This appraisal of our marijuana laws was written a year ago but not much has changed, at least not in our neck of the woods. Now that our economy is in the pits should our govt be looking at marijuana now as a lucrative business?
http://www.floridacriminalattorneysblog.com/2009/07/a-look-at-marijuana-laws-in-fl.html
It does strike me as odd the laws around marijuana are so strict here in FL given people from all over the country flock here for the oxycodone. I'd much rather have someone ripping a bong than snorting oxy. Fortunately, we've got changes coming for that.
But to look to it as a "lucrative business?" Certainly it makes sense on paper, and I'll be there to vote and toke one after the win, but "good, decent Amerrrcans" aren't going to tolerate, let alone vote to approve it. As it stands, we import most of our gear from Mexico and get the good stuff from Canada. Are we going to implement tariffs on something that is illegal in Canada and Mexico? Or, do we bring down the Canadians with their plants and set them up in Pastor Brunson's neighborhood? Do they get Visas for that? Can anyone else hear the outcries of the border states that the Mexicans are coming to grow the devil's weed in their back yard and now they are legal and oh, what a tragedy this is? Cue frail Aunt Margie fainting.
Canada, in 2009, had 53% of the population who would legalize cannabis. Not an overwhelming majority and I think Canada tends to be slightly more progressive than the US. There are too many Americans who think it is good and correct to be in my other MORE private affairs that I don't see us approaching the majority needed to pass this type of taxation.
"But to look to it as a "lucrative business?"
That's exactly what it is now. Prohibition just makes it a corrupting influence on government and unnecessarily violent.
It needs to be decriminalized in the very least. In California, they're voting to legalize it, but the Feds are basically saying that, regardless of what the citizens vote for, they're still going to prosecute. So much for state's rights. Our government is out of control.
I also like that it's against the law to drive without a seatbelt, but you can ride a motorcycle without a helmet. Is it really a safety issue, or is it a convenient way for cops to pull people over and harass them/search their car/etc?
We give our freedom away bit by bit to politicians who play into public fears as a campaign strategy. Reefer Madness anyone?
We prosecute our own citizens for the human condition.
Quote from: Cricket on October 17, 2010, 10:03:21 AM
This appraisal of our marijuana laws was written a year ago but not much has changed, at least not in our neck of the woods. Now that our economy is in the pits should our govt be looking at marijuana now as a lucrative business?
http://www.floridacriminalattorneysblog.com/2009/07/a-look-at-marijuana-laws-in-fl.html
Yea, I think so. I dont understand the hatred for weed.
Dope is for dopers. Hemp is a more productive crop than corn.
Criminalize the war on drugs.
All governments are looking to increase revenue...............legalize and tax the hell out of it! They tax booze, tabacco products and everything else under the sun so why not cannabis? From my viewpoint, a win win, taxable and save some money trying to stop the import of said product! Maybe made in the "USA" can mean something again?
The Obama administration opposes it...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704300604575554261952309990.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_news
QuoteU.S. Casts Vote Against Pot
By EVAN PEREZ
Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration "strongly opposes" a California ballot measure to legalize marijuana, warning that federal drug-enforcement efforts would be "greatly complicated" if the measure passes.
Recent polls indicate voters narrowly favor passing the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act, also known as Proposition 19, in next month's election. If passed, the measure would only affect state law, leaving intact the federal law that classifies marijuana as a controlled substance alongside cocaine and other drugs.
Mr. Holder said in a letter Wednesday to nine former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs that the administration would continue to enforce federal law if California legalizes marijuana. The DEA chiefs had urged him to speak out on the matter.
The ballot measure would block state police officers from seizing marijuana that complies with state law. That would be a "significant impediment" for federal agents, Mr. Holder wrote, because the federal government typically works with local law enforcement when carrying out marijuana and other drug busts.
Already, California has decriminalized possession of smaller quantities of marijuana deemed to be for personal use. The measure would go further than existing law in California and other states that allow use of the drug for medicinal purposes.
The Obama administration has largely hewed to the marijuana-enforcement policy of previous administrations. Mr. Holder has said the government won't target medicinal-marijuana operations that comply with state law, but will continue to pursue prosecutions of traffickers.
The Yes on 19 campaign backing the California measure said passage "would kick-start a national conversation about changing our country's obviously failed marijuana prohibition policies."
Joseph McNamara, a retired San Jose police chief and supporter of Proposition 19, said in response to Mr. Holder's letter that efforts to block marijuana use "waste billions of dollars" and are the wrong priority "in the midst of a sagging economic recovery."
A poll early this month by SurveyUSA found 48% of likely voters support Proposition 19, with 41% opposed. However, the measure is opposed by California lawmakers of both parties, who are likely to step up their campaign in the final weeks.
The former DEA officials said the Justice Department should take legal action to prevent Proposition 19 from becoming law, much as the department has sued to block Arizona's enforcement of a state law that seeks to crack down on illegal immigration. Mr. Holder, in his letter, shied away from that question, saying only that the Justice Department is "considering all available legal and policy options" if the measure passes.
There are some differences in the Arizona and California cases. According to the federal government's legal positionâ€"which Arizona is challengingâ€"the Arizona law required state law enforcement to take action that infringed on federal immigration responsibilities. The California measure, by contrast, would merely result in the state withholding its assistance on federal marijuana drug enforcement.
What good does it do for one state to legalize if it is still a federal crime? CA passing this legislation ensures that the feds will be involved in stupid drug cases called in by sanctimonious pricks. I want the feds working on major issues, not pot brownie busts.
