Posted on 04/01/2010 5:54:13 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP) - The California Republican Party is just saying no to a November ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana in the state.
The less-than-surprising news that the state GOP would oppose a measure known as the Tax Cannabis Act was announced Wednesday on the party's Web site.
...
Party chairman Ron Nehring said the health and public safety costs of expanded marijuana use would far outweigh any tax revenue raised from legalizing the drug.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs5.com ...
April's Fool, right? Right 8-?
Can’t they just jack the tax up to offset expenses?
a billion or two a year is nothing to sneeze at..
they could make that in HollyWeed alone
The Dem Party will announce their position after meetings in July.
I’m sure I’ll get blasted for this.. OH well... The Libertarian in me thinks it’s your God given right to smoke any plant He put on this earth. Also, there are far too many people clogging up the prison and court system because of marijuana related charges. I don’t like the idea of “legalize and tax” but it’s still better than illegal IMO.
“A California Democratic Party spokesman said the party would likely consider its official position on the measure at an executive board meeting in July.”
If they can still remember where the meeting is going to be...and if they don’t get lost on the way.
Typical. The GOP always standing up for big government again.
agreed
No, you’re RIGHT. The time for marijuana prohibition is coming to an end. If the feds won’t do it, then it’s up to the states & the People to see that it happens.
The CA GOP should be ashamed of themselves.
You won’t get blasted by me, I agree with you.
Idiots.
Would it mean anything even if it passed?
Wouldn’t federal law still “prevail” as in the medical marijuana cases?
And, if the feds were to legalize marijuana tomorrow, would the state laws against it lapse?
Discussions, please.
Yes the federal laws would still prevail. However, the majority of drug cases are handled in state court under state laws. The feds usually go after only the big cases not mere possession or somebody growing a plant in their house. Thus, if the law passes the FBI, DEA ect would be the only ones to enforce the marijuana laws.
Also, many of the drug cases that end up in federal court are arrests and investigations that began with local police--so they would essentially have to do their own work.
That’s a good question. No, it probably wouldn’t mean much if it passed.
But I still think that most of us conservatives are on the wrong side of this issue.
The GOP shows they are the stupid party, again... without the excuse of being stupefied.
I could leave right now and be back in half an hour with an ounce of pot rolled and ready to toke.
Why we keep pretending that it is not already legal is beyond me. The stuff is everywhere. It is so common and passe.
When a guy gets drunk, he beats his wife. When a guy gets stoned, he bakes cookies with her.
I don’t get what the GOP is protecting here, except maybe the alcohol mega-corporations.
I don’t give a crap what anyone smokes as long as they are not being stupid about it and then they get arrested and that I would support.
No, the states could still decide what to do, as well they should. Provided that the SCOTUS doesn't step in like they did on Roe v. Wade & declare that people have a "right" to privacy, of course. IMO, this is a STATE issue, not a federal one.
I tend to agree. I think the prohibition should have convinced everyone that legalization would be a far saner policy in the long run, but I also believe that there are too many coffee cups and careers tied up in the drug war for it every to be called off.
Good point. The War On Drugs creates a lot of jobs.
Agree ... except that then CA becomes an even bigger source for the rest of the country where it is still illegal. Kind of hard to believe we didn’t learn our lesson from Prohibition.
If all drugs were legal in all states, then the money would go out of it, and if the money goes out of it, then the crime associated with it disappears — including the Mexican drug cartels and much of the border violence. The FDA needs to be reduced to an advisory agency and the DEA eliminated altogether.
Maybe CA goes first and then the rest of the country follows suit, but in the short term it would increase crime in CA because of the continued illegality elsewhere.
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