The laws against their products just make them rich. The threat of being killed or imprisoned just gives them a rush. Their reputation for ruthlessness just gets them laid. The cartels truly have only one thing to fear and that is the day when their monopoly is destroyed:
See, this is the mental exercise everyone needs to perform. If you're undecided about legalization, then try to put the politics aside for a moment and just think for yourself about what legalization would mean for the cartels. They have to lose something don't they? Let's please stop acting like this is an all-or-nothing proposition. If we can take some money from the cartels, that's awesome. We don't have to destroy them to make it worthwhile; we need only save a few lives from the cartels' brutal violence to achieve a massive victory.
Anyone who hates drug cartels owes it to themselves to muster the courage and curiosity to give this a chance.
Legalizing marijuana wouldn't end the criminal drug trade and its violence. Addicts still would crave heroin, cocaine and other hard narcotics. But decriminalizing [he must mean legalizing] marijuana would be a body blow to drug cartels. Half the annual income for Mexico's violent drug smugglers comes from marijuana, one Mexican official told the Wall Street Journal last year. Imagine how many smugglers and street-corner reefer hustlers would be put out of business. [Chicago Sun-Times]
See, this is the mental exercise everyone needs to perform. If you're undecided about legalization, then try to put the politics aside for a moment and just think for yourself about what legalization would mean for the cartels. They have to lose something don't they? Let's please stop acting like this is an all-or-nothing proposition. If we can take some money from the cartels, that's awesome. We don't have to destroy them to make it worthwhile; we need only save a few lives from the cartels' brutal violence to achieve a massive victory.
Anyone who hates drug cartels owes it to themselves to muster the courage and curiosity to give this a chance.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
So true....
I hear many legalization opponents talking about the need to keep marijuana illegal in order to "protect the children." What those people don't understand are the basic principals of the legalization effort. 1. Who would you rather have selling an intoxicant to your children? A store employee who could lose their livelihood for selling to underage persons or a dealer on the street who doesn't care? 2. By keeping marijuana illegal, you are only aiding the drug cartels financially. The longer marijuana stays illegal, the larger and more powerful these drug cartels grow, the more weapons they are able to buy, and the more likely our children will get hurt in the crossfire, or worse yet, sucked into the lifestyle by smooth talking drug dealers and cartel members promising riches beyond their imagination in exchange for a risky lifestyle. 3. By keeping marijuana illegal, we are showing our children that alcohol is THE safer alternative when it isn't. If marijuana were legal, our children could grow up with a safer alternative to alcohol, lessening the social cost of indulging in an intoxicant. Anyone who knows the facts, the straight facts not lies, about marijuana knows the only way to protect our children is to legalize cannabis. If we don't do this for our children, we have failed as responsible adults.
True,So true
You put forward a well reasoned argument for the (Re)-legalization of Cannabis, but this "war on Drugs" was never about truth or reason, it is about money and power.
Time to stop doing what ain't working and try something different.
What i don't understand is
What i don't understand is that these guys saying "ABSOLUTELY NOT" about legalizing it haven't even touched a joint in their lifetime! As they sit back drinking their vodka and smoke their cigarettes(which is proven together to kill more than 500,000 lives each year), meanwhile the marijuana death toll is still ZERO!!!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT WHEN THE LEGAL THINGS WE CAN BUY ARE KILLING US ALL!!! Legalizing marijuana will only help bring in more money for the U.S. and as they said above save many lives!
What about the details?
If marijuana is legalized in Californian will the cartels then be able to import it into the state legally? Like tequila. Then wouldn't California just be the gateway to the rest of the U.S. for marijuana trafficking? Essentially, bring the cartels exporting business from Mexico up into "legal" California. Since its still illegal in the rest of the lower 47 the cartels will have a inside state from which to run their illegal business. Just because they can't make their high returns in Cali doesn't mean they won't make those huge incomes in the other states. It just means it might be a little easier now because they won't have the hassle of the California/Mexico boarder. That means we could have a territory war in California to see which cartel owns the California import/export trade. I support the legalization but I'm curious about the whole logistics of legalization just for one state. It sounds great on paper but what about all the little details and responsibility that comes with legalization?
legalization
if legailzed, anyone at any age can use it or grow it. under regulation, the limits assure that some reason is applied.
