Posted on 02/06/2009 9:15:57 AM PST by bassmaner
This "power grab" couldn't have happened without contingents from the Right. Regardless, it's ironic, isn't it, that today it's the nanny-state "progressive" countries of western Europe that lead the way in drug legalization & decriminalization.
Legalization of pot -— or whatever -— would have no more than a marginal increase in use, if done properly.
Do it like cigs. No advertising. Sell in gubmint stores, if need be. Tax the HELL out of it directly, not to mention bringing the entire under-table market above board for taxing employees on all levels of distribution who would suddenly pay income tax, just like everything else.
Don’t get me wrong — I hate drugs.
I just think the drug war is LOST. Indeed, it’s unwinnable.
Our casaulties have been freedom (i.e., seizure of property by over-eager gubmint workers) and our MONEY.
Don’t know about you, but cutting taxes by 1/3 -— or paying down our pork debt -— would work for me.
No, because I’m not a Muslim. I was just kidding too. We would be held hostage by all the stoners and other druggies who’d greatly increase in number. We’d have to have some liberty to maintain a decent way of life.
There you go again...you drug-crazed, porno-loving Liberaltarians. ;}
Ah, we share common ground.
If the State of California, for example, wants MJ to be legalized, then it should be no business of the federal government. Alas, that's not the case, as the DEA routinely raids medipot clinics that are lawful under CA state law.
Brought to you by the worst SCOTUS precedent in history: the Wickard decision of 1942, which basically allowed the feds to interpret the Interstate Commerce Clause of the US Constitution however they wanted.
(Incidentally, there are many posters on FR that defend Wickard: you know who you are).
Sounds like FOB to me, Fear, obfuscation, and Barbara Streisand.
Kinda sounds like Obama, "if we don't pass the Stimulus Bill right now, we may NEVER RECOVER!!!"
No advertising = big government
Sell in gubmint stores = socialism
Tax = big governemtn
pay income tax = big government
So legalize it because the government has no right to regulate it but then let the government regulate it. Sure, it can become our cash cow just like the casinos in Oklahoma. They haven’t done squat for the state budget but have made a lot of people poorer.
Yeah but in my case it’s true.
That's exactly what the "progressive" of western Europe concluded. So they chose the path of anything-goes libertarianism. But they discovered something that runs counterintuitive to this way of thinking: People who are unfettered by government sanction to ruin their lives in the privacy of their homes... don't stay home.
There's a reason I call this sort of capitulation "Amsterdam Libertarianism." Where people are allowed to "enjoy" the freedom of animals, we shouldn't be surprised that our public places become populated by soulless beasts.
OK, sell in 7-Elevens. Vending machines. I don’t care. I was offering a compromise to the right-nannystaters.
The big budget drain is the police state to enforce these silly laws.
A slight distinction: they may lead the way in decriminalization, but not legalization. The distinction becomes important when one considers that production and distribution are still technically illegal, thus rendering it part of the black (or at least "gray") market.
A true legalization scheme, where substances are taxed and regulated like alcohol, and disputes are settled through laws instead of bullets would go a long way towards reducing much of the damage that the drug culture does to society. Irony prevails in this arena as well, as international organizations (ie. the UN) stand in the way ... (what was that about George Soros?)
Baloney. Drugs were legal until the late 1880s. The founding fathers, et al, got along fine.
Europe’s decay has nothing to do with drugs. They’ve chosen a secular, statist, life, devoid of religion (except Islam) and children, with no hope of bettering oneself through work, effort, or entrepenuership.
I’d stay stoned, too.
I have to say, I don’t feel any sympathy or empathy for dope pushers getting raided by the DEA. I’m not really glad it happens I guess but I don’t mind either. I do think California should kick all federal employees out of their sate. We should do the same in Oklahoma.
There is a bunch of stuff that would need to happen in tandem with lifting the ban on drugs in order for this country to be a good place to live after ending the ban.
One reason why Dems are so gung ho about expanding the crime/prison industry is that most corrections officers belong to unions since most are state employees. More crime, more prisons, more union members, more union member dues, more Dem political contributions from left-wing controlled unions. More elections won.
Lie.
The Netherlands is under pressure from the EU to step up enforcement of it's drug laws and to enact more stringent ones.
Which are these western European countries that are legalizing pot? You're making this crap up.
Yes, we do. At last!
I don't recall marijuana being one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
LOL, what are you talking about? Have you even BEEN to Europe?
How so??
This would be a better compromise, I shouldn’t say compromise, I should say prerequisite: Deport all illegals and immigrants who are undesirable, close the borders, leave criminals in jail forever (build skyscraper prisons if we have too), eliminate all government funding, eliminate the EPA, end government protection of unions (other than common civil liberty), no more education department, social security. Okay I’ll stop there, now let’s talk about lifting the ban.
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