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Legal Marijuana Would Shift Economic Power
Posted by CN Staff on August 12, 2009 at 04:42:02 PT
By Ron Binion Jr. 
Source: North County Times
USA -- Everyone has a theory as to why our government is opposed to the legalization of marijuana. The question is not one of morality, but of economics. True, marijuana has the tax revenue potential to help solve our current crisis. But those in power now lose control of their piece of the pie.When discussing the economic potential of legalizing marijuana we tend to exclude a huge part of the picture. The plant hemp itself has more than 10,000 uses.
It is also one of the fastest growing crops on Earth. The market shift toward products made with hemp would wreak havoc on present-day economy.The number of symptoms that marijuana can be prescribed for is endless.Potential customers include every cancer patient, anyone experiencing anxiety, suffering from depression, sleeplessness, migraines, chronic pain, even PMS.That's before one recreational toke.Medically speaking, the potential market share for medical marijuana is larger than for any other drug. Show me someone who doesn't have any of the ailments that marijuana can be prescribed for medically. Big companies don't want to give up their market share.Insurance companies who right now don't pay for medical marijuana will have to start paying a hefty tab. I'm not sure, but insurance companies probably won't be too enthused to pay for everyone's marijuana. The insurance and the pharmaceutical companies both have very powerful lobbies with millions of dollars worth of influence.The potential market for hemp products cannot be taken lightly. Hemp and marijuana are very valuable crops. It would drastically change agriculture in the United States. I doubt that if legal, the United States has the landmass to satisfy its own demand. Thomas Jefferson knew the economic power of hemp.Foreign countries with greater landmass and cheaper labor would hijack the market becoming instant economic superpowers in the process. Sure, the United States will see a lot of revenue from the taxation of marijuana. The sales revenue from hemp will far exceed it. The government is afraid to let loose this cash cow.The biggest determinate of quality life is economics. Power concedes nothing without a demand. By marijuana and hemp being illegal, it has made a lot of people rich. Legalization would result in such a shift of economic power that it scares the "Haves." Ron Binion lives in Oceanside.Source: North County Times (CA)Author: Ron Binion Jr. Published: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Copyright: 2009 North County TimesContact: letters nctimes.comWebsite: http://www.nctimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/4uyISW8NCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on August 15, 2009 at 07:39:54 PT
FoM Comment 26
Of course, you're right.But I am appalled, angry, and indignant. I don't want to cane him or execute him.... I want him subdued... as he should be. As I should and will pray... I would like very much for him to be helped to have a new heart and be a merciful and loving human being.And, of course and indeed... God help us. 
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Comment #27 posted by Hope on August 15, 2009 at 07:32:11 PT
Benton... why not immigrate to Singapore?
"Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of up to 24 violent lashes with a long rattan cane that has been soaked in water. The procedure inflicts intense pain and deep, bloody lacerations that can take several months to heal."Benton can raise his family right in Singapore. He'll be so thankful to see his granddaughters, grandsons, nieces, and nephews humiliated, stripped, and caned to keep them pure and good... like himself. When it comes to the herb, cannabis, and it's 'traditional' prohibition... "Don't taste! Don't touch!"... or the "Good" guys, like Benton, will torture and murder people over it. It gives me a chill to realize they are unable to see their own true and deep perversion. 
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on August 15, 2009 at 07:31:31 PT
Hope
The way I think about Benton is this way. Pray for those who despitely use you.All the returned hate in the world will only fuel the flames but praying for him can change things in my opinion.
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on August 15, 2009 at 07:14:49 PT
Benton's pleasure and satisfaction.
Will that satisfy his hatred and need to hurt pot smokers?If that doesn't work, will he try killing their families and children?
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on August 15, 2009 at 07:12:23 PT
GA Pol Calls For Caning, Executing Pot Smokers
Comment 9"State Republican lawmaker Tommy Benton (31st House District) favors “caning” minor marijuana offenders and “executing” those who sell the drug, according to a recent correspondence sent by the representative to a constituent."I keep thinking about this Benton guy. Does he want public whippings, lashings, caning, cutting, and executions? Or are they to be more private... like for his own personal pleasure?
