Why would you be against the Medical Marijuana prop? (sales, unemployed)

[jimj]

Originally Posted by LongIslandEddie

JA-


Perhaps your fellow students are already aware of the fact that MEDICAL pot does not have to be described nor advocated for here in 2010 ,
because this bridge was crossed 14 years ago. Arizona has been "half-stepping" the issue for as many years. I would want to believe that any student
in college, who takes a position on the merit ,or lack thereof, in legalizing marijuana, would be fully appraised of every consideration involved within the
scope of this issue. I would also think that some of the brighter students have not encompassed the question of legality on the basis of it's medical value,
simply because these brighter students have investigated the conditions by which marijuana was classified by the federal government, as a schedule one,
"narcotic", a classification that places greater penalties upon marijuana use, traffic and possession, than both heroin and cocaine. I suspect that, among your
fellow students, there are marijuana users, those who know the truth and have not swallowed the great myth which has been propagated by our government.

When they say: "yeah, we need to legalize pot because it's not bad for you like tobacco or alcohol", they are speaking intelligently and do not need to be
concerned with the aspect of medicinal value, they already KNOW of its validity in that respect. Perhaps there are other considerations which they see as more
important than qualifying marijuana as a medicine, issues like civil liberty, as intended in our constitution, to give it's citizens the right to a pursuit of happiness,
which neither encumbers, nor harms or infringes upon the rights and liberties of another individual, like the concept of "toking-up" legally. Maybe there are those
within your college classroom who sincerely care about personal liberty and the sad fact that if we as a society are willing to relinquish one civil liberty, well, what
will come to be when the government and our misguided administrators decide to step into our bedrooms, our houses and our lives to a point where they have
total control over us? I'm surprised that the mandatory curriculum among all colleges does not include a reading of, George Orwell's illustrative novel, 1984.

I can only recommend that you or ANY student , become appraised of the real issue surrounding marijuana, it's history here in America as well as it's place in
the world since the beginning of time. Investigate the good of it as a resource, as avariciously as you are willing to underscore the detrimental effects of legalizing
it and putting the issue of personal choice within a fair and balanced picture. I exhort you to be the kind of citizen who is unwilling to subscribe to mandates and
policies, that have not been carefully reviewed and clearly understood by the individual who is affected by these policies. If you should consider "digging-deeper"
into the issue and to arm yourself with historical and sound information on the long history of marijuana, I believe that you will better qualify yourself to uphold
or support whatever position that you may decide to take, and make or present your argument in the the framework of knowledge rather than personal feeling
or falsely derived logic which has been largely based upon myth.

My biological clock is ticking down and chances are great that I won't be here when legalization of marijuana occurs in America. That day will come for your
generation, and society will be only what the people of your generation make of it. The responsibility is in your hands and your ability to bring about a better
society, than that which you have inherited from my generation, will largely depend upon your understanding of every contemporary issue of that day, as well as
every sad mistake of the previous generation which bequeathed that legacy they've handed down to you. Although I don't know you, it is my grandchildren who
will be counting on you to do the right thing and I can only hope that you'll take the opportunity of being in college and getting the educational background,
to make a better America possible.

Pretty interesting that legalizing pot is a keystone to "making a better america possible" Seriously?
Will it make it better or just make everyone who partakes not CARE what else is going on outside of who's got the cookies or brownies?

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by jimj

Pretty interesting that legalizing pot is a keystone to "making a better america possible" Seriously?
Will it make it better or just make everyone who partakes not CARE what else is going on outside of who's got the cookies or brownies?

Admittedly, the idea of fully legalizing drugs still scares me a little ... however, "making a better America possible" can start by getting the intrusive government off our backs. For me, a "better America" would be reality when the the do gooders stop expecting the government to lead all of us by the hand & tell us what's good and what's bad. Everybody has the power of self control, and we should be our OWN government.

It doesn't matter how many laws we put on the books to ban or control substances like marijuana. If people want them badly enough, they will still find a way to get them. Apparently, we still haven't learned our lessons from the days of Prohibition.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Admittedly, the idea of fully legalizing drugs still scares me a little ... however, "making a better America possible" can start by getting the intrusive government off our backs. For me, a "better America" would be reality when the the do gooders stop expecting the government to lead all of us by the hand & tell us what's good and what's bad. Everybody has the power of self control, and we should be our OWN government.

It doesn't matter how many laws we put on the books to ban or control substances like marijuana. If people want them badly enough, they will still find a way to get them. Apparently, we still haven't learned our lessons from the days of Prohibition.

Sure they did, they built BIGGER prisons!! We're watching a program on it right now and they just stated at any given time there are over 60,000 people in prison on pot charges. One is arrested once every 67 seconds.
Now while I don't agree with most of the proposed legislation on pot being put forward now days (only because it's not truthful in it's intent). I highly disagree with putting anyone but the most serious offenders in prison. Before I'm asked "most serious" would cover people like cartels and gangs that mix violence with drugs/money.

