Posted on 11/23/2018 8:58:41 AM PST by Red6
The debate over marijuana legalization is just one of the many ways the political landscape is changing as the US comes to terms with drug and criminal justice policies that many experts and Americans consider to have failed at a great cost to the nation’s liberty and finances.
The war on marijuana in particular has cost the US billions of dollars over decades, led to a black market for pot that criminal organizations use to fund violent operations, and contributed to the explosive growth of America’s incarcerated population, which is now the largest in the world. And despite those costs, millions of people still use marijuana — a drug that most Americans view as relatively safe.
(Excerpt) Read more at vox.com ...
The entire history of the war on drugs and targeting pot in particular has been skewed by politics. Today we are at a point where things have become out of synch, i.e. government policies and laws are no in line with what the people want. 64% of the people want some degree of legalization, and roughly 40% want just outright legalization to include recreational use. Roughly 39% of all college students smoked pot in the last 12 months.
There are few drugs that have been studied more than pot. For the last 70 years we have been TRYING to villainize this drug, to find something we can pin on it. After failing to prove it's addictive (pretending there is a psychological addiction since you can't see any physical markers), causing brain damage (mind altering substance was the term used), makes people lose their free will, we came up with this BS, "gateway drug." A last resort argument that you can accuse a cheeseburger of being. Bottom line is this, pot is not dangerous. You cannot over dose, it's hard to even argue it's addictive, people do not hallucinate and jump from a roof top, become violent, nor even tend to over estimate their abilities as with alcohol. In the grand scheme of things, pot poses a lesser danger to public health than alcohol or tobacco. yet this drug is a schedule I drug? Explain that in a logical and consistent argument? So pot is equal to LSD and heroin?
https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling
This is a topic right for picking! Politically exploit this one and do so in confidence that what you are doing is logical, consistent, the will of the people, and correcting a wrong that was never based on the best interests of public health and safety. The illegality of pot was never based on science, crime, or factual/objective measures. It was politics from day one.
http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place
Today it is basically a combination of myth, tradition (we are conservative and tough on crime and drugs), and government institutions playing into this to justify their budget, personnel, or broad sweeping powers. Think of how many special task forces, high intensity drug trafficking areas are federally funded, how many in law enforcement of the legal system have at least built their career in part by combating this horrible and dangerous drug! No, they are not hero's, they are padding the books in a modern bureaucratic sense which is entirely legal but ever as much unethical and immoral.
It is understood that just like the Democrats are for big government, so are the Republicans. It's just that their priorities and who benefits differ. The Democrats want to protect us from the dangers of global warming, and the Republicans want to protect us from pot, just as the former Jeff Sessions explained to us.
No one believe this BS anymore, NO ONE! But instead of a face palm moment, politicians and senior government officials continue to talk about gate way drugs, addiction, and how it will turn you into a dumb worthless slug that can't hold down a job.
Pot is frankly a drug that has many medicinal uses, and that is clinically provable, unlike the gateway drug or addiction. May it be to deal with anxiety, inability to sleep, seizures, to deal with aches and pains, restore apatite (there are such people), glaucoma... there are many uses for this drug and frankly the dangers of this drug are LESS than non-prescription drugs you can buy at any pharmacy. Take it from a former Airborne Ranger vet who lived popping Motrin and other pain pills for many years (swollen knees, back pain, hip pain was a normal day in my life for years - ruck marches, intense PT, jumping from planes) and today has kidney disease, even the so called "safe drugs" the FDA lets any kid buy in a drug store can have serious health risks.
If the Republicans and Trump want to politically exploit a topic and throw a curve ball into the elections, push for the legalization of pot.
Realize, this does not make you any less conservative or tough on crime. Target drugs, go after criminals, but arbitrary laws and policies that are not rooted in any functional use are not how you go after crime and drugs. Our policy on pot is about as effective as having random executions after a crime. You have to actually identify the target and take aim at it, not just shoot around yourself and pretend you accomplished something because of how many bullets you expended (i.e. the thousands of arrests and statistics law enforcement likes to show as being "success" when they go after easy pot busts).
Republicans AREN’T smart, so no point in continuing to mull that one.
Make it a state issue and see how the states deal with it separately. Hopefully, all the hippies will migrate to blue states.
This isn’t a problem of intelligence, it’s a problem of will.
Yeah, hippies. You’d be surprised at how many loggers and commercial fishermen smoke pot. And worse.
that is an incriminating statement indicating you are either a leftist or not smeart.
5% of the people (Republicans) think.
10% of the people (Republicans) think that they think.
85% of the people (Republicans) would rather die than think.
- Thomas Edison
Which hasn't subsided where legalized.
a drug that most Americans view as relatively safe
Well, it isn't. All of that stuff you dismiss as propaganda is quite factual - brain damage, lowers IQ - especially in adolescents where the damage can be permanent/irreversible, seriously impairs function especially while driving, etc. All true. Just saying it isn't doesn't make it so. And you even argue it isn't addictive - really? Ever known anyone has needed serious treatment and counseling to break the very real addictions they have for it? Embarrassing you would say something like that that is an obvious falsehood - there's no "trying" in villainizing it - it is simply what it is. That doesn't mean the current policy toward it shouldn't be changed - different issue - but your arguments re: the affects of marijuana have no grain of truth to them and saying things that are not true is not a basis for starting a constructive discussion.
I agree, make it legal I also agree that the GOPe isn’t smart.
Let’s not kid ourselves, pothead types wouldn’t become Republicans over decriminalization. They would be thankful for 15 minutes and then go back to their normal habits.
anybody that thinks the republicans are going to conquer the universe by giving stoners their pot is stoned already.
the libertarians have cost republicans countless seats in just the past several election cycles; if we were smart, we would hunt down all those retarded b*stards an put them into camps. THAT would do some good.
Until you can control THC levels (like nicotine and tar are regulated in cigarettes) forget about it
I’ll make you a deal. Let’s make pot (dangerous), alcohol (more dangerous) and tobacco (more dangerous) illegal.
I’ll be fine with that.
“if we were smart, we would hunt down all those retarded b*stards an put them into camps. THAT would do some good.”
I’ll bet you have a closet full of crisply pressed brown shirts complete with snappy armbands.
L
We can’t even get medical marijuana in Texas for kids with autism, vets with PTSD or cancer patients. When 32 states now have medical marijuana that is prescribed by doctors and proven effective and Texas is too busy worrying about bathrooms!
I’m all for decriminalization of dope, but none of the state initiatives decriminalize it, their only goal is to commercialize it and divide the spoils.
THC can be controlled. It is regulated in states with medical marijuana.
I predict it will be legalized at the federal level in 5 to 10 years.
Your reply is an incriminating statement you are short on critical thinking abilities. You seem to also be challenged with grammar and spelling. In more direct reply, though, I am a conservative.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.