cannabisnews.com: Legalizing Marijuana is Just a Matter of Time
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Legalizing Marijuana is Just a Matter of Time
Posted by CN Staff on March 24, 2010 at 04:10:14 PT
By Gerald Ensley 
Source: Tallahassee Democrat 
Florida -- Time magazine recently published an interesting statistic: 5.1 percent of Americans aged 55 to 59 smoke marijuana regularly — a major jump from 2002, when 1.6 percent of Americans aged 55 to 59 admitted to smoking pot regularly. The magazine attributed the rise to the aging of the baby boom generation. And you can look at the stat four ways:One, it shows marijuana use is not just for the young and wild. We can only assume the age bracket — where AARP membership and senior discounts begin — was considered significant because it says old people are smoking.
Two, it's a tsk-tsk about how baby boomers just won't stop their silly habits.Three, it shows a decline in marijuana usage: Back when boomers were young, half of us were smoking pot. So if just 5 percent of us are still smoking, usage has dropped dramatically.Or fourth: The handwriting on the wall is getting bigger. We need to make pot legal. You don't want Grandma and Grandpa doing hard time, do you?We get closer to legalizing pot all the time.A national poll in October found that 44 percent of Americans support legalization — up from 36 percent in 2005. Fourteen states have made marijuana legal for medical purposes since California became the first in 1996. Fourteen other states are now considering changes in their laws against marijuana, ranging from allowing medical marijuana to decriminalization.Florida is not among those 28 states, though polls have shown that a majority of Florida voters support medical marijuana. A group is trying to get medical marijuana on the Florida ballot this fall. Here's hoping they succeed.This is what some of us always believed would happen with marijuana laws: People would realize the folly of keeping marijuana illegal and change the laws. I think we imagined it would happen sooner than it did and in more sweeping federal fashion, rather than the slow trickle of state-by-state.But as you get older — say 55 to 59 — you realize that's how things work. Look at health care reform. Ever since Franklin Roosevelt, there have been efforts to institute some form of national health insurance. Now, 60 years later, President Obama finally succeeded. Sometimes, it takes decades for the steady plodding of logic and determined supporters to get the right thing done.Ending the prohibition on marijuana is about taking it out of the dark of criminal activity and profit and bringing it into the light of the nation's daily commerce. It's just so logical.If we tax marijuana, government will have much more revenue — for things such as health care. If we regulate marijuana, it will reduce its availability to children — who can get it illegally from friends and acquaintances. If we eliminate the penalties for possession, we can stop the unfair and costly jailing of people — whose only crime is preferring marijuana to alcohol when they relax.If we legalize marijuana, we can make marijuana available nationwide to those who need it medically — and eliminate such farces as Wal-Mart firing a Michigan employee who failed a drug test after using marijuana prescribed by his doctor.And if we legalize, we can help stop the drug cartel violence, which is ripping apart Mexico and spreading into the U.S. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, the largest marijuana reform organization in the U.S., more than 18,000 people have been killed in Mexico by drug violence since 2006. The U.S. Justice Department reports that cartels do business in 230 American cities. Annually, 60 percent to 70 percent of marijuana sold by cartels is sold in the U.S. It's an annual $8 billion to $10 billion industry for the cartels, whose violence will continue as long as they are making money.We will never eradicate the human affection for intoxication, as was proved by the failed efforts of alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century. But we can stop the violence and costs associated with marijuana prohibition by taking its distribution out of the hands of criminals — and stop criminalizing those who use it.It's the right thing to do. If only to save Grandma and Grandpa from embarrassment.Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)Author: Gerald Ensley Published: March 24, 2010Copyright: 2010 Tallahassee DemocratContact: letters tallahassee.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/RhXK2gfNWebsite: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 28, 2010 at 13:44:22 PT
WolfieWylde
We have a friend that is what I consider very smart. He doesn't miss anything. He said if the drug laws were changed in Mexico it wouldn't matter. He said it is such a small part of the problem. He said basically what you are saying. 
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Comment #17 posted by WolfieWylde on March 28, 2010 at 13:40:07 PT
Mexico is an oligarchy...
...where the wealth is control be a very few, and the rest live in great poverty. That's a recipe for violence, regardless of any drug laws.  
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Comment #16 posted by Paint with light on March 24, 2010 at 20:26:34 PT
Quote
From a recent political campaign;The road ahead will be long......The climb will be steep.Legal like alcohol
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 24, 2010 at 20:20:17 PT
Universer
I posted this on the wrong thread so here it is again.We have made so much progress since Obama became President. People have stepped out and just aren't afraid like they were. We are making changes from the bottom up not the top down like he said we should do. I find it so peaceful moving forward the way we are. No anger just action. It's a good thing.
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Comment #14 posted by Universer on March 24, 2010 at 19:50:33 PT
Bible Belting
It does me good to see such items disseminated via a Deep South media outlet, such as this editorial from a Tallahassee rag.The cause of freedom is attractive to everyone, be they liberal, libertarian or (truly) conservative.Now we're speaking up. And we can't be shut up. We can never give up. We have to keep it up.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 24, 2010 at 19:35:00 PT
John Tyler
I was talking to our friend yesterday and asked him if he felt that drug legalization would change the problems in Mexico and he said no. He said the violence will continue because that's just the way it is. We don't have that kind of problem coming from Canada. The border problems are way deeper then drugs I think.
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Comment #12 posted by John Tyler on March 24, 2010 at 19:28:50 PT
Hillary in Mexico
Hillary was asked if they (she and her big wig pals and the Mexicans) were considering decriminalization as a way to end the violence. She said, “No.” Dedication to prohibition makes smart people so stupid or blind they can’t see the obvious.  So, I suppose more money has to be wasted and more people have to suffer until these so called leaders come to their senses. They are racking up bad Karma faster than frequent flyer miles.
