A Sea Of Red

Pat Robertson:

"I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol," Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. "I've never used marijuana and I don't intend to, but it's just one of those things that I think: This war on drugs just hasn't succeeded."

“It’s completely out of control,” Mr. Robertson said. “Prisons are being overcrowded with juvenile offenders having to do with drugs. And the penalties, the maximums, some of them could get 10 years for possession of a joint of marijuana. It makes no sense at all.”

NYTIMES

Oh goodness... I'm afraid to say this but... I think he's right.

jbock13 wrote:Oh goodness... I'm afraid to say this but... I think he's right.

Your secret is safe with me. See you at the Hookah Lounge with SLY

So now everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon with Wacky Pat. Funny how that works. Maybe he could have Tommy Chong on the 700 Club to discuss it.

flamehunter wrote:So now everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon with Wacky Pat. Funny how that works. Maybe he could have Tommy Chong on the 700 Club to discuss it.

Sean Spicoli?

Pat Robertson makes a logical, public statement? Clearly the apocalypse is upon us, maybe the Mayans are right with their calendar ending this year...

I had to read the name three different times before I believed it. Finally even the crazy people are catching on the some logic. This is something that I hope happens in my life time. Being a Libertarian I strongly believe this is a states issue.

I agree with him. That doesn't feel right.

lynchburgwildcats wrote:Pat Robertson makes a logical, public statement? Clearly the apocalypse is upon us, maybe the Mayans are right with their calendar ending this year...

Why doesn't e just pray for another hurricane to come destroy all the drug fields?

Wow...said it on the same day I dreamt a tsunami wiped out Virginia Beach.

I agree with him. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone now.

*Note: unlike some people, I don't believe my dreams are a prediction of impending disaster.

If the only reason he is giving that Pot should be legalized is over crowded prisons, I cant agree.

I think we take a different approach to the overcrowdedness.

Still not sure what I think about legalizing MarryJane. Pain Pills seem to be much more of a problem these days. If we legalize pot and tax it, we could be out of our multi trillion dollar debt in a few months.

R i wrote:If the only reason he is giving that Pot should be legalized is over crowded prisons, I cant agree.

I think we take a different approach to the overcrowdedness.

Still not sure what I think about legalizing MarryJane. Pain Pills seem to be much more of a problem these days. If we legalize pot and tax it, we could be out of our multi trillion dollar debt in a few months.

Based on the history of alcohol following the repeal of prohibition, there would continue to be a substantial gray market for pot just to avoid taxation.

olldflame wrote:Based on the history of alcohol following the repeal of prohibition, there would continue to be a substantial gray market for pot just to avoid taxation.

While there may indeed be a grey market for alcohol, it's nowhere near significant enough to say that the repeal didn't help the economy. The same could be said for marijuana. Tax it at a high rate and debt will drop fairly quickly. Sure, there will be some who still sell it illegally, but why would a buyer risk it when it's legally available? I know I've never been tempted to go to a speakeasy to avoid paying a slightly higher price at a bar.

If it is legal why buy it when you can grow it? Are you going to make growing it illegal? It's easier to grow then tobacco, at least that's what Cider says.

Yes, we all know you posted this story so you could convince us of your libertarian ideals. I don't think starting with Pat Roberston was the way to go.

Purple Haize wrote:If it is legal why buy it when you can grow it? Are you going to make growing it illegal? It's easier to grow then tobacco, at least that's what Cider says.

Maybe they can sell personal grower's licenses? You can also brew your own beer. It's not that difficult and the costs aren't prohibitive, but the majority of people aren't doing that either.

If they legalize pot, the dealers are just going to deal heavier drugs illegally. There will always be a market for buying drugs on the street. I think for some it's also the rush of "sneaking around the man" & hoping they don't get caught. Do you want the recreational user buy pot, or buying more dangerous/addictive drugs?

If we really wanted to stop the flow of these goods - we'd just firebomb the crap out of the pot fields. It's not like they're that hard to find...

It'd certainly be much cheaper and much more effective. I know I'm a bit radical on these topics...

blwall1416 wrote:If they legalize pot, the dealers are just going to deal heavier drugs illegally. There will always be a market for buying drugs on the street. I think for some it's also the rush of "sneaking around the man" & hoping they don't get caught. Do you want the recreational user buy pot, or buying more dangerous/addictive drugs?

I agree with you. Give an inch take a mile seems to be the attitude of our society.

But what countries have legalized? Have they seen a kickback, higher crime? more drug realted deaths? Would the same thing happen in the US?

The only reason I am asking is because it could add a ton of cash to the economy, and reduce the jail population a little, and I have always wanted to try it. I kid.

i think we should legalize pot and i have a non well thought out idea that i think may be effectivve.

when you turn 18. it becomes legal to smoke. when you turn 25 it becomes illegal again. why? because its time to grow up and stop being a loser. when you turn 65 you are able to smoke again. however here is the catch. you either get your pot license or your drivers license. not both.

RubberMallet wrote:i think we should legalize pot and i have a non well thought out idea

This pretty much goes hand-in-hand.

ALUmnus wrote:Yes, we all know you posted this story so you could convince us of your libertarian ideals. I don't think starting with Pat Roberston was the way to go.

I used Robertson because he pretty much aligns with Liberty...

I like the idea of legalizing the drug because I believe in FREEDOM. I think a little common sense would help out a great deal when it comes to this issue. How many people have died as a result of Marijuana? How many people are in jail because of something as incidental as marijuana?

I am looking at the economics side as well because it is just an added bonus. What is the cost of keeping people in jail for petty drug charges? What is the cost of enforcing the drug war?

Portugal has completely decriminalized drugs for recreational purposes and replaced it with a therapy to help people get off drugs!! LINK

At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to "drug tourists" and exacerbate Portugal's drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe.

five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.

"It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.

Portugal's case study is of some interest to lawmakers in the U.S., confronted now with the violent overflow of escalating drug gang wars in Mexico. The U.S. has long championed a hard-line drug policy, supporting only international agreements that enforce drug prohibition and imposing on its citizens some of the world's harshest penalties for drug possession and sales. Yet America has the highest rates of cocaine and marijuana use in the world, and while most of the E.U. (including Holland) has more liberal drug laws than the U.S., it also has less drug use.

There is lots of information on the web about drugs....What actually got me started on decriminalizing drugs was from LU's very own Dr. Saxon.

jmdickens wrote:I used Robertson because he pretty much aligns with Liberty...

HAH!!
That one gave me the chuckles.

Do you actually have an argument??

RubberMallet wrote:i think we should legalize pot and i have a non well thought out idea that i think may be effectivve.

when you turn 18. it becomes legal to smoke. when you turn 25 it becomes illegal again. why? because its time to grow up and stop being a loser. when you turn 65 you are able to smoke again. however here is the catch. you either get your pot license or your drivers license. not both.

this may well be the single best take on the subject I've heard yet.

Honestly, usually I couldn't give a krap what people do in their personal lives but there's already too many 30 yr old j3rkoff loser stoners laying around all day not working. I'm telling you this country is SCREWED 30 yrs from now when we all want to retire - the amount of people gainfully employed will not be adequate to support the economy the way we're going.