On The Quiet, The US is Legalising Marijuana
November 1, 2009
You know things are shifting in America when Fortune magazine, the bible for business journalism, runs a cover story titled “Is pot already legal?”. You also know it when Barack Obama’s Department of Justice publishes a long-expected memo signalling that the federal government will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries if they are legal under state law. That happened formally this month.
It was not, moreover, a symbolic gesture. Marijuana for medical reasons — to tackle chemotherapy-induced nausea or Aids-related wasting or glaucoma, among other conditions — is now legal in 13 states, including the biggest, California. Next year, 13 more states are planning referendums or new laws following suit. Last week a California legislative committee held the first hearings not simply on whether medical marijuana should remain legal, but on whether all marijuana should be decriminalised, full stop. The incentive? The vast amounts of money the bankrupt state could raise by taxing cannabis.
Now look at the polling on the question. In 1970, 84% of Americans supported keeping marijuana illegal. Today, that number has collapsed to 54%. The proportion believing that marijuana should be legal has gone from 18% at the end of the 1960s to 44% today. On current trends, a majority of Americans will favour legalisation by the end of Obama’s first term. In the western states, 53% already favour legalising and taxing the stuff. Support for legalisation is strongest among the young — the Obama generation — but has climbed among self-described Republicans as well.
But the reality is already ahead of the polls. Take a trip, so to speak, to Los Angeles today, where one would be forgiven for thinking that marijuana was already legal. There are more than 800 marijuana dispensaries in the city — and an estimated 7,000 in the state of California as a whole (many times more than in Holland).
Getting a doctor’s recommendation for marijuana is easier than getting health insurance — just look at the ads in the papers, where a consultation costs about $200. The dispensaries range from the dime store to elaborate palaces of capitalist taste. Seminars are held for entrepreneurs who want to start a business selling medical cannabis. On display are sophisticated strains that can provide exquisitely tailored effects: some best for countering nausea, some for building appetite, others for going to sleep, others for staying alert or for watching movies or for general relaxation.
The concentration of THC, the active compound, is much higher than in the past. But since no one has ever overdosed on marijuana, it’s difficult to say why that matters. Yes, if someone has a history of mental illness, it’s not that smart to experiment with the cannabinoid receptors in the brain. But it isn’t smart for such people to take any drugs — or too much alcohol — for that matter. For most people, stronger pot merely translates into a need for less of it to get the same effect. Too much and you’ll likely nod off — and wake up later with no hangover. If pubs served pot rather than beer, crime rates would plummet.
Americans, for whom the use of marijuana is almost a rite of passage in most colleges, know all this. And at some point they stopped pretending otherwise. The past three presidents smoked marijuana in their earlier days, even if only one has openly written about it. (Obama, when asked the Clinton question — if he had inhaled — responded: “I thought that was the point.”) In an online press conference with his younger supporters, the first question was about whether legalising and taxing pot would be a good thing to help raise revenues. Obama laughed it off. With an annual deficit of more than a trillion dollars, he may not be able to laugh it off much longer.
The key to the shift has been the emphasis on marijuana’s medical properties. Human beings have used marijuana as medicine for millennia. It was once sold in the States by Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical manufacturer. Allowing this compassionate use for a few soon revealed, accidentally, how harmless it is. It is not chemically addictive, although some mild withdrawal can happen if you are a regular pot-smoker and go cold turkey. Its side-effects are minimal compared with those of most authorised drugs for similar conditions. It is far less addictive than tobacco or alcohol. It leads to no measurable degree of antisocial behaviour, as is the case with, say, crystal meth or cocaine or heroin. Many of its users are successful, productive members of society who simply prefer it to alcohol as a relaxant in the evening or as a way to get through cancer treatment.
Denying Aids patients a tool to stay alive tips the balance. I have one friend who would never have been able to tolerate the medications that saved his life without it. That’s pretty persuasive stuff and lots of people have similar first-hand experiences. A gateway drug? Yes, many users of hard drugs smoked pot in the first place. But almost all started out with alcohol as well — and that is not illegal.
Of course, nothing is inevitable. The police still police it and hundreds of thousands of Americans — disproportionately black and poor — are in jail for it. Los Angeles’s failure to regulate adequately its hundreds of dispensaries may lead to connections with organised crime that could come back to delegitimise the whole thing.
I give it a couple of years to become a non-issue or to go into reverse. And my bet is that in a decade’s time, the banning of cannabis will seem as strange as the banning of alcohol. In the end, unnecessary prohibition undermines itself. And this time around, there are millions of cancer and HIV patients who are on the side of legalising and some truly desperate branches of government looking to see what they can tax next. In fact, I’ll go further: sooner rather than later, marijuana may be more acceptable than tobacco.
The need for taboos is eternal. But the object of the taboo is always shifting. The age of tobacco may be ending; and the millennium of marijuana may be about to begin.
Source
On The Quiet, The US is Legalising Marijuana
....thanks Puffin13.
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tuttiflutes
- Posts: 502
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- Location: Living the Amsterdam Dream
what's up w/Breckinridge? i just heard it's legal now...???!!!geoffk wrote:Got another dispensary within walking distance last week.
MOVING SOON!!!
Donkey smell.
Wow! I hadn't heard that one yet. Which is funny because they didn't want any dispensaries. I think Breck is probably the biggest of the stoner ski towns, judging by the amount of head shops and stickers plastered on street signs. I'm still hesitant to get a med card due to possible government changes in the future as well as the Colorado state attorney saying he doesn't like the the way things are proceeding. I might be paranoid or pessimistic, but I'm expecting a backlash.codejd wrote:what's up w/Breckinridge? i just heard it's legal now...???!!!geoffk wrote:Got another dispensary within walking distance last week.
MOVING SOON!!!