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It's time to stop calling pot Mary Jane...
Quote from: Singejoufflue on October 18, 2010, 08:19:45 AM
What good does it do for one state to legalize if it is still a federal crime? CA passing this legislation ensures that the feds will be involved in stupid drug cases called in by sanctimonious pricks. I want the feds working on major issues, not pot brownie busts.
It saves the state money prosecuting and imprisoning offenders.
Quote from: JeffreyS on December 27, 2010, 10:07:23 PM
It saves the state money prosecuting and imprisoning offenders.
It costs the Feds money prosecuting and imprisoning offenders as well, and they tend to do a little upcharging... So where is the logic in passing a bill to legalize a drug for which the Feds will continue to prosecute and imprison?
If the state can save a bit of money there is their motivation. Also as the feds carry more of the burden and have more presidents to follow it may motivate them.
Quote from: Shwaz on December 27, 2010, 09:59:13 PM
It's time to stop calling pot Mary Jane...
"Every time I think that I'm the only one who's lonely
Someone calls on me
And every now and then I spend my time at rhyme and verse
And curse those faults in me
And then along comes Mary
And does she want to give me kicks, and be my steady chick
And give me pick of memories
Or maybe rather gather tales from the fails and tribulations
No one ever sees
When we met I was sure out to lunch
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch
When vague desire is the fire in the eyes of chicks
Whose sickness is the games they play
And when the masquerade is played and neighbor folks make jokes
At who is most to blame today
And then along comes Mary
And does she want to set them free, and let them see reality
From where she got her name
And will they struggle much, when told that such a tender touch of hers
Will make them not the same
When we met I was sure out to lunch
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch
And when the morning of the warning's passed, the gassed and flaccid kids
Are flung across the staras
The psychodramas and the traumas gone
The songs are left unsung and hung upon the scars
And then along comes Mary
And does she want to see the stains, the dead remains of all the pains
She left the night before
Or will their waking eyes, reflect the lies, and make them realize
Their urgent cry for sight no more
When we met I was sure out to lunch
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch"
Quote from: Shwaz on December 27, 2010, 09:59:13 PM
It's time to stop calling pot Mary Jane...
Please explain your stance. I would like to know why this slang is unacceptable...
Quote from: Jaxson on December 28, 2010, 11:11:32 AM
Quote from: Shwaz on December 27, 2010, 09:59:13 PM
It's time to stop calling pot Mary Jane...
Please explain your stance. I would like to know why this slang is unacceptable...
It's corny.
Quote
1. corny 1031 up, 167 down
buy corny mugs, tshirts and magnets
Trying to be cool, but ultimately very uncool indeed, and often even extremely embarrassing
Whether 'Mary Jane' is corny and should not be used is probably a moot point. I do not think that I have seen anyone under the age of 30 refer to it is 'Mary Jane.' Come to think of it, I don't know anyone younger than 30 call it 'reefer.' I believe that the preferred nicknames for marijuana (in its various forms) include the following: chronic, herb, weed, blunt, or whatever is hip these days. I would presume that tie-dye wearing refugees from Woodstock are the main ones who still call it Mary Jane - and also use the term 'old lady' or 'old man' to refer to their significant others...LOL
Quote from: Jaxson on December 28, 2010, 01:09:00 PM
Whether 'Mary Jane' is corny and should not be used is probably a moot point. I do not think that I have seen anyone under the age of 30 refer to it is 'Mary Jane.' Come to think of it, I don't know anyone younger than 30 call it 'reefer.' I believe that the preferred nicknames for marijuana (in its various forms) include the following: chronic, herb, weed, blunt, or whatever is hip these days. I would presume that tie-dye wearing refugees from Woodstock are the main ones who still call it Mary Jane - and also use the term 'old lady' or 'old man' to refer to their significant others...LOL
"Old Lady" is still relevant & totally acceptable :D
I just got back from LA. It was wonderful ;D
I know Cali has a lot of messed up policies, but this isn't one of them.
The quality is fantastic and people's attitude regarding it is spot on: do what you want, it doesn't bother me.
I'm actually surprised it isn't legal in FL yet...I guess the old hippies that move here would rather just swap viag/oxy/cial pills down at the Villages...lol....free love baby.
Quote from: RockStar on December 28, 2010, 02:43:43 PM
I just got back from LA. It was wonderful ;D
I know Cali has a lot of messed up policies, but this isn't one of them.
The quality is fantastic and people's attitude regarding it is spot on: do what you want, it doesn't bother me.
I'm actually surprised it isn't legal in FL yet...I guess the old hippies that move here would rather just swap viag/oxy/cial pills down at the Villages...lol....free love baby.
A good friend of mine just got back from California too. He was out there to set up a website www.topshelfmeds.com/ (http://www.topshelfmeds.com/) for a start up medical 'mary jane' company. He also raved about the quality.
I'm sure it's amazing... I've been to Amsterdam a few times and the quality was spectacular there as well.
Although it's been so long since I partook that Iowa dirt weed would get me ripped :D
Quote from: Shwaz on December 28, 2010, 02:41:24 PM
"Old Lady" is still relevant & totally acceptable :D
Unless she's put on a few lbs or sent to pasture, then it's "the Ol' Girl"
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on December 28, 2010, 04:23:21 PM
Quote from: Shwaz on December 28, 2010, 02:41:24 PM
"Old Lady" is still relevant & totally acceptable :D
Unless she's put on a few lbs or sent to pasture, then it's "the Ol' Girl"
Any relation to the Ol' Ball Coach?