it bearable and self medicating with drugs or alcohol doesn't cure anything but it can make things bearable. It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong it happens. As far as you not associating with criminals I'm sure if you know a hundred people you know ten who smoke pot but they know how you are so they don't tell you.
I don't smoke it, but I sure voted for it. I am always worried friends or family will end up in trouble because of it.
That makes you an enabler.
Boom, no it makes reasonably compassionate, concerned and progressive.
enabler
Pronunciation: /ɪ'neɪblə, ɛ-/
Definition of enabler
noun
a person or thing that makes something possible:
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/enabler?q=enabler
You should worry more about the permanent brain damage that regular pot use causes... they're your family after all.
"That makes you an enabler."
I agree. Also, anyone who doesn't agree that candy should be criminalized and that all people who eat candy should be sentenced to lengthy prison terms is also an enabler.
Don't forget caffeine and fatty foods. Outlaw them all and prosecute anyone in possession of coffee or a hamburger... LOL!
Sounds like the voters are hazy about more things than just the law.
And what about alcohol, firearms and/or tobacco? They can be harmful to your health as well, can't they?
Alcohol is legal, so it must not cause any health problems.
I wonder who is really behind the Federal rating of pot as schedule 1. Is it the the tobacco industry who are doing their best to reduce the population? It can't be the christian right because they guzzle booze like there's no tomorrow and that sure as hell doesn't have any medicinal value. Perhaps it's the alcohol industry. I'm surprised our jewish rulers haven't found a way to cash in on the herb. Oh well, it's a start, I guess.
Jewish rulers?!?! better quit huffin' underneath your KKK hood bro. look out, here come those black helicopters again...
po-kids, the problem is, the minority kids stand on the street corner and hussle it, selling it to anyone and everyone who drives or walks by, all concentrated in the same areas, make themselves very easy targets for the cops. its like shooting fish in a barrel for law enforcement, they make it easy for the cops to catch them. the white kids hide it, sit in their living rooms getting high, satisfying their munchies by stuffing their faces with doritos, nobody's the wiser. the difference isn't race, it's the openess and stupidity. there is no conspiracy. the only real argument is the length of the sentences when either race gets caught, will agree the minorities seem to get longer sentences...
I'm sure its agencies like the DEA and private prison corprorations that keep marijuana a schedule 1 drug. These people make money off of it being so tightly controlled and regulated. Following the money is usually the best way to discover why things are the way they are.
Making marijuana illegal wasn't due to religious views or drug use as is commonly thought of. But had much more to do with competing commercial interests. Specifically from the cotton and wood industries.
With over 2,000 varieties, the plant provides numerous products from its edible seeds, oil and fibers. Creating paper, textiles and clothing, rope and construction materials, biodegradable plastics and bio-fuels, body products, paper and other products.
It is also far easier, faster and cheaper to grow, has less insect problems, needing fewer pesticides, no herbicides, grows in more regions than cotton, and is less labor intensive. The threat to the cotton industry alone would been devastating.So creating the threat as a drug, is simply a secondary issue to hide the massive financial implications legalizing it would have on the American economy.
Them good ol' boys who wanted to keep white womanhood safe from them pot-crazed negroes.
view the movie Reefer Madness - it was done back in the mid to late 1930s - it is stereo-typical of the "evils of marijuana" and quite funny to view.
I love the movie and have it on DVD, Jack.
Do you know what the subtitle is?
"TELL YOUR CHILDREN"
The average age of initiation for marijuana abuse is 14 years old. That's a 7th grader. Kids are smoking pot before they're old enough to drive, and screwing up their heads and turning into criminals. That's why the USA incarcerates more people than any other nation on this planet. We have the money to raise jackass kids who smoke pot.
Do you know the human brain takes the longest time to mature? It's true, look it up and you'll find that the human brain isn't considered mature and is still developing until the age of 24.
Marijuana is popular with people way younger than 24 (peak use occurs at about age 17) and what they're doing to their brains is making them psychotic, it's making them drop out of school, it's making them unemployable and it's destroying their futures.
We have an aging workforce in this nation. Kids today aren't employable because they're stoned and dropouts and illiterate. Detroit has an illiteracy rate of HALF THE POPULATION and they're making cars? We have a productivity problem in the USA and drugs being sold to schoolkids aren't helping it any. Legalization will not make drugs any less available. Don't even go there or I'll tell you that initial use of alcohol is 12 years old versus initial use of marijuana at 14 years old. Look it up. Legalization does not increase initial age of use.
Reefer Madness is dead on the money. It was correct then and it's correct now.
This a small step forward in the right direction. All drugs should be legalized eventually though.
Why?
Why not?
For many reasons. The war on drugs has been a terrible failure at keeping drugs out of people's hands. We can't even keep illegal drugs out of our prisons! Our incarceration rate is the highest in the industrialized world and 2/3'rds of people in prison are in on non-violent drug related charges. There are far reaching economic implications of having so many in prison over something like drug possession. In some states it costs more than $50,000 a year per prisoner!
Drugs are a profitable industry, yet its all underground and can be connected to violent gangs. Legalizing it will allow it to be a bit more regulated and sold by legitimate, and non-violent, businesses instead of gangs. Look at what happened with alcohol prohibition. Gangs quickly came in and profited in the alcohol black market. Since law enforcement tries to reduce the supply of drugs, they increase the price. And by increasing the price they make it profitable for drug dealers to exist. Fighting the war on drugs will always be a losing battle because the war on drugs makes drugs profitable for dealers.
