must be good for you then
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Originally Posted By: Lyondellic
I find it somewhat hypocritical that I can buy a bottle of liquor, or even get drunk in a bar, but cannot legally purchase marijuana. Why not allow U.S. farmers to grow marijuana, which would be a profitable, well regulated crop that would generate tax revenue?
While I am not against decriminalizing the stuff. Making it totally legal and allowing U.S. farmers to grow it might not even stop the inflow. Demand would be way up and we are being undercut in food products by South American countries as it is. You would probably see an increase of illegal stuff coming in with the increase of users.
I just don't think 10's of millions of extra potheads in this country and the stuff being raised everywhere would be a great thing for the country. And besides a lot of domestic breweries would go out of business.
I find it somewhat hypocritical that I can buy a bottle of liquor, or even get drunk in a bar, but cannot legally purchase marijuana. Why not allow U.S. farmers to grow marijuana, which would be a profitable, well regulated crop that would generate tax revenue?
While I am not against decriminalizing the stuff. Making it totally legal and allowing U.S. farmers to grow it might not even stop the inflow. Demand would be way up and we are being undercut in food products by South American countries as it is. You would probably see an increase of illegal stuff coming in with the increase of users.
I just don't think 10's of millions of extra potheads in this country and the stuff being raised everywhere would be a great thing for the country. And besides a lot of domestic breweries would go out of business.
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Well, the price would drop and you would surely cut the outflow of US$ to support the various pot cartels.
It's tobacco road for the South Americans. We're subsidizing them by keeping it illegal.
I don't want more pot heads either, but
It's tobacco road for the South Americans. We're subsidizing them by keeping it illegal.
I don't want more pot heads either, but
Funny how Ambien "sleepwalking, eating, or DRIVING while not fully awake has been reported" is legal, but pot gets you in jail.
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Well, the price would drop and you would surely cut the outflow of US$ to support the various pot cartels.
Problem is though Gary..the demand would go exponential and the drug cartels would have a much larger clientel. I would think the both illegal and legal import of the drug would go up. And if for some reason that American growers 'could' compete, the cost might come in more importation of food..since American farmers wojuld grow more weed and less food.
And of course it would be regulated so in addition to policing illegal stuff...the Government would have to regulate the legal stuff. I can see a whole new bureaucracy.
Well, the price would drop and you would surely cut the outflow of US$ to support the various pot cartels.
Problem is though Gary..the demand would go exponential and the drug cartels would have a much larger clientel. I would think the both illegal and legal import of the drug would go up. And if for some reason that American growers 'could' compete, the cost might come in more importation of food..since American farmers wojuld grow more weed and less food.
And of course it would be regulated so in addition to policing illegal stuff...the Government would have to regulate the legal stuff. I can see a whole new bureaucracy.
I would rather deal with pot heads than alkys. I am sure that everyone who wants to smoke dope is smoking dope already. I would say people would grow their own dope. ..........Then we as a nation could use all the alcohol in our cars!!!!!!!
Originally Posted By: Al
And of course it would be regulated so in addition to policing illegal stuff...the Government would have to regulate the legal stuff. I can see a whole new bureaucracy.
No they wouldn't. They would want to but they wouldn't have to.
You could also have a two tiered system. Unregulated personal cultivation, a free wheeling unregulated market and a regulated market with guaranteed standards.
The cost of a good high from regulated lightly taxed pot should be low enough that it could compete with the free unregulated market. You would have your choice between API (American Pot Institute) approved pot for a reasonable price, or you could take your chances with boutique versions that didn't carry the API approval donut (representing the munchies). Who knows, the boutique stuff might even sell for more.
Production costs are low if you eliminate having to work around law enforcement hazards.
And of course it would be regulated so in addition to policing illegal stuff...the Government would have to regulate the legal stuff. I can see a whole new bureaucracy.
No they wouldn't. They would want to but they wouldn't have to.
You could also have a two tiered system. Unregulated personal cultivation, a free wheeling unregulated market and a regulated market with guaranteed standards.
The cost of a good high from regulated lightly taxed pot should be low enough that it could compete with the free unregulated market. You would have your choice between API (American Pot Institute) approved pot for a reasonable price, or you could take your chances with boutique versions that didn't carry the API approval donut (representing the munchies). Who knows, the boutique stuff might even sell for more.
Production costs are low if you eliminate having to work around law enforcement hazards.
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Seriously, though, pot is a pretty big cash crop here domestically. Alaska has their situation in perspective. You merely keep yourself under the radar and all it cool. There's bigger fish to fry in terms of keeping a society afloat and functional.
It is supposedly the biggest cash crop in some Northwestern Califonia counties. Good growing conditions and lots of remote wilderness.
I suspect that there would be an initial spike in use, but for the most part the spike would be due to current users suddenly coming out of the closet and buying from legal sources. The rest of the spike would probably consist of those who had held off due to drug testing and wanted to revisit their high school days.
