T
TrichyTrichy
Dayum! Have a helicopter too?
ICMAG Administration endorses The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010
- Thread starter JJScorpio
- Start date
- Status
oh you fuukd up now herb...im done hosting...next ones on you and im in the pool!
EDIT: just to be clear...i aint doubting my boy herb..im serious...im in the pool next get together...
yeh its a cool spot.... just a rental though. need to quit payin other peopels fucking mortgage and get my own place before apr rates start jumpin again....
4 me, renting is where it's at until we are legal! I would go postal if I lost a house for growing. But then again...things are looking up!
Marijuana Legalization Gains Momentum in CA
cannabis California -- For all the punditry surrounding the Democrats’ impending electoral misfortunes, little attention has been paid to a California ballot initiative which, if successful, may foster greater lasting political implications: Proposition 19, or the legalization of marijuana for personal consumption among adults aged 21 and over.
As detailed in Ari Berman’s Rolling Stone piece earlier this month, an ideologically diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, student groups, academics, and politicians have joined forces to support the November initiative. The California NAACP endorsed Prop 19 in July, calling it a “civil rights issue.” Just this week California’s chapter of the SEIU – the state’s most powerful labor union – also threw its support and formidable campaign apparatus behind the measure.
Interestingly, praise for Prop 19 is not limited to what might be the expected left-leaning constituencies. Yes, there's strong student support for the initiative at UC - Berkeley and UC - Santa Cruz, but there's also Jordan Marks, Executive Director of the Young Americans Foundation – the nation’s largest conservative youth activist organization – who sits on the board of the Just Say Now campaign alongside prominent liberal bloggers Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – a group comprised of former police officers, prosecutors, and judges who oppose current drug policy – have taken to the talk show circuit, assuaging the concerns of those who might assume that only shaggy-haired hippies care strongly about marijuana legalization. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, famously fond of the occasional toke during his youth, has cautiously left the door open to backing the measure.
Predictably, the usual suspects have come out in favor of the status quo. Obama Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, joined by five of his predecessors, penned a laughably flawed piece in the Los Angeles Times arguing for the continued criminalization of marijuana. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, long an opponent of drug policy reform, was named chairperson of the anti-Prop 19 campaign. And Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is also not a backer, despite evidence that Prop 19 could actually help California Democrats by driving progressive voter turnout in November.
From decreasing marijuana prohibition-related violence on the Mexican border, to freeing up space in our prisons for actual criminals, to providing much-needed tax revenue for state coffers – there are myriad of reasons to support legalization. Yes on Prop 19 is currently leading in the polls, but California ballot initiatives are notoriously unpredictable. Do your part by getting involved with the Just Say Now campaign and following @taxcannabis on Twitter.
Source: Nation, The (US)
Author: Michael Tracey
R
rick shaw
The most interesting thing to me is media attachment.You can have fifty people with academic credentials ,years of clinical research,dozens of doctoral thesis,but one retired judge or prosecutor one ex-police chief,the older and most right winged the better,these guys are the ones that get the media attention.I know most media is right wing.May the Gods bless the members of LEAP,Law Enforcement Against Prohibition we are stoners so to me growers/mmj helping non growers/recreational users isn't a stretch,but the ones that used to bust everyone balls helping now is totally awesome.
Another union of 35k just backed 19. Alot of pro 19ers coming out. We going to pass thus with a landslide
Gains Momentum in CA[/SIZE][/B]
cannabis California -- For all the punditry surrounding the Democrats’ impending electoral misfortunes, little attention has been paid to a California ballot initiative which, if successful, may foster greater lasting political implications: Proposition 19, or the legalization of marijuana for personal consumption among adults aged 21 and over.
As detailed in Ari Berman’s Rolling Stone piece earlier this month, an ideologically diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, student groups, academics, and politicians have joined forces to support the November initiative. The California NAACP endorsed Prop 19 in July, calling it a “civil rights issue.” Just this week California’s chapter of the SEIU – the state’s most powerful labor union – also threw its support and formidable campaign apparatus behind the measure.
Interestingly, praise for Prop 19 is not limited to what might be the expected left-leaning constituencies. Yes, there's strong student support for the initiative at UC - Berkeley and UC - Santa Cruz, but there's also Jordan Marks, Executive Director of the Young Americans Foundation – the nation’s largest conservative youth activist organization – who sits on the board of the Just Say Now campaign alongside prominent liberal bloggers Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – a group comprised of former police officers, prosecutors, and judges who oppose current drug policy – have taken to the talk show circuit, assuaging the concerns of those who might assume that only shaggy-haired hippies care strongly about marijuana legalization. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, famously fond of the occasional toke during his youth, has cautiously left the door open to backing the measure.
