Honestly, i’m not sure where I stand on the legalization of marijuana. Depends on the day really. I do however, think Bob from the vid above should definitely start smoking if he doesn’t (and quit if he does).
I’m sure most of you can give me plenty of reasons why we SHOULD legalize it but i’d like to hear opinions/comments on why legalization of the wacky weed is a bad idea.
As i’m sure you are aware, medicinal marijuana is legal in the state of California (among others) but still illegal under federal law. Under the Bush administration (and a few months into Obama’s), the DEA occasionally raided these medical mary-jane clubs but those harassment raids will be few and far between under the new president.
– From the Washington Times a few months back: “Dogged by marijuana advocates throughout the campaign, Mr. Obama repeatedly said he was opposed to using the federal government to raid medical marijuana shops, particularly because it was an infringement on states’ decisions.”
Well good for him. If a state wants to legalize gambling, prostitution, drugs, necrophelia or whatever, they should be allowed to do so without the federal gummint sticking their nose in it. Can you say state sovereignty, beeyotch?
It’s not like anyone who wants to smoke ‘the purp’ can’t get their hands on it now if they really wanted to. I agree with Bob that the whole ‘it’s bad for you’ argument is garbage. Alcohol and ciggies are at least as bad, if not worse for you, than marijuana, imo.
Of course, i don’t want my kid to be smoking dope until he/she is mature enough to ‘handle it’, but ultimately, like all the other shit that’s out there, that’s up to me as a parent, nicht va? One thing that this administration is not too keen on is PERSONAL RESPOSNSIBILITY.
So, dear reader, i would like to hear – What say YOU?
Best
-DMG
And now, for your listening pleasure:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGsEt-qtOqs 450 300]
One reason why we shouldn’t legalize marijuana is that farmers wouldn’t grow anything else. As a result, we would have no snacks. What good is hippy lettuce without snacks?
Interesting..never thought about it that way.
That’s why all those fuggers are starving in Afghanistan – poppy, poppy, everywhere and not a snack to eat!
There’s one good reason why it’s a _bad_ idea: Driving.
We don’t allow driving while under the influence of alcohol – driving is impaired, stupid accidents/deaths happen.
The same thing with weed/other drugs : driving while under the influence of weed will result in more accidents/deaths.
I’m not opposed to smoking it – I just don’t want my boy killed by some super-doped-up fool that didn’t have the capacity to make a turn.
And yet we allow octogenarians who can’t see two feet in front of them to drive big ol’ caddies.
Probably a valid point, but not gonna win any arguments with that one.
Damn. I’m outta ideas too.. anyone know a good way to come up with cool new ideas? 😉
You should keep it illegal if you are a fan of increasing gang warfare, overpopulated prisons, and overburdened police forces.
Reasons not to legalize:
1)It ruins the “workforce”, most stoners look at work differently than say straight edge bible thumpers.
2)Supposedly makes people harder to brain wash.
Another reason similar as to why debt is so freely available, once someone becomes a wage slave, the odds of them showing up to work until they die increases substantially. Anything that will potentially decrease the number of working slaves of the system is considered a bad thing.
Finally it’s really hard to tax as any Joe Blow can grow it in their back yard or neighbors or neighbors neighbors neighbors corn field.
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1) That’s a pretty bold statement to say that religion somehow makes you a better worker. Or to look at your comment another way, that recreational pot use dampens one’s desire to be productive. That sound more like government propaganda from the 1960’s (ie: Reefer Madness) than actual scientifically verified fact. Besides, I could make the same claims about alcohol!
2) Wat? Citation needed.
As for your point about home growers cutting into any tax revenue:
Take a look at the alcoholic beverage industry. Although there are many who brew at home, it is inconsequential when it comes to overall revenue generated:
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=399
Home growers won’t put any dent in tax revenues. Reclassification of marijuana would be a huge net positive economic stimulus for state and federal governments.
Not to mention the BILLIONS of dollars saved from enforcement, judicial proceedings, and imprisonment.
Not saying religion makes you a better worker but I’d hire some bible thumping straight edge over a stoner any day. Hang out with is a different story.
It is a weed after all and does grow fairly easily but sticking with your stoner theme, i’m guessing the majority would much rather buy a satchel than go through the hassle.
I can probably grow all kinds of veggies but still wind up buying them from the store. Odd, no?
In from Maine for a moment… about to go to Morse Mountain….
Cost-benefit must be taken into consideration w. regard to growing. If legalized, it depends on how much to the price will drop. At current prices, however, growing is obviously worth the hassle were it legal.
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True…hydroponics has come a long way…
I bet MON would have modded weed seed in no time flat.
Super-sticky-Bud!
Patented an’ shit!
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Related question:
Which companies would stand to immediately benefit if it were legalised?
I’ll bite. If there’s ever any serious federal movement towards decriminalization:
Prisons: short CXW, GEO, CRN. Maybe even to zero.
If that legislative shift includes a movement beyond decriminalization towards full-blown legalization:
Short-term: long snack-food producers, and short everything in the tobacco sector, but long-term… pick and choose in the tobacco sector. Maybe RAI?
