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Pot Legalized in Canada and Alaska (pg. 4)
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| moncster |
The number one reason why Cannabis will never be legal in the US:
Those who served jail time for posession will sue. |
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| astroboy |
| quote: | Originally posted by UWM
A-ing-men.
Now djslain, I know this is an obscenely wrong concept to you, but just consider it:
The United States government legalizes marijuana. They sanction the growth of it and hire growers to cultivate, harvest and maintain the crops. Of course in this scenario the government would sell only the highest quality product because if they didn't, people would still go to independant growers. The government could then tax the product like they do tobacco and alcohol, and make ridiculous amounts of money on it. This would create a large amount of jobs for growers, maintenance, security, etc.
Then, by decriminalizing marijuana, the police could stop bumbling around wasting alot of their time and resources fighting that evil guy who owns an ounce of weed just because he likes to chill out once in a while. They could take the hundreds of thousands of persons in prison for marijuana related crimes and allow them to become productive members of society. Instead of spending billions of dollars taking care of these people, feeding them 3 meals a day, they could actually *gasp* go out and get a job, become a stimulus to the economy, and do something with themselves. And god forbid, they could go home and smoke a joint after a long day!
Then - with the billions of dollars the government would be a) making on sales and taxes b) saving on taking care of countless criminals c) getting replenished into the economy by increased productivity and sales in general - they could focus on actually helping those whose lives have been negatively affected by drugs. Instead of throwing that coke addict in jail, they could afford to put them in a rehabilitation facility and attempt to clean his life up. Maybe that guy who lost his job because he got addicted to meth? He could go through a detoxification session and be put back on his feet.
And if there's some money left over - we could look at doing things like increasing inner city awareness for drug abuse and addiction. By decreasing class sizes in schools. By feeding our poor and getting them off the streets. Etc, etc, etc ...
Okay, now this is obviously an ideal situation. Not all those rehabbed will end up successful and contributing, some will go back to prison. Some of those released from prison will go out and commit a crime again, but if it is of necessity, they will be jailed again. Nothing is perfect, but look at the possible benefits:
A) A huge $ benefit for the government
B) Creation of large numbers of jobs
C) Economic stimulus
D) Free up jail facilities for real crimes
E) Focus policing on more pressing issues
F) Improving the lives of those who have been affected by drugs
G) General societal improvement
Now I know several of you will disgree with me, this is just what I think.
And no, I am not a pot smoker. |
Furthermore, the government would be able to sell legal marijuana at much lower prices than street dealers. Market forces would push street dealers out of business. Experience in a few Scandinavian countries confirms that when people stop buying weed from street dealers they are not exposed to dealers pushing hard drugs on them when they buy weed. This leads to a dramatic increase in the age of the average heroin user and decreases the growth of heroin.
Providing clean, dose-controlled heroin to registered junkies in a clinical environment also puts pressure on street heroin dealers and reduces overdose deaths, and muggings. Also the registered nurses that provide the heroin will be able to administer medical assistance to overdosed drug users, so more ambulances are free to assist people in medical emergencies...
I'm not saying that drugs are good, or that I'd hire someone who used drugs excessively. I'm just saying that I can't think of a drug-caused social problem that would not be significantly decreased by imlementing a harm-minimalisation policy. |
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| 'mju:zik |
| quote: | Originally posted by moncster
The number one reason why Cannabis will never be legal in the US:
Those who served jail time for posession will sue. |
ummmm no.
they broke the law at the time. the number one reason is that those polticians that have fought so fiercly against it wold feel stupid. |
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| astroboy |
| quote: | Originally posted by moncster
The number one reason why Cannabis will never be legal in the US:
Those who served jail time for posession will sue. |
The legislation would not be retrospective |
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| ResonantDrag |
i appreciate concerns givin against legalization based on social structure and motivation of populace.
the problem is the same as when the us went through prohibition... non-violent poeple were treated the same as violent criminals. i used to smoke all the time, but i reached the point where i felt it was time to move on with my life... it's obvious no form of legeslation can prevent drug use where there is a demand by the population.. so, why try to prevent it? i think part of the appeal of use is the illegality of the substance, and there may be an upsurge of usage initially; but over time, i suspect usage would drop from its current levels.