Predictably, the usual suspects have come out in favor of the status quo. Obama Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, joined by five of his predecessors, penned a laughably flawed piece in the Los Angeles Times arguing for the continued criminalization of marijuana. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, long an opponent of drug policy reform, was named chairperson of the anti-Prop 19 campaign. And Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is also not a backer, despite evidence that Prop 19 could actually help California Democrats by driving progressive voter turnout in November.
From decreasing marijuana prohibition-related violence on the Mexican border, to freeing up space in our prisons for actual criminals, to providing much-needed tax revenue for state coffers – there are myriad of reasons to support legalization. Yes on Prop 19 is currently leading in the polls, but California ballot initiatives are notoriously unpredictable. Do your part by getting involved with the Just Say Now campaign and following @taxcannabis on Twitter.
Source: Nation, The (US)
Author: Michael Tracey[/QUOTE]
I hear ya.. ID be fuckibg livid if they confiscated my property over a few plants
cannabis California -- For all the punditry surrounding the Democrats’ impending electoral misfortunes, little attention has been paid to a California ballot initiative which, if successful, may foster greater lasting political implications: Proposition 19, or the legalization of marijuana for personal consumption among adults aged 21 and over.
As detailed in Ari Berman’s Rolling Stone piece earlier this month, an ideologically diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, student groups, academics, and politicians have joined forces to support the November initiative. The California NAACP endorsed Prop 19 in July, calling it a “civil rights issue.” Just this week California’s chapter of the SEIU – the state’s most powerful labor union – also threw its support and formidable campaign apparatus behind the measure.
Interestingly, praise for Prop 19 is not limited to what might be the expected left-leaning constituencies. Yes, there's strong student support for the initiative at UC - Berkeley and UC - Santa Cruz, but there's also Jordan Marks, Executive Director of the Young Americans Foundation – the nation’s largest conservative youth activist organization – who sits on the board of the Just Say Now campaign alongside prominent liberal bloggers Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – a group comprised of former police officers, prosecutors, and judges who oppose current drug policy – have taken to the talk show circuit, assuaging the concerns of those who might assume that only shaggy-haired hippies care strongly about marijuana legalization. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, famously fond of the occasional toke during his youth, has cautiously left the door open to backing the measure.
Predictably, the usual suspects have come out in favor of the status quo. Obama Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, joined by five of his predecessors, penned a laughably flawed piece in the Los Angeles Times arguing for the continued criminalization of marijuana. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, long an opponent of drug policy reform, was named chairperson of the anti-Prop 19 campaign. And Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is also not a backer, despite evidence that Prop 19 could actually help California Democrats by driving progressive voter turnout in November.
From decreasing marijuana prohibition-related violence on the Mexican border, to freeing up space in our prisons for actual criminals, to providing much-needed tax revenue for state coffers – there are myriad of reasons to support legalization. Yes on Prop 19 is currently leading in the polls, but California ballot initiatives are notoriously unpredictable. Do your part by getting involved with the Just Say Now campaign and following @taxcannabis on Twitter.
Source: Nation, The (US)
Author: Michael Tracey[/QUOTE]
I hear ya.. ID be fuckibg livid if they confiscated my property over a few plants
I want to see someone make a political cartoon of the opposers of 19. Big alcohol, cartel/drug dealers, and a dea agent foaming at the mouth.
Cops for Pot
Source: Pasadena Weekly (CA)
Ex-Law Enforcement Officials Say Keeping Pot Illegal Does More Harm Than Good
Calling low-level marijuana arrests a "waste of time" that take up valuable crime-fighting resources, a group of law enforcement officials this week called on California voters to pass Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana for their own sake.
Comprised of police chiefs, judges and prosecutors, the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition said marijuana's illegality is doing more harm than good by jamming the justice system with misdemeanor possession offenses that have had no impact on the usage rates and availability of the weed.
"It's not working and it hasn't reduced the use of marijuana. No one makes that argument," said Joe McNamara, the former San Jose police chief who now serves as a research fellow with Harvard's Hoover Institution.