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tuttiflutes
- Posts: 502
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- Location: Living the Amsterdam Dream
Breckenridge is quite small...I was there in summer...Saw some NRO concerts..Way too Rocky!codejd wrote:what's up w/Breckinridge? i just heard it's legal now...???!!!geoffk wrote:Got another dispensary within walking distance last week.
MOVING SOON!!!
I think up to an oz is legal..
Tutti
May you shit rise up & KISS you on the face
Breckenridge Voters OK Marijuana Decriminalization
Breckenridge Voters OK Marijuana Decriminalization
BRECKENRIDGE — Breckenridge residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and paraphernalia Tuesday under town law. In early returns, some 72 percent of voters approved the measure.
The vote means that, effective Jan. 1, people 21 and up in Breckenridge will be able to legally possess one ounce or less of the drug.
Possession remains illegal under state law, but Breckenridge Police Chief Rick Holman said his department will “still have the ability to exercise discretion.”
“It's never been something that we've spent a lot of time on, so I don't expect this to be a big change in how we really do business,” he said.
Currently, the petty, non-jailable offense under town code carries a maximum $100 fine. In 2008, Breckenridge Police Department ticketed 10 people under the town marijuana possession law, according to BPD ticket statistics.
For drug paraphernalia — which carries the same penalty — four were ticketed in 2008.
Under the state law, BPD issued three tickets for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. Holman said that after Jan. 1, issuance of tickets under state law will “vary dependent on the situation.”
“We'll still have tools at our disposal,” he said.
The decriminalization won't change laws prohibiting smoking in public, use by minors or driving under the influence.
In 2006, 72 percent of Breckenridge voters supported the unsuccessful Amendment 44, which had language similar to the town initiative but applied to the entire state.
Arguments for decriminalization included the impact of possession on one's criminal record, which can affect job opportunities and student loans.
In 2005, Denver became the first major city to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana after voters approved legislation similar to that in Breckenridge.
And like many other towns in the state, Breckenridge could soon be home to a medical marijuana dispensary. The town passed a set of regulations for such businesses in October, and the dispensaries already exist in Frisco and Silverthorne.
Holman said that while his department may still ticket people for possessing marijuana, people who want to smoke it legally can obtain a state-issued medical marijuana card without much difficulty.
Source
BRECKENRIDGE — Breckenridge residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and paraphernalia Tuesday under town law. In early returns, some 72 percent of voters approved the measure.
The vote means that, effective Jan. 1, people 21 and up in Breckenridge will be able to legally possess one ounce or less of the drug.
Possession remains illegal under state law, but Breckenridge Police Chief Rick Holman said his department will “still have the ability to exercise discretion.”
“It's never been something that we've spent a lot of time on, so I don't expect this to be a big change in how we really do business,” he said.
Currently, the petty, non-jailable offense under town code carries a maximum $100 fine. In 2008, Breckenridge Police Department ticketed 10 people under the town marijuana possession law, according to BPD ticket statistics.
For drug paraphernalia — which carries the same penalty — four were ticketed in 2008.
Under the state law, BPD issued three tickets for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. Holman said that after Jan. 1, issuance of tickets under state law will “vary dependent on the situation.”
“We'll still have tools at our disposal,” he said.
The decriminalization won't change laws prohibiting smoking in public, use by minors or driving under the influence.
In 2006, 72 percent of Breckenridge voters supported the unsuccessful Amendment 44, which had language similar to the town initiative but applied to the entire state.
Arguments for decriminalization included the impact of possession on one's criminal record, which can affect job opportunities and student loans.
In 2005, Denver became the first major city to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana after voters approved legislation similar to that in Breckenridge.
And like many other towns in the state, Breckenridge could soon be home to a medical marijuana dispensary. The town passed a set of regulations for such businesses in October, and the dispensaries already exist in Frisco and Silverthorne.
Holman said that while his department may still ticket people for possessing marijuana, people who want to smoke it legally can obtain a state-issued medical marijuana card without much difficulty.
Source
Cannabis is The Tree of Life
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tuttiflutes
- Posts: 502
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Very enjoyable reading and with every one of these articles I see, and there seems to be more and more in the press recently, it brings me another glimmer of hope.
Interesting however that whilst the Netherlands seems to be tightening its marijuana laws the US is clearly on the way to decriminalization or legalization. I am certainly starting to feel within my lifetime that Marijuana will no longer be considered a drug (at least not a harmful, illegal one).
Peace
Interesting however that whilst the Netherlands seems to be tightening its marijuana laws the US is clearly on the way to decriminalization or legalization. I am certainly starting to feel within my lifetime that Marijuana will no longer be considered a drug (at least not a harmful, illegal one).
...At least one thing's for sure, the US says 'jump' and a large proportion of the world says 'how high?', if America continues in its current trend of how the public, and more importantly politicians, view marijuana then at least there's hope for the UKdoobydave wrote:I'm disappointed that you Yanks are taking the lead in this issue in comparison with the UK. I always thought we were ten years behind you, but only with the bad things.
I shall have to take my prejudices elsewhere....
Peace
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cantona7
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- Location: Seattle- trips to the 'dam, 7 by the time i caught up with freedom i was out of breathe
i had no idea we had dispenseries here in wash until a week or two ago. i thoufght you had to grow your own,get if off the street or get a grower assigned to you or find one. My friend just got his card and goes toa dispensery in west seattle. he was actually going to drop me off some hash last week but i missed his call. supposedly we're getting more lenient medical mj laws similar to cali so maybe i could get my card for anxiety,depression, or insomnia. the dispenserys are nice but the deal breaker for me is the fact you are exempt from on the job drug tests if your a card holder.
educating myself and waiting for the next trip.
instagram @shooter_mcdabbin
instagram @shooter_mcdabbin
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metal4mullets
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