one must ask for the real reason marijuana is still illegal. it's obviously not based on the governments need for tax dollars, or its respect for freedom of the population. i suspect that it has to do with maintaining present class lines. let me explain. if the working poor spends say $100 for a quarter bag (dank of course), they have no possibility to produce ample savings to create their own equity (usually in the form of home purchases), and while smoking, they don't care about these things. the money goes to their dealers, who spend it almost directly on creature comforts (cars, clothing, ect..) directly placing the money into the pockets of the corporations (god, i sound like a conspericy freak).
i just don't buy the morality arguement.
if legalized, prices would be set by a competive market, producing more expendable income for the working poor, and increase the quality of life for the working populace. but, of course, the polititians would have to care in order to pass such legislation.
oh well.:sadgreen: |
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| DJ-Fuq |
| djslain, u really dunno what ur talking about. I had to laugh when i saw u saying successful people dont use drugs. Ill post a link showing tons of famous/successful people who have whenever i find it. |
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| djSlain |
well, mr fuq, considering u couldn't come up with an original screen name, i doubt u have the capabilities of finding anything that hasn't already been created, unless of course, u steal it and hotlink and use someone else's bandwitdh and whatever. I won't argue with u 'cus u didn't really add anything intelligent to say besides using a very "intellectual laugh parade." Please excuse urself from this thread. anyways, i'm back from school (doing very productive things!) and i'm ready for the 3rd wave of the druggie squadron
wait, maybe i do have some more to add to mr fook or however u want to be called, mr fuq. protect yourself if u can.
| quote: | | I had to laugh when i saw u saying successful people dont use drugs. |
damnit, i have to sign up with a credit card to look at the list. o well, through scatters around the internet, let's see all the succesfful people who revolutionize ideas and put their mark on history. bob marley? robert downey junior? The entire cast from the movie Half Baked?
Bill Gates? Julia Roberts? and of course, the 1 and only Stephen Hawking?
i win.
| quote: |
ok, next...
The government could then tax the product like they do tobacco and alcohol, and make ridiculous amounts of money on it. This would create a large amount of jobs for growers, maintenance, security, etc. |
Do u know how much time i use when i am in a car and waiting for the light to turn green. it would save a lot of people a lot of time to just zoom into it, rite? I could get to work faster and clock in early to make some extra cash, which would turn into a paycheck, into spending money, and thus improving the economy and the price of the XBox will go down and everyone will be happy.
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for sakes people lie to get ahead in the work world all the time. have you ever lied to get something you wanted? say your a 25 year old with a degree in business applying for a fortune 500 company. you smoked some pot in college. big ing deal. if the question even comes up about drug use, of course the guy is going to say no. no one said marijuana was this all godly drug man. we're just saying that you shouldn't base something like a job if a kid smoked a little weed here and there.
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Go tell the world's most successful people to smoke weed. go ahead, i'm sure they all have emails. tell them "u know, u can be more successful if u smoke weed." Smoking weed points everyone to the dream of success rite?
and once again: What happens when ur employer finds out u spend time in prison, something u lied about to the boss? lying about drug use? Uh oh spaggettios.
by the way, if u want to prove the ultimate, give ur baby some weed, once a week for their childhood. They will be very successful
and once again, why hasn't anyone been talking to my point about the leaders of the world's fortune 500 companies? someone help. I'm drowning in confusion! |
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| UWM |
| quote: | Originally posted by djSlain
Do u know how much time i use when i am in a car and waiting for the light to turn green. it would save a lot of people a lot of time to just zoom into it, rite? I could get to work faster and clock in early to make some extra cash, which would turn into a paycheck, into spending money, and thus improving the economy and the price of the XBox will go down and everyone will be happy.
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That's the stupidest response to the point I made that you could have possible come up with.
Did you actually sit down and try and figure out how to make yourself look like an idiot? |
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| UWM |
| quote: | Originally posted by djSlain
and once again, why hasn't anyone been talking to my point about the leaders of the world's fortune 500 companies? someone help. I'm drowning in confusion! |
John Morgridge, former CEO of Cisco Systems, was a member of my fraternity at my university. And our house has a notorious reputation for being hard partiers. Now I suppose you can sit here and tell me I don't know what he did here, but I wouldn't put it past him.
