Not to derail, but I agree with all you say except being allowed to raise your kids however you want. Their is a clear need for laws protecting child welfare. Without laws protecting children, parents with extreme beliefs can and will endanger their children.
All of the things I mentioned have caveats for extreme behavior: You're entitled to your religious beliefs, but that doesn't give you the right to marry a 10 year old. Nor does it give you the right to kill or commit violence against others (women, minorities, other religions) even if your religious flavor says it's just. You have the right to bear arms, but those right can be taken from you. Commit a felony, threaten to kill an ex-girlfriend, or have serious mental problems that prevent you from distinguishing reality? These can and should preclude you from having a gun. Raise your kids how you want. I don't particularly care for home schooling, but that's a parent's right. You can put them in wacko churches, and that's your right. You can even teach them that liberals are pagans and that minorities are evil. Hopefully they'll grow up and become well-adjusted, non-bigoted members of society. I draw the line where parents withhold medical care for religious grounds or put their children in situations that can cause physical or serious mental harm. Free speech is a paramount right in the US, but you can't use it to incite violence or a riot. The classic yelling of "FIRE" in a crowded place and causing injury applies here. You can stand on a corner shouting that minorities are evil while farting Dixie, but if you use your words to incite someone else to violence, you're in a much more grey area of the law. Ditto for intentionally false, slanderous statements. There's also a whole school of thought about verbal agreements and how they hold up under the law. Free assembly is written into the constitution, but there are boundaries for public versus private property. And then you can get into issues of permits for assembly on protected public property. I think smokes, booze, and weed should be legal, but there are compelling restrictions to all of them. I disagree with the 21 year age limit for alcohol. If you're old enough to be drafted or tried as an adult in criminal court, you're old enough to drink and accept the consequences of drinking and driving laws. I think smoking should be legal, but I think I also have a right to stay out of your second-hand smoke. I like that it's illegal to smoke in restaurants and bars in Seattle, and I like that they're banning it at parks. mar1juana should be heavily treated with the most restrictive policies of tobacco and alcohol. You should be at least 18, can't drive while impaired, can't smoke in public places, and definitely shouldn't be allowed to have your second-hand smoke impair someone else. With both alcohol and mar1juana, I think there should be penalties if you're getting impaired while you're in charge of children. It's easy to draw ideological lines in the sand, but there are always restrictions to any principle for those that abuse that right. With the possible exception of voting, which I feel should never be taken away even if incarcerated.
Both alcohol and tobacco take a great toll on our society. However, alcohol and tobacco are legal because making them illegal would cause even more problems than they currently create. Anybody can look at the results that prohibition of alcohol had on the U.S. during the 1920's to see how banning a potentially dangerous product is not always the answer. When I see the crime that is created by keeping cannabis illegal , and I see people who have had their lives ruined for possessing a plant, It makes me sick. It will be interesting to see what happens in California this November, but it will be difficult to pass this initiative. There will be a large number of well funded organizations trying to keep cannabis illegal, and it's mainly about money. Large drug manufacturers, tobacco and alcohol companies, even Starbucks will all want to keep cannabis illegal. I could go on and on about this all day, but it looks like most people here already understand what I am trying to say.
