Pot Push in D.C. May Spur Congress to Weigh Legalizing

[FuzzyLumpkins]

DC is considering legalization which in turn would force the feds hand. Go DC lawmakers!



Pot Push in D.C. May Spur Congress to Weigh Legalizing
By Michael C. Bender - 2013-11-01T15:10:37Z

A proposal backed by most District of Columbia council members to decriminalize small amounts of pot may spur federal lawmakers to consider marijuana regulation for the first time since two states legalized recreational sales.

Congress has the power to block legislation approved by the Washington council. U.S. lawmakers can also stop local initiatives in the nation’s capital through the federal budget, which authorizes the city’s spending, as they did to stall the use of medical marijuana there for a decade.

The push to loosen local pot penalties, which few expect Congress to block, would set up what supporters say is the next step: legalizing recreational use. Growing support for legal pot and the billions in tax revenue and prison savings the change may bring has convinced some that Congress will ease laws.

“This is where you’re going to see federal movement coming in the next year or two,” said Erik Altieri, a spokesman for the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which was founded in 1970.

Groups such as Norml and the DC Cannabis Campaign are considering a ballot initiative next year to legalize pot sales in the district. If approved, it would force Congress to consider an issue the federal government has mostly left to states. The hands-off approach has created a patchwork of laws ranging from Missouri, where possession of 35 grams, about 1.25 ounces, can mean seven years in prison, to Colorado and Washington state, which legalized recreational sales last year.

mas @ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-01/marijuana-push-in-d-c-spurs-congress-to-weigh-legalizing.html

[xmas1997]

Hallelujah!

[xmas1997]

The next year or two?
That quick?
I'll believe it when I see it!

[boutons_deux]

"Congress has the power to block legislation approved by the Washington council. U.S. lawmakers can also stop local initiatives in the nation’s capital through the federal budget, which authorizes the city’s spending, as they did to stall the use of medical marijuana there for a decade."

iow, DC legalizing mj in any manner simply won't happen,

[xmas1997]

"Congress has the power to block legislation approved by the Washington council. U.S. lawmakers can also stop local initiatives in the nation’s capital through the federal budget, which authorizes the city’s spending, as they did to stall the use of medical marijuana there for a decade."

iow, DC legalizing mj in any manner simply won't happen,

Momentum is building. The documentaries on TV now are even informing in an open and positive manner.

[boutons_deux]

Momentum is building. The documentaries on TV now are even informing in an open and positive manner.

"Congress has the power to block legislation approved by the Washington council. U.S. lawmakers can also stop local initiatives in the nation’s capital through the federal budget, which authorizes the city’s spending, as they did to stall the use of medical marijuana there for a decade."

The only momentum that counts is in Congress, and Congress doesn't listen to voters, but only to their financiers.

The regressive, sanctimonious House Repugs simply won't vote for anything as progressive as allowing the tiniest usage of such a horribly dangerous, life- and brain-destroying, (BigPharma/BigAlcohol/PIC-profit-reducing) Schedule I drug.

[xmas1997]

"Congress has the power to block legislation approved by the Washington council. U.S. lawmakers can also stop local initiatives in the nation’s capital through the federal budget, which authorizes the city’s spending, as they did to stall the use of medical marijuana there for a decade."

The only momentum that counts is in Congress, and Congress doesn't listen to voters, but only to their financiers.

The regressive, sanctimonious House Repugs simply won't vote for anything as progressive as allowing the tiniest usage of such a horribly dangerous, life- and brain-destroying, (BigPharma/BigAlcohol/PIC-profit-reducing) Schedule I drug.

They can't the facts from John Q Public any longer, the truth is being swamped on TV. They will only incur the ridicule of the public in general, and if their offices are at stake then they will have to knuckle under the majority social pressure.

[boutons_deux]

They can't the facts from John Q Public any longer, the truth is being swamped on TV. They will only incur the ridicule of the public in general, and if their offices are at stake then they will have to knuckle under the majority social pressure.

how idealistic. The $Ms from BigAlcohol, BigPharam, PIC and other orgs that profit from the war on drugs will override Human-Americans' votes and ridicule.

[xmas1997]

how idealistic. The $Ms from BigAlcohol, BigPharam, PIC and other orgs that profit from the war on drugs will override Human-Americans' votes and ridicule.

It's a shame if it does. With that cadre of lobbyists, it is any wonder any of those pro legalization docus. even made it on the air.
I take it from the tone of your posts that you don't have much faith anything positive will done in the near future, right? :lol

[boutons_deux]

It's a shame if it does. With that cadre of lobbyists, it is any wonder any of those pro legalization docus. even made it on the air.
I take it from the tone of your posts that you don't have much faith anything positive will done in the near future, right? :lol

like the vast majority of Americans, I have no faith in Congress making any PROGRESS on anything, primarily due to Repug obstructionism.

[xmas1997]

like the vast majority of Americans, I have no faith in Congress making any PROGRESS on anything, primarily due to Repug obstructionism.