[BillR1]

Originally Posted by jimj

Pretty interesting that legalizing pot is a keystone to "making a better america possible" Seriously?
Will it make it better or just make everyone who partakes not CARE what else is going on outside of who's got the cookies or brownies?

Good one, and probably more accurate than not....

[BillR1]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

For me, a "better America" would be reality when the the do gooders stop expecting the government to lead all of us by the hand & tell us what's good and what's bad. Everybody has the power of self control, and we should be our OWN government.

I would agree with this premise IF the person were truly an "island" and did not take part whatsoever in society.
Living in a civilized society requires conforming to a law structure to preserve order. You simply can't have 250+ million people deciding for themselves what is right or lawful.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by jimj

Sure they did, they built BIGGER prisons!! We're watching a program on it right now and they just stated at any given time there are over 60,000 people in prison on pot charges. One is arrested once every 67 seconds.
Now while I don't agree with most of the proposed legislation on pot being put forward now days (only because it's not truthful in it's intent). I highly disagree with putting anyone but the most serious offenders in prison. Before I'm asked "most serious" would cover people like cartels and gangs that mix violence with drugs/money.

The prison sentences are pretty ridiculous ... but then again, that's the corrupt justice system for you. Pot smokers are often regarded as "low lifes" ... yet cold blooded murderers are felt sorry for, and many of them who are on death row end up living off our tax dollars for 20 or 30 years before we ATTEMPT to execute them. Then, when the time finally arrives, we do everything possible to try to spare their lives.

Originally Posted by BillR1

I would agree with this premise IF the person were truly an "island" and did not take part whatsoever in society.
Living in a civilized society requires conforming to a law structure to preserve order. You simply can't have 250+ million people deciding for themselves what is right or lawful.

Of course we have to have law and order. Even as a Libertarian, the idea of full blown legalization of drugs is not something I agree with. However, there comes a time when we have to recognize the fact that the government is too big, too intrusive, and too costly. People will still be able to obtain these substances via underground methods with or without all these drug laws. At this point, if we're going to keep marijuana illegal, then it should be decriminalized at the very least. Jails/prisons are too overcrowded with people whose only crime is possession of drugs. Execute the worst offenders swiftly, and keep the ones in prison who really belong there.

[roundball]

Looks like it's going to pass now.

[zeecee1]

Not sure what it's worth, but just my two cents, medical marijuana is a total joke here in California. I'm a college student and half of my friends have a "medical card" and can get marijuana whenever they want. None of them have any medical condition whatsoever. I went into a medical marijuana club at Venice Beach just to see what it was like and they were basically BEGGING me to pay them money to buy a medical marijuana card. "Do you ever get headaches?" "Do you ever have anxiety?" "Do you ever have trouble sleeping at night? Marijuana can help you!" I kept saying I wasn't really interested, just curious to see what the process was, but they were pressuring me a ton and wouldn't stop. It was really hilarious/sad depending on how you look at it. My roommate just got one, he went to a medical club and didn't know what to say, and eventually he was just like, "Well sometimes I have trouble sleeping" and the "doctor" just said "OK fine" and gave him a medical marijuana prescription.

It's a 100% total sham as a step to just legalizing weed. The "doctors" will just prescribe it to literally anyone who asks. So I'm very suspicious of groups who advocate in favor of medical marijuana, given how it's turned out in California. And it looks like Arizona might fall victim to that... we'll see.

[Ritchie_az]

Originally Posted by roundball

Looks like it's going to pass now.

Just did a Google Search (because I hadn't heard one way or the other) and, yes, CelebStoner.com and The Weed Blog are reporting that Prop 203 passed. The AP is reporting that Prop 203 "pulls ahead in vote count".

[43north87west]

Of course it's a total joke. If this was purely a medical issue, the pharmaceutical companies would have full control of its distribution. I mean, there is a whole economy waiting to be spawned. Think of it--entire clinics could be based on marijuana therapy. Disorders could be invented so marijuana could be prescribed to fix them (at a hideous markup, of course). Distributors would be regulated, taxed, and monitored.

And your insurance would probably be required to cover it.

Instead, marijuana is available from the same old sources, but one can obtain a special "medical" card explicitly for the purpose of possessing one drug--for, uh... "medical" purposes.

In the end, I don't care. You better believe I voted for it. I'd love to see tax revenue as part of the deal, which it should be. I never touched the stuff myself, but given its widespread use, and half-assed enforcement of users, I'd rather see it widely legalized, regulated, distributed, and taxed like alcohol. I mean, if people happily pay the tax on a pack of smokes, they certainly wouldn't object to the tax when it had some fun and relaxation attached to it.