Legalization Needs More Respect.

[greenbuddha]

Even William F. Buckley, a staunch conservative said it should be 'legalized'.

 

 

US NM: Editorial: Pot Legalization Needs To Be Taken Seriously

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URL: http://www.mapinc.or...1/n155/a06.html

Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

Votes: 1

Pubdate: Sun, 6 Mar 2011

Source: Portales News-Tribune (NM)

Copyright: 2011 Portales News-Tribune

Contact:male2('ray_sullivan','link.freedom.com'); ray_sullivan@link.freedom.com

Website: http://www.pntonline.com/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3452

Referenced: The Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act 2012 http://mapinc.org/url/B4ApPTE4 <P class=clipping>

 

POT LEGALIZATION NEEDS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

 

Proposition 19, an initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, was soundly defeated in the November election after California's political establishment, Democratic and Republican, came out strongly against it. We had concerns with a provision related to the ability of employers to combat marijuana use at the workplace, but we are glad to see that advocates are planning to take another stab at the issue for the November 2012 election.

 

It really is time to look at ways to reduce the drug war and all the costs, injustices and assaults on individual liberty that this war entails. A starting point could be marijuana legalization, given its wide use and nonaddictive nature, although the devil always is in the details.

 

The Marijuana Regulation and Tax Act of 2012 would "repeal all California state laws that prohibit marijuana possession, sales, transportation, production, processing and cultivation by people 21 years of age and older." It does not repeal laws regarding "driving a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana; using or being under the influence of marijuana in public or in the workplace; smoking marijuana in the presence of, or providing, transferring or selling marijuana to, a person under the age of 21."

 

Opponents in the Prop.19 debate mainly argued that marijuana legalization would lead to widespread drug use and spark a crime wave. As advocates for a freer society, we do not believe that government action - legalization or prohibition of substances - is the key to determining how people behave. If government bans produced improved behavior, then alcohol Prohibition would have been a rousing success and all the many efforts by the environmental community to ban things ( plastic bags, etc. ) would be legislative models for action.

 

Furthermore, marijuana use essentially is already decriminalized in California, which defangs the idea that legalization will take us into some new and dangerous territory.

 

Beyond the freedom issue, there are practical reasons for legalizing marijuana, and other drugs for that matter. We don't condone drug use but, instead, recognize that government bans drive up the cost of these products and thereby create strong incentives for the most brutal crime syndicates to become involved in their production and distribution.

 

That point was rarely discussed during the Prop. 19 debate. Another missing point, made eloquently by the late conservative writer William F. Buckley, was that the drug war leads to wanton violations of civil rights and procedures - civil forfeiture, for example - typically found in less-free nations. We recall a National Review editorial from editor Buckley's days : "( I )t is our judgment that the war on drugs has failed, that it is diverting intelligent energy away from how to deal with the problem of addiction, that it is wasting our resources, and that it is encouraging civil, judicial and penal procedures associated with police states. We all agree on movement toward legalization, even though we may differ on just how far."

 

We're glad to see the new proposition circulated in the hope that some of the above issues can be seriously debated.

MAP posted-by: Richard Lake

[Letterhead954]

Interesting post. I recently found in my basement a copy of National Review from 1996. The title on the cover was "The War On Drugs Is Lost". It included 7 essays by prominent people on why prohibition has not, and can not, work. I contacted NR to see if that issue had been digitized, as I wanted to make it available to folks on this site. Unfortunately, it hasn't been, and they wouldn't permit it to be posted online anyway. Makes you wonder how anyone who knows the difference between their butt and a hole in the ground could support prohibition. I wish more of my fellow conservatives had read that issue.

[Dr. Bob]

When every family in Michigan has a member or knows a solidly qualified, card holding patient, we will begin to enter the mainstream. Until then we are still on the fringe. Right now our main priorities should be to hold steady to what we have, and slowly build our numbers. We are at 50 to 60 K and need 8 to 10 times that many, so get out there and start locating, educating and encouraging well qualified patients and get them signed up.

