Supreme Court Says Government Can Prosecute Medical Marijuana Patients

So if i sum up..

..legalizing Marajuana was a bad idea becuase its too easy to grow and therefore tax?
..smoking it cuases people to get hungry for Doritos, and other Snack foods

SO <>
leagalize Marajuana and just add a Tax on Snack Foods

How many people really want to grow their own pot, even if they had the chance. The ods are that if marijuana were made legal, and sold like tobacco, that most people would just buy theirs from the store. A few might grow it at home, but to make really decent weed strikes me as something that requires a good green thumb. Something most people either lack or don't have the patience for.

Of course, if pot were legalized, 80% of the War on Drugs would be wittled away, and we suddenly wouldn't need as many prisons anymore. And worst of all, the Federal Government would have had to admit that it was wrong, and after the hole it has dug itself into,it sure as hell is not about to back down. Thats why the DEA hates Amsterdam so much: It is a successful experience that continues to prove their tired rhetoric wrong.


(tries to get off her soapbox

In the 1920's, alcohol was made illegal by Prohibition. The result: Organized Crime. Criminals jumped at the chance to supply the demand for liquor. The streets became battlegrounds. The criminals bought off law enforcement and judges. Adulterated booze blinded and killed people. Civil rights were trampled in the hopeless attempt to keep people from drinking.
When the American people saw what Prohibition was doing to them, they supported its repeal. When they succeeded, most states legalized liquor and the criminal gangs were out of the liquor business.
Today's war on drugs is a re-run of Prohibition. Approximately 40 million Americans are occasional, peaceful users of some illegal drug who are no threat to anyone. They are not going to stop. The laws don't, and can't, stop drug use.
Whenever there is a great demand for a product and government makes it illegal, a black market always appears to supply the demand. The price of the product rises dramatically and the opportunity for huge profits is obvious. The criminal gangs love the situation, making millions. They kill other drug dealers, along with innocent people caught in the crossfire, to protect their territory. They corrupt police and courts. Pushers sell adulterated dope and experimental drugs, causing injury and death. And because drugs are illegal, their victims have no recourse.
Half the cost of law enforcement and prisons is squandered on drug related crime. Of all drug users, a relative few are addicts who commit crimes daily to supply artificially expensive habits. They are the robbers, car thieves and burglars who make our homes and streets unsafe.
Civil liberties suffer. We are all "suspects", subject to random urine tests, highway check points and spying into our personal finances. Your property can be seized without trial, if the police merely claim you got it with drug profits. Doing business with cash makes you a suspect. America is becoming a police state because of the war on drugs.
Today's illegal drugs were legal before 1914. Cocaine was even found in the original Coca-Cola recipe. Americans had few problems with cocaine, opium, heroin or marijuana. Drugs were inexpensive; crime was low. Most users handled their drug of choice and lived normal, productive lives. Addicts out of control were a tiny minority.
The first laws prohibiting drugs were racist in origin -- to prevent Chinese laborers from using opium and to prevent blacks and Hispanics from using cocaine and marijuana. That was unjust and unfair, just as it is unjust and unfair to make criminals of peaceful drug users today.
Some Americans will always use alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs. Most are not addicts, they are social drinkers or occasional users. Legal drugs would be inexpensive, so even addicts could support their habits with honest work, rather than by crime. Organized crime would be deprived of its profits. The police could return to protecting us from real criminals; and there would be room enough in existing prisons for them.
It's time to re-legalize drugs and let people take responsibility for themselves. Drug abuse is a tragedy and a sickness. Criminal laws only drive the problem underground and put money in the pockets of the criminal class. With drugs legal, compassionate people could do more to educate and rehabilitate drug users who seek help. Drugs should be legal. Individuals have the right to decide for themselves what to put in their bodies, so long as they take responsibility for their actions.
From the Mayor of Baltimore, Kurt Schmoke, to conservative writer and TV personality, William F. Buckley, Jr., leading Americans are now calling for repeal of America's repressive and ineffective drug laws. I urges you to join in this effort to make our streets safer and our liberties more secure.

Can it, hippie! We need to ban pot forever to keep these long-haired terrorists from spreading their lies to our children. Read the Bible.

