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Legal in Colorado but a Crime somewhere else

Discussion in 'Politics & Religion' started by mcdwgbiz, Dec 29, 2013.

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What do you think about legalizin marijuana?

  1. Good to legalize pot

    90.0%
  2. bad to legalize pot

    10.0%
  1. #1
    Colorado will legalize recreational marijuana as of 2014. People will be able to buy pot just like alcohol but it will still be a crime if you have pot anywhere else in the US.

    How does that make sense? People of Colorado voted to legalize marijuana, and finally the politicians said fine t]let them have it. This may create a wave of legalization around the country or the world, I think many will lose a lot of money.

    I see this piece of news being seen the same as when we look at prohibition which happened back in the 30's. We think it didn't make sense and it just created more criminals, but only history will tell

     
    mcdwgbiz, Dec 29, 2013 IP
  2. earlpearl

    earlpearl Well-Known Member

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    #2
    Its been years...okay decades since I smoked pot. I really don't care about the legal issues, etc.

    The Colorado situation is very interesting. I was speaking with friends of mine in Denver. In fact I used to smoke pot with them. I didn't even realize it was close to going entirely legal, but had been reading something and asked one of them about medical marijuana, only to find that in a few days it will be legal to buy this stuff in the state.

    Really astounding from a long term perspective.

    One thing that I found interesting was information about the website leafly dot com. leafly is described as the Yelp of medical marijuana. Its astoundingly popular. Per this article from 2012 it had about 1.5 million visitors/month: http://www.geekwire.com/2012/leafly/ There is a more recent article suggesting its monthly traffic is now about 2.5 million/month...most of it going to its review pages.

    Whoa. 2.5 million visits/month. 30 million visits/year. I don't know how many are unique visitors...but there is a big market for this stuff and a helluva lot of curiosity and interest. I guess its going to make a lot of money and I guess Colorado which is taxing the sales is going to make a lot of money also.

    How will it affect folks? I have my experiences and things I've witnessed though long ago. Its not for everyone though neither is booze. You have too much...you have some big problems. I don't believe its a killer drug, but I know certain folks can't tolerate it at all and its potentially deadly for them.

    As for me...its pretty fascinating on a subject I haven't thought about for a long time. I am considering flying out to Colorado when its convenient for my old friends and doing up a couple of spliffs. Just for old times sake.
     
    earlpearl, Dec 30, 2013 IP
  3. MrOnlineMoney

    MrOnlineMoney Member

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    #3
    Legalizing it will create extra tax money. It will make it harder for those that are underage to obtain it. Currently anywhere that weed is illegal, it is easier for kids to get than alcohol. There have never been any recorded deaths from it. It should probably reduce crime related to marijuana, because legalization won't make it profitable for criminals.

    The only thing I see wrong with Marijuana is if you indulge in it too often. If you feel the need to smoke it daily then I think you are probably not happy in life and need to do some soul searching and work on yourself. If it is occasional and with friends it is harmless in my opinion.
     
    MrOnlineMoney, Jan 8, 2014 IP
  4. Nigel Lew

    Nigel Lew Notable Member

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    #4
    Its common knowledge the war on drugs is a failure both socially and economically. Hell, Colorado has probably made enough cash in tax revenue already to build a school. Which is where that cash is going actually.

    A million in revenue day one. As soon as the greedy politicians look at the math states will start jumping on the bandwagon quickly.

    Source: I live here :) the stuff metaphorically grows on trees here. It was a logical step in the right direction.

    Nigel
     
    Nigel Lew, Jan 8, 2014 IP
  5. DungeonMaster

    DungeonMaster Member

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    #5
    Each state has its own right to legalize drugs or not, and the federal government isn't supposed to overrule state rights. I personally don't care if drugs are legal because people who do use drugs will, regardless of whether they're illegal or not. Drug lords will be able to charge whatever they want and crime ensues. At least if pot is legal, it will be easier to control.
     