Legalizing marijuana would do more to undercut the flow of money that illicit marijuana sales provide Mexican drug cartels than any other effort, McNamara said, citing federal estimates that cartels derive 60 percent of their profits from weed alone. "This is a chance for the voters to strike much more of a blow than law enforcement can ever strike against the cartels by taking away those profits," McNamara said.
But another law enforcement group, Public Safety First, says Proposition 19 is poorly written and will lead to multiple unintended consequences, including hampering employers' efforts to attain drug-free workplaces and financial and legal complications given marijuana's illegality under federal law.
Those are many of the same arguments voters rejected in passing California's landmark medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, about 15 years ago, McNamara said. "I think the attitudes of the public are very clear. They don't buy into the argument of opponents of Prop. 19, that we should do much of the same thing," he said.
With 60,000 fewer misdemeanor marijuana arrests to process, the justice system would be able to direct more resources toward more serious crimes that are not getting the proper attention, said James Gray, a retired Orange County Superior Court judge, noting that scores of rape kits remain untested.
Apart from support for legalization, there's another stark difference between the law enforcement groups weighing in on the proposition: most of the officials who support Proposition 19 are either retired or former officials. Gray said the politics of law enforcement officialdom preclude many other officers from speaking out in favor of legalization.
On Monday, LEAP members released a letter urging voters to pass Proposition 19 in November.
"As criminal justice professionals, we have seen with our own eyes that keeping cannabis illegal damages public safety -- for cannabis consumers and non-consumers alike," read the letter, signed by a host of current and former law enforcement officials, among them former LA County Deputy Sheriff MacKenzie Allen and retired LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing.
Source: Pasadena Weekly (CA)
Ex-Law Enforcement Officials Say Keeping Pot Illegal Does More Harm Than Good
Calling low-level marijuana arrests a "waste of time" that take up valuable crime-fighting resources, a group of law enforcement officials this week called on California voters to pass Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana for their own sake.
Comprised of police chiefs, judges and prosecutors, the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition said marijuana's illegality is doing more harm than good by jamming the justice system with misdemeanor possession offenses that have had no impact on the usage rates and availability of the weed.
"It's not working and it hasn't reduced the use of marijuana. No one makes that argument," said Joe McNamara, the former San Jose police chief who now serves as a research fellow with Harvard's Hoover Institution.
Legalizing marijuana would do more to undercut the flow of money that illicit marijuana sales provide Mexican drug cartels than any other effort, McNamara said, citing federal estimates that cartels derive 60 percent of their profits from weed alone. "This is a chance for the voters to strike much more of a blow than law enforcement can ever strike against the cartels by taking away those profits," McNamara said.
But another law enforcement group, Public Safety First, says Proposition 19 is poorly written and will lead to multiple unintended consequences, including hampering employers' efforts to attain drug-free workplaces and financial and legal complications given marijuana's illegality under federal law.
Those are many of the same arguments voters rejected in passing California's landmark medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, about 15 years ago, McNamara said. "I think the attitudes of the public are very clear. They don't buy into the argument of opponents of Prop. 19, that we should do much of the same thing," he said.
With 60,000 fewer misdemeanor marijuana arrests to process, the justice system would be able to direct more resources toward more serious crimes that are not getting the proper attention, said James Gray, a retired Orange County Superior Court judge, noting that scores of rape kits remain untested.
Apart from support for legalization, there's another stark difference between the law enforcement groups weighing in on the proposition: most of the officials who support Proposition 19 are either retired or former officials. Gray said the politics of law enforcement officialdom preclude many other officers from speaking out in favor of legalization.
On Monday, LEAP members released a letter urging voters to pass Proposition 19 in November.
"As criminal justice professionals, we have seen with our own eyes that keeping cannabis illegal damages public safety -- for cannabis consumers and non-consumers alike," read the letter, signed by a host of current and former law enforcement officials, among them former LA County Deputy Sheriff MacKenzie Allen and retired LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing.
COWBOY FOR POT TO TROT INTO TOWN
Prop 19 Supporter Travels State by Horse
The campaign to legalize marijuana use in California will be rolling into Turlock today, or rather trotting in.
Howard Wooldridge, a retired police detective from Michigan, will be riding into town on his horse Misty to help promote passage of California's Prop 19. Wooldridge is one of the founding members of L.E.A.P. - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - a nonprofit organization of law enforcement, prison officials, judges, and prosecutors who advocate for regulation, rather than prohibition.