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Comment #11 posted by Storm Crow on March 24, 2010 at 18:33:44 PT
Vincent and FoM....
5% is how many ADMIT IT! LOL
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 24, 2010 at 17:36:12 PT
vincent
I think you're right.
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Comment #9 posted by vincent on March 24, 2010 at 17:30:16 PT:
Only 5%?
I don't believe that statistic. Of the people I know that are my age, iot's closer to 75%. I think that some people are just afraid to admit that they smoke that wonderful gift from God.
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Comment #8 posted by ekim on March 24, 2010 at 12:10:20 PT
the author Charles Boweden was great.
 all in all the jest was that the drug war has failed.http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-03-24/law-enforcement-and-border-security-mexicoSecretary of State Clinton pushes for improved law enforcement and border security with Mexico. The recent Juarez murders of three people connected to the U.S. consulate fueled concerns about escalating drug-related violence. Drug trafficking, border control and U.S.-Mexico relations.Guests
John Morton 
assistant secretary, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs EnforcementFrancisco Gonzalez 
Riordan Roett Associate Professor of Latin American Studies,
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins UniversityCharles Bowden
Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields
 
author of "Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields," a contributing editor for GQ and Mother JonesEric Olson 
Senior Advisor on US-Mexico Security for the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, coordinates a major binational project on cooperation against organized crimeMichele Kelemen 
NPR correspondent
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Comment #7 posted by dongenero on March 24, 2010 at 12:06:41 PT
Drug war business as usual
Talk about "death panels"! 
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Comment #6 posted by Had Enough on March 24, 2010 at 10:19:58 PT
How much is someone’s life worth?
Here is one answer....“”Last week, an arbitrator ordered the city to reinstate Mr. Pender along with back pay and benefits, saying that at most he should receive a written reprimand for allowing Ms. Hoffman to be frisked by a male officer.””One young life snuffed out due to prohibition on cannabis...At the ‘most’ a written reprimand??? Back pay and benefits too???It is really sad when life is less important than the greed for power, position, and money.
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Comment #5 posted by Had Enough on March 24, 2010 at 09:53:57 PT
Rachel Hoffman
OFFICER'S REINSTATEMENT SHOULD CLOSE THIS CHAPTER Pubdate: Thu, 18 Mar 2010Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)Rank-and-file officers of the Tallahassee Police Department have every right to feel undermined and slighted by the comments of Chief Dennis Jones regarding the recommended reinstatement of Investigator Ryan Pender. Mr. Pender was fired for his role in a high profile tragedy in 2008, the drug deal gone bad that ended in the death of informant Rachel Hoffman and sent her two attackers in prison for life. Last week, an arbitrator ordered the city to reinstate Mr. Pender along with back pay and benefits, saying that at most he should receive a written reprimand for allowing Ms. Hoffman to be frisked by a male officer. Chief Jones, however, has declined to support the reinstatement of the one officer, Mr. Pender, who appears to be the "fall guy" for the department's lack of adequate policies and rules governing the use of confidential informants. "It was a slap in the face to everybody," wrote Fraternal Order of Police President Mauricio Endara of Mr. Jones' resistance to bringing Mr. Pender back on the job. "I've never seen the morale be so low." No one is questioning that mistakes in judgment were made during the May 7, 2008, drug operation in which Mr. Pender was Ms. Hoffman's primary police contact. But without spelled-out departmental procedures and approval of operational plans by his superiors, Mr. Pender, with a history as a fine officer, ought not be isolated and suffer such career-ending punishment. "We do regret the situation that it took for the lack of procedures to be recognized," Mr. Endara wrote, saying the force welcomes Mr. Pender back. "But we are encouraged that a review and implementation of better procedures will certainly improve the way our Department functions as a whole."more...http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n205/a02.html?1127
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Comment #4 posted by ekim on March 24, 2010 at 07:04:19 PT
NPR Diane Rehm show now
is talking about drug war violence in MexicoNational Public Radio 
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on March 24, 2010 at 06:06:48 PT
Yes, it does. 
"Sometimes, it takes decades for the steady plodding of logic and determined supporters to get the right thing done."Plodding. Plodding. Plodding.The thing about plodding... it means setting your feet firmly, deeply, and securely. Albeit the forward movement is slow. We have a good grip on the ground... our foundation.... what we are plodding on and what we are carrying... truth. Our balance is careful and good. Our determination is steady, secure, and will not be easily shaken or diverted. Our goal is clear and our different reasons for our righteous fight merge well. Plodding isn't fun or exciting... but it is dependable.We know we are taking on something huge in this fight. Huge and powerful and dangerous. It's such a heavy load, there isn't any way to move the thing at all without slow, careful, deliberate plodding.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ploddingintransitive verb 1 : to work laboriously and monotonously : drudge
2 a : to walk heavily or slowly : trudge b : to proceed slowly or tediously ... : to tread slowly or heavily along or over
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 24, 2010 at 05:11:11 PT
SnowedUnder
You're welcome. Let's get it done!
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Comment #1 posted by SnowedUnder on March 24, 2010 at 04:56:51 PT:
Right On
It's time to consider having a referendum about repealing prohibition. The insanity has to stop.
It's time to have a joint session of all of the UN. 
It's time for the violence to end.
The time has finally come.
It's the people's turn to vote on this thing called prohibition.
Vote for The Referendum, by the People, for the People.
Thanks FOM, that was an excellent article. You made my day. 
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