Brack O-Bonga? (decrimninalize marijuana)

[patric]

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington voters made their state the first in the nation to legalize recreational pot use on Tuesday.
The measure sets up a system of state-licensed marijuana growers, processors and retail stores, where adults over 21 can buy up to an ounce. It also establishes a standard blood test limit for driving under the influence.

Legalization could help bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in pot taxes, reduce small-time pot-related arrests and give supporters a chance to show whether decriminalization is a viable strategy in the war on drugs.
State financial experts estimate it could raise nearly $2 billion in tax revenue over the next five years, with the money going toward education, health care, substance abuse prevention and basic government services.

The campaign was notable for its sponsors and supporters, who ranged from public health experts to two of the DOJ's top former officials in Seattle, U.S. Attorneys John McKay and Kate Pflaumer.
The effort raised more than $6 million in contributions, with more than $2 million of that coming from Progressive Insurance Co. founder Peter Lewis, who used marijuana to treat pain from a leg amputation.

For many voters, it came down to the notion that decades of marijuana prohibition have done more harm than good.
"It's ridiculous to be trying to maintain the law enforcement effort — all the people, all that money, all those resources — to prosecute marijuana use," supporter Karla Oman said. "Tax it, legalize it, everybody wins."

[nathanm]

Colorado as well, apparently.

[Teatownclown]

He'll make good on the Bill Maher contribution!

[heironymouspasparagus]

It's about time.  Finally, we may put the lie of right wing extremists meddling in people's lives while saying they are for "smaller" government.

[Conan71]

$2 billion over five years in tax revenue?

Either there's a bunch of pot heads in Washington or they are really going to tax the smile out of it. I'm curious to see how this plays out if people will still go to a black market to avoid paying taxes.

As a fiscal conservative, I think this was a great move.  We waste far too much money every year and ruin thousands of lives imprisoning people over pot busts.  In addition, pot's affect on society and the family is far less deleterious than alcohol. 

[Townsend]

$2 billion over five years in tax revenue?

they are really going to tax the smile out of it. 

That

I see a version of moon-shining with this.

As a fiscal conservative, I think this was a great move.  We waste far too much money every year and ruin thousands of lives imprisoning people over pot busts.  In addition, pot's affect on society and the family is far less deleterious than alcohol.

If this is successful, I once again see Oklahoma as the last state to enact a similar law.

[Teatownclown]

That

I see a version of moon-shining with this.


If this is successful, I once again see Oklahoma as the last state to enact a similar law.

I see the next war ending soon! Bam Bam decrims from the thrown and law enforcement can focus on powdery substances instead.

Of course, the Prison industrial Complex may have a differing view.

[patric]

I see the next war ending soon! Bam Bam decrims from the thrown and law enforcement can focus on powdery substances instead.
Of course, the Prison industrial Complex may have a differing view.

It also pits the big police organizations against each other.  On one hand the high-ranking veterans who saw decades of waste and corruption and vowed to stop it, versus the unions that want to keep the bribes, overtime money and headless bodies from Mexico flowing.

[Teatownclown]

It also pits the big police organizations against each other.  On one hand the high-ranking veterans who saw decades of waste and corruption and vowed to stop it, versus the unions that want to keep the bribes, overtime money and headless bodies from Mexico flowing.

So fire Bush's head of the DEA and tell Eric Holder how to lay the new law down!

[patric]

Forbes' take:

Drug prohibition is (literally) "a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences" most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition.  What can we expect from legalization, and what could we expect from further liberalization of drug laws?

    Less Crime. Moving drug cultivation and commerce out of the shadows and into the legitimate marketplace will mean that participants in the market can resolve their disputes without resorting to violence. This will also deal a blow to international drug gangs by raising the supply of marijuana from competitors and by lowering its price. Since the demand curve for drugs is fairly inelastic—and I see no reason to think marijuana is an exception—this will reduce drug dealer revenue.
    Lower Demand for Hard Drugs Like Crack and Crystal Meth. At the margin, marijuana is a substitute for drugs like crack and meth. With lower prices and a much lower probability of prosecution associated with its use, I expect some drug users will switch to marijuana. Over the long run, I expect marijuana legalization to reduce the demand for harder drugs.
    A "Peace Dividend" From Scaling Back the Drug War. Scaling back the drug war frees up resources for more productive pursuits. Instead of busting pot smokers, Colorado and Washington cops can spend their time and energy fighting violent crime and fraud. Washington and Colorado residents who otherwise would have rotted in jail for a few years can go about their productive lives. Resources invested in avoiding detection can be redeployed toward more productive pursuits. You might finally be able to use the towel under your door for its intended purpose. The ball is in President Obama's court on this one: I hope he respects the wishes of Colorado and Washington voters.

Yesterday's results are historic because, as a Facebook friend pointed out, the results in Colorado and Washington show that ending prohibition can win at the ballot box, and this might encourage politicians to embrace prohibition repeal. If we're lucky, our children will inherit a world in which the disastrous effects of drug prohibition are nothing but a sad chapter in a history book.

[heironymouspasparagus]

$2 billion over five years in tax revenue?

Either there's a bunch of pot heads in Washington or they are really going to tax the smile out of it. I'm curious to see how this plays out if people will still go to a black market to avoid paying taxes.

As a fiscal conservative, I think this was a great move.  We waste far too much money every year and ruin thousands of lives imprisoning people over pot busts.  In addition, pot's affect on society and the family is far less deleterious than alcohol. 

Talk is cheap.  Specifically, who have you voted for who would actually do something to change the bs way we do it now?  Until you can fill in a name to that blank, it's all platitudes.


Two candidates that will NEVER be on the list - Fallin, Inhofe.

[Conan71]

Talk is cheap.  Specifically, who have you voted for who would actually do something to change the bs way we do it now?  Until you can fill in a name to that blank, it's all platitudes.


Two candidates that will NEVER be on the list - Fallin, Inhofe.

I don't recall there ever being a candidate we could vote for in Oklahoma who is for decriminalization.  I fail to see how that makes my post platitudes.

I'm not bent toward single-issue voting, but if there were a candidate whom that was part of their stated platform along with other ideals I could agree with, I'd vote for them.  Voting for someone who represented none of my other values but was pro legalization would not get my vote, IOW.

[patric]

In 2010, overdoses were responsible for 38,329 deaths. Sixty percent of those were related to prescription drugs. In the same year, a total of 25,692 persons died of alcohol-induced causes, including accidental poisoning and disease from dependent use.
Here's how many of those deaths were related to marijuana use:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/marijuana-overdose_n_4538580.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

I don't recall there ever being a candidate we could vote for in Oklahoma who is for decriminalization.

Here's two for starters:

Many of those offenders have a recognized need for treatment or a halfway house setting instead of incarceration, said state Rep. Gus Blackwell (R-Laverne), an advocate for reforming Oklahoma's criminal justice system.

Situated in the heart of the Bible Belt, Oklahoma has some of the harshest drug laws in the nation, which is an asset to private prisons because of the beds that will be occupied, said state Sen. Connie Johnson (D-Forest Park), a proponent of legalizing marijuana.

http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-20013-lockdown.html

And ill raise you a lawyer for good measure:
"Pot, you might say, is law enforcement's top cash crop. They don't want to see it go away," said OKC defense attorney Chad Moody, who bills himself as the "Drug Lawyer." "The last thing our criminal justice system wants is for people to stop getting drunk or high," he said. "It's a revenue stream with all the fines and fees people pay. Municipal courts, as much as state and federal courts, are revenue courts."