To pick up on Fook’s point, anyone can homebrew something that’ll taste better than (insert your least-favorite mass-market lager) and could probably vint something that’s better than Two-Buck Chuck. But even if you homebrew, there’s a reason why you also keep buying from (insert your favorite craft brewery, winery, or distillery), even though a good portion of the price of every bottle includes a tax. The good stuff, prepared by artisans who really love their booze, is better than what you’re likely to make yourself, and you don’t have to wait weeks/months for it to ferment. (And if it were legal to “homebrew” whisky, a decade or so to properly age.)
Long-term (over 6-month timeframe): turn that MO short into a pairs trade by buying smaller, more agile names in the tobacco and/or alcohol sectors. Doesn’t matter how much the customers want to smoke, nobody’s going to be doing a pack-a-day of it, so the economies of scale that come with investing in the big tobacco names don’t apply. My thesis would be that it would become a niche/luxury product, sold via small local/regional brands, rather like craft beer or cult wine. Maybe DEO, with a penchant for buying up small/midsize wineries with good pricing power, might deign to dip a toe into the market…
All of which is moot. It’ll never happen within any investable timeframe. The tobacco and alcohol industries would hate to see their piece of the recreational pharmaceutical industry shrink; every dollar spent on pot would be a dollar not spent on booze or cigarettes, so it’d be a wash for them. The weed can be grown anywhere, but tobacco, not so much, so it’d be a net loss to the tobacco farmers, so Senators and Reps in tobacco-producing states will fight it (sincerely) tooth-and-nail on behalf of their constituents. That leaves the privatized prison operators (federally and at the state level) who will lobby against it on the grounds of “lost private-sector profits”, and the prison guards’ unions (at the state level), who will also lobby just as vociferously against it on the grounds of “lost gummint jobs”.
Yeah, there might be billions of tax dollars to be saved, but the savings are of a sort that would be evenly dispersed amongst the population, and there’s never a political lobby for that. Right now, those tax dollars are going to carefully-targeted political constituencies. Those who benefit from those dollars like it that way, and are willing to lobby strongly to keep it that way. Fer chrissakes, we can’t even legalize online poker, even with Bawney Fwank himself pounding the Congressional pag*cough*table for it. Fun hypothetical exercise, though.
Disclosure: No positions in securities mentioned except a small long position in GIGM on the poker thesis (yes, you can laugh)… That, and I wrote this under the influence of a a product sold by DEO, but that’s an operational expense, not a capital investment, although judging from the chart, I probably shoulda bought the stock, too.
Well put. Want to guest blog?
Want your fingers broken?
The wand can be passed only from me (or Fly). Don’t get all “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” on me.
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ha…was just kidding…looked like he put more time into the response than i put inot the post.
Jake’s right. (And yeah, I think we all knew you were kidding!) What makes this place work is that we’ve got a pool of people who can hammer this sort of thing out on a daily basis. Me? My muse is a fickle bitch. Every once in a while I strike gold, but I’m not at the level where I can it consistently enough to hack it in the PG, let alone the big leagues.
Thanks for the props. Good motivation to get my lazy ass out there in the PG and start earning my stripes.
Actually only half kidding…this blogging thing aint all it’s cracked up to be.
But I ‘m glad and grateful for your well thought out response.
The only motivation I have is Jake said if i get more comments than Danny &
Woodshedder combined, there’s 10 large in it for me…so keep ’em coming!
lol
Equalizer: nice. I don’t know exactly what you are on, but don’t touch the dosage. Best piece of posting I have seen on this blog. (No offence to you DMG; in your face Jake).
Hi DMG, from the Silver Dollar. All the girls say hi.
I used to be a Substnc Abuse Cnslr during grad school. Worked primarily with weed and alcohol users who got caught and were mandated to take counseling. From my experience, most folks can take or leave it.
1. Some unlucky few are caught up in Reefer madness and cannot stop. They ARE lethargic (research studies abound on its deleterious effects on productivity). I agree if your kid was an occasional user you wouldn’t care. But believe me you would light dynamite under him to get him to move out of your basement at 30 y.o. if he’s a stoner.
2. The NIMH (natl isnst of mental hlth) has done copious research on weed and calls it a “gateway drug”. Again 80% just stop at weed and alcohol and don’t “graduate”. Other unfortunate souls move onto speed, coke, Q’s, ecstacy etc. And then for the extreme few… the needle.
alcohol = the ultimate gateway drug, no?
DPZ
Agreed, dull those sense and take another one for the road.
Ahhhh…. The Silver Dollar….mamories (sic)…. What’s the name of that dance club around the corner from the Silver Dollar where the girls come out on roller skates and do a little show? Is that still around?
Many a punani in there…
Crystal Meth or Shabu as they call it over there is pretty big, no? I haven’t been there in 10+ yrs but there were more than a few of the walking dead in the shantytowns all strung out on that scheisse.
I spent most of my time on Surigao Island (sp?) where my buddy ran a surf camp. Really beautiful spot, thopugh a little difficult to get to.
