Obama DID change MMJ policy!!

[Graffiti]

Sad that child molesters get out earlier than someone with some plants and a firearm (a constitutional right).

That's what I'm saying! How can anyone in their twisted mind see that and be ok with it? If you don't legalize marijuana, then at least start punishing people that fucking deserve it!

Robot, the way I see it marijuana is an industry that will PRODUCE money from people who work to make something from nothing. Basically the prisons give many people jobs, but they are being paid directly from the government, therefore sucking money from the economy, while marijuana farmers are adding a product to the market to be consumed, adding to the economy. I hope I said that in a way that makes sense lol. Just my thoughts, Im no expert.

 

[VirginHarvester]

Hey, would this mean you can grow your own and not be taxed? Seems a little strange an idea to tax it at a buck a joint if you grow your own.. how would they know?

Impressed with Holder's decision to move the feds away from trouble-making.

 

[Lucky 7]

Just read this today in the Chronicle;
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/26/MN2016651R.DTL

great news!

 

[Erestese]

If this happens I wonder how long it will take for suits against the scheduling of marijuana in other states. IMO it would give way to other states being forced to legalize.

 

[slappyjack]

Hey, would this mean you can grow your own and not be taxed? Seems a little strange an idea to tax it at a buck a joint if you grow your own.. how would they know?

Impressed with Holder's decision to move the feds away from trouble-making.

They can't tax something you don't sell, just like they don't tax vegetable gardens.

 

[Rainman]

Where all all those cats who were callin Obama a coward, liar, and worse, cause he didnt change the policy in the first week??? You guys were right!! He is a dick, a liar and a scammer!!! He took 4 weeks to do it!!!! What an ass!!!

 

[justlrnin]

That's what I was thinkin Rainman , I have a few friends that must eat some words

 

[whiskeytango420]

Where all all those cats who were callin Obama a coward, liar, and worse, cause he didnt change the policy in the first week??? You guys were right!! He is a dick, a liar and a scammer!!! He took 4 weeks to do it!!!! What an ass!!!

LOVED rock n rolla....Have to say though...Revolver was better

 

[Kalifornia]

This is great news,. yeah almost 30 years ago I started using cannabis and never thought this day would come.

I live in SF and have had my mmj for 7 years,
I can see where at the clubs major profits and non accurate bookkeeping can be accomplished by the slightly intelligent,.

I fear also were heading for government control, ending the little mom and pop shops for larger organizations,.

there is..
over 1 million mmj patients just in California alone.
were already generating over 100 million in tax revenue,.
1- 2 grams of bud per user/day is a good average.

~ as an Axis Of Love member in SF this is great news for the DEA to finally get off our backs.

 

[crunkjuice]

is it just me or does this entire week feel like it could have been a dream?

my state is pushing for medical use (which i never saw coming, seeing as it has a 19 tobacco age and anti-public smoking laws; people are very uptight around here), cali is going for full legalization, and now 'the man' is loosening up the chain?

 

[Skip]

I dont know the numbers and am wondering. Would not completely legalizing cannabis jeopardize the incomes and wealth created by the prison industrial complex which in Cali alone generates hundreds of thousands of petty marijuana arrests. Thats money flowing to thousands of cops, lawyers, judges, clerks, jails, prisons, etc.... In the current economic times, where job preservation and growth is the first priority, it seems naive to believe that the powerful interests profiting from prohibition will be so easily defeated. I am still afraid there might be some sort of movement to preserve these jobs and generate more by building more prisons. I know Cali is bankrupt but that has never stopped them from building more and more prisons before. Also does anyone know how much of the stimulas package money Cali is gonna gets is going to this industry?

The house just passed Obama's new Spending Bill (not the stimulus bill), which details cuts to many agencies, including HUGE cuts to the Justice dept. That means far less money for cops, prisons, raids, etc. at least on the federal level. Some of the Fed $$ for justice is used for programs like the WAR ON DRUGS! Much of that money goes to local agencies to assist the Feds in their endless war. There may be far less of it now. I'm not sure if or how much the budget for the Drug Wars has been cut. Anyone got a clue?

