Posted on 09/11/2012 12:21:05 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
This November, voters in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington will consider ballot measures to legalize and regulate marijuana, much as alcohol and tobacco are taxed and regulated. In this first in a series of "one minute debates" for election 2012, three writers give their brief take on the issue.
The 'yes' case is argued by Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). The 'no' position is offered by David G. Evans, a special adviser to the Drug Free America Foundation. And a middle path is suggested by Kevin A. Sabet, who has worked on drug policy under three presidents of both parties.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Well, if it were legal, I would grow it, and would not waste my time growing ditch weed. Yes, they require regular attention, but it isn’t that bad.
Making wine and beer takes a bit of effort, but many do so with excellent results.
Some people just don’t have the patience required for either.
No, but it seems impossible to have an adult conversation with you, especially when one of us is so restrained by being on a public forum on the internet.
don’t look at me i only copied and pasted his comment
Yes plants grow wild in all kinds of strange places where the conditions make it possible, a wild plant finding water in Southern California happens, all over.
When it comes to government, money always wins over common sense.
I smoked pot in HS and college off and on. 70% of the students in my HS smoked it..it was easier to get than alhchol.
Guess what? 99% of us no longer smoke it. It became so common place the taboo of it was no longer there.
legalize it
you are forgetting that most people are inheritently lazy and will not grow their own pot just as tomatoes are about the easiest crop to grow and people still buy them at the store.
Which is what I was saying, that with all these things bad is easy, good is effort, most folks aren’t even willing to put in the effort for bad, which is why there’s a market in the first place. Which is why legalizing wouldn’t result in everybody growing their own, because most folks aren’t even willing to do the minimal effort to grow ditch, forget the additional cost and effort to make it actually good. Beer is probably the best example, already anybody can make really good beer, the books are out there, the equipment is out there, the recipes are out there, and it’s perfectly legal, and yet even most beer snobs don’t home brew because it’s harder than going to the liquor store.
I think you are correct - growing pot would be a “labor of love”, much like making homemade beer and wine. Many people, including myself, simply are too lazy to grow tomatos, strawberries, melons and other assorted veggies. I just go to the grocery store and buy the (inferior) veggies - it’s just easier, quicker and simpler that way.
But, your point is well taken. With relatively minor effort, one could grow “Good” pot (or at least I would assume).
I grew up in South Dakota in the 70-80’s, and it wasn’t unsual for the cops to find it growing in between the rows in a corn field. No irrigation (at least for the corn). The cops used a special green filter, that would differentiate the color of the corn stalk, from the color of green of the pot. Still, I’m sure many tons went out every year - and often the farmer never had a clue.
Growing $50.00 worth of tomatoes that will last over a period of a few weeks is one thing, but growing 15 or 50 thousand dollars worth of pot that will keep you and your friends stoned, earn some gas money, and of which a portion can last for years if stored right, will be enough to motivate plenty of young men to give it a shot, many other regular gardeners will merely grow it for the beauty of the plant.
Guys being guys, and stoners being stoners, then once it is legal to do so, the growing frenzy, and one-upmanship, will take off like a rocket.
I would guess that just about anyone on this thread that has grown tomatoes, will grow some pot, even without being interested in using it.
Overheard many years ago at College. “I can score Acid easier than a six pack!”.
Beer is legal and highly regulated and ubiquitous - but someone younger than 21 has to find someone willing to break the law to allow them access to it.
Acid and other illegal drugs are sold by criminals who are not so discerning as to the >21 age limit imposed by the law.
As such it seems that High School (and young college kids) can ‘score’ illegal drugs more readily than they can get a six pack of beer.
Counter-intuitive, but all too true.
Microwave always works in a flash....lol
Then there's no argument there in support of the War On Drugs.
What we get with the drug war is avoidance of bipolar, schizophrenic, and other psych disorders
Wrong - schizophrenia has remained a flat percentage for several decades, while pot use grew.
which do impose a cost on society from disability claims and unpaid medical fees, to dudes driving their tractors over rows of cop cars.
The fact that you can refer to that incident shows that the War On Drugs doesn't stop such.
In any event, you're going to have a drug war even if you legalize pot. Because there is always something more dangerous and more addictive out there, that you don't want on the streets. Legalize pot and you're still fighting a war against cocaine, meth, ecstacy, bath salts and mushrooms.
If so, we'd be fighting a war in which the enemy has been deprived of a significant revenue source.
Nahhh..
What’s 75,000+ dead Americans every year.
pssh. They got what’s coming to them, right? They were all gonna die sooner or later anyway, right?
/sarc
They made their choices. Do you support a return to Prohibition?
People die of smoking and overeating too - should the government ban those?
So the late William F. Buckley was a liberal? What are you smoking?. And while you’re at continued prohibition, lets re-instate the 18th Amendment, that was such a success and what the hell, lets outlaw all tobacco products too.
America has been fighting it’s longest war since before the beginning of World War 1. Drugs, stripped of all emotion are a commodity, which means money. When you have a problem that involves money you get control of the money and you get control of the problem.
Hemingway's Ghost->So, your personal animosity towards a certain segment of a society should be enough to warrant the criminalization of a naturally-occurring substance and continue the expanding reach of the federal government into the private lives of American citizens.
Solid reasoning there, friend.
You really need to put the pipe down and read the entire post. I'm all for legalizing with protections for the rest of us.
I agree. Except that I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone who smokes it. I don't tend to move in those circles. (of course they may hide it well, but then I still don't know)
Exactly correct. But for this to work they must also bear the consequences of their stupidity, otherwise we just end up with more democrat voters.
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