    DungeonMaster, Feb 4, 2014 IP
  6. earlpearl

    earlpearl Well-Known Member

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    #6
    I've spoken with friends in Colorado. They've purchased some. From their comments its strong. But its legal.

    I think from a national perspective its a great social experiment. The issue has had tremendous controversy over many years. So many issues have been debated. Now there is this limited experiment going on in one state. Will it harm people? Will it have no adverse affects? Will it stem illegal drug trade? Will cabals that import drugs try and sabotage it? Will it lead people to further drug use?

    Its a terrific experiment to assess all the impacts over a period of time and then make further decisions. The US had prohibition and then cancelled prohibition. From what I can tell the biggest long term impact was the establishment of strong illegal gangs that made so much money providing illegal booze during prohibition that they became a long term problem. Maybe they would have evolved later or not.
     
    earlpearl, Feb 4, 2014 IP
  7. averyz

    averyz Well-Known Member

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    #7
    I live in Colorado possession of personal MJ has basically been legal here for years, it was on the lowest priority for law enforcement and at most it would get you a $75 infraction ticket(less the J-walking). Last year it was completely decriminalized so no tickets and you can grow a few plants if you want. This year it can be sold in the stores to anyone over 21 so many feel like it is completely legal now.

    I have had a medical card for about 4 years so I could just go to the dispensary and buy MJ for a reasonable price. It is awesome we have had growers move from all around the world move here Amsterdam, Nth Cali, BC,... we have some many good MJ strains.. It is truly a global mecca for the finest marijuana so many good shops with shelves of the best strains from all over the world grown by the best growers in the world.

    Now that it is legal a lot of ground breaking scientific work is going on testing thc levels and testing many of the complex cannabinoids that are in MJ. It is truly taking it to a new level. Now we smoke different strains for all different occasions energetic ones for a walk in the park, sleepy ones for night time and everything in between. I usually have 20 different kinds I pick from depending on my mood or time of day.

    Other states just over the border are still in the dark ages with MJ, a small joint can get you in jail, years of court supervised probation and drug counseling and thousands of dollars worth of fines=$$$ for the corrupt law enforcement industry. Hopefully they will start falling like dominos.
     
    averyz, Feb 4, 2014 IP
    malky66 likes this.
  8. dscurlock

    dscurlock Prominent Member

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    #8
    maybe, then again, maybe not....
    there are states that still do not participate in lottery...
    (I guess they are so rich they just dont need the extra income lottery provides)

    If a state needs money, and they do not utilize what is out there, then
    they should be prohibited from raising taxes on any level....

    and I also think if states want to pass legal drug laws such as allowing pot, then they need to pass being legally liable when that pot head gets into accidents.

     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2014
    dscurlock, Feb 4, 2014 IP
  9. GFX2

    GFX2 Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Ditto.
     
    GFX2, Feb 4, 2014 IP
  10. earlpearl

    earlpearl Well-Known Member

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    #10
    earlpearl, Feb 17, 2014 IP
  11. gworld

    gworld Prominent Member

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    #11
    The old Joe Kennedy made his fortune by selling illegal alcohol during probation, so maybe the plans to legalize pot is destroying his plans to become a rich drug dealer. :rolleyes::)
     
    gworld, Feb 19, 2014 IP
  12. Obamanation

    Obamanation Well-Known Member

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    #12
    The Kennedys are a perfect example of the dangers of cousin marriage. If you watch the vocal opponents of legalization in Washington, nearly 50% of them come from the left, which is shocking. What can you say. The Prison Guard's Union and Law Enforcement unions are powerful lobbys. Need more people in jail.

    Not sure If I posted this earlier, but here is a wonderful, heartwarming story of the impact of our drug laws on people.

    ------------------
    Demaryius Thomas‘ mother and grandmother will cheer for the Broncos receiver around the prison TV Sunday, both wearing No. 88 jerseys they crafted with strips of tape.

    The two women have never seen Thomas play in person. He was 11 when police burst through the door of their home in Montrose, Ga., and arrested both in 1999. Police allowed Katina Smith to walk her son and his two younger sisters to the school bus one last time.