The government has no authority to tell you what you can and can not do with your body. If people want to do drugs then we should let them. We shouldn't waste money by arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning them. It is their body, they can do with it as they please.
Legalization can provide state governments with new sources of tax revenue and could help with state and federal deficits.
while i agree with most of your points, nd support legalization, i dunno about the government not having authority to tell you what you can and cant do with your body. when the government is paying your welfare, unemployment, health care, so on and so forth, then it becomes their business, you've sold out your "total freedom" for a government free ride.
@bd I don't want anything from this goverment except to be left alone. They screw up everything.
So since the government provides benefits to their citizens, the government owns them? That is basically what I got from your post.
Jesus Christ, will you just cut the "free ride" bullsh*t? Have conservatives not realized that it is THEIR states that receive the most aid? Plus, what's wrong with aiding the needy? Jesus sure would be proud that those who are supposedly his most devoted followers are so vehemently against lending a hand to the poor. I mean, it's not like he gave handouts to people like Lazarus or anything.
Conflict of interest. The needy vote themselves money, that's how communists like Obama get elected in the hopes of taking from the rich to give to the greedy needy.
If you had a Senator vote to give himself money, then you'd see him punished for it, not rewarded. The poor voting money for themselves is no different.
The last time Jesus looked to the government for help they nailed his ass... literally. Jesus would not be a fan of government assistance.
The difference is, when Jesus gave, He gave of Himself. He didn't act like the Pharisees (he wasn't a fan of those guys) who gave from government and took the credit for charity unto themselves.
Democrats are just like the Pharisees that Jesus despised. They'd dress themselves in finery, demand shekels from the well-heeled and then toss a few of those shekels at the poor while reveling in their so-called generosity.
I think it's pretty bad if you look at it from the Jesus point of view. Democrats think that all they have to do to be Christ-like is to go vote for social programs once every other year and have somebody else (preferably the rich) pick up the tab while they take credit and glory unto themselves.
Welfare is disgusting. The wholesale warehousing of the poor and sending them off to a damned bureaucrat to fill out 30-page applications in triplicate is not compassionate and liberals shouldn't pretend like it is.
The poverty that requires government assistance programs in the first place are a result of economic subsidies to businesses like the minimum wage, which in no way is set at a rate that will provide a livable income for the huge number of people known as the "working poor". It is institutionalized poverty which makes for cheaper labor cost to the employer and cheaper costs to the consumer, but it also requires subsidies like food stamps from the government in order for workers to simply subsist and survive.
BD-540164's point that the government should then have the right to dictate the private lives of recipients is absurd from that standpoint.
Hey "Mr. Constitution Freedom LOVING American Republican", first, marijuana is the same, if not, way better than alcohol in every way. Second, so than you're for the BIG government telling the biggest government welfare handouts to corporations like defense contractors, big oil, and farmers what to do with THEIR bodies too since their on government welfare handouts as well? And since you're against marijuana and freedom for those people, you should also be against alcohol for those people too.
What is it hypocrite?
Drugs don't get people high, People get people high!
If it's good enough for GUNS it's good enough for DRUGS!
right random tell ya what...buy a couple doobies to throw at any burglar / rapist/ murderer who breaks in then. Discard any weapns you may have on your property and proudly put up a "gun free zone" sign on your door. See how well that works out for ya.....
To add to satanic who correctly summed up the best answer- the libertarian one- making drugs legal at first would be tough. we would use revenues SAVED from the corrupt anti drug war PROFITEERS-ie DEA, prisons, courts, lawyers, LEO's,govt's,ETC> and created with pot taxes to SHUN drug use. Thats right.......look at cigarettes.......less kids smoke cigs than they do weed now because weed is easier to get and it is cool -007- to deal weed at school for weekend parties with the ladies--the cool factor underground factor makes drugs a SOCIAL thing that attracts kids into the thug lifestyle in fact the drug life style is as or more addictive than the drugs them selves.........studies have shown just calling their drug sealer and setting up a score or a sell activates the same dopamine receptors in the brain as the drugs themselves do......
And as far as the govt control........ look at this new govt healthcare law that the idiots that voted for that will REGRET DEARLY. The govt WILL tell us what we can and cant do in the future and what we can eat or drink or how much we can weigh and death panels will tell grand pa he is too old for open heart surgery to CONTROL COSTS........IDIOTS voted for that! Check out the post office and VA hospitals for the results of govt controlled entities or see medicaid and medicare and SS deficits for more evidence of their above board work..........cant wait till the voter morons get the SHAFT and then cry that is not right...........they cant do that and guess what it is too late and they'll probably blame it on bush.
Andreas tm ....the lefts lies have FOGGED your brain or you just dont have the IQ for logical reasoned thinking.........the states that get more aid dont vote for more aid because they see the effects of the govt programs directly.
Helping people is a good thing;
but buying votes from a block segment and TRAINING them that they are DEPENDENT on govt ONLY and PAYING them to have babies they CANT AFFORD and making UNCLE SAM THE BABIES DADDY to propagate more future voters at tax payer expense is not a good thing.
Rewarding stupid behavior promotes more stupid behavior.
I guess you as a parent would also think giving your kid what ever they choose to eat at every meal is good too. You cant give people what they want at tax payer expense. people must have a dog in the fight for logic to prevail. These entitlement and welfare programs are not good for humans, just like feeding stray cats is not a good idea either, unless you are a dem and buying votes to secure your power from idiots that have low iq's.