While it is true that alcohol causes many car accidents and acts of violence, it is essential for getting ugly people to have babies. If they don't reproduce, who will run all the jobs I shouldn't have to?

hehe the junk food tax was me teasing, hunni. *huggles*

the government had to admit before that it was wrong on drug use , in 1933.

Law enforcement had increased dramatically .. ie the famous Untouchables were part of this.

I found some interesting information ..

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-157.html

the graphs are kind of neat .. after the initial "Law" alchol use actually returned pretty much to its previous pre ban levels during the time it was illegal.

In addtion SPENDING on alcohol went through the roof.

This would seem to suggest the only ones profiting from controlled susbstances being illegal is the drug dealers.

If regualted recreational uses of Marajuana were legalized it would free up law enforcement that currently works on catching adults in their own homes, and let them work on making sure underage children dont drink and use other drugs.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Also can we keep the Bible out of our government? I mean good fiction and all but do we need fiction in our government?

Well..it's different back then.

A) 1933 is a long long time ago for most citizens.

B) The Government could easily just say it was "following the will of the people", since this was a direct Constitutional amendment, LIKE IT SHOULD BE.

The current era of the "War on Pot" is wholely a Government created fabrication, based upon some ridiculously defended usage of the Commerce Clause. There were no popular votes. There were no amendments. The Government KNEW that if the people were allowed to vote on the War on Drugs, they would have rejected it.

With no scapegoats to hang failure upon, the Government would have to accept ALL the blame this time. THey are not about to do that

The weird thing is practically everyone who would become "a junkie" if they legalized drugs, is probably already an addict , or an Alcholic now.

Since alcohol is legal , people who will develop the problem with addiction .. will, even witha 100% sucessful "war on drugs".

Lets say Marajuana, Opiates, and Cocaine were legalized .. just for sake of conversation.

The government would control the production, levels of narcottic substances in them would be regulated to a level the FDA determined acceptable.

The Government would sell them in pretty much a manor of Hard Liquor.

Even heavily taxed, they would be much cheaper overall then they are now. Thus reducing part of the need for crime.

Certain very unsafe drugs - LSD, Crack, Meth? .. could remain illegal. Due to the dangerous nature.

Future Recreational drugs would have to be proven LESS addictive and safer then drugs already for sale by the government.



okay thats one idea

Theres two others .. Continue on the current path , the War on Drugs, which has resulted in the largest prison population per capita on Earth. Spending will go up , overall drug use remains fairly common (Alcohol especially)

Last choice -- stop being Hypocrytical and outlaw Alcohol again. I mean if its about drug abuse; Youd have to, wouldnt you?

I guess I'm the only person that sees this ruling as a states rights issue. It is robbing the states of the right to set their own laws in this regard, and that is a dangerous precident.

Actually Rebeccah said the same thing.

Although with the way the DEA is a Federal agency and the way the Federal government coerces states to do certain things, even without the ruling the Fed probably wouldnt have stayed away.

The answer to the latter question is "Yes." For those of you who haven't been paying attention, fiction is the essential element of government.

The professional politicians scramble to make names for themselves as tough anti-drug warriors, while the experts agree that the "war on drugs" has been lost, and could never be won. The tragic victims of that war are your personal liberty and its companion, responsibility. It's time to consider the re-legalization of drugs.

The Lessons of Prohibition
In the 1920's, alcohol was made illegal by Prohibition. The result: Organized Crime. Criminals jumped at the chance to supply the demand for liquor. The streets became battlegrounds. The criminals bought off law enforcement and judges. Adulterated booze blinded and killed people. Civil rights were trampled in the hopeless attempt to keep people from drinking.
When the American people saw what Prohibition was doing to them, they supported its repeal. When they succeeded, most states legalized liquor and the criminal gangs were out of the liquor business.
Today's war on drugs is a re-run of Prohibition. Approximately 40 million Americans are occasional, peaceful users of some illegal drug who are no threat to anyone. They are not going to stop. The laws don't, and can't, stop drug use.