    [​IMG]

    Now she’s at a minimum-security prison in Florida, sentenced to 20 years. Her mother, Minnie Pearl Thomas, who had two previous drug convictions, received two life sentences with the possibility for parole after 40 years.
    ------------------------

    As an 11 year old boy, Thomas's mother and grandmother are both arrested on drug charges (again) and mom is given two life sentences. For drug use. Its insane. I don't care what type of drugs she was using, the fact we waste taxpayer dollars on this, and the fact she is a ward of the state for the remainder of her life for drug use is draconian. They should go the whole monty and rip out her toe nails and teeth with pliers.
     
    Obamanation, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  13. earlpearl

    earlpearl Well-Known Member

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    #13
    To a large extent I'm indifferent to the ultimate decisions on legalizing marijuana or not. My last toke was about 20 years ago and for a number of years before that incident the tokes were few and far between. I do think if theoretically just Colorado and Washington state legalized dope for a period of time it would create a tremendous opportunity to test the impacts in all ways on American society.

    Would illegal drugs into Colorado and Washington dry up? Would this occur and would it stem crime? Would there be negative impacts on more people from more access to drugs? Would it overall help or hurt?

    Frankly I don't know nor does anyone else. It also does stir a curiosity that has been dormant for a long time. ;)
     
    earlpearl, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  14. gworld

    gworld Prominent Member

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    #14
    The worst of it is that the same crazy, right wing Christians who have made USA to a such fu*ked up state, now are trying to do it to the rest of the world. If you look at all the anti-abortion, pro death penalty, pro private prisons groups in Europe, then you will notice very fast that the money for the marketing of their crazy ideas and bribing the European politicians, is coming from America and after searching who is behind these groups, you will usually end up with a post box in the USA.
    They are trying to change abortion laws in Spain and take back the country to 40 years ago and while people are against it, the politicians want to go ahead because of the money.
     
    gworld, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  15. gworld

    gworld Prominent Member

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    #15
    Why American think the world ends on the shores of America? It has been legal in Holland for many decades and the sky didn´t fall. The biggest losers of legalization of pot are the drug dealers in BC (Canada) where the dope trade is 5 times the size of the second export (soft wood), drug enforcement (budget cuts) the prison industry (less profit).
     
    gworld, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  16. earlpearl

    earlpearl Well-Known Member

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    #16
    GWorld: Pot Use is not strictly legal in Holland. You need to get your facts straight. The last time we interacted you were on my case to respond to some "so called restrictive problematic, freedom screwing policy in the US." and why I wasn't responding to you. The big problem on that one was that this governmental restrictive policy was terminated in the early 1970's.

    Here is some information on drug laws in Holland:

    Non-enforcement
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    City license for a cannabis coffee shopin Amsterdam, Netherlands
    The drug policy of the Netherlands is marked by its distinguishing between so called "soft" and "hard drugs". An often used argument is that alcohol, which is claimed by some scientists as a hard drug,[12] is legal and a soft drug can't be more dangerous to society if it's controlled. This may refer to the Prohibition in the 1920s, when the U.S. government decided to ban all alcohol. Prohibition created a golden opportunity for organized crime syndicates to smuggle alcohol, and as a result the syndicates were able to gain considerable power in some major cities.[13] Cannabis remains a controlled substance in the Netherlands and both possession and production for personal use are still misdemeanors, punishable by fines. Coffee shops are also technically illegal but are flourishing nonetheless. However, a policy of non-enforcement has led to a situation where reliance upon non-enforcement has become common, and because of this the courts have ruled against the government when individual cases were prosecuted.

    This is because the Dutch Ministry of Justice applies a gedoogbeleid (tolerance policy) with regard to the category "soft drugs": an official set of guidelines telling public prosecutors under which circumstances offenders should not be prosecuted. This is a more official version of a common practice in other European countries wherein law enforcement sets priorities regarding offenses on which it is important enough to spend limited resources.

