Push To Legalize Marijuana Gains Ground In California

nytimes.com:

These are heady times for advocates of legalized marijuana in California -- and only in small part because of the newly relaxed approach of the federal government toward medical marijuana.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[clvrgrl7]

This is BS. I am disabled. I have been offered a morphine pump installed in my body for the pain. I say no, it is so addicting, but insurance will pay for it. Why should I have to pay more than street value for marijuana plus a tax??? My insurance should cover the cost if it is medicinal. Don't link the desire to legalize drugs with the medicinal use of the drug marijuana. They are two different things.

[RevRayGreen]

marijuana can replace 17-52% of OTC or prescription meds without the side-effects or damage from long term use.

These reporters and cops getting recommendations just to out a business are breaking the law.

[RFWoodstock]

Valid medicinal value, it’s a victimless crime, the War on Drugs WAY too costly, too many arrests for simple possession, tax it and use the money to pay for health insurance and to reduce the deficit. Need I say more?

Woodstock Universe supports legalization for a variety of reasons. Check them out and vote in our poll "Should marijuana be legalized?" at http://woodstockuniverse.com

Current poll results: 96% for legalization and 4% opposed.

Add your vote. Poll runs through October.

Peace, love, music, one world,
RFWoodstock

[RevRayGreen]

HEARING LIVE

http://www.calchannel.com/channel/live/4

[RevRayGreen]

the counsel for the LEO's is making our case for us.........

[Liberal Angel]

All drugs should be legal. Adults should be able to do what they want as long as they aren't harming other people. Legalize and regulate, just like alcohol and tobacco.

[RevRayGreen]

promlem is both are entirely differnet substances.

[Liberal Angel]

All are drugs. I don't see a fundamental difference between cocaine and alcohol. Both are highly addictive, and potentially dangerous. I don't believe the government should be telling grown men and women that they can't do something that isn't harming other people. It should be regulated and taxed sky high, just like the others.

[JakeMontero]

should.be.legal and then tax the shlt out of it. time for the stoners to pay their fair share

[RevRayGreen]

we already do when arrested. we've been paying our fair share too long.

[monk2000]

I don't just think it should be legalized BUT everyone who has never smoked a joint should be required BY LAW to try it once before stating any opinion on it's legalization.

[walkonsatisfied]

So why not make it legal? The reasons "for" sooooo outweigh the "cons"

[HLL]

Not only should we legalize marijuana but I believe all drugs should be legalized - and taxed. That would bring trillions of dollars into our economy for schools, hospitals, teachers, etc. The border patrols and drug enforcement agency are a waste of money, time, and are utterly ineffective. If people want drugs they're gonna find 'em. So - if you want to do drugs, stroll down to your local drugstore and buy 'em like alcohol or cigarettes - but you'll hafta pay tax on them.

Having drugs around does not make a drug addict, just like having alcohol around does not make an alcoholic, or having food around does not make an overeater. It's up to the individual.

[iridium53]

Great.

Legalize all common ADULT choices not made under duress.

Legalize them.
Control them for quality - FDA-like controls - to protect the public from problems.
Tax them to pay for the controls.
Tax them to pay for any likely health problems.
Tax them a lot.

Make it a felony to sell these items without tax stamp.

Instead of spending money on law enforcement and incarceration for these things that cannot be stopped - let's openly control them. And tax them enough so that state funds are not spent on not required for the fallout of the issues.

Lots of non-addicting drugs and activities should be considered for this approach.

[sc300nc]

The government will stoop to any means to feed their continual need for more of our money.
They are like a garbage disposal where it all gets dumped in but you get nothing of use out the other end.

[CigarGod]

You mean like...highways, bridges, defense, emergency services, healthcare education,...need I go on?

[nomadrdw]

bailout to the big banks, subsidies to the insurance companies and industrial farms, 2 wars that need to stop, need I go on?

[Chipher]

Yeah, that's the old mil.gov party line, all right , "look at all we give you", blah, blah

Americans have given NASA $535,000,000,000 over the last 30 years for what?

A space pen that writes in zero gravity?! Hubble was great, but not $1/2T worth.