Oh, and you seem to have overlooked the point someone made that the leader of the free world used to be heavily into drugs. |
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| TrAnCe CoNtRoL |
| quote: | | Go tell the world's most successful people to smoke weed. go ahead, i'm sure they all have emails. tell them "u know, u can be more successful if u smoke weed." Smoking weed points everyone to the dream of success rite? |
| quote: | | by the way, if u want to prove the ultimate, give ur baby some weed, once a week for their childhood. They will be very successful |
you are going more and more off the deep end with every statement. listen...no one is saying weed makes you sucessful. i for one am saying that decriminalizing it would not have an adverse effect on the country.
no one is going to prove anything by giving a kid weed. i mean..are you ing serious with that statement? your points are ridicilous. when a kid gets a certain age let him make his own choice. we are talking about decriminalizing marijuana here.
the whole point of decriminalizing would be NOT to spend time in jail for marijuana use, therefore a boss would never find out something like that. they could find that out anyway before you even came in for an interview.
basically...you can be sucessful if you want to. weed is not going to hinder your ability to become sucessful. i will use myself as a prime example. i am a young adult with a bright future in front of me. i will have a teaching degree and probably making more money than you 'djing' with that silly name. oh wait, you're probably not a dj. anyway, ive done drugs, and drank. have i ever been arrested, certaintly not. in fact, ive done more than just weed. according yo you i cant be sucessful anymore. but oh wait, once a person gets ti a point in their life to where they are mature about their priorities and realize they dont (or maybe dont want) drugs in their life. if they do...they shouldnt be punished for it.you have truly fallen victim to drug propaganda, and i feel bad for you. |
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| astroboy |
| quote: | Originally posted by djSlain
Do u know how much time i use when i am in a car and waiting for the light to turn green. it would save a lot of people a lot of time to just zoom into it, rite? I could get to work faster and clock in early to make some extra cash, which would turn into a paycheck, into spending money, and thus improving the economy and the price of the XBox will go down and everyone will be happy. |
Your analogy seems to suggest that, as inthe case of zooming through the red light, the dangers of legalising drugs outweigh the advantages. The experience of countries that have implemented a "harm-minimisation" approach and the arguments presented here seem to suggest otherwise.
| quote: | | Go tell the world's most successful people to smoke weed. go ahead, i'm sure they all have emails. tell them "u know, u can be more successful if u smoke weed." Smoking weed points everyone to the dream of success rite? and once again: What happens when ur employer finds out u spend time in prison, something u lied about to the boss? lying about drug use? Uh oh spaggettios. |
No, marijuana use does not point anyone to "the dream of success" (although I wasn't aware of any "rites" associated with success, where can I learn them?). But it doesn't prevent success (any more than alcohol does) either. The only thing that prevents success is the social stigma associated with marijuana use. I wouldn't be surprised if Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates smoked weed in college and didn't tell their employers about it. A lot of people experiment with marijuana, and some people even with harder drugs. I know plenty of people that now have quite high-profile corporate jobs, who had experimented with drugs at uni - the drugs didn't help them succeed, but they didn't prevent them succeeding either. If they had told all their potential employers that they had done drugs, their progress would have been inhibited, but onl due to the negative social stigma, not the drugs themselves.
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by the way, if u want to prove the ultimate, give ur baby some weed, once a week for their childhood. They will be very successful
and once again, why hasn't anyone been talking to my point about the leaders of the world's fortune 500 companies? someone help. I'm drowning in confusion! |
Because if any F-500 directors have ever tried drugs (and I'm sure some of them have) they never told anyone. What is your obsession with drugs leading to success anyway? I don't think it has been a major point made by the people in this thread supporting a harm-minimalisation approach (to tell you the truth, I don't remember anyone making that point.
The main point is that the main problem with drugs is not the drug but its harmful effects on society. The experience of countries which have implemented such policies, economic intuition, and basic logic (as opposed to impulsive emotional reaction) seem to indicate that a "harm-minimalisation" approach minimises these harms (funnily enough). |
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| djSlain |
Shepard Smith on G Block on Fox news is pretty cool eh? anyways, it's over, eh, i'll skip tonites o'rielly factor. so back to the war
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That's the stupidest response to the point I made that you could have possible come up with.
Did you actually sit down and try and figure out how to make yourself look like an idiot? |
counterpoint? ::Searching searching searching::. none detected. Response Ignored for Lack of Contribution to this discussion.
by the way, smoking weed will eventually make u an idiot, just look at Drew Barymore and Snoop Dogg.