The cartels would lose money because why would anyone buy mexican weed when good weed would be available at a reasonable cost? People who grow could sell it to a coop and make a proft..and those who cannot would pay far less than they do now. prices would drop as open competition settles the market to a reasonable degree.
pot that is high grade but not exotic would cost no more than 200 per oz...and lesser qualities would get less money, of course. someone could no doubt find bargains and be able to medicate for about a 4th or 5th of what they pay now.
Thats how the cartels lose...they cannot sell an inferior product when competition is besting them...and the competition doesn't have to smuggle their products over the border!1
California Legalization
Maybe some here have not read the recent bill for legalization in California. In the bill it will allow individuals (21 and older) to grow their own plants as long as they are confined within a 25sq ft area. The plants are for personal consumption only and are not to be resold. You may personally possess any amount that you grow withing your home, but you can only purchase(from a licensed seller) or transport one ounce. That is a key point, retail sellers will need to be licensed as deemed appropriate by local (city/county) governments. These local governments will also control the cultivation, processing, distribution, transportation and sale of marijuana. Retailers may not sell to anyone under 21, cannot sell over 1 oz to an individual, and they are punished (section 11301 (g)) for not obtaining the marijuana lawfully. They will be required to buy from approved growers/distributors.
I have read the bill, and it does not mention anything about importing drugs from out of state/country but I imagine that it would remain illegal, because they would be importing unregulated/unlicensed marijuana into the state.
Just like in the movie "Pineapple Express" dealing with you local stoner drug dealer is usually no fun. So, who would continue to go to their local dealer, who has one, maybe two, kinds of pot for you to choose from, when you can go to your local (I dunno), liquor store (or something like that) and choose from a variety of state certified organically grown packs of joints just like you would cigarettes. BOTTOM LINE, THIS BILL WILL TAKE AWAY 50% OF THEIR PROFITS FROM CALIFORNIA!
The above rant is in regards to taking the pot business away from the cartels only, and says nothing about the tax benefits, law enforcement/overcrowded prison benefit, or the excellent controls that are built into the bill (no smoking in public, no smoking around children, etc), and the possible medical benefits (lower use of prescription drugs, alcohol, reduced stress, etc)
Anyone that lives in California, is 18 yrs or older and agrees with what I have said here MUST REGISTER TO VOTE AND THEN ACTUALLY VOTE IN NOVEMBER
Stop Prohibition
Do it California! Then the rest of the moronic states will soon follow.
What will the poor DEA agents do then? They'll have to find honest work, I guess.
Personally, I have no faith
Personally, I have no faith in our government officials. We can go on at length about the positives of legalization. In the end though I am afraid it is just a pipe dream (no pun intednded). Does nobody know the real reasons it hasn't been legalized? It is not the hypocritical misinformed fraction of the public. Lord knows the government does not truly care about the average person's feelings on the subject. Why do you say? Well how much money does each one of you personally donate to their campaigns? I am sure it is not as much as the drug companies producing anti-depressant, anti-nausea, pain meds, etc..... My dad who has stage three pancreatic cancer has found marijuana to be a miracle drug. It deals with the nausea, increases his appetite (which was non-existent due to chemotherapy), helps with pain, and maybe most importantly helps to control the overwhelming depression associated with facing his own mortality every single day. He is taking a cocktail of over 7 different drugs per day (with numerous, often dangerous side effects) to deal with what one naturally grown herb can take care of . Point is that the science supports the legalization of marijuana. Conversely, the hit the drug industry would take is enough to halt everything. I envy those of you in California, and other states that at least have medical marijuana legalized. Soon is it starts going to far though the real "movers and shakers" of the U.S.A will intervene, and stop everything in its tracks. I am afraid that some things will never change. The best bet for any of us who feel strongly on the subject is to give up, and leave the country. We can plead and protest until we are blue in the face, but until we come up with millions of dollars every 2 years to bribe politicians (yes that is what these lobbyists are doing) we will never see results.
Wait...you're asking Americans to think?