 

[DryAndHigh]

The house just passed Obama's new Spending Bill (not the stimulus bill), which details cuts to many agencies, including HUGE cuts to the Justice dept. That means far less money for cops, prisons, raids, etc. at least on the federal level. Some of the Fed $$ for justice is used for programs like the WAR ON DRUGS! Much of that money goes to local agencies to assist the Feds in their endless war. There may be far less of it now. I'm not sure if or how much the budget for the Drug Wars has been cut. Anyone got a clue?

hey, I'm not saying my facts are correct and that yours are wrong because I haven't looked into enough to make that assertion. Also remember that a lot of times a "cut" will be replaced with something else.. is it still a cut? Anyways, here's what I found on the JD budget...

On crime, Obama added $1 billion to the Justice Department’s budget, which includes money for 50,000 more officers for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program — which pays for more local police officers — and $75 million for the Second Chance Act.

re: teh war on drugs budget... good luck trying to figure that out. The war on drugs is so large and overlapping that this number is literally impossible to calculate. For example, if more money gets shifted from the DEA to local police, will these same new local officers not arrest me for a drug offense? And do the resources that went into processing me no longer count for the "war on drugs budget?"

... (no longer directed to you, Skip) ...

maybe it's because I don't live in a MMJ state, but I am not happy nor satisfied with this 15 second answer from Holder. (I think I should note that I am happy for the piece that this may bring a lot of you.) I feel the same way I did months ago when I said this:

It's blows my fucking mind that this is the standard he is going to be held to... whether or not he stops the raids on clinics because even the Obama supporters know he isn't going to do shit about legalization.

I am not a fucking dog. I will not be satisfied with a bone. I will never celebrate any politician that supports the war on drugs in any form. Get the fuck out of my freedoms.

 

[mrred]

a dollar a joint tax is a step backwards even if it legalizes it for the whole state imo

 

[Tony Aroma]

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I feel the need to play devil's advocate here. All the AG said was:

"What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing in law enforcement. What he said during the campaign is now American policy."

Sounds kind of vague to me. The AG didn't specifically mention marijuana in his response, although that was the question he was responding to. He can easily come back to quote what he said as having nothing to do with marijuana. A lot of campaign promises were made. Does that mean they are all "American policy" now?

And even if we are to take what Mr. Holder said in good faith, since when does a sound byte from a press conference equate to establishing a national policy? At least any more than a campaign promise does. It may come as a surprise to some, but politicians have been known on occasion to say things that are not entirely truthful.

Don't get me wrong, I really hope all the optimism shown here and elsewhere is justified. But I've been around long enough to have learned that premature chicken counting is never a good idea. I'll believe it and start celebrating when something is put in writing (i.e., a new or modified piece of legislation) or we've gone a year without any further DEA raids. For now though I am, at best, cautiously optimistic.

 

[xOOx]

not sure this was posted in this thread, just browsing it. but in case not, its the video to back up what he said..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjZeW2fcQHM

xoox

 

[Mr. Tony]

Where all all those cats who were callin Obama a coward, liar, and worse, cause he didnt change the policy in the first week??? You guys were right!! He is a dick, a liar and a scammer!!! He took 4 weeks to do it!!!! What an ass!!!

This is what the fuck is up. all the fucking stoners crying because obama is working on our crippled economy rather than making it easier for people to get some fucking weed.

 

[robotwithdreams]

I dont know the numbers and am wondering. Would not completely legalizing cannabis jeopardize the incomes and wealth created by the prison industrial complex which in Cali alone generates hundreds of thousands of petty marijuana arrests. Thats money flowing to thousands of cops, lawyers, judges, clerks, jails, prisons, etc.... In the current economic times, where job preservation and growth is the first priority, it seems naive to believe that the powerful interests profiting from prohibition will be so easily defeated. I am still afraid there might be some sort of movement to preserve these jobs and generate more by building more prisons. I know Cali is bankrupt but that has never stopped them from building more and more prisons before. Also does anyone know how much of the stimulas package money Cali is gonna gets is going to this industry?