    According to current gedoogbeleid the possession of a maximum amount of five grams cannabis for personal use is not prosecuted. Cultivation is treated in a similar way. Cultivation of 5 plants or less is usually not prosecuted when they are renounced by the cultivator.[14]

    Proponents of gedoogbeleid argue that such a policy practices more consistency in legal protection than without it. Opponents of the Dutch drug policy either call for full legalization, or argue that laws should penalize morally wrong or deviant behavior, whether enforceable or not. In the Dutch courts, however, it has long been determined that the institutionalized non-enforcement of statutes with well defined limits constitutes de facto decriminalization. The statutes are kept on the books mainly due to international pressure and in adherence with international treaties.
     
    earlpearl, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  17. Obamanation

    Obamanation Well-Known Member

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    #17
    I'm not sure how you got from drug laws to "right wing Christians" and abortion. Some of the biggest proponents of the drug laws and prison complex are Democrats. The NSA domestic spying programs have grown exponentially under Democratic rule.

    That isn't to say there aren't a lot of NeoCon cheerleaders for the drug laws and NSA spying programs. Hell, it was Nancy Reagan who brought us the idiotic war on drugs in the first place. That aside, 65% of Democrats now support domestic spying programs because Barry says its all good. Of those who support our current drug prohibition, only a slight majority are Republican.

    The problem with Democrats in this country is that they aren't really liberal in the way the rest of the world thinks of the word liberal. In America, the word most people equate the word "liberal" with what Europeans think of as social democrats. Progressives. Abandoned are the ideas of classic liberalism which focused on individual liberty an restrictions on government.

    American "liberals", like social democrats, think the government is the cure to all that ails you. Too many people on drugs? No problem. Help them by putting them in prison. Some perceived threat to the collective? No problem. Strip away individual liberties and privacy until the state can incarcerate anyone at will. Big government is here to help.

    Meriam Webster's dictionary has Social Democrat defined as follows:
    It would seem they have something in common with the Muslim brotherhood.
     
    Obamanation, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  18. gworld

    gworld Prominent Member

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    #18
    The problem with mental hospital called U.S.A is that the craziest of the crazy has taken over the asylum and running it. It is even worse that they are not satisfied with running the asylum and want to take over the world. Crazies don´t have a political affiliation. That is the reason when you look at USA domestic policies and around the world such as working with Al Quada in Syria, working with Neo-Nazi in Ukraine, letting TSA destroy the tourism industry, being obsessed with spying on everyone and anyone, you can only explain it with insanity and not any political ideology.
     
    gworld, Feb 20, 2014 IP
  19. gworld

    gworld Prominent Member

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    #19
    Anyone who has been to Holland, knows the reality of the situation. It has been free to sell and use for decades and in the full view of police and the sky has not fallen down. This is the translation of the last sentence of your post:
    The statutes are kept on the books mainly due to pressure from lunatic Americans.
    Anyone with common sense knows that so called "war on drugs" is only enriching the drug dealers and the prison industry but looking at how CIA financed its operation in the past by drug smuggling and unbelievable growth in opium production in Afghanistan after USA invasion, maybe this is what it's supposed to do. Drugs are big business, in BC (Canada) smuggling pot to the USA is 10 billion dollars /year industry and collapse of it will affect the whole province. All the big banks of the world are actively money laundering for the drug operations so without these extra cash we might see the collapse of the whole financial merry go around the financial industry is operating. With so much financial interests, who cares that the lives of millions of people is being destroyed by "war on drugs".:rolleyes:
     
    gworld, Feb 21, 2014 IP
    averyz likes this.
  20. Forsh

    Forsh Well-Known Member

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    #20
    I am in Colorado and I didn't really ever thnk about this until I moved here. There are lots of jobs open in Colorado, especially in Denver. People turn down jobs here because they don't want to take a urinalysis. I asked someone about why they said the U.S. Federal law is different than state law. LOL
     
    Forsh, Jul 18, 2016 IP