Comments on: The Lethality of Marijuana Prohibition

By: GTony

GTony — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:14:15 +0000

Um, #3, have you ever been around pot smoke? The smell, unlike that of cigarettes, doesn’t linger or stick to one’s clothes. If our laws were based on how something smelled, department store perfume sections would be the first targets for zero-tolerance enforcement, and then cigarettes would still beat out marijuana by miles, in terms of raunchy odors. Maybe we could finally get the blasted incense out of the head shops!

As for explaining to your kid why the person in the next car is smoking a joint, I’d much rather explain that than tell them that we’re sitting in traffic because everyone is too selfish to know how to merge, and that the people in the cars around us probably aren’t *#$^*@#s when they’re not driving. I’d much rather share a freeway with stoners than with coffee drinkers, for example.

By: Concerned Parent

Concerned Parent — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:48:13 +0000

Three talking points for conversations with news people or politicians:
1) Between the money spent on finding, arresting, prosecuting, and locking up marijuana users AND the lost opportunity for tax revenue on the individual’s purchase of this widely used product, our national pocketbook is losing out on tens of billions of dollars every year.
2) To collect taxes from the grow-your-own community, we could consider a $100 per year permit for a dozen plants, splitting the proceeds between the Federal government and the participating State(s).
3) It’s time to put the criminal drug dealers out of business and let ordinary Americans pay a fee to grow a little marijuana in their own back yards.

By: Hays00s

Hays00s — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:32:53 +0000

James Brown. post #3, is everything that is wrong and evil in our country. All his post is stereotypes based off movies and propoganda, but acting like they have a reasoned arguement without any personal experience. I have personal experience, I’ve seen people do coke on the weekends and excel at their 9-5 day job. I’ve met potheads who have had the same job for years, and who take care of thier kids. I’ve also seen my own family be slaves to legal alcohol, losing jobs, some have turned abusive and had to have their kids removed.

The time to ignorance is over, it’s why our society is so messed up right now, because of these holier-than-thou biggots that are scared of anything marring their perfect little upper middle class world. I bet James Brown is religious too. Of course, to soothe their fears, they oppress half the population and ruin lives, KILL PEOPLE, all so that they can feel right.

If pot were legal, why would we allow people to walk down the road smoking joints if you can be arrested for walking down the road drinking 100% legal beer? PUBLIC INTOXICATION maybe? So you really think that if weed is legal, they will simply declare all laws void and begin an anarchist state? C’mon, it would be regulated, how else could they suck up all the tax money from it? The blantant stupidity is astounding, James brown, you should be ashamed of yourself for showing how infantile your mind is.

By: Joe Blow

Joe Blow — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:05:32 +0000

“We can’t urinate in the streets, nor can we drink alcohol, have sex, or masturbate. But none of those activities is illegal if done in the privacy of one’s own home.”

wait! masturbation is not illegal?

By: Drasties - Dutch on the World - World on the Dutch

Drasties - Dutch on the World - World on the Dutch — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:09:09 +0000

[...] insistence on criminalizing and imprisoning non-violent drug offenders (when we’re not doing worse to them). That is an issue most politicians are petrified to get anywhere near, as evidenced just this [...]

By: Neal

Neal — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:02:37 +0000

First, there has been a few here that believe the myths, pot makes people lazy, everyone would smoke, it’s a gateway drug….

These are myths. Get the truth. The only negative thing about smoking marijuana is that it’s not good for your lungs if you smoke it.

He’s right, it’s a national shame.

By: Realist

Realist — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:13:17 +0000

Re: drug testing

My opinion has always been if the only way you can tell someone is using drugs is by testing their urine, then maybe drug use isn’t quite as awful and bad and dangerous as our keepers would have us believe. You’d think something that vicious and life-ruining would be a little more obvious, wouldn’t you?

