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There is a lot of issues with medical marijuana and the government cracking down on dispenseries. Marijuana has been proven to help people with cancer and other very bad illnesses because it deals with fatigue, loss of appetite etc with very few side effects (when drunken as tea or eaten instead of smoked, even the lung damage isn't there)
Thing is, marijuana is a a schedule one drug...to put that in perspective, codine and oxycodone, both of which have RUINED PEOPLE'S LIVES, are schedule two drugs, meaning they can be prescribed by a doctor. So, a doctor can give people a prescription for what is essentially watered-down heroine, that will give you a 50/50 chance of getting addicted, but they can't, by federal law, prescribe marijuana, which doesn't ruin lives and has real benefits?
Why not just reschedule it and sell it in a pill extract form, and if they want to keep the stupid war on drugs going on, just go after people smoking the stuff? Or is that too much like asking the government to do something sensible?
FOR THE RECORD: I tried that stuff once AND HATED IT! I was hungry, paranoid, and spent about half an hour curled into a little ball in the corner wondering why the room was so bright. How the F**** can anyone like marijuana is beyond me. I'm not saying this because I like weed, but because it is sensible, but I do think it should be completely legal anyway.
Me? I stick with this legal drug that gets me high and yet the government isn't banning...hypocrisy? no, of course not
Not just them, think of all the jails, prisons, etc will close. How many people will be out of work?
Farming doesn't need a lot of hands, keeping folks locked up does.
That's a good point as well. The majority of arrests from what I'm aware of are for marijuana possession. Those keep many people employed and cash pouring into the government from it.
It would mean admitting to decades of government mistakes.
Agreed.
I have no problem with medical marijuana, or marijuana in general. Medical marijuana should be legal.
And there are times I think marijuana for other uses should be legalized and taxed.
But when I think of the BILLIONS of dollars we have spent on the 'war on drugs' (as high as $40B last year) then I have to say either abandon the war on drugs or continue it for ALL drugs (outside of medical use).
Not only has this war cost us a trillion dollars and taken countless lives, it has done little to relieve the drug problem in the US.
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It's unlikely Romney and co. will ever wanna legalize it, but I suspect the Obama administration will finally make a move towards legalization if he gets re-elected and feels more secure. Like the end of Prohibition, it'll have to start with a critical mass of states first legalizing it, with the tacit cooperation of the feds (but which has been lacking ever since Obama & Holder caught a lot of heat and did an about-face on their initial "just turn a blind eye" policy). So until the feds lighten up again, neither will local law enforcement (and politicians) at the state level.
I have no problem with medical marijuana, or marijuana in general. Medical marijuana should be legal.
And there are times I think marijuana for other uses should be legalized and taxed.
But when I think of the BILLIONS of dollars we have spent on the 'war on drugs' (as high as $40B last year) then I have to say either abandon the war on drugs or continue it for ALL drugs (outside of medical use).
Not only has this war cost us a trillion dollars and taken countless lives, it has done little to relieve the drug problem in the US.
On the drug war clock link, it claims 588,275 people arrested for marijuana possession this year. Consider that the average possession charge for a perp's first offense is around $1200 with additional turnkey fees and other charges (all of which is different from locality to locality), I can reasonably assume that state and federal government agencies netted some $705, 930, 000 just on these offense alone. This low-ball, conservative figure doesn't exceed the total spent on drug enforcement this year, but these marijuana possession fines are just a drop in the bucket to what the staties and the federales make on the drug war.
The drug war exists because it is profitable. The goal in the drug war is not the eradication of illicit drug use. Rather, it is about controlling the population and it makes for good politics. Ever notice that you'd be hard pressed to find one politician who consistently advocates for drug law reform--and is taken seriously. Certainly you have your Gary Johnsons out there, but what are they in charge of lately? In short, it sounds good especially when local political candidates are at the Rotary Club luncheon railing about some pot-smoking hippies. It gives the Rotary a gigantic hard on!
On the drug war clock link, it claims 588,275 people arrested for marijuana possession this year. Consider that the average possession charge for a perp's first offense is around $1200 with additional turnkey fees and other charges (all of which is different from locality to locality), I can reasonably assume that state and federal government agencies netted some $705, 930, 000 just on these offense alone. This low-ball, conservative figure doesn't exceed the total spent on drug enforcement this year, but these marijuana possession fines are just a drop in the bucket to what the staties and the federales make on the drug war.
The drug war exists because it is profitable. The goal in the drug war is not the eradication of illicit drug use. Rather, it is about controlling the population and it makes for good politics. Ever notice that you'd be hard pressed to find one politician who consistently advocates for drug law reform--and is taken seriously. Certainly you have your Gary Johnsons out there, but what are they in charge of lately? In short, it sounds good especially when local political candidates are at the Rotary Club luncheon railing about some pot-smoking hippies. It gives the Rotary a gigantic hard on!
That's why I say to either end the war, or keep it for ALL drugs. Legalizing marijuana would take a big bite out of the amount of payback the "war" generates.
I have nothing against marijuana use. IMO, it is a lesser evil than cigarettes or alcohol. And I definitely support it's use as a medical treatment.
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