MINIMUM wage ........Another liberal SHAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Minimum wage is NOT MEANT TO BE A LIVABLE WAGE. Only MORONs think that or liberal political vote buying from low iq moron LIARS!
This wage is what teenagers get at Mcdonalds to get their very first job and to learn a business and get their foot in the door to ADVANCE in the company. If they suck they get fired and if they do good they get PROMOTED and to a LIVABLE WAGE if they are WORTH IT.
Rasing the minumum wage to a livable wage will ELIMINATE jobs and SERVICE..just like now i have to pump my own gas and check my own oil because those jobs are GONE!
BD: "when the government is paying your welfare, unemployment, health care, so on and so forth, then it becomes their business, you've sold out your "total freedom" for a government free ride."
You and I, BD--WE--WE THE PEOPLE--are supposed to BE "the government." Government employees are OUR public servants--NOT the other way around! Although, many of us have forgotten this fact. Time for us all to remember!
MeanGene: "The last time Jesus looked to the government for help they nailed his ass... literally."
Jesus wasn't "looking to the government for help." Jesus was doing social work to help those less fortunate. Your comments re: Jesus are exactly the same as the Pharisees which--you're right--Jesus despised.
If Jesus were here today--He would be down in the slums helping our fellow citizens--our brothers and sisters--the poor, the needy, the unemployed, the drug addicts, the sick--all for FREE! Yes, you're right, MeanGene--Jesus "gave of himself"--and asked all of us to follow His example and do the same.
If Jesus returned right now--you'd be one of those advocating his execution. You'd never be able to stand His wanting to extend a helping hand for the welfare of those less fortunate.
That's not actually true. Jesus only helped those who believed he was "The Way". Infidels need not apply. The only way to get at his loaves and fishes was to listen to his sermons. He's quite specific in saying that those who don't believe his message are going straight to Hell.
No, Jesus wouldn't do that. Jesus was a sexist (name one female disciple) and a bigot (if you weren't Jewish then you weren't a disciple either). You can blame most of it on the social norms of the time, but by our standards Jesus was a neanderthal. We're better people than He was. Why would we use a person so backwards as an example to look up to?
If Jesus returned right now he'd be need education about freedom of religion (He didn't actually believe in that) and equality of the sexes (He didn't believe in that either) and he'd have to pay his disciples minimum wage, give them the mandatory Obamacare health package and file an IRS Form 990.
Jesus wasn't about helping everyone. Osama Bin Laden helped more infidels than Jesus would. Jesus flat out said that He's sending infidels straight to Hell. Go to Hell, Go Directly to Hell, Do not pass Go and do not collect $200. Jesus is not a nice guy come Judgment Day.
I'm sorry, Gene. I'm sure the rest of your reply was super insightful and enlightening, but I couldn't get past this fragment. I stopped reading here.
Take a middle school–level course on world history and another on politics, and then do a little research on what Obama has done (like, being the president who has increased government spending by the lowest percentage, if adjusted for inflation, since Eisenhower) and what has happened during his presidency (stocks skyrocketing, for example) and explain to me how he is a communist. I'm dead serious. Until you offer me a serious, detail-rich* explanation of what exactly makes Obama a communist and what he has done to steer this country toward communism, I can't lend you enough credibility to read the rest of your reply.
*emphasis on his record, not his past acquaintances. I have a lot of female friends, but until I start to get my period and grow breasts, I can't call myself a "woman."
Communists like Obama? Want me to actually explain that one? Okay.
Let's say that Obama proclaims that the rich don't "pay their fair share". Is that even remotely true? In a nation where 47% of Americans pay no income tax at all, the rich are not only paying their "fair share" they're paying their share and everyone else's share to boot.
The Communist Manifesto worked on divisiveness, class warfare, naming the classes the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The Haves and the Have-Nots, if you will. The idea espoused by Karl Marx was that since the Have-Nots outnumber the Haves, that they can kick their asses, take their stuff and then EVERYBODY is a Have, EVERYBODY is the Bourgeoisie. It's stupid on the face of it.
Do you know that about 3 out of 4 NFL players are bankrupt within two years of retirement? These are guys who commanded MILLION DOLLAR SALARIES per year and they go broke that fast why? Because they're idiots. They spend like drunken sailors, and I can say that because I was in the US Navy for 8 years. I've known my fair share of drunken sailors.
You give money to a broke idiot, and as fast as you give it to him, he's going to be a broke idiot again. That's why welfare has utterly failed to reduce poverty. There are as many poor people in the USA today as the day Lyndon Johnson announced the "War On Poverty" almost fifty years ago and initiated the communist movement in the USA.
Obama is a class warmonger. His rhetoric is straight from the pages of the Communist Manifesto. He says that the Bourgeoisie must pay and the Proletariat must be defended. He's a total pinko.
EVERYBODY needs skin in the game. EVERYBODY needs to pay to play.
Obama, that Communist Bastard wants to present the sum total bill for his $1.5 Trillion crazy spending deficit on the table of the Bourgeoisie and pretend like it's "their fair share". Well, it ain't. They're not the ones who voted for his agenda. The poor did.
Let those who voted for communism pay for it. Maybe when they feel the pain from the bills they've racked up, they'll stop voting for damned pinko commies to be President.
Federal law trumps state law. Right or wrong, you're still taking a risk if you choose to buy pot.
Indeed, but there are far fewer federal cops (DEA, FBI, NPS, ICE) in the two states than there are state and local police, so the odds are about to improve dramatically that folks can party responsibly and not end up in jail.
