Legalization of Marijuana

[niky]

Even whiskey tasters have to spit, not swallow.

 

[lbsf1]

Even whiskey tasters have to spit, not swallow.

What about rock/punk stars. Pretty sure they can combine both.

 

[opelgt1969]

What about rock/punk stars. Pretty sure they can combine both.

I think at least one of these guys could work "stoned out of their mind" :

 

[terminator363]

Biggest negative effect on grades in College? Counterstrike.

But for some reason, Med Students get better grades with it. Apparently the stress release you get from shooting virtual people in the head helps them study better.

It works for me, I always play W.o.T. when I get home from school. As for marijuana I do not partake but I think it should be legalized; I don't see it as such a harmful substance and legalizing it should stomp out some gang related violence.

 

[MisterEads]

I smoke daily. Regardless, it should be legal.

 

[Lock2Lock]

I smoke daily. Regardless, it should be legal.

Well as Dr. Dre said "hey hey hey, smoke weed everyday".

But honestly I don't understand why they don't just make it legal but have the same laws for like alcohol or something like that. It would produce revenue too

 

[sumbrownkid]

Well let's hope Colorado is the first domino to full legalization nationwide.

 

[MisterEads]

Well as Dr. Dre said "hey hey hey, smoke weed everyday".

That was Nate Dogg, RIP.

And I shall, lol.

 

[Lock2Lock]

That was Nate Dogg, RIP.

And I shall, lol.

Oh **** yeah my bad I meant from the song by Dr. Dre - next episode

Yep i will miss Nate Dogg man. Good rapper

 

[MisterEads]

And all around great musician. Hard drugs were his end, should have stuck with the sweet leaf lol.

 

[Sam48]

But honestly I don't understand why they don't just make it legal but have the same laws for like alcohol or something like that. It would produce revenue too

I believe the main reason politicians are hesitant to legalize it is because they make more revenue off it when it's illegal through drug busts and under the table activities with money laundering from Mexico and what not.

 

[Public'sTwin]

I believe the main reason politicians are hesitant to legalize it is because they make more revenue off it when it's illegal through drug busts and under the table activities with money laundering from Mexico and what not.

I wouldn't agree in that we're talking about a fundamentally economic incentive through Prison/carceral industrial pay-offs and incentives. It remains quite costly to punitively target populations on the basis of their habits. Drug busts are not a reliable source of income, nor would anyone who attempts to financially track this consider it a worthwhile method of acquiring income.

Rather, I would refer to a biopolitical concept that remains esentially unchanged since the debate emerged in the 80s' - that of an informally institutionalized policy of racial targeting that is well known to sociologists, critical theorists, economists, etc.

An example I like to refer to to illustrate (Gaza is virtually the apotheosis of this example, and so does not share the same subtle characteristics as the institutionalized racism of America):

A contemporary example we might consider is the current situation in the Gaza Strip, where an entire population is subject to a biopolitical management so extensive that the Israeli government has even intervened at the level of the bodily metabolism of Palestinians living in Gaza, through counting the exact amount of calories supposedly needed to keep the population just barely above the rate of starvation, and only allowing aid that equates to that exact amount to enter Gaza’s borders. Foucault explains the apparently paradoxical nature of a governmentality that can willing expose such a large portion of its population to near-death (and “unwillingly” to death) and at the same time aim to expand and maximize the life of another portion of its population, through what he calls “State racism.” He describes racism as “a way of introducing a break into the domain of life that is under power’s control: the break between what must live and what must die” and characterizes this function of fragmenting the population and separating the lives that are worth investing in and maximizing from the lives that must be sacrificed in order for the rest of the population to thrive, as “a biological relationship” aimed at maintaining the purity of the species (254-255). It is in this sense that “in a normalizing society race or racism is the precondition that makes killing acceptable” (256).

In the case of the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the Palestinian people, we do not necessarily have a State that out rightly targets Palestinian civilians or seeks to murder Palestinians in general, but we do have, I would venture, an accurate and contemporary example of biopower’s “making live and letting die.” As Foucault says, “When I say killing, I obviously do not mean simply murder as such, but also every form of indirect murder: the fact of exposing someone to death, increasing the risk of death for some people, or, quite simply, political death, expulsion, rejection, and so on” (256). It is within this framework that the Israeli government can justify its control of food and aid imports into Gaza and the shooting of Palestinian fisherman off the coast of Gaza: these biopolitical strategies that might be characterized as “letting die” are always justified through appeals to “security,” that is, the security of the rest of Israel’s population at the expense of those the government has deemed, in Foucault’s terms, a “biological threat…to our race” (257).

 

[Crispy]

Disregard... Quoted someone on the first page thinking it was the current page..

 

[nobuffalo]

Tonight is the night, in Washington, and it looks like a bunch plan to celebrate it at the Space Needle, no surprise.

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/12/05/space-needle-smoke-out-planned-spd-provides-pot-use-guide/

I'm not working at the moment and being the responsible adult I am I'm gonna have to pass. 👎

 

[BongRipz]

Its only a matter of time now. Washington and Colorado were the first steps in ending prohibition. 👍

 

[Rykon Zero]

I'm glad we're approaching this cautiously, and not just jumping into the deep end.

 

[Crash]

Tonight is the night, in Washington, and it looks like a bunch plan to celebrate it at the Space Needle, no surprise.

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/12/05/space-needle-smoke-out-planned-spd-provides-pot-use-guide/

I'm not working at the moment and being the responsible adult I am I'm gonna have to pass. 👎

And it's now legal!

Only problem with that plan is that smoking marijuana in public is still not allowed, and is treated as an open container with a fine of $50. The County Attorney said that if people push it, he would prosecute those smoking marijuana in public.

 

[Blitz187]

Depends on the job.

