Congress to vote to legalize marijuana

[Retread]

Nov 17, 2019 12:43:28 GMT -8 Derek‽ said:

With the majority of states shifting toward legality—whether that’s full legalization, medical consumption, medical growth, or just reduced criminalization—it’s clear that public opinion regarding marijuana is changing. More importantly, action is being broadly taken at the state level and this engagement proves that it’s time for the federal government to step aside. It would be hypocrisy of the highest level for a person to claim to support states’ rights and small government while still supporting federal prohibition of marijuana. Anyone who opposes legalization is free to vote on the issue at the state and local levels, but they shouldn’t rely on the federal government to run interference and contradict the will of the people in other states just to get their way.

I do think the import of cannabis and related products should be strictly forbidden, and that’s as far as the federal government should be concerned. The capability of domestic suppliers to meet the legal demand is present in this budding industry (no pun intended), so there is no valid reason for any of it to cross our borders. This restriction would establish a domestic monopoly and prevent cartels from slipping dirty product into the legal industry.

I’m not particularly keen on the House bill’s handling of creating “equitable opportunities” for demographics affected by the war on drugs. Sentences will be commuted and records potentially expunged, and that’s great, but nebulous ideas about reparation to certain communities is pushing it a bit and will only prevent the bill from being signed into law. It’s really hard for anyone to get a licensed growth operation or dispensary up and running. I’m not sure how these opportunities would even manifest without reducing existing standards, but those standards are what have allowed the shift toward legalization to continue by assuring an otherwise uneasy (in some cases) public that the industry is tightly regulated and above board. Nor should we need a new office to ensure loans and business licenses are handed out fairly to all qualifying industry entrants.

I agree with most of this well stated post but I'm not sure we're quite there in regards to domestic production. However I doubt it will take much time to get there. In a truly free market, an open border for importation would be an incentive for domestic producers to operate at a reasonable profit margin.

Of course when the Federal government eventually taxes the bejeezus out of the domestic producers, a ban on importation will be needed.

[wildmaven]

Nov 18, 2019 18:41:22 GMT -8 daniel said:

Nov 18, 2019 8:02:05 GMT -8 wildmaven said:

It sucks that you had to go through that. However, it still doesn't excuse the fact that he broke the law. It is our job to follow the laws and, if there are those that need changing, to work to change them while following them until the change is in place. 

History has many examples where this point of view is morally lacking.

Law should be in the service of morality, not the other way around.

It's not enough to handwave "it's the law." Genocides and massive injustices have happened, and continue to do so, under legal authority. 

I deleted a longer reply, as it had some emotional response. I find it very surprising and disappointing that the WM I've known for so long would be sort of callous to the scale of damage these laws have done. These laws should never have existed in the first place. It's flippant to say, "our job is to follow the laws" when those laws damaged or destroyed countless innocent lives. The least we can do is acknowledge the injustice and that it should not have happened.

I'm not dismissing the fact that originally the punishment didn't fit the crime. People saw that it was too extreme and worked to fix it. Unfortunately, that's part of the process in this country, which is why we all need to be vigilant and proactive when it comes to laws and consequences and work to change those that are too extreme. However, during that process, it is the responsibility of citizens who intend to break a law to know what the consequences could be, and thus make an informed decision regarding the risk. 

[🍁🇨🇦 Tai Pan 🇨🇦🍁]

Children in schools across America continue to be shot down and you are worried that pot won't be approved.

[Retread]

Nov 20, 2019 14:00:25 GMT -8 🍁🇨🇦 Tai Pan 🇨🇦🍁 said:

Children in schools across America continue to be shot down and you are worried that pot won't be approved.

The great thing about General Talk is that it's able to host more than one conversation at a time. If you feel school shootings are an important topic, rather than criticizing those who are involved in a valid conversation about the legalization of marijuana, you might consider taking a different approach:

(Create your own thread)

[Capitan]

Nov 20, 2019 14:00:25 GMT -8 🍁🇨🇦 Tai Pan 🇨🇦🍁 said:

Children in schools across America continue to be shot down and you are worried that pot won't be approved.

As it turns out, it is possible to care about more than one thing at a time 🤔

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Nov 20, 2019 14:00:25 GMT -8 🍁🇨🇦 Tai Pan 🇨🇦🍁 said:

Children in schools across America continue to be shot down and you are worried that pot won't be approved.

