Will Ca. Pass First Marijuana Legalizations Bill
California electorate is divided over an initiative on the November ballot that would legalize marijuana for recreational use.The Public Policy Institute of Ca. poll out Wed (05/19/2010) found t 49 percent of likely voters would support legalization of cannabis, while 48 percent oppose it. The poll has a margin of inaccuracy of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The state of California already allows medicinal use of cannabis, but would become the first state to legalize recreational use if voters approve the initiative.The poll found that Democrats and independents are far more likely to support the initiative than Republicans. Not overly surprising. Support also is higher in the Bay Area, while L.A. and the Central Valley remain divided.The survey found that men are more likely to favor legalization than women.
When I hear the name of President Reagen I think about the hard nosed fool who brought the unconstitutional war on drugs on the American people. Billions of dollars are spent each year hunting down, arresting, persecuting (not prosecuting) drug “criminals”, and locking them up. Giant government agencies were formed sucking up vast amounts of taxpayer money and all for nothing.
First off, what someone does to their own body is their own problem. If someone wants to shoot heroin, or smoke marijuana then let them. Freedom of Choice. Government should have no decision in the matter. Take a look at the prohibition on alcohol and what problems that solved. None at all, it just created problems. Al Capone and his hoodlums made tons of money off of bootleg booze and violence erupted because of it. The same is true for the drug trade today and has been for the last 30 years. Crack cocaine and crystal meth never would have been invented if there was no drug prohibition. People couldn't afford the good expensive cocaine and thus had to learn to cut it and mix with household chemicals, same with meth. The government effectively drove up prices and created cheap, highly addictive, highly volatile new drugs.
With that aside, all drugs don't even need to be legal, but they all should be. If marijuana alone was made legal, many of the US economic woes would be solved. This plant should be hailed and glorified not banned. The buds can be used for medicine. The stems/stalks are used to make clothes, paper, oils, lotions, and much more. This plant has never directly killed anyone. It is less intoxicating than alcohol. Why is it illegal?
How would marijuana solve the economic woes of the country you ask? First, it would get rid of all the non-violent marijuana “criminals” behind bars. Second, it would stop the paying of federal agencies to hunt down innocent civilians. Third, it could be grown as a crop creating many more jobs in the farming sector. Fourth, it would create jobs in the pulp/paper industry. New businesses would crop up to create marijuana processing machines. Operators would be employed to run these machines. Distributors would sell and market the items. Fifth, new industries would be created for legal hemp lotions, oils, clothes, wallets, handbags, flags, etc. Sixth, medical marijuana would be used for a great variety of ailments including insomnia, glucoma, pain. This would free up doctors, because patients would self medicate. All of these things would be taxable, meaning instead of money being spent by the government, money would be coming in to the government. Most importantly this plant grows in 30-60 days and can be grown year round indoor or outdoor making it renewable.
The most important thing though is that it would get rid of the violence that stems from the illegal drug trade of marijuana, effectively cutting off the money supply of drug dealers. If it was regulated and taxed like cigarettes or alcohol, the country would be much richer and the people much happier.
Tags: california electorate, central valley, democrats, inaccuracy, independents, initiative, legalization of cannabis, marijuana, medicinal use of cannabis, percentage points, poll, public policy institute, republicans, state of california, survey found that