Mil.gov has an administrative overhead of 85%, that's right up there with the very

worst of the NFP charity scams, we only get 15c back on every tax dollar we pay.

Meanwhile, mil.gov payrolls and pensions keep going up, even during recession.

[missouriwatcher]

Good. Very good. Excellent. Even though it should have happened everywhere 72 years ago when the Marijuana Tax Law was passed in 1937. Better yet, that law should never have come into existence. Best of fortune to ye, California.

[Dixieboy]

Dear God.....I cannot even read these comments. We need to put a fence around California and put it up for sale on Ebay. Hopefully Mexico will annex this state and we can forget about this place.

[missouriwatcher]

Why? Why even comment if you cannot stand to read the comments of others, whether you agree or disagree? You don't even give a reason for your outlandish suggestion.

[Anne Johnson]

If you don't live in California then this doesn't affect you. Try minding your own business. We've had enough interference from out-of-state busybodies thank you very much.

[iridium53]

Californians feel the same way about Dixie.

[LegalWeed]

Go drink a half gallon of shine, son, and you will forget about everything...

[monk2000]

The best part about this is how scared you are. I hope you do something irrational because of this like live underground for the next 50 yrs. You're such a ret@rd for your post. Completely without any educational merit or ounce of intellect.

[Anne Johnson]

In comparison to alcohol, tobaccco and prescription drugs, marijuana doesn't even come close to being dangerous. How many traffic fatalities are caused by marijuana use? How many caused by alcohol? How many fatal overdoses are because of marijuana? How many are caused by prescription drugs? Again marijuana: NOT EVEN CLOSE

[Notawingnut]

Legalize all recreational drugs. My best friend from my school days is a constantly relapsing drug addict. I say that to qualify where I'm coming from.

If you legalize recreational drugs (including cocaine, heroin, ecstacy, LSD, marijuana, etc.) you solve all kinds of problems within a decade. Mexican drug cartels drop like a rock, Mexican government regains control of their cities. Mexican economy improves through stability creating jobs. Illegal immigration drops off. Taliban's heroin cash crop dries up, Without money to buy bomb making materials and weapons our troops only have to deal with the weapons they already have. Eventually they'll run out, and Afghanistan gets better.

Tax the crap out of drugs. Many drug addicts will pay as much as double the base price of drugs if they are legal, plus market forces can bring the price down and may even make drugs cheaper than the imported versions America currently consumes, allowing us to tax them more. Hefty taxes have decreased smoking (cigarettes) dramatically. Take those taxes and turn them around into drug rehabilitiation centers. Make driving high the same penalty (or even worse) than drunk driving.

It solves many of the world's problems within 10 years.

[Anne Johnson]

I agree with you. Also if cocaine and heroin were legalized then they would also be regulated. Keeping these drugs on the black market means no regulation so people don't know what they are getting.

[jwredd]

My only question is how will they quantify how baked you are if you get pulled over for a DUI?

Never heard anyone mention this and I'm sure enforcement of driving under the influence will be included in "regulation".

[RevRayGreen]

DUI laws are already enforced. California driving studies actually show responsible adults who use marijuana (not necc. while driving either pot bigots) are less likely to have an accident compared to those who do not use marijuana. As compared to alcohol, there is none.

[jwredd]

You all are misunderstanding me. I'm quite familiar with driving after blazing and am completely comfortable doing so. My question is what will happen to me if I get pulled over in California and I'm all red? Nothing?

[missouriwatcher]

Everyone I have ever known who smoked pot were very cognizant of when they were intoxicated they shouldn't drive. Not so with alcohol; drunk people often think they can drive even BETTER than when they're sober. And coke and speed? Those gooneybirds drive with their eyes glued to the rearview mirror, so it is obvious where that leads. If any drug should be okay for casual recreational use, it should be pot.

[walkonsatisfied]

In Tennessee, if there's a fatality, there's an automatic blood test. And even if the wreck isn't my fault, because I smoked pot last week or last month even, I would go to jail for homocide. Utterly ridiculous.

[Chipher]

Blood drop and micro-array sensors right there on the spot.

Micro-laser spectral analysis on blood vessels in your retina.

Splinter 'detectors' shoved under your fingernails until you talk. % )