Seriously though, why would legal marijuana be any different than cigarettes or alcohol? How many brands of imported cigarettes do you see at your local convenience store? There are quite a few imported brands of beer, wine and liquor though. For the most part, who cares as long as it is controlled and taxed? A tariff system could be used to promote use of domestically grown marijuana.
I seriously doubt that the incentive for drug lords to suddenly ramp up production would materialize. I read that Canada's largest cash crop is marijuana. Where do you think that this Canadian marijuana is being sold?
This kind of reminds me of the time that I wrote my local congressman to ask him to introduce a bill to legalize automatic knives (AKA switchblades). I collect military issue automatic knives, but cannot legally carry one outside of my home. The Ken Onion line of "assisted opening" knives from Kershaw are essentially automatic knives minus the button. I got a nice reply from the congressman stating that he could not support this because there might be a sudden spike in crimes involving the use of switchblade knives!!! Never mind the fact that I live in a state where you can complete a training class and carry a concealed handgun. Talk about complete nonsense.
Seriously though, why would legal marijuana be any different than cigarettes or alcohol? How many brands of imported cigarettes do you see at your local convenience store? There are quite a few imported brands of beer, wine and liquor though. For the most part, who cares as long as it is controlled and taxed? A tariff system could be used to promote use of domestically grown marijuana.
I seriously doubt that the incentive for drug lords to suddenly ramp up production would materialize. I read that Canada's largest cash crop is marijuana. Where do you think that this Canadian marijuana is being sold?
This kind of reminds me of the time that I wrote my local congressman to ask him to introduce a bill to legalize automatic knives (AKA switchblades). I collect military issue automatic knives, but cannot legally carry one outside of my home. The Ken Onion line of "assisted opening" knives from Kershaw are essentially automatic knives minus the button. I got a nice reply from the congressman stating that he could not support this because there might be a sudden spike in crimes involving the use of switchblade knives!!! Never mind the fact that I live in a state where you can complete a training class and carry a concealed handgun. Talk about complete nonsense.
Originally Posted By: XS650
The cost of a good high from regulated lightly taxed pot
Hahahaha...good one XS
The cost of a good high from regulated lightly taxed pot
Hahahaha...good one XS
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Well there's always side effects to anything you allow or disallow. While you may indeed have a spike in (whatever -fill in the blank) you have to weigh how the current restriction or allowance is impacting the society in costs or detrimental side effects. Some prefer some bad effects over others ..but not always for sound reasons. For many it's a refusal to surrender to the human condition that they figure needs to be resisted, inhibited, and punitively dealt with ..even if that effort is (obviously) totally ineffective in producing any resistance or inhibition of what you're fighting.
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Well there's always side effects to anything you allow or disallow. While you may indeed have a spike in (whatever -fill in the blank) you have to weigh how the current restriction or allowance is impacting the society in costs or detrimental side effects. Some prefer some bad effects over others ..but not always for sound reasons. For many it's a refusal to surrender to the human condition that they figure needs to be resisted, inhibited, and punitively dealt with ..even if that effort is (obviously) totally ineffective in producing any resistance or inhibition of what you're fighting.
I agree 100%. Those in power often feel the need to protect us from ourselves, without really stopping to think of the expense and possibility of success. I am sure that prohibition seemed like a great idea at the time, but the reality was that a percentage of the general public wanted alcohol and there were folks out there who met and profited from that need. The so-called drug war has raged for decades now, but drugs are stronger and more readily available than ever. By more readily available, I mean that many doctors will write out a prescription for virtually any drug their patients ask for. Have a sleeping issue...it's Klonopin, Valium or Ambien to the rescue. Have trouble staying awake...it's Provigil or Adderall to the rescue. Drug test, no problem you have a valid prescription. Smoke a joint on the other hand and you get a not so free trip to rehab.
Well there's always side effects to anything you allow or disallow. While you may indeed have a spike in (whatever -fill in the blank) you have to weigh how the current restriction or allowance is impacting the society in costs or detrimental side effects. Some prefer some bad effects over others ..but not always for sound reasons. For many it's a refusal to surrender to the human condition that they figure needs to be resisted, inhibited, and punitively dealt with ..even if that effort is (obviously) totally ineffective in producing any resistance or inhibition of what you're fighting.
I agree 100%. Those in power often feel the need to protect us from ourselves, without really stopping to think of the expense and possibility of success. I am sure that prohibition seemed like a great idea at the time, but the reality was that a percentage of the general public wanted alcohol and there were folks out there who met and profited from that need. The so-called drug war has raged for decades now, but drugs are stronger and more readily available than ever. By more readily available, I mean that many doctors will write out a prescription for virtually any drug their patients ask for. Have a sleeping issue...it's Klonopin, Valium or Ambien to the rescue. Have trouble staying awake...it's Provigil or Adderall to the rescue. Drug test, no problem you have a valid prescription. Smoke a joint on the other hand and you get a not so free trip to rehab.
