Weed Decriminalization For Entire US?

[sleepypancakes]

I've always been a big proponent of the legalization or decriminalization of cannabis for recreational AND medical use. What do you guys think? When and if it will be legalized?

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

might not hurt some of our deficits at this point. The problem is that it has nothing to do with what weed does, but how it is perceived. Many would view a person who wants to legalize pot as an immoral drug pusher, so very few politicians would be willing to go out on a limb for it.

[Commercial D]

might not hurt some of our deficits at this point. The problem is that it has nothing to do with what weed does, but how it is perceived. Many would view a person who wants to legalize pot as an immoral drug pusher, so very few politicians would be willing to go out on a limb for it.

Guess you're forgetting about or too n00bed out to know about decriminalization plebiscites in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada and the big one (which would outdo even Holland's tolerance) coming up in your adoptive state of CA.

Here's a House Judiciary Subcomittee Report on medical marijana from '99. Notable mong the committee is Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) who has written¹ to the DEA on that issue in protes of their their trampling states' rights with "paramilitary-style enforcement raids against individuals qualified to use medical cannabis under Statate law, their caregivers, and the dispensing collectives established to provide a safe place to access medical cannabis."

[Chris P. Bacon]

^^^damn i hate vuvuzela so much.

[sleepypancakes]

^^^damn i hate vuvuzela so much.

agreed.

[Mevs]

What would also be interesting is seeing how Marijuana decriminalisation could affect the growth of the Hemp Industry, and subsequently the environment and economy (More hemp industry growth would lead to less trees being cut down to make paper, less chemical pesticide used on cotton crops, increased manufacture of bioplastics and biodiesel, etc etc). There could be more ways of improving the economy and jobs market than just legalizing dank buds and taxing them.

...and the thing is, if the USA does do this and can show the benefits to the rest of the world, than other countries might follow suit. Including my own. Which would make me very happy indeed.  

[sleepypancakes]

What would also be interesting is seeing how Marijuana decriminalisation could affect the growth of the Hemp Industry, and subsequently the environment and economy (More hemp industry growth would lead to less trees being cut down to make paper, less chemical pesticide used on cotton crops, increased manufacture of bioplastics and biodiesel, etc etc). There could be more ways of improving the economy and jobs market than just legalizing dank buds and taxing them.

...and the thing is, if the USA does do this and can show the benefits to the rest of the world, than other countries might follow suit. Including my own. Which would make me very happy indeed.  

I think that hemp could only better from the legalization of weed. What is the stat its like 1 crop of paper from hemp is like 4 from trees? So it would definitely help slow deforestation. It has been a long time since the US showed the world positive anything.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Expand Quote

might not hurt some of our deficits at this point. The problem is that it has nothing to do with what weed does, but how it is perceived. Many would view a person who wants to legalize pot as an immoral drug pusher, so very few politicians would be willing to go out on a limb for it.

[close]

Guess you're forgetting about or too n00bed out to know about decriminalization plebiscites in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada and the big one (which would outdo even Holland's tolerance) coming up in your adoptive state of CA.

Here's a House Judiciary Subcomittee Report on medical marijana from '99. Notable mong the committee is Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) who has written¹ to the DEA on that issue in protes of their their trampling states' rights with "paramilitary-style enforcement raids against individuals qualified to use medical cannabis under Statate law, their caregivers, and the dispensing collectives established to provide a safe place to access medical cannabis."

Maybe you are too "nOObed" out to know that even if a few liberal and libertarian states (and as far as I know, Arizona and Nevada are incredibly anti-full legalization-Nevada has medical, but they strictly enforce recreational use and possession laws) support it, they still won't be able to outvote the bible belt and hard red state representatives. Nevada has medical, but they won't legalize it, and just because many states are looking into it, doesn't mean that they will pass it.
California has a chance, but that's about the only state, and its meeting a fair amount of resistance here too.
I'm willing to bet that no national legalization or decriminalization will occur, even if the lobby tries hard and the studies prove there is nothing wrong with marijuana. A presidential study like that came out in the 70's actually, but since it didn't say what Nixon wanted it to, he ignored it.

[Inbred Jed]

It's pretty much legal in CA as long as you pay for the card. There's like 15 clubs here now. I pass by 4 or 5 on my way home from work.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

In Oakland even without the card it is considered less of a priority than J walking if you get busted with weed. Odds are you wouldn't get busted though. Cop just takes the weed and gives some smart ass comment like "This isn't yours right? Let me get rid of it for you."

[grimcity]

...and the cop probably has a med card, too. hehe

[Mr.Blonde]

prop 19 is on the ballet

[sleepypancakes]

I don't even think that there's anything even on the agenda in Ohio 

[Nameuser]

Alcohol is way more dangerous is my eyes, they should legalize weed ASAP.