If you're at the kind of party where people are smoking dope then I think "responsibly" is not a party option you enjoy and you should get the Hell out of there. Potheads do not attract the attention of police to the tune of 800,000+ marijuana arrests per year by their responsible behaviors.
If somebody is a pothead, then you can be pretty sure they've got a rap sheet and you're in the company of criminals. Partying with criminals is not a good idea, especially if your stated goal is to stay out of jail. Birds of a feather tend to get caged together.
Welcome! You have now entered into the "Just Plain Stupid" area of the trolling field.
It's the stating process of full federal legalization, just like alcohol. This is exactly how alcohol Prohibition ended, with states starting to legalize alcohol and living in total defiance of federal law, and the feds just didn't have enough resources to enforce the alcohol laws.
No MSpielman, all Federal Laws DO NOT trump State Laws.
The 10th Amendment makes explicit the idea that the federal government is limited only to the powers granted in the Constitution and bars the federal government from interfering in matters that are strictly local, that is, within intrastate boundaries.
A lot of local Sheriffs are tired of the Feds coming into their jurisdiction and using power beyond what is granted to them and the Sheriffs are doing something about it.
See the below articles...
U.S. Sheriffs Rise Up Against Federal Government: Sheriff Threatens Feds With SWAT Team
I can't post links for some reason so add the h t t p : before each of these
//politicalvelcraft.org/2011/11/14/u-s-sheriffs-rise-up-against-federal-government-sheriff-threatens-feds-with-swat-team/
//politicalvelcraft.org/2011/10/19/oregon-sheriff-gil-gilbertson-gives-federal-agents-the-boot-feds-have-no-jurisdiction/
Meangene,
You are pretty uptight, have a toke and a smile...relax.
MeanGene: I said it before and I'll say it again--you really need a toke--to transform you into Genial Gene instead. (((BIG HUG)))
Marijuana is murderous. It's an airborne toxin which gets people contact highs without their permission, and that's a form of assault and battery.
Keep that crap off of my street. Or go to jail. I don't really care. It wouldn't be the first time I've called the DEA.
I always hear the Twilight Zone theme going off in my head when I hear Mean Gene's preposterous claims about marijuana.
I'll bet the DEA gets there lickety split when you call them about the marijuana users!
What a freaking moron.
Tessy, you are suspended for a week for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Once the moderators start swinging the axe, it's probably a good time to stop replying to posts which have resulted in sanctions.
Sorry for the trouble, Sally. Really. I don't mean to be a pest but I'm a law and order conservative on a left-leaning forum here. That makes me a bit of a target.
About time. Keep demanding it people, and vote out anyone who stands in the way. ANYONE.
Ending the war on drugs will save BILLIONS per year. Thats not chump change.
And people with addiction problems can finally seek help openly without fear of jail and being ostracised. Treating addicts like criminals just reinforces their addiction, by making them feel worse about themselves. Its just another reason to escape reality. They need medical support, not condemnation and a jail cell.
The prosecution of pot smokers has stopped in WA state. The savings is going to be enormous now and into the future.....police assets, judges, jail guards, etc, etc, etc, etc. We'll now have more room in our jails for legitimate criminals, instead of having to let them out early for lack of room.
The lawyers have to be hating it though.
Imagine the savings if the prosecution of all drug users stopped in the state.
Freedom4, so you are suggesting that treating a health problem through the criminal justice system is, like, a bad idea? Wow, what a concept.
Ending the war on drugs will take money out of the hands of those in power and law enforcement agencies, it's not going to be as easy as a simple state vote. Obama has already released the 2013 anti-drug budget and it increased 2%, about .5% going for more treatment issues but most goes on "as is". The Federal Bureau of Prisons also got increases in their 2013 budget. Much of the decreases at state levels come from alternative development assistance programs, or treatment. The war on drugs will not end, it's like saying the war on terror will end. Neither will see cuts or end. We are not the nation we are suppose to be. Plus I think this issue isn't as important as others such as universal health care, immigration and defense, issues Obama will be dealing with before he even thinks about helping legal marijuana.
I am. I feel confident in saying medical personel are far more qualified than, police, jail guards, and lawyers.
With per se felony (you can't argue it in court) for small amounts of marijuana in the bloodstream, this law could do real damage to the lives and careers of even medical marijuana patients. I don't know of any of them that feels that this law is a step in the right direction.
no one can get prosecuted for drugs in their bloodstream, possesion/distribution is the crime, not prior usage. the state will not prosecute, because its not a crime in the state. if the feds arrest for possession, and try the case in fedral ourt, that's another story...
your mother must have dropped a bunch of acid or something, or you are just stupid.
I'm a bit surprised at the answer to the first question as it's been reported in the news here in Washington that many counties are already dropping charges on upcoming court cases for possession of less than an ounce.
around here charges are NEVER dropped for any reason...until of course an attorney has been paid and a fine has been issued.......
We now have 1 million more people in jail than China that has 4 times our popultation. I am a 55 year old white man that no longer smokes dope and I am tired of paying for the worthless garbage called the DEA and FBI and all of the others. I sometimes wonder if the Federal government isn's just an arm of the drug cartels. The War on Drugs has maintained the price value of drugs resulting in billions of profits for the Cartels, it has provided guaranteed employment for the whole anti-drug industry and enforcement resulted in a new growth industry, privatized prisons. It makes me wonder if Shorty Guzman and Eric Holder aren't but! buddies as this administration has attacked more medicinal marijuana facilities than any other. Most of the religious right and anti legalazation people are either parasites of society and don't pay taxes are are directly benefitting by employment due to the drug war so they are also parasites. I do pay taxes, a lot and I am tired of it, let them all go find real work. There will be 10% of smokers with troubles, just like with booze but they already are having problems. I was in high school in the early 70s and there are some that never got away from it, but you know, they do their little job and stay stoned, not the blown up livers and stuff that comes with booze. Thank you Washington and thank you Colorado, I figured it would come out of the west.