You're a veteran and you still dont know going off topics is against the rules?

[Daedra Gem Doppler]

Nov 20, 2019 14:00:25 GMT -8 🍁🇨🇦 Tai Pan 🇨🇦🍁 said:

Children in schools across America continue to be shot down and you are worried that pot won't be approved.

Fewer than 1% of the population. I'd wager more kids die at the hands of the cartels that profit off of prohibition each year than get shot in the schools. It doesn't happen as often as people like to think, the stories just stick out in our minds.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Feb 25, 2020 0:34:26 GMT -8 @kjack said:

I'm not really sure such legalization will change the situation and reduce the number of drug-addicts. I think it's also useful to create special rehab centers, such as addictionresource.com/drug-rehab/men-only/ for example, so people could get all the necessary recommendations and support.

At the addicts expense or is this something that  non-using taxpayers have to foot?

[Capitan]

Feb 25, 2020 6:11:12 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

Feb 25, 2020 0:34:26 GMT -8 @kjack said:

I'm not really sure such legalization will change the situation and reduce the number of drug-addicts. I think it's also useful to create special rehab centers, such as addictionresource.com/drug-rehab/men-only/ for example, so people could get all the necessary recommendations and support.

At the addicts expense or is this something that  non-using taxpayers have to foot?

I Don’t Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People

[daniel]

Feb 25, 2020 6:11:12 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

Feb 25, 2020 0:34:26 GMT -8 @kjack said:

I'm not really sure such legalization will change the situation and reduce the number of drug-addicts. I think it's also useful to create special rehab centers, such as addictionresource.com/drug-rehab/men-only/ for example, so people could get all the necessary recommendations and support.

At the addicts expense or is this something that  non-using taxpayers have to foot?

Tax payers are already footing the bill anyway to the tune of $30k to $60k per prisoner per year.. That's just the cost of incarceration, not even the cost of wasted police time, wasted court time, etc.

Treating it as a public health issue is the much cheaper option. Not to mention the actually humane option.

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09062/annual-determination-of-average-cost-of-incarceration

[×^☆ スパイロ ☆*+]

As someone who has partaken and has been around others who have as well, marijuana is not as harmful as some might believe. I know some people who are highly addicted, smoking 24/7, and I can tell you the biggest harm it can cause is eating up your whole food supply and turning you into a sloth. That's about it. I personally don't care if it is legalized or not; however, if it is, I really don't see the harm.

[📚 Dianne 📚]

Feb 25, 2020 6:45:48 GMT -8 daniel said:

Feb 25, 2020 6:11:12 GMT -8 📚 Dianne 📚 said:

At the addicts expense or is this something that  non-using taxpayers have to foot?

Tax payers are already footing the bill anyway to the tune of $30k to $60k per prisoner per year.. That's just the cost of incarceration, not even the cost of wasted police time, wasted court time, etc.

Treating it as a public health issue is the much cheaper option. Not to mention the actually humane option.

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09062/annual-determination-of-average-cost-of-incarceration

Thank  you for explaining this calmly.   I have nothing to go on as nobody in my family has ever had an addiction to anything and has never needed intervention.  

[aaeiyn]

I do not partake, however I'm open to all forms of healing. Like everything else in this world, moderation is key. I do not think it should be illegal, but I do think precaution is necessary. Like everything else we do, in life. Helmets for riding a bike, seatbelts while driving/riding in a car, reading the Nutrition Facts before consumption, etc.

[endo]

Make it legal and tax it, just like tobacco and alcohol. Enforce the same rules as alcohol and let the people that use it pay the taxes for it.
I don't partake myself, not my thing. Makes me really paranoid. But, I have a lot of friends that do, and every one of them would be willing to pay taxes on it if it were sold legally and all they had to do was go to a convenience store to get it.

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Feb 29, 2020 21:20:48 GMT -8 endo said:

Make it legal and tax it, just like tobacco and alcohol. Enforce the same rules as alcohol and let the people that use it pay the taxes for it.
I don't partake myself, not my thing. Makes me really paranoid. But, I have a lot of friends that do, and every one of them would be willing to pay taxes on it if it were sold legally and all they had to do was go to a convenience store to get it.

If it was legal would you still feel paranoid 😏