Congratulations to Maine, Washington and Colorado

[Oniya]

I think the only thing in that video that wouldn't work, is the sex part. Whether they know our secrets or not, eventually you'd notice that your partner isn't really into it.

Of course you could marry the gay man and have the perfect husband otherwise and then you could both have your boyfriends on the side!

You could buy each other toys for Christmas!  *flees*

[LunarSage]

You'd be seeing more beards than you would at a Grateful Dead concert and a ZZ Top concert combined.

[Caela]

You could buy each other toys for Christmas!  *flees*

LMAO!!!! You so could!!!

Oh god, the mental images I have in my head now!!!!   

[NotoriusBEN]

The only thing I am concerned with is how this affects the cartels. I would assume not very much since marijuana is still illegal in most other states, but if more legalized it:
I can only imagine that this might be eye opening for them.

Their profits would be sure to drop since people arent buying an illegal product.
Legalized products tend to be prolific enough that it wouldnt be scarce, so there's another price hit.
Also, regulation would mean a clean, safe product for consumption.  (Would you rather buy it from Walgreen's or that shady guy on the corner?)

The cartels would have to become legitimate businesses and conform to American health standards to sell their stuff... and thus be tariffed as well.

Interesting to say the least.

[Serephino]

I definitely think marijuana should be legalized, for safety issues if for nothing else.  I do not smoke it, and after my one experience of a second-hand high, I seriously doubt I ever will.  I was with my cousins and one of them had some, and I was sitting downwind.  The scary part was my other two cousins told her what she had didn't smell right so they didn't want any, and she thought nothing of it.  It was probably laced with something.

Liquor is legal, and people abuse it.  The government did ban it twice, and neither time went over so well.  Right now it's regulated and taxed, though I think the laws here in PA are really restrictive and stupid...   

[Oniya]

Twice?  I was only aware of the one time (I'm thinking on a national level, so if you're talking about 'dry counties', that would explain it.)

[Skynet]

The only thing I am concerned with is how this affects the cartels. I would assume not very much since marijuana is still illegal in most other states, but if more legalized it:
I can only imagine that this might be eye opening for them.

Their profits would be sure to drop since people arent buying an illegal product.
Legalized products tend to be prolific enough that it wouldnt be scarce, so there's another price hit.
Also, regulation would mean a clean, safe product for consumption.  (Would you rather buy it from Walgreen's or that shady guy on the corner?)

The cartels would have to become legitimate businesses and conform to American health standards to sell their stuff... and thus be tariffed as well.

Interesting to say the least.

Well, back in the 20s during Prohibition, the Italian Mafia got an awful lot of money and power from selling illegal alcohol.  When Prohibition was repealed, they were large and widespread enough that they could rely on other ventures (drug-dealing, loan sharking, fraud) to remain prominent.

The cartels aren't going away anytime soon.  Legalization of marijuana will hurt them in the pocket, but it won't be enough to cripple them.

[Lux12]

Some of these laws were actually racist efforts to deter immigration by certain groups based on hurtful stereotypes. As a result, it created the same sort of situation as the prohibition of alcohol. Don't believe it? Look it up. It's a really disturbing element of this issue to uncover.

[Secretwriter]

I don't think that it is legal immigration they're  trying to deter. Either way tha is a big accusation. Do you have a source for your comment?  I don't mean to sound rude but I lift a brow when race is a motivation for legalizing weed.

[Pumpkin Seeds]

The Cartels won’t be hurt as much as people believe.  A market for importing marijuana will exist for the drug organizations to use.  While there will be more competition from new business ventures, the drug Cartels are already proficient in intimidation and bullying tactics for other suppliers.  Already there is a production infrastructure in place for the marijuana to be grown and shipped.  Their cost of distribution will be drastically cut and their profits more securely generated along with a larger customer base.  This will offset most, if not all, of the loss they might take from legalization at the onset.  As I said, they already have a leg up for production and distribution so they can saturate the market with their product as opposed to local growers.

Also, illegal drug trade will still exist for some time after marijuana is legal.  People won’t want to pay the taxes, will want to smoke certain types of marijuana and probably complain about the marijuana approved for public consumption.  Then there are of course the other illegal substances.

I know drug policies do have racial motivators (crack vs powder cocaine), but have not heard the immigration bit.

[Oniya]

I don't think that it is legal immigration they're  trying to deter. Either way tha is a big accusation. Do you have a source for your comment?  I don't mean to sound rude but I lift a brow when race is a motivation for legalizing weed.

I don't know if this is where Lux read it, but this looks reliable enough:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2010/10/report-racial-bias-in-california-pot-arrests.html

[Lux12]

I don't think that it is legal immigration they're  trying to deter. Either way tha is a big accusation. Do you have a source for your comment?  I don't mean to sound rude but I lift a brow when race is a motivation for legalizing weed.

Have you read about what was going on or their motivations back when they first tried to outlaw the stuff?

[FireflyWhisper]

I'm very pleased that we are starting our path towards total decriminalization of marijuana.  We've poured far too much money into policing, prosecuting and jailing 'offenders' who are using and/or peddling a relatively harmless product.  Proper regulation and taxation are the way to go, I believe.  I hope a bunch more states follow along soon.

[Chris Brady]

As do I. 

I have rarely met a habitual pot user who wasn't an unmotivated leech.  That's the kicker.  Almost every pot user I've ever met hasn't seemed to care about anything in life except how to get high again.  It's sad.