[Albatross]

i kinda like weed how it is in BC, like yeah legalization could be good but you gotta think about the consequences

i dont even wanna think about how badly the quality of weed would nosedive and how high the prices would skyrocket if cig companies could produce it and the government could tax it. even the very best club weed in california is so terrible overhyped and expensive - i never wanna see that here.

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

Isn't the rampant abuse of the Medical marijuana card detrimental to the possible legalization of the drug? I mean, by circumventing regulations and obtaining the card via a doctor who likes 20 dollar bills, your really only hurting the overall goal because eventually they will crack down, hard, on people abusing the system. When that happens it absolutely will not help the case for legalizing marijuana.

[sleepypancakes]

Isn't the rampant abuse of the Medical marijuana card detrimental to the possible legalization of the drug? I mean, by circumventing regulations and obtaining the card via a doctor who likes 20 dollar bills, your really only hurting the overall goal because eventually they will crack down, hard, on people abusing the system. When that happens it absolutely will not help the case for legalizing marijuana.

This could be true, but at the same time you have to take into account how many people want it legalized. Maybe eventually it could just show how many people want it to be legalized and maybe sway politicians looking for the populous support?

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Isn't the rampant abuse of the Medical marijuana card detrimental to the possible legalization of the drug? I mean, by circumventing regulations and obtaining the card via a doctor who likes 20 dollar bills, your really only hurting the overall goal because eventually they will crack down, hard, on people abusing the system. When that happens it absolutely will not help the case for legalizing marijuana.

You might think so, and that is a logical line of reasoning, but actually the exact opposite effect has happened. Basically, the argument for full legalization now is that anybody can get a card and really, no bad effects have come from people using it improperly, but the weird semi-underground nature of cannabis dispensaries still has a crime element mixed up in it. If weed were fully legalized, instead of the weird underground market, you'd be able to regulate and tax it, and eliminate the problems that have come from this odd system.

i kinda like weed how it is in BC, like yeah legalization could be good but you gotta think about the consequences

i dont even wanna think about how badly the quality of weed would nosedive and how high the prices would skyrocket if cig companies could produce it and the government could tax it. even the very best club weed in california is so terrible overhyped and expensive - i never wanna see that here.

BC weed is fucking awful down here. Give me california club shit any day over bc garbage. Who knows though, People never ship out the good shit. And while I am sure that shitty weed will be made more available, my guess is legalization would likely result in a lot of new strains being produced for high end consumers- even though there is shitty tequila available you can always buy patron or something like that now, I would assume weed would go the same way.

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

Expand Quote

Isn't the rampant abuse of the Medical marijuana card detrimental to the possible legalization of the drug? I mean, by circumventing regulations and obtaining the card via a doctor who likes 20 dollar bills, your really only hurting the overall goal because eventually they will crack down, hard, on people abusing the system. When that happens it absolutely will not help the case for legalizing marijuana.

[close]

You might think so, and that is a logical line of reasoning, but actually the exact opposite effect has happened. Basically, the argument for full legalization now is that anybody can get a card and really, no bad effects have come from people using it improperly, but the weird semi-underground nature of cannabis dispensaries still has a crime element mixed up in it. If weed were fully legalized, instead of the weird underground market, you'd be able to regulate and tax it, and eliminate the problems that have come from this odd system.

Hmm, I understand how that could potentially work, but even if the state of California fully legalizes marijuana, the federal government has not and there would still be paramilitary zip-lining commandos raiding stores selling the aforementioned drug correct? Which also boggles me, because i thought that states had a thing called "states rights" or whatever allowed states to have final say in laws in their region, if not, why have 'states rights.'

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

States rights is a very messy thing. It comes from the tenth amendment of the constitution which says that all issues not mentioned in the constitution shall be left to the states. However, the Constitution itself has something called "the supremacy clause" which states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that Congressional laws are ranked higher than state laws. This was to make sure that the U.S. was a republic rather than a confederation. It got even more confusing when the 14th amendment was passed which gave the federal government far more power to enforce its rule in the south. But basically, at this point, states rights are limited only to laws or issues which the federal government has not covered (however there are federal laws against Marijuana). Since the 1950s, "states rights" has generally been racist code for "pro-segregationist." However, the term is often used (incorrectly) by states who want to make any sort of law that goes against federal laws. In this case, they mean the right for the state to legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use.

Now, just to make things messier, in the end, The President is the head of the executive (enforcement) branch of the government. He sets the agendas for all national law enforcement agencies. During Bush's term, the DEA was going after mmj dispensaries, especially in California. Obama said that at the beginning of his term that he would limit the DEA to fighting other problems, particularly meth and Mexican Cartels, rather than what he claimed was go around state laws. So, while technically states are not allowed to set their own policy on drugs such as marijuana, under Obama, if a state was to legalize marijuana, their would likely be little to no federal interference.

There is also a whole confusing field to navigate in terms of the difference between legalization and decriminalization that people say makes it compliant with federal law, and that the new law is an enforcement thing, but I don't fully understand how they could do that while taxing it and cleaning up the drug trade, so I'm not going to try to explain it.