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What you say is the exact problem with getting MJ legalized. What needs to happen for it to succeed is the HONEST discussion of the health benefits as well as the health risks instead of "well, we make $$$$$$$$ off of it" that is the mantra today. Tout the PROVEN health benefits and be honest about the risks and the general public would probably come on board and push their legislators to come on board as well. It may take a step or two first like lowering it to a schedule 2 but it could get to legal if done correctly.
Following today's theory of "it generates huge tax dollars and employs people" then we should legalize a whole lot of things that are now illegal ONLY because the government can suck off of them to grow even bigger.
Talk about screwed up priorities...
And there ARE health problems with marijuana. Beginner AA groups are loaded with kids who have a problem with pot, not liquor.
My doctor's medical group isn't interested in medical marijuana for two reasons. The first is it's illegal, and no one is putting their license to practice medicine on the line, secondly my internist explained no one is impressed at the medical benefits of marijuana. There are studies that go both ways on the risk/reward benefits of medicinal pot.
IMHO medical pot should be tax free, but tax the hell out of recreational and set aside funds to explore the inevitable problems that are going to occur from legalization.
You can't PROVE the safety of a plant that you can't research. It is illegal to research it without apporoval by the DEA, which they scarcely ever give out. There is a large stack of requests currently sitting there, with no action made on them for months or even a year or more.
Besides, how much proof do you want? MILLIONS of us have been using it daily for almost 50 years, including myself. I will put my physical and mental health up against anyone here! We don't have hospitals full of lung cancer, dead bodies strewn across our highways, or mental institutions full of brain dead patients. Not even in Colorado, lol!
My biggest priority for wanting the War on Drugs to end is Harm Reduction. The War against pot is causing much more damage to society than the plant ever could. Does it really make much sense to ruin people's lives and careers while at the same time funding drug cartels with billions every year?
That's where our priorities are REALLY screwed up. The insane and draconian pot laws we currently have are like saying "We are protecting you against yourself. So, if you touch that hot stove and burn your finger, we will cut you hand off so that it won't happen again. You're very welcome, that's just our way of taking care of you!
I guess you failed to comprehend what I wrote as I addressed what you say. <bold> Secondly, millions of people drink booze as well all without ill effects but then ...
I guess you failed to comprehend what I wrote as I addressed what you say. <bold> Secondly, millions of people drink booze as well all without ill effects but then ...
Ok, be a hypocrite then.
But you're right, I did misread your statement about the PROVEN benefits. The problem is, regardless of what has been proven, you have people like the OP that will say that it isn't true and presumes "inevitable problems that are going to occur from legalization". They have no clue how widespread cannabis usage is, and for how long this widespread usage has been going on. Many fall into that camp, including a lot of lawmakers. There is so much BS and propaganda out there, that when combined with the lingering effects of Reefer Madness, causes this issue to be one of the murkiest and most corrupt issues we have had to deal with since Watergate.
Even though it does seem to indicate screwed up priorities, I am fine with touting the $$$$$ aspect, because that makes it easier to get the laws changed. The insane laws must go first, then we can find the right tax point in order to take the attractiveness of the black market.
No, it would not. The only reason it's illegal is that it's a Schedule I drug.
It's all about corporate interests.
Big tobacco doesn't want pot itself legal.
Other industries (especially paper) don't want hemp legal.
Nothing but a waste of our money. Growing up I could find them in the woods. Now people are growing them on their apartment terraces. Those of you that don't notice them... They're a lot more common than you think.
Give it up already. There's plenty of kids living in poverty in the "greatest country on the planet" that I'm sure the money could instead be used to keep nice and plump.
There's been an astonishing amount of hot air and venom directed at Sessions and Trump over Session's decision to repeal the Cole memo, more Obama era nonsense that flouted the rule of the law and gave Congress cover to not have to make hard decisions. It's easy denouncing Trump and Sessions, hard to make laws. Congress has to get off their lazy azzes and repeal current marijuana legislation. Voters have to quit whining about Trump and Sessions and contact their legislators.
Glenn Reynolds has an excellent opinion piece in USA Today, and I agree with his basic point -
"And it’s for that reason that, even though I favor marijuana legalization, I approve of what Sessions has done. He’s basically told Congress that if they don’t like the marijuana laws that are on the books, they need to get off their butts and change them. As an executive official, he’s telling the legislative branch that he’s going to respect the constitutional separation of powers, which means that if the law is changed it will have to be changed by the lawmakers"
IMHO medical pot should be tax free, but tax the hell out of recreational and set aside funds to explore the inevitable problems that are going to occur from legalization.
And that's exactly what makes for a thriving black market.
This is all the American people need to know about Sessions and his efforts to go after states that legalized Pot.
When did he do that?
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