Bernie Sanders calls for Marijuana legalization

[Jhhnn]

It's official

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box...propose-softening-federal-stance-on-marijuana

I think it's a good thing, especially coming from a supposedly evil socialist hell bent on crushing our freedoms.

 

[JSt0rm]

but what about all the law enforcement jobs that will be lost?

 

[TheGardener]

This could be a big fail, when the potheads forget to vote.

 

[JSt0rm]

This could be a big fail, when the potheads forget to vote.

Some people use it to help with creativity.

 

[Atreus21]

Suits me. Opens up another market. Reduces prison population. Deprives the cartels of one revenue source.

Suits me fine. Republicans should do the same.

 

[michal1980]

good.

 

[Strk]

Suits me. Opens up another market. Reduces prison population. Deprives the cartels of one revenue source.

Suits me fine. Republicans should do the same.

Sadly the only one saying decriminalize it is Rand Paul.

 

[Vic]

Sadly the only one saying decriminalize it is Rand Paul.

Carson and Rubio are both saying that they'd bring the Feds into Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Small government, states rights, and all that.

 

[Spungo]

but what about all the law enforcement jobs that will be lost?

They can get jobs as high school security guards

 

[WelshBloke]

it's official

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box...propose-softening-federal-stance-on-marijuana

i think it's a good thing, especially coming from a supposedly evil socialist hell bent on crushing our freedoms.

a
THOSE ARE THE WRONG FREEDOMS!!!!!

 

[Jhhnn]

Sadly the only one saying decriminalize it is Rand Paul.

At that, he waffles around a lot-

PAUL: The main thing I've said is not to legalize them but not to incarcerate people for extended periods of time. With Senator Leahy, we have a bill on mandatory minimums. There are people in jail for 50 years for nonviolent crimes. And that's a huge mistake. Our prisons are full of nonviolent criminals. I don't want to encourage people to do it. Marijuana takes away your incentive to work. I don't want to promote that but I also don't want to put people in jail who make the mistake. There are a lot of young people who do this and then later on, they get married and they quit; I don't want to put them in jail and ruin their lives. The last two presidents could conceivably have been put in jail for their drug use, and it would have ruined their lives. They got lucky, but a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Rand_Paul_Drugs.htm

He'll still throw you in jail just not for an extended period of time (whatever that means).

I don't think he really understands cannabis use in the slightest, given the rest of it. He disrespects a lot of otherwise honest & hardworking users.

Hillary says wait 'til the evidence is in from state legalization. She knows full well we're doing A-OK here in Colorado so that's a deflection of sorts but indicates no bias against it like Christie.

I wonder when conservative lawmakers will discover the contradiction between their pov & the fact that use, possession & cultivation are legal in DC.

They seem to be out of touch with the fact that prohibition exists solely on the basis of institutional inertia.

 

[Jhhnn]

Carson and Rubio are both saying that they'd bring the Feds into Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Small government, states rights, and all that.

I'm sure they could shut own retail but that would merely reduce State revenues. Federal authorities lack the wherewithall to effectively enforce other cannabis law w/o state & local statutes to assist them.

Shutting down retail & leaving MMJ alone raises constitutional issues of equal protection because both are specifically outlawed by the same federal statute. It's illegal for either purpose.

Prohibition was fatally snakebit when CO & WA legalized in 2012, something Holder & Obama recognized when they framed it as states rights, adding insult to injury for conservative authoritarians. I'm sure they could feel the love.

We'll see a lot of drama & denial before the end comes, lots of thrashing around in futility.

 

[MagickMan]

Some people use it to help with creativity.

You're confusing pot with LSD.

 

[1prophet]

At that, he waffles around a lot-



http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Rand_Paul_Drugs.htm

He'll still throw you in jail just not for an extended period of time (whatever that means).

I don't think he really understands cannabis use in the slightest, given the rest of it. He disrespects a lot of otherwise honest & hardworking users.

Hillary says wait 'til the evidence is in from state legalization. She knows full well we're doing A-OK here in Colorado so that's a deflection of sorts but indicates no bias against it like Christie.

I wonder when conservative lawmakers will discover the contradiction between their pov & the fact that use, possession & cultivation are legal in DC.

They seem to be out of touch with the fact that prohibition exists solely on the basis of institutional inertia.

Please let's stop with the apologetic rationalization of Hillary Clinton,

Hillary goes by the political weather vane

• against gay marriage, now she is for it
• for the Iraq war, now against it
• for the pacific trade deal, now against it
• etc., etc., etc.

The only difference between Hillary Clinton and the republicans is she will insist corporate America use the backdoor to the white house so she can continue to pander and pretend to care about the middle class and unions from the front door.

 

[WelshBloke]

You're confusing pot with LSD.

Looking at your recent posts I'm thinking you might want to do more of the former and take a break from the latter.