Their mission statement says, "the existing drug policies have failed in their intended goals of addressing the problems of crime, drug abuse, addiction, juvenile drug use, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into this country and the internal sale and use of illegal drugs. By fighting a war on drugs the government has increased the problems of society and made them far worse. A system of regulation rather than prohibition is a less harmful, more ethical and a more effective public policy."
As one of their founding members in 2002, Wooldridge has been saddling up and hitting the road to voice his support for legalization efforts.
He has traveled from coast to coast on horseback twice.
His current trek through California to promote passage of Prop 19 began Sept. 6 in Eureka and is scheduled to end Sept. 30 in Fremont.
Prop 19, if passed in November, would make it legal for individuals 21 years and older to use, grow, and possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. Additionally, it would let local and state governments regulate and tax retail sales of marijuana.
"At each step of my law enforcement career - from beat officer up to chief of police in two major American cities - I saw the futility of our marijuana prohibition laws," said Joseph McNamara, former police chief in San Jose and Kansas City, Mo., now a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, at a press conference Monday. "But our marijuana laws are much worse than ineffective: they waste valuable police resources and also create a lucrative black market that funds cartels and criminal gangs with billions of tax-free dollars."
As Wooldridge has traveled through California, he said he has been greeted with an "overwhelmingly positive" reception from communities he has visited and spoken with about marijuana legalization.
"People understand that the thin blue line is getting thinner and that law enforcement has to focus their efforts on catching the bad guys and not the Willie Nelsons and Snoop Doggs of the world," Wooldridge said.
Wooldridge's own journey towards legalization and regulation began during his tenure with the Bath Township police force in Michigan. Over the course of his 18-year career, Wooldridge said he saw more and more of the focus shift away from public safety towards personal safety.
"It was a culmination of things that changed my thinking, but my turning point was when I was investigating a home burglary that had been committed by a crack addict, Wooldridge said. "This addict had stolen an elderly man's grandfather's pocket watch to score more drugs and this was an irreplaceable item for this man. I just thought 'why don't we let this guy get as much crack as he wants, so that he'll stop causing so many crime victims.' It became clear that what we are doing is absolutely nuts."
Wooldridge will be making his stop in Turlock from 8 a.m. to noon today near Monte Vista Drive and Highway 99.
Prop 19 Supporter Travels State by Horse
The campaign to legalize marijuana use in California will be rolling into Turlock today, or rather trotting in.
Howard Wooldridge, a retired police detective from Michigan, will be riding into town on his horse Misty to help promote passage of California's Prop 19. Wooldridge is one of the founding members of L.E.A.P. - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - a nonprofit organization of law enforcement, prison officials, judges, and prosecutors who advocate for regulation, rather than prohibition.
Their mission statement says, "the existing drug policies have failed in their intended goals of addressing the problems of crime, drug abuse, addiction, juvenile drug use, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into this country and the internal sale and use of illegal drugs. By fighting a war on drugs the government has increased the problems of society and made them far worse. A system of regulation rather than prohibition is a less harmful, more ethical and a more effective public policy."
As one of their founding members in 2002, Wooldridge has been saddling up and hitting the road to voice his support for legalization efforts.
He has traveled from coast to coast on horseback twice.
His current trek through California to promote passage of Prop 19 began Sept. 6 in Eureka and is scheduled to end Sept. 30 in Fremont.
Prop 19, if passed in November, would make it legal for individuals 21 years and older to use, grow, and possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. Additionally, it would let local and state governments regulate and tax retail sales of marijuana.
"At each step of my law enforcement career - from beat officer up to chief of police in two major American cities - I saw the futility of our marijuana prohibition laws," said Joseph McNamara, former police chief in San Jose and Kansas City, Mo., now a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, at a press conference Monday. "But our marijuana laws are much worse than ineffective: they waste valuable police resources and also create a lucrative black market that funds cartels and criminal gangs with billions of tax-free dollars."
As Wooldridge has traveled through California, he said he has been greeted with an "overwhelmingly positive" reception from communities he has visited and spoken with about marijuana legalization.
"People understand that the thin blue line is getting thinner and that law enforcement has to focus their efforts on catching the bad guys and not the Willie Nelsons and Snoop Doggs of the world," Wooldridge said.
Wooldridge's own journey towards legalization and regulation began during his tenure with the Bath Township police force in Michigan. Over the course of his 18-year career, Wooldridge said he saw more and more of the focus shift away from public safety towards personal safety.