 

The key right now is getting as many bullet proof certs (solid records, middle aged, respectable and clearly qualified in the eyes of the media) as possible to show examples of what is good about MMJ. Every hidden camera report on a no record mill, every 18 year old kid with a stubbed toe that gets a card, etc hurts us- we don't need empty numbers. We want to spend the next 5 years making MMJ mainstream here in MI and the next 10 years working on getting as many states as possible signed on- all the time holding out MI as an example of how to do it right.

 

Let's learn from the bad press we see about not only MI, but other states, and do what we can to overcome each objection. We need to understand that cannabis has been illegal for generations, and therefore the users were criminals. It is going to take YEARS of a positive example and increasing numbers to overcome that mind set. Let's get to work policing ourselves and showing the positive side of the issue.

 

Protest rallies are fine, but they are gone from the memory of the politicians within a week. The first meaningful step towards decriminalization and eventual legalization is going to be when every prosecutor in this state comes to the realization that they cannot find a jury pool that doesn't contain a majority of people that are related to or know a card holding patient. Then and only then will they stop the harassment they are currently getting away with.

 

When our Oakland sheriff can sit in his office and say the protesters outside should direct their efforts to Lansing, picketing his office is useless. When he goes home at night and his children talk about their teachers and friends parents that are legal and helped by MMJ and ask why he is being an a s s about this, and his campaign manager talks about his loss of support, that will make a difference in his behavior.

 

Dr. Bob

[rockinlespaul]

When every family in Michigan has a member or knows a solidly qualified, card holding patient, we will begin to enter the mainstream. Until then we are still on the fringe. Right now our main priorities should be to hold steady to what we have, and slowly build our numbers. We are at 50 to 60 K and need 8 to 10 times that many, so get out there and start locating, educating and encouraging well qualified patients and get them signed up.

 

The key right now is getting as many bullet proof certs (solid records, middle aged, respectable and clearly qualified in the eyes of the media) as possible to show examples of what is good about MMJ. Every hidden camera report on a no record mill, every 18 year old kid with a stubbed toe that gets a card, etc hurts us- we don't need empty numbers. We want to spend the next 5 years making MMJ mainstream here in MI and the next 10 years working on getting as many states as possible signed on- all the time holding out MI as an example of how to do it right.

 

Let's learn from the bad press we see about not only MI, but other states, and do what we can to overcome each objection. We need to understand that cannabis has been illegal for generations, and therefore the users were criminals. It is going to take YEARS of a positive example and increasing numbers to overcome that mind set. Let's get to work policing ourselves and showing the positive side of the issue.

 

Protest rallies are fine, but they are gone from the memory of the politicians within a week. The first meaningful step towards decriminalization and eventual legalization is going to be when every prosecutor in this state comes to the realization that they cannot find a jury pool that doesn't contain a majority of people that are related to or know a card holding patient. Then and only then will they stop the harassment they are currently getting away with.

 

When our Oakland sheriff can sit in his office and say the protesters outside should direct their efforts to Lansing, picketing his office is useless. When he goes home at night and his children talk about their teachers and friends parents that are legal and helped by MMJ and ask why he is being an a s s about this, and his campaign manager talks about his loss of support, that will make a difference in his behavior.

 

Dr. Bob

 

Excellent post.

[greenbuddha]

The 'effort' is taking place on 'many' fronts.

 

And I myself, am 'active' on ALL of them, as I know many others are as well.

 

And Dr. Bob, get ready to defend the 'patient / doctor' relationship.

 

Because you WILL be dealing with it.

 

But I'm sure all of us will do everything we can to support you and the other 'good' doctors that are serving our community.

 

Thanks for the post.

[Dr. Bob]

The 'effort' is taking place on 'many' fronts.

 

And I myself, am 'active' on ALL of them, as I know many others are as well.

 

And Dr. Bob, get ready to defend the 'patient / doctor' relationship.

 

Because you WILL be dealing with it.

 

But I'm sure all of us will do everything we can to support you and the other 'good' doctors that are serving our community.

 

Thanks for the post.