You have to create tension and stress in people in order to make them productive workers and good consumers, if there isn't enough natural stress in their lives. Banning random things like fast food and interfering in people's lives a bit plays a role in good governance. Happy people do not work hard, since they are already at their goal.
I personally have no problem with Chavez or Putin despite them not being very nice to the US. Think of it this way, they are the presidents of their own countries, and they do pretty well by robing their riches (or our riches in their lands) and giving them to the poor, improving their own countries' status in the world, and are in general loved by their own people.
Our government rob the poor by devaluing the dollar, outsource jobs, not taxing import sufficiently, protecting the riches, and are corrupted (via campaign financing). I am not talking about only one particular party, but both major parties here. On top of that, most government officers aren't very popular.
I will continue to buy whatever gas that is the cheapest, regardless of what some of our politicians told us.
Our government rob the poor by devaluing the dollar, outsource jobs, not taxing import sufficiently, protecting the riches, and are corrupted (via campaign financing). I am not talking about only one particular party, but both major parties here. On top of that, most government officers aren't very popular.
I will continue to buy whatever gas that is the cheapest, regardless of what some of our politicians told us.
Are you for real ?
Chavez is making a mess of the Venezuelan economy with inflation of 25% and in case you didn't notice inflation hits the poor most severely !
Putin is insane shown by his recent actions in Georgia !
Chavez is making a mess of the Venezuelan economy with inflation of 25% and in case you didn't notice inflation hits the poor most severely !
Putin is insane shown by his recent actions in Georgia !
I very rarely respond to anything here but Pandabear's post is reprehensible. Perhaps he would consider just moving to one those countries with cheap gas. That way he wouldn't be "forced" to live in a crooked country and buy from those that don't like us. Plus he could save money and help the poor!!
Ok ok, I am not really serious about supporting Chavez or Putin. What I am trying to say is that they are for their own countries and you can't expect them to be helping us in the state out in our interests.
25% inflation isn't as bad as it look compare to Argentina's problem a few years back (total collapse of its own currency) and the current kidnapping wave in Mexico. It is a 3rd world country, you can't expect it to be able to matching the US, right? After all he did help the poor out more than the rich compare to other 3rd world presidents. Maybe he shouldn't be so generous. Now I am not saying he is a saint, but economy is their own countries' business right, we can't really expect him to give us cheap oil just because we are USA and they are 3rd world.
As for Putin, what do you expect him to do when your neighbor is trying to join your nemesis (NATO and US) and setup a military base there. He show the little guy what it means to "betray" the motherland with military force. I know this isn't right, it isn't just, but there is no justice in military strategy. Peace talk won't work, otherwise why would every country need a military?
Maybe I should put it in a better way: you cannot expect a foreign country to be in your favor unless you work in their favor. Chavez and his country benefit from high oil price, so he is going to risk his relationship with the US (what relationship) for his country's profit. Putin strengthen his country's power via nationalizing the natural resource (oil, gas, etc) and held off being surrounded by NATO and US influence of his "colonies". It isn't in our best interests, but it is in their best interests, so you can't expect them to just give that advantage to us.
P.S. Why does everyone have to say "if you don't like our presidents or government, why don't you move to a 3rd world country"? Can't there be less of this "if you are not with us, you are against us" hostility?
25% inflation isn't as bad as it look compare to Argentina's problem a few years back (total collapse of its own currency) and the current kidnapping wave in Mexico. It is a 3rd world country, you can't expect it to be able to matching the US, right? After all he did help the poor out more than the rich compare to other 3rd world presidents. Maybe he shouldn't be so generous. Now I am not saying he is a saint, but economy is their own countries' business right, we can't really expect him to give us cheap oil just because we are USA and they are 3rd world.
As for Putin, what do you expect him to do when your neighbor is trying to join your nemesis (NATO and US) and setup a military base there. He show the little guy what it means to "betray" the motherland with military force. I know this isn't right, it isn't just, but there is no justice in military strategy. Peace talk won't work, otherwise why would every country need a military?
Maybe I should put it in a better way: you cannot expect a foreign country to be in your favor unless you work in their favor. Chavez and his country benefit from high oil price, so he is going to risk his relationship with the US (what relationship) for his country's profit. Putin strengthen his country's power via nationalizing the natural resource (oil, gas, etc) and held off being surrounded by NATO and US influence of his "colonies". It isn't in our best interests, but it is in their best interests, so you can't expect them to just give that advantage to us.
P.S. Why does everyone have to say "if you don't like our presidents or government, why don't you move to a 3rd world country"? Can't there be less of this "if you are not with us, you are against us" hostility?
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