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Comment #23 posted by rchandar on August 15, 2009 at 03:34:06 PT:
museman
I agree--I don't think this is all true. Morocco and the rest of Africa is a classic example, and so is Mexico: simply put, these large-scale grow countries are not making nearly as much as they would, simply because high-grade "hydroponic" bud grown in Europe and the US has overtaken the market.Some years ago, an African columnist suggested the same. Legalize weed, and poor farmers who are hungry will eat and prosper. But I doubt that: there is no chance today that their product when shipped (and the West, not they, are the main market) will be competitive with what the people there can smoke. It's understandable that Obama dismissed the idea months ago--if we said this, the rest of the world might look at us like we're crazy. However, for us it is a good idea, especially given the recession. I just think that the Third World will not benefit much.
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Comment #22 posted by ekim on August 13, 2009 at 13:03:50 PT
slow but sure
Myriant Technologies plans pilot-scale cellulosic biorefineryhttp://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=5899
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on August 13, 2009 at 12:59:27 PT
dongenero 
Thank you. I agree with you. I believe in common sense. I believe we should not be mean to our enemies. We don't have to take abuse but retaliation isn't good. Logical discussions of hot button issues should be able to happen without fighting and screaming and being rude. I always believed people that get hot under the collar don't know what they believe and they just react. A question that I wish was asked and answered would be if you don't believe in a public policy and say your young adult child gets cancer and they are working part time only and have no insurance how will you feel when it is your child left with no care or inferior care?
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Comment #20 posted by dongenero on August 13, 2009 at 12:45:27 PT
It's not about what makes sense
It's about opposing what you are told is your enemy. The base's fears are played to with unsubstantiated rumors, which the base doesn't care to substantiate anyway. They are willing dupes in the game. Willfully ignorant. And nobody quite plays the level of victim with first whiny indignation and then wild-eyed, threatening craziness, that the conservatives to. 
 
When you appeal to the lower common denominators of our nation's collective intelligence, which the conservatives do, you really get the unstable nuts out in force. Unimaginably crazy things these people will buy into.The extreme right are nuts in a decidedly psychopathic way.It seems that if we have a majority of intelligent people in this country, the craziness should backfire. Most intelligent people will not be swayed by the "appeals" of hysterical maniacs. Then again, which do we have more of? I'm not sure.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on August 13, 2009 at 11:17:12 PT
Vincent
I have never seen the likes of what is going on now about health care and Obama. I didn't know that people could harbor such hate. I don't hate anyone. I might not agree with everyone but hating is not something I will do. Hate hurts the hater and that is all it does.Why weren't there concerns about the cost of war hurting future generations? It was rah rah go kill em all. It doesn't make sense to me. 
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Comment #18 posted by Vincent on August 13, 2009 at 10:41:22 PT:
Comment #15 by FoM
Oh, I agree 100%. I have never seen such hatred of a president and his policies, especially the healthcare debate, in my entire life. Most of the "protests" are being organized by Fox News and other like minded organizations. The bottom line is that "they" don't want to pay an extra dime in taxes to help the poor. This is a sample of "Compassionate Conservatism".
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on August 13, 2009 at 08:24:44 PT
JiMorrison
I can't seem to get the page to load but I saw a program on one of the Discovery Channels about what you said. We also have super volcanoes to be concerned about. Earthquakes are right up there too. 
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Comment #16 posted by JiMorrison on August 13, 2009 at 07:28:17 PT:
Higher Calling
I'm like everyone else here....Every day, we shake our heads in disbelief, as a 40+yr old drug war rages on with no end in sight. Amidst all such insanity, sane voices & obvious solutions cry out for recognition & implementation.
There is one that may not yet have been appreciated.
We know that a hemp industry coupled with legalization would generate $$Billions$$ to solve our economic woes.
But there is one higher calling we cannot ignore.http://www.physorg.com/news169304506.htmlTo save our planet, NASA desparately needs $800 million
(not billion)to fulfill its legal obligation to identify all earth-threatening asteroids by 2020. Of the billions
brought in, this should get top priority, or we will join the dinosaurs in oblivion.
Jupiter will not protect us forever !
Live Long & High !
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on August 13, 2009 at 04:43:08 PT
dongenero
You said: The nuttiness is certainly ramping up on many fronts these days.I agree.I have never seen anything like what I have seen happening at different health care forums. I try very hard to undertand where people are coming from but what is going in now is beyond my own ability to understand. People on Medicare are fighting against a public health care program for the uninsured. They think that Democrats are wusses but that's not it. Why waste time trying to reason with the unreasonable when there are so many positive things we can do with our own very precious time.
