Posted on 02/20/2002 6:08:45 AM PST by Magician
My first reaction is WHY NOT?
It’s a question of common sense.
Our marijuana laws do not work. They never have, and they never will.
Their stated goal being to rid society of the so-called affliction of marijuana use, the harsh reality is that since prohibition, usage rates have increased drastically.
Either we legalize it, and fast, or we get busy locking up millions of Canadians. With one out of three Canadians admitting to having tried marijuana, we may very well be locking up our best and brightest, not ruined by drugs, but ruined by the criminal sanctions that go with getting caught for what amounts to a common social practice. I can’t even begin to count how many elected officials admitted to having used it, yet everyday hundreds of average citizens are arrested for marijuana offences.
So, why are there so many users, and why is marijuana so easy to acquire?
In a strange twist, prohibition is to blame.
When a product is illegal, the profit margin skyrockets. Prohibition turns an agricultural product (a plant that’s very easy to grow) into a drug worth its weight in gold. Without prohibition, marijuana would cost pennies to produce. No wonder some adventurous modern day prospectors are setting up in their own back yards and basements to try and get in on the gold rush. Who could blame them? They aren’t hurting anyone, they’re making good money, and most of all customers are willing, grateful participants in the process.
We must come to grips with the fact that the demand for marijuana is never going away and find a better way of dealing with it. Imagine the billions of dollars spent on marijuana and enforcement going to more noble causes like health care and other social programs.
The general public understands this. Support for legalizing marijuana recently reached the much sought after 50%+1 majority. Recent polls show that 51% of Canadians support legalizing marijuana, a slim, but very real majority.
And with more and more advocates, the trend is just taking off. Several European countries like Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and Germany are successfully leading the way towards tolerance with legislation aimed at helping drugs users, not by treating them as criminals, but as human beings deserving of respect. There is no reason why Canada should lag behind. We should be on the cutting edge of this new international movement.
Now it is time to step onto the world stage and assert our sovereignty by legalizing marijuana once and for all. I would venture a friendly wager that the international community would stand by Canada on this issue. Our inevitable success would then make us a world leader in marijuana reform—an example for others to follow.
(I can hear it already): But marijuana is dangerous!
For the record, marijuana is NOT dangerous. It is no worse than coffee and much safer than alcohol. Marijuana is also much less addictive then cigarettes. Chronic use is rare as the majority do not smoke it everyday. Try that with tobacco!
What little risks that may be present with marijuana are no worse then any other risks deemed "morally acceptable". Should we ban music because, if played too loud it might hurt your hearing?
French fries and gravy are far more dangerous for our health then marijuana. Should we ban fast food and send overeaters to mandatory fitness camps?
Who are we, as a society to judge? What exactly are marijuana users guilty of? Who are they hurting? What have they done wrong?
To deny marijuana users the right to choose what they want to consume is nothing more than an arbitrary decision based on moral values, not public interest......
Legalization does not mean promoting use. It means providing medical care, support, education, quality standards and proper labeling. We then trust that responsible adults will make their own choices. This is what makes legalization healthy for our society. At least legalization would force retailers to be accountable for what they sell.
Under prohibition, the government has waived its responsibility for the well being of marijuana users, and is only responsible for their arrest and persecution.
This total disregard for their rights drives a wedge between them and the rest of society and breeds contempt for our legal institutions. If society does not tolerate pot smokers, how are pot smokers supposed to tolerate society? This does not make for a healthy social climate and even less a basis for sound policy.
If a policy so deeply flawed as prohibition not only fails to reach its goals, but actually makes the situation worse, it should be radically changed.
Prohibition is the problem, and legalization the solution.
In places where marijuana is tolerated use actually decreases.
Of course, don’t count on the politicians to have the courage to change the law—it’s not in their nature. Look instead to the Supreme Court. That is where most significant legal change comes from anyway. Gay rights and abortion issues were resolved there, and, some time this year our land’s highest court will also rule on the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition. I strongly urge government to make a wise decision and end this madness now. Millions of bright, productive, patriotic pot-smoking Canadians are counting on it.
Most sincerely, Marc-Boris St-Maurice Le Parti Marijuana
Whether or not someone has a history of past substance abuse is only important in light of their poking their nose into other's business who do the same.
"M.Y.O.B." and "K.Y.F.H.O." The common chant among all the lost tribes of thieves, scoundrels, extortionists, hedonists, bullies and paranoids, or anyone with social problems and personal issues with authority; present company excepted.
No, the tactic isn't exactly subtle, I'm just making it super clear to anyone reading the thread! I've posted the same challenge to the woddies on numerous threads, the **only** response I've **ever** gotten was Frank and Elders. (Frank does not want to repeal drug laws, and I don't take Elders seriously enough to check what her preferences are)
But there's a what if here: What if the warriors were right, that the liberals want to relegalize? What if the Dims, desperate as they appear to be this coming election, were to make a "contract with America" that included (pot) relegalization? Would that help or hurt the GOP? It would hardly be the first time the Jackass Party has turned on a dime and betrayed loyal supporters (in this case the unionized gov't employees who depend on the WosD for their paycheck).
A lot of Dims are in total denial about their party's history here, and think that the 'religious right' is the only reason pot wasn't relegalized years ago.
My fear is that the Dims will do this, and, contrary to all the official propaganda and polls, will win Congress big time and for a long time. They don't have a lot to run on, so why wouldn't they?
