(photo Credit: rbtvanhorn)
On Monday, FEB 23, 2009 Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced "The Marijuana Control, regulation and education act (AB 390)" as a simple matter of fiscal common sense. If you believe Ammiano and his straitlaced panel, it is. In a nutshell, here's what the bill would do: "Remove all penalties under California law for the cultivation, transportation, sale, purchase, possession, and use of marijuana, natural THC and paraphernalia by persons over the age of 21," according to the SF Weekly.
The bill is supposed to generate an estimated 1.3 billion dollars for the state of California. My initial response to this was excitement. This bill has been a a long time coming. As Peter Tosh has been preaching for years, "Legalize it."
Not only would legalizing it help rectify the state's budget problem and perhaps keep tuition down at state education facilities, it could also alleviate some of the public education cuts being implemented. I will be interested to discover what the Governator's stand on AB390 is.
My initial excitement quickly turned to pessimism. I remembered the large conservative population in southern California that will probably do all they can to fight this bill. Maybe the Mormon church will raise another $15 million to fight it like they did with Prop. 8.
To my surprise one of the bills most public supporters is retired Judge, James Gray. Notoriously conservative, according to the SF Weekly article, Judge Gray said, "I served 25 years on the bench and I've seen the results of this attempted prohibition. It doesn't make marijuana less available, but it does clog the court system."
The harsher we enforce marijuana laws, the less time there is to spend enforcing other more serious crimes. "We [only have] so many resources. And we at this moment," said Judge Gray, "have thousands of people in state prisons right this minute who did nothing but smoke marijuana."
Not only would this bill generate money for California, but it would also lower the amount of taxpayer money that is spent trying Marijuana related cases in court and housing Marijuana convicts in state and local correctional facilities.
I am in full support of this bill. The idea that a plant which grows naturally is considered a drug and is illegal is preposterous. Alcohol is a far more dangerous drug. Alcohol is man-made and leads to far worse societal problems compared to cannabis.
Now i know what the argument is for people out there. If we make it legal, then everyone will do it and our society will fail.
The second argument is, What's next? Once we legalize Pot, then next it will be cocaine, heroin and LSD.
REALLY?
C'mon now people. One, being stoned and lazy is better than getting behind the wheel when you are seeing double and leaving the bar at 2 am. Two, just because its legal doesn't mean everyone is going to do it. Hell not everyone drinks alcohol and smokes cigarettes, of course they are both legal.
I will leave you with one quote from Conservative Judge Gray, "You and I as adults can go home tonight and drink 10 martinis. It's not a healthy thing to do, but it's not illegal. Someone who smokes marijuana and goes to bed risks jail."
"I don't smoke marijuana and if you legalized it today and gave it away at every street corner I'm still not going to," said Judge Gray. "But the most harmful thing about marijuana today is prison - and also the most expensive. I take President Obama at his word - he said let's look at what's working and what is not, and jettison those programs that are not working."
Whats your Opinion?
the prohibition is a useless atempt at leesoning the availability of marajuana. I think this is a state issue and the federal government needs to step out. There is an abuse of the medicinal aspect that the state has allowed but I have spoken to a doctor and was told if it was taken into the body in a way other than smoking it would be safer to use weed instead of a tylonol or simaler pain killer to ease pain. me personaly, i think the tax dollars comming in and the tax dollars not being wasted in the courts is reason alone.
ReplyDeletefirst off I am all for legalizing it too. But my issue is surrounding this:
ReplyDelete"The bill is supposed to generate an estimated 1.3 billion dollars for the state of California"
I say..bullshit. Marijuana is way too easy to grow. For instance, why would I go to a club and pay for an 8th, which is not only taxed but weighed exactly to the gram if not less, when I could just as easy grow plants myself..smoke/sell it and avoid the situation all together? I mean..I just think that all the advocates are being a little too optimistic about the kind of revenue it would generate. I think instead they should focus on the health benefits, cancer patients, aids patients, terminally ill, glaucoma etc. Or not even from a health perspective...how about hemp for instance? Hemp product is way more durable than cotton..and if we started exporting hemp product this might help out economy out..but..i do agree with Tosh (excellent musician by the way)..its just going to take a matter of time.. and a change of game plans..
In all honesty, I love the taste and the smell of pot. But, I hate being stoned, I don't like being slow, so I don't smoke it anymore. So being around it, I see how it affects people and it's hard to compare it to alcohol and drugs. It's different. But as well, many of the people who don't drink had to have help to stop. I know everyone thinks that pot isn't addictive, but is there really any scientific research that says that? Any research that shows those physical addictions don't come eventually, like other "medicines" such as opiate pain killers, etc? Or, research that shows it doesn't attach itself to bodily cells like alcohol does creating a physical addiction in addition to the mental one that marijuana undoubtedly creates? I don't know, just questions. If there is word.
ReplyDeleteI think it should be as legal as alcohol, but it's not like legalizing it won't cost anything. It'll be a lot more expensive for the smoker You don't think the fed will take their peice and tax the shit out of it?
I don't know, as some of my reads know that I am historically for Marijuana, though as a lager lout I am concerned. If people start smoking more pot, they may not drink as much lager. I think this could be bad for the beverage industry. I suppose this is a free capitalist country, though I personal resent you for talking about things that undermined the lager industry. Next California is going to make us all drink hemp ale, eee-uu, yuk.
ReplyDeletei fail to see your argument. You have really added some quotes from people and you have included excerpts of the bill itself but yet i fail to understand why you think it should be legal. Your usage of the old "alcohol is worse" is somewhat cliche. Yes, yes everyone knows the courts and jails are over-flooded but I hope you have formulated a more concrete argument. I really want to commend you on your usage of quotations because it seems thats what your whole argument is based on.
ReplyDelete