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:23:56 +0000

The great tragedy of the war on drugs has been that it has only succeeded in arming and enriching the most violent criminal elements all over the world….on both sides of the law.
It’s just a damn shame that this idiocy is not going to end, especially with respect to marijuana. Can you imagine the moneyed interests of Washington, particularly the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries, allowing the decriminilazation of a plant that anyone can manufacture in their own back yard? Can you imagine the police and the prison-industrial industries giving up any of the power and money that flows to them as a result of this “crime?” I cannot.

By: Strangely Enough

Strangely Enough — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:33:09 +0000

Good assessment of the human toll of prohibition. You’d think we’d learn from the past, but that would deprive us seeing history repeat itself again, and again, and again…

By: Jim Webb’s courage v. the “pragmatism” excuse for politicians « roger hollander

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:54:46 +0000

By: Cowboy Dan

Cowboy Dan — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:34:14 +0000

Way late to comment, but one of the best, most compelling posts you’ve ever made on this subject.

By: March 28, 2009 « Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

March 28, 2009 « Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:18:20 +0000

By: Sen. Jim Webb Attacks Drug War, Prison Industry § Unqualified Offerings

Sen. Jim Webb Attacks Drug War, Prison Industry § Unqualified Offerings — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:12:32 +0000

By: Jim Webb takes on the prison industry « Later On

Jim Webb takes on the prison industry « Later On — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:21:02 +0000

By: Howlin' Hobbit

Howlin' Hobbit — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:13:34 +0000

Seeing some of the responses to my initial comment reminds me I should have mentioned the amount of religious zealotry in the anti-tobacco faction.

I don’t know how I forgot seeing as the initial topic was marijuana and the so called drug warriors exhibit the same sort of religious fervor, often backed up by cites to their own pet studies.

Perhaps it really is just an honest confusion between correlation and causation. But then Merriam-Webster and others are free online.

By: Obama disappoints — again - Orange Punch - OCRegister.com

Obama disappoints — again - Orange Punch - OCRegister.com — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:46:55 +0000

[...] my assessment. Freddie DeBoer growls thoughtfully. Andrew Sullivan calls it pathetic. Radley Balko defends him from criticism. Pete Guither at DrugWarRant rounds up a host of responses. Steven Taylor at [...]

By: God's Own Drunk

God's Own Drunk — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:36:45 +0000

“Do we want dope smokers in surrounding us?”

We already DO surround you. I know there are many people like my mother-in-law who are naive and beleive every bad thing about dope, but the fact is on an average day you probably run in to plenty of people who smoke weed, and several people who are high at the time you run in to them, *and you don’t even know it*.

Your bartender/waiter/cashier may be high (having worked those jobs in the past I know this to be true). We dope smokers are sitting next to you at the movies, we’re enjoying ourselves at the park with your families, we’re at the bar watching the game and we’re even sitting next to you at the ball park. But for some reason, we can get shit-faced drunk at many of those venues, but have to sneak out to our cars and hide our smoking lest we get sucked into the legal system. It’s absolutely insane the way we treat marijuana and those who use it in this country.

By: claude

claude — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:29:47 +0000

“My concern is the increased social costs that decriminalization marijuana will surely cause. The mental health bills alone will be huge.”

Where does this kind of thinking come from? My goodness…

By: Jim O

Jim O — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:52:12 +0000

Do we want dope smokers in surrounding us? No, but we don’t have to chooose between making a behavior illegal and allowing in the public square. We can’t urinate in the streets, nor can we drink alcohol, have sex, or masturbate. But none of those activities is illegal if done in the privacy of one’s own home.
My concern is the increased social costs that decriminalization marijuana will surely cause. The mental health bills alone will be huge. But, the costs decriminalization beat the death toll of the drug war.

By: steve

steve — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:39:01 +0000

Stacy-The science is actually pretty good, and we keep finding out more. As a pediatric anesthesiologist, I no longer anesthetize children if there parents smoke, if the child has a mild URI. The risk has been demonstrated to be increased, and my practice substantiates it.

I am pro legalizing all drugs btw. I believe in the principle that you get get to swing your bat as long as you are not hitting anyone. SHS hits other people.

Steve