"It was a culmination of things that changed my thinking, but my turning point was when I was investigating a home burglary that had been committed by a crack addict, Wooldridge said. "This addict had stolen an elderly man's grandfather's pocket watch to score more drugs and this was an irreplaceable item for this man. I just thought 'why don't we let this guy get as much crack as he wants, so that he'll stop causing so many crime victims.' It became clear that what we are doing is absolutely nuts."
Wooldridge will be making his stop in Turlock from 8 a.m. to noon today near Monte Vista Drive and Highway 99.
I choose to stay calm when discussing this with ppl...it isn't always easy, and on occasion I lose it and get angry too--
I do this because my mission is to sway ppl to the Yes side, by presenting the facts in the best way I can...that is why I stop talking to ppl when they show it is a lost cause--
But dude, this tirade above is not said in passion for something you believe in, as most (maybe not all, but most) of the stuff that has been said by BHT has been--
It was just a li'l kid throwing a tantrum--
I do this because my mission is to sway ppl to the Yes side, by presenting the facts in the best way I can...that is why I stop talking to ppl when they show it is a lost cause--
But dude, this tirade above is not said in passion for something you believe in, as most (maybe not all, but most) of the stuff that has been said by BHT has been--
It was just a li'l kid throwing a tantrum--
Last edited by a moderator:
Somehow this issue is simply not bringing out the best in people! I have seen enough of Diz's stuff on other forums to know that he actually does have something to contribute - unfortunately everything that I have seen of his on IC could be classified as trolling. Too bad.
captinknots
Member
bottom line, if you dont want the bill passed, you make money growing herb and are scared of change. I see a lot of opportunity in the legal side. growers just need to make sure our rights to be in the business arnt trampled on. check out whats going down in oakland with the mega grows. $212,000 or some shit to get a "license" to grow. and only what, like 4 or 7 are available and spoken for before the ordinance was even passed! thats total bull shit! but growers there are standing up for themselves and are demanding that small and medium growers have there place in the market as well. we can still brew micro brew beer and get it to market. why not herb if its legal? can you grow tobacco tho? im pretty certain you can, and with the proper paper work, licensing,etc..., im sure you can make and sell cigs. i looked into it a little and its possible. harborside is against the mega grows to and im pretty sure they plan on continuing to get there herb from there patients. nobody has to buy that shit. we can get that shit boycotted if we want to. i know id never buy it and id rip on anyone who did! anyway, just wanted to rant. my last good harvest went to HSide in san jose, and id like to do that again! lol. id also like to open a smoke house, and im not talking bbq! lol peace
really Im just trolling, Its the only reason I come to IC, that and to check the vert section. I really dont give a fuck how people vote, everyone has their own viewpoints. but since this thread doesnt really allow no voters to speak their mind without a gang calling them greedy , I just check in every once in a while , just happens to be BHT. He seems to attack anyone who doesnt believe what he does. calling them greedy when the only reason he is voting yes is because, as he claims, he "owns dispensaries" and thinks his business with triple
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry KG... I seen that you edited, and I was just about to alter my quote to reflect that--
Dizzle, I hope that you get banned...this is an already volatile subject, and you are doing your best to make it worse--
This actually MEANS something to some of us...it isn't a fucking "Game"!!
Dizzle, I hope that you get banned...this is an already volatile subject, and you are doing your best to make it worse--
This actually MEANS something to some of us...it isn't a fucking "Game"!!
i apologize for my uncouth outburst, i just don't suffer fools lightly.
i also believe in the concept of 'what goes around comes around'
so i was just responding in kind. ...no excuse i know.
anyway, i will try and contain my disdain.
peace, and stay safe, it ain't legal yet, SOG
Vote YES on Prop. 19 !!!
i also believe in the concept of 'what goes around comes around'
so i was just responding in kind. ...no excuse i know.
anyway, i will try and contain my disdain.
peace, and stay safe, it ain't legal yet, SOG
Vote YES on Prop. 19 !!!
im actually risking my livelihood in the hopes that 19 will bring better laws for all people in california and make cannabis more mainstream with legalization. on the other hand there are growers out there willing to throw anyone under the prohibition train as long as "they get theirs". so whos really the greedy ones???
oh and i only attack bullshit fear mongering assholes who make these asinine claims with absoultely 0 proof to back it up.
id love to hear why 19 is so bad that we should all vote against it. but the only argument i hear is that "it doesnt go far enough" and bogus speculation that surmounts to somehow being a loss for mj users without any evidence to back the claim.
