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It is much less dangerous than alcohol and should be legal with restrictions like alcohol.
It'll be interesting to see if the overall damage related to alcohol in CO is lessened by legal marijuana. I tell my kids to "just say no" to alcohol, since if they're in the unlucky ~5% it'll destroy them. If they have any vice I'd prefer it be marijuana.
40% of poll voters have voted no, yet none of them have chimed in to say why and back up their reasoning.
As with many issues, for some people there is no reasoning behind their positions. A logical reason isn't the only way people justify their decisions.
Still others know that they'd get picked apart if they put their reasoning forward (pro-gun control at a tea party rally), so they don't bother. Got to make sure nobody gets taunted into staying silent; this board is all about the exchange of ideas.
I could see an economic case for people already engaged in the trade opposing its legalization. Could also see an economic case for those employed by an industry that feeds off those people opposing its legalization (police, judicial, prisons).
Between those who know "in their heart" and those who know in their wallet that this type of legislation would be bad for them, a powerful dissenting force exists.
Our state is easily swayed by out-of-state money, much more so than Colorado, because we have a fraction of the population, a lower per-capita income, high reliance on the rest of the country, and lower voter turnout (it's not so much that ours is unusually low, but Colorado's has been exceptionally high; they even beat out New Hampshire for voter turnout on occasion).
It is for this last reason that I think this issue will struggle here; there are substantial fortunes to be lost out of state, and New Mexicans are (comparatively) easy to convince to stay home on election day.
Our state is easily swayed by out-of-state money, much more so than Colorado, because we have a fraction of the population, a lower per-capita income, high reliance on the rest of the country, and lower voter turnout (it's not so much that ours is unusually low, but Colorado's has been exceptionally high; they even beat out New Hampshire for voter turnout on occasion).
According to the article I referenced in the OP, a spokesperson for the governor said this would be a ploy to increase liberal voter turnout during a year when she'd be seeking re-election. I think it would increase voter turnout overall, since it would attract voters on either side of the issue.
They don't have to... At least they took the time to vote. How many didn't even bother?
I would have like to have seen the poll as maybe:
New Mexicans: Would you vote in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in NM?
Yes
No
It depends on the actual proposed law
I don't know
But right now 27 people voted, 13 replies and 275 views
Had those been the options, I would've voted for 'depends on the actual proposed law' which is probably the most reasonable answer, but I was trying to gauge attitudes and opinions on RMJ legalization efforts in general. In this case I feel like the law would pretty closely mimic the one passed in Colorado.
One major challenge we'd have compared to Colorado is the smaller scale of our existing medical marijuana infrastructure. It seems like we have stricter requirements and only a handful of dispensaries, so it would be harder to piggyback off that system like CO did.
According to the article I referenced in the OP, a spokesperson for the governor said this would be a ploy to increase liberal voter turnout during a year when she'd be seeking re-election. I think it would increase voter turnout overall, since it would attract voters on either side of the issue.
I believe it would increase voter turnout overall, but not to attract voters on both sides; most conservative people already vote, and the few that don't wouldn't be motivated to turn out for this issue.
It's an old trick to use ballot initiatives as a means to increase turnout (remember when the candidates themselves actually got people excited to vote?). It can backfire, though- Albuquerque's newest city councilor got in strictly because of increased turnout caused by a ballot initiative, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for Albuquerque's conservatives.
Makes you wonder if it would have turned out the same way for the city council runoff if the ballot initiative had been about legalization instead of abortion. I submit it would have.
FWIW - I support legalization of marijuana for a couple of reasons:
The drug has at least one beneficial use. It helps some people recover from the debilitation effects of cancer chemotherapy.
I provides a from of relaxation for its users that is apparently less damaging than alcohol.
Prohibition of this substance has cost society nearly as much as prohibiting alcohol. There are huge numbers of people expensively incarcerated for trivial reasons.
There are many more commercial uses for the stems (hemp fiber) than for the flowers.
New Hampshire has passed legislation allowing limited personal possession of small amounts. I would like them to extend this by removing the limit on amounts as well as provide quality control and sell the drug portion in the , as we do whiskey, in State owned and operated stores.
Come on! We already have to deal with people with their heads stuck in their phones while they are driving and DUI's that the state does not want to address in any meaningful way. Make red light running a $250.00 fine, same for phone use while driving, loose your license for life time and your car on second offense for DUI, and hey maybe then. Accountability first.
The real tragedy is that it has great promise for all kinds of ailments but the drug companies won't touch it.
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