I think over 50% of the blame goes to us for allowing this reefer madness to continue. Think about all your stoner friends. No seriously, sit there and actually think about every single of one your stoner friends. How many of them said "I don't really follow the legislation. I just smoke it." or "I don't really get involved in politics." THAT'S where our problem lies. Not with some Mexican-Drug-Cartel-Owned member of congress or some legislator sold to Big Pharma. People don't care, especially stoners, about marijuana legislation. There are a few of us keeping up with the latest information and even fewer contacting our legislators. Meanwhile, the MSM (main stream media) is trying to paint marijuana legalization as if there's actually some sort of 'debate'; they are trying to say America is divided on this 'issue.' I got news for ya, WE ARE NOT DIVIDED ON THIS 'ISSUE.' It's just that over half of us are just content to keep buying from our dealer or our friends and don't really see a problem. Let's make marijuana illegal for all you out there that are just content with either growing and selling or buying from your friends. Maybe you should put down that joint and not pick it up until we made serious legal strides. Make you work for the prize.
Be careful what you wish for...
While I'm not convinced the cartels derive as much of their revenue from cannabis as is suggested, let's just say they do. As any business faced with a lost revenue stream, they will seek to replace those deficiencies through an increase in the sales and marketing of other products: in the case of the cartels, that would be heroin, cocaine and meth - the most lethal corner of their business.
This increase will undoubtedly lead to more violence, more death and more disease. And when the public, to say nothing of the prohibitionists, witness this, the march to re-criminalize cannabis will begin with renewed vigor. And they will have a strong argument, especially as one principle mantra of cannabis legalization is crime reduction.
This likely result is just one reason the incremental approach toward drug policy reform, exemplified by medical marijuana, is the wrong strategy. And the defense for employing such a strategy; that the American public simply isn't ready to have the broader debate on full repeal, is becoming tired and increasingly out of touch. Poll after poll regarding the success or failure of the drug war indicates an overwhelming majority (76% in one Zogby poll) believe it has failed.
It would appear the American public is ready for such a discussion. Could it be that our drug policy reform leaders are simply not ready to make it?
Daniel Williams
what Daniel said
Heroin / cocaine / Meth sales will never replace the income that the cartels get from marijuana. You do not understand that most Cannabis users do not want those harder drugs, and no amount of "marketing" is going to make your average pot smoker begin to use Heroin-Cocaine-Meth.
Your assumptions are really Off the Wall.
I disagree
I did not say that heroin, cocaine and meth wold replace lost cannabis revenues - just that an increase in their marketing would result. And I didn't say the increased marketing would be aimed solely at cannabis consumers (although cocaine and pot have been dates to the same dance before). The marketing will be to the existing users who, as is well established, are responsible for most new users.
My assumptions are based on economic fact and history. What seems off the wall, if not completely detached, is your belief that the cartels will just roll over and play nice when threatened. Haven't you been reading the paper lately?
Daniel Williams
Daniel!
You make the assumption that most citizens, given the chance, will use the harder drugs! Really? I think I remember quite a few people telling me that they never like cannabis and would not try it again! Your attitude assumes that people are not intelligent enough to realize the dangers and never use any of those hard drugs. I refer to the poll on LEAP. 99% said they would not use hard drugs, even if they were made legal. Most people are smart enough to never try those dangerous drugs.. It's only the real dopes that screw up!
Maybe if kids were not told that pot would kill them, they would believe us when we told them the real dangers of those other, hard drugs! The DARE program has screwed it all up!
No I don't...
Where in my comments do I say that, given the chance, most citizens will use harder drugs? Or that people are not intelligent enough to realize the dangers of hard drugs?
I agree that over 98% of Americans will not suddenly run out and shoot heroin or snort coke when these drugs are legalized. So why is it that LEAP is the only drug policy reform group making the claim? Where are the other leaders? They're fixated on medical marijuana, an idea that is increasingly coming under attack as a Trojan Horse for full legalization.
Daniel Williams
I agree, the focus should come off MJ
only, and we (like StoptheDrugWar.org) NEED to start calling for repeal of all prohibition laws, period. Legalization of only marijuana could backfire on us.
I'm pro-choice on EVERYTHING!