Here's Glenn Beck destroying a heavy mar1juana using legalization activist in an interview... _____ Legalize, Tax mar1juana? GLENN BECK, HOST: mar1juana brownies, anyone? This is the worst — the people in our green room, I'm happy to say it's clear they've never been high. I'm going to ask you what's wrong with this picture. Chicago is trying to fix $50 million budget — their budget gap by taxing car rentals in suburban areas. And now, California is talking about legalizing mar1juana and taxing mar1juana to solve their budget problems. Rob Kampia is the executive director for the mar1juana Policy Project. How are you doing — how are you doing, Rob? ROB KAMPIA, mar1juana POLICY PROJECT: Doing well. BECK: All right. Do you smoke mar1juana? Do you have any those mar1juana's... KAMPIA: Occasionally. BECK: Occasionally? KAMPIA: Yes. BECK: It's against the law, you know. KAMPIA: Yes. So, is speeding, a lot of people do that, also. BECK: Wow. OK. You used to work for NORML, did you not? KAMPIA: Yes. BECK: Yes? KAMPIA: Fourteen years ago. BECK: Fourteen years ago. And is it true that you quit working with NORML because they were stoned all the time and that's all they really wanted to do was get high? They weren't serious about changing the laws? KAMPIA: No, everyone there is very serious about changing the laws. BECK: Really? OK. KAMPIA: And the reason that — the reason that I left and started up the mar1juana Policy Project because I wanted to focus almost exclusively on lobbying and ballot initiatives. BECK: OK. So, tell me because — look, I'm a libertarian. You want to legalize mar1juana; you want to legalize drugs — that's fine. We have to have a different conversation in America, and that conversation is — hey, America, you know, forget about the whole health care thing, because if somebody is doing heroin, somebody is doing pot and — I mean, pot just rips your lungs up, if you want to do pot, that's great, but I ain't giving you any healthcare. And that's good. I'd rather do that. You can be as high as you want. I ain't giving anybody healthcare. Can we have that discussion, Rob? KAMPIA: Well, we can. But mar1juana, first of all, doesn't rip up your lungs. It doesn't cause lung cancer or emphysema. So, I think that's an old wild tale. BECK: How about heart attacks? Because — I mean, cookies, I've got cookies. (LAUGHTER) KAMPIA: There's no scientific evidence that associates mar1juana use with an increased likelihood of death. BECK: OK. Rob, yes, but, I mean — look, I'm just going to be straight with you, America. And this is not something I'm proud of, but I did inhale. I'm a recovering alcoholic. I did everything you could possibly do and wasn't really — I mean, there's like one actually, there's two brain cells up in my head. One is just going — breath, dummy, breath, dummy; and the other is just like scattering around, trying to figure everything out. You can't tell me that mar1juana is good for your health. KAMPIA: Well, I mean, it is good for some people's health. I mean, you know, probably full well that mar1juana is used for cancer chemotherapy treatments... (CROSSTALK) BECK: If you got cancer, I'm going to give you mar1juana. That's OK. You got cancer, I'm going to give you mar1juana. Look, here's the thing. You want to legalize drugs, legalize drugs, but now, what we're talking about is legalizing pot, so we can make money. The reason why I'm bringing this story to you tonight, America, is because this is — this is how it's all going to happen. Quick, panic, we're out of money! Let's sell pot! So, why don't we have a real conversation here instead of what about an emergency spending problem? KAMPIA: I think we should. I mean, taxing mar1juana is only one good reason why mar1juana prohibition should be brought to an end. There's a few other good reasons. One is — the prohibition of mar1juana over the last 71 years has not actually prevented people, including you, from using mar1juana. So, we know that... BECK: Yes, oh, I agree with you. KAMPIA: ... that this government program called "prohibition" doesn't work. Maybe after 71 years, it's time for a new approach. I'll give you one another good reason to end prohibition. BECK: OK. KAMPIA: And that is, currently, the police are spending an enormous amount of time on mar1juana arrests — 872,000 arrests a year. That's not good for public safety; it'd be better — nationwide. BECK: Have you ever been to New York, Rob? Have you been to New York? KAMPIA: Sure, all the time. BECK: Yes. I am not kidding you. I have walked down the street, and there's somebody like smoking pot next to a cop. (INAUDIBLE) I mean, you know what I'm saying? KAMPIA: Well, I mean, there are more than 40,000 mar1juana arrests in New York every year. So, I don't want a bunch of viewers to think that mar1juana is essentially legal in New York, because that's certainly not the case. BECK: No. I'm not saying that it's legal in New York. I'm sure that there are arrests, you know, if you got a big — no, seriously, if you got like a big bag of it or something, but you're telling me, you've — well, you're not a good — of course, you've seen people smoking on the street. I've seen them smoking on the streets. It's not like it's tying up for a lot of police time. Police are like — he's smoking a joint, let's move on with our life. KAMPIA: All I can tell you is what the FBI