The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

From your kind bud FOTD....

High Support for Medical Marijuana
ABC News/Washington Post Poll: 81 Percent Support Legalizing Marijuana for Medical Use

http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/medical-marijuana-abc-news-poll-analysis/story?id=9586503&page=1


Compassion in New Jersey

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/opinion/13wed3.html

The Sopranos are going to "bust" the country wide open with those whore doctors writing scripts at $150 -$250 a clip.

"Only" two ounces per month?  Being a bit stingy, aren't they?

Hey, in Washington it's 27 grams. and what's the diff if you need it?

How would you know what 2 ounces is versus a gram?

I have low friends in high places.  They tell me these things.

What time is it anyhow?

(http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/seventee/clock6.jpg)

You've been busted, Kermit....pull over.  Actually, my watch sez the same....pay no attention to the TNF clock...it's off by 4 minutes...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qc9MMMoyec[/youtube]

But where's Kermit's package of Oreos?

Uh, you tell us.

California knows how to party!

http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_14242153?nclick_check=1

"The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down state limits — and, most likely, local limits, too — on how much marijuana a patient or caregiver can possess or grow for medical purposes. "

I watched Rodney Dangerfield's biography the other night. Turns out he was a stoner.

When is the gov't going to realize they could just tax the sh!t out of weed and make money off it instead of throwing money down a black hole penalizing users of it. I think we've all agreed in threads past that effects of pot are far less deleterious on society and the family than booze. 

Well, state governments are realizing this fast. I read somewhere that 14 states have essentially decriminalized possession of marijuana, and this has all happened in the past few years.

I saw it too; I wasn't really surprised given how much he hung out with 'kids' of his club.

Had to watch 'Caddyshack' today in remembrance.  That movie was eviscerated by critics when it opened, but is sure has aged like fine wine.  Dangerfield at his best.  Some of my favorite quotes:

"I bet you were something before electricity"
"Oh, this is the worst-looking hat I ever saw. What, when you buy a hat like this I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh?  Oh, it looks good on you though"

Because that "black hole" represents the pockets of a lot of people that will say or do anything to maintain the status quo.

Pot legalization petitions filed in California

http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/2498214.html

" California appears headed for a rollicking November ballot fight over whether to legalize and tax marijuana cultivation and use for adults 21 years and older.

Proponents of the "Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010" said Thursday that they had submitted to the state nearly 700,000 petition signatures – more than enough, if valid, to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen has until June 24 to certify the measure, which needs 433,000 valid voter signatures to qualify.

But already legalization proponents and opponents are gearing up for a fight. The election battle is expected to feature rival TV commercials that variously extol the tax benefits of a regulated marijuana market or warn of the threat mass legalization poses to communities.

Measure backers promise financial rescue for the state's cash-strapped schools, police agencies and social service providers, saying legalization could generate more than $1 billion in tax revenue.
"This is an historic first step toward ending cannabis prohibition," said Richard Lee, president of an Oakland medical marijuana dispensary and Oaksterdam University, a school dedicated to pot.

Lee, whose school specializes in pot law and cultivation, donated more than $1 million for the petition drive to qualify the measure. Proponents said they hope to raise as much as $10 million for the campaign.

The pro-pot coalition has signed on with a prominent San Francisco political consulting firm, SCN Strategies. Proponents also are working with an Internet fundraising firm, Blue State Digital, that helped create the Web network for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

"This isn't your teenager's cannabis initiative. ... This was carefully crafted to build a winning coalition of supporters," said Dan Newman, a partner with SCN Strategies. His firm includes veteran Democratic strategist Ace Smith, son of former San Francisco District Attorney Arlo Smith.
The initiative will face dogged opposition from law enforcement, church and anti-drug groups.

"This will be a serious campaign," said John Lovell, a lobbyist for the California Peace Officers Association, a group organizing opposition. "They will raise and spend $10 million to $15 million. We will raise a fraction of that. And we will win …

"The fact is that you can't make a case for legalization of another mind-altering substance."

Bishop Ron Allen, president of the International Faith-Based Coalition, a Sacramento group representing 3,600 congregations, said "angry church leaders" will do "whatever it is going to take to fight this to the very end."

Marijuana has been legal for medical use in California since voters passed another ballot measure, the Compassionate Use Act, in 1996.

Allen, a former crack addict who said he started out smoking marijuana, said his worries over wider legalization have been stoked by the explosion in dispensaries growing and selling pot for medical users. He said pot bought in those dispensaries is being resold on the streets of his Oak Park community.

The new initiative would allow California residents to cultivate up to 25 square feet of pot and possess or transport up to 1 ounce. It would include fines and criminal sanctions for providing marijuana to minors.

The initiative would allow cities to tax pot sales and regulate how much pot can be sold legally. It would permit individual cities to ban local sales but let citizens possess and consume marijuana.

Proponents point to a state Field Poll in April that found 56 percent of voters supported taxing and legalizing pot.

Opponent Lovell said voter attitudes will change quickly once they ponder the implications of legalizing pot for general use. Lovell rallied law enforcement groups two years ago to defeat Proposition 5, an initiative that emphasized treatment over jail for nonviolent drug offenders.

He said opponents will argue that legalization would increase drug use among youths and result in more fatal accidents from pot-impaired drivers. "I submit that the support (for marijuana) is illusionary," he said.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved."

Should this be double posted to: http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=14956.msg153575;topicseen#msg153575

This seems like a common sense approach to the issue. 

However, I think they are overly idealistic on how much tax revenue they can collect.  How would the state be able to enforce compliance with the tax laws without incurring new expenses for enforcement?  How can you possibly track every single grower if part of the law allows for individuals to have a 5 x 5 plot?  Would there be an increase in smuggling from south of the border for less expensive non-taxed pot?

Just some issues I can see coming up on the anti-campaign.  The "gateway drug" argument as loosely stated by the former crack head in the article is over-blown.  How many people tried pot or another drug for the first time after drinking?  Talk about gateway drugs.