LEAP
It is the only site where I saw that a poll was taken. They are not the only ones "making the claim". It is just common sense that the biggest proportion of cannabis smokers, are not going to be buying the hard drugs, no matter how much they are "marketed". Will it be the alcoholics that are the ones that turn to hard drugs?
And, now, I am really confused, with what you are trying to convey. (paraphrased) "If increased marketing of the hard drugs occur..... more people will use hard drugs, and the drug cartels will continue to be influential" ? Because, if most people won't use the hard drugs, then how could it be a, potential, problem?
Already, the drug cartels are, allegedly, involved with stealing oil and kidnapping. So, they have already branched out to cover their bases, if legalization takes palace. Then again,I won't pretend to know the minds of the leaders of the drug cartels.
Just sayin' and hoping I don't sound too dumb. I do understand your reason for the cautious approach to this situation.
LEAP of faith
LEAP advocates the repeal of drug prohibition - straight out. That's what I'm referring to, and what I mean by other drug policy reform leaders that won't make the same LEAP of faith.
And once again I'll say that many cannabis consumers also consume other drugs. Not saying all do, mind you, just that the two groups (cannabis users and hard drug users) are not mutually exclusive.
But in the final analysis, it's not about the drugs. It's the destabilizing effect on society that drug prohibition promotes, and whether or not the state can control our bodies.
Daniel Williams
poll
That was actually our poll, which LEAP was kind enough to link to. The question was my idea. :)
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2007/dec/05/poll_hard_drug_lega...
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
Maryjuana legilization
I agree. In recent polls, 1 in 5 americans admit to smoking pot on a regular basis. And sense the sales of harder drugs are not as high as maryjuana. there gona make less money. believe it or not cartels make about 30% of there revenues of maryjuana. its cheap to grow.
and everyone loves a little pot. So yes cartels will be impactly greatly with the legilization of pot.
good comment
I think over 50% of the blame goes to us ";
##############
There's a lot of truth in your comment,thank you.
I am waiting to see what happens IF any one of the west coast states passes their Legalization initiatives. What will be the response of our local, AND federal governments... I am afraid that as soon as it is clear that any such initiative is going to pass, some asshat politician will tie the whole thing up in the courts for the foreseeable future , and nothing will change.....BUT if one state had the balls to actually DO what the people say,and defy the feds,,,,well now, THAT will be one fine day for our "freedoms"..Let's all take note of how our servants serve U.S.
LEGALIZE ALL READY WE GET HI
LEGALIZE ALL READY WE GET HI NO MATTER WHAT 420
Daniel in denial
"The marketing will be to the existing users who, as is well established, are responsible for most new users."
#################################
That makes no sense at all,,,
All I know is my 65 years of experience with Cannabis and people who use Cannabis. I must have known hundreds of people who use or have used Cannabis, only ONE person I know went on to mess with harder drugs, Heroin in his case,and HIS life was already a mess so I was not surprised when I heard that he OD'd.
I will not argue that the cartels will just disappear , but your fear mongering is unfounded.
Sure I read the papers ,and the stories about the drug cartels violence today could have been written during Alcohol prohibition, same thing. WHAT did the Alcohol cartels do ?? Las Vegas Baby !
Can you truthfully say that what the government is doing is working ?????You seem to be arguing for it.
You're naive
The cartels will increase their marketing to existing users of heroin, cocaine and meth - but it's naive of you to believe a number of cannabis users won't become new customers.
How you can cypher from my comments here - or anywhere else - that I'm arguing for drug prohibition?!? If you've been consuming cannabis for 65 years, perhaps it's time to take a break...
Daniel Williams
All I'm sayin.....
I don't really give a crap what the cartels do in response to legalization. You say they will increase their marketing for the harder drugs to Cannabis users, WELL, whats keeping the Cannabis user today from becoming a heroin addict? I just don't see it happening, I think most people are smart enough to know the difference between Cannabis and Heroin , EVEN if our government doesn't. EVEN IF ,as you put it,"a number of cannabis users" decide they want to use crack / meth / heroin , why should we continue the current madness/ prohibition for the many who won't. AND I have 65 years of experience in and around Cannabis users , you call it naive, well what experience do you have that says otherwise?
