Nice on the states rights videos...didn't expect to see it on Fox of all places, but badass. Not sure how this turned into a political thread but anyway:
Legalizing marijuana answer to government’s $ problems?
Posted: 05:00 PM ET
FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:
It’s time to debate legalizing marijuana in California — so says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the state faces mounting deficits, the governor says he’s open to talking about different ways to create revenue. Although Schwarzenegger doesn’t think the state should rush to judgment and start taxing and legalizing pot right now, he says he’s interested in looking at other countries that have legalized it to see what effect it’s had.
A cannabis plant is pictured. Cannabis is known as marijuana in its herbal form.
Schwarzenegger’s comments come as support grows nationwide for legalizing pot. In California, a recent poll found for the first time a majority of voters back legalization.
One California lawmaker says regulating and taxing marijuana would bring the state as much as $1.3 billion a year in extra revenue. Proponents say it’s about more than just money; it’s about the failure of the war on drugs and implementing “a more enlightened policy.â€
One advocate tells The San Francisco Chronicle that Schwarzenegger’s comments represent “a tectonic shift†in attitudes on the issue, saying: “The public is going to drag the politicians into doing what is right.â€
But not everyone is so sure this would be the right move. Some lawmakers say the potential revenue would hardly make a dent in California’s deficit — which could soon reach $20 billion. They say this is just a sign of the governor’s “growing desperation†over the budget.
I know a lot of you are anti-pot without really any good reason other than you don't like it or you grew up being told that it's a horrible, brain-destroying drug...but it's good to see states are starting to say "fuck the feds" and exercise their right to make their own laws.
BTW:
- 0 deaths ever attributed to marijuana in the world since it's been recorded
- 400,000 deaths a year, in USA alone attributed to tobacco, and tens of thousands more to alcohol
- 0 cases of cancer from marijuana smoking. Tobacco causes it due to the nicotine and over 200+ other chemicals
- Cali loses an estimated $1.3 billion in possible tax revenue a year due to pot sales, and this doesn't count the fact they're probably underestimating by a lot, and not counting the law enforcement/prison costs
- The government funded "study" that "proved" marijuana kills brain cells - it was conducted by placing a facemask over monkeys and forcing them to breathe over 60 joints worth of pot per session for 3 months. Brain cells died due to lack of oxygen and not because of the marijuana.
- Drug trade from messico would decrease (although a lot of their imports is hard shit)
- Pot has never been proven to be a "gateway drug" and the argument in itself is flawed. It
could be argued drinking milk is a gateway to alcohol, and smoking cigs is a gateway to marijuana since 99% of people start with those. Also, if it was decriminalized and I could pick some up at walmart instead of in the ghetto from a drug dealer, i wouldn't be exposed to the shit.
- Over half our presidents, including the last 3, have admitted to marijuana use. Plenty of respected, successful people have smoked it.
- No fucking reason to criminalize it and spend billions trying to fight a problem that will never disappear, and to spend billions putting these non-violent offenders in jail, and to lose billions on possible tax revenue. I've heard people say if it was legal that it would be easier to get and more would smoke it. I'm sure it's true to an extent, but anyone who's purchased pot knows it's not hard at all to get...
/rant
Moar vids plz