I am LIVING THIS right now.  And it's gotten to the point where it's past merely eyerolling.  We got people in this very building mooching off others on a daily basis.  And because I don't smoke or drink, I'm usually the one they go for the first.  There's a financial reason I don't, can't afford to.  Barely living on 480 a month (after rent and important bills) because this place is falling apart...

Also, the reason that the Netherlands are such a nice rich country, is the same reason the Swiss made Communism work.  SIZE.  The more area you have to cover for various expenditures and general infrastructure the less you have for growth and investment.  Legalized Pot isn't even a factor here.

[Secretwriter]

Nope, dude, lol. I tend to avoid most political or theological discussions. Religiously. Lol.

[Lux12]

Pot's effect on someone's life seems to be less based in the actual effects of the drug and more of how the person uses it or their personal habits surrounding it. It does have very real psychoactive effects, but since it's not addictive in the way some believe it is, it seems to depend very heavily on the user.

[Chris Brady]

Pot's effect on someone's life seems to be less based in the actual effects of the drug and more of how the person uses it or their personal habits surrounding it. It does have very real psychoactive effects, but since it's not addictive in the way some believe it is, it seems to depend very heavily on the user.

It IS addictive.  You get addicted to the 'high' it gives you.  It doesn't hurt your system when you stop, like other hard drugs, but it does affect you.  And like all drugs you WILL get a tolerance for it, over time, needing more and more to get the same rush you got.

I wouldn't be so against it if people would use it in moderation.  But sadly, addicts aren't known for that.  And very few people who use it, don't get addicted to the sensation.

[Lux12]

I know of the psychological addiction it can cause and how such addictions actually work. Moderation is often the best policy but humans by and large seem to be geared toward extremes and in a developed country where survival is not as strong a motivation as it is in less developed societies and nations leisure and pleasure take on a greater role in society thus allowing us more time to drown in our addictions if we so choose since we have less of an incentive to moderate... However I stand by my legalization stance for various reasons regardless as I believe the problem is more with the society itself than the drug.

[Chris Brady]

Oh, I agree, society is more to blame here, but legalizing Pot isn't going to help.

In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion that it will change nothing.  Except that more pencil pushers will get more money.

[Lux12]

Oh, I agree, society is more to blame here, but legalizing Pot isn't going to help.

In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion that it will change nothing.  Except that more pencil pushers will get more money.

Well people really want more money, and if it appears to be a way to procure it, a large number of people will likely jump on it.At least that is how things often go.

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Most drugs are psychological in their dependence, but that does not detract from the seriousness of the addiction or the affect of that addiction on people's lives.  Very few substances create a physical dependence so the lack of a physical dependence should not be used as a means to justify the legalization.  Also I doubt the legalization of marijuana is going to do much useful for society, though keeping the substance illegal isn't providing much benefit either.

[Caela]

Most drugs are psychological in their dependence, but that does not detract from the seriousness of the addiction or the affect of that addiction on people's lives.  Very few substances create a physical dependence so the lack of a physical dependence should not be used as a means to justify the legalization.  Also I doubt the legalization of marijuana is going to do much useful for society, though keeping the substance illegal isn't providing much benefit either.

For society as a whole I agree. Legalizing pot won't do much for it. What it will do is keep it from being a constant drain on law enforcement resources from cops on the streets, to guards having to watch over folks who just happened to be carrying too much, to federal agents as well. There are better things to spend their time, and our tax dollars on than a substance that is really no more harmful that a lot of other legal substances.  A lot of the problems people have with it, are not really about the pot itself, but about their own lack of self-control and without the pot, most of them would likely just be addicted to something else.

You shouldn't make something illegal simply because a section of society can't control itself.

I guess I also have a different perspective since I know people who do use it in moderation and aren't just your stereotypical "leeches".

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Well, law enforcement benefits from the money pumped into the war on drugs.  Those guards would not be employed without the funding of the federal government into the “War on Drugs” and those police officers would have less pay and hours without the additional money.  There is a lot of money and investment tied up in the business of punishing and rehabilitating drug abusers, which marijuana abuse is one of the big ones due to its popularity.  I think there will still be an underground market for marijuana as people don’t like the federal regulations and pricing for the new ones.  Marijuana smoking will also come under fire from opponents to cigarette smoking and may likely be put on the way out just as tobacco is becoming. 

I think people who are vehemently against marijuana legalization don’t understand how little would change by legalizing the substance.  I also think that people vehemently for legalization of marijuana don’t understand how little would change society wide in regard to the substance and what will happen.  Humorous and sad as this might be, marijuana might be banned again in the near future if the war on tobacco and bad food is any indication.

[Secretwriter]

More of my local law enforcement's time is spent on pot busts instead of meth busts.  There is more meth in my area, growing steaily since one of the local weed growers got busted in 2002. Pot became scarce and the idiots went to meth.  And I will check the articles out when I am on my laptop. For some reason I never check this thread unless its on my phone, Lux.

[Lux12]

More of my local law enforcement's time is spent on pot busts instead of meth busts.  There is more meth in my area, growing steaily since one of the local weed growers got busted in 2002. Pot became scarce and the idiots went to meth.  And I will check the articles out when I am on my laptop. For some reason I never check this thread unless its on my phone, Lux.

Ah yes.Meth is particularly bothersome because it's not only highly addictive, it's easy to get your hands on the ingredients.But of course,there's little I probably need to explain about meth.I was rather shocked to hear about just how widespread meth has become.In fact, I think there was some kind of bust somewhere around here (a town over from where I live) not too long ago.  Funny since there's a rehab for meth addicts in that town too. But I suppose there would be no need for the rehab without the meth.