Not trying to have a pissing contest here , this IS a conversation that WE Americans need to have, even if our "fearless leaders" don't have the backbone for it.
You still don't get it...
I don't know how to make it more plain: Faced with lost cannabis revenue, the cartels will increase their marketing of narcotics to those already consuming them, in the hopes that current customers will enlist new users. And, yes, there's a high probability that many of the newer customers will be cannabis users.
And do you actually believe those using narcotics don't also use cannabis? What planet are you from?!? And the fact that you don't "give a crap" what the cartels do in response to cannabis legalization reveals a callus disregard for your fellow man.
For the past 40+ years I've been paying close attention to the effects drugs and drug prohibition have had on American (and global) society. I've lectured on the subject dozens of times, both here and in Europe, and been interviewed on talk radio countless times. And I wrote a book, The Naked Truth About Drugs, making the case for repealing prohibition.
Now, all that may mean nothing to you. But I believe it gives a certain credibility to my position.
Daniel Williams
Really?
And after 40 plus years being around medical experts, I have found some, who tout their credentials, are actually wanting, in those areas they act like they know everything about. Sorry Daniel. I am not impressed.
I have read many articles referring to this. You are the only one that I have read, that suggests that ending the cannabis war will increase the cartels' bad behavior!
The "history", you alluded to, describes this clearly. The end of alcohol prohibition, essentially, ended the alcohol related gang wars and all of the killings associated with it. You may disagree , if you want. It still does not make you the only authority. And, in my reading experience, you are in the minority opinion, in your way of thinking.
And the "you still don't get it" comment is a very irritating, demeaning, condescending, way to correspond with the other blogger.
Really.
I'm not overly concerned with impressing you, sorry.
And, as I've said in another post, we'll just have to agree to disagree on the reaction the cartels will have to cannabis legalization in the US. But saying that I'm wrong just because my view resides in the minority seems a bit thuggish and narrow minded. You sound like Al Gore and his acolytes that attack those who don't buy into his apocalyptic warnings over climate change - a minority opinion that, given all the recent revelations regarding the shameful way scientists acted to suppress report from their fellow scientists and informed detractors, has become a majority opinion.
And what do you believe the alcohol gangs would have done had only the prohibition against beer been repealed? It is naive to believe they would not have increased their efforts to sell more hard liquor.
And regarding my "you still don't get it" comment: The commenter (repeatedly) seemed unable to understand that I wasn't saying the cartels would increase their marketing of drugs directly to pot users (though he/she seems to believe the two user groups are mutually exclusive). My point was that cartels will increase their marketing to existing heroin, cocaine and meth clients in the hopes those clients would increase the user base.
And as long as we're being critical of each other, your punctuation sucks.
Daniel Williams
oops, and response to Daniel
I seem to have deleted my own comment while deleting comment spam. Unfortunately I think I may have deleted one or more additional comment, including one from Daniel to which I wanted to respond. Perhaps I misremember and that didn't happen. When the new web site launched, it will have a good spam control system, and we will be able to deal with the problem in ways that have much lower risk of comment deletion.
What I think I saw Daniel write was that cartels are not just going to sit down and take it, and will take actions to make up their lost revenues, with dire consequences including even more violence. Daniel, if I misremember, please clarify.
I don't personally see how eliminating the larger part of a violent criminal organization's revenue stream can fail to reduce violence in total. Repeal of alcohol prohibition reduced violence, despite the fact that opiate and cocaine remained prohibited. It's true that a business faced with the loss of a major source of revenue will look for other ways to make money. But it's also true that a business with cash to spare will look for ways to use that money to make money, whether they are under pressure in their core areas or not. If that means fighting wars with other cartels over turf, they'll do that whether they need to make up revenue losses or not. In general I would say that maintaining a prohibition that sends large amounts of money to organized criminals is a poor strategy for reducing the amount of money those same criminals spend on other things.
Daniel also pointed out poll results showing 75% opposing the drug war, if I remember correctly. The pair of polls actually found that 75% understand the drug war to be a failure, and 75% support the drug war. It was awhile ago; maybe support for the drug war is a little lower. Regardless, getting people from disagreeing with the drug war in its current form to supporting legalization of all drugs is still a long road.