says, which is 872,000 mar1juana arrests last year, and about 750,000 of those arrests were for simple possession, personal possession. It's enormous wear and tear on the criminal justice system. And I think that anyone who cares about public safety would rather have the police freed up to deal with and prevent crimes like assault, theft, rape, murder, et cetera. I mean, that's a no-brainer. And right now, the police aren't able to deal with all the crimes that are happening across the country. BECK: Yes. Look... KAMPIA: So, why not take them off this mar1juana nonsense? BECK: Look, Rob, here's the thing. I have no problem — as a libertarian, I have no problem talking to you about these kinds of things. I think mar1juana is bad for you. I know. I did it. Stupid — stupid to do. However, we'll have that conversation, not the conversation that California is currently having, which is, oh, my gosh, we've got to raise some money, why don't we — why don't we just tax pot over here? Because California, the largest cash crop in California is? KAMPIA: mar1juana. BECK: Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. KAMPIA: And, you know, you bring up a good point there which is that, you know, with alcohol, which isn't great for you being taxed and regulated. Tobacco, obviously, kills, that's taxed and regulated. Most products on our society are taxed and regulated. If someone actually believes that mar1juana is really bad you for, then why would you want it that product not regulated? I mean, it seems like that's exactly the kind of thing that should be regulated, right? BECK: Thank you very much. Appreciate it. link
^ I'm not a viewer of Beck. I generally know he's a blowhard and not really all that bright. Just reading that interview...is he really that stupid? All I can really say after reading that is, "what a f***ing moron." There's no doubt that legalization is the best course of action for numerous reasons. I have yet to hear a clear argument as to why we should continue prohibition and the War on Drugs.
Lmao... "I mean, pot just rips your lungs up" G1, Beck. Yes, regulate it, decriminalize it. I think it can actually be pretty beneficial for some people. Do you guys actually see this happening, though? Even in California, I think it will be a struggle.
but this is exactly why the law banning it exists in the first place. get busted with weed => can't vote. Disenfranchisement in disguise. And yes, I believe those in charge aren't very interested in the advancement of people of color. Yes, even in this day and age. Black president and all.
mar1juana may not be addictive in a traditional sense, as in smokers don't really have cravings for it, but mar1juana withdrawal is no joke. Those who say that there isn't withdrawal from mar1juana don't know what they are talking about... or they just don't smoke enough. I stopped smoking on September 1st, 09 cold turkey. Before that, I smoked about 3-5 grams a day every single day for about three years. 3-5 grams of high grade weed every day is a ridiculous amount for a single person. When I stopped, I went into the worst depression I have ever felt. I literally felt hopeless. I woke up in the middle of the night having cold sweats. I would cry for no reason at night. I would pace around the house for hours just frustrated with everything. It lasted about a month. mar1juana withdrawal was the worst thing I have ever went thru... I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. So, NO for legalization.
And just wait until American corporations get a hold of it. No doubt they would start adding chemicals to make it better and more addictive.
I think it's kind of like that with anything you don't do in moderation (same w/ smoking cigarettes/drinking alcohol or even eating junk food/drinking soda). Aristotle was right: avoid excess, seek moderation.
mar1juana destroys lives. _____ Pot-smoking driver charged after wreck A woman accused of being under the influence of mar1juana when she crashed a car with her young child inside was charged Monday in Justice Court. Maggie Noelle Reisig, 21, appeared by video from the county jail on a felony charge of criminal endangerment and misdemeanor counts of DUI, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. Judge Pro Tem Brandon Hartford set bond at $25,000 and ordered Reisig to appear Thursday for arraignment in District Court. According to court records, Reisig was arrested Saturday after officers were called at 11:40 p.m. to a one-vehicle crash in a closed portion of Grand Avenue between Zimmerman Trail and Shiloh Road. A state trooper said he had to drive around three road closed signs to reach the crashed car, which was sitting on top of a gravel mound. The trooper determined the car had struck a gravel embankment and vaulted about 30 feet before landing on the mound. Reisig was found at a nearby house and told the trooper she had become lost while looking for a friend’s house. The woman’s 5-month-old baby was in the car at the time of the crash but was not injured. Prosecutors say Reisig admitted to smoking mar1juana before the crash. mar1juana, a pipe and other paraphernalia were found in the woman’s car, court records state. link
From what I understand, withdrawal from alcohol and tobacco can be much more difficult than from cannabis. Do you propose that we make alcohol and tobacco illegal also?