 

Trust me, I know, there is much work to be done. I've followed the court cases and bills, and the boards and understand that we are under the microscope. I look at every cert as something I have to defend in court. As a result, I make sure it is so solid that I won't have to beg for understanding, I will demand respect for the certification because it is clear cut, well documented and each and every point made by Redden and other opinions was followed and documented. I suspect if that was the way we all did it, we would be in a stronger position.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dr. Bob

[Dr. Bob]

Excellent post.

 

Thanks, I really think it is an important consideration in the big picture. Numbers and 'becoming mainstream' is the key to success, in my opinion.

 

On criticism of the opinions expressed in here- Far too often when we have a setback, we post and post on why it was 'wrong' or 'didn't follow the law'. How does that really help? What we need to consider is 'what lesson did we learn' or 'how can we change that perception'. To do otherwise lowers us to the level of the prosecutor that claims the voters 'didn't understand what they voted for' or 'didn't intend for the act to me used that way'.

 

My opinions are not the only ones in here, and all have a place, but this is just an observation. Take it for what you will.

 

 

Dr. Bob

[stickey1]

When every family in Michigan has a member or knows a solidly qualified, card holding patient, we will begin to enter the mainstream. Until then we are still on the fringe. Right now our main priorities should be to hold steady to what we have, and slowly build our numbers. We are at 50 to 60 K and need 8 to 10 times that many, so get out there and start locating, educating and encouraging well qualified patients and get them signed up.

 

The key right now is getting as many bullet proof certs (solid records, middle aged, respectable and clearly qualified in the eyes of the media) as possible to show examples of what is good about MMJ. Every hidden camera report on a no record mill, every 18 year old kid with a stubbed toe that gets a card, etc hurts us- we don't need empty numbers. We want to spend the next 5 years making MMJ mainstream here in MI and the next 10 years working on getting as many states as possible signed on- all the time holding out MI as an example of how to do it right.

 

Let's learn from the bad press we see about not only MI, but other states, and do what we can to overcome each objection. We need to understand that cannabis has been illegal for generations, and therefore the users were criminals. It is going to take YEARS of a positive example and increasing numbers to overcome that mind set. Let's get to work policing ourselves and showing the positive side of the issue.

 

Protest rallies are fine, but they are gone from the memory of the politicians within a week. The first meaningful step towards decriminalization and eventual legalization is going to be when every prosecutor in this state comes to the realization that they cannot find a jury pool that doesn't contain a majority of people that are related to or know a card holding patient. Then and only then will they stop the harassment they are currently getting away with.

 

When our Oakland sheriff can sit in his office and say the protesters outside should direct their efforts to Lansing, picketing his office is useless. When he goes home at night and his children talk about their teachers and friends parents that are legal and helped by MMJ and ask why he is being an a s s about this, and his campaign manager talks about his loss of support, that will make a difference in his behavior.

 

Dr. Bob

[stickey1]

Awesome post this is exactly what needs to be done the press is always looking for the bad apples and don't give real patients with real relief a chance to tell there story.State of Michigan's big disappointment is they did not figure out a way to make more money on it we need them to get dependent on that money that they do get from us patients.

[greenbuddha]

Trust me, I know, there is much work to be done. I've followed the court cases and bills, and the boards and understand that we are under the microscope. I look at every cert as something I have to defend in court. As a result, I make sure it is so solid that I won't have to beg for understanding, I will demand respect for the certification because it is clear cut, well documented and each and every point made by Redden and other opinions was followed and documented. I suspect if that was the way we all did it, we would be in a stronger position.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dr. Bob

 

I'm sure we will ALL get our chance to 'stand up' or turn and walk away very soon.

 

But NOW is the time to make those choices.

 

ALL 'patients' as WELL as those of us that might be 'professionals' need to keep in mind the strong influence both the STATE and FEDERAL legislative process can have upon our lives AND livilihoods.

 

The momentum of our 'efforts' is not just limited to the 'local' level... anyone that does not understand THAT... does not truly understand the issue at hand.

 

We ALL need to keep up our work... no matter how GREAT or SMALL we think our efforts might be.

[MORE COWBELL]

its all a psychological warfare game for the control of earths inhabitants minds

[greenbuddha]

its all a psychological warfare game for the control of earths inhabitants minds

 

In NEON brother, from the back of a zooming jet.