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
A fair representation, but...
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on how the cartels will respond to cannabis legalization in the US. I'd be more than thrilled to be wrong...
And regarding the 2008 Zogby poll that found 76% of Americans believed the drug war has failed: I didn't say that all 76% believed repealing drug prohibition was the solution. What I did say was that the poll indicated Americans seemed ready to have the broader discussion on repealing drug prohibition - and that drug policy reform leaders, by continuing to remain fixated on the incremental approach, are just lengthening that long road to success.
Daniel Williams
It's not only nor even
It's not only nor even primarily about what the cartels would do in response to marijuana legalization. It's mostly about the choices they'll be forced by circumstances to make -- lay off huge percentages of their employees, downsize, in some cases maybe even go out of business. The cartels have a lot of capabilities, but they are no more capable of repealing the laws or economics, nor of altering consumers' basic preferences, than the government is.
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
Cannabis legalization could lead to a reduction in hard drug use
(including alcohol) even if the cartels step up their efforts to push illegal hard drugs. Being an illegal hard drug user would be as difficult a life as ever, but the contrast between that life and the now normalized life of cannabis only users would be pretty dramatically increased. People will know that they can have a good life if they use cannabis only, and will be less subject to the despair and anger that lead to hard drug addiction (how much less depends on how much job discrimination cannabis users would still face).
Also cannabis users would no longer have to go to places where hard drugs are available and pushed to get their cannabis. Drug education could become a credible enterprise instead of being tied up in knots by it's inability to honestly discuss the issue of alcohol vs. cannabis. There would be more money available for quality drug rehab from a reasonable tax on cannabis, that's one more way cannabis legalization could reduce hard drug use. And the country will be much more united in opposing dealers in hard drugs- cannabis prohibition vastly increases the number of people who hate the law and law enforcement. There would also be a lot more jail cells available for hard drug dealers, making it a less desirable career choice.
From my perspective
Name ONE other conflict, where a tactic that would defund your opponent by TWO THIRDS is simply ignored? Where taking that money from your opponents, and putting it into YOUR agricultural sector, which is always desperate for cash crops, would also result in significantly increased tax revenues? Increased monitoring of questionable activities? Decrease street crime, as no one is fighting over a corner 'distributorship?' Free up significant resources to begin cracking down on REAL crime?
The parallels to another failed prohibition is startlingly apparent, yet the governmental agencies and officials remain either blissfully unaware, or willingly ignorant. Either is disturbing, neither is acceptable. American
citizens
continue to be mown down by the moral, ethical and legal disaster that is America's "War on Drugs." And just because Gil doesn't want to use the phrase anymore, doesn't mean the tactics have changed.
Who ya gonna believe?
It seems interesting, and a bit odd, that we always castigate the government for lying to us about drugs and the folks who use them, but accept at face value when they tell us that cannabis represents two-thirds of cartel revenue. Maybe it's just what we want to hear...
Jeffrey Miron, a noted Harvard economist, concluded that, under a legal environment in the US, cannabis would provide the least amount of tax revenue: 6.7 billion from cannabis; 11.6 billion from miscellaneous drugs; and 19.3 billion from heroin and cocaine.
Daniel Williams
invalid
Invalid logic, Daniel. The percentage of cartel revenue that cannabis provides today doesn't depend on what it would cost and earn people under a legalization system. It depends on what it costs and earns people today under prohibition. I see no reason to assume a constant ratio among different drugs of profitability now vs. profitability under some future legalization. I see less than no reason to make that assumption when comparing cannabis, which individuals can grow, with heroin or cocaine which both require industrial or even pharmaceutical-level refinement. When making accusations that people are hearing what they want to hear, one should take even more care than usual to have one's own logic straight.
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
I make no accusations
I merely asked why we are so quick to accept the government's position on cartel cannabis revenue when we challenge almost everything else they tell us about drugs. My suggestion, which you incorrectly characterize as an accusation, was that we may find benefit in believing such a statistic as it gives weight to our position that legalizing cannabis will cripple the cartels.