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...the dangers of legalising drugs outweigh the advantages. . |
advantages of smoking weed? Even San Diego has it's ugly places. Sometimes i have to go into these neighborhoods to look at some car dealerships or maybe i'm hungry. So here i go, honk honk, beep beep through the neighborhood. You know ur in some ty places when there is an alley per every block. hmm, i have to go into an alley to reach the highway to go back home. hmmm, blantant drug dealing between teenagers (I didn't see any adults doing it, is that a sign of positivity?), and when i stop to make a right, there is a stop sign with a bunch of blunts burned into it. The smell, mmm, thats not Captain Crunch cereal. It couldn't possibly be weed! That's right. All the poor people couldn't smoke weed. it must be all the rich people that smoke weed, u know, because of all the advantages of smoking weed, they make $150,000 a year. right?
This next question is just out of curiosity:
what are the advantages of smoking weed? There must be some advantages considering canada has legalized it. O right. It will raise the IQ of students so that when they grow up to be leaders, the US will bow down to Canada and we will fall off the face of the earth in our defecits and then canada will be the best country in the world. I'm not a girl, but i think it's acceptable for me to say "puhleeze"
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No, marijuana use does not point anyone to "the dream of success" |
so it's ok to tell the newer generations that it's ok not to shoot for success. People these days don't really make their own success. They follow the steps of successful people to reach the top. Why aim for anything other than success? Do we want to follow the steps of those who smoke weed?
| quote: | | ... but they didn't prevent them succeeding either. |
If cops are so busy "wasting time" finding people who do drugs, who's fault is it when they get caught? And what happens when u get caught with drugs. u are then labeled (spelling?) imcompitent for the rest of ur life when the employer asks to give u a backround check. No more good jobs. Of course, this is about professional succes.
how about personal success? Doesn't weed destroy families, whether it's the parents or the children?
(is there another type of success?)
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no one is going to prove anything by giving a kid weed. i mean..are you ing serious with that statement? your points are ridicilous. when a kid gets a certain age let him make his own choice. we are talking about decriminalizing marijuana here.
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maybe u all misunderstood. (once again) if weed is so great, why not prove it? I'll buy proof when i see it. So let's see the life a casual weed smoker to the life of a non weed smoker. Unless of course, u are setting urself for failure and that's great. It's pretty sad seeing people affected by weed on the streets on TV withlive coverage of the A+ Homeless People Thanksgiving Feast.
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i will have a teaching degree and probably making more money than you 'djing' with that silly name. oh wait, you're probably not a dj.
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Parent Conference. U really hurt my feelings.
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ive done drugs, and drank. have i ever been arrested, certaintly not. in fact, ive done more than just weed. according yo you i cant be sucessful anymore. but oh wait, once a person gets ti a point in their life to where they are mature about their priorities and realize they dont (or maybe dont want) drugs in their life. if they do...they shouldnt be punished for it.you have truly fallen victim to drug propaganda, and i feel bad for you.
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are u going to start a campaign to tell children its ok to smoke weed as long they are "innocent" lil kids.
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you have truly fallen victim to drug propaganda, and i feel bad for you.
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america is stupid when it comes to drugs. so let's go to the old UK.
http://www.drugs-awareness.co.uk/drugs_cannabis.htm
whoops, i skipped a paragraph
| quote: | | ive done drugs, and drank. have i ever been arrested, certaintly not. in fact, ive done more than just weed. according yo you i cant be sucessful anymore. |
i'll comment on this after u answer me this question. it's not a flame or anything, but i just need some info before i respond to this. Did u do the drugs before/duing/after getting your teaching degree?
because if u did the drugs before u got the degree, then it obviously meant that u decided "u know what, i need to stop doing drugs because it's only making me go backwards, not forwards, in my ambition to become a productive member of society. Why did u do the drugs in the first place? because u wanted to aim low and work at K mart?
"i've got to get my head in the game" ok, booom u stopped drugs and started to journey to getting that degree.
now, if u did it during the journey, then i have been DEFEATED. I guess i could say that maybe u were to the exception to the rule, but i won't. If u were really able to do this, then i guess i'll secede.
And if u did it after, and still doing it, then u better watch out for drug tests, especially in the career i guess u are heading for, teaching. Why don't the school boards want to hire people who have previous experience with drugs?
btw, say if u actually did get arrested, do u think u would still have that career secured?
ummm, what else.
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probably making more money than you 'djing' with that silly name
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doesn't Ashcroft make more money then u? i guess that makes him better than u, correct? |
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