Very true... I mean if you work in a Coffeeshop it shouldnt matter should it...

 

[shmogt]

As it looks now they will basically make ideidcial alcohol laws only change the word alcohol to weed and press print. What I'm wondering is what happens to the people in jail or charges with weed? I get that a large drug dealer there will be no change but so many people have charges of possession on their record. I assume they will drop the charges off their records and get no compensation.

Also what about restaurants. They are saying no smoking outside in public just like drinking but a lot of restaurants have outdoor fenced off areas that are basically right on the street. You can smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol there so will you be able to smoke weed there as well?

 

[nobuffalo]

I believe all of the pending charges for marijuana pocession or whatever here in King County at least have been dropped, or so I've read. May have been like that for all of Washington. I think possession here in Seattle has been a pretty minor offense for a while, at least possession of small quantities, so I doubt many of those people are in jail. As for the rest of Washington I don't know. I've read about all this stuff but have a horrible memory (weed or no weed) so I can't state it as fact. I highly doubt they will just be letting people already in jail out but I imagine it now being legal will have a positive effect when it comes time for their scheduled hearings/evaluations or however that stuff works.


I assume that if a business has a liquor license and/or the equivalent for marijuana and they have an outdoor smoking section where alcohol is allowed then marijuana will be as well. I think ultimately it will be up to the discretion of the business owner. Once again all an assumption.

 

[sumbrownkid]

If the rest of America gets on this legalization, then the Marijuana cartels down South can suffer a huge blow.

 

[Azuremen]

I believe all of the pending charges for marijuana pocession or whatever here in King County at least have been dropped, or so I've read. May have been like that for all of Washington. I think possession here in Seattle has been a pretty minor offense for a while, at least possession of small quantities, so I doubt many of those people are in jail. As for the rest of Washington I don't know.

I know Spokane and Whitman County stopped processing any currently open cases and were no longer charging people in the interim period. Now that is the 6th, I'm kind of curious how open people are going to be about it.

Of course, I'm torn because I have exams over the next week but also want to take advantage of the new law

 

[Joel]

I know Spokane and Whitman County stopped processing any currently open cases and were no longer charging people in the interim period. Now that is the 6th, I'm kind of curious how open people are going to be about it.

Of course, I'm torn because I have exams over the next week but also want to take advantage of the new law

A friend of mine smoked up before every single one of his philosophy lectures, every single philosophy assignment, and before his midterm and exam. Dude got a 97% in the course .

 

[shmogt]

Even with these laws its too weird that federal law has it banned. It should of been the opposite where it's legal but up to the state to determine whether they want it legal or illegal. Right now everything that people are doing big business wise to get factories and stores etc in order to sell can all be shut down. I think that's probably the governments aim with this play as they know shutting down the big players is what will bring them the most money. Let's all these small time bust of street level dudes go and now they can simply Google who is the biggest dope dealer and gps the location to shut them down. Nothing they can do to fight the charges since federal law obviously trumps everything. Will be an interesting year to see how this all goes.

 

[Crash]

As it looks now they will basically make ideidcial alcohol laws only change the word alcohol to weed and press print. What I'm wondering is what happens to the people in jail or charges with weed? I get that a large drug dealer there will be no change but so many people have charges of possession on their record. I assume they will drop the charges off their records and get no compensation.

People convicted already will remain in jail and serve the remainder of their sentence. The law passed did not have any retroactive clauses.

Also, people are serving time for violating a federal law. The federal law did not changed, thus convicts will continue to serve.

For those who were facing charges for possession under 1 gram, but who have not been convicted yet, will most likely have all charges be dropped.

Also what about restaurants. They are saying no smoking outside in public just like drinking but a lot of restaurants have outdoor fenced off areas that are basically right on the street. You can smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol there so will you be able to smoke weed there as well?

The law in Washington states that one cannot smoke tobacco products in a restaurant (or indoor public places for that matter) nor within 25 feet of a window, door or ventilation to such an indoor public place. The only exceptions are 25% of hotel rooms and private workspaces and residences.

 

[Azuremen]

Even with these laws its too weird that federal law has it banned. It should of been the opposite where it's legal but up to the state to determine whether they want it legal or illegal. Right now everything that people are doing big business wise to get factories and stores etc in order to sell can all be shut down. I think that's probably the governments aim with this play as they know shutting down the big players is what will bring them the most money. Let's all these small time bust of street level dudes go and now they can simply Google who is the biggest dope dealer and gps the location to shut them down. Nothing they can do to fight the charges since federal law obviously trumps everything. Will be an interesting year to see how this all goes.

You realize State vs Federal law, particularly on the topic of Marijuana, is nothing new. California and Washington have both been dealing with this in regard to medical Marijuana for a few years now.

It isn't some conspiracy to shut down places to make money, because there really isn't any money in that between legal fees and all that. It is just the weird by product of the Federal Government developing too much power due to money for for things such as the Interstate system and so on.

 

[Caz]

There can be lots of money in feds closing business. The property in which these shops are operated on can be forfeited under civil forfeiture laws.
My family is going through this process now.

The doj can go after any property in which crime takes place regardless if the owners are aware of the illegal activity. The govt will open a case against the physical address, not the property owners. Whn this process begins, the burden is placed on the property owner to prove they are innocent.

With all that said, im sure most bud bars will be safe. The doj will not go after properties with < 50k in equity.

 

[Keef]

If the rest of America gets on this legalization, then the Marijuana cartels down South can suffer a huge blow.

Probably not. They're probably the biggest suppliers. They're good at making money and I assume they would legitimize and incorporate. There would be no reason to fight the law any more.

 

[Dennisch]

I wonder what this will do to American tourism to Amsterdam.

 

[Joel]

I wonder what this will do to American tourism to Amsterdam.

Harold and Kumar go to Denver.