You can never know what the future holds, but you can get a pretty darned good idea if you read enough history and keep your eyes open. Society as we know it is about to change, and with it some things are going to happen for the first time in American history. The indicators are there, but what they mean is open to interpretation. For example, California is starving and their government has shown its ability to be creative. Hello, Proposition 19. Not only has it started to gain momentum, it has started other states thinking about the same. What will happen when pot becomes legal? Forget about the fine line between decriminalization and fully legal, it's just a matter of time.
As more states sink into debt, they may be a little more inclined to listen to the people, who are willing to pay for their pot even if the utilities go off or the fridge is empty. As people begin to buckle under long-term stress, they will look for relief where they can find it. The raging success of drugs like K2 show that people will go to great lengths to pass a drug test while getting what they want. By golly, slap some sales tax on that and you have a thriving business. Legalizing pot won't put California in the black, but it might keep enough money flowing to save a few programs that are keeping people in their homes and fed. If they make a successful run of it, other states will follow.
One last thought. Has anyone considered how the dealers are going to react? I'm just saying, if Prohibition taught us anything, it's that we don't screw around with the guys that have all the money and machine guns. Much like our millionaire families of today are often descended from liquor runners, one has to wonder what effect this will have on the next generation's Capone. It might weaken gangs and free up the legal system. It could backfire and make things worse. For better or worse, the war on drugs will be forever changed.
Food for thought. Or maybe that's just the munchies kicking in.
Bon
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4 comments:
Ooo, I was wondering when you'd post!
Fair enough, I think, but if it cans this asinine war on (people who use) drugs, I think that would be the best thing to happen.
Although, I've never been fond of vice taxes, but then I'm still annoyed over tobacco taxes.
Honestly though, I don't really think it will backfire. Prohibition backfired, which is why it got canned in short order. Marijuana is a bit more demonized than alcohol, but at the same time, there really is a lot of people who have used it at least once.
It's supposedly a good treatment of intractable joint pain and other afflictions of the elderly, and the baby boomers start hitting 65 in 2011.
Could it cut the costs of Medicare?
I'm not taking a solid pro stance on this, but I definitely lean towards legalization. I've lived long enough to know people who drink too much, and people who smoke too much. The drinkers are worse off every time.
I agree about the sin tax, and the Medicare was a good point. I knew a fellow who had never touched pot, and when he was dying of cancer he swore it was the only thing that gave him what approached relief.
First off, when has prohibition ever worked? When God prohibited eating from 1 tree what happened?? AND THAT WAS GOD! No one can make prohibition work.
Secondly, the "growers" are wanting Pot to stay illegal bc they are making WAY more money on it then they would if you could buy it at any gas station. The "War on Drugs" that is going on now in Mexico where 100s of people are being killed weekly if not even daily, what would happen to it???... Supply and demand well it would be done for them, if you had the choice to drink a soda legally or illegally which would you choose? Most would choose to do it legally just like they would choose to pay a little more for thier pot so they wouldn't go to jail for years at a time.
Third and maybe most importantly, do you know the first "Law" on Pot in America? Well it was that every working farm must grow so much per year, Why you ask? Because it can be used for so many things, thicker more durable paper, soft durable clothing, also some don't realize that it can be made into "Gasoline" or something very close that is very easy to run in cars. Also of course you can smoke it and become very mellow... :)
I have dealt with many people who were drunk and raging some who wanted to drive and were fighting for keys to thier cars... I have also dealt with many people who were high, they however may have wanted to drive to the store to get some brownie mix, but they would prefer it if someone else drove because they just didn't feel like it!
Also if you say that with pot legal American's unemployment rate will go up, well it may for a while but the people that will just sit around wanted to do that anyway and they will run out of money just like they do now, because low lifes are low lifes and they will do what they do... Making Pot legal would create more jobs, more plants for farmers to make money on, more materials to make paper, clothes, and gasoline. Also it would give more money to the government in taxes. AND it would stop the war on drugs from Mexico to America.
Do you know how many people have been killed because of an overdose on pot?? NONE that's right NONE it is impossible... But how many people die because of overdoses on alchohol?? TOO MANY TO COUNT! Hmmmm....
I'll get off the podium now I feel better! :) :) Thanks!
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