Dan1018744
Well said sir, well said! I se you are old enough and wise enough to have gained some sense and insight to the matter and life in general..
Dan, great observations about the 10% that can't figure out which end is up, and end up pushing brooms or whatever at mediocre jobs. One thing scares me. The pot we smoked in the 70's was great for listening to Zepplin or eating a dozen Jack in the Box Tacos. Today's pot is so powerful....one hit and I'm loaded. Not dangerous, but definitely stoned for an hour or two. I would hate to see underage kids (under 18) being exposed to this. After a botched back surgery left me 100% disabled, I would rather have a little puff for pain than the Rx's that will probably shorten my life by 10 years!
Great point mtm... but don't you think that if kids under 18 want it they willl get what they want one way or another? Also don't you think that some not all... want it because it is the "forbidden fruit" Just like if you tell a kid not to do something they are going to do it just because you say not to?
It was stated in a earlier post that there are bigger fish stopping the legalization... well that person hit the nail on the head ... Textile companies .. alcohol companies and oh yes Lets NOT forget those big pharmacdicials that want you to buy Rx's "Legal" drugs you know the same BIG companies that continue to support our elected officals in Washington DC....
Or Country is in a mess... and as long as the elected officals continue to profit from outside interests nothing will change until "We the People" have had enough!
Marijuana will never be legal on a national level, most states will never have it legalized and those that do with create a giant clusterf with all the taxes, regulations and rules. What these two state's legal wins will do is motivate most states to prepare to fight legalization, so when it becomes an issue there they will be prepared and have laws in place so even a majority vote by the citizens will limit any legalization. We should of been happy with de-criminalization for recreational users and pushed that and medical in each state so we could ratify the US constitution for medical and de-criminalization. Now the feds get to practice with CO and WA for when other states pass legalization, although it won't be many. It's really a lose-win-lose, the winner being state governments which will just spend this money as recklessly as they have before. Users lose out because prices will rise with the severe taxes and regulations, growers really lose, and dispensaries get the best deal out of the three because they can dictate both the prices they pay for it and the prices they sell it for. I believe there is even another middleman in this that being the distributor, or the person who gets the finished product to the dispensaries. What a mess. It's good people will no longer be prosecuted for an oz or less possession, but sales and trafficking are very illegal still and other issues such as growing around children, using around children, workplace issues, driving issues and so on will negate any positives of legalization. Many will continue to get their weed from private illegal or legal growers directly(legal 6 plant grow ops in CO) rather then pay outrageous prices at the dispensary. Example is a taxed pack of cigarettes on average is $6-7, an untaxed pack is around $1, maybe 2.50 on the streets. You figure it out. They will just add more and more taxes over time until it's taxed to death, not to mention the privacy one will have to give up, and the consequences of use when related to employment and insurance. So many things to consider most just have no clue how complicated this will be. I'll continue to get my sticky from my connect.
I don't agree with the high taxes heaped on it either. High taxes will just keep the market underground.
The myth that many users and supporters believe that legalization will lower prices is just that, a myth. With it being taxed heavy on every transaction from grower to distributor, from distributor to dispensary, and finally from dispensary to buyer, not to mention the per plants fees, the licensing, other fees and future taxes it's amazing anyone could even believe this myth. It all about the money, just like most things. The only reason these two states allowed this to come to vote is for revenue, nothing more. And as with most people in this biz, not all but most, it's all about money as well. I think it was bad strategy by the pro-folks to not deal with medical first, now any state that fears legalization will pass laws to limit it before hand. IMO the state of CO and WA did a disservice to the legalization fight. Everyone is waiting on the feds to see how they will react, well the entire reason the feds haven't made a move yet is because they are preparing to fight it, not accept it. To be honest Satanick, I like it underground, keeps it from being commercialized, marketed and ruined. We need medical and de-criminalization nationally, not legalization. Just my opinion.
We should continue to promote medicinal use of marijuana so that it is routinely offered (as an option) to people that might benefit from it. The more common it becomes, the easier it will be (eventually) to have the DEA reclassify it. Schedule I drugs traditionally were considered experimental. The more mainstream it becomes for people to use marijuana medicinally, the more acceptable it will become.
I want permission to grow my own medicinal grass for my own consumption. I haven't used it for pain, and can't remember the feeling well enough to know if it would help me or not. I won't grow any until I know that there's close to a zero chance of being prosecuted or embarrassing my family or neighbors.
Those states passed it, so we'll get to see the effect is has across the board, from law enforcement to tax revenues to the possible uptick in the number of people using and moving on to harder drugs. It's in some ways a social experiment, but I seriously doubt anything definitive will come from it as people tend to mold data to fit their agendas.