Organized Crime Profits
Whenever there is a great demand for a product and government makes it illegal, a black market always appears to supply the demand. The price of the product rises dramatically and the opportunity for huge profits is obvious. The criminal gangs love the situation, making millions. They kill other drug dealers, along with innocent people caught in the crossfire, to protect their territory. They corrupt police and courts. Pushers sell adulterated dope and experimental drugs, causing injury and death. And because drugs are illegal, their victims have no recourse.

Crime Increases
Half the cost of law enforcement and prisons is squandered on drug related crime. Of all drug users, a relative few are addicts who commit crimes daily to supply artificially expensive habits. They are the robbers, car thieves and burglars who make our homes and streets unsafe.

An American Police State
Civil liberties suffer. We are all "suspects", subject to random urine tests, highway check points and spying into our personal finances. Your property can be seized without trial, if the police merely claim you got it with drug profits. Doing business with cash makes you a suspect. America is becoming a police state because of the war on drugs.

America Can Handle Legal Drugs
Today's illegal drugs were legal before 1914. Cocaine was even found in the original Coca-Cola recipe. Americans had few problems with cocaine, opium, heroin or marijuana. Drugs were inexpensive; crime was low. Most users handled their drug of choice and lived normal, productive lives. Addicts out of control were a tiny minority.
The first laws prohibiting drugs were racist in origin -- to prevent Chinese laborers from using opium and to prevent blacks and Hispanics from using cocaine and marijuana. That was unjust and unfair, just as it is unjust and unfair to make criminals of peaceful drug users today.
Some Americans will always use alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs. Most are not addicts, they are social drinkers or occasional users. Legal drugs would be inexpensive, so even addicts could support their habits with honest work, rather than by crime. Organized crime would be deprived of its profits. The police could return to protecting us from real criminals; and there would be room enough in existing prisons for them.

Try Personal Responsibility
It's time to re-legalize drugs and let people take responsibility for themselves. Drug abuse is a tragedy and a sickness. Criminal laws only drive the problem underground and put money in the pockets of the criminal class. With drugs legal, compassionate people could do more to educate and rehabilitate drug users who seek help. Drugs should be legal. Individuals have the right to decide for themselves what to put in their bodies, so long as they take responsibility for their actions.

Actually, I also mentioned this as a concern in my post

Aspirin causes more death than marijuana does. Our drug laws are irrational, stupid, and based on religion and ignorance caused by 50 years of propoganda and outright lies. With alchohol people see alchoholics as the exception and not the rule. With other drugs it's just the opposite. The truth is that the vast majority of drug users, including users of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin are responsible users. We have a higher percentage of our population in prisons than any other nation in the world. It sickens me. Our drug laws make me deeply ashamed.

I don't know how many studies there have been on marijuana usage, but do we know with any certainty what the effects of it are? All I know is that I knew a guy or two from high school that got into using it, and a little while afterwards (I'm told), all of the sudden they can best be described as "slow". Apparently it killed quite a few brain cells in these cases.

I have no idea where you get that second statement from either. I don't know anyone that uses that crap, but the concept of "responsible cocaine use" sounds ridiculous to say the least...

well how do you define "high"?

Is it posible to become so intoxicated you die from legal drugs?

Is it possible to become so intoxiacted you are a treat to others?

Is it possible to becime addictied so you ruin your life?

yeah? ban alcohol.

oops doesnt work --- sorry --

Fact is this if someone needs to be addicted to altering their mood, they will be.

Most "hard" Drug addicts are Alcoholics , and Vice versa.

so Chips point is a good one ..

the reason you dont see a lot of responsible cocaine users is becuase a resposible person is less likely risk going to jail.

So of course the vast majority of cocaine users are addicits becuase they are desperate and addicts will do anything for that next fix. As addicts they need more/different becuase of Tolerance to the intoxication.

There are a lot of responsible Marajuana users , I know several. Some are amoung the most intelligent people I know.

aspirin very well might kill more , its fairly dangerous to some people

Alcohol most asuredly kills more then all illegal drugs combined.

Well, I don't know any people that uses this stuff personally. But I do know that some things are more addictive than others. I don't know where pot falls in there, but cocaine does not stike me as something that could ever be used "responsibly" because of how addictive it is. People go into rehab and still have a hard time getting off of it for a reason, I think. The fact that it's not as commonly seen is not good evidence that it's users are more responsible.