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Comment #14 posted by afterburner on August 12, 2009 at 21:32:55 PT
Hope #10 from 9 
"The backlash, we knew, would be vicious." 
Couple brings pot plant to Capitol. 
'We're on a mission from God -- like the Blues Brothers," says Kingston man lobbying to legalize marijuana.  
By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau. 
First published in print: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?category=&storyID=829771&BCCode=&newsdate=8/11/2009 
{
ALBANY -- Most lobbyists come to the Capitol with a briefcase, a position paper and a cellphone. At least one arrived with a pot plant, and for this she must answer. 
}Courage to face setbacks: may we all feel it in these times of testing.
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Comment #13 posted by dongenero on August 12, 2009 at 20:27:09 PT
Nuts like Rep. Tommy Benton
They are quite a spectacle when they get all wild-eyed and crazy "talkin". The nuttiness is certainly ramping up on many fronts these days. 
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on August 12, 2009 at 19:03:39 PT
Feds Raid 2 LA Marijuana Dispensaries
By The Associated PressAugust 12, 2009Los Angeles, CA -- Federal and local agents are raiding at least two marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles but authorities won't say what they're seeking. Officials say more than 20 people from various agencies served a state search warrant at around 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Organica Collective in Marina del Rey. URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13046181
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Comment #11 posted by Vincent on August 12, 2009 at 17:53:50 PT:
Comment No. 9
Wow! I mean, Republicans are "wonderful", aren't they? This guy sounds like he comes out of a Dickens novel from 1840. Now, you see why I am so militant? Che Guevara, where are you now that we need you?
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on August 12, 2009 at 16:17:04 PT
Comment 9 
The backlash, we knew, would be vicious.It's all been varying degrees of viciousness.
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Comment #9 posted by paul armentano on August 12, 2009 at 16:08:42 PT
GA Pol Calls For Caning, Executing Pot Smokers
http://blog.norml.org/2009/08/12/georgia-lawmaker-calls-for-caning-executing-marijuana-offenders/Georgia Lawmaker Calls For Caning, Executing Marijuana OffendersAugust 12th, 2009 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director Share this Article 	       [Editor's note: This post is excerpted from this week's forthcoming NORML weekly media advisory. To have NORML's media advisories delivered straight to your in-box, sign up for NORML's free e-zine here.]State Republican lawmaker Tommy Benton (31st House District) favors “caning” minor marijuana offenders and “executing” those who sell the drug, according to a recent correspondence sent by the representative to a constituent.In a July 29, 2009 e-mail (which was voluntarily forwarded to the NORML office), Rep. Benton wrote: “Thanks for the email. We will have to agree to disagree on this and whether or not money is wasted (by mandating the state to prosecute minor marijuana offenders). I am opposed to the legalization of marijuana. I think we should go to caning for people caught using and maybe execute dealers. [emphasis NORML’s] That would solve the problem as well. That is what they do in Singapore and they don’t have a drug problem.”Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of up to 24 violent lashes with a long rattan cane that has been soaked in water. The procedure inflicts intense pain and deep, bloody lacerations that can take several months to heal.Rep. Benton followed up his remarks in a separate e-mail on August 11 (also forwarded to NORML) in which he threatened to turn over the names of citizens who disagreed with his political viewpoints to local law enforcement.He wrote: “You and your cronies want it (marijuana) legalized so you can get a hit anytime without having to worry about getting arrested. I have forwarded your email to the Lowndes County sheriffs [sic] office so that they can be on the lookout for you. [emphasis NORML’s] Consider this my last correspondence on the the [sic] subject to you or anyone else who shares your similar “conservative views’.”Benton was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2005.
http://www.norml.org
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on August 12, 2009 at 12:15:33 PT
There's so much going on concerning this issue.
So much to read and try to understand.The online articles, editorials, commentaries, conversations, and comments are really interesting reading and all over the place, here at C-News and all over the net.Pete at DrugWarRant has been posting even more excellent rants than usual somehow. That doesn't seem possible. The man speaks the truth and speaks it very well. I really want to keep up with his rants, along with all here at C-News, and all over the place. Keep on keeping on. The voices for sanity, our voices... are increasing. I'm so glad and thankful. 