 

[Vic]

Please let's stop with the apologetic rationalization of Hillary Clinton,

Hillary goes by the political weather vane

• against gay marriage, now she is for it
• for the Iraq war, now against it
• for the pacific trade deal, now against it
• etc., etc., etc.

The only difference between Hillary Clinton and the republicans is she will insist corporate America use the backdoor to the white house so she can continue to pander and pretend to care about the middle class and unions from the front door.

Going by the political weather vane, as you say, is at least better than making the same mistakes over and over again. The War on Drugs being a perfect example of that.

 

[Greenman]

Carson and Rubio are both saying that they'd bring the Feds into Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Small government, states rights, and all that.

Why don't they just get over it? The shit is everywhere, it's a goldmine for crime, and far to many people are in jail over it.

 

[Vic]

Why don't they just get over it? The shit is everywhere, it's a goldmine for crime, and far to many people are in jail over it.

Because it's also a goldmine for law enforcement.

 

[Bowfinger]

Why don't they just get over it? The shit is everywhere, it's a goldmine for crime, and far to many people are in jail over it.

Because prosecuting it is a financial gold mine for the law enforcement and prison industries, and a political gold mine for politicians who pander to social conservatives. It's also good for the pharmaceutical industry whose profits depend, in part, on expensive patented drugs that would lose customers to MJ.

 

[shira]

Sadly the only one saying decriminalize it is Rand Paul.

Decriminalization isn't the same thing as legalization. Under decriminalization, you could still be stopped and fined for having small amounts of MJ, and even have the MJ taken away. Under legalization, there would usually still be limits on the quantity of MJ you could legally possess, but as long as you kept to that limit (and didn't use MJ in prohibited places or prohibited situations, or supply MJ to minors) it would be akin to smoking cigarettes in the privacy of your own home.

 

[Jhhnn]

Please let's stop with the apologetic rationalization of Hillary Clinton,

Hillary goes by the political weather vane

• against gay marriage, now she is for it
• for the Iraq war, now against it
• for the pacific trade deal, now against it
• etc., etc., etc.

The only difference between Hillary Clinton and the republicans is she will insist corporate America use the backdoor to the white house so she can continue to pander and pretend to care about the middle class and unions from the front door.

That's not really fair or honest.

She was always for equal rights for gays. She just wanted to call gay marriages civil unions way back when. She was persuadable.

If you read her speech about the Iraq war vote, you'd understand that she trusted Bush to use the resolution as leverage for inspections before resorting to war. He lied.

She's been for *a* pacific trade deal but found the one proposed to be lacking.

At a deeper level, do we select leaders to run their own agenda or that of the people?

If the people's changes, why shouldn't theirs?

 

[shira]

I feel like a broken record, I've posted this so many times. But

Legalize it, regulate it, tax it, and empty the prisons of most non-violent MJ-related offenders. Allow enough retail supply such that prices, even with taxes added in, will completely undercut the illegal market.

Those states that insist on keeping it illegal will continue to have lots of MJ-related crime. "Legal" states will have very little MJ-related crime. And I suspect that the difference in MJ-related medical problems will be essentially zero between "legal" and "illegal" states. Legal states will have access to a substantial source of extra revenue and greatly reduced criminal-justice costs, a boon to their budgets. Illegal states won't see any benefit.

Which means that in 10 or 20 years, almost every state will go legal.

 

[woolfe9998]

I think it's odd that only Sanders favors full legalization out of all those dem and rep candidates, given that national polls are showing majorities favoring it. These candidates are behind the times.

 

[OutHouse]

Carson and Rubio are both saying that they'd bring the Feds into Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Small government, states rights, and all that.

Chrispycreme is also all for sending in the stormtroopers to my state to stop pot use.

 

[Jhhnn]

I feel like a broken record, I've posted this so many times. But

Legalize it, regulate it, tax it, and empty the prisons of most non-violent MJ-related offenders. Allow enough retail supply such that prices, even with taxes added in, will completely undercut the illegal market.

Those states that insist on keeping it illegal will continue to have lots of MJ-related crime. "Legal" states will have very little MJ-related crime. And I suspect that the difference in MJ-related medical problems will be essentially zero between "legal" and "illegal" states. Legal states will have access to a substantial source of extra revenue and greatly reduced criminal-justice costs, a boon to their budgets. Illegal states won't see any benefit.

Which means that in 10 or 20 years, almost every state will go legal.

I doubt it'll take that long. We're experiencing a paradigm shift of public opinion simply because prohibition can't stand against the facts of legalization. All kinds of data is being gathered about crime, mental health, intoxicated driving, domestic violence & so forth. Fear of the unknown is no longer a factor which was the only thing prohibition had going for it.

Other than occasional fits of giggling, reefer madness has not occurred.