At least in would be in the national spotlight, I don't care who does it, I just want someone to address the problem. Anyway, the pink party doesn't have the cajones to try it so don't worry.
Agree, but I can't help thinking of a wounded animal, so desperate for victory, the old tricks don't work anymore...
You're right, the taxpayer-subsidized parties like keeping the issue on the 'fringe'. Still, it would be **awfully** easy to racialize...
It would take conscious thought and a willingness to solve problems, a rarity in all Washington circles.
Good they will get the Libertarian vote, which is 0.4% of the total vote.
Libertarians always have had a affinity with the ACLU(majority) wing of the Democratic party.
Time you for you all to consummate the relationship, IMHO.
What if you-all warriors actually were right, and medipot is simply a disguised stalking horse for full (pot) relegalization? It has never gotten below 65% in referenda. This thread is based on an article that says more than 50% of Canadians want to relegalize. Do you really think it's a tiny percentage here in the US?
To value your privacy does not make you a scoundrel.
And all those "victories" came during the Clinton years. When "I didn't inhale" was no big deal and Hillary's and the Libertarians best buddy George Soros was more than happy to provide the bucks to subsidize the campaigns.
JMO, but I believe times have changed.
Not one of my points was answered. I asked you why I was considered evil. The reply was, "You dont support the law," SO WHAT? I dont support a lot of laws. I am sure YOU do not support ABORTION LAWS either, does that make YOU guys evil?
I would LOVE to know what the hell makes you all so productive, and why pot would make me evil if I smoked it. You guys are on a SERIOUS god complex. What makes you the judge of ANYTHING I do? If we were all to know the truth about eachother, I know I would not be surprised to find out that you all are not so productive.
I could almost guarantee that I donate more resources to conservative cause then you do and if you work weeks at a time without a day off then MAYBE you might be in my league production wise.
Almost anyone that knows me would have a great laugh that you consider people that smoke pot as "evil" or "unproductive." How simpleminded can you get?
Oh I don't know, maybe it is the doper crowd that you hang around with.
I guess you never heard the addage of "like minds(even doped up minds), think alike."
That was a VERY well thought out response. That must be it, my doper crowd! Wow, you have me figured out! Here I thought you were just a self-important troll that would spout off irrational posts that did not PROVE anything.
In my earlier posts, I made the comparison between marijuana and alcohol. Feel free to look them up. I agreed with CA guy on a couple of small points but that only made my position stronger IMHO.
Geez, I scored very high on my Asvab tests. I did not smoke dope then but I still felt the same way. Back in school when I was getting A's on my mid-terms I was smoking dope. Maybe I would have written a little bit neater but... ? Lets see, Accounting, Small Business Management and International Business as well as classes in Currency speculation were all pretty easy when I smoked dope for ONE OR TWO FREAKING NIGHTS a week after I finished a schedule that I am now SURE you could not duplicate after reading the rational answer you gave me in your last post.
Dishonesty from Ipecac Boy again. I see it's a blatant misquote this time. He is truly beginning to show his desperation. He probably believes his semantic tricks are worthy of his mentor( Willie Jeff). Sad,really.
I can see the Dims calling for repeal of pot laws, but I can't see them going further. As I said, if you were paying attention, is that if they do that, they could win big. Not the small LP vote, but the big medical MJ vote.
That is a definite possibility. I don't think putting the DEM's in office would be beneficial for any reason. I don't know if I would openly oppose the idea if it came from the Dems' I definitely couldn't support it. I don't want to live in a socialist state.
What if you-all warriors actually were right, and medipot is simply a disguised stalking horse for full (pot) relegalization? It has never gotten below 65% in referenda. This thread is based on an article that says more than 50% of Canadians want to relegalize. Do you really think it's a tiny percentage here in the US?
It gets labeled a fringe issue all the time. The numbers don't back them up in the least. Many more people than the woddies will ever admit to themselves are beginning to realize the costs associated with the WOD. The issue is never going away.
Again, I was not smoking at the time but I happened to be in one of the finest Naval Squadrons in the world VFA-83. Lets see, we received the Battle E during Desert Storm and were basically kick ass.
Just the fact that I was a member of the Rampagers probably makes me more productive in those FOUR YEARS then you have been in your entire life.
Well Arioch, tell us the Chamber of Commerce chapter where you hang out and where they laugh at your jokes about people against pot.
Arioch's reply #673,
Almost anyone that knows me(Arioch7) would have a great laugh that you consider people that smoke pot as "evil" or "unproductive." How simpleminded can you get?
You just like the rest of Libertarians on FR wear hubris as well as Hillary, IMHO.
Libertarians' best buddy Soros? Can you document that George Soros has ever, in any way shape or form helped any (big or small ell) libertarian? Ever?
Hillary's best bud too? He must be more opportunistic that Archer Daniels Midlands! Has she ever said anything against the WosD or about MJ relegalization? George soros and Hillary may agree about socialism, but unless you can produce some evidence to the contrary, I'm going to continue to believe that they disagree about the subject of the thread.
(You'd think a smart guy like Soros would only give to "honest politicians - once you buy them they stay bought")
Are you actually claiming that if there were another referendum on medipot it would now lose? Because the President has never lied about his past use ? (he's never confirmed nor denied anything but alcohol abuse)
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