A good election night for marijuana legalization

The Volokh Conspiracy ^ | November 5, 2014 | Ilya Somin

[right-wing agnostic]

The 2014 election was a successful one for marijuana legalization. Referendum initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana passed in Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia. Florida’s legalization amendment (which was limited to medical marijuana) failed, but only because victory required a 60% supermajority (it got just over 57% percent). A medical marijuana initiative did pass in the Pacific island territory of Guam.

Coming on the heels of the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington in 2012, this is a further sign of pro-legalization momentum, and perhaps of dissatisfaction with the War on Drugs more generally – even among some conservatives.

[DiogenesLamp]

Passed in DC? You mean some of the nation’s stupidest voters thought making marijuana legal was a good idea?

Well why shouldn’t they? They are stupid.

[areukiddingme1]

"A good election night for marijuana legalization" I have come to the conclusion that if someone wants to smoke that $hit, fine, knock yourself out, but to quote a scene from Godfather the movie: "...I want to control it as a business, to keep it respectable. I don't want it near schools - I don't want it sold to children! That's an infamia. In my city, we would keep the traffic in the...(liberals) - the losers. They're animals anyway, so let them lose their souls." ―Giuseppe Zaluchi Besides, we need people to deliver pizzas, wash cars, haul garbage and be bicycle messengers etc...Smoke it if you got it. It's comforting to know you will never be my neighbor. Man, that Darwin guy was really on to something.

[Buckeye McFrog]

And for raising the minimum wage. The country is still steeped in economic ignorance, I fear.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I have lost more rights to prevent someone from smoking marijuana than it was worth.

[11th_VA]

What's interesting is, I thought Crist would win FL since this would bring out a more Liberal demographic and help push him over the top. The measure got over 50% in FL, but Crist still loss.

This doesn't seem to be the demographic mover the Democrats had hoped it would be ...

[ConservingFreedom]

I have come to the conclusion that if someone wants to smoke that $hit, fine, knock yourself out, but to quote a scene from Godfather the movie: "...I want to control it as a business, to keep it respectable. I don't want it near schools - I don't want it sold to children!

That's the conservative position.

It's comforting to know you will never be my neighbor.

There's a good sporting chance some of your neighbors already smoke pot.

Man, that Darwin guy was really on to something.

Nobody ever died from the proximate cause of smoking too much pot (unlike the toxic legal drug alcohol).

[mbarker12474]

No one ever died from pornography or gambling but both have damaging consequences to the primary consumer and third parties in families and households.

The consequences of easy alcohol is probably many times worse to the first and third parties, when viewed over the volume of a nation of consumers.

Marijuana has its own particular damaging effects, distinct from alcohol, and it will likely never be consumed as widely as alcohol, but like alcohol, it has NO positive effects which merit its societal and legal acceptance, as its negative effects are so extensive.

By the way, pot CAN cause death by secondary effect (automobile crashes, small children consumption???) as does alcohol.

[ConservingFreedom]

Marijuana has its own particular damaging effects, distinct from alcohol, and it will likely never be consumed as widely as alcohol, but like alcohol, it has NO positive effects which merit its societal and legal acceptance

We've tried banning alcohol and marijuana, and learned that these bans also had damaging effects: enrichment of criminals, removal of the substance from effective regulation (such as age limits), and all the ills that flowed from those.

[newnhdad]

Now DC can dedicate all the resources they used to arrest dealers and users to other revenue generating activities and return the tax savings to the people...

[mbarker12474]

We've tried banning alcohol and marijuana, and learned that these bans also had damaging effects: enrichment of criminals, removal of the substance from effective regulation (such as age limits), and all the ills that flowed from those.

I may be the only advocate of Prohibition in the land, but I dare say that the deleterious consequences of Prohibition were less than the deleterious consequences of its repeal.

[Resolute Conservative]

I advocate it as well brother and catch hades for it.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Liberals did not trust Crist enough to vote for him.
Having been a Republican until a few years ago and all.

[ConservingFreedom]

I may be the only advocate of Prohibition in the land

You're thankfully one of a rather few. Prohibition was a child of Progressivism, and in its utopian spirit - as is marijuana criminalization.

[GeronL]

Bristol Palin celebrates, the country should weep

[ConservingFreedom]

the country should weep

Increased liberty is a cause for weeping?

[GeronL]

lolz

pothead freaks are not liberated

[DiogenesLamp]

I have lost more rights to prevent someone from smoking marijuana than it was worth.

That abuse was coming anyway.

Also, leaping into the fire is not an improvement over the frying pan.

[ConservingFreedom]

Also, leaping into the fire is not an improvement over the frying pan.

How is marijuana legalization a leap into the fire?

[Blood of Tyrants]

For the first 125 years of this country, there were no marijuana or drug laws. It was withe the Rats under socialist/racist Woodrow Wilson that southern Rats began to spread the lie that blacks were getting high on cocaine and raping white women in order to imprison more blacks on their prison plantations. Ever since, the government has taken away more and more rights in the WOD to the point that they can now take your property on the SUSPICION that it is related to illegal drugs. THAT is where the WOD has led us. No thanks, I’d rather deal with the potheads than a government that can ignore the Constitution.