I agree with this but I think most agree that this will be a booming industry that has 2 major assets - the product and cold hard cash (that is the current trend in both Cali and CO). The demand for folks who have been trained to "protect" will skyrocket with regards to warehouse and transportation of assets. That can be more lucrative than being a cop.
That's because those are conservatives talking. They don't want Democrats running big government, they want corporations and Republicans themselves running big government. Libertarians are the ones that actually do not want big government at all.
While I guess criminalizing is better than nothing, it doesn't help as much as it seem. mar1juana is still illegal, dealers are still getting all the profits. No medical benefits are possible with decriminalizing. And it still sends the message that mar1juana is bad because its still illegal. But hey if you get caught with it, we'll just give you a ticket! Makes no sense to me. Just legalize it and take advantage of all the profits that can come of this.
How ridiculous it is to live in a country in which individual states have the right to determine state laws as desired by the actual majority of citizens in the state! It's crazy, right? In answer to the OP's question: it will be legalized when a majority of citizen VOTERS in Texas decide they want it legalized. I know, I know, it's insane. Maybe the pro-pot lobby can get out there and start changing peoples' minds by doing something a little more than just saying 'We wanna smoke some weed!' And, for clarification: Personally, I think it is silly to continue the current course of criminalization, apprehension and incarceration. It should be as legal as booze and tobacco. It's a waste of money and resources the way it is now, and there is no concrete proof that it is any more harmful than booze and tobacco. Booze and tobacco ARE harmful by the way, and so is weed - it's just that weed is not substantially MORE harmful than the other two legal entities. I've never used pot and never will. I believe people who have to get high are not really doing themselves or anyone else any favors. But I don't think just because it's stupid that it should be illegal.
I take a very libertarian stance on drugs. mar1juana is a plant. It takes less effort to develop mar1juana than it does alcohol. Why is alcohol legal, but mar1juana is not? Crack, cocaine, meth, heroin, etc. These drugs are much more dangerous. I support keeping them illegal, even though I think people have a right to do whatever they wish with their body. With mar1juana, you don't have to worry about people robbing, killing, or vandalizing because of the drug. We should jail dealers, and offer treatment to users. We could simply move resources from the prison system into DSHS. I was happy to hear this morning that Texas is one of the top two states in drug crisis centers. Other states are looking at Texas' model, as we have reduced the number of drug overdoses significantly and I believe rank #48 in the country as far as drug overdoses. Just an interesting side note that I heard from a Health and Human Services Committee hearing this morning. As far when will mar1juana be legal in Texas? The first step is medical mar1juana. I can tell you that will not be passed next session. I can't imagine mar1juana gets passed for at least another 2 sessions, i.e. 2017 at the earliest.
The question is .. . WHO WILL BE THE NEXT GOVENOR once you know that .. . i think it will have the greatest impact Rocket River
Unless Greg Abbott decides to pull a Clayton Williams, he's going to be your next governor. And with that, there's zero chance he'll legalize mar1juana (and most likely not even medical mar1juana)
Bingo- the $ Texas lawmakers make off of backroom deals to keep pot and gambling illegal far outstrips the $ they would make making them legal, meaning, none. It all comes down the $. If some institution were to come in and play by the same rules as the Prison & Gambling companies and outbid them, these things would be legal tomorrow. This is a very logical, realistic, idealistic paradigm. Unfortunately, money talks, and 70% of the prisons in Texas are run by for-profit companies. It's in their best interest to line the pockets of every politician and judge to keep nonviolent criminals, the vast majority of what's in prison, in prison. It's also legal for police departments to keep what they seize. They would go bankrupt if it wasn't for the indirect income they receive from drug dealers in form of seizures.
Yes, politicians keep their jobs and make more money when they keep that stuff out. Because, guess what, the voters don't want it.
If the state turns blue...I'd expect it on the ballot...and since that isnt happening anytime soon...move to one that has it legalized...
I think the vote win by a majority if it ever made the ballot - you would see non-regular voters out in spades as you did with the Obama ticket. The problem is the red politicians, some of whom are in office due to gerrymandering, are keeping it off the ballot.
The is why we have 'elected representatives'. They are constantly out in their communities, BEGGING their constituents to take an interest and offer them a little guidance on how they should proceed. But the apathy of the general population to such things leaves people feeling like they have no voice. They do have a voice, they just usually can't be bothered to actually USE it in the way it was intended.
