California to vote on full legalization of marijuana

[Jenksismyhero]

Measure fails in an Illinois House vote.

 

EDIT: And where are all the Tea Party libertarians on this issue?

 

I was against it only because it was limited to medical marijuana. Should be fully legal. Absolutely stupid that in 2010 it's not.

[Texsox]

I was against it only because it was limited to medical marijuana. Should be fully legal. Absolutely stupid that in 2010 it's not.

 

With the legal limits for drunk driving getting lower and lower and the places to legally smoke cigarettes getting fewer and fewer, the climate just isn't there for adding another intoxicating, burning, product to the mix.

[iamshack]

With the legal limits for drunk driving getting lower and lower and the places to legally smoke cigarettes getting fewer and fewer, the climate just isn't there for adding another intoxicating, burning, product to the mix.

If the state and federal deficits continue to mount, that climate will change very quickly.

[Balta1701]

If the state and federal deficits continue to mount, that climate will change very quickly.

No, it won't. At least not for that reason.

[iamshack]

No, it won't. At least not for that reason.

Why do you suppose California was even entertaining the notion then, Balta?

[bmags]

we don't jail cigarette smokers.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Why do you suppose California was even entertaining the notion then, Balta?

 

It's certainly not an entirely financial-based decision (especially when the state of California will end up with a huge legal bill for the court costs they will incur once they are legally at odds with federal authorities on marijuana). It just makes sense for largely progressive California to be at the front of this debate.

[iamshack]

It's certainly not an entirely financial-based decision (especially when the state of California will end up with a huge legal bill for the court costs they will incur once they are legally at odds with federal authorities on marijuana). It just makes sense for largely progressive California to be at the front of this debate.

The feds have pretty much said they'd lay off them on this one. Afterall, the states are supposed to be the "laboratory" for policy change. I really don't think there would be any serious legislation sought against California by the Feds.

[FlaSoxxJim]

The feds have pretty much said they'd lay off them on this one. Afterall, the states are supposed to be the "laboratory" for policy change. I really don't think there would be any serious legislation sought against California by the Feds.

 

But that totally comes down to the particular administration of the day. The minute we get a hard right social conservative administration back in power the first thing it will do will be to challenge/overturn progressive legislation that threatens conservative social norms. imo, there's no point in pushing on this because it will be overturned in short order as the voter pendulum continues to skew right.

[iamshack]

But that totally comes down to the particular administration of the day. The minute we get a hard right social conservative administration back in power the first thing it will do will be to challenge/overturn progressive legislation that threatens conservative social norms. imo, there's no point in pushing on this because it will be overturned in short order as the voter pendulum continues to skew right.

That's a fair point...but I also don't think there will be a republican in the White House for another 6 years at least, and by then maybe the legalization has achieved enough success that it doesn't really get picked off.

 

Another point, they have made it so easy to get medical marijuana in California, I have no idea why they even bother to make recreational use illegal anymore.

[Jenksismyhero]

That's a fair point...but I also don't think there will be a republican in the White House for another 6 years at least, and by then maybe the legalization has achieved enough success that it doesn't really get picked off.

 

Another point, they have made it so easy to get medical marijuana in California, I have no idea why they even bother to make recreational use illegal anymore.

 

The majority of states now basically ignore recreational use. If you're caught, you're given a ticket. They're after the big growers, not the small time users. The problem is that some states (Indiana I believe is one) go crazy. If you carry anything more than dust you're considered a drug kingpin. =

 

And I don't think this is a republican-democrat issue. I think it's an over 65 - under 65 issue. Once the "Greatest Generation" dies off, the rules against drugs like pot will go away. Just a matter of time.

[Chisoxfn]

It's certainly not an entirely financial-based decision (especially when the state of California will end up with a huge legal bill for the court costs they will incur once they are legally at odds with federal authorities on marijuana). It just makes sense for largely progressive California to be at the front of this debate.

Largely progressive, more like largely retarded. Worse run state in the union by a mile.

[farmteam]

The majority of states now basically ignore recreational use. If you're caught, you're given a ticket. They're after the big growers, not the small time users. The problem is that some states (Indiana I believe is one) go crazy. If you carry anything more than dust you're considered a drug kingpin.

 

I was about to disagree with this, but then I remembered I live in essentially the only liberal stronghold in the state (Bloomington...you could also make a case for the areas near Chicago, but that's about it). If you get caught with a small amount or less (basically anything under an ounce, I think), it's more or less the same as an underage drinking ticket.

[Jenksismyhero]

I was about to disagree with this, but then I remembered I live in essentially the only liberal stronghold in the state (Bloomington...you could also make a case for the areas near Chicago, but that's about it). If you get caught with a small amount or less (basically anything under an ounce, I think), it's more or less the same as an underage drinking ticket.

 

You know, I got the state wrong. It's Alabama.

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97apr/reef.htm

 

EIGHT years ago Douglas Lamar Gray bought a pound of marijuana in a room at the Econo Lodge in Decatur, Alabama. He planned to keep a few ounces for himself and sell the rest to some friends. Gray was a Vietnam veteran with an artificial leg. As a young man, he'd been convicted of a number of petty crimes, none serious enough to warrant a prison sentence. He had stayed out of trouble for a good thirteen years. He now owned a business called Gray's Roofing and Remodeling Service. He had a home, a wife, and a two-year-old son. The man who sold him the drug, Jimmy Wilcox, was a felon just released from prison, with more than thirty convictions on his record. Wilcox was also an informer employed by the Morgan County Drug Task Force. The pound of marijuana had been supplied by the local sheriff's department, as part of a sting. After paying Wilcox $900 for the pot, which seemed like a real bargain, Douglas Lamar Gray was arrested and charged with "trafficking in cannabis." He was tried, convicted, fined $25,000, sentenced to life in prison without parole, and sent to the maximum-security penitentiary in Springville, Alabama -- an aging, overcrowded prison filled with murderers and other violent inmates. He remains there to this day. Under the stress of his imprisonment Gray's wife attempted suicide with a pistol, survived the gunshot, and then filed for divorce. Jimmy Wilcox, the informer, was paid $100 by the county for his services in the case.

 

Gray's punishment, although severe, is by no means unusual in the United States. The laws of at least fifteen states now require life sentences for certain nonviolent marijuana offenses. In Montana a life sentence can be imposed for growing a single marijuana plant or selling a single joint. Under federal law the death penalty can be imposed for growing or selling a large amount of marijuana, even if it is a first offense.

 

Lol, it appears he was paroled in 2006 (three or four years after I read that book). Still 15 years in a maximum security prison for a pound of a f***ing weed. Our society is beyond messed up.

 

http://www.november.org/thewall/cases/gray-d/gray-d.html

Edited December 1, 2010 by Jenksismybitch