| Feb 25, 2009 @ 12:23 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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Jankia
Posts: 12,600
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Wouldnt the people that would most like to keep it illegal are those making the big bucks selling illegal marijuana?
The people with the big bucks are the only ones that can afford to prevent a law like this from happening.Drug cartels dont want big importers like WalMart cashin in on there bounty.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 7:22 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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pomegranate
Posts: 1,676
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Assuming they could even do that (toxicology checkpoints) aside from the expense, don't you think it being illegal would be a a better deterrent than saying "It's legal, but driving impaired is illegal"?
Even if I enjoyed smoking it -- and I don't because it stinks to high heaven; it's extremely bad for your lungs and can cause all kinds of COPD, bronchitis, and other lung-associated disorders, not to mention polluting the air, I can't think of any reason that anyone would want it legal except for personally selfish motives. They want to get high and be able to buy it without fear of prosecution. I just don't see the point in that. Don't we already have enough problems with alcohol as it is? Booze is legal...do DUIs prevent the thousands of alcohol-related deaths that occur on the highways each year? Do DUIs prevent the millions of dollars in high insurance rates, auto repair costs, hospitalization, injury, cops' and other investigators' salaries, fuinerals, rehab for severe injuries, etc?
Even when I did smoke and drink, I could not, in good conscience, advocate for the legaliztion of any drug or less strict laws on any drink that impairs one's ability to think and function clearly. (And to those who would say it makes you drive better, lol..don't even go there).
Like I said, though, if someone wants to sit and smoke a joint or two in their living room, I have no problem with that. And it's not difficult to do that now. Make it legal and you're just opening up a whole new can of worms, including easier access for teens/kids. I just don't see the benefit to society, as a whole, to make it legal.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:08 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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lazareth
Posts: 1,545
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nothing worse than an ex drinker and and ex smoker...... have to "instill" their values on those of us that do....
Has making pot illegal decreased the use of it.... not to the folks that I know that still smoke..
Has making it illegal to drive under the influence made a difference to those who drink and drive.... not hardly...
Will those that drive under the influence get caught.... eventually if they keep it up and here in the town I live in, the fines and losing your license is no dererrent... they just get on their tractors and drive around..... 
THEN ... there are those that can drink responsibly.... get a designated driver or better yet.. stay where you are for the night... same with pot.
prohibition clearly didn't work.... now look at the revenue alcohol brings in...
and if ya don't like the smell... ( and different "flavors" have a different smell
don't hang with people who smoke.... same with cigarettes.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:27 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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Gallows_Humor
Posts: 14,567
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prohibition clearly didn't work...
unless you look at it from the perspective of the criminals who made fortunes..
and also.. one should factor in the monetary drain on society today of " the war on drugs"
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:30 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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pomegranate
Posts: 1,676
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Laz, I'm not trying to instill any "values" on anyone. And I stated previously I felt the EXACT SAME WAY when I did drink and smoke!!!
Anyone who believes there's any BENEFIT whatsoever to drinking and smoking, aside from copping a buzz, is either an outright liar or is in complete denial.
If I'm trying to instill anything, it's simply logic and common sense.
Edit:
Oh and I don't "hang" with people who smoke...but make it legal, and they'll likely to be able to "hang" anywhere I happen to "hang."
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:35 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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Gallows_Humor
Posts: 14,567
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on this one I disagree with you POM..
there are too many parallels to prohibition here.. trying to regulate people from doing what they want never seems to work.. whereas educating people to make informed decisions does...
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:43 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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pomegranate
Posts: 1,676
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Then I'll refer you back to my post about how making drinking legal hasn't enabled people to make "informed decisions" about responsible drinking, then. I just don't see how making it legal is going to make the problems that go along with it any better, and, in fact, I think it would make it worse. The only advantage, I suppose, from the government's point of view, would be the revenues it would collect from the sale, tax and fines imposed. But you're still going to have the medical, insurance, legal, etc., expenses that go along with it, no?
I'll have to continue this later..on my way out the door!
Bye for now! 
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:58 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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Gallows_Humor
Posts: 14,567
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pom.. you are never going to make stupid people smart.. but you are also not going to save the world by regulating it and punishing people for smoking a weed..
there was a time when everyone knew the effects ..and very few people abused it..
and no one cultivated it for smoking
I guess what I am saying is.. if a fool wants to over indulge he is going to do it no matter what it is...and no matter if it is legal or not..
but to have all these resources used to regulate it has, in the long run only allowed drug dealers to profit... and only moved societies problem to a different level
legal..or illegal, we as a society, will still have problems with it.. the only difference is.. which problems are worse? and which problems can society actually help?
[Edited on 2/25/2009 11:00 AM]
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 10:58 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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juzhey
Posts: 565
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For those of you who still think weed is taboo, and has no medical benefits, thanks for the laugh at the re run of Refer Madness. Some real narrow minded and uneducated folks out there.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 11:11 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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Loreli
Posts: 25,782
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Yep, Laz-last I heard, no more smoking in businesses-including your own home if it is used for daycare. But casinos were still exempt....although people are fighting it...
As I said...there are tell-tale signs of "being stoned"....police don't KNOW you are drunk until they do some tests...and they should go along the same lines.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 11:13 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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lazareth
Posts: 1,545
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you are never going to make stupid people smart.. but you are also not going to save the world by regulating it and punishing people for smoking a weed..
there was a time when everyone knew the effects ..and very few people abused it..
and no one cultivated it for smoking
I guess what I am saying is.. if a fool wants to over indulge he is going to do it no matter what it is...and no matter if it is legal or not..
but to have all these resources used to regulate it has, in the long run only allowed drug dealers to profit... and only moved societies problem to a different level
legal..or illegal, we as a society, will still have problems with it.. the only difference is.. which problems are worse? and which problems can society actually help?
exactly the point I was trying to make.... you just put it so eloquently 
and I saw "Reefer Madness" years ago.... I never laughed so hard in my life ( and i wasn't high when I watched it  )
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 11:19 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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capobeachguy
Posts: 4,876
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Anyone who believes there's any BENEFIT whatsoever to drinking and smoking, aside from copping a buzz, is either an outright liar or is in complete denial.
