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Originally Posted by kmoore
ok just from my take on this people seriously think that obama is going to be the great green hope and leaglize dope.
now i neither commend nor condone pot useage but i think there are bigger issues that need to be addressed long before pot is even thought about..
how bout the new laws that are going to be passed that takes away your civil freedoms
1. making it illegal to talk on a cell phone while in your car.
2. making it illegal to smoke in your own car.
and by making pot legal you will be opening the door to other arguments to legalize other drugs and it will send this country into a spiraling decent into darkness from which we will never return..... but wait were halfway there anyway.
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Great green hope? lol...hardly.
Perhaps you're unaware that Joe Biden was largely responsible for the obscene mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Perhaps you're unaware that Obama has already ignored the idea of marijuana law reform. Perhaps you're unaware that, while he does not encourage the use of federal time and money being used to persue medical marijuana patients, he has NEVER stated any support for it's recreational use.
Yes, great green hope, indeed. 8O
On the other hand, perhaps some people recognize this as one of the few times in this country's history when our leader is actually asking for input from regular citizens and that perhaps this is a rare opportunity to simply have a RATIONAL discussion on the idea of legalization.
Your "spiraling decent into darkness" statement is precisely why this discussion is needed. The statement is not only false, but it's laughable. And sadly, too many people have bought into the ignorant notion that pot is somehow "the devil's weed".
I know people who have smoked pot for more than 30 years. They work, have families, contribute to their communites and generally live life like everyone else, aside from the fact that they have hide in their homes to have their own choice of "cold beer" or "glass of wine". They have to fear losing their jobs or being charged w/ DUI for up to 30 days after consumption because the THC remains in their system MUCH longer than it has any effect on their actions or ability.
If you want to pull out the "slippery slope" argument...you'll need to explain alcohol first. It's legal, it is taxed, and it IS a drug. If the slope is truely that slippery, then alcohol must also be criminalized.
Either they are both legal, or they are both illegal. You can't have it both ways and remain on the rational/logical side of the argument.
And while you're worried about laws that haven't yet gone into effect, we continue to deal with the laws that are already in effect. Like the Patriot Act. Warrantless wiretapping is NOT constitutional. You worry about the rights of people to smoke cigs in their car, yet you condem those who wish to smoke pot in their own home?
You can't claim to support a less invasive government whilst also supporting invasive laws like those against marijuana.
Obviously this country has a lot of issues to deal with currently, and obviously this issue is not at the top of the list...however, more people were arrested for marijuana in 2007 than were arrested for violent crimes. To me, this screams of poor priorities and laws that place an unfair burden on everyday citizens.
While your local cops are out busting pot smokers...the violent criminals are running rampant.
Read this for the reality of the situation -
http://blog.norml.org/2008/09/15/872...-52-from-2006/
“Over the past ten years, arrests for just about every crime have declined. Arrests for all violent crimes have dropped by 8.9% and property crime arrests declined 12.5%. Many other miscellaneous crime arrests have seen double-digit percentage declines, like fraud (-30.8%), prostitution (-22%), and offenses against family and children (-16.9%). Meanwhile, in that ten years, the only crimes for which arrests have gone up are robbery (+5.9%), drug law violations (+17.6%), and embezzlement (+26.5%).â€
Hope is welcome, no matter what the color.