Also lets say full legalization does bring the prices way down. Would not the taxes generated from this comodity go way down as well. Unless the politicians can frame the laws that make it a crime to grow comercially and keep the prices artificially high. ALthough, I dont think something like that would stand for long legally.


I hope I am totally wrong, legalization in this country is truly sparked in Cali, as we enter into a more historically natural relationship with this wonderful plant.

Ok, looked up some number real quick, and looks encouraging.

"California
In 2003, California arrested people for marijuana at rate of 171 per 100,000. While, current marijuana use (in the past 30 days) stood at a rate of 5,217 per 100,000 or an estimated 1,850,000 people. In that same year marijuana arrests comprised 22 percent of total drug arrests (60,652 out of 273,229 total arrests). California currently has 1,189 people in prison for marijuana as the controlling offense."


22 percent of the total drug arrests. A lot better than other states peaking at 60 percent.

So the state of Californias law enforcement agencies and the whole industry behind locking people up would not be loosing that much of its potential revenues. Remember thats 22 percent of all DRUG arrests, not including murder, rape, etc.... The state can alway go after more meth labs and users. And thats what I think could happen, they would crack down more on certain communities to make up for the loss revenues. What about the external forces, like others states that would potentially pressure Cali politicians against legalization? Many other states rely heavily on cannabis possesion arrests to feed their system of "justice".

"Texas
In 2003, Texas arrested people for marijuana at rate of 222 per 100,000.
While, current marijuana use (in the past 30 days) stood at a rate of 3,751 per 100,000 or an estimated 829,000 people. In that same year marijuana arrests comprised 56 percent of total drug arrests (48,963 out of 88,053 total arrests). Texas currently has 1,215 people in prison for marijuana as the controlling offense."

"New York
In 2003, New York arrested people for marijuana at rate of 145 per 100,000. While, current marijuana use (in the past 30 days) stood at a rate of 6,074 per 100,000 or an estimated 1,167,000 people. In that same year marijuana arrests comprised 63 percent of total drug arrests (27,908 out of 44,135 total arrests).

Keep in mind these numbers arent the latest.
Can someone find and post more recent stats?

 

[Pirate]

haha to all the clubs that constantly used the "fed risk" as an excuse for ridiculous prices.

Time for $150 OZ's, can't claim "fed risk" anymore.

You obviously have never grown HIGH QUALITY indoor hydroponic Pot. Otherwise you would know what it costs just to grow it. Labor time (full time+), nutrients, growing mediums, misc. supplies, ELECTRIC BILLS, water, CO2 / Propane, HUGE start up costs, facility rent, security, Ongoing equipment failures, Seeds, ..........Etc. That's just the grower.

The Club:
Add on transport costs to the club, middleman, utilities at the club, employees, taxes, other over head, advertising, Etc.

Bring in the new law and you can TACK on:
Work-mans comp, Disability Insurance, Liability Insurance, NEW Sate taxes, Bonding, Licensing fees, City and County permits, Transportation Insurance (just like any product of value being shipped) facility maintenance, Accountant, Lawyer, banking fees, State approved security (most likely armed or at least trained) State required TRACKING systems (read the law)..........ETC. I can think of a lot more but what's the point?

Your already getting it cheap.........Ya wanna add the state require expenses on top of the production costs already required for quality weed and then get it even cheaper???............

I have a feeling there will be MANY disillusioned People out there when reality sets in........ the price goes up and they realize...........They took it in the ass again.

 

[TwistedRemedy]

it would be funny to see pot be legal for everyone over 21 but i dont think in the end any of us will be laughing

 

[Ipsissimus]

it should be treated like beer - you must be licensed to sell it commercially. otherwise, brew your own, drink your own, and sell it to your buddy if you want, but if it's legalized it won't be profitable unless done on a large scale