Scroll down for a discussion on New Fed Marijuana Policy within the Non-Insurance Related Discussion.
Originally Posted by atlantainsguy
There is something in human nature that makes some people want to occasionally opt-out of reality. For me it was eight ...
Atlanta, marijuana is addictive, but I know some people have will power that can over come it. Hey, I have seen people even over come meth. But in reality, most people believe they can stop but can't. Check out the websites against Marijuana, Lords knows there are several for marijuana.
I would argue that pot is no better or no worse than alcohol in terms of anything.... addictiveness, potential of destructive behavior, or damage to society in general. It makes no sense whatsoever to have one legal and the other not.
It also pains me to be siding with the resident libs on this one, but hey it is what it is. I look at it from a strictly fiscal angle. Taxes on pot=revenue=good. Government wasting billions on a hopeless "war on drugs" particularly with the border open as it is= billions of wasted dollars=bad.
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The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.
I would argue that pot is no better or no worse than alcohol in terms of anything.... addictiveness, potential of destructive behavior, or damage to society in general. It makes no sense whatsoever to have one legal and the other not.
It also pains me to be siding with the resident libs on this one, but hey it is what it is. I look at it from a strictly fiscal angle. Taxes on pot=revenue=good. Government wasting billions on a hopeless "war on drugs" particularly with the border open as it is= billions of wasted dollars=bad.
I also inadvertently end out agreeing with the libs in the sense that I think a reasonably good argument could be made that Cheech and Chong would have been an improvement over any of the current elected officials from California.
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This is an interesting discussion. I believe people should be allowed to smoke therapeutically not medically. It's nomenclature, i know, but I just dont see the medicinal effect. And yes, we would clear out on the upside of 20% prison, probabtion, parole population which reducde our size of government. We would also create a new market, possibly big enough to replace Health Insurance if we go Public (((hah))) with a new revenue stream, that has no gov subsidies like say big pharma, big agra, big banking, etc. YES! resounding yes and no I dont smoke pot, at all.
And another thing, you guys know our prisons are run by private companies right? who do you think was the real loser here? Well done to President Obama, but he didnt go far enough.
Well done to President Obama, but he didnt go far enough.
I havent followed this issue in detail but I have not seen where Obama was actually involved in this decision other than the fact that the Justice Department reports to him. (not saying he wasn't, just saying I am not informed on that yet).
I don't immediately share everyone's joy that Eric Holder/the Justice Department are making decisions about which laws to enforce and not enforce based on their assessment of what is needed and what needs to be overlooked in order to achieve a good use of resources in their minds.
Congress sets the laws that need to be enforced, not the Justice Department. If it does more harm than good to enforce the law, then change the frigging law.
As just one of countless examples, we have an entire immigration enforcement policy that is based on administrative decisions about what should be enforced and what should be overlooked. This may or may not bear any relationship to the laws they are required to enforce. Most of the libs similarly believe that most immigration laws are a crock and the more the administration officials decide to look the other way in areas where they approve, then the more they cheer. Thus we end out exactly where we are today.
That whole disaster scenario at the SEC/Madoff and at Fannie was created and enabled by Justice Department/others bureaucratic decisions about what laws needed to be looked at and which ones needed to be overlooked for the sake of efficiency. And, let's not even get started on the Acorns of the world.
Who gave Eric Holder/ Obama the authority to decide that a federal law would not be enforced? This is the same Eric Holder who decided that the baseball bat wielding Black Panther members who drove voters away from the polls would not be prosecuted, presumably based on lack of resources, efficiency, or to achieve some higher good.
A true lib or libertarian victory would be when laws are taken off the books if they are not needed- not when administrative underlings decide what they will enforce and not enforce. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...968458430.html
I don't smoke anything but am a light drinker. I enjoy beer and wine. Once...way back when, the gov't decided no one should drink. So, how did that work out?
I'd like to do a side-by-side comparison on cigarettes and pot. Without doing any research I'd guess that if we had to make one illegal due to health reasons and level of addictiveness it would be cigarettes.
I'm not a huge fan of the gov't telling me what I can and can't eat, drink or smoke. I'm guessing that one day pot will be decriminalized.
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It's nice to see so many conservatives coming on board with this!
Palerider, I agree that pot can be psychologically addictive, but I don't believe it is physically addictive like crack, coke, heroin, many Rx, etc. Give my wife a new credit card, and she is instantly psychologically addicted to using it. Smoking weed is simply a will power/free will issue. I know people who are "addicted" to Mountain Dew. Guess there's something out there for just about everyone.
There seem to be many upsides to this legalization issue, and not a lot of downside. Ever since Nixon, the "war on drugs" has been a bust. Too bad Nancy Raegan's line wasn't "Just say no" to deregulation.
Let's hope the next step is Congress legalizing the stuff, and then let the Treasury start counting the billions in new tax revenues.
As much as I'm in favor, I still don't want my airline pilot coming on board high. There will have to be a lot of "groundrules and tests" with this one.
I'm not sure there's many legitimate arguments for not legalizing it and I'm about as conservative as they get.
Addiction is not the issue or we'd address cigarettes and alcohol. Health is certainly not the issue.
Control is easy. Can you crack open a can of beer and hop in your car? Walk into a building? No. Heck, you basically can't smoke anywhere but your house.
I'm for it because if done right it will increase tax revenues, decrease the amount of money we spend fighting it and reduce violence. Kinda sounds like all the reasons we ended prohibition.
Even if legalized I don't see it being socially acceptable. I don't think you'd be able to go to a business meeting a light one up like you'd be able to order a drink.
It's nice to see so many conservatives coming on board with this!
Well, duh. Conservatives are just reformed liberals! Everyone is born a liberal (I, me, my, mine!) and some eventually grow up. Everyone is born an atheist, and some eventually become believers.
Now, this push for legalization of pot. Everyone knows pot doesn't change you, right? It locks you in right where you are for years or decades, all the while you think you have been "enlightened" about things that don't even matter. Boom, you wake up and realize it's not the 60's anymore. Too late. So...if they can lock enough people into liberalism...
[tongue in cheek]
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...she appears to be a most defenceless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defence, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:—Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.—Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America? -- Benjamin Franklin
"If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on."
- Terence McKenna (1946-2000), writer
"When I was a kd I inhaled frequently. That was the point."
- Barack Obama, American Puppet
"If you substitute marijuana for tobacco and alcohol, you'll add eight to 24 years to your life."
Jack Herer, author
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Let's hope the next step is Congress legalizing the stuff, and then let the Treasury start counting the billions in new tax revenues.
Atlantainsguy
Ah yes. The liberal mindset. Every freedom is a source of taxation and revenue. Should it be concluded that pot should be legalized because the government has no valid basis for regulating it, then why not let that alone be the reason.
Maybe junk food should be made illegal. Oh wait, why dont we let people be free to buy it but we will just tax the hell out of it and lord knows we need the revenue. Getting so every freedom has a price tag that goes with it. Unlike booze and tobacco, if people insist that there are no adverse impacts on society from pot, upon what basis do we propose a scenario where the feds would be collecting billions? State sales tax maybe as with any other product.
Re: New Fed Marijuana Policy
Everyone is born an atheist, and some eventually become believers.
Re: New Fed Marijuana Policy
What about second-hand buzz? Can't tax that! 
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