@Vignesh Ramachandran
Please do a little research before you write an article. Methamphetamine is not a schedule I drug, it is Schedule II, same as cocaine, adderall and oxycodone. It is marketed by the brand name Desoxyn and comes in 5mg tablets. It is approved to treat narcolepsy, however, it can also be used for ADHD if you have a damn cool doctor. Just because a drug is demonized, for good reasons, it is not automatically a schedule I drug. While it's a minor flaw in an interesting article, it shows that you didn't do any real research. Also, your editors/fact checkers should be fired. I've noticed the quality of articles from ALL of the major news outlets have been declining recently, but not taking 10 seconds to check a simple fact is unforgivable. I would recommend correcting your mistake and replacing the reference to methamphetamine being schedule I with a real schedule I drug. I'll even give you a few so that you don't have to do any research (since you don't anyway). MDMA, Diacetylmorphine (heroin), LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Methaqualone, etc etc. A comprehensive list of schedule I drugs can be found by going to google and typing in "list of schedule I drugs" and what ya know... the first result is from wikipedia, the article is named "List of Schedule I Drugs (US). In the future, when writing articles, I suggest checking with Google. If you need a fact checker, I am available for hire.
(US)
Pot :
also uses / definitions include;
3. planting flowers, or other plants.
4. cooking food
5. toilet
The whole "up to an ounce thing" is patently stupid. I can carry 73 bottles of 150-proof rotgut whiskey in my trunk, and that's OK. I can pile 49 cartons of Deathstick Cigarettes (now with more tar!) on top of them, no problem. But two ounces of marijuana gets me hauled off?
When the cops come to break up my party, and start questioning the pall of ganja smoke in my living room, I sure hope I have more guests than ounces, so that each person can scoop up a legal amount for their personal use.
pass the peace pipe bro, the movie starts in 5 minutes..........
Harold and Kumar or the jackass morons?
No, Judging by your Moniker picture G rated Sesame Street probably all you could comprehend.
Not to beat a dead horse, but @@Vignesh Ramachandran...
Take the time to look at the PDF that you linked to, it also shows methamphetamine to be schedule II. Why would you not just copy the name of one of the real schedule I drugs, the PDF contains dozens of them. I'm going to check back tomorrow and if the article isn't corrected I am going to modify the hosts file in my system so that anytime I'm dumb enough to type in NBCNews.com or MSNBC.com it directs me to another news organization, or maybe I'll just have it go to 127.0.0.1 and configure IIS to show me a page that says "YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCESS A WEBSITE THAT SPREADS MISINFORMATION AND DOES NOT MAKE SIMPLE CORRECTIONS, PLEASE TRY A REAL NEWS OUTLET".
This headline is ridiculous. Would a story about a law that changed the regulations applied to beer sales be printed under a headline that referred to drunkards?
When booze was made legal in the 30's, you better believe it was big news. With many a story at the time.
Pot being legalized is a huge change in public policy.
How are the cops going to detect a drugged D.U.I. on the side of the road without infringement? take everyone he pulls over to the emergency room ? or is YOUR local Barney Fife going to be allowed to draw blood now?.....i smell allot of lawyers getting much.much.richer............
Bad driving, at a guess.
Do you know how most DUI's are busted? Night driving with no headlights. Their pupils are dilated wide as saucers so everything is bright to them. That's why bars are always kept dim. Night is bright as daylight so when they go to start their car and drive, they don't bother with the headlights.
I'm a pretty experienced driver, expert class on and off the road. I drive about 6,000 miles per year off pavement. I drive to remote radio sites up 5,000 foot mountains for a living. I have more than a little bit of experience with my hands on the wheel and I can spot a stupid driver literally from a quarter of a mile away.
Do you know what to look for?
Drifting, failure to keep a lane. That's a primary sign of a distracted/impaired driver. It's the cell phone, it's the booze/drugs, something is keeping that driver from the simple task of steering.
Vehicle damage. The person driving a junker and clunker is probably none too careful with his/her life and probably none too careful with his/her driving. The bum is likely running with no insurance to boot.
Sudden unpredictable moves, failure to signal intent. Driving isn't a surprise party. Drivers who change lanes like channel surfers switch TV stations are dangerous and serious drivers know to stay away from such maniacs.
If a cop pulls a driver over, it's for MISBEHAVIOR. There's already something amiss. The cops are not psychic, nor do they try to be.
I think a lot of potheads are going to be getting much, much poorer because when they're pulled over for driving on the sidewalk backwards in a school zone they'll actually get tickets for the crazy stupid driving and not just for the pot. Marijuana has been a plea deal paradise for public defenders.
A kid jacks a car, drives down the freeway at speeds over 100 MPH, wrecks out three patrol cars and fights the cops, and if he's LUCKY enough to have weed on him, the weed is all he gets charged with. That's why potheads carry weed on them everywhere they go. It's their ticket to a plea deal, no matter how badly they screw up or what other laws they break.
Now potheads are gonna have to start carrying METH to get the good plea deals.
The reason cannabis is illegal is because of HEMP The oil, timber, cotton etc. corporations, etc do not want cannabis legalized because that means HEMP would also be legal and would cut into their profits. If you only know about rec and medical marijuana you need to read up about hemp, the male part of the cannabis plant. Truly amazing plant. You can run your cars, press timber that is dry rot resistant, make clothes, paper etc etc etc. And that is even without talking about the medical benefits of it. It is criminal and beyond stupid that it is listed as a Schedule 1 drug.
I don't understand why the timber industry (which plants trees) and the cotton industry (which plants cotton) would be threatened when all they'd have to do is plant a different seed.
Hemp is fairly useless in reality, and the reason why is because it smells so bad. They call it skunk weed for a reason. It's one of the most disgusting odors in the world, and the reason why is because the human nose is a defense mechanism for the body. If something smells awful then it's probably not good for you.