Off topic: I read your post to SBM in his brainwashing thread, and it seemed you were one of the few who understood where he was going with it. Your post there was right on IMHO.
Just curious as to why you did not have more to add to that discussion?

[boutons_deux]

Off topic: I read your post to SBM in his brainwashing thread, and it seemed you were one of the few who understood where he was going with it. Your post there was right on IMHO.
Just curious as to why you did not have more to add to that discussion?

I one of the few who understands anything around here :lol

"why you did not have more to add to that discussion?"

pearls before swine. :lol

[xmas1997]

I one of the few who understands anything around here :lol

"why you did not have more to add to that discussion?"

pearls before swine. :lol

Then you did not want to waste your time discussing a topic that would most assuredly draw lots of idiots to troll over.
I can understand that if that was how you felt.
In that regard, I don't blame you.
But I still enjoyed your take on the topic anyway.

[silverblk mystix]

it will never happen - quit dreaming

hope I am wrong

[The Reckoning]

when over 50% of americans have smoked pot in their lifetimes, you have to atleast look into the potential benefits of it.

[boutons_deux]

"you have to atleast look into the potential benefits of it."

that's not how the PIC and BigAlcohol look at mj, and they are ones that own lawmakers, not voters.

[leemajors]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYKNUsTCAAENx8d.jpg

[xmas1997]

It is what it is.
The truth always gets out there though, you can't suppress it forever.

[ElNono]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYKNUsTCAAENx8d.jpg

:lmao

[xmas1997]

As the intelligent elements of the boomer generation gains power, previous falsehoods will be dealt with, corrected, and changed.
That is the positive aspect.
The negative aspect is, that assuming they are indeed intelligent, then it behooves them to get involved in politics in the first place. :lol

[boutons_deux]

As the intelligent elements of the boomer generation gains power, previous falsehoods will be dealt with, corrected, and changed.
That is the positive aspect.
The negative aspect is, that assuming they are indeed intelligent, then it behooves them to get involved in politics in the first place. :lol

no candidates, or certainly not enough win candidates, will be run with a "legalize mj" position.

[boutons_deux]

Arizona prosecutors: Smoking weed weeks earlier enough for DUI charge

argued that the state Legislature — which outlawed driving with any trace of Carboxy-THC — had the authority to make the law even if it was not fair to strip someone of their license 30 days after they last smoked marijuana.

In the case of the driver who had Carboxy-THC in his system after being giving a traffic citation, a judge initially threw out the DUI charge. The Court of Appeals then ruled that the law must be “must be interpreted broadly.”

Attorney Michael Alarid warned that the ruling would lead to the “absurd result” that anyone with the slightest amount of Carboxy-THC could be banned from driving, including the 40,000 Arizonans who legally use medical marijuana and thousands of visitors from neighboring states where marijuana has been decriminalized.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/06/arizona-prosecutors-smoking-weed-weeks-earlier-enough-for-dui-charge/

AZ, what a shithole. also home to corrupt Joe Arpaio and his gestapo.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYKNUsTCAAENx8d.jpg

:lmao

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

As the intelligent elements of the boomer generation gains power, previous falsehoods will be dealt with, corrected, and changed.
That is the positive aspect.
The negative aspect is, that assuming they are indeed intelligent, then it behooves them to get involved in politics in the first place. :lol

:lmao:lmao please. Boomers fell in love with the war on drugs the second their queen, Nancy Reagan, started her "Just say no!" campaign. Gen Yers turning 18 and voting is the reason why this is becoming a discussion.

[m>s]

Jews shouldn't rabble rouse in their host country regardless lest we forget what happened last time.

[boutons_deux]

The only voters whose vote$ really count with politicians

Bar Fight! The Booze Industry is Furious over Campaigns Saying Weed is Safer than Alcohol

Booze lobbyists are becoming more and more pissed off at marijuana as legalization sweeps the country, the National Journal (http://www.nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/alcohol-is-really-pissed-off-at-marijuana-right-now-20131107) reported.

In the buildup to this weeks’ pot victory in Portland, Maine, the Marijuana Policy Project put up signs around the city which read: “I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it doesn't make me rowdy or reckless," and "I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it's less harmful to my body.”

In response, the alcohol lobby freaked out. Chris Thorne at the Beer Institute told National Journal that it’s a red herring to compare alcohol to pot.

"We believe it's misleading to compare marijuana to beer," he said, "Beer is distinctly different both as a product and an industry. Factually speaking beer has been a welcome part of American life for a long time. The vast majority drinks responsibly, so having caricatures won't really influence people,” he said.

A recent paper (http://jop.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/09/03/0269881111414751) published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology which compared the relative physical, psychological, and social harms of cannabis and alcohol found: "A direct comparison of alcohol and cannabis showed that alcohol was considered to be more than twice as harmful as cannabis to [individual] users, and five times more harmful as cannabis to others (society),”

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/bar-fight-booze-industry-furious-over-campaigns-saying-weed-safer-alcohol?akid=11126.187590.mJDIap&rd=1&src=newsletter921527&t=9

[xmas1997]

Anyone who didn't already know this was truly sheltered.