Posted on 06/19/2010 9:13:23 AM PDT by nmh
Sarah Palin says recreational pot smoking is "relatively speaking a minimal problem" in America.
...
"I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts," she said. "If somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems we have in society."
Allen St. Pierre, the director of NORML, which supports liberalizing drug laws, said Palin's position on pot is perfectly in line with her identity as a politician.
"If you're a populist as she appears to be, it's maybe not that surprising," he told AOL News in a phone interview today.
(Excerpt) Read more at aolnews.com ...
The Palin quote is marijuana is "relatively speaking a minimal problem" compared to the other major issues facing this nation.Not that is "not a big deal" but there are much bigger things to get your panties in a twist.
She's right in that.
But don't worry about Palin bashing, her political career is over. She implicitly acknowledged that by taking on the role of a TV commentator.
LOL...Yeah our motto will be "Yeah we are boring, but damn competent. Something missing for 24 years."
Now, did I say anything about beer?? Why do you assume? I don’t drink, I don’t like what alcohol causes people to do when drunk in excess, I don’t mind if someone wants to smoke a joint in their own house, or get drunk in their own house, as long as they don’t hurt anybody, go out in public and cause a ruckus or an accident, and as long as they don’t come to work drunk or high. I think that’s pretty rational don’t you? I was being lighthearted but if we are to talk completely serious now....YES, I’m thinking that if pot became legal to smoke that during your break you could smoke pot much like a person smokes a cigarette. Am I way off base here????
If a person smoked pot the way most habitual smokers do they would not be able to function in the workplace. I don’t smoke or drink, but I know both are addictive... some people can do just about anything in moderation, others can’t imbibe at all and for those people it probably doesn’t matter what they choose.
Palin is not my favorite, but at the same time I don’t put my self as the arbiter of the definition of “conservative” any more than I tolerate anyone deciding whether I am a hispanic or not based on some preconceived notion they have. I don’t necessarily agree with her position on pot. But from a pragmatic point of view it makes some sense. However, I don’t think the answer is legalizing another problem on top of the one we already have, ie. alcohol and it’s ism.
Hey Sarah, I have the munchies. Got any Twinkies?
I so tire of hearing this. I tried pot one time in college, it scared the crap out of me and I became violent. One side of me got hot and the other side was freezing, every noise got too loud, every taste bud in my mouth screamed thirsty. I tried a strawberry and it tasted SWEET Sweet sweet, bitter, Bitter, BITTER... and I freaked out. I ran out of party house and started swinging at people and hit the ground finally passing out. I went to the hospital. I slept for close to 24 hours after.
Some claim I got bad pot, but I got it from my cousin and he smoked the same stuff. It was not laced with anything. The fact is, pot reacts differently to different people and your claim of alcohol screwing you up more than pot is IMHO not scientific.
She's right.
Sarah Palin pothead?
I knew it
/s
from wardaddy still in 70s THC fog somewhere in a basement in Dixie
where’s Jerry these days?
you’re right...too much pot makes folks apathetic
about everything but the weed
their pursuit of women wanes though getting high with a girl is fun
i’m amazed at folks I know now who are 40 and over just idling thru life stoned as all get out all day
and I smoked pot for 12 years daily...it got in the way of life
don’t drink much either..my fav vice walked on two legs and liked to shop.
however...relatively speaking I agree with Palin on this
“Discretion of the officer?”
Really? Somehow I think that’s going to cause all kinds of problems.
“There is NOTHING conservative about the War on Drugs.”
Government should allow cocaine, heroine, etc.? Have parks filled with druggies like in Amsterdam?
I think conservatives have every interest in the preservation and prosperity of society - including battling mind altering substances that cause crime, delinquency, violence and death through the churches, families and yes, through legal mechanisms that recognize the interest in society of preventing this.
To all you purist libertarians, I ask you one simple question, do you support any laws, at all? If yes, why would you not support laws or efforts against illicit drugs that are in the general and recognized interest of society?
“If they fired the stoned waitress, you wouldn’t have a problem with a stoned waitress.”
Next thing you know, it’ll be illegal to fire someone’s who’s stoned on the job - ahem, discrimination you know. So owners/managers will just have allow the druggies to stumble around and make fools of themselves. That’s kind of the ridiculous place we’re heading with this lack of accountability/victim mentality society.
Nice.
Ol’ Sparky to j-damn: “DO YOU REALIZE IF WE LEGALIZE POT THERE WILL BE MORE MARIJUANA USERS AND MORE HIGH ON MARIJUANA WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAYS?”
Hey j-damn how are the cops going to easily check whether people are too high to drive? At least half of the 50,000 deaths on the road every year are cause by drinking and driving - and you see what a battle it’s been to stiffen those laws, and see some of the legal DUI/DWI levels lowered to .08 blood alcohol level. And you can easily check that level in the field. Do we really need to add millions of high drivers to that already volatile mix?
Do you think me a ‘moron’ for asking such questions?
LOL!
“And, frankly, marijuana use is pretty far down the scale — just below breaking & entering, just above drunk driving.”
Really? ‘down the scale?’ What kind of statement is this? Do you know how many deaths are caused by drunk driving annually? Around 25,000. That is not down the scale.
Perhaps you can relate smoking pot in your living room with breaking and entering on the scale - but leave out drunk driving or driving high please.
One reason why they should keep all illicit drugs illegal. I don’t care if pot is the mildest drug out there, we cannot imo head down that slippery slope. I think for severe medical reasons fine...why should a dr. be able to prescribe morphine but not marijuana If a person is dying from cancer and this is the only think that helps them to get through it I think it’s wrong to deny. But culturally we are already going south and legalizing pot imo just puts another nail in the coffin. It will send a signal to children that there’s nothing wrong with it, instead of it being the “taboo” that keeps some kids away from it.
chris_bdba: “Please the old gateway drug arguement”
You’re so ‘old’ and silly for using an argument backed up by solid facts Ol’ Sparky. ;)
“But culturally we are already going south and legalizing pot imo just puts another nail in the coffin. It will send a signal to children that there’s nothing wrong with it, instead of it being the “taboo” that keeps some kids away from it.”
Bingo. We have an interest as a society, and the government as society’s duly elected representatives, to preserve and prosper society.
Morality should be and IS legislated. Society has deemed it worthy to do so, and it sets the tone for the coming generations.
Now we could just all do what’s right in our own eyes - read about how that worked out in the Old Testament.
That is a real possibility. But the limited government conservatives who would like to see marijuana legalized are not interesting in expanding the classes of people who can’t be discriminated against.
The one doesn’t necessarily follow from the other.
Only a little.
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