mar1juana nearly legal for recreational use in Colorado, Washington

In before South Park reference

 

Good. Legalize weed and make alcohol illegal.

 

why can't they just legalize mar1juana everywhere smh

 

Texas needs a successful legalize mar1juana movement - for my cataracts issue, of course.

 

No Mississippi will. They're notoriously 50 out of 50 in everything.

 

It ultimately does not matter what the states do. mar1juana is illegal under federal law. Until we change that, and make it regulated by the states, the legalization efforts are merely window dressing.

 

Th only federally legal weed farm in the country is in Mississippi.

 

For some reason, I believe Tree Rollins.

 

It does matter what the states do. The federal gov't does not have the resources to enforce pot laws on a local level and if a state legalizes it, then there's no one left to enforce the federal law.

At the present, the federal gov't is feebly trying to keep their grip on it by coming down on the medical mmj dispenaries, but that's not keeping anyone from "burning one down". It's just a token gesture to the powers that be. With legalization, the cat will really be out of the bag with no hope of ever putting it back in.

 

i assume mar1juana is specifically forbidden in the NBA collective bargaining contract, regardless of its legality in any state or country. That being the case, they would still not be able to smoke it.

 

Don't underestimate Washington's ability to screw up ballot initiatives.

I thought it was would pass by about 6-8 points, but now I'm not so sure. There are a couple of measures in the bill that are splitting mar1juana proponents. Even Hempfest organizers won't take a position on the bill, and polling was pretty evenly divided among informal polls a the event.

In particular, people don't like that you can't grow your own plants. You have to buy from a state-run store (kind of like alcohol was until a few months ago). Some stoners with bogus medical licenses are also upset because the bill will criminalize stoned driving, measured by a blood test. I can understand the first, but the second is lame. I've read claims that it's criminalizing legitimate medicine. I think mar1juana definitely has medicinal qualities, but throw the book at people who light up and drive, especially if they hurt others.

Now, there are two more ballot initiatives, including one for November. If they get enough signatures, there would be two different mar1juana legalization bills on the ballot, which pretty much would lead to failure just like the alcohol bills two years ago. The legalization crowd would divide into three camps. One set would vote for both bills, one set would for one bill, and the last set would vote for the other bill. The anti-legalization crowd would vote no on both, and both ballots will lose.

The current initiative has been polling really well, but if this second initiative gets enough signatures, Washington will keep it illegal for another year until the legalization crowd can craft an initiative that unites and doesn't divide the base.

C'est la vie. At least we'll pass gay marriage.

 

Tobacco says hello!

 

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Just watch. If enough states take this approach, the federal government will threaten to pull all kinds of funding. It is that type of pressure that caused Louisiana to up the drinking age to 21.

FWIW, I support legalization.

 

You are correct. Ongoing thought is that if Obama is reelected this will be one of the lame duck things he may help repeal. Also legalizing this does no good if employers can test and punish you for it. I say any legislation regarding this must include something saying employers can not test for this.

 

Lol stoners :grin: The medical mj folks don't want to see their fat profits go away. They tried to add another one here in Colorado, but I think it failed. The one on the ballot....amendment 64 :

• makes the personal use, possession, and limited home-growing of mar1juana legal for adults 21 years of age and older;
  
• establishes a system in which mar1juana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol; and
  
• allows for the cultivation, processing, and sale of industrial hemp.

It's been endorsed by the state democratic party and the regional NAACP.

They tried the stoned-while-driving bill here last year and it failed. I would have supported it(driving while impaired should not be allowed under any drug), but the test they were going to apply was bogus. It would have penalized people that smoked days before even though they weren't impaired at the time they were driving. Also if you're going to test for pot, you should test for everything else....anything that states on the label you should not drive while using it.

A few facts about the opposition:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/colorado-amendment-64_n_1588341.html

–" Two-thirds of the entire the budget for the “No on Amendment 64″ committee has been provided by a Florida-based nonprofit called “Save Our Society From Drugs.” The organization was founded by Betty Sembler, a veteran Drug Warrior whose husband is on the Mitt Romney for President finance team. According to one biography of Sembler, she has been awarded an “honorary agent status by the DEA” and was pivotal in founding drug rehabilitation clinics and the Drug Free America Foundation. From 1976 to 1993, the Sembler family operated a drug rehabilitation clinic known as STRAIGHT Inc., which closed down after a shocking series of scandals that revealed that clients faced rape, faced beatings, forced hunger, and other abuses at the clinics.

– The “No on Amendment 64″ committee was registered by Jonathan Anderson, a Republican lawyer with law/lobbying firm Holland & Anderson. Anderson, a former aide to Gov. Bill Ritter (R-CO), was deeply involved in setting up organizations to coordinate corporate cash into the 2010 election.

– The day-to-day management of the “No on Amendment 64″ committee is coordinated by CRL Associates, a lobbying firm registered in Denver.

– The “No on Amendment 64″ committee contracts with Keating Research Inc, which bills itself as a progressive consulting firm, for polling.

– A coalition website that links to the “No on Amendment 64″ effort lists other allies of the campaign with many groups that rely on mar1juana prohibition for financial gain, including police unions like the Colorado Law Enforcement Officers Association (police unions often utilize federal grants which provide funds for law enforcement as long as officers prioritize drug enforcement, including mar1juana). The list also includes several religious right organizations like Focus on the Family.
"

Yeah, the feds are going to pull out all stops to protect their big budgets and lobbying money. I'm hoping for a snowball effect if at least one state legalizes it.