Time to legalize Mary Jane in Fl?

[Cricket]

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

[Singejoufflue]

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.

[urbanlibertarian]

"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.

[RockStar]

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.

[Coolyfett]

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.

[buckethead]

Dope is for dopers. Hemp is a more productive crop than corn.

Criminalize the war on drugs.

[CS Foltz]

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?

[BridgeTroll]

The Obama administration opposes it...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704300604575554261952309990.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_news

U.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.

[Singejoufflue]

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.

[ricker]

MERGE WITH NATIONAL HEALTHCARE DISCUSSION THREAD?

[Shwaz]

It's time to stop calling pot Mary Jane...

[JeffreyS]

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.

[Singejoufflue]

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?

[JeffreyS]

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.

[urbanlibertarian]

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"