Asprin has alot of positive uses, Pot afaik is only good for pain relief and killing brain cells. Of course so is alcohol, cancer sticks, and so on. One other difference that I can see definitely is: while asprin is a risk the first time, it doesn't cause any cumulative damage (that's widely known about anyway). Asprin also doesn't have any "entertainment" type of value, it's more of a "true drug" that simply is used to stop pain (and heart attacks so they say). The analogy isn't a good one IMO. (Alcohol and Cigs are good analogies.)

I'll have to look up the historical reasoning for banning marijuana some time, maybe that'll shed some light on it. Maybe it should be legalized, if only to stop wasting law enforcement resources and start collecting tax money on it. Not to mention to get rid of the damn "issue" so we can talk about more important things.

It would most likely help the economy, which is a pretty conservative supported goal eh? There's gotta be a reason it's illegal, it may be a stupid/historical one, but I suspect there's more to it than.. "it's banned simply because conservatives have a vendetta against a type of plant" or something..

Cocaine is used in Medicine now. Doc do prescribe Pharmaceutical Cocaine.



WOW you really know nothing about Pot.
1) Pot does NOT kill brain cells, it slows them down and it is only measurable after smocking pot on a regular bases and allot of it. After being off of it they spead back up. Last study in the US on this was in the 1950’s and they came up with the dead cells, in the early 1990’s UK released on showing that they are not dead but just slowed down.
2) Pot can be used to treat Glaucoma
3) Pot can be used to treat eating disorders
4) Pot can be used to treat depression, they us it in with MS because the drugs they us for MS can make you suicidal.



History Channel did a GREAT show on this. If you can check it out.



It’s a racial historic reason. It’s is also band because of Cotton.

I concede that I'm no expert on the topic here.

But although you sound certain, there's alot of conflicting information out there.

This guy's answer to the question I found recently browsing seems to sum up what I see:

(Question is does pot kill brain cells)



As an example of "conflicting information"--isn't there carbon monoxide in marijuana smoke? This would kill brain cells, right?

I chose Maybe because I think 100% might be pushing it. I'd like to see some kind of regulation/control, similar to alcohol (age, driving while impaired).

Problem is because of our laws we have banned any testing on it in the US. So we have base our info on out siders. And no I don't think carbon monoxide kills the brain I think it starves the brain of O. But we can say that smoking has the same problem.

There is conflicting information on the adverse effects of eating bacon too, yet we can still go to the supermarket and buy it.

I for one, am really sick of the government, the CDC, the World Health Organization, Large Farm and Food Processing Conglomerates and the Insurance Companies telling me what is good for me and what isn't.

One day I read a study that says eggs are bad for you, never eat another egg and then one month later the egg lobby comes out with a study that says eggs are good for you, eat one a day.

The only thing that some study has not proved is bad for you is broccoli for christs sake!
(and that's only because it gives you so much gas in large quantities that there is no fear of abusing it),

The bottom line is that legalization of marijuana would really take a chunk out of the alcohol industries profits, not to mention, cotton and flax. It's Govco at it's best, telling us they know what's best for us.

Where in all of this is personal choice and personal responsibility? It seems the less choice we have, the more we abdicate personal responsibility as well. Or maybe it's the other way around?

Just a thought.

.

I voted yes ONLY because i dont feel that ppl who are dying and inpain should have to go to jail because their doctor thinks this is the best way for them to have some comfort, My mother smokes because of neck and back pain and no it isnt legal where i am but if it helps her not be in pain then so be it.....I myelf have tried it and found for me that it does nothing but make me more hungry and want to go to sleep...I dont need more sleep and i sure the heck dont need to be more hungry......but as for the brain cell killing thing, well my mom and many ppl i know have smoked for most of their adult lives and lead very professional jobs and arent the typical stoner stereotype, and as for the safer then cigerrettes who knows thc is a lot thicker then tobacco buildup and i know of someone who smoked weed ALOT and ended up wth a collapsed lung so who knows....