Thanks for the comments Cebu –
DMG
Yeah still lots of shabu here. Arrests everyday. “Pushers will die” bumper stickers around town. They have a very effective vigilanteism here. Dissenting journalists get a bullet from drive by scooters. So too is local justice meted out tp pushers every once in awhile.
Never made it to Suriagao. trying to stay away from central Mindanao and the outer islands- the Abu Sayef are to be avoided.
Dont think the roller skaters are still there. the Black Hole justgot bought and is changing their name. I know the Mgr of the Viking. Some swede having the time of his life.; riding heard on the LBFM. I get most of my action from Metro dept store. The sales clerks come on to you as you walk around the store. Plus bar fines are 3000p vs car fare home for the sales clerks.
I’m really surprised how much better looking I seem to have gotten after moving to Cebu.
I live on Panglao and have to get back to Cebu and the Silver Dollar, or Black Hole, or Vikings, soon. The best drug there is the oldest known to man. You wouldn’t happen to be the guy who bar fined nine girls would you?
Sheeeeeyit…Those girls were paying ME to go home with THEM.
Cebu – just rereading some of these and I think if you have a 30 y.o. stoner-child living in your basement, it’s quite obvious that you (the parent) are at least part of the problem.
Spare the rod…no?
Anyway, that sheet wouldn’t fly in my house – not my house now nor the one i grew up in.
DMG
Tough love is great WHEN it works. Let me tell you of the kids floating to the curb when the folks kick them out. Its hard to get an unmotivated sack care and get work.
I’d say the parents lost the war a LOOONG time ago. Yeah, mistakes get made and then the effects are felt years later.
So, if graduated progression is to be expected, if weed is legalized we should be prepared for Millions of kids eating lots of brownies, saying No to work and yes to welfare and draining the coffers of those who care and work.
I don’t want the govt up my ass with a proctoscope to see if i smoke weed. But I think legalization will be a shit storm of welfare recipients despite “High Times” claims otherwise. Do the math: if just 2% of HS kids get into weed ETC (this is the gateway graduation to othe stuff) and off the work “track”, they will be parasites IMO. Latch key kids aren’t given the structure/rule enforcement they need. So 2% is how many new stoners per year added to our broad backs.? Tellin my kids to say no. Why take the chance?
I’d never tell a 30 year old not to smoke if he wants. Just be aware…
DPZ
Yeah alcohol is a killer to logic. The cerbral cortex frontal lobe, seatof executive panning and decision making, gets a rest when we drink. It’s funny hearing as drunk driver who killed a family of 4 exclaim in group counseling at Prison, “hell I know whn I’ve had enough that i shouldn’t drive. Iwas sober after those 8 Wild turkey shots. ” Maybe we aren’t the best decision makers when we drink. Which leads to other stuff…..
Why do people make the stupid assumption that if marijuana were legal, more people would smoke it?
Really? What’s the evidence?
The drinking age in Europe is lower than the U.S. – so that means there should be more alcohol related deaths/accidents among European teenagers. False.
Legal weed would provide an enormous tax boost and free up billions in law enforcement resources to tackle other problems. Alcohol will always create more social problems than weed. The government has no interest in outlawing alcohol. The only problem with weed is there isn’t some corporate entity with White House ties to support legalization. So it’s irrelevant — it’ll never happen since corporate America has no stake in legalization.
Couple of logical inconsistencies above — one, drunk driving is a consequence of actually driving, not teen drinking. How many young people in Europe drive anywhere in comparison to the US? Not at those gas prices.
Second your corporate America bogeyman is silly. How long did it take “web surfing” to become a corporate matter, about five minutes?
America is a capitalist nation, which more often than not exhibits itself in the form of a corporation simply because that’s the easiest least liable shield on which to conduct a business enterprise.
iBC is a corporation, for instance.
My point, fwiw — is that “corporations” large and small will spring up faster than you can say “toilet bowl toke” if this opportunity is made available as a legal venture.
I’m sure that Archer Daniels Midland or Monsanto or some other large ag entity will get into it soon as well, but probably through acquisition as they are slow movers.
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Clearly most of the country was smoking weed when they voted for the retard we have in the office of President today..well done socialist stoners…now your fucked…paranoid…?? scared..ha-you should be.
ROFL
Most of the country was on weed when they re-elected Bush after all his fuck ups for the first four years of office.
Since we’re on weed all the time, apparently, we might as well legalize it.
Smoke two joints!
Not weed related, although some weed may have involved in the production of this video:
http://reason.com/blog/show/135321.html (Cash for Clunkers satire)
That’s gold. We make you a libertarian already?
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Ha! I still like my socialized health care, gosh darn it!
But that “voiceless posterity” bit slayed me. NEW HAMPSHIRE!
Yes, I’m aware of my double-standard. Get back to vacationing! Hope it’s going better than “Vacation ’58”.
Is that “the” John Hughs, who just died?
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Yep.
Apparently it is the actual story that they used for the basis of the National Lampoon’s Vacation movie…
Don’t Criticize it! Legalize it!
I can’t get that freakin song outta my head since i did this post.