And I believe it is valid - even logical - to consider Miron's research on potential tax revenue from each drug or class of drugs in a regulated market as a legitimate barometer of existing realities. You make the assumption that most of us will grow our own cannabis in a legal market. That would be true only if the tax scheme on cannabis was too heavy. I'm not so sure we'd all get back to nature if an ounce of high-quality hydroponic could be bought retail for $125 - which is a price that should satisfy the grower, the seller, and the tax man.
Daniel Williams
What makes you think that
What makes you think that legalization will be better in the US than it was in Amsterdam? look at what legalization did to that city, its one of the most crime-infested cities in europe, and a good number of those crimes are related to (legal) drugs.
Drug consumption in the US army fell drastically after drug-tests were instated ... the army didnt lower drug consumtion by legalizing it!
legalization will lower the costs of drugs, and that will make them ( and the problems associated with them ) spread even more, and of course the drug cartels will be the ones pocketing the money. You neednt guess what the effects of drug-use will have if a surgeon or pilot has been taking the stuff. At least now with the prohibition, not all streets are infested with this shit, and not even most of them. if the stuff is legal, every street will be filled ... and the teenage clients will be there as well! dont tell me a teen can be controlled by parents...not in today's america!
Is the economy able to bear such costs?
if you want to tell me that the legalization of alcohol solved your problems, go check the numbers of people killed as a result of alcohol-consumption ... significantly more than those killed in the gang-wars of alcapone! and alcapone and his gangsters wouldnt have been able to operate without some complicity from high-ranking government officials ... the gangwars were a product of corrupt officials who condoned a certain measure of crime , NOT the prohibition per se.
even so, the deaths caused by alcohol consumption DWARF those cause by the gangland "wars" .
back to drugs ... Pro-legalization activists would go berserk if they were to know that thier own children take drugs, but its ok to ruin other people's children if it fills your pockets even more,right? .
you have absolutely no sense
you have absolutely no sense at all. Weather its legal or not weed will always have a huge impact on this country, our teens will still find it and do it. Being illegal actually makes it more fun to use when your young. Just like drinking I only drank until i was 21 then i stopped cause the rush of doing something illegal was gone. You have no idea what your talking about. Keep sucking up girl scout your brown noising will get you somewhere someday im sure.
If you think legalization
REALLY?
rSeriously, this country needs to just swallow that HUGE pill they call pride. We carry on a absolutely stupid law and and lose millions upon millions of dollars in the process. If you think about it, we are not only losing money to the cartels we are also losing money by trying to stop it in our own country. CNBC says we spent 10 billion dollars for drug force agencies just looking for plots. How much do you think we spend to keep Americans incarcerated for having a bag of personal on them. We are losing so much from this law and gaining NOTHING! nothing they do will ever stop the flow of weed to Americans. Is the most widely used recreational herb in the world. Notice i didn't call it a drug. I don't consider cannabis a drug at all. COCAINE, METH, HEROIN, RX PILLS, CRACK, CIGARETTES, LIQUOR, BEER, PEYOTE, ACID, LSD, MORPHINE, WEED. Out of all these which one is not man made? which one is completely natural and unaltered by man? which one would you really rather have your family do. HONESTY which one?? I'm so sick of people lives being ruined with criminal charges and the inability to find a job cause they smoke a joint 3 weeks ago and have to take a drug test. We need to put all this wasted money to use catching the really drug problems in America like crack and heroin. those are the things we should be working on. I don't like drinking, I don't like the feeling the after affects or the inability to make rational decisions. I can smoke a joint and do all of my day to day tasks with no problem. Lots of people go to work high and no one notices? Try going to work drunk or all tweaked out and see of someone notices or even if your able to do your job. Now im not saying that it would be right to do that, I'm just speaking of the effects. I think weed should be completely legalized and it should go along the same lines as alcohol. must be 21 to process, no dont go to work high and so on. They say they cant tax it?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They tax everything and your telling me you cant tax weed. and no everyone will not grow their own. why because its not as easy as people think and if that were the case, everyone would grow their own tomatoes and there own wheat for bread. They would grow their own carrots but no they don't because its just easier to go to the store and but it. California is already making millions form it so please can anyone say anything bad about pot besides the fact that its illegal? come on America we have to get it together I could go on for days like this.
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