it makes me wonder what you current anti19 pro215jock riders would say if this was 1996??? because it sounds like alot of the same aruments im hearing against 19. -it will impede legalization. -it doesnt go far enough. -its left to the counties -the language isnt clear enough etc.etc.etc.
but where the fuck would we be WITHOUT 215??? californias medical marijuana scene has cast the stone against the lies and deciept that our government has been forcing down our throats for the last 75+ years causing 13 other states to join in and for people across the united states to see first hand that cannabis can be produced and sold responsibly and safely, thus changing public opinion IMMENSELY.
im taking a leap of faith here with ALOT to lose. much more so than most. every other dispensary owner and comm. grower i know is telling me im a fucking idiot for supporting 19. but i could give a fuck. ive been poor as shit. i can live poor. i dont need money. cannabis is more than money and i truly believe that 19 will get us closer to complete cannafreedom. nobody deserves jail for a plant.
How fitting
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Author: Morgan Fox
Note: Morgan Fox is communications manager for the Marijuana Policy Project.
IT'S TIME FOR UNITY IN THE MARIJUANA REFORM MOVEMENT
It appears that there is a growing contingent of marijuana users and people associated with the industry who are fighting against efforts to make it legal for all adults.
Marijuana users are an extremely diverse group. Whether it be medical or recreational use, they can be found in almost every demographic imaginable in America. As such, there are a wide variety of opinions on how marijuana should be treated by society at large, as well as how to achieve such goals. This shouldn't be surprising, and there is always room for debate on what the best models and methods for reform should be. Recently, however, a disturbing trend has emerged.
It appears that there is a growing contingent of marijuana users and people associated with the industry, both legal and illicit, who are actively fighting against efforts to make marijuana legal for all adults. There are several arguments being thrown around to defend the status quo of marijuana prohibition. Some of those arguments are well intentioned but shortsighted. Some are downright malicious. The one commonality they have is their divisive effect on the movement at a time when unity is crucial to finally end the government's war on marijuana users.
A common complaint is that, in a regulated marijuana market, big corporations will push out small businesses. This is an understandable fear, especially to someone who has spent his or her life, and risked imprisonment and persecution, trying to run a marijuana-related business. These people surely do not want to see a culture and industry that they love taken over by corporate interests and diluted. But corporations already control marijuana.
They are the cartels that heavily influence the market and bring death to our borders and our inner cities. They are the prison-builders that lobby for harsher sentencing so they can keep the cells full and the cash flowing. They are the pharmaceutical companies that stonewall cannabinoid research so they can keep pushing expensive pills.
Of course some big businesses are going to see opportunity in a newly legal and regulated marijuana market and will try to take advantage of it. And surely some of their practices will be detestable. Marijuana consumers have a right to choose, though. Big businesses cannot "ruin marijuana" any more than Coors has ruined beer. As with alcohol, with its thriving microbrew industry, there will inevitably be a large market for higher-quality, locally grown marijuana.
Another popular attack against potential reforms is that they do not go far enough. There are many people who feel very strongly about securing certain protections, whether they be the right to grow at home, amnesty for marijuana prisoners, personal possession limits, and so on. The most vocal among them feel so strongly that they would rather see a decent bill fail than pass without their inclusion.
While we can sit around dreaming about what the country would be like with "perfect" marijuana laws, the political reality is that we cannot get anywhere near there without taking incremental steps. We are fighting against more than seventy years of lies and propaganda, as well as entrenched corporate and government interests. By building on small victories, we can more easily pass improved laws and overturn bad portions of otherwise good laws. We cannot build on zero victories. While we sit around arguing about minor concessions and principles, people are going to jail or dying. We cannot afford to wait for the rest of the country to come around to the way of thinking of the more radical among us, even if we might agree with them.
The worst obstructionist arguments come from people who are doing just fine under prohibition. They come from the growers and dealers, who stand to lose a little bit of the tremendous amount of money they make in the illegal market. They come from the guys that think marijuana is only "cool" if it is unregulated, and don't want to lose their status. They come from the young adults who simply do not care if it is legal or not, because they are going to do it anyway.
Never mind that their lifestyles come at the expense of others' freedom! In all seriousness, if you want to be a cool, wealthy outlaw, here is some advice: develop a personality, and buy a motorcycle. The rest of us are sick of living our lives on the lam for you. If you cannot support marijuana reform because of such selfish reasoning, please remove yourself from the debate.