It's a truly disgusting plant. It's a weed, it saps nutrients right out of the ground, it chokes off useful crops, it grows in irrigation ditches (ditch weed) and it causes flooding as a result of growing where it's not wanted. It's an extremely harmful and virulent weed which needs to be wiped off the face of this Earth.
We are NOT going to use farmland to grow gasoline. That was a dumb idea tried a couple of years ago with ethanol subsidies for corn, and the horrific result of putting dinner in the gas tank was that food prices skyrocketed and people died. The UN Food program couldn't buy half the food they needed because the stupid USA government was turning corn into ethanol saying it's good for the environment. Then people mired in poverty started starving and they said "maybe this wasn't a great idea after all!"
No, you can't. IT STINKS. It's the worst smelling substance this side of a skunk's rear end. Nobody is going to read a book made out of hemp. Nobody is going to wear clothes that smell like Pepe Le Pew. Nobody is going to live in a house that smells like bong water. It's USELESS.
There's no medical benefit to it. It's at best a palliative. It cures absolutely nothing and adds complications of its own. It has absolutely no medicinal value and many negatives.
For example, it impairs memory. If you're a cancer patient and you forget to take your meds or make a doctor's appointment because weed screwed up your brain, then your bad situation just gets worse.
Marijuana stinks to high heaven, I've never smelled anything worse in my lifetime and it means less medical care for any patient because nurses and doctors aren't going to want to spend any time near or around a patient with that disgusting odor on them.
In 2010, in the US BUREAU OF THE CENSUS in Grand Junction, over 15 workers were HOSPITALIZED by the stench and odor coming from a medical marijuana grow operation in the same building. The smell is that disgusting and harmful. It's a horrific and useless plant.
Schedule 1 means it causes more harm than good and that there are other drugs available with greater efficacy. Marijuana more than creates the criteria.
GREAT POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE? You betcha. Marijuana is more than a little bit famous for being a drug of abuse. Turning a patient into a drug abuser is not good medical practice.
HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS? In spades. Memory impairment, hallucinogenic, time distortion, and really rotten friends hanging out with you.
ALTERNATIVES WITH GREATER EFFICACY? Definitely. Chicken soup has a better chance of curing a common cold than marijuana does. In fact, no recognized therapeutic drug is lit on fire and inhaled as a means of ingestion. The only other drug which is used like that is nicotine, and one drop of pure nicotine put on a tongue will flat out kill the average human being inside of a half hour. It's also used as an effective pesticide.
The best argument for it being a Schedule 1 Drug is the 800,000+ arrests of potheads which happens every year in the USA. They're getting the attentions of the local constabulary by acting the fool. In real life, you have to screw the pooch really bad to get a cop on your case.
I mean to say, that once every 42 seconds in the USA, a person in possession of pot gets hooked up with a shiny pair of bracelets and thrown into a squad car and hauled off to the pokey. Do you know how many times I've been in jail? Oh... wait. Bad example. I work in jails. I've been in every jail within a hundred miles of my house. Do you know how many times a cop has DRIVEN me to a jail? NEVER.
It's not like cops don't get the chance to have a go at me. I talk to probably a dozen cops a week. I never get arrested. Heck, cops buy me breakfast, thank me and send me on my way with a smile.
I work in radio communications. I'm the reason the radios on their belts work. They know it. They'd rather pull their radios than pull their guns because it's less paperwork and the cleanup isn't as bad. I'd rather they pull their radios too. It's good business for me. I'm not making money off of bullets, but photons are money in my pocket.
As you can probably surmise, marijuana is my pet peeve. I know a lot about it as my enemy, so the numbers I'm going to throw at you are real.
There are about 20 Million people in the USA who have used Marijuana in the past year. That's actually less than 1% of the population. Of those 20 Million, about 800,000 were arrested, or a ratio of 1:25 getting in trouble with the lawmen.
If you've got 4% of dopers screwing up so badly that they crash and burn, then that's a problem. Could you imagine an airline that only lands 96% of its flights? It's not good enough. It's unacceptable.
Why would the USA change the law for so few people and for so many jackasses?
Keep it outlawed.
The Fed's are violating the U.S. Constitution of the rights of the american people (we the people for the people by the people) Meaning people voting on state laws are applicable under the U.S. Constitution. The Fed's as usual have over stepped the constitution again, They have a soverignty to the states not over the states, The Fed's do not have the right to claim Federal law over states rights only on Federal lands like reservations or national parks or waters that divide state's which the coast guard rules. States have to tell the feds to back off or let us secede from the union.
I find it ironic that an 18 year old can vote to legalize it but not old enough to use it? Talk about a double standard.
An 18 year old can no more vote to legalize pot than he can vote to bring slavery back. It's an illegal vote and everyone who voted to legalize has committed a crime against humanity and against the nation.
I hope it goes smoothly. I would like to see more states pass similar laws and free up the state's drug enforcement and court resources to allow them to focus on truly dangerous drugs and activities.
LMAO I voted for it knowing full well the feds can and probably will go in and bust any shop that tries to sell it. I grow my own for myself. We just wanted to send a message to the feds. Did you know that 60% of the Mexican drug cartels drug sales are from marijuana???? Only 40% from coke and meth and whatnot... Washington and Colorado just took 60% of the cartels profit away from them in our states... What has YOUR state done lately???
Now is the time for President Obama to show exactly how progressive he is. He should seize on these victories and start pushing for countrywide legalization. The Government could then re-route all the wasted money being used for enforcement of ridiculous drug laws into other programs.