Somebody needs to read some medical journals and study the use of alcohol in moderation.
Since I am neither a liar nor one who is in complete denial, we must search for another explanation.
I've got it! You're not nearly as bright as you pretend to be!!!
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 11:38 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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eastham
Posts: 8,139
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Legalize it and tax it.
The writer Michael Pollan wrote a wonderful book called The Botany of Desire. In the book, he traces the history and social impact of 4 important plants -- apples, potatoes, tulips and marijuana.
In the last chapter, the one on marijuana, Pollan lights one up in a bar in Amsterdan and concludes that so much of what makes pot attractive for the recreational user (versus someone with a medical disorder) is the thrill of illegality. Take that away and a big shrug.
I think legalizing pot would not only reduce the clog of minor offenders in our courts, jails and prisons, but may ultimately lead to reduced use.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 11:52 AM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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lacyvsq
Posts: 6,692
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Anyone who believes there's any BENEFIT whatsoever to drinking and smoking, aside from copping a buzz, is either an outright liar or is in complete denial.
Studies have shown a great benefit to red wine in moderation (lots of anti-oxidants) and the pharmaceutical companies are trying to patent the beneficial components of marijuana -- only the synthetic stuff does not produce nearly the positive results as natural weed.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 12:39 PM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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daisy315
Posts: 5,078
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I went to pain management for 2 years.. it was costing me hundreds of dollars every single month.. even with insurance. I don't have insurance now and don't go to PM anymore.
My fibro pain has been excruciating for the past 2 months.. My legs hurt so bad I can hardly stand for more than 15 minutes..
That being said.. my neighbor brought me a joint a week ago .. he told me if would help some with the pain.. Now, I haven't smoked pot in years.. but I tried it.. 2 or 3 hits and my pain eases and I can get some sleep.. do I drive and smoke.. hell no.. this is not recreational use and I hate driving anyways. But the pain has eased.. I still have half a joint left.. and I plan to use it when the pain keeps me from sleeping..
Am I gonna go out looking to buy more?.. hell no.. last place I wanna end up is Hege Hell ( the local jail).. I'll deal with my pain any way I can..
make it legal for those that really suffer from chronic pain..
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 1:00 PM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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Heaveninawildflower
Posts: 19,343
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Why is marijuana illegal?
Harry Anslinger headed the brandy new Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930, when the various states had banned weed, along with alcohol. Yikes.
Anslinger said:
"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others."
"...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races."
"Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death."
"Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."
"Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing"
"You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother."
"Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind."
And he loved to pull out his own version of the "assassin" definition:
"In the year 1090, there was founded in Persia the religious and military order of the Assassins, whose history is one of cruelty, barbarity, and murder, and for good reason: the members were confirmed users of hashish, or marihuana, and it is from the Arabs' 'hashashin' that we have the English word 'assassin.'"
Legislating morality doesn't work, didn't with prohibition and doesn't with marijuana but since we're living in a world of appearances rather than reality, guess we're stuck. Look at addiction stats as well as crime stats in countries where it's winked at like the Netherlands (not legal, but not enforced unless you make an azz of yourself)....they're so far ahead of us it's embarrassing.
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 1:05 PM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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Gallows_Humor
Posts: 14,567
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.........
sorry to laugh.... but obviously he never lit a doobie in his life...
and...I bet he was a republican.... 
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 3:58 PM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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KAOS2007
Posts: 8,199
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Since I am neither a liar nor one who is in complete denial, we must search for another explanation. I didn't think I was either Capo  I'll wait for the 3rd explanation and see if I fit in there. 
The discussion here isn't about drinking, or what the ganja may or may not do, it is about whether or not to legalize it and tax it.... or at least that's what I thought the OP posed. 
I'm 100% in favor of legalizing it and taxing it, would end the destruction of people's property due to illegal grow ops, free up the courts and police from numerous wasted time when very serious crimes are being committed and of course the benefits of having it taxed are numerous. 
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 4:03 PM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ?
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onoudn
Posts: 6,354
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The discussion here isn't about drinking, or what the ganja may or may not do, it is about whether or not to legalize it and tax it.... or at least that's what I thought the OP posed.
Exactly right 
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| Feb 25, 2009 @ 5:19 PM |
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?...Should marijuana be legal ? |
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RareQuestor
Posts: 3,069
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While I recognize the futility of prohibition, I am troubled by the idea of legalizing a drug. The most notable historical example which springs to mind is the legalization of opium. When the British forced the Chinese to legalize opium after the Second Opium War, the consequences were devastating: 27% of Chinese males were soon addicted to it. (There are roughly 400 million people in America today. If we suffered a similar ratio of addiction, then approximately 80 million Americans would be addicts if I got the math right.) Families were destroyed; infrastructure crumbled; and in many provinces crops were not planted or tended which led to famines. It's ultimately possible to trace the collapse of the Qing government in 1911 to opium which was followed by 40 years of some of the most vicious warfare of the 20th century. Ultimately Mao had to exterminate all of the users in order to eliminate opium addiction.
I am not saying that the same thing will happen here, of course, but it is a troubling precedent. Alcohol is perfectly legal and still has devastating consequences for a large number of Americans. I don't pretend to know the solution and, in fact, I often wonder if there is a solution. 
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