Stodgy Economist magazine: Legalize Marijuana to save Mexico

[Destro]

Pot should be legal with appropriate consumption laws like alcohol. The quality of pot would be very high, i'd love to go to HEB and buy a pack of joints all rolled nicely in a cardboard box like cigs are now. You could grow and dry your own tobacco and it won't taste as good as a marlboro or camel. I'd love a pack of Camel lights BC bud

[whottt]

The Founding Fathers would be really ashamed at what we've done with one of their all time favorite plants.


It's not just that keeping ganjika illegal funds cartels and creates a black market for a freaking plant that pretty much grew freely for hundreds of millions of years...up until about 80-90 years ago...

It's that anyone that wants to use this plant at some point has to come into contact with people who are breaking the law on a massive scale and likely engaging in more serious crimes......and it's a plant.

[whottt]

Maybe you ought to do a poll and ask for political leanings and stance on the illegality of MJ?

I'm of the mind that if anyone ever really looked closely at this, we'd find out that it's pretty much the politicians(and those who lobby them) keeping it illegal.

It's truly stupid and I just wonder why we stand for it.

It's our country, people that want to use this plant ought to be able too....it was put here for us.

[Blake]

Would you rather live next door to a group of 4 guys who sit on their porch and drink a 1/5th of whiskey every weekend, or who torch it up every weekend?

I'd rather not like next door to a group of 4 guys that sit on their porch every weekend.

[RandomGuy]

Maybe you ought to do a poll and ask for political leanings and stance on the illegality of MJ?

I'm of the mind that if anyone ever really looked closely at this, we'd find out that it's pretty much the politicians(and those who lobby them) keeping it illegal.

It's truly stupid and I just wonder why we stand for it.

It's our country, people that want to use this plant ought to be able too....it was put here for us.

It is our puritanical streak. I have a feeling that the laws against MJ will be softened greatly in the coming decade.

Voters will, somewhere, somehow, revolt against the federal ban, and then it will go to a nasty court fight.

Whiskey rebellion anyone?

[RandomGuy]

I'd rather not like next door to a group of 4 guys that sit on their porch every weekend.

That may be the case, but you could still answer the question, heh.

We all pretty much know we would rather be next door to the stoners than the drunks.

Stoners don't piss/vomit on your lawn and break for giggles.

[BacktoBasics]

It is our puritanical streak. I have a feeling that the laws against MJ will be softened greatly in the coming decade.

Voters will, somewhere, somehow, revolt against the federal ban, and then it will go to a nasty court fight.

Whiskey rebellion anyone?

Modern day society is way too lazy to wage that battle.

[balli]

Modern day society is way too lazy to wage that battle.

The more it becomes an economic issue, the less lazy America will get. After all, this was pulled from The Economist as opposed to say, Rolling Stone or something.

[Spurminator]

It is our puritanical streak. I have a feeling that the laws against MJ will be softened greatly in the coming decade.

Voters will, somewhere, somehow, revolt against the federal ban, and then it will go to a nasty court fight.

I think it will take longer than that. Even the current generation of 20-somethings contains a significant number of people who view legalization as a fringe cause. It's just not taken very seriously by most people.

[Condemned 2 HelLA]

The Founding Fathers would be really ashamed at what we've done with one of their all time favorite plants.


It's not just that keeping ganjika illegal funds cartels and creates a black market for a freaking plant that pretty much grew freely for hundreds of millions of years...up until about 80-90 years ago...

It's that anyone that wants to use this plant at some point has to come into contact with people who are breaking the law on a massive scale and likely engaging in more serious crimes......and it's a plant.

Couldn't help but think of this after reading your post:

[hater]

alcohol can so easily make you lose your life, job, freedom, wife, family, health, etc

Pot, not so much. You would have to smoke nonstop 24hrs a day for about 5 straight years, and still you might still have all of the above

actually if you think of 10 friends that have done stupid regretful in the last year, I guarantee more than 5 did it under the influence of alcohol

[whottt]

I think it will take longer than that. Even the current generation of 20-somethings contains a significant number of people who view legalization as a fringe cause. It's just not taken very seriously by most people.

It's not just that...it's that weed isn't exactly known for upping the ole energy level and motivating you, so the people who want this the most and should be the most motivated aren't usually in a motivated frame of mind. If they weren't passively stoned all the time they could probably get it legalized.

Best way to do it is to keep electing politicians that have a history of smoking weed...and luckily for us that's getting and easier to do.

Clinton did it.
Bush did it.
Obama did it.

Eventually we'll slip a devout stoner through the cracks. Provided there's one motivated enough to get elected.

[balli]

It's not just that...it's that weed isn't exactly known for upping the ole energy level and motivating you, so the people who want this the most and should be the most motivated aren't usually in a motivated frame of mind. If they weren't passively stoned all the time they could probably get it legalized.

Quite frankly it's not going to be the stoners who move such efforts forward. It's going to be the people going broke and jobless who are going to realize that there's money to be made off the stoners.

It's not a freedom issue for stoners anymore, it's an economic issue for everybody. And the worse the economy gets, the more incentive non-smokers are going to have to see mj not just de-criminilized, but legalized.

[whottt]

Yeah but depending on how conspiratorial your mind is...it's entirely possible that they are currently making more money off of it as a black market product than they would if it were legal.

[balli]

Meh, I'd be inclined to buy into such theories if I didn't have somewhat intimate knowledge about how the Northern Cali scene works. With some other drugs though, yeah, the feds are getting their cut.

[nkdlunch]

It's not just that...it's that weed isn't exactly known for upping the ole energy level and motivating you, so the people who want this the most and should be the most motivated aren't usually in a motivated frame of mind. If they weren't passively stoned all the time they could probably get it legalized.

Best way to do it is to keep electing politicians that have a history of smoking weed...and luckily for us that's getting and easier to do.

Clinton did it.
Bush did it.
Obama did it.

Eventually we'll slip a devout stoner through the cracks. Provided there's one motivated enough to get elected.

say what??? George Washington probably smoked bigger joints that Bob Marley in his best days.

truth is Marijuana has been illegal only recently. This is because of religious, ambitious and racist politicians. Mostly racist because mexicans and african americans adopted marijuana smoking more than whites in the 1910s.

Thos racist corrupt selfish politicians are the ones who accomplished alcohol prohibition as well. Alcohol was made legal only because of the rise in crime by making it illegal.

The illegal traffic of marijuana is so "peaceful" that it could remain illegal and still be harmless. This is the main reason why marijuana is still illegal. That and the fact that there are still selfish politicians that make votes by speaking against it.

[balli]

The illegal traffic of marijuana is so "peaceful" that it could remain illegal and still be harmless. This is the main reason why marijuana is still illegal.

That's not exactly true. Maybe in the halls of your average high school, but at higher levels, people get got over weed. And almost every single weed dealer I know (in peaceful, east side, wealthy, Salt Lake City) has at least been robbed. Some a few times.

Is it far less dangerous than the coke or meth world? Infinitely, but there's still violence that comes out of the weed game.

[nkdlunch]

That's not exactly true. Maybe in the halls of your average high school, but people get got over weed. And almost every single weed dealer I know has at least been robbed.

I am comparing that to the crime of the Alcohol prohibition years. It's not even close. Cops would get machined guned down for alcohol. when is the last time that happened for weed??

[CuckingFunt]

I am comparing that to the crime of the Alcohol prohibition years. It's not even close. Cops would get machined guned down for alcohol. when is the last time that happened for weed??

Happens a lot where I live.