It also could be a boost to the ailing cigarette companies. Let them roll the joints and put them in a package for sale. It's really a win win situation. Less money spent on enforcement, and more revenue from taxing a product that isn't taxed right now.
Lets CUT big BAD government and END job-KILLING regulations — STARTING with CUTTING the BIG government DEA and ENDING the job-KILLING regulations AGAINST marijuana!
As "freedom loving" Americans, aren't you AGAINST big BAD government, AGAINST job-KILLING regulations, AGAINST government telling YOU what you CAN and/or CANNOT do (with your OWN body), and AGAINST government restricting YOUR personal rights, liberties, and freedoms?
And as "freedom loving" Americans, aren't you FOR small government, FOR ending regulations, FOR the free market, FOR capitalism, and FOR more personal rights, liberties, and freedoms?
So as "freedom loving" Americans, you SHOULD be FOR marijuana!
It SHOULD be LEGAL! Isn't America SUPPOSE to be the BEST land of freedom, rights, and liberties...?
You "patriots" just so LOVE America, just so LOVE freedom, and just so LOVE small government. You hypocrites SHOULD just so LOVE pot!
Marijuana could be THE answer for/to today's slow economy. First, legalizing it would CUT and SAVE billions in taxpayers money. Second, it would actually MAKE billions for taxpayers. And third, Americans SHOULD have the FREEDOM of CHOICE to use it!
Just think of ALL the jobs that could be created. Marijuana growing/farming, equipment, trucking, stores... I think marijuana is a MILLION jobs industry!
America is NOT as free as some of the "patriots" LOVE to say and think...
It should be my GOD given RIGHT to be allowed to use and consume the marijuana PLANT!
Lets see, God created everything huh? And everything that God creates is good huh? Well guess WHAT, your God created MARIJUANA! I guess your God isn't so perfect huh? I guess your God did EVERYTHING right BUT made a mistake with creating marijuana huh? Marijuana is NOT a man-made DRUG, it is a NATURAL herb created and given by your GOD!
Marijuana is GOD's gift to man. It is GOD's creation. As GOD's creation and gift to man, it has healing powers. It opens your mind up to GOD's way--love and peace. It brings you closer to mother nature.
Also, not to mention marijuana can cure the sick and alleviate the pain of the dying, but we don't allow it... Instead, we allow BIG private business health-care industry PROFITEERS to PROFIT on the SICK and DYING by DENYING the use of this SAFE, WORKING, NATURAL medicine!
Now get BIG government OUT of MY life!
Legalize - Regulate - Educate - Medicate
Empty the prisons! End the police state!
Random J
You are spot on with the DEA, the overblown, overreaching agency. I was disgusted watching the NatGeo special when our agents (who contributed $billions to a corrupt Colombian government in the interest of drug control) used military helicopters and equipment to invade the jungles of Colombia and burn and destroy supposed coke manufacturing plants. Isn't that private property? What would we do if England or France invaded us to "control" our drug traffic? This is CIA/government political policies that our DEA guys are enforcing, not drugs. Close the DEA's foreign operations and concentrate on American meth labs.
85% of Fortune 400 Companies screen for drug abuse in new hires because they all agree that dopers are not desirable employees. Marijuana is death to job prospects, as bad as criminal records are. The unemployment rate of people with rap sheets is over 80% because nobody wants to give those jerks a job. Nobody wants to employ a pothead either.
Potheads are terrorists. They rob us, they kill us, they rape our women and molest our children, they're threats to public safety and they're the worst threat to liberty and freedom. They make Osama Bin Laden look like a saint. We should be hunting potheads down like rabid dogs for the threat to health and safety that they represent. They're murderous and evil bastards and a threat to this nation's security.
No, it wouldn't save any taxpayer money to have a bunch of wild-eyed stoner terrorist schizophrenic freaks running around the streets with their machetes and guns in street gangs which is exactly what would happen if pot were legalized. We're going to have a real war on drugs now with guns and bombs and people getting murdered by these drug crazed lunatics.
No, it's not. God didn't create marijuana and it's an invasive non-native species in North America. It doesn't naturally belong here.
Like men, Satan has the power to mutate and create new plants. For example, the modern grapefruit is completely man made, originating from the ancient pomelo. I cannot believe a person of reasonable intelligence can sit in front of a computer with literally over one billion transistors in the thing saying that only GOD can create things. How many transistors did God invent again? Where's that in the Bible? AT&T invented the transistor, not God. And Satan invented marijuana, that's why it's called the Demon Weed.
It's not a medicine. The proper term is a palliative. It cures no disease, it heals no sickness, it's utterly useless for anything but making people who abuse it useless themselves.
How do you think potheads get into prison in the first place? It's not by being model citizens. 800,000+ of those murderous rampaging creeps get busted every year, an arrest every 42 seconds because they're stone crazy worthless threats to law and order. They're the people waving machetes and shooting guns in the streets. They are the maniacs driving on sidewalks and planning ritual human sacrifices.
Think I'm kidding? Go into a head shop and gaze in awe at the knives they sell with wickedly curved blades. See the bongs shaped like human skulls and the pipes shaped like bones. These are not nice people. They're killers.
Do you know the origins of 420? 420 is pothead code for ganja, do you know why? April 20th, 1889 was the day Adolf Hitler was born. Potheads celebrate evil and how better to celebrate evil than to adopt the birthday of the most evil human being who ever lived as your favorite number? THAT is why potheads choose 420 for their little "code" to refer to the evil things they do and the evils they want to do.
As it should be. And the rest of the country as well!!!