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Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on August 12, 2009 at 09:27:36 PT
RI dispensary rules
interesting, the RI DPH just posted their proposed "Rules" for dispensaries.At first I thought they were going overboard on some stuff but I realized it's probably no different for pharmacies. Take a good look at the document and you'll understand why our economy is failing. Anyone who wants to start a business faces a Byzantine labyrinth of rules & regulations and legal fees.This is what is necessary in our society for sick people to legally use a plant that grows out of the ground for medicine - all 26 pages:http://webapps01.sec.state.ri.us/omfiling/pdffiles/notices/3845/2009/77635.pdf
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Comment #6 posted by museman on August 12, 2009 at 09:06:00 PT
"Legalization would result in such a shift of 
 economic power that it scares the "Haves."Right. So lets go out and vote for their 'regulation and control' scams, so that they can use the money they "have" to monopolize hemp and cannabis, like they did the family farm, the music industry, political 'representation', free access to nature, energy resources, and just about anything else that innovative (but poor) people can come up with.
 
Yes they are afraid, but not of losing money. I mean, come on, they invented it, and every skim and scam ever to thieve off of the honest efforts of those who actually labor for their way. They are afraid that we'll figure out that their money is only as real as we allow ourselve to believe, and if we simply stop giving tham that power of our belief, their power will disintegrate fast.FREE CANNABIS FOREVER
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Comment #5 posted by Yanxor on August 12, 2009 at 07:51:57 PT
Incomplete & Lousy Argument
Dear Mr. BinionPrimarily, how many countries do you know with more landmass than America? Russia, Canada and maybe China. In Russia and China, society is more critical of cannabis and its use.Furthermore, America can easily grow all of its own cannabis. Not only do we put out the most corn of any nation, but the government actually pays farmers to let parts of their fields lay fallow. Moreso, with the new developments in modern vertical/city farming, it's absurd and deceptive to follow this "foreign cashcow/landmass lack/national security" nonsense argument.I am also of the opinion that cannabis has been repressed for economic/political rather than moral issues.However, the impact that cannabis legalization will have on the pharmaceutical & insurance industries is overshadowed by the impact that it will have on the prison/police/secret security-industrial complex.Since the author comes out mildly against cannabis, is interesting that he completely ignores this concern.The private prison industry has expanded exponentially, under Reagan, legislation was passed that has since caused 3(reagan-era) privately-run, for-profit prisons to expand to 264 facilities.Another policy of this administration has been expanding police presence. The local and state police, along with the DEA, FBI and possibly other secret service organizations have also expanded tremendously.Not to blame all this on Reagan - this american moralist/prohibitionist crusade has continued since the 1800's and has illegalized alcohol, prostitution, gambling, cannabis and other forms of "vice."Cannabis illegalization not only increases profits of the pharmaceutical/insurance industries, but also supports the police state/prison-military-industrial complex.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 12, 2009 at 07:02:25 PT
SFC: A Different Type Article 
Marijuana, Gateway Drug To Jesus / Does Pot Lead To Total Enlightenment? Rehab? Scientology? Let's Find Out!August 12, 2009URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/08/12/notes081209.DTL
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Comment #3 posted by tintala on August 12, 2009 at 06:55:28 PT:
THere are 3 industries CANNABIS would create
Medical INdustry, HEMP for Fuel:food:fiber, and RECREATIONAL CANNABIS: the USA as well as globally would benefit from the jobs created by these 3 industries. HUuuuge innovations.
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on August 12, 2009 at 06:15:06 PT
Like I said.....
....reparations are in order!The staunch prohibitionist of the knew this info and acted on it like satin himself we coming to town.It is a good sociology experiment to see how many people/lemmings could be herded and for how long.As a political ruse goes this has been one of the most successful of all time. I believe, only the lies of racist America lasted longer or sucked in more people to a wrong and immoral policy. The very sad thing is that people believe the unbelievable, follow the unworthy and as a consequence we and the planet suffer. 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 12, 2009 at 05:39:59 PT
Seattle Hempfest August 15-16, 2009
URL: http://hempfest.org/Links: http://hempfest.org/drupal/links
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