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The farcical war on marijuana
Press-Telegram ^ | May 09, 2005 | Rich Lowry

Posted on 05/10/2005 7:59:51 AM PDT by cryptical

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Looks like with more arrests the price goes down and usage goes up. Maybe we're lucky the WODies aren't focusing on coke and heroin.
1 posted on 05/10/2005 7:59:53 AM PDT by cryptical
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To: cryptical

Interesting one is that in other articles it's been noted kids generally report they have an easier time getting marijuana than alcohol.


2 posted on 05/10/2005 8:07:46 AM PDT by Strategerist
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To: cryptical

It's quite simple actually...it's easier for the doughnut munchers to arrest Joe-Pothead sitting on his couch getting high and eating a bag of chips than it is to go after real criminals.


3 posted on 05/10/2005 8:08:15 AM PDT by CrawDaddyCA (There is no such thing as a fair fight. Thou shall win at all costs!!)
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To: cryptical
the number of new users, reduced treatment admissions, reduced emergency-room mentions

I can picture it now.

Some sap standing up in a church basement saying "My name is Joe, and I'm a marijuana addict".

The crowd would be brought to it's knees.

4 posted on 05/10/2005 8:19:24 AM PDT by greydog
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To: CrawDaddyCA
It's quite simple actually...it's easier for the doughnut munchers to arrest Joe-Pothead sitting on his couch getting high and eating a bag of chips than it is to go after real criminals.

The WOD is a mistake, but to be fair to the cops out on the street, they don't really get to choose which crimes get emphasized. This misguided war on marijuana comes from higher up the chain.
5 posted on 05/10/2005 8:20:35 AM PDT by fr_freak
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To: Strategerist
Interesting one is that in other articles it's been noted kids generally report they have an easier time getting marijuana than alcohol.

Yep. If someone is legally selling booze to adults, they incur a serious risk to their legitimate business by selling to minors. The risk/reward just isn't there.

But with pot, the sale is already illegal. What difference does it make if you're selling to a minor?

6 posted on 05/10/2005 8:22:13 AM PDT by dirtboy (Drooling moron since 1998...)
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To: cryptical

San Franciso is a much better place now that marijuana has been legalized - sarcasm


7 posted on 05/10/2005 8:27:54 AM PDT by frogjerk
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To: fr_freak
I have to disagree, I have a brother that's a Sheriff's Dep., and he told me he doesn't even bother arresting pot heads anymore...the paperwork simply isn't worth the trouble.

The "I was just following orders..." excuse has been dismissed time and time again.

8 posted on 05/10/2005 8:28:11 AM PDT by CrawDaddyCA (There is no such thing as a fair fight. Thou shall win at all costs!!)
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To: Strategerist
Dude, you mean to tell me that kids smoke pot? :)


9 posted on 05/10/2005 8:38:08 AM PDT by NRA2BFree (Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ..)
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To: dirtboy

MJ is probably also easier for a teen use and not get caught. A small bag would probably be easier to hide than a six pack. Eye drops and a breath mints can help mask MJ use, but drinking can be more problematic. Young drinkers tend to get sick, pass out, and sometimes end up in the hospital or worse.


10 posted on 05/10/2005 8:39:44 AM PDT by TBall
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To: cryptical
Just like Prohibition. Jail every one and drug abuse disappears for good. Yeah, right!

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
11 posted on 05/10/2005 8:41:20 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: cryptical

This is in direct violation of Genesis, where God clearly says He put all seed-bearing plants on Earth for us to use.


12 posted on 05/10/2005 8:42:04 AM PDT by Blzbba (Let them hate us as long as they fear us - Caligula)
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To: fr_freak
"The WOD is a mistake, but to be fair to the cops out on the street, they don't really get to choose which crimes get emphasized. This misguided war on marijuana comes from higher up the chain."

To back up your statement, here in the Austin area (like everywhere else), the local police will not query the citizenship of those they stop because of policy, but god forbid if they find a pot seed!

13 posted on 05/10/2005 8:51:20 AM PDT by lormand (George W. Bush is saving your ass, whether you like it or not.)
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To: CrawDaddyCA

You are so right. Don't forget about the sick people who are abiding by the state laws in 11 states, yet the Feds come in and destroy their lives.


14 posted on 05/10/2005 8:55:53 AM PDT by bigfootbob
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To: fr_freak
Police Launch Petition Drive Against Pot Law

Blustery winds outside the Boone County Courthouse carried harsh words today against the city's new marijuana ordinance by those who say it reduces possession of a small amount of the drug to "less than a parking ticket."

Sterling Infield, president of the Columbia Police Officers Association, or CPOA, led a news conference announcing a petition drive to reverse the ordinance passed in November. City voters also approved a separate law decriminalizing marijuana prescribed for medical purposes, which CPOA does not oppose.

Officers plan to go door-to-door in neighborhoods to gather signatures, which will be presented to the Columbia City Council. "If that doesn't work," Infield said, "we'll take the issue back to the ballot."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1361846/posts

15 posted on 05/10/2005 8:57:34 AM PDT by Ken H
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To: cryptical

Package the essential poison of marijuana - the THC that makes people high and stupid and prescribe that....for ??? - OK the high that drug legalizers are so intent on getting. Seagram's could market it.

http://www.marijuana-anonymous.org/


16 posted on 05/10/2005 9:05:48 AM PDT by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))
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To: cryptical

BUMP


17 posted on 05/10/2005 9:24:55 AM PDT by aynrandfreak (When can we stop pretending that the Left doesn't by and large hate America?)
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To: cryptical

My understanding is that marijuana isn't even addicting in the strictly chemical sense, the way even alcohol and tobacco actually make permanent changes in your brain that cause dependency. So it's really one of those things you can go through a phase in life experimenting with and then give up when you grow up. The main concern I have usually hear against it is that it is a "gateway drug" that will lead to trying scarier stuff, but it seems to me that making it illegal is counterproductive, then, because that puts it on the same slippery-slope for the experimenter as the harder drugs. It contributes to the counter-culture appeal for those at a teenage level of maturity going through a rebellion stage, while not appreciably cutting down on accessibility. The sharp decline in smoking over the last few decades obviously wasn't the result of throwing people in jail, but in smoking losing almost all of its coolness. (In America, anyway; Europe's way behind the curve there.)

Plus, one criminal conviction can ruin the career future of a promising college student, possibly turning them from productive contribution to less savory activities to make money.

With violent criminals getting frighteningly short sentences due to our overcrowded prisons, it seems to me to be a matter of priorities. Let states decide if that's really where they want to spend their prosecution and incarceration resources. I know if/when I become a prosecutor I don't want to spend my time dealing with people like my sister's lame friends.


18 posted on 05/10/2005 9:37:52 AM PDT by Ambrianna
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To: Strategerist; Wolfie; headsonpikes; Know your rights; jmc813
Interesting one is that in other articles it's been noted kids generally report they have an easier time getting marijuana than alcohol.

That was certainly my experience in Jr High and High School, and that was back in the 70s. If I were a conspiracy buff, I'd think that that fact would work to the WODies benefit....

1) Marijuana is illegal, making it more available to kids because there is no incentive to sellers to discriminate based on age.

2) Kids do drugs, so we have to do something about kids doing drugs FOR THE CHILDREN!

3) Profit!

19 posted on 05/10/2005 9:38:16 AM PDT by cryptical
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To: cryptical

Forgot needing to keep those prisons full to keep the prison guards employed.


20 posted on 05/10/2005 9:43:24 AM PDT by Teflonic
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