The time has never been better for making real progress in marijuana reform. As we propose new changes and laws, everyone should get a chance to voice their opinions or concerns. When we have a chance to pass improved marijuana laws, however, we need to present a united front. As long as someone can be arrested for marijuana in the United States, we need to support each other -- even if we, as individuals, do not get exactly what we want. For registered voters in California, this means coming out to the polls on November 2 to vote yes on Proposition 19.
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Author: Morgan Fox
Note: Morgan Fox is communications manager for the Marijuana Policy Project.
IT'S TIME FOR UNITY IN THE MARIJUANA REFORM MOVEMENT
It appears that there is a growing contingent of marijuana users and people associated with the industry who are fighting against efforts to make it legal for all adults.
Marijuana users are an extremely diverse group. Whether it be medical or recreational use, they can be found in almost every demographic imaginable in America. As such, there are a wide variety of opinions on how marijuana should be treated by society at large, as well as how to achieve such goals. This shouldn't be surprising, and there is always room for debate on what the best models and methods for reform should be. Recently, however, a disturbing trend has emerged.
It appears that there is a growing contingent of marijuana users and people associated with the industry, both legal and illicit, who are actively fighting against efforts to make marijuana legal for all adults. There are several arguments being thrown around to defend the status quo of marijuana prohibition. Some of those arguments are well intentioned but shortsighted. Some are downright malicious. The one commonality they have is their divisive effect on the movement at a time when unity is crucial to finally end the government's war on marijuana users.
A common complaint is that, in a regulated marijuana market, big corporations will push out small businesses. This is an understandable fear, especially to someone who has spent his or her life, and risked imprisonment and persecution, trying to run a marijuana-related business. These people surely do not want to see a culture and industry that they love taken over by corporate interests and diluted. But corporations already control marijuana.
They are the cartels that heavily influence the market and bring death to our borders and our inner cities. They are the prison-builders that lobby for harsher sentencing so they can keep the cells full and the cash flowing. They are the pharmaceutical companies that stonewall cannabinoid research so they can keep pushing expensive pills.
Of course some big businesses are going to see opportunity in a newly legal and regulated marijuana market and will try to take advantage of it. And surely some of their practices will be detestable. Marijuana consumers have a right to choose, though. Big businesses cannot "ruin marijuana" any more than Coors has ruined beer. As with alcohol, with its thriving microbrew industry, there will inevitably be a large market for higher-quality, locally grown marijuana.
Another popular attack against potential reforms is that they do not go far enough. There are many people who feel very strongly about securing certain protections, whether they be the right to grow at home, amnesty for marijuana prisoners, personal possession limits, and so on. The most vocal among them feel so strongly that they would rather see a decent bill fail than pass without their inclusion.
While we can sit around dreaming about what the country would be like with "perfect" marijuana laws, the political reality is that we cannot get anywhere near there without taking incremental steps. We are fighting against more than seventy years of lies and propaganda, as well as entrenched corporate and government interests. By building on small victories, we can more easily pass improved laws and overturn bad portions of otherwise good laws. We cannot build on zero victories. While we sit around arguing about minor concessions and principles, people are going to jail or dying. We cannot afford to wait for the rest of the country to come around to the way of thinking of the more radical among us, even if we might agree with them.
The worst obstructionist arguments come from people who are doing just fine under prohibition. They come from the growers and dealers, who stand to lose a little bit of the tremendous amount of money they make in the illegal market. They come from the guys that think marijuana is only "cool" if it is unregulated, and don't want to lose their status. They come from the young adults who simply do not care if it is legal or not, because they are going to do it anyway.
Never mind that their lifestyles come at the expense of others' freedom! In all seriousness, if you want to be a cool, wealthy outlaw, here is some advice: develop a personality, and buy a motorcycle. The rest of us are sick of living our lives on the lam for you. If you cannot support marijuana reform because of such selfish reasoning, please remove yourself from the debate.
The time has never been better for making real progress in marijuana reform. As we propose new changes and laws, everyone should get a chance to voice their opinions or concerns. When we have a chance to pass improved marijuana laws, however, we need to present a united front. As long as someone can be arrested for marijuana in the United States, we need to support each other -- even if we, as individuals, do not get exactly what we want. For registered voters in California, this means coming out to the